Spindle Love

I very rarely have much success with spindles, but as this is a new year I figured I really ought to spend more time with them. And using whatever mad logic I possess, I decided that a good way to do this was to, well, get another spindle.

This Canarywood Bosworth Midi, weighing in at 0.81 oz., is a beautiful thing. I actually have some insane plan of collecting Bosworths for reasons which immediately escape the more logical part of my brain, and I had a list of woods that I favoured, and luckily for me, this was one of them.

The spindle is sitting on a bump of alpaca silk, which I have high hopes for and therefore am too frightened to touch. Well, I was, until yesterday evening, when all my fears of spinning nicer fibres might have been quelled, if not momentarily.

I swapped some of my fibre with Diane, who had a few Spunky Eclectic club fibres that I fancied having more of, but as one of the fibres I swapped with her was quite nice (Corriepaca - corriedale and alpaca blend; very nice indeed) she threw in the 2 oz. of merino/tencel that I've been somewhat coveting, if only because it was pretty and I'd seen it spun up and knitted up beautifully, but daren't spin because it was, well, a very nice blend.

But I thought that since I was meeting Diane at Alice's, and she'd be there anyway, I'd bring my new spindle along and under her watchful eye, I might just crack my fear of spinning more luxurious fibres.

And lo!

Never have I spun so wonderfully fine.

I had to park-and-draft most of the time. Perhaps on two or three occasions I managed to spin and draft at the same time but I couldn't draft quite quickly enough to get it as fine as I wanted. So I spun, parking and drafting, for about 2 1/2 hours at Alice's before we headed off for dinner. And when I got home, I spun some more, until my arm ached something fierce.

But I don't care. I spun gorgeous. And because I'm spinning it so fine, it's lasting forever. What I have on the spindle in the photo? That's maybe half an ounce.

And the spindle? If you ever hear people extolling the grace and beauty and virtue of these Bosworths, then listen to them. They speak truth.

Trailwalker 2009 - Support Team Geek!

I have a very devious friend named Martin. He is devious because we share the same birthday, and therefore share many similar characteristics, good and bad. We also have this habit of inspiring each other, and getting each other into trouble somewhat.

He was looking for volunteers to form a team of four people to walk the South Downs on the 18th and 19th of July. 100 kilometres - that's 62 miles, if it makes you feel better - in 30 hours or less. Walking through the night, regardless of weather, from just south of Petersfield to Brighton.

And dammit, I signed on.

You will now see on my right sidebar that there is a pretty little widget that allows you to make donations. This is because Trailwalker aims to raise funds for the Gurkha Welfare Trust, which helps Gurkha ex-servicemen, their widows and their families who do not receive a military pension despite their services to Great Britain. You can read more about the Gurkha Welfare Trust here.

And if you want to know more about Trailwalker 2009, please visit the site here. You'll be able to see our route and where all our checkpoints are, so if you live nearby you can come and see the madness come summertime. 

Why did I sign on?

I'm going to be 30 years old this year. Thirty. Three-zero. And I figured I should do something special. Something that might alter my life just that little bit. I love walking, and I love the beautiful English countryside, and if this gets me walking more and exploring England more, then what have I got to lose? Plus I'll get fit and healthy again, and hopefully I'll stay that way, because I hope to keep walking as regularly as I did when I was training for this long after the Trailwalker event is over.

So please donate. We would be incredibly grateful for your support, and so will the Gurkha Welfare Trust. And please use the website we have set up via the little widget as it will let you reclaim tax.

Go Team Geek!

Sometimes, You Need To Rock

It's been an eventful weekend.

Chantelle arrived on Friday evening along with her wheel - well, my wheel: remember Olivia? - while I had my hands bowl-deep in snickerdoodle dough. Chantelle's arrival and the snickerdoodles had plenty to do with the fact that a whole bunch of us were taking a road trip to P&M Woolcraft, which I mentioned a couple of posts ago.

