Why Should We Love Our Local Yarn Shops?

Because good independent shops are wholeheartedly the best. No questions. Bad ones, on t'other hand (and I've come across a few) are the worst ever. But good ones provide:

• Expertise
• Knowledge
• Passion
• Dedication
• Community
• Personality
• Friendship
• Encouragement
• Personalisation

And much, much more. I love visiting LYS's when I'm out and about, you know this - remember Poole, Ilfracombe, Isle of Wight, Bakewell and York? There's something incredibly special about going to somebody else's little yarn shop - and you just don't get that with the big boys. I think it's the enthusiasm thing, in fact I'm pretty sure that's it. For example, the Bakewell shop, they weren't a proper yarn shop - they had mostly cross stitch and I'm convinced that if I'd have gone in as a cross stitch customer I'd have had a much better experience. I always say that I hate people but I like knitters and crocheters - I'm sure there's nothing special about knitters and crocheters but there's just something about being around people who get it. Yes?

You don't get that at Poundland. Fact.

In fact, I must admit that I'm slightly worried about all the yarn that pops up all over the place. Asda, Sainsbury's, Poundland. Yarn should be savoured, inspiring, special - not just shoved in the trolley. Plus - who the bloody hell will help with a dropped stitch or some tricksy short-rowing when you've bought your yarn from Sainsbury's?! Asda don't write blogs giving you handy advice, or spend their spare time practicing new stitches to teach you, or sympathise and advise when you've gone wrong with a pattern. Wilko's don't care that they sell 5mm needles with dk yarn (though it looks like they might actually be stocking aran now too - only taken nine years to catch up!). Poundworld don't get excited about new patterns and new textures and whether your dye lots match. They don't remember your size and what you crocheted last and whether it suited you. They don't stock sock yarn and patterns and needles and if all of that doesn't work then pop into the lesson.

Moreover, they don't organise bloody brill booze ups! :)

We are dead lucky that Knitty Gritty closed just before we opened - in the nicest sense of the phrase. I think it took a jolt like that for people to remember that local yarn shops are actually shops and businesses and they need money and support to survive. I'm perhaps a bit more outspoken about this than the lovely Lizzie was and I'm quite happy to tell somebody who buys yarn only from Poundland that I'm 'just dead busy at the moment, is there any chance you could ask for advice where you bought it?'. No? Sorry about that. Mwahaha...

Hmmm. I can't work out a way to word that any nicer but I should probably try... little yarn shops (and not just ours but places like Yarn in Beeston and Knitworking in Gedling) are worth supporting for all of the reasons above. Buying yarn from the Poundshop/Asda/Sainsbury's is fine, even good, in the same way that a quick and dirty kebab is good after a night out - but don't go complaining to the yarn shop when the Poundshop/Asda/Sainsbury's yarn starts hurting your tummy. Ahhhh, I'm giving up on the analogy. I'm almost certainly preaching to the converted with you lovely blog readers. Come celebrate with us???

So here's the bit where I get to show off. I'm going to let the quotes speak for themselves because most of them made me well up. *blub blub blub*

Singing Bird Artist:

"the shop of rainbows! the shop of squashed in together laughter as we knitted big issue blanket squares! the shop of sharing homemade treats around the bus to Yarndale! so much laughter and sharing and helpful advice to newbies and advice and encouragement and friendly welcomes and chatty blogposts and a boyf who sent flowers to the shop customers! wowza, beat that!"

Bethan Davies:
"Your shop is pretty much my favourite place to go in Nottingham! You are so welcoming to your customers and have been so helpful to me since I started learning to knit and crochet. Likewise you have given me the confidence to try new things that I otherwise would not have done - I'm so close to finishing those socks!"

(and she finished them!!! 

Amazing).



Sue Richardson: 


"Entering the shop is like entering a cocoon (albeit a slightly mad one) - you just feel enveloped by warmth and positivity. Just realised this sounds very New Age:) what I'm trying to say is that Eleanor makes me believe I can tackle anything, after all it's just sticks and string."

