Hello!

Jane

Jane is my friend.
I am proud to know her.
She is a remarkable woman.

Each year, for Woolfest she has designed a pattern for my yarn - this is not why she is remarkable, by the way, but it does illustrate her generosity of spirit.
It's the sort of pattern which becomes a classic.

Last year she gave us the Pick'n'Mix sock pattern.

With a pretty picot edge, and a selection of other variations in cuffs, heels, toes and colourwork.

 And the year before she designed the Spiral Sock pattern.

This year, I thought it was about time she had her own yarn.

We have been talking about a yarn/pattern combination for a while and I'm delighted to announce that 5 B  (bonny) and 5 T (toddy) are the brand new "probably jane" yarns.

I can't wait to see what she does with them.

n

PS   There may also be a laceweight yarn to join the p j collection, in the same colourway. In fact there may be a whole range of Summer Collection laceweights soon.

And the winner is...

I have done the draw for the Free copy of Socks from the Toe Up, and we have a winner.

But first I have to introduce you to the next two colours in the Summer Collection.

5 B (bonny)

5 T (toddy)

These have essence of Wimbledon, eau de golf course, and a definite hint of grass-cuttings about them.
As always, bonny and toddy "take" the dyes rather differently, but these are seriously pretty yarns whichever base you choose.

And one for the child in you.

6 B (bonny)

6 T (toddy)

Drippy orange flavoured ice lollies, barbeque embers, and beach towels.

There are a few other colours in the shop as well, so the best thing to do is to go and have a browse. The new Summer Collection yarns are available in 50g skeins if you prefer this option, just let me know.
4 B and 6 B make a particularly good combination if you feel in need of a little colourwork.

Oh yes, and the winner is...

Number ten.

Vanessa... the book is yours!

n

Hoping for sunshine.

I'm taking the shop offline later for a few hours while I stock-take and add new colourways.
If you have a burning desire for any yarn which is there now I would grab it because it might not be there for long.
In four weeks time (exactly) I will be on my way to Cockermouth for Woolfest. I'm starting the process of dyeing for that, and also doing the Club dyeing. It's my intention to keep the shop stocked as well as I can over the next few weeks so that you continue to have a wide selection of yarns and fibres to choose from.
I am hoping we don't have a wet and February-ish June!

n

In praise of S L O W K N I T T I N G.

The thing about knitting on small needles is that it takes a long time.

I hope to rectify this - which some government body or other would no doubt identify as a "skills-gap" - in September when I go to the iKnit show because I have booked a place on Annie Modesitt's workshop on Combination Knitting. This technique is reportedly faster than my normal everyday "throwing" style, so maybe my sock production rate will improve somewhat.
The instructions on how to do it are in the sidebar of her website - which slightly begs the question, why do I need to go to the workshop? But hey, this is what I do for fun, so why not?

It has to be said that slow knitting doesn't really trouble me. I start a project and I keep going until it's finished. I confess that some things - like the Bloke Sweater - are   V E R Y    S L O W. 
There is a lot of discussion about the differences between those who cast on for multiple projects and have them all running simultaneously, and those who are the Knitting Antithesis of this, who cast on for one project and keep knitting it until they are finished. Only then do they cast on for the next thing.

I do find myself asking why it actually matters?

In other spheres there are those of us who finish a meal and immediately get up to clear the table, wash the dishes (or load them into the dishwasher), and wipe down all the kitchen work surfaces. When it's all done they feel able to relax and sit on the sofa with a nice cup of tea. Others get up from the table, gravitate to the sofa, chat, make cups of tea, even (horrors) enjoy looking at the empty plates and wine bottles from a distance as the embodiment of a good meal in great company... and they get to the dishes eventually when they feel like it.

Really, as long as the first group are happy to just get on with it, and the second group don't mind the occasional pot which needs more-scrubbing-than-it-would-have-needed-if-it-has-been-soaked-immediately, then why should anyone be troubled?

I can see why knitting straight from the skein could give some knitters the Heebie Jeebies. It does go against the grain of everything we have ever been taught, and even with tradition, for goodness sake. The ritual of ball winding is firmly ingrained in our knitting history.
How many of us as children were asked/required to sit with hands outstretched and skein held taught while an Older Knitting Relative wound a ball (or five) of yarn? When the children got old enough to object and find more interesting things to do, like Homework Assignments and Emergency Bedroom Tidying, husbands were pressed into service with varying levels of success.

I realise that this puts me in the category of those who can cook a five course meal while wearing her best ballgown and tiara, and then cleans the kitchen by twitching her nose...
...but I rather like it.

n

Just in case...

... you have nothing to do this weekend (apart from your knitting, that is), you might like to visit this blog, which is one of my favourites.

It has been nominated for a Dorset Cereals Little Blog award, and the last time I looked, it had 37 votes.

The Dorset Cereals website has LOTS of blogs to browse through, and the voting, as I understand it, takes place from the start of one month and runs until the end of that month, so there isn't a lot of point in nominating anyone new at this stage, it being the 23rd already.

Anyway, I really like it, it's a gentle restful place to visit when I am feeling a bit harassed and bothered, so if you agree, please add your vote to mine - or choose another one!

I haven't done the draw for the book yet, I'm baking bread and making dinner and continuing (successfully) to knit socks from the skein at the moment so I'll get to it over the weekend sometime.

I hope the weather is being kind to you, it's a bit blowy and wild here.

n

Croft IV

You know how it is when you want cast on for a new project, like Right Now?
The urge is so strong that you really can't be bothered with all the faffing about, the setting up of the swift (even though it's only in the next room) and the assembly of the ball winder (three turns of a wing-nut).
And then there is the achingly slow five minutes of winding... and if you are being very meticulous, winding twice - once to make the ball and once to rewind it into a looser, less strangled affair.

