New Stuff

So, yesterday I went to York and paid them a little visit here:

Yarn ball ice creams!

The lovely Ramshambles, which I have been meaning to visit since it re-opened. (It was previously Sheepish which I had popped into a couple of times).
The staff were really lovely and we chattered a little about ravelry and I joined their group using my phone just as I left the shop (here) and they have the most Noro I have ever seen, ever, there is a whole bay and a half of shelving with it in, it was cool! I didn't get any though because I got these instead.

The colours are a bit funny :S

I had been looking for pictures of the patterns in Debbie Bliss' Land Girl patterns for a while and I really love them. I love anything vintage inspired, so I grabbed a copy of that, and I also had to choose between two skeins of beautiful hand painted BFL from right there in Yorkshire, the colours in this one won my heart though and so it came home with me. 

I haven't picked what I will use it for yet which is quite unusual for me as I like to search out patterns straight away but it is a 400m skein so I shall probably use it for a little shawlette or something.

I couldn't go to York without popping into Cath Kidston and grabbing a couple of sale bargains, I have needed a new pin cushion for ages as my traditional tomato shaped one keeps breaking the tips off my pins (I think it must be the filling) so I nabbed a little cheese-a-holic for £2.50

And to keep my camera safe, and nice gadget case for £6, though at the moment I am seriously considering ordering another to keep notions in, it is just the right size for bits and bobs.

Yes that is a button from my last post making it look like a face :)

I popped into the Bead Hive which is located up near the Minster and York St John University (next to the National Trust Gift Shop) and got a deal on a load of beads, it was 10g for £1 but 30g for £2.50 so of course I had to take advantage, I don't know if they will all be for knitting but some will be!

I recieved a few other things this week, but through the post, not from visits. 

I invested in a few books that I have heard loads about, and which I will probably discuss in more detail in the future.

I bought some amazing Kauni Multi Effekt from Janette's rare Yarns for knitting the Northern Lights Shawl, in shade EJ (I got the larger ball for a larger shawl)

You can see the colour changes inside.

And finally I invested in several new Knit Pro Metal needles, both Sock DPN's and interchangeables for projects I have in my queue. It seems I cannot use Addi needles to save my life, but Knit pro metal needles I am ok with, not as quick or as sure as using my wooden and acrylic needles, but I am getting there.

Now to see what progress comes from it all! I love setting things up so I have an idea of what I could cast on next.

Some WIP's, FO's, and a little bit of pure genius.

I have gone and done it again! So many things have happened over the past week and I haven't gotten round to posting about them yet, so this will be split into two parts, Knitting and purchases!

First up, I finished my Hermione Everyday Socks!

Terrible Picture, taken quickly for the HPKCHC.

I am really happy with them because they are much better fitting then the other pairs of socks I have knit, previously, I can actually wear these to work or something, which I did the other day!

Pattern Name: Hermione's Everyday Socks
Yarn Used: Dublin Dye Company Merino Sock
Needle Size: 2.25mm
Problems: The small needles caused some problems with heat rash and every time it came to the heel flap I got a little confused because it is so fancy but I figured it out!
Modifications: I only knit 12 repeats on the leg instead of 18 because I didn't think I would have had enough yarn but I have 38g left so could have gone to 16 repeats, I do prefer a shorter length though.
Skills Learnt: Eye of partridge heel.
Knit Again?: Possibly, but maybe with larger needles and less stitches, to reduce the likelihood of irritation.
Score: 8/10

Now, speaking of progress made on WIP's, I have managed to get to my 4th repeat of chart 2 on my Bon Temps Marina Shawl.

Isn't it looking pretty?! I have a close up of the pattern too because it is so difficult to tell what it is actually looking like and I love to check it every so often.

I adore how the colours are coming out on it too, It will look great when it is finished and blocked.

Now, as much as I love this pattern, I have been having some problems, not with the pattern itself but with my own lack of chart reading skills. I have used charted patterns before but not a lot, and I find keeping track of where I am is just as difficult as reading the written patterns. I contemplating dropping £15 on a Knit Pro Chart keeper, and then got an Idea.

This tray is definitely not just for baking! 

I had some old magnets from Ikea which were too large for me to use on my whiteboard and so I took the magnetic strips off the back, cut them in half lengthways and hot glued some ribbon to the back to make them pretty. Add in a baking tray I had in the garage from university and BAM! My very own chart holder with magnets that I can move up a row as I go! 

I felt very clever when I did this, and rather proud of my genius :)

Itty Bitty

Just a little post today as I haven't made much progress on anything, mainly because I have been out earning money. I did however get something through the post which is exciting!

As you can see I got an Ashford drop spindle, just the standard student size, and some fiber! I have spun up some neutral fiber and it was a bit all over the place as I was practicing but this purple seems to be going much more evenly so I am quite chuffed! I shall post a picture when it is all spun and I have learnt to ply it.
The kit, which includes 5 40g bits of dyed merino fiber, top whorl drop spindle and some instructions, was about £12 I think from eBay.

Another little thing I managed the other day was to go on a button haul, this is just over £20 worth of vintage buttons which I got from my local antiques centre in Hemswell. I love having a variety of buttons to choose from for projects and things so I am hoping these will be adorning some lovely garments in the future.

I also received a load of beads from Janette's Rare Yarns at the bargain price of £2.50 a bag, but they aren't very exciting, just plain clear seed beads. I got 4 bags because I was going to be sharing some, but I will be keeping them myself now and so I think I might just use them to make a shawl with my Yarn Addict silver lace yarn.

Hopefully over this month you will spot a few WIP's becoming FO's as I have joined the HPKCHC's,  over at Ravelry, Exploding Snap challenge, which is to basically get all of your WIP's finished before the new term starts in September! I have managed a few rows on a couple of my projects at the moment but I haven't managed anything drastic, I have the rest of today off from work though so I hope to get some more Marina done :)