London Calling...

I returned from London on Saturday, having completed most of my bag and completed nil moustaches.

I also showed great restraint and didn't go to any yarn shops (but only because I couldn't remember where Loop in Islington was).

My sister Jane, as always, was highly amused by my knitting exploits; watching me working halfway through one side of my bag, she said "What's that? A vegan merkin?" She also decided that she didn't want a lacy shrug so I don't have to compromise my vegan principles by buying any Rowan kidsilk haze.

My friend Amanda loved her corsage and pinned it on her turquoise cardi immediately. Her husband Paul said "Where's my jumper?" - poor man has been waiting 5 years for me to knit him one.

The opinion from everyone around the table at the Tate Modern restaurant was that I should sell corsages on ebay; quite a good idea actually as at least they're quick to produce.

I also nicked Jane's Brora cashmere catalogue to get some ideas; they're charging 20 quid for corsages I note. And my friend Gina paid £40 for one 2 years ago...

We went to see the Modernism exhibition at the V&A, which was a massive disappointment; a very muddled and complicated exhibition. The last 2 rooms were better but by then we'd ran out of time to look at everything properly. Plus the shop was shut; it was torture having to walk through and not being able to buy anything! I want some William Morris print wellies, dammit.

One of my favourite items was a knitted swimming costume by Sonia Delaunay; the caption said it was practical but I reckon it would get very stretched when wet.

The Josef Albers and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy show at Tate Modern was superb, however - I'm fizzing with ideas for an abstract knitted wall hanging / rug.

London project sorted

I have promised some Rowan cotton to Anna in Liverpool so took the opportunity to sort my stash out a bit.

I found this Wendy Chic, pattern and bag handles, bought ages ago in John Lewis in Sheffield (it will always be Coles to me).

Unfortunately, I hate knitting with the yarn, having made a scarf for my friend Jane's teenage daughter Rachel the other month. I was fed up by the end; it's so hard to knit with I think.

I think the bag will look rather splendid when I've finished though.

Hoorah!

Made another corsage

I got up bright and early today, ready to annoy the Christians from the church on my street. Every year, they have a "Walk of Witness" from a church on another street to their church; two years ago, which I think was the first year they did this, they carried an enormous cross, hewn from timber and took the opportunity to peer into the houses of heathens en route who weren't on the march. Of course they are quite entitled to do this as it's Good Friday but I found it a bit annoying.

This year, I was ready for them; I had Satan by Orbital cued up on the hifi and was going to pop out and prune my roses just as they walked past.

Well, they didn't appear - what's a girl to do, but do some knitting.

I feel cheated! But at least my friend Amanda has the turquoise corsage she's been promised. I've wrapped it up in pink tissue paper and did a handmade stamp with my rubber stamp kit.

I'll be seeing her next week so hopefully she'll like it.

Vegan 'taches

On my return from London I will be attending the April meeting of the Manchester Vegan Society at the Basement, Lever Street, Manchester.

We laugh, chat and eat cake. Sometimes I do some knitting.

One of our members, Anthony has a lovely moustache and he is usually at every meeting. However, he missed the last one so we all thought we should have emergency fake 'taches for any meetings that he doesn't come to.

I rashly volunteered to knit some and I have some brown eyelash yarn which would be just the thing.

So there's a project I can work on in London.

I'm not sure how we can affix them to our faces - perhaps we will have to screw up our top lips like Baldrick in Blackadder Goes Forth when he was impersonating Charlie Chaplin (or as Stephen Fry's character called him, "the slug balancer").

The photos will be quite amusing though (but probably only to me).

Need a portable project for next week...

I'm off to London to see family and friends next week (it's my sister Jane's birthday on Tuesday 18 April and mine on Friday 21 April).

I'll need some knitting to keep me busy on the train down, tube, in queues for lunch etc.

I'll need to do something that's fairly easy and portable as I hate reading a pattern while on the move. I always drop my yarn and needles; need a knitting apron or a belt like the Shetland Islanders used to wear.

Time to rummage in the stash I think...

I've persuaded Jane to come to Liberty's and/or John Lewis on Oxford Street with me to look at yarn; MUST TRY NOT TO BUY YARN....

Sparkly red corsage fun!

I am going to a wedding on Saturday and someone told me I couldn't wear bright colours as I would clash with the wedding party. Although I had a nice subtle outfit planned, I thus promptly went out and bought a red spotty dress which I will wear with red shoes and handbag.

My jacket is navy so I knocked off a red sparkly corsage to wear last night using instructions in Emma King's 25 Knitted Bags book.

I looks OK and and should finish off my not-very-bright-at-all outfit nicely. At least you'll be able to see me in the photos. Perhaps nobody will speak to me again though.

New Knitty!

However, just in time to cheer me up and help me recover from my shrug disaster induced gloom, the new Knitty is out!

Hoorah!

And I managed to download a button for it too - clickypoo.

Awww shucks...shrug looks awful

I finally finished my shrug at the weekend and yes, as I suspected, it looked good on the hanger and rubbish on me!

These shrug things are OK if you don't have any breasticles. The fact it doesn't fit properly has NOTHING to do with my knitting and finishing skills, of course.

So I am going to unpick it and adapt it so that the sleeves are shorter and there is a front to it.

I saw some cotton shrugs in Zara yesterday so am going to try and do a version like them.

Maybe I'll just give up and knit a bag like I was going to in the first place.

That's better...

Redoing the rib and it looks much better now; many, many more stitches on there so hopefully it will look OK when off the needles.

It will have my rather lumpy body inside it though so maybe not.

I quite like the silver thread combined with the mauve - nice sparkly look.

Been poorly sick...

So did lots of knitting yesterday with my feet up and some medicinal whiskies next to me. I love those daytime antiques shows...(but maybe not if I had to watch them every day).

I am now knitting the edging of my shrug but think I may have to start again as there are supposed to be over 500 stitches on there and I only have 200 or so.

I will post a picture before "I rip it up and start again" (Orange Juice, legendary 80s indie band, I salute you)

Also got a (very nice) rejection letter from Emma King about the Rowan Knitting Consultant job I went for at John Lewis at The Trafford Centre the other week. Not too heartbroken as the money and hours left a lot to be desired to be honest - think I'll stick to knitting as a non career option for now.

Shrug making good progress

Went to Sheffield for the weekend and managed to knit on the train, at my friend's house and also during the hour waiting for an uncancelled train to Bolton so made a lot of progress on my adaptation of the alpaca shrug in April's Knitting magazine.

I'm reusing the mauve Rowan cotton rope I got at a bargain price from Stash in Chester; I made a short cardigan in it first but it looked awful so this shrug is my second go at making a wearable garment from it.

The yarn is really easy to work with, I like it. However, the yarn is quite bulky and as the needles are quite big (8mm) and there are a fair few stitches, it's quite hard going.

I did try and do the lacy pattern but managed to snap one of the connecting points off my Denise needles because I knit too tightly so now it's in moss stitch instead.