When life gives you lemons make lemonade...

... or in my case mittens!

Sadly I wont be going to Woolfest this year as there isn't room for me :( I was looking forward to seeing customers and friends again but we'll have to meet elsewhere :) Maybe at St Abbs at the end of February? I am exploring other possibilities but in the meantime I decided that dyeing must go on and I'd like to share my most recent project with you :)

I have been test knitting a new mitten pattern and it's nearly ready for release as a kit for the online shop and also through RingaRosie in Whitley Bay. RingaRosie for those who don't know, is my local yarn shop and the place where I work 3 days a week. It s a wonderful shop with everything a knitter needs and is owned by the lovely Barbara who is the most supportive employer a yarny could wish for :)




The kits will be available initially in the following colours :)







I have also been knitting for my daughter and finished the jumper she was supposed to be getting for Christmas - ooops - ah well cobblers children have no shoes and knitters children have no handknits! Here are the photos, the jumper is from 'Best of Lopi' and the yarn is 'Full o' Sheep'
a great yarn I will use again no doubt.

Another cold walk but this time a great excuse to photograph the first completed project of my 2011 UFO Challenge - this shawl has taken a year to complete, I knew I was going to run out of yarn and put it away in the hope that some magic would happen but having to admit that there are no yarn fairies I had to improvise. And today the sun shone on the photos so it must have come out alright :)






Here's the modelled shot so you can see the size of it - I decided not to block it and the garter stitch is soft and warm and suggly.

I actually wore it today wrapped around my head to keep the drafts out! It was a lazy wind, couldn't be bothered to go around so just blew straight through me, brrrrr.










Much to Katy's delight there was plenty more ice and snow in the furrows. Some photos of the scenery - you may recognise the walk, although the last time we were here the fields were full of bales of hay and it was a good deal warmer.





















Even though it was very cold and I couldn't feel my legs by the time we got back to the car, it was worth it for the sunset!

Oh My It Was Cold

but it was beautiful.

And there was ICE.