The road trip was fab. Nick, Chantelle and I left in plenty of time, picked up a total stranger who was coming along with us - she was very sweet and was one of Diane's students - and made good time before I realized we'd forgotten the snickerdoodles... By then we couldn't turn around so we made do without.

We got to the pub which was our meeting point and found Sarah waiting there. Then Brigid appeared in a taxi, and eventually Diane arrived with Mel, Hailey and Ruth in tow. We had a handspun show-and-tell, and then we ordered food and knitted while waiting for said food to arrive.

And then, we headed to P&M. Where pretty much all hell broke loose. But in a good way.

People were cuddling fibre and trying out wheels and checking out the books and asking questions and I think Martin and Pauline were slightly overwhelmed, but they took our descent in good stride and after a good long while everyone went home with goodies (more on that in another post).

We then headed back for London, dropped the no-longer-a-stranger Laura off, got food, and got home, where not long after dinner we discovered that Nick was probably allergic to angora, as his hands and where his shirt had come untucked from his jeans were abloom with blotches. But that was easily remedied.

Today Chantelle and I headed over to Alice's to hang out and meet with some people and knit - and to bring along the forgotten snickerdoodles, for which Alice thanked me profusely; who knew there would be benefits to being forgetful? - and I had a lovely time. I got more sock done, got some yarn, and sat surrounded by friends.

So when I got home and Chantelle left for home, too... I got kinda depressed.

Well, I always feel a little depressed whenever Chantelle leaves, but the weekend had been so lively and funny and fibrey and then it all came to what felt like a grinding halt. I felt like I was left at a loose end, flapping and floppy and with no idea what to do next.

Nick said there was only one thing for it:

A healthy dose of Guitar Hero.

A Good Time to be American

I am in envy, and in awe of Obama's inauguration speech. I am sitting here, part of me thinking, this must be such a great time to be American, to feel that much hope, to feel as though things will get better and to be so inspired as to get off their backs, on their feet and away to work hard and achiece what they feel they can achieve.

The other part of me is wishing we had anything like that here. It feels as though there's a little too much of 'it'll get worse before it'll get better'. There's too much waiting. There's too much nervousness. There's too much of a lovely Singaporean phrase, which is being 'kiasu': 'scared to lose'.

There is too much of not being bothered. There is too much of making it someone else's problem, finding someone else to blame, failing to take responsibility. There are too many easy ways out, and too many easy options to ensure failure is minimal.

While none of this is meant to be blanket statements, a lot of it is true. All I know is that I am glad I am now part of a family who does nothing but plan. A family that watches change and then makes plans to adapt. A family that tries to not grumble too much when things aren't as easy as they could be, because there is plenty to be happy and thankful about. There is talk, there is communication, there is opportunity.

And I have friends who are like this, too, for which I am very grateful. Nothing makes life better than to be surrounded by people with fair ideals, good hope and a sense of humour. Because even when we're broke, sick, confused, lost and indecisive, we've got each other and our daft intelligence and madcap humour to make all those bad things feel a little better.

Even if my above statements are true, at least I know I am surrounded by people of hope, hard work and humour. That's working well for me, and the people around me.

If only everyone in the United Kingdom had what I have. Things would look so much brighter, and we would have so much to look forward to.

So come on, America. Shame us into getting it right.

Spinning and Spindles

I have some catching up to do with my spinning. There's some spinning that I've had sitting around for ages that I've only just got done, spinning I did for Christmas that I forgot to blog about, and my spindle collection has expanded in the last six months or more.

First off, the one that was sitting around for ages:

Falkland, 115 yards, 56g, 12 wpi.

Alice dyed this fibre for me as a gift ages ago, and I hadn't got around to spinning it until late last year somewhere, and I only finished it last night. I know, I'm such a slacker.

I did my usual bog-standard spinning, and I think I'm getting finer, which is good, what with that aim to spin sock yarn this year.

A bit of lukewarm soak, a couple of snaps and a reskeining while only half-dry and I've got a lovely soft sample of Falkland with a good twist.

