May 19th 2009
Filed under General
I have been knitting socks for over four years now (I know it was a shock to me too) and have built up a large collection of leftover sock yarn, I have been hoarding it away hoping one day to knit a blanket.
I have always loved Erika Knight’s Patchwork quilt (the one on the cover of Classic Knits at Home), making a traditional patchwork from yarn, and also the way she mixes several textures and includes fabric. Turning all this sock yarn into one blanket.
After some research, I discovered there are two ways to knit hexagons, on the round as described here, or back and forth as explained here. I am hoping to use a combination of both to graft them together.
May 14th 2009
Filed under 101 Things, General
Before starting my 101 list, I read the survival tips on the Day Zero website, written there clearly is “Welcome Failure.” What I didn’t realise was how spectacular I would fail! 30 days after my first deadline here is how the list currently stands.
1. Lose at least a stone in weight. – Fail
Although I have been making some effort to exercise (see number two), my diet has been just awful this year.
2. Use the Wii Fit at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. – WIP
Currently, I am easily managing to fit in two sessions a week, although I have to say I am getting a little bored with some of the exercises and think it might be time to look for a new game.
3. Find a decent Sugar Cookie recipe and make at least five varieties of cookies. – Success!
I managed to find a wonderful website, that sells cookie cutters in all shapes and sizes, with some great tips and ideas. Plus I have been buying every cookie cookbook I can find! I am still not confident enough with my baking to try them on anyone but my immediate family.
4. Reduce my stash by one mile. – Success!
1. Leyburn Socks, 2. Garden Trelis Sock, 3. Meret,
4. Jaywalker Socks III, 5. Vinnland, 6. Spring Forward
5. Create a Home Organisation System. – WIP
I have to say the one thing I have discovered from trying to make a system is that it is a definite “work in progress.” I started taking inspiration from the FlyLady system and also Cleaning Grand Plan, and am pleased to report the we have already made great headway with decluttering.
6. Manicure my nails each week and get them done professionally at least once. – Success!
This one has been a really easy item to keep up, I treated myself to a manicure at the beginning of the challenge and seeing my nail look nice for the week inspired me to keep them manicured! I was given a selection of Nail Inc colours at Christmas, that I should really make more of an effort to use.
7. Boost My Income by £1000. – WIP
This was probably a little adventurous for the 10 weeks (or maybe it is because of the credit crunch), but I have re-assessed all our money looked for saving where I can. Maximised using cashback websites , loyalty cards started a change jar and I even managed to make £200 recycling our old mobile phones.
8. Do The Torres Bounce in The Kop. – Fail
This is the one I am going to have to admit defeat on, even though we managed to make it to Anfield, it is proving impossible to sit in The Kop! Plus on my two recent trips to Liverpool, Torres has been injured for both games, so we still haven’t been able to see him play. The season ends this weekend so this one will have to go on the back burner until August.
9. Go to the Museum in Docklands. – Fail
I really have no excuse for failing this… I had several chances to go.
10. Book (or go) on a holiday in the sun! – Fail
Although the sun did shine when we were in Brussels, it looks like that will be our only holiday for a while, we have both been extremely busy with work and are currently looking for a new car so the holiday is on hold.
I am not going to give up, my plan is create another list of 10 items which I will start in June. I will continue working on this list until then and carry over all of the failures.
May 3rd 2009
Filed under General, Socks, socktopus club 2009
I guess it is always I bit of a gamble when signing up to a sock club (in fact any related knitting club), that the yarn will be to your taste. However, I figure I have enough people around me that I could “gift” the socks I didn’t like colours of to.
Of course the other side of this gamble is that you end up with a parcel that is to your exact taste! That everything included is very you. That is what happened to me with the second instalment of the Sock(topus) Club.
First off this amazing yarn – which is in “my colours,” the yarn is amazingly soft and a dream to knit with (in fact I am hoping to score some more of this yarn to make a larger garment).
Next the pattern, at the moment I seem to be into extremely lacy socks, I think it is getting ready for the summer or something. I have enjoyed reading Loumms’ blog for a while and love the ideas of the Year of Socks however, I hadn’t had the chance to knit one of their designs yet.
Finally, the bells and whistles. As I mentioned I love reading Loumms blog, and I was intrigued by their idea of “Grow Your Own Soup.” I only started gardening last year but loved my chilli plants from last summer, I wanted to try growing something else on my little windowsill.
