KnitNation 2010 - a woolly feast!

Hello there! Thanks so much for stopping by. My head is still spinning after my 2 day trip to London with my great knitting pal Snoopydog. It is difficult to put into words just what a wonderful time we had. KnitNation was an amazing celebration of knitting, with a Marketplace packed full of the best yarns available, alongside excellent classes with topnotch teachers, and the opportunity to meet other knitters. I hardly slept a wink the night before, I was so excited, and set off to Snoopydog's house at 7am so that we could catch the 8:30am train from Norwich to London. The journey was spent most pleasantly, knitting and chatting, and before we knew it, we had arrived at Liverpool Street. We travelled across London to Imperial College, and after a very speedy registration to pick up our class/marketplace passes and KnitNation tote bags, we were ready to shop 'til we dropped!!!

First stop had to be the Wollmeise stand, easily spotted not only for the number of people crowding round, but also because of the rainbow of yarns on offer. Where to start?! There was so much (too much?!) choice, that it was difficult to make a decision. The yarns have such a colour intensity, and a lovely feel to them. Go on, I know you want to have a look for yourself!

What colour would you choose?

Would you like to see a bit more? Silly question, of course you would!

Apologies if some of the photos are slightly blurry - I didn't want to use the flash and change the colours. As you can see, the stand was truly a woolly feast for the eyes. I bought a couple of skeins as presents for friends, and eventually chose (in two separate visits!) these five skeins.

The colourways are, from left to right, Magnolie light, Lila Ludmilla, Mond im 7. Haus, Pfauenauge and Suzanne. I'm very happy with my choices!!
We also searched out a couple of old favourites - the Natural Dye Studio and Skein Queen. As much as I liked the explosion of colour at Wollmeise, I also love the more muted shades that Amanda dyes using historical plant dyes. The yarns certainly feel luxurious, with their different blends of fibres, including silk, cashmere and alpaca.

I ended up choosing a skein of Precious laceweight yarn in a shade of pale purple. It's 100% silk and feels absolutely wonderful. There's 1000 metres of yarn in the skein, so it's going to take some serious winding!

I first discovered the Skein Queen at IKnit last year, and loved the colours she achieved in her dyeing. I bought a skein of Crush, a 4 ply sock yarn that's a mix of superwash merino and nylon, in the colourway 'Summer Bunting'. It's really pretty! A couple of mini-skeins also beckoned, and will be added to my sock blankie stash.

I bought some fibre from Jon at Easy Knits, and he gave me a quick demonstration of how to prepare the fibre ready for spinning. I want to move on from fleece this summer, so watch this space! There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to! I bought one bag of merino cross, and another of 100% BFL - the colours are lovely and vibrant.

The colourways are Zippy (L) and Boogie-Woogie Berry Blast (R)! Great names! I also couldn't resist a skein of 100% superwash BFL sock yarn in the colourway Carousel. It's really bright and zingy!

I discovered two new dyers - Juno Fibre Arts and Renaissance Dyeing. Both had extremely attractive, inviting stands. The lady at Juno Fibre Arts has her own Etsy shop, and was trying her first show. I somehow don't think it will be her last, if the quality of her yarns is anything to go by. How could anyone resist this?!

Well, I couldn't anyway, and bought a skein of 100% BFL sock yarn in the colourway 'Heather Rocks' and a skein of 50% merino, 50% tencel laceweight in the colourway 'Boudoir'. They both feel really gorgeous!

Renaissance Dyeing is based in France, and all the yarns are dyed using natural dyes. There was a beautiful crocheted scarf tied onto their stand, showing off all the beautiful colours of yarn. The pattern is called Bohemian Rhapsody, and hopefully the pattern will be coming very soon.

Here's a closer look at more of the lovely yarn colours........

I bought a skein of 100% BFL sock yarn in the colourway 'Louise', (named after the dyer's grand-daughter!) It's a really pretty shade of purple.

