Update: snow, wrist, book, yarn diet & firefly

We've had more snow...it seems to be clearing for now...but think we're due more...my son was off school today, they had a snow day as roads were bad early on...so he missed his trip to a play center, I'm sure they'll rearrange it for another day. I however got to be awake from 3:30am (roughly) so I'm rather tired and wished he'd been to school to give me a break.

No new FOs...or much progress lately...had some bad wrist pain and been wearing my splint...so not much knitting been done, got a few rounds done today but not much. Glad I'd done mums second heel before the pain got bad, but means the foot is gonna be slow going unless the pain decides to give me a break...using lots of my cream to help ease it and wearing wrist support when needed.

I started reading a book I got for xmas; the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, I'm really enjoying it...the description and all the small details are great. I look forward to reading more, it's funnier than I imagined it would be, I find myself chuckling out loud at times.

Saw this gnome acres tee on instagram and loved it...some good yarn diet rules lol 4 makes me chuckle...sock yarn is what I have most of and knit slowest so it should really count lol Though other than the yarn my step dad paid for I've made no yarn orders so far this year...from Boxing day in fact. I'm rather proud of myself :) I've been tempted...my have I been tempted, with sales and shop updates it's hard and I find myself looking and wishing...but until I knit a bit more stash I'm trying to control myself, and I think I'm doing rather well :)

I've been rewatching Firefly, one of my favourite shows, and it makes me sad it was cancelled so early. My son is actually sort of named after a character one of the actors played in Buffy...sad but true lol and it's a good name...in my opinion of course, and the actor is mighty fine too :)

In other news, I was cheered to buy lots of lovely meat today, a quick trip out the house to the butchers and I have loads of yum to feast on for a while...When my kitchen is eventual new and shiny and I get a new fridge/freezer...I'm gonna pack it with yummy meat...I'm afraid I could never be a vegetarian, I just don't eat vegetables (well hardly and rarely lol).
There's a local children's art and craft place opening tomorrow so hoping to get to the open day, and if the weather doesn't decide to block us in with snow again, taking my son for a small group session next week :) we have a very busy week ahead so see how things go...especially as think my TV ariel may have slipped/moved or just plain decided to break as can either only get a few channels or none at all..rather annoying! Need to call agents and see if they can get it sorted...The Great British Sewing Bee is back next week and I really wanna record it...loved it last year.
Sorry for all the random but there ya go...will update when there's something new :)
Happy Crafting!

1 down, 1 to go...

I did it...after more ripping back, I started the toe decreases too early...thank the Gods for life lines and paranoia lol but I ripped back, added a few more rounds then started the toe again...

I finally cast off the first sock for my mum. I made her come round and try it on before I did the kitchener stitch (grafting) but she did and so now I have...I'm very happy with how it turned out, I just need to get the second one done now...preferably without putting it down for a month half way through. I had to take good notes on my ravelry page for needle changes and things but I did so the second sock should match ok :)

So true...knitting helps relax me, and the feeling of pride when I finish something I struggled with or doubted I could do is brilliant. 

Hope you all had a good day :) mine improved when I didn't mess up the toe grafting and got a finished sock even after the life lines were pulled out...I secretly always worry I missed a stitch and only the life lines are holding my work together lol
Happy Crafting!

Sock progress and spinning

I've been plodding on with mums socks, I've now turned the heel and am working on the foot.

I worked the heel on 2.25mm and am working the foot on 2mm, I'm a little worried about how the yarn might wear faster on the heel...I don't mind too much how it looks (thanks to the advice at the bottom) but I'm just praying it holds up to wear.

I've also done a little spinning, this is fondant fibre BFL, Shetland, merino, silk blend puni in the toast colourway. I pre-drafted it and it was nice to spin, fairly thin but still inconsistent. I got about 4.5 yards from 4g.

A little more spinning, again from fondant fibre, this time a merino/kid mohair/mulberry silk blend, the colourway is my happy place, and I love the mix of colours. I got about 8.5 yards from 12g. Again I pre-drafted and it was a fairly thin spin, but again inconsistent, it's super soft to touch and I'm ok with how it turned out. I know I still need a lot of practice. 

