A litle burst of creativity

I remember being rather irritated at someone who wrote an article saying that people who follow patterns aren't creative and are just copying someone else. My response to this statement is part emotional and therefopre hard to put into words. Or was until I joined the Coconut Grove group on Ravelry and looked at the thread about phrases people are now using in general conversation. The news that one raveler is now regularly ending arguments with "How would you like a face full of cockney urine?" cheered me up no end and I shall be using that riposte frequently from now on when challenged by annoying people such as the hitcher or chief shaman's wife. Or people who say there is no creativity in making something from a pattern.

(Incidentally you know how I was having a hard time deciding between Vince and Howard? Well I came to a conclusion - why decide? They're good friends. The extras to series three confirm they have kissed a zillion times so why separate them. You can never have too much of a good thing they tell me.)

So what got me thinking about this? Well I have had an urge to crochet and the only square I feel comfortable making is the one from the babette blanket that I finished last year. So I've made some. And I was trying to decide whether endlessly making the same square, even in different colours, was creative or not.

Only 7 so far but coming along. Using three left over balls of dk superwash. Going to be another offering to the skipnorth charity project. Which reminds me - someone asked for the preemie patterns so here is the site with all the links.

Apart from those it has been sock central here. I finished my discworld swap socks at the weekend. I sooooooooooooooo want to keep them. Might make myself some although I don't think I've ever made the same pair twice before, apart from standard unpatterned ones that is.

Then I also made another plain sock on magic loop using some of the Fabel I got at Ally Pally. Just like regia really.

Only to keep things interesting I decided to throw in some beads. Despite the fact you can't see them, even if you know they're there to see.

There's a zigzag of them in there somewhere.

So that just about raps it up chez byrne. Podcast in the wings for the weekend with a special new sponsor which is going to be awesome!

The Starghan

Introducing the Starghan, made using this pattern which I can thoroughly recommend for even a beginner crocheter. Here it is on ravelry. This is how it has turned out:

And here on our 2-seater sofa, trying to give you a sense of scale.

As you'll see from this post it certainly started out tiny but has grown and grown. I was going to put all the pics on here of it getting bigger but half the photos are on Pooch's laptop so instead I've got a flickr set for you too look at.

I tried to take a picture at the end of each day I worked on it but it didn't quite work out like that towards the end. Partly because I forgot and partly because in the final stages the rows were using 40g of yarn each and so sometimes I didn't do a whole one in the time I spent on it. I did really enjoy it though. The first bit of fun was choosing colours I thought Lou would like. The key one is from Jamieson and is their DK in teal. Then I got some noro in the sales and then there were bits and bobs from stash. One of the rows is what I used for Fu and Michelle's baby blanket, some of the blue is from Lucy's wedding afghan, other bits and pieces remind me of other projects - all happy things so I could crochet all that happiness into it. Ugh. Ignore that last bit. Bit too schmaltzy. The full list of yarns is on ravelry.

The FO made its way to Canterbury yesterday and is now very happily in use according to the recipient. I think that's the best thing about making stuff for people - hearing that it's been useful afterwards!

Finished and started

I started these 2-needle socks at the beginning of december last year and last night finally finished the second one.

The problem is...it's been so long since I started them that I can't find the first one. It's annoying as they've come out really well and are nice and snug so I really want to wear them! Will have to search.

My swap partner for the Ravelry Discworld Swap have come to a gentlewoman's agreement about not looking at each others blogs until we've exchanged parcels so I can reveal these:

The picture doesn't do them justice. I'm using the leftover red from my cherry blossom socks and some plain white and then around the ankle in purple it says "I aten't dead". Discworld fans will know that this is one of Granny's characteristics and as she is my partner's favourite charactor it seemed fitting. I'm also planning a few other bits and pieces which should be fun - I'm even going to have a go at dyeing some sock yarn for her.

In fact 20 skeins of undyed trekking arrived from Get Knitted this morning. I haven't gone mad, it's mostly for the SkipNorth workshops but there are a few extra skeins for your truly to play with. I'm doing the dyeing workshop and made up some samples last weekend.

I've been knitting them up so people can see what different techniques leads to. Am very excited about it already - started compiling a shopping list in my head of all te things I want to get hold of.

So what else is going on...well Pooch and I had a lovely valentines day. Went out for dinner and he got me a copy of the SnB book the Happy Hooker which was a nice surprise. I bought 2 dozen krispy kremes and took them to work and people were amazed. It's weird because at IOP cakes and doughnuts were pretty normal whereas there it seems like they only come out on extremely special occasions at the LI. I managed to consume 2, including one of the special heart shaped ones. It's the chocolate dreamcakes that are my ultimate luxury doughnut though. Oooo, so good!

