Le Tour de France

Bonjour et bienvenue à mon petit blog. Oui, mes amies, it's that time of year again, the Tour de France KAL is with us.

This year it is Ravelry rather than blog based, and it's made the transition pretty darn well I'd say.

I am trying fr a Maillot Jaune this year and am attempting a Hemlock Ring blanket. More of that to come in another post.

This is my own little personal Time Trial project - yes, that's right, it's the perennial Forest Canapé mes amies, c'est très jolie n'est pas.

I do believe my franglais is improving ;-)

This was knitted using an as yet un-named yarn from The Yarn Yard, it's a merino/nylon/cashmere mix and it's wonderfully soft to knit with. I used 5mm needles and it's destined to be a gift for a friend

More KAL news in my next post.

Woolfest 2009

Goodness, it's that time of year again! This was my third, and by far busiest Woolfest, and I enjoyed it immensely. But boy was it hot!

Mr A and I were directed to the overspill car park at 10:15 on the Friday morning which was an indication of the busy morning to come.

We soon made some new friends :-)

Sock blockers in all sizes imaginable on the Laal Bear's stall

We spent a lovely morning there on Friday, and then Mr A and I left to enjoy an afternoon on Ullswater which provided a welcome respite from humid Cockermouth. We took a lovely trip on an Ullswater Steamer which was the perfest way to see the area.

The weather closed in somewhat though which gave us a different outlook altogether.

But we did see this mum and her babies out for an afternoon swim - aaahhhhh!

On Saturday I attended a masterclass in Estonian Knitting with Nancy Bush. Nancy's calm and gentle outlook and obvious passion for all things Estonian made for a wonderful day - even if it was so hot it almost turned into a felting class ;-) I promise never to uses an "easy" way to knit a nupp and will always use the traditional method!

Some of Nancy's lovely work.

After the class therewas time for one last wonder around. The Laal bear again.

Fibrespates

The Yarn Yard

p/hop were situated very conveniently in between the ice cream and The Yarn yard :-) they were wonderfully successful, and their sale of p/hop patterns, together with the generous donation from Kindred Knitters and the shawl raffle raised a staggering £894.78. Well done to Ambermoggie and Wye Sue for all their hard work on the Kindred Knitters stall.

This lovely stall was the University of Cumbria.

This was the Kindred Knitters area - a haven for weary Ravellers and bloggers.

This is Mr Mogs looking on while Lou from p/hop being presented with the kindred Knitters donation.

Our last night out saw Mr A and I head for The Bitter End, a pub with it's own brewery. Much better than the dreadful restaurant we at in the previous evening ( the restaurant and it's food were lovely, it's clientele leaves a lot to be desired )

Our table looked right into the brewery - now that's what I call a table with a view :-)

More Hopsox

I thought I'd knit another pair of these just to make sure the frst pair wasn't some sort of a fluke ;-)

These socks have kept me company on a variety of train journeys recently and was knitted variously on the train to London ( theatre, League 2 Play Off Final ) Coventry ( Ravelry Day ) Manchester ( work ) and back in London again ( Artist’s Pallete Trunk Show at Socktopus and Wimbledon ) What a lot of lovely memories it holds already.

It was also frogged at length at Socktopus on Sunday 21st June, but was successfully resurrected at Wimbledon the following day. It was the sock of doom on Sunday, but I finally beat it into submission ;-)

This is a p/hop sock and as such will be on the p/hop stand at Woolfest and Fibrefest and I Knit Day.

I used Dream in Colour Smooshy # Go Go Grassy and two 2.75mm circular needles to knit them with.

They fit really well and I am very pleased with them. The pattern can be downloaded here if you would like it. Or there is a little link in my sidebar.

Knitting for a Small Person

I love the rare occasions when I can do some baby knitting and this is no exception :-) I was delighted when I knew that this particular friend was having a baby boy, and although I knitted the back, fronts and sleeves of this a few weeks ago, I didn't knit the band and finish it off until after he had safely arrived.

This is Devan from Spring '04 Knitty. I used Opal Magic Sugar Almond Blue and a contrast ball of Regia sock yarn.

I used mattress stitch for the first time when sewing in the sleeves, but I'm afraid the navy yarn defeated my poor old eyes, and I sewed the side and sleeve seams in my usual way.

It took me ages to sew up - almost as long as it did to knit! Isn't knitting for a knitter just the most daunting thing!


This little hat and socks are a Sue Morgan pattern. You will have to scroll down to see it.

Race For Life 2009

How can it be this time of year again already! Time has a habit of flying by at a rate of knots, and it really doesn't seem a year since last year iyswim ;-)

As ever Race day dawned with the sun shining and blue skies. Worcester seems blessed with the weather on these occasions, and today was no exception. Just look at these lovely views across the bridge to the other side of the river and ultimately Pitchcroft.

It's a long old trek from the car park to the start of the Race - I'd walked at least a mile before I started!!!!!

Mr A came along for moral support and was in charge of the photos. Here go the last of the runners before we walkers get going.

I am in there - honest ;-)

I have no idea how long these two kept this up for! Sooner them than me.

Soon it was time to leave the racecourse and head into the city.









Almost there! There's always an uphill section at the end, but I've just done it here which is why I'm smiling.

I was so pleased to cross the finishing line. This was my fifth consecutive Race for Life, and I have to say it was the most difficult to date. I had an emotional moment about half way through when I remembered why I was doing it this year and I found it hard going after that. My time was around that of last year, but now that it's all done my hip hurts like heck and I shall have to think very carefully about doing it next year.

I'd like to thank each and every one of you who sponsored me. I am deeply grateful to each and every one of you and I have been overwhelmed by your generosity.

Thank you!

