Yes, I’m A Yarn Snob…

I finished this sweater really quick and love the results and you know what? It actually fits!!! I know I’m going to wear this til it stinks!! I’ll wear it to bed if I could. I love it, the shape, the bell bottom sleeves, the swing……just everything. I was a bit worried about the yarn I chose but I couldn’t have chosen a better yarn. It drapes beautifully and feels so soft.

I used well under the yardage required in the pattern, just under 8 skeins of Noro Cash Iroha. I did notice that the whole sweater stretched lengthwise when blocked and was worried about the sleeves being too long for me but I think it work out just fine. I can’t believe I made this to fit so perfectly.

Did I modify it? Well, changed the buttonholes to the right of the sweater and used Kfb instead of the M1and added 7 extra stitches under the arm which created a no seam sweater, really, I mean no seams. Unlike my Wicked, I had to sew the holes under the armpits. This was also my first attempt at buttonholes and the pattern on the tutorial is the neatest one yet, both front and back.

I would make one in every colour and yarn that I love………and you know what? I think I may cast on another in Malabrigo, one in Dream In Colour Classy…..one in……..!!! I think I have developed a very strange habit of doing one project several times! Mad!

Ladies, if you’re thinking about doing one of these, don’t think about it, just cast on. It’s the trendiest sweater right now

Have you caught the bug? I have!!! It’s very very infectious, so beware!!! The February Lady Sweater fever is hitting Ravelry like something I’ve never seen before. It’s HOT HOT HOT!! The sweater just screams at you to drop everything and cast on and makes great TV knitting. The lace is very memorable which is so unusual for me, if I may say so. I normally have to refer to the pattern every so often just to jog that memory of mine. 

Cast on using Noro Cash Iroha in Black, so wearable, using 4.5mm needles. I’ve chosen some textured effect brown wooden buttons, but not so sure if they are lost in the black…..what do you think?

Knitted from the top down, no seams, my kind of knitting.

……and I am loving this sweater so much I could knit a dozen more! well….just another in a different yarn. If you haven’t cast on…….may I ask why not? Join the fun!

I’m testing my knitting abilities and modifying the ever so popular Wicked sweater to a cardigan. Just one of many knitted sweaters from the top down and ever so easy. I wonder why it’s taken me so long to cast on for this!!

With plenty of cables to keep the mind occupied, its a lovely fast and easy knit. Instead of joining to knit in the round, I knit back and forth of the sweater and carried the cable down either side of the cardigan. I’ve yet to add the sleeves and also the button hole band but it’s coming along together nicely. I’m chuffed with the progress but one thing……maybe my body shape is some what odd but I have a high waist line and Huuuuuggge wide hips, let alone a huge bum, and I left the decreasing of the waist line a little late. So the result is a somewhat low waist decrease!

Five skeins of DIC Classy in Black Parade, I think I will only use four. I love this yarn so much, the way it knits up, the colours and the cable definition is……wow.

see what I mean? That waist line should be slightly higher. I blame Mr Snobs for that cos all the time I was knitting and trying it on..he kept on saying, yes, its fine, its perfect. I also think it may be a tad on the baggy side too and long but its a cardigan and I need the room for extra clothing, right?

Cables and there’s lots of them around the neckline and down the front.

I wish my waist was this trim!

I’m also thinking of just adding about 4 buttons just on the top of the cardigan so it flairs out at the bottom, just for a different kind of look.

…..and the sleeves, full length of 3/4 lenght? What do you all think?

I should have posted this a while back as it’s been finished a few weeks now. Sorry readers, I am lazy

Ok….Another completed Ene for the Summer. Do I get bored knitting the same thing not once but twice? This is an exception, the pattern is intriguing and I’m using Malabrigo Lace Brisa, doubled up to cut the variation of the yarn and it works. Using 4.5mm nickle needles, blocked gently to still retain the softness of the yarn.

Four skeins Malabrigo Lace Brisa, part of my birthday spending spree - transformed to……

I used just under 3.5 skeins for this Ene and blocked to the same size as my Smooshy Ene. Love the yarn, love the pattern, not so afraid of lace anymore

That’s exactly what you have to do!! Sheknitigns is holding a competition to name her sheep.

All you have to do is visit her Blog and on the lefthand side of the page is a link, just click on it and enter, Simple!! You can give her a quirky wacky name or something simple like Shauna! Well we have Shaun the sheep so why not Shauna?! Oops I just told you all my entry…doh!

