Getting windy

   The winds starting to pick up now, it wasn't too bad when I walked the dog this morning. We had a strong constant wind with a few strong gusts but nothing I haven't seen before, usually in November not September though. A little light rain last night and not much since but it is getting dark now so more rain my be due soon.

   I've knitted about 4 inches of the braided scarf, its looking good but a little tatty. I hope washing it when its finished will make it look better. The scarf seems to be knitting up fairly fast, I'm slower than normal as I'm still out of practise. I figure I can finish it in two weeks but don't hold me to that.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a good day and take care folks.

I'm back

   Sorry I've not blogged this week, I took a week off and forgot to mention it. There isn't a whole lot to blog about really, just some quick updates I guess. I should be back to blogging as usual next week.

  I think I have won the battle of the mice, I've not seen or heard any sign of mice for about a week. I think a couple of days of the poison being put out finished them off. I'll keep the poison down and keep an eye out but for now I think there gone. Just hope I don't get any more now the weather is cooling down.

   After starting to knit the scarf last week I had to stop, the needles and yarn weren't thick enough so the scarf wasn't wide enough. I ordered some tweedie chunky yarn and 6mm needles, got the yarn quick but the needles only arrived yesterday. I made a start again on the scarf yesterday, only a few rows but its coming along nicely.

  The weathers pretty warm today, a bit cloudy and windy though. Katia should be clipping the UK Sunday/Monday so the winds should pick up even more. The met office seem to be playing it down so I'm not sure how bad it will be. Last week we had gusts of 60mph, it was more like November than September.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Knitting again

   Started knitting a Christmas scarf yesterday, twice as I'm a little rusty and keep dropping stitches. Knitting chunky braid scarf which is a reversible cable scarf that looks braided. I might have to start all over again with larger needles depending on how stiff it turns out after I've knitted a few cabled rows.

  Caught another mouse the other day but there are still more and now there getting smarter and avoiding the kitchen. I've moved some poison into the living room but am unsure of where abouts they are apart from behind the skirting board, I might have to pull up the skirting boards. I hope I can get them all before they breed again. 

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Crafty mouse.

   I've got the poison for the mice and laid it out in several safe places, also re baited the spring traps because yesterday the bait was taken. The bait was left alone last night and I never heard a peep out of Mr noisy mouse, I'm thinking this one is pretty crafty and might prove hard to get.

  I've still not decided on a colour for the scarf but am leaning towards brick red, as long as its not too bright. I'll have to check my past buys on ebay and see what sort of red I knitted my moms flame scarf in. I'm going to use that same yarn, Jarol Heritage, as I really liked knitting with it last year, did two scarfs with it.

  Starting to think I need to dig my thermals out, the days and nights are really starting to get cold here. I really hope this doesn't mean a super cold winter.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Feeling chilly

  I think summers over, not that we've had much of a summer here. There has been a chill in the air the last couple of days that makes me think of winter and the need to get ready. Also makes me think of Christmas and the fact I better pull my finger out and get knitting presents. I've been looking at yarn over the weekend, I have already decided on a scarf again for my sister and have a pattern in mind too. I can't decide on a colour, I've never been very good with colours. The pattern for the scarf is a cable pattern that works on either side of the scarf, I want to add pockets as well.

  My other sisters scarf is already knitted from last year and I have the yarn to finish it off with the five fold cable pockets. I could make a start on that this week while waiting for the yarn for the other scarf, once I decide on a colour. My other sister and mum I haven't decided on yet, haven't given it any thought so far but might weave something, bags, purses, glasses cases??? I have time, no rush yet.


   I've taken care of eight mice and had thought that was the last of them as the bait has been left alone but last night I could hear one scrabbling around behind the skirting board making a heck of a din. With luck the poison will be here tomorrow and I can put a stop to them once and for all.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Mouse update.

   Just a quick update on the mouse situation, I've got rid of 5 but theres at least two more. I'm hoping theres only two more but there is probably more than that. I got two yesterday as I think I've found there mine base so should be able to finish them all off soon enough. I might get some poison as well to mop up any I miss.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Grrrr, darn mouse.

   A mouse or mice are still giving me the run around. At the moment the well fed mouse is making a mockery of the spring traps by eating the bait in situ without setting off the traps no matter how I set them up. I've tried tieing bait to the trigger but the mouse just ate the bait then went home, the duct tape under the trigger isn't working either. I guess if I wait long enough the mouse will get fat and heavy then will set off the triggers. For some reason my diy traps are being left alone, I probably need to place them better or make more.

   Blogging will be light again this week due to the school holidays, my hours are messed up and I have a few busy afternoons. Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Two down.

   Caught another mouse yesterday and now know there is at least one more, probably more than one. I figure a mother came into the house to give birth so maybe 6 to 8 in total?? I don't think the male sticks around after mating so probably just this family unit, if I can get them all quick there shouldn't be any long term problems, just hope I already have the mature female or that she hasn't already mated again. Not sure when the young are ready for mating, I could look the information up but I'd sooner spend my time killing the buggers.

  Ordered some split rings to make keyrings with so this weekend I might warp the inkle loom and start making some keyring lengths. My sister really liked the keyring I wove for her, she put it on her keys straight away. I didn't take any pictures but i still have some of the inkle band left over, I'll take pictures and post them to the blog. Its been a long time since I last did a picture post

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

One down.

   Had a couple of busy afternoons this week so I haven't been able to post. Not had time to do much of anything else either so don't really have anything to post today. I've harvested loads more leaves off my tobacco plant and theres still loads left too. The seed pods are just starting to turn brown so will harvest those as well for seeds for next year.

  I've managed to catch one mouse without an anvil or piano falling on my head. I had 6 spring traps set out with nutella but the mouse was able to pick them all clean without setting them off. The duct tape didn't work for catching the mouse as planned but some of it was moved so either the mouse did sort of get stuck but managed to free itself or it was taking the tape home with the nutella bait. I ended up sticking the duct tape with nutella bait under the trigger of one of the spring traps and it worked. I'm not sure if this is a lone mouse and my troubles are over or if this mouse had family and its just the beginning. I'll leave some easy bait about and find out for sure.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Mice, plan C. Tom & Jerry

   Well the duct tape doesn't work for catching mice, I think the mouse got stuck a little but managed to drag itself off the tape. The spring traps are useless, the light weight mouse can pick the bait clean in perfect safety. Plan c is diy traps. I've cut the top off a 2l bottle and shoved the end upside down back into the bottle. Its baited at the top and the bottom, the idea is that the mouse will climb in and not be able to get out. For bait I've found the mouse prefers dry dog food which saves me from using all my lovely nutella.

  Other diy traps I'm going to tray are a bucket of water with wire or string running across the top with a bobbin or something that will spin freely  in the middle of the wire. I'll bait the bobbin and the mouse should run along the wire for the bait which will spin around dropping the mouse in the water for a swim. Or seeing as this is starting to turn into a Tom and Jerry cartoon an anvil will probably land on my head.

  Another diy trap for me to try is with a large bucket, with or without water if its large enough to stop the mouse getting out, have a baited toilet roll balanced over the edge of something and when the mouse goes for the bait it tips the toilet roll over into the bucket. Or a large anvil falls on my head.

  I'll let you all know how I get on, once I stop seeing tweety bird flying around my head from the anvil injuries.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day, take care folks

Mice

   Sorry I've not blogged two days running, nothing to blog yarn wise really and I've been baby sitting. I am planing to do some carding and spinning today so I should have something to blog about next week.