Mousetrap for the love mouse

Pooch's dislike of me is well documented. However I hadn't realised that he had taken to actively leaving traps around the house in order to hasten my downfall. This manifested itself particularly well when I got home on friday night, alone, and started fixing my own dinner as he had told me to earlier that day. I looked in the fridge and there were chicken kievs. So I cooked a chicken kiev and ate it. Sounds straight forward? Oh no. Because little did I know that Pooch was leaving out of date and potentially rotting food in the fridge in order to trap me with. To hasten understanding I should mention that Pooch is the cook and keeper of the kitchen in our house.





His true genius didn't manifest itself until saturday lunchtime. He'd gone out in the morning on the pretence of doing some computer stuff, which I now realise was to ensure he had an alibi and was safely out of the house when things kicked off. This left me at home alone to commence the being sick and associated goings on that come with eating chicken kievs 4 days out of date. When he came back he had, for the first time in aeons, bought me some nice chocolates. See exhibit A.

Now bear in mind that he knows I can not resist such things so when he offered me one 'to make me feel better' I ate it and 5 mins later was very very sick again. You see what he did there? Cunning. You wouldn't think it to look at him but he is. Here he is off guard sniggering at my suffering. He thinks I don't know.

Anyway, putting aside my own personal misfortune I have managed to make 1.5 premature baby cardis for SkipNorth. I particularly like this one:

Look at those lovely buttons!





This is the second about half done. I am thinking little sunflower or daisy buttons for this one. It's so sad how small they are.

I went to see the Terracotta Warrior exhibition at the British Museum last week and it was pretty amazing. There were only about a dozen of the actuals there but the layout was very impressive and detailed. A shame it was so crowded but that's just one of those things I guess. It put me nicely in the mood for all the chinese new year type things that are going on. The V&A have a website tie in so you can see what animal you are (from your birth year) and then customise an icon of it. This is me:

You can do your own here.

Pictures

This is the evidence of how mad the yarn swap was. How much yarn?!

Sweeeeeeeeet

And therein lies the problem. I just got weighed today after a two week gap and far from having added to my 12 pound loss to date I have in fact gained half a pound. I jokingly told Pooch last week that I was currently pushing the boundaries since I didn't feel that my previous weight loss was down to me being particularly good - just not being as bad as I was before and of course knocking the Mirtazipine on the head. So I have been letting rather more cake and chocolate products pass the byrne lips over the last two weeks. And so really I shouldn't be surprised.

In a way it is quite comforting that I now know that I can still have a bit of fun and cake without ballooning. But still it's a bit of a slap wrist that it has gone up. Ah well. It's only half a pound. And as the woman who weighed me was quick to point out, "Well, you are wearing heavy trousers."

Last night was the first official Golders Green yarn swap. I thought I was being excessive dragging two huge carrier bags full up there (one of my colleagues asked me if I was moving as I left the office) but I was as nothing compared to some of the donations. I can't really put into words how much yarn there was, and some of it really good stuff too, and the pics are still on my camera so I'll leave that for another day. But my word. There Was A Lot. I'll share my modest haul (came back with about a third of the quantity I left with) when I get hold of the camera cable.

Just to finish off it always amazes me how just as I confirm the final numbers with the hostel more people jump up and book for SkipNorth. 3 definites last night, one maybe and a booking form in my inbox this morning. The more the merrier - but I do need bookings sooner rather than later! If anyone else fancies a weekend knitting, learning and shopping (mainly shopping!) from 7-9 March then click on the link above and book. It's £165 all in or £135 if you want to find our own B&B. The Yahoo discussion group is picking up speed as we've finalised the workshops. This year it is...

• Colour Theory
• Modular Knitting
• Dyeing in the Kitchen

(Or as Pooch put it "You're not cooking are you, because then it would be 'dying in the kitchen'.") Fnah fnah.

Around the world in 80 socks

I'm watching 'around the world in 80 gardens' at the moment. I really liked 'around the world in 80 treasures' and so thought, what with me now being connected via-wage-packet to a load of people who most certainly aren't gardeners but who do things with gardens sometimes, I should give it a whirl. He's in australia. Can't help thinking though that each time he says 'I chose this garden because...' he went and looked through one of those coffee table books of places to see before you die and chose them because they looked nice. But then I know that's just me being mean.

The title of this series got me thinking about the number of socks I've knitted, which is considerably more than I thought. When compiling my blog book for 2007 I found I'd knitted 12 pairs during the year and that was without making them for xmas presents. Is it possible I've now made more than 80 socks? I think it must be because now there's another three to add to the total.

