The Wool Palace

And so it begins

The following is a public service announcement for knitters considering a project involving mitred squares.  Please take the time to read the following before going any further.

1.   You will not be able to stop.  Really.  Not at all.  All other WIPs will fall by the wayside.

2.   You will no longer knit socks as commuter knitting.  Mitred squares take up even less room and you can do them on dpns as there are only 48 stitches at the widest part.  Your family and friends will be sockless - think on that.

3.   If you start searching Ebay for small lots of DK cotton (don't talk to me about any pledges that may have been made)  hold in your head how much you can buy it for in the shops - don't bid any more than that. 

4.   Be prepared for your waking thoughts to be about what colour combinations would look good together.  You will also bore family and friends by placing your completed squares in different combinations and asking them to pick their favourites.  They will humour you for a while, but not forever.

5.   You will be powerless to stop yourself picking up your knitting as you walk past it and doing a couple of rows standing up, when you should be doing housework / cooking / helping the children with their homework / talking to people.

6.   Do not, I repeat, do not take your mitred square in progress to work with you, especially if you are the only one in the office that day.  You are not strong enough to resist.

If you are still willing to accept the risks, go on over to Mason-Dixon Knitting to find out more.  Just don't say I didn't warn you.

This is how much DK cotton I have left.

It's not enough.

Oh Baby

It seems to have been a productive weekend for some people - go and have a look at Tracy's latest creation; is that smoke I see coming from her needles? 

I have nothing like that to show for my activities, mainly because I haven't done much knitting.  There have been mutterings chez Wool Palace about 'too much knitting', so I kept it down this weekend.  Also I am having a bit of wrist pain, so I need to take things easy for a few days.

Gemma is coming along nicely, I am into the armhole shaping.  I am hoping to have the body done by the end of the week, but we shall see.

I cast on for a baby blanket for a friend who is due in September.

This is the Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton from Knit Happens.  I am doing a moss stitch centre, then will pick up along the edges and knit a garter stitch border.  To add a bit of colour, I am then going to pick up again along the border edges with some recycled sari silk.  I think they look good together.  What do you think?

I think this will progress fairly slowly, as knitting with cotton hurts my hands a bit.  However, I am keen to get the centre done quickly, as I love the look of moss stitch but don't much like the process of doing it.

I have another friend who is expecting twins, also in September.  I've been wondering what to knit for her.  Today, I was over at Mason-Dixon Knitting and I think I will be succumbing to the siren song of mitred squares.  I see two mitred square baby blankets in complementary shades.  I'm off to dig out the DK cotton stash...

Here comes the sun

It was a beautiful day in London today - sunny and warm.  After school I took the children to the park (along with pretty much the rest of the school it felt like).  I sat and knitted while they played.  Then Sam fell out of a tree, so I sat and knitted while he moaned and said he was bored and wanted to go home, until I was able to distract him by suggesting he practise his 9 times table.  Yes, I have produced a child who enjoys multiplication.

Tonight was a Liberty night.  It seemed smaller than usual, but that meant it was easier to talk to people - sometimes it can be hard to get round everyone.  I took along some of the US purchases for people to fondle - which they did, with alacrity.  Jacinta and I swapped Knit Happens stories.  Polly very kindly offered to take the yarn home and look after it for me, but sadly I had to refuse.

Today's sunny weather reminded me of how nice the weather was during my DC visit, so I thought I'd share a few photos with you.  Good link or what?

It was cherry blossom time, so of course I had to get down to the Tidal Basin and visit some monuments. 

That's the Lincoln Memorial peaking through the blossom there.  It's still my favourite, especially the inside.

A bit of Reflecting Pond (or is it Pool?) action never goes amiss.  See - not a cloud in the sky and no coats in sight either.

As I hadn't been to DC for more than 20 years, there were quite a few memorials that were new to me.  I found the FDR Memorial interesting - a series of 'rooms' rather than a building, with a lot of water features.  My mother told me it's spectacular in the winter, when all the water freezes.  Here's a photo I picked with Tracy in mind.

And let's finish with another gratuitous shot of blossom shall we?

