Candy Skein - Yarn Love

I have been drooling over the gorgeousness that is {Candy Skein} for months now but I could not warrant paying $20 plus postage for one skein of yarn. It is worth every penny but just not in my budget.

However, I was lucky enough to earn some money recently through some sales in my {Etsy} and I did not hesitate to get my hands on this skein of happiness:

I absolutely adore how happy this colour combination makes me feel and I could spend all day just looking at it and stroking it.

My initial thought was to knit some socks, but this yarn is much too gorgeous to be hidden away and contaminated with my cheesy feet. So I am thinking either a shawl or save up some more $$$, get another skein and create a little cardigan or vest....what do you think?

If you have a pattern you think would work great for this yarn, please link me up in the comments section - if create a project from the link you suggested I will send you something pretty as way of saying 'thank you'

FP - The Dude's Socks

Hu??

Where the heck did these spring from? They were never even mentioned as a WIP....

One of my goals for this year was to knit a pair of socks and I never thought I would manage it quite so quickly.

See, {I did crochet quite a few pairs} previously and while I like to wear them in the colder months around the house, they are not really that comfortable inside shoes. And to be honest, knitted socks look so much nicer.

There are many blogs I follow which showcase wonderful knitted socks and I have tried a few times to cast on a pair only to fail at the gusset. Whenever I picked up the stitches I was left with visible holes and no matter what I tried, it just did not work out.

So I checked online tutorials, looked for various different methods on how to best to the heel turning and just like it did with the granny square (after months of failing to grasp it) all of a sudden it clicked and was no longer an issue.

And I even mastered the Kitchener's Stitch so much better than for my {Hoodie}

The only problem I have with the socks is that they are a touch too loose for me. They look fine in the picture but as soon as I walk a few steps they start to ride around and will give me blisters.

The good news is that they are a perfect fit for Mr P - so he is a happy bunny with his first pair of knitted socks.

You can find all the details about the Dude's socks {here}

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}

WP - Off The Shoulder Jumper

It's a good thing that the Summer in the UK this year is nothing but ridiculous....wind and rain has been our daily dose for months now.
So, why do I like this? Because it makes me want to continue to knit - that's why!

Generally, when it's hot outside, I cannot bear to have anything resting on my knees that adds to the warmth. Therefore, in the summertime I generally don't knit or crochet that much.
Not so this time however - I am knitting up a storm!!!

No sooner was I finished with my last project, the {Tadpole socks} that I dug into my box'o'stash and cast on the {Off the Shoulder Jumper} from Vogue Knitting. I really love their patterns which are so easy to follow and as of yet have not let me down.

It's also great that I found a pattern for which I was happy to use my most expensive yarn to date -  {Rowan Cashsoft}. I bought it in March with vouchers and cash I got from friends and family but I was very reluctant to use it until now. Mainly because I know my history of frogging and I just wanted to be sure I am not unravelling this yarn over and over again.

The ribbing for the jumper looks TINY but it stretches like crazy, so it should fit me. Just in case I cast on for size "L" rather than "M". Should it be a little too loose, I can always tie a belt around it :)

For more WIP's check out {Tami's Blog}

Posh Shopping

After five weeks of recuperating after my op, I thought it was time that we tackled the ferry journey over to the mainland to prepare for the end of the month when I get back to work.

So, Mr P and I decided on a quick shopping trip - which had me squealing in excitement when I got into this amazing changing room at Tesco home:

It looked just like a posh front room, with another plush chair, chandelier and other furnishings to the right hand side. I didn't want to come out of there and the carpet was just soooooooooo fluffy and nice. All I would have needed was a bell to ring for the butler to bring me some bubbly :)))).

We got a few bits and bobs, mainly herbal stuff for me from Hollands & Barrett to help my recovery and hopefully keep the hot flushes under control. After two hours I was done - knackered to no end so we decided spontaneously to grab a lunch meal from one of the pubs on the way to the ferry.

What a great deal we got - plain steak and chips together with a pint of beer for only £7.69 per person. The nosh was delightful, even though we could have done with a few more chips...but hey!

I was a happy bunny because for the first tie in about 10 years I got my greedy little hands around a pint of {Tuborg Beer} - it used to be my favourite back in Germany!

Can you say thirsty?

And Mr P didn't hold back either with his fave pub drink - a pint of Guinness.

