January Come and Gone...

Hi

Well it's been a while - January has come and gone - thankfully!! Never the best month of the year for me.

Creatively been busy - sadly none of the pictures I really wanted to show you - as the camera memory card decided to throw a wobbly today and all my recent pics - including a couple of beautiful baby ones are gone:( So much for modern technology...

Beth and I have dyed some gorgeous Blue Faced Leicester Sock Yarn (superwash treated), some 50% Suri Alpaca/50% BFL in 4 ply weight. Partly cos I found a source of undyed yarn in quantities and at prices that I find OK, partly cos wanted to play with dyeing yarn - can do fabric etc - but wanted more practise on yarn, and partly cos a few of us got together for a post xmas/birthday bash at a cafe we like to meet at now and again. So Beth and I dyed the yarns for our friends. I'm so sorry I can't blog the yarns close up so you can see the beautiful colours. But the recipients enjoyed their pressies - you can find two of them at "...and all that stash..." and "Knittiotheraphy" and no I still cannot add links etc to my blog.
A couple of the BFL sock yarn skeins that I did to play with the colours and a BFL Lace weight are shown here - but sadly not the ones we did for the girls.

I also had two days in the studio at Committed to Cloth last month - one the regular day and the other for a day i missed late last year due to the 9-5. I dyed 5m of silk/viscose velvet - to make a dressing gown. In lovely peacock colours. Here are a couple of pics - but of course you can't easily capture the richness of the colour or the texture.


I also screen printed a piece of linen that I'd previously screen printed. The first layer was a lovely swirl that I had printed with blue. Over that i screened a piece from Tennyson's Morte d Arthur - about the Lady of the Lake. I had typed it into Word and then tweaked it with WordArt. Very pleased with the result. Here is a pic - close-up. I used the same text on some green that I'd previously dyed - a sateen cotton.

I must be careful though - have hurt my hands/wrists/arms with the screen printing - i realised I hold the squeegie far to tightly and put too much effort into it - I must be careful - as almost three weeks later and post a visit to the osteopath I am still suffering.

I am also looking forward to going to SkipNorth in early March - we go and stay at a hostel in Haworth for the weekend and can learn about spinning (which I would like to do), dyeing etc and get the chance to visit the Knitting and Crochet Guild and also - of course - go shopping. I missed last years - but am told it's great fun.

In the next few weeks must make time to finish my CV and get it out and about.

I have made a little progress on my various pairs of socks. They grow a little here and there - as the mood takes. I finished the middle garter stitch square for the hap shawl and am now on row 14 or 15 of the borders - I picked up all round the square and am therefore knitting the border in the round.

I also found a lovely pattern for an aran weight beret with beautiful bobbles - designed by Ruth / WoolyWormhead. i am knitting it in a tweedy violet yarn from Rowan - but it's also troubling to the hands - specially those bobbles - so a I do a row here and there - and am getting there. it really is lovely and as someone who finds hats not the most attractive on me - but knowing I have managed to get away with a beret from time to time in the past - I am keen to see this one finished.

that's about it for now.