 

Hey Big Spender

So, I gather you're all wanting details about my trip.  I thought I would do a post about my travels through Virginia with my parents, including interesting historical information about the economy over the last 100 years.  Is that the sort of thing you were after?

No?  Do I hear a word beginning with Y?  Could it be... it can't be... surely not, yarn?

Let me start off by saying that I haven't been to any other yarn shops in the US.  But I think I can say that Knit Happens is a great shop!  From the minute I walked in, to the minute I left (about 2 hours later, with a shell shocked sister in tow), I had a blast.  And that was just the first visit.

Kristine and all the other staff and customers (hey Shanti!) made me feel so welcome.  The shop is beautiful - well stocked shelves all around and a big table down one end with lots of space to spread out patterns and pile up wool purchases.  In my wool daze/frenzy I didn't take any photos of the shop, but you can see what it looks like on the site.  If you're in the DC area you should definitely go; just be prepared for a high level of papal obsession (although that may pass once a new pope has been chosen, but be warned). 

If you can't get there, I did get to have a sneaky peak at the online site, which should be up and running any day now.  It looks great and will definitely be able to satisfy any yarn cravings you may be experiencing.

So, I did make two visits.  The first was just a sort of 'getting to know you visit', where my purchases were small and restrained - just the one bag.  My sister even succumbed to the lure of some Kaalund Expressions.  She claims it's for a friend, but later that evening (maybe after one of those giant vodka martinis) she did mention she was thinking of taking up knitting again and keeping it for herself.

The second visit, I was flying solo.  I got there early, the shop was quiet.  Just me, Kristine, Holly and my gift certificate from my Secret Pal and my credit card.  Other people came and went, but I didn't notice them.

Before I spill, let me just say this:  I went with a yarn budget and I stuck to that budget.  Yes, I admit my budget was large (how large I won't say, as my husband does read this blog sometimes and I want to be allowed back to DC) but it was planned and has been financed through stash selling on Ebay and knitting lessons, so it's sort of self-financed.  Do I sound defensive?  Well, Kristine did say, after ringing up my purchases, that she was happy to close the shop for the day.  Was she joking?  I'm not so sure.  I maintain that the fact my sister had to carry some of the yarn back to the UK for me was due to the size of my bags rather than the size of my purchases.

Where to start?  Well, let's start with my lovely Secret Pal, who cleverly arranged for a gift certificate to be waiting for me on arrival.  Thank you so much, SP, it was a wonderful surprise!  This is what I bought.

On the left, Alchemy Silk Purse (now I just need a pattern for a sow's ear) and on the right, lovely ArtYarns Super Merino in beautiful red/pink/purple mix.  Thanks again, Secret Pal!

Then I saw this

As the name suggests, a blend of silk and wool.  I have had my eye on this pattern for a while,

and this yarn will be perfect for it.  I couldn't choose between red and grey, so I got them both!

I had planned on buying some Cash Iroha, but there was none in stock.  Kristine suggested this as a substitute and who am I to argue?

Aracunia Nature Cotton - beautiful stuff.  They also do a variegated one, called Patagonia.  I'm thinking of doing another Hourglass in one of these.  I couldn't decide between green and black, so (are you sensing a theme here?)  I got them both!

Imagine the softest thing you've ever felt, then multiply it by 100.  Now you're getting close to how soft this feels.

Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton.  This is earmarked for a baby blanket for a friend who is due in the Autumn.  I'm trying really, really hard not to cast on for it right now.

And as I'd bought the cotton, I couldn't leave the alpaca behind.

For a flash photo, the colours aren't too bad, but the one on the right is less purple and the green is more of a kahki.  They are all so soft.

Bringing up the rear, a whole flock of Shepherd's Sock Yarn.

And that, my dears, is that.  There were also assorted notions, so such as those cute Clover stitch markers like little safety pins, which I am using on Gemma (there's another whole post to come about her) and which make me irrationally happy each time I come to one of them, but I haven't taken photos of any of them. 

Needless to say, the stash chest is full to bursting.  I feel replete.  My pledge now - to purchase no more yarn until the Liberty sale and after that, Ally Pally.  Will I stick to it?  I don't know.  Keep tuning in to find out more.