So what’s the prize? A lovely handspun yarn from her Etsy Store. You have until April 30th to submit your names to “name that sheep“, so hurry!!!! Get your thinking caps on!

What you’ve all been waiting for my Ene is finished! wooohooo and if I may so say, I am pretty proud of myself. Ene is beautiful. I’m in awe. I want to show her off. She blossomed into something so stunning, even Mr Snobs has commented on how beautiful I am she is!

Anyone who is going to start this or thinking about it, don’t be put off by the cast on, don’t give up, it gets a lot easier. The finished results are so rewarding, you will see. Trust me.

Was Ene worth the grunts and groans, major ranting, tantrums and head bashing? I think so. Twist my arm, go on…I could do another, if you would be kind enough to cast on for me?

Finished measurements after blocking 191cm x 96cm

Less than 2 skeins of Dream in Colour Gothic Rose (60gm remaining)

Needles used 4mm and 80cm cable

I’ll let the pictures do the talking

Ene was quite difficult to photograph to get a true colour of the Smooshy, but the above photo represents the true colour. Um….excuse the bathroom tiles.

Thanks Coley for the encouragement, the giggles, for this wonder book and for Ene.

My birthday is coming up, something I’d rather forget but my lovely friend Christina made me something so wonderful and very useful for my knitting. Fabrics chosen by her DD, hasn’t she got an eye for colour? The stitching is so neat and professionally made and it even has an inside pocket for my mobile phone! How cool is that? It’s beautiful and it matches my small pouch she made for me earlier this year.

I know what all the fuss is about now. My first Piddleloop pouch.

Thank you so much for your time in making me this beautiful project bag. I love them all

Psssst…Ene is finished! Pictures to follow once blocking is done :)http://mickandchristinas.blogspot.com/

You make my heart sing!

Essential:

• Dedication  (give it your “all”)
• Motivation  (keeping looking at other finished Ene’s)
• Determination  (tell yourself I can do it, I must do it)
• Understanding husband  (to be quiet at that crucial moment)
• Total silence  (lock yourself in a room, ideal choice for cast on and beginning of row 1)
• Good friend for encouragment  (laugh about the missed YO’s, extra st and the nice pattern even though it is totally wrong)
• Time out corner  (for a major rant now and again “a must”)
• A couple few bottles of Smirnoff Vodka  (it really helps for the cast on)
• Being tipsy and light headed (makes you concentrate more ~ well it did for me)
• Some precious time, ideally between 4am and 5am  (I was awake)
• Stitch Markers, plenty of them  (they start moving across your work, so split rings are required)
• Be able to count up to 50 and over  (cast on is 375st, found very difficult to count past 100)

 Smooshy Gothic Rose 2 skeins

4mm needles

Chart 1

Chart 2

Chart 3

Now everyone be quiet…sssshhhhh, Ene is calling me

…..lovely handspun yarns from Sheknitgans aka Coley, Take a look at her beautiful spun yarns.

Raspberry Mocha, a beautiful combination of brown and raspberry coloured merino, wonderfully spun into something so soft and divine. I could not resist.

A lovely gift from a wonderful friend Sheknitigans - Knitted Gifts, Scarf Style and handspun yarn from her collection.

Two ”must have it” books for your collection : Knitted Gifts and Scarf Style. We’re both working on the Ene scarf from one of the books, a soul sucker project as she has named it and she’s right about that!  It’s taken the life and soul out of me, cast on 375sts……..3 times. That’s 375+375+375= Don’t tell me, I can’t add up. Third time lucky though as I finally got going lol.

More on that later.

Motlen Lava - a mix of grey and purple with a hint of  sparkle! Lovely!

Check out her store for more yummy handspun yarns.

First of all and most importantly, I’d like to say a big thank you on behalf of my sister for all the well wishes. Some of you will know why I suddenly jumped on the next plane out of UK. She’s doing great and all went extremely well. Thank you.

I’ve been so behind in my blog reading, hundred of emails to read and reply and Ravelry, I’ve missed so much and I think I am getting there. Sorry for not reply, posting comments etc, I haven’t forgotton about you all.

It’s been a good week and half now since my feet landed back on UK soil and trying to get round the time difference, well has been difficult, waking up during the most weirdest hours, knodding off during dinner but finally, and a BIG finally, my body has returned back to normal, my sleeping pattern, my diet, my lazy days……. My head has found my body again or my body has found my head, whichever way, its back to my normal routine. One thing that still remains unchanged…….I go for the toilet handle on the left when my toilet hand is on the right!!! Don’t ask my why I am still doing this. I can’t explain.

