I promise that I do, and I will knit something other than green……I did say some posts ago that it had become a trend and it will continue in the Jaegar pattern I’m making below.

We had a lovely weekend in Glasgow and I managed to get to John Lewis and have a nose around. Some Noro in the bargain bin but other than that, just the usual suspects on offer. I thought they may keep some scottish wool but clearly not. So, we headed to Hillmead on the subway yesterday and walked for about 10 minutes to get to K1 knitting boutique not far from the Botanic Gardens. The display was lovely and there was super selection of Noro, Colinette, Habu, Jamieson’s DK & 2ply, some scottish angora (forgotten the name) and South West Trading Soy Silk. They will be starting on online store in July, so look out for that. She doesn’t list all her yarn on the site but keeps a lovely range of needles, Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting. Worth the visit if you’re heading to Glasgow at any point.

My final Secret Pal package arrived last week and am long overdue posting….computer issues. I received some lovely Jaeger luxury tweed which is merino/alpaca in pebble 820 and mussel 831, a fantastic whistle (my Dad collects these from all over the world), some more glittery ribbon and a little friend. I wonder if she’ll reveal herself………..Thanks SP, you’re ace.

As I am working on a few top secret projects, I can’t post about them but here is something I’ve had on the back burner since January. It’s from a vintage Patons and Baldwins pattern from the 1930’s. My father did his art apprenticeship with a printmaker many moons ago and believes the process they used for the 3 colour cover was popular at that time and things then changed post WW2. I’m glad we came to that conclusion because none of our vintage patterns are dated! The pattern for Baby’s Vest G, is the one I’m working on. It’s more of a kimono-style wrap with ribbon tie closures. The pattern called for it to be knit up in K1,P1 rib but because I’m such a sucker for moss stitch, that’s what I decided on. It’s slow going with 4-ply wool on 2.75mm needles but am about half way up the body. The sleeves shouldn’t take much doing, which is encouraging.

I chose some Aussie Patons Dreamtime which is so lovely and soft and is 100% wool. Patons don’t do a red, so I got some Cleckheaton Merino Bambino in a wonderful rich red for another vintage project and whatever is leftover will get striped up into a sleeveless vest. I also fancy making Pattern E, which is a ballerina wrap……..all these projects, never enough time.

I had been meaning to order a shade card from Jamieson & Smith for ages. I bought Mum a copy of Heirloom Knitting for her birthday and she wanted some 1ply cobweb for a shawl. Sharon suggests their cobweb for the finer lace projects. It looks very fine and will take a while to do, so she’s got 10 balls coming her way soon! I, on the other hand, have too many projects in my head to make yet but it will be handy for future reference.

Also, go and support the incredibly talented gals showcased in Whip Up. There’s some fab articles on there already! Go and get inspired.

My new/vintage wool winder is fab! Although it would make life easier with a swift as well, but I’ll have to do without for the moment. I’ve googled and done some searching but can’t seem to find much about the age of it.

I’m guessing 1960s or 1970s but it didn’t have an instruction leaflet that may have given me more clues. I know that Knitmaster made knitting machines but they appear to have ceased trading. It’s great fun, even Mapman thinks so!

Here’s some I made earlier with some of the yarn from Mystical Stripe.

I was blog lurking last week, as you do and came across Spitting Yarn’s offer to swap. She has some Jaegar Matchmaker in cream and blue, some pink Sirdar Nova and Knitting Pretty by Kris Percival. Now the book will be perfect for a friend of mine, I wouldn’t use the Nova but I would definitely make something for a little person with the Jaegar. So we emailed for a bit, I suggested one of my needlecases, but they’re not much really, they’re little and don’t take much making. Then I had a great idea to offer to make her a Christmas cake. Well, she couldn’t say yes fast enough and here it is!

The recipe is an old family one and has been celebrated for Christmas and weddings forever! We decided that not everyone likes icing, so I chose to decorate it with some cherries and blanched almonds instead and am very pleased with the result. All it needs is a lovely wide ribbon and a pretty plate and she’s in business.

