Scraps by Flapsi

It growed!

2012-02-09T22:26:00.003Z

So the blanket wasn't really big enough, and I did have 5 balls of wool left (and some odds and ends), so of course it had to get bigger. I picked up stitches and extended it log-cabinwise, then added an icord edging. I don't know if it's how you're meant to do an icord edging but it seemed to work!

Mum's birthday Shetland shawl grew pretty quickly too - just over 10 days of knitting then a day to block it out. I love the way the colours wave in and out with the Old Shale pattern. It was great to do and I think she liked it!

Progress

2012-01-20T14:24:00.003Z

Well the blanket got finished and has gone off down to my mum to keep her lap warm when out and about in the wheelchair - just waiting on confirmation that it's big enough before I use the leftovers to do a cover for the chair cushion!

I've finally got the New Lanark Aran project sorted out - after several froggings last weekend much to the amusement of everyone - I'm doing this:

But I'm using a broken rib pattern to give a bit of texture (k1, p1 on row 1 then purl row 2) and have decided against any waist shaping as I want a big comfy warm about the house kind of jumper. It's going pretty fast - the back is almost finished.

And no, Owen ain't ready yet. Watch this space!

Button up

2012-01-18T14:04:00.001Z

So that's something new done this year - covering buttons! Poor Owen got put on hold til I could find 4 large buttons which would not cost a fortune (what is it with buttons these days?). Finally (and yes I should have gone there first) I got them in mum's button box - flat and just the right size. Apparently these go inside the legs and arms and work the joints ... Owen and I are both a little sceptical about how this works in practice. But at least I now know how to cover buttons!

Muffins and blankets

2012-01-09T11:35:00.000Z

Bake number two from my Christmas book - Blueberry and Lemon Muffins - with a secret bite of cream cheese in the middle and covered in lemon drizzle - very nice indeed! And I learned how to use the whisk bit of my food processor (and where it was).

For some reason which I can't work out my thighs get awfully cold these days - so they really needed their own little lap blanket. Funnily enough I had some Christmas money left over and John Lewis had a sale on so some of the Rowan Felted Tweed Chunky came home with me and is now halfway to being a lap blanket:

I know this isn't quite in the Cold Sheeping 2012 spirit but on the other hand I didn't want to eat into any of the sweater amounts of yarn and I didn't have anything really suitable anyway..... honest. And this is reinforcing how great it is to buy something and start it immediately!

He that hath ears to hear

2012-01-07T10:54:00.000Z

He that hath ears to hear ..... currently also speaking or seeing no evil! One leg is almost finished but I need to go on a button hunt first as they're needed for the joints. But Owen is becoming more bear like every day.

First Bake of the Year

2012-01-05T10:11:00.000Z

Blackberry and pear scone - made with lots of ground almonds and gluten free flour - and er, quite a lot of dairy. Worked well - though maybe more of a pudding than a scone but then again I may have rolled it out too thin.
The recipe is from a book my sister gave me for Christmas - The Gluten Free Baker by Hannah Miles - lots of yummy looking recipes there so am planning the next one already.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T17:30:00.000Z

Happy New Year folks! And since I got my own internet access and new laptop sorted out in December then there might even be a few more posts this year....

So how did the cold sheep go? Well I knitted over 15,000 yards - but have to admit I did add some to the stash too. But I learned some things. It's a great feeling to buy something and come home and knit it up immediately! It's good to buy things that you know what you are going to do with!

The stash is now mostly large amounts - most of the odd balls got used up last year - so 2012 will be the year of big things....

But first, my first foot, Owen - currently the headless bear but getting there.

One week in July

2011-07-18T11:15:00.000+01:00

last week was lovely - a week spent in stranraer with my mum the pair of us plotting and planning some knitting projects to use up some of our stash - mostly to finallyy to finish off our cottons. So a lot of time was spent looking at patterns and on ravelry but we each now have 5 project bags with a pattern and wool in each one ready and waiting.

I even managed to finish one that I started - a lacey scarf in RYC Silk Cotton only 2 balls at the grand cost of 80p each in a John Lewis sale a couple of summer's ago!

W e also had chores to do - Alex the tiger was needing an operation and a bath !

And finally peace was shattered when everyone else came home - guess where Andrew had been!

The Cold Sheep bug

2011-07-01T20:46:00.002+01:00

Well I've been good since New Lanark in April and haven't bought any more wool - but I've knitted up lots! Some of that was thanks to the impetus of a Cold Sheep Knit Along over on Ravelry - so my tally for that was a baktus scarf, a pair of cosy socks for my mum, a cowl and fingerless gloves to match, a rainbow shawl from kureyon sock yarn that didn't want to be socks, a pair of socks in fingering weight yarn I brought back from Germany and somehow they magically match each other, and a thick hat that covers my ears for the winter! I've also finished a danish tie shawl and a pink cotton sweater. So am feeling good about it all!

We went to New Lanark!

2011-04-30T17:30:00.000+01:00

Knitting again! And cake too.

2011-04-27T15:24:00.001+01:00

Yay! The knitting embargo has been lifted ... at last. As long as I now knit with my new correct posture .... and of course not for too long without a break (Hmm). The arm is still a bit stiff but nothing like what it was. So a wee catch up - I only did half the Belinda as the variegated kidsilk I got to do the other half didn't really match in the end. So it's a scarf instead and lovely and soft too. Then it was on to finish the waistcoat ... the one that I thought about ripping out at least 4 times but persuaded myself to keep going. Bad move. The construction is ingenius but it only fits a beanpole which I am not. After a session spent pinning it onto my sister to see what could be done it got ripped out. Much to the joy of my nephew who got to do some of the ripping out. I was down at my sister's and we'd planned to watch Harry Potter that night so it was a quick Ravelry pattern search to see what I could find... and I found this great looking shawl which I thought would suit the wool. Of course the pattern was in Danish. But luckily enough I found an English translation so started off the lace edging. And after faffing around with needle sizes and exactly what to do with the yarn overs I think this is going to be good!

And the cake. Well I decided to use my Tesco vouchers to get Good Food magazine - new recipes to try out, hopefully healthy eating etc etc. So of course I made a cake! Kind of a lemon drizzle cake with potatoes and gluten free flour. And it worked.

Cold Sheeping!

2011-01-24T20:18:00.001Z

I moved home at the end of the summer and was rather shocked to discover how much (among other things...) wool I possess. Some of it has been with me rather a long time - like the wool I brought back from Harris in 1991.... eek. So even though I did get rid of some there are several rather large plastic really useful boxes in the spare room, which my partner says goes 'meh' whenever he opens the door. So I have been very good and not bought any more wool AT ALL since July 2010 - and then just recently I joined a Cold Sheeping group on Ravelry! So that's it in 2011 I am cold sheeping!! No more wool to be bought til I have used it all up....
But I have to warn you - such resolutions are dangerous. I spent a weekend sorting and organising and making notes of what I had. It was the first weekend I was at home after the New Year so of course I was rushing around like an eejit trying to get all the cleaning and hoovering and washing done. And later in teh day I realised my arm was sore. And almost two weeks later it still is! Apparently I have tennis elbow. Sigh. Which of coure means no knitting and lots of rest. So my question is how do you relax when you can't knit?

