Denisetastic (long post)

I am not sure what a bride should be thinking about in the week before her wedding but for me the topic I default to is the same as usual - knitting.

While waiting for the pooch to make an appearance I did a little bit of browsing in accessorise and saw this.

A make up bag, you might think. But no. Something completely different occurred to me. Because for some time there has been a problem knawing at my soul - that of what to do with the extra bits and pieces I have bought to supplement my denise-needle-love since pooch first bought them for me. I have got the pink extension kit, the two long cables, the 12 and 15mm ends as well as all the original bits and pieces. So when I saw this object the thing that immediately sprang into my mind was how similar in size the compartments are to denise needles.

And sure enough I was right. So can you guess what happened next? Those of a frail disposition may wish to look away. I cut my denise box in half. I actually cut it up. It felt really wrong but just oh so good.

So now I have all my denise bits together in one handy to carry bag. Hoorah! And it even has a pocket on the outside for the handy size conversion leaflet.

I was introduced to the old song 'Life is just a bowl of cherries' via one of David Suchet's outings as Poirot in the 1980s. At the time it did strike me as slightly odd that there were two drunken women sitting on the steps of his flat singing at some early hour of the morning and as I have grown up it has really come home to me how extremely unlikely it was that Poirot would smile benevolently at them as he does in that episode. Wouldn't he instead run around shouting 'mon dieu' and complaining that his little grey cells couldn't function without uninterrupted speech? From all this you might be forgiven for thinking that I had been suffering with noisy neighbours again. But actually I've just been eating cherries.

On the subject of agatha christie though, and since I seem determined to make this one of those really long blog posts, I was again reminded of miss marple's knitting today. I am a member of the miss marple group on ravelry and they have been discussing some of the things she knits. But there is one cardigan that geraldine mcthing wears in the new versions with an overlapping neck that I know would look awful on me but still covet. I was reminded of this when I saw the fall preview of Interweave Knits, which contains many many many things I want to wear. But the one that made me think of miss marple is tilted duster, although if she were knitting for herself I can see her much more in tangled yoke cardigan which I think is an absolutely stunning design.

So yes, here I am one week before my wedding. Um. Yep. I just can't wait for it to be over. One more week and then I get my life back and can take a break from everyone constantly asking me whether I've got it all sorted yet. I am now looking beyond the wedding which is why I decided to sign up for secret pal 11. I had thought of sitting this one out as I normally do alternate but I had such a good time with 10 I thought I might as well. Sign ups close on monday so hop over there quickly if you're interested. As I sit here typing this I am wearing the socks my pal from sp10 knitted me. They are just so lovely. Each time I get them out they make me so happy - never underestimate the power of the sock!

Manky rant

Am still at home with this wretched cold. Which is annoying as I am surrounded by stuff I need to do but would rather not. There is just so much going on at the moment, I'm feeling a bit wobbly.

1. MBA - which I'm now very behind on the study for, I've missed the study day on sat because of this cold and I haven't started the essay half of the next assignment which is due in the day before the...
2. Wedding - 10 days to go. I still need to finish my jewellery, make a ring cushion and decide what I'm doing with my hair. Before that there is the ...
3. Hen do, which is on saturday. I still haven't managed to invite loads of people I wanted to come and I haven't contacted art4fun to tell them we're coming. They might be closed that day for all I know. And before that is...
4. Tomorrow morning, which I'm not blogging about until something comes of it but is basically another source of stress for which I've done no research or preparation.
   

Pah.What would make far more sense would be to make a list of the immediate next actions a la GTD and then start doing some. At least then I'd be getting somewhere rather than just sitting around thinking about all the things I'm not doing.

I should also spend a bit of time focussing on positives so as not to get a visit from the black dog who has suddenly become a bit of a celeb with knitters. I have finished the two slum doctor blankets that I started months ago and which will go off tomorrow. I've also made good progress on the cherry blossom socks using the first SP yarn so it might just be that I have a matching pair one of these days. NOTE TO SELF: Stop doing both socks at once with magic loop. It may get rid os SSS but you don't enjoy it. One at a time is much better.

Summer cold sadness

The only thing to be said in favour of this cold is that it hasn't arrived a week later as then I really would have been annoyed. As it is once again I've got a cold just in time to take up what little free time I have. Also means I've missed my MBA day school which took place today. But WTF - I've got some knitting done. I have two things to share today. The first is the magic loop socks started in my SP wool. Very nice.

I *love* the colours.

The second is something I think might be fugly, but I can't make my mind up. You see I heard about slum doctors a while back and it was at a time when I'd been thinking about doing something with all the swatches and part pieces for garments I'd started and abandoned. So I started sewing them together. The blankets only need to be 24"x24" as there is so much malnutrition. I figure when you're starving it doesn't matter that much what your blanket looks like.

