Smitten

Tags

Germany, lace, love, patterns, projects, shawls, wool, yarn

This is my Ishbel.

I was never going to make one of these.

There are 12,958 of them on Ravelry.

By chance, last October, I discovered that I could buy a KnitPro wire blocking kit at a yarn shop near my parents. The charming Mei of Be Inspired Fibres announced on her Facebook page that she had a few sets. I was booked to fly to Edinburgh the following week. How serendipitous was that? Mei pointed out they might not fit in my suitcase. I measured my suitcase and she was right. But once I got to Edinburgh I decided it was the perfect excuse for going to say ‘hello’ and to check out the shop anyway. My dad came with me: he was very curious about what I wanted and whether or not they could be transported back to Germany. He  declared he could wrap them up so I could hand them in as an additional piece of luggage. Perfect. Of course that meant I had free suitcase space!

Mei has wonderful yarn that I’ve not found locally in Cologne. I’d already looked at her website but the shop has more. There was some lovely Scottish Shilasdair wool but I wasn’t sure how much I’d need for a jumper (not having a particular pattern in mind) so I decided to be cautious and just buy a shawl’s worth of delectable 4 ply (fingering).

The colours of the Fyberspates Vivacious were all delightful. The yarn is 100% merino and wonderfully soft and squishy. I clutched a skein of Spiced Plum close to my heart and gazed adoringly around the rest of the shop. Mei had several shawls hanging up – one of which I really liked and guessed to be Liz Abinante’s Travelling Woman. Travelling Woman was the fifth pattern I ever added to my favourites on Ravelry. The name appealed for one thing! But I had guessed incorrectly. It was actually Ishbel designed by Ysolde Teague. Yes. That shawl. The one I was never going to knit because there are so many of them.

Mei told me about the pattern. It has clear instructions for adapting the size – both of the plain stocking stitch body and the lace border. A skein of Fyberspates Vivacious would give me a decent-sized shawl. So that was that. Decision made. Shawl knitted. I’m smitten.

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And the winner is…

Tags

Blog, cowl, designer, gift, giveaway, love, patterns, Ravelry, winner

me!

How nice is that? Very nice.

Tina at Peacefully Knitting showcased designer Lara Smoot’s Camberwell pattern for a cowl with matching mitts. She held a giveaway and I am the lucky winner! All I had to do was comment on the pattern and leave my Ravelry ID. Easy peasy and definitely another reason for using Ravelry. 🙂  The pattern is now in my library, waiting for me to choose some yarn and pick up my needles! Of course I then went off and looked more closely at Lara’s other designs. I was not disappointed.

Tina also shared her own Camberwell Cowl (she test knit). Isn’t this lovely? Don’t you just want to get knitting? I do. A big thank-you to Tina and Lara!

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Sorrow

Tags

knitting, love, patterns, projects, Ravelry, shawls

There’s solace to be found in knitting. Challenging enough to distract. Straightforward enough to let the mind wander. Ravelled here.

A woman needs shoes

Tags

love, projects, Shoe, Shopping, socks

There’s a bit of a stereotype that all women have hundreds of pairs of shoes. I do know women who appear – to my eyes at least – to possess ten pairs of (nearly) identical black heels and another ten of flats but I’m different. I walk a lot and use local public transport. I like to walk at a ‘smart’ pace as if I’m on a mission so I like comfy shoes. When I get a new pair I wear them day-in-day-out until they look as though they are as comfortable  as they feel; verging on the shabby perhaps?

But I too was stricken by the shoe bug. I knew exactly what I wanted and nothing else would do. I looked online and in local shops until finally I found them – the perfect way for me to show off  admire my handknit socks…

I’m just not cut out for monogamy

Tags

knitting, love, Monogamy, patterns, projects, WIP

It’s always easy at the start. I’m truly committed. I’m singularly focussed. And then it happens. The passion dwindles a little and I get restless. Fascination lies elsewhere. I look. I move in close. I feel the attraction growing and suddenly my heart and mind are taking off and it’s happened: I’ve started another project.

Work in Progress