Tuesday

Weeks seem to be flying by, don't they? Whoosh, there goes Monday. Hello Tuesday. I really wish I had a pause button.

We had a jolly weekend. I found time to photograph my lovely present, we nosed around a local Antiques shop, and there was plenty of baking and making.

1. Baking
Cherry cake made with all of our PYO cherries using this recipe. Next time I will use a smaller tin and less cherries. Wonderful scent of almond and cherry jam.

2. Close up
The elderflower berries have started to hang like miniature bunches of cherries. The pigeons have been merrily tucking in oblivious to the cats licking their lips below.

3. The lovely present
The lovely Erika sent me this unexpected but oh so delightful bundle of goodies last week. My mother works for her and we had gone along to Knit Nation to catch up and say hello. The styling in Natural Nursery Knits is achingly beautiful. The twenty projects have a timeless quality about them which is so refreshing in a world where the garish and disposable prevail.

I often hear about the things that my mother is working on for Erika and it is just so lovely to see them in print. I think this has to be my favourite so far. And with lots of little ones due this Autumn, I really have no excuse for the needles to continue gathering dust.

4. Casting on
Ta daar! Knitted over the weekend - the boots from the book. They were just the thing to ease myself back into the land of knitting. I just love their little Ugg-ness. As everyone seems to be having little boys at the moment I thought I would stick to neutral colours and embellish once they start to arrive. I used Rowan All Seasons DK which is slightly heavier than the recommended DK. I'm still very much in the beginner group, which means I've probably knitted and unravelled more pairs than I ended up with, but am so pleased to say that I now know how to M1, P2tog tbl and sew a seam properly thanks to this little pair. I'm on a mission to fill up the present drawer with boots. Miss P came close to modelling them but wouldn't sign the release form...

Fancy a cheeky craft?

Our new local has been taken over by my WI. Not only is it home to our monthly get together (having grown too big for the cocktail bar), it's become the meeting place for book clubs, committee meetings and now the craft group.
I'm not too sure what the bar staff thought last week when they saw us pull out our various crafts of choice - from bags of knitting to a sewing box cunningly disguised as a Trivial Pursuit box.
I discovered that knitting and chatting is great fun but not wildly productive - I managed just two rows. And that there is safety in numbers when it comes to public crafting. Oh, and that I can still drink and knit - although that could explain the productivity levels...

[Box of tapestry wool - Charity shop find, 50p]

Our next craft get together is going to be an Innocent Big Knit Night - an easy hat pattern for beginners (yet small enough to be unravelled numerous times without losing too much heart) and some not so easy patterns for the more advanced among us. And for those who have an aversion to hooks (oh yes, you can also crochet a hat) and knitting needles, they can sew up and embellish the hats as they come off the production line.

It's thanks to this, a little trip to Knit Nation and an unexpected present (which I still haven't photographed yet), that I've picked up my knitting needles again. And do you know what? I'm so very pleased to be casting on again. It's been a while old friend.

Here it is...

...the present/project that I have been working, and blathering, on about for the last couple of weeks. Firstly, I must apologise for any feelings of disappointment that you may experience by reading on further, as it really is just a plain old knitted rectangle. That said, I am really pleased with it. I searched high and low for a pattern to follow but couldn't find any that took my fancy. So, I decided to have a go myself. Et voila.

A very simple baby blanket for my friend's new baby. A mixture of moss stitch, stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch with a vague repeat pattern. Oh and it's machine washable - already tested prior to posting, and neutral enough in colour to not clash with too many things.

Hope Baby O likes it!

Clickety-click

Oh, how I wish my needles sounded so. I am a very s-l-o-w knitter. As soon as I begin to feel confident enough to tear my eyes away from the stitches that are forming, perhaps to catch a glimpse of the television, I somehow manage to knit underneath the stitch, increase the stitch or entirely drop the darn stitch - lots of unpicking instead of knitting. Goodness only knows how my mother manages to watch television and/or read a book at the same time! Apparently it's because she started knitting at the age of 8 which means I'm already 22 years behind. Super.

I had a rather wonderful woolly weekend (for the 2nd week running - hoorah!) -

• I went to IKnit on Saturday to meet mum and Erika for the book signing of her new book 'Men's Knits'. Mum and I met at Waterloo and went for a cup of coffee and a pastry at Caffe Vergnano on the Southbank. Fast forward to IKnit which had been set up for Erika. Such a great shop. They've changed the layout and it feels much more cosy than before. Gerard and Craig who run the place are lovely and so passionate about their knitting. Check out their blog - I was astonished at how quickly Gerard has knitted up a couple of the projects from Erika's book. Obviously, there is an element of bias because of mum's involvement with the book - but it really is good. For starters, normal people have been used as models. Secondly, I could imagine Mr M wearing nearly all of the garments - with the exception of the cardigan. He's not really the cardigan type. In fact, if he were to walk in right now and be wearing a cardigan I would most likely laugh rather loudly. Perhaps with a snort thrown in. I digress. The patterns seemed simple enough for even me to understand. Anyhoo - a jolly time was had by all. I ogled at some lovely wool but was really very good and bought none. They are even licensed to sell booze - marvellous.
  