Finally finished Christmas and New Year!

2011-01-07T17:51:00.003Z

Well that's me back home and finished with all our gallivanting over the festive period - from home to OH's mum's in Dundee then to my family then home then back to Dundee then home then a quick New Year surprise trip down to my mum at Stranraer. Whew. No wonder I'm tired and have spent today kind of faffing about before starting back proper into all the things I need to do! No pics of all the fun things like playing with younger nephew's new pool table and being rubbish at Wii games though...

View from the living room window a couple of days before the big day...

Dinner table reindeers and cake...

The Christmas knitting revealed! A herringbone neckwarmer and wristlets in Rowan Big Wool for mum:

And a Noro Transitions cowl and wristwarmers for my sister:

And of course snowman and the felted tree came with us on our travels!

It's getting close to Christmas! knit knit knit....

2010-12-15T16:01:00.000Z

And I always think of red - probably my fave colour - is such a Christmassy colour. I did this Lacey Baktus for a present for my partner's mother - who's in hospital just now. It seemed such a cheery colour and might hopefully ward off any draughts round the neck! The wool is from the stash - it's Fyberspates BFL sock wool which I got a job lot of 6 skeins last year and have just about got through them! I find although the socks are lovely I wear holes in the bottom of the heels which is kind of depressing so wanted to try something else with the yarn instead.

Blocking it was a bit problematic - I didn't like all the little pin scallops I got or the way it was all kind of skew whiff so used the Yarn Harlot's method of thick string and pins - with a couple of needles in there for fun as well! I quite like the string idea but will need to get some blocking wires too I think!

In the bleak midwinter ...

2010-12-13T13:50:00.000Z

Well the snow lasted for two weeks - of only venturing out on foot all wrapped up as if for an Arctic expedition (complete with walking poles!), occasionally starting the car after clearing it out of it's igloo and pretending it was going somewhere, and of course of sitting inside knitting and keeping warm! So I finished the Debbie Bliss Diagonal Front Jacket and have a pair of Fuzzy Feet done in Cascade 220 ready to felt (and yes they are meant to be that huge honest, my feet are not that large). And did some more sorting out of stuff since I moved flat recently and need to get cupboards and things all sorted out!

And quickly on to winter.... brrrr!

2010-11-28T12:44:00.000Z

Autumn didn't really hang around very long - it's definitely winter now. I know this because the roads are all white, there's a blizzard outside and the car is going nowhere. Probably not even to work tomorrow by the look of things. Hmm. Better go and make a pot of soup before I start the day's knitting!

So here's the world from the third floor.

Nice to get a bit of sun amidst the blizzards! Doesn't last long though!

And so to autumn...

2010-11-17T15:45:00.005Z

And the need to use up stash in covering extremities! So this bout of chest infection inspired knitting has come up with two pairs of wristwarmers - the pink alpaca and a 2x2 rib that didn't make the photoshoot - a cabled cowl (very cosy) - a calorimetry that really does keep the head warm and works with hair up - cabley fingerless gloves to match the cowl - and last but not least I finished off the blanket! At least I hope it's finished - it still looks a tad narrow on the bed....

The months go flying by....

2010-11-17T14:55:00.006Z

So summer has gone ... no blogging due to various things like work, and holidays and oh yes I had to move out of my flat because the one above me went on fire and living in a smokey, ceiling damaged place is not a lot of fun... So here's a quick catch up of summer '10! I spent two weeks with mum, which we spent walking on the beach... eating cake...making cakes (don't try to eat these ones!) ... making felt (and a mess) in the kitchen ... mum liked this wee bowl...

I took a stall at the Stranraer show... my sister turned 50 so we had a party (and more cake)...

We went to Woolfest!

2010-07-03T10:37:00.009+01:00

Yay! My sister and I went to Woolfest last weekend and had a lovely time. We stayed in a great B&B with Herdwicks in the field outside and a wee tea room called The Flock Inn with a sit-ootery too. Saturday we headed to Cockermouth and spent all day walking round the stalls looking and touching and going oooh - then it was a quick whizz round before it closed to buy all we wanted to buy! I got some knitting wool - a kit from The Wool Shed called The Weskit which is a really unusual design but apparently very 'me' so my sis says. I also bought lots of fleece both for needlefelting, but also for wet felting and because I have a real hankering to start spinning again.... (watch this space!) So got some merino dyed tops, lots of different types of fleece to try them out - Gotland, Jacob, Corriedale, BFL, Wensleydale, some Jacob xNorth Ronaldsay and Jacob x Suffolk plus some other fibres to try - black bamboo diamond, soy bean and so on. I also got some off cut bags of bits and pieces of felts etc to play with, some brooch backs and keyrings bits to also play with, some olive oil soap for felting, some more felting needles, some hand dyed muslin and white silk to try nuno felting, some great notebooks......

3 things to kickstart some posts!

2010-06-15T19:57:00.004+01:00

Life has been very busy recently - with a change of job and all sorts going on so the blog has been kind of left behind. However I saw this on Fiona's Flotsam so thought I'd play along too: 3 names I am known by: Flapsi / Auntie Karen / Dr M 3 places I have lived Glasgow / Darwin / Kilbirnie 3 places I have worked Basketball stadium / Dojo / School 3 things I love to watch NCIS / the sea / taiko 3 places I have been Singapore / Washington / St Petersburg 3 things I love to eat Cake / Rice / Chicken 3 things I am looking forward to this summer 2 weeks with my mum / playing taiko / getting fitter! How about you, are you going to play along?

So what do you do when your family is away on hols?

2010-04-07T12:52:00.004+01:00

Why you use their floorspace to block shawls! And very handy it is too - saves me from having to walk over damp towels and stretched out woollies in my room. The pink one my mum knitted about 3 years ago from some alpaca dk and she uses it a lot around the house and as a bed shawl, so it's been in the wash. The other one is my first clapotis done out of Natural Silk Aran. And I must remember to get more glass headed pins as they're much less painful after pushing in several hundreds of them...

And I've finished the waistcoat from Cotton Jeans! It's the Urchin pattern from RYC Classic Beach book but I wasn't sure about having a short sleeved cardi so just turned it into a waistcoat instead. I didn't put buttonholes in the band as I'm thinking of making it some kind of edge to edge thing instead... okay I just hate doing buttonholes in cotton - I can never seem to match them up properly somehow as cotton is pretty stretchy.

So next on the last summer sale yarn stash bust is the Diagonal Front Jacket from Debbie Bliss Home book - I'm using Rowan again - silk cotton this time - 20 balls in a lovely brick shade for 80p each last summer... can't beat that really.

A good Easter!

2010-04-05T15:39:00.005+01:00

Well the sun shone, eggs were painted and rolled, cakes were baked and eaten, the nephews ate the chocolate while the grown ups were good and didn't, little chicks and bunnies got found in the garden and lots of pics were taken! So, definitely a good Easter! I've been knitting away on the Rowan Cotton Jeans and have pretty much finished the Urchin - as a waistcoat though I think as I'm not that fond of short sleeved cardis. Just got the button band and finishing to do. I wore the striped Buckland cardi on Saturday which was good - but the cotton has stretched quite a bit on the picked up button band edging so think I might need to frog and redo that bit. Bother! I hate doing button bands ...

