In Which I Actually Make Something

Firstly, I will say that I am no longer going to apologise for my irregular blogging. I used to aim to post on a weekly basis, but lately life gets in the way far too much and I am still sans laptop. This is likely to be an ongoing problem for some time, so from now on I will be a more infrequent blogger but I hope you will keep visiting me when I have something to show you.

Secondly, thank you for all your kind words regarding the burglary. Unfortunately, the police haven't managed to recover any of our possessions and as predicted, the insurance company is so far refusing to cough up; they don't know yet what a determined little beast I can be when I put my mind to something so I am hopeful that we may get some good news yet.

So, all that having been said, let me show you  a little of what has been keeping me cosy of an evening.

First up is a shawl that has been incredilbly popular on Ravelry, the Color Affection. The idea is to take three different yarns (either lace weight or 4ply) and combine them in garter stitch rows to make a cosy wrap.

I had been wanting to try this for ages but hadn't found a colour combination I was happy with, so made sure to buy something specifically at Ally Pally. I cast on the day after I got back and finished last week. The last few rows are a bit hard-going as they take about 30 -40 minutes to complete.

I haven't blocked this monster yet; I need to get some advice from the girls at SnB. My problem is that as a tight knitter, my shawl has come out quite a bit shallower than it should have done and the top left edge (where the three-colour stripes start) is incredibly tight and I don't think blocking will relax it.

For the bottom edge I used a different technique to cast off which made the edge loose. This was the most fiddly and time-consuming cast off I have ever done and I had to break it down over three sessions! I wish I had tried this technique on my Changeling Shawlette though as it would have solved the stretch issue, but you live and learn.

I have worn the Color Affection, which is more of  scarf really and am happy to report that it matches my winter coat perfectly and the alpaca yarn (the green colour) makes it really swishy and snuggly. I might attempt another one day but I will have to address my tension issues first!

Before I had completed the marathon cast off, I snuck this little treasure onto the needles. It is another pattern that I have been itching to make, due to it's clever use of slow colour-changing yarn. Usually people kit it with Noro Yarns, but although I like the pictures I see of finished results with Noro, to me it looks un-appealing when I have seen it for sale and it feels really scratchy.

My alternative is the Poems yarn I used in my Changeling Shawlette. It is lovely and soft and a good deal cheaper than the Noro too. I have a different colourway this time.

For this scarf you knit little wedges of the colourful yarn in between the solid sections of the contrast. So far I am still on the purple but you can see from the yarn that I will eventually have a myriad of jewel-coloured wedges, that turn inwards in a spiral.

Miss Magpie Jr has already staked a claim on this one, which I am really pleased about as she usually turns her nose up at my latest creations. Also, I think the Poems is long enough to get two scarves out of, and as a short-row project it is much easier to make time for.

I can't reveal too much of the final project as it is under construction for a present, but I can happily report that I have re-kindled my passion for crochet, which had been rather doused during Larmer Tree. I am also using my cheap acrylic yarn again and have surprised myself by loving it as much if not more than some of the 'posh' stuff I have been knitting with.

So much so that I will be 'forced' to go and buy some more now ;). All I can give you is a little close-up,  I don't want to ruin the surprise.

We have had the sniffles around these parts. Yesterday I spent a glorious day on the sofa in front of the fire with the littlest Magpie as we were both poorly but I got lots of hooking done and it was nice to be indoors. Today we are all going about our usual routines and I'd better get some housework done!

Thanks so much for reading,

Beth x

Changeling Shawlette

As I was on my way home from Ally Pally on Sunday I managed to cast off my changeling shawlette. I am still very slow at this and it must have been painful for my seat companion to watch as she is a very experienced knitter.

I had bought this yarn back in the summer, originally intending to make a lacy shawl with it, but I decided that the colour change of the yarn would be more suited to a denser knit. The pattern I used (found on Ravelry, link here if you are a member) is really designed for a larger needle which would result in a bigger shawl, but I knitted mine on a 3.25mm 80cm circular.

 

The pattern suited my limited knitting ability, although I still managed to make a few errors, particularly around the centre yarn overs as I was having trouble with my improvised stitch markers but overall I am pleased with how the yarn and the pattern went together.

 

 

Throughout the process, I was aware that the shawl would need blocking after it was knitted as this would reveal it's pattern properly. Here's how it looked before blocking:

 

 

This is a close up before blocking; you can see the garter stitch and stocking stitch sections, but not the lace pattern detail.