In an odd twist of fate, I decided that due to my inability to think of anything to give Alice at Christmas - the woman has a yarn shop; you can't quite buy her yarn - I decided to spin a 3-ply for her.

The Yarn Yard Superwash BFL in Forest Glade

Again I think I'm improving in my spinning, because not only did I spin nice and fine, I also managed to leave behind minimal singles on my bobbins during plying. I always stop when I've emptied one bobbin, but this time I had only a few yards on each of the other two. So, very efficient!

114 yards, 110g, 12 wpi.

And now to the spindle collection.

Actually, I have no business having a spindle collection. I hardly spin with them, even back when my ankle was on the mend and I couldn't use my wheel much. I really must try to spin more with my spindles, especially given that I have such nice ones that spin so very well.

Butterflygirl Designs Spindles, Blue Goldstone at 0.8 oz and Abalone Shell at 1.2 oz.

Golding Spindles, 2" Solid in Lignum Vitae at 0.65 oz. and 2" Tsunami in Cherry at 0.45 oz.

And here's the whole bunch of them. You've probably met the others before:

Clockwise from top: Butterflygirl Designs Blue Goldstone, Kundert in Maple with Yellowheart and Zebrawood (1.2 oz.), Greensleeves Ethan Jakob in Pomelle Bubinga and Bloodwood (0.6 oz.), Butterflygirl Designs Abalone Shell, Greensleeves Lady Barbara in Purpleheart (1.1 oz.), Golding Tsunami in Cherry, Golding Solid in Lignum Vitae.

And the trouble is, we're going on a massive road trip to P&M Woolcraft this coming Saturday, and I know they've got Bosworth spindles, which are in gorgeous woods and spin very, very well...

I think I'd better go spin something. Just to help with any sense of guilt.

More Hats!

I am really liking the idea of hats. I like how the more you knit them, the quicker they get, and then when you're doing the decreases, you realize you don't have to make another one. Well, another identical one. Not like mittens or gloves or socks.

And given the crazy cold weather we've had so far, they're pretty damned useful, too.

Nick got his hat on his birthday last week:

Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Nightwatch, about half a skein
Needles: 4mm and 5mm on 80cm cable

I made the larger size, and it's lovely. The yarn is gorgeous, the pattern is dead simple if not a little fiddly what with the 2-stitch cables all around, but once you get warmed up it's a breeze. I love it. I want one. But luckily for Nick I can't steal it because it's too big for me. He loves it, though. He was very grateful for it walking to work at half-six in the morning. And I think a little smug, too.

But he's not the only one who gets to be smug.

Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Larson (Ravelry download only)
Yarn: Artist's Palette Big Softy, about two-thirds of a skein
Needles: 6mm and 8mm on 80cm cable

I love this thing. It was quite a thing making it, because after the first pattern repeat I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I was ready to look for other potential patterns but Nick said to keep going, and so I did. Despite the fact that I couldn't do the cabling sans cable needle - the 8mm needle simply refused to do it - the end result is just gorgeous. I love this thing. Did I already mention I love it?

It's perfect with glasses (for when you need to hide the bags under your eyes from lack of sleep) and purposefully messy hair to achieve that cute but impish look. And I like being impish.

And, Juliet's yarn is so delectable that I snaffled the last skein in the shop to make a matching cowl or scarflette. It is just so soft and beautiful and the colours were really not quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be all dark and coffee-y but look at the flashes of petal-pink and gold!

Oh, and randomly, that crocheted dishcloth. For the car.

Hey, the car needs some fibrey loving, too, okay?

Flashback: Christmas Swag

This was only because the weather has been so dull I couldn't get any decent light to take photos. If we're lucky Nick and I will be able to get photos of each other's hats to show you, too!

We did pretty well at Christmas. We got quite a bit of what we wanted, and also plenty of what we needed. Jeans, for instance. Nick and I live in our jeans. We wear through them frequently. So we got a pair each. Nick got cooking-related stuff - a cast-iron griddle pan which he has now declared his undying love to and a set of steak knives from Mummy and Daddy Irish, and an Indian cookbook from me - and I got, well... it's predictable, really, isn't it?