So……I hear you asking, how was the holiday? Well, apart from being frozen during the first week on arrival, (weather was really cold) and not taking many photos cos I kept forgettng to, one word….CRAZY! This is one craaaazzy, manic country. The country is overcrowded, busy, manic and people rushing to get to their destinations. Trains often crammed with people, going to work, shoppers, tourists…..you cannot stop or you’d be left behind. Shopping malls so crowded, its unbelievable where or how they find time to shop. Restaurants crowded, you’d have to wait for a table. The smaller eateries, you’d often have to share a table with some complete stranger.

Every morning I’d wake up to the faint sound of a music, flute playing in the background and the smell of burning incense. It was like dreaming. An old lady in the next flat would wake up very early and pray. Then the hustle and bustle of the early morning market stalls would suddenly wake you up…..yeah I am still in HK. The street vendors make such a racket in the morning, totally impossible to have a lie in.

 APM Shopping Mall

My second day on arrival was to hunt down the yarn stores. I found quite a few on my travels. Some more well stocked in yarns than others but trying to buy without being pressured was hard. Nearly all the yarns were behind the counter in clear bags and in order to fondle, you’d have to ask to have a look. Then once you’ve done that…..well you’re in for the hard sell. They will try and sell you the yarn and tell you that  this colour is so popular and hard to find and a bargain price and it would be some bright fluorescent colour. Or they sell you some stock they are trying to shift!! I once asked for cashmere……trying to say in Chinese, but I totally made a fool of myself……caaass - eee - meereee, I was shown alpaca!!! I gave up looking for cashmere after that! Lots of yarns, acrylic, merino wool, alpaca, nylon, but nothing really smacked me in the face. I also found small market stores often selling cones of unlabelled yarn but you’d have no idea of what you’re buying. I did once stumble across a lady with a holdall of what looked like recycled yarn. They looked like she had maybe frogged a jumper and wound the wool to sell, the yarn still had kinks in it, just like noodles lol.

You know this thing about copyright? You can’t photocopy a pattern from a book etc right?…..well, they don’t know what copyright is!! You can easily request a pattern from a book if you’ve made a purchase or for 2HKD per photocopy!!! It’s not illegal. I notice a group of ladies knitting at a store and she openly asked if she could have a copy of this. The retailer just photocopied it. This is HK!

Bargains? yeah I did find and I wasn’t about to leave HK without a few of these….

Addi needles…..and guess how much? Amazingly cheap from £1.50 to under £2.00 per needle! Can you believe that?? Funnily, they only stock lengths 40cm to 80cm, nothing longer or shorter. They don’t knit socks or blankets there. So I bought the sizes I needed. How could I resist at that price???

A few balls of Japanese yarns Granbia by Hamanaka, and some Japanese crochet books. Yarn was slightly expensive with only 40gm per ball and yardage was not generous either but it felt like Malabrigo and very soft, I couldn’t let this get away.

One of the quietest shopping malls I have been to

Elements, newly opened aimed for the posher shoppers. It was here I found a copy of IK Holiday Gifts 2007. Possibly the only copy ever in HK and it was mine

……and something I found so hilarious

Queuing up to enter Louis Vuitton Store? Were they giving away a free LV bag?? Was there someone famous in there? No, my sister tells me this is normal on a weekend. LV is so popular in HK that the second biggest store in the world is opening just a few doors down! See that guy with the pink luggage? what does he think he’s buying…..a load of wallets? I wonder

Harbour City

The country is full of designer gear. I’ve seen girls dressed from head to toe in Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Mui Mui, Dior. I felt out of place in my scruffy jeans and t shirt. Girls, so thin, make up applied perfectly, designer bag in one arm, designer store shopping bag in other! How do they stay so thin when you see these?

and these?

very very yummy. especially that Mango fruit slice mmmmmm. Coffee is my morning fix for the day but not made with evaporated milk. Asked why they use this, cos its cheap and fresh milk is expensive. Ok….why so expensive? Cos there are no cows in HK, ok enough said. Starbucks and Pacific Coffee were “a must” and whenever I’d pass one, I’d grab one.

I could go on and on about my travels to HK but won’t bore you to death with it. I taught my sister to crochet whilst I was there and she is busy crocheting a small blanket. I lost my knitting mojo upon return, just didn’t feel the urge to knit or fondle my yarns. Since then, I’ve cast on a project. I’ll tell you more on that later and what yummy yarns arrived just in the last few days.

