Life just keeps getting in the way!

I realised yesterday that a month had sped by since I last posted, then I considered what had I had achieved, in the last 30 days.  Apart from cooking meals, cleaning up, washing (not ironing) shopping and all the other things that have to be done just to keep body and soul together.

I have spun just under 2000 yards of finished yarn, considering that most of that was 2 plied, that means I spun 4000 yards of singles

BFL - Salvation Jane from Southern Cross Fibres

Bond, Josephine, Winetasting, and Desert Rose, again from Southern Cross Fibres

Then I have been spinning fibre for the #MegaSAL on Ravelry. This is a collaboration of five dyers who have all come up with Discworld inspired colour ways. Discworld is the imaginary world of the late Terry Prachett whose books I have not read, can't abide books where you have to keep going back because you don't understand the lingo! But I have enjoyed the spinning......

This is Vetinari again from Southern Cross Fibres, and this one is Ank Morpork from FatCatKnits

Told you, his books were full of silly names, even the photo comes out on its side!

And then there were the Bags, lots of bags and sorting out my studio, no longer do I have a study, I now have a room where I can be crafty, I would say creative, but I am not sure that I am that sort of person! Creative to me is having the vision to create something new, out of the norm which is new or innovative!  

Gone the is the desk and big PC now I have a laptop and this super little drop down shelf which can be pulled up to give more space for creativity, in its space in the knitting machine with room underneath for all the cones of yarn!

And I made some trees! Little ones at 4mm to the foot

For Mr S

Tomorrow I go to Wonderwool ......

Help! I am addicted!

Last summer when I was seeking a cheap knitting machine, to make sock blanks for dyeing, I was warned that it could become addictive and it has!

Following the recent purchase of a better spec machine, I have acquired a ribber - essential equipment for knitting in the round, a colour changer, essential to smoothly change colours, a linker, essential to seam, a cone wonder, essential to produce a good feeding yarn for the machine, and of course a table on which to place all these essentials!

What I haven't acquired is the extra space needed to store all these essentials! Plus each of these comes with the ubiquitous manual so necessary for the beginner. Then there are the books that explain in detail what all the levers and buttons do! Don't be fooled by watching someone demonstrate a simple bit of stocking stitch! First you have to get the yarn onto the needles, this requires a lot of jiggery-pokery with cast-on combs, weights and precise selection of the correct levers and buttons, so the books are an essential extra, honest!  Thank goodness Mr S is understanding and has hobbies of his own!

These machines are also time eaters, you sit down to play and woosh, it's dinner time and all you have produced is a coaster!

Bags, Bags, more Bags and a quilt.

For somebody is never carries a handbag of any sort, I do seem to make an awful lot of bags..  I am fascinated by the construction and have even bought tatty bags in charity shops just to see how they were made!

But project bags, needles cases and the like are useful and fun to make..

First off I was looking for a suitable case to store my growing collection of signature needles - for anyone who has never knit with these needles, they are a joy.  I was first introduced to the straights and they made me long for a set of circulars.  But the cost of buying from the US with all the added extras by the government, put them beyond any sensible person's reach. 

Then last year a friend went to New York, and asked if there was anything she could buy for me - well I didn't hesitate and asked her to bring a set of 3.75mm and cables - total love.  Then at Unwind last year they were selling Signatures - and I managed to get three more sets!  In April another friend will be bringing some 3.25mms to complete my collection.  But these very expensive needles need a very special case

First off I saw this on Etsy and made this

The only problem I had was stitching down the bottom of the concertina - it isn't for the faint hearted! And there is no mention in the instructions exactly how you are expected to sew this bit.

There are eight pockets which you have to fit into a space less than 2 inches. 

Then I tried again

and again

this last time I changed the way I made the pockets which are sealed at the bottom and the last one isn't quite so big!

Inspired by the concertina effect I found this bag and was intrigued!

Following the sew along I was able to make a bag and got an insight into how to stitch the needle case at the same time!

