Best Laid Plans.....

This week I was a woman with a plan. I had three days off in the middle of the week and I was going to use them wisely.

I was going to finish painting the living room. I was going to finish knitting the Luna Moth Shawl. I was going to catch up on the books waiting to be read and write the outstanding reviews.

Instead I was offered three extra days work in the shop so I've done none of these things. My only day off this week will be Saturday when I plan to collapse in a heap and do absolutely nothing (except possibly eat, and drink copious amounts of coffee).

Oh and just one other thing. Could whoever it was who left the rain running please go and turn it off now. I've had enough.

Sunday Already!!

Where has the week gone?

It's been a busy week here at Austin Towers. The Evilpixie had her very first driving lesson. She was very nervous, bless her, but she managed alright and didn't crash the car or anything. You should note that neither Pete nor I am teaching her to drive. That would be way too much to cope with. She's got another lesson tomorrow so hopefully she won't be as nervous this time.


I've been dyeing again. I got a fresh batch of colours from D&T Crafts and dyed some commercially spun yarn for a change. So here are the results -



This is double knitting, about 50g, and there there is some 4ply -



and -

None of these coloursways have names yet, so suggestions are welcome. There's about 50g of each of the 4ply, which should be just about enough for a couple of pairs of short ankle socks.

Today I've been faffing about trying (without much success) to make a belt, first a knitted one, then I tried in macrame. This is in aid of a medieval costume I have to come up with for Saturday when my spinning group will be demonstrating at the Lichfield Medieval Market. I shall have to get hold of some linen fabric this week and make a bodice thing, and find a leather belt. I promise pictures!

I've been cracking on with the Luna Moth shawl and am on the final rows of the last repeat so it should be finished this week (it the sewing doesn't take up too much time).

I've also been reading a bit. I finished The Riddle of the Sands which I enjoyed but I think it has dated rather. Still it was a fascinating read though. The narrator's voice was most interesting and kept me enthralled. I also finished The Harper's Quine by Pat McIntosh, set in Medieval Glasgow (which has really got me in the mood for the market next week). This was really good. I'm not one for historical crime as a rule but I thought this was great and shall now track down the rest of the series (this was the first one).

So, I'm all up to date with books for reading group now and shall be starting the latest Denise Mina this evening. Also set in Glasgow of course - is there a theme developing here? It's been on the shelf for a while now and I gather the next one is due shortly so I'd better get cracking.

Humble Apologies to Erskine Childers

I apologise profusely to the late Erskine Childers for stating that his one and only novel The Riddle of the Sands is set in Egypt.

This charming and classic novel, published in 1903 is set, not in the sands of the desert but among the sandbanks off the coast of Holland, Germany and Denmark. It's a book about boats - what on earth made me think it was about camels! In my defense let me state that the copy I have has the classic orange and white vintage Penguin cover - not the one I've linked to which has a picture of a boat on the front. (Bit of a clue that)

I started it on Sunday and am progressing well. It's a wonderfully seductive read and I could barely put it down yesterday. I shall go back to it later - I'm not allowing myself to pick it up until I've done all the things I need to get done today otherwise nothing will get done and I'll just sit and read all day. Not that there is anything wrong with sitting reading, but I do have some stuff that needs to get done today. See I do have willpower!

I have finished the new John Connolly novel, called The Unquiet. I think the title is very apt. It's a most disquieting and unsettling book. Very good, but very bleak. Karen, I'll do you a review of it this week, once I've mulled it over a little.

The Luna Moth Shawl progresses slowly, not helped by a few technical problems. It's not a very good idea to knit lace when your mind is still somewhere on a boat on a sandbank off Holland. I told you that book was compelling, didn't I?

Just a quick post today as I still have to paint a corner of the living room before I can go back to the seductive charms of the Dulcibella.

Just a few things I've been meaning to say. Thanks to Maxine for the book. I'm looking forward to it - looks very interesting. Jill in Pennsylvania - glad we got you knitting again - can't wait to hear how your sweater turns out. Did you get your ribbing problem sorted?

I have FOs to show you

I know I've been very remiss about blogging this week. Pete has been working an evening shift and it's got me all out of my normal routine.

