Bitchin' Stitchin'

I'll be back!

It's true. After months in the blogging wilderness (actually, I am ashamed to say it is almost a year) I have returned to the fold! I have missed it, especially the therapy value of pounding my angst and wonderings into the keyboard so that you can all read it!

The reasons for the prolonged absence are many. Suffice to say that ridding oneself of an alcoholic Texan husband, winning back a sense of myself and life in general took longer and was more draining than anticipated. There has been laughter, sadness, tears, men, cake, girly mates, more men ..... and chocolate, and I shall, in time let you catch up with this rollercoaster.

For now, however, there IS yarn. Not that I have had any opportunity to knit it yet, but my stash has grown significantly over the period. All this to come! I have details of a truly insipiring make you want to knit like the wind event – but can't breathe a word til next week, when believe me, you will all be the first to know. ;-)

I shall once more be clutching my digital camera and standing on chairs at odd angles to take pictures of works in progress tonight, moving the naughty kitties out of the way as I do so. Is it me or is there some kind of mathematical equation between how much people like knitting and how many cats they have?!

Until tomorrow …

Busy, busy, busy

Just a quick post to let you know that I will be back on blog duty proper tomorrow! What can I say?! The last week has been unpredictably hectic, what with creative writing classes, potential new men and that real nose grinder – work!! Normal service will be resumed and I will have pictures aplenty to show you tomorrow.

The great yarn and pattern purge has also suffered due to unforseen circumstance, but a delve into the cupbaord under the stairs cannot be put off for much longer!! Expect to see batches on ebay really soon!

For those of you who enquired, the jumper pattern won in the Mavis/Davis battle and is underway, the back is complete and I am just casting on for the front. It is so sweet – not quite alluring enough for me to contemplate the pelvic floor slackening awfulness of childbirth, but pretty close!! ;-)

It was Stitch 'n' Bitch tonight and we are planning our Ally Pally trip in two weeks time. Thirteen yarn hungry women, a minibus, a hall full of wool, some seriously flexible creadit cards and possibly some alcohol – a recipe for disaster if ever I heard one!!! Obviously we have made sure of all the important details, things like one whole seat plus one extra seat (for the bags of yarn!) per person, etc. We girls take our yarn buying very seriously.

I saw some of the new Sublime yarn this evening, and it is beautiful. Beautiful colours, patterns and packaging (and I am sucker for that). I think they must have seen me coming, so this will be the stand I am heading for first at A.P.

I can't wait!

Mavis or Davis?

I have a problem today, a problem encountered by many knitters I am sure, but one which neverthless leaves me floundering. I am knitting something for a baby. Unfortunately a baby which has not yet made an appearance, so it remains to be seen whether it is a girl or a boy. Not a problem, I hear you say, buy some pretty yarn, find a pattern and it won't matter!!! I too was delusional about this, yet now I have the wool …

(and it is the most gorgeous buttery yellow and soft as kitten fluff) and I have prospective patterns lined up I see nothing but problems!!! What exactly makes a cardi girly, or a jumper butch? The baby is due this week, I am itching to start, but at the back of my mind I can't help but think that a wrong choice could mean a lifetime of problems. Imagine baby in thirty years time, laying on psychiatrist's couch, regressing back to the moment when his troubles began … "Well, you see my mother made me wear this yellow cardigan with a frill, and all the other boy babies laughed … I've never been the same." Can I accept responsibility for such a weighted issue?

Perhaps you can help me decide. Here are the three contenders:

You see I am really drawn to the little cardi on the left, but if it is a boy it has two distinct drawbacks. Firstly it is covered in stitch detail hearts, and secondly it has like a little "peplum" at the bottom – but I ADORE it!!! The middle cardi is the safe bet but it's pretty dull. And finally, contender number three (how cute is that little girl!!!), a distinct possibility as I could knit the basic pattern which would be great for a boy, and if turns out to be a girl, I could get some white yarn and do the little flowers!! So what do you think?!? Comments please!

Meanwhile, in other knitting progress, the cardigan for myself which may well be my Waterloo!

This pattern still makes me drool. For those of you who have forgotten my obsession with it, here is the finished article on the Rowan RYC Beach pattern book.