Have I bored you? Hope not

…..and it feels good to be back home.

Somehow my head is not connected to my body just yet, it’s lost and I don’t know where its gone. I may have left it in Hong Kong!!!

The madness of that country has left me in a daze, yawning, eyes desperately trying to stay open……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz, oops sorry…….just nodded off there.

Can’t write about my trip just yet, give me a few days until my head and body find each other  Until then, I need sleep.

Good night xx

Things will be somewhat quiet here as I need to fly out to Hong Kong on some unexpected business Am I excited? No.

I have nothing prepared nor am I ready to take that long haul flight of approximately 14 hours. I am not packed and have mountain of things to sort out I am so not ready to go…….argh. Rant over. I just needed to get that out of my system. I fly on Saturday and will be away for 5 weeks. I am sad, I will miss Mr Snobs, Holly and my friends.

I can’t knit whilst flying, they will not allow knitting needles in hand luggage, so what’s a girl gonna do without her knitting? Sleep? Stare into thin air? Sing? I’m going to sneak some needles in my check in luggage, at least I will try and do something whilst I am there. What chances are that I will sit next to a knitter and not someone that snores whilst they sleep…….then accidently puts their head on my shoulder? ugh!!!!

I’m going to hunt down every single yarn store (if any) that I can, even if it kills me. I wonder if knitting is “as hip” there as it is here?

So my dear friends,  I may not be able to read or reply to blogs or emails and my blog will be quiet for a few weeks. I will be thinking of you all and hope to catch up with you on my return.

I say farewell for now but I shall be back very soon. XX

 ……..mmm what knitting project shall I take?….ponders

I finished the Woodland Shawl …well not quite a shawl, more of a scarf. I decided to use just one skein of Dream In Colour Smooshy In Dusty Aurora, and look, I blocked it too!! Yay!!

…..and this is me looking a little camera shy

……and I think I need a haircut…..

What a bummer it was to block, the scalloped edging took me ages but I am pleased with the overall result. Enough said….fashion shoot over.

I went through a blocking craze these past few days as I invested in some blocking wires.  Blocking with them is so much easier and no following a stripey mattress to get a straight line. I still hate it but if I don’t block my finished projects, I don’t get to wear them, simple as that, so I keep telling myself.

On all both hands and knees I blocked my Hamani Stole, Feather & Fan Shawl and a couple of scarves. I hear you all screaming at me……that Hamani stole was finished last year….September to be exact. Now I am utterly embarassed cos it’s been in a bag all this time.

I also pulled a muscle in my back whilst I was in bed the other night. NOOOO not what you’re all thinking!!! Shame on you all! We weren’t doing what you all think we were doing! I turned over to get comfortable and….ouch! So blocking on the floor as been rather painful. What a pair we are, Mr Snobs is limping and me with a sore back!!

Ok…now back to what I was talking about, blocking……

Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay

Colourway : Agate 4 skeins

Pattern : Feather & Fan Comfort Shawl

Needles : 5mm

Hamani Stole

Took advantage of the rare sunshine today but I was home alone so they’ve all been modelled on my supermodel, my sofa.

Now I need to lie down! XX

Do your eyes deceive you? Another Chevron Scarf, this one for a friend.  I actually finished this one in about 3 days or was it 4? I can’t remember as my brain has gone walkabouts. Blocked, wrapped and ready to go. It’s a surprise and I hope she likes it.

Posh Yarn ~ Lucia

Colourway ~Admire (one skein)

Needle size: 4mm

This one is so different from my first one, a more stripey effect created with a bigger size needle and its very effective. I like

I’m really getting to grips with crochet, much to my surprise and not as dumb as I thought I was. I didn’t think I could do it but it did take me two hours “blushes”to figure out this snowflake pattern sample for a scarf that I hope to do. I found reading the chart was much easier but it’s still not perfect, you know me, it has to be perfect.

I think this is the right side up!! I’ve got some Smooshy Worsted arriving soon for this scarf and I am quite excited about it. Just hope it’s not going to be one big mess.

…….and she says it’s not perfect, a little scruffy and untidy?? I don’t think so. My special projects pouch hand made by Belaybunny who has taken up sewing. It’s perfect in my eyes and I absolutely love it. There’s also a skein of Wollmeise Poison just poking out from there and she also sent some crochet hooks too, which my sister has done a runner with even though she can’t crochet. 

