Saturday 28 September 2013

Better late than never...

I seem to have given up on blogging which is a shame.  And a real life(!) conversation today with the lovely Jo of French Knots reminded me why writing a blog is such a good idea - because it is the best record of daily life and makes for fascinating reading when you look back over the years and are reminded of all the little things you had forgotten. 

I had thought it was pointless blogging now that people aren't really reading or commenting so much - but I had missed the point entirely.  I should be blogging for myself and gratefully receiving the lovely comments, if they come, as a bonus.

So over the next few days or weeks I am going to try to catch up a bit with what we have been doing in Locketland - and I'm going to be trying to read and comment on more of my friends' blogs too.

So this is going to be out of order but I'm starting with today...................when I travelled down to Yarndale with friends from my knitting group.

It was busy and crowded but lovely too with loads of great stalls (when you could get near them!) and I got to meet Jo too which was lovely.

Since knitting Julie's Little Cotton Rabbits and foxes and the seasonal dresses (see above) I have discovered colourwork which is something that had previously terrified me.  Now, I'm still not very good at it but it is my exciting new "skill" - almost as if I had learned to knit for the very first time.  So naturally I am obsessed, and naturally I spent rather a lot of money buying all these shades of Drops Alpaca 4ply so I can "fair isle" to my heart's content!

I have so many plans - all for little to middling projects and now I just need to hone my skills as my tension isn't great. 

This is the first of a pair of wristwarmers - it's a bit lumpy and dense but I'm pleased with it as a first attempt at multiple colours - and it's really warm.

Today I cast on these mittens (on the bus home from Skipton so it was slow progress) in the blue/grey and brown yarns at the top right of the photo above.  I'm onto my second glass of wine now so I'm not sure how fast the progress will be this evening but I'm looking forward to sitting in front of the fire with my knitting for the rest of the evening :)

17 comments:

Quinn said...

Glad to see you posting, Lucy! As you know, I was very late to the blogging party, but am now enjoying it nevertheless. The comments ARE fab, but as you say, just creating a record for one's own later perusal can be a wonderful thing.
Colorwork! That is something I hope to try "someday" but frankly, it's pretty intimidating. Your very first(!) project is gorgeous!!

Leanne said...

Wonderful to see you again. I don't blog as much as I use to but like you said it is a record of life. Love your Julie animals I have all the patterns just sitting waiting.

Jodie said...

your friend is very wise, a blog is such a great diary of our crafty lives ( and other bits as well). i think you are amazingly clever to be able to knit in patterns and colours !

Plum Cox said...

What amazing colour work! I am in awe of your skills! Hope to see more of what you've been up to, always such lovely photos and tales to tell.

driftwood said...

oh your knitting is wonderful, my limit with colour work is stripes......
lovely to see a post from you, and yarndale looks amazing, I decided it was too far to travel, maybe next year.

silverpebble said...

SO lovely to see you here Locket! GOodness, fair isle. I'm fascianated by it and am in total awe of you taking it on. That wristwarmer is beautiful. Such gorgeous muted colours. xx

Janet said...

What a wonderful idea about the blog. Sometimes it can seem like a chore but you never know, someone, somewhere is appreciating what you are saying, even if they don't comment.

Annie said...

I love your knitting Lucy, and I totally understand the addiction process. Keep blogging, I see it as an historical record. I have recently made my blog into books, year by year, and you sure do forget things. A wonderful record. Plus, we love you over here in Australia, especially Jodie and I!

Gina said...

I think there are still plenty of us still reading (and writing) but perhaps not commenting as often. Good to see you here though and just love your fairisle knitting. Lucky you getting to Yarndale.

Mrs Moog said...

Hello my lovely - you said you'd blog and you did! Our text conversation yesterday struck a chord with me and I've just blogged for the first time in seven months!

I know you said you'd bought a lot of yarn and you really weren't kidding! It's utterly gorgeous and I can't wait to see what you knit with it.

I love love love those Little Cotton Rabbits and foxy too. I'm so excited that Julie is selling her patterns. They're on my queue but two unfinished sweaters are causing a mental block.

Your Fairisle knitting is looking lovely. I found mine improved after a while but I did have to really concentrate on the tension. I'm the same as you though, I absolutely love it!

Good to be back where we belong.

Moog xxxx

French Knots said...

So good to meet you yesterday, just as lovely in real life an I knew you'd be xx

ladydi said...

I love the bunnies with adorable dresses! They are the cutest.

Thimbleanna said...

YAY -- you're back! And you've expressed my sentiments exactly -- blogging does seem to have slowed down so much in the last year or two, but who cares? It's a record for YOU! That's certainly how I look at it.

Your Little Cotton Rabbits creations are so cute -- I can't wait to make some myself -- I'm whittling down the list of items in front of them.

Looks like you had fun at yarndale too -- you lucky girl!

Dottie Locket said...

Loving all of the colourwork - now you just need to teach me and then we can do it together!! xxxxx

julie said...

It's lovely to catch up with your news and I'm glad you're back. Blogging as a diary is such a good idea. life whizzes by at such a pace that much gets forgotten and having a bloggy record of the good times is a nice thing. I know I'd not take as many pictures of stuff if I stopped blogging and then those moments would be lost.

So pleased that you had a great time at Yarndale, and that you got to meet the lovely Jo. I'm rather envious of your lovely alpaca yarn there - such a scrummy selection of colours!
Thanks so much for the lovely mention - I'm so glad that you've had fun with the patterns x

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

I read your blog with interest- I had missed it over the summer! This sounds a bit crawly, but yours was what I found when I googled for people in uk knitting socks. I enjoyed your blog so much it gave me the confidence to begin one too, it had been in my mind for a long time. No one reads it but it is a diary for my knitting and sewing exploits. Please don't stop blogging! x

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Thanks for the reminder about what blogging is all about.. I've found it hard to post lately too :-)

Love your cotton rabbits.. I've placed an order with my daughter for one as she knits (I dont) and hope it appears under the Christmas tree :-)