But I've been knitting. Look I have finished objects -

There's the Sonnet cardigan - knitted but not yet sewn together and with no buttons as yet -



And I've finished the first of Pete's dogwalking socks. These are just miles and miles of 2x2 rib and are absolutely soul destroying so I only knit them in little bits then I go and knit something interesting for a bit and come back to them - so it could be a while before I finish the other one -

That's a terrible picture - they are navy blue with a couple of green stripes around the top of the leg and matching green heel and toe. Knitted in some un-named generic sock yarn from the stash.

And I've been spinning. I have about 250 yards of this -

which is the purple roving I dyed last week (or was it the week before). Anyway I love it now that it's spun. Not quite sure what I'll do with it yet. I've been looking for the right yarn for a couple of projects but I don't think there's quite enough of this for either one. It will have to sit in the stash for a bit until it finds its destiny.

And I started to spin this -

Which is more hand-dyed roving and I've tried to add some coloured nepps but I'm not sure I'm doing to right as they haven't spun in very well. Might need a bit of practice on that one. I thought the colour was a bit washed out looking when I was spinning it but it looks much darker on the bobbin so it is growing on me. Also strangely although the roving was dyed with equalish parts of green, blue and purple, it's the green that is really dominating the yarn when it's spun. That's typical because I didn't dye any nepps green - I only did blue and purple ones!

When I was at Stitch n Bitch on Saturday I was toying with the Origami cardigan and the teal/petrol blue wool/cotton from the stash. It seems the yarn just wasn't right for the pattern so now it has a new destiny - it's going to be a Luna Moth shawl. I've started it and it's going remarkably well for a first attempt at lace (all be it quite a simple lace pattern). There has been very little swearing if you don't count the bit where I couldn't get the provisional cast-on to "un-zip" like it said in the pattern. Took me three attempts and there may have been a bit of cursing. Anyway things are going Ok now (she says, tempting the wrath of the knitting gods). I took a picture but it just looks like a blue blobby thing so I'll try again at the weekend when the light might be better.

I finished the Elizabeth Peters audio book and I did enjoy it. I'm not sure I will be rushing out to read any more but as a one-off it was interesting, even if the plot did get a bit implausable towards the end. I would say that I've had my fill of Edwardians in Egypt but the next one for reading group is The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers so it's back to the oasis I go.

Bursting With Maternal Pride

On Thursday I accompanied the Evilpixie to her College presentation ceremony where they presented her with this -

The tutors for each course at the college select the Student of the Year for that course - and they chose the Evilpixie for perfect attendance, excellence in her work and always being willing to help everyone. I was all overcome with maternal pride. When I think how much she hated school, how we had to bribe, cajole and drag her to get there every day, how badly she performed in all her school exams.... I wish we could have got her started at college when she was younger. I guess some kids are just not cut out for school yet thrive in the college environment.

On Wednesday Maggi and I went on a little stash enhancement expedition to Knit2together near Newcastle-under-Lyme. We were very good and didn't run amok. I hadn't been there since they moved into their second shop, just up the street from the original shop. Now, they have all their standard yarns - the Jaeger, Wendy, Sirdar etc in that shop, and in the new shop thay have all the Colinette, Noro, Hanne Falkenberg etc. It's like designer yarn heaven! I bought just the one ball of Colinette Prism in Popsicle which I will knit some mittens out of. It's lovely stuff -

I also bought some Wendy 5-ply Guernsey, some of which is to make the Mamluke socks in the Folk Socks book by Nancy Bush. And some of which is for my long planned Guernsey socks which I said last year I was going to design. I have a swatch done, in standard sock wool, of the stitch pattern I'm going to use, but I was having trouble tracking down the Guernsey wool. And I was lucky as when we went to Knit2together they said it had only just come in that morning. How's that for timing? Maggi may have bought some stuff too. I couldn't possibly comment.

I am still ploughing on with the three books I am currently reading / listening to. I've discovered that I can spin while listening to audio though, so I shall definitely get more of these.

This is my 100th post on this blog. I'm astounded. I wasn't sure when I started how I would manage to come up with enough things to say to keep the blog going. I thought I'd just try it for a while and see. But it's been great fun and I'm looking forward to the next 100 posts. Thank you for all your comments and emails. It's nice to know there's someone out there reading my inane drivel. I'll do my best to keep you entertained.

