Jay Jigsaw Jitterbug socks

I like the alliteration of these socks... Jay Jigsaw Jitterbugs. Or Jay Jitterbug Jigsaws? It's almost a tonguetwister, if you try to say it fast enough. Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry...
More christmas stars I made last night - just had to show these three off as the centre lines up so perfectly! (the other ones don't)
WI competition standard, here I come....

Thoughts of a man drowning in wool

I saw this meme - a questionnaire for hubbies of knitters - over at Annalea's blog, the passionate mind, (thanks for your comment yesterday, Annalea - I wouldn't have found your blog otherwise - it's good reading) and I just had to subject my darling hubby to it. In the interests of free speech and an unedited response, I went out shopping and let him fill it in. What do you think?

1)What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
That it makes you happy - which makes me happy. Also, that you don't notice when I switch the tv over from 'Pride and Prejudice' or some other girly trash to 'top gear' because you are engrossed in some complicated piece of knitting. When you do look up and wonder what has happened, you seem to be happy with an explanation that it has finished, saying to yourself that
"Time does fly when you are knitting lace." (Rotter! I thought something was up...)

2)What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Being woken up to be shown the latest bit of knitting, and having to fein delight. I love that you knit, I love that it makes you happy, I love that you enjoy showing it to people, but please wait until I've had at least the first cup of coffee - then you might get something more reasoned than "It's lovely dear... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" (yes, but I have to share the excitement with someone, and the cat can't even manage this response!)

3)What is something I have knitted, that you recall is good?
That multi-coloured jumper (with the bands of colour going across it) that you spent months cursing, un-picking and re-doing just because the 'colour wasn't quite right'. I have to say that it's beautiful now, but it looked exactly the same before. Also, that really weird piece of knitting that you did that looked a bit like a star-fish, until you folded it just right, and a baby jumper kind of emerged - wow. (BSJ - Elizabeth Zimmerman)

4)Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Knitters - no. You - yes. My mother is a knitter, and it isn't an expensive hobby for her - she loves acrylic. Why do you need all of those books presumably telling you how to knit something, and then you pretty much make it up from the top of your head anyway? What is so special about merino and angora anyway? (If you don't know, I can't tell you. Philistine.)

5)Do you have a stash of any kind?
Only pornography (I joke, I joke.....) (And the 6 billion nuts, bolts, rivets, drills, taps, dies, and other assorted stuff in the garage to go with the pillar drill and 2 lathes and 6 different types of hammer don't count, I suppose? To say nothing of the guns, ammunition, reloading kit, lead pot...)

6)Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?
Never - I quite like it actually. I love it when people get used to you doing 'girly' hobbies like knitting, and then find out that you are good at other things, like welding and shooting. The fact that you come with me to places that are quite male-dominated, like shooting clubs, and sit knitting is great - especially when you shoot better than the men who have been gently ribbing you about the knitting. :-D

7) Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Lots? You showed me some yarn a while ago, and said that it was wonderful. You said that it was incredibly soft, but I couldn't tell the difference between it and all of the other types you have. You seem to be quite taken with merino, but you mentioned something the other day about 'combing a yak', or 'shaving a rabbit' or something - I wasn't really listening. Apparently you can only get it on the internet, and I need to sign a loan application so that you can get some. (Quiviut - the hair of the arctic musk ox. I'm staying well away, in case I develop an addiction, and we end up living under a bridge...)

8) Can you name another blog?
We have the 'Yarn Harlot's guide to the land of knitting' book in the bathroom at the moment, which is quite funny. I keep on leaving it open at the 'How to weed your stash' or 'five ways you can tell your stash has gone too far' pages, but you pretend not to notice. (Technically that's a book, but she has a blog, so we'll let you have that one)

9)Do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?
Not really - it means that you can't complain when I want to go into a tool shop. One thing though - please stop being offended when I don't want to come in. If I say that I want to stay in the car and listen to the radio that's exactly what I mean. I don't secretly mean that I don't want you to go - it's just that I feel a little lost and out of place in them - it must be the yarn fumes. (OK - but you do understand that then you can't complain about how much I spend?)

10) Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Not really - apparently it's something that you knit before getting started with the thing you actually want to knit. I think that it's designed to remove all of the enthusiasm for the real project out of you before you start. You knitted one once, and spent ages measuring it muttering things like 'can't possibly be right' and 'printing mistake' before throwing it away in disgust and getting on with knitting the jumper. Now I think about it, i've never actually seen that jumper - where is it? I do remember that we could both fit into it though. (This is a scandalous falsehood - I never finished it, it was obvious it was the wrong size when I ran out of wool the second time!)

11) Do you read my blog?
Every now and again - I like it.

12) If I didn't knit, what would be different?
I would be able to get into your room without wading through yarn; the house wouldn't be full of small pointy sticks; we could afford a new car; you would be as miserable as sin - on the whole, i'm pretty glad that you knit really. :-D (And I've got it in writing!!)

13) Anything you would like to add?
May I get back to work now? Thanks.

Shall I let him off, or prod him with some of my very many pointed sticks? Hmmmmmm...

Oh, and Annalea: to answer your question from yesterday, the new sock is in Colinette Jitterbug yarn in colour 85, 'Jay'. I love this stuff, use it all the time. It's soft, and gorgeous colours, easily gets a pair of socks for my large feet out of one skein, and is superwash so can even be machine washed, if you're careful - not that I do, I hand-wash them with all my other handknits. It's coming along: progress pic later.

Hey, did I blink and miss Summer?

