A pot wot I made

 I made a pot. I am no potter but I had great fun throwing this.

Pot - now with added extra yarn!

Books 64-68

The Essence of my Being - by Jean Price.
Format - Kindle

Interesting story concept but (sadly there is a but) they story jumps about too much, instead of following an idea through it charges off at a tangent - as does the heroine - this gives a disjointed feeling. That said though, it is a good book and I would happily read its sequel. Perhaps the author was trying to give a headlong, breathless, youthful feel to her narrative to reflect the youth of the heroine but I feel I may be being kind here.

Sexy in Stilettoes - by Nana Malone
Format - Kindle

This book does what 50 Shades of Yawn attempts to do - but with less effort and with a better story. Very sexual but without leaving  you feeling as if it is trying to shock more than thrill. It is quite well written too. Again it isn't a book that really leaves me with a sense of 'Oh wow, must read more' but it was good enough and fairly enjoyable and the sex scenes were much hotter (imho) and less Zzzzzz inducing. Would read another by this author but probably not for a while.

Hunter (A Custodaie Novel) - by C.W. Nash
Format - Kindle

Now this I liked. The author does take a while to set the plot of his story (maybe a bit too long - you keep waiting for the axe to fall) but that doesn't take anything away from the idea behind the story or the plot. It keeps a good pace and although the illness suffered by the hero is a very emotive one for me it worked within the storyline and gave the whole vampire/villain idea a new twist. Look forward to its follow up.

Minerva and The Taming of Annabelle (The Six Sisters) - by M C Beaton
Format - Kindle

Everything that you expect from this author. Better than the last book I read by her (Emily goes to Exeter). Although these books have less substance than the froth on your coffee I quite enjoyed them, that could be because I love the Regency period of history or it could because that are a light, historical romp with a dash of naughty, a smidge of romance, a ice cube of fashion and twizzle stick of tongue in cheek. Don't know if I'd read all six (wouldn't at full price - these two were daily deals at 99p each) but if they came my way at a discount then I'd wouldn't turn them down.
Great holiday reading - quick too - read both in a couple of afternoons.

Crochet crazy

 I love the crochet hexagon throw I made for my bedroom chair. So much so, that I am making a 2nd one to cover the seat.

 Here is the progress on throw number 2 - fairly slow but getting there.

 Finished hexagons - some edged in black ready to add to the throw.

Hexagons are so simple to make. Make a 7 chain and join it with a slip stitch.

 Chain 3 (which equals the 1st treble ...using UK terms here) then make 17 trebles into the centre of the loop (I crochet in the my ends as I go).

 Join the trebles with a slip stitch and chain 3. Make 1 treble then into next stitch, 1 treble, chain 2, 1 treble - this makes a corner. You need 2 trebles between each corner and 6 corners in total.

 Join with a slip stitch, chain 3 and this time make 4 trebles then a corner etc - all the way round.

 Keep going until you have the size hexagon you want.

I use double crochet to edge mine - 1 double for each treble and 3 doubles per corner.

Then using doubles again add to the the throw.

Perfect use for odds of sock yarn and pretty too.

Colour to make me smile

 A bobbin full of happy brightness that just makes me want to smile like an idiot (or an even bigger idiot if you prefer).

 Our new neighbours. I love gulls. They are part of living near the sea, their wheeling cries fill me with joy. The two that nest on next doors roof, every year, have had twins this year.

Their fluffy down has almost gone now - not long till they become 'Whistling Willies' - chasing their parents around the local roofs, whistling to be fed.

I got those happy feet

Surprise pressie from Mr L. Love him. Love them!

Hope 'heel' like them.

Or maybe a better title would be 'now with extra added heel appeal'.

Opal Van Gogh yarn, UK men's size 8 over 64 stitches on two 2.5mm circular needles.

Books 59-63

Reading has been on the back burner recently with too much other stuff going on.