Cottoning on!

2010-03-14T12:23:00.003Z

It's definitely feeling like spring is in the air now. I thought about a giving the flat a good spring clean this weekend but am far too tired to be honest as I'm still not over the last bug. So I decided to chill out instead and get ahead for spring this year with the cotton knitting! I still have the clapotis to block which I'm hoping I might get to later on today. I started this cardigan last night it's Buckland by Martin Storey and is now available free from the Rowan website. I'm using an assortment of Cotton Jeans in blues and greys which I got in the John Lewis sale last summer. It's nice to knit with and will be soft and warm and ideal for summer evenings I think. I've had a quite a few knots which is a bit annoying so I'm not sure I'd pay full price for it. My guage is off and I'm still concerned about it stretching and growing so I'm doing up the 38 size and expecting it to come out nearer a 42. Let's hope I've got this right!

First Clapotis!

2010-03-11T17:25:00.005Z

Finished this fairly quick knit. I used Rowan Natural Silk Aran which I bought for more than half price at John Lewis last summer - but I only bought 12 balls which wasn't really enough for a cardi, and I was having trouble with gauge and worrying about how this would stretch - so decided to use it for a clapotis - the amazing viral knit! It is very large - at the minute about 28" by 80" and that's not blocked - so the yarn does stretch like billyo and also sheds loads of bits all over the place. I'm hoping that will stop! Lovely colour and feel though so I'm hoping this becomes a much used summer wrap. And I feel great for having used up some stash!

Keep on socking!

2010-03-05T10:00:00.004Z

And the birthday socks are done - yay! I left them toeless til he could try them on but the length was fine so I could have been braver and finished them off last night! So one pair of nice thick chunky manly socks which he rather likes so that's good. The wool is a mix of one strand of North Ronaldsay aran and Jamieson's dk blue- so very Northern Isles.This pattern is a great way to mix yarns to get a thicker sock and use up bits and bobs so there might be more of these on the way!

Sockity socks socks

2010-03-04T10:50:00.003Z

~Socks all round!! Here are some pics of lopi socks I made for my sister a couple of months back when she'd had an operation on her foot. The pattern is Joan Gooth-Buchanan's Fireside Socks from Spin Off's Socks. It knits up really quickly and is great for using up all sorts of odds and ends. I've got another pair on the needles at the minute for boyfriend's birthday (eek which is tommorrow so better get cracking on them). This time I matched up some of the remainders of the North Ronaldsay grey aran with a skein of Jamieson's Shetland double knit - so they're Northern Isles socks for sure as I brought both yarns back from Orkney and Shetland trips in various years!

Clapotis time!

2010-03-03T12:25:00.007Z

Well I've given in to the knitting forces in the world and cast on for a Clapotis, the amazingly popular (and free!) scarf/shawl pattern with a drop stitch feature. With the blanket on hold til more supplies arrive from Shetland, I needed a mindless and easy knit as the asthma has kicked in thanks to last week's cold and I'm spending quite a bit of at home trying to chill out time. So I raided the store of stash from John Lewis sale last summer when I got a lot of cotton and rowan wools. I had bought 12 balls of Natural Silk Aran which I had loved the look of before but was way too expensive at full price - but at £2 a ball it was much more reasonable. But there's not a lot of yardage in a 50g ball so I didn't quite have enough for any of the patterns I liked. I cast on for a waistcoat but I couldn't make gauge and realised that this wool will stretch and grow so decided to use it for a clapotis for the summer. There's been a couple done on Ravelry in this wool - one frogged as she said it was too heavy which i kind of wondered about -but others thought it was great so I've taken the plunge. It's knitting up pretty quickly and I'm almost half way through already.

And they're mine!!

2010-02-27T19:43:00.002Z

Yes, finally got a pair of these socks that I can keep for myself.... (the others went to mum who's not been that well and loves having them to wear about the house as they're very cosy so that's okay really) which is just as well cos I'm starting to think it would be nice to do a different pattern! It's fyberspates space dyed blue faced leicester sock wool and ridge and furrow pattern. And the blanket is growing - it did really need more wool so I sent off to Shetland for about another 600 grms - there's nothing worse than a too short and too narrow blanket when you're trying to snuggle on the sofa. So, what should I try to finish off now?

Flowers

2010-02-19T19:52:00.002Z

I was given these lovely flowers on Monday.... nice :)

More socks, sand and cake

2010-02-15T12:53:00.005Z

Getting faster with this pattern now - just finished another pair for my mum, who was fascinated with the pooling of the colours and now owns 3 of these in different colourways. So have finally cast on a pair for myself...

We went out for some fresh air on Saturday - walk on the beach with the throwing of stones optional - then some nice tea and cake in the tearoom before back home for more food and DVDs. Nephew is one-armed cos of a kick boxing fall last week.... (yes auntie was in charge....) oops.

This cheery little robin was singing away inside Dobbies on my way home, made me smile!

A little winter trip

2010-02-08T19:37:00.002Z

I love getting to take a little winter work trip that is almost as good as holiday - a week in Germany - lots of snow - I was staying in this lovely little red house in the woods - good company, good food (great cake....) and a day off in Bonn to go shopping and get some lovely sock wool. Which is just as well as I lied in my last post - I didn't get those nice fyberspates socks - I gave them to Mum who's not been that well and finds them really cosy in the house. So of course she got them and I just cast on the second of another pair for her. Ah well, I'll get a pair soon!

Christmas knitting! (And beyond...)

2010-01-20T20:36:00.005Z

Well the pressies have all been given out long ago now so here's a few things I made for family this Christmas: This was a bowl I made for Mum from the felted (intentionally!) remains of Colinette jacket I knitted when we were on holiday one year, but it just kept stretching and growing and was pretty heavy so I flung in the machine to see what came out, and what came out was pretty thick! I also made a brooch out of hand dyed tiny skeins I got on Islay one year, with alpaca yarn for the leaves. Also lurking in there is a small 'stand' I made using my lucet for a large African egg which will now not be rolling all over her dressing table!And this a handbag for my sister - made of Noro Kureyon and kind of a booga bag but not exactly! I put in a snap fastener in the middle and hid it with the felted flowers on either side. And so to me.... draughts are now excluded from my flat! And I have regained a large area of the cupboard previously full of quilt polyfibre wadding stuff which is now fulfilling a useful function in life. And of course, another pair of socks - for me these ones - yay - yarn is blue face leicester from Fyberspates.

Random Christmas and New Year stuff

2010-01-12T15:41:00.004Z

Well yes I made it down to my sister's - thanks citylink! - and had a great time for almost two whole weeks! Lots of DVDs (in pjs on sofa with breakfast), fun and games and too much to eat as usual. Lots of nice pressies all round, masses of photos taken, a real mess made when we decided to have a scrap day and lots of snow and ice still. So here's to 2010. And please I demand the right of veto on whatever crafty things my sister and mum think it will be a good idea to make next year ... poor Rudolph just made it and no more!

But I do have some place to go....

