Snows here

   The snow has arrived here, only got a dusting really. Less than an inch has fallen and I think it will freeze tonight and be very slippy tomorrow, hope we got more snow over night. The Siberian wind is starting to arrive too, its not so bad yet. Bitingly cold but not very strong yet. Still, it knocks a few degrees off with the windchill factor and will be even worse when it starts to blow at 20mph +.

  Having a major disaster with my yarn. One end I was winding into a ball has exploded into a tangled mess, all that work for nothing. I was very, very tempted to get the scissors out yesterday but walked away instead. I've gotten very little done the last few days really. I'll have another crack at the winding today and at least do a little spinning before I forget how.

  Short post today, got to get on with my tangles. Have a great day and stay warm folks.

Tangled up in blue

   Woke this morning in a nice warm bed, then had to get up to temperatures of 45f, about 7c, in the living room. Its rare I put the heating on in the morning because I normally have half a cup of coffee then go walk the dog and its pointless warming the house up then going outside. I put the heating on this morning and had a full cup of coffee, the dog can wait.
  Its actually pretty nice out, I was expecting Siberian winds today so dug my wool parka out. I ended up walking the dog with my parka unzipped, more to do with the parka being super warm than the weather though. Not been able to see the hills the last few days, they sort of merged into the cloud base but today you can see most of them so no idea what the weathers going to do, apart from remaining very cold.

  I have started winding the second Christmas skein in to a ball and its not going well this time either. I tried fitting it over the chair but it wouldn't fit, I guess it shrinks when you set it in hot water. I'm winding from both ends again, its a mess though not as bad as the first time. There has to be an easier way to winding balls. I'll have to be very careful making the skein with this next lot of yarn, hopefully that will making winding it easier, fingers crossed.

  I didn't get as much spinning done this weekend as I would of liked, none yesterday due to the birds nest issues. At this stage I'm not sure I will be finished by this weekend. I'll try and finish the winding today and get more spinning done.

  I did manage to get a bit of knitting done on the pocket scarf over the weekend, its 4.5 feet long now. I should be able to finish the scarf by this weekend then its onto the next one. I have some green sock yarn that I might knit the flame scarf with, haven't fully made up my mind yet. I do have the white yarn to knit the other scarf with too. I still need to figure out what needs knitting and what needs buying, I need some black yarn for some half finger gloves not sure what else though. Glad it isn't December yet, heh.

  Have a good day folks and stay warm.

Cable Bookmark

Cable bookmark

    This is my first attempt at cables. I did this bookmark from here . Lesley was kind enough to contact me and congratulate me on finally getting around to cables. There a lot easier then they look and now I'm hooked.

cable bookmark

This bookmark hasn't been blocked yet, still not blocked and it was a couple of months ago when I knitted it. 
  I first wrote about this book mark back in August. But didn't get around to taking pictures until now.

cable bookmark

 Cables are pretty simple to do and this one is very easy and makes a great starting point.
  I used the same cotton as I used on the baby bib. I've used this cotton on loads of little projects and have a fair bit left, half a cone and one unopened cone. I love this yarn and it was free too.


  I'm pretty impressed with my first cable work, it does look better pulled out(ie blocked). I will get around to blocking it and take more pictures for you folks.

Cabled Bookmark

    Have a great weekend and stay warm folks, hit minus 5c here last night. Brrrrr

Squared Away

   Its doesn't feel too bad out even though the temperatures are struggling to get above 3c. The spell is going to last for at least 10 days and maybe even longer so I hope you folks are squared away. I've just topped up my white flour and butter. I also topped up on treats like chocolate and biscuits, I'm pretty much sorted with everything else.
    I did buy some battery operated led Christmas lights, I already have a string of them around my banister going upstairs. Not sure what I'll do with this string, maybe put them under the kitchen cabinets so I can see in the kitchen though I do already had a battery operated Led light in there.

  I didn't run out of anything last year when we had the bad icy spell but I did notice the shops were short on things like bread, salt and cat litter.  
     Now is the time to stock up what you need before it gets too icy or other folks have the same idea and strip the shelves bare. Make sure you have enough food, medications, tp, cooking stuffs like oil and yeast to make breads. Water too in case the pipes freeze, just fill some pop bottles now.
    Don't forget matches, batteries and candles. I have an aladdin lamp that gives off an amazing amount of light and is pretty warm too, very warm in fact. Heat too, I have a paraffin heater and a camping gas heater. I also have plenty of blankets, fleece ones and wool ones.