  I saw a mouse the other day in my electric cupboard and have found evidence of mice eating the dog food. Not sure how many of the little buggers I have, never had mice in my house before. I've laid a couple of those spring traps. I hate setting those things, always feel like I'm going to lose a couple of fingers and yet the mice seem to be able to eat the nutella off them without setting them off. Plan B is I've laid some duct tape down sticky side up, not sure if its sticky enough or if the sticky goes off exposed to air but it will have to do for now until I can get the really sticky traps. Any other diy mouse trap tips please feel free to share in the comments.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Stormy UK

  I've not started or finished any yarn projects so far this week so I haven't gotten much to blog about. I did a little spinning yesterday of the white Falkland and oatmeal bfl that I have, still have a long way to go there before I get anywhere close to finishing. I haven't gotten enough of that yarn yet to ply with.

  The weather was better yesterday but its gotten worse again today with heavy rains due soon, the rains should make the riots in the North West a wash out tonight. I'm not sure if the rains will spread to Birmingham and London so there may still be riots there tonight.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Stormy weather

   Walking the dog this morning I had my full winter gear on. Wellies, waterproof over pants, thick coat and even my gloves. The only thing missing was a warmer hat. I do love walking in this kind of weather though, its so quiet and peaceful. The dog loves walking in any weather, it could be raining molten rocks with visibility reduced to 3 inches due to pyroclastic flow and he'd still want to go out and play, he'd also expect me to go with him to throw his ball. Still, if the worlds going to end it would be a nice way to go. Playing with the dog, not being hit on the head with molten rock or smothered in pyroclastic flow that is.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Blank mind.

   Short post today, my minds blanker than usual. I've got the loom set up to finish off weaving the clothespin peg bag. I'm still not 100% on the hemming so may play it safe and fold over the edges like a normal hem. I'd also like to make a start on knitting a washcloth as well but think I'll be too busy weaving and sewing. Maybe next week I can start knitting again.

   Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Weaving again?

   I'm going to finish weaving the bottom front piece of the clothespin peg bag this afternoon, I think it only needs a couple of rows and hemming. I think I might need to watch a couple more videos of hemming first, I know how to do the stitch but am unsure about what happens when you take it off the loom. Do I need  to fold over the edges or is the hem stitch enough to hold the work together? I think if the piece kept a fringe of the warps the hem stitch would work on its own but alas the clothespin peg bag doesn't have a fringe.

   I've found a very simple pattern for knitting a washcloth, start at the corner with 3 stitches then yarn overs for each row to the middle of the washcloth then decreases. Looking at the picture it looks fragile to me but my friend assures me it isn't, I have plenty of this grey yarn so I'll give it a go over the next few days.

  The weather is still muggy here but I think is about to break either today or tomorrow with lots of rain and maybe thunder storms. I'll be glad when its cooler.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Muggy

   Had a little bit of rain overnight and into the morning, nothing much really. Certainly not enough to put more than a drop or two into the barrel. Its very muggy out but I still put a thin jacket on due to the rain when I walked the dog. I think wearing the jacket made me get more wet than if I had run around naked. A nice breeze about now blowing through the house sure would be good.

  I got a little spinning done over the weekend but nothing else yarn wise was done. I need to find a couple of washcloth patterns so I can get back into knitting, will start that today. I've moved my long rug/mat back into the kitchen now its fully dry so I can now get at the chair I do my weaving on, now I just have to get into the mood for weaving.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Yummy tomatoes

   Yummy tomatoes are ready to eat, I don't think I'll have a glut this year like most other years. I planted my tomatoes in smaller pots this year, too small really but I needed the big pots for my tobacco plants. Plus with the wind killing a couple and damaging a few more plants my crop this year should be manageable.
  The weathers picking up, suns out and its looking to get much warmer for the next few days. I could do with some rain though, one of my water barrels is already empty and my plants get thirsty in this weather. Still, its a good excuse to fire up the grill for some burgers and tomatoes. My lettuce has bolted but I might be able to pick a leaf or two and the salad onions are ready too.
  No yarn plans for this weekend really, going to play it by ear. I'm thinking of knitting a washcloth again to ease myself back into knitting and that grey yarn I attempted to knit the phone sock with will work nicely for that. No idea on what sort of pattern but will keep it as simple as possible for the time being.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Red toms.

  There are at least 3 red tomatoes on my plants, I haven't picked them just yet. I'll give them at least another day to fully ripen even though I'm eager to eat them right away. Got to have a little patience when gardening.

  I'm still not back to working with any yarn stuff but will have a 10 min go at some spinning later and see how that goes. Hopefully it will get me back in the mood for knitting or weaving. I might get the drum carder out at the weekend and card some fleece, I always enjoy carding as its very relaxing.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Slow going

   I know a lot of knitters who only knit during the winter months. I tend to knit all year round but at the moment I'm having a quiet spell where I can't seem to get into any knitting or other yarn projects. I've had short spells before where I've not knitted anything and am hoping this spell will not last long. I'll keep at it until the spells broken but blogging might be lighter than usual.

  My tomatoes are not ready yet but are very close, I'm itching to try one and can barely wait. I love picking my first crops, a wonderful sense of achievement.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Orange toms.

   Didn't get much done over the weekend, read some books on weaving and watched a couple of videos on hem stitching. I'm not 100% sure I get how the hem stitch works once the piece is off the loom without a fringe. I'm kind of worried because my last clothespin peg bag started to come apart in places, I think that's holding me back from finishing this piece.

  I've been chopping up my tobacco leaves and I had a smoke of them too, they were difficult to keep alight but tasted fine and weren't harsh at all as I was sort of expecting. I need to chop the leaves up finer, might be a job for the food blender.

  A couple of my tomatoes are starting to change colour, none are fully red yet but in a day or three I should get a few red ones. I was worried about them ripening because the weathers been kind of funny this year but the sun is back out and its sort of warmer so all should go well.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Finally dry

   The kitchen is finally dry apart from a spot ot two like under the washing machine but that should dry up when I move it back into place, I'll be able to move much easier around the kitchen then. The plumbing still isn't 100% leak proof but I think this is as good as its going to get, its nothing major and I'll keep an eye on things to make sure they don't get worse.

  Harvested a couple more tobacco leaves and have started cutting up the ones that have dried and changed colour. I've not smoked any yet, the stuff doesn't smell like tobacco at all, more a green smell like normal leaves would smell. For next year I might look into fermenting the leaves on a small scale or drying them differently like the regular farmers do.

  This weekend I'm going to work mainly on the clothespin peg bag and see if I can finally get it finished, it was meant to be a birthday gift back in June so I should get a move on before next June swings around.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Still drying

  Things are drying up nicely here now, I still have more towels to wash and dry though and the weathers not co operating. I think it will all be sorted in the next 24 hours. Fingers crossed for no more plumbing problems.

  I've not started knitting the phone sock yet. I'm not too sure on how to change the border, add a rib or change the design and do moss/seed stitch. I think if I go with moss/seed stitch I'd have to knit the back in moss/seed stitch as well so I might just add a rib, or I could just do reverse stocking stitch. I'll make my mind up today and get on with it.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Flooded kitchen

   A bit of a disaster in the kitchen yesterday, a pipe blew off while the plumber was finishing up and flooded the kitchen. I've borrowed a de humidifier and am using the cooker for heat to help dry everything out. Not a happy day all in all.

  I made a start on knitting my phone sock in a grey sock yarn but forgot to adjust the pattern for the thinner yarn or change my needle size up so its too small, a silly mistake. I've only done two rows so its not so bad, I'll frog it and extend the border pattern a couple of stitches.

