Everything changes but the fundamentals remain.

Very soon, sooner than you realise, it creeps up on us, I will be leaving work at RingaRosie and beginning a new chapter of my life. I am returning to University 25 years after I left to start a PGCE. I have loved working at RingaRosie and I have learnt so much and met so many lovely people that it will be a very difficult thing to say goodbye. Obviously as it is the very best LYS I will be a frequent visitor for my knitting supplies (like I don't have a spare room full of wool at all really). But it has been a home over the past couple of years and Barbara has been a very good and generous boss and I hope a friend, I will miss her!

The crochet blanket in king Cole Merino DK continues and these little squares are a fun carry along project to I expect to do some on the way to and from Uni in September. It's a nice pick up and put down project which I shall no doubt come back to over the coming month and years and it's now a nice size to work on with it over my knee keeping me warm. Actually it is a little cooler this evening than it has been and I notice the nights are drawing in. Summer isn't over by any means, I still have a week in Mum & Dad's caravan to look forward to after all!

The top-down garments keep coming and the third one is finished with the addition of it's buttons yesterday. It's based on the Custom Knits book instructions for Favourite Cardigan - I started the neckline higher and knitted it longer but apart from that it's pretty much as written. The yarn was in the sale too so a bargain knit!

Modeled photos to follow when it's not raining and DH isn't stressed by the summer holiday child care!

My other recent project has been some spinning of a merino cashmere and silk blend, no decent finished photo for this yet but a nice work in progress picture for you in the meantime. I am teaching a spinning class in Septemebr at Artison, so if you've a hankering for learning something new why not see if they have any places left? The food and friendly atmosphere are fabulous and I can think of few more pleasant ways to spend an afternoon that spinning!

Finally for now, another recent crochet project included just for it's bright colours and happiness. Do I know that Uni is the right thing to do? No. But I do know I will regret it if I don't try. Everything changes. Follow your bliss and do what makes you happy :) Wish me luck!

Spinning Again

Life is what happens when we're not looking and it's been creeping up and surprising me in a bad way for the last year. My mum's dementia has really thrown me and it's taken a long time to adjust to the news of her illness. My kids leaving home was also a big shock even though they are happy and busy and doing well, nothing seemed to go as I had thought it would. My head has been spinning.

Things seem to be assuming a new kind of normal. I have a plan again at last and things to look forward to. In September I return to university to begin a PGCE in primary education and meanwhile I have been teaching spinning again. 

Last Sunday I had a wonderful day at Artison where I worked with a group of 6 beginner spinners. It is a wonderful thing to be able to share your enthusiasm with people. A great day. Very affirming to have people leaving with their enthusiasm nurtured and enabled. It makes me want to spin! I have recently been lucky enough to buy an e-spinner about which I hope to blog very soon. Spinning without a ballooning ankle is very pleasant indeed although I don't think anything could ever surplant my Timbertops wheel, dear old lady sits in my living room, waiting patiently until I find time to spin.


I am still wandering a little in a wilderness of uncertainty, oh for the confidence of youth and the sureness of ones 20s. I wander with friends though and this helps greatly. 

just a small obsession

Lots of little pincushions.

Love them.

Pattern is in Danish here
and here in US crochet terms

and if you leave a comment I can send you the English crochet terms version I wrote up this evening ;) I think these will make great little gifts and I'm hooking up a storm :)

Time for Tea...and Toast!

 Come in, pull up a chair, I have the kettle on, we'll have a cuppa :) I like mine so that you've just shown the tea bag to it, but I can make yours strong enough to stand a spoon in if you like it that way. Oh and hot buttered toast, of course. I'm having jam, plum jam. What would you like? I love lemon curd, it's my very best favourite but I've run out , it's top of the shopping list, so maybe next time?
How was your week? Mine was busy, as usual :) but full of knitting and enthusiasm and the fibre crafts I love so I'm not complaining. Working 6 days a week is tough but I love my job and my boss and our customers, I really do. Some lovely people and so many new and returning knitters that it is really encouraging to be there and to share the newness or their discovery of 'making things', or to hear them talking about the reasons they've started knitting again after years of not knitting and of thinking that they would never knit again. Many people have given away their needles and patterns. Often they are amazed at how things have changed and all the beautiful new yarns. But knitting itself is still, knit and purl, yarn over and knit 2 together, so I reassure them that it will come back to them and tell them that the internet as revolutionised the way we knit and made it an altogether more social activity than it used to be. We have 3 knit and natter groups at the shop and the place is always busy with people enjoying their hobby. Many people restart their knitting when a first grandchild is due and this is a lovely reason to share with them and for which we help them chosse something beautiful and fun to knit.