   I bought some ice grippers for my boots last year and a couple of hiking poles as well for getting around outside. By the time the ice grippers arrived the ice was gone so I didn't get to use them last year but am sure they will come in handy this year. Might be a good idea to get some now. My mom puts thick socks over her shoes for walking on ice, it does work but goes through socks pretty quickly.

  Ok that's enough warnings, if you can't remember what it was like last year I can't help you. If you do want any extra help or advice email me and I'll be happy to help.

  Best to mention some knitting and or spinning seeing as this is what the blog is about. I did manage to fit more white bfl on the bobbin, a fair amount it was too. I started the second bobbin of white as well so today I need to spin up some of the oatmeal bfl. My new aim is to get it all finished by next weekend, plied, set and wound into balls. Then I can get it posted out.

   I got some more knitting done as well last night,got two pattern sections knitted up. Think the pocket scarf is over 3.5 feet now.I'll keep spinning once I have the Christmas stuff spun up but not as mush, I really need to concentrate on my knitting.

   Stay warm and have a great day folks, not sure what the picture post will be tomorrow.

Cold wind blowing.

   The wind has teeth this morning. Its nice and sunny, pretty warm to considering its around 4c, but once the wind blows it bites into you leaving you with ruddy cheeks. Like a piece of sandpaper would do. 
    I need to knit myself a scarf, I have a couple of headovers but I'm not keen on them. There just like big collars and a bit too tight. I should dig my hat out too, the one with the floppy ears because its going to get a lot colder and stay that way for awhile.

   Npower was in the news awhile back about having to pay some of its customers back some money, I haven't been with Npower for about 3 years but got a nice letter this morning. Its only £24 but its still nice, I can buy some yarn or a couple of books. A new spindle maybe. I did get some money back off them soon after I left for electricity charges, this time its for gas. So if you where ever a Npower customer you might be getting a little early Christmas gift off them too.

   Spun up some of the oatmeal bfl yesterday, looking at the kick spindle bobbin and wondering if I could fit a bit more white on it. I could take the bobbin off and spin on the shaft and fit loads more on that but think unwinding it might be a pain so will probably stick to the two bobbins I have. If I don't overload the drop spindle too much two bobbins equal the top spindle. I'm still learning to judge it by by eye and until I can spin a consistent width of yarn its still a lot of guess work.

   The pocket scarf is still coming along slowly, I don't feel in a rush to finish it so am only knitting one to two sections a day. I'll attack it more once I have finished off this spinning. Then its two more scarfs to knit and maybe one for me, or I could knit a better head over. One that is shaped and fits inside your coat better, covers the shoulders and more of the chest maybe. If only I had the time.

  Stay warm folks and have a great day.

Getting chilly

   Brrrr bit chilly this morning but not too bad outside, its still cold but nice and sunny with hardly a breeze. Its going to get much colder though over the next few days, not to sure if I'll see snow on this side of the Island. Hope so, I do love me some snow. I'm wondering if I should put the washing outside, probably not worth it now being so late in the day. Plus it would freeze my hands and I need those for knitting and spinning.

   Just ordered a stainless steel cup with folding handles to go with my water bottle and pouch, have been looking for one that fits for ages but have only be able to find titanium ones, nice but expensive. I do have the crusader cup, heater and bottle but prefer my small round bottle for walks. Now I can have hot drinks on my walks, though I'll probably pack a flask instead of heating my water. Still its nice to have options, now I need a double walled mug with folding handles.

   I did manage to get some of my white bfl spun up on the kick spindle, need to spin some of the oatmeal today. I'm hoping it will all be done by the weekend so that I can ply it,not sure if I can manage it though. I did weigh the ball of yarn I managed to untangle,it came in roughly ,very roughly, at 100g with my rubbish kitchen scales. I can't remember if this one was spun from separates or the big bag of fleece I got. I'll weigh them all once there balled.

  I got a bit more knitting done on the pocket scarf, theres no real rush to get it finished. Apart from Christmas fast approaching. Still need to knit two more scarfs and a pair of fingerless mitts. I probably need to knit a couple more things too,will have to take stock soon and make a list.

  Stay warm folks, I've got to go back outside but when I get back I have a nice hot chunky chicken pie to eat, Mmmmmm yummy.

Untangled

   Well I got the ball untangled and wound up, finally. Makes me wonder how I'm going to do the other one, I think once its dry I'll put it back around the chair and wind on from there into a ball. Glad I didn't keep it as a skein, wouldn't of been a nice present if the person had to wind it into a ball to knit with and it exploded into a birds nest. I'll wind up the one I'm spinning at the moment with much greater care when I take it off the spindle.