From Mummy and Daddy Irish:

Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Vol. 2: Cables and the first Barbara Walker Treasury. I've already seen a pair of cable patterns in the Vogue book that might look good on socks...

From Chantelle:

Violet Green SoleMate sock yarn in Rainforest. Chantelle had been knitting with this yarn and I had declared it 'rather squooshy'. I'm bad at subtle hints, I think.

And from Nick:

The Klee Scarf Kit. I have wanted one of these for ages. Sadly it's all starting to warm up now, but at least I know I'll have a scarf for next winter!

But that wasn't all Nick got me. Because he likes to spoil his little imp.

I saw this huge book in a bookshop before Christmas and sort of lost my mind. The years of doing Film Studies never quite go away, you see, and I was a big scholar of Hollywood cinema history. I pretty much rang Nick up while he was at work and went:

Me: Mate! Okay, if I told you I saw a ginormous book called 'You Must Remember This', you'd know what it's about, right?
Nick: Er... aren't those the lyrics to that song in Casablanca?
Me: Yes...
Nick: It's about Casablanca?
Me: No... It's about the entire history of Warner Bros. Studios.
Nick: ... I've got the Amazon order down.
Me: I LOVE YOU.

I'm sad, I know.

So all in all, Christmas was pretty good. I mean, I even decided that I liked gingerbread, but only the kind Lindsay makes...

A Weird Place

Which is where I am at the moment.

Yesterday evening I got home from work and went digging into my wardrobe for the big bag in which I keep several very beautiful cross-stitch kits. I had started two of them, a big one about 15x12 inches, and a little one about 6x6 inches. I pulled out the little one, and after working out the Minesweeper-esque numbering strategy that I laid out for myself nearly two years ago, I started stitching.

I used to do a lot of counted cross-stitch, even though it often led to a stiff neck. I liked how careful the work was, and how you magically stitch colours in to make a picture. All my kits are and have been Dimensions Gold kits, so they were often rich in colour and I've always found their charts and instructions incredibly clear. They are also generous - I began to run out of certain colours on the big piece and I emailed them the colours I was running out of, and they sent them to me at no charge. Which is very good of them.

So last night, I cross-stitched.

Tonight, I declared that "I have nothing to knit" because one project is living in the shop, and the other I need a bit of a helping hand with, so I did technically have nothing to knit. And I wanted to be good and not cast anything else on.

So I crocheted. A dishcloth, to be precise. Except it's going to live in my car. For wiping the wing mirrors down and such.

Also, yesterday, it was very quiet in the shop, and I did not knit. I spent the afternoon playing Meteos on my Nintendo DS. Trying to beat the 1000-Meteos challenge. I've not yet succeeded.

If not for the fact that I was running around like a headless chicken in the shop today, I probably would have read. I nearly popped into the nearby Waterstone's before work to browse, semi-ready to part with anything between £6.99 and £9.99 for your bog-standard paperback. Even though I'm rubbish at figuring out what I want to read.

For this reason, I'm glad I know people like Emms and Justine, who are big readers and are solid enablers of good literature. And also Diane, for pimping out her copy of Austen's Emma to me.

Apart from all this, recently I handed in my second assignment for my creative writing course and I've actually started feeling that itch in the back of my head to write. Not a great itch like it used to be, but it's there. There's actually something ticking back there.

So. Cross-stitching. Crocheting. DS-ing. Reading. Writing.

A place with no knitting is a very weird place.

Do you think I need help or something?

Two Hats, an Unintentional Bribe and a Scarf I Can't Keep

So onto the last of the successful Christmas knitting!

I only took a while to post this because I needed photos of the last of the four items, although to be fair if I'd waited another two days I'd have a fifth FO to show you...

A little while before Christmas I was on the phone to Mummy Irish, talking about knitting, and amidst our conversation I heard this small faraway voice declare, "I could use a hat...."

