U is for... Unable

Due to my M.E, I'm unable to get out and about as much as I'd like. This afternoon though, I felt well enough to go out for a couple of hours. So, my very lovely Mother took my sister and I to Launceston, a nice little town in Cornwall. It took 20 minutes to get there, and as we were driving into Launceston I swear I saw a young man knitting as he was walking down the road!! It looked like he was knitting something green on circular needles, possibly a sock...

After parking the car, we wandered down the street on the hunt for a Cornish Pasty. As we headed down the street my Mum suddenly pulled me towards a shop. 'We're here', she said to me. I looked up to find a small, beautiful, yarn filled shop. My face lit up with excitement as I made my way in.

©DoveGreyReader

The shop was, is, beautiful. This wool emporium is something to behold. From the moment you walk in all you see is yarn, yarn and more yarn. And when I say yarn, I'm not talking about 100% acrylic, £1, rubbish. I'm talking about gorgeous, 100% wool, silk blends, alpaca blends, cotton blends and all that jazz. Some are hand-dyed, in gorgeous colourways. Unfortunately they are a little out of my price range at £10-15 a skein, but a few months ago when I was quite poorly my Mum bought me a skein of Colinette Jitterbug - Florentina as a present. 

©DoveGreyReader

The shop feels so cozy and comfortable. Despite being a small shop, you could easily spend a few hours in there looking around. I spent about 15 minutes in there, but I would have easily spent longer if I was on my own. 

Rebecca, the owner of the shop, is very lovely indeed. I managed to have a chat with her while I was there, we talked about knitting in the round (she was knitting a beautiful cowl while I was there), lace, crochet and everything else. She talked about the different workshops they hold at the shop, so in November I am going to the Beginners Crochet workshop, which I am very excited about. 

It took me forever to choose, but I finally got myself two skeins of Albero, a Louisa Harding yarn. I am going to make Summer Flies by Donna Griffin, I'm going to need another two skeins though to make it. So that is going on my shopping list for next time I visit, as well as a pair of beautiful wooden circular needles.

So, as you can see I had a fabulous time! After the yarn shop we walked around town, I managed to get myself a dress for the wedding this Friday, some nail varnish, sweeties and a Spicy Chicken Pasty. 

As we walked around town I did notice a bit of yarn bombing!

So now it's time for you to add your links! What does your U stand for?

T is for... Tomorrow I Promise to...

Resolutions. They always start out as innocent ideas at first; 'I will only knit from my stash this year' or, 'I will blog every day for a year'.

 Once the idea is planted firmly into our minds, we start planning. We spend hours, upon hours searching our books, magazines and the wonder that is Ravelry for the perfect patterns for our stashed yarn. Or, (if we're going by the second example) we research memes we can take part in, write down article ideas and start working on our photography skills. 

While we plan the excitement builds, we start thinking about our upcoming project more and more. We go to sleep thinking about it, and wake up thinking about it. More and more of our spare time is spent planning.

When the day finally comes for us to start our long-awaited project, we set off at lightning speed. The first week is a breeze, we're finding knitting from our stash is satisfying and writing everyday is easier than we thought. Week two, we slow down a little in our enthusiasm but we're still going. Week three is where the trouble starts to set in. As we visit our favourite blogs, we notice the lovely yarns they are using. We stare longingly at the yarn, then look to the skein sitting on the coffee table. We forget that once upon a time, that skein on the coffee table was once looked upon as the yarn 'I've got to have'. 

By Week Four, we've stopped writing everyday as we have come to view it as a chore. While in town, we walk towards the Local Yarn Store. 'I'll only have a look', you wonder to yourself. Half an hour later you walk out of the shop with a new pair of knitting needles, a new crochet hook and 4 skeins of yarn. Later that evening while looking at your favourite blogs you come across that skein of yarn that tempted you only weeks ago. Out of curiosity you find the yarn on Deramores.com, just to see how much it will cost. You stare at the screen surprised at the price. 'What a bargain. I mean, at the price I can't not buy it. I'd only need... 4 skeins for the shawl so-and-so is making...' Before you know it, another yarn purchase is made. 