I bought a couple of sets of stitch markers too. The first, from Atomic Knitting, are some funky bright rings, and the second, from Tricot Plume in France, are some beautiful beaded, non-snag markers. The beads are really pretty.

It was very strange wandering around the college, spotting knitting celebrities. We saw Jess and Casey from Ravelry, and Ysolda was there with her photo booth.

Cookie A was signing copies of her book, so I bought one to add to my sock book collection! At least I have plenty of plain yarn to use on the patterns!

I would have loved to have taken her sock designing class, but we just couldn't fit it in! Maybe next time, eh?!

Talking of classes, yes - Snoopydog and I did do something else apart from just spend money! (and as you can see, we were pretty good at that, each encouraging the other with 'just one last quick look around the marketplace'!!) On Friday afternoon we took Anne Hanson's Finishing class. Although we'd been told to make swatches to bring along, it ended up being a demonstration class, with Anne showing us how to block, seam and finish garments. I'm never happy with the way my garments look (that's probably why I make so many pairs of socks!), so I'm going to try very hard to follow her instructions to make up my stripy baby cardigan. Apparently, if you use mattress stitch and only go under one ladder at a time, matching the stripes should be a doddle! I'll let you know! She was a really lovely person, and was so generous with her knowledge that despite it not being as hands-on as I'd hoped, I came away knowing an awful lot more than I did at the start.

We chilled out on Friday night at an Italian restaurant, a stone's throw away from the Royal Albert Hall and the hall of residence we were staying in, and before bed, spent some time ooh-ing and aah-ing over our purchases. Saturday morning found us making one of those 'just another look' around the marketplace, and at lunchtime we met up with Erin, a Ravelry friend from Canada. She had timed her holiday to England to co-incide with KnitNation, and we'd become friends through the KnitNation forum. She very kindly brought me some local yarn as a gift - some Koigu KPPPM and some Shelridge Farm laceweight yarn. It was extremely generous of her, and a lovely gesture. I gave her some Colinette Jitterbug (not quite local to me, but British as least!) and a little sock project bag that I'd made. I'm sure that this will be the first of many yarny swaps between us! It was a shame that we couldn't chat for longer, but we both had afternoon classes.

Snoopydog and I were taking a toe-up sock making class with Marjan Hammink, also known as Yarnissima. We were given a mini-ball of bright orange Wollmeise yarn, and once we'd mastered Judy's Magic Cast On, we were off!

It was a pretty intense afternoon, with a lot of techniques to learn in a short space of time. I have decided that I much prefer knitting socks on dpns rather than use magic loop!! There wasn't much talking as we were all concentrating so hard.

I didn't quite get my sock finished in class, so transferred it onto my trusty dpns to finish on the train back home! I think that I need to make another sock following Yarnissima's pattern to really embed these new techniques. I'm sure that with more practise, I can avoid getting ladders.

We left London to head back to Norfolk, tired but extremely happy. It was a wonderful 2 days of total woolly indulgence! I hope that you've enjoyed your virtual visit to KnitNation 2010 as much as we did! I'll leave you with a couple more photos to enjoy. Have a good week! xxx

Phew - made it!

Hello! I'm sorry to say that there has been very little knitting going on in the JK household this week. The last few days of term were exhausting! The term isn't quite over for me yet, as I am going into work tomorrow for a day of planning meetings with colleagues. It was either now or at the end of the holidays, so we all decided it was better to get it out of the way! I can, however, show you the end product from my school knitting club. I ended up with eight girls, who all made a scarf for a favourite teddy! They were so proud of their work.

We didn't get as much done as I'd hoped, mainly because I let them take their knitting home, and they often forgot to bring it in on the day of the club! Next time, I'll have a project for school and a different one for home! They all seem enthusiastic to carry on next term, so we'll hopefully move on to the purl stitch!

