Pardon?

Went to see Lostprophets last night, supported by Kids in Glass Houses. We were right at the front (I know, not very dignified for a Mum with a teenager, but there you go), and now I feel like I'm in a little bubble of buzziness as I can't hear a thing! I should know better really but there is something about the bass vibrating through your body that is just great. And as for spending two hours jumping up and down singing your heart out, well, give me that over an aerobics class any day! I'll swear I used up some serious calories!

Not so sure about paying £3.50 for a can of Tetley's (daren't tell my Mum, she'll keel over in horror), but all in all a fab night.

I have some (very wobbly) pics on my phone but still can't work out how to get them off onto the pc. So, as I didn't get any pics, here's a youtube vid of Kids in Glass Houses at the Apollo last year which is from about where we were standing. And Lostprophets from the same spot (we were at this one but it isn't my footage!).

New sock yarn colourways!

I've had these new colourways tucked away for a while now, but it's been so busy I've not had chance to upload them! The colourways are all for my exclusive alpaca/nylon sock yarn (this one is "Mint choc chip"), but if you'd like an alternative yarn in the same colourway, just let me know.
: )

We are in Let's Knit!

So cool, our Kool Aid kits are featured in the "3 of the Best" feature in Let's Knit this month : ))

Avatar 3d Imax-style - magic!

Finally went to see Avatar last week. Splashed out on the premier seats at the Imax and it was definitely worth it! It was our first Imax movie and we were a bit concerned when they introduced the movie by telling people where to exit if they felt sick (!), but we were fine and it was amazing. A bit difficult to adjust to the 3d sections of bits with lots of humans in spaceships, but the Pandora forest bits and the Na'vi were fab. A must-see movie without doubt : )

(I had a really great pic of us all wearing the funky 3d specs but I can't get if off my phone so you'll have to use your imagination).

February sock clubs are on the way....

Sock club parcels were posted this morning, so keep an eye out for your postie : )

I hope everyone liked their two free patterns last month. I have just finished a new pattern and club members will be getting an exclusive copy next month for a mystery KAL, so get those needles at the ready : ))

Three tax returns, a workshop and two birthdays!

There's nothing I like better than a nice, quiet weekend. Or at least I think I do, even if I can't really remember when I last had one!

Saturday was dyeing at the Hut. It was a fun-filled, busy day and there were lots of gorgeous yarns on show when we finished. Then it was home to meet up with the in-laws who were visiting to celebrate Will and Pete's birthdays. Pizza for tea with Hellboy on blu-ray. Lovely!

Sunday morning brought a rather rude awakening with me realising it was 31st Jan and I had three tax returns to submit! Luckily I had done most of the work, but after locking myself out of the account for two hours and forgetting the access password, I was getting pretty stressed I can tell you! This wasn't helped by Pete coming down with a migraine, so in between popping in and out to entertain our guests, I was uploading tax data onto the online filing system. I'm pleased (for which read relieved), to say that I got the returns in on time, made a roast dinner for lunch and even made homemade Yorkshire puds : )

And yes, I had an early night on Sunday!

January clubs - don your sunglasses!

The theme for this month was something of a contrast from December. "Fruit Salad" is inspired by one of my favourite sweeties from childhood. I just loved those brightly coloured, fruity chews (who am I kidding, I still buy them as my little treat after posting the parcels!).

We had a good laugh when discussing these with friends - I remember them being three for halfpence, then being scandalised when they went up to three for a penny. This led to discussions about the price of mars bars and milky ways, spangles, pacers, flying saucers and kop kopps. Ok, now I feel old so I'm going to stop....

Crikey, nearly forgot the fibres in all that reminiscing!

Here's the sock yarn, soft and luxurious alpaca/nylon....

Roving - squishy Falkland


and, at the top, Fibre Adventure - Falkland roving, baby camel/silk blend and Jacob fleece.

Don't adjust your sets folks, I have something subtle and sultry planned for next month....

December club pics

Catching up with clubs next, here are the pics for December's clubs....

Lovely lichen was this month's theme, inspired (not surprisingly), by lichens and mosses.

Now I have a confession to make - all the extras for this club sold out so quickly I only have the little sample I kept for myself and I'd already started spinning it before I realised I hadn't taken any photos! So at the top of the post is the last extra skein of December's sock yarn in 100% merino superwash yarn, which I did manage to photograph just before I posted it.

Only a little bit of the Bluefaced Leicester roving left, but here it is....


And here is the Fibre Adventure club, throwsters waste, Bluefaced Leicester roving and Shropshire x BFL fleece.


And here is the spinning so far!

I took lengths of the roving in sections to preserve the colours and stripped them lengthways. After predrafting I spun z twist for a single ply at around a fingering weight. I interspersed the roving with carded rolags of the fleece, blended with the throwsters. I cut the throwsters to give short lengths and trapped them in the yarn as I spun it. The second bobbin will be a single ply of the roving and I'm aiming for a yarn with smooth sections alternating with textured highlights.

Whirlwind January - the Big Knit!

Not quite sure what happened to January! All I know is that it's already gone and we're into February!

So, I'm now casting my mind back to where I've been and what I've been up to the last couple of weeks....

First up, The Big Knit!


This was a great day, organised by Big Issue in the North, and hosted by the Nexus Art Cafe in Manchester. The aim of the day was to knit hats, gloves and scarves for Big Issue vendors. Around 70 knitters sat and chatted, knitted (or learned to knit), ate cakes and coffee and generally had a great time. Lots of knitting later and there was a lovely line of finished items, ready to be given to vendors. I taught two lovely girls to knit. They'd only dropped in to find out about a gig, but ended up spending all afternoon learning to knit and producing a good couple of inches of scarf each! Here they are with their knitting - great work, girls!


If you have some spare time, Big Issue in the North are always happy to receive warm items for their vendors, many of whom are homeless and all of whom sell the Big Issue on our high streets in all weathers. If you need yarn or knitting needles, just get in touch with them and they'll be happy to send out a parcel so you can get knitting! And if you have yarn or needles to donate, these are always needed and can be dropped off at the Big Issue offices in Manchester.

Thank you to the Nexus Cafe and to Dante and his team for organising such a great event!

(And, for those of you in the Manchester area, the cafe runs a knitting group on Sunday afternoons, as well as various craft groups and lots of other exciting events).