I'm not sure about you, but I certainly need to learn from the above and not be so hasty at making new resolutions or setting large projects for myself. I think projects like One a Day though, is certainly going to get my back on track with my knitting. It isn't an overwhelming project, no obsessive rules to stick to, all it takes is doing one row of your project every day. 

Let's hope I am this positive towards the project in a couple weeks time!

S is for... Swap

I have always wanted to take part in a swap, and I have finally been given the chance to take part in one!

The codename for the swap is PAL (Pass Along). And in your swap package you must pop in a skein (or two!) of yarn, a postcard with a little message and one or two goodies that are only available in your country.

My swap partner is Myriah, who lives in Norway. She asked me if I could send her a ball of acrylic yarn, as it is not readily available over in Norway. In return, Myriah let me choose the yarn she'll send me, which I thought was very kind. She took pictures of her LYS (which is amaaaazing!) and from that I chose my skein. It took a little time as the selection was vast, but I finally settled on Rauma Finullgan in Orange.

It is a fingering weight yarn, and I can't wait to have a go with it. 

We have to send off our packages by October 15, so I'm busy planning on what to include. As soon as Myriah has received her package I will show you what I sent her, and what I received! 

R is for... Rush!

With my niece/nephew-to-be arriving in a couple of weeks, everyone is rushing around to get everything sorted. With the baby blanket just squares away from being finished, I ran out of yarn. Typical! Instead of just twiddling my thumbs at home while I wait on more yarn, I decided to whip up a few baby booties and mittens.

I don't know about you, but I love baby knits. Quick, easy and ever so cute. I went a little mad with the baby booties and mittens...

Almost finished with the matching booties!

So yes. As you can see I went a little mad. The purple set are going to my friend Jo, who has a gorgeous little girl. And the rest are off to my sister. 

So, time to check out the rest of the ABC Bloggers, click on the links below to find out what R meant to them!

Q is for... Queue

On Ravelry there is a wonderful feature called 'Queue'. This is where you can add patterns with the yarns you plan to use and any notes that you have, in a easy-to-get-to list.

My Queue is short and sweet, as I tend to add things to favourites, instead of bombarding myself with too many items I need to make. On occasion though, I like a pattern enough to say, I'll make that, and I pop it in my queue. Here is a list of those very patterns.

© nemesia

The very first item in my queue, is Branching Out by Susan Lawrence. I've been wanting to try lace for a while now and when I finally found this pattern, I knew I had to give it a go. After looking through the projects and yarn suggestions, I found that Shewalks is knitting her own Branching Out scarf in King Cole Galaxy DK in the Mars colourway. I thought it looked so gorgeous I went and bought the same yarn so I could give it a go. 



This project is the one I'm the most excited about. The moment the pink mess that I'm calling a baby blanket is finished, I'm running to my room and casting on.

by dancingsheep

The next project is another scarf! This time it's the Scrunchable Scarf by Susan McConne. I'm plannning on making myself this scarf with Candy Skein's Yummy Worsted, in Cotton Candy Swirl that I bought last month. Despite being second in my queue, it probably won't be made until end of October/November when I have finished knitting presents.

by GettingPurly

Next on the hit list is Emanelle by Nancy Ricci.I'm desperate for some fingerless gloves this year and so I'm making myself these, with Candy Skein Yummy DK in the Strawberry colourway. Which, with the Worsted I mentioned earlier, I bought last month. I'm hoping to get these done this month, so I'm ready for the cold weather. But like my scrunchable scarf, it probably won't be off the needles until presents are all finished.

by MyDailyFiber

At number 4 is Patty by Jenny Raymond. I'm taking part in a KAL later on this year, and this is the project that was decided on. I know I have enough Mug Hugs to make with Year of Projects (which I'm sorry I haven't updated, but once baby blanket is finished normal service shall be resumed) but I couldn't resist this one. It is made with Double Moss Stitch, a stitch I haven't yet come across so I'm looking forward to giving this a go!

