Cute stuff all over

The cutest first....

Isn't he adorable? This is of course Pete wearing quite the snazziest handknit tank top I've ever seen. Spent yesterday in Romford with Nic and Andy who are both well. The pics are a little blurred as I didn't want to put my flash right in his face so you can't exactly see what he's holding onto - but it is the skeleton called Jack from the night before christmas! Andy got it for him the other day and Pete is obviously very attached to it already. Pete does this amazing thing where he looks at you with as if he's got his eyebrows raised and his expression seems to indicate that you've just performed a social gaffe. It's how I imagine oscar wilde would have looked if he'd come across a modern chav. It is terribly sweet and makes me laugh each and every time. Of course he also has the most lovely smile...

I had a lovely time in Romford and Nic and I managed to find a few crafty goodies along the way. Here's my haul:

There is a copy of 'Knitting' magazine there because, as I only found out after Nic spotted it, I am in it.

Above Lime & Violet! Not that I care about stuff like that of course. Ahem.

There have also been other goodies coming into the marital home - the latest parcel from my SP arrived! Woo ha!

The soap has reall loofah in it which I think is rather exciting. These especially caught my eye - aren't they cute!

I am a firm believer that one can never have to many stitchmarkers. And these ones are especially cute!

The yarn in the pic is Shiladair in a beautiful red but there was also one other skein - Dream in Colour Classy in blue lagoon.

Mmmmmmmmm. I was fingering this stuff in either IKnit or the 'other' shop on thursday but dragged myself away. Now I know it was the right decision! (The postcard under it is the portrait of Charlie Chaplin by Lee Miller. Amazing.)

I know what you're thinking - there's already been so much good stuff in this post. How much more can she possibly pack in? Well... the results of my dyeing have been making it into cake form.

I particularly liked some of the cotton. I'm just hoping the colours survives a wash - test swatch at the ready.

And finally two finished objects. A thick and robust scarf...

...and a pair of mittens.

The mittens are from Knitting Nature which is a really lovely book. They only took 3 hours from start to finish. Can see myself making them again in the future.

Just before I go things are hotting up for SkipNorth (knitting holiday extraudinaire!). We've got 17 people booked already with about a third of those being people who haven't been before. Lots of others have told me that you intend to book soon but don't leave it too long! Once the places are gone they're gone.

New shoes...

I'm pretty sure I started another post with this title just a few weeks ago but anyway...here we are again. As dame shirley sang "It's all just a little bit of history repeating."

These were bought with the specific purpose of replacing the green ones that lead to my having the MOST unpleasant wet feet experience ever at the weekend. Pooch wondered into the bathroom last night cradling them and calling me a mass of contradictions. He said the shoes were absolutely 100% me and yet didn't go with the knitting/fat pants aspect of me. A bit like the WWE and knitting I suppose. Anyway, I think they are rather snazzy!

Today was the 'arty' day of my holiday. I started it with a bit of embroidery on some mediocre black jeans I bought a few weeks ago. They fitted OK but weren't really inspiring me to wear them so half an hour later we have...

Can you see what it is yet? (Cue diggerydoo noises.) I think this photo illustrates very nicely the difficulties one encounters when one tries to photograph one's own leg.

The day continued with a trip to the V&A to see both the Lee Miller and Couture exhibitions. Now anyone thinking of going to see them both together I would suggest visiting the couture one first. Having not done this I came out of the Lee Miller exhibition feeling quite overwhelmed and in awe of a woman achieving so much during an age not terribly welcoming to strong-minded females. Something I didn't know is her photo essays and actual essays for Vogue reporting on the concentration camps during WW2. To have photos of jaw droppingly beautiful people contrasted with an equally artistic shot of a stack of cadavers - all people who had starved to death in one of the camps.

The Golden Age of Couture exhibition *was* very good. I think I might go back some time when it doesn't seem quite such a triviality.

My view of arty naturally includes knitting so I went on a journey to two yarn shops. I try not to be mean on this blog. So I shall merely say that the second one, IKnit, was really good. I found myself almost magnetically attracted to cones of habu silk in an amazing dark pink....even now I feel myself wincing that I came away without them but it's just as well since I didn't have a pattern in mind for them. Instead I came out with The holiday Interweave Knits and a Jean Greenhowe (I love it that they stock them). I got the Knit 1 at the 'other' shop.

Then just three balls of yarn from the bargain bin.

There are a couple of thing I'd really like to make. I've got elann silk mix that just wants to be this:

I'd still want to make this even thought it is a Teva Durham:

And this although I'm not sure it would suit me really.

Yesterday saw me dyeing like crazy with a the result that this is still inhabiting most of the bathroom.

The big purple mass at the front is a load of boucle I got about 3 years ago and which has been sitting refusing to speak to me all that time. Now I know it is destined to be the EZ Pi Shawl!

Podcast!

Episode 11 is up.

Where does the time go?

Here I am on day two of my holiday and I realise I haven't blogged in months, weeks, a week maybe, and nor do I have much to show for the last two days.

Last weekend saw the handover of the everton top for the baby due at the beginning of December.

I'm not actually that pleased with it as it looks a bit rough and ready but I do like the little button closure at the back.

I have also been doing some ebaying and so have pattern books arriving most days. This is one that I have been ebay stalking for a while. I know this is sad but it became a kind of personal goal in life to make it mine since I have been pipped at the post about 5 times. It's the cover dungarees that I really love with the little bow on the front. So cute!

I have also started the shilasdair kit I bought at ally pally. It is using their blend which I think is wool, cashmere and a dash of angora and I have to say it is practically creamy in consistency. I am not enjoying the actual knitting as the pattern looks simple but is actually bloody awkward.

I have also been winding skeins into balls like you wouldn't believe. This is the softest laceweight that I got in the US. Colourway is called fog.

It really is lovely. I had bought a leafy shawl pattern but I am just not sure about this colourway with it.

This morning I made it for the first time to the Foyles knitting group and had a good knit and natter. Definitely a good natter. I didn't contribute much as I was the newbie but it was very entertaining and they were very welcoming. Then lunch with my sister and then a foray into covent garden to buy what turned out to be.....gold trainers. Gold! After a very unpleasant wet feet experience on sunday I finally realised the pumas I got from TK Max 5 years ago had done their duty and should be retired. I will have photos for the shoe hungry out there next time I can find my camera.

Tomorrow promises to include lots of dyeing as I still haven't tried out the dyes I picked up at ally pally and because I have been meaning to do some for ages. I am now skeining yarns ready to be soaked overnight. Is going to be mainly wool but I bought some cotton dyes a while ago and still haven't used those so I have a couple of balls of dishrag cotton sitting about which I plan to transform.

Very lastly, I have joined bookmooch.com which I would recommend. You list your unwanted books and those that you'd like to receive. Then people request your books and you post them off and then you request another person's books and they post them to you and you get points for sending and lose points for requesting and so basically it all balances out nicely. You can list knitting/crochet books and there are a few on there listed by others. Some people have also listed magazines which seems a good idea and I will be adding to my listings soon. In fact I only joined yesterday and have already had requests for two books and asked two people to send me theirs. Bonza!