Alright, alright

I'm just showing off now, but look!

A customer bought me this! She said it wasn't much but I have literally no money to buy things like this for myself and I've wanted it for about forever and I didn't know but the first pattern is an aran using a stitch from Gladys Thompson's Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys and Arans which I love but just couldn't do when I tried it a long, long time ago. Lovely.

Nextly:

Cakes! Christmas ones! From the girls upstairs!

This next bit isn't showing off:

it's commiserating...

Sort of. These little dogs, as a commission for two different people. Blurgh. I was going to do a blog post about them playing in a field or something like that, I thought the incidence rate of four knitted dogs together at one time has got to be pretty small unless you're a mad wo/man so I was going to take advantage. But no, I tent to get a bit frustrated with fiddly knitting after a while and this has been a bit of a marathon. But now they're done I love them. That's a pug, a jack russell, a British bulldog and a miniature schnauzer. I never knew that miniature was spelled like that - weird.

This is why I don't like knitting small fiddly things:

Look at my angry face. Haha.

It's over now and I'm pleased.

That's what life has been like in the shop this week. Sort of good, sort of bad and ridiculously busy. Forgive us our absences.

And then - finally - we'll be at the The Nottingham Bead and Craft Show run by our friends at The Bead Shop, Nottingham. We went last year too and it was great so we're really excited. Apart from the early morning... Here's a photo from last year:

Exciting!?!!?

And I'm taking three boxes full this year. Three and three only.


Finally. I want to have a bit of a moan and a whine. About the council, of course.

T'other day I was outside the shop having a chat with a customer when a Community Protection Officer came and asked about our waste practices. Now, I've been brought up to be a bit of a hippy. I hate waste and nothing gets chucked here apart from my fag ends and the occasional crisp or biscuit packet. Normal things that normal people throw in normal bins. No? Well, apparently not if you're a small business. I have to pay money to get that collected. Not part of the business rates (which are the equivalent of council tax as I see it).

Now, this would not be a problem except that since we've started we've been treated to "small business rates relief" which means essentially that business as small as ours don't pay the business rates. Brilliant! Great idea! More of that please! Only, the council obviously aren't making enough money so they start harassing us for more money from other places. I'd so much rather pay the bloody rates that have to pay bits here and there for whatever services they think we ought to use.

Right, so, ignoring how frustrating that is - we'll pay it. No problem. The Community Protection Officer promises to come back later that day. Does he turn up? I think you know the answer. Okay, fine, I'll ring in the morning. And I did, I started ringing at 11 o'clock and I didn't stop until somebody finally put me through to an appropriate person at HALF. PAST. TWELVE! The incompetence is staggering. Staggering.

So I get through to somebody, who speaks to me like I'm five explaining that 'the law says this' and 'the law says that'. So I ask, 'which statute is that?' - I'm a lawyer, I can look it up. I'd quite like to in fact. The answer: 'well, the law says this' and 'the law says that'. Don't make me rip my own eyeballs out now, Mr Policeman. Jeez. Anyway, he can't do anything, he'll get his colleague to call me back. 'Oh, is that the kind of calling back that's a lot like the 'coming back' that your colleague didn't do a lot of yesterday?'. 'Well, the law says this'. Oh piss off!

Anyway, he didn't call me back, I had to call him. Finally somebody came around with an idiots guide to waste management and nothing to fill out. Somebody will come and 'help me fill out the form on Monday'. The saga continues...

That feels better. How frustrating! I feel like becoming one of those busybody business owners who starts a petition about some ridiculously minute issue. But honestly, how am I supposed to run a business when I spend half the day running after people who should be the most efficient workers out there? And how the bloody hell am I supposed to run a business when I'm spending all of my money on waste services that I really don't need?


Bravo council!

Now I'm going to do some knitting and some reading Elizabeth Zimmerman to cheer myself up.

Blurgh.

The Seami(er) Side of Life

I don’t like sewing up, I just don’t. In fact, I would say I hate everything about it – from threading a needle to making sure my seams match. And, to be honest, I’m not very good at it. For years, I just matched up the bumps on the edges of my knitting and ended up with a seam that looked something like this on the inside, and the outside

Not great, I think you'll agree.

Then, a few weeks ago, I decided to teach myself how to mattress stitch. And this is how my side seams turned out on the inside and, of course, the outside

Much better, methinks. And shoulder seams have given me problems for years. Even if I backstitched them together, they always looked as though the seam was pulling apart, but now – look

They look so much better. And this is a great little tutorial for mattress stitch

I suppose, what I’m trying to say is that, after 25 years of knitting, all of a sudden my finished garments have a more professional finish. And I like that!