Outside

Inside

 

 

This material is Petit Street from Dashwood Designs, think I might just have enough left for a project bag! I do so like matching accessories....

This quilt is one of two I am making for our caravan seats

These beauties were a gift from a wonderful friend who knows my tastes perfectly - bag?

New Toys...........

Earlier this month there was a Circular Knitters convention in Bristol and intrigued I went along.  I know the history of these machines from my research into women homeworkers in the silk industry.  Whereas most of the equipment for silk was artisan made usually of wood, these machines are made of cast iron and fairly complicated.  Most were bought on a production basis, you paid for the machine in finished socks, and then and only then did the worker start to earn cash.  It is obvious from the manuals that the makers didn't have much faith in the little woman's ability to understand the mechanics of the machine as text in the accompanying manual is patronising to say the least.

This is a circular knitting machine - generic photo

But the mechanics are the bits that fascinate me - how does it work, why does this bit move and this not..............  In reality they are really quite simple - it is the latch hook that does the work, without this fabulous little needle none of the knitting machines we have today would exist.

Now on to the new toys..........  No I haven't bought one of the circular type, but I did get a fleabay bargain of a Knitmaster 323 knitting machine.  Yes I know I have a machine, but Mr S broke the carriage handle and as yet hasn't made the promised replacement! But it was a very basic machine and that was it, no way of making any more than the flat-bed machine it is.

Here is where my love of mechanical things come in, it needed a new sponge, needles and good clean. Plus the spools that make the punchcards function weren't going round. I was directed to this resource on YouTube, with the wonderful title of 'Help! my machine was working when I put it away'.  With the help of this and Mr S's tools I took the carriage apart, removed lots and lots of fibre and put it back together again

There was a lot more than this, but Mr S sneezed and bits of fluff went flying everywhere!

And here it is all set and ready to knit. Yes it is on the ironing board and yes I do need a proper table - soon!  I was lucky enough to get a paper manual and set of punch cards from a fellow Raveller and this is my first attempt at fair isle on a knitting machine ever. But this is a flat-bed so to do more I need a ribber attachment............, or so the lovely lady I met at Unravel said!

So I did say toys, well inspired by this video, in which the sweater is knit and then sewn I have finally bought an overlocker! This is my birthday present from Mr S who understands me perfectly.

It is rather scary and much noisier than my sewing machine, but I have my first lesson booked in March so should overcome the fear of breaking a thread and not being able to re-thread...........  there are four threads and each have a particular threading, so until then I am being extra careful!

Where did January go and other things..............

Well January has flown by and here we are in February and I have a new toy..

Back in the summer I acquire a very basic knitting machine with the aim of knitting sock blanks and creating gradient yarns - and it has been very successful

I did this one using three colours and carefully painting and only allowing a small amount of overlap

The only problem, and I am not sure it is a problem, the yarn is kinky from the knitting - but I have looked at some of the gradient yarns on sale and they have the same issue.  As this was a learning exercise I discovered that you really do need to push the dye into the yarn to avoid the dreaded white bits!!

So all good - well not so good, as  when I was knitting this up, Mr S managed to break the carriage handle on the machine - fortunately I was able to finish the knitting by pushing the carriage with my hand.  Mr S says he will make a replacement directly! 

I the meantime I found this bargain on a well known auction site

It is a Knitmaster 323 and it does Fairisle!  After some research I discovered that this was only the second machine by Knitmaster that did automatic colour changes, the first was the 321 and my little beauty is the slightly improved version.

First off it needed a good clean and with a little help from an online video by the answer lady and ask jack.  I took the carriage apart and removed all this and a bit more (but Mr S sneezed and blew some away!)

They soaked the metal parts in some lurid pink cleaning oil, but I used WD40 and a dental pick and soon the bits that should go round were.............  I had posted on Ravelry asking for advice  which is where I got the link to the video and a fellow Raveller came up with the cards (which were missing) and a manual in book form (so much easier than looking at 122 pages on the iPad!

