I knew I shouldn't have started.

Well, we went back up into the loft this morning to finish the task we started yesterday. I found yet another couple of bags full of yarn.



Quite a mixture again. Some cones, many skeins and balls of 4ply and double knitting weight yarns. Most of these were acrylic, but some were cotton. I spent quite a time sorting it all out - finding somewhere to put it too. I am not complaining about finding all this yarn, since I shall definitely find uses for most of it. The rest will be donated for different projects.



Coco enjoyed watching the whole process, but then demanded a tummy tickle. Who could refuse her?

By the way, the total bags of books taken for the "Coffee and Chat" and "Old Friends" groups came to seven!! With another five bags heading off into town for the various Charity shops there.

A good job done. The loft is tidy. There are still quite a number of boxes up there, but these will have to wait for my daughters. It all belongs to them!

Now why did I ever start?

Have you ever started something that you really didn't think would be such a time-consuming task?

I helped my husband start work on sorting out the loft space. In the process I found some stash that I had completely forgotten about.

This was was the first stash I discovered, or should I say rediscovered? The garish prints are some screenprinted samples I did many years ago. The pieces at the bottom were cot sheets I made for my daughters when they were babies.

Here are the cotton sheets again, with some cot blankets and a stripy curtain. All these will find a new use. Their new home is as part of my ever-growing fabric stash. (Sorry this photo has been duplicated, I couldn't get the other copy to delete!)

As you can see the sheets were both brushed cotton and plain cotton. I have plans for some cosy brushed cotton pyjamas for myself ready for next winter.

Then I found the wool. Well, most of this is acrylic - the gorgeously soft acrylic. This was left over from knitted items made for my girls and my husband. Some useful quantities of a few colours and weights too. This has all found a way into my ever-growing yarn stash. I shall offer some of the yarn to my aunt, who knits blankets for different charities.

Lastly, I was so thrilled to have found this book.

Its a knitting book dating from the 1940s which my grandmother (my mother's mother) gave to me. I lost it some time ago.

It has some of grandma's notes in the front and also the back - this is a lace pattern. I think she means "yarn forward" when she writes "Tfwd" or "Tfd". To check, I shall have to try out the pattern for myself. This next photo is a project from the book which I shall certainly consider making.

There were no less than five carrier bags filled with the books we had hoarded but no longer needed. When we asked our next door neighbour if he wanted to have some of the books, we discovered that the "Old Friends" group had a book swop. This group is one of two groups of the older villagers meeting weekly in the village hall - the other is called "Coffee and Chat". Both groups run a book swop for their members. All books are usually bought from the local charity shops and returned there once everyone has read those titles they wish to read. (The groups only charge 10p per book borrowed). We donated three of our bags of books, leaving only the technical books to be taken to one of the Charity Shops next week.

The cats, of course, were not impressed by all the hard work.

An interesting day out.

Yesterday I went, with my husband, to the Model Engineering Show held in Harrogate. Its quite a distance from here, a drive of around one and three quarter hours. Harrogate itself is a delightful place to visit. We have spent some really happy times exploring the area.

A textile enthusiast going to a Model Engineering Show? Well, the models and engines are amazing to see - lots of texture there, in the metals, woods and other materials used. It was a really interesting day. As well as the exbibiton, there was also a large number of stands with items for sale. I bought a surprising number of things, which I shall use for future textile-based projects.

My favourite purchases were three lights. The first is a large angle-poise, which I have bought for a friend. It has a good-sized magnifying section. The lamp attaches to the desk with a clamp. I have two of these of my own. Each is large enough to stand over a sewing machine and shine onto the working area. So useful to be able to use the magnifier when stitching some Free Machine Embroidery. This cost just £39.

This is one of my own lamps sitting over the top of my sewing machine.

The next two lamps are for my own use. The first of these, a smaller angle-poise, now stands beside a chair in the livingroom ready for me to continue sewing and stitching there. It will be so nice to have good light to stitch and sew by so I continue working at night. It only cost £19.

The last lamp is rather an indulgence. This is a small lamp to take with me when going to the Knitting group or to some stitch and chat sessions. It has a small magnifier surrounded by a circle of eleven LEDs. It can use mains electricity or batteries and has its own little carrybag. It did cost £30, but I shall use this a lot.

All three lamps have daylight bulbs.

Can I suggest that if any of you have a friend interested in model engineering who goes to a show, ask them to look out for useful equipment for you. I cannot get this type of lamp easily and have found these shows invaluable in stocking up. My first two lamps came from this same show in previous years.

May Bank Holiday

Well, we have had our May Bank Holiday here in the UK. As usual a rather damp weekend, but apart from a few showers, not too bad today.

