It's finally December!!

Ah, I have ben waiting so so long to open my advent calendar this year! It's not just your average cheap bits of chocolate behind a door thingummy (though I got one of those too because Martin's mum is awesome), but a handmade Christmas stocking filled with individually wrapped presents! This was the most recent swap I did with my Monthly adventures group on Ravelry and my received parcel was waiting, taunting me for over a fortnight.

I made my stocking from some lovely upholstery fabric that I bought in New York about 3 years ago. I have TONS of this fabric. I have no idea why I bought quite so much, but I probably have enough to cover an armchair, then make myself a full length coat for camouflage. I will be using it up very slowly at this rate! The knitted cuff is a pattern I found on knitting-and, knitted in Patons Fairytale 4ply. I got back into practice sewing some handmade presents for it as well, due to be enjoyed later in the month by Solvi in Norway.




My return stocking arrived a couple of days after I posted that, from Julia all the way in exotic Leeds, and I LOVE it! It's insanely decorative and pointy and looks like part of a principal boy's costume!

I pulled the cracker (proper traditional cracker, with plastic toy and rubbish joke :D ) as soon as it arrived but I had to wait very patiently for the rest. I even tried prodding and squeezing packages to try and make December come quicker and I'm not usually one to do that! But I finally get to rip things open now!

I got a tube of bubbles today, and a balloon, a silly straw and a cute fabric mouse yesterday (woo, triple giftage!)

I annoyed Martin intensely by insisting on drinking everything through that straw and slurping right the way down to the end of the bottle. That photo by the way, is posed on brand new freshly assembled Ikea furniture.

After 10 months waiting, Martin's stepdad's house has sold and we have keys to a brand spanking new (built 2 years ago) duplex in Poole town centre. This house has only just gone on the market so we can be nice and leisurely about moving in, but Martin and I could move in right now if we wanted, thus a very expensive and tiring shop in Ikea for bedroom furniture (not my money - the good kind of shopping). Of course, that was before we found out that it would be January before we had Sky and internet, but it's still nice to have the furniture all set up and waiting for us. Delivery was on Monday and I have been working like a machine to get things built - all much simpler than the generally accepted Ikea stereotype, apart from the wardrobe doors. Today was a rest day to get over strained muscles and angry, confused brains. Only the bed to go tomorrow though!

Tonight I have been making Honeyed Choc chip Cookies. As ever I have overestimated the size of each cookie and they have now spread to an ever increasing cookie slab. I have made these before! Why do I not learn! sigh. Tray 2 onwards will be much smaller. I hope.

Christmas knitting update: Finished Dad's jumper - Yay! Got behind on everything else - Boo.

2 days to go!

I am two days away from the end! Not, I hasten to add, two days away from poncey gowns and mortarboards, I still have a little while to mentally prepare myself for that anguish, but my final deadline of the degree (CVs, portfolios and a lovely long evaluation about how wonderful the course is) is on Thursday. I had my big scary finished garments hand in 2 weeks ago, so this one isn't worrying me half as much, and I've been able to knit away to my heart's content in between preparing my portfolio and rather half-heartedly looking for jobs.

Ooh! And the costume I just handed in? Not only is it by far my best work, but I've been told by my Head of Costume that it's one of the best pieces he's seen ON THE ENTIRE COURSE. I am slightly swept away in a tidal wave of Smug right now. (Photos to come in a few weeks, gotta get a good photoshoot for this one)


And onward to knitting...


I have actually cast on at least 6 new projects since I last blogged, but in an effort not to make this post explode with images, I may leave those until later and catch up on some extremely late finished objects.



I finished my stripy jumper! About 6 months ago! (this is how behind on blogging I am) This marks a milesone for me. It isn't the first full size garment I made (that was the blue green and purple acrylic blob), nor is it the first jumper I've made that fit me (that was Tempting), but it is the first full size jumper I've made that fit me and STILL FITS AFTER BEING WASHED!! Huzzah, success at last! I love it, as you can probably tell from my out of focus grin. Ms. Walker is a genius and I look forward to making more garments from Knitting From the Top, though probably not any of the various styles of knitted trousers.

Just before finishing my (incredibly cartoonish) stripy jumper, I made a Kombu scarf from the Manos silk blend I bought in Scotland. I love this pattern, though...err...it possibly would benefit from something a little less drapey in terms of yarn.

