Knit, knit, knit....and a little bit of felt......and a tiny bit of weave......

I'm back!! You think you'll be away for just a little bit and before you know it 4 or 5 months have gone by. Where did it go? What have I been doing?

Well, not a lot of creating, I'm afraid. Saying that I do remember a spell of making 13 aprons and baking lots of cookies around about christmas time, a pair of crocheted slippers for a birthday girl, arranging and rearranging my 'new' work space.......

But now, a few things I have been toying with.

This felted piece is primarily merino fleece with some shetland thrown in the background, some wensleydale curly bits and some white silk cobweb layering on the top. I would have liked to stitch on top but I was in a hurry to make this card for mother's day. To be honest, I feel it might have been overkill anyway, but I do intend to experiment further when I get a break over the Easter holidays. I'd forgotten how much fun felting can be - roll on Easter holidays!

Have also been busy knitting again. After having a spate of crochet, it is a pleasure to get back to knitting. After seeing the new beret 'Verity' on Ysolda's site, I decided this was the challenge that would get me back into knitting. And I have really enjoyed it! A perfect opportunity to watch favourite films and savour the time relaxing doing something you can fully enjoy. I must admit feeling guilty for actually sitting down so long though.....

Anyway, what you want to see - pictures! The light was very poor and the magenta yarn tended towards red when photographed, ah well.

The pattern did say to use Aran/worsted weight yarn but all I had to hand was double knitting and I was too impatient to have a major hunt before I could start. So I knitted the biggest size to cater for the reduction the DK would cause and it pretty much worked. The only difference is it's slightly softer and has a less crisp, defined look to it than the picture on the pattern.

I know I don't have much Aran weight up in the loft so I'm trying again knitting two DK strands together. I know, this could turn out to be so rigid that it could stand up on its own, but as I am thinking this could be my sister's birthday pressie and it's still very cold in the north of Scotland, maybe a good solid wool beret is just the thing.
Look away now Gwen!

Results so far....

I've made the bowl of the hat and just need to knit the band at the front. It's in linen stitch - good for a strong, non stretchy band - but a little bit more time consuming! Had to stop watching the TV for this bit as I kept losing my place!!

A close-up of the lovely leaf shape the YO and Slip stitches create.

A very clever pattern that looks lovely and is a joy to knit. The new cable one that Ysolda is presently knitting looks good too.

I'll also be moving my large dobby loom over easter to a new home - from a collapsed pile in the shed to being actually put to gether again. When I moved, I had to give up my workshop and it's quite difficult to just 'store' a large industrial loom! So I might find myself getting side tracked into 16 shaft jacquard patterns sometime around april/may!

Some pics of the loom before....

(When I mean big, it is about 9ft high and at least 2 metres square without the pedal - which is about 9ft in length as well. Yes, I am mixing my metaphoric measurements!)

John up the ladder trying to bolt everything in place...

The dobby mechanism perched on the top - very heavy.

detail of the fly shuttle

Of course, it has only been about 15 years or so since I last used one of these things, so I'm hoping it's like riding a bike......

Off to swot up on weaving - could be a while...... ( not another 5 months though!!)

ciao,
elaine