  Not much else to blog about today, I'm off to wash and dry towels. Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Raining.

   Its been a very wet weekend and reading the weather folks today they're saying it could rain for the next 30 days and maybe longer. It looks like St. Swithin might be right this year. I've managed to refill all my rain barrels and then some, I could really do with more storage capacity but the bigger barrels are pretty expensive.

  I made a start knitting the crossed arrow cable phone sock in a grey cotton but after about 10 rows I've decided to frog it. I'm not happy with the cotton, its kind of fluffy and I think its a dish cloth cotton. I'll have to go through my stash and see what other yarns I have, I know I don't have any suitable cottons in a nice plain colours so might have to go with a sock yarn. I have a grey sock yarn and also a nice dark forest green sock yarn I could use as well. I want a plain colour that is easy to wash.

  I didn't get any weaving done, I'll try and get the clothespin peg bag finished this week. Try. I also want to have a go at back strap weaving and finger weaving. I think the finger weaving/braiding will help me produce some nicer fringes. I really struggle to make nice ends on my inkle pieces, my hemming needs more work too.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Weekend plans

   I'm going to try and have a productive weekend and make a start on my crossed arrow cable phone sock and finish the bottom front part of the clothespin peg bag I'm weaving. Then I can make a start on weaving the top front part of the clothespin peg bag which is only a couple of inches long so shouldn't take long, then I can sew it all together.

  I bought a pdf version of Andean pebble weaving by  Laverne Waddington, its a little advanced for me at the moment as I've not tried backstrap weaving yet but would like to make a simple start on that this weekend as well. Nothing fancy but seeing as I can use the inkle loom for patterns I will just do a simple pattern to make a backstrap for my backstrap weaving.

  Its raining lots at the moment so I need to collect water to refill my barrels. I have one connector from the downspout to one barrel but I have to fill the rest from there by hand. I could do with a better system but its all I have for now so I needs to go get wet, several times. Empty the one barrel into another then wait for the downspout barrel to refill and repeat. Darn plumbers not due back until Tuesday, he let me down again yesterday.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Tobacco leaves.

   I harvested some tobacco leaves last week and had them hung up in the dark in the spare front bedroom and thought they had gotten a black mold on then so I took them down today to wash in  weak white vinegar solution. They weren't moldy it was just the poor light and the way there changing colour. I still washed them and rinsed them off in clean water and now have them hanging on the washing line to dry. I also picked another leaf and have that hung up to. I'll bring them in later and hang them up in the back bedroom but I think the first leaves are pretty much done. I'm not 100% sure what to do once its dried, whether it really does need fermenting or as some folks say just smoke it. 

  I've decided the go with the crossed arrow cable design for my phone sock, still not too sure about the back but might go with moss/seed stitch. I had to download the pattern again, I do have the pattern written down because I've knitted the crossed arrow cable twice before but I couldn't work it out, I guess I'll have to write more clear instructions next time.

  Hope you all have  great day, take care folks.

Slow post

   Late and short post today as I've nothing to blog about really. I still can't make my mind up about how to knit my phone sock, at the moment I'm leaning towards a crossed arrow cable with a plain back or slip stitch back. If I do the back in slip stitch I'm not sure whether to do it in one colour or mix it up a little. Still not figured out how I'd do some lace work around the speaker yet though.

  That's it for today, I've not done anything else yarn wise in the last two days. I really need to get back to weaving the clothespin peg bag, I hate putting work aside then not being able to get back into it.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Woven keyfob done.

   I finished weaving and sewing together the key fob I wanted to make for my sisters birthday, it took two days to weave because the tension bar on my inkle loom kept coming loose so I had to glue it and wait for it to dry fully. I glued the screw not the bar, so it still moves.

   That's all I managed to do this weekend. I did play with some braiding so I can make better fringes, I need to do a lot of practising there. I also thought about the phone sock I want to knit. I want to make the phone sock pretty thin so it fits my back pocket easily and I also don't want it to muffle the phone either so was thinking about some lace knitting around the speaker. I think slip stitch colour work would still make a thin cover, I've no idea how to incorporate the lace work into it though. I don't want all over lace for the front, just around the speaker part so the cover keeps the dust and what not out of the keys and off the screen. Any ideas are welcome.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a great day and take care folks.  

Weaving weekend.

   I'm going to warp the inkle loom in a little while and weave a key ring for my sister. I'll do a couple of book marks as well in the same pattern so as not to waste yarn. I figure I should be able to get that done today then I can get back to weaving the clothespin peg bag and make a start on my knitting.

  I was thinking of knitting a honeycomb cable pattern for my phone sock, figure it will give the phone loads of protection but might make it a little thick so maybe I should stick to a slip stitch colour pattern. The slip stitch colour work makes a thicker fabric so will give some protection to the phone.

  I still haven't looked for a washcloth pattern yet, its just for me so don't need anything fancy, just want to get back into the habit of knitting again. Saying that though I'll probably end up knitting the phone sock first.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Still with a leak.

   Well the plumbers just left, he's fixed two leaks around the stop tap but the other leak behind the board is still leaking. I had thought it was just a loose elbow joint from all the knocks the pipes have taken in the last few weeks but its leaking higher up. No idea where abouts, I'm going to start ripping the board off in a little while so I can get a better look. I'm really hoping this doesn't turn into a big job and half the kitchen needs riping out. Of course this means I'm still without running water, again.

   Ok, just took the board off above the worktop and it doesn't appear to be leaking from there so I guess its leaking somewhere just under the worktop. Its probably just a joint that needs re soldering, I hope its that simple. I f^%king hate plumbing!!!

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Back to normal.

   Not much to blog about today, I finished off weaving the red and black nylon band on the inkle loom so that I can weave my sister a key ring. I'd probably be better having a go at back strap weaving for a piece so small but have never tried that before so I will stick to the inkle loom and make a book mark or two as well. This could change as soon as I get up out of this chair and I do try back strap weaving. I'll let you know tomorrow. I do have a rough idea of the design, black boarder with a black and white check pattern.

   Still not knitted anything but I did get a new mobile/cell phone so will need to knit a sock for it, haven't really thought about it yet so have no idea on the design. I also need to look for some wash cloth patterns and make a start on that. I think by the weekend I'll be back to my normal self yarn wise.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Still got water problems.

   The plumbers due back on Friday, hopefully for the last time. The leak behind the board is worse than I first thought so I've switched the water off, I can switch it on when I need water so I'm not living without running water this time but I'm mainly living out of buckets, jugs and bottles again.
  The mini heatwave we were having has ended, getting much needed rain. All my plants are doing well apart from the potatoes which I have written off. The slugs and snails mainly did them in but I've also been a little stingy with the water on the potatoes as I really needed it for myself the last couple of weeks. I didn't need too really but I didn't know that at the time. Better safe than sorry.

  I've still not done anything yarn wise, not sure why not. I've decided to force myself with some simple knitting and will knit a face cloth. I really need to finish the clothespin peg bag as well. Also need to do a little something for my sisters Birthday but time is very short for that.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Still leaking, somewhere.

  The dogs not had any more fits in over 60 hours now so its looking good that they have passed and the increased meds are working. I even managed to sleep in my own bed last night, I really needed that.

  I need to get the plumber back out to check the pipes, I think there is a leak further along past the stop tap. I can't get at it at the moment as its behind the washing machine and boarded up but I think I can here drips coming from that area and the carpets wet around the washing machine. The nuts on the stop tap need tightening or sealing better as there dripping as well.

