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December 31, 2007
Christmas Felting
A few weeks ago I was taken along to a felting workshop run at Buckland Abbey, a National Trust house once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh and home to a number of ghosts including some hounds of hell.
Alas, no ghosts were to be seen the day I was there, but much wet felting done, all based around the theme of Christmas. We were all shown how to make a Christmas Stocking (which is massive, by the way- If I put it on, it comes up to my knee), each with the same template, but with whatever colours and patterns we wished. There were many green and red and white stockings, with snowflakes, Father Christmases and a Rudolf. I went for 'Salvador Dali goes to the Arctic' as my theme, with some after-thought embroidery with silver thread.
Afterwards, we were given a 3-D foam shape to felt a bird to whatever colours we felt appropriate. Therefore, meet Arnold the Christmas Dipper, who has sequined eyes, but I couldn't get the light to catch, so you'll just have to imagine. As you can see however, Arnold is a little partial to the 'old sauce' and hangs at a rather, umm, cheeky angle.
And just so's you know how Arnold is done- it was ridiculously easy, and as Lizzie says in comments, is started by roughly needle felting your wool tops all over the foam. The tops need to be only lightly held in to the foam. And be careful not to stick your needle through the foam with such force it goes out the other side and in to your thumb. Then you totally drown the thing in liquid olive oil soap, and start rubbing all over. Rub and rub and rub, adding more soap if necessary. Slowly, slowly it all begins to tighten and thicken and felt. Then you can start to shape the bird more- I pushed up the tail to a dipper like angle, and added some more colour with needles and tops, then felted again with more soap, and so on and so forth. When satisfied, wash thoroughly under the tap and leave to dry. Add a face and any other embellishment.
It was great fun. Would love to have another go.
Posted by scumkitten at 2:41 PM | Comments (4)
December 29, 2007
Happy Birthday Glittr!
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Birthday!
p.s., that was sung a la Stevie Wonder
Posted by scumkitten at 9:51 AM | Comments (3)
Bless: from Heartfelt
I only knit one Christmas present a year, the recipient changing each time. This year was the turn of DJ Mikey's cousin, a fourteen year old dancer. I knitted the 'Bless' shrug from Kim Hargreave's 'Heartfelt'. It only used three balls of Rowan Biggy Print and took an evening in total. I particularly like the pico edging, which gives it a lovely finish and shape. It's for wearing in between dances or dance practice, when she might get cold.
Posted by scumkitten at 9:41 AM | Comments (2)
December 27, 2007
Pomatomus number 1
One down, one to go.......
Posted by glittrgirl at 10:32 AM | Comments (2)
December 24, 2007
Latvian knitting stamps
Remember these US knitting stamps? Well head over to Habetrot and have a look at hte Latvian stamps she has blogged there, they are SUPERB.
Posted by glittrgirl at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)
December 23, 2007
One sock down
I just grafted the toe of the first Pomatomus. It is too dark to take pics tonight, but tomorrow I hope to document this marvellous sock. The yarn is perfect, the pattern is perfect, the size is perfect. I love it. Perhaps I will manage the second one before I go back to work on 2 January 2008.......
Posted by glittrgirl at 7:52 PM | Comments (1)
December 19, 2007
Addicted to blogging
Find lpn programs near you
Posted by glittrgirl at 3:06 PM | Comments (0)
Chris Christmas Rodriguez (Reprise)
I posted this two years ago - but I like it some much I am posting it again for this year.
Posted by glittrgirl at 9:50 AM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2007
Barca yarn
I bought lovely lovely yarn from La Barca Lana in the Born.
Here you see some lofty green stuff, of chunky weight (9mm or 10mm needles apparently) - I bought two skeins, even though the lovely lady said I would only need one for a scarf. The other is some gorgeous soy silk in a beautiful oily bluey grey. Again two skeins, and no idea what it wants to be yet. Both yarns are Yanabey yarns, which you might think are for weaving, but I was assured that they knit up beautifully. There was a lot I could have bought in that shop. In fact I could have brought the the whole shop home.
Posted by glittrgirl at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
Beth's scarf
My cousin's daughter was the proud recipient of this pink scarf some time ago.
Unfortunately she lost it recently and was distraught. As soon as I heard how unhappy she was to lose her beloved pink scarf, I immediately started a replacement. When you get a note like this, it even makes knitting acrylic bearable.....
Posted by glittrgirl at 11:11 AM | Comments (1)
Two berets
The first one is Gretel by Ysolda, from her website, and the second one is the Chevron Beret from the November 07 edition of Magknits. The first one knitted in the medium size, in Rowan Magpie. The second one knitted in Rowan Tapestry in the Whirlpool colourway.