PS.  Welcome and apologies to any Mac users who haven't been able to leave comments before and a big thank you to Emma for letting me know about the coding error!

I'm baaack

Yes, I am indeed back.  I had a brilliant time in DC and have lots to tell about shopping, sightseeing and (eating and) drinking.

However, I am also suffering a little.  I have the loveliest husband who happily took on the whole household routine for a week, while also trying to run his business and earn enough money for us all.  Unfortunately this is the same husband who thought that the best cure for my jet-lag would be to rouse the family at 9am on Sunday to drive to Kent so he and Sam could go climbing for the day.  Lovely.  I fell asleep in the car on the way back, I wonder why?

Also, I'd like to pass on this tip.  Just because your camera's memory card says you can take 350 photos, don't try and take 200 or so of them and then upload them to your PC.  You just end up with a weird mess of photos of cherry blossom and photos of yarn and photos of your children climbing that you're pretty sure should be in chronological order but aren't, so you have to try and do it all manually, while watching time slipping away.

So, for now, I leave you with this.

More details tomorrow I promise.

Hello from the US!  I'm having a great time here in DC.  Doing lots of sightseeing, drinking giant vodka Martinis with my sister and nursing a bit of sunburn today as the weather is so hot and sunny. 

I went to Knit Happens on Saturday and had a brilliant time.  Kristine and the gang made me feel so welcome, I'm going back tomorrow!  Thanks to my Secret Pal for the gift certificate that was waiting for me when I got there.  I couldn't decide what to spend it on, but now I've had a few days to think about it I'm sure I can think of lots of things to use it on. 

I'm on slow dialup here so the full update will have to wait until I'm back in the UK.  Right, off to make some yarn shopping lists...

Buzz, Buzz

Sorry for the long pause.  Things are hectic in the Wool Palace at the moment.  Toby is doing some fairly hefty overtime - 7am start to 10pm finish anyone?  Combine this with 2 children who are not impressed with their playscheme after a week in Somerset.  Throw in a bit of me trying to get ready to go to the States tomorrow and go to work every day and you get the picture.

I finished a pair of socks

It's the first time I've used Lana Grossa sock yarn.  I really liked it.  The colours are nice and subtle and it feels very soft.  So soft, I just had to wear them.

Then I started another pair

This is Lana Grossa too, 'Fun and Stripes', I believe it's called.  I'm doing a 2 x 2 rib which I'll carry on into the foot.

I'm all packed and ready to go.  It seems that the regulations on carrying knitting needles are being lifted, so I'm going to bring Gemma in my hand luggage.  She's on Denise needles anyway, so I've taken the needles off and put stoppers on.  That way, if I do get stopped, I can just post the needle part on.  Wish me luck!

I'll try and post from DC, but probably without pictures.  See you all next week!

What's in the box?

Whoops - I'm a bit late in flashing my stash.  I was delayed by a pressing date with sushi and stitchmarkers - more details to follow tomorrow.

So, here's an innocent looking chest.

Shall we lift the lid?

This chest is cleverly constructed with a lift off tray at the top.  I like to keep my sock yarn in there.  I have individual photos of my sock yarn, but I'm not going to make you look at all of them.

Then if you take the tray off...

It's a bit cramped in there, so I took everything off to the living room to get a bit of spring sunshine.  I keep each batch of yarn in its own plastic bag as I do not like moths.  I would have taken them out of the bags for their photo ops but I was a little pressed for time (see sushi above).

Not too bad, I thought  (that's a 3 seater sofa by the way).  I was ruthless in January and had a clear out and sold quite a bit on Ebay.  I figured that when I was finding things in the chest and thinking, 'I didn't know I had that', it was time to shift some stuff.

It all fits neatly into the chest, which pleases Toby.  I do keep a bit more in the living room.  I have one shelf of a bookcase for knitting books and then the shelf below it is for wool.  Here's what's currently on it.

Oh, I've just remembered the stuff in the tool box where I keep my needles, and the bin liner in the wardrobe, and I think there's some in my 'official' knitting bag, and then there's the yarn for the school knitting club.  Oh dear...