Birthday box

It was my 29th Birthday this week. I just love birthdays and managed to string mine out over a few days with visiting family, nights out with friends and a great dinner and a movie date night with the Mr. I got some lovely presents including a new baking book which I'm planning on putting to good use immediately, a knicker making kit which oddly was from the three men I work with - that's not weird right? And one of my favourite gifts was from my lovely friend Karen who knows what a knitter wants for their birthday - cute knitting stuff!

She bought me this cute, cute, cute knitting tools tin from thesexyknitter.etsy.com which comes stuffed with all the bits and pieces you need when out and about with your knitting, which is exactly how I like to roll. The best bit was that it was emblazoned with my knitting name!

Inside it has all the notions you need for any knitting eventuality: tape measure, stitch holder, 5 stitch markers, cutting tool, cable needle, crochet hook, and 3 sewing needles with varying eye size. There's a little magnet on the top of the tin to keep the sewing needles just where you want them, which is genius. And to be honest I just love that everything is teeny-tiny sized!!! Excuse me while I explode quietly in the corner.

Brooke's Picovoli

This is my Sister in law. Isn't she awesome. A few weeks back she gave me the task of knitting her a top like one she had seen on a YouTube vintage hair tutorial, of all things. I showed her a bunch of patterns I thought might work, she picked one and we went yarn shopping. As pink is her favourite colour to wear at the moment she went with that, although I had to steer her away from experimenting with a red. With hand knits you ain't got time to experiment!

The YouTube tutorial she wanted to use as the basis for the top could barely be seen (green top below) but I think I managed a fair copy (pink top below).

The pattern was modified slightly from Picovoli by Grumperina. I added the eyelets to match the one in the video and as it was a top down knit I adjusted the fit on Brookes body as I went. We were both really pleased with it and I allowed her to pay me in cake. A fair price for family.

I was surprised at how quickly it went but with no seams to sew, arms to make or complicated instructions to follow I should have known it would be a satisfying knit. I enjoyed the project so much, I'm making one for myself with some different modifications. Back to the selfish knitting!

Tejido de Punto Madrid

A few weekends back I took a trip to Madrid for a friend's birthday. There were just three of us so it was a really relaxed, eating and drinking kind of weekend with the bonus of blue skies and sunshine!

I, of course, bought my knitting with me and knitted on the plane there and back. However, I neglected to bring an extra ball of yarn and so ended up unable to continue with my stitching at thirty thousand feet. New mantra - always bring more yarn than you think. I'm making a top for my Sister-in-Law, which is unusual as I don't normally take requests, but she is family after all. With all that knitting time on the plane it's finished but I'll save that for another post (and for her to take a nice picture of it on).

While I was looking through the guide book I thought I might as well research into a few yarn stores in Madrid and somehow we made time to visit some (OK, i might have dragged them slightly). The first was El Gato Negro (the Black Cat) which was located just off of Plaza Mayor. The beautiful old shop front hides a long slender shop behind it and I have to admit I wasn't prepared for what lay inside.

As you enter there are tufts of yarn tied onto rails which you are free to touch, but once past this initial tuft forest you are met with signs telling you not to touch anything! As a British person used to squashing, smelling and basically sticking my face in every ball of yarn I see in a shop it was like torture not being able to touch.

At the back of the shop most of the yarn sat behind counters and there was a big weighing scale in the middle, presumably where they weigh out what you want to buy and cost it accordingly.

I was a bit intimidated by it all to tell you the truth, plus there seemed to be a lot of acrylic and so didn't buy anything, but was glad to have paid a visit.

The second yarn stop was Lanas Sixto on Calle Atocha. Unfortunately I felt even more intimidated in this shop as I was the only customer and with most of the yarn behind counters again, I didn't even feel comfortable enough to browse.

Even though I didn't get to buy anything it was really interesting seeing how the yarn shops operate in another european city and to compare how they differ to home. I much prefer the sticking your face in it openness of UK yarn shops and really appreciate that we have access to so many different fibres and yarns. Although I can't say i recommend going for the yarn shops Madrid is a great weekend city break destination. Just go and stuff your self with food and drink instead of yarn.