First on 3.75 and 4.5mm dpns, and the second on 3.75 and 4mm.
Posted by glittrgirl at 11:01 AM | Comments (1)
December 15, 2007
Brrrr.....
It is cold here in the North East at the moment - averaging about 3C, which is chilly when it is as damp as it is here.
My boiler ceased to work on Thursday evening. I have just had the nice man from British Gas here, who had a good rootle about and diagnosed a burnt out circuit board. He can't get me another one until Monday. So I am without heat or hot water.
I could be really annoyed about this, so close to the festive holidays and all that, or, more temptingly, I could use it as an excuse to be an utter slob. No baths or showers until Monday! I secretly enjoy getting good and grubby, just so that I can really appreciate it when I eventually get really clean.
And the warmest places to be in my little flat will be bed (Yay! Hours and hours and hours under the duvet), or in front of the oven with the fan going at full blast - or hours and hours and hours of roasting things and baking.....
And drinking a lot of soup to stay toasty. Good job I made that large pan of tomato and tangerine earlier.
And wrapping myself in knitted shawls and scarves to stay warm.... I could wear every knitted item I own, all at the same time and be really snuggly!
Right now I am of to Argos to buy a small heater - no doubt I will have to fight Greebo for prime toe toasting position.
I used my time in the flat this morning whilst waiting for the BG man profitably, and you may be pleased to learn that photography has taken place. Therefore I shall post pictures either later today or tomorrow.
In the meantime I get to wear a woolly hat all day and all night.....
Posted by glittrgirl at 12:22 PM | Comments (2)
Tomato and tangerine soup
This is a little gem that is so easy to make it belies it's complex flavour. Don't be put off - it really is delicious, warming, a little exotic and perfect as a Christmas starter.
2 shallots, finely chopped
a little oil (I use grapeseed)
2 16oz tins of plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
a good sized glass of tangerine juice
1 pint good vegetable stock (we are big fans of Marigold Swiss Bouillon)
A decent sized pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Sweat the shallots in the oil until they are soft and have turned transparent.
Liquidise the tomatoes with the tomato puree.
Add to the onions together with the stock. Season with salt and pepper and add a good sized pinch of sugar.
Gradually add the tangerine juice until you get the balance of sweet and tart which tickles your personal palate, then simmer for about 5 minutes until you are sure the shallots are cooked through.
Serve with some bits of tangerine zest and some chopped chives - it looks and smells really festive.
Also remember that tinned tomatoes are really, really, really good for you.
Posted by glittrgirl at 9:29 AM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2007
KnitML
KnitML is an attempt to create a standard markup language for knitting patterns.
The KnitML Project's main goal is to develop and promote adoption of a standard content model for knitting patterns. By developing a community-supported specification (KnitML) and providing basic rendering and transformation tools, the KnitML Project aims to make KnitML easy to use and valuable to the knitter.
There are many benefits to a standard content model. If KnitML were an adopted standard, there would be many available patterns in KnitML and many types of knitting software written to manipulate them. Imagine being able to do the following for any KnitML-based pattern:
- Render a pattern in either written directions or a chart, dependent on a preference setting
- Render a pattern in any language, using conventions familiar to that language and dialect
- Validate that a pattern is physically possible to knit (eliminating some types of errata)
- Automatically convert English measurements to and from metric measurements
- Size a pattern up or down to any size, not just the sizes that come with the pattern
- Recalculate a pattern for your gauge rather than the one that came with the pattern
- Explicitly write out mathematically complex directions (e.g., "increase 34 stitches evenly over 171 stiches")
- Alter the pattern using an easy-to-use graphical editor (or create new KnitML-based pattern from scratch)
- Preview the result of a pattern using graphics
- Integrate into your favorite knitting software (such as Sweater Wizard)
- Digitally sign the pattern to guarantee original authenticity<.li>
This would all be possible because KnitML would serve as a standard interchange format between various independently-developed software programs. Pattern designers could continue to make patterns in their current format and also provide a KnitML representation of the pattern.
KnitML was based on Laura Porter's vision to create a standard markup language for knitting patterns. She had noticed that patterns tended to be written using non-standard styles and abbreviations, so it was often difficult to convey meaning universally.
KnitML is not intended to promote the "right" way to render a knitting pattern. On the contrary, it is my hope to write and promote software which can be easily customized to a user's own rendering preferences. Rather, KnitML only hopes to standardize the underlying content model so that software everywhere can interpret and process knitting patterns.
Interesting and full of possibilities!