Reading this piece of advance really helped me stop staring at my sock heel...I kept looking and thinking the change was noticeable, but upon reading this, I realised nobody is gonna be looking at my mums heel so close...and if they are it's an odd situation to start with they aren't gonna notice my gauge change lol

I cast on a lace dishcloth...and managed to make a mistake, I tried knitting back a couple rows but failed...so I ripped it out and will have to start again.
Hope you're all having a nice weekend. I really need to go buy bread, but I also really don't want to leave the house, dilemma lol
Happy Crafting!

I totally didn't break my yarn diet!

I'm not a fan of obligation knitting, I like to make things because I want to...that being said, I've agreed to some knitting for my step dad. It's meant ordering yarn from felt fusion, but as I didn't pay for it, and as I wouldn't have needed to buy yarn if he wasn't very specific about what he wanted...it totally doesn't count, and I had none of either colour in my stash to use for his project. As far as I'm concerned I haven't bought yarn since Boxing day, I'm still on a diet, at least until I've knit some more of my stash.
My step dad wants a hat and scarf, originally he said highly cabled (I felt like crying, I'm not a strong cable knitter) but he saw my barley hat and said that would be fine, along with a garter stitch scarf knit length ways (as he wants a couple stripes running vertically). He originally wanted the MCN base, but when he realised how many balls he'd need and the price difference he settled for the sw merino. The merino is a lovely yarn so I'll enjoy the feel of knitting it, but so much dark charcoal with a little purple is intimidating to say the least...my eyes may feel like bleeding by the time I'm finished lol he literally only wants about 4 rows of purple on the scarf and maybe the cast on and a couple single stripes around the hat. The yarn is ordered and now I'm looking forward to seeing it, and feeling it...even though I have some, new yarn is always nice, even if it's not for me :)

I've finally made a progress on my mums first sock again. This one goes over my ankle so it should on her too lol I've used 2.25mm needles for the cuff, 2.5mm needles for the lace leg, back to 2.25mm needles for the heel and am now on the gusset decreases with 2mm needles as doing stocking stitch. In hind sight I wish I'd done the heel on 2mm too but I don't think I can face ripping back again.
I've discovered heel flaps and gussets take a lot longer, of they feel like it, compared to the fish lips kiss heel. I prefer knitting the fish lips kiss heel, but I can't deny the heel flap does fit well. 

I've sent out a little surprise package to Kay from the bakery bears, a few mini skeins of sock yarn for her crochet memory blanket...hope she likes, I also included information about what the yarn had been used for in a letter.
I've been working on an 8" square for charity, bit of easy knitting for when my brain can't take lace or when I don't have long enough to work on a repeat.
I'm also slowly reading my yarn harlot book "Thing's I learned from knitting...whether I wanted to or not" and I'm really enjoying it :)
That's the knitting information, in other news, I ordered three new sets of bedding...need to wash them but then I can get rid of my old bedding and have brand new for the first time in years...and they all mostly match my bedroom...that's never happened before lol
And now I'm gonna put my headphones on, coz watching Cars so many times a day is really just too much lol (my son watches it over and over again, sometimes up to 7 times a day, and if it's not Cars it's Here Comes A Train, which is only 30 mins long and he watches till bed time once it's on).
Happy Crafting!

Finished :)

Spinning on my drop spindle, still failing with my wheel...baby alpaca, BFL and silk blend puni sample form fondant fibre. I think this may be the thinnest I've ever spun, though I haven't checked the WPI but it certainly seemed fine :)

Second "Hello, gorgeous" mitt finished, and with plenty of time to enter the sparkle along.

I made a couple of mistakes but think they look ok, I'm happy with them at least, though they'll probably be a gift.

I guess I better get on with mums socks now lol though cast on a charity square for plain knitting when I can't pay attention to lace :)
Feeling tired and drained so it's a short one, sorry...
Happy Crafting!

Music, Mitt, and More!