Of course, if you want to learn this and other finishing techniques in person, you can sign up to our class on 12th February 2-12 here

June

An update of sorts.

Salutations, lovely Knit Nottinghamers!

It struck me that I haven't done a proper shop update in a while - just musings about my projects and Sue's spinning which must be truly riveting for you given that you'll all have your own bits on the go. Christmas presents I don't doubt...

Well, the big exciting news is that we have two new lines of yarn!!

The first is a blingy, glitzy, in-your-face-fabulous yarn from King Cole, let me present to you:

Purple

Mercury

Fuchsia

Red

             

The gorgeous Galaxy DK

And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you, there really are sequins in there! Soft, luscious, toned to match the yarn sequins. And blimey, I'm smitten! Who'd have thought I'd fall for a glittery yarn? The girls, and couple of blokes, at my knit club will be as shocked as I am!

Currently these are the four colours that we have in stock - I tried to get the others but it's just too popular. In my humble opinion nobody would ever need another colour but the purple anyway. Apart from June, she likes the fuchsia.

My thoughts are, a plain, low necked jumper with gorgeous lacy sleeves. Something a bit delicate. Naturally, I think we all want to make scarves with something so beaueaueaueaueaueautiful too.

It's 50g, 175m, 31% wool, 65% acrylic and 4% soft payette (that's the sparkle). Spun similarly to the Riot DK, if you love that it'll be worth your while giving this a go. Almost forgot to say it's £3. And I hereby promise to get it on the internet asap!

Graphite

Green

Next new yarn - not any less lovely but quite a lot less sparkly - is the Big Value 4ply.

French Navy

Damson

Black

Mustard

Opal

 Now I've got them in some sort of an order I'm leaving it at that - sorry they're placed a bit randomly...

Again, I've made a selection from the colours available for this yarn. Mostly because I don't want to completely blow the budget but also because I want to see the reaction from you guys. I get quite a lot of feedback that we don't stock enough wool yarns. Personally, I think we have a tonne, three commercial 100%'s, six commercials with over 50% and all the handspun and felting yarn. On top of that, if they're talking about naturals we have cottons to peruse too. You can see I'm a bit frustrated. Lately, I've been asked for more acrylics. It seems we might have gone too far the other way? So here's my attempt at an acrylic, in an interesting weight (lovely vintage jumpers, socks or shawls for the sheep-opposed anybody?). I've gone for colours that are most popular in our shop: black, mustard, deep pink and teal and a couple to brighten things up a bit and that I like - mmmm to the French Navy Oh yes!

The yarn comes with patterns and I couldn't make up my mind so I bought them all. That's two male patterns and four female patterns and they all have a lovely, vintagey, elegant feel to them.

There ain't no way I'm not knitting that sweet little sweater in the camel colour. Though I'll choose a more interesting colour...

So, 100g, 4ply, 100% acrylic, 439m (yes, that's four hundred and thirty nine of your metric metres!). In my size (big if you're wondering) that's going to mean four balls. Four balls!? And the best bit is - it's only bloody £2.75. Who cares about the double dip when the wool's that cheap?

So, tell me what you think folks.

In other pattern related news, we now have:

 Oh yes, it's the 'Magic Dolman Jacket' and it's also available in a 4ply and DK version. Eagle eyed readers will note that this is exactly. the. same. as. the. BSJ written by the indomitable Elizabeth Zimmerman. Apparently, according to my yarn rep, I was the only LYSO who noticed this. Quite chuffed with myself! Now, I questioned them about the legal validity of selling this pattern, apparently it's all wrapped up but he was about as willing to talk about copyright issues as that one rav busybody who always says 'and now to sit down with popcorn while you all battle in out' smugly in a copyright thread. So I bought it - just for your dear readers! I think it'll be a lot cheaper/quicker to get it here and I'm guessing there's some sort of arrangement with Schoolhouse Press that means we're not squeezing them out of money.

Nice ey?!!?!? :)

We have more new patterns too but if I chat about them all like this, it'll turn into a novel. Just. Shut. Up.

So, the shelves have gone down well. I think everybody's a little sad that the other one has gone but I forgot to say that it went to The Art Room in Long Eaton which both Liese and I believe to be a worthy cause so don't be too sad. It's funny to see the reactions. One lady who comes in about week didn't notice until a couple of days ago and she literally jumped out of her skin when she realised as if something had just piddled on her grave. Haha!