So there I was last night with a skein of 828 and no patience whatsoever, and I vaguely remembered reading somewhere that some people just knit from the skein.

Well, if she can do it, I thought, maybe I can do it too.

Of course, you do have to untwist it to knit from it...

... like this.

But it does work.
And so far, it hasn't got in a tangle, and it also hasn't rolled onto the floor and disappeared under the sofa, which is always a bonus.
If you click for big-ness you'll be able to get a better look at how Croft behaves when it's knitted up.
Tweedy.
Bloke-friendly.
Weekend-ish.
It really doesn't want to be terribly variegated, I think it could even be said to have a certain elegance, a kind of understated-ness. A croft is an unpretentious dwelling, so it seems rather appropriate that the yarn should be the same.

These are the basic socks from Wendy's toe-up book. I considered doing one of the Guernsey patterns, but I think I want to do a simple sock first to let me work out the foot length and learn the upside down heel flap.

Never let it be said that knitters who have no balls are wimps.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Update later today.

n

Croft III

The delivery of Croft yarn is here.

I'm casting on with it this evening, so check back tomorrow for action shots, but in the meantime I have some colours to show you.

826 - for the girls, probably.

827 - ditto.

And for the boys...

828

829

There are a couple of other colours as well, in the same boy-theme.

And also we have new laceweight.

830

This is the big sister of Aurora. The same 80% merino 20% silk base, but instead of very fine yarn with 1200m/100g, this has 800m/100g.
It's offered as 400m/50g skeins which is enough for middle sized lace projects. The skeins are paired, so if you need a full 800g, just buy two x 50g.

And as if that wasn't enough, I have a small amount of BFL in the update this week dyed in a new way.

831

It's a semi-solid yarn which has very small sections of contrast colour added.

As you can see the "speckles" are much smaller than usually found in a hand dyed yarn and there is much more contrast.

This is the purl side.

And this is the knit side! You can see the semi-solid "movement" in the yarn, but this pink toned colourway has had deep morello cherry and home made strawberry jam added. This style of yarn is perfect for mindless sock knitting because the yarn does all the work.
There are only eight skeins of it so you'll need to be quick tomorrow when it goes on the shelves.

Time for dinner now.
Gnocchi and pesto.
What are you having?

n

PS. if you are looking for the Free Book draw it's in the post below this one. x

Free book!

Last week I ordered a book, as you do.

Socks from the Toe Up, by Wendy Johnson

It arrived, but was damaged in the post so the nice people at The Book Depository said they would send another one. I offered to return the damaged one but they said not to bother, so I sent it to someone I know who would appreciate it.

They reordered the book, but by then it was out of stock so I ordered it from somewhere else.

And then... you know what's coming, don't you?

On Saturday, both books arrived.

I have paid for both of them, so it seemed to me that the best thing to do was to offer one copy as a blog prize.

So, this is what you need to do.

Pete, a complete new-knitter-who-never-held-needles-until-a-few-weeks-ago, has been sponsored to learn to knit. He's knitting an Arsenal scarf.

Visit the p/hop blog and leave Pete an encouraging comment and then come back and leave a comment here as well.

Two comments = one entry in the draw to win the book.

You need to comment in both places because

1. Pete needs all the encouragement he can get.
2. There are some great free patterns available for download off the MSF p/hop blog.
3. If you don't comment here (and leave your email address which doesn't show up anywhere apart from in my inbox) I won't know who you are - I have no access to the admin side of the MSF p/hop blog which is run by MSF, not by me.

I will let the commenting run until Friday and do the draw at the weekend.

Got to go. I have knitting to do!

n

Girl-stuff.

Edited to add... if you are looking for the "free book" blog post it's here.

As I think you all know, I am not really a girly girl.
I am more curvy than I would like.
But I don't do heels.
I barely do lipstick.
I definitely don't do nail polish - the occasional toe perhaps, but I've never painted a fingernail in my life.
And really, I don't do shopping.

There is nothing wrong with any of these things, you understand, they just don't make it onto my personal activity wish-list.
Fegrig is quite used to my reticence in this department, so I don't know who was more astonished, him or me, when I uttered the words "I think I need some new perfume" last week.

We were in Glasgow at the weekend and prompted by the helpful suggestions in the comments of my last post, I visited a number of emporia of the girly variety.

We eventually ended up at the Aveda counter in House of Fraser and I discovered that there are some bits of being a girl which are quite nice!

I had a mini facial.

I indulged in some tinted moisturiser.

I chose a new smell.

And although I am a confirmed Udder Cream fan, my hands of late have begun to resemble the Utah salt flats, so I got some new hand cream.

Which marketing guru came up with that name, I wonder?

Tomorrow there will be a blog prize draw thing, so remember to look in, or sign up to get the blog sent to you as email. I wouldn't want anyone to miss out.

n

What happened to Thursday?

Today was just one of those days when there was more to do than time available to do it.

There are 70 skeins of Mist ready to be photographed in the morning.
16 different colours, all solids.
Everything from sage through to turmeric, visiting kingfisher and Granny Smith along the way.
And there is purple. Quite a lot of purple.
They are all "pure" colours. It's such a lovely yarn it deserves to be shown to best advantage with some clear, bright summery shades.

I'm reducing the price from the usual £10.00 to £7.00. I really do need the space because there are new yarns arriving tomorrow morning and the first shipment of Croft will be here next week.

This little bag was made using the stitch pattern from the Leyburn socks.
I just made it up as I went along really!

Now... I need your help.
I would like some new perfume.

I usually wear Issey Miyake - L'Eau d'Issey - this is where you need a scratch and sniff screen.
It's quite a light scent.
But I think I might like something new.
I'm quite sure every single woman who reads the blog has her own personal favourite - so tell me, what should I try?

n