© Hannah Bearup

I love how berets look on my sister, so when I found the pattern Simple (yet adorable!) Slouchy Beret by Hannah Bearup I knew I had to give it a go. Really not sure what yarn I'll use for this project, I'll probably let Katy choose!!

So there are the first 5 patterns in my Ravelry Queue, you can head over to my page to see all 21 of them.

For now though, have a look what fellow ABC Bloggers felt Q was for!

N is for... Nana

When I was about 8 or 9, my Great Nan decided to teach me to knit. For the rest of the evening, we both sat on the edge of the sofa repeating 'in, wool, and out'. Suprisingly I managed to knit 11 neat rows. I say surprisingly because my Nan was almost blind when she taught me, which proves how good she was at knitting. Unfortunately after that one evening I never picked the needles up again until Febuarary of this year. 

Before she lost her sight completely, my Nan knitted my little sister a cardigan. Katy absolutely adored it, she was always wearing it and asking people what they thought of the big red buttons. 8 years later we still have it, occasionally taking a peak into the cupboard to admire it. Here it is in all its glory.

Katy has asked me to knit her one just like that for her, so once my knitting skills are up to it I'll give it a bash.

So thats what N stood for me, click the links below to find out what N meant to other ABC bloggers!!

M is for... Mmmm

Mmmm... that one sound just says it all. Complete gratification, pleasure of the highest degree, just plain awesomeness.

That was the only thing I could say this morning when I opened my squishy package. As I tore open the brown packaging little glimmers of red appeared, followed by a soft pink. Another Mmmm was muttered. 

The family slowly crept round, their whole bodies leaning in as I ripped the packet to shreds. As I took the two exceedingly soft and colourful skeins out of the bubble wrap the whole family - including myself - gasped.

The yarn we all fell head over heels for, is none other than Tami's Yummy DK in Strawberry and Yummy Worsted in Cotton Candy Swirl, both from her wonderful shop Candy Skein! I was given some money a couple of weeks ago, and decided to go all out and treat myself to two skeins of scrumptious candy inspired yarn!

When buying yourself expensive yarn (well, its expensive in my opinion at £8 ($14) a skein) you can't just buy what you think is gorgeous and then have it sitting in your yarn box for ever and ever as you 'didn't know what to make with it'. So I decided to choose what I wanted to make before I chose my yarn.

I haven't yet made a scarf, and as a lot of people are starting to focus on their winter knits now I thought I better jump on the bandwagon and have ago. After a bit of research I decided that worsted weight would be my best choice, and so bought myself Cotton Candy Swirl. A 100% Merino Superwash yarn, beautiful in colour and ever so soft in texture.

At the moment I'm thinking of using the pattern, Angora Lace Scarf by Lion Brand Yarn. Although Fletching Silk Scarf by Angela Roberge is also looking promising.

My second skein is Strawberry, a DK yarn also made with 100% Merino Superwash. I don't like to pick favourites, but if I did this one would certainly have my vote. The colour is just so vibrant, a definite 'mmm' product! With this yarn I'm planning on making myself some Fingerless Mittens, something I have tried in the past, but hopefully this time I will do better.

The pattern I'd love to use for this yarn is Emanelle by Nancy Ricci. Nancy has done quite a few Mitt patterns, but this one really caught my eye.

So that is my ABC post for this week, if you'd like to find other M is for posts, click the links in the Mr. Linky below!!



For now I leave you with a picture of my pal Lilo. Who wasn't very pleased with my new yarn purchase.

"She spends too much time knitting and not enough time cuddling me!!"

L is for... Lilo!

Ever since I learnt to talk I've been asking for a dog. By the age of 10 I was so obsessed, that if I passed a dog while out with a friend, I could tell them not only the breed, but country of origin, temperaments, specific requirements of the breed and too many other things.

