An unproductive time

As usual with my holidays, I packed at least four projects and a selection of needles in the hope of coming across new techniques or patterns in the French magazines. Alas, did not get the selection right this year, and the magazines are no longer inspiring. Finished the Country Bumpkin gloves with the diagonal wrist I wanted - but on 2.25mm needles and failed to twist the pattern to the opposite diagonal on the second glove. Then used those needles on a Lakritz sock pattern which called for 2.5mm but 2.75mm might have been better. Made a DK glove in Wrigglefingers anonymous pink on 3.25 for wrist, 3/75 for hand, which came out too big. Going to weigh remainder of ball at home to see if enough to make a proper pair on slightly smaller needles (not that I like knitting titchy glove fingers on four dpns......) I did make progress on my net curtain, ran out of thread, got more in supermarket but it needs re-winding as I don't like using it from the outside of a cardboard tube. I did get onto the second ball of yarn for the Pink Dreams Poncho though.

Drawing a blank

Thanks to a massive miscalculation of other people's wants, I was left with five sock blanks on my hands in March, which had cost me £10 each plus postage These are single thread blanks. I identified the top end first (it doesn't undo from the bottom at ends of rows), and put four together in two pairs for dyeing, with the aim of getting roughly matching socks. Didn't want to be rewinding from inside then outside then getting lost where I was. I found I still had Procion Dyes from waaaaay back, even though I have now got rid of all my natural dyestuffs except for a bag of madder. Procion is ideal for this. There wasn't enough citric acid for the whole lot, but Googling showed I could use white vinegar as the fixative. One pair red, yellow, blue. This has provided enough to make one pair blue, one pair red, and just squeezed out a pair of handwarmers from the leftovers of each, red migrating to limey yellow. One pair red yellow brown, speckly. Last black small spots of red down one side, blue the other, leaving a lot of white - knitted up speckled. Also had a skein of undyed - that came out lime green with aubergine, not quite what I intended! Very little white left in this one, and had to re-wind to make it spiral. If I ever get round to doing it again : A good big single sheet of thick polythene, lots of newspaper, and don't try to flatten clingfilm on worksurface first. Squeeze blanks as dry as possible. Use weights, pegs, whatever, to flatten the blanks out fully to get right to the edges. Mix colours and gets strengths much weaker for paler colours. Consider flecks of dry dyestuff then using a water spray over them.

Re-establishing machine and preparing for hols

Because of illness, I am now only just getting the circular machine up and running after the show. I have decided to put the row counter sensor in a different place, but it keeps twisting round the mast. Hey ho. Finishing off another mitred square cushion, this time keeping pretty much to a purple theme, with all four corners same solid purple. I was inundated with cushion interiors from a friend, some are 16 inches, some are 23 inches - the latter may not get used as they will take so much more work and would have to charge more, say £35, and I don't think customers to the museum shop would want to pay that. Also getting ready for holiday knitting. I have made part of a pair of gloves on the flatbed as I want to try out a handknit cuff pattern that is best done in the round. Standard working for hand, but it seems to have come rather short. Easily remedied when I pick up stitches, but it looks as if the thumb gusset starts too high up. This may all work out when the gloves are completed. Gloves should be snug anyway, mittens shrug-off-able. That's my excuse. A couple of days after posting this, I found and downloaded a booklet on 12 different sorts of glove/mitten cuffs. This should provide extra fun!

Machine Knitting Show

'Twas the annual show at Long Eaton on Sunday. Sales zilch! PR priceless. And now I have a bad back from hauling the machine around.

Wriggletoes

After the Kegworth event this year, Jill of Wrigglefingers paid for her table rent in yarn - two armsful of it! She said that if I made items for the museum it would actually raise more money than if she paid me in cash. What a brilliant idea! She gave me the equivalent of 19 pairs of socks or 38 pairs of handwarmers. This is just the first nine pairs, all labelled up ready for Machine Knitting Show at Long Eaton this coming weekend. I never sell much there, but will aid the display. Back to a few handwarmers now, then it will be more mittens then gloves on the flatbed, because I bet when I go into the museum the stocks have gone down again. Almost time to take on an apprentice?

After the event

Lest I forget. Couldn't get in room early as other conferences going on, but my lot were so eager/pushy and I don't think I reacted very well. And why is it people only offer to help you unload your car when you are on the very last item? At least I didn't have six machines from Swifts to handle this year, and the four inch (actually three-and-three-quarters) Griswold's Stocking Knitter, the Harrison V-bed and the odd shoe stitcher machine were picked up beforehand. Hotel refurbishment very much NOT finished, had impact. Nothing was on time first day, had to Have Words. Better the second, and had a long meeting afterwards to improve matters for next time - nearly all down to lack of communication between one set of staff and another, plus not advised of change of menus. Niggles did not affect overall enjoyment, especially the Tartan Hose - mind-blowing. Probably 58 in the room on Saturday- not squashed, despite having to put some tables T-shaped for yarn mountain and wonderful extra competition entries. So may push up to 65 after cancellations next. Persuaded by Margaret, actually paid myself for giving the talk workshop (signed by Paddy for Marie). Sold all aprons and needles bought in and amazingly made £1435 for the museum. Still cant believe it, did not think we would even match last year's £590.

Knitting Nineteen

Here I go again. Another Going Round in Circles Sock Machine Extravaganza weekend in Kegworth. You would think it would get easier doing it for the third time, but it is just as much time spent on the computer every day for about four months, and fielding daft queries and being patient with people who don't read information correctly the first time. If they all turn up it will be a bit of a squeeze - 60 people this year and probably the most that the rooms will hold, with all the machines, sales, displays, etc. I wish I had training in crowd management! ... and breathe.