Alex Walls:

"Welcoming, friendly and so so helpful whether it's choosing yarn, patterns or just general chit chat the best yarn shop ever oh and real value for money workshops! X"

*Sob*. 

 And just to cheer us all up here's my pick of the best things that have happened over the last three and a half years:

We opened on the 4th of September 2010.

The shop was tidy.

We went to the Bead Shop's first Bead Show with half of the shop...

We got a tonne more yarn. 

I met Verity. 

And we started selling online. 

We got royal wedding memorabilia. 

Celebrated our first World Wide Knit In Public day. 

And had our FIRST BIRTHDAY! Awwww!!!

And properly out of sync now because I've no idea when all of this happened... 

 

I got famous by being on Sky News (and the Charlie Brooker!)

My fame spread and we did some proper filming for SkillMeOnline. 

Then I got so famous I got to shout at politicians! 

We had a second birthday party.

 

A third birthday party (where Steph got preeeeeeetty drunk). 

 We did some charity-ing for the Big Issue and made loads of squares and raised loads of money. 

 

More knitting in public. :)

 

King Cole produced some AMAZING patterns. 

 

I produced two AMAZING jumpers. 

 

And I bought an AMAZING price gun. Which I've now lost. 

 

We had many....

 Many... successful lessons. :)

And introduced some of you, perhaps for the first time, to some brilliantly talented WAHM's. Like Nicola from Fleabubs and:

 

Verity from Truly Hooked. 

Who was busy with a rather important WIP during 2013 who blossomed into a beautiful FO a few months ago: 

 

Ahhhh. 

 

We took you to Yarndale last year to meet more little independents and we're taking you again this year. :)

 

We made the most of our ridiculously talented friends. 

 

And made more ridiculously talented friends... all the way from CANADA!!!

 

And because of all of this, we travelled to London... 

 

To collect our award from Best Independent Yarn Shop in the Midlands. THANK YOU, THANK YOU and THANK YOU AGAIN for voting for us. :)

More recently we went a bit neon mad.

 

And found a Boyf who appreciated that. 

And kinda based our Christmas decorations around it...

 But lastly, and most importantly, we met you lot and got inspired and awestruck by all the incredible things that you make with our yarn. LOVE! 

Actually, this might be a bit more important: 

We introduced you to the Selbutruse pattern. 

You can't tell me that bloody Asda, Sainsbury's, Poundland, Poundworld or Wilko's would have done half of that?

Love your independent shops and come and enjoy the day with us on the 3rd of May 2014.

Love Eleanor.

xxxxxxxx

Love Your Local Yarn Shop Day

Let's Knit mag are promoting this new event - Love Your Local Yarn Shop Day. Little independents from all around the country are putting on big events for their lovely customers. We ain't putting on a big event, because I'm disorganised (and my holiday was going to be the next week - I'll talk about that later, or maybe in another blog) - we're going to have an OPEN HOUSE! And you're all invited!!!

I'm planning it to be a bit like our birthday parties and that means relaxed. It's a Saturday afterall and it's a Saturday before a bank holiday which means that it's the start of a looooong weekend for many of you and what better to start it than by celebrating US! Haha. And you of course, it literally wouldn't be a shop without you so really, we're just going to have one long day of celebrating you.

Zoë Halstead will be here celebrating with us. She's a wonderful local knit and crochet designer who works with our favourites King Cole. She'll sign books for you and chat with you. If you bought the Christmas book from us last year:

Remember??? The one with THIS in:

Yeah. She wrote that. BOOM! She also designed this:

Beautifully interpreted by my Mum for Seb for Christmas here:

I promise the pattern is better than my Mum makes it look - there's short rows and everything!


Apart from the lovely Zoë, there will be the usual lucky dip bowl where you might win 100% off whatever you choose to buy. AND! And Boyf came up with this (what a man), a new offer!


If you bring a friend on the day who we've never met before and they go on to buy some wool then both you and the newbie will get FIVE extra points on your card! FIVE! That's the equivalent of spending £50.00 and gets you a quarter of a way to filling up a card! BOOOOOOM!