   I didn't get anything done yarn wise over the weekend but promise to finish the clothespin peg bag this week, I also need to make a little something for my sisters birthday. I think I'll make her a bookmark or a key ring.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks. Happy independence day to my American friends.

Yay, running water.

   Well the plumber did turn up and managed to fix everything, up to a point. Theres a small leak on the stop tap but I think that will stop once the taps bedded in. The plumber also forgot to re attach the earth cable which I did as soon as I saw it. Don't want the house to burn down. Its really nice to have running water again and now that I have I realise the stress it has been causing me the last week or so. Glad that's over with.

   The dogs had a couple more fits, last one was at 10.30 pm so I'm hoping that was the last. I slept pretty well on the couch last night and will spend another night there, then back to my own bed if he has no more fits.

  This whole week I've hardly touched anything yarn wise, just too much going on. I'll correct that this weekend though. Today I have to bottle up some beer but will try and fit some weaving and spinning in.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Waiting for the plumber.

  The dogs been having fits again the last couple of days, don't think I've slept more than 2 hours straight through in the last 48hrs. I'm absolutely exhausted. The vets increased his meds dose and his blood work has come back fine so its just a matter of time now for the increased dose to kick in, fingers crossed.

  I'm waiting in for the plumber this afternoon, the guy is useless and keeps letting me down so I'm not sure if he will turn up or not. I'm more than a little annoyed.

  Not much in the mood for blogging this week, its nearly over though. I'll keep you all informed with the plumbing and the dog.

Have a great day and take care folks.

Little to post.

   The plumber came out yesterday, he couldn't fix anything and created an extra leak so I'm without running water again. He's due back out tomorrow, I hope. The dogs due in the vets in a little while for blood tests and to see about an increase in his meds. Thats about it really.

  Hope you all have  great day, take care folks.

Mini heatwave.

   Well I was wrong about the weather, the mini heat wave has arrived. Its a heck of a jump from 16c, 60f, to 28c, 80+f, in less than 24 hours and today is due to be even hotter. Tomorrow the temps drop back down to the low 20's c and after that they drop even further. The swift rise in temps makes it hard to adjust to the heat and by the time I do adjust the temps will have dropped to more comfortable levels. The joys of the English weather.

  Got the house cleaned, including the stairs. Had to shut the water off again as the plumbing has gotten worse again but have managed to speak to the landlord and a plumber is due tomorrow.

  Only gotten a tiny bit more weaving done but I did manage a little spinning. I should be able to get back into weaving now the house is cleaned. I should think about a new knitting project as well soon.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Seed pods.

   The weather mans talking about a mini heatwave here this weekend, its sure not going to happen today. Rained long and hard all night and today is a very dull gray day, temps are 16c 60f. I can't see it getting much higher than that today and the talk of it going to 27c tomorrow, hmmm.

  My big tobacco plant does have seed pods, now I have to find out what to do with them to save the seeds. I really want the seeds off this plant as its been the biggest, fastest growing one and the slugs and snails have mainly left it alone. I think its genes will produce more great plants next year.

  I need to finish off the clothespin peg bag this weekend, also have to finish off tidying up. I still haven't hoovered the stairs. I'd like to do some spinning as well if I have time, I should really make the time as I feel in the mood for spinning. We'll see how it all goes.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Short post.

   Not much to write really, still weaving the clothespin peg bag and still tidying up. I still need to hoover the stairs, theres a fun job I really really love. NOT. Cleaning cobwebs under the cupboards too is another fun job.

  I need to take a couple of pictures of my large tobacco plant to show a tobacco growing friend, I think its gotten its first seed pod but I'm not 100% sure. If it has started podding I think I can start harvesting the leaves as they turn yellow, I really need to looking into it more.

  Short post today, hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Peg bag almost done.

  Almost finished the bottom front part of the clothespin peg bag, have to remember to hem stitch the top part while its still on the loom. I've already stitched the bottom, on the back piece of the bag I forgot to hem stitch it while it was still on the loom. I figure I should be able to get the bottom front piece finished and off the loom today, in between brewing some bitter and tidying the house.

  The winds blown over another 3 tomato plants, they will survive but in a diminished state. I think I've lost about half my tomato crop this year due to winds, its like its been November all year with these winds almost blowing gales all year round. The tobacco is still doing well but it looks like I'll have to remove the poly tunnel as there is very little room left in there for them, I hope they can survive the winds outside.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Still weaving

   Still working on the front bottom piece of the clothespin peg bag, only managed a couple of rows yesterday. I'm hoping I can finish the bottom piece today then warp the loom for the top front piece, that will only take about 3.5 to 4 inches of weaving so should go quickly. I need to start thinking about joining the pieces and button holes. I wasn't too happy with the looped button hole on the last piece but that was probably more down to me and not being able to do it tidily. I might knit small Icords and use those as loops.

  To join the front and back of the clothespin peg bag I've been thinking of weaving a thin inkle band and using that inbetween the two pieces, more sewing and weaving for me but I think it will not only look better but function better as well. I'd need to finish weaving the dog collar I have on the inkle loom first though. It never seems to end.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Back piece is woven.

   The back piece of the clothespin peg bag is finished and off the loom, at the moment I'm weaving the front bottom piece and have gotten about 3 inches done. I think another inch and a half to two inches and it will be done. The over all piece is 9.5 inches long. The back piece is a little messy colour wise but the front is looking ok even though I'm trying to match the colour changes. All part of the learning process.

  My landlord is still on holiday so the plumbing jobs are off the table until next week, oh well at least I have running water now. I might take another crack at fixing the problems myself, apart from the cock stop. I really don't want to mess that job up. Of course having the landlord/plumber come over to do some work means I have to tidy up odd places in the house like under the shelf where the stop cock is. Oh what fun.

  Not much else is really going on here, no tomatoes on my plants yet but there flowering. I think the potatoes are done for this year due to the slugs and snail. My tobacco plants are doing pretty well, the big one is still head and shoulders above the rest, its almost 4 feet tall now and with giant leaves. As long as I get a crop of tobacco I'll be happy with my gardening for this year.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Back to my weaving.

   The plumbing didn't go as well as I expected, I've gotten half the job done and have running water but will need the landlords help finishing off. 
   Now I can get back to my weaving and try and make a dent in it this weekend. I should easily be able to finish the back part of the clothespin peg bag and make a start on the front parts. I hadn't thought too much about colour, keeping it close to greens and blues though and I've decided to try and match the rows front and back. Common sense really but it only crossed my mind the other day.

   I've bought two books on braiding, finger weaving, Indian braiding, which is flat braiding and braiding and knots, which is flat and solid braiding. There both very interesting and will help me put nice finishes on my inkle bands and help me learn back strap weaving as well. I'll dive into the subject once this clothespin peg bag is finished.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

More plumbing.

   The taps and basin wrench have just arrived so I will change the upstairs sink taps today, after this cup of coffee. I'm not sure if I'll change the downstairs hot water tap as well, its no longer leaking since I changed the washer and you can't really tell its slightly different from the cold water tap. The cock stop, main valve to turn off all the water inside the house, isn't working to great either. Its not fully stopping the water and its leaking slightly. I'll leave this job to the landlord though, I don't fancy screwing up and flooding the whole house.

  Very little done fiber wise, my minds been else where. I have done a couple of rows on the back piece of the clothespin peg bag and hope to get it finished over the weekend.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Plumbing

   The upstairs bathroom sink tap has given up the ghost and is pouring water while turned off, the more you turn it off the worse it gets. I've turned the mains water off and will tackle the plumbing jobs today. The downstairs kitchen tap should only take me a few mins to put a new washer in, as long as the washer seat doesn't need regrinding flat. I don't have the tool to do that.

