Read all about me in French!

My pals in the Spinners and Weavers of South West France have just refreshed their website. You can find it here http://spinandweaveswfrance.fr/mai09_maryhawkins.html

I must have been talking a lot on that day as I do not remember so many photos being taken and I am still staggered that I managed to get all that lot AND clothes and books for a fortnight in my 15kg allowance with Ryanair!

Soma Cube

Finished it yesterday. Load of fun, but bits of foam everywhere from trying to make curvy bath sponges fit a box shape.

Hexaflexagon Cushion

Very much inspired at KCG AGM by Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer's cushion. Delighted when I went in my local wool shop for nine shades of yarn to find she's having a summer sale of 20% off. So I bought Sirdar Calico, a 60/40 cotton/acrylic mix. The project calls for 3 main colour families, 3 shades in each. 18 triangles, mainly double crochet, don't have to think about them, and so easy for taking on a bus or train. Pattern is from my pals at www.woollythoughts.com

I've taken on a new "job" which will tie me to the computer more than usual, so need an easy project for the times I can relax.

Heeliotrope

Heelitrope was finished today, complete with a bee in her bonnet, which probably doesn't show up in the pix. Again, inspired by Val Pierce's Daisy pattern in Knitting, June 2007. Name courtesy of Pat at Woolly Thoughts, which is why the petals are purple.


Knit as one tube on the sock machine, pot up through stalk to flower. Leaves and petals crocheted afterwards.

Don't believe the ball!

I bought some King Cole Zig Zag last Open Day at the Centre for Knitting & Crochet. It's 50/50 wool and nylon, destined for hard-wearing socks, and a wonderful rainbow. Two balls with the same shade and dyelot number, but looking very different. One was apparently short repeats of the colour. To check it out, I ran it through the sock machine as a tube. Due to the ball dropping on the floor, it pulled the tension a bit so I got three different patterns. I took the ballband off the second, thinking this was long repeats (the unknitted ball in the photo), only unound a little bit and immediately saw, yes it was going to be exactly the same as the other one.

Moral - if there is no photo attached of the yarn as knitted, don't believe apparent long colour runs in the ball - unwind some, even if it annoys the shop owner!

Why don't men wear shawls?

Had a lively discussion at Derby Branch of KCG today - the shubject was scarves, shawls, shrugs - their shapes and consh-truction (shorry!). I asked the question - why don't men wear shawls? One theory was that men don't get cold in the same areas of their bodies! What do you think?

Nalbinding

Some people think that Nalbinding came before knitting. On Saturday I had my first opportunity to see it "in the flesh", when I met up with Tanya of the York Guild of WSD. She has done slippers and mittens in it, so of course I am now dying to have a go.