That's as far as my organisation can reach at the moment. In general, it's just going to be an ordinary day with a party atmosphere and we'd love you to pop by to relax and enjoy the day with us. It's nice to spend time just appreciating what you've got isn't it? Tomorrow I'm going to tell you about all the reasons that you should love LYS's and I've got some customers to tell me all the reasons that they love us in particular (it'd be uncouth for me to write that bit... cheques are in the post though... ;) ).



Let us know that you're coming by clicking over here but don't worry if you're not on facebook, just spread the word and turn up on the day. We'd luuuuurve you to be here.


BIG KISSES!

Eleanor. xxxxxx

Satisfaction Guaranteed

There's no feeling like getting it right with your crafting is there? :) I have a show off story to tell you.

My nephew Seb loves bright colours and Batman. So when I finished my Two Of A Kind Shawl he was blown away by having his very own rainbow batcape! Here is is very busy batmanning towards Martin's Pond to feed the ducks.

But... the yarn is far too nice to be dragged around ponds and castles anymore, and, as Seb quite rightly pointed out, it doesn't have ears. So a proper batman cape had to be made. I made up my mind to do it on Sunday and I used 200g of of leftover black Grousemoor Chunky from the SkillMeOnline lessons (remember them!??!) and a massive 8mm hook.

 And here it is:

The batcape rushing to get shown off to Grandma.

The batcape having a dance. 

The batcape casually sitting in a lion reading a book about recycling. 

The batcape working out which footprints go with which animals. 

The batcape making friends with a gorilla.

I am dead dead dead pleased because he genuinely loves it and it was an extra layer of warmth in the pouring rain we had yesterday (...it's sunny now I'm back in the shop... natch...).

I thought I might do a little guide to how to make it yourself. I haven't time at the minute to write an actual pattern but if you've done a bit of crochet (like on our Crochet Number One and Two lessons) then you should be fine.




Batcape

200g chunky yarn and an 8mm hook - don't worry too much about gauge, it's v. adjustable.
Seb's a biggish three year old and it fits him fine, this version would fit up to a six year old I reckon but you might need to add some length and therefore you might want to buy another ball as I used up every single last scrap. 

Ears (Make Two):

Leaving a longish tail (about four inches), ch11, work a treble into the fourth stitch from the hook, then a half treble, double crochet, sl-st, double crochet, half treble, and a double treble into the remaining stitches (one stitch into one chain, like normal). Break yarn leaving another longish tail. Fold the ear in half so that the sl-st is the point and use one of the ends to sew up the sides.

Cape:

Hat Part:

• Begin with a magic ring, or however you want to start and make 10 trebles into it (include the turning chain in that), join in a circle.
• Work another three rounds doing circle increases. 
• Work five rounds plain.  

Neck Part:

• Begin the next row in the same manner but stop about two thirds of the way round and turn. Work back and forth on these stitches for four more rows. 

Ties:

• Ch21, dc all across the chain, turn, dc back over the chain and neck stitches, ch21, turn work over all of the stitches for two rows, turn. Work to the beginning of the second set of 21 sts, turn.

Cape Bit: 

• Working in trebles do an increase and a plain stitch across the neck stitches, stopping at the beginning of the second tie, turn. Working in trebles throughout, do an increase then two plain stitches across, turn. Do an increase then three plain stitche across, turn. Do an increase then four plain stitches across, turn.
• Working back and forth and in trebles, carry on until you've pretty much used up your yarn, work a couple of rows of double crochets to finish it off (don't worry about this bit too much, I just like it).

Finishing:

• Attach the ears towards the front of the hat part just above where the kid's eyes will be using the tails from the making of them.
• Sew in your ends. 
• Who blocks things for kids!?

I'm sure you can do it. And if you can't then I might just be writing up a proper pattern because so many people love it. We'll see.

Love Eleanor. :)

PSA: Picking Up Stitches.

They're out to get you.

