It's Chriiiiiiiiiistmas!

Which means it is time for the CtnY Secret Santa swap!
Inside the parcel i found all these shiney gifts...

The gift tag reads - "To Lukey, to help with the Christmas flatulance"
Brilliant! I wonder if it works on Blokes? :oD

Inside all the shineyness i found:
A skein of Yarn Yard sock club yarn, a campervan mug, a pretty little heart, and the cutest piece of campsite fabric.
I feel well and truly spoilt, thankyou to my Santa who, if i have guessed the clue correctly, is Jessica :o)

OH! And Lukey's gift? Some charcoal biscuits which i am sure he will love with a bit of cheese after dinner tomorrow LOL

Birthday Swap

My parcel from the Crafty Threads n Yarn Birthday Swap came this afternoon!
I found a lovely pink rustling parcel and a pretty card with a lovely message inside from Terri...

And inside the parcel i found a piece of gorgeous sheepie fleece, a skein of Fyberspates Dream sock wool and a wonderful book with lots of advice on selling handmade goods.
The fleece is already earmarked for a kindle bag which i'll make once i've bought a hard cover for it :D

Thanks again Terri xx

Patchwork Bag

So, i saw a pattern in People's Friend magazine (issue dated 9th August 2011) for a patchwork bag that comes from this book and i had a pile of scraps from the swap we had at CT'n'Y so yesterday i spent the day making it!

I've used disappearing nine-patch blocks...

In two styles...

And instead of putting the base panel on the outside i thought i'd put it on the inside so i can see it :oD

All i need now is some cord for the drawstring and it's done!

Scrap Swap

I've finally remembered to take a photo of the gorgeous fabrics that Harrysmum sent to me in the CTnY Fabric Scrap Swap.
They are all from the same range as far as i can tell and feature inspiring words, flowers and the pink ribbons one would associate with breast cancer and they are all very pretty <3

Happy Birthday to meeeeee!!

So, i was on holiday for my birthday and as i was taking part in the Birthday Swap at CTnY i made sure Santa knew, otherwise the parcel would have been left out for the snails to eat!
(Bloke found the remains of one of his parcels when we got back!!)
She timed the delivery perfectly and it arrived not half an hour ago :oD


The postcard is my clue, it's a lovely picture of the River Tees in Middlesborough and after some deduction i worked out my Santa was Anna and on opening the card i was right! YaY! :oD

She's sent me three knitting patterns; a VW campervan, a VW beetle and a scooter plus some gorgeous enamelled glass beads, a very bright and groovy bag and a gorgeous skein of a new-to-me wool called Brigantia Luxury Double Knit which is sooooooooooo squishy i haven't been able to put it down yet!!

Thankyou Anna, i feel very spoiled on my non-birthday ;o)

Secret Santa Summer Swap

My parcel arrived this morning and i am soooooooo excitied and SPOILT!

She's sent me a packet of chocolate campervans, silver beads, wooden buttons, a lovely hard backed spiral bound notebook and TWO skeins of hand-dyed and hand-spun wool!!

My Santa is so clever isn't she!
The blue is Corriedale and the multi-coloured wool is BFL and i love them both to bits.
I must admit to welling up as i unwrapped my parcel, she's stalked me really well and the colours are just perfect and she put all that effort in to spin them both as well which means so much to me ::sniff::

Thanks Sprite, you are awesome!

Crochet Lace fingerless Mitts

I made these for my Secret Santa Swap partner Janice after i found the pattern in her Ravelry queue.
I altered it a little bit due to the fact that i took the project out with me but forgot to take the pattern so the thumbhole is probably wrong but they work so that's the main thing ;o)

I edged the thumbhole with crab stitch to give it a bit of stability ;o)

I had tried several edgings (i still didn't have the pattern with me) and finally tried crab stitch which i thought looked great! It was only when i got home and looked at the pattern that i discovered that that was what i was meant to do anyway :oD
I think it goves a lovely edging and will definitely be using it for more projects in future :o)

Pattern: Crochet Lace Fingerless Mitts
Yarn: Yarn Yard Bonny in shade Delicate
Mods: I knitted the cuff first and then did a round of dc in the live stitches