2009-12-22T21:18:00.007Z

So why is it still snowing?? Why didn't it wait til everyone was where they want to be at Christmas and then snow... Harrumph. I have become a real woose about driving in snow and bad weather but my sister's is a couple of hours away over some moors etc so here's hoping that the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday really holds up and the snow lets off. This is the matchbox I sent off for our team swap on UKS - surprising how much you can get in a matchbox!

He's back!

2009-12-06T19:58:00.003Z

It's December now.... so guess who sneaked out of the cupboard? Well I guess he's had a long sleep so is full of energy now! I'm not going to try to journal my christmas this year as I'm still on the road quite a bit for another week and don't really need anything else in my life that would make me feel 'behind' but at some point I'll do something - an A-Z maybe though I think some of those letters might be hard to find something for.

Where did November go?

2009-11-28T16:17:00.003Z

It just wented ... so fast that it's all a kind of blur. I've been on the road a lot with the job so I guess that explains it. But it's almost December and I've booked a table at a craft fair on the 13th (eek two weeks tomorrow!!) so need to get cracking and felting and sewing and allsorts. But first I have to tidy up - I noticed spiders' webs on the kitchen windowsill today, the new iron I bought inOctober is still in its box, I can't find anything (and certainly not the carpet) but hey, I have done all the christmas shopping ! (well okay I still have to buy for OH but he's just awkward) So of course I am putting off the massive tidy up operation by 'tidying up' my pc and webs and stuff. Hhmmm. But here's a wee reminder that it'll be Christmas card time soon!!

Dip and wet and bend and stretch!

2009-10-02T18:10:00.005+01:00

Well the fluey lurgey thing continued - kind of got better then got worse again with sore throat and swollen glands - and the doc did end up testing for swine flu tho not heard back yet - so maybe I lied last time! Oops. We'll see.Anyway, this being at home is great for the getting things finished malarky. I sewed up the Aran lacey jacket from Debbie Bliss's first magazine (had to redo the back from the armholes as I hadn't quite done it right and didn't know quite what I'd done wrong so it was easier to redo....) but it looked kind of lumpy and a bit tight - so I bravely filled the bath, dunked it in, then stretched it and pinned it to towels on the floor. And about two days later I have a wearable comfy jacket (needs buttons though). Emboldened by this and taking deep breaths I finally grafted the cockleshell scarf I started on Shetland last hols - then spent ages weaving ends - then repeated the dunk and stretch bit. In this fine wool the results were amazing and dried really quickly. The crinkled mass all stretched out into lovely cockleshells after all!

Gearing up for Autumn

2009-09-17T21:34:00.003+01:00

Well all this being laid low by some fluey buggy lurgey thing (not swine flu, honest!) really does help get stuff finished! This all ready for autumn bodywarmer was going to be a jacket but it's quite bulky and also I was running out of wool, so it's a long hip warming length gilet. The button band and collar were a bit tricksy but think it's worked out ok. The wool was a fab bargain pack I got from Jamieson's when up in Shetland on holiday last year (and I need to knit up all those bargain packs so I can go back again some time!).

Blanket done!

2009-09-15T19:13:00.003+01:00

Well, it's not as big as I'd have liked, but I've used up all the wool - so I guess it's done. It's actually a good size for over the back of the sofa ready to get put to use while telly watching or reading in the evening -so I'm happy! And it was getting rather awkward to knit....

The big red bag

2009-09-11T10:52:00.002+01:00

Yes it was big when I was knitting it .... It was big when it was ready to felt.... and it's still big! Yay for a big red bag. Of course if I fill it with things it might be too heavy to lift ... and I need to find a big zip to finish it off, but it has used up a huge pile of lopi wool that I got on ebay and I've wanted to try this pattern (Noni Adventure Bag) for ages. So I did. Other knitting updates are that the blanket is finished (ie I knit up all the wool I had) It's not quite a single blanket size but good enough for snuggling under on the sofa watching telly! If I find more suitable wool at some point it might enlarged. I'm trying to finish off wintery knits at the mo so as to be ready when it comes - almost done the back of the Shetland stripey jacket though on looking at the wool I have left it might become a gilet instead. And at some point soon I will sew up the lacy Donegal Debbie Bliss jacket that has sat in bits since last October.....

Ooh I felt that!

2009-08-12T13:36:00.006+01:00

Time is flying on again - and I've been busy of course - hols on the Northumberland coast were great - lots of time on the beach with kites and rock pools and walks, lots of knitting (a disastrous pink thing which got frogged) all the Harry Potter films (on various nights) and i got my blanket finished (well I ran out of wool so there's no border on it yet). And sadly I had to go back to work and it's been a hectic August so far but here's a few things to catch up on.

French Market Bag

2009-06-13T18:34:00.002+01:00

From this to this! My take on the French Market Bag on Ravelry - knitted in lopi. It's come out rather more square than I thought it would, but I like it anyway! Now I just need to find something to do with it! But it's certainly eating into my stash (which is good...)

Getting to the sole of it

2009-06-05T16:29:00.001+01:00

I love warm chunky knitted socks to slip on in the evenings and relax round the house in. But I wear holes in the heels. I have darned the socks twice. And there are more holes in the heels. So they sat in the basket for ages looking forlorn. And I had an idea... maybe I could use the sleeves of a jumper I felted by accident to make felt soles that I could sew on ....? Yep it works! So now have double thickness soles and hopefully a darnfree winter ...

Absorba to the rescue!

2009-06-04T12:00:00.003+01:00

I bought this cotton almost two years ago now. I can remember it was an impulse buy at a fancy yarn store nearby me and felt guilty about buying it, all the way home. Then I started knitting it up. It was horrid. The pattern was probably only okay for an anorexic model, it made me look like a demented Michelin man. So I ripped it out, and knitted it into a lace pattern shawl. But it never got used, I mean who would use a chunky cotton shawl? So it sat in the spare room and made me feel bad. Then on day on Ravelry I saw that someone had used this same cotton (Araucania Patagonia) for Absorba the Great Bathmat from Mason-Dixon. Wow we thought, that would be cheery. And so it was. A quick knit on on 10mm pins and three strands at a time, and some left over for a washcloth and scrubby too. So now I have a soft and cheering bathmat. Me like.

Second summer instalment

2009-06-02T20:49:00.004+01:00

The nephew gets introduced to the fine art of holding a hank ... ah childhood memories!! Other holiday pics are the sea pinks which clung to the rocks and edges all over, the amazing shapes of the Giant's Causeway, and the start of Absorba the Great Bathmat - think I have finally found something to do with that Araucania yarn. Yes it will be the most expensive bathmat ever but at least having ripped it out twice already I'll hopefully get some use out of it. Another hot summer day here and I'm bushed again, but hey two blogs in a row!

Summer!

2009-06-01T12:24:00.005+01:00

Is here! A gorgeous couple of days to brighten us all up - and exhaust us in this heat too of course... So I thought it was about time I updated this blog. April was very busy workwise and on May I went to Donegal for a holiday but got ill so ended up recuperating at my sister's (and getting introduced to the wonders of facebook...) so have just come back to my flat and am trying to tidy up today. Nice 15 minute spurts of course, which means I can have wee rests and do things like the blog update and all the other online time eaters. I'll dip in and out with some pics too though. Kinnagoe Bay, Inishowen, Donegal / Gran's new socks! / Sunset at Giant's Causeway, Antrim / On the beach / And the glorious meringues at the Sandhead cafe in Dumfries & Galloway!

