Getting things finished.

Well, its the Half Term Holiday. A useful time to try and get some things finished.

So far. I have managed to get three items completed.

The first of these is a hat. I knitted it for my younger daughter to replace a hat she accidentally felted. The poor felted hat is shown at the top of this post.

Knitted in Sublime extra fine merino wool double knitting, I really hope she does not manage to felt this one too. It was a most enjoyable knit and only took three days to complete. The design is "Felicity" by Ebony Butterfly.

The next completed item is a felted bag which I started some time ago and then managed to lose the pattern.

I finished these funny squiggly bits the day before yesterday, then promptly lost the last of the yarn! What is it with this design? I keep losing bits and have to go searching the house for them. I found the scrap of yarn this afternoon when I was looking for something else. So now they are safely stitched onto the front of the bag.

The last thing to be finished was the first of my Nutkin socks. I have already started the second sock.

I recently bought myself some new needles. The first ones were so I could finish the hat for my daughter Rosemary. I just didn't have circular needles in the right size. So I sent off for some Addi bamboo needles and saw these:

Knit Picks dpns in a size I don't have........... I couldn't resist.

This may not seem very exciting if you are from the USA, but Knit Picks needles have only just arrived in the UK.

Now to get on with some needlework for a change. I won't bore you with the list of items I really need to get on with. Its embarrassingly long!

A new camera!

I finally have another camera to replace my old one. Sadly that one could not be repaired. It was too badly damaged. I don't think I shall let this one out of my sight for a while................ Its a Sony Super Steady Shot DSC-W200. It will take me some time to get as comfortable with it as my old one. Still it will be fun learning. My dear husband found this one in a sale of ex-catalogue items. What a find!





At present I am working on three knitted projects at the same time. This one is my main priority at present. I really need a cosy cardigan and this will be it. I am most of the way up the back now, so should be able to start one of the fronts next week.




Sorry the second photo is so blurred. It shows the colour of the yarn far better than the first picture.




The next picture is my second version of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Open-collar pullover. I shall attempt turning this into a v-necked jumper since I could really do with a warm one. I already have a bought one, but it really just isn't warm enough.



This next photo shows the progress with my Nutkin socks. The design is by Knitzi. Such a pleasant design, these are intended to be worn with my new short brown boots.



The lovely little zipped project bag was a free gift when I renewed my subscription to Selvedge. So useful! Its just the right size for the socks.

Last time, I mentioned the pattern I had bought from Sandie Lush. Here it is. The second photo shows the thread pack I bought at the same time.





The next photo shows the lovely little booklet about hand quilting which I bought at the meeting. The ISBN number is:1 870264 27 4. You can get these booklets direct from Sandie Lush.





The last photo is the Travellers Chuck pattern which I mentioned last time.



I was really intrigued by this idea and really want to make one.

A lovely weekend.

Had a great weekend. Such fun!
I spent the Saturday at the Quilter's Guild Area Day. This was wonderful. I had the chance to buy some more African fabric since Magi Relph had a stall there.
Our first speaker was the wonderful Sandie Lush. She is such a talented quilter and an entertaining person to listen to. Her talk was so informative, I was so glad that I had taken my little notebook along with me.
I bought a small booklet about hand-quilting, a thread pack and also a beautiful hand quilted cushion design called "Colonial Dahlia". These were being sold by Sandie after her talk.
It was wonderful to be able to see Sandie's beautiful quilts. Even better to be able to see them close -up.
After lunch, we had a second speaker. This was the amazing Jenny Kitoss (I do hope that I have spelt that correctly.) A prolific quilter who was happy to let us handle her quilts.
She had an amazing variation on the quillow idea, calling this a Travellers Chuck.
A quillow is a quilt which can be folded into itself, looking just like a cushion when it is folded up. A Travellers Chuck, on the other hand is rolled up and the ends held by two loops secreted on the back. I bought a copy of the pattern. It was charming to read on the back:

"NB (note) I do not need copywrite of this idea, we are lucky that early quilters weren't so selfish! Just acknowledge my inspiration." This comment was accompanied by smiley face.

Jenny had designed the original Travellers Chuck for her son who was about to travel around the world and needed something practical.

On the Sunday, I was able to indulge another passion - wool and other yarns for knitting and felting! It was the open day of bluefaced.com lots of wonderful yarns, needles, spindles, braiding tools, dyes and other goodies. I took my mum and younger daughter along. We had a great time touching, stroking and admiring the gorgeous yarns available. Fyberspates were also there with their beautiful range of yarns. Far too tempting. But oooh, what a fun time we had.

Sorry about the lack of photos - I still haven't had time to have my camera repaired / replaced.