MayDay Challenge

My Challenge this weekend was to finish the Skew sock and i actually did it!!
I started this sock at the beginning of April and trudged slowly up the foot to the inner ankle shaping which is where i was on Saturday when i started work on it. It was a little bit too complicated for knitting in company and my progress was slow at knitting group but once i was alone and could concentrate on it properly i picked up some speed.
I had a few hours with it on Sunday and finished the heel including the grafting plus half of the bottom half of the leg and on Monday afternoon i reached the short row shaping at the top of the leg but as i was once again with company i couldn't concentrate on the sock and remain sociable so it was put away until we got home again ;o)
We sat down to watch Slumdog Millionnaire last night and i made it to the end of the short row shaping and started on the ribbing which i finished as we watched Flash Forward :oD

All i have to do now is get over my SSS and actually knit it a partner! lol

January socks - DONE!

They were finished in time to enter them in the CTnY monthly draw but unfortunately i was away from home at the end of January and completely forgot to enter them! Ah, well, at least i got them finished ;o)

The striping has come out very strangely. The first sock has striped with one row per colour but the second sock striped with two rows per colour! It's only noticeable on the foot and there is some rather pretty spiralling on the cuff and all in all i am very happy with them :oD

I have them entered in the Sockdown January draw in the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group on Ravelry and this is the first time i have taken part. I really enjoyed the challenge of finding the right pattern for the yarn and i think i have succeeded. The textured cuff breaks up the slight pooling and i love the stripey feet :oD

Project Details:
Pattern: Noviembre Socks
Yarn: Yarn Yard Bonny - Club yarn September 2007 ::blushing::
Needles: 2mm for the ribbing and feet (magic loop)
2.25mm for the cuff (dpns)
Mods: Firstly i cast on 70 stitches to allow for the thinner yarn weight used
Secondly i changed the rib as i didn’t like the 4st rib pattern which then went into a 5 stitch leg pattern, it didn’t flooooow! Rib was changed to Ktbl, P, K2, P (the same as the leg pattern)
Finally i added an extra inch of stocking stitch to the top of the short row heel as it’s too shallow for me otherwise ;o)

Sock Swap!

My Sock Swap parcel arrived this morning and i just LOVE it!
Once again i feel spoiled rotten!!
My parcel was sent to me by the lovely Joy who is a very good friend that i just don't see enough of unfortunately, this year we went to Malvern and she was in London! Just typical! lol
Hopefully we will plan things better next year and both be in the same place at the same time!


She made me a pair of "Broadripple Socks" in CherryTree Hill Supersock and now i can't wait to cast on my own skein as it makes a wonderful fabric and is really squishy <3 She also sent me a little fabric bag and a Socktopus Knit Bits box, a chocolate recipe calendar for 2010, a sock shaped needle gauge, a Malvern Hills fridge magnet and a gorgeous watercolour bookmark with a scene of the Malvern Hills on it.
I would just love to have that view from my window every day!
There was also a set of the sweetest snowmen stitch markers

lucky dip sock yarns from terri

lucky dip sock yarns from terri
Originally uploaded by franneyk

This little lot was a bargain from Terri at CTnY and they arrived today. She's having a destash of her sockyarns and offered them up for ten pound for a lucky dip of 4 balls! How could i resist!!

I really love the two on the right hand side, Opal Rainforest in Veronica die Wilde and an unidentified grey/blue/red mix and the Online feels lovely too, it'll make a very bright and funky pair of socks i think :o)

This marks the end of sockyarn stash enhancement for me for at least the next year. I have plenty to use up and if i keep buying it i'll never knit it all and that would be very sad!
I'm going to try and knit at least a pair of socks a month and i also have some of the earmarked for shawls and stoles - especially some of my lovely Yarn Yard club skeins.

Autumn Secret Santa Swap

Autumn Secret Santa Swap
Originally uploaded by franneyk

My Postie loves me! He knocked and uttered the immortal words "another one for you" hehehe

My lovely Santa has sent me a skein of KnitGlobal baby alpaca which is so soft and squishy you wouldn't believe, and two balls of Lett-Lopi in a wonderfullly autumnal shade. It's all browny with flecks of red and mustard and the occasional flash of silver. Divine! Terri has stalked me well! She also sent me a GIGANTIC double lolly, remember them? A bar of dairy milk with cranberry and granola and a sachet of eucalan wool wash which will come in very handy!