It’s lined too with stars!!! How clever! I lurva lurva lurve it. Thank you so much CJ.

Today is DH birthday but the silly man that he is sprained his ankle, it’s bruised, swollen and he’s limping “rolls eyes” He was out at the weekend and was not drunk…so he says but he’s telling porky pies cos I know he had a little to drink. He twisted it whilst walking across some cobble stoned paving! See!!! He must have been drunk!! LOL, so we’re stopping in tonight, a quite night in, just the two of us!!! Aaahhhhhh!!

Hope ya all having a good day whatever you’re doing!! XX

Yarn Diet? …..Not in this house. Just before Christmas I received these….

Four skeins of Manos del Uruguay in colourway Agate which had now been transformed to this:

Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl. I so wanted to do knit up a rectangular stole with this yarn but the pattern I had in mind just didn’t work. Ok I be honest, I was trying to be clever and thought I could redesign the pattern. Well it didn’t work so it became this. Finished in record time of 10 days. Just need my blocking wires to arrive so it looks more like a shawl than a pair of knickers. LOL

I am trying to learn new techniques with all of my projects this year. So with this project I have learned the new technique : Spit Splicing, Sounds disgusting, it involves splicing the two ends of a yarn and wetting them in whichever method you prefer, placing the ends on the palm of your hand and with the other hand rub so that the friction of the rubbing and the heat will felt the yarn and so join the two ends together. I hope the shawl doesn’t fall to pieces when I block it.

There’s more Malabrigo….

Malabrigo Gruesa & Baby Merino Lace which I plan to make Wisp. These two skeins were a gift from a generous Jo from Crafty Cottage Thank you.

Falling in love with a lovely yarn is so easy…Dream In Colour “Smooshy.” The yarn is exactly it…smooshy, soft, squishy, bouncy and a dream to knit.

Dusky Aurora

The colours are so subtle and delicate, not too variegated for my current project.

Do you recognise where this pattern is from? Hint: I knitted a swatch with my dyed yarn last year.

The lovely yarn company enclosed these two skeins of sequined yarn with my order. Help me decide what to knit with 100yrds of this yarn please?

I have something to tell you…..Make a note in your diaries, put a post on your blog, shout it out 1st March is Crafty Cottage Day!!

Remember Jo who owns the Crafty Cottage? who I had a wonderful experience with my first order, she is organising a Ravelry/Open Day at her lovely yarn store. She will be inviting members of the local spinners’ guild, embroiders guild and several other knitting groups around the area…….and you are all welcome….and that includes international knitters If you happen to be in UK around that time……pop along. Jo would love to meet you all.

The event is held on Saturday which is also a market day and there are various stalls around that may be very interesting, an Italian chef (now I must make my presence known …..ooohh), French baker (OOhh la la! MMmm, the bread I mean), olives stall, organic fruits and veg, antique stalls etc. If you’re going there with a non knitter, you can shoo them off to wander around the stalls while you can squeeze the lovely yarns, chat with fellow knitters and pick Jo’s brains with your knitting problems Sounds just perfect doesn’t it? There’s something for everyone.

There are 3 floors at the shop…no not all of yarn, but don’t we wish!! Imagine……….ah hem, two floors which are cafes, which is ideal, you can sneak away to the cafe for a coffee and then return to the store but who’d wanna leave all them yarns anyway? There’s a huge huge selection of yarns, Malabrigo (of course), Hand Maiden, Mango Moon, Be Sweet, Knit Global and more. There’s also a nice comfy sofa for all those who have passed out with excitement…….I’ll be one of them

Natter, gossip, drool, dribble, hyperventilate, scream, pass out - whatever happens to you when you go into a store, it should be fun. Gossip about what yarns are hot for this year and what’s not. Help other knitting chums with their knitting problems, ask for advice and or just chill. Perfect! Jo is also offering complimentary lunch to all her visitors too, so if you’re wanting to attend, just want more information about the event or just to say hello send Jo a quick email  joanne@crafty-cottage.co.uk. She’d be more than happy to hear from you and meet you!!!

So make a note in your diary knitters, I may even see you all there Oh….and take plenty of money and hubby’s credit card  very important and spend!! WWWooohoo!!

….yes, you read right.

So you all thought I dropped off the face of the earth and disappeared?? Nah..I just took a little break from blogging and trying to get back into the swing of things after the new year. So how was it, did you all have a good new year? Mine? Hectic, busy, caotic, loud, migraine, in a few words.