Posted by glittrgirl at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)
Robynn - did you mean this one?
Posted by glittrgirl at 11:51 AM | Comments (1)
December 12, 2007
Greebo - a cat of discernment
My cat, Greebo, is a strange sort of a puss.
He ain't a lapcat. He very rarely sits next to me on the sofa in fact.
Usually, when he deigns to share his space with me, I try to photograph him and post on this blog. It is a rare occurrence.
Tonight, I sat down to watch Russell Brand on the road - redriving Jack Kerouac's route across the US with his erstwhile sidekick/partner Matt Morgan.
Greebo sat next to me and watched the whole thing. Was he interested in sitting next to me, because I have been away and he has spent lots of time on his own over the last week or so? Or, was he sensing something that meant he really wanted to sit next to me and experience this documentary with me, because sensed some sort of cateradarey or something?
Who cares?! I had an hour of cat lurve next to me, whilst watching Russell and Matt experience the strange excesses of the US landscape. Like the salt flats.
Greebo last sat next to me to watch an episode of Dr Who. He really likes David Tennant's Dr Who. At least I think he does, as it's the only Dr Wo he has seen, and the only one he has sat next to me to watch.
Perhaps I exude something he likes at times like this..... Usually he only sits next to men.
Well done BBC4 for commissioning and showing this fascinating and entertaining programme. Brave in asking RB to do it, they were, but he did a good job, with Matt, I think. It must have been OK to make Greebo sit in one place (next to me on my sofa) for a whole hour.
Well done!
Posted by glittrgirl at 9:43 PM | Comments (3)
Wheeeeeeeeee........
Barcelona was fantastic. It was so relaxing. I love that city. It is so cultured and stylish, there is everything you could possibly want all in one city:
- Art galleries - in abundance. Check.
- Beach. Check.
- Good food. At reasonable prices. Check.
- Parks and green spaces to walk. Check.
- Marina and lots of boats. Check.
- Well priced places to stay. Check.
- Music. Lots of it and really interesting. Check.
- Fantastic unusual shopping. Check.
- Amazing architecture. Check.
- Easy to use public transport system. CHECK
- Interesting street life and cafe culture. Check
- Agreeable climate. Check
- Weird traditions that make you go - eh? CHECK! (More in a forthcoming post)
I want to go back. Again.
Many thanks must go to the Zoros for putting up with us on board Avalon, and for feeding us so healthily. They were great company and made for a delightful stay in Port Vell.
The Fundacio Joan Miro was a place I had not visited in previous sojourns, but it was an amazing place to go to, and well worth the entrance fee - easy to get to and hours of intrigue there. Mind you I was a Miro fan before, but I am even more of one now.
The Sagrada Familia is always worth the money to see - it is staggeringly beautiful. This time we paid for a guided tour - and it was worth every cent. I have been there four times now, and it never ceases to amaze me. There is something new every time. The progress is quite quick these days and I defy anyone not to enjoy their visit there.
And, for the yarnoholics amongst you, you will, I am sure, be dying to hear if we purchased any yarn. Well, yes we did. From a lovely lady at La Barcelana in the Born area, Brosoli 1 to be precise, nearest Metro Jaume 1. The yarns were gorgeous. Sold by weight and in the most delicious colours. I ended up with two skeins of chunky, lofty, uneven gorgeousness which will be a soft warm very green scarf, and two skeins of unbelievable soy silk in the oiliest, darkest, shiniest, slatiest blue grey you can possibly imagine. Pictures soon - as soon I can do them justice. In the meantime, I ended up with over half a kilo of yarn, for about 26 Euros. Great value. And the lady spoke enough English to make the visit easy. And they weave the most lovely things in this tiny little shop. A friend found this shop for me last time I was there, and unfortunately I was not able to purchase then. But I made up for it this time. And I will go back next time. Marvelous! There are more yarn shops in Barcelona, and you can find out where they are, as well as catch up with a knitting group there over at Barcelona Knits! Unfortunately their regular meeting did not coincide with our visit, but next time I will try to catch up with them. And the other yarn purveyors!
Posted by glittrgirl at 7:47 AM | Comments (1)
December 5, 2007
Off to Barcelona
We are going to Barcelona.
We are staying with the Zoros. Yes we are.
We are really looking forward to it, and we leave in less than a few hours.
We are hoping to see Von Sudenfed, but are not holding out TOO much hope.
But.
LAST NIGHT!
I saw the Kings of Leon in Newcastle upon Tyne.
They.
Were.
F***ing.
AMAZING.
Posted by glittrgirl at 10:57 PM | Comments (1)
