Steph's Blog

I started a super fun and super quick project on Monday afternoon. After nearly two years in my stash, this yarn was staring at me with it’s pretty hand-dyed eyes, batting it’s eyelashes.

And it looks so pretty wound up.

The pattern I originally had in mind was a project bag, however, I couldn’t find the pattern – I think the blogger has taken down their blog (or more likely, I can’t find it!). I did a quick search on Ravelry, I found the basis for my nesting bowls.

Pattern – Felted Bucket Bag by Mags Kandis

Yarn – Highfield Textiles Shetland DK in White, bought here and dyed using Koolaid here.

Needles – 6mm KnitPro DPNs

Started – 21st May 2012

Finished – 22nd May 2012

Comments/Mods – Using the general shape of the felted bucket bag I made four different sizes of nesting bowl.

Large – 80 stitches, knit 26 rounds and decrease evenly until 8 stitches remain.
Medium – 65 stitches, knit 22 rounds and decrease evenly until 8 stitches remain.
Small – 50 stitches, knit 16 rounds and decrease evenly until 8 stitches remain.
Tiny – 35 stitches, knit 10 rounds and decrease evenly until 8 stitches remain.

I then hand felted using two bowls of water, one hot and one cold and I used a lot of agitation and fairy liquid. I stuffed them with newspaper in plastic bags and left them on the mantelpiece to dry.

However, it was kinda hard going hand felting them and I didn’t do such a good job on the larger bowls. I decided to give them a second felting in the washing machine. Unfortunately, this almost completely wiped the colour from the bowls.

I then rooted around in my yarn/sewing/crafting bags and found 2 packets of Blue Lemonade Koolaid. I did a bit more dyeing in the microwave and the bowls turned out with a little more colour in their cheeks First time felting went quite well

Ravlink – here

And in case you are wondering, I got the internship I will be moving to Suffolk next week for 3 months and I am very excited!

Well hello there! Wowsers, that was a busy few weeks. I have been up to my ears in uni work and just completed my final piece of work this evening. So yes! Hope everyone has been having a good couple of weeks.

What have I been up to? Well, a lot of uni work and teensy tiny bit of knitting, and applying an internship.

So first up, knitting.

I have finished one of my Magic Carpet Socks of Win and I declare them to be magnificent!

I have also started the next one and will be doing the short row toe soon.

I have also finished the first sock of Angee by Cookie A.

This is a magnificent sock project back from Loumms and I love everything about it! The amazing colours, the mismatched cute buttons, the silky green lining. I already have two lovely Loumms project bags and, of course, I will need some more in the future

I have also been going a little wild with buying cute shoes online. In a sleep deprived state, I ordered these at 1am on Sunday morning, they arrived at my door at 7.30am Monday morning. Excellent service or what?!?! Go Schuh!

I also got these cuties. I blame the stress! It makes me spend loads of money!

Now then, something really fun is happening. So, like I mentioned at the top of the blog post – I’ve applied for an internship. This was done whilst I was stressing like mad trying to get my portfolios for music sorted. I received an email on Thursday which was an invitation to an interview. I haven’t stopped smiling since finding out! Tomorrow I hand in my final pieces of coursework and then that is university over and done with. On Tuesday I am catching a train to the ever lovely and amazing Viv who is putting me up for a couple of nights so I can get to the interview without having to do all the travelling in one day. THANK YOU SO MUCH VIV!!!!! And I’ll have to see where life takes me after that to get the internship would mean the absolute world to me and I hope I come across well in the interview.

Righty-oh, it is getting late and I needs my beauty sleep. Actually, I just need sleep. I haven’t been getting much of that lately. Toodle-Pip and talk to you soon

I am ridiculously bad at naming blog posts at the moment. And I’m kinda liking this version.

So, first, an announcement!!! Due to a bit of cross-atlantic postal fail, there is a giveaway currently being held by one of my lovely customers. Visit Danielle’s lovely blog here and leave a comment to win SEVENTEEN of my markers. Go on, go there now. I would enter but, ya’know

So, I braved the cold weather outside to take a couple of WIP pictures. The light was more than awful inside.

This is one of my Magic Carpet Socks of Win. A little more info about these, I provisionally cast on 68 stitches and then started knitting the foot. After a little while I decided to work the toe, undid the provisional cast on and worked a short row toe a la Mimi (the instructions are here). And so, I have been knitting a little on these, vanilla socks are so good when you want to relax and just knit. I will be doing an afterthought heel at some point (I’ve heard 1 and a half inches short of your total foot length).

This is my Le Marseilles Pullover from a 6 year old Interweave Knits.