  I didn't get any spinning done yesterday due to the fact I spent over two hours trying to sort the birds nest out but did manage to do some knitting on the pocket scarf. Its pretty much flying along really, got 3 feet done so am probably half way. I still need to sort the measurements out, think around 5 feet plus the folds for the pockets so just under six feet.

   I'm definitely going to get some spinning done today, I really should get the next ball finished by the weekend though I'm not sure that is possible. The other skein is still wet from when I set it the other day. I did wrap it in a towel to get as much water out as possible but it seems to be taking forever to dry. Then I have to pray and turn it into a ball, hope it goes much easier than the last one.

Tangled Uniform

    Not a fun Sunday, or Monday looking at the tangled mess I still have to sort out. I wanted to wind the Christmas yarn into a ball so put the skein on my winder thingy, problem one was it didn't fit over the 3 arms. I had it over two arms and then started to wind it onto my ball winder thingy. It was then that it exploded. I spent the best part of the day yesterday trying to sort the mess out, at the moment I'm working both ends, one onto the winder and the other end I'm wrapping around the chair. Its kind of relaxing and maddening at the same time.

    I did get some spinning done on Saturday, I did a little bit of the white bfl on my kick spindle and more of the oatmeal bfl on my drop spindle. I also got a bit of knitting done on the scarf, I've caught up and passed the frogged part so am back on track there. Hopefully I'll get this tangled mess wound up today so I can get more spinning and knitting done.

    I did manage to bottle my bitter on Sunday though so all is not lost and I also got my crock pot/slow cooker too so that I can start dyeing again. I want to try my hand at using natural dyes like onions, tea and coffee.

  Just ordered another book, this one on weaving. I'll let you know what its like, it looks like it will have the basic information I need. I haven't used my loom in ages, will have to correct that soon. If I have the time.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Spinning and weaving.

Practise weave

   A couple of pictures of my weaving. I haven't made anything by weaving yet, I am planning on doing a scarf just not sure when.

  This is side on, it was the dotted rows I was having a lot of trouble making. I still haven' t done a piece with solid vertical rows yet. I have an idea how there done though.

first attempts at weaving

  The ends are not tied off, I just took it off the loom as is. It was really just a practise piece so I could see if I could do the dotted rows.

Practise weave

    The way to get the dotted rows was by using two strands of yarn around the shuttle. Once I have more time I'll try more than two strands and see what that produces.

first attempts at weaving

I think it looks pretty good, though it is very untidy, I can do the edges OK so that they don't stretch inwards as you go along but they do still need tidying up.

First attempts on frame loom

  I'm a long way away from weaving a tartan yarn, it can be done with the loom I have but really its done on a,I think 4 or 8 type loom.
   I'll keep at it when I have the time, probably once Christmas is 
over with.

  Ok now for my yarn pictures.

Hand spun yarn

This is my two ply home spun, its white and oatmeal bfl.

  I spun the white on my kick spindle and the oatmeal on my small top whorl drop spindle. No pictures yet of my drop spindle.

  The yarn has been set in hot water but I think I should of left it longer. The Christmas yarn I spun I left in the hot water longer and its come out much better with less twisting on itself.

Home spun yarn

I'll do more pictures of my home spun yarn starting with whats on the spindles to singles and all the way to plied.


I hope this post looks ok, it does in my browser but here writing it out the pictures are all over the place to make it work.

Back on track

   A'ha I got it, in the end. The scarf has been giving me a great deal of trouble trying to figure out where I was after I frogged back. The scarf doesn't really have a wrong side or right side but does have a beginning so really does have a right side. Problem was it wasn't matching up and I couldn't figure out why. D'oh, its the pocket scarf and I made a turn with the pattern for the pocket so it would match the scarf. So with the added row to make the turn the pattern has been turned around, glad I finally remembered that.
  The other problem that threw me off for alittle while was that I assumed, I know, that the mistake was at the end of the pattern around the full purl row but it was around the knit row which is half way through the pattern.

  So I'm back on track with the pocket scarf and more good news is I finished the second Christmas ply, measured it out on the chair and its approx. 145 yards. Mainly double knit with some lace weight I think where as the first one was more like aran, double knit and sock weight. I still need to set it in hot water, not sure whether to skein it or make it into balls at this stage.

  I'll get a little bit of knitting done tonight on the scarf and will get back to spinning again tomorrow, oh ya and I'll do a picture post too.

Of mice and men

   Well that didn't go according to plan. I got very little plying done because my left shoulder was achy and no matter how I tried to position myself it kept giving me jip so I had to stop. Figure I got about half way after stopping, resting and starting and should easily finish off the rest today. Fingers crossed.

