this week I have mostly been…

…knitting?

It’s true. I’ve mentioned my total lack of inability to remain faithful to any one craft before, I’m sure. Plus, with waiting til next payday before I can finally put the finishing touches to Baby Granny Blanket, I needed a change of scenery. And this particular change came in the form of tiny skull and heart shaped fair isle wristwarmers.

Have I ever mentioned I’m a moody teenager at heart?

Anyway, I got the first one all done and seamed, and it seems I have totally overestimated the stretch of a colourwork piece, and can barely get it over my wrist. Bum.

Happily, I spent the early part of this week knitting up a pair of apple green Cupcake mittlets, which fit beautifully (pics soon), so they are keeping my hands warm in the absence of any great progress on the fair isle front.

I’m actually considering seaming up the thumb hole and giving it a new lease of life as something singular. A very emo knitted vase cover, perhaps? Suggestions on a postcard.

remember, remember…

Another long gap, and my apologies. Truth be told, the reason I haven’t posted for a while is because I haven’t actually produced anything for a while!

So far this November I have been mostly working and sleeping. Oh, and counting down the days until Christmas. 40, if you’re interested.

I still cannot afford the yarn to finally finish Baby Granny Blanket, so in the meantime, have been making use of my (sizeable) stash. And coming up with a few of these little babies.

The yarn is Patons Smoothie, which I do actually quite like, for a synthetic, although it is EXTREMELY splitty. It’s got a sort of mercerised cotton feel – shiny and cool, and best of all is only £2ish for 100g. Hurrah! Colours aren’t great, although I lovelove this teal, and the lime green.

The pattern is the Sunburst Granny Square, which I have admired for a while, and have always liked best when the little bursts of colour are framed in a pale colour, like little colourful targets. I think it would be really rather delicious in Rowan Pure Wool, should I ever find the money!

For now, my cheapy, splitty yarn will have to do.

le tour eiffel…

I’m aware that it’s been rather a long time since my last entry. To say that quite a lot has happened in that time would probably be an understatement, and yet really, not all that much is different! Sorry for the gap, folks. I’ll try to make it up to you!

My peace offering comes in the form of the Eiffel Tower.

I must confess, I fell ever so slightly in love with it.

Nothing more than a few fairly decorative girders, really, this looming metal cliché captured my heart entirely. And I took rather a lot of pictures of it, up it, off it… there’s also a chance I may have scribbled our names and the date of our anniversary somewhere on the 2nd floor observation deck, but since that’s technically vandalism, and thus illegal, I can’t confirm it.

As it happened, we walked to the tower from the Louvre metro station (which is a LOT further than it looks on the map), and as we tumbled through back streets the top of the town would peek teasingly up from behind buildings, and as we finally came out onto the Champ de Mars, it revealed itself in its full glory, and pretty much took my breath away.

There are 328 steps to the first floor, and after walking a good 5 miles to get there in the first place, we DEFINITELY felt every one of them.

There are a further 340 steps to the second level, and 23 steps and a lift to the top level.

It’s a good job, then, that when you get right to the top, the view looks like this:

My legs ached for a full 10 days after this particular climb, and actually, I was ok with it. I forgave the tower. Because the tower gave me a lovely, warm, fuzzy feeling. And, achy legs aside, it was a really rather perfect way to celebrate our first anniversary.

How on earth will we top that next year?

going postal…

This month I have been mostly being annoyed by Royal Mail. Specifically, not knowing whether, if I order the yarn that I need to finish Baby Granny Blanket, it will actually arrive due to their stupid epic industrial action. Seriously.

On a brighter note, this has given me the opportunity to sneakily start work on the next project in my queue – the Baby Ripple. This one intended for an actual baby (unless I steal it for myself to just have and admire!). It’s a little ripple, my lovely Cotton-Ease on a 4.5mm hook, in which were supposed to be unisex, but actually turned out to be slighty more boyish colours.

I must admit, I’m ever-so-slightly in love

In other yarn news, I have been stashing. Bargain-hunting new yarn, and squirrelling it away for my next ideas.