Springlike

2009-03-04T22:08:00.003Z

Just back from a couple of days at my sister's which was lovely - what with my and hers illnesses I've not been down since Christmas which seems ages ago now! And of course I had to introduce the family to the dishcloth craze. So the two little soap filled cloths were for Mum and Sis. A pretty tricolour yellow, orange and white petal one was left draped over their kitchen tap (in a very shiny sink which I sincerely hope is going to stay that way after I shared my also new found passion for FlyLady...) The blue ballband got parcelled up and send to OH for his birthday (not sure what he'll think of that!) I couldn't resist taking a pic of a few of the cloths all together, and last but not least when the sun shines it almost seems springlike and sis had some lovely daffs on windowsill along with a little chick (which I think is really a duck) in a burst of needlefelting for Easter! ETA - check out that shiny sink of sis's!

The Ballband Cloth!

2009-02-24T18:21:00.001Z

I've loved the look of this since I got the Mason Dixon Knitting book last month, so of course I had to try and track down some Peaches & Creme and give it a go! I love the bright cheery sunniness in the kitchen.

Spring?

2009-02-22T11:49:00.004Z

Dishcloth mania is continuing ... I went back to work this work which of course entails spending a lot of time on a train (two times 6 hour journeys!) so took some cotton with me. What I didn't expect was that the lovely dark green in the sunflower variegated shades used above would come off all over me and my bamboo needles. Probably the only time I've been green fingered in my life. Ah well, I found most of it came off with travel wipes. Most. I loved these patterns though. I now have the Ballband Dishcloth on needles. It's fun too.And it was a sunny day and on looking out the train window I realised I was passing all these spring like ploughed fields. Is winter really over?

Dishcloths!

2009-02-15T21:20:00.002Z

Two handknitted cotton dishcloths now reside in my kitchen - it was a bit of a struggle to make myself get one dirty today and er actually wash the dishes with it, but it was great to use. The blanket is progressing though as the rows get longer it seems to get slower. Floors got washed today and a pile of handwashing done along with a trip to Tescos. Tomorrow I'm planning to get out for a walk a bit further afield and head down to a shopping street about 20 minutes away - after 3 weeks or so in the flat it feels like a big adventure! Of course I pass a lovely wool shop on the way ....

Knit on!

2009-02-13T11:51:00.003Z

Quite tired still, and not venturing far from the house, but on the mend I think - fingers crossed! The log cabin blanket is getting bigger and is still a choose what comes next when you get to it experiment. As the Selfish Knitters on Ravelry are having February One Skein KAL (I've already used a few on the felted boxes and the fireside socks), and as I've been tidying and organising the flat in short 15-20 minute bursts of energy, I decided to try something new for me - knitted dishcloths! I had this ball of bog standard cotton in the stash - not nearly as pretty as some of the yarns folks are using but it's cheap, it's in the stash and it'll do the job. I'll admit to having some ordered some nicer Peaches & Creme online though ....

Another day

2009-02-10T22:34:00.003Z

Another day in the convalescence house - today's achievement was to get the ironing done! It was a long term pile - pre Christmas anyway - so it feels good to have it out the way now. The fireside socks knitted up really quickly and are fun and colourful. The blanket is still growing, though now that the rows are longer it seems to grow more slowly. I'm drinking my 2l of water, eating proper home cooked meals and about 6-7 portions of fruit and veg each day, so hopefully all this will have a good effect!

The world is white

2009-02-09T15:45:00.004Z

The snow started again before I went to bed last night and yep, when I pulled back the curtains this morning it was all white! Today's challenge was hoovering the whole flat and a bit more tidying - kitchen drawers this time. So once the ironing pile is done that would mean the whole flat is pretty tidy and sorted. Now, how does one manage to keep it that way ....? On the whole use up the odd skeins thing I decided to try and see if I could get a pair of cosy socks from this gedifra wool - only 2 odd balls. It took a few tries to make the socks long enough but leave enough wool to finish them off, but just managed to squeeze out something useable. On to the second sock now ...

Whodunnit? Cybercrop ...

2009-02-08T14:32:00.006Z

It's cc weekend over at UKS and the theme is murder and mystery... ooh, scary! I've been joining in as I can in a fairly relaxed way and have done a few layouts, mostly from family hols in summer 07 down in Yorkshire. There's been a few new things for me like printing out the journalling title and the watercolour frames so good fun all round.

Getting bigger!

2009-02-07T11:53:00.004Z

Blanket update - the soft shetland is, well, softer than the shetland heather wool so having tried it I ripped it back out and decided to just see how far I can go with the heather wool I have. Maybe the soft shetland could be a big border if needed. We'll see. I've gone onto circular needles as it was getting too big for straights and have discovered I seem to knit a bit looser on circs... oh well. Still loving it though, and it's another sunny morning here, so if you don't have to go far in the snowy showers then it's fab! I've been doing more of the tidying etc, and that feels good - have just shredded all my old tax and work stuff up to about 2002 - that was a big bag of paper I didn'tneed in my life!

A sunny day!

2009-02-06T13:45:00.005Z

Love these sunny winter mornings - it's nice and peaceful to get yourself up and sit in the sun with a cup of tea and some knitting, and know that even though it's cold outside it's like a little conservatory here! So that makes me feel a bit better this morning. And the blanket is growing apace, very addictive knitting this. Think I'm going to add in some Shetland Soft, oyster which should match in well. I've already used up 230g and have 680 left of the Heather naturals but think it would be best to make a really nice big snuggly blanket so using up some of the shetland soft might be the answer.And Happy Birthday to mum who loved the needle cozies that royal mail delivered today.... though it took a suggestion from brother in law before she realized what they were! But she loves them and I can't wait to see them all displayed full of needles!

Birthday card and cozies

2009-02-05T19:36:00.004Z

I know it's still wintering out there, but it's my mum's birthday tomorrow and I felt that with all this illness and wintery weather we could do with something a bit cheerier and almost spring like - so did this card for her. I don't do that much embossing but it does make the stamps stand out better so think I'll keep on with it. (And just try not to get too messy...) And I wrapped up all these felted cosies to keep your knitting needles all snug and tidy - they're from Cat Bordhi's Second Treasury of Magical Knitting, which is a great book, though I still need to learn how to do the whole Moebius thing... maybe next week! Anyway hope mum doesn't see this til she has guessed what they're for!

Rolling along...

2009-02-05T12:04:00.004Z

This is a great project - fab wool, lovely natural colours, lots of great memories of buying it on Shetland on hols last year, it keeps the lap warm as you knit, it's all garter stitch so you don't need to pay much attention - zen knitting for sure! At the minute I'm still on the sketch but making it in miniature if you know what I mean, so will need to branch off soon but think I'll just keep going following what looks like a good colour scheme. I only have about one ball of each colourway so just seeing how things go. On more antibiotics again so another week in to recuperate, which is just as well cos I don't think I could face the big bad world out there at the mo. My sis is ill as well at the moment so weekend plans look like being cancelled - shame cos she does love a good cybercrop (at UKS)!