As well as the end of term chaos, Mr JK and I landed ourselves with the job of coming up with a fund raising quiz sheet for our local gardening group. 'No problem!' I said merrily, some months ago - well doesn't time fly?! The quiz is needed for next weekend, so we have spent the last few nights with our noses stuck in gardening books, coming up with a whole mixture of questions, some cryptic, some factual and others anagrams. I'm actually pretty pleased with how it turned out, and will get the quiz sheets copied and ready to sell! Just remind me to keep my mouth firmly shut if I look like I'm going to volunteer for anything else in the near future!

I received my Teatime treats swap parcel from Joy this week, and I was well and truly spoilt! She sent me a felted teacosy, decorated with some very pretty crochet flowers, a mug, a calorie-free cupcake pincushion, a lovely fabric-covered notebook, a crocheted doily, some kitsch teapot stitch markers, some tea and some delicious homemade apricot and ginger biscuits! Needless to say, they didn't last long! Take a look!

This afternoon, Mr JK and I visited Salle Park. The garden was open as part of the National Gardens Scheme. It has a fantastic walled kitchen garden, and the fruit and vegetables were pretty impressive! It was wonderful to see so many insects enjoying themselves in the flowers.
Bees buzzing in the lavender ..................

............ and the echinacea.

I've got to get my knitting skates on this week, as not only do I need to get my Summer 2010 parcel posted, but I also have to get ready for KnitNation. I've got rather a lot of homework that needs to be done before Friday afternoon, so I'd better get cracking! Have a good week!

Teatime treats

Hello there, it doesn't seem a week since I was last here! Only 5 more gettings up until the holidays, and I can't wait! Snoopydog and I have the treat of KnitNation to look forward to. I ordered my dpn in readiness for the sock class, and have watched this video on YouTube, to try and get to grips with Magic Loop! I'm going to have a try this evening to see how I get on.

My Teatime treats parcel was received by Ethmay this week, so I can now share with you the goodies I sent her. I made a felted teacosy, and made some felted flowers to go on it. It needed two cycles in the machine to get a really good felt, and the whole house smelt of wet dog until it was dry. Thankfully the smell disappeared!

I was really pleased with how the roses turned out. I used this pattern from Ravelry. I also made a cupcake pincushion, and sewed some beads and sequins on the top for the sprinkles. It was a pattern from the Knit Today magazine a couple of years ago, and I used up some oddments of Baby Cashmerino.

I found a few more goodies to put into the parcel, and this is what Ethmay received! (minus the teapot!)

She's already promised to send me back a mini-skein of the sock yarn for my blankie, once she's knitted a pair of socks! Now that I've finished that swap, I'm putting all my efforts into the Summer 2010 swap. I just have to finish one thing and then I'm done!

I have been busy with the sewing machine, and have managed to line the Inga Sunny Summery bag. It's not perfect, but I'm really pleased with my efforts! I may get some ribbon and trim the inside seam, just to cover up a couple of slightly dodgy places!

Here's a closer look at the lining. I also backed the straps, so hopefully they won't stretch too much.

The garden is great at the moment. Mr JK dug up a couple of beetroot yesterday, and some shallots, and made a jar of Delia's pickled beetroot with shallots. It's really delicious, and doesn't have that awful overpowering vinegary taste that you may well associate with beetroot. We also picked our first French beans, more mangetout and broad beans, some celery, and the most scrummy new potatoes that we're eating with salad this evening. We are waging war on cabbage white butterflies, and have spent some time this afternoon building a netted fortress around the brassicas to try and keep the little beggars from having one huge picnic!

I'll leave you now with a photo of the buddleia, which has suddenly come into flower this week. It's been a haven for the bees. Have a lovely week, and see you soon! xx

Full of milky goodness

Hello again! Hope you've had a good week. I've had a busy time, taking my pupils up to high school for the first of their transition days, plus several rehearsals for their leavers performance on the last day of term. I also passed my minibus driver's test, so I can now drive a minibus full of kids! It's been a scorcher of a week here, especially at night. I've found it really hard to sleep right through, waking around 4am and then dozing until the alarm goes off. We are due a day of rain tomorrow, so I'm hoping it will cool things down a bit. We need the rain in the garden too! The mallow has suddenly sprung into life big time, and is threatening to take over the decking. I do love the flowers.