It's been a long time since I relaxed in a bath long enough to listen to more than a song or two, and usually I don't as it disturbs my son...however, this week I managed to listen to around 6 songs from The Divine Comedy (by Milla Jovovich) during a lovely, hot bath...nice and comforting to be so warm when there's snow outside. This album is one I've loved for a long time, in fact I used to listen to it all the time before my son was born and I just kinda forgot about it...I know, bad me! But when my micro SD card died in my phone I got a new one and put this album on it...nice to have something so mellow with good memories to listen to :)

I've finished the first "hello, gorgeous" mitt, I changed the ribbing to be like "the bird's dead, Dru socks" rather than as stated in the pattern, and changed the thumb a little, but I think it looks really good. The red is hard to photograph and pick up the lace/cable details. I did make a mistake with a yo before p on one row but just picked up a stitch on the next when I noticed and it doesn't seem to stand out too much so think I can get away with it. I used 2mm needles for these mitts, and the fit seems nice on me.

(lightened a bit in instagram to try and show the pattern a little more, the yarn is very red)

I've done my first tiny bit of spinning for the year (I don't remember spinning so far this year at least lol). It's whitefaced woodland tops that were hand dyed, gifted by my FF secret santa 2014. It's very thick and thin, but was nice to pick up my drop spindle again. Still having issues with my wheel. I think it's safe to say spinning is not one of my talents, just something I like, I just wish I could spin like the people in the fondant fibre group on ravelry lol maybe one day, but it seems an awful long way off...

This sign I thick sums up bed this time of year...snow and ice outside, a hot water bottle and a nice heavy quilt are bliss when it's cold :)

Been out in the cold today, my son did not like that the snow is now ice and so slippery, not impressed at all...but nothing I could do, we had an appointment. The roads are mostly clear now, but the pavements are crazy slippy and involves jumping around trying to find clear bits or areas that are still rough rather than smooth lol
I keep hoping it'll go away but it's set to be below 0 degrees again tonight. Let me tell you taking a full wheely bin up a steep slope which is mostly ice was so hard I wanted to give up, but it's rather full so that wasn't an option...it needs emptying as I've already more rubbish to go in it (thanks to clear outs mostly).
Wishing for milder weather! :)
Had a delivery from fondant fibre today, there was a little mix up with a project bag I ordered over the holidays, so she sent me out a new one and some rolags (and a small sample) to say sorry and replace the incorrect item. So lovely, I was very touched, just the bag would have been enough, but nice to see there is someone with such good customer service around :) she always sends samples with her orders but this was just beyond what I had expected. On Boxing day I signed up to her next fibre club for Jan/Feb/Mar 2015 so I've those to look forward to as well...a very happy me! Especially as the rolags were such an awesome colourway (Polly) but my camera is struggling to capture it well...sparkle too...happy mail day!
Hope any KALs you're involved in are going well and good luck :)
Happy Crafting!

more baby hats + update

Finished my 6th baby hat for the year, for charity again :) these two are also entries in the foxes in socks hat KAL. Both patterns are from the bambeanies ebook by wooly wormhead.

It snowed again last night, though not much today, it's started again this evening...hoping for milder weather soon...probably fruitless but I can hope lol
I don't know about you but this sure happens with me, I knit and it generally (but not always) helps to relax me, keep me together a little better than when I don't knit.

I've cast on the 'hello, gorgeous' mitts by sparklepunk-creations in a red sock yarn, not sparkle yarn for two entries, but honestly I don't think I'll be finished in time to enter the KAL in her group.
Really want to work more on mums socks but still waiting on the 2.5mm needles.
Happy Crafting!

socks, snow, sorrow and sanity!

Sorry it's fairly long again, and can you tell by the title I like alliteration..?
I finished my secret santa ankle socks, rico design hobby print yarn, gifted from my santa in the fondant fibre swap for December 2014.

I used the fish lips kiss heel with 2mm needles. I made them ankle socks for in the house, making sure they fit ok and I like the fabric etc.

My son woke in he night and it was freezing, little did I know that crazy snow was falling...I hate snow, I live on a steep street so it makes life difficult when it snows as we're a side street so we don't get gritted and it turns into an icey slope with people and cars sliding down...till the cones come out to try and deter people.

I had to walk my son to the bottom of the street for his school transport, he couldn't decide if he liked the snow or not lol but he left cute little foot prints :) at least it was fresh fall so not slippy.

By the afternoon it was rather icey and I was praying for it to clear...we struggled up the street after school, put the fire on and my son wanted his onsie on (one way of indicating we're not going out again, my son can't talk).