Am trying to think of a happy note to end on..... The only yhing I can think of is that I have become quite obsessed with the song 'vaseline' by elastica. Only you substitute 'ravelry' for vaseline. So you end up with:

( Louder, louder )

When you're stuck like glue
When you need some goo
When you're stuck like glue,
Ravelry
When you're black and blue,
Ravelry
La la la la la la la la la la
When you're stuck like glue,
Give me some
When you're stuck like glue
If you'd like to woo,
Ravelry
La la la la la la la la la la
If it's hot like you,
Give me some
Do you need a clue,
I want some
Ravelry, Ravelry, Ravelry,
Ravelry, Ravelry, Ravelry.

Yeah, I know. But it's just stuck in my head!

Lolcat addict

I think I am finding new addictions to distract me from my ridiculous wedding. Lolcats are definitely a new one and am part of the lolcat group on ravelry. Someone posted this quiz:

My score on The Which Lolcat Are You? Test:

Sad Cookie Cat

(51% Affectionate, 36% Excitable, 57% Hungry)

You are the classic Shakespearian tragedy of the lolcat universe. The sad story of a baking a cookie, succumbing to gluttony, and in turn consuming the very cookie that was to be offered. Bad grammar ensues.

To see all possible results, checka &dis.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test
(OkCupid Free Online Dating)

I was just at our trustee lunch and a guy I used to know pretty well and who I always enjoy catching up with bustled over to me...
"CONGRATULATIONS!" he says.
"Oh thanks" say I, thinking he's heard about the wedding
"So how are you enjoying your pregnancy?" he says
"I am not pregnant and I am going to stamp on your foot very hard" I respond
"I think you should" he says, producing his foot.
What saved it was how indescribably embarrassed he was. I couldn't help but laugh as he apologised and looked utterly gobsmacked at being so tactless. He's an important man too so not the sort of situation he must find himself in too often. I really do feel for him!

Just as well it was today with other good stuff going on in the background and not yesterday when the size 16 trousers in Next were too tight. I am going to try John Lewis today as I hear that expensive clothes have a rather larger interpretation of a 16 than cheaper ones. And why am I clothes shopping? I mean, apart from the usual? Well, I have something cooking that requires a suit and since I am at least a couple of twins past my size 12 ones this means shopping. Should obviously add some spanx pants to my list too...

In knitting news have finished the chevron scarf which though I say it myself is stunningly beautiful. Have cast on a pair of plain magic loop socks in the regia my SP got me. Love the colours. I definitely prefer regia to opal in texture too, although it is probably all being made by the same bod.

Wedding schmedding

The bouquet progresses... A number of people have asked me how this would work out and here is my solution: a big square of red polka dot with loose running stitch sewn in a circle, start to gather it up to form a neck and start stuffing with whatever you have handy. Stuffing maybe. But laddered tights work well too (clean ones). Use twice as much as you think you'll need, pull the neck tight and sew a few stitches through the neck to make it secure. You'll end up with something like this, which Pooch felt was rather inappropriate for him to model.

Then I got all my flowers that I have been working on and started pinning them to the base with common or garden pins.

It still needs some work, not least in that it's a bit of a mess of different yarns and fibres. Need to have a think about it, but overall I'm happy with the concept.

A couple of people have asked about the wedding list and there is one, which just happens to contain some knitting goodies, over here. And the email address our list is under is mrandmrswhittakerathotmaildotcodotuk. Make sure you pay most attention to my bit of the list, as Pooch already has far too much stuff.

OK, have stopped laughing, and am reminded of this lolcat I posted in one of my previous posts.

Am having a bit of a hysterical afternoon. I blame the fatigue from being a support crew to a team on the 100km walk over the weekend and the unscheduled pepsi max break this afternoon. Gone right to my head...

Two posts in one day?

You wait ages for a bus and then yadda yadda...

Had to post about the new love of my life - tilli tomas disco lights and the chevron scarf.

Here is one of those lovely close up shots I love so much.

And what is that in the background? Could it be the signed picture of the great john cena that pooch got me for my birthday? Oh yes. In a lovely gold frame.

Sian and co came round on sunday and mr mead brought quite the most amazing trifle I have ever seen. It was so amazing I felt compelled to take a picture.

The only other mini thing which I've just found on my camera is the favours for the wedding which I came across while down in canterbury. They are marzipan. Aren't they cute?