When we made our way back, I was actually so knackered that I had to have a little lie-down on the ferry and once we got indoors I had a little sleep. But I am feeling great today - no pains, so I am on the right track.

FP - The Tappan Zee Cardigan

And another one done and dusted...woot, woot!

My {Tappan Zee} is finished and it is another well fitting garment - I am so excited that I could almost wee myself...but let's leave that for the time being :)

**click on images to enlarge the view**

Well, ok - strictly speaking I haven't found the perfect buttons for the top yet. But I still class this baby as completed.

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}

WIP - Tadpole Socks

I am so excited that my sock-knitting adventure is going better than I anticipated.
Currently I have the {Tadpole sock} on my needles and seeing that I had all this lovely red and orange yarn to play with, a pair of bright socks was really a no brainer for me.

In all honesty, I never thought I would take to the pattern that well, but it is so easy!

My first sock was completed within three evenings and I just started the cuff of the second one.

I am now on a mission to complete one pair of socks each month...well let's see how well I fare with that one

For more WIP's check out {Tami's Blog}

The Torch visits East Cowes - London 2012

I am not really that fussed about the Olympic games - like everything else, it is not like it used to be. When the focus was on track and field and you had such names as Sebastian Coe, Daley Thompson, Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, Florence Griffith-Joyner etc - well those were the days when I religiously watched.

Nowadays you have to endure sports like sailing, beach volleyball, football and all that nonsense which bores the heck out of me. There are no BIG superstar names anymore (at least not to me, I could not name you the 100 mtrs record holder male or female right now, whereas years ago I would have been able to rattle them all off without problems).

But enough with the rambling, what was a little bit exciting was the fact that the Olympic Flame would be passing right outside our flat on Saturday. As the access to our flat is elevated we did not have to mingle with the crowds and with my super zoom lens I got a few good shots of the last runner before the Flame left on the ferry to the mainland.

It was even more exciting to see that it was {Dame Ellen MacArthur} who carried the Flame on the last stretch - how fitting for both, the Flame and her!

Other than watching the Flame pass by I had an eventful weekend, with more walks than before and the feeling that my recovery is going really well and to plan.

This coming Friday I will get the results of my post op blood test and have to go for an ECG and blood pressure test again. Then I can finally discuss with my GP the possible lifestyle change following the induced menopause.

Currently I do get the hut flushes, but they are not that severe and if I can counteract those with herbal remedies rather than HRT, that would be much preferred.

If everything goes as planned I should be back at work in two weeks from now.

Believe it or not but I am going to miss daytime television....

FP - The Lace Hoodie Cardigan

I am sooooooooo overdue posting this bad boy, but due to the weather being so bad here the lighting for taking photographs was just not good enough.

My {hoodie} was actually already finished and all sewn up on 24 June 2012, but I only got a decent shot of it a few days ago.

All the time I was worried that this would be another garment which looks awful on me, but I am sooooo excited to say that I am loving it. The hoodie is a perfect fit and I am seriously thinking of doing another one in a different yarn/colour, as it is so pretty and so lovely to wear.

**click on images to enlarge the view**

I made a change to the pattern of the sleeves though. For a start I thought that the mesh pattern looked a wee bit out of place. And secondly, I could not get my head around the increase an staying in line with the mesh pattern. Tried it three times and must have made the same mistake over and over again as the sleeve ended up on all three occasions totally imbalanced.

So, I decided that I wanted to carry on with the lace pattern and just worked it into the middle section of the sleeve and plain stockinette for the left and right. Personally, I think this looks much better than the mesh.

This cardigan has been a lot of firsts for me:

• The 1st cardigan I ever knitted and which did fit!
• The 1st time I worked with set in sleeves (not easy)
• The 1st time I used Kitchener's stitch (loving it!!!)

Even though the seams for the arms are quite amateurish and a wee bit crooked - I am leaving them as they are. I love my hoodie the way it is and once I get back to work, I know I will get a lot of use out of it.

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}

WIP - The Dude's Blanket

I think we can officially pronounce me the Queen of frogging as I am most certainly a "re-doer" of my crocheted/knitted items. For some strange reason I fall out of love with some of them pretty soon after completion and cannot resist the urge to re-do them.


Maybe it is because I had them on my hook/needles for so long and during the creating process started to bore of them? It doesn't really bother me, but sometimes Mr P gets a lil' exasperated with it all. Especially when my frogging extends to his blanket.

