Socks!

I finished the socks for my mum, I used the cuff from the bird's dead, Dru socks and the vanilla latte pattern for the rest. Knit with opal sock yarn from the play collection with 2.25mm and 2mm needles.

Hope she likes them :)
Happy Crafting!

Owl About Yarn + Handbrake On Canver!

My owl about yarn order arrived and is super nice and colourful, from left to right;
Night Time Heroes, Guards Guards (based on the Terry Pratchett cover) and Pumpkin Season. All are 100% super wash BFL sock weight yarn.

 She also sent some complimentary stitch markers and progress keeper :)

 

I finished my handbrake cowl, though I didn't check my gauge so it's a little bigger than intended lol It was going to be a last minute birthday gift but it may now end up going to charity lol

Hope you've all got the crafting bug, my finger is getting dry again so should slow down so it doesn't crack again.
Happy Crafting!

Handbrake on Cancer!

The bakery bears husband and wife team (Dan and Kay) have released a pattern called the handbrake cowl (you also get instructions for a scarf) and all the profits are going to cancer research, so that together we can put the "handbrake on cancer"(the tagline was thought of by Dan who had cancer last year and wanted to help the cause).
Please share and together we might all be able to make a difference.
Happy Crafting!

PenguinSoup: shiny club 1

So excited, my first shipment for the shiny club arrived and came with a lip balm in "mudders milk" flavour lol

It came with a letter and small print out of the inspiration image (Kaylee with her umbrella, the yarn is based on her kimono).

The yarn is on her fairy base which has sparkle :) and the colours are gorgeous! It must be treasured and hoarded until I find something very special to make with it...what a stunning stash enhancement!

Looking forward to shipment 2, based on Jayne Cobbs "cunning" hat.
Happy Crafting!

Update: sheep, stress and sore hands

We visited the hydro pool at the weekend and were a little early so we watched the goat and sheep for a little bit. The sheep is kinda grumpy n chases the goat around, poor little thing lol

This is me, I'm such a worrier and get worked up over lots of things. I've got a decorator in this week and am dreading the mess and and clean up and putting my kitchen back to rights.

I've only managed to do about 8 rounds on my mums socks as I've had really dry and cracked skin on my knuckles which decided to spread and open up on my left index finger, making knitting painful (especially after a 2mm needles lipped into the crack, ouch!). It's slowly healing so have been slow at knitting as still  alittle tender and don't want it splitting again.
I finally own Castle season 6 to cheer me up though, and have ordered way too much yarn in my slump lol
Happy Crafting! 

geeky goodness box!

So I've been needing a new DVD player, mine was making strange and disturbing noises when playing, so after a friend suggested a PS3 I considered it and decided it was a good idea. I can now watch DVDs, netflix (the new Daredevil is rather good, just saying lol), and youtube (knitting podcasts of course lol and I've a lot to catch up on still lol) on my TV, as well as play games and if I want to listen to music n things too...

I got to choose 3 games to go with it, so I had to get little big planet included as sackboy is just too cute lol hello sackgirl in her dracula dress :)

My gradient sock blanks from countess ablaze arrived and are super gorgeous, my mum likes both so thinking of things I might be able to make her too :)

My kitchen has new units (but is still awaiting decoration...don't ask!) so I attempted to make a curry from scratch by myself, no mum help. It was ok but didn't have that "my lips are on fire" singsong kick my mums does lol

My mum asked for a big rainbow bonbon so I got this acrylic from my LYS, you may recognise it from my previous acht the octopuses :)

I got these (red DK, gray aran and brown chunky) softspun acrylics to attempt an eleventh hour shawl with cheaper yarn before jumping in with malabrigo or something to see how I feel about multiple yarn weights in the same project and lots of short rows if I understand the designers style at all :)

I got these three acrylics for the champagne punch shawl for my sister, neutral with a bit of punch (to be safe, as she doesn't tend to wear lots of bright colours) and I figured this makes it work friendly. I chose acrylic as with 3 kids, 2 step kids, 2 big dogs and a job in school; machine washable was a must for a hectic lifestyle where hand washing is unlikely to happen.

My not so mystery geek box arrived, I love game of thrones, though honestly I'd have preferred Khal Drogo or the Khaleesi (Daenerys Targaryen) as my first pop, though it'll likely be my only pop as I've enough stuff in my house that I don't have room for lol

I got another geek box too but as it's mostly gifts I don't want to show it on here :)
I've been knitting on sock 2 for my mum and am just over half way through the gusset decreases.
Hope you're all doing well...
Happy Crafting! 

Update: been a little hectic round here

I've not been able to post due to a lack of wifi staying at my mums during some work in my house, but here's what's been happening...not including the kitchen work which is stressing me out beyond belief lol
I couldn't post a picture in March as they hadn't made it to their intended recipient but now they have I can show you I finished the two at a time toe up socks with fish lips kiss heel for my lovely friend Bekki :) I used 2mm hiya hiyas and opal sock yarn from the play collection.

While staying with my mum I helped make a curry from scratch, I'm hoping to make my own now I'm home this week...it was super tasty but my lips were on fire haha

I had my first driving lesson in a car that is intended to be mine when (if) I pass my test and can get the hang of how different it drives to my instructors car.

I got a shock from customs...I suspected what it was and was right...

My gorgeous number 2 pencil yarns (sock and worsted) from yarnenabler on etsy. It's lovely and I wish I could get more but just can't justify the import charges on a regular basis.