Luckily by the next day it was just wet, no snow or ice to be seen on the streets, just the hills...then it came back with a vengeance...insane snow, then it just stopped and started for the day...luckily by after school we were clear again but it's come down in the night and is meant to be with us all day, some people are thrilled me not so much. I know I sound miserable, I just don't see the appeal of; being so cold your face hurts, hands going numb and sore with cold, slipping around like a new born fawn, getting so wet your clothes freeze...and I'm sure there are other reasons but you get my drift...I'm a winter baby who isn't a winter fan...I'm more a warm but not hot kinda girl lol fussy I know haha
In other news: I've still been good, no more yarn purchases yet this year, though I have bought needles for socks...more on that later. Have you been buying yarn? Do you hide it, if so where..? Mines just in boxes, some are in sight some are not, luckily I don't have a partner to hide it from for spending too much, just a son who sometimes tries to claim my skeins for himself lol

I cast on my mums second pair of socks, so pleased with myself, a cute design (complete with Buffy reference, always a plus) with opal love story yarn on 2mm needles. I love this pattern, it keeps you interested without being too difficult, pattern is The Bird's Dead, Dru Socks by sparklepunk-creations...ready for the bad news!

It's crying time! I was so sad to rip these back but I got the the heel prep and it was just too tight to slip over the ankle bend...I seriously just felt so low in that moment, completely gutted! I still am but I had some 2.25mm needles I ordered recently thinking the may be handy for some mitts...I've used them to cast on the cuff again for these socks, they are looser so I'm carrying on...now I've ordered a set of 2.5mm circs and am wondering if I should change to them after the cuff for the lace pattern...I didn't realise just how extra tight it would be with the 2mm, I've used them for ribbed socks and been fine...so do I stick with 2.25mm and risk them being too tight again...or change to 2.5mm and risk them being too loose..? HELP! I'm not sure I could knit all that again and frog it again without crying and giving up on them...and I really don't want to do that as I'm enjoying the pattern.

My landlord is due round today, looking at fixing my kitchen...I should have cleaned up, at least a little, did I...no lol I knitted and slept lol My son has toys everywhere and I can't bring myself to care today, is that bad..? I'd usually at least move toys to the side, have I today...no again lol house organisation fail...but at least my banking is so organised when I got asked for a years worth of statements (from 2013) I not only had them but they are even highlighted for direct debits and payments in too, in order and ready to be taken to the job center...annoying but sorted, at least for now...
What would your two choices be..? Easy for me...happy kid and what's left of my sanity lol

I'm now going to make a brew and try chill for a bit after my son stressed because his ipod died (just the battery not broken, that would be bad luck lol) and before my landlord is due...wish me luck...
Hope you all have an awesome weekend, with or without snow!
Happy Crafting!

Spiced cocoa

I've had a fairly easy day...managed to miss the crazy rain while going for bread and milk, had a hot and deep bath...it was short but 2 out of 3 is pretty good lol and have managed to watch some netflix and knit...all good things. My son has also been cute and given me cuddles, between hitting the floor rather hard with a maraca, at least it wasn't his head...if he goes to bed well and I can watch either some Downton Abbey season 5 or one of the many films I've bought but not yet watched before sleeping (hopefully through the night), I'll be a very happy mummy :)
Saw this on instagram and loved it :)
sheep > fleece > fibre > spinning > yarn > dye > knitting > happy

Finished a second pair of dark pink (raspberry...?) spiced cocoa mitts for my mum. Same as the last pair; sock yarn from deep stash held double on 3.75mm and 4mm needles.

I'm thinking of making a pair of these for myself out of geeks aurora colourway form felt fusion :)
I'd like to make some more hats for the foxes in socks KAL and gift/charity knitting.
I also still need to do the heel on my secret santa ankle socks lol and I need to cast on some for mum so I can then make some more for Bekki and myself :) I'd also like to make some more boo crew toys, and christmas tree decorations as gifts for this year...seeing how badly I failed at it last year lol
Happy Crafting!

The Yarn Harlot! & 2nd christmas!

I've had a lovely couple of days with friends, we had food and fun and exchanged gifts, it was lovely to see them. And so for a change, I actually haven't knit for a couple of days :)

I got a really rather awesome metal dalek, a mug and dalek cozy (hand crocheted by a rather awesome friend), a soot gremlin/sprite bag, lego, a pom pom maker, studs and hand made biscuits :) all was very good and yummy! 
Lego is an astronomer and part of a set of scientists, the others were a chemist with lab (that went to Bekki) and a paleontologist complete with dinosaur skeleton (that went to Calin)...we had such fun building them up and personalizing our people.

