Moxie Pullover

Here is my latest test knit.  It was quite a windy day when these photos were taken but there was sunshine so we seized the opportunity.

This is the Moxie Pullover.  Ta dah!  It is by Amy at Savory Knitting.

This pullover is worked from the top down.  It is knitted in the round with no seaming.  Yay!  It was a quick knit with worsted yarn.  The pattern was very clear and well written.  My daughter has already put in an order for another!

Ravelled here

Wonderwool 2012

Yes, I attended Wonderwool Wales 2012.  I have now thawed out enough to tell you about it.

I went last year for one day but decided to stay over with a friend and attend both days.  It has to be said that the weather was atrocious.  It was cold the first day and cold and wet the second.  It didn't, of course, stop me buying things!  The show was fantastic.  I love it here.  It is so friendly and, well, woolly.

Believe it or not, I didn't take any photos of the actual show.  My fingers were too numb.  I know that my friend took some so I will try to post those ones as soon as I have a copy.

I am able to share some photos of the things I spent my 'running away' money on!

I was so excited that The Wool Shed was there.  I have ordered from them before but it was so lovely to see them in person.  I had bought some Albayarn online so I knew how lovely it is and couldn't resist buying two more lots.  Here is the colour rose.  It is earmarked for a project from Susan Crawford's new book, A Stitch in Time vol 2.

I also bought another lot in the colourway Glade.

I also have a project in mind for this colour and couldn't wait to start swatching for it.  I bought the needles and started it in the hotel.  I am going to do a Kim Hargreaves pattern from her book, Touching Elegance.  The pattern is called Florence and described as a timeless cardigan with many buttons!

I also managed to get some Artesano 4 ply in baby blue colour.

I have no idea what I will make with this but I am sure it will be beautiful.  It is such a lovely colour and the yarn is soooo soft.

I also got a pattern and some yarn from the Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop.  I don't normally buy the exact amount of yarn for a pattern because I am a loose knitter and I worry that I won't have enough yarn for the project.  They only had the right amount so I took it.

It is a really nice green colour.  The photo does not really do the yarn justice.  The cardigan was knitted up on the stand and it looked lovely, although it looks nothing on the pattern.  I hope it turns out ok.

Lastly I bought some Eden Cottage Yarns.  I have wanted some for a long time and didn't see the stand until just before we were leaving on the second day.  It was fate, I had to have some!

The colours are beautiful.  I particularly like the gold coloured one.  It is not a colour I would normally go for but I am really taken with it.  It is called Harvest Gold and is a mixture of merino and silk.  It is lovely.

Well that is my yarn haul.  I will update tomorrow with the non-yarn things that I bought.  It's nice to be back.

Birthday Cake

My son asked for a chocolate cake with chocolate eggs on top for his birthday.  In hindsight, he may have meant mini eggs!

I had to stick the cream eggs on with melted chocolate because they kept sliding off when I tried it with buttercream.  I like to think that it tasted a lot better than it looked!

Here is his real, shop bought cake.

Now, doesn't that look nice.

Lyme Regis

 A few weeks ago I went to Lyme Regis for the day with my son and here are the photos:

It is a beautiful town but somewhat hilly.  The car parks that I seem to find are always at the top of the hills which is great on the way to the beach, but much harder on the way back!

 We were really lucky with the weather and it was a great day.

No wallabies here!

We spent some time in the Jane Austen gardens which overlook the beach.  I think they are in the process of being revamped at the moment but they are lovely.

And we were able to find a bench so that I could do some knitting and watch the world go by.

All too soon it was time to haul myself, my son and my knitting back to the car and go home.

FO - Citron

Here is my Citron shawl.   It took me quite a while to knit it because I didn't work on it consistently.  I have been trying to sort out my wool stash which is definitely beyond life expectancy!

Anyway, I did manage to finish it.  Alexandra from Wool and Cotton kindly shared her notes and tips which was really kind and a great help.

I did eight repeats of the pattern and used Malabrigo Lace yarn in Pink Frost.  I used two skeins and just a little of the third (for two rows only).  I think I would probably have used less but my Citron met with a bit of an accident.   My mother-in-law got so enthusiastic about having a look at it that she got all tangled up in the yarn.  She then panicked and twisted around, breaking the yarn and ripping the knitting off of the needles.

I managed to repair it (after much sobbing from both of us).  The photos are pre-blocking.

I am really pleased with it.  I will definitely knit another.  I really like working with the Malabrigo Lace yarn.  It is sooo soft.

My notes on Ravelry here.

Boo Moo

 Look what I found hiding in my garden when I went to peg out the washing on Sunday!

It seemed that I scared her as much as she scared me.

My son, who is a lot braver than I am, managed to coax her back across into her own field.  What an exciting morning.

Wonderwool Booty

 Sorry for the prolonged absence again.  Sometimes life takes over.  Here is my Wonderwool Booty.  I wanted to get some laceweight yarn because I hope to knit Laar by The Shetland Trader.  I know it is a massive task to knit a cardi in laceweight but the pattern is so lovely.  I found the Fyberspates stall and bought some scrumptious lace in the colourway Water.

I also bought some in Teal because I couldn't really chose between the two.  Now I will have to make two cardigans or lots of shawls!

Then, to compound my lace knitting overload, I bought a Fyberspates sparkly laceweight just because I loved the colour.  Yes, it does have sparkly bits in.  I don't really know what possessed me because I normally goes for quite plain things but I was swept up in the occasion.  I am sure it will be lovely and, dare I say, a little bit disco.

Then I bought some Easyknits in a colourway called Swamp Thing.  Enough said.

Oh and I bought some Crazy Zauberball.  I think this one is one of the more restrained colours to make up for the glitterball Fyberspates.

Lastly I got a Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend.  It is a lovely mixture of blues and greens.

I also bought some lovely buttons to add to my button stash.