Lazy lazy day.

   Ello folks, seems to have been a good week for my blogging, just not sure I can keep it up. I didn't get any weaving done today as planned, I had a very lazy day sat in front of the computer catching up on tv shows. I gave up my tv in February but still like to watch the odd program on the computer, N.C.I.S, Sons of Anarchy and one I had forgotten about, The Mentalist which I caught up on today.I never really watched tv when I had it but had it on a lot as back ground noise, I don't miss it at all as it, usually, gives me more time to get on with crafty stuff.

  I'll get some weaving done tomorrow and I need to get some more knitting done on the five fold aran braid pocket scarf, I haven't knitted any since I decided it only needed to be done by Christmas. I still need to do some spinning for the fingerless gloves I want to knit, wish i had them now as the weather has really chilled the last two days and will be getting cooler next week. I have a tray of tobacco plants on the window sill that I hope are going to be ok with this cold snap.

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

Weaving anew

   Ello folks, yep I'm posting for a third day in a row. Can't promise I'll keep it up though. I finished weaving the pattern in the sock yarn and cut it off the loom, wasted a lot of yarn which I hate to do but I really didn't like the way it was. I have saved the wasted yarn, it might come in handy for something, stuffing maybe.

  I warped a new pattern on the rigid heddle after I cut the old one from the loom, didn't really take me long which was good as warping can be a pain at times. The yarn I warped with is the acrylic stuff I got free with my old knitting magazines, its pretty soft stuff and nice colours. The pattern is a sort of check board with the solid colours forming a 4 square(purple) in the centre with solid colours coming off that into an x(Pink, lilac) shape. Not sure that makes sense, I'll try and get some pictures while its on the loom and when I've finished it. Using a pink, lilac then a purple as the main colour, wish now I had used more contrasting colours but it still looks good. I think I can finish this scarf pretty quickly, have plenty of time this weekend to have a real crack at it so should take me less than a week.

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

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

   Ello folks, just because I'm posting for a second day in a row doesn't been I'm back to blogging full time but I will try and post more often again. Promise. Well I warped the rigid heddle loom and straight away I didn't like it but I started weaving to see how it would turn out. Not very well. As I said yesterday I was planing on working with sock yarn even though I knew it wouldn't be balanced because the reeds not set up for it, what I hadn't realised was that the warp patterns wouldn't show at all. I sort of corrected this by unweaving the rows I had done and re weaving them using double the yarn. With the double yarn the warps are showing better but not great. The whole thing isn't great, right from the start I wasn't happy with the warp, it just looked wrong.

  Now I have no idea what to do, I'll weave a little more of whats on the loom just to finish the pattern once through then I will cut it off and just keep it as a sample of what not to do. For the next project I could still use the sock yarn but double it through the reed for a balanced piece but I'm really not keen on this sock yarn, its full of flubs and splits easy. Probably better to weave with it than knit with it though. I might have a go at a checked pattern using double sock yarn in grey and white, or I might see what else is in my stash that I have enough of to weave a scarf. I'll keep you all informed.

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

A weaving week.

   Ello folks, you may of noticed I'm still not back to blogging full time, heh. I did manage to get a lot done last week, all weaving on my main rigid heddle loom. I warped and wove a pretty wide scarf using 3 variegated yarns that resulted in a nice mix of colours. The yarns were all double knits and the scarf drapes ok, maybe a little stiff, am still undecided. The scarf has been washed and I think its come out pretty well. Its all one size, no pulling in, but the selvedges(US selvages, didn't know that) are a little wonky here and there and I've missed one warp near the beginning. I also managed to do the hem stitch and it worked out really well with a nice tidy fringe that didn't need to be knotted.

  This week, tomorrow, I'm going to start a new scarf using sock yarns. I know about working out my set and balanced weaving but still need to learn about how things feel, drape. I'm not 100% sure of the pattern I'm going to attempt, have a rough idea in my head based on MaCleod tartan but not in those colours. I'll keep you all informed, I think with the sock yarn being so thin this scarf will take me longer.

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

Quick updates.

  Ello folks, I've been slacking again and not posting to the blog. There isn't really much to post about, I've had to rip out the scarf I was knitting as the pockets for it are much smaller than I thought. I had been planing on giving this scarf to my sister as a late Christmas present but feel the pockets are too small for an adult so will give it to my niece next Christmas. Which means theres no real rush for me to finish it.

  I wove a phone pouch on the inkle loom for my mom, Mothering Sunday today, but its turned into a bit of a disaster. Well its not that bad really, I did buy her a candle as well. I wove a band at 3" but when folded and sewn over inside isn't 3 inches so that's not going to work, I also folded it all wrong so the nicest part of the flap wasn't showing and I also forgot to sew the velcro tab on before I had sewn it all together. I really need to work on my hemming and sewing as well.

  Lessons learnt from trying to make the phone pouch on the inkle loom, I should of made two bands and sewn those together and I need to learn how to weave tubes and attach those instead of hemming. I was a bit rushed for time as usual, this project would of been a good one to try back strap weaving, even without doing fancy pick ups and what nots. Its her birthday in a couple of months, maybe I can get around to it before then.

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

Long way to go.

  Ello folks, I haven't really got anything to blog about. The new seed/moss stitch scarf is coming along slowly, got about 4 inches done so far. I'm only doing little bits of it here and there, think it will progress much faster if I could sit down one day and have a real crack at it but just not had the time this week. Maybe this Wednesday I can put some real time into it, or maybe start one of the other projects I've been meaning to get on with.