 

 

 

To block the shawl, I rinsed it in lukewarm water with a bit of gentle washing liquid added, then rinsed it and rolled it up in a towel to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. I then laid a clean towel over some foam matting and pinned out the shawl.

 

I found this a bit tricky as my cast off edge obviously wasn't loose enough and couldn't stretch the shawl into a proper triangular shape.

 

 

I then left the shawl to dry for a few days. This is a close up afterwards, the difference is very noticeable.

The only problem I have now is deciding how to wear it!

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x

Ally Pally 2012

Yesterday was my first visit to the Knitting and Stitching Show, which is held at Alexandra Palace each October. Just out of interest, you can read about the history of the building here.

 

The inside of the show was vast, with two large (mahoosive) rooms and then further stands and displays in other smaller areas. The picture doesn't convey the scale of the area, the size was almost overwhelming.

 

 

From talking to other members of my knitting group who have been to the show before, I was expecting to want to spend lots of money, so had been saving in anticipation. I wasn't let down on the shopping front, there were LOTS of things I wanted to buy, but I had gone with a list of things I really wanted, which I stuck to, allowing myself to choose a few skeins of yarn too.

 

I have been looking at interchangeable knitting needles on line for a while and found this set for a good price, with no additional postage costs of course. Instead of buying a larger set, which I had considered, I decided to get a smaller starter set and bought additional needles in the sizes I know I will actually use as the bigger set had lots of larger sizes that I wouldn't use at the moment, given that all my latest yarn purchases have been 4ply and lace weight.

Mostly, I used the day to visit retailers I have previously bought from on line, so that I could get a feel for un-tried products in the flesh and also make some postage-free purchases. I visited Blooming Felt to stock up a little.

 

 

The Eternal Maker was selling Sherbet Pips fabric for a massively reduced £3 per meter. I stood patiently waiting to add to my collection but two ladies in front of me had also spotted the bargain, so by the time my turn came I only got one meter. I was still pleased. I love this fabric.

 

 

One of my favourite stands was Fyberspates. I have long admired and coveted this yard when I have seen it being knitted up by SnB members and I made three separate visits to the stand before deciding on a couple of skeins. This picture does the yarn no justice, especially the colours. The bottom one is a really gorgeous kind of racing green with beautifully rich and deep tones. It is soft and lovely too.

 

 

Another lovely stand was The Crochet Chain. I have looked at their website a few times as they sell Drops Alpaca at a really good price. It was good to have a squish.

 

 

As the name suggests, the show is not just aimed at knitters and crocheters; there is also plenty to tempt the sewer. Lately, I have got my knitting head on and I really don't need any fabric but inspired by the quilt that Fiona made for her daughters sixteenth ( read about it here) I had decided that I will make my daughter a quilt for her birthday, which is in December.

 

I had already stared a quilt for her, using Clarke and Clarke fabric which she had chosen before the current Goth, sorry, 'Emo' phase but that has now been discarded as being too pink and flowery. Considering her current colour of choice (note, singular) and her love of horses, I chose these fabrics to try again with.

 

I couldn't resist sneaking in some Summersville
 

 

 

By the early afternoon, I was getting uncomfortably hot and was really rather shopped out, so I had a little stroll around the outside of the palace, which has the most amazing views of London sprawling away to the south.

 

I returned inside for the last hour and wandered around the exhibition pieces, which we were politely asked not to photograph. We were allowed to take pictures of this knitted village though, which was brilliant.

 

Whilst outside, I had a quick look at Twitter to see if anyone had mentioned the show. Angela from This is Wiss had tweeted to say that she was helping out on the Ray-Stitch stand so when I went back in I went along to meet her which was lovely as I have been reading her blog for some time now.

Overall, I was pleased to be able to stock up on such lovely yarns and supplies in one place but was rather disappointed by the lack of inspirational content; it seems unfair to ask people to pay £15 to shop when you know that it would have cost the stallholders a small fortune to be at the show.

Travelling home on the coach, I managed to finish the shawlette I stared in this post. It needs blocking to finish it, which I have never attempted before, but I will poop back again soon to show you the results.

I can't wait to get started on my next project now that  have lovely new needles and really lovely yarn so I will be getting lost in Ravelry for a few hours to decide on a project.