These are the Maridoldaphobia socks based on the Aquaphobia pattern but using 'Autumn Marigold' colourway by Thank Ewe on etsy.

I love the colours which remind me of the marigolds that grew at the bottom of our front garden when I was a kid. Mum would send sian and I down there to gather the seeds although I can't remember them ever growing in the back garden. The colours don't come across too well here but you can see the slip stitch pattern and the cable. Wouldn't bother with the cable again but the slip stitch is gorgeous.

So that accounts for two socks, but what of the third? Well that one is just going to have a mini-glimpse since I'm making it for a swap. I've made up the pattern and desperately want to keep them for myself but it's not to be. The swap is being organised by the Knitters Guild on Ravelry so is all Discworld themed.

In a bit of housekeeping my 'Gimme Your Stuff' swap parcel arrived. We agreed to use surface mail so mine was sent at the beginning of Dec as was hers. Lovely stuff - seaweed flavoured animal biscuits!

Thanks for the parcel!

Lastly, I went to a paint-your-own-pottery place with my best mates and their partners a few weeks ago and this is what had made its way back to me. Some people will be wondering why I, well known for my dislike of football, have taken so much trouble to paint them all over my mug. Others will sympathise with what I was trying to do!

I do love the green and purple together though!

I should mention that the sock blocker I have used has been borrowed from Jane. A woman has contacted me to say her husband is on the case to provide some for the UK without our having to order from the US. As soon as they're ready she promises to send some prototypes my way and I can't wait! Having used this one of Jane's I am a complete convert. They just make the socks look so good.

A little less conversation, a little more crochet please...

All this aggravation aint satisfactioning me.

Or should that be 'aggrivation'? Spelling has never been my strong point.

But yes the ol'crochet hook is out and about once again and creating a stir. This is the one and only pic I will be showing of what is being worked on until it's finished. Unless you are on ravelry in which case you can see it develop in my projects.

The pattern is simplicity itself and very satisfying - I can recommend it.

Apart from that I have been plugging away on my Marigoldaphobia socks and have just about turned the second heel.

I think I might finally be convinced that short row heels aren't necessarily the best choice for every single pair of socks I ever make. I've got the hang of heel flaps now (famous last words) and they do indeed seem to fit better even if they are much more long winded. You'll never get me onto dpn's though - magic loop is as far as I'm prepared to go.

Apart from all this creating I have survived my first week at work which went very nicely. There was a brief wobble on friday when the rest of my team tried to rank my seniority in terms of the current hierarchy and got spooked because it turned out somewhat higher than they'd thought. Conversation suddenly became a little more restrained but they relaxed again so i don't think it will be a problem. The people are all really nice and friendly and the work is interesting enough so I think it will be fine.

Discworld Group on Ravelry

Which Discworld Character are you like (with pics) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as The Librarian You’re the Librarian! Once a wizard, now an Orang-utan (due to an unfortunate magical accident), you refuse to be turned back for a few reasons: In this form, it’s easier to reach the shelves and hold more books; having the strength of five men makes people return their books on time; life’s great philosophical questions boil down to “when do I get my next banana?‿ You say “ook‿ but are usually understood well enough. The Librarian 94% Esmerelda (Granny) Weatherwax 75% Carrot Ironfounderson 63% Gytha (Nanny) Ogg 56% Death 50% Cohen The Barbarian 50% Rincewind 31% Lord Havelock Vetinari 25% Greebo 19% Commander Samuel Vimes 19%

Oh yeah I forgot - I is genius.

I had my first day at my new job today. Before going in and even after I got there I wasn't so much nervous as properly scared. Scared. It's not often as an adult you get the chance to be genuinely scared. And I have to say it was amazingly unpleasant. I just wanted to get out of there. First off my boss took me round to one of the local cafes and we sat there are talked through the job, the organisation and a bit of tangental general chitchat for two hours. I have to say she couldn't be nicer. Actually maybe she could. Maybe if she'd greeted me, handed me a red polka dot knitting bag filled with one of each of cherry tree hill's sock yarns plus some ebony 3.25mm needles and my selection of patterns written personally for me by the world's top designers and then led me to a meeting room and told me to go for it while reminding me of the pepsi max chilling in the fridge - maybe that would have been nicer.

I knew that working for my doofus old boss in that mind numbing job had sapped my self-confidence but this has really brought it home for me. It's awful really how much I let his behaviour affect me - actually believing for ages that it was my fault projects weren't working out when really experience has taught me they were doomed from the start.

