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January 31, 2008
Noro Scoop Neck Cardigan
This has been a nice knit, despite the apparent acres of stockingette. It includes set in sleeves, shaping using turned rows and of course, has the main body knit sideways, giving a flattering stripe. It also, which is new to me, has a crocheted edging. This caused a little trauma (OK, a few froggings, of the edging only!) but came good in the end. The crochet hook called for is tiny though - I really thought there was a mistake in the pattern until I read elsewhere that it worked. The crochet edging is essential - it really gives the cardigan structure and pulls it all together, so it isn't just 'floppy'.
The problems I had with the edging revolved around trying to make sense of the instructions, but in the end I went my own sweet way, doing what I thought would work - I basically did as instructed with a ds into four consecutive edge stitches, then missed the fifth, and I did this the whole way around the edge APART from the two front edges (I found that if I missed every fifth, then it became too tight and puckered horribly). I did also have to alter the pattern a little to stop the edging going 'frilly'- I did this by doing the ds/ch/ds into every other stitch and missing out the ss in the stitch between. I can't believe I'm talking crochet talk!
It's been blocked by washing (to get the Silk Garden lovely and soft) and then by gentle steaming (to get the seams sitting right). The buttons are brass, medium sized, from Rowan, and fit it perfectly, I think. The Noro Silk Garden colour = 241. The pattern is from 'Noro Collection' by Debbie Bliss. No pictures of me in the cardi, as it is a (belated!) birthday present for my mum.
And as Glittr showed you her label, I'll show you mine ;) A total steal of an idea from Purlpower...
Posted by scumkitten at 1:03 PM | Comments (5)
January 30, 2008
Feed me!
Posted by glittrgirl at 1:41 PM | Comments (1)
January 27, 2008
Fortune cookies
Thankee Yorkster:
 | My Fortune Cookie told me: Avoid cliches like the plague. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune |
But it was too hard:
| My Fortune Cookie told me: Conquistadors have no use for radioactive waste materials. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune |
How profound.
Mine was profound too!!! (Skitten hijack ;)
| My Fortune Cookie told me: Inspiration is like a collection of old teaspoons, but I forget why. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune |
Posted by glittrgirl at 11:43 PM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2008
Brier
Finally! Brier by Kim Hargreaves, from Rowan mag 36. Knitted with Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK in Frog. I used 9 balls. 3.25 and 4mm needles. I started this 2 years ago, and in a determined effort to rid myself of some WIPs that have been hanging around, I bravely resurrected its stocking stitch torture. I think the finished thing is worth it though.
The fabric really relaxed and got a lot softer with gentle steam blocking, and the finished jacket is very nice indeed.
Posted by glittrgirl at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)
January 16, 2008
Potage Crecy with Peppers
Have rather a lot of carrots left over at the moment. This soup is something I'm going to try tonight- Peppadew Peppers are the tiny round preserved peppers you can buy in jars. We always have some hanging around as are slightly hot and nice cut up in salads etc.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
500g carrots, peeled and sliced
Bouquet garni of 3 sprigs thyme or lemon thyme, 1 sprig tarragon, 2 sprigs parsley and 1 bay leaf, tied together (or whatever herbs you have- I'm just using thyme and a bay leaf)
2 tbsp pudding rice (NB I don't have any pudding rice, so used normal rice)
4 hot or 6 mild Peppadew peppers, roughly chopped
1.5 litres light chicken or vegetable stock
Squeeze of lemon juice
Sweat the onion, carrots and bouquet garni for 10 minutes. Add the rice and peppers and stir well. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the rice and carrots are tender. Cool slightly, remove the bouquet garni then liquidise. Add a little more stock if the soup is too thick, and stir in a squeeze of lemon juice. Check the seasoning.
When eating, add a swirl of soured cream then top with torn coriander or parsley and sliced Peppadews. Or not, if you don't have any coriander or parsley (which I don't, it being winter, and fresh summer herbs being a thing of extravagance ;) )
Posted by scumkitten at 10:39 AM | Comments (1)
January 15, 2008
Wasting food, how not to...
As part of the 'we're going to either pay of our mortgage in two and a half years, or, if we don't get a renewal in contract, bugger off to New Zealand' megasave, I've been tasked with sorting out our food expenditure.
Interestingly, we seem to be bang on with the zeitguist, as suddenly the Times is doing stuff on 'how to run a pantry', write shopping lists and not throw away so much food, as is the Waitrose magazine. I've also discovered the lovefoodhatewaste website which is great for looking at if you have a small number of ingredients and have no idea what to do with them without giving up and going out and buying a Chinese Takeaway.
We're doing well on the 'not throwing stuff away' at the moment, although me being up country for the last five days did throw DJ Mikey into a bit of a spin, despite having soup, lamb casserole, home made bread, eggs, cheese and left over chilli available to him. He didn't eat the cabbage. The cabbage had to go in the bin when I got home. He was sad about that, so hopefully has learned something from it... the lesson is, if I've left you a casserole, eat the cabbage with it ;)
Posted by scumkitten at 3:52 PM | Comments (2)
January 8, 2008
Knitted Russell Brand
Knitted Russell Brand
Edited to add: PJ pointed out that there is a syringe just behind Russell's arm. I feel I should point out that this one of a set of mad knitting needles gifted to me by my sister who found them at Whitby Gothic Weekend some time ago.
Posted by glittrgirl at 10:07 PM | Comments (5)
The best chocolates ever
Agen, hmm, prune
Posted by scumkitten at 8:51 AM | Comments (2)
January 7, 2008
Excerpts from Close Knit
Close Knit is dance piece that involves a piece of knitting that stretches across the entire stage and has eighteen spots on it for dancers to knit.
Posted by glittrgirl at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)
January 2, 2008
Silver wire and glass bead knitted necklace
I finally finished this! I bought this Rowan kit ages ago and got it half price from the Rowan website - the box disintegrated and I lost the pattern long ago. It has been sitting in the hibernation pile for ages I did make some progress back in February 2007. But tonight, I finished it. Knitted on 3.25mm dpns. I honestly can't remember anything else about this, it has been hanging around so long.
Edited to add: It was the Rowan Carolina Necklace Kit.
Posted by glittrgirl at 8:27 PM | Comments (3)
Sheep lights
My auntie bought me this string of sheep fairy lights. How cool?
Posted by glittrgirl at 7:42 PM | Comments (2)
Pomatomus complete
Completed Pomatomus socks - knitted with one skein of Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the Marine colourway, on 2.5mm birch dpns. And. They. Are. Gorgeous.
My feet are a UK 4 and I had a few yards of yarn leftover, despite going down a needle size to get a closer pattern. I love them.
Cookie says:
The finished socks are reminiscent of blue-green fish scales hence the name Pomatomus, the genus of the blue fish.
I think this yarn is perfect for them. Many thanks to my SP9 who gifted me the yarn. I hope I have done it justice.
Posted by glittrgirl at 4:34 PM | Comments (2)
History of guerilla knitting talk available to download
Thanks to Regine over at we-make-money-not-art, there is a link to download Rose White's talk on guerilla knitting recently given at the recent Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin.
A Tree Undone, Burning Man 2007
A Tree Undone, the artist brought a tree to Burning Man, wrote a pattern explaining how leaves should be knitted, and together with the citizens of Black Rock City knitted thousands of leaves. They were not bound off so each leaf could unravel in the wind.
Posted by glittrgirl at 10:43 AM | Comments (1)
January 1, 2008
Irish hiking scarf 2
Irish hiking scarf, encore!
Posted by glittrgirl at 2:07 PM | Comments (3)
