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.