Log cabin fever

2009-02-03T12:49:00.005Z

This could get addictive! Think I've got the gauge sorted now, and am making the panels a bit smaller to reflect the amount of colours I've got. Very relaxed knitting, just as well as my brain is retreating further into the flu fug.

Blankets of snow

2009-02-02T23:17:00.006Z

Gosh it was fascinating sitting watching those great big snow flakes all flurrying down this afternoon.... off and on in mini blizzards all day! Not as bad here as some other places, but still made you feel good to be sitting inside knitting a blanket!This is the Moderne Log Cabin from Mason-Dixon Knitting, which kind of slipped into my Amazon basket one night in January, and I've had great fun with it so far with felted boxes and now trying out this blanket. I'm using a mixed bargain bag I brought back from Shetland last year, in Heather Aran, all naturals, so will need to amend the square sizes I think just to fit what I've got, but that'll be all part of the fun! The cough is still there and feels more like a good old fashioned head cold now ... wonder what tomorrow will bring!

1 February

2009-02-01T16:19:00.002Z

Well hello world! So this is what it feels like to wake up and not have to worry about filing a tax return... cos I did it yesterday! And got my accounts all the way up to this very date. Now all I need to do is keep it that way .... Still knitting away and having felting fun in the washing machine, and by hand - but that gets tiring and tedious very quickly, though interesting things happen to the colours when you get so bored you boil up the knitting in a pot ontop of the cooker. I quite like that effect! But I'm starting to look covetously at those little portable washing machines that are aimed at caravanners or bedsit land. It would certainly be more controllable than using the front loader and wondering what on earth you're going to end up with. Maybe.... Pics to follow sometime! (Though with mum's birthday soon I have to be a bit sneaky about them!)

So where did January go??

2009-01-30T00:17:00.004Z

In a fog of flu methinks ... ill over Christmas, kind of got back on track and then got laid low again last week again. Ho hum. Well it did make my 25th photos kind of boring.... mostly my list of medicines to take! Oh well. At least the steroids give me the energy to finally update the blog, not to mention tackling the tax return!

Solstice Celebration

2008-12-21T12:11:00.003Z

Well all the winter wonderland scenes of the last post have kind of set the scene I guess, so now it's the shortest day of the year. I've had a few days off and sorted and cleaned and tidied, and even decorated the heart wreath and put a few other decs out and cards up. I won't be here on Christmas day itself so am not putting the tree and all the decs up but one or two have sneaked out of the cupboard! OH is coming over for dinner tonight so it'll be a solstice celebration I guess!

Travelling through Narnia...

2008-12-02T23:41:00.004Z

Or so it seemed, some pics on my mobile phone from the train window at the weekend.

Another month goes by in the blink of an eye...

2008-12-02T23:33:00.003Z

I found it hard to get decent pics on 25th November, I guess I was tired and it was a not too fabby day and nothing much was happening and I forgot to take pics at work so I just have a few this time round. My cactus flowered again - twice in one year- very strange. My workspace was quite tidy - also very strange. And I took a piccie of my feet in the mirror - strangest of all. But then I was trying to follow the self portrait prompt but hated all the ones I took....

25th!

2008-10-25T22:29:00.007+01:00

Has come round again, so here's some pics from today, in all it's wet, wild and windy-ness.

Oh and er, yes that was my morning clock shot!

Christmas is coming...

2008-10-24T17:45:00.002+01:00

We came, we saw, we shopped! My sis and me went to the craft fair at the SECC yesterday, lots of stalls to look at and stroke and touch and poke and deliberate and try to choose things, but we managed and came home with a few bags between us! Some stamps from Clarity stamps (for Christmas cards!), some patchwork (for Christmas too, but my sis is not saying which Christmas...), some wool, and all sorts of odds and ends. A lovely day out.

And the penguins are on parade! I made another one for an online pal, so he's all excited about going off in the post soon...

Caught up again...

2008-10-03T10:50:00.002+01:00

Well hey, I feel all up to date on this one now... wonder how long that will last? Finally resolved my argument with Virgin photos - they refunded me and I printed them out myself! So here are August and September's Save the day pages. Wonder what I should go and catch up on next? I never really got started on My Freedom so maybe that's top of the list!

The 25th, from a railway carriage

2008-09-28T11:50:00.004+01:00

Well I came home and was disappointed as I'd hoped my miniprints from Virgin media would be here so I could do August's page then send off some pics for September, but half my order (and all the pics from the 25th) was missing. They have said they will reprint though. But it seems to be hard to find any place that does those neat little 4 on a page miniprints. If anyone knows a good supply please let me know! Anyway the photo prompt for this month focussed on reflections, and as I had an early morning train journey I tried a few things out, just on my camera phone.

More July catch ups!

2008-09-14T12:47:00.002+01:00

August was so busy workwise, that this is me just sitting down to scrap for the first time in ages... and catching up on another July page! This was our team challenge on UKS for the Bitty Blossoms, where we are running a Book of Months (or seasons) with Willow setting challenges. July was about the Celtic tree month of Holly, so I took these photos at Alnwick Castle when we were on our hols in July - looking through the castle doors to a big holly bush! It was strange as I always associate holly with December and Christmas, but of course it's all year round, and the young green leaves were so vibrant.

Wordles

2008-09-01T23:45:00.002+01:00

Just had to have a go at this!

Catching up on July's pages

2008-08-28T16:17:00.002+01:00

I was away on holiday on 25th July - all the family down to Keswick for lots of games and books and fun.. think Gran might be getting fed up getting snapped though! So guess I should be thinking about getting August's piccies printed out and organised.

25th again

2008-08-26T18:09:00.001+01:00

It comes by so quickly - I haven't actually quite done July's page yet. Yesterday was an at home day, a get organised and do some work and I've got a headache day. It started out very wet, got a bit sunny and then back downhill again. I took a few piccies with my camera phone, not always so good though... It was nice to sit in the wee bit of sun in my tidy craft chair corner though!

More fun with felt...

2008-08-26T18:03:00.002+01:00

This started out life as the pea green boat for the owl and the pussycat, but I kind of got carried away, and they preferred sitting out on the windowsill rather than being in a boat, so it became a fancy bowl thing. I used some wet felting to get rid of the fuzzy sticking out bits at the back, then reshaped and needled again - all just experimenting really, but fun. I tried to do another one and it came out very differently - this became a birthday gift for my sister. And this just wanted to be a penguin....

2008-08-22T12:20:00.003+01:00

Well it does kind of feel that summer's over, so here's a few snaps from my hols in July. Sand castle on the beach, the Roman baths at Chester fort, patterns in the stonework at the Lindisfarne Priory, the doorway at Alnwick Castle, and the embroidery I did this summer!

Chronicles of Me

2008-08-03T10:32:00.004+01:00

Chronicles of Me, originally uploaded by Flapsi Hapsi.

Having a bit of fun this morning over the breakfast cup of tea and a leisurely skim over my blog favourites and I found this fun little idea on Emily Falconbridge's blog, and she got it from Denise. You answer a series of questions about yourself, type the answer into flickr search, choose a photo from the first page of results then do a photo mosaic. I love this! Have a go.

