FO - Clogs

These have been on the needles for a while but finally, I cleared another project from the UFO pile. A pair of felted clogs (Rav link) from Fiber Trends. This is the largest size of the children's pattern and has felted down to about a ladies UK 4 or 5. They fit mum really well so hopefully she actually likes them and wasn't just being nice!

Needles: 9mm Denise interchangeables and dpns

Yarn: Rowan Big Wool Fusion - overdyed to suit mum
Size: ladies UK 4/5

This is my second pair of these and at the mo, I'm trying to work out whether I can rejig the pattern to make them large enough for me or whether to just bite the bullet and buy the adult version. I'm sure I'll make another pair before long as the MM tried these on as soon as they were dry.

Love to swap

I swore I wasn't going to take part in any more swaps for a while but they're just such fun, I couldn't resist one more. So a little while ago I joined the UK Spinners Swap 3. There were pretty strict limits on the swap. In total, we were only to send 200g of fibre and a small non fibre gift. 50g of fibre was to be spun by me and the remaining 50g was to be sent to my partner along with piece I'd already spun, the other 100g fibre and the gift. We were all matched up into pairs - I was with Gina (aka Norfolkknitter on Rav).

We both had a bit of a chat, did a bit of stalking and then got spinning. For Gina, I chose some Falkland which I dyed into various shades of green and then span my half. I know I'm still a relatively new spinner but I was pretty pleased with the way it came out - it still amazes me every time you spin something how the colours change from the fibre to the finished yarn. I realised I forgot to take pictures of the rest of her goodies but I found some very pretty BFL fibre called "Out in the Sticks" from Wonderfulwool on Folksy. It seemed really appropriate seeing as we both do live out in the sticks. Then I made a set of beaded stitch markers and an orifice hook for her soon to arrive spinning wheel and then some sweeties which I suspect she had to share with her little girl. I really enjoyed putting it all together but it is definately so much easier when the limits of the swap are so specific.

So, what did I get in return? Some lovely Shetland from The YarnYard. It's really soft and in the most beautiful heathery tones.

Some very cute chicken buttons. I think I'm going to have to make something just so I can use them. They're great.

and finally, here's what Gina chose as my 50/50. It's Halo superwash from the Natural Dye Studio. I've bought various yarns from the NDS and they've all been great - Amanda does fab colours. Gina's spun this up really nicely to about a DK weight and then Navajo plied it to keep distinct colour bands. I've never n-plied before so there's a challenge for me - I just hope I manage to match it or a close to it as I can.

There was a bar of Green and Blacks chocolate tucked in the parcel too which of course didn't last too long although I have tried to ration it a little. All in all, a great swap. I've really enjoyed this one, thanks again Gina.

Pimp that competition

I mentioned previously that I'd offered to provide the prize for the Phoenix Knitting Forums first competition so here's a peak at what's on offer to the winner. "Phoenix" and "Spring Greens".For a chance to win one of them, you need to be a member of the group and answer Mongrel's five questions posted on the AY Ravelry group by midnight on Sunday.

I love heading off to my knitting group, I just wish I could go every week instead of once a fortnight. Still my babysitters are pretty accommodating and you can't have everything. It's something I look forward to as you never quite know who you're going to see and what they're going to bring. I'm sure we all go more for the chit chat than the actual knitting, I know I do! It's always nice when you can make someone's day too and from the look on Caroline's face last night, I delivered on a promise and I might just have made hers. Talk about making me warm feel all warm and fuzzy. So what did make her smile? Well considering I just caused her to splurge on a brand new spinning wheel, perhaps I shouldn't feel so smug. Anyway, having lured her over to the dark side with a trial session on my old traddy, I took home her undyed roving stash and turned it into these.It's all mystery fibre as she got it in a swap from somewhere and three balls of it turned out to be pencil roving. So, here's my very first custom dye order in some of Caroline's favourite colours. She couldn't stop stroking it all night - I wonder how long it'll take her before she has it on her wheel?

What's in a meme?