I have been spending a lot of time on Ravelry and I think most of you have already signed up. As a result and me included, our blogs have been a little quiet, neglected and so my blog reading has suffered too, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about you all, NO!! So if you see me on Ravelry, do drop me a message and say Hi!!

So what has been keeping me busy lately? Well, the Chevron Scarf is finished.

I love the colours and the overall effect of this just using one skein of sock yarn in varigated colours. I wouldn’t mind doing another one If you haven’t already knitted one, what you waiting for??

Just before New Year, I had the sudden urge, I don’t know what brought it on but the urge of wanting to master crochet, something I’ve always wanted to try and learn and geesh, is pattern reading hard. At first, it was talking riddles to me, all gobbledegoosh, chain, double crochet, treble and to make things worst, some of the stitches are different in the US to UK!!! How confusing is that?? Nothing was talking to me. Oh yeah, I can do it a simple granny square, yeah simple? No, I sat all day with crochet hook and 4 chains in one hand, not knowing what to do. I even asked Mr Snobs to translate the pattern. Did he help. well what do you think? lol

I set about trying to start the Babette Blanket, you’ve probably heard or seen the craze on this and the desperation of trying to find the magazine which it is printed in, which is now sadly out of print. Yes, pretty, looks easy, no problem. Almost 3 days later, lots of frustration, sweaty moments and tantrums, did I manage to get going with the help of the original designer and friends who all happened to be on Ravelry (thank goodness!!)

My first sample swatch for Babette..

and not only that….a new kind of crocheting…freeform crochet

Aren’t they cute?

What I am hoping to do with these is to crochet about 40 of them in various colours and join them together to make a cushion. I haven’t quite mastered them yet and still need lots of practice but I do like the overall effect of them. Cute

So what is currently on my needles at the moment? I’ll tell you another time

There’s some yummy yarns that I want to show you too.

Here’s wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, eat, drink and be merry….YAY!!

Happy Christmas Everyone!!

Meet Joanne Watson….

Joanne is the owner of Crafty Cottage, a new online store that I have just discovered. Joanne has been fantastic and extremely helpful when I placed my first order. Her new online store is about to undergo a huge overhaul in the new year so please go and support her when it’s up and running. She has a huge collection of yarns of course lots of Malabrigo coming in the new year, yes Malabrigo, you must check out her store but please, leave some for me OK?

Just take a look at the store, isn’t it divine, so quaint and cozy. Just look at those yarns!!  Don’t you wish you were sitting on that table, knitting and chatting? I think I’d be busy oogling the yarns!

This is my order from the Crafty Cottage…

Malabrigo Seleccion Privada Shade P

This is the first time I have ever come across this yarn from Malabrigo and if Joanne hadn’t mentioned it to me, I would never have known it existed. Lots of colours but all vibrant and beautiful. Sadly one skein has left me but gone to a good home

Malabrigo Seleccion Privada Shade Z.

Joanne delayed my order and as a kind gesture, she enclosed these two skeins for me. All were perfectly wrapped in a box with lovely tissue paper. All I can say is that I am one happy happy customer.

There were another 2 skeins of Malabrigo in Curazo a lovely purple colour, but they’re on their way to someone who has never knitted with Malabrigo before…shock, horror..what? but I can’t show you them, sorry. I was very tempted to keep them and held onto them for as long as I could before waving goodbye to them at the post office. Sarah, the post mistress thought I was utterly mad!!!

I can see Crafy Cottage becoming one of my regular online stores and I am already making my list for more Malabrigo, you can never have too much of it can you?

Thank you Joanne for your generosity and I wish you every success with your new online store. Please do add  Crafty Cottage to your blog.

There’s more…yes more. I told you its Malabrigo Madness.

Malabrigo Velvet Grapes, a very very popular shade and I had to get my mitts on these. Can you see why?

and Malabrigo Verdes, this surprise skein I won on Malabrigo Cast On Week on Ravelry Malabrigo Group. A wonderful prize and I couldn’t have asked for a better colour, thank you.

Phew…..I need to sit down with all my Malabrigo’s, 17 skeins within this week, Oh it’s all too much!!! Breathe slowly, deep breaths, faints, thud!!

Today, I have had a silly smile on my face all day. I’ve been walking around the house, beaming from ear to ear, singing and dancing. I woke Mr Snobs up this morning, literally swiped the bed sheets off him, shook him so he was fully awake, made sure his eyes were fully open by holding his eyelids so he wouldn’t fall asleep just to show him what I received in the post. Christmas has come extra early at the Snob house.