Patterns have been picked already! The alpaca will become a cowl of some description, probably a horseshoe lace one to match my Cranford mitts and the Lopi will be transformed into a hat. I was thinking of one from Going Straight, i just need to decide which one!

Thankyou Santa, i feel very spoiled! *hugs*

Sweet Pea Shawl - for Daisy

Sweet Pea Shawl - for Daisy
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Not a very good photo i'm afraid - i thought i had more but i have some "invalid files" on the camera so i am presuming that something went wrong in the photographing process :o(
I really like how it came out, the cotton slub gives it a lovely texture and weight and the colour is so soft and hopefully it'll "go" with both formal and casual outfits. Daisydap had commented on several Sweet Pea Shawls on the forum and seemed very keen on the pattern but being unable to crochet she was unable to make herself one... that's where my plan started for her parcel :o)
I started with the shawl - it took me several swatches to find the right yarn and then thought about what else i could include in the parcel... i came up with a scene... sitting in a comfy chair with a shawl draped round your shoulders, a book in your hand, a candle burning and enriching the air with the scent of flowers and a steaming mug of chocolate to hand.So, that's what i did :oD
I love making swap parcels :o)

Joy's Smooshy Sweet Pea

Smooshy Sweet Pea
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Here is the Sweet Pea Shawl i made for Joy's birthday. Fortunately for me she liked it :o)
I found it very hard to part with it i have to say! It is absolutely gorgeous, i love Dream in Colour so much. The depth of the colours, the tones and subtle shading and highlights are just perfect in every way <3
I bought this skein from someone on the forum and am now very tempted to get more for meeeeeeeeee, i would absolutely love a zip up cardi in this colour... or any colour come to that ;o)

A somewhat late posting!

This is the lovely parcel that Janice sent to me for the "Stitchmarker and mini-skein" swap over at CTnY.
I should have posted photos and thankyous straight away, but the camera wasn't charged and so the parcel got put to one side and then buried underneath WIPs and wool and i realise it appears i am making excuses but i have a terrible memory!
In my defence, i did thank Janice when the parcel arrived, i just didn't get round to photos ::blushing::

The stitchmarkers are ever so sparkly and are made with Swarovski crystals which catch the light beautifully.
I was trying to show off their sparkle in this photo but alas the battery was on it's way out again and i was doing it in a rush and so it hasn't focused properly :o(
If i get any sunshine tomorrow i will have another attempt ;o)

In my parcel there was also a lovely little cross-stitched keyring with a lovely little robin on it and a gorgeous mini-skein of orangey-goodness :o)

Thankyou again Janice, my apologies for the lateness in my posting!!

Jacquie's stitchmarkers

Jacquie's stitchmarkers
Originally uploaded by franneyk

At last a photo! i finally co-ordinated myself enough to have the stitchmarkers, camera, charged battery and cables on hand!

They are gorgeous, i can't tell you what they are made from just yet as Jacquie is running a little competition on her blog and i don't want to spoil it for anyone :o)
If you want a set of your very ownsome then get on over there and tell her what you think they are made from in her comments :oD

Ooooh! Parcels!

My postie arrived this morning clutching padded envelopes for meeeeeeeeee! :oD
Firstly there was a set of stitchmarkers from Leah and she also sent me a lovely crystal snowflake which i will hang in the window above the radiator, the heat will send it gently twirling and the sunlight(which will return at some point) will catch it and make it even more pretty :o) The stitchmarkers are lovely, green crystals which look ummm... robust (?) but they are lovely and light, perfect for my sock and scarf knitting :o)
Thankyou Leah *hugs*

Then there was another envelope marked "beads" from Utah. My stitchmarkers from Jacquie as part of the swap on CTnY :o) They are gorgeous in lovely toning shades of brown with a marble/granite look to them but they too are lighter than they look :o)
I look forward to using them Jacquie, thankyou! *hugs*