The questions are:

What is your first name? (Karen)
What is your favorite food? (Chinese)
What high school did you attend? (Garnock)
What is your favorite color? (Red)
Who is your celebrity crush? (Louis Armstrong)
Favorite drink? (G&T)
Dream vacation? (Iceland)
Favourite dessert? (Chocolate cake)
What do you want to be when you grow up? (Musician)
What do you love most in life? (Togetherness)
One word to describe you. (Creative)
Your Flickr name. (Flapsi)

1. Coffee with Karen, 2. Sumatran Tiger ; bathing, 3. Garnock (HDR/Tone mapped), 4. Awrad ( Flowers ), 5. Louis Armstrong Giants of Jazz Series, 6. Dew and Bubbles, 7. Lost in Iceland, 8. mini chocolate cupcakes, 9. Party on the Patio !, 10. togertherness, 11. he loves me/he loves me not., 12. Flapsi

Sparkly things

2008-07-29T12:39:00.006+01:00

Well it's nice to know that folks like this blog - I go away on hols and neglect it terribly but thanks to Fiona and Eleni who both gave me this sparkly web button! So here's what it's about: It's a special award given to weblogs that somehow catch your eye! The rules for this award: 1. The winner can put the logo on her blog. 2. Link the person you received your award from. 3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. 4. Put links of those blogs on yours. 5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated. Hhmm, now blogs do catch my eye - usually when I should be working on something else oops - so my nominations go to: Starr, Carrie, Chiara, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, Scrapdolly

Saving the day (late in the day I know...)

2008-07-11T18:51:00.003+01:00

A quick catch up of Shimelle's Save the Day here - it's amazing how quickly you can scrap when you have the basic page all done just waiting on photos .... mind you I think it might have been easier if I'd left it til I knew which photos I was going to use! May was holiday time in Shetland with mum so loads to choose from there, and I was working in June rehearsing a new project.

My Freedom 4: inspired by poetry

2008-07-11T11:16:00.007+01:00

Well I'm not that inspired by this class so far in scrapping terms - I'm quite enjoying it in terms of the questions asked and things to think about and they work well as blog prompts but I'm still struggling with something worth actually scrapping over ... maybe I'll do it more as an art journal. Maybe. Anyway this was yesterday's prompt but it came in quite late so I've just got it - have you ever been inspired by the words of a poem? Well - yes - loads! But then I did do a degree in English literature so it would be weird if I hadn't. The problem here is what to choose! But I have always loved this poem, and it seems to suit the time and travel themes as well. Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. There are other bits of poems that I find apt too (in fact I keep meaning to do a poetry journal or A-Z maybe): from T S Eliot (The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock): For I have known them all already, known them all:— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; from Andrew Marvell (To His Coy Mistress) But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near; The end of Paradise Lost by Milton Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon; The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide; They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way. And finally - if rather long windedly - thanks for making me search out this one that I remembered bits of - and again it seems that a lot of the poetry I recall and that has made an impression on me is all about time and travel (and I haven't even touched on Joni Mitchell's lyrics yet...) Ulysses Alfred Lord Tennyson It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Matched with and aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me. I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades Vexed the dim sea: I am become a name; For always roaming with a hungry heart Much have I seen and known; cities of men And manners, climates, councils, governments, Myself not least, but honoured of them all; And drunk delight of battle with my peers, Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. I am a part of all that I have met; Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades For ever and for ever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnished, not to shine in use! As though to breathe were life. Life piled on life Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains: but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things; and vile it were For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this grey spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. ... There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail: There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with me - That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed Free hearts, free foreheads -you and I are old; Old age hath yet his honour and his toil; Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew. Though much is taken, much abides; and though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

What's in your suitcase?

2008-07-09T08:33:00.005+01:00

My Freedom prompt 3 - necessities for travel ... well I travel a lot and try to do it lightly but my real necessities are:

change of clothes and spare knickers
paracetamol
first aid kit (including wipes and anti-bacterial gel) and any medication
tea tree oil
ear plugs
shampoo or liquid soap
moisturiser
towel
hair band / scrunchy
notebook and pen/pencil
phone
money/cards
passport
book
water
swimsuit
decent pair of socks
comfy shoes
something warm and waterproof
sunglasses
noel - my travelling bear companion

And that's it - you can go round the world on this lot! (I have...)

So what's yours?

My Freedom - travel in time

2008-07-09T08:08:00.002+01:00

Blog prompt 2 from Shimelle - if you could travel in time for just one day where would you go and what would you do? Well I'd go back a fair few hundred years and meet up with the man who wrote this manuscript - and spend a great day chatting and playing and listening and asking him all about these techniques and tunes ...

My Freedom

2008-07-07T17:04:00.005+01:00

A new online class by Shimelle starts today, running Monday to Friday for five weeks, and this time there are blog prompts too, so here goes! There will be ten topics about your perspective on life and this week's topics are TIME and TRAVEL. Both of these are real biggies for me. I travel a lot, sometimes too much, sometimes in terrible weather, sometimes in a terrible hurry to get there in time, and sometimes, just sometimes, I get to relax and enjoy the experience and realise how lucky I am that I get to do this.

As for time, well I've always wanted a day (or a week) between today and tomorrow to catch up on all the things I should have done. I don't have much regularity or schedule in my life, like most freelancers there is no real division between 'work' and 'time off' for me, and I always seem to be fighting the clock. Deadlines have always been important to me, they really do get the creativity flowing in a way that doesn't seem to happen when you have all the time in the world (unfortunately). And I have to admit I'm not the best timekeeper in the world, I don't wear a watch and rely on my phone to keep me right, along with the pc which is pretty much always on and the odd clock about the place. But calendars and diaries and planners, yes I certainly need them!

Kingfiisher flies ...

2008-07-07T16:58:00.002+01:00

Well no, but he has now alighted onto a spot to call home. In the end I attached a pipe cleaner and used that to wind round the 'perch' that he's on. Kind of clumsy in close up for feet but looks good from a distance.

Kingfisher tales

2008-07-07T00:17:00.006+01:00

The next part of the needlefelting class - and this is getting harder! Very therapeutic though. So here is the legless kingfisher. I'm struggling with twisting wire into legs - have scrapped about 4 goes so far, and am currently experimenting with pipe cleaners! So I've moved on, and tried copying a little glass pig that I have, and of course the owl and the pussycat really needed a beautiful pea green boat (though I'm having thoughts of reclaiming it and making it into a bowl!)

The owl and the pussycat went to sea....

2008-06-29T17:33:00.003+01:00

Another day indoors trying to shake off the lurgy, and the second part of Linda Misa's online needle felting class is done! The owl now has a pussycat pal, despite breaking two needles and not getting the wool to felt round the pipe cleaner properly, I'm quite pleased with them. Now for the pea green boat...

Owls

2008-06-28T22:02:00.003+01:00

I've been signed up to this class for two weeks now but so busy with work that it wasn't til I had a real stay in doors 'cos I feel too ill (coldey/fluey/yeuch) to go out day that I got a chance to play. I've always loved owls. I made a pottery one in art in school, bought one in Finland and one in York, so today I made a needle felted one to add to the collection. The instructions said to wet felt the body first, but my sister broke her needles trying that so I decided just to needle felt it all! I had a bit of trouble getting the shape right, and think it's still a bit of a skinny owl really, but maybe it's a young one.