  The upstairs sink tap might give me a few problems. I'm really hoping its a 5 min job, change the washer and thats it but I have a feeling the whole taps done for. I have a spare kitchen tap that I think would work in its place but first I'd need to get the old tap off and some idiot has painted the pipes and nuts.

  ETA.

  Changed the washer on the downstairs tap, very easy and quick to do. I'm not sure if its working yet as I've not switched the mains back on but the seating felt smooth so should be ok.
   The upstairs tap is a riser spindle type, I've undone the head screw at the side(the only screw there is) but can't get the handle off. Spayed WD40 around and am now waiting for it to kick in. Second problem for the upstairs tap is I don't have any vise grips and my adjustable spanners doesn't expand enough to undo the body so I might have to take the whole tap off and replace it. Sprayed more WD40 on the painted(IDIOTS) nuts and pipe work. Tried to use a G clamp and towel as vise grip but didn't work, slipping too much.

  Undid the painted nut, not too hard but was awkward to get at. It was the wrong nut to undo at this point though, I needed to undo the top nut just under the tap but didn't see it. Put some more WD40 on, why is any plumbing always confined to tiny tight hard to reach places???

   Running out of ideas, I can't get the spanner on the tap locking nut to undo it. Just done a quick search and there are wrenches just for undoing nuts on basins.

  Bought the adjustable basin wrench and two taps, now I can replace both the bathroom taps and I will also replace the hot water kitchen tap so that it matches the cold water tap which I put in last year. I didn't do the hot water last time because to get at it I'd of had to remove a cupboard and the washing machine. Now I need to block the upstairs tap to stop it leaking until I get the new taps and wrench.

  Uh oh, the upstairs tap is no longer a tap and the water is just rushing out of it. Looks like I will be living with out the convenience of running water for a few days. I hope that basin wrench gets here asap.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

No fits.

    The dogs not had another fit since Sunday 4.30pm so with luck I'll get to sleep in my own bed tonight instead of on the dreaded couch. I've already lowered the dogs meds but not as low as they were. I'm giving him the original 45mg in the mornings and 60mg at night, not sure if the mixed sizes work but I can't cut the tablets into equal amounts. For his weight he should be able to take 100mg twice daily but these meds can be hard on the liver so I prefer to give the lowest amount possible. He's due blood tests this month so I will see how his liver is and what the vet says, it might be best to go with 60mg twice a day.

   I've not gotten much done, a tiny bit of weaving on the clothespin peg bag. I'm hoping I can get the front of the bag finished tomorrow, can't get much done on it today as I'm busy. I did sew the hem on the bottom part while its still on the loom with invisible thread, I hate invisible thread its a royal pita to use.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Dogs fitting again.

   My dog started having fits again on Saturday, he had 3 on Saturday and two yesterday. The seizures where pretty short and the first 3 his recovery time was good, his recovery times on Sunday weren't so good and he was very clingy and restless most of the day. Being stuck in doors most of the day didn't help, rained hard and must of put down several inches. 
  He seemed very bright and alert this morning but while walking him he became a bit skittish sniffing around and jumpy so i don't think the fits are over yet. I've increased his meds from 45mg to 60mg but I think they will take a while to feed through his system.

  I've made a start on the clothespin peg bag but haven't really gotten a lot done. Its hard to work while worrying about the dog, plus I've been sleeping on the couch the last two nights so that the dog sleeps downstairs. I've weaved about 3 inches so far on the back piece of the bag in a mish mash of blues and greens. No idea how its going to turn out colour wise but should be interesting.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Weekend weaving.

   My order for 500g of white cotton arrived this morning along with another book I found on ebay. I haven't had a chance to look the book over yet but its by Nina Holland and its just about inkle weaving. I have her other book on inkle, backstrap and frame looms and really liked it so think this one on just inkle looms should be great.

  I need to mow and trim the front garden, grass and trees, but after that I will set up the loom to weave another clothespin peg bag for my mom. I've no idea on what colours to use as I don't have all that much cotton left, I'm bidding on more but that will be next week and I don't want to wait. I could take apart the original peg bag to re use the weft but I want to save that so I don't make the same mistakes ever again. All part of the learning process.

  I've decided to weave the new clothespin peg bag in three pieces, one back piece and two front pieces. This way will give me more chances to work on my hems and I think will produce a nicer result. The loom isn't made for winding cloth or yarn, it can be done but it means taking most of the loom apart which can't be good for the tension.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Start again.

   Big hic up with the clothespin peg bag. I'd almost finished sewing it all up with the buttons on when I noticed some of the bag was coming apart. I had used invisible thread to sew the hem but I don't know much about sewing hems so hadn't really secured the warp threads. Everything I've done in the past has had a fringe so you just tie knots to secure, job done.

  Next time I weave something with a hem I'll do a hem stitch while the works still on the loom, I had to look in one of my books and found a hem stitch. Which should be soon because I have to start again. The bag hasn't fallen apart its just that the weft is all loose near the hand hole due to the warp coming loose. The actual hem part holding the weft has stayed in place.

  Lessons learned, theres something called a hem stitch, don't cut the fringe so close to the knots and don't try to finish something at the last min.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Almost finished.

   Almost finished the clothespin peg bag, less than an inch and its all done. Well it will need sewing and buttons. I've decided to do loops for the button holes seeing as I lost the original idea on what I was supposed to be doing. As long a I don't run into any unforeseen problems I should get it finished today.

  I'll leave the post here for now and get on with the bag, I might update the blog later when I have finished. Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Rushing along.

   I need to get a rush on with weaving the clothespin peg bag. I got very little done yesterday but did manage to move the piece along the loom so that I have extra space to weave and make the front longer, the loom I'm using isn't really designed for this though. I had to take the sides off and everything sort of fell apart from there but I did manage to get it all back together with no harm done. I'm not going to do that again though.

  I've sort of lost focus on the design as well and am now unsure about the button holes, I'll have a better idea once the front is finished but it might be a little late to sort out by then. I hate rushing but it has to be done by the 9th. I figure another 4 to 5 inches and the front will be done, the back will only be about 4 inches long so should go quickly. I hope.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Started the 2nd peg bag.

   I've made a good start on my moms clothespin peg bag, I weaved about 9 inches of the front of the bag yesterday. I'm not sure how much I can do today but I will try and get at least a two inches more finished. Hope I can do more but don't think I will have the time today.

  The bag is being woven with cotton yarns, I was going to do it all in one colour but am worried I might run out of yarn so have added another colour. I started the weft with a single strand then a double strand of the same colour then to change over colours I doubled stranded the weft in two colours before moving back to a single strand of the second colour only.

  Thats all for today, busy, busy, busy. Hope you all had a good weekend. Have a great day and take care folks.

A windy year.

    Its still pretty warm today but the winds picked up a fair amount. It seems to have been an unusually windy year so far, we've certainly had gales much later in the year than whats normal. I've lost another tomato plant today due to the wind, it might survive minus a couple of branches. This is the forth tomato plant the wind has blown over so far this year though only one had fully died. I'm glad I have the poly tunnel to help protect my plants even if I worry all the time about it blowing away.

  The clothespin peg bag I'm weaving at the moment is almost finished, less than a cm and its done. I need to take some measurements to see if my idea for a two piece bag will work, I'm not sure I can wind on yarn/cloth with this loom I'm using. If this idea doesn't work out I might break it down into three pieces, one back piece and two front pieces. I'll let you know on Monday. Once I've finished the clothespin peg bag for my moms birthday I'll experiment with the loom to see how easy it would be to wind yarn and cloth.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Pretty warm today.