Knitted by Nanas

Have you seen the new TV ad for Shreddies? It seems they are knitted by Nanas. I love it.

Not much knitting news as I've been busy working in the shop, but I did do a little crochet. Yes, you did read that right! I have been crocheting. This is a skill that always eluded me when younger - my grandma tried to teach me but failed. I just couldn't get my head round it. Last year though I knitted a cardigan from one of the Rowan magazines that had a crocheted edging so I faced that demon and just got on and did it. I guess some of Grandma's teaching must have sunk in somewhere as it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.


Anyway there was a shawl in another of the Rowan (what is it with them and crochet) books, (one of the cashsoft / cashcotton pattern books) that I just love but I can't afford it in the suggested yarn. But I have some wool/cotton stuff in the stash in a beautiful petrol blue that I thought would be good. However now that I have done a couple of segments (it's one of those modular thingys) I'm not sure that the pattern suits the colour and the fabric seems a bit dense. I'm not sure it will drape well.



Plus, while I am actually enjoying the little circles, the pattern calls for 36 of the suckers and I'm not sure I'm that fond of crochet. I'm thinking that I might abandon this pattern and knit the yarn into a Luna Moth Shawl instead.



I might go and cast on and see what I think. I shall want something to knit while I'm listening to the Elizabeth Peters audiobook I've chosen for reading group this month. Theme for the month is Edwardian crime as it's the library's centenary year. I thought I wouldn't like the Elizabeth Peters as I'm not big on historical stuff, and I especially hate historical involving the upper classes. However I am absolutely enthralled. It's a little window into a long lost world. The book is Guardian of the Horizon. (This link is to the paperback version and as always it's to Waterstones.com, but you should support your local bookstore if/while you still have one.) I love Amelia Peabody, and the narrator (who's name escapes me temporarily) is a hoot.



I'm being a bit of book hog at the moment actually as I'm also reading John Connolly - The Unquiet (upstairs book), and Pat McIntosh - The Harper's Quine (small paperback for carrying about). I do try and stick to one book at a time usually, honest. That's two historical books on the go at once. I'd better go and lie down.



Oooh, and I almost forgot. Look what I got in the post this morning -


Two of Elizabeth Zimmermann's books. These are quite difficult to get hold of in the UK, so I had ordered them from Amazon.com and I wasn't expecting them for at least another week. I've already dipped into them and they are just as wonderful as everyone keeps saying. Don't you just love the wonder of the internet.


I'm off to listen to more Elizabeth Peters now. Tomorrow Maggi and I are off on a stash enhancement expedition. Hmmmmm. Wooooool.


There might be the odd cup of coffee involved too, and maybe some knitting in public, as I missed International Knit in Public Day. It was Saturday and I was at work. For some reason they don't let me knit behind the counter.

Austin's First Law of Felting

Why is it that if you accidentally sling a woollen (or even a part-woollen) jumper (preferably your favourite, or worse - someone else's favourite) into the washing machine at 40 degrees it will felt itself into the smallest, tightest lump of felt imaginable; and yet, when you lovingly knit a pure wool pink fluffy trimmed bag for your daughter's birthday, and go to felt it - it will not felt under any circumstances. I washed that sucker to within an inch of its life, boiled it on a 90 degree wash (yes, alright, I know that's a contradiction), mashed it for ages in boiling hot water and would the damn thing felt. Would it heck.

Lesson learned - before you lovingly knit a pink fluffy bag in pure wool, do a swatch first and see if it will felt before carrying on to knit the whole bag. Oh yes, and try to do the felting bit before the eve of said daughter's birthday, so that if the felting gods are cross, then you have time to knit something else.

Does anyone think I'm be remembering these things next time I want to knit something for felting? No, me neither. What can I say I'm a knitter who likes to live on the edge.

Happy birthday (for yesterday) to the Evilpixie, born on that date seventeen years ago. Something is obviously wrong with the space/time continuum as last time I looked she was just 10. And I swear I am not old enough to have a seventeen year old daughter.