• With the rain maintaining a constant drizzle on Sunday, I finally settled down to my project and cast on 130 stitches - piccies to come once it's finished and has been popped in the post to the lucky recipient.

• The pile of swatches grew ever taller much like the piles of leaves in the garden thanks to the Lime and Plane trees. I can't wait to add to them and then sew them up.

As promised here is a wee collage of the first few swatches...

Clockwise from the top left - caterpillar stitch horizontal, double andalusian stitch, waffle stitch, harris tweed stitch.

Right, time to pick up the needles and crack on with my little project. Have a wonderful week! I shall spend mine trying to ignore the financial meltdown. How will you spend yours?

Knit one, purl one, eat one...

The tidy-the-flat-athon (TTFA as it shall now be known) unearthed piles upon piles of yarn which are taking up way too much space and are just asking to be turned into something lovely.

I don't know about you but I often feel that when it comes to anything creative, I harbour a huge amount of guilt when it comes to setting aside 'me' time to settle down and play. There are always a million other things I should be getting on with - chores, phone calls, emails, dinner, books to read (to reduce another huge pile - have you clocked the theme yet?)...

Confronted with said yarn pile, and an increasing lack of floor space, this guilt has been roughly pushed to one side. I have taken it upon myself to knit our way out of the mess. So, I have started to play about with different stitches for a present that I am working on. Armed with my 1972 Mon Tricot 'Knitting Dictionary', with 1030 stitches no less, some size 4's and a pile of Debbie Bliss DK, I have set forth. Now, I have to confess that I am a very basic knitter and the very thought of cables sends me running to the Yellow Pages for an electrician - but I have really enjoyed experimenting. Stacking up the samples is really quite addictive. There are some great names - Andalusian, hunters, ant egg, St. John's wort. I shall introduce you to them as I increase my pile (which will then be turned into something useful!).

And, as it's such a treat to be knitting again, I thought I'd treat myself to something else...K1, P1, E1, K1, P1, E1 - practically inhaled the thing.

Booties for a bouncy baby

Here are the denim booties from Erika Knight's 'Simple knits for easy living' - so easy to knit up and so soft once they've been through a wash (60 degrees C!). I'm on a roll - I have quite a bit of the Rowan denim and quite a few pregnant friends who may just be getting monogrammed booties for their little ones. Little Imogen B will hopefully enjoy crawling around in these - although having met her on Wednesday that moment is a little way off!

It's finished...and it's too big!

I am so pleased that Em's hyggelig is finished BUT...the cowl neck is massive and for once I even took the time to do a tension square. So I have two choices. Make another and cast fewer stitches OR add a corsage. Can't quite decide...whilst I ponder, here are two corsage options.

Any preference?

My treasured throw

This is the project that took a year to complete. It's heavy with the emotion of 2007 and the wedding which took over our lives. Pride swells every time I look at it. It covers both of us when we're being couch potatoes and and is sumptuous when draped around my shoulders whilst knitting.

Can't resist the close ups...

The finishing wasn't the tidiest but I was desperate to finish it before the new year started - it sort of adds to the handmade look and feel. And the best bit of all? It's machine washable - brilliant!

At least the first project has been started!

I am so pleased that I have started Em's hyggelig. 134 stitches and so far only one mistake that was easily undone. Wine and James Bond do not help concentration.

Knitting on the round is quite strange but once you get past the first 3 rows and have been reassured that the pattern is indeed forming without you doing anything, it appears to be plain sailing. I love the Rowan All Seasons cotton - I'm using mauve and mole grey - I might even stir in a line of cream.

I can't wait to finish this. I feel like putting everything else on hold. Might have to make one for my sister in the deepest, darkest France to cheer her up and then perhaps one for me...

Happy New Year!

All hail to Mrs Brocket. Her book arrived, thanks to my wonderful in-laws, on Christmas Day and I have yet to put it down. It is so vibrant and inspiring. I am so pleased to finally have it in my mucky paws since spying it in Waterstones in Oxford one chilly Saturday in November and would have been so disappointed had it not been under the tree. I have already donned my pinny, made a raspberry and white chocolate tart for NYE and added a couple of Debbie Bliss books to my collection (marvellously on sale at John Lewis) so that I can try my hand at a JB cushion.

One of my resolutions (a seemingly never ending list) - and promises to my husband, N - is to use up the huge amount of fabric and wool that I have amassed from my crafty mother. My problem, like Jane, is that I love to just look in awe at the colours and textures of the balls of wool - and often don't want to ruin them by knitting them up. When I have taken the plunge, it has been an epic task. I have just finished my first major project - a moss stitch throw for our sofa which used up 30 balls and took an entire year - there was the small matter of a wedding to plan, but you know... My mission for 2008 is to pull together a project list. No new wool or whimsical fabric can enter our tiny flat until a project has left! As a gentle push, N bought me the most luscious Amy Butler knitting bag for Christmas.

The first two projects on my list are a Debbie Bliss Cowl Neck for my dear friend Em in chilly Copenhagen and a baby blanket for my friend who is due on February 29th.