The Shades of Grey Trilogy - by E. L. James
Format - Kindle downloads

I read all three but I have to say not because I liked them or that they were well written but firstly because I wanted to know what all the fuss was about and secondly because once I read one I wanted to know why he was the way he was - rather warped?! I never thought I'd say this about a book but here goes - "there was just way too much sex!" It all got rather dull and boring and by half way through the second book I was skim reading those scenes and in the third I skipped them completely.
I suppose if you are single and they float your boat then these books would be wonderful masturbation fodder or if your sex life is a little dull they might encourage you to expand (cough, cough) your horizons but to me (other than the curiosity about Mr Grey's past) they became a thing of humour. I admit to ripping the piss  out of them unmercifully - especially regarding some of the over repeated phrases - inner goddess - in a pig's eye more like.

Would I recommend them? - Not really - but they are 'the buzz' right now- so they must have something. I just wonder what this author will write next?

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice Book 1) - by G.R.R Martin
Format -Kindle download

I've not seen the TV series. I read this because I wanted something different, something long and absorbing after the books mentioned above. I have read good and bad reviews of this book but personally - I loved it! Couldn't put it down (am halfway through the second one).
It was a great holiday read and I love some of the characters that I already have the other books in my queue/wish list.

Wuthering Heights - by Emily Bronte
Format - Audio book

Another favourite revisited. Beautifully told. Always compelling. Wonderful.

The joy of an after thought heel

I love hand knitted socks (well duh) and they make perfect travel knitting. Using an after thought heel makes them an even better travel project because you just knit a tube with no shaping other than the toe.

 A pair of completed socks - all bar the heels. The green yarn shows where the heels will go.

 Use a circular needle to pick up the stitches either side of the green yarn - in this case there were 32 stitches each side.

 Remove the green yarn (the stitches are held safe on your needle cables). You can do this one stitch at a time using something like a large darning needle or.....

you can be an impatient little bunny like me and cut those fookers out! Remove all the green yarn scraps and then join your yarn and knit the live sock stitches back in the round. (Some stitches might be twisted so either right them or knit them  through the back of the loop.)

I tend to pick up 4 extra stitches (one for each needle tip) which helps close any gaps which might occur, so at the end of the first round I go from 64 stitches to 68 stitches.

I work my after thought heel in the same manner as I work the toe - doing one extra decrease round to loose those extra 4 stitches. I find for depth and width of the heel cup that decreasing from 32 stitches to 16 stitches per needle is just about right.

So simple, so neat and quick too.

Brim full of purty.

Hand sewn Japanese Folded Patchwork lap quilt all finished...finally. I love the colours and fabrics.

Now I just need to get on and finish the crocheted lap blanket that goes with it.

All spun and done.

 And we're off.

 Halfway home.

Then there were two.

 Plying my trade.

 One little fat one.

Past the post. Spun and done.

70/30 merino and silk from DK FeltStudio UK. 100g, 24wpi, 384 m - prettiful.

New skillz

 I threw a pot.

Not that well but I threw a pot!

A soggy interlude in Cumbria

 Over the last few day M and I have travelled 847 miles. We set out Thursday am and drove for around 7 hours to get to Cockermouth in Cumbria to go to Woolfest among other things. It rained as we came off the M6 toll and it didn't stop really.
Walking from our hotel to Woolfest is probably the wettest I have ever got in such a short space of time.....but it was worth it. I blew my wodge (been saving some pennies special like) and have posted piccies of my haul below.

We also took the opportunity to meet up with some friends in Cumbria  - one of these lovely ladies has a friend who breeds alpaca and she managed to get me a dark fleece for a price much cheaper than Woolfest - she also gave me her fawn fleece to prep and spin....I see a lot of spinning in my future.

We met up with some Border Terrier friends and their dogs at Grasmere- where I not only found the Herdy shop, mug above, which M got me as a little pressie but also one of my friends, who is a knitter, knit me a scarf. No-one knits for me! And I hate knitting scarfs so it really was an excellent gift. It is pretty and soft and come winter will get well worn!

Yarn purchases - all lace, 4 ply and sock weight.

