I always seem to suffer from "start-itis" in the spring - an uncontrollable urge to start innumerable projects, my attention flitting from one to another like a butterfly. Just lately it's been a case of "finish-itis" - but in this case, either finish it, or frog the dratted thing. Because, let's face it, if I don't like it NOW, and it's not even finished, what IS the point? To that end, "Spring Greens" got frogged on Sunday, and the Drops shrug made from the same yarn might well get frogged too if I make something with the leftover yarn and need more of it.
Rosedale has also been hanging around since Woolfest, because I'm not getting gauge - it's coming out too big, and the yarn (Noro Kochoran) is too expensive to waste.
Not quite sure what this does for my personal Stashdown 2012 objective - because I'm still 5 yarns away from the target 100, and frogging stuff just puts me further away (and I've only three months left this year). There's a strong temptation to create a "frog pond" and just ignore them until January 2012. I'm also getting less hung up on throwing stuff away - if it's not an expensive yarn, and I don't like the result (and can't imagine it being useful as a charity shop donation either) then it's not really worth the effort to recycle the yarn. I'm looking at you, squeaky acrylic.
Resolution - from now on, if I don't like how it's turning out, I modify it or frog it before it goes too far. No more blindly carrying on and being bloody-minded, in an "it'll all work out" kind of way.
Whilst I have things I ought to finish, it doesn't stop me from eyeing up new stuff - Doris Chan's "All Shawl" - and hankering after starting yet another project.
Yep, I got the sickness bad...
My addiction to anything crafty created with a pointy stick, a needle or a hook.....
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Disastrous
I've long hankered for a cardigan in an all-over lace pattern. Alas, it seems the Brother KH950i doesn't share this dream. Sunday dawned nice enough (and I traded in my car - more on that later) but descended into persistant rain, perfect for an afternoon's knitting. I tried knitting a small swatch of lace, but all it wanted to do was drop stitches randomly. The sponge bar, whilst not new, isn't in too bad a shape. I gave up and started a tuck lace cardigan from a copy of August 2012 MKM that happened to be lying around. Luckily, tuck lace does not use the lace carriage, so no dropped stitches.
I have also swatched some stocking stitch on the Passap. Kind of like using a Ferrari to go down to the shops, but never mind.
Yes, the blue midget (Ford SportKa) is to be part-exchanged on Friday for a newer red Vauxhall Corsa. It will save me £880 a year in fuel and tax, hopefully. The Blue Midget is dead, long live the Red Dwarf (which, incidentally, is starting on Dave again on October 4th. Yay!). I shall miss the blue midget for its lovely drive and beautiful colour, but I shan't miss the deep-set, hard-to-read speedo and the £8.50 a day to get to work and back.
I have also swatched some stocking stitch on the Passap. Kind of like using a Ferrari to go down to the shops, but never mind.
Yes, the blue midget (Ford SportKa) is to be part-exchanged on Friday for a newer red Vauxhall Corsa. It will save me £880 a year in fuel and tax, hopefully. The Blue Midget is dead, long live the Red Dwarf (which, incidentally, is starting on Dave again on October 4th. Yay!). I shall miss the blue midget for its lovely drive and beautiful colour, but I shan't miss the deep-set, hard-to-read speedo and the £8.50 a day to get to work and back.
Machine maintenance day, 22nd September
A machine maintenance day was advertised on the Guild forum, so I signed up for it. Although I'm a mechanical engineer and not averse to repairing things, knitting machines have always made me somewhat nervous, owing to the brittleness of 1980s plastic. I've never progressed further than taking the back cover off - actually, that was because there's an annoying gap in the SK840 which is the perfect size to eat double-ended bodkins. So when this day was advertised, I jumped at the chance to take part. It was being organised by fellow RO for Northamptonshire, Wendy Piper, also known as Knits n' Bits on Ebay.
