Mystery Sock KAL

I haven't done a knit-a-long this month, i've been so bogged down with marking and other paperwork. However, a couple of days ago I spotted a mystery sock KAL on Ravelry and thought i'd give it a go, even though it takes me an age to knit sock when I know what they should look like!!
The KAL has been organised by Ruth Garcia-Alcantud - the designer behind rock and purl. You sign up for the pattern and get given it in installments - I get my first installment tomorrow.
My needles are sorted and i've looked through my stash for some yarn, i've been knitting lots of red socks, so this time I went for green.

Image by Wharfdale Woolworks

This is some lovely BFL/Bamboo from WharfedaleWoolworks called Spring Greens, i'd bought it to knit some Cookie  socks, but never got around to casting them on! I'm sure it will be perfect for this project. It was wonderful to wind, so i'm hoping it will knit up beautifully and give the stitch deinition that this pattern has promised.

I'll reveal more as my project progresses ...
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/rock--purl

Tuesday Treasury - Rain

Britain may be heading towards a drought, but there's been plenty of rain during the past two weeks. It's great weather for sitting with a big mug of tea and knitting, not so good when you want to photograph your finished knitting!
Anyway, let's think about the positives, rain can be a great source of crafty inspiration ...
'I Don't Mind The Rain' Silver Ring, this jewellery is made to order, so each ring is unique -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShereDesign

Patterned Raindrops, set of two handpainted beach pebbles, so pretty -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/theblackbirdsings

Amazonite Rain Bracelet, these beads are such a wonderful colour -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilverLilyJewellerys

April Showers, Paris in the rain, very atmospheric -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LondonDream

Laalaa'sTravelling Craft Box Part 2

Last weekend you may have read my blog post about Laalaa'sTravelling Craft Box. This weekend i've managed to post off the craft box to the next blogger ... but not before taking out some goodies and adding some more!
I can't tell you what i've put in there, that would take away the fun, justto say i've adding something unmade, some bits i've parted with from my stash and some other bits that seem to live in my craft 'area' but I know I won't make use of them.
So, here are some pics of the goodies I claimed from the box, a patchwork cushion kit ...

... the fabrics are so pretty. This will look perfect in my daughter's 'shabby chic' room.

I also picked out some brooch backs, I use loads of these, and some pretty beads that i'm going to turn into stitch markers.

This has been great fun to do, and i'd certainly join in with zthis sort of swap again. It will be interesting to see the other participants blogs to see where the things I put into the box find a home.

Tuesday Treasury - Sweets

After some over-indulgence during the Easter holidays i'm off chocolate - probably won't last long, but hey! I thought i'd put together a mini-treasury of sweetie-inspired goodies this week. I don't eat boiled sweets very often, but love all those pastel colours you see on the shelves in old-fashioned sweet shops ...
Sweets, Candy and Lollypops Illustration Eco Cotton Tote Bag, I love the style of illustration used for this design -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MysticMooseCrafts

Candy jars on shop shelf, pick and mix old fashioned sweets, pink yellow green - Fine art photography print photo, it's so difficult to resist sweet shops that display their jars like this -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EyeshootPhotography

Candy Girl - Bluefaced Leicester hand painted sock yarn, these colours remind me of Fairy Satin sweets -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DyedbyDesign

Hundreds and Thousands Strands Sweets Retro Kitsch Square Chunky Ring, just one word ... 'need' -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/madebydaisy

Laalaa's Travelling Craft Box Part 1

Earlier in the year, you may recall that I signed up to take part in this fab 'swap'. It's not like a regular swap, in that a box of crafty goodies travels around the country from blogger to blogger. If you want to take something out of the box, you replace it with some other crafty item, whether it's something from your stash, something handmade or an unwanted craft kit or book.
As you can see the parcel arrived with me yesterday ...

... there are loads of things in there! This is the only photograph you'll be seeing until I select some bits and bobs from the box later this week - only fair, it's nice if the contents of the box remain a surprise for the other participants!

