{ Mu'Mu }

Knitting :: The beginning, The Middle, and The End

A day in the life of a skein of yarn in our house. Quickly and enthusiastically balled up and on the needles before you can blink.

The recent cold weather had me thinking of winter woollens earlier than normal this year. Usually it isn't til mid September or later before I start scouring Ravelry for hat and mitten patterns, but here we are at the tail end of August with the first of the winter knits already off the needles! I like to think this makes me ahead of the game... hm..

And the photo shoot? The midget had very definite plans of standing with his flag. His England flag. He was very insistent about it and styled it in his own unique way.

And now, to stay ahead of the game, I still have a whole skein left to make mittens and gators - matchy matchy...

High Hopes

Whenever I start a new knitting project I have high hopes that it will knit up quickly. I have high hopes it will fit. I have high hopes I enjoy the process.

Two weeks in and I'm only this far done....

I love the colour. I love the yarn. I love the pattern.

Someone tell me why I never pick these needles up??

Decisions, decisions

Such awful decision-making times.... yellow, blue, black.... *sigh* it's a burden, really.

Luckily, I have my very own button-chooser who likes to help his Mama by rummaging through the button jars and finding juuuuust the right one.

What would I do without him?

Going for the Yarn Look

In one of my more lucid moments last week, I had the good sense to buy yarn. Buying yarn does not need a reason, but I had a reason anyway - I wanted a variety of colours in the stash instead of the slew of teals, mustards, greys and blues I have amassed.

Because in my lucid moment of yarn buying I envisaged myself in Ramadan sitting contentedly in the chair crocheting blankets for the coming winter as I did dhikr whilst my children played co-operative games whilst also doing dhikr. And singing kum-by-ah. Holding hands.

In my perfectly lucid, tea-drinking, eating cake moment this was how the coming month was going to be. Ah, yes.

Then Ramadan came; the children did not sing kum-by-ah. I am not sitting in the easy chair crocheting whilst hymning the praises of my Lord. We are not playing co-operative games and being angelic. No. We are in the crash position. We are wondering why, of all religions to pick, did we choose Islam and not Buddhism. We cannot be arsed to pick a crochet hook up. We may even entertain evil ideas of what could be done with a crochet hook. We may even be in bed letting the babes watch DVDs all day. That's the reality.

So, instead, the yarn stays tucked up ready for cake-eating days, in it's little rack under the table by the easy chair. It has gone from being a stash to an art installation, from yarn to decor.

And I think I quite like it like that.

Simple Pleasures :: a few new things

:: New books.

:: Mustard Yarn. Again.

:: Making plans.

:: Thoughts of knitting.

And nervous breakdowns aside, good friends both real and virtual, who keep me afloat.

On the Sticks

The new yarn from Calana Crafts didn't take too long to make it's way onto some sticks. I was just itching to get going with it. Settled on a pattern for a shawl, reduced the size of needles from 9mm to 3mm and am knitting up a shawl-cum-cowl for the neck {details on Ravelry insha'allah}.

Have I told you how much I love this yarn?

I do. A lot. Yellow and teal? Oh my.

"Because I Really Love Yarn"

And really, can you blame me?? I love this new yarn from Calana Crafts. It currently is my absolute favourite and I just stare at it and smile, and paw it and smile, and hug it and smile and rub it against my face and purr, and smile. Oh my. Teal, and grey and mustard? *Fans self* Totally a colour high for me. This is a special special yarn and I am saving it for a special pattern.

And so to you answer you, my dear son, "Why do I take pictures of wool all the time??", it's because I really love yarn.

The Biggest Ball of Yarn - ever

After taking (a well earned, IMO!) break from knitting for over a month, burned out from a mammoth none-stop knitfest over winter, I redeemed myself last week somewhat by buying the biggest ball of yarn I have ever, ever seen (almost 900 yards!) and cast on for not one, but TWO vests - for the boys.

The pattern is free on Ravelry and I ditched the call for cable in favour of speedy knitting instead. I am crossing my fingers - last time I knit this I managed to make the head opening big enough only for someone with a head the size of a peanut. I am a bit nervous about whether these will be finished unscathed.

I don't have high hopes, so wish me luck. The weekend will hopefully see the finished results.

:S

Yarn :: the obsession with slate and mustard continues...

A while back I asked Joan of Calana Crafts if she happened to ever do custom orders for yarn. I've bought from Joan before and the quality of the products and service is excellent, so was quite confident when I asked that whatever the result it would be exceptional.

I have been keeping my eye out for a grey and mustard yarn for a while now. I can find grey. I can find mustard. But together? Not one.

So thinking along the lines of lichen on slate I wondered if it could be done. A couple weeks later and here is the result - some breath-taking colours in another (few) skeins of beautiful yarn. She not only pulled it off, but how!

And I couldn't resist a couple other colourways too. Although that REALLY must be it for yarn buying for this year (only another four weeks til I can start again then...). These colours are so sophisticated and the variation within the skein really is beautiful.

I can't wait to get these wound up and on the sticks - I really don't know where to start first. Legwarmers? Another shawl (my mum claimed the last one)? A sweater?

I don't know, but whatever this becomes I am sure it will be stunning.

Thankyou Joan! Thankyou Calana Crafts who is keeping me well stocked with lucious yarn!

Making Our Way in Winter :: 4 :: Warm up with Wool

Crafters from the Outer Hebrides

I toyed with the idea of keeping this find all to myself. But that just wouldn't be right. Good things should be shared - and good handmade things? Well they are worth shouting from the rooftops, I'd say...