This is knit in pieces and going along rather well. After a stint of fingering-weight projects (Paulie, Color-Affection etc.) it does feel strange having a garment knit up so quick. The knitting is quite interesting and I have to concentrate a little more than usual to make sure I’m getting it right. I’ve only brought a few balls with me to knit whilst on holiday. I hope I don’t run out of knitting!

I have been acquiring some clothes as well. First off, my mum treated me to a lovely top in Next, apparently it was ‘very you, Steph’. (Sorry for the not-so-good iPhone pics)

And a close up of the cute

We also visited River Island and I spent a Christmas gift voucher on a lovely striped dress.

And lastly, we wandered into M&S and I found the best bargain ever.

A lovely green paisley and purple/blue skirt for £3.

I can wear this as both a skirt and a dress and I love it! At some point I’d like to do an outfit post, but I’m not feeling it at the moment.

Right, I’d better get back to some uni work. I’m currently working on a composition that is connected to storm data, that is quite fun, and I’m working with 12000 numbers (agh!).

Well, err, thinking back over the couple of years this blog has been in existence, I have made quite a few posts on my love of GREEN. Such as here and here. The lovely Mimi dyed me a lovely skein of yarn a bit ago, as she knew I loved green so much And so, when the also lovely Mooncalf posted on twitter that she got a surprise pack of laceweight and she didn’t like one of the colours, I jumped at the chance (bargainous laceweight, c’mon guys!).

I lub lub lub this, I think I will be making Hannah Fettig’s Whisper Cardigan. At some point after uni is over.

Also, my love for green even made it into another crafty making recently.

I went to Create in Ilkley and did some mug painting. This was the outcome.

My friend Belinda didn’t want the plate that came with her teacup, so she let me paint it to match my mug

On the not-yet-green front, I have been working on my Magic Carpet socks from The Yarn Yard and I’ll be getting to the green part soon hopefully as I LOVE my green.

Right, I’d better get some composition work done. I’ve finished two editing essays this week, but there is still so much to do! The end is in sight though

Yesterday I finished my Color Affection shawl. And managed to almost ruin it (long story short – I tugged on the edge as it was too tight, the yarn snapped). And then fixed it (totally a bodge job, luckily I didn’t have to use my duct tape). Phew!

Here is my panicked expression yesterday morning

And today, it is all lovely and sunny outside. I’m wearing a dress and my flatmate is at home and willing to take pictures! (Big thanks to Jenny for taking the outdoor pictures)

Pattern – Color Affection by Veera Välimäki

Yarn – YarnAddict Fairytale Sock in Neon Bright (main colour), Old Maiden Aunt Merino, Cashmere and Nylon in Selkie (contrast colour 1) and Bean Nighe (contrast colour 2)

Needles – 4mm Knit Pro symfonie fixed circulars and used a 5.5mm tip to bind off

Size – Fingering weight shawl size

Started – 1st March 2012

Finished – 27th March 2012

Comments/Mods – So, this shawl is for the 2 month Old Maiden Aunt KAL. And yeah, finished it within the month as I am obsessed (or it might be because I saw the prizes on offer and might want to make another shawl ). The first section of lime green went smoothly and it was the first time I’ve worked with YarnAddict yarns – very nice base, would totally buy again. When I got to the second section with the stripes forming from a beautiful dark grey and the lime green, I fell in total love. This love was deepened by the amazing short rows and introduction of the greeny-turquoisey stripes. I say short rows, by the end they were mahoosive! It was quite a slog when I got to the final section of plain greeny-turquoisey, and it probably is shorter than it is meant to be. But anyway! This is my first real-life large shawl, and I love everything about it. The colours, the shape, even the bodged up edge.

Ravlink – here

And because I can’t help being silly for even a moment

With the help of the lovely Jenny from Knit Chronicles (you may also know her as my housemate), I wound up my gorgeous Magic Carpet from the Yarn Yard.

Drool. We did look rather strange winding this. Both holding onto a corner of the knitted fabric and winding away at our separate yarn winders (yes, we have 2 winders, a little decadent but we’ll be going our separate ways in a few months). If only we had a 3rd housemate to have taken photos of us, we did look a bit silly!

I have decided to start from the toe up from the Violet end, progressing through the rainbow to the ribbing at the top of the leg in red. I haven’t started these yet, I hope to reduce the amount of things on the needles soon and cast on.

Talking about things being on the needles, here is the current state of my Colo[u]r Affection.

Garter stitch stripes are just so more-ish!

Just to keep everyone aware and in the loop, I will be putting the shop on temporary holiday for about a month, maybe a month and a bit. This isn’t happening until the beginning of April and it is purely to save my sanity. I’m a worrier, and I would worry about the business when I should be worrying about my university work. I’d hoped I would be able to keep trading and get everything done but I don’t want to chance it. Thankfully all my customers are amazing and understanding. Right, better be off to do some more uni work!

Toodles