They aren't. They are apparently though, out to make your life as difficult as possible... I've reached the neck on my slouchy cardi and and I thought I might try to follow the pattern for once in my life. Nah. They're telling me to pick up 24 stitches here, five stitches here, slip the however-many held stitches here. Nah. Too much like hard work.

The rules are (unless otherwise stated e.g. an independent designer who has some say in how the pattern is presented and has a reason for this not to be the case):

• Pick up a stitch per stitch over a cast off/cast on edge.
• Pick up 3 stitches for every 4 along a row end (i.e. a stitch in every row for three rows, then miss one). 

Sometimes people say four stitches for every five rows running along a row edge and as long as they're not blindly following patterns then I'm all for it. I still think my way is best...

If you follow these rules you'll never be more than a few stitches out of the count that they want by the end (unless you've changed the length or something) and on the next row you can decrease or increase evenly across it. Yeah?

Got it off my chest, back to work.

Eleanor. xxx

A Year On.

People are often saying about rav that it would be lovely if people would come back and tell them about how the pattern or yarn is wearing after a few months or a year or so and here I am doing it! Can you remember my Summer Dress pattern? It's from this blog here. Lots of you have made it so I imagine that lots of you can remember it.  I particularly love Lynsey's version in the Bamboo Cotton and remember feeling dead proud when she wore it for a day out together we had a few months ago:

Doesn't she look beautiful?! I enjoy how the top of hers seems bigger than mine - looks like she added some more rows - I think it makes it in a completely different dress. Love people making a pattern their own. :)

This and the Great British Granny Jacket are by far my most favourited and downloaded designs on rav and the blog post introducing the Summer Dress pattern is our most read post by like 100%. :)

That's my design page on rav. You'll have seen them all as they were put up though being the avid blog readers that you are...

I never actually got a photo of it on at the time and I don't know why but I'm wearing it today and Jazz was so impressed with the outfit that she made me photograph it. Look:

Such a good model. Hands on hips. Smile. Hope for the best.On a related note - wow, look at that mess of a shop...

I really love wearing this. It's just so easy. I always put something like a black vest top on underneath and I often wear it with a cardigan but the unusual colours mean that it's always worked best with a black cardigan and my only black cardigan is from Primark about eight years ago and it's falling apart so I am thrilled that it looks good with my Galaxy cardigan. I am also thrilled with the amount of knitting/crochet I'm wearing today. All I need to do it knit my leggings, bra and pants and I am a full obsessive saddact. Fact. 

The yarn, King Cole Cottonsoft DK, is fast becoming one of my favourites. I've had a couple of years on the Bamboo Cotton now and whilst I still love it I feel like I can be more creative with the Cottonsoft because I've not made as much in it. Having said that, in terms of projects per colours available I'm sure I've smashed it out with the Cottonsoft now - especially since the Sophia Loren jumper. Lots of people have told me that they find the Cottonsoft is too fluffy as you knit - I see where they're coming from and I wouldn't be working the the black whilst wearing white (not that I would wear white you see. Messy. Eater.) but fluff disappears once washed doesn't it and, more importantly, as soon as you've blocked the Cottonsoft the fluff disappears off the item you've made anyway so problem? What problem? You're left with a beautifully soft, cool, vividly coloured item with no fluff. Mwahahaha!

I'm also pleased to announce that the band under the bust has not sagged! I was a little worried about this - not too much though because it's nothing that a bit of elastic couldn't solve - but it's stayed in tact just beautifully. I made it particularly tight because I was worried that the thickish DK yarn + crochet + big hook = a chunky feeling garment, so the band was important to keep it all in proportion. Had I made it in Bamboo Cotton I can see that one wear would have been enough to stretch that out of shape and then it would have needed a good wash to get it back. Good choice Cottonsoft. :)

I think that's all I need to say about it really. Lovely dress and lovely yarn. :)

Love Eleanor.

Plans Afoot

Just because I'm in the middle of a bout of finishitis doesn't mean I'm not planning... In fact, the finishitis started when I wanted to start a new project from the latest Knitty but couldn't bring myself to do it until I'd finished Amy Singer's Beatnik - behold the Icarus! 