This was a COMPLETE surprise and I nearly choked on my toast when I opened it.  I had no idea Paula, this very naughty little minx had put these in the post!! I can’t thank her enough for brightening up my day She is just wonderful, another wonderful knitter, one of many that I have built up a great friendship with since I started knitting. She recently burnt her fingers quite badly and hasn’t been able to knit. Please go visit her blog and wish her fingers make a full recovery so she can knit once again!

Malabrigo Worsted Geranio, 4 skeins of raspberry goodness. Aren’t they gorgeous? They are more than gorgeous. I am going to make these lovely skeins into something that will remind me of Paula, maybe a shawl but at the moment, I just want to touch them. Thank you so much Paula, you are so kind and sweet. I love ya hun! Thank you for listening and being there Thank you…mwah x

I say this time and time again, knitters are the most generous people around. There is not one knitter I know that hasn’t touched my heart. You are all fantastic people and all have wished me a speedy recovery and because of all your warm, kind hearted vibes, I am doing just great.

This year has been a great year for me. I’ve made some truely great friends and I sometimes wonder and ask myself what have I done to deserve such kindness? I wonder……

There’s more Malabrigo Madness but more on that tomorrow and I discovered a fantastic new online store which I just have to tell you about. Its a complete Malabrigo Madness day today, but I love it. Thank you Paula ..xx

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It’s been heard by Mr Snobs, yes I’ve been snoring for the past few days, quite loud in fact. Why? Cos I can’t breathe. I am full of flu, just like every other person I know. Who hasn’t had it? Blocked nose at night, runny nose during the day, shivering and quivering like a leaf, yup….full of it My nose is blowing bubbles, wanna see it? Wait…….ooops, it popped before I could reach for the camera. Hahahah not that you wanted to see it. I can’t sleep, cos I can’t breathe and the only way I can breathe freely is if I sit up in bed, but when I lie down, I can’t and so I snore!

So there’s been plenty of resting in bed again, and out with my thermals *blushes* as I try to keep warm. Ok, you heard it here first, I am wearing thermals lol. It’s the only way I can stay warm.

No point in feeling sorry for myself, I cast on a Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

A non stripey Chevron, very interesting effect and really pretty, you think? I’m just using one skein of PY in Lucia called Merry as I can’t be bothered to alternate two different yarns. It’s knitting up in a variegated effect which is working out really well.

Something vibrant, cheerful and merry as we approach Christmas…How many days to go??? What??

Excuse me, but I really need to blow my nose! It’s almost falling off my face!

What a happy day today is!! Despite the miserable wet, cold weather we’ve been having, I am really happy. I’ve been smiling all day. I received these through the post today from a very dear,  kind friend, who thought I needed cheering up. It certainly has worked Thank you so much.

They are the most yummiest yarns ever and smell gorgeous and I feel there will be plenty of these yarns making their way to my stash next year.

Socks That Rock-Lemongrass, Wollmeisse - Dornroschen and some sample yarns from Wollmeisse, all gorgeous. I don’t want to knit them up just yet, they’re going to bed with me tonight and many other nights.

And just look at these….

aren’t they the cutest hands and feet you’ve seen? The necklace is a lovely purple gem, beautiful and all handmade by her. Sadly the jelly teddy bears didn’t make it to the photo, I ate them all.

So you can see why I am so happy, very happy. Thank you so much Belaybunny…..off to have another sniff

Everything went well on Thursday, was just a little more complicated than the surgeon thought and took a little longer but all is well. I was knocked out for a total of 3 hours and woke up feeling pretty groggy and wanted FOOD!! I was starving. All I could think of was food and missed the lunch so had to wait until tea time to be fed with tuna and pasta, mashed potatoes and peas. I’ve never loved mashed potatoes or peas as much as I have that day, it was rather ugh come to think of it.

There was an elderly lady in the next bed to me and I think she must have had some major surgery as she was in a lot of pain. The nurse had poured a glass of water for her but it wasn’t within her reach….how silly. I managed to get myself out of my bed and I was still in a bit of pain and help her take a sip of water, whilst one woman who was just admitted watched on. Honestly, some people. Breaks my heart to see the elderly in such pain

I was discharged very late in the evening on the same day and rested all weekend, being fussed over by Mr Snobs and my mom. She’s been so worried. I’ve actually told her I will take the keys to my front door away from her as she keeps making these awful smelling/tasting herbal chinese medicine and they stink to high heaven and insist that I MUST drink them. Oh she’s so funny, my mom.