Well, the satnav confused me somewhat and took me on a mini-tour of the village - why Ms Garmin can't admit defeat (or admit I missed the turning) and tell me to turn around, I don't know - but I soon identified the building we were in because there was a machine table sitting outside. It was to be held in refurbished stables which have underfloor heating - I'd expected to be a bit chilly first thing, but as it turned out we were toasty all day!
There were ten tables laid out with cloths, screwdrivers and cotton buds, and each table had a tray underneath (this gave me visions of oil-changes and the leaky cars in the Coventry Road Transport museum). It turned out to be a receptacle for all the plastic parts, which got a good wash.
My machine, ready for disassembly.
Getting ready to clean up.
We had nine Brothers (some electronic) and a rogue Toyota. It was actually quite easy to get the plastic ends and covers off the machine, and get the covers off the carriages - the electronic machines weren't completely disassembled where the printed circuit boards were mounted - and the needles were quickly removed for a sonic wash. Wendy's hubby Ged was in charge of the sonic cleaner, and then he was also the man with the compressed air - each machine got a good blasting outside. Luckily we had lovely weather on the Saturday. We all took packed lunches, but there were some cakes and biscuits and plenty of tea and coffee on offer.
Ged, hard at work!
The needles were popped into a plastic bag with a good squirt of Ballistol (we had numbered tubs so that we all got our own needles back) and we set about washing the plastic parts, drying them with a hairdryer and then reassembling the machines. Whilst my machine was apart (a KH881 I use for demos - it's hardly been used) I cleaned up the knitleader buttons, one of which kept jamming because the grease under it had set hard. I also got a first-hand view of the mythical "oil strip" that came with early Brother machines - a plastic-backed strip of foam, soaked in oil, that laid under the needles, in order to lubricate them. This was later discarded as providing no useful purpose and actually adding crumbled foam into places hard to clean!
A naked carriage on a naked machine!
It was interesting to see that the lady behind me had a KH950i, but her sinker plate had a slightly different design to the one on my machine at home. It also surprised me how many different (but almost the same!) screws Brother saw fit to use on these machines - I'm sure if they were manufactured today, there would have been some standardisation in this area. As it was, it was a kind of "Krypton Factor" game - screws were reinserted by a process of elimination. I managed not to have any left over, but I was lucky. The owner of the Toyota had everyone scratching their heads, as things had gone flying off when it was opened, and nobody was quite sure how it went back together.
Trying to figure out what went where - I seem to have finished mine (foreground)
As there was a bit of a delay waiting to get "blasted" (machines, carriages and brushes all got the treatment) it was lucky that Wendy had brought a few boxes of yarn and books for sale. I picked up some Inex skirt books and a very interesting Montse Stanley book about embroidering on knitwear. Yes, I was good and stepped away from the yarn, although I did look at it!
We ran over to about 5pm and all helped each other get needles back into place, which is somewhat time consuming. Everyone went home with a lovely shiny clean machine. It was a very useful day, and I hope perhaps there will be a Knitmaster-centric one in the future - although if I take the fine gauge, it might well take all week to get the needles out as there are 250 of them! :)
Many thanks to Wendy and Ged for organising it.
Well, the satnav confused me somewhat and took me on a mini-tour of the village - why Ms Garmin can't admit defeat (or admit I missed the turning) and tell me to turn around, I don't know - but I soon identified the building we were in because there was a machine table sitting outside. It was to be held in refurbished stables which have underfloor heating - I'd expected to be a bit chilly first thing, but as it turned out we were toasty all day!
There were ten tables laid out with cloths, screwdrivers and cotton buds, and each table had a tray underneath (this gave me visions of oil-changes and the leaky cars in the Coventry Road Transport museum). It turned out to be a receptacle for all the plastic parts, which got a good wash.
My machine, ready for disassembly.
Getting ready to clean up.