The second scarf I made was for a two part swap over at the Monthly Adventures group on Ravelry, the idea being that we sent someone a skein of yarn (along with some presents for them), then they used that yarn to knit a scarf and sent it back. I ended up being paired with Twinsmama a second time for this one! She sent me 2 gorgeous malabrigo skeins which I used to make her a Reversible Cabled Brioche Stitch Scarf. This is another great scarf pattern, it has all the flat, reversible, extra squishy benefits of ribs, with added pretty cables all over it. 'Tis a good thing she picked pink yarn or I would have been sooo tempted to keep this for myself. But I did get a lovely lacy chevron scarf back from her so I don't mind too much!

Last minute Christmas presents! These were for a couple of my friends from university who unexpectedly gave me presents at the last minute (eep). Thems on the left are Fetchings, the most popular project on ravelry, for good reason. I think I finished those in one day. Thems on the right I designed myself :D Yup, I made charts'n'everything. I'm currently reknitting these as full mittens with some minor tweaks to the cable, then 'll write out a pattern. (Though it might make more sense if I waited until after the summer. Maybe)




Last one! This is the Limerick Moss Cap in mmmmmmMalabrigo, one of the lovely presents Twinsmama sent me in the scarf swap. According to my project page, this is the last item I finished knitting and I remember wearing it on my birthday. *sigh* that's over 4 months without a single finished item.

Hmm. So much for not having a picture heavy post.

Never mind. Just to cap it off, this is my small selection of current works in progress:

Hmm. I may be overcompensating for the last 4 months...

P.S. I did go and see the turtles at Weymouth in the Easter holidays, they are unbelivably cute! I think they're actually terrapins though. Bah. False advertising. But they are (were) about an inch long and thoroughly confused by the mirrored sides of the tank which more than made up for it.

P.P.S. I also went up to Wembley Arena the day after my final fitting to see the Prodigy play live :D (yes, I took 2 whole days off when making this costume). The Prodigy are, it has to be said, not as cute as baby terrapins, but they do set off this bizarre reaction in me that makes me dance like a broken marionette having an epileptic fit while stone cold sober. I am still on a high from this gig. Though I may remember to wear a sports bra if I ever see them again

P.P.P.S. I finally got round to casting on my second toe up sock, on the same needles, with the same number of stitches, only to find that my guage has somehow changed in the last 6 months. Well, bugger.

The End! Really this time!

First off, I did not wait until today to open this package. My self restraint is good,but not that good. The nocturnal sleeping patterns are getting to me though and after opening my presents and squealing excitedly I promptly went for a nap and didn't wake up til an hour before I had to go to work. Ooooops...



My swap pal was Cat, from At The Pace Of A Snail, and Iam soo chuffed with the goodies. She's managed to match up perfectly, not only with the theme photo but with the rest of my blog as well.

The bizarre looking green thing that came unwrapped in the last photo is a 'Fingerboiler Pen', a clue to my pal's job in the Museum of Science and Industry. It has glass bubbles with liquid inside that moves up and down as the pressure from your fingers heats it up. I used to have a room thermometer thing like this. I can see myself playing with this a lot when I'm supposed to be paying attention in lectures next year. (I am too easily amused :D )

The rest of my package was themed around my beach photo of where I'd been diving in Mexico, using Mexico and sealife as inspiration.

Carrying on the theme of 'things-that-amuse-me-way-more-than-they-should', I also have:

a) a squirty pufferfish. I saw a pufferfish when I was diving in Mexico. Are you in fact psychic Cat? It wasn't puffed (it was a happy fishy), but they are still really strange cartoony creatures.

and b) Tattoo shaped plasters. Heh. Not themed, but as the explanation note says "who doesn't want tattoo type plasters". Well, my thoughts exactly! I'm going to wear them to work; as I work in a club that routinely has Vince Ray style artwork on their posters, I can pretty much guarantee that there will be a theme night at some point for which these will be the most appropriate thing I own!

There is also wool fat soap, for sheepy goodness, and dried ancho chillis (which are mild, mercifully!) because they are from Mexico, obviously, but also because she saw in my 101 list that I wanted to make curry from scratch.

And then YARN!

Mmmmmyarrrrrrrrrrnn. The balls on the left are 100% corn fibre(!), as the Mexican eat lots of maize, and I'd said in the questionnaire that I wanted to try some different natural fibres. I want to learn fair isle/stranded knitting at some point and I love these colours together so that's what they're destined for. I was thinking Endpapers but I don't think I have the yardage for that, so maybe a hat. Currently Inga owns my soul.