Anyway, your well wishes, cyber hugs, love and concern for me has meant so so much to me, these past few days. I don’t know how to thank you all but you’ve all touched my heart so much. There are no words that I can say to express how wonderful you all are. Thank you.

I thought I’d post this before I dash off on Thursday. I finally completed the front left section of Arwen last night. It’s a huge project and I am enjoying it tremedously, if only I could knit a little faster. The cables seem to be slowing me down quite a bit.

Front Left Side.

The hood….

The cables.

There were issues with this about how tight the upper arm sections were so I added an extra cable repeat to allow for my flabby arms. I lost 6sts along the way on the arm section due to not researching on how to do short rows but I was too far ahead to frog back to rectify it. So I’m hoping blocking will make this sleeve slightly longer, to make it equal length with the right sleeve, or I may have to walk with the left shoulder drooped lol.

Although I love doing the cables, I am finding it very fiddley with the cable needle. I MUST learn how to do this. Started on the back section now and it’s a simple st st all the way, need something simple after all the cables lol.

Thanks again for all your prayers, well wishes and positive vibes for Thursday. I am so looking forward to hospital food…..Oh yum….yuk!!

well, sort of

Firstly I’d like to say a BIG THANK YOU to you all for all your well wishes. I am feeling much better now. Your thoughts have boosted up my energy levels tremendously. I have one more hurdle to go and that’s into hospital on Thursday for a minor operation but I should be out late evening.

Secondly, I know I’ve been a very bad blogger. I’ve not posted for days and days. Most of my time has been spent on Ravelry, so blame that. Isn’t it so addictive? My queue for projects is so long and I am meeting lots of you on there too.

Ok, now for some kinda finished knits.

It’s supposed to look like this but it looks more like this. Isn’t it funny? I added way too many repeats on it so it looks really floppy. It’s going to my wacky sister, she’s into this sort of thing.

Some wrist warmers from a magazine.

I need to add some wacky funky buttons on it. These are going to my wacky sister who says she will has some buttons, so I’ll leave that up to her

My So Called Scarf finally finished

which I love and will wear to bed, and who wouldn’t lol

Neckwarmer, using Cashmere Neckwarmer pattern, a very simple but really effective pattern. I can see myself making more of these.

It’s not cashmere but the lovely yarn was given to be by the lovely Belaybunny. It is Wollmeise Worsted Poison Nr5. My first Wollmeise yarn and I have to say I do love it, the colours are so vibrant and strong. I need to add a loop and a button and hoping to wear it on Thursday, something to make me feel happy Thanks CJ.

Well my lovelies…I shall see you all very very soon, wish me luck for Thursday and thank you again for all the kind words for a speedy recovery….mmmwah x

Some of you may know I haven’t been too well recently, hence the lack of posts on my blog and etsy. I neither had the energy to do any dyeing or knitting and spent most days just sleeping. I’m happy to say I am slowly on the mend and my energy levels are slowly coming back and so is my knitting, but I have to admit, not much has been done.

Holly has spent most days and nights with me, sleeping by my side, on top of my head and on top of me. She can sense when I am ill but now that I’m slowly on the mend, she has found a new place to sleep…..

….in a huge mailing envelope that once had my yarns in.

Excuse me, but I was having a cat nap then!

Shall I seal her up and post her off??

I’ve cast on for an Arwen cardigan after my gauge was completely wrong on my CPH. I hear you all telling me that a gauge is MOST important. Ok…..you are all pointing your finger at me and screaming…….did you do a gauge?

I didn’t for my Central Park Hoodie……well, I did and I thought I got the gauge correct but so many questions, do you wash and block or don’t you? How do you read the stitches, does it really matter? YES IT DOES, as I have realised that my CPH is going to be Huuuuugh! It’s not going to shrink in the wash, nor do I fancy putting on the extra pounds to fit into it. So with only 4 inches to complete the back section……STOP!!! I am going to frog it back and start again. I did do a swatch, washed and blocked it and my needle size is way too big.

Ok…I hear ya all.

Just 0.5mm difference in a needle size made a huge huge difference. So my CPH is sulking in my knitting bag whilst I work on Arwen and yes I did do a swatch for this and I think I have got it right this time.

I’m a little fingers and thumbs with cables but I do really enjoy it. This is the left front section of the cardigan, colour is aubergine, slightly more red than the photo.

Is a gauge swatch important? YES!! but don’t you just hate knitting one up? It’s sooooo boring!