Just Another Random Monday

Just some random thoughts today as it's a busy day here at Austin Towers.

Firstly, Maxine is accusing me of cheating with the pink Michael Connolly book (who, me? cheat?) - well it is definitely a pale metallic pinkyish colour on the spine (if nowhere else). It did seem unlikely at the time but hey, I was under pressure. And yes, I have read it and thought it was great. Gotta love that Harry Bosch.

I do also like the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Tears of the Giraffe (which was also in the pic) was the last one I finished. I read one of these when I've had enough of serial killers and gratuitous violence...so not very often then. I am working my way slowly through the series, which for those who haven't read one yet can best be described as charming. There is no violence, no real crime to speak of, just a lovely gentle, humourous read. This makes them most unlikely candidates for my favourite books... but it works and I love them, just not too often or people will think I'm going soft!

I have just given up on Killing Time by Caleb Carr which is for reading group on Wednesday. I ought really to have ploughed on and tried to finish it but it was soooo tedious. And I have the new John Connolly sitting next to me on the shelf and it keeps whispering to me. Damn it, I hate attention-seeking books. I'm trying to ignore it but it's very persistent.

I have been knitting. Here are the photos (finally) of the completed Space Invader Socks

I think they're great although for some reason one leg is a bit wider than the other and the other sock has a wider foot. I swear I knitted them both exactly the same way. Anyway it's nothing too major, so I shall just live with it - not too noticable. I'm not sure I did the short row heels exactly right either as I was kind of expecting the stripes to match up and as you can see they don't...

Something to practice there I think.

Anyway as you know I can't be without knitting so I immediately cast on a pair of Cowgirl Socks from Interweave Knits Winter 2006 . The yarn is my own handspun in a colourway I called Pippin because it reminds me of apples. I love the socks which have knitted very quickly and are tolerant of the unevenness handspun qualities of the yarn.

As you can see I have nearly finished them and I only started them on Tuesday, but then they are only short ankle socks.

I'm starting to think about the colours for this segment of Project Spectrum which are black, red and metallic. I should have waited to do the Space Invader socks this month as they are the only project I have in mind at the moment with those colours. Oooooh. I shall have to go visit a yarn shop and see what inspiration strikes me. What a great excuse. In the meantime I'm going to rummage in my stash and see what I've got that I can knit / spin / ply into something original and creative. Watch this space.

Out and About on the Trail of Tolkien

Despite living near Birmingham for nearly 7 years, I've never actually been touristy and done the Tolkien Trail.

Anyway, on Saturday, the lovely Stuart Williams arranged a great walk for my Writers Circle, round the Tolkien haunts at Sarehole (where he lived for a while when he was a boy). We visited the mill, which features quite heavily in LOTR -

Stuart has an exhibition of his photographs in the new tearoom here. Then we walked down the River Cole and past the house where Tolkien lived, and into Moseley Bog, which is a wonderfully atmospheric bit of swamp with lots of trees - just the sort of place a young boy with a vivid imagination would really love!

Stuart gave relevant readings at various points along the walk - he really knows his stuff. Here he is waxing lyrical about the Lady Galadriel in a suitably wooded spot.

Then we walked up to Joy's Wood which is more open and higher than the bog, where we found some very entish trees.

It was a lovely day (I got a little bit of sunburn!) and very interesting. Stuart knows all the local connections and theories concerning Tolkien and his influences in the area. I'd recommend the tour to anyone interested in LOTR, and if you're not then it's still an interesting walk, though it helps if you have an authority along with you to point things out.

Knitting and book stuff tomorrow - it's too sunny to spend much time in front of the computer today.

Holy crap...where did May go????

In the sudden realisation that this is the last day of May, and hence the final day of this section of Project Spectrum, I offer you this...

..randomly and swiftly selected pile of pink books. I apologise for the fact that there are only 7 instead of the usual 12. It seems I do not actually possess 12 pink books. The colours for the next 2 months are black, red and metallics. My problem there will be which of the many books I own with those coloured covers I get to pick.

Something I've Been Dyeing to Show You

Yesterday, while everyone was out and I had peace and quiet I had a bit of a play with the dyestuffs I bought at Wonderwool.