So today I was able to knit the first sample in some bright acrylic yarns a friend gave me when I got the first machine (thanks Emma).

Apart from the gradients - January was a month of colour - fluorescent colours to be more accurate

Seems neons are the latest thing, so I had to try!  Particularly pleased with the pink, yellow and orange, but less happy with the green - need to vary the proportions I think.  These dyes are more intense than the Landscape dyes so I had to absorb the exhaust in some fleece, which were just a bright - so I made these

and this

I don't normally wear hats, but it has been so cold lately that I gave in and made one for those bitter days when you just can't get warm.

Lastly - not a new year resolution, but I resolved to spin at least 15 minutes every day, from 7pm until 7.15pm while listening to The Archers - its surprising how much you get done - currently have 3 bobbins full ready to ply - pics later...............

Just gotta have a rant............

Its not often that I get on my soapbox, but this stupid new EU VAT law is bordering on the insane.  Talk about using a sprat to catch a mackerel - it is all the fault of big companies like Amazon who have been working the system and by basing themselves in Luxembourg where the VAT rate was 15%, and in special cases it is 5%,  they have been able to undercut on prices throughout the EU.

Now instead of paying the VAT on digital goods in the country of origin now the seller has to charge the VAT applicable in the country of the buyer and then pay the said VAT to that country.  So if I buy a pattern on Ravelry from a seller in the United States, they have to charge me 20% VAT and pay that to the UK Government.  There is no upper/lower limit to sales, so even if you sell two patterns in a year you still have to register, collect and pay the potential 32p you have been forced to collect. Does that make any sense at all? 

This is bureaucracy gone crazy and most likely it won't stop the big boys who will no doubt find a way round this, but it is putting a lot of small designers out of business - unable to face the complexities of this law.

Now my second rant - to overcome this problem, Ravelry has teamed up with Love Knitting - never heard of them or bought anything from - but now if I want to buy a pattern I have to register on their site and wait until they have vetted the pattern and made it available.  This means that outside the EU knitters are happily knitting a pattern that we here in the UK can't even buy until someone at Love Knitting decides to make available!

If you think this is as stupid as I do you could sign this petition 

http://www.change.org/p/pierre-moscovici-a-unilateral-suspension-of-the-introduction-of-the-new-eu-vat-laws-for-micro-businesses-and-sole-traders?recruiter=202390441&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

Not a proper tree, but, who needs pine needles?

I had been looking out for the perfect way to display my ever growing and very nearly out of control collection of toy sheep!

When I came across I very nifty idea - the original was decorated with the usual bauble and tinsel, but I could see the potential for something that wasn't massy thingy at all

First a trip to B&Q for three lengths of lathe, one 2.5cm wide this is for the trunk  and two 2cm wide for the branches - total cost £4.50.  You will need a junior hacksaw, wood glue, clamps and pin nails.

First off decide the height of your tree - I went for three feet or 95cm, then cut various lengths from the narrower lathe - making a 45 degree cut at one end and a 90 degree cut at the other.  Then lay them out to decide the best look for you.

                                                     

If you place the 45 degree angled cut on the trunk and branches you get a better look.  Then comes the time consuming bit, each joint needs to be glued and clamped!  I did a branch at a time and once they were dry I glued and clamped the branches to the trunk.  Really it only took about an hour and I did go off and do other things in between.

Then you need to decided where to put your tree, for stability it needs to be against a wall.  I drill a hole near the top and hung the tree on a picture hook.

Then decorate!  You can use glittery baubles if you really, really want, or go for more environmentally friendly decorations.  I think it would look great with wooden objects - but I used sheep and spinning related objects (well actually there is one orifice hook at the moment - but Mr S is going to make me some mini items soon)...

Finished Tree

At the front the latest member of the flock a beautiful felted Jacob ewe - a gift from a very dear friend.