PHWOAAAAAAAR! LOOK AT THAT!

It's a beaut ain't it!? Obvs. I'm going to change like everything about it... It's knitted in a worsted weight yarn and that doesn't say summer to me so I'm thinking a 4ply. Specifically a 4ply that I bought at Yarndale last year. I haven't got a photo of it and I can't remember who it was from really but I think it was easyknits but now I can't find the colourway so I'm not sure. I'll photograph it one day but for now here's a description: it's a handpainted 4ply merino/nylon that I bought for socks or gloves potentially (in my head I was thinking feather and fan but god knows why because I hate knitting that...). It ranges from a deep grassy green to an incredibly vibrant almost neon yellow (who would have guessed - green and neon yellow???). I've only got 100g of it so that isn't enough for the full thing but I was thinking I could intarsia the lace bit and have something else for the body. Something like this:

Which is a new colour in the Patons' 100% Cotton 4ply that I haven't got on the internet yet because I am a failure... You can't really tell on the photo but I can only describe it as a pastel yellow neon. Does that make any sense at all!?!?!?! I changed the colours using picmonkey to try and show what it's actually like because the camera has washed it out somewhat but it's unlike any colour that I've ever seen and I, for one, bloody love it! However... I'm not entirely sure that it'll go with the hand dyed stuff that I've got and I'll only know that for certain when I bring the hand dyed stuff in but I'm not bringing it in because then I'll just start it and I want to finish the eight petal thing from yesterday or at least concentrate on that for as long as I can muster the enthusiasm (that makes it sound like I'm not enthusiastic. I am! Last night was the first time in ages that I've stayed up past my bedtime to get on with a project just because I love it and not because I know it will get finished. I'm officially on the last half repeat before I cast off for the arms!!!).

I'm also going to leave off the little arms - not for me and I'll probably shorten it somewhat because I'm already a shortarse and it looks like a tunic on the model. I might do it very close fitting and put a little shortrow shaping in for the bust. We'll see. But that is a big thing on my radar.

Secondly, I got to talking with Elizabeth t'other day about this book here:

Vintage Knits by Rowan.

It was the first 'proper' knitting book that I bought, it was about £15.00 which was (and is!) a lot of money for me but I loved it. And you know what's most unusual? I still love it. There are twenty three (23!) patterns that I would knit for myself, or other people I quite like, in there. Out of 31. Imagine that! That never happens does it!? I have a serious hankering for the Chinese Basket at the moment but that can be another blog because I have a lovely and sweet story about it involving acrylic dk when it should have been wool 4ply. Haha.

Anyway, I've attempted about six patterns from the book but because I bought it so early on everything I tried it with was on 5mm needles with acrylic dk. That's not what every pattern in the book calls for. Fact. Ahhh. To be a beginner knitter again. In fact, I have the back of one of the jumpers somewhere in my 'have fun and make things drawer' that's really just a 'oh god, it's gone wrong but maybe I can chop it up for something later' drawer. Whatevs. But. Look at this:

This is Bex's Alouette and I reccomend you pop over the that rav page to see her in it because it is cute as anything but I didn't want to plaster her face all over my blog and I want to publish this and I can't expect her to be hovering on rav waiting for me to ask if I can use her face - I hope she doesn't mind that I've borrowed her other photo. Blarghhghghgh, netiquette. I think I'm okay because I've linked back.

It's in the Truly Wool Rich 4ply!!! Which means it will be cheap and available to me and oh my god I would have never put those colours together. OMG!

Annnnnnyway, look at the comments page by clicking here. Can you see who made this comment: "
I can’t stop thinking about this top. I am mega borrowing coughstealingcough this colourway. Beautiful. :)"??? It's only bloody me ain't it!?!? And when did I make it!?!?! 24 MONTHS AGO! That is how long I've been thinking about this top! Two entire years. I have a bit of a rule with buying/knitting things. If I'm not entirely sure about something, or I don't have the time or money or whatever, then I go away and think about it for a week. If I am still thinking about it in a week then it's miiiiiiine. And this is two whole entire years. It's mine. And I think it will be dead quick and easy.