     Its pretty warm here today, it might even break 80 f. The house is still pretty cool, being brick it takes a while to heat up but then it becomes oppressive during the nights. Luckily these warm temps will only last today then it will cool down again.

  I've not finished the clothespin peg bag yet, another two inches and it will be done. The shape seems to be working out, or misshape seems to be working out. I'll sew the bag together with the slit running vertical and make another one for myself after I've made one for my mom. I need to get some more cotton yarns.

   I'm going to weave my moms clothespin peg bag in two pieces without a slit in the weaving, the slit will be made when I sew the pieces together. It will be a lot tidier and with not split it should weave up very quickly. I've already ordered some buttons, a mixture of blues in different sizes. I hope at least some of them match each other.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Misshapen

   I've nearly finished weaving the back of the clothespin peg bag. I'd of finished it by now but have been busy the last couple of days with other stuff. I think I've managed to misshape the back piece to match the front piece but have realised the overall shape is way wrong unless I stitch it together so that the slit runs vertical and not horizontal. It will look ok that way whereas if I had the slit run horizontal the bag would look like a triangle on its side. Half kidding, its not that bad.

  I'll be making another clothespin peg bag a soon as this one is finished for my moms birthday next week. Not a great gift I'll admit but it will be hand made and useful. I'm not sure if I'll try and weave the bag the same way or try the other way, I think I'll have a go at weaving it the other way and see how it turns out.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

ETA. The dogs fine, he has to go back next month for blood work.

Dogs off to the vets.

   Rang the vets to order the dogs repeat prescription earlier and the vet wants to see him for his 6 month check up while on this medication. Not sure what this involves or how much it will cost, will probably need blood work and liver checks. I'm hoping they keep him on the meds, not sure I could cope seeing him fitting again.

   I finished weaving the front part of the clothespin peg bag yesterday, its pretty misshapen so might need to do it again. Weaving the slit is what I think has made it go all wonky. I've already started the back piece and once thats done I will decide on what to do next, I might be able to put it all together. If not I'll make a new front piece and safety pin the slit as I go along, I think that will help me control the slit weaving better.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Weaving the clothespin peg bag.

   Started to weave the clothespin peg bag on Saturday. I wasn't sure on how I wanted to do the piece so decided to do it in two pieces, the front and back. The other way would of been back, bottom front as one piece folded and top front as the second piece. Both ways so that I can have a hole in the middle of the front to get the clothespins pegs out.

   The way I'm weaving the front at the moment the split I've put in runs vertical, I'm not sure of any other way to do a split. I'll turn the front around once done so the split will run horizontal. This is the first time I've woven a split so its a little untidy. All part of learning.

   If I had woven the other way with the back and bottom front piece folded over then sewn the top front piece it would of made a nicer hole to get the pegs out. Hope all this is making sense, think a couple of drawings might of helped.

  The finished clothespin peg bag will have a hole at the top to put a coat hanger in so it can be hung from the washing line. Whilst planing what to do I hadn't thought this through but once I started weaving I decided to leave one half of the top open and use two buttons to close it. Other wise I don't think you could get the coat hanger in and out, it will also make it easier to fill with pegs than using the hole in the middle. For this I'm going to extend the back on one side for the buttons so that the cloth folds over, so that the coat hanger isn't resting on the button yarn. I think it will be stronger this way.

  I've almost finished the front of the bag, the hole is done just need to weave a couple more inches then I can start the back.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.
ETA I just did a couple of drawings but can't work out the format so can't post them. I'll post pictures once I've finished the bag and might have a go at weaving the bag again the second way.

Tobacco plant pictures update.

  An update on my good tobacco plant today.

Tobacco plant

This plant is really coming along in height now as well as width.

tobacco plant height

  Its about 6 inches tall now, last week it was pretty short. You can see the bottom leaf where the slugs or snails have been at it. The damage is minor and only happened one night. Its been left alone since.

Tobacco plant across

Tobacco leaf

  I wish all my tobacco plants where this big, the one that is close has been eaten by slugs. All the rest are small.


  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Shoulders better

   My shoulders better, couple of pain killers and a hot bath sorted it out right smart. Not sure what I'd done to it, probably slept on it funny.

  Got a new book on weaving today, ordered it from the USA. I've not read it yet but skimming over it it looks like the book I've needed since I first started weaving. Nina Holland, The Weaving Primer, A complete guide to inkle, backstrap and frame looms.

  Talking of weaving I still haven't finished the inkle band I've been working on. Talking of not finished, I've not finished sewing up the pipe pouch either. I did make a start on an Icord though, I love knitting Icords.

  Not sure what my weekend plans are, guess I should finish the inkle band, read my new book and knit more of the Icord. I'd like to get a little spinning done as I've been neglecting it for awhile now.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Sore shoulder

    Not much to report today, I've woven in the loose ends on the pipe and tobacco tin pouch. I still need to finish off sewing up the bottom of the pipe pouch and I need to get a button for the tin pouch so I know how large to make the loop. I didn't do any weaving due to my shoulder. Its a constant dull throb in my right shoulder, very annoying.

   A slug or snail has been at my large tobacco plant but luckily it hasn't done much damage, just one leaf and its not eaten much. I've put down some more fresh bait and will start going out again at night with the sugar. I'm also going to try some dry dog food as well. The plant is still looking good though, the stems pretty thick now and its growing in height too.

  Thats all for today, hope you all have a great day. Take care folks. 

What next?

  Sorry about no post yesterday, I upgraded my operating system and firefox browser and spent an afternoon messing around with that. I'm not keen on the new firefox so have also been messing around with other browsers. I'm not keen on how the new unbuntu os looks either but I can at least make it look like the old ubuntu.

  I've finished the tobacco tin pouch, well its pretty much finished. Its all sewn up but needs weaving in as well as a button and a button loop, also will need a long Icord too. I made a start on sewing up the pipe pouch as well but was interrupted so still need to finish that and weave it in as well. Now I need something new to knit but at the moment I have no idea what.

  I'm over half done on the inkle loom, had a couple of problems with the tension bar coming loose again. I should get this finished today or tomorrow at the latest. Next on the inkle loom I want to see whats the longest piece I can make, I'm thinking of making a insect guard thingy for the door instead of the long plastic strips I have hanging now. I'll need more cotton if I can weave the right length, I need more cotton anyways.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

A windy day

   Its very windy here at the moment and will remain windy for a few days. Weather warnings of 80 + mph gusts with sustained winds of over 25 mph. And its raining too, side ways. After walking the dog this morning I checked the poly tunnel, yep its still there. Unfortunately one of the shelves has been blown off dumping 3 tomato plants onto the ground. One tomato plant is snapped and I don't think has a chance of recovery, the other two look ok ish minus about a third of there soil. I'm not sure how the wind blew off a wire shelf inside the poly tunnel, the shelves frame is tide too the poly tunnels frame so I'm thinking the shelf was doing a bucking bronco trick.

  I didn't finish the tobacco tin pouch, I was trying to decide how I wanted to finish it off. Decided to put a couple of eyelets in it so I can knit a long Icord and hang it around my neck and for fastening I want to knit a loop and sew a button on. I need to find the video for knitting the loop thingy. I'm probably a few rows away from getting the tin pouch off the needles then its weaving in and sewing.

  The inkle loom band I have on the loom is coming along. I wove about a foot on Saturday but nothing on Sunday, I don't think I did anything at all yesterday. I think the inkle band will be finished by Wednesday, along with the tobacco tin.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Tobacco pouches and leaves.