I can't quite believe how poor the summer has been in the UK this year. I know we're not exactly known for fabulous sunshine, but we can usually count on two or three weeks of t-shirt wearing weather, even if we don't get many really hot days. This year? I think I've been out in short sleeves two, maybe three times. And I'm usually quite a warm person. This summer I've knitted a couple f cardigans, and bought a couple more, and been very glad of them! It's hopeless! I'm starting to think it's true: it's not global warming, it's global wetting - at least here in the UK. And we already get enough rain, thanks! My tall sunflower is still trying to brighten up the whole place, though: after its first big flowerhead went over, it had loads more little ones and now they're all out at once. Pretty!

Speaking of flowers, I got a huge bunch from Keir for our anniversary on Thursday - roses, chrysanthemums and tons of gerberas. I love these, they look like happy flowers. This time four years ago we were on honeymoon in Paris and it was HOT. The whole week was scorching, but our wedding day was so boiling hot that we all just sat around on the grass in the sun, melting - me particularly in my thick boned bodice and big full skirt! We're even happier now than we were then, though... even if the weather's rotten.

Cleite is slowly creeping on... three repeats of chart 2 done (pattern calls for 9).
A pair of 'über-funky' socks for my darling hubby: Knitted from Colinette Jitterbug in 'Mardi Gras' and a semi-solid red. Size 11 feet! Lots of love went into knitting these! Think he likes them though - he wouldn't take them off yesterday, and even slept in them! (I told you it's cold!)
Santa hat. Why? Just felt like it, really! I made it to fit a bust of Beethoven that was my Dad's, but I made it far too small! It'll fit someone at xmas... it can be a posh party hat for lunch.
Quite a lot of xmas crafting lately... a small stuffed patchwork star....
Patchwork tree done in squares and triangles, with gold silk star and piping... this is to hang on the wall as a decoration. Don't you just love my mismatched socks? Some of my first spinning and sock knitting, chunky but warm and cosy!

xmas fabric bunting, instead of paper chains or tinsel... very eco-friendly!
My Mum made me this a couple of years ago, and I love it to bits. It's so elegant and precise a design and her stitching is perfect as ever (my Mum is one of the few people ever to get 20/20 on a WI competition... they're incredibly nitpicky, but then she does re-do things a zillion times till it's right. Sometimes I think it's OCD).
My attempt: I adapted the dove from a picture I saw on the internet somewhere, and set it into a similar roundel to Mum's. My stitching is nowhere near as precise! I may have to practice...

Last but not least, new socks: Jigsaw pattern, by someone, can't quite remember who. I'll find the link tomorrow. I've adapted the stitch pattern a smidge to make room for my wider feet! Loving the swirly water-like effect. I can knit for me and not feel guilty now hubby's feet are warm. Yippee!

Some new friends and a finished knit

Last Wednesday we went to Honeybourne (the Domestic Fowl Trust) to see about finding some new friends for Ethel and Attila. Two adorable little chooks came home with us.

This is Elsie (the Welsie, or Welsummer) and Nugget. Nugget is not a scottish chicken, so will not be answering to 'McNugget'. They're starting to settle in, though there have been a few little scuffles to establish the pecking order. No real trouble or nastiness, though. They are both still quite timid around Ethel and Attila and run away when they approach but they are gradually becoming less nervous around us, and I can already pick Nugget up quite easily without frightening her. Corn is a useful bribe for taming chickens, and we've got through a fair bit this week.
We got a little taste of the Summer that seems to be eluding the British Isles this afternoon, and I spent half an hour out in the garden with the chooks, looking at how everything is growing. I had to get photographic proof of this sunflower so that I can gloat to my mother that I've grown the tallest one. Isn't it gorgeous? It doesn't look that tall here, until you put it in perspective... For the record, I'm 5'8", and not crouching. That's a big sunflower! Incidentally, this is my latest finished knit: a fitted cardi knitted in Kauni yarn in the round and steeked, to my own pattern made up as I went along with no records kept. Knowing the way the knitting goddess likes to punish us for wild knitting like this, (cf. the published works of the Yarn Harlot), I'm astounded that it succeeded, but so thrilled with the way it came out!
Rainbow!! I especially love the sleeves, with the longer colour sequences, and the fact that they are knitted going different directions through the colours, from different points, but co-ordinate really nicely at the cuffs. If I cross my arms, the colours on my forearms line up. That is very cool and totally accidental!
Cute kitty photo; totally unposed by me... What can I say, if you leave knitting lying around, even in a basket, Willow will find it and sleep on it. Looking as cute as possible. so that you can hardly bear to move her, even if it was what you were trying to work on just at that moment.
And the new knitting on the needles? (Along with the rest of the WIPs) - Cleite, by Miriam Felton, from the premiere issue of Twist Collective. This is about halfway through the first repeat of chart 2. So far, it's sucking in all of my concentration when I'm knitting it, so I lose whole chunks of whatever I'm watching on TV and am doing that annoying thing of asking 'What just happened?' 'Who's he?' every 5 minutes, but fortunately my hubby is very understanding and I love how it's turning out so far. You never know, I may even manage to memorise the pattern eventually.

Yarnival: call for submissions!

Wow, I'm so useless at consistent blogging!
Does anybody notice that my blogging sort of disappears between school holidays and only pops up again when I get time off? Isn't that sad? Pathetically, I didn't even manage to blog anything in half term at the end of May - and it couldn't have been because I was out enjoying the sunshine, it rained all week! Ooopsie!

Anyway, Eve F has kindly entrusted me with this month's edition of Yarnival, so let's have your submissions, folks! Submit here if you have a post you feel proud of, a project you'd like to share, a funny story about knitting or yarn (or anything else, if it's really funny), then fill out the form and let me know!

I'll get back to my knitting progress later. There has been some, I promise.