We had nine Brothers (some electronic) and a rogue Toyota. It was actually quite easy to get the plastic ends and covers off the machine, and get the covers off the carriages - the electronic machines weren't completely disassembled where the printed circuit boards were mounted - and the needles were quickly removed for a sonic wash. Wendy's hubby Ged was in charge of the sonic cleaner, and then he was also the man with the compressed air - each machine got a good blasting outside. Luckily we had lovely weather on the Saturday. We all took packed lunches, but there were some cakes and biscuits and plenty of tea and coffee on offer.
Ged, hard at work!
The needles were popped into a plastic bag with a good squirt of Ballistol (we had numbered tubs so that we all got our own needles back) and we set about washing the plastic parts, drying them with a hairdryer and then reassembling the machines. Whilst my machine was apart (a KH881 I use for demos - it's hardly been used) I cleaned up the knitleader buttons, one of which kept jamming because the grease under it had set hard. I also got a first-hand view of the mythical "oil strip" that came with early Brother machines - a plastic-backed strip of foam, soaked in oil, that laid under the needles, in order to lubricate them. This was later discarded as providing no useful purpose and actually adding crumbled foam into places hard to clean!
A naked carriage on a naked machine!
It was interesting to see that the lady behind me had a KH950i, but her sinker plate had a slightly different design to the one on my machine at home. It also surprised me how many different (but almost the same!) screws Brother saw fit to use on these machines - I'm sure if they were manufactured today, there would have been some standardisation in this area. As it was, it was a kind of "Krypton Factor" game - screws were reinserted by a process of elimination. I managed not to have any left over, but I was lucky. The owner of the Toyota had everyone scratching their heads, as things had gone flying off when it was opened, and nobody was quite sure how it went back together.
Trying to figure out what went where - I seem to have finished mine (foreground)
As there was a bit of a delay waiting to get "blasted" (machines, carriages and brushes all got the treatment) it was lucky that Wendy had brought a few boxes of yarn and books for sale. I picked up some Inex skirt books and a very interesting Montse Stanley book about embroidering on knitwear. Yes, I was good and stepped away from the yarn, although I did look at it!
We ran over to about 5pm and all helped each other get needles back into place, which is somewhat time consuming. Everyone went home with a lovely shiny clean machine. It was a very useful day, and I hope perhaps there will be a Knitmaster-centric one in the future - although if I take the fine gauge, it might well take all week to get the needles out as there are 250 of them! :)
Many thanks to Wendy and Ged for organising it.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Eye eye
Finally I have an appointment booked for refractive lens exchange surgery - the left eye is being done at the beginning of November, and the right eye a week later. The next six weeks are going to be sooo long, but at least the end is in sight (groan). It will be so nice to read books again, although I'm really not looking forward to surgery. I've never had surgery before!
Did a bit more on the pink sock on the way down to London last week (for a barrage of eye tests) and am still working on a "tuck-away tote", which looks nothing like a bag at the moment.
I did do some swatching of slip stitch patterns at the weekend, but can't find the maintenance notes for how to adjust the colour changer. It has serious attitude problems when it comes to tuck, which is a pity. Not sure if it's my machine or if it's the colour changer (this machine. the KH950i, was the one that got damaged in transit). Strangely enough, the waffle stitch card from Dream Week ISN'T in the memory, although there are a few that are close and could be modified.
00
00
0.
0.
is the card.
I've also been dabbling in a little family tree research - looks like my paternal grandfather was one of five children, but the elder four died as babies. Such a shame! We discovered a relation of the Cog's, who was married to a market trader - but once he died, she ended up in the workhouse. I guess that's not unusual. Mum has lots of old photographs of my father's family, but alas we're not sure who is who in a lot of them.
Following a detox diet this week. It's day 2 and I feel dreadful, so I guess it's working!
Did a bit more on the pink sock on the way down to London last week (for a barrage of eye tests) and am still working on a "tuck-away tote", which looks nothing like a bag at the moment.
I did do some swatching of slip stitch patterns at the weekend, but can't find the maintenance notes for how to adjust the colour changer. It has serious attitude problems when it comes to tuck, which is a pity. Not sure if it's my machine or if it's the colour changer (this machine. the KH950i, was the one that got damaged in transit). Strangely enough, the waffle stitch card from Dream Week ISN'T in the memory, although there are a few that are close and could be modified.