However, this is before Rowan realised that fat people knit too. So it only goes up to a 40" chest. I'm hovering around 43"/44" but I think it should be simple enough to change and whilst I'm at it I'll probably lengthen it and lower the neckline. Maybe add some length to the sleeves too.

Still. Not before I've finished the eight petal thing.

And then the last thing that I'm seriously thinking about is this:

Which is the Lush Cardigan by tincanknits (of Snowflake fame - a proper obsession in the shop it seems and lovely in the Bamboo Cotton).

I'm thinking perhaps to shorten it a little and I'm going to do it in the grass-y colour of the Patons' 100% Cotton DK that I bought in the sale. Mwahahaha. In fact I can get a picture because one of the balls hasn't made it home yet...

It'll be amazing. I know. But I probably can't afford to buy the pattern because I have a strict money plan for before my holidays. Maybe I'll buy it to knit on my holidays? The eight petal thing will almost certainly not be finished before then - is it mad to have two holiday projects on the go?? A year apart?!?!?! I would deffo get the Lush done over my holiday and a few days after I reckon. But then I thought that about the eight petal thing. Hmmm.

Anyway, these are my plans. Three lovely little tops. I will do them but only after my eight petal thing is finished or my finishitis is finished. Whichever one comes first. And I'm off to do a bit more code learning - I made a great website yesterday that consisted of a picture of me with the line "Hi, I'm Eleanor and I'm learning coding because I met a bastard once. Fact". Very proud. I'll update you on that a bit more once my coding plan comes together.

Love Eleanor. xxx

Long Term Commitment

I went to Ilfracombe on my annual coach trip last year and had a pretty shit time. Reading back on the post I feel a bit sad because it was a horrid holiday for various reasons and I was trying my best to make it seem good. It wasn't. This year will be because I take a lot less shit now than I did then - such a lot has changed. But something good did (kinda) come out of it... This:

I say 'kinda' because it did not get finished. Not Even Close. I honestly thought I might get the main bit finished and then perhaps to the neck and edgings over the next few weeks. Nah. Nowhere near.

 

I've just had to get a little arty to describe this bit because words weren't doing it... So, the blue bits are the cast ons, the bottom cast on for the bottom of the sweater and then you cast on for the arms and knit right over the top, casting off for the arms on the other side, carrying on with the body and then casting off at the very bottom before sewing it up down the sides and the undersides of the arms. Yes? The orange line is where you introduce some spare yarn for about a third of the stitches, and slide the stitches back over the needles and carry on knitting like it's never been there. Then in the end, you slowly and carefully take the orange yarn out and it leaves you with live stitches at either side that you pop on your needles and knit up for the big funnel neck. 

The big funnel neck that's as big as the bloody body!

Every time I think, ahhh, I've done this bit, now just this bit and this bit and then I'm done. Nah. Big bloody funnel neck still to do. Haha.

I took it down south with me over Christmas in the hope that I might actually get something done but I never really got a good start on it - you know when knitting just doesn't 'grab' you? I'm a firm believer that knitting should be enjoyable and that meant that it had to go back on hold and now the finishitis has struck it feels like the perfect time to do it. So I fannied around finding it (and finding a bottle of fizzy pop that's now been discontinued in the bag with it!) and picked it back up again on Saturday night whilst we were watching Game of Thrones (omg, how's taken me so long to find this?!). I managed six rows in two hours. Look, it's not my fault: 

 

GAH! Doesn't it set your teeth on edge!?!?!?