The skein on the right is fingering weight Seawool from Knitspirations in Cocoa, a gorgeous light brown/dusky rose colourway. There wasn't any fibre content information on the ballband or the webite, but judging from other 'seawools' out there, I think this is mostly wool with some seacell. This yarn deserves to become some unspeakably amazing socks. I currently thinking of Bayerische but they may prove to be a little beyond me at the moment.

I am so impressed with Cat's stalking abilities and all my goodies and looking forward to finishing some of my current projects so I can start some new ones! Thankyou very much Cat!!

The End! Nearly!

I posted off my package yesterday morning and I just got mine in return! Yays!


My swap partner is staying anonymous and wants me to seek her out through her blog (she’s a sneaky one). I shall put my detective hat on later…I know she lives in Manchester and works as a assistant energy curator…I haven’t been paying attention to people’s jobs and hometowns, I’ve only been watching the knitting!

Anyhoo (I knew this would happen) for the first time in THE WHOLE SUMMER I have a guest today, who is sleeping off the effects of last night downstairs (as I would be, if the doorbell hadn’t gone), so I will be good and not open my parcels till she’s gone home.

Oh, the suspense!

Presents presents presents!!

Eee, lots of presents for meeee this weekend.

First off, from Knittensilly (Ravelry link):

This is from the Monthly Adventures February swap, the point of which was to knit a red, pink or white (Valentine's theme, natch) hat for your partner. I have issues with the self timer button on my camera. It takes too long and I really can't hold natural smiles for that long. Trust me, there are other photos that are worse than this.

She also sent me a recipe for chilli (the other half of the swap), an adorable sheep brooch, and some magnetic poetry I've been having way too much immature fun with. I apologise for my filthy mind, but seriously, it should not be this easy to make lewd suggestions out of knitting-related magnets.

And now, present from meeeee! to meeeee! (because I'm worth it)

NANONANONANONANONANONANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this baby. I was totally suckered in by the sales pitch, but it's soooo pretty!! I may be a huge geek and name it Mork. I want to take it to bed with me and whisper sweet nothings into its earphones while sensuously stroking its clickwheel, but I am a huge clutz and I know I would roll over in the night and crush it with my comparatively gigantic head. He is only tiny after all.

Ooh, bought a brooch to wear with my bolero too, so I shall wear it to uni tomorrow and badger someone into taking photos of me so I don't have to pull faces for the self timer again.

Hmm. My New year's resolution to update blogs more often hasn't gone that well so far. Oops.

Just finished my Christmas presents in time (had to get up at 730 to bind off my boyfriend's before he woke up!) I have photos of them in use somewhere, but I think I'll have to go on a hunt for them.
Moss stitch scarf for me brother, which I've been told was mistaken for a Ted Baker (ooh, swanky)














Tychus for my dad. Either my guage is still way off, which I don't think it is, or the guy Tychus was made for has a huge head. I only used 4 of the 5 sections in this.














Tychus No.2 for my boyfriend, minus the mistake I made on my Dad's seam.














So I'm back onto knitting for myself now! (yay!) The back and left front of Rapunzel are done, and I'm gonna start my gloves soon, which probably means they'll be finished by about May, and I've promised something for Clare's babber, which is due in February.

I got my last SP6 package in the post last week, which was lovely, especially as it included things for my Mexico trip (so thoughtful!) and a pattern that's actually been in my favourites for a few months without my pal's knowledge!
So, I got: a mosquito net, a sleeping bag liner, a massage thingie (technical term that), some lovely fruity candles, this corset pattern, some simple bag patterns, and a skein of Noro Blossom, which smells of lovely fruity candles and is wonderfully soft and squishy.




























Finally finished my socks after Christmas as well, they're keeping my feet nice and cosy right now, and they do look fab, but I don't think I'll be sock knitting again, far too much hard work for something that gets hidden beneath shoes.

Christmas presents started...

Oh God I've been a bad blogger. Well I didn't have the time to get on the internet, and then my Dad borrowed my digital camera and then I...ran out of excuses. Bad Hannah *slaps*

Well, last week (adding to my guilt at not displaying my loot to the world), I got another package from my Secret Pal:


I got:
A couple of cinnamon scented candles, being saved for when we put the Christmas decs up,
A pile of Sanctuary skin care products, looking forward to having an ounce of spare time so I can actually try them out,
A book token, which turned very quickly into the first of the Sacvenger trilogy by K J Parker,
and some lovely lovely Lindt chocolate which I can't seem to find anymore...