I also had some Koolaid which I used to make this -

That's some unspecified British Wool roving in shades of pink and red and orange and purple - much brighter in real life than it looks in the picture.

Then there's this which is more of the same roving but dyed with Procion dyes in Cerulean Blue, Royal Blue and Deep Purple. I love these colours together.

And finally there's some handspun Corriedale in much more restained colours of green and pale blue.

I think that's not too bad for a first attempt. And I managed not to cover the kitchen in dye, or spill anything. Anyone who knows me will realise that in itself is a major achievement.

I'm still knitting the Space Invader socks but I'm on the foot of the second sock now so the end is in sight. I might even finish them this afternoon, while watching the Play-Off final. Good luck to the Baggies!

I'm also still reading Dying Light by Stuart MacBride. It's proving a very enjoyable read. I shall have to look out for his new one, called Broken Skin, if I remember correctly. It's also set in Aberdeen, and I'd have to recommend it highly for an accurate portrayal of my home city, even if he does feature all the worst parts. He manages to convey a real feel of the old place.

Bubba on the Beach

How's that for a dog in his element.

We had a great day out on Wednesday, to Rhyl, which is on the coast of North Wales for those of you not in the UK. I guess in its heyday Rhyl was a thriving seaside resort, but these days it's a bit on the shabby side. The beach is lovely though - miles and miles of beautifully clean sand, and that's the reason we went there. Also it's the closest beach to where we live - just about 2 hours away on a good day. I really miss not living near the sea. If we lived closer we would definately do this more often. Bubba just loves the beach.

The Evilpixie came too - note the new pink streak in her hair!

Bubba just making sure everyone else is as wet as he is!

I Promised a Post About Books....

...so here it is.

I've finished reading The Intruders by Michael Marshall, which I did enjoy, though I did find it a bit on the supernatural side for my taste. I think I prefer the threats in my books to more grounded in reality, less ethereal. That said, I did enjoy the book which is very well written.

I'm now on Dying Light by Stuart McBride. I liked his previous novel in the series, Cold Granite, which has been long listed for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year Award. They're set in Aberdeen, which is my home town, so reading one is a bit like going home, though he does tend to frequent the seamier side of town.

I found out today that my good friend Helen Oppenheim has been short-listed for the Daily Telegraph Novel in a Year Competition. I believe you had to submit the first 1000 words of a novel and a synopsis. Anyway Helen has made the top 50 from approx 2300 entries, with her novel "The Distance". Go read her extract (and the others too - there's some really great stuff there). The final 5 will be announced on the 26th May so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Helen. I really like her writing, she deserves a top five slot (and that's not just me being biased!).

The theme for Reading Group this month is Futuristic Crime (and Helen's book, when published would fit that slot perfectly), so I have a couple of great books to read. The Mocking Program by Alan Dean Foster and Killing Time by Caleb Carr. I'm looking forward to them when I've finished the Stuart McBride.

Just a quick post today, but check back tomorrow for photos of Bubba on the beach at Rhyl!

A Wonderful Time at Wonderwool

Maggi and I and Maggi's Mum had a great time at Wonderwool. There were lots of different sheep,

(this lovely one is Wensleydale)

and goats, and alpaca,

(we wanted to bring these guys home with us)

and plenty of retail opportunities.


I bought some Trekking sock wool in a great pink colourway.

This is for socks for the Evilpixie, who stunned my on Friday by saying, "These socks you knitted me are just great. Can I have some more?"

I bought myself some handpainted Slkwood yarn too -

Gotta love that combination of aqua and green and pink and purple. Not sure what I'll do with it yet.

And there were shearing displays -

The one thing I really wanted to get though, and couldn't find was some handpainted roving. Still, not to be beaten I bought some dyestuffs and some plain alpaca roving and plan to have a go myself this week.

Apologies for the lack of book posts recently. I will post about books later in the week I promise. Tomorrow however we are off to Rhyl for a day out by the seaside. Bubba just loves the beach.

Just a Little Update

I'd like to wow you all with descriptions of the great knitting I've been doing this week, plus tell you all how busy I've been - way too busy to blog. But truth is, neither of those things are true. So here's the not very exciting update on my week.