April Hexipuffs

... Well, it's better than the April showers we've been having! A couple of lazy days (plus an endless supply of Galaxy chocolate and a few episodes of True Blood on DVD) mean that i'v been at the hexipuffs again ...

These were made from some of the multi-coloured mini-skeins I received as part of my April mini-skeins club package from 'The Knitting Goddess'.

I loved the colours so much that I wound the skeins ready for knitting as soon as I undid the parcel! There's still a hint of blue in the hexis that i've knitted so they'll go perfectly with the many other ones i've knitted over the past few months - I really need to count how many i've got so far!

or the moment i'm having a 'hexi-break' - now back to my hat knitting ...

Tuesday Treasury - Old Gold

Today I have cast on my Tangled River hat designed by WoollyWormhead. I'm using a wonderfully rich,gold yarn by BabyLongLegs called Cortez's Gold, so I thought i'd look for lovely gold coloured goodies on Etsy for this week's treasury ...

BFL Spinning Fiber, Orange Wool Roving, Amber BFL Silk, oh, how I wish I could perfect my spinning technique -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/hilltopcloud

Super Chunky Square Cushion Cover in Burnt Orange, I love the 'Barley' coloured cushions in this shop too -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/laurimuks

The Stripey Fox Mini Print, i've already got the green fox print hanging in my room, perhaps I need this one too -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/blackoutwell

Enamelled Silver Oval Dangle Kiss Earrings, so delicate -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lukelys

Arkanoid

I do a lot of knitting on the bus and train, and some extra journeys in the past week mean that I have FINALLY finished my Arkanoid hat, a design by Woolly Wormhead.

I love this design and although I only finished it yesterday, i've already had lots of positive comments about it! The yarn I used is BabyLongLegs Semi-Precious in 'Silver Surfer', it's been fantastic to knit with, not a snag or a dropped stitch in sight.

I'm hoping to knit  the Tangled River hat from Knit Now magazine for my next project, which also used Semi-Precious, but DK weight.

Meanwhile, i'm knitting a few more hexipuffs ...

Tuesday Treasury - Easter Bunnies

I hadn't really thought about Easter, and the fact that it's this weekend until I was thinking about a theme for this week's mini-treasury. There ar some lovely treasuries for Easter on Etsy this week, so I thought i'd look at little bunnies ...

Cute Bunny Girl Purse, i'm a big fan of hand-stitching on linen -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lazydoll

Bunny Rabbit Tea Pot Cozy, repeat patterns on knitted fabric are my new favourite thing -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nervousstitch

Orange Eco Textile Bunny Brooch, I love that button tail -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/materialised

LulaBunny Clock In Coral Pink, I think this is meant for the nursery, but I would quite happily put it on display in the living room -

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lulabirddesign

Monthly Make 2012 - March

Ok, so a couple of days late blogging about it, but here is my March make -a crochet cowl, perfect for those Spring mornings when it's not quite sunny enough to go without a scarf ...

The fabric in the background belongs to the garden/picnic quilt I made about ten years ago - it still makes an appearance everytime the sun shines!
I think I want to make another cowl in thick cotton for those Summer evenings now ...

Stash!

It's a week since I went to the NEC for a major crafty spending spree, but i've been sooo busy that i've not had time to photograph my goodies - plus my camera batteries were dead!
Sewing for Pleasure is the only big show I go to, so I tend to go a bit mad ... my fabric stash ...

Some lovely Liberty fabrics, some Japanese linens from The Eternal Maker, and some floral cotton that i've bought to make a sundress for my teenage daughter. There's also as few buttons there too!

I treated myself to a few balls of James C Brett knitting yarn, including some amazing Sonata in a green colourway (I'm planning a scarf with that one), and some Jawoll Magic for some fingerless gloves.

Last year I learnt how to use a lucet - this is a tool that Vikings used to make braids. I've only got a little 'toy' one from the Jorvik centre, so treated myself to this faulous wooden one one the show ...

If you are interested in using a lucet to create your own traditional braids, check out the website
http://www.thelucet.co.uk