Thankyou again Secret pal!


Rapunzel is on the way, I've nearly finished the back and I'm loving every stitch, but it's had to be put on hold to start the Christmas presents.















So, first Christmas present started, and half finished is a moss stitch scarf for my brother, I reckon I should have this finished by the end of November. I hope.

Photos!

So, now that I can actually get some photos online, here is the finished Tempting (hoorah!)



















I can't believe how big the pattern is, I did a size smaller than I usually wear and went down several needle sizes for the top and it still slips about like crazy. It looks navy but it's really a teal blue.

And then this is all my lovely yarn from the knitting and stitching show :D Very sorry if you don't have broadband, far too many photos for one post.













Mystery cheapo £1 a ball stuff, no idea what I'm gonna do with this, the white stuff is really odd, feels almost like raffia.













Lovely neutral coloured yarn for a scarf for my brother.













Bargain grey Jaeger merino wool, probably for a jacket of some kind.













'Black Watch' lambswool from Touchyarns New Zealand, which doesn't photograph very well but has bits of dark green and blue throughout it. Ooh, gorgeous.















More lambswool from Touchyarns, this one's for Rapunzel and did look a lot prettier before I balled it up, but is knitting up perfect all the same. I started knitting on the train up to Norwich to see my boyfriend at the weekend and managed to make a grand total of 5 false starts. I think I may have underestimated how long it would take me to get used to knitting from a chart. Thankfully it clicked into place on the way back and I'm now a few inches in and totally in love.

And finally, my second package from my secret pal, all with an underwater theme. Except for maybe the sweets.
















So, there is: 2 pages of fishy cartoon stickers, for sticking on windows I think...please correct me if I'm wrong before I go and wreck my glass, 2 pages of metallic fish stickers - I'm vaguely thinking about holding a underwater themed party to raise money for the conservation project in Mexico so they'd be good for the invites, if I don't do that (knowing me, I won't), I'll save them for a photo album when I get back, - a candy necklace which I'm eating as I type (in the proper fashion of course, whilst wearing it), and a tropical fish inpired ball of sock yarn, which is most likely to turn into a pair of gloves, so I can show it off without removing my shoes!

Right, I'm now off to knit some more of Rapunzel in front of the telly.

Yesterday was a gooood day. Firstly I went to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace and spent, um, £82 on yarn. Oops. Budget out the window a bit. Secondly Tempting got her first outing and received many a compliment from total strangers, and thirdly, I got back home at 7 laden with bags, to find a second package from my secret pal! This lot should keep me going for at least 6 months.

O...K... I don't seem to be able to put any photos up at the moment so I'll have to show off all my goodies next time. Nuts.

Just enough time for a great meme I found on Stacey's blog. Paste "(your name) needs" into Google and list the best 10 results.

Hannah needs...

...so much expensive care

...a home and a good daily walk

...to go into the tunnel and face the prisoner

...to apply lots of make-up so she can perform in her latest dramatic role

...to sleep now, she cannot feel her feet

...more than Taggert can offer

...an intermediate to advance confident rider who is gentle on the reins

...a little sister from China

...to be naked at all times, eats kebabs

...puppets

Hmm, I should really be less lazy about updating this blog, particularly when SP6 is going on.

Tempting is finally finished (Yay!) and it actually fits this time (Yay!), but I can't find my camera, so no pictures yet (Not so yay!). I've also made a start on sock number 2, mainly so I can get another project over with before I go to the Knitting and Stitching show. Less than a week! Eeee!

My wonderful secret pal sent me Rowan 34, which I've been trying to get hold of on ebay for ages (thankyou again!), so I'll have to look for some yarn for this when I'm there:

















Mmmm...fairytaley. Not sure what colour to do, I don't really wear light colours that much and the pattern would probably be lost in dark colours.

I'm also very fond of these, so if I get my way I'll end up with far too many cardigans and no money.




































And last but not least, I started learning to crochet last night. My sample is laughable as I didn't realise I was missing out a stitch at the beginning of every row, but it's sorted now, and I reckon its not half bad for a first attempt.