The veggies are doing well, and we've been eating almost exclusively from the garden this week - salad leaves, rocket, cucumbers, tomatoes and mangetout. Mr JK accidentally disturbed one of the potato plants, and unearthed a couple of salad potatoes. Mmmmmmmm! It won't be that long before they are dug up. I love new potatoes, simply boiled with a knob of butter. The clematis has come into flower this week. It's called Polish Spirit, and we bought it because of Mr JK's family links with Poland. It has beautiful purple flowers ........

To try and cool down a bit, we went for a stroll down Cromer pier this morning. There was a lovely sea breeze, and we certainly felt more refreshed.

I went into Norwich yesterday to buy this ......

................. and I came back with this little lot too!

Oops! It was the end of the John Lewis sale, and there were many extremely tempting bargains to be had! Do you want a closer look? Oh, go on then! I bought some lengths of ribbon on a card, no idea what I'm going to use them for at the moment, but they looked so pretty, I couldn't resist!

I also bought some more fabric to make bags (more of this later!) The Amy Butler fabric wasn't in the sale, but as I only needed 30cm, it wasn't very expensive. I bought some co-ordinating ribbon to use as a drawstring too.

I then spotted the bins with yarn in them, and snaffled 21 balls of Rowan Milk Cotton DK, at the incredible price of £1.20 a ball (it usually retails at £4.95!) I can picture a crocheted blanket, maybe a ripple, or possibly some kind of Granny square a la Attic24. This is the colour range I chose ........

and here are all the balls together! The yarn has 30% milk protein in it, and feels very soft.

I called in to see my good friend Snoopydog, to give her a birthday present, and met Oscar for the first time. He's very cute, and well behaved, even though he did keep trying to lick my feet!! (Brave dog!) Snoops had a gift for me too - a bargain she had spotted earlier in the year - a Cath Kidston knitting needle case, complete with needles. A girl can never have too many knitting needles in my view!

My yarn purchasing didn't stop there! Oh, no! I called in at Norfolk Yarn on the way back up to North Norfolk for some baby yarn. My boss has asked me to knit her two lots of baby clothes over the summer holidays. As she doesn't know if the babies are boys or girls, I'm going to make a stripy cardigan, with matching hat and socks for each, using these yarns .......

Once the babies are born, I'll add the button band and some suitable buttons.

I've finally got going on my sewing machine. After a few practises on scraps, I followed this really easy tutorial to make a little lined drawstring bag. It's by no means perfect, and I think the cord is a bit too thick for the size of the bag, but I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself! It's the perfect size to keep my earrings in when I'm travelling. Now that I've made one, I'm going to experiment with the sizing to make a sock project bag. Guess what everyone's going to be getting for Christmas presents now?!

My knitting projects are progressing steadily. I'm almost halfway through making something for the Summer 2010 swap, and my Teatime Treats swap is all ready for posting, so I should be able to show you what I've been busy making for Ethmay next time. And I'm not going to let myself play with any more drawstring bags until I've lined the two crochet bags, honest! Before I go, I must just show you some yarn that I won this week. Kate had bought a skein of Wollmeise yarn, but when it arrived, she knew that it was just too ORANGE for her. So rather than leave it gathering dust at the bottom of her stash, she very kindly offered it as a giveaway to the person who gave (in her view) the best suggestion of what to make with it. She liked my idea, so the yarn arrived this week, and I shall soon be found wearing my sunglasses, knitting a pair of globe trotting socks for Snoopydog's younger daughter. It does feel extremely squishy and soft, so I hope that I manage to get some at KnitNation. KnitNation is only three weeks away, and I need to learn how to do magic loop between now and then, so best I go and get on with it! Have a lovely week, whatever you're up to. See you soon. xx