Busy busy

I have completely given up any hope of getting a podcast out before the wedding. Sorry peeps but there's just been too much going on. I'm also probably not going to be blogging as much as I'd like either but you can feel safe in the knowledge that I am still spending every hour I can knitting! Just cast on the seminal chevron scarf from 'last minute knitted gifts' using the tilli tomas disco lights I got in the US and a ball of anny blatt silk from the stash - still knitting from the stash like a good girl ;)

Am also still loving ravelry and was very happy to move the scarf from my queue to my project list. Am meeting lots of new people in there and a whole heap of listeners. Those who haven't ventured in there yet, don't forget the forums. There is a summer-camp-exchange-sign-up going on which I have duly signed up for. Also there is the lolcat thread, which is just hilarious. Here are just a few of these. The last one is my current desktop picture at work and gives me a little lift each time I see it! Especially as no one else gets it.

Birthday bonanza

Well let's get to the juicy stuff straight off...

This is the whole haul. Pooch gave me the boye needle master set of interchangables, which so far I've only played around with and stroked a lot.

Aren't they beautiful? But what I don't understand is how they can bring themselves to put such beautiful needles in such a fugly case.

What's with that? Plus he got me the pink knitlite needles that have little light bulbs in them for those cinema-dropped-stitch-episodes. Genius!

Pooch also took me out for a lovely sushi dinner, and while I was waiting for it to be time to meet him I just happened to be near Liberty. And I just happened to go into their wool department. Abd I just hapenned to come across some crazy bargains. That's what all that yarn is in the photo. But bearing in mind that I got 38 balls of jaeger for £50 I don't feel so bad about it, and I was due a day from stashalong anyway. So I came out with...

• 10 balls jaeger aqua in butter yellow
• 10 balls aqua in bright orange
• 8 balls jaeger siena in green
• 6 balls in purpley blue
• 6 balls in cream

Now I did not just go crazy, because believe me I could have bought at least another three colourways of the siena. Also I have a plan. Kind of. The yellow and orange is for a baby blanket. Am thinking squares and probably crochet. The green/purple/cream combo was inspired by the highly inspirational Nickerjac who was crocheting with those three colours at SkipNorth. She was using james c brett merino, which I still haven't seen any of so let me know if you know of a london pusher, or rather don't. Jan had made Nic a baby blanket that was quite stunning - you actually couldn't see where she'd joined the rounds. Has all prompted me to add the 200 blocks book to my wishlist.

I have been going great guns on the sideways sock adventure, and it ended recently with me wearing this.

Now I know my eagle eyed readers will have noticed the slight sag towards the toe end. Lets just look at that in more detail shall we?

That's the end of the toe folded over. This is the downside of a sideways sock. I made it about 2 inches too long and whereas with your conventional one you could just rip back, with this one you're stuck with it. I considered keeping it as a lesson for the future but then there was this as well:

That's the front of my ankle looking very much norah battyish. I had mitred the heel but not used any shaping there and so with two major design flaws I did the decent thing and frogged it out of existence. The mark 2 version is going along very nicely.

Finally, I've been making flowers for my wedding bouquet - and this one is definitely not going to be thrown to the crowd. I have been doing them on the tube on the way to and from work. These are all the tapestry ones. I do like this yarn although I have a feeling it would pill like crazy with wear. If anyone has any experiences of this let me know.

I did get lots of other presents which were all wonderful but haven't photographed them yet. Thanks to everyone who sent emails and things too. Horrah for birthdays!

Wooo hooo

Well we did have a lovely time yesterday. Took a mound of cake and sweets to work today to stop me eating it all myself. I'm leaving photos until I've had a chance to send the link round the attendees but I did want to share this cake, which Julie made, and was wonderfully tasty as well as generally wonderful!

Then I feel these photos are so splendid I'll have to show off a bit. This was my present to Nic, and fling me sideways if the second photo isn't worthy of yarnstorm herself.

So here in rain central it is, um, raining. Can you believe it is July? I am getting married in a month (one month today in fact) and here we are trudging around in wellies. Actually wellies would go quite well with the dress but the shoes I've got already will be much better.

I was hoping to get a podcast out last weekend but paypal decided to cancel my payment to podbean and the whole site got suspended. I'm pleased to say it is all up and running again but it means it'll be a few more days before I get round to that. Now.... I'm off to trawl blogs to read about Woolfest.

Baby Shower Count Down!

Have done the biggest shop ever for tomorrow. Need to warn people not to eat too much before they get here! I'm really looking forward to it though - will be great to see old friends and meet new ones and all with Nic's happy times ahead in mind. Which reminds me, still need to finish my gift!

In between baby showering, MBA, Pooch-maintenance and...what was that other thing? Oh yeah, working... I have been doing a cracking amount of knitting. Had a bit of a medication malfaunction this week and the mindless knitting on the EZ charity jumper really helped me calm things down. I've chosen saddle shoulders as I hadn't tried those before and it is working out OK. Almost up to the neck.