All the usual suspects that you find in a fruit cake are in here and organic to boot! Secret ingredients - vintage Calvados and cranberries.

Not much knitting going on here folks. Have got a very sore elbow, so I’m having to find other things to do like….some Christmas baking, shopping and sewing. I ran short of All Seasons Cotton at the end of last week, ordered some from MCA direct and they were out of stock but very kindly sent me this (Azalea 2718) as a freebie! Now that’s good customer service!

I went for a walk in the glorious sunshine down our high street this morning. The trip was to get some brown dye for some wool crepe so I can cut out a skirt I want to make. Anyway, I got distracted by these few things. The Constance Spry Cookery Book 1956 2nd edition. It’s a wonderful compendium of classic recipes and I believe was used as reference for Cordon Bleu. I just love the gold embossed cover and it’s a shame the spine has bleached the candy pink colour out. It has wonderful sections like force-meats, farces & stuffings and devils, barbecues & marinades and explains the differences between your duxelles, mirepoix and brunoise and relays in detail ‘how to take care of your fat bath’! Wonderful stuff. It might even get Mapman interested…..

Mauve is not a favourite of mine, so this vintage Patons Lucelle may get dyed at some point. It’s so very soft - a wool/angora mix and complete with original cards. I’ve not used 2ply before but it’ll be destined for something baby related.

The Twilleys Crysette is a vintage cotton. I scored 11 of these 25g balls and look forward to getting my hand s on the Kool-Aid an American friend got me on a recent trip back home. I should be in receipt of that tomorrow.

The show was inspiring as usual and the Cast Off crew were there knitting away. I just loved this dress knitted on broomsticks, I guess from fabric strips. The broomstick knitting was being done by three people, one each to hold a stick and the other to move the yarn about! Quite amusing. I forget now but the shot of the two ladies is them using a giant knitting Nancy but it was made from a modified stool. I guess you could make quite a thick scarf with it.
I also saw an excellent demonstration on hand felting using roving. The lady was very informative and now I reckon I’ll have a bash at the kit Tanya sent me a while ago. It was student day today and I was glad I got there early to beat the crowds. I managed to rush about and make my planned purchases and then be able to mooch about and shop. The Habu stall was thronging with people by the time I got there. It still amazes me how woman can be SO aggressive and pushy when it comes to fabric and wool! I was forever being elbowed and bashed by overladen bags & trollies and more often than not it was the older generations who were doing it! I’d not seen trollies at events like this before, well they make sense but they’re a bit of a health & safety nightmare. Anyhoo, enough whinging. I picked up some 10 & 12mm circs at Web of Wool. They were most helpful and had a super range of sock wools. Every Regia and Opal ball you could imagine and loads of the german Fortissima. It was all a bit tempting. I lucked onto the Fall issue of Vogue knitting because I can’t seem to get it anywhere near me anymore. It always sells out before I get to the shops!

I managed to get the Colinette point 5 in Cezanne that I wanted for Charlotte and just hope I have enough. The yardage is different for each of the given wools Rowan use and I consulted with Alison over at Float n Purl and she only just had enough yarn, so we’ll have to see how we go! The alpaca (grey & pink) and Fortissimma are for socks and the Sirdar denim cotton might get to be a hand-dyed Clapotis.

Here are a few on my parent’s alpacas. They’ve been breeding them for 5 years or so, maybe longer but my brain fails me. We always had animals of some sort while we were growing up and these are the latest additions to the menagerie. They do have names but they escape me as well. Maybe you can correct me here Mum? Anyway, I was reminded of them this morning because the ball of felted tweed I’ve been hanging out for, finally arrived! (It has 25% alpaca in it, you see) I can now proceed to the next two rows on Mystical Stripe. Not a very inspired post but there you have it. Oh, and Happy Birthday to Gill, Emm and Benny who are another year older today! How amazing that I know three people whose birthdays are on the same day. Remarkable.