I have been carrying on with the space invader socks. I still love them. But I had a little trouble with the heel. It's the first time I've done a short row heel and I made a bit of an arse of it. Hopefully the other one will be better. I'm nearly finished the first sock -

Not a very good picture, sorry.

What else have I been doing.

A bit of spinning -


This is some superwash merino that I started to spin at the Derby open day last week. I love the way the colours have blended. I can't decide if I'll make a 2ply or if I should Navaho ply it. Might do a little test plying and see what looks best. I've got about 200g of this so I might manage to knit something other than yet another pair of socks. Not that there's anything wrong with socks. You can never have too many pairs of handspun, handknitted socks, right?

I got the new Summer issue of Interweave Knits in the post this morning, which was a bit of a surprise, as it's only a couple of weeks since I got the last one. There are some lovely patterns in this issue. Including several that I might actually be tempted to knit, instead of just drooling over them, working out how much the yarn would cost, and deciding that maybe I can live without it. But there's a pattern by Norah Gaughan, whose designs I love, called Origami - and I think I might have to knit it. It's just my kind of thing -

See. Lovely. I like to fool myself that when I'm wearing this cardi (though not in that colour), I will look as great as this model. Delusion is a wonderful place.

Anyway I don't care because on Sunday I am going to Wonderwool. Hope you're all jealous! I promise to buy lots of wool take lots of pictures. Mmmmmmmm. Fiiiiiibre.

A Plethora of Spinners

I'm not sure what the collective noun for a group of spinners would be but yesterday there was definitely a lot of us!

It was the annual open day held by the Derbyshire Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Guild, and what a lovely bunch of people they turned out to be. As a newish spinner this was my first event like this and I wasn't sure quite what to expect.

Well, I had a great time. They had laid on a fantastic event in a lovely hall. There were stall selling fibre, and dyes, and books, and beautiful hand-turned spindles and other woodwork. There were beautiful examples of handspun, handknitted and woven garments and wallhangings and bags and all manner of things.

I guess in total there must have been about 50-60 spinners in the hall, from all over the midlands. And they were all so friendly, and they didn't mind a bit if you just had to have a feel of their jumper and ask them how it was made.

Here are Mona, Catherine and Jan from my local spinners group (Walsall Handspinners) -

And here is the Scottish Fibres stall where there were all manner of lovely goodies for sale -

I took this photo while everyone was eating lunch (otherwise you wouldn't have seen the stuff for the spinners). Oh, yes, the Guild had laid on a fantastic spread for lunch and then even more for tea in the afternoon. We were so well looked after.

And here's Maggie, discovering just how addictive spinning can be once you find a wheel that suits you - Check the look of total concentration on her face. I wish I had got a photo of the excitement on her face later when she had in her hand her very first small plied hank of handspun. All her own work. And thanks to the lady, who's name I missed, who loaned Maggie her new Kromski wheel to try, and who really ought to be on commission as I gather everyone who tries it wants one.

I was very restrained with the shopping. But I did buy a few bits (well, it would have been rude not to, wouldn't it). So I did buy a bag of shetland fleece, and a nice pile of back issues of US knittings mags, and a back issue of Spin-Off. I totally resisted the piles of multicoloured merino, and all the many different rare breeds, and the silk and camel and yak and alpaca and angora. All of which I petted and put back. I resisted the rosewood and ebony circular and sock needles too, although that was hard as they were very nice. It was the books that really got me (that will not a surprise to anyone who's ever met me, or who's been reading the blog regularly), there were so many books that I wanted, on lace knitting, and dyeing and spinning and sock knitting. I could have spent an absolute fortune. Anyway I just noted a few titles for my wishlist ready for my next birthday or christmas or whatever.

So anyway a good time was had by us all. It was great to see what everyone else was spinning and be able to ask them questions. And there were so many beautiful wheels of many different makes, some old, some new. And a great variety of spinners too spinning all different things in different ways. I got some great ideas for things I'd like to try. A really inspirational day.

I Sooooooo Love These Socks.......

