Wednesday, 31 December 2008

New Knit-felt kits

Doh! With so much going on, I haven't told you about the new knit-felt kits which I "unveiled" at Harrogate in November!

I had so much fun designing my Artesano knit-felt collection that I thought I'd produce some for my own yarns. As my little Kool Aid kits have been so popular, I've been thinking for ages that I should do some new ones, but I fancied something a bit different.

There were lots of ideas buzzing round in my head, but I'd been working on socks (surprise, surprise!), and was fed up of rummaging for lost dpns in the bottom of my workbag and down the side of the sofa. I also wanted a neat way to carry my wip to knitting group.

So, put the two together and hey! presto! enter the Flutterby felted sock stasher.

The second kit was really a bit of a selfish one. When I'm at shows I like to knit, but it's tricky to keep putting a project down and it wouldn't be the first time I've had to grovel around on the floor chasing a runaway ball of wool halfway round the stand! I have a friend who's a climber and they use little pouches strapped to their belts to carry stuff they need to have readily to hand so I thought, why not use one for knitting? Better still, why not knit one for my knitting! And so, the Knit 'n' Go knit-sack was born!

To give a nice firm fabric, I knit the basic shapes then throw them in the washing machine with a set of Felter's Friend felting balls. (You can just use flip-flops or old jeans but these are easier and give better results). The knitting looks massive, but once it's been through the washer, it firms up and shrinks nicely and gives a lovely fabric. The tones in the dyed yarn also blend really prettily.

(ps. I've since customised my knit-sack with a little dpn holder which poppers onto the outside of the bag and can be put inside when I pack up, so keep an eye out for this "upgrade").

Back to knitting

Looking back at recent posts, I realise there hasn't been much mention of knitting, dyeing and fibre-y stuff. Do not be misled - this doesn't mean nothing is going on!

I'm busy working on a range of new designs and I'm keeping these under wraps until they're done so as not to spoil the surprise. There is also lots of work going on behind the scenes on new colour collections and I'm trialling some lush new yarns. There's also a fab new project in the offing which goes live very shortly, so watch this space!

Wheeee - Wii !!!!

Persuaded Will to share his Wii today so we could all have a play. We laughed our socks off slamming loo doors on Rabbids, whacking them into holes and chasing round sheep to shear them! There was something a bit odd about boxing Will, especially when I ko'd him in the second round, but he was very gracious about it. After all he did beat me hollow at tennis and baseball...

Mario kart was hysterical - watching my Mum hurtling round a track in a car shaped like a piranha, flying off into lava and skidding on banana skins was eye-wateringly funny! Not that I was any better. I beat Will in one race (I think I heard the phrase beginner's luck mentioned), but couldn't drive for laughing half the time. Oh, and Mum revealed a surprise ability for killing zombies in Resident Evil.......

Happy Christmas!

Christmas in the Tomkies household was lovely. The tree looked splendid (if rather large - oops - spatial awareness isn't my strong suit!). We managed to empty another raft of boxes just before Christmas Eve (down to just about 8 now in the living room) and the presents were (mostly) wrapped by 1am - surely a record for us!

After a healthy breakfast of chocolates from the selection boxes (can't break with tradition), we unwrapped our gifts, ate more chocolate (diet starts Jan 1 - honest), and settled down with the Radio Times to plan the tv schedule.

Pete made a gorgeous Christmas dinner, a full traditional affair but with veggie roast for us and "the real thing" for Will.

We did our bit towards making Wallace & Gromit the most-watched programme of the day and of course, Doctor Who was on the agenda. And just in case you think we are a complete cultural vacuum, we taped Memoirs of a Geisha.

Oooh, nearly forgot the pressies. I was soooo lucky. I got such lovely gifts - two wonderful dyeing books and a fantastic book on drawing faeries. A felted dragon kit (rainbow colours of course!), and some Ugg boots - squee!! Lush goodies made the house smell just delicious - I think my Mum must have bought the whole shop - thanks Mum! I also got a great selection of incense for my dragon incense burner.

Hope you all had a super Christmas!

Love and hugs xx

Monday, 22 December 2008

Kwaidan - Japanese ghost stories

On Saturday night we had a spur of the moment theatre trip to see Kwaidan. We didn't know a thing about it, but as it had "Japanese" and "ghost" in the title, we figured that for £8 a ticket it was worth a shot.

It was amazing! The flyer describes the production as "creat(ing) a world where dark forces and evil spirits interact with humans and change their destinies forever". And it did not disappoint! Imaginatively directed and performed we were alternately jumping out of our skins or howling with laughter. Manga characters, puppets, samurai, ghost spirits and two entire armies filled the stage with magic.

The actors were part of the Contact young actors company so were very much local (the Contact theatre is in Manchester, next to the University) and they well and truly deserved the standing ovation they received from the enthusiastic audience. The production was staged by the Dende Collective and if you get the chance to see one of their unique plays, don't miss out - they rock!

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