King Cole Merino DK – almost exactly as lovely as the Rowan Pure Wool, but on sale at more than half the price. Success! I have big plans for this. Big SECRET blanket-like plans.

Couldn’t resist this combo! I’m planning another smaller blanket – chunky and snuggly – maybe long stripes?

And finally, the most AMAZING shade of green I think I’ve ever seen! Like a big, shiny Granny Smith! Going to make some fingerless gloves with this, I think. There should be enough for two pairs, but I can’t decide whether to make a green pair and a black pair, or a green/black striped pair! Wonder if it’d stretch to 3 pairs? Hmmm.

Anyway, that’s all my yarn porn for today. Hope to be back soon with more projects!

a sneaky peek…

I am now on the TWENTY FOURTH square, after some hardcore (well, hardcore for me!) crocheting, and casting my mind forward a little, to my growing queue of projects.

The little heap above is the bare bones of my ripple-to-be. I’ve also got a new stash of wool screaming to be made into fingerless gloves, Midi Granny Blanket to be, and some cotton for a bag I’ve been dreaming up.

What I need, and what I don’t have, is more time. I spend all day at work thinking about what I’m going to create, and when I get home I have NO TIME in which to create anything. Rubbish.

What I really need is 36 hour days!

twenty one…

There are twenty one completed squares in this pile (the top one has now been edged!). I am on to my final colour (Hyacinth, if you’re interested), and nearing the finish line.

I also wanted to share with you my favourite square so far, created as I was speeding through northern France, in fact:

I LOVE this colour green. I think it may be my favourite colour in the world. I love how cheery it is against the coolness of the greys. And the way that’s all held together with the pale blue of the pier. Well, it’s all so lovely.

I’m also thinking about joining them with Cypress (the darker blue colour) instead of the grey. Hmmm. Undecided.

one year on…

On Friday, 26th September 2008, I married my soulmate.

That was the start of something. Something bigger than just me. The start of a life. The start of a family. I finished that day with a new ring and a new name and a person who’d been mine for a while already, but not quite so officially.

One year later I still giggle a small, secret giggle whenever I call him my husband.

Five days ago my husband and I (*giggle*) hopped on a train and sped off under the sea to celebrate the one year later.

By the way, did I ever tell you that I love trains? Well, I do. I’m generally not a great traveller. I hate cars, hate buses, hate boats and ferries, hate planes. But trains? Love them. I love the sounds, the rhythms, the mindlessness. The freedom to wander. The buffet cars! The platforms and announcements and whistles and guards and everything.

And all these things took us on our very Parisian anniversary trip.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Champ de Mars

Arty shot!

Arc de Triomphe from the safety of the street

Stunningly awesome cake in an expensive-looking shop on the Champs Elysées

Tree-lined sides of the Champs Elysées

Artist at work in Montmartre

Sacré Coeur in the late afternoon

Dahlia in Jardin des Plantes

Caged birds at the marché aux oiseaux, Ile de la Cité

More to come!

things that would have been on my last post…

If wordpress hadn’t carelessly discarded that last post, I would have told you this:

One day last week I looked out of my kitchen window and thought the world was ending…

It wasn’t of course, just an evening sky to delight shepherds, but I do enjoy a spot of dramarama from time to time, so I went with it.

I would also have told you that my brief concern that armageddon was on its way frustrated me somewhat, because I am absolutely not ready to die. Not least because I have now finished EIGHTEEN of the TWENTY-FOUR blocks of Baby Granny Blanket. Yes, my crocheting is slower than the second coming of Christ. But definitely moving along now.

Hopefully it’ll be done before the chills of autumn really gets their fingers into me, and I can snuggle under it’s weighty woollyness until spring skips along to thaw me out.

Finally, had yesterday’s post not flitted off out into cyberspace, I would have showed you my latest bun order. Vanilla buns, with vanilla cherry, and mint choc icing. Yummy.

ARGH!

For reasons known only to itself, wordpress has taken to deleting the entirety of my entries instead of publishing them.

Instead of the long, painstakingly crafted entry you were going to have tonight, instead feel my fury.

ANGER, etc.

The end.

zoo days (part II)