dolly dimple knits

The Mitre - She is FEENESH !!

Okay. I think I may have got the mitre bug out of my system ... at least for now :0)

The Spec.

My Lazy Mitre Blanket was knitted in Noro Kureyon (shades 180, 170, 102, 89 ... and a couple of others I can't remember) mainly from my stash. The border is Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Mulberry and Teal - 1 skein of each.

The mitres are back to back - after knitting the first one you pick up half the stitches for the second one along one edge of the first and then cast on the other half of the stitches on the same needle. Just repeat the process filling in each corner until you have a big square of 4 mitres back to back. This means less ends to sew in and so was absolutely the way to go for me :0))

I knitted 6 big 4 square mitres, then 10 lots of 2 square strips and 4 single mitres squares to give me the full blanket. The border is 8 rows of garter stitch in first colour, 2 rows garter stitch in second colour then 2 rows stocking stitch in second colour. Finally cast off purlwise to get that lovely rolled edge.

Smokey likes it too but she thinks it's a bit bright ..

not that this matters as she is most emphatically NOT getting to sleep on it. ...... she may take some convincing about this ....

It's all about MEME !

The lovely Glacia tagged me. But you know, I'm just not that weird !

Either that or because I've been blogging for nearly FOUR YEARS now I've already told you all my deep dark weirdo secrets. I've even told you all my boring and unimportant stuff.

So Ms Glacia, I see your meme and raise you ......... this visual one !

1) Age you will be on your next birthday:

2) Place you would like to visit:

Did I mention I adore Men in Trees ??

3) One of your favourite places:

It's like Aran. But with sun. Sorry. You probably only get that if you're Scottish.

4) Your favourite object:

5) Your favourite food:

Just call me Wallace ....

6) Your favourite animal:

hubba, hubba .....

7) Your favourite colour:

8) Name of a past pet :

9) Where you live:

No, I don't live under the bridge. I'm not a troll...... but this is my favourite bridge in Glasgow

10) First teacher's last name:

11) Your middle name:

No. Not Prunty. The other one.

12) A bad habit of yours:

Sorry everyone !

13) Your favourite flower:

14) Your favourite holiday:

Really. Everyone should try it. Just not when I'm there. I like it quiet ;0)

And I tag Glacia, Lynette and Linn - just for fun !

Random. Totally.

We have the bleughs chez Dolly this week. One child down, 2 to go and I'm not feeling too hot myself (well actually, I AM feeling too hot but I think that's the fever). Sick and incoherent. That about sums up this week so I've no high hopes for this post.

On the plus side of sickness, Sooty has had the official sign off from the vet. So she lives to purr another day.

She's made amazing progress, the vet really was surprised as she had lost so much weight and was so sick. He told us that if the antibiotics didn't work (and he didn't really expect them to) then she would have to be referred as in-patient to the Vet Hospital ....... and when he said that that would cost around £3,000 for a 2 week stay with no guarantee of recovery, we knew he was really pointing out the other alternative.

But happy, happy. The antibiotics DID work and she's doing really well. Putting weight back on and back to her old self more or less. The condition could well recur but for the moment she's good. And one day if I can get her to stay in one place for long enough, I'll let you see her beautiful furry face for yourselves :0)

Thanks for the kind comments on the blanket so far. All I can say is that was a LOT of sewing up. Really. A lot. I don't know how people keep their sanity doing mitres the proper way as opposed to the lazier back to back way. I couldn't have faced any more ends !

Friday is still for finishing but she's nearly there.

As Polly commented, there's a lot of colour - but not quite as much as it looks in my last post. That photo suffers from the joy of taking pictures using flash on a dark January night. The photo of the border is pretty true to colour. And actually, what the heck, it's just PRETTY. I LOVE my border :0))

I should really call this blanket "Homage to Ann & Kay" - Kay being the Queen of the Mitre and Ann, the superstar enabler, who posted about a way of doing the border which keeps it flat but gives a lovely rounded edge to it. (The secret is 2 rows of stocking stitch before casting off purlwise. SSH.)

One last border section to go and she's done. And if it ever stops pissing down here and we actually get a day with something approaching daylight, I will try to get an outdoor photo in all her glory.

Then of course, I have the decision about where will she go. Originally, this blanket was meant for my 2 younger girls' room. But now that half-term is to be given over to making over their room in THREE (count'em) shades of pink, it may not be quite so, suitable. And anyway, I needs it somewhere where I can get my fair share of blushing "Why thank you. I made it myself you know" in. So probably the living room. For a while at least.

When not dealing with bleughs, working or knitting an never-ending border, I have been thinking about my Pay It Forward plans. Decisions have been made. Everything will be made from stash. Yeah. I know. Given the size of my stash, hardly a challenge. But wait. I'm not finished. There will be a theme for each gift.

And the first theme will be .....

JEWELS.