The hand made biscuits that look like buttons and burgers...yum!

The metal dalek is made from a screw, nails, bike chain and other everyday metal items from a tool box and I totally love it :)

A mug and crocheted dalek cozy...awesome and homey and very me :)

A pom pom maker to help me with my terrible pom pom skills lol and I've never seen one that looks like this so it's interesting to try a new one too.

Knitting studs...awesome! Enough said.

I've been after a soot gremlin/sprite bag for ages and seen ones like this on etsy for a while...and now I have one...thank you!!! Too cute!

We played with a friends sons air pistol...I didn't do great but since I don't practice much anymore it's understandable. This was my three shot grouping, after one can of cider. 

I bought a book for my friend, for her birthday next month...I was skimming the introduction, and couldn't put it down...it's the first book I've read all the way through since April 2014. I'm sure she won't mind lol
I used to read all the time, every day in fact, for hours at a time...then as I started getting more tired I found I wasn't retaining the information to get through a book without wondering what on earth had happened...I could hardly remember the characters names let alone what had happened. I tried reading old favourites to rekindle my love of reading but nothing made me think, this is it, I'm finishing this book...and I would put them all down again. This book on the other hand I had not intended to read but just see the style of writing and I finished it in a rather short period of time. I loved it, and would like to read more of her books. I shall still be giving it to my friend, I'll even confess to reading it...but I'm just happy a book caught my attention again after so long :)

This is the last paragraph of the introduction, and instead of putting it down, I plowed right on through and finished the book feeling like I'd read the adventures of a friend. I was hoping my writing style would be rather like this book...
Instead I find myself saying to myself, Sarah this is a knitting podcast, the readers don't care if you've had a stressful day, dropped all your stitches (at least that's knitting related), managed to get sprayed by water from an overly powerful freezing cold tap and cried after putting your son to bed in backwards onesie (for reasons they really don't want to know)...So my question to any readers willing to comment is, would you like to know a little more about my life in general, not just my knitting endeavors but the hectic life that consumes me every day with a son who has special needs and a family who sometimes understand, but sometimes don't realise just how difficult it can really be..?

And a little note on my actually knitting lol I've still not done the heel on my second ankle sock and I want to make more socks for Bekki, and my mum wants another pair too (as well as the spiced cocoa mitts lol) and there are lots of other things I want to make too...I need some serious motivation and time to get these things done...
Happy Crafting!

last yarn of 2014 + baby hats

My last yarn order of 2014 has arrived...
All rainbow themed, dyed to order from felt fusion and are awesome, wish I'd ordered more lol They're all super soft and the colours are beautiful, she has a large selection of yarn bases and colours, as well as more rainbow themed colourways :)
Top left: Superwash merino aran in Blackbow
Top right: With a Twist DK in Rainbow
Bottom: Superwash merino aran in Rainbows and Clouds

I've made a couple more charity baby hats, the patterns for these are beamish and quynn form the ebook bambeanies by wooly wormhead. 

And I needed a break from hats lol made 5 in about a week (though 4 were for babies lol), so I cast on another pair of spiced cocoa mitts. This time I used sock yarn held double so they're smaller (as for a very slight lady), my mums friend was admiring mitts I made for her and so I thought I'd make her some using yarn scraps form deep stash. I say scraps but their was almost a full ball when I started.

It's hard to get the colour to show properly but they're a deep pink, my mum said they're almost burgundy, very rich. They're rather snug on me, so hoping they're a good fit for the recipient :)

Not sure what to work on next, though I should do the heel on my second sock lol
My friends from Stoke are visiting tomorrow, so had a mass reorganize and clean of my bedroom, though there's still more to be gone through and sorted for charity, bin or storage. Had three big charity runs in the past few months and I haven't even started on the majority of my clothes to be gone through lol Lots to do but at least my room will be better, and hopefully my house when I get through it all (eventually lol). Hoping for a good weekend, fresh sheets tonight, friends tomorrow and exchanging christmas gifts on Saturday with some friends :)
Happy Crafting!