Finally, a few weeks before my 14th birthday I got what I'd always wanted. And it came in the form of Lilo, a Toy Poodle, Bichon Frise cross. Her full name is Lilo Madeline Doodle, but we like to keep things informal down here in the West Country.

When I went to the breeders to pick my puppy, I was originally going to choose Lilo's sister, (who is now owned  by friend!) but immediately after seeing me, Lilo decided I was hers. Despite being the smallest of the litter, she somehow managed to climb up onto the top of the sofa and leap onto my shoulder, where she sat for most of the time I was there. When she did finally decided to come down from her perch, she happily sat for a photo shoot!


I brought my little bundle of fluff home with me in June, when she was just 12 weeks old.





Every morning I woke up at 6AM to let her out to the toilet (she was house trained within 1 week, after that there was only the occasional accident - perfect puppy wouldn't you say?), we then crept up to my room and pulled my duvet downstairs (she had a habit of jumping on the duvet and sitting on it as I pulled it down the stairs).
 After that, we snuggled up on the sofa and watched BBC Breakfast until everyone else woke up.

Over the months that passed, her personality grew bigger and bigger, even if she didn't grow much herself.

All.. MINE!

Milk? Where?! 

No Mummy. NO!

Now aged 3 she is as silly as ever. When I picked up knitting in February she made her point of view on the matter very clear. She did this by climbing over me while I knit, sit on my yarn, put her toys in my knitting bag, whimper when I picked up my needles, and even ignoring me after spending a couple of hours knitting!

When I put the needles aside, our favourite things to do together are watch Crufts (curlier the dog hair, the better in her opinion!), take a walk in the forest and have a good 'ol cuddle!

If you are taking part in this weeks ABC, add your link to your post in the Mr.Linky below! Please make sure your link leads to your L is for... post, and not your blog page. Many thanks, and happy blogging! 

I is for... Images

My week in pictures, 27th June - 3rd July.

Started... then frogged. The bag that was never meant to be.

Time for some blogging...

Lilo...

                                            Better luck next year Murray!

Making some Cupcakes!

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon Mens Final 2011. Sadly things didn't turn out the way we planned....

G is for... Gardening

I'm hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome!

I have good news! First of all, as you can probably tell, I am feeling so much better. It was nice just to take two weeks off and not have to worry about posts and comments, interviews and the like. It gave me time to just rest, which I did, and it has paid off. Thank goodness. 

Before I start todays blog though, I need to give a shout out to the wonderful Natalie over at Misadventures in Craft for hosting Learn Your ABC while I was away, it was really kind of her and amazingly helpful.

So today, I decided that G is for Gardening. 

I like gardening. I'm no good at it, but I like it. I love the final result more than anything, just to be able to sit in the back garden with my knitting and say 'look at what I made'. 

My favourite thing about gardens, ultimately, is flowers. And what I love more than sitting and looking at flowers, is photographing them. And over the years, in my opinion anyway, I've managed to get some nice shots! So today I thought I would share them with you, enjoy!

I took a snap of this daffodil down at Cotehele house in Cornwall. It is apart of the National Trust, so everything there is kept in tip-top condition, and the flowers there are absolutely gorgeous!

The next few are ones I snapped while at the Eden Project (again in) Cornwall. The Eden Project is a global garden inside and out of these amazing domes. Which look a little something like this:

I highly recommend visiting if you're in the area, and make sure you go for the entire day as a couple hours will fly by! Here are a few of the flowers I snapped while there!

This photograph was taken down at Buckland Abbey in Devon, which was home to Sir Francis Drake! It was amazing walking through both the house and the gardens, my friends and I even got to dress up, and of course I was stuck as the blind peasant, (they made me take my glasses of, there argument being 'they didn't have them in the olden days')

So there you have it. If you'd like to find out what others reckon G is for, click the links in the Mr.Linky below!