I dug around for yarn in my stash, showed them to my only sister-in-law Lindsay, and once she gave her approval, a hat was born.

Trust me, it matches her eyes.

Pattern: Joni by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Shibui Sock in Periwinkle and Bark, under half a skein each
Needles: 3.5mm on 80cm cable

I had such a great time knitting this hat that I'm going to use the leftover of the brown together with a candy pink Koigu yarn and make one for myself. It's my first ever stranded colourwork project and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. All I had to do was learn to knit with my left hand and be a touch more vigilant about my tension. It's such a fantastic result.

Daddy Irish also got a hat, except he found his in his Christmas stocking. Daddy is one of those people who can't ever find hats in shops because he can never find one that would fit. I wasn't entirely sure he would be a beanie-wearing person, but then the winter came, and it was so superbly cold and clear that a walking man such as himself should have a very good hat indeed.

Don't hats look their best in the clear winter sun against a clear winter sky?

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood, aka brooklyntweed
Yarn: Artesano Aran 100% Alpaca, in C969 Pine
Needles: 4.5mm and 5.0mm on 80cm cable

The photo above is a normal view of Daddy from where I am. The man is, after all, over a whole foot taller than me.

This pattern has now made me into a cabling expert. Any pattern that has three pairs of cables will do that to damned near anyone. It is utterly beautiful: soft, squishy and hangs on to your head very, very well. I made it in the larger size, but it comfortably fits me as much as it does Daddy. I'm defintely going to make this again, once I get over the six rows where there are four four-stitch cables back-to-back.

Both those hats were photographed on our Boxing Day walk, an event which forced me to bribe myself to finish a project I'd had lying about for ages. For no other reason than the fact that once I packed the car - alone, because Nick was still at work - and driven off, I realized that I'd left my gloves behind. And I was going to need them for the walk.

I did pack the unfinished pair of handspun fingerless gloves, though, so Christmas Day was spent knitting like a mad fiend, for the sake of my little digits.

Mitts always look best when holding a cup of coffee.

Pattern: adapted from Hand/Wrist Warmers from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson
Yarn: handspun; fibre is Blue-Faced Leicester in Redemption from Selah Shop
Needles: 3.5mm on 80cm cable

It's my first ever project that is knitted with my own handspun, and I love them to bits. They're great for when I'm driving because I can still use my fingers to grip the steering wheel, and they're especially good for walks when you need to fuel yourself with chocolate - you never have to take them off to get chocolate out of your pocket and into your mouth.

And finally, the first FO of 2009:

Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf, put into writing by Jared Flood
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, 2 skeins of 211, and one skein each of 84 and 236
Needles: 4.5mm

I started this scarf in May, and then for whatever reason sort of abandoned it. We were talking about doing a UFO-busting knit night at Alice's once a month where you must bring along an unfinished object in a bid to put an end to them, and that was when I remembered it. I dug it out and thought, Why in hell have I not finished this? Because a) it's dead easy, and b) it's flippin' gorgeous. I must have knit around four feet of the total length in the course of the Christmas week.

Also, Noro Silk Garden is amazing. Yes, I had a knot in every skein I used, and yes, there was quite a bit of vegetable matter, but after I washed this scarf it is just so luscious. I wish I wasn't giving it away, but I am. A certain godbrother of mine has a birthday coming up, and he deserves such beauty.

Don't worry; I already have another four skeins of Silk Garden to make one for myself.

Now, to another hat, and socks!

New Year, New Ideas

Last year I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish in 2008. I went back into the archive and retrieved them, to see how much of a laugh I was going to get, and then found myself somewhat pleasantly surprised.

• finish knitting the things that are currently on my needles before starting anything new, the exception being the hat for my driving instructor whenever it is I finish my sessions with him

Excuse me while I go somewhere safe and soft where I can laugh until I fall over.

Ahem.

Right, now. At the moment Ravelry tells me I have two sleeping projects. I also have currently one project on the needles - Nick's Koolhaas - and actually, nothing else. So I've not been too bad. We'll see how things go.