I finished sock one for my mum, opal sock yarn again in the play collection, on hiya hiyas 2.25mm and 2mm using the vanilla latte free pattern on ravelry. I've cast on sock two but it's going a lot slower than sock one and trying to get my son back in a routine and my house in some kind of order too. I'm so behind on my podcasts lol how I've gotten used to wifi lol

Yarn from Nicole C. Mendez arrived which was a cheer up on a day I needed it :) top is rainbow (4 ply) bottom is red and lime #24 (6 ply).

My second countess ablaze sock club shipment arrived and I love the colours again, on her BFL/nylon base so should make for durable socks too :)

Hope you've all been well.
Happy Crafting!

Sock Progress!

I cast these on today and they seem to have gone rather fast, leg done and ready to start the heel...but not tonight lol doing a heel that I'm good at doing wrong during the day will undoubtedly go wrong at 23:53 lol
These are the vanilla latte socks but with the cuff of the bird's dead, Dru socks (this cuff keeps me from doing 8 rounds and giving up, just a little twist keeps me interested for the full length lol). The sock pattern is interesting enough to keep me going but not so complicated it hurts my brain and including the cuff I've managed the full 7"but I have been sat knitting for quite a few hours :)
The gusset will take me forever, that's what they do lol but the eye of partridge heel does fit very well and doesn't seem to make the sock feel tight like the fish lips kiss heel (on me at least).

Really impressed the leg went so fast, I wonder if it's coz I used 2.25mm instead of 2mm...I'll probably use 2mm for a tighter gauge for the foot to help prevent fast wearing, as these are intended for my mum who seems to constantly have the previous two pairs I've made her on or drying when I visit her lol At least she likes them :)
Happy Crafting!

Bunny, happy mail day and new socks!

I've made another bonbon bunny, and my last for a while...I bloomin' well hope...This one is for my mum, I really like the contrasting yellow and purple (hope she does too) :) it has 9mm purple safety eyes too. The brownie leader I don't know and the second christening gift will have to wait, knitting so tight has made the tip of my index finger sore and the skin begin to peel. Leave it a week or so before I try another.

Happy mail day indeed, two in one as a matter of fact :) My fondant fibre order of yarn, rolags and a project bag.
Yarn:
top left: merino/cashmere/nylon high twist, 365/100g in the 'tea with Miss Havisham' colourway
bottom left: merino/cashmere/nylon high twist, 365/100g in the 'Gaia' colourway
middle: merino/nylon/stellina, 400m/100g in the 'dook dook dook' colourway
top right: merino/nylon high twist, 365m/100g in the 'deep and meaningful' colourway
bottom right: merino/nylon high twist, 365m/100gin the 'dook dook dook' colourway
All of them are gorgeous and soft, I love the colours, hoping Gaia will be something for my mum at some point :)

I've been eyeing up these rolags for a while now, BFL/silk in the owlets colourway (120g), and they are finally mine, I'd have ordered two sets but I couldn't on my phone so it saved me a little lol My spinning probably won't do them justice anyways...

A small sock sack (drawstring project bag) on sale, so a bargain at £5

And the second part of my happy mail day is the sw fibre club shipment #3 arrived with my order. Lovely china blue sw British blended wool/sw merino/tencel (120g) with stitch marker, tea a treat :)

I'm hoping to maybe join in a mystery Buffy sock KAL (this worries me as my gauge is a little off sometimes) but as I'll be having a lot of work done in my house I won't be knitting as much as normal, as this weeks clue is just the cuff I've cast on another pair of socks for my mum. I'm using the cuff of the bird's dead, Dru socks with the vanilla latte sock pattern, with opal play sock yarn, I think my mum will really like these colours :) These will be my first vanilla latte socks :)

I've done some more work on my trillian but still a ways to go, the yarn is striping and pooling, it's odd but I like it :)
Hope you all have a fun filled long weekend :)
Happy Crafting!

Happy Autism Awareness Day!

Firstly, happy autism awareness day! My son loves toy story so the only way this sign could be better is if it were Woody, he likes Buzz but Woody seems to be his favourite :)

Secondly I'm rather stressed so this will be a fairly to the point post...
This is very true...my house seems messy less than 24 hours after I clean...I hate it lol

Ravelry are doing silly hats on ravatars and mine is a parrot, my picture is my orchid palm tattoo.

My countess ablaze order arrived, my first sock blank on a sparkle base and some lovely MCN worsted, which is quite a bit thinner than the aran I've had from her. Details about the yarns are in my ravelry stash :)

There's a Buffy mystery sock KAL coming up, I don't have a Buffy bag but this puppet Angel bag would be great to use if I'm brave enough to join in lol This was my first project bag from undercover owl (unfortunately she's no longer making) at Yarndale 2013.

These yarns were going to be my next socks so they may or may not end up as Buffy mystery socks lol was planning on contrasting toes and cuffs on the bird's dead, Dru socks...

I've been having a bad day...getting stressed and frustrated!

I know my life could be a lot worse but this sign hasn't helped today...

I've been told, not asked, to make another brownies bonbon mascot (not happy...it'd be nice for people to at least ask rather than automatically think I have nothing better to do than make them stuff for free! Just saying). It's getting to the point where I wish I'd never bloomin' made one, but my son loves his pink one so much that makes me sad to think he'd have not gotten one, but just coz I'm making for family doesn't mean I want to make for strangers, that's right I've never even met the brownie leaders...I'm a total mug who lets people walk all over me and it makes me mad!
Hope you're all having a better week than me, and have happy long weekend (school holiday) plans!
Happy Crafting!