This meme has been doing the rounds for a while but I confess I filched this from several other blogs including Kate's and Kai's. The tip is to mark in bold the things you have done, the things you plan to do in italics and leave the rest.

Afghan
American/English knitting
Baby items
Bobbles
Buttonholes
Cable stitch patterns
Cardigan
Charity knitting
Combination knitting
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers
Darning
Designing knitted garments
Domino knitting
Drop stitch patterns
Dyeing spinning fibre
Dyeing with plant colors
Dying yarn
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Free-form knitting
Fulling/felting
Garter stitch
Gloves
Graffiti knitting
Hair accessories
Hats: Cuff-up
Hats: Top-down
Holiday related knitting
Household items
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener stitch
Knitted flowers
Knitting a gift
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting art
Knitting for a living
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting on a loom
Knitting smocking
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting to make money
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Knitting with alpaca
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Knitting with banana fibre yarn
Knitting with beads
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with cashmere
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with cotton
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Knitting with dpns
Knitting with linen
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Knitting with silk
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Knitting with wool
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn
Lace patterns
Long Tail CO
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Participate in an exchange
Participating in a KAL
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book
Purses/bags
Rug
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Slippers
Socks: toe-up
Socks: top-down
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Stuffed toys
Swatching
Sweater
Tassels
Teaching a child to knit
Teaching a male how to knit
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy/doll clothing
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Writing a pattern

Some of the things I think I've done but am not entirely sure what they mean so I've left them. Anyway it looks like I've done a fair bit already but I still have plenty left to try :)

New Year, New Beginnings

When I first started looking into knitting online a couple of years ago I googled and came across a fabulous knitting community who welcomed me with open arms. I made friends, picked up tips, shared the highs and lows of life and knitting and discovered my local knitting group who I'd now be lost without. So it was somewhat of a shock to discover last week, with no warning, that the Angel Yarns knitting forums were no more. Not even the moderators had an inkling of what was to happen and the ripples of frustration and fury continue to flow. All the lost links, the depth of information shared, the friendships that had been built all lost at the touch of a button.

Anyway, as with all good things something will always rise from the ashes and so begins the Phoenix Knitting Forums. Built by it's membership out of love for something irretrievably lost and also no longer tied to seemingly dying yarn shop. Huge thanks have to go out to Traxia, Zyle and Peter for stepping up and building us all a lovely new home.

Now that it's no longer tied to one shop, we can also promote other people including indie dyers like myself. If you stop by the (I suspect) soon to be renamed Angel Yarns ravelry group, you can join in their first competition. This week the prize is going to be donated by me and if I understand correctly the questions will relate to my little shop. So for a chance to win a skein of my sock yarn, look out for the questions on Friday. The colour's still a secret but will be on a theme of "new year, new beginnings".

Here's one I made earlier

I have been intending to post about spinning in Australia but to be honest, I have stopped and started the post I'd been writing several times and in the end, I gave up. I did manage to take a snapshot of one of my regular spinning haunts on the veranda though. You can just make out Ashford traddy I got to play with and the pile of fleece I also got stuck into. I've got some more pictures somewhere so I'll have to root them out too. So anyway, as the title says, here's one I made earlier. Yarn!I picked this fibre up from a lovely lady I met at the Atherton Tablelands Spinning Guild Meeting. She couldn't remember what it was but there was 200g and it was green and soft and I fell in love with it. I've still got a bit of the fibre left actually but I also have just under 400m of rather nice yarn and it's a fairly consistent 19wpi. My first ever homespun sock yarn!

This is one that I started before I went to Oz. I was a little worried that the single might have lost a bit of it's integrity having sat on the bobbin for so long but actually, it plied up really nicely. It started out as some of my own dyed Corriedale (above) and ended up like this.100g and approx 315m at 18wpi :)

It occurred to me the other day that I keep on spinning and not actually knitting any of it up so now I'm in search of suitable patterns to knit them all into. Suggestions for the slubby earlier yarns are always appreciated.