00
00
0.
0.
is the card.
I've also been dabbling in a little family tree research - looks like my paternal grandfather was one of five children, but the elder four died as babies. Such a shame! We discovered a relation of the Cog's, who was married to a market trader - but once he died, she ended up in the workhouse. I guess that's not unusual. Mum has lots of old photographs of my father's family, but alas we're not sure who is who in a lot of them.
Following a detox diet this week. It's day 2 and I feel dreadful, so I guess it's working!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Red hats and Ughs in the cupboard
These charity hats were knitted on the KX385 in the back garden on Saturday, after a bit of swearing whilst the cast on messed me about. It's leftover James C Brett marble chunky, and it turns out that the convertible mast is too tight for aran weight, so I just ran it over the top of the discs and that seemed to work. Used the free pattern I came up with a few weeks back (see Free Stuff, above).
My sleep has been disturbed lately - I never seem to "nod off". Mind you, I have been reading a history of my old school ("The Lion and the Stars") whose chapters relate to each headmaster, so they're quite long. The book was written in 1990 so is not up-to-date, but nevertheless, the history and anecdotes were quite fascinating. I'm also contemplating changing my car, and have been very disappointed as to the part-ex value my 9 year old Ka has been given.
Tried converting the "tuck away tote" crochet pattern for DK - basically worked a disc until it was about the right size, then made a shortened version of the mesh bag part. Alas, DK acrylic is really too bulky to tuck away properly, so not really a success. Have started another one with a variegated crochet cotton I picked up when I bought plain cotton for the Blusa queen cardigan back in 2009. Talking of which, I have yet to wear that cardigan. The sleeves are waaaay too long, and the pattern was written for a pert teenager, so the extended fronts I added to compensate for adult boobage have never been as good. Am seriously thinking about unpicking most of it, and adding more motifs (and shortening the wrist ruffles so they don't end up in my dinner). I do have almost a complete extra ball of the yarn. I really must learn to think instead of blindly following a pattern to the bitter end, and presuming it'll all work out in the end. Because mostly? It really doesn't!
I have a few disasters like that lurking in my cupboards. The less said about the patchwork cabled cardigan the better - a year to make, and then it dropped/stretched so much I could probably use it as a sleeping bag. So much work involved, I can't bear to throw it out, even though I'll never wear it. Somehow a hole got torn in it (right near the bottom, natch) as if to add insult to injury.
Most of the imperfect sweaters, if wearable, go in the charity bag.
Have you got any disasters lurking in YOUR cupboards?
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Dream week 2012
I'm almost tempted to put NOT! after that title - not because I didn't enjoy the week, but because I didn't get much sleep, and the one night I did, I managed to have a nightmare about the cat going missing - I was always too hot, too cold. Ruddy insomnia - I can never get the hang of hotel beds somehow, and nothing seems to knock me out. Well, copious alcohol does, but it's not a restful sleep and anyway it wasn't that kind of event!!! Maybe it was just so inspiring that my brain refused to switch off at night?! :)
Decided to do a one-post recap this year, as I didn't have much time to put the laptop on and do a day-by-day breakdown this year.
Well, the week began with my getting to the Crewe area in good time, but then spending an hour trying to find the hotel - himself has borrowed the satnav - and eventually giving up and heading for Metropolitan. I can always find that shop, perhaps it's the yarn-radar?! The poor eyesight doesn't help, as Northwich and Middlewich look very similar to Nantwich on a signpost and all the "wiches" are in that area! It means salt flats, apparently!
The first lecture was a very interesting one about dyeing from Fiona Nisbett, a weaver, spinner and handknitter. Alas I'm not sure there were enough handouts - I did get one sheet, haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Monday night's entertainment was a magician with a difference - he explained the psychology of distraction, but we still can't figure how he made a silk hanky get from his hand into someone's handbag.