Shetland for wool!

2008-06-28T17:48:00.005+01:00

Before June disappears completely I thought it would be good to visit my own blog for once! Life has been very busy workwise, and I also had a great two week holiday in Shetland with my mum in May -lots of wool bought there, I can assure you! We visited Jamieson's Spinning Mill in Sandness, and were lucky enough to get shown round the mill. We also had a lovely visit to the Shetland Collection - designer knitwear based near Sumburgh airport, where we were shown round the workshop and how to use a knitting belt as well as getting to see lots of samples and fair isle and lace garments. Then there were the wool shops in Lerwick ... the car was packed to the gunnels on the way home! I started a cockleshell scarf when I was there, it took me about 4 goes to understand the pattern but it's about 3/4 done now. I also got the spinning bug again and sneaked a fleece into the car too. But all in all it was a lovely peaceful and rejuvenating time - looking out on seals, lambs, lots of wildflowers and seabirds. The air was so clear, and we were very lucky with the weather too!

April and May

2008-05-03T21:52:00.002+01:00

Up to date again! Wonder how long it'll last for this time ... These are the next two in the Bitty Blossoms book of months/seasons, following Willow's prompts. April was about spring, flowers and space. May was about Mayday, Beltane, male and female together and partnerships.

Saving the Day!

2008-05-01T11:19:00.005+01:00

I've made my covers and all the inside pages ... got very messy stamping ... but had great fun... and have now done April's pages. Must remember to take more pics of people next time ... here are a few pages. They're all variations on a theme so didn't think you needed all 12 of them ... but I have done them - honest! Just need to bind it all now ...

And the months go flying by...

2008-04-30T12:20:00.004+01:00

In January my UKS team - the Bitty Blossoms - decided to do a book of months with prompts set by team member Willow. They're great prompts, but I have only now got round to starting. Well, work kind of gets in the way of playing sometimes. But having finished Shimelle's No Place Like Home class, and made the book for Save the Day (still to bind and take piccies) I thought I should try to catch up. I love the feeling of being caught up - it's very special as it's so fleeting!

So the January prompt was 'something that makes you smile in January' - something we all need! And this is me dancing with my nephew just after the bells on Hogmanay!

The February prompt was that as the moon was in Virgo it's a good time to break bad habits, so focus on a bad habit on a lo and leave lots of white space. This is my thoughtful pressie from above nephew to help my bad habit breaking - a little diet police radar - it shouts at you when open the biscuit tin!! My bad habit is of course that I eat too much.March saw the Spring Equinox, new beginnings and rebirth - so we had to focus on something new. Here I am in my new shirt painting easter eggs.

And so it ends...

2008-04-28T20:57:00.002+01:00

I've done 20 los now in this Home theme, and I think that's it for a while. I've no more piccies to use, and I've filled the album I started, so it seems a good place to end. I might come back to the theme later, but for now it's put to bed.

Punch it out!

2008-04-27T23:15:00.003+01:00

This is the title page for my 'No Place Like Home' album - following closely on Shimelle's prompt but without the minibook in the middle. This was a great way to use up lots of pics that just weren't quite right to use on their own. So now I don't feel it was a waste to order them up! And below was the view from my bedroom window last week ... not a bad place to have to go to work I guess! And I managed to sneak another one in tonight before bed - these are some of the things that always go up on the walls, wherever I live. I made the wooden fish and horse in school, almost 30 years ago now - how did that happen?

Nooks crannies & corners...

2008-04-19T11:08:00.003+01:00

Well I certainly have loads of them in my flat! Glory holes too .... More from Shimelle's There's No Place Like Home Class, a prompt on 3 'areas' from the one room, and the second one was really about your favourite room but I narrowed it down a bit (I don't have a big home!) to my favourite place. This was meant to be a minibook about doors, but I wanted to keep an album of los (and get it done!) so this is my take on it. The door I leave my flat from, and the ones I go to for family and friends.

Memories of bedsit land...

2008-04-17T11:29:00.003+01:00

More for my No Place Like Home album. I think you were only meant to do one lo about defining your hometown/where is home etc, but I have lived so many places that I felt I had to (wanted to I guess!) document them all before I move onto where I am now. And having started a 12x12 album I want to fill it rather than have maybe 6 los and several minibooks. So that's where I'm at anyway. These are from when I went to uni and moved into a student bedsit, then found myself back in similar places when I came back from a year spent travelling in Australia. But eventually I moved out of the city to enjoy some fresh air, to my first house, which was furnished almost entirely by IKEA, and had a distinctly blue feel (bottom right!)

Ain't no stopping me now!

2008-04-16T21:49:00.002+01:00

Well I guess I'm scared I don't get to scrap again for another two months ... or maybe I'm just on a roll, but here's another two dlos I've just done on the No Place Like Home theme. They're not exactly following the prompts, but I've lived so many places that these all feel like home to me so wanted to reflect that!

Where are you from?

2008-04-16T18:03:00.002+01:00

I did it! I actually scrapped today, and got started on Shimelle's There's No Place Like Home class. So this is the first prompt, which I've done on the place I grew up - Kilbirnie in Ayrshire. A great wee town with plenty of space and interesting places for kids to explore and just hang around in. I don't have many photos of it, except in my head, but these are the main places from my life there - the school, the church and the park. I still don't know exactly how I'll approach the rest of the project - I've started a 12x12 album now so I'd like to fill it, but the minibook idea appeals for some things too. I'll just see what happens as I go along! I've lived lots of places so have may do more los on this "where is home" idea.

2008-04-15T21:53:00.002+01:00

Still not a lot of scrapping done, or any other knitting projects finished, but I had a lovely weekend of walks between the showers when staying with friends in Strathpeffer. We visited the Clava Cairns, and walked up to the Silly Stones - so called because there's always a different number when you count them! But I have been taking pics for the There's No Place Like Home class, and I do have a day off tomorrow - so watch this space - I might just get something done!

No Place Like Home

2008-04-07T12:20:00.004+01:00

Well this class started two weeks ago and so far all I've managed to do is read the prompts and wonder and reminisce and search for pics on Flickr, but one day soon I'll get some time to actually do something with it. It's made me think though - so far I have lived in 23 different homes, and that's not counting all the places I stayed when backpacking in Oz for a year. And they all feel different and unique, some better some not so great, but all home!

And eek - where did March go?

2008-04-05T08:51:00.004+01:00

Getting to be a habit this once a month blogging, but it's good that life is busy. I had great fun at easter, painting and rolling and hunting for eggs, and eating the choccie ones of course.

And I've a few more knitted bits and bobs -getting into these wristlet/warmers, so practical and colourful and fun. I love this soft merino and possum blend from New Zealand in particular.

Long time no blog! Or what happened to February ....

2008-03-09T21:03:00.003Z

It has been a while,hasn't it? Well I guess I just got busy, work, life, travel - all those things that get in the way of online life. But I have been doing a few things: made a couple of cushions for my mum's birthday, using an old and inadvertently felted jumper. And today I managed to do some collage papers for a UKS swap - not quite sure what exactly was wanted so hope these are okay!