Also while I was at our summer staff meeting yesterday I finished the cherry blossom sock using th yarn my SP gave me in my first parcel.

Rubbish picture as the yarn is really divine and not at all dayglo. Cast on the second one on the tube home and managed to go three stops past where I was supposed to change so obviously a rather enthralling pattern!

Have also started something I've been rolling around in my mind for a while - a sideways sock. I had one attempt earlier in the year which turned out extremely malformed but this one is looking much better. I had found a couple of patterns on ravelry but one involved doing the straight bits then lots of grafting and the other put the seam under the foot, which I am never fond of. So I've ended up doing my own.
This is the heel...

...which I've done using mitering and then a bit of jiggling. Here it is again

and hell, let's not skimp. Let's have a third shot. This is of the whole thing laid out flat.

This is the toe. Not pointy like my usuals but then the feedback I've had is that you *can* have your socks too pointy, something personally I have never agreed with.

So I got so far and thought "Ha! Easy. Away I go for real." I dug out some Zitron Lifestyle that is german but which I bought in NY earlier this year (note: still knitting with stash like a good girl). I bought it and was then shown some small child knitting with it and looked on with horror at the fairly broad stripes of fair isle lookalike which put me right off it. But knitting sideways all stripes are thin and overall I am really pleased with it.

That is one side of the heel you can see there. Next comes the sole then the other heel side before doing the top. What is that part of the foot called anyway?

Am hoping to get another podcast out this weekend. Thanks to everyone who has been saying nice things about it! If there's a blog you think I should be mentioning just point me to it and I'll give it the once over.

Button button, who's got the button?

Here is one for my podcast: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/littlelixie/podcastbutton.jpg

To get it to appear you need to use this little bit of html but get rid of all the asterisks as they're making it not appear as html
**<**a href="http://lixieknitsit.podbean.com" target="_blank"><**img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/littlelixie/podcastbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Lixie Knits It - the podcast!"><**/a>

and one for my ravelry addiction:

I can send people the photoshop file for the latter if they want to sub their own name in it. littlelixieathotmaildotcom finds me.

Woo ha!

Ha!

Been mucking about on photobucket.com

Ravelry mania is gripping the nation

Or at least that bit of it that contains me. Have been coming round from a migraine today but have found a little time to go on ravelry.com and have a poke around. I am so hooked. Do you remember when you first started blogging? It's like that, only better. I've been putting on my current WIP and adding projects to my queue and making friends with people (I'm littlelixie - send me a message!). It is just so darn cool. Join the queue now to get involved - they're sending out a thousand invites a week but the waiting list is something crazy like 7000 so get in the line now.

Enough hysterics. I have a finished object.

Isn't it pretty? I want to wear it right now but am saving it for the wedding. And while we're at it, check out that cleavage. Yeah baby. This whole fat thing has some benefits anyway.

Friday saw me get a make over and I think I ended up looking like aunt sally. I think it is the lips.

Once I got home and got rid of the lips I think I looked a bit better.

Overall I think it's pretty good. I must have done really considering how much I spent on the make up. I could have bought sooooo much wool with that money! Here's the haul:

So anyway, I've been away from ravelry for long enough. Might just check back in there and see what's new...

Podcast and Knitting magazine

Busy week so far... A new podcast is on itunes or at the usual address of http://lixieknitsit.podbean.com. Hope you like it!

At the golders green knitting group last night Laura asked me whether I knew my blog was in 'Knitting' magazine. One short trip to tescos later and here I am...

Weird huh? Anyway if anyone knows the woman who writes that bit do ask her to get in touch and maybe we can share some lixie-love with a podcast interview?!

Quite a lot of knitting to display today. Firstly I am *still* slogging away on the trekking socks. They are very much a 'when-i-can't-thi9nk-of-anything-else-to-do' project.

I have now turned the heel of the second one so they should be finished by the time it gets cold again.

I started a little charity jumper in the round when Pooch and I went to see the fantastic 4 at the weekend. Is nice mindless tube knitting for the tube/bedtime (yes, dudes, I knit in bed).

Finally we've got what i broke my yarn diet for, although it's allowed as it is an i-need-it project. That doesn't quite include the two balls of tapestry that called my name but anyway, I'm counting it as the day of splurging I'm allowed under stashalong rules. The yarn is DB baby cashmerino and the pattern is the retro redux shrug from Lace Style, which Justine and I discuss on the podcast.

I love Debbie Bliss yarn. And most of her patterns. And she's nice too. What a gal. And as for the book, I looooooooooooooove it. Sooooooo many nice things.

Have now had my invite for ravelry and am totally hooked. you want to get your names down and go and have a look at the screenshots over there as it really is lovely!