Tuesday I had Beryl Jarvis talking about mosaic knitting, and how to design a mosaic pattern and generate a punchcard pattern for it. After lunch it was alternative edgings with Anne Smith - as it was called "Cutting Edge" I have to admit I was expecting cut and sew, but it was quite interesting nonetheless. Lastly a lecture with Iris Bishop - lots of inspirational techniques. Tuesday night it was a fashion show by Clair Crowston. By all accounts, it was a little long - not sure we need to see a garment in more than one colour - but I can't really comment as I went to bed early hoping that a "run up" of a quiet read would help my sleep (it didn't).
Wednesday it was a practical with Beryl - I had decided to do a simple "skull" pattern, and amazingly managed to punch out a card first time with no mistakes (there's a first time for everything!).
Tuck (top) makes his eyes pop. Slip (bottom) is more square and precise.
I think you'll agree, the card looks nothing like a skull. Incidentally, the right hand side of that card just knits a waffle stitch pattern which is quite nice as it is! :)
After lunch, it was hands-on with Iris Bishop - she's been experimenting with DK and thicker yarns using tuck lace and knitweave.
These came out ok although personally I'm not fond of bottle green :)
Last lecture was finishing touches with Anne Smith - this I assumed would be about different making up methods, but turned out to be how to make your garment so interesting that people won't notice the finishing! To be honest, I'm pretty sure this lecture was given as a closer in 2009, when it was how to make certain "standard" cards (ie the ones that come with the machine) more interesting by adding beads, changing colours, etc. I recognised the swatches - somewhat disappointing to have it recycled, because I would have picked something else if I'd realised. Wednesday evening we had an interesting talk by Nick of Uppinghams about the process of sheep to finished garment in the industry - I wasn't going to stay, but it was interesting and informative. They leave the garments with a closed neck until after dyeing, because the machinery would chew it up otherwise.
Thursday I was scheduled for browsing time (Uppingham Yarns being in attendance), so I slipped into Bill King's dimensional knitting lecture. I knew I'd fall off the yarn diet otherwise (sorry Nick!). Bill gave a demo of how to do a short-row "wiggle" that can add interest to the Gold Star cardigan. After lunch it was a hands-on with Clair Crowston, doing alternate edge finishes that don't need a ribber - quite appropriate for me at the moment, as the KH950i is ribberless.
Top to bottom: Picot edging, "lace" with show-through, lovely ridgy edging made with lace transfers (I love this!) and scalloped edge, which looks padded but isn't!
Lost some time in this lecture as I managed to completely jam the machine at one point and Mark was called, muttering "Vandals!" :) Then it was back to Bill King for manual transfer techniques, where he demonstrated his ingenious method of doing cables without having to cross both sides - basically you leave a gap at one end and move every other cable over. Ingenious and so simple!
Thursday night was the eagerly anticipated fashion show of the garments knitted for Nick of Uppinghams. There were two bags - and 10 jumpers I think. 90% of the jumpers were a great fit - but the last one, ably modelled by Bill King - turned out to be a cropped top designed for a 10 year old girl (I was sitting next to the perpetrator!). Despite making it impossible for an adult to wear it, Bill managed it and camped it up a treat - it barely covered his nipples. Very, very funny - no idea how next year's competition will top that!
The finished jumper modelled by Nick (see above) was done on a Passap E6000 by Anne Baker. I gather she's sick of the sight of it, so you'll be seeing it at the shows. It contains fairisle of all Nick's interests. I love the little cones of yarn which have "mystery yarns" from previous Dream Weeks. Second prize went to a dark mustard jumper with an all-over garter stitch pattern.