What are you working on at the moment?

Thanks for reading,
Beth x

Rainbow Blue Hat

Hi folks, this is just a flying visit before I head out into the cold wet night for another night shift. I know I have been neglecting my poor little blog of late but the painting is getting there and I will soon have some time for making and writing again. I can't wait.

I conquered (sort of) the Magic Loop technique in knitting with more help from Bex and got to work on a hat for the littlest, which he requested be a 'rainbow hat, but with just blue'. Hmmm.

 

 

Unfortunately, the end result was not a stunning success and is rather too small for his head, so it's back to the drawing board. I made a few mistakes too but I wanted this to be my practise hat with the new technique before hopefully moving on to greater things.

 

 

 



 

On Sunday morning I will be getting up very early to go to Ally Pally, to the Knitting and Stitching Show. I have been looking forward to this (and saving my pennies) for ages, so I will let you know how it goes.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Beth x

Catching Up

Firstly please let me apologise for another lengthy gap in posts but we are still not quite out of holiday mode here as the littlest Magpie doesn't start school until next Tuesday and there have been lots of other things happening around the nest.

September rather than January always feels like the start of the year to me (will I still feel that way when the pattern of our lives no longer revolves around school days?) and here at Magpie HQ we have been in a sorting out and re-arranging kind of mood.

 

Having admitted to ourselves that middle son was not enjoying the drum kit he was pleading for only two years ago, we decided to sell it to free up some room. The kit was in the attic, along with another instrument that has been massively underused. Make that completely unused. My Christmas present from last year, which Mr Magpie ordered me to sell and to buy with the proceeds something that I wanted instead, although not wool apparently (??).

Now that the attic room is no longer a music studio, it has been decided that my our lovely dining/craft room should be transformed into a dining/computer/train track room and me and my 'crap' (his word, not mine) are to be shifted two floors upwards.

 

It doesn't look it from the pictures, but there is actually loads of floor space in this room and I'm thinking that my long white table will fit alongside the one you see with the computer on it, which is the same height and width. The computer will be going to live downstairs, so I will have loads of table space, and when I've re-arranged the space under the eaves I should be able to fit everything in neatly. I will be having a clear out though. This week I have bagged up two big bags of old clothes and sorted out perhaps half of my books to go to charity. It feels quite cathartic, so I will seize this mood to keep streamlining my possessions. Keeps Mr 'Neat Freak' Magpie happy too ;) .

 

I used to sew up here when I first started sewing regularly and it's actually a peaceful, sunny space to work in. The main reason for me moving into the dining room was to be on hand for the family, but as come November all the children will be at school full-time, I can cloister myself up in the eaves without having to navigate the ladder every ten minutes to answer demands for drinks, snacks, refereeing or bottom-wiping.

The room itself is in need of some sewing treatments. I promised the Mr I would make curtains to cover the eave spaces which run along both sides of the room, and we have actually bought the fabric for it. I also need to make two more blinds, like this one which I speedily constructed before the Magpie cousins came to stay, so as not to blind our guests with morning sunlight.

The dining room is going to get a make-over of it's own in due course when all the downstairs sashes have been winter-proofed and I have painted the exterior woodwork at the front of the house. So, it may be a while yet, but I will share the pictures with you in due course.

Knitting-wise, after a few false starts on projects where I just couldn't seem to get the perfect mixture of pattern and yarn, I have started a new shawl/shawlette with some yarn that was originally going to be used for a lace project, but didn't work.

The pattern for this shawl comes from Ravelry and is called La La's Simple Shawl, and it really is very easy to knit. The yarn I'm using is called Poems, by Rico and it changes colours gradually, instead of being flecked like my Hitchhiker.

I was making fairly good progress to begin with, until my cheap-o bamboo circular decided to separate itself while I was pulling my stitches up and I had to make an emergency dash to the wool shop for a rescue operation. Work saved, I decided I couldn't wait for Ally Pally to buy new needles and ordered an Addi Turbo needle online.

I am so glad I did as this needle is just so much better than anything I have used before. I am a tight knitter and always struggled to move my stitches along the bamboo needles, and even on my ordinary straights it was challenging. The Addi needle tips are highly polished metal and my stitches really glide over them, making my knitting quicker.

