Pattern Testing, Cake Eating & Oggle

Today I have tested some lovely lace patterns for a summer scarf I'm currently pulling out of the realm of ideas and into the physical world.

Here is Peruvian lace in cashmere & silk blend by Jade Sapphire in a colorway called "Oceana".



Most of the knitting got done at the Spence Bakery café whilst sipping coffee and munching on a lemon and polenta cake (the rest of family playing Frisbee in the park and befriending people).



This is Grecian Plait (actually, I haven't noticed the internationally focused names of the patterns 'till now - odd!) Again, Jade Sapphire cashmere & silk blend, this time in a colorway called "Lagoon". I love this colorway - the hues are deep and lovely. The picture really doesn't do this yarn justice.




On my way home I saw this weathered iron fence and thought it looked charming.



If it takes your fancy, you can come and see me at Oggle Art Craft & Design Fair at Stoke Newington on the 13th of May.

Deceptive silence

It's been quiet at Stitchville for a few days, but trust me - it's been a flurry of activity in my non-virtual space.
Firstly, I have confirmed dates for You Can Knit for next three seasons, which takes us all the way to March 2008! I have also been spending lots of time designing a sock-making workshop, which has been on my mind ever since I have fallen down that bottomless hole of sock making addiction. I have been thinking (and writing) about it so much that a word "sock" became somewhat abstract and I could no longer be sure how to spell it correctly! Yep, so I have 2 weekend workshops scheduled for socks too. All of a sudden my diary is looking even more busy. But hey! As long as the items in it are knitting related I cannot be daunted by the sheer AMOUNT! In fact, the more the better! (If I happen to be in a less of an optimistic mood at some point in the future, please refer me back to this post to jig my memory, will you?)

There is another new item on the menu: Jade Sapphire Corner. Watch this space for progress on a (relatively) long term project I have just made a start on. It is a surprise so I cannot say more, but all will be divulged when the time is right.
A little hint, which doesn't reveal a thing, actually, beyond what is guessable, given that I'm a knitting-fixated individual...




Watch this space. More news coming soon!

Sheep, sheep, sheep...

Yesterday morning L & C were messing about with pastels on the kitchen table and I had a secret peek over their shoulders to see what they were drawing.
Want to have a guess?


Now, these are sheep (in case you're wondering). Actually, just a quick sketch.


Clara decided that there is no point to farm sheep, unless they are colorful. I totally get her point!


These are " The Sheep Under A Starry Sky". The green lines are there to prevent the sheep from escaping, apparently.


And here we see "Sheep At Night".


But this is where it really gets rocking...
Farmer's house (don't you love the stained glass windows?) and a flying sheep :)

PS: Dear Riggwelter, what a coincidence with plundering Ollies!

Bijoux

Yesterday, I spent delightful half an hour sipping tea and making markers for my knitting trinket box. It was so much fun. I sneakily encouraged Oli to play with his train trucks and choo-choos, which almost every time guarantees about half an hour distraction-free time :)
Oh, the beads I found in my bead boxes!



Venetian glass.


Sterling silver & Russian blue hand-cut glass trade beads on silver wires. These glass beads are old and sooo beautiful! I simply adore them!


Silver stardust & white jade on gold plated wires.


Finally, stipey trade beads & silver beads on silver wires.

At the end of the session Oliver got bored of his rail building job and came to plunder my bead boxes, at which moment I had to flee...

Easter Knits

There has been a lot of knitting going on in Stitchville in the run up to and over the Easter hols.



I have finished what begun as Louis' alpaca scarf and now that it has been finished looks like it was actually destined for Oli. It's been put in moth proof storage for the spring and summer months having gone through the freezer quarantine beforehand. (Now that I see an occasional moth-boy flutter by I have raised moth alert to the highest possible degree and observe strictest anti-moth routines.)

I have dreamed up yet another project: a summer top made of finest Scottish cashmere that is meant to be totally reminiscent of intricate romantic finery. I have tested a few patterns in the run up to the cast-on session for this piece...





I think I prefer the one below over the one above.


These remind me of a starry night sky :)




I also bought some vintage buttons...



... and made a door stop (this was a moment of distraction from knitting actually, as it is crocheted).