The final lecture on Friday was a talk by Bill and Anne about the history of machine knitting, and how the HP system originated with sewing machines. Apparently Toyota knitting machines were unceremoniously pulled from manufacture when the MD's wife learnt that Toyota weren't number one in the UK market at that point, leaving Jones-Brother and Empisal-Knitmaster-Silver to fight it out. Such a pity, as they were well made and had the Simulknit feature which nobody else had. Bill also showed us an old punchcard - before they were made to work continuously - which meant a great big red STOP line! :)
Good news about the Nottingham show - Harvey Haddon sports centre is being knocked down and rebuilt over the next three years, but the show will run on 14th April 2013 at a new venue, although Alan Hunt is retiring so it will be run by Anne Smith. I hope it doesn't impair the quality of the show, although the venue is smaller so the fashion show won't happen, which is a pity.
Got straight onto the motorway after dropping some folks back to the hotel, and completely forgot to say goodbye to a few people (sorry!). Came home to a lovely bar of white choc and a bottle of wine, courtesy of himself - what a sweetie!
All in all, a very good week! Haven't rebooked yet but pretty sure I will, not least because Ozlorna and Ozism are hoping to be there too.
Got to dash off now as the 'fridge is pretty empty and it's Heritage weekend so I plan on visiting a few places for free whilst the weather is good.
More Dream Week photos here
Decided to do a one-post recap this year, as I didn't have much time to put the laptop on and do a day-by-day breakdown this year.
Well, the week began with my getting to the Crewe area in good time, but then spending an hour trying to find the hotel - himself has borrowed the satnav - and eventually giving up and heading for Metropolitan. I can always find that shop, perhaps it's the yarn-radar?! The poor eyesight doesn't help, as Northwich and Middlewich look very similar to Nantwich on a signpost and all the "wiches" are in that area! It means salt flats, apparently!
The first lecture was a very interesting one about dyeing from Fiona Nisbett, a weaver, spinner and handknitter. Alas I'm not sure there were enough handouts - I did get one sheet, haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Monday night's entertainment was a magician with a difference - he explained the psychology of distraction, but we still can't figure how he made a silk hanky get from his hand into someone's handbag.
Tuesday I had Beryl Jarvis talking about mosaic knitting, and how to design a mosaic pattern and generate a punchcard pattern for it. After lunch it was alternative edgings with Anne Smith - as it was called "Cutting Edge" I have to admit I was expecting cut and sew, but it was quite interesting nonetheless. Lastly a lecture with Iris Bishop - lots of inspirational techniques. Tuesday night it was a fashion show by Clair Crowston. By all accounts, it was a little long - not sure we need to see a garment in more than one colour - but I can't really comment as I went to bed early hoping that a "run up" of a quiet read would help my sleep (it didn't).
Wednesday it was a practical with Beryl - I had decided to do a simple "skull" pattern, and amazingly managed to punch out a card first time with no mistakes (there's a first time for everything!).
Tuck (top) makes his eyes pop. Slip (bottom) is more square and precise.
I think you'll agree, the card looks nothing like a skull. Incidentally, the right hand side of that card just knits a waffle stitch pattern which is quite nice as it is! :)
After lunch, it was hands-on with Iris Bishop - she's been experimenting with DK and thicker yarns using tuck lace and knitweave.
These came out ok although personally I'm not fond of bottle green :)
Last lecture was finishing touches with Anne Smith - this I assumed would be about different making up methods, but turned out to be how to make your garment so interesting that people won't notice the finishing! To be honest, I'm pretty sure this lecture was given as a closer in 2009, when it was how to make certain "standard" cards (ie the ones that come with the machine) more interesting by adding beads, changing colours, etc. I recognised the swatches - somewhat disappointing to have it recycled, because I would have picked something else if I'd realised. Wednesday evening we had an interesting talk by Nick of Uppinghams about the process of sheep to finished garment in the industry - I wasn't going to stay, but it was interesting and informative. They leave the garments with a closed neck until after dyeing, because the machinery would chew it up otherwise.