Now that I am knitting more, and think that going to SnB will push me to challenge myself further, I am considering whether to get a set of circulars, perhaps like these? I was just wondering what other people use and how they rate them. I'm not sure whether to get metal or wooden needles so any advice would be great.

I seem to have experienced a little flurry of new people following the blog, so I would just like to welcome you all along and thank you for stopping by in my little corner of the world. All of my readers help to keep me motivated to craft and blog, for which I am thankful and when I am followed by other bloggers I get a chance to peep into their corners too, which as a nosey person is a great treat.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the change of seasons. Thanks for reading,

Beth x

Holiday Fun (and a little bit of knitting and crochet)

The summer holidays are in full swing over here at Magpie Towers and we have been getting out and about as much as we can. Over the last week we haven't managed to get to the beach, but tomorrow's forecast is looking good so we will be getting out the buckets and spades once again.

In the last week or so we have enjoyed picnics aplenty in a variety of touristy destinations; it is great living in a seaside town, you feel you are on holiday just by popping a mile up the road. Actually, last year every time we went to the town centre, the littlest Magpie would gleefully announce 'We're at the holiday!'

As well as the picnics, we have been crabbing, swimming, walking, playing at the park (well, several parks) exploring a model town and having a few adventures.

Examining the catch, the final tally was 7!

A brave new friend.

A Model Town



The littlest Magpie wanted to take this cutie home.



That's me - I did the monkey bars!!

My Hitchhiker#2 has been living in my handbag so that it can be whipped out at any available opportunity while the boys are otherwise occupied and has been growing steadily. The missing Hitchhiker#1 got to 45 teeth and I think that the yarn ball looked slightly smaller than this one. I'm on tooth 30 now, so still a way to go but I am proud to say that there are still no mistakes in this one and I aim to keep it that way!

I have also been adding the odd new stripe to my Granny blanket when I get settled enough of an evening. This picture shows 20 more stripes than when I last blogged about the blanket here. Because we have been using the blanket so much already I have changed my mind about making this double-bed sized because I think that if I do it will get left on a bed and would be too big to be carried around by the kids or to be a useful size.

I have just completed stripe 55 and think that I will probably continue to a nice round 60 before moving on to the border.

Granny Magpie has been making her very own Granny Stripe, her first crochet project and I can't wait to see it. A good friend of mine who asked me to show her how to crochet has also been making her own blanket so hopefully soon I can show you pictures of three finished masterpieces!

This weekend we will be having a visit from Grandad, who will be taking the middle-sized Magpie back up to the Midlands to spend a week with Granny Magpie. After a relatively quiet week we will be visited by the Magpie cousins and are looking forward to all the Magpies enjoying some holiday time together as Mr Magpie will be off work too.

I hope that you are enjoying your summer too,

Thanks for reading,

Beth x

My Hitchhiker Hitched a Ride

You might recall me starting a knitted scarf at the end of May, from the Hitchhiker pattern; you can read the post here). Over the course of June, alongside crocheting the ripple blanket, I happily knitted away on the Hitchhiker. The pattern is very simple, perfect for me as it requires little or no concentration. 

At the end of the month, just after I completed the ripple, my Hitchhiker was also finished. No sooner was it off the needles, I was wearing it almost constantly. I am something of a scarf junkie, never really feeling comfortable without something to keep my neck warm. A kind of adult comfort blanket, if you will.

I was waiting for a nice day to take some pictures of my beloved creation, but unfortunately, that day never came because the weather was so awful. It was however perfect weather for a wool scarf and I wore it daily.

Alas, one Friday night I wore it on a night out and consumed one too many Babychams. I became warm, put the scarf on my chair and then when I staggered walked home later, it got forgotten. When I realised that it was missing in the morning I made lots of strangled 'Noooooo' noises ( and a few swear words may have escaped my mouth) and did some frantic scurrying around trying to find it.

Two return visits to the local hostelery in question failed to yield my precious possession and even the power of Twitter was unable to help me; I have declared my scarf lost. Last night when telling the girls about SnB about it, I recounted the tale of when my car was stolen with my son's buggy inside it which had a rather funky liner that I looked for everwhere for ages afterwards. While telling the story I realised that losing the scarf was actually more annoying than losing my car, what does that say about me?!