It's just beautiful, crisp and fantastic stitch definition, a gorgeous colour and in All Seasons Cotton, one of my favourite yarns. What could be wrong? It's all moss stitch!!! I didn't realise why other knitters would cluck over the pattern and do a woeful shaking of their head and quietly mutter, "oh, moss stitch though, not for me …". I thought they are wimping out. Now I know that they were all right. Moss stitch is the slowest knitting in the world, without the enchantment of complex lace or cables, it is as repetitive as stocking stitch and leaches your knitting soul out of your needles with every laborious stitch. I have been knitting it for months and still am three rows shy of the armhole shaping … imagine what it will be like doing the sleeves!!!!!!!! (Sorry, feeling faint at the thought!) In an effort to lessen the drain of this project I am currently assessing stash and potential Christmas knits.

I know nobody wants to hear about Christmas, but I have something I need to whisper to all you knitters out there … it's only 13 weekends away!!!! Quickly, grab your needles and start those lists or you and I will all be getting no sleep at all in December while we work our way through the endless scarves, hats and socks present knitting.

In other news I am also sewing again. Sewing was my original craft, long before I became a knitter, and when I need an ultimately quick craft fix, there is nothing quite like it! So, I lay before you, this:

… which will hopefully be magically transmogrified into a stunning and chic tote bag by the weekend. Or maybe even two!

Tune in tomorrow for details of my massive yarn clearout ready for a stash binge at Ally Pally!!

Survivor

It has been almost six months since I last posted! Inexcusable I know, but sometimes life takes over and it needs immediate attention and then lots of TLC for you to get back on track.

Here I am, six months older, a little wiser, and separated (my choice). I still live in my little cottage, I still knit (I need something on the dark days to keep me sane) and I still hoard sock wool as if my life depended on it. I have wool to share, patterns to show, advice to ask, and almost certainly lots of wine and chocolate bunnies (well, I couldn't change that much could I?!?!) ;-)

It's been a while, but I'm glad to be back. I'll have yarn to show you tomorrow!

I am ALIVE!!

Well, I have finally made it through the drawing wilderness and as of 8 o'clock yesterday evening I am FREE!!!! Imagine that. No more drawing trolls 24 hours a day. I have not picked up my knitting for almost three weeks (except at Stitch n Bitch which was an evening of absolute pleasure!) and I picked up my aqua jeager knitting today and it felt really . . . . odd. It was odd enough to nestle in the squashy sofa in comfort, rather than sitting at my desk, without the feeling of yarn in my hands. Perseverance is required I think. At the moment my knitting feels like an alien being, totally at odds with the rest of my body – even doing plain old stocking stitch feels vaguely strange. It's like being a newbie knitter all over again, I keep dropping stitches and the needles don't seem to go where I want them to. But I know about knitting, I know that in a couple of days it will be like I never left my knitting at all (it will have forgiven me the weeks of neglect) the natural rhythm will return and everything will be back on track. I might even have pictures!!!! Thanks you all for you kind comments and emails during my time in the drawing wilderness – I couldn't have made it through without you.

Knitting Free Zone!

It's true. I have not written because I was consumed by my enormous yarn stash that crept out of the cupboard at night and attacked me (although this is always a possibility in my head, so I talk nicely to the stash and stroke it gently if I happen to pass the cupboard). Unfortunately, progress has been delayed by proper work!! I am illustrating a children's book and only have until 24th April to do 200 pages of artwork, so I pretty much eat, drink and sleep drawing at the moment. Just before I go to bed I pry the pencil from my claw like hand and have a few hours sleep before getting up and doing it all over again. Sigh!

And do I want to draw? NO!!! All I want to do is knit. The yarn calls to me from every available corner and I have to put my ipod on to tune it out. It is clever in its plan, "Just one row, just knit one row and then you'll feel better, it won't take a minute …". I am trying to ignore the call of the yarny. I know it is a BAD thing, but really, a couple of stitches, surely it can't hurt?!

I must stay on the path of drawing righteousness or I simply won't make the deadline, but hey, it's not easy. At least I have Stitch n Bitch to look forward to next Wednesday.

No pictures tonight either. It is too sad to take a picture of my beautiful jeager sweater which is in exactly the same state as before Flash your Stash! Roll on the 24th.