  An easy post for me today, couple of pictures of my tobacco plants and my recent knitting projects. Click pictures to enlarge.

Tobacco plant

  I've been bragging about this tobacco plant for awhile about how big the leaves were and a couple of friends wanted to see pictures.

tobacco leaf.

tobacco leaf

This leaf is second growth and approx. 6.5 inches wide by 10 inches long.




  

  


   



The best thing about this plant is the slugs and snails have left it alone.

Tobacco plant.

  You can see the bottom big leaf is curling, I was worried about this but theres no damage to it and it seems to curl in different directions. The curling leaf is slightly bigger than the second growth leaf.

Tobacco pipe pouch

   Just two pictures of my recent knitting. This is the pipe pouch I knitted in slip stitch colours using variegated yarns. It still needs weaving in and sewing up.

Tobacco tin pouch.

  This is the tobacco tin pouch I'm currently knitting, almost finished. You can see the two balls of variegated yarn I'm knitting with for the slip stitch colour work. I used the same yarn for the pipe pouch but opposite way around. Not sure its made any difference to the colours. On the tin pouch I've added 3 knit stitches to the beginning and end before I started the slip stitches just to make it easier for me to pull the yarn tight and stop laddering. I should get the tin pouch finished this weekend, less than an inch left to knit.


  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Cold and dreary.

  Yesterdays weather seems to have been an isolated blip, today is back to normal cold and dreary and looks set to be this way for at least the next few days. My good tobacco plant is doing really well still, the folded leaf has folded in a different direction. I think its hunting for sunshine. The second big leaf I mentioned yesterday wasn't directly across from my first,folded, leaf but is a second growth leaf.

  I got more knitting done yesterday, I'm at least two thirds of the way finished on the tobacco tin pouch. I also finished warping the inkle loom and made a start on the weaving. The nylons a bit funny to weave with compared to cotton or that could be because of the long break from weaving I've taken. I'm keeping the piece roughly an inch across and the edges so far seem to be ok. I'll take pictures once its done instead of trying to describe the pattern, I was hoping to have finished the tin pouch for weekend pictures but that's not going to happen. Close but no cigar.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Hello Mr Sunshine.

   What was I saying yesterday about gloves and the cold?? Today is a lovely sunny warm(ish) day, no need for a coat this morning walking the dog and the grounds already almost dry so no need for my wellies. With luck this weather will keep up and make my plants happy. My main tobacco plants biggest leaf has folded over, not completely but doesn't look good. I can't see anything wrong with the leaf, it might of just gotten too big. The leaf across from it is now bigger and longer than my out stretched hand, about the size of my head.

  I got some more knitting done on the tobacco tin pouch, I'm just under half way there I think. I'm a bit busy today but will fit in at least 6 rows(one pattern section). I'll try for two but didn't finish warping the inkle loom yesterday and want to make time for that.

  Got the washing hung out to dry on the line, first time in a couple of weeks I've managed to hang out the washing which pushed the clothespin peg bag to the front of my mind. I have found the one I was knitting and the instructions I had written down, I'm going to frog it I think even though its three inches started. Then again I might just carry on, the tin pouch should only take me another couple of days then I don't have anything else to knit. Or I might just try and weave one.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

A cold May day.

   Wish I had my gloves this morning while walking the dog. We had a very warm dry couple of weeks a little while back but now its back to normal dull grey wet days. Cold too the past couple of days. I do enjoy being in the poly tunnel when its raining though, I love the sound of the rain the roof.

   I got some knitting done yesterday on the tin pouch, finished the half pattern rows and also knitted the pattern rows twice more. 15 rows in all, when I count it like that it doesn't seem a lot but i haven't been knitting a lot lately so I'm happy. I have nothing planed for today so I'll get more knitting done, aiming to get half way. I do have an urge to get on the inkle loom too so I'll take advantage of that and at least finish warping it.

  Another short post, hopefully I'll have more to write about tomorrow. Hope you all have a great day, take care folks. 

Coming along.

  Got a little bit of knitting done on the tin pouch yesterday. Finished half way through the six rows of the pattern, I hate doing that. Its too easy to make mistakes but I had to answer the door then cook then I had run out of time. I'll get caught up today and get some more knitting done. I think this pouch should be finished before the weekend, saying that though the way I've been working at my fiber crafts recently it will probably take 3 weeks.

  The war on slugs and snails goes on, I've taken the last two nights off due to rain and the fact I don't fancy walking around at o'dark 30 with a torch and salt shaker in the rain. Not sure if the organic bait I laid is working yet but I haven't noticed anymore damage this morning. Fingers crossed.

  Another short post today, its hard to blog on kitting stuff when I'm doing so little of it. Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Pipe pouch finished.

   I've finished knitting the pipe pouch, it still needs sewing up and weaving in, and made a start on the tobacco tin pouch. For the tin pouch I'm using the yarns the other way around, the greens to start and for the knit rows and the other yarn for the knit and slip rows. Not sure how it will turn out, about to start on the first yarn change and knit and slip row.

  Nothing else done yarn wise over the weekend. I have just won a bid on loom that looks to be a rigid heddle child's loom, I'm not 100% sure if it is or if its any good but it was a bargain so what the hey.

  The next few days I'm going to work on my knitting to finish the tin pouch asap and also weave in and sew up the other pouch. I really need to get some spinning done and some more weaving too. The inkle loom is still half warped, I think I'll wait until I get the new loom and work on the clothespin peg bag then.

   My war with the slugs and snails has stepped up a gear, I've laid down the organic bait but feel I've lost the potatoes for this year. A couple of the tobacco plants have been hard hit as well but one is doing amazingly well, the leaves are almost as big as my head now, not sure if I want to let this one go to seed for its genes or to smoke it all. I'll have to ask a tobacco growing friend.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks. 

Bloggers back.

   Sorry about there being no posts the last two days but blogger has been having some issues with some posts vanishing all together. You'd think I'd use the time to write some spare posts or get some things done but the truth is I haven't really gotten much done the last few days, just kicking back relaxing apart from the garden and my war on slugs and snails. The slugs and snails are winning at the moment, I'm waiting on an order of organic slug pellets but for now its a beer trap and a wander around the garden late at night with the torch and salt.

  Still not finished the pipe pouch but am ready to knit the yarn over row for the eyelets then its two more rows of ribbing and it will be finished, well it will need one end sewing and weaving in as well. The clothespin peg bag has fallen by the way side though part of its still on the needles I've forgotten what I was doing with it. I know I had big plans for some cables but remember those weren't working out and now can't remember what I changed. I think I decided to weave the clothespin peg bag in the end.

   Short post today while I check some things, not sure what other plans I have for today. I think I'll warp the frame loom and make a start on that clothespin peg bag and maybe do some weaving on the inkle loom, oh and get the pipe pouch finished and start the pouch for the tobacco tin. Guess I do have plans for this weekend after all.

  Have a great weekend, take care folks.

Short post.

   Stuck in the garden most of yesterday so I didn't get much of anything else done. I did manage to knit one row on the pipe pouch and cut one yarn, I'll finish it off today with 1*1 ribbing and some eyelets. Its a pretty tight fit so doubt I'll need a button to close it.

  I've got a few warps on the inkle loom, in black, so I need to finish that off today. I've not decided on a pattern yet and might work on the fly, its what I usually do any way.

  Short post today, got a banging headache so am going to lie down for half an hour. Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Undone.