 New spindle - had to try it out with the 100% Polwarth below - so well balanced it spins like a dream.

 More fibre goodness from DK FeltStudio UK. I bought a batt from her last time at Woolfest which was divine and I just could not resist these.

As we headed out of the Lake District via Windermere which looked very swollen - so much water everywhere. We headed south to the Midlands and our next overnight stop in Burton-on-Trent - this not only broke up our journey but put us in the area of Melton Mowbray where we met up with some more friends on Sunday (and some of them have Borders). We spent a lovely day with lovely people and their dogs finally heading off for the final leg of our journey home....we got in about about 9.00pm yesterday.

Spent a quiet one today....cast on a new project with some new yarn (bad Dobby) and cat napped and relaxed as much as possible. Still tired but an early night should solve that.

I've called this 'a labour of love'

 From this (a few weeks back) to.....

this. Finished, off the needles and now blocking - taking up our whole bed!

EZ 100th Anniversary Pi Shawl - Gull Wings Pattern by Mwaa Knit Obsession.
Knit using 5mm circs (ended up using 3 circular needles all at the same time) it took 7.5 ball of Rowan Pure Wool 4 ply in a light sage green colour.

I am pleased to have it finished - especially after fuffing it up a while back and having to rip out about 8 rows of 500+ stitches.

Socks of happy.....

 and mine are orange!

I had the idea for this pattern whilst knitting on something else (a shawl) and I wondered if I could make it work...so I started playing with charts and numbers and after a little fiddling about I got it to fit and work in the round.

The gusset I borrowed from 'The Show-Off Stranded Socks' (see a previous post) but worked in moss stitch, it is a bit fiddly but it looks really good (imho). I tweeked the heel and the toes to get some balance and to continue the flow of pattern and on the whole I am happy with the outcome. Just need to write up the pattern properly now - made notes as I worked through both socks and the pattern seems to flow well.

The socks are knit in Opal Uni - in an orange that is very bright and makes me even happier - on two 2.5mm circs.

(pattern is copy right of 'Dogwomandon't Designs').

From barf to pretty.

 From nasty apricot coloured Hayfield Superwash wool 4 ply to some bright and pretty colours.

A while back Wibbo of Wibbo's Words gifted me some Koolaid.

 Thought I'd put it to good use (finally). To over dye the dire apricot took most of the sachets but I think it was worth it.

Slightly off-topic. The beacon for the Jubliee at Rottingdean - taken from my lounge window.

Poor neglected little blog

Time is flying by and I've been uber busy. To catch up. I finally finished this pair of socks that have been on the needles since April (details are on my Ravelry page). The pattern 'Show Off Stranded Socks' is designed to 'show off' hand dyed/variegated yarn and  on the legs it works but on both feet there was some serious pooling. I don't mind this and the socks are for me so it doesn't matter anyway....but I do kind of wished it hadn't.

Jubilee tiara for Lottie - she was unimpressed to say the least especially as the day before she got her first taste of live prey....she cornered and snapped at a mouse that Conkers had bought home to play with (3 mice in two days). She didn't hurt it, M rescued and released it, but she's been a bit hyper and trembley ever since.

 M cleaned out the spiders which enabled us to have a good close look at Tiny and by the looks of it (without shooting myself in the foot here) I'd say Tiny is a girl!

Working on some new own designs - quite happy with this - it's working name is 'The Orange Sock of Happiness'. Oh and I have gone all a bundle on bright orange and green. Bizarre how my colour tastes have changed a couple of years back I hated orange and always was drawn to pinks etc.

My never ending Pi shawl - this had to have some serious ripping back this week as I dropped two stitches (whilst moving between circs) right in the middle of a load of yarn overs and it could not be recovered in a 'tidy enough' way. Bit pissed off with it right now so have ignored it over the weekend and got on with some secret knitting instead.

Still reading for the 52 book challenge, even though I've passed book 52 already. Getting ready for our family holiday this month and M's and mine trip away - am excited.

That's all the blog worthy stuff for now.