Learning Curves

What a wonderful day I had on Thursday, London Underground notwithstanding. I had been looking forward to my workshops with Jared Flood ( aka Brooklyn Tweed ) for ever such a long time, and wasn't about to let the tube strike detract from that in any way at all.

I was awake at 4:30! By the time I arrived at Paddington, I felt as though I had been up all day :-) The staff at Paddington were incredibly helpful, providing both maps and up to date information. It wasn't their fault that a journey which would normally take 20 minutes took the best part of two and a half hours...............

I took two workshops on Thursday, "Plan Your Own Aran" and "An Introduction to the Hemlock Ring". Take a look at that flip chart - yes, you've got it, maths ;-)

We were given some wonderful yarn with which to swatch. Please note the workspace of a tidy and organised knitter ;-)

Here is Jared showing us one of his wonderful sweaters.


And where Jared goes, the paparazzi follow ;-)

Here is the Cobblestone sweater. You might be forgiven for thinking that it's just a bit of old stocking stitch with a few rows of garter stitch thrown in. It's actually an intricately designed and beautifully constructed garment with very sophisticated shaping on the yoke. I am going to have to knit one of these for Mr A very very soon.

Never was a flip chart so widely photographed!

And don't you just love this photo - these classes were FUN as well as work, and it shows, doesn't it.

Swatching progress. We were practicing shaping, and were introduced to a new method of producing a left leaning decrease known as SYTK that's slip, yank, twist, knit.

Jared is a wonderful teacher, and I have taken a great deal from his workshops. My little head is brim full of ideas and I am full of enthusiasm and oomph!

I love the social side of worshops too, and this one was no exception. The internet has been a revelation to me, and through it I have met people I would never have met, and made some wonderful friends. As ever, Alice ( Socktopus ) was such a generous host, and most of us decamped to the pub afterwards. It was lovely to catch up then with friends from previous workshops, and I am afraid it was gone 11:00 by the time this stop out got back to the Travelodge!

What a wonderful surprise then the following morning to open my curtain to see this view from my window :-) London never ceases to surprise me :-)

My journeyback to Paddington was thankfully uneventful and took the usual 20 minutes. I had the most amazing and wonderful time, and will see some of you again in a couple of weeks.

Ravelry Day 2009

What can I say? Not a cloud in the sky for almost two weeks, along comes Ravelry Day and down came the rain. Did it matter - not one little bit. The stallholders were wonderful despite the typical June day ;-) and seemed very busy all day, attracting passers-by as well as Ravellers.

Some Saturday shoppers were a little bemused. "More yarn" was often the puzzled expression, but all in all the good people of Coventry seemed very pleased to have the stallholders there.

The venue for the Day was wonderful. I can't praise highly enough everyone involved - not only the organisers who did such a wonderful job, but the people from the church too who made such a good job of keeping us all fed and watered. Even the Minister was walking around chatting to us all and collecting coffee cups.

My day was made all the more special by the workshop I attended. Plan Your Own Aran with Jared Flood was a wonderful two hours. I shall never be afraid to cable without a cable needle again. Who knows, I might even be tempted to steek!

I didn't manage a photo of Jared, an oversight that I intend to corrct this coming Thursday.

Meg Swansen gave a most enjoyable talk. She has a stash room of which I am very envious, and it was a pleasure to sit and listen to some amusing family anecdotes and her warm reminiscences about her mother.

I met so many friends, old and new. I am bound to forget someone, but Tricia, Ruth, Carol, Ali, Sandra, Claire, Liz, Blossom, Hayley, Jo, Jane, Jacky, Jeni, Heather,........... it was lovely to talk to you all :-) I will see some of you on Thursay.

Here are a few photos of the day - starting with my favourite.





The knit and natter room was always very popular

This particular shopping opportunity was always very busy

And in true British style, a little drop of rain wasn't going to deter anyone

The Natural Dye Studio - always popular wherever they are

Inside the lovely Main Hall waiting for Meg Swansen. What a lovely room.

Meg Swansen

Ishbel

First of all may I say a huge thank you to everyone who bid recently for Happy. He is on his way to a new home for the princely sum of £35:00 which is wonderful. Thank you very much to Kathryn who placed the winning bid.

Now then here is Ishbel. Knitted using Baby Camel and Silk from Knitwitches, I am really pleased with how this little shoulder shawl has turned out. I bought the yarn at last year's Wonderwool Wales. It is incredibly soft and drapes beautifully, with a lovely sheen.

I used 4.5mm needles, and although I knitted the smaller version of the two shawls I knitted an extra repeat of Sections A and B. I had 10g of yarn left over.

This yarn isn't called Seriously Gorgeous for nothing!

Down Wembley Way

I'm sure you all know by now what an avid Liverpool supporter I am, and while DD has followed in my footsteps, DS2 has followed Mr A and become a Shrewsbury Town supporter. Ah well, you can't win them all ;-)

Mr A has followed Shrewsbury for ever, and has seen some wonderful matches at their old ground, The Gay Meadow, most notably FA Cup defeats of Manchester City and Everton. The Shrews have moved out of the town centre to the wonderful Pro-Star Stadium, but memories of The Meadow will linger on for ever. I've spent many a cold, wet miserable evening on the terraces wishing I was somewhere else ........... ;-)

Each season has it's ups and downs, this season saw Shrewsbury claim victory in a dramatic penalty shoot out win in the play off semi-final against Bury leading to a place in the final.

Now then, love them or hate them, the play offs are here to stay. Saturday last saw the League 2 Play Off Final at Wembley, between Gillingham and Shrewsbury Town, and what a wonderful day out it was. I have only ever been to Wembley once ( and that was to a Rolling Stones gig ) so it was a real treat.

Sadly the match ended with a loss for The Shrews but here a few photos of the day. There's always next season ;-)