But what you can hopefully see is that down at the bottom, I dutifully sewed in all the ends as I was going. I think what I did was a block of four rows and then sewed in ends for 10 minutes. It's my little way of getting stuff done when I don't want to. It's part of the reason I hadn't picked it up for a while though so I've told myself I don't have to worry about sewing in ends until I've cast off for the sleeves and I'm working down the other side of the body. I'm somewhere here now:

In fact I'm a bit further than that looks really. From the sleeve cast on to the orange bit there's a repeat and a half of the pattern and then the same after the orange to the cast off - I'm about 9/10 done on the first repeat after the orange. So nearly there, it's what I'll be knitting at knit club tonight. :)

BUT. 

At sewing club on Sunday I made a massive mistake: 

Can you tell? It's like spot the difference. Ha. 

Well, if you can't, the motif at the bottom has alternating orange and navy petals all the way around, yes? The one at the top is like a mirror image. Does it matter? Hmmm. Yes, I think. But not enough to rip. I kinda thought I might just carry on with this motif and then go back to how it's supposed to be after but then the 'wrong' motif would be right at the top of the neck, the front and back are the same as far as I can see so I could wear it at the back. But that's not really styling it out, is it? That's trying to hide the fact that you've made a honking great mistake.

What I think I've decided to do it to carry on with the mistake on the whole of this side of the jumper. Then I have one that's resersible. I think it'll be interesting so see how the colours play together like that because there's obviously a real difference between the light and bright orange and the dark and dull navy. Also the yellow and dark green diagonal bits make a difference to that - the yellow really brightens up the 'orange side' doesn't it? To me, this is much more styling it out that just pretending I didn't do the mistake. And I get two looks for the price of one.

One thing is for certain, I am not ripping that motif (or even half motif) out. No way. Nuh uh.

(Although it did definitely cross my mind which is most unusual.)

Anyway, I'm setting a realistic target of doing up to the sleeve cast offs this week before Boyf gets home and after that the body should seem like a right whizz and I can get on with sewing the ends in which I'm actually getting more and more excited about because the body bit that has been sew in looks bloody great! 

Anyway, here's a more overall picture of the beast - because it really is a beast!

 

Now that, is a serious amount of intarsia. 

Love Eleanor. xxx

Dribs and Drabs and Gotham.

I'm so excited I don't even know what to say!!! One of my favourite customers is probably moving to Nottingham. I say favourite, she's just a good egg and a good knitter and she likes talking about slightly weird things like me. :) Not until June though (if at all, need to keep reminding myself of this). This has cheered me right up.

Not that I particularly needed cheering up to be fair. I had a lovely three days off. Boyf got it into his head that we should go to Gotham. I think it's because it's one of the first news article-y things we read together on the BBC site (this one in fact). Thing is, Gotham is just a load of houses, a Spar and a few pubs as far as we could see as we were driving through. So I made him carry on and we ended up at a nature reserve-y type thing which he made me walk around whilst I kept exclaiming how cleeeeeeear the water was and how I could just jump right in. Apparently he's not been swimming since he moved to Nottingham which was five maybe six years ago. HOW?! It's all I can think about, yes, swimming is on the menu in the near future for me. In fact - in about a month if I don't go sooner because I am OFF to Weston-Super-Mare for my annual coach trip! Lovely. :)

Once we'd finished at the nature reserve I made him take me to a garden centre where we had a lovely pot of tea and the most delicious millionaire shortbread EVER! EVER! But then he wouldn't let me buy anything because he's gone away for a while so we have to go back and I get more shortbread! I call this a win.

On the way back we stopped off at one of the pubs in Gotham and I finished my Sophia Loren sweater:

In Cottonsoft in Oyster, Cherry and Coral. 



It's one of those sweaters that you knit in the round up to the arm pits, the sleeves the same, then join together and do some major decreasing for the yoke. I love knitting this style but you can't really try it on before finishing unless you do some fiddling with two circular needles or putting some stitches on a hold. So I didn't bother, I just worried and nattered at myself until I'd finished and sewn half the ends in before I tried it on. Boyf isn't very excited about photoshoots (I wonder why!!?) so he took a horrendous one where he was sat down so I look like a looming monster but even then the jumper looked so good I was shocked! I made him stand up for this one and did as nice a smile as I could muster and I literally love it!