I finished it at the end of last year and you can see it in all its former glory {here}, but since then it has been an eye sore for me. Not even sure why but it bugged me to no end. Mr P was happy with it but it annoyed me that it was not wide enough for my liking and somehow the stripes did not work for me either.

So, I asked the Dude if I could please, please frog the blanket and start again and much to my relief he said yes ( I think he knew if he would put up a fight I would whine a lot...he really had not a chance in hell, poor lamb)

I decided I wanted a blanket for him made from larger granny squares, as I can hook them easy while watching TV. I have four different colours to use, so I am alternating three of them in all possible combinations and join them as I go along. I am about 50% done and loving it, but I haven't taken a more recent picture yet.

For now you will have to make do, with the first picture I took of the beginning squares.

For more WIP's check out {Tami's Blog}

She scrapped, she did!

I almost can't believe it....I scrapped again - after a seven month break!

As soon as I finished my greeting card the other day I had to get stuck in and create a layout, just to see if the creative spark is still there.

First I started with the textures and after die cutting my title from some corrugated cardboard, I distressed the letters with ink and mists. Oh, the joy to get my fingers all sticky and grungy again :)

Needless to say I simply had to have one of my beloved butterflies plonked somewhere on the layout, right?

My black outlining still worked a treat as well which gave the die cut some added dimension.

The layout itself was created for the recent {Donna Salazar Girlie Grunge Challenge} and was also inspired by the sketch of DT member Mistra. My non-scrapbook items are the bits of punchinella tucked underneath the paper and bits cut from my English dictionary (you can see one line with the explanation of the word "rejoice" to the right of the butterfly)

Of all my old scrapbook supplies I kept all my Donna Salazar stuff because I am still a massive fan of her and her products - pretty much everything else had been given away but not Donna's products, no siree.

So, you wanna see the complete layout?

It is not 100% up to the standard I would like it to be, but I am nevertheless pleased with how it turned out.

**click on image to enlarge the view**

Materials used:

Papers: Donna Salazar for GCD Studios

Cardboard: Donna Salazar for Zutter

Inks/Mist: Donna Salazar for Clearsnap Inc

Die Cuts: Donna Salazar for Spellbinders

FP - Crochet Skull Card

I am sure excited about my current finished project because by combining my new love for crochet/knitting together with my previous love of paper-crafting I am now in the mood again to create cards and scrapbook pages...woooohoooo.

But let's start from the beginning - I blame my buddy {Trace} for my rekindled passion, because she send me an email the other day with a link to {this pattern}. Now anyone who knows me will also know that I am a total sucker for skulls: always have, always will. Thankfully Mr P's nephew shares this obsession so it's always easy for us to find gifts/create cards and it gives me an excuse to search online for anything skull.

After Trace's email I searched Ravelry's database for more crochet skull patterns as I did not like the jaw bit too much on the original pattern and I found {another one} by Matthew Gravelyn. I hooked the little fella up in no time, using embroidery floss and a 2mm hook.

Here he is before blocking, a wee bit crooked:

And here he is after blocking - to be honest, I have no idea why the area around the eye sockets is reddish, as if he was bleeding from his eyes...creepy

And here is the finished card, I am so happy with it and hopefully this will see me get back into the papercrafting mood, as it has been quite annoying having to buy greeting cards over the last six months :)

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}

WIP - Tappan Zee Cardigan Pt II

Uhm....that original WIP didn't last long. 'Memba my {initial yarn choice} for the Zee?

While I still love the colours, the feel of the yarn never appealed to me and in a way I was somewhat glad when despite a gauge swatch, my first attempt at the Zee turned out to be too small.

But I did not give up then and there, unravelled my work and started afresh with larger needles and one size up. That instantly made the yarn feel much softer and I happily carried on towards the arm section again.

Somewhere along I must have made an error because no matter how often I counted and recounted the stitches something did not tally up for the larger size. I guess something was trying to tell me to leave off that particular yarn for this project.

As I really wanted to do to {Tappan Zee Cardigan} (I don't get why it's called a cardigan though, to me something without arms is a vest...) I got my frogged Sirdar Smoothie yarn out of the box and eh presto...this seems to work so far.