As it was she talked to me about all the stuff she wanted to do, all her plans and hopes for the future, and I just felt more and more relaxed as I realised - I know how to do all this stuff. I did this job for 5 years already. All the stuff she wants me to do I've already done. Well not all because that would be boring but most of it. She tentatively asked how I'd feel about podcasting! The people are nice. The office is nice. The hours are good. The money is fine. So basically day one has ended pretty nicely and I'm certainly not scared anymore. I wouldn't say I was exactly looking forward to tomorrow but I'm certainly not scared and I'm looking forward to finding out more about what the future holds.

Hoorah!

You don't see a baby for ages then two come along at once

Hot on the heels of the blue cardi behold Maya sporting the latest in knitted everton shirts! She is about 6 weeks old and the hunk on the left is Daddy Fu.

It was secret santa at golders green this week and I did particularly well this year! Check out the gorgeous buttons and the crochet-lite which is the coolest thing ever - HOORAH!

Knitwise things have been going well. I started a pair of the aquaphobia socks in a lovely colourway called autumn marigold I got on etsy. I *really* like the effect of the slipped stitches.

It made me think - I am sure their are dictionaries of slipped stitch patterns so maybe I'll look into that. Also this is yet another pair on magic loop - I am such a convert.

My other news is that my first blog book has arrived. 250 pages odd of goodness. I am really impressed with the quality. The software they give you to use is very easy to manipulate and it practically creates the book for you. The one downside of the site (which is blurb.com) is that you can't sell your books unless you have a bank account in the US. Bit weird but seeing how no one is going to want a book of my blog apart from me not a huge problem!

Books of 2006 and 2007 are on their way too.

Of course the big news today is that it was my last ever day at the IOP. Was weird, to say the least. Felt kind of numb really. There are some people I'm going to miss and miss a lot but then there's a lot happened there that I'm quite happy to leave behind.

Could this be the last time I blog from work?

So here I am just 2.5 days left to go before leaving the IOP for the last time as a member of staff. And so naturally I have been spending my last week catching up with stuff online, ravelry especially. And so I've been catching up on the Lolcat group and LMAO at the latest images. Here are just a few but more can be found here (but only if you're on ravelry and if you're not - what are you waiting for? Get on that waiting list!)

and my current favourite....

Genius.

Have had lots of good feedback about the podcast - it's my new theme music I am particularly proud of. Afterall how many people can claim to have successfully mixed Babylon 5, hip hop and paul temple? Also lots more interest in SkipNorth which is good - anymore for anymore? I've also seen the latest listener stats. Look at this: Iran, Japan, New Zealand plus the UK and USA posse's. Hello everyone!

The sunburst jumper is finally dry and on the byrne bod. It fits really nicely! I am very happy with this and now itching to get started on my next garment. I think it will be jumper for my step-dad to replace the never ending aran that was ended once and for all.

I also got this pic which was rather nice. This is tiny Aaliyaan wearing his blue cardi and hat that I made him. I think he is about a month old now! His dad keeps telling me he is wearing it practically all the time as it is a perfect fit. What a cutie!

A Podcast, a SkipNorth knitting holiday and some knitting

The first two kind of go together because on the latest podcast, featuring the best intro music I've ever heard, Nickerjac and I sit around nattering with her Andy asking us questions about it. It was really good to reminisce about SkipNorths of the past and the kind of shopping frenzies we've seen and also all the stuff we've learnt form other people. We also chatted about which workshops to run (off mic!) and I'll be posting in the SkipHolidays Yahoo group about them soon. Anyone who wants to be kept informed can join the group.

The holiday is excellent fun and I think excellent value too. For £165 you get two nights in the hostel, all meals (and good, locally sourced, huge meals they are too), luxury coach to take you round, specially organised visits to places like the KCG Collection and all materials for the workshops. There's also a cheaper option for people who would prefer to stay in a local B&B. The podcast gives loads more info. You can also find out more and book here: www.proudtobecrafty.co.uk/SN1.html

Oh and the podcast is here! Or you can find it on i-tunes.

So on to the knitting...

The Norah Gaugain sunburst jumper is finished but is in its third day of drying after a good block on friday. Here is yet another pic of it drying:

I am worried it is going to be too big but am saving up my worrying til the weekend when I'll be able to give it full throttle.

There has also been considerable progress on the socks I am making for a friend of mine.

All the details are on ravelry here. I keep going at it in fits and starts and when I really sit down with it the thing shoots along. I'm just about to start the heel of the second one so another few days should see it done.

There has also been some non-knitting going on in the shape of loads and loads of luverly button jewellery. I bought this book recently having shuffled backward and forward between different ones for months. This book is by far the best I've seen and I've already made three things from it. You see, I do love my buttons. This is one I've made as a goodbye present for a colleague. Lots of vintage mother of pearl.