My oven baby is 9 this week and on Sunday we took advantage of the lovely sunshine to go to Penshaw Monument and take photographs for a school project. This was my first visit despite having lived here for 11 years now and being able to see it over the Tyne from my house. In the afternoon I took DD2 and her best friend to the cinema. Hasn't the pictures gotten expensive! There must be many children who are never taken, 2 children and 1 adult cost over £20 to get in and the 2 small hotdogs and 3 small drinks was £16! You can tell it's a long time since I went to the flicks! I think I'll stay home and eat toast! Mind you I have evidence now that it is possible to knit 2 points of a Hitchhiker whilst watching The Chipmunks 3 Movie!

Despite my tin covers still being naked of their flowers I thought I'd share my progress with you - the flowers are a work in progress, Barbara has been teaching me a different cast on today because I'm not happy with my flower centres, version 2 of the flowers is about to begin when I log off :) Never mind the Narcissi are pretty nonetheless :)

In other news I am buying an electric spinner - I haven't told DH yet, haha, well I've hinted at it. Ooops. I am working on my justifications ;) More on that one later. :D

Life Goes On

Happy Valentines Day :) 

  

If flowers are more your thing then daffs can't be beat at this time of year, a promise of spring around the corner. It's too early for them in the gardens yet but a cheerful tin for the jar - details on the Attic 24 blog. I see Lucy has added some rather lovely buttons and such so I shall have to embellish!

 This was made using the Special DK leftovers from DD1's blanket, I'd love to do them in Rowan Handknit Cotton, like Lucy, maybe another time. Meanwhile I used what I had in :)

Makes for a colourful mantlepiece , but as well as a little crochet I have also been knitting since I was last here and have many projects to share. One of which, my sheepheid, helped to keep me warm in January when we went for a frosty walk in and around Cambo, Northumberland. Near the parking place there is a fabulous old water fountain which I will photograph on another visit, the light was in all the wrong places this time :)

Over Christmas I finished some jumpers and I'll show you those tomorrow, enough for tonight as I am off to look for buttons for my crochet tin covers :) I'm also just in to a DK cardi - but more of that when there is something to take a picture of. I hope the new year is treating you well so far, half way into February already? Time really marches on and we must march with it, onward and upward, hook and needles in hand :)

The Blanky has a Friend

 

DD1's Uni 'Happy' Blanky has a friend for her to take along with it on her travels. The cushion is finished. I love it, love it, love it. There will be more. I bought a £2 cushion in Asda and used the cushion pad - this seemed the cheapest available option :) and it's cheap yarn too so why not?!

Since finishing these projects I have started a cot blanket.

Since I took this photo I have added more rows and the blanky is growing. Now this blanket already has a recipient and once again will be leaving home once it is finished so I have also started buying yarn for my own blanky which I will keep and snuggle up under over the coming winter. 

I'm not ready for winter yet so I am focusing on Autumn delights of misty mornings and the quality of the late afternoon sunlight. The yarn I am going to use for the next project is King Cole Merino Blend and 100% superwash wool - I am looking forward to a different but also extensive palette to work with. We had a lady in the LYS, where I work 3 days a week, on Saturday who bought 28 different colours of this yarn for her blanket and then LucyLocket came by to buy yarn for her blanky too so it seemed a good day to start collecting my yarn too - I even have a basket for this project which I bought at Aldi, along with some Aran yarn for a cardi I will get to later. Lucy reminded me about 'little cotton rabbits' blog which was a lovely thing to remember - check out the crochet going on over there. For now I am addicted to crochet and enjoying the hooking, which is where I am off to now. An hour of hooking before bedtime, what could be better? We had Amanda from the Natural Dye studio visiting the shop on Saturday too and her crocheted blanket projects are so inspiring. 

My stripy blankets and granny squares are great brain-dead, too-little-sleep, too-much-to-worry-about projects to work on for therapy. Sadly my mum has Alzheimer's and this horrible illness is taking it's toll on my family. I shall be hooking happy colours all winter I think; many blankets needed for many cuddles all round. :s