They are the totally wonderful BPM from Knitty.com. I knew as soon as I saw them that I wanted to knit them, and when I was rummaging in my stash yesterday I found 2 balls of black sock yarn so that was that. This is the first time I've knitted with different colours since I started knitting again, though I used to do quite a bit - I distinctly remember a couple of really hideous 1980s picture sweaters. So far it's going Ok, though I have got in a bit of a mess with the two balls getting tangled a few times. Ok, it was more than a few, but I don't think I swore. Well, not much anyway.

It was going to be an experiment in knitting socks on 2 circulars as well, but I found I didn't have any in the size I needed, so they will be done as usual on DPNs. They are really great fun to knit - and they have the added advantage that the 2 socks are different so there should be no problems with the dreaded second sock syndrome.

Gotta go - aliens to zap knit

Yellow Books

The next installment of my Project Spectrum series is books with yellow covers -

These are pretty much a giveaway about where my main interests in life lie.

Next up....pink books. Hmmmmm. Could be tricky.

Ware! Knitting Content!

Just in case you were starting to wonder, I have been knitting (and spinning too).

And I have photos to prove it!

Firstly here is my first attempt at Navaho Plying. It's a little overspun in places, but not bad for a first attempt.

Then I have some Merino/Nylon mix that is destined for socks in a lovely colourway that I am calling Pippin. This is also Navaho Plied - once I got started I just couldn't stop. I shall cast about on the net and in my various sock books for a suitable pattern for this later today. Nothing too complicated, I want the yarn to be the main feature, not the pattern, but something with cables maybe.

There is also this which is the last of the Shetland from Joyce's Raspberry Ripple Scarf project. This is destined to be part of a present too, but I can't reveal what it will be yet.

As well as all that spinning, which was done yesterday, while everyone was out and I had the house to myself for a change, I have done a little actual knitting. There's this -

Destined to be felted, and also a present, so more on that later, once it's been in the washer and is complete.

I'm still knitting the pink socks for the Evil Pixie, but they are just dull old plain socks, so I shan't photograph them until they're finished.


And I got this in the post on Friday -


Spring issue of Interweave Knits, the first of my subscription. It's the first one I've managed to get my hands on and I'm really impressed, so much better than what is available in the UK. There's a fantastic Top-down Cable Raglan Pullover in there that just has my name all over it. I do love top-down jumpers - no sewing up to be done!

Irritatingly, I'm still waiting for my first issue of Spin Off which seems to have got lost in transit. I've reported it as missing so hopefully the replacement will arrive soon.

I've been suffering really badly with hay fever this week. Whenever I go outside my eyes feel all puffy and itchy and I feel like I have a head full of cotton wool. There is nothing for it. I shall just have to stay inside and knit. Curses.

Books to Keep Quiet About

There's been a bit of a discussion in the blogosphere this week about whether or not you admit to all the books you read. Do you keep it quiet that you have a secret addiction to Jean Plaidy or Dan Brown or the plethora of misery memoirs, and only list the books that you think you should read?

I have to say that I have been completely honest about all the books I've read since starting this blog. Actually there aren't any on the list that I would be ashamed of reading, but I've read some bizarre things over the years. I've read the Da Vinci Code, mainly because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And I think it's only fair to try to read different stuff - how else would you discover that it's not to your taste. I might not like Sophie Kinsella's books, for example, but there are many who do, who eagerly await the next one. I haven't actually read any of the Shopaholic books, but I might, and if / when I do I shall tell you about it.

I am of the opinion that you learn a lot about writing from reading good books, but you can also learn a lot from reading the odd bad book, or from reading books that are outside your preferred genre. Most of what I read is crime fiction, but I also like historical fiction, classics, the odd bit of literary fiction, some fantasy and a bit of SF. Generally I don't like to read romantic fiction, chick lit, misery, horror or sport/celebrity biographies. That said, I come across books in all of these genres (except possibly celebrity bios) that appeal to me occasionally, and I try not to let pink covers get in the way.

It was one of my resolutions this year to read more varied books (or at any rate a lesser proportion of crime novels) , and I'm not sure that so far I'm really succeeding in that - so many books, so little time. Must try harder.

Anyway you can rest assured that I'll let you know what I'm reading, even especially if it's something I wouldn't normally read, and I'll let you all know what I think of it too!