I have a throat infection. It's not my fault. Treat me kindly please.

I've also started another Ripple Blanket. It's not my fault. Treat me kindly please.

And now I'm going to try and get on with the knitting that I was meant to start at 11am-ish today but haven't actually touched. Thank you lot, and the internet buyers, for making this such a busy winter. We're just getting over the few money troubles we've had - gah to unexpected bills! - and then we've got to start saving for the possibility of moving into bigger premises next year! How very exciting!

Finally, I'd like to say hello to the two regular readers from the Ivory Coast - hello, what brings you here?

Love,

Eleanor. :)

Spin-Work-Shop-Fun

Last Sunday we held another of our occasional spinning workshops aimed at brand new spinners. During the day we looked at fibres and learnt how to use a basic drop spindle. There was great excitement when the students were allowed to investigate the contents of their project bags which contained fibres and the spindle together with some secret ingredients.

After grasping the basics and realising that dropping the spindle is really part of the learning process, they went on to create their own yarn using a drum carder to blend their own choice of colours into a batt ready for spinning.
 Their first yarns were beautiful, brightly coloured and textured and I am sure that they will be treasured.
Later everyone had chance to play on a spinning wheel although some thought that it was too much like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time!!
We all had a great time, including Pete and myself and we thank everyone for coming ( and for bringing the biscuits!!!)

All Right, Sunny Jim?

Whilst on holiday recently in Cornwall we visited Flambards, a small theme park with a very good display about about war time Britain and I spotted this amongst the displays. The gloves and scarfs I could cope with but the knitted vest? no way, would never have the patience or the time.



I also spotted this in the wartime exhibition,really miss shops like these



somewhere to buy your knitting patterns along with the groceries



Until I saw this, I never realised that Sunny Jim was an advertising slogan! always thought it was just a saying/nickname.



Sunny Jim cloth doll, you would save the coupons and send away for him.

The BIG SURPRISE

I've been going on a bit I know, about this BIG SUPRISE and thinking about it, it's probably not that exciting to you lot. But it still is to me! We've finally replaced the circle cabinet:

with something entirely more suitable for a shop:

It's taken a while folks, a month or so, to save up enough money to buy it, get the old one taken away and to get more than one of us free on a day when the shop was closed. Logistics - blurgh.

I'm dead proud! I think it makes us look more like a shop, more professional and it's funny, we look like we've got two times more yarn than we had before, not just in the amounts of each yarn that we have but in the lines of different yarn. Weird. We've managed to fit 11 (yes, that's ELEVEN) different lines in our new cabinet. Eleven! Everything else has been spread out a bit better too. So we've more or less got the DK's in the new one. Then we've got the scarf yarns and superchunkies across the top of this one:

The chunkies in the right hand there and the 4plies and arans in the left hand one. Not perfect but it's got to be better!

And the patterns are no longer on the table!

Doesn't it look pretty!?!?

June and I worked a good ten hour day yesterday and I'm aching all over (June's fitter than me so she isn't - hmph). I'm telling you this so you'll be gentle with me when I get back into work tomorrow.

Anyway, there it is. The shop looks a million times better, bigger and tidier so come and say hi and if you're lucky I'll let you stroke my cabinet.

Love Eleanor. :)

Ghosties and Ghoulies

Oh no!

I've come in this morning and some terrible things have happened! I believe we've been haunted a few days too early - apparently Mansfield Road's ghosties and ghoulies can't keep time.

Firstly, I was haunted in my sleep last night and the ghosties plot was to make me forget my camera! A cunning and vicious plan to make me look like a tit dragging the laptop round and holding it in various positions in front of the frame provided by our front window. Scary!

The next thing I noticed - the cupboards were bare!

You can see in my face, I was a little panicked but I tried to remain calm. Where could the stock be!? I headed to the stairs, sure that it must be in the cave which I've always believed to be a den of eerie and unnatural goings on but on the way, something caught my eye.

In the toilet was all the stock! Why would a ghostie take my neatly stored stock and shove it in a toilet!? I'm frightened, dear readers, frightened for my life (and that of my yarn).

A customer came in at this point and I had to keep a clear head and a smile on my face despite the carnage and devastation all around. It was at this point that I noticed they'd left a whole load of new artisan products for me to sort:

As if I didn't have enough on my plate. These ghouls have obviously got a sense of humour...