And no, Yvette, Mhairi and Glacia, I'm not telling who's getting which theme. You'll just have to wait. :0))

Questions ...

... that have been floating through my brain today.

Firstly, denim. Not lovely Rowan aran weight Denim but Sirdar Indigo DK weight Denim. A discontinued yarn of which I own ...... ehm, rather a lot but have never used.

According to the label, it shrinks 10% in length but nothing in width on first washing.(Here we're one up on Rowan which shrinks 20% so you have to knit garments even longer !!). I swithered about re-doing the figures on one of Denim People designs but allowing for both a different weight of yarn and a different shrinkage amount was just too much for my maths deviant brain.

But can I ask a stupid question - do you think I could use it for any normal DK pattern and just add 10% to the length ? What about if it had waist shaping - would that shift all out of place when the extra 10% length was shrunk off ?

I need a maths person who can explain this to me !! Help !

And what about lace ? I have quite a lot of lace yarn in my stash too. Don't ask me why. I rarely (okay, pretty much never) knit lace. I have to concentrate too hard and I don't wear shawls and I can only wear so many scarves ....... etc. etc etc. Didn't stop me buying it did it ?

How many strands of laceweight yarn would I need to make a DK weight equivalent ? (Notice I'm not even saying 4 ply - this is how rarely I knit with fine yarns !) Yes. I know I could swatch but I thought that out there somewhere there might be someone who's already tried this and could save me the hassle ???

Ah the joys of thinking about new projects. But I'm being good today. It's Friday and it's for FINISHING. Which is what I'm doing ....

Seam me up Scottie !

Heather x

UK Swap

Just to relieve the monotony, I decided to join the UK Swap along with my knitty pal, Lynette. So swap partner, whoever you are, here's the gen :

Part One: Crafting

Do you knit, crochet, or both?

I can do both, but mainly I knit. I sew a little too sometimes.

What do you like to make? Do you have a favourite project?

I don't really mind what I'm knitting as long as I'm knitting ! - garments, accessories, socks you name it :0)

Do you have a favourite type of fiber or brand of yarn?

I wouldn't single out anything except to say I prefer to knit with natural fibres and I don't really knit much with cotton or cotton type yarns as I find it too hard to get even looking tension.

Do you have a least favourite type of yarn?

I'm not a fan of novelty yarns like eyelash or fun fur etc

Do you do any other crafts?

Occasionally a bit of quilting

What knitting do you bring ‘on the go’?

Usually socks or a scarf - anything smallish

What do you carry your ‘on the go’ knitting in? Do you want something new?

It varies. I do have some nice bags for my knitting but often end up using a scruffy carrier bag !

Are there any knitting gifts (book, toy, yarn, item, tool) that you have been lusting over?

I have a whole load of books on my amazon wishlist and I've always fancied one of those little yarn cutter things you hang round your neck 'cos I keep losing my scissors.

Part Two: Your Favourites

What is your favourite colour? What is your least favourite colour?

I like most colours - currently I'm tending towards green, grey and pink. I don't generally like yellow as it doesn't suit my skin tone. I look dead when I wear it. Not a good look I find.

What scents/smells do you like? What don’t you like?

I love vanilla, coffee and cinnamon. Not keen on patchouli - it always makes me sneeze.

How do you like to pamper yourself? (bubble bath, hand creams, massage, manicure)

I love having my nails done and soaking in the bath with a good book.

What goodies to you like to treat your tummy with? (chocolate, biscuits, truffles, etc.)

Definitely a chocolate girl when it comes to treats.

Do you prefer tea or coffee while you knit? Any particular kind? Favourite mug/cup?

Tea every time. Just ordinary breakfast tea, prefereably in my enormous sheep mug that was a present from the kids.

Do you listen to/watch anything while you knit? (TVshow-Along, movies, music, podcasts)

Usually TV - I love Men in Trees, House and lots of the CSI type things (except the Miami one whch I can't stand !) Currently I'm addicted to Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel. I also enjoy films of very varied types.

Part Three: Living & Past-times

Where do you live in the UK? (General idea not address)

Glasgow

Have you always lived here, or did you grow up somewhere else?

Edinburgh

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Alaska

If you couldn’t go to a knitting group, what other kind of gathering would you go to? (book club, tea party, yoga class, jewelery class, etc.)

Machine embroidery class

What’s your style? (elegant, traditional, glamourous, girly, natural, sporty, outgoing, etc.)

ooh hard one - I'd love to say elegant but I'd be lying. Probably classic but with a twist. I particularly love 1950's fashions as they suit my shape !

Final Part:

Any allergies/preferences (fiber-wise or treat-wise)?

No allergies at all

Anything we missed that you’d like your partner to know?

Not that I can think of at the moment :0)

Friday is for ????

FINISHING !

Well not quite but this

is almost a whole blanket !

I've become quite addicted this week to these little squares - re-inspired by the beautiful blanket Philippa* knitted - which weirdly enough, she says was originally inspired by me starting this one which I started way back in May ........ 2006 ! What goes around, comes around for sure.