A while back I stumbled upon Scalpay Linen blog - you might have seen it in the sidebar. It held a fascination for me - blogging from the Outer Hebrides from real weavers and spinners - from a woman who makes Harris Tweed for crying out loud! In a world full of crafty bloggers who blow their own trumpet for sewing two lines together, here at last was a real craftwoman to put all others to shame - spinning wool from her own flock, weaving linen and tweed - grappling mountain lions with her bare hands, ripping sinew out with her bare teeth to use as thread before going back to her real farm house croft thing to start a real fire with maybe flint and sticks  because there is no electricity.

I might be lying about the mountain lion thing. Anyway along with her own shop on Etsy Sheila also linked to the store I bought this yarn from - Calana Crafts (blog HERE). And it is a gem.

There seems such a concentration of crafters from these wonderful places; in a world that seems to be getting faster and increasingly more meaningless, dislocating people from the land, their families, even their ownselves, it is a real treasure trove to find people still weaving by hand, who still live in the place they and their family were born, keeping ancient crafts alive. I wonder if they realise how amazing their lifestyle is? How lucky they are?

And I think we, as UK crafters, have a duty in some respect, to support homegrown crafters too. The plight of  Harris Tweed in recent years has shown how little importance we in Britain place on our own heritage - if these people were in any other country I am sure they would have received World Heritage status by now and received some form of grants to ensure their survival. It is an indictment of our society when some arse like Brian Haggas can undo aeon of tradition based on nothing more than spurious market forecasting. {Spurious because evidently the man is a complete dick. Allegedly.}

Many of us have taken a pledge to support Handmade, but taking it one step further, how about supporting Homegrown Handmade? And not just homegrown, but Heritage Homegrown Handmade (that's a lot of H's)?

The yarn is gorgeous (I say that about yarn a lot, I know) and I fully intend to go back when my bank manager allows, and RAID the entire store for my stash. All of it. Mine.

But that would be greedy, and so I share the link with you all. All I ask is that you leave me some, OK?

And when Scalpay gets the Harris Tweed in that's mine too. Just saying.

A little bit of sunshine to keep those winter blues away... support Heritage Homegrown Handmade!

Knitting fo' Real

From this::

To THIS::

I am ready to knit fo' REAL. Yes several (five) hats have been knit already. Yes gators (two) have come off the sticks. Yes fingerless mitts (one) have been completed, but people I have felt the chill and my primal brain took over and decided this is WAR. My body has suddenly remember the bone-chilling cold of last Winter and now mama is on a mission to tie a scarf around the world.

I am talking more hats, gloves, mittens, legwarmers, shawls, blankets, socks, possibly sweaters - anything ANYTHING that makes this little family survive until Spring (yes I live up a mountain with no running water and only Elk for company....not).

Are you with me? OK, let's synchronise watches aaaaaaand....

GO! GO! GO!

So let's see now how many projects on sticks :: six

How many more to go :: several hundred.

It's OK. I can do this. We're surviving winter and having fun at the same time; it's all good....

Talk amongst yourselves... I may be a while... if anyone needs me I'll over on Ravelry. For six months.

Ramadan 11th :: Minds turn towards Eid crafting

Which may or may not include some of these bits of loveliness in them:

Some Japanese fabric and trim in linen blends from Kokka

And this cotton yarn. I'm a bit doubtful about knitting winter woolens in cotton - Winter Cottons?? Doesn't sound right, does it?  And there is a bit too much pink in there for any of these testosterone-driven MEN, so, oh hardship, perhaps this Eid offering will have to be mine.

I think I can live with that...

What are your plans for Eid crafting?

Ramadan 6th :: Cast on, feet up, zone out

And with every stitch a dhikr, needles can also be a tasbih!

Spin Me A Yarn

Can there be a more beautiful and delicious sight than that of good quality yarn in a well made hank? No, there cannot, I am sorry but you are wrong. Yarn in a hank is MUCH more beautiful than watching your babes sleep, or looking at free chocolate.

There can be no greater relaxation than knitting. It just zones me out.

But one thing I HATE WITH A PASSION??! It would be winding that beautiful damn hank of yarn into a ball before I can knit it. Hate hate hate that. Why? Because it involves outstretched legs that get stamped on by my children, bound feet which are prime tickling targets, and tired hands; and such an inner rage blows out of proportion as I waste a good 20 minutes getting the yarn into a workable form. Irritable? Yeah.

So imagine my delight last year when I find a vintage wool winder for sale!!

I was stupidly excited - something old, pretty and really really useful? Score! But although my tired hands were now free from pain, I still had the outstretched leg torture and it was starting to grate on my nerves a little. It was starting to impact on yarn buying as I just couldn't face the winding debacle. I know!! Terrible!

I knew I needed one of these  and just look how happy hers made her. And so patiently I kept waiting to find one in one of my thrifty treasure hunts.

It never happened.

So like all good crafters I bought one from China. Problem solved.

Can there be anything more beautiful than a hank of yarn? Yes. There can. And that's a cake of yarn make in less than a minute.

And the good thing is that I can now resume yarn buying ....(and that might the moral of this tale)

Simple Pleasures :: Colour in my Life

What I Love :: Yarn, and the friends who give me it

Can you believe that ALL that was a gift?? Me either. Some days the mail is soooo good!

Now I think a little wander over on Ravelry might be called for...

Simple Pleasures :: Colours in my life

One stitch at a time

Needles? 3.25mm.
Say What? Exactly. Teeny tiny. Might as well be knitting on toothpicks
Knitting? Summer shawl
For whom? Me, of course!
Started? Mid April
End in sight? Holy Mother of God, none that I can see
Colour? Tealy green
Material? Cotton
Stitches? Sixteen thousand million, and still casting on
Swear words used? Not many, but the urge to stick needles in eyeballs has surfaced.
Lesson learned? We've invented machines for things like this now. Move on.
Next project? On the sticks right now!



Will you ever learn? Never.

New

Some of which were on sale. Which is *always* a little bit of a thrill.