'Tis Me!

Both my Dad and Chris's Dad have recently made comments about my lack of bloggage so I thought I'd better get on and write something!

So why have I not blogged 'properly' for ages? Well, the simple answer is because I haven't really had much to say.  I've been spending my days in the shed making all the bead orders that my fab customers have placed.  It's been pretty cold down there recently - some days I have about four layers on.  I also invested in a Thermos flask so now I have tea on tap dans le shed.

All in all, "It was cold today and I made beads and drank tea in my shed" wouldn't really have made for interesting blog reading and that is why I've been quiet on the blog.

But today I have things to show you.  First off is a hat that I knitted to keep me warm in the aforementioned chilly shed and whilst out and about in cold Cambridgeland.  The pattern I used is 'Estella' by the wonderful Ysolda Teague.  It's knitted in Rowan Pure Wool DK in purple and grey which is my current favourite colour combination.

In Christmas news the only shopping we've done has been food-related or decorative and sparkly.  We really need to go and do some actual gift shopping.  We put our tree up on Saturday.  We went for a fake one because transporting a real one when neither of us drive would have been tricky.  You can see from the photo that I still love my red and white polka dots and yes, in case you're wondering, that is Kermit sat atop the tree.

Why Kermit?  Why not?  He matches nicely.  Chris even found him a little Father Christmas hat in the full-of-festive-tat-and-things-that-drop-glitter-everywhere Christmas shop in town.  Kermit was going to be a temporary tree topper until we found a suitable star but we've decided to keep the frog as he's ace.

If you've picked up the January issue of Beads & Beyond magazine you may have seen the two page feature on my beads!  I'm really chuffed with it.  Although I've had mentions in bead magazines before this is my first proper interview.  The January issue of Beads & Beyond is out now.

That's about it.  See - I told you I haven't really been up to much!  I will be back in the shed tomorrow making more bead orders, probably feeling slightly cold and drinking tea.  If anything interesting happens I'll be sure to let you know .....

Warm Hands

I've been doing lots of knitting.  I'm working on a pair of socks that have been languishing on the needles since we moved in and I'm also teaching myself stranded (Fair Isle) knitting. 

I made the fingerless mitts above for my sister Sally for her birthday.  The pattern is Ysolda Teague's 'Veyla' and it's great.  A quick but very pretty knit and Sally is absolutely delighted with them.

And then Chris asked me to make him another pair of fingerless gloves, this time in dark red.  These are a mish-mash of a couple of standard glove patterns.  They're knitted in DK weight yarn so they should keep his hands nice and warm.

Many people wonder if fingerless gloves are effective.  They really really are - they keep your wrists warm which helps and even though your fingers and their tips are exposed your hands are kept surprisingly toasty.  Also, and in Chris's case this is of major importance, the free fingertips factor allows you to use the touch screen of your iPhone with ease.  Result!

Flat Batteries

I know I've been a bit quiet - I've had a few days off from the beads in order to recharge my lampworking batteries.  They were pretty flat, you see.  I made beads on Friday and am just about to head down to the shed to make some more so I will be back later with photos.

My knitting needles have been click-clacking away recently and I've finished a couple of projects in the past few weeks. 

One of those projects was a fab Ysolda design - her 'Hap Blanket'.  It's getting quite chilly here in Cambridge so I decided we needed a smallish blanket for the sofa.

 

It's knitted in Rowan Pure Wool Aran in charcoal grey and sage green which matches our sofa and curtains nicely.  The yarn is so squishy and soft.  I unpinned the blanket from the blocking mat this morning and I expect it will be deployed during tonight's television viewing.

I'll be back later with beads .....