For more WIP's check out {Tami's Blog}

Vogue Knitting - Early Fall 2012

Oh I am so glad I have subscribed to {Vogue Knitting} (Designer Knitting in the UK), because I just received an email with the preview and by golly, I am in love once again

If I had the time (and money)  I would love to knit almost every single item in the magazine....swoon.

Over the past two months I have paced myself with buying new yarns, so I have probably a good reason to treat myself to some scrumptious yarns to knit at least two of the items in {the mag}.

Currently my two favourites are these:

Image source for both

The coat is just so deliciously feminine and would work in any yarn/colour I think. Plus I love working lace patterns as they are less boring that just stockinette.

Here is it JUST the cardigan I like, the pants are a total no-go for me. Knitted pants were wrong in the 70s and they are still wrong today....but the cardi looks fab. Love the pattern and the colour.

The Movies we watched in June

Here is June's run down of the movies we enjoyed

The Warriors 

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This is most probably my most favourite movie of.all.times.ever.
And. Ever.
Why? I just think it works and even 33 years after it first came out it does not seem dated. At least to me it doesn't. When Mr P and I are going to NY in two years we are taking the Warriors route and go to all the places that featured in the movie. There has been talk for some years that they are planning a remake - but get this: it is set in LA instead of NY and we are looking at drive-by shootings rather than the man on man action. Rubbish! If you do a remake stick to the original or call it something else.
I have seen the Warriors probably about 200 times and I to be honest, I am sure I will watch this many times more within my lifetime.

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

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The mother of all buddy movies...Eastwood and Bridges are a perfect team. What makes the movie for me is the fact that there is perfectly placed humour in it without turning it into a comedy - and the end is the kicker, sad yet exactly what the movie needed to make it believable.
Mr P and I are also certain that there is definitely some ad-libbing going on in some parts of the movie

The Skulls

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This is one of the movies which were suggested to me by Netflix and I thought - heck, why not. I was surprised at how much I did enjoy the movie. Secret fraternities always have some kind of mysterious air about them and The Skulls seem to be the crème of the crop :). Nicely played by {Joshua Jackson}, who is probably best known for playing in Dawson's Creek

Fargo

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I remember the first time we saw this movie we thought "WTH?"  - critics were raving on about how brilliant this piece was, but we just didn't get it. So, I gave it another try on Netflix and I really loved it! Strange but quirky and very gory, similar to a Tarrantino movie. It is actually kind funny in a weird way and one can't help but feel sorry for William H. Macy when everything that can go wrong does go apeshit.

The Usual Suspects

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This movie is about 45 minutes too long and flicks too much back and forth. The story behind it is not half bad but I figured out who Keyser Soze was pretty soon and only continued to watch to find out if I was right. Good actors but too long winded

The Contract

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As I like both, Morgan Freeman and John Cusack I figured I cannot go wrong with this movie. I am used to see Mr Freeman as the Good guy so having him play a Killer was an interesting change. Even though I enjoyed it, the movie itself is very predictable and therefore not really THAT exciting or nail-biting. It's something I call a "Sunday Afternoon Movie"

The Eiger Sanction

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Mr P got the DVD for a couple of quid after we watched a documentary about the Eiger Northface the other day. You know what I really, REALLY hate? When I figure out who the bad guy is within the first part of the movie....that bugs me to no end. I really want to sit through a movie going: "it's him...I am sure it is" only to then declare five minutes later: "it's got to be her, it's bleedin' obvious" and then in the end to find out it was neither of my suspects.
But that fact aside, I thought the movie was cool. Guess, there are not many Eatswood movies that are boring anyway but sometimes his older ones can appear somewhat dated. Considering this one was released in 1975 it could have just as well been done a few years back.

Harry Potter 1 - 4

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This month, seeing that I am laid up recovering, I enjoyed a Harry Potter movie day and watched the first three movies in one session, plus one more the day after. I really like them even after I read all the books - usually I never feel that movies are cast well but in this case they have nailed it. My favourites are{Rupert Grint} who plays Ron Weasley and {Alan Rickman} who play Severus Snape as their acting is outstanding. I am totally  looking forward to another HP session next month.

Carry On Camping

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This is definitely my favourite of the "Carry On..." movies - completely riddled with innuendo but it works and still is funny to this day. I really do not understand why the "Carry On..." movies get such a bad rap, they are as movies should be - politically incorrect and just there to make you chuckle.