Then this is a cuff using safety pins and buttons with shanks which are always a problem to the button jewellery maker as they don't lie flat.

I'm not actually sure about this one. I love the buttons but it's a bit big. I might put it on etsy instead.

Then in a non-crafty and wholly capitalist move I acted with lightning speed on a comment left on my last entry about duoboots.com. Now I did know about Duo already as a couple of peeps at Golders Green have bought them but what I didn't know is they had a sale on.

Oh yeah. And further more I ordered them friday lunchtime and they arrived at 7.30 AM......AM!! on saturday. Our postman only delivers after 11am on weekdays and suddenly one arrives at 7.30 on a saturday? That's just wrong. But they are good boots. I wore them on sat night and Pooch was very attentive. They are also a perfect fit round the ol'calves.

And finalllllly. Ann sent round this meme...which fibre are you?

Try it yourself here.

I have a theory

When you do a detox, apparently, you body releases all kinds of nasty stuff that would normally be stored within your fat reserves. This causes spots and so on. I say 'apparetly' as detox's are things I only read about never wishing to actually make a practise of it myself. And so my theory is born. I gave up the last of my mirtazipine roughly a month ago (leaving me with just half the prozac). One of the big side effects of that for me was increased appetite and a seemingly unrelenting desire for chocolate. Coupled with a lack of will power this lead to big old weight gain. Since giving up my sugar intake has plummeted, as has my appetite in general. I'm still eating plenty and manage a respectable amount of chocolate but it's not a compulsion anymore. The result is that my loyal fat reserves are slowly but surely being eroded.

Recently I have had a spate of minor niggles such as swollen glands, itchy legs (don't ask me), restless sleep and nausea. It struck me earlier today that this could be all the mank I'd been safely storing finding its way out. So having had a particularly rough night last night there would appear to be only one logical solution.

I have to. It's the only way I'll feel well again.

Believe it or not the Sunburst jumper I blogged about last time is nearly finished. Just goes to show how quickly that bulky yarn knits up compared to the old 4-ply. Its been an interesting knit but I wish they'd found room for a few extra schematics. I've added some notes to the ravlery pattern page to help others out. The front and back are done and look good.

It was the gussets that had me worrying and puzzling for a bit but once I realised they went form the underarm to the waist and the silly neckline wasn't in fact the neckline but the raglan shoulders too it all went swimmingly. You can just about see the triangular gusset in the pic below. Short rows and a good idea.

But my god it has used up a lot of yarn. Going to be quite a monster once it's done.

Yesterday saw the last of my xmas parties with 'the gang' showing up chez pooch/byrne.

Good fun was had by all although it did seem a bit much for some people.

ARUN WANTS YOU...

TO SHAVE HIS CREEPY MOUSTACHE OFF

Awooga!

I am so very addicted to the mighty boosh nowadays. I bought series 1&2 on dvd before christmas and pooch and I have watched them all. I watched most of series 3 on bbc 3, watched the live show on tv around new year and have now bought the radio shows form itunes. I can't decide which one I like most but then I remember that I don't need to decide - I can like them both. I think however that I might be coming down on the side of Howard aka Julian. He is quite Pooch-like and rather handsome in a tall, northern kind of way. He's the one on the right below.

Then there is Vince aka Noel. He is a pop-tart who hovers between goth and emo with skinny legs and big hair. He is attractive in a rather more obvious way but that doesn't mean he should be dismissed. He's on the left in the pic above and on the right in the one below.

The Mighty Boooooooosh, the mighty boosh....

Xmas and new year are now long gone and were hugely enjoyable. There were two major parties, one thrown by us and one at Leah's.

This young man excelled himself by pulling on another girl's knee high boots (and doing them up - I need to find out where she got them as I'm too chunky for my old ones and Dann's no flower fairy), donning a bright pink wig and mincing around the room. I was trying to teach him how to walk in heels and he did get quite good towards the end of it. There is a video which I hope to get hold of sometime soon....

I finally finished the hourglass jumper from Last Minute Knitted Gifts at Golders Green on wednesday. I like finishing things there - they are so much more appreciative of the effort involved than the Pooch is. I *really* love the jumper. It fits very nicely and I was tempted to cast on another one straight away.

Instead I have cast on the sunburst jumper from an ancient copy of Interweave. It is a Norah Gaugain and involves medallions on the front and back which turn into a top down raglan type of thing. Photos when it gets a bit further along.

So here I am at work again biding my time. Notice has been handed in and resignations made official. My last day is the 18th and I start the next job on the 21st. Quite exciting. Not quite sure what to do with myself for the next few weeks.