In the Making...

It's been quite some time since I've blogged; never was very good at keeping a diary...much rather be doing something. Slowly gotten back into knitting again after a period of moving about interest-wise - quilting, embroidery etc. Just finished my first Christmas present for 2011 - a fine lace weight stole which has been in the pipeline for the last couple of years but never been started. I'd spied this Cobweb Lace Stole some time ago and finally started it using Yarn D'Amour Pandora which I'd bought at a stall in the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate a few years ago - 1200 yards is a lot to wind by hand, so much so that I've ended up buying a ball winder ( which is soooo much fun!) - seem to enjoy it a little too much. Perhaps it is the years of winding balls by hand? Anyway, the stole is very unusual construction in my mind. For it to be symmetrical, both ends are made separately and grafted together at the end using kitchener stitch; which is fine f...

Finally put the finishing touches to my latest quilt this month. Unfortunately it's been one of those projects that has stuck around for far too long. The inspiration came from Scrap Quilt Sensation by Katharine Guerrier, which I bought from the Festival of Quilts after seeing the beautiful display of the quilts from the book. The colours were fantastic and I just had to have a go too. The whole quilt was both hand pieced and hand quilted which is why it took such a long time to make. It was the quilting that took the majority of the time. I think i was quite ambitious to quilt a double bed size quilt by hand, as well as the fact that I used feathers as part of the quilting so it wasn't a simple design either. The below photo shows some of the quilting detail. I made the quilt to keep for myself and it's large enough for two to snuggle underneath comfortably in the cold months. I used all my favourite pieces of fabric from my stash and it's been quite a good sta...

I had a bounty of Elizabeth Zimmerm ann books for Christmas and my birthday - Knitting without Tears, Knitter's Almanac and The Opinionated Knitter. I've thoroughy enjoyed the many hours I've had perusing them. Not only are the patterns innovative - even now, but the advice and "opinions" (as in the Opinionated Knitter) are absolutely wonderful too. With my friends are having their first baby , it has given me the opportunity to delve into knitted babywear for the first time and why not start with Elizabeth Zimmermann's wonderful designs. I have completed the February Baby Sweater on Two needles from the Knitter's Almanac. I'm in the process of completing the Baby Surprise Jacket and it definitely was a surprise. Initially I couldn't get my head around which part of the jacket I was knitting but about halfway through I twigged and it is just genius. The handspun I had made unfortunately ran out about 6 rows from the end; I suppose I could have u...

Oh boy! It's definitely been awhile since I updated my blog. Not entirely my fault our brand new PC decided to throw a permanent tantrum and we've been computerless (probably not a word!) for quite a few months. Thankfully it was still under warranty so we exchanged it for a different make. Though that's not been without pitfall; s ince all the hardware that worked with Vista didn't work with the new Windows 7 - so with Christmas and splashing out on new router, printer etc. it has been a rather expensive month. All seems to be working now! I've done a lot of knitting and spinning. Finally finished the Liquid Gold shawl and seemed to have been received well at Chri stmas. I've also started a new hobby; probably not a wise decision since I already have dozens of other hobbies. My friend who taught me how to quilt kindly showed me the very interesting art of Tatting. I must say it's very relaxing and the results seem to be quite quick. I had a bit of ...

I've not been knitting as much as I have been recently as I've just been bitten by the spinning bug. After using a spindle for awhile; my husband decided that he'd buy me my Christmas and Birthday present early and sent me off to get a spinning wheel. The other reasoning behind the wheel is that we thought it might be good for me to spin daily and help the muscles in my legs (though been doing it so much since I bought it walking is a little difficult, lol!!). We went to the Spinning Fair at Lincoln Uni a couple of weeks ago and had a go on the wheels that Wingham Wool Work had brought along. I'd sort of set my heart on the Ashford Joy but they didn't have one with them so I decided to go to their shop of the Monday and have a test run. My ever loving Mother came along with me; she was very patient all day even though she was probably quite bored- thanks, Mum!! I ended up buying a Kromski Sonata as it seemed to be the better deal. The £25 fibre voucher was fun t...

Perpignan Aeolian Finished my Aeolian this week & I'm thrilled with it . This is the first lace shawl I've made that I have kept. I thought the green was a beautiful colour and could be dressed up or down. Quite like the idea of wearing it with jeans. It looks so fine and the Posh Yarn Diana has blocked beautifully. I've mentioned on my project page on Ravelry that the beading though lovely is a bit too heavy for me in this shawl. I've done the yucca sections as recommended then I've changed the rest to lighten it a bit. The beads are fantastic and I've bought them from Spellbound Beads , which was recommended to me by a friend. Must say I don't think I've had anything delivered that quickly before. I've used them twice now and each time they've dropped through the letterbox the next morning. Got a few parties coming up so hopefully I'll get to wear my new shawl. Golden Waterfall Shawl I'm very lucky to have a wonderf...

Rolling Star This Rolling Star quilt is one of my proudest creations. It was made as a Christmas present for my Mum. Her favourite colours are purple and green; so this was the colour theme. The whole thing is pieced and quilted by hand; no machine involved. The design was inspired by a lovely book by Jinny Beyer called Colour Co nfidence for Quilters . It was borrowed from a friend but the basic ideas that I took from it were to use a dark (black in this quilt) and a bright (the bright jewel green) and then all the shades in between. Jinny Beyer had made several different quilts by just using one quilt block and then fragmenting each shape into little versions. The quilt block I used is the Rolling Star. I'm a bit of a Jinny Beyer fan and I used her Q uiltmaking by Hand for all the techniques to make the quilt. Out of every book I own (which is a lot) this is my favourite by far. It is just beautiful to dip into and the quilts in there are to die for. It is crammed full ...