Thirdly was a squishy parcel. Now, i know i said i was on a Stashalong, but i didn't buy it! I swapped it for a sockbag with Ann so as far as i'm concerned it's allowed :oD
The squishiness is 62g of Treehouse "Bloom" in a gorgeous sand and sea colourway and i have just under 500m to play with. Because it reminds me so much of the beach i want to use a wavy pattern so i'll be scouring my pattern books and Ravelry for some inspiration this afternoon :oD

Not a bad day for parcels all in all eh! It made up for yet another round of house tidying - if only i could keep the mess under control i wouldn't have to do such major tidy ups but c'est la vie, i can't knit and tidy at the same time and i'd rather be knitting thankyouverymuch! :oD

Well, guess who the idiot is

who has made and posted ten cards and forgotten to take photos of ALL of them!!
DOH!

Oh well, hopefully they'll be in their new homes by Thursday - i do hopethey are well received! they're a bit amateurish, i am no Bob after all, but i kinda liked how they came out :o)

So much to say, so little time!

So, the Wensleydale scarf is GORGEOUS! I took Bob's advice and left it for about half an hour, didn't touch it, didn't want it to felt!! I also knew not to use water that was too hot or too cold cos that would felt it too, i'm clever sometimes you know :o)
I wrapped it in a towel, squished it, stood on it and then unwrapped it and draped it in front of the warm radiator and hey presto! Soft scarf (still not as soft as i'd like and still a big itchy but it's so warm and gorgeous i don't care! :oD

Another Finished Object has also appeared! On Friday i decided that my head might get cold on it's journey to Swindon so i whipped up a Calorimetry in the Patons SWS that Dympna sent me in our swap. It's just lovely, the colours are gorgeous and it's lovely and thick - a little itchy but i can cope with it because it does indeed keep my head warm while allowing me to wear my hideous hair down. YAY! For Ravelry! I was able to wade through the thousand or so others on there and figure out roughly how many stitches to cast on and how many repeats of row 5 to do :o)
The answer is 100 and 12 respectively ;o)

(i'm pretending it's Friday night by the way *sly wink*)

I'll be off to our forumly gathering very early in the morning to meet up with friends old (HA! Met 'em once, does that count? *lol*) and new! I'm very excited! :oD

I've had the mother of all headaches today, i would say it was probably a migraine, even laying in a dark room didn't help so i took some migraleve and had a cold flannel across the back of my neck and one of those (or both) helped, i'm so glad because there's no way i could make it tomorrow otherwise :o(
I'm debating whether it was triggered by stress or Aunt Flo - i know i had a huge headache a little while ago too but i didn't make the connection then. I'm taking notes and will try and keep track of eating/sleeping/menstrual patterns and i'm going to rate the headache each day too and see if there's a pattern. If i remember to anyway :o?

Breasty Socks Finished!

As promised, here's a photo of the finished PINK socks for October.
I've fulfilled several thingummys with this pair (can't think of the word, as usual!)
Firstly, it's Breast Cancer Awareness month and they are pink in honour of that, this also means they get entered into a special draw by Natalie from The Yarn Yard. They are also my pair for the month of October for the Sock-a-Month challenge at CTnY which means they get entered into another drawer for a special prize from Natalie at The Yarn Yard.
She's a star that woman. She's one of the most generous people i have the pleasure of knowing as well as being witty and a very talented "yarn artist" for want of a better description :o)

Sock a Month socks so far:
January - Opal Zebras
February - Lombard Street Socks
March - NONE! Mojo had left the building!
April & May - Painted Desert socks, Bluetit Monkeys AND TootyFrooty socks!
June & July - Sassy Stripes socks
August & September - Cottage Garden socks
October - Breasty socks

So that's only 8 pairs, i thought it was more :o(
For November i shall mostly be knitting merino cos they are quick and warm and i need to finish at least two pairs to be in with a chance of completing 12 pairs by the end of December - if i manage to knit two pairs in December as well that is!

There's a bit of a tally going on over at CTnY and the high score so far goes to ProbablyJane with 25 pairs! Close second is CJ with 22 and not far behind her is Alice with 20!
Kind of beats my measly 8 into submission doesn't it *lol*