Sock stash got replenished (sorry, didn't have time to take a picture of yarn - it will surely appear at some point this year as a ready sock or even two!) Thanks for all great tips for where to look for gorgeous sock yarn. It proved very useful :)

I am finishing off Miss Fairy's hat, so that it can join other woolly things in the safety of cedar wood scented air tight box, and to complete a ritual of spring clean in the realm of knitting.

BANG on the spot. Again.

I looked at the inside of the sweater real hard for about 5 minutes weighing whether I can get away with the tails or not. The perfectionist streak prevailed again, so I started weaveing in without further ado...

I can't remember an instance when this perfectionist streak of mine wasn't BANG on the spot. See this?

On the outside it looks like this:

Here are new colours for the sweater. I'll use those on sleeves. This is going to be a riotous one!

The neck is finished (and tested).

The tediousness of weaving in was successfully counterbalanced by a cup of lavender tea :)



Sleeves next.

I am slightly distracted by starting a new sock though. Socks have become a permanent feature of my lifestyle. I even might have subscribed to this Rockin' Sock Club thingy if it wasn't closed. I calculate that, if I knit socks at a current rate, I'll knit through all my sock yarn before end of June (knitting deadline for end of May prevents more spectacular result). Any tips for getting awesome sock yarn to boost my supplies?

The Magic Of Knitting

I don't know what it is about this sweater but whenever I get to work on it, it feels like I'm out of the woods with tricky bits of life and on quiet waters of day-to-day existence, with looming absence of deadlines and colossal undertakings. Strange, because this sweater is a bit of daunting piece of work in itself.

It cheers me up. It takes me some place else - like a good book! It's almost like it makes me be really present to just how lovely my life is (very much present, especially when I work the stages where shaping and pattern are both involved :)

The riotous colours are so stimulating to look at and the feel of yarn is pure sensuality. Oh, I so love this alpaca!

There is something about the aesthetic of this kind of fabric, which feels so perfectly unspoilt and innocent. It's like a tribute to the magic of childhood...

I've been hooked on this sweater for two days in a row, and have managed to progress the work quite a bit.

Today I shaped the neck and grafted the shoulder seams. It went really fast - I love how quickly children's garments knit up!

Now I'm waiting for 'Nick post' to arrive. He's picking up some extra supplies for me from Loop. I realised I've run out of grey and I need it to be able to finish off the rib on the neck.

Oh, also wanted to highly recommend this book, as the source of inspiration for this project, which I am enjoying so much. It's brilliant! A little obvious, hmm.

You Can Knit

It was a "blast off" day last Saturday for a spring series of ten sessions of knitting course for beginners, and what a lovely start it was! The class takes place in a spacious room situated in an old building on Upper St, N1. In the middle of the room there is a large round table, which got covered completely by various knitting "paraphernalia".

There is a lot to get one's teeth into... Various knitting implements:

A few pieces from my collection to exemplify the scope of possibilities:

Ample reference materials to inspire and facilitate:

A handful of samples, just because:

The class is tiny, and its size has a lot of appeal for me as I have been so busy lately that I am in serious need for some kind of "refuge" from my mad day-to-day frenzy of activities. I'm really looking forward to choosing and making a start on our projects - I think I should start something new as well (Oh, please have mercy, do not point out to me how many unfinished projects I already have hanging around!) Saturday morning was very enjoyable, a course sandwiched between 2 leisurely bike rides, and then I got home to find out that everyone was out in the park so I decided to read in bed. And then as to round off day's perfection children appeared in the door completely "invisible" behind a huge bouquet of spring flowers. The scent of these flowers is something out of this world!

PS: I cannot believe that I have checked out of the blogging world for so long. I swear, it felt like a week to me! Bear with me guys, I am very curious to find out what you've all been up to. Need to make time for rambling around people's blogs instead of bedtime stories :)

Serial Secret Project

I got carried away knitting like a maniac and abandoned this space in a most unforgivable fashion... I actually forgot about Stitchville, and forgot that I missed it!

One of the projects I was working on was upgrading N's sock draw in an attempt to mark his Landmark Birthday this month. The gift was received with utmost gratitude and appreciation, and the project is still on - as in "I have a dozen more pairs of socks to knit". This sock knitting thing is seriously addictive. By the end (I am not as far gone as to acknowledge that there is NO end) of it I'll be a complete sock-oholic :)

Off I go now to prepare for the first session of You Can Knit tomorrow. Very much looking forward to it!