   I did frog the scarf back to roughly where abouts I made the mistake but am having trouble working out where I'm at. I'm finding frogging back part way very easy now, it used to intimidate me but now I find it easy and don't lose any stitches in the process. 
    Never thought about right side, wrong side with this scarf because both sides are equally good so that was my first problem to overcome. Done. Now I have to figure out what row I'm on. I was hoping to frog back to a full purl row but think I went past it and don't want to frog even further back. I'm sure I'll figure it out in a little while, was just hoping to get some more of it knit yesterday. Oh well, the best laid schemes of mice and men.

  Picture post tomorrow, not sure what it will be. I was going to do one on my yarn but think it would be best to do pictures of singles then plied yarns and inbetween. I'll probably do a random picture post of the one plied skein I have and a little bit of my weaving. That's the plan so expect anything tomorrow.

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend.

Half done, half undone.

  Well I only managed to do half of my plying, one bobbins worth. It took a couple of hours, I could of done the other bobbin but life got in the way, as it so often does. I do have rough measurements this time though, the smaller tupperware box I wrap the bobbin yarn around is 20" and I got approx 150 wraps so that's about 80 yards. Only other time I've measured the bobbin was with a single around the chair and it was around 60 yards. Think I might end up with 3 skeins in different weights, aran, dk and the last one down to lace weight.
   The oatmeal bfl done on the spindle I wrap around the bigger tupperware box that measures 22", I got 244 wraps. Approx 150 yards, and I could of fitted more on the spindle as well. My singles are definitely getting thinner. Once all plyed together I think I will be left with, wild guess, 120 yards.

  That's the half done part, now the half undone part which isn't undone yet. That needs doing sometime today. Yes I messed up the scarf pattern again and got turned around. I noticed it a lot earlier this time at around 3" unlike last time at 10" but its still annoying that I have to undo those 3". This is the third double basket weave scarf I've done and the second one I've made a big mistake on. Again I'm not sure which row messed me up but haven't really looked at it yet, as soon as I realised what I'd done I put the work down. No point in getting frustrated.

  So that's my plan for today, ply the other bobbin and frog 3" of the pocket scarf. Hopefully I'll also have the time to knit some more, would really like to get 6" done on the scarf to make up for yesterday, and would really like to start spinning the last of the bfl rovings. What are your plans today??

Ply Today.

   Its a bit wild out, expecting winds around 50 mph and the rains are already here. I often love walking in this weather though, theres a certain isolatedness about it that gives you time to think. And of course the dog loves walking in any weather.

  I spun some more oatmeal yesterday, I could fit more on the spindle but think there is now enough on there to ply both bobbins with. I'm probably wrong but I need these lessons to become experienced. Being able to judge things by eye will be very handy.

  This will be the third time I've plyed and is the second skein for the Christmas gift. One thing I do like about plying the white and oatmeal is that you can see the twists clearly, helpful for the beginner. Reckon it will take me a couple of hours, haven't really timed it. The first time was a complete tangled mess and took me two days, I think last time took most of the afternoon. I'm aiming for 100+ yards again, fingers crossed I've got it right. I could do with some decent scales to weigh the yarns, my kitchen ones are rubbish.

  The pocket scarf is coming along nicely, its nearly two feet long now but will be folded over around the 5" mark. Not 100% sure of the finished length, I'll have to keep trying it on around the 4.5 foot mark...... Just got the tape measure out and tried it around my neck to my hands and think 5.5 feet should be about right.

  Well I best get plying, have a good day.

ewww Dogs.

  Postman woke me up this morning delivering some yarn and my new mouse. Its an optical trackball type, I'm still getting used to it as it seems super sensitive at the moment. I should read the manual and see what adjustments can be made. Very expensive for a mouse but I can't stand the normal ones and my old trackball did out last two computers, 11 years.

  So pretty early in the morning I'm up and open the back door for the dog and notices he's thrown up in the kitchen and there appears to be a dead round worm in it, ewwww breakfast time it ain't. As a care assistant I've cleaned up a lot of nasty stuff but I'm no good first thing in the morning, gag very easy. Just been the shop and got him some dewormer stuff so he should be cleared up pretty soon.I'll also look on the net in a bit for natural stuff seeing as he's already on medication, maybe I can stink em out with some garlic or something.

  I didn't get any spinning done yesterday but the pocket scarf is coming along nicely. The yarn I got this morning is the same stuff but in white I'm going to use for the second pocket scarf. I'll get the oatmeal spun up today and ply tomorrow, well that's the plan.