My car was found, and although it looked like this, at least I knew what had happened to it, and got some compensation (three teenagers took it and were chased by the police before crashing, unfortunately they were un-injured and eventually not prosecuted either, grrr). Sadly, I may never know what happened to my Hitchhiker. I can only hope that some lucky (or un-scrupulous) person is enjoying wearing it as much as I did, and it is not currently residing at the local tip.

Anyways, I have done my mourning, and yesterday I began Hitchhiker #2. This time I am using Arucania Ranco, which is not quite as nice as the hand-dyed yarn I bought from Bex and used last time, but is a passable substitute. To avoid the horrors of the four hour skein to ball nightmare I had last time, I enlisted some help to transform this one (thank you Teresa!). I also happened to have a perfectly co-ordinating project bag which was unsold from Larmer Tree to keep all my bits in.

This time, I will try not to eat Malteasers and watch tv while knitting, to avoid the mistakes I made last time. I have also devised a better way of keeping track of the row I am on, in the form of a little flip-chart (the green card you can see in the picture).It did annoy me that tooth 10 wasn't pointed on my original version, and the first 20 teeth are the most visible the way I wore it so this new scarf will hopefully be a vision of perfection.

Wonky Tooth 10

Perfection! (so far)

Whilst browsing in Michelle's shop (Carly's Crafts) yesterday, I also found a reasonably priced sock yarn which I will use to attempt my first lace pattern, also a shawl. I just have to wait for some more needles and need to make some stitch markers.

If you are a member of Ravelry, you should be able to find the pattern here. If not, if you enjoy knitting or crochet you should join. It's free and is a fantastic resource for patterns (lots free), advice and inspiration.

Today is the last day of school for my children and I am really looking forward to a good long break with them. We have got a few things lined up to keep us busy, but mostly we will just be enjoying the change of routine and the chance to have some little adventures.

I hope you all enjoy your summers. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you soon,

Beth x

70's Knitting and Crochet Patterns

For those of you who read this post, you will remember that I have a particular fondness for vintage knitting and crochet patterns. Charity shops are my usual source, but a few weeks ago, my Mum decided to sort out her under stairs cupboard and unearthed some real gems in the process.

Mum had told me about her collection of Mon Tricot patterns and had thought them lost. Having looked through them, I am very glad that they weren't. Apparently, these pattern 'books' (they are more like magazines) were considered quite expensive in their time but I can understand why. I wish there was a modern-day equivalent; I am a bit tired of the current magazines on offer which seem to regurgitate the same old patterns and have endless ad pages.

The contents of this book alone could keep me busy for months.

  

Now that I have learned to crochet, I am seeing all sorts of possibilities in these patterns. Those little slippers are just so cute.

  

Not sure I'd be up to creating this monster, apparently it's meant to be a dolphin!

These would be great with leggings underneath, or maybe frilly pants?

And who could be without a pencil case in their scarf?

There are lots of great home furnishing ideas, you just have to imagine different colours.

 

These flowers could be adapted for all sorts of uses. I think they're very Attic24.

I am seeing crochet seat covers in a vintage VW camper, it's a shame modern headrest would complicate the pattern.

I think this wave pattern might just be my next blanket.

And we all know I like a good zigzag.

Speaking of which.....too far?

This is also a zigzag design, but I could really see myself in this. But would I have the patience to finish it?

 More dresses that could be made pretty funky!

I particularly like the middle (light brown) dress, but to make it I'd need 26 balls of 4ply yarn. Hmmm.

 

Can't you just picture the cheese and pineapple and the black forest gateaux?!

Not sure about the socks, but the bag would be really simple to do.

 These tank tops would be fab in modern colours and you only need three balls of yarn to make them.

 

Well, maybe not this one, and definitely not the hat!

  

I actually really love the bikini on the left, but if I made it I would not be going anywhere near water.

It's about time these came back isn't it?

Er, Ron Jeremy?

Well, I leave you with these for now. I am meant to be stitching away but my machine has decided to go on strike so it's back to the brooches I think.

In camping news, we decided against roughing it in the tent last week in view of the weather forecast and had a little holiday to Wales in a caravan instead. Luckily we didn't get washed away and the journeys and the rain mean that my baby ripple blanket is almost done. I will show you pics next time.

I would just like to say a quick 'hello' to my new followers and to my overseas readers who I know are lurking around. Don't be shy, say hello and let me know what you think of these fab patterns, or anything else you'd like to share!

Hope you are all well and thanks for stopping by,

Beth x