Flashing the Stash!

Drumroll ladies and gentlemem – gather round for some serious stash flashing!!! A conglomeration of yarny goodness the likes of which have never before been witnessed. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let us begin. First of all some pictures of the stash after it has been lovingly coaxed from its lair in the under the stairs cupboard.

Perhaps we can calm it with a little lullaby?

Red …

and yellow …

and pink …

and green …

orange …

and purple …

and blue …

… blue …

… blue …

I can sing a rinbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.

Well, apparently I can sing a lullaby as well as collecting enough wool to stretch to the moon in back in a little over twelve months! Good god, look at it all!! It is one thing to know you have a little bit of wool stashed under the stairs so that you always have something to pick from for your next project, it is QUITE another to see it all in the cold, cold light of day. Next time I have a "I have nothing to knit" day I shall have to give myself a stern talking to.

Oh, I almost left out the box of yarn for the "my soul is iron grey and sad bats wheel about the steeple of my dreams" days:

Blacker than the blackest night. See that poor solitary ball of white cotton in the middle?!

Last, but not least, is the Elle Monet I bought on a total whim went I went to Warwick castle last Autumn. Quite why I am buying a chunky boucle with which to cover my ample frame I don't know anyway, but something weird happens to this when you knit it. On the ball the colours do look lovely but when you knit it is transforms into a sort of vomity frog colour. Yukk!

I hope you have enjoyed this fly by tour of my knitting collection. Imagine how much I can amass in two years!!! Whew. Roll on next year. I'll need to get a bigger cupboard!

All work & no play…

Makes T a dull girl! Sigh!

Well the sad news is that I have only done about ten more rows of my Jaeger Trinity jumper since I last wrote. Believe me, it's not for want of trying, it's just that with the refurbishment, work commitments, illustration projects and trying not to eat crap food I have run out of time!!! Luckily it was Stitch 'n' Bitch last night or I wouldn't have done any.

Stitch 'n' Bitch was extra hilarious last night. We were quite a small group but it was riotous and we even had hot cross buns (life can't be better than that can it?!). Subjects for discussion through the knitting were modern art, why having a mammogram hurts like hell, and why if men had to have their delicate bits widged between two bits of glass to check they're okay you could be damn sure they'd have come up with a better solution! I have challenged the lovely Carole to leave me a comment on my blog (so we'll all have to watch and see if it happens). Carole was rather internet phobic until she discovered YarnHarlot and the wonderful world of knitting blogs.

Talking of which, I have no yarny pics of my own to show you (how lax is that?) so I am instead going to parade a sweater I now covet above all others. I dreamt about this one last night (I know, I am so sad, I mean I used to dream about Harrison Ford in Star Wars, with his tight thigh skimming trousers, blousey white shirt and the little laced up jerkin … (bestill my pounding heart). Nowadays I dream in yarn and patterns – and these are what get my heart pounding (don't worry Harrison, there will always be a space in my heart for you!).

Here is the sweater.

And a detail inset.

It is just beautiful. And it from Inspired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis. It is on my wishlist so I think I could be knitting it for next Autumn! Now is not the time to bring up how sick I got of the cables on the Rogue Hoodie by the way!!! Denial is bliss.

Join me on Saturday for FLASH YOUR STASH!!!!!

The DARK side

This is a warning. This post may contain some images that knitters of a sensitive disposition may find distressing. I am going to talk about something that some of you may want to pretend doesn't exist. Something controversial. Just know, before you judge me harshly, that I have NOT turned to The Dark Side, I am simply rummaging around in the gloom seeing if I might broaden my craft horizons a little.

Ready?

Okay then. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Today I added this to my Amazon wish list.

Trust me, in my twelve months of devoted knitting I have not once mentioned the "C" word, nor have I glimpsed a pattern or picked up a hook, but then I was browsing through some blogs the other day and I stumbled upon this.

It was love at first sight. I can see myself in it this spring, looking like Audrey Hepburn (at this point it is obvious to those who know me that I am totally delusional, but still) skipping through the fields full of flowers …

Anyway. That was that, and I started to think about the "C" word and if I might give it a go. "Traitor!", I hear you cry. No. You see it's not like I went and bought the book for myself. It is simply on my wish list so that in four weeks, on my birthday, one of my friends might happen to buy it for me, and if they did, well, it would be rude not to look at it wouldn't it?!

