One pocket done.

  Ello folks, I've finished one pocket but only managed to get about a third of the second pocket done. No knitting done today and I'm not sure I can get any done tomorrow, if I can it will only be a few rows. Hopefully I can get most of the pocket finished on Wednesday, maybe even finish it off and get it all woven in and sewn onto the scarf then I can wash and block it.

  The weathers picking up, not sure if winters now over or whether we'll get more cold weather but will make a start on the fingerless gloves just in case. I might wait a week or so and see what the weathers doing then make a start on some seeds for the garden. At the moment I'm not 100% what I'm planting this year, tobacco again for sure. I think potatoes, few tomatoes, carrots, onions, herbs and this year I want to plant some wheat.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a good 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.