Thursday I was scheduled for browsing time (Uppingham Yarns being in attendance), so I slipped into Bill King's dimensional knitting lecture. I knew I'd fall off the yarn diet otherwise (sorry Nick!). Bill gave a demo of how to do a short-row "wiggle" that can add interest to the Gold Star cardigan. After lunch it was a hands-on with Clair Crowston, doing alternate edge finishes that don't need a ribber - quite appropriate for me at the moment, as the KH950i is ribberless.
Top to bottom: Picot edging, "lace" with show-through, lovely ridgy edging made with lace transfers (I love this!) and scalloped edge, which looks padded but isn't!
Lost some time in this lecture as I managed to completely jam the machine at one point and Mark was called, muttering "Vandals!" :) Then it was back to Bill King for manual transfer techniques, where he demonstrated his ingenious method of doing cables without having to cross both sides - basically you leave a gap at one end and move every other cable over. Ingenious and so simple!
Thursday night was the eagerly anticipated fashion show of the garments knitted for Nick of Uppinghams. There were two bags - and 10 jumpers I think. 90% of the jumpers were a great fit - but the last one, ably modelled by Bill King - turned out to be a cropped top designed for a 10 year old girl (I was sitting next to the perpetrator!). Despite making it impossible for an adult to wear it, Bill managed it and camped it up a treat - it barely covered his nipples. Very, very funny - no idea how next year's competition will top that!
The finished jumper modelled by Nick (see above) was done on a Passap E6000 by Anne Baker. I gather she's sick of the sight of it, so you'll be seeing it at the shows. It contains fairisle of all Nick's interests. I love the little cones of yarn which have "mystery yarns" from previous Dream Weeks. Second prize went to a dark mustard jumper with an all-over garter stitch pattern.
The final lecture on Friday was a talk by Bill and Anne about the history of machine knitting, and how the HP system originated with sewing machines. Apparently Toyota knitting machines were unceremoniously pulled from manufacture when the MD's wife learnt that Toyota weren't number one in the UK market at that point, leaving Jones-Brother and Empisal-Knitmaster-Silver to fight it out. Such a pity, as they were well made and had the Simulknit feature which nobody else had. Bill also showed us an old punchcard - before they were made to work continuously - which meant a great big red STOP line! :)
Good news about the Nottingham show - Harvey Haddon sports centre is being knocked down and rebuilt over the next three years, but the show will run on 14th April 2013 at a new venue, although Alan Hunt is retiring so it will be run by Anne Smith. I hope it doesn't impair the quality of the show, although the venue is smaller so the fashion show won't happen, which is a pity.
Got straight onto the motorway after dropping some folks back to the hotel, and completely forgot to say goodbye to a few people (sorry!). Came home to a lovely bar of white choc and a bottle of wine, courtesy of himself - what a sweetie!
All in all, a very good week! Haven't rebooked yet but pretty sure I will, not least because Ozlorna and Ozism are hoping to be there too.
Got to dash off now as the 'fridge is pretty empty and it's Heritage weekend so I plan on visiting a few places for free whilst the weather is good.
More Dream Week photos here
FO: Baby surprise jacket
Picture 002
Originally uploaded by steel breeze
Bands are crocheted, needs buttons to be finished. Machine-knitted on the KH260 with leftover James C Brett Marble chunky....
FO: baby hats
Picture 001
Originally uploaded by steel breeze
More stashbusting - I love this yarn but am not sure what it was - Denys Brunton possibly.
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Stashdown update #8
Current stash total is 109 - although it should read 110, I think, because I discovered yet another ball of James C Brett Marble chunky (the pastel one) when I was SURE I'd knitted it all up. D'oh. 10 away from target - d'ya think I'll make it?
I think I'm going to stay away from Ally Pally this year - there'll be yarn on the Knit and Natter day in October, but as I'll be teaching I'll have no time to shop. Must try and avoid the temptation of yarn at the Dream week next week, too.
I think I'm going to stay away from Ally Pally this year - there'll be yarn on the Knit and Natter day in October, but as I'll be teaching I'll have no time to shop. Must try and avoid the temptation of yarn at the Dream week next week, too.
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