   I had to unwarp the inkle loom yesterday, got near the end but ran out of red nylon thread. The piece was too wide anyways and the pattern wasn't going right either. I'll warp the inkle loom again today with a different pattern about an inch across so that it can be used as a dog collar. I have 3 ideas for patterns, will put pen to paper first to have a look see and try and figure out how wide they'd be.

  I forgot to mention yesterday that I took the scarf off the frame loom on Sunday. Its not good, the tension isn't consistent across the whole piece so its kind of wavy in places. Not the threads the actual scarf, its not flat.

  I didn't finish knitting the pipe pouch nor did I start the tobacco tin pouch. I really need to get those two things done today, it will only take me 15 mins to finish the pipe pouch then I can use the same yarns for the tobacco tin. Talking of tobacco my two biggest plants seem to be getting an inch wider by the day.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Weaving and knitting again.

    Well the poly tunnel is still here, it survived 30 mph gusts. I think it being so flexible helps but that doesn't help my plants weighting down the edges of the plastic, there leaves take a bit of a battering. Two of my tobacco plants are over 10 inches across with pretty broad leaves and all the tomatoes seem to be doing very well.

  I've started warping the inkle loom yesterday with the black and red nylon threads, I have the pattern I want in my head but when trying to put it to paper I couldn't do it so I'm not sure the pattern is possible. I will keep at it though, what ever pattern does turn out could be interesting.

  Almost finished off the pipe pouch, about 4 rows with eyelets should do it. Its pretty tight, all 3 of my pipes will fit in it but only the straight pipe fits really comfortable so I might knit another two for my bent pipes. I also need to knit another sock for my new tobacco tin, my old tins battered and its pouch is pretty battered as well.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a good day and take care folks.

Simple plait cable knitted bookmarks

Knitted Bookmarks.

Simple plait cable

   Click pictures to enlarge.

   Picture post today are some bookmarks I knitted with a simple plait cable. A very easy and good looking cable to knit.

Instructions. Cast on 13 stitches.

1.  (RS) P2, K9, P2.
2.  K2, P9, K2.
3.   P2, Slip next 3 sts to front on cable needle, K3, then K3 from cable needle, K3, P2.
4.  As 2nd row.
5. As 1st row.
6. As 2nd row
7. P2, K3, Slip next 3 sts. to back on cable needle, K3, then K3 from cable needle, P2.
8. As 2nd row.

Repeat these 8 rows for the pattern.

knitted bookmarks

  I added a few extra stitches for boarders, prefer a moss/seed stitch boarder and think the green/bluey one stands out best. The green one is knitted in a cotton yarn.


  The red one looks fine but doesn't picture very well, the cable is very pronounced in real life.


  The variegated one is knitted in sock yarn and is a lot thinner. In good light the cable is easy to see but in dull light you can't make it out fully and it doesn't show up in the picture very well.


  Have a play around with different yarns and colours, bookmarks are great to knit as there fast and make great presents to give.

simple plait cable knitted bookmarks.

  All the bookmarks are unfinished, they need weaving in and blocking.


  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Nothing done, lots done.

    I've not got a thing done yarn wise, been spending all my spare time outdoors or in the poly tunnel. It rained a little yesterday and it was nice to be in the poly tunnel working and hearing the pitter patter of the rain. I'm still not convinced that the poly tunnel is secure from a strong wind but I'm probably being overly paranoid, still I'll not be happy until its been tested. We may have 25mph gusts this weekend which will ease my mind a little but until something in the 40+ mph range blows through I'm going to be worried I'll wake up one morning and my poly tunnel will be in the next county.

   I need to start working on my fiber projects again, I still have the pipe pouch on the needles and its less than an inch of knitting until its finished. Nothing on the inkle loom at the moment but I want to test the new red nylon thread I have as well as test a warping method to check for length. The scarf is still on the frame loom, just need to finish off the yarn on the shuttle and I'll take it off there and see what it looks like. I'm not too bothered about the length of the scarf I just want to see what my over all weaving it like spread over a few days (weeks now).

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Poly tunnel is up

   Well I got the poly tunnel up ok, the frame was a bit of a pain and I had to put the cover on twice because the first time it was inside out. I now need to make sure its secure as there are only two ties and its all pretty light weight and flimsy. It did survive the night with 11 mph gusts but we get a lot stronger winds than that. I've got the frame pegged into the ground on one side and weighted on the other side but will need to make it more secure. The cover I'm going to put some grommets in and tie it off to the frame.

  Update
 
   Well I can't put the grommets in where I want them on my own, I need someone to hold the backing while I hammer the hole maker or grommet closer. I did put one in at the bottom but its useless there really. I've stuck some more duct tape on the cover to the frame, works great for now but isn't a long term solution. Hope the winds hold off while I figure out a more permanent solution.

  Nothing yarn related to report, been too busy in the garden for anything else. I transplanted some more tobacco yesterday and will get the rest done today. I did get some more nylon thread in red so now I can have a proper go at weaving a dog collar with the black and red nylons. If I have time.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Poly tunnel fun

   I only planted two tobacco plants outside yesterday due to the wind. I've put up a bit of cardboard around the plants to shield them a little but I really need to get the poly tunnel up so I can get the rest outside. I'm probably over worrying about the wind, a bit of wind will make strong sturdy plants, but I really want a crop so will be over protective of these.

  The winds not as bad today but it still should be interesting trying to get the cover on alone. Building the frame should be pretty easy, I might need help with the cover though. If I don't post tomorrow it means a hard gust blew and I didn't let go.

  Another short post today, hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Tobacco's on the march

   Not much done this weekend but I did buy Respect the spindle video from interweave for 10 cents/7p and watched that on Sunday. Respect the spindle was the first spinning book I bought and theirs loads of information and detail in there. I have one complaint about the video and that was on the plying section, Abby didn't mention which direction you should ply compared to your singles which might be a problem for newbies. For 10 cents/7pence I'm not complaining, I'm very glad I have the book though, much more information in there.

   I'm planting the tobacco out today, or at least the big ones. Its nice if you don't see your plants for a day or two then come back to a couple of monsters. I was starting to think they had all stopped growing but I guess a watched pot never boils.

  Short post today, got to get on with the tobacco. Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks. 

Slip Stitch Colours

Sl St Colors.

sl st colors

   Slip stitch colours is a really simple way to mix up colours, almost as simple as knitting coloured rows but looks loads better.


   I was put off mixing colours up for a long time because the back of the work is usually messy and I don't like that. With slip stitch colours you don't get any loops at the back of your knitting, though your work will be thicker but I think this is a good point and make use of it as padding for protection or added warmth.

slip stitch colours

   The square swatch in the top right hand corner was my first attempt at slip stitch colour knitting and used 3 colours. The other three only use two colours and there done with some nasty fuzzy yarn.

   To do the 3 colour one you need to...

• Cast on 4 plus 2 stitches.

• 1. knit the first row with yarn A

• 2. Pick up yarn B and purl the first 2 stitches, then holding the yarn in front, slip the next to stitches. P2, sl2 to the end.

• 3. Still with yarn B knit two stitches then holding the yarn at the back, slip the next two stitches. K2, sl2 to the end.

• 4. Swap back to yarn A and purl the row.

• 5. Pick up yarn C and holding the yarn at the back slip the first two stitches then knit the next two stitches. Sl2, k2 to the end.
• 6. Still with yarn C hold the yarn to the front and slip the first two stitches then purl the next two stitches. Sl2, p2 to the end.

   That's all there is to it, those 6 rows. To work with just 2 colours you have to experiment to carry the colours backwards and forwards correctly. Working sl st colours in the round is very easy though, just swap the purls for knits.

Slip st colours

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.