Fun weekend - sorry no pics yet

I don't seem to manage very frequent blogging, made more difficult by the fact that I'm pretty sure no-one's reading this, and that's compounded by the fact that I find it difficult to acknowledge it in comments etc on others' blogs as I'm not very impressed by it myself.

Still.

C was on nights over the weekend, so I went down to visit my bro and his family. He has a 3 1/2 year old delight, A, who woke me (and the whole house) on Monday morning by standing just outside her room and yelling 'Tantie' (which is her name for me) at the top of her lungs. We ended up watching Robin Hood (Disney) after trying reading, breakfast etc, before J and S got up with 7 month old B. They are both a delight. But I'm SURE I'm not having any! (And no, I won't have a contraceptive error, C is a woman, so I'm pretty safe from that!)

Sunday was spent at the Hertfordshire show, which was fun, watching A bounce on trampolines and throw herself down slides with abandon; J, S and I tried some fantastic wines, and I bought a bottle of Chenas which it seems is a wine a little like a fleurie, a light bright Beaujolais.

This is for the mystery weekend C, her sister Voddy and I are taking their parents on nextw eekend. They are both 60 this year, and also celebratin their 35th wedding anniversary. they have a great big party arranged for later in June, where hopefully C will amaze everyone with her fire poi demo, and many people will become very very drunk. (I am much more used to them now, but when C and I first got together the amazing party drinking was quite a challenge for me, in the sense of having to avoid falling over. Specially as Pa-out-law mixes a fabulous martini, a drink I am particularly partial to.

Anyway, next weekend - we had planned to take them to the Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal's restaurant in Bucks, voted one of the 2 best in the world, but sadly a tiny place with many people wishing to eat there and a complex system in place. Voddy spent much time on the phone, but they couldn't fit 5 of us (could have done 4) in on either of the weekends we could go. Tant pis.

Instead, we are going to saty at the Michelin-starred St Ervan Manor, near Padstow in Corneywall, a traditional haunt of my outlaws. (Must stop calling them that, since C and I have now done the whole partnership registration thing, and thus should be inlaws. I like the other better!) We plan to have the tasting menus, and they say they can fit around nut allergy (Voddy) and crab allergy (her Mum). Can't wait!

During the day on Saturday we have surprise archery planned (!?!) and a posh picnic........which is where I came in with the Chenas! I hope everyone will enjoy it with their bread, cheese and terrines followed by apricot tart, all from our local French patisserie.

Whoever said Birmingham isn't cosmopolitan?

WIPs - or, all that's buzzing in my head

So, do you ever wake up early with AMAZING ideas for knitting in your head? And find yourself getting up and starting yet another project? No? Just me then.

WIPs I have vary dramatically in stage. Nearest completion is the Polar 'ski' jumper (Rowan pattern adapted to have a labrys pattern instead of a snowflakey-thing, and knit in the round from the bottom up - well it is a raglan, no?) - just needs the pits sewing up and the ends sewn in. But doesn't suit me (shapeless) so will wait a l o n g time, I suspect. Sorry pic is sideways!

Oh no, nearest completion is the jaywalker socks in celestial merino - done, worn, but haven't woven in the end at the cuff (did them toe up). Do other people find them a great fit on but a fight to get on?

Further from completion is the adapted "Joe" sweater from House of Hemp - I plan to use short rows to fit bust and hips better, make it more flared like Hanne Falkenberg's Mermaid. Can you see the tiny tension swatch I've done (top left)? That's where i've got to so far...

Lots more WIPs, will bring them to you gradually, better get to work now.

What's that growing in the tree?

I spent the weekend with Voddy, having more koolaid dye fun now I know who my Dye-o-rama buddy is. She lives somewhere hotter than I do, and also likes intense colours, but NOT green!

So what did we start with - a green/yellow yarn! We found that one of the colours we had made a beautiful deep sagey green, so decided we wanted to make something really autumnal. We did this one with the stovetop method, like the blues and reds of the time before, and it REALLY looked likespinach and plan spaghetti. Mmmm, hungry.

We then tried to do a random splotchy self stripey sort of thing, with a bit wrapped in navy tissue paper, grape , watermelon and cherry koolaid sections. We wrapped it in clingfilm and steamed it for AGES! Here it is in the (out of control) garden with another one in the same colours (aside form the tissue paper) done on the stovetop, and destined for my dye-o-rama mystery buddy (after much deliberation between the two).

I'll show the differences: 1st, the stove-top skein





Then, the cling-film steamed skein 's differences - it has these lovely little splotchy purplish blue areas. However, it also has white bits, and looks definitely a bit more 'experimental' and less deep and saturated in colour - hence the decision to send the other to warmer climes.

Oh, and the greeny skein? Mostly yellow, but lovely!

So, as soon as I had signed up for Dye-o-rama I was off to Wales, to stay in the black and white half timber house, BB, where I have stayed for working (re-roofing etc etc) holidays since I was a baby. And I had Opal undyed sock yarn! And a selection of Koolaid!

I started on the stove - this has ice blue raspbeery, arctic green apple and some others chucked in, and was my first adventure.

My next was to knit a couple of rows (64 stitches, 2mm DPNs) to check out how much yarn for a row. I took that skein and passed it round a chair in the kitchen, through the lobby by the front door, and into the middle room (where C was engrossed in the ImpossiPuzzle) and round a doorknob - 5 or 6 row's-worth of yarn per circuit. I ttied it off, and then spread the yarn
out like the outline of a 3 leafed clover, without the stem (I drew it but couldn't upload, sorry). I wanted red, orange and yellow, and would have got it, but was misled by the picture on the ?Tamarillo packet to think it'd go well with the orange - so I have red, yellow and brown. Anyway, I wrapped it all in clingfilm and bunged it in the microwave. Did it several times for 5 minutes each, and rinsed. By this time the house stank of jelly/sweeties/yuck - and the colours! Do you Americans really put this stuff inside you?

Drying yarn in this house with no heating, in April (chilly) in Wales (damp) was a challenge - but there was success! Started in front of the open fire,then in the morning outside on a windy lawn. Next installment... further dyeing this weekend at homw, and I have the yarn for my pal!

Welcome to crafty cocktail

Ginny (on your left) and Voddy (on your right) agreed that it would be appropriate just this once to show images of our true selves. We would like to remind readers that any future photographic likenesses may not be true representations.

Between cocktails Ginny is rather natty with the knitting needles and Voddy is a dab hand with the sewing machine. Both enjoy a flirtation with other textile crafts and will be publishing for your delight and delectation some of our most (and least) successful experiments.