• learn two new knitting techniques, one of which will be colourwork/fair isle

I have in fact learned how to do stranded colourwork now, thanks to one of my Christmas present knits which I will blog about soon, so that's one that's definitely down. I don't know if lace knitting counts as a new technique, but I did learn Magic Loop, and the long-tail cast on, so I wonder if they count?

I'll go for yes.

• learn to spin

We already know this. So this is good. Not only have I learned to spin, but I've done a couple of classes and learned quite a lot more. I'm looking forward to more classes and learning more, like spinning silk and making blends.

Now for the non-knitting related list:

• get a new job

By some sort of fluke, I am now the other one working at Stash Yarns. It's been a good year for it, and I've learned a lot already. If you want to visit me, I'm in on weekday afternoons apart from Thursday, so do drop in!

• pass my driving test and get on to my Pass Plus

Yup. All done. It really doesn't feel like I've been driving for less than a year. I feel like I've been driving forever, and I love it.

• half-fill a notebook with random scribblings, even if they don't get anywhere

Going back to soft safe place to laugh again.

• read at least 15 books - not counting knitting books, and history-type books count for double points.

Really, really hurting myself laughing now. What in the name of all that is holy made me think I could read 15 books in a year? I think I might have managed half a dozen, but 15? Craziness.

• go back to Shaolin Kung-Fu fortnightly - because this involves driving to Southampton

So did not happen. Mostly because it really wasn't worth the long drive there just for a two-hour session.

• find somewhere to do yoga once a week

Did that. Kept it up a little bit. Must do better.

• learn three new poi-spinning tricks

This is probably the thing I'm most sad about. I miss poi-spinning and I really need to get into it again. I mean, I have a set of fire poi still unlit because I've not deemed myself good enough to use them yet.

So, that was last year. This year, here's what I'm hoping to accomplish.

• Knit 10 pairs of socks. I say 10 because I have four pairs left over from last year's Socktopus Sock Club, and there will be six new pairs for this year's, and I would really like to earn my badges. I know I've got quicker, and to be honest, after the Christmas knitting I'm kinda itching to do socks again.
• Knit Eunny Jang's Print O' The Waves stole for my mother in time for her 60th birthday. I have the yarn, and I believe I have developed enough lace-knitting skills to tackle this. I plan to start this in the summer and give myself 6 months to do it. It's handy when your mum's birthday is in December.
• Get rid of those two sleeping projects. Seriously, it's that dang Koigu feather-and-fan scarf from 2007, and a pair of socks that I keep in the shop that gets another half round done every time I have to show someone how to do Magic Loop. This can't be hard.
• Not have any sleeping projects. At all. I might have to prep the safe and soft place again.
• Get my spinning down to sock-weight. I would be so happy if I could do this. Especially with lovely semi-solid colours.
• Knit at least two projects with handspun. I'm only giving myself two because given that I have the stole and 10 pairs of socks, two is pretty big of me.
• Make a dent in the fibre stash. This is doable, I'm sure. (Note that I've said nothing about the yarn stash. This is because I'm realistic).
• Go to yoga once a week. I want to get good enough so that I can take up the Level 2 course at some point. I'm aiming for summer.
• Now that Sifu has started a Shaolin class in Kingston, go back to kung-fu. My feet have been itching, and my osteo has okayed me. Two hours a week will not kill me. I used to do six hours a week. I miss the figure I once had because of that.
• Do more photography. Because I've discovered I'm actually good at it.
• Read more. No real targets, just more. If I do a book a month I'll be pleased.
• Write more. Well, I sort of have to; I have a course to do well in...
• Watch more movies. Go to the cinema more. Anything to fuel that other project I've had on the backburner for over a year now. Nick and I have agreed on two cinema trips a month, on top of the LoveFilm rentals we get.
• Go back to poi-spinning. Seriously, why on earth did I stop?

So there I am. Next post: not one, not two, but FOUR finished objects!

Also, Christmas swag!