Faith

Can you believe it?!?!? It was SUNNY this weekend!!!

We actually went into the garden.

We did some gardening.

I pulled my first leeks and some rhubarb.

I made chicken and leek pie and rhubarb crumble.

Faith is restored in life.

That is all.

I Got Paid

I received my own pay it forward yesterday from my friend Katie. It's a lovely, soft crochet cushion with fleece backing in the perfect colours to compliment the purple accents in our living room. I love it.

Katie is the crochet queen in our knitting group. She is the go to person for any hooking enquiries as most of us are mainly knitters merely dabbling in the mysteries of crochet. A useful person to have in the fold indeed.

Thanks Katie!!!

Bye Bye All the Fun Of the Fair, Kingly Court

A couple of weeks ago I took a friend to a few of my favourite knitting haunts near where I work in Soho. We popped into the John Lewis knitting department and then to Liberty knitting department. Finally we went onto my favourite LYS (Local Knitting Shop) All the Fun of the Fair in Kingly Court only to be met with this sign on the empty shop front.

I was genuinely heart broken to find that the shop that I had frequented since I first picked up knitting, a place where I taught knitting classes, held Stitch and Bitch London events, made friends, took photos for the magazine (see above) and popped into regularly for miscellaneous yarn and haberdashery was gone.

Contacting Buzz, the owner of the store who I had come to know very well over the years she explained that for various reasons they were returning to their original roots of wholesaling and having stalls at craft shows as well as keeping up their website. I'm glad that the business isn't dead and continues to sell their cute and kooky wares but the bricks and mortar shop will always have a special place in my heart and I will miss it dearly.

On the plus side they're give 35% off on yarn when you enter the code 'yarnagogo' at the check out. Woo!

April you say?

The extended winter we're having in the UK is becoming unbearable for us Brits. We love to talk/ moan about the weather so much but this endless cold, grey and gloomy weather has bought us to the end of our ability to convivially play up this bleak 'Spring'. The winter clothes which we began to pack away have all come out again and are in constant use as battle with snowy showers on the way to work and biting winds on our lunch breaks. Weekends that should be full of outdoor Spring activities are more often than not confined to more living room living. Can you tell that it's been getting me down? 

So, as I was rummaging through my hat, glove and scarf box I noticed that I only had two knitted hats, both knit in Rowan Big Wool and both a bit useless at keeping my head warm. To battle this ridiculous weather I was going to need a better hat. 

I decided that it had to be made from stash yarn, which instantly reduced the number of patterns I could choose from and had to be wool, since I'd just learnt all about the benefits of the fibre at Wool House. I dug out some green mystery yarn which had been purchased at Ally Pally 07 from the stall I like to call the 'mystery cardboard box man'. The guy almost always has a stall at the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching show, which is unmarked, piled up with cardboard boxes filled with unlabelled balls and skeins of yarn. You have a rummage and can often come out with something quite lovely, not that you know anything about the yarn other than the colour and how it feels. This yarn was green, which I know suits me and felt warm, which means at least some wool. I snapped it up and used some of it in my Hap Blanket and now it was time to use some more.

I picked a simple slouchy hat pattern from Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits 2 called Ripley. Yes I am obsessed with this designer. The pattern was great. You knit the brim first and then pick up and knit the hat part with these pleats created in the back for added slouch. I was a fun, fast knit which took just four days to finish. 

To stick two fingers up to Winter a friend decided we should go to the beach with the kids. It snowed a little as we drove towards Southend but the sun did come out once or twice in an apologetic way. Like true Brits we wrapped the kids up, got the buckets and spades out and made sandcastles on the beach, threw stones into the sea, drew in the sand and had tea and cake huddled together behind a wind breaker. A few passers by shouted 'Good for you' which reinforced our insanity, we had fish and chips for lunch and went home. My head was lovely and warm under my new hat.