* For some reason Moveable Type has decided it doesn't want to load any more images but if you're on Ravelry and look me up (dollydimple) you'll find her blanket in my favourites.

Anyhoo, I am on the last 2 mitre section and then only have 4 teeny little corner mitres and an absolutely MASSIVE border to think about. So not really nearly finished then ....

Although I'm pleased I'm sticking with my re-solutioning - some yarn has gone the eBay way and I've started working on long unfinished WIP's - I've actually had a pretty crap day.

I've done something to my foot which means I have a massive very black/purple bruise running all along the side of it and it's really painful to put any weight on it - but maddeningly I've no idea what I've done as I've no memory of banging it or anything !

But far worse, our little cat Sooty is ill. She disappeared for 3 days and came home last night looking not very well at all. The vet says she's dehydrated and jaundiced, she's lost about a ½ kilo but isn't interested in food or water at all. He put her on a drip this morning and is doing tests but so far we're just waiting to hear what might be wrong with her. So keep your fingers crossed for us, will you ?

Edited to add : Thanks all for the good wishes for Sooty. She is pretty ill. She has a form of hepatitis caused by a nasty infection so she's on 3 different types of anti-biotic and we're trying to get her to eat and drink. Back to the vet in a couple of days to see if there's been any improvement. She's such a beautiful little cat and only 7 years old so we're just holding on tight to her at the moment.

Heather x

Re............solutions

I have no resolve, precious little stamina and am a total sucker for temptation. So I'm not setting myself up to fail this year and rather than grand resolving, I have decided to re-solution various smaller problems I feel I have. Re-solution = new solution to old (in some cases extremely old !) problem.

Some of these problems are private and personal and I won't bore you with them - tho' you may hear if the new solution is a success :0) But some of them are of the knitting variety and as this IS a knitting blog, these ones I can share with you.

Problem No #1

Overwhelming amounts of stash. I know. In lots of ways not really a problem. I appreciate that I am very fortunate to have a big enough income and an understanding husband, the combination of which has allowed this to develop over the years - and I do mean years. Some of the yarn in my stash is more than 20 years old .... but most of it has been acquired in the last 5 years.

When I did my recent stash tidy up I started to list the yarn with a view to recording it on Ravelry as a tracking mechanism. That's when it got scary. I only started to list the big amounts of yarn - enough for a sweater or cardigan - I didn't even count the sock yarn and odd skein of this or that. And even if I knitted a sweater a month I would be knitting for 3 YEARS before I ran out of stash. And that's not including the sweaters that are already on the needles .....

This is ridiculous. I always feel a faint sense of unease about Christmas time that so much emphasis is on material goods and conspicuous consumption. I enjoy it and participate as much as the next person but by 3rd January I find I'm feeling rather full - and not just of over-rich food. My house is full. My brain is full. I just have TOO MUCH.

So the re-solutions ?

1. I'm getting rid of yarn I will never use. Hopefully someone else will :0)

2. I'm not going to buy any more big project yarn this year - with 2 possible exceptions. I'm allowing myself a visit to Woolfest in June and a visit to Stash Yarns (whenever I go to see my sister :0)) .... but I won't necessarily buy big project yarn there either. Only if it is something I am truly in love with.

Problem No #2

Some of you may remember way back in August when I confessed to having 25 WIP's on the go ? Well they're still hanging on in there.

Polly has the right idea and has been taking positive action but I've just been trying to ignore mine. So they fester away behind the sofa or in the chest of drawers, resurfacing every now and then to make me feel bad about not finishing them :0(

Re-solutions ?

1. Fridays are for finishing
2. Fridays are for frogging

I work part-time so I'm generally not working on a Friday and what I'm going to try to do is use whatever knitting time I find each Friday to either make some progress or to frog one of my long-term WIPS's.

Long-term I reckon is having been around for more than 6 months. If it's younger than 6 months old I'm usually still picking it up now and then anyway but older than that and I may even have forgotten it exists !

Problem No#3

Lack of commitment ... or maybe it's lack of confidence ? I don't know.

I currently have half a notebook full of design ideas. Some of them are variations on a theme - another designer's pattern that I've sketched out some changes to that would make it better for me and some of them are half-formed notions that have sprung into my head at some point.

But others are all but there. They're sketched out. There are notes on what technique I would use, on what yarn .. but they're only notes. So far I haven't done the maths and I haven't picked up needles and yarn. This needs to change.

Maybe if I tried actually knitting some these sketches my brain would feel less full ??

Re-solution ?

I'm going to have a go. By the end of January I'm going to have swatched for at least one of the ideas that have been rattling about for months. There. I've said it so it must be true :0)

So how about you ? Any new solutions to old problems ? Or maybe old solutions to new problems ? It's just that time of year :0)

Happy New Year everyone.

Heather x