Weaving

I woke up yesterday with a need to do some weaving.

I wanted to test the yarn before I warped up. Saw an idea on Pinterest and adapted it to make a mini loom out of a cardboard box. I think it is rather dinky.

The yarn worked fine so I got out my knitters loom and warped up.

Am quite pleased with it so far. The yarn is British Alpaca except for the wee bit of green which came from the USA and is an Alpaca/Silk blend.

It fabric is coming out really light and airy and once my back stops aching - I'll do some more.

And the prize has been won

Last autumn I was asked by a friend from the world of Border Terrier owners if I would  crochet a throw as a raffle prize (online raffle drawn at the Spring Borderfest) to raise funds for Border Terrier Welfare. I happily agreed, as the previous one had had a ceramic prize donated by M and I thought the whole idea was rather lovely.

I choose colours that I thought would have more appeal than what I would choose for myself and using Jan Eaton's book '200 Crochet Blocks' set to work. It was a labour  of love as, although I like crochet, it isn't my first love. Once finished, it was photographed, blogged about and packed safely away.

Earlier this month the raffle was drawn and a winner announced. The throw is now with her and she seems happy (which is quite a relief). You can never really explain to people who don't knit or crochet just who much work goes into something like this or with prices of yarn how much you actually financially invest in a project  - especially if you add the cost of your labour! So knowing it has gone to a good home and will be appreciated does give me a happy glow and the addition of helping a charity that is close to my heart adds to the feel good factor.

The Luddite is dying

I have finally given in and decided to fully embrace modern technology. I don't find adapting to new things easy. My poor little brain sees something new and different and launches into hedgehog mode, curling into a tight ball and hoping the scary stuff goes away!

But today, after just over a year of wrestling with Windows 8 and hating every second of it, I decided enough was enough. The swearing that was required just to complete a simple task, after what seemed  like a life time of waiting for anything to load/work, just got to me one time too many. I put on my big girl pants and went to visit those nice people in the Apple Store.

A very helpful bloke answered all my Luddite questions for example....."will this work with my hotmail account?" And other assorted idiot mutterings. He refrained from any signs of impatience at my total ignorance (even though I have occasionally used the Bosses Mac at work - I still knew nothing) and then he sold me a lovely, sleek, shiny new Macbook Air.....t'was love at first click.

He even helped me set it up, right there in the store and got me organised enough that I felt confident that I wouldn't need my L plates long.

Have spent a good part of the afternoon fiddling about and finding stuff. Still got a couple of creases that need ironing but I have to say, compared to the lumbering of Windows 8 and IE it is a dream.

I am impressed with the machine, I am impressed with the shop/staff and I am impressed that it even seems fairly Luddite proof. The only thing I am not impressed with is why did I wait so long?

A Phi of relief

This is a Phi shawl by Jennifer Dassau. It soothes my inner geek as the stripes follow the Fibonacci sequence. It's a nice knit - garter stitch - but the shape and the stripes stave off the boredom factor.

The yarn is from The Uncommon Thread (I mentioned it on a previous post) it is called Sunday Best and the colours are Into Dust (pink) and Plata. I'm not pink person (these days) but I just love the combo of these two colours so much. It has knitted up beautifully and is so soft and plooshy. The photo is pre-blocking it has grown a little but not too much and I can't wait for a cool spring/summer evening so I can wear it.

Little Boggart cameo too.