To reassure you of my Knitting Intentions here are a couple of previews from the forthcoming Spring Vogue Knitting issue.

How gorgeous are they? I can't wait to get the magazine.

I hope you feel reassured of my knitting monogamy. Other crafts may come and go, but knitting shall remain. So here is my knitting pledge. Take your needles in your hands, raise them to the sky and repeat after me:

I solemnly pledge myself before the Universe and in the presence of my fellow Knitters, to pass my life in yarny goodness, stash accumulation and to practice my stitching faithfully (even the really hard lacy ones). I will abstain from buying cheap acrylic in bad colours I will never knit, and will not knowingly administer any crochet edgings unless I really, really have to. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my pointy-sticked craft, and will hold in confidence all knitting secrets, gauge tips and fabulous patterns committed to my keeping. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid my fellow knitters and bloggers, in their work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to the great art of Knitting.

(adapted from the Florence Nightingale Pledge)

Shiny New Things

Spring puts a girl in a certain frame of mind. One sunny day after all the cold and snow and I definitely have an added bounce in my step. Thoughts turn to new things; new yarn, new shoes, new clothes, new beginnings, new healthy eating plan, new hairdo… . And so this week I am busy. Busy cleaning, baking, planning and buying things that will inspire me with my anticipated "shiny" and "new"s.

Here are some Spring purchases for your perusal.

This book is fab, especially if you have young children (I have an American partner so that's kind of the same thing!). It encourages better eating through getting the family involved in the preparation. It has great recipes and even shows you how to make your own butter and yoghurt. Highly recommended. Second book of the week is this, which I bought on a whim from Amazon.

You see I keep looking at the fabulous quilts and throws in John Lewis, but I have redecorated my bedroom in cream and chocolate with flashes of rose scarlet. I LOVE it but I can't find a throw anywhere that is the right colourway. (Actually that's a lie, there was one in Liberty but it was approaching £500 - now if I didn't have two cats with claws and a penchant to eat cookies and ice cream in bed I might entertain that possibility, but given those two considerations that is NOT an option). That's alright (I thought) I can just make one. This kind of thinking has always got me into huge problems before but I remain convinced that this time will be different. So I ordered two quilting books. The first, optimistically titled, "Make a Quilt in a Weekend" (can you tell I was sold by the title?) has not yet arrived, but the one above, "Make Your Own Contemporary Quilts" has. I love the one of the front cover, but I am also drawn to these two:

I will have a look at fabric on Saturday and try and work out how much it will cost (both in time & sanity).

The I bought a new "bad hair day" hat.

So cute I just couldn't resist, it's creamy velvet, so retro! At this point, let's all pause for a moment and raise our eyes to the universe to say thank you, for those two magic words – disposable income. ;-)

Then I baked some brownies (from Nigella Lawson's "How to Be a Domestic Goddess") which are truly gorgeous and have filled the house with a rich fidgy chocolate aroma. Yum.

Before you quickly scroll back up to the top of this post to reread the bit about my new healthy eating plan I would like to point out that these are for a birthday present for my work colleague, who has a major chocolate fetish and that the cookies are now packed in their box and tied with ribbon in the kitchen. I only licked a tiny bit off the bowl which I am sure doesn't count. Does it?

As for knitting – sweater progress is S...L....O....W (I always find this with DK weight yarns) but I have finished the back and cast on for the front.

And finally a word about living. I am by nature a fairly cautious soul. This is not necessarily what I present to the world, but I am one of nature's natural worriers. In fact, if there was a UK worrying team at the Olympics, I would be their Captain. And I would have at least three gold medals. I have realised today that I am, in fact, Piglet, from Winnie the Pooh. Here, in neat summary from The House at Pooh Corner, is my problem:

The wind was against them now, and Piglet's ears streamed behind him like banners as he fought his way along, and it seemed hours before he got them into the shelter of the Hundred Acre Wood and they stood up straight again, to listen, a little nervously, to the roaring of the gale among the tree-tops. "Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.

"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

This year I will aim to be more like Pooh.