I deffo need to block it because some of the stranded work is a little touch and go. I struggled a little with the cotton because it's got so little give, I ended up reverting back to knitting just with one hand, dropping each colour as you go rather than holding each colour in one hand. Odd. But it worked.


I also added just a little length in the body (and in the arms at the appropriate spaces). I did an extra row before and after the cherry on oyster fairisle at the bottom. I also separated the zig zag-y bits - when you introduced the second contrast colour there you do a couple of rows with all three colours but I can't stand that in stranded work because it's. just. not. proper. (imho...).  And also, I knew I wanted the length so I just finished one zig zag before starting the next so adding six rows over the whole jumper. BUT. Just after the cherry on oyster diamonds at the bottom, there's six rows of coral  in plain stocking stitch - I did four. No reason, I'm just a bit of a tit. So overall I actually only added four rows which is probably 2/3 of an inch maybe. Not much but it can make the difference. And then with the drop from the cotton and the garter stitch bands I'm dead pleased with the length.

I also forgot a 4mm needle for the neck so I just carried on with a 4.5mm and it seems to work - maybe it makes the neck a little wider which as far as I'm concerned in no great problem and might work out for the best. But if it starts to sag a little with wear then it's not too much to just whip it out and do it again.

I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this! It's perfect for this time of year and I already have a kind of beige and black heavily pattern skirt that I think it will look amazing with. Also the black dress that I bought a few weeks ago from Asda because it's just a canvas for my knitwear (obsessive much??).

Also, I ought to add, if you want to try fairisle and you like sweaters, bloody do it! It's dead simple and the fairisle bits are only tiny so once you've finished a little bit then you can have a breather with some stocking stitch and garter stitch and then you can get right back into it once you've built up the courage again. Perfect for beginners. :)

And then! Remember this?!

 

My big baggy cardi in the Moods DK that was going horrendously wrong?

Finished! I finished it last night after a bit of marathon sewing up. I'd lost the back of it in a big tidy up I'd had and thought I might have to reknit it which I wasn't looking forward to seeing as I'd done it in a bigger size than usual but I didn't! I found the back and I only had to knit the sleeves and sew the thing together yesterday so I did and I'm wearing it today (without blocking, tut, tut) and I am pleased! It's just what I thought it would be and I keep putting my hands in my pockets and tissues and lighters and chewing gum. And it's warm! I'll probably write a blog about it soon but nobody's been here to take my photo so I'll leave that for another day.

And then!!!! Remember when I had sock finishitis?! And I finished three socks in a week!??! Well, I finished some more socks. These: 

Apparently, I haven't taken a proper photo of the finished socks but they're totes boring so it's not a problem. But, it meant that I had to start some more but I didn't have the wool for Verity's socks with me so I started more in the same colour. They might be for me or they might be for dad or the might be for Boyf: 

It's a nice little pattern that I did on another pair of green socks. Essentially two rows stocking, two rows 2 by 2 rib all the way down. Dead easy but enough that you have to keep thinking and it makes it easy to keep a track of how much more you have to do. Lovely. It's also, perhaps, the start of a new obsession (and blog thread) which is to make a pair of socks in each colour of the Truly Wool Rich 4ply! IMAGINE!

Now, the ones I've just finished could be part of that... I suppose... but they have a little stripe of another colour and therefore they're not actually Truly Wool Rich are they? And I had this idea that I could do a lovely photo shoot with all the pairs in a rainbow circle or in hanging in a tree in spring blossom or photoshop them onto a millipede or something. Wouldn't that be amazing?!!?!

I am deffo not starting a big project though because I have two biggun's to finish and finishitis is still hanging around. The first is a monster that I'm going to write a blog about in a second and the second is the many rainbow blankets I'm crocheting - I talked about it here and in some other places that I can't find. Anyway, photo:

Amazing yes? I've set Boyf to work whilst he's away making more squares for me. He's a proper little hooker now! I want it finished this year preferably!

Right, that's all you're getting for now, I want to write my next blog about my monster project!

Love Eleanor. xxx