  I really wish I had already spun and knitted my fingerless gloves, its freezing tonight. Had to crack ice on the dogs outside drinking water. I'll have to start spinning soon as its going to take awhile because I want to do a 3 ply yarn. Had an urge to get the rigid heddle loom out the other day, or should I say night as it was around 11pm. I've just not been in the mood to do any weaving during the day but making a start late at night isn't the way to go. Once the looms warped it will be ok but I don't fancy warping the loom just before bed.

  Hope you've all had a good week, have a great day and take care folks.

Scarf is finished, at last.

  Ello folks, I've finally finished the moss, seed stitch 5 fold aran braid pocket scarf. This scarf has taken me two years to knit, I started it as a Christmas present but didn't finish it in time so ended up knitting a baker boy hat in less than 24 hours. Once I had finished the seed, moss stitch scarf I knitted the five fold aran braid cable pockets but they were too small, after that I put the scarf down for about a year. The scarf should of been done for this Christmas but again I didn't get around to it, only now just finishing the pockets.

  The five fold aran braid cable pockets are a little large and somewhat heavy on the scarf, the scarf stretches a fair bit. Other than that the scarf is fine, meaning I'm done with it. No more work on this one, its washed and blocked waiting to dry, but I am now knitting another moss, seed stitch scarf to go with the small pockets I've already knitted. I had already started the scarf when I realised how heavy the pockets were on the first scarf, I'm hoping the smaller pockets don't weigh as much and stretch this new scarf. Now I just need to get it finished in under two years and all will be well, once I decide who to give it too. I still owe one sister a Christmas present so instead of weaving her a scarf I might give her this new one.

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

Two pockets done.

 Ello folks, sorry I've not blogged for a few days, am still struggling to get back into it. I finished the last five fold aran braid cable pocket at the weekend. The pockets are not attached to the scarf yet, I had planned to do that today but life happened instead. It might end up being the weekend when I finish this scarf now.

  I've ordered another ball of the yarn I did the seed/moss stitch scarf and pockets in, I'm going to knit a thinner scarf to go with the pockets I had originally knitted. At the moment I'm not sure how to knit the scarf so might stick with moss/seed stitch again, can be a bit of a pain to knit but will match the pockets better as they have moss stitch borders. There is no real rush to do this scarf, it will be a fall back project while I work on spinning yarn for the fingerless gloves and weaving another scarf.

  Have a great day folks, take care.

No knitting.

  Ello folks, just a quick post today. Still trying to get back into the habit of blogging, that's why the times for posting are all over the place. I've not managed to get any knitting done this week so the pockets still only a third done. I'm hoping to get the pocket finished this weekend so that I can start spinning the yarn for my fingerless gloves, its going to get cold again this weekend.

  Have a great day and take care folks.

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.

Future projects.

  Ello folks. No knitting today but I did get much more done yesterday than I had planned. I think two more inches on the pocket and it will be done, or maybe I'll add an extra inch. I figure by the weekend this pocket will be finished and I'll have made a start on the second one. Don't want to put a time on it but I think I can finish both pockets and have them sewn onto the moss / seed stitch scarf by Monday. Famous last words.

  Once I've finished this late Christmas scarf I should start to weave a scarf, another late Christmas present, but think I'll spin up some yarn and knit myself some fingerless gloves. The weathers been really cold here so think the fingerless gloves are more important and they will take me awhile, couple hundred yards of yarn, 3ply, no dying and I think about a weeks worth of knitting. Should be able to get them finished before the end of Feb.

  Once I have my fingerless gloves done then I can get onto weaving the other scarf, going to be a very late Christmas present. Its the thought that counts. Planning on a balanced weave using a variegated double knit yarn. No idea how it will turn out but should be interesting.

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

A me day.

 Ello folks,
             I didn't get any knitting done yesterday but have plenty of time today. I'm planning on curling up on the couch under a nice warm blanket and knit while watching a dvd. Reckon I should get 2 to 4 inches done, then I'll have more of an idea how deep I want the pockets. With the recent cold weather we have been having the last week or so I'm thinking very deep warm pockets. Just hope I can finish the pockets before summer so that they will be of some use.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care and keep warm.

Here again.

  Ello folks, just a short post today while I try and get back into the habit of blogging. I managed 4 rows of knitting on the five fold aran braid cable for the pocket. Its still only half done I think, the more I knit it the more I think it should be a deep warm pocket, or maybe that's because of the really cold temps we are having at the moment.

  I've really been struggling to get back into knitting recently, seems more of a chore than a hobby and chores are never any fun. Hopefully once this very late Christmas present scarf is finished I can relax and start to enjoy knitting again. I do have plans for some future projects, I want to finish up spinning some yarn and knit myself some fingerless gloves.

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

Back?

  Hi folks, sorry I've not blogged in a long long time but think I'm ready for a come back. You know how it is, the longer you leave it the harder it seems. All is well over here, a little chilly at the moment though. I'm still knitting but not as much, my hearts not been in it lately. Currently working on a very late Christmas present, knitting pockets for a moss / seed stitch scarf. Working on the five fold aran braids, got about half a pocket done so far.I did knit another scarf as a Christmas present, a reversible aran cable scarf,sorry no pictures.

  Hope your all doing well, keep checking back and I'll see if I can start posting regular again.