Folding up these bits and bobs, I realised that actually, I'd been being haunted for sometime because despite the fact that I adore lace and can knit it - I've gone totally, utterly and depressingly wrong on my latest finished project:

It had obviously been made to look like a spider's web rather than lovely pretty leaves. Oh these devilish buggers!

It crossed my mind at this point to flee the shop - get out of here while I still could but as I stepped toward the front door a flash of bright colour caught my eye:

Can you see it? Something like the tooth fairy, but for door stops, had crochet a cover for the hideous doorstop and turned it from this:

to this:

It was time to settle my demons, to accept the weird and to learn to live with what Mansfield Road had thrown at us. For every cupboard emptying, toilet filling, artisan item towering demon there was a ghost waiting to make me a crochet cover to brighten up the shop.

A haunting tale, I'm sure you'll agree.

Love Eleanor.

P.s. For those who don't believe in this bunkum, the cupboard emptying and loo filling is relating to the BIG SURPRISE which is happening tomorrow and has been a long time coming! The new artisan items are going to be sorted, tidied and placed tomorrow when the BIG SURPRISE has happened. My inability to knit lace is my own fault - booze and lemsip induced I'm sure. And I crocheted that bloody doorstop - isn't it adorable!?!?

Welcome to the Ju...

Hello All!

I'm glad to see the last post went down so well! I think I'll talk more about myself in future - it'll mean we get to do more posts and that I really make an effort not to just sit around and craft all day on my days off. Maybe I'll make more of an effort with my grammar, spelling and typos though. I think I was just too excited! Also, you probably don't want to know but, all this effort hasn't staved off the colds that I wanted to avoid. I'm on my second so far. Blurgh.

This post is really a follow up to this post which I wrote in a fit of excitement about my nephew's Christmas present. Did you work out the title?

... . -... / .. -. / - .... . / .--- ..- -. --. .-.. .

Translates to:

Seb in the jungle

At the time I was wondering whether I'd have enough space to write ', having fun' or ', the cheeky monkey' but it turns out I don't as it's already over 40" long and I haven't got past the 'u' of jungle yet. Which is where the title to this post comes from... 

I'm falling more and more in love with it every day. Look!

However, it turns out I didn't have all the Zig Zag yarn I needed. I either used it, lost it or hid it because I very definitely bought it... Ahh well, at least we stock it! 

I'm on my third ball of the Zig Zag so far and I'm hoping that'll be all I need but if I do need to buy a new ball then it'll be easy enough to incorporate it into the edging. I think I've decided on a stripy edging, something like doubles all around with other stitches to fill in the scallops in cream for the first edging, one round of doubles, one round of half trebles in a contrast colour, one round of doubles worked in between the half trebles in cream, one round of half trebles in another contrast colour etc. etc. until I've worked three contrast colours and two final rounds of cream doubles. Or something.

The mother has requested brown in the edging to make it match his the room. The yarn I'll be using, in stripes with the rest of the cream 4ply, is the Cygnet Truly Wool Rich and I think I'll go for the 'mink' colourway but there's also the 'chocolate' colourway which apparently hasn't made it's way onto the internet site... onto the list of things to do for later... I think the chocolate is a bit dark but then the mink is almost a pastel sort of brown which puts me off a bit. 

The other contrasts are probably a bit easier, the 'yellow' is a definite and then either the 'rust' which might be a bit... rusty or the 'baby blue' which appears almost exactly in the Zig Zag yarn but apparently disappears when the green and orange have pooled together. Hmm. I thought perhaps the 'geranium' as the only other colour of the right tone and saturation but that's going to get seriously clashy. Alright, alright, maybe the other contrast aren't going to be as easy as first though. 

Anyway, look here: 

What do you think? I'm hoping I haven't repeated any colours here, that was bloody hard work! I guess the brown that I use depends on the other contrast colours which again depends on whether I have to buy and therefore use up another ball of Zig Zag. I'm not that happy with any of the combinations here, so let me show you this little curveball: 

This post, honestly, genuinely, hand-on-heartedly wasn't all going to be about me and my projects. It was just going to be a little thing to let you know that two thirds of my active projects involve jungles:

and the other third looks like it comes straight out of South America which has it's fair share of jungles, no?

That's all folks. See you soon!

Actually, that's not all. We have a surprise arriving in the shop on Sunday the 30th. You don't want to know how excited I am!

Love Eleanor. :)