The cats have spent the day indoors, making themselves very comfortable. This photo was taken a little while ago. Things do not change............

During the week, some yarn I ordered arrived. This was in a sale - and I need it for a top I plan to knit soon. I have promised myself that I will not buy any more yarn until my yarn stash is rather smaller than it is at present. I have also promised myself not to buy any more fabric either. I shall try to use as much of it as I can to make any new projects.

My dear husband was rather amused to find a note I had written to myself saying "no new fabric". He knows me rather well..........

This is the Mystery Blanket project I am knitting with the Elizabeth's Year group. I am rather out of step with the group at present since this was the project for April! Never mind, I am enjoying myself. The original pattern for this design comes from "The Knitter's Almanac" by Elizabeth Zimmerman. It does not have a curving line of increases or the lacy insert.

I went to a celebration yesterday with my husband. A dear friend of ours has just remarried. It was so nice to go, celebrate his wedding and meet some friends we had not seen for a number of years. A number had travelled some distance to come for the event. We all had a lot of fun chatting, dancing and laughing together. Plans were made to meet again soon.

Knitting and cats.

Well, Liz has just taken possession of her new v-necked jumper. I finished it last week. This is the Dickinson Pullover.






Coco decided she just had to have her photo taken - she had watched me take photos of the jumper shown above. This pose is not just an invitation to tickle her tummy. She is seeking attention and admiration.






This is my new project. A rather nice fitted jacket design from Drops. It is knitted on circular needles, but not in the round. The knitting goes forward and back. A rather interesting project since I have not used circular needles in this way before. I couldn't resist the bright red.






This is another project. It was ongoing, but I ripped back the four squares I had already completed yesterday. I just wasn't happy with them. The three squares I have completed since restarting yesterday are far nicer. I rather like the curved pattern of holes I have accidentally made while increasing.






The ruler gives an idea of scale. This project is part of the Elizabeth's Year group. Its the April project from "The Knitter's Almanac" by Elizabeth Zimmermann. The original design asks for a much thicker yarn, but I decided to go for the double knitting weight instead. This will lead me to need an awful lot more squares to make it the same size as thhe project in the book. As you can see, I am using the remnants of yarn left over from Elizabeth's pullover shown at the top of this post.

Quiet times.

Well, I really thought I wouldn't have anything to post about again this week. Then I started thinking.............. Thinking is definitely a dangerous past-time.




I've been busily knitting since I last wrote. Liz's pullover is now ready for the addition of the neck. Its taken me rather a while to get to this stage. Its been one of those projects where I have had had repeatedly to rip back and reknit sections because I have made a mistake. Usually really silly mistakes, which makes it all the more irritating. Since the jumper is being knitted for someone, I find myself unwilling to put up with even minor mistakes.

I have also completed the design work for the Band Robin. I can't show you my design just yet, since I need to show photos to the Stitching Sisters group first. Its taken me rather a while to get the design finished so I do hope that Jenny, the owner, likes it. The next stage is to get on with the stitching.

Recently, I became involved with a new Quilting Group, Hartford Quilters. This is going to be a really active group. We have already started a joint project making strips for a series of lapquilts. The strips are 6 inches deep and 42 inches wide (finished size) in pastel shades. The finished lapquilts will be given to the local Hospice, who have suggested the colour scheme we are using. I have put all my pieces together, but have not settled on a design for my strip yet. I'd better get a move on with this before I get left behind.

A second group I have become involved with recently, is the Borders Knitting group meeting at Cheshire Oaks. The group meets inside Borders, the large book shop. (Thats me on the bottom right hand side of the photo.) This is the first knitting group I have ever been a part of. Its so nice to meet people with a similar interest. Its fun to sit around and chat and to learn new ideas too. I got to hear about this group through Ravelry, one of the Internet groups I belong to.

An interesting day.

This morning I woke to a really fairytale sight. Snow had fallen overnight - only a light snowfall, but everywhere looked so pretty. The photos were taken at 7am, when the light was really lovely, almost pink.

Felix was not impressed. He doesn't like getting his paws wet.

The snow was not destined to last, after only a few hours it was gone.

This afternoon, we have sleet. Not quite so pleasant. Good weather for knitting and getting on with bits and pieces, though. Here is Liz's second jumper, the Dickinson Pullover. The front is now finished and I am well over half way up the first sleeve. Aggie is looking after it for me since pinning it up like this keeps it safely out of the cats' way. (I don't fancy pulling black fur from such a pale coloured aran pattern.)

My sewing machine is back and working beautifully once more. I went back to collect it yesterday.