I Won First Prize!

I woke up yesterday morning to a great email, letting me know I was the winner of the Malabrigo Sock Design contest. (If you're not familiar with mal yarn, Sock is the name of the yarn type). As a prize I get to choose any Malabrigo Yarn and colorway of your choosing, and they're going to send me a whole bag of it. Plus, a whole bag of their test yarn, Dos! I've rarely been so excited!

I've just posted my pattern on Ravelry, and you can buy it there (or click below). My whole store is now viewable, even if you're not a member of Ravelry.

This pattern was inspired by the beautiful Malabrigo Sock Indiecita colorway and T.S. Eliot’s “sea-girls wreathed in seaweed”. As I looked at the yarn, I could envisage the sea otters and mermaids, tangling themselves in the safety of the kelp forests on a cold winter day. You can twine yourself in this twisting kelp pattern, featured on the cuffs of the fingerless mitts and hat band, while staying toasty on land or sea.

Sneak Peak

I submitted my design this weekend for the Malabrigo Sock design contest.
The pattern will be up for sale soon. I thought I'd put up a sneak preview in the meantime.










We took our pictures outside Tate Modern. I really wanted to take them in the Ai WeiWei sunflower seeds, but we were a few days too late to walk on them, and it basically looked just like a gravel pit from where you were allowed to stand. A real disappointment!

This weekend we went curling for Martin's birthday. There's only one curling rink in England, and it's in Tunbridge Wells. It seemed an easy sport to get started on, but I think it'd take a lot of practice to be any good.

 

painted ponies

About a year ago (or maybe more, I'm not sure!), I painted the horses in our copy of Winner's Circle. My husband asked me to paint them because some of the horses were very similar in color. So, when you play this game in a dark pub, it's easy to mistake which one is which as they travel around the board.

I originally thought about using the silks of famous jockeys or stables as inspiration, but in the end I just used my imagination. I also painted numbers on each horse's flank for ease of recognition.

fall hats

I know I have been quite quiet lately. I was going to blame it on being too busy for the summer (I went to 4 weddings, and was invited to two others on the same day ones I attended!), but now the weather has turned. I can't say I'm happy about this. I much prefer when only laying by the side of the pool feels comfortable, and only when you get in the pool about every half hour. But I guess I wouldn't have as much fun knitting if I lived somewhere like that.

I'm expecting to put out a few new patterns soon (hence the copyright update). One is for the malabrigo design contest, and another just for fun. But for now, here's a few photos of other things I've worked on.

Xenocryst Hat - from Knitscene Fall 2010


Fair Isle Hat - this one is from a kit I picked up at the Ally Pally show from Euro Japan Trading Co.

Twilight Flies Shawl - from the popular Summer Flies pattern

the fine print

The entire contents of any pattern purchased from me and the knitted design to which it refers are subject to copyright. In purchasing a pattern you agree to print and use the pattern only for your personal non-commercial use. You may not distribute or sell electronic or paper copies of the pattern, nor may you sell any items produced using the directions of the pattern.

This agreement applies to any of my patterns purchased on this blog, ravelry, or elsewhere.

My Girly 4th of July

I'm having a bit of a girly weekend to myself, since my husband is off on a stag weekend.
It had a great start, where I was woken up by the postman delivering the package my mom sent. She'd been to a quilt show, and was awesome enough to send me some stuff. I am in love with the tea towels she sent!!!

I have already finished the first one. I know, it makes you sick, mom :)
I think the cute crochet border is what really makes them pop. It makes me wonder what other things I could add some borders to.

If you want to get some of your own, it's the Victory Garden Project Pack and she got them from Erica's. It looks like you can also purchase just the borders if you want to fancy some things up. I think they'd look great on some kitchen curtains, or maybe a cute summer skirt.

I also dyed some fabric in my machine. It's some of the leftover sheer fabric from the bottom of my ikea curtains. I plan to use it to make a little summer dress from my Twinkle book. I used Dylon's powder pink machine dye.


Since I'm on my own for the weekend, it means I've been eating lots of junk food, drinking cola, and watching whatever junk TV I feel like. Which meant Pride & Prejudice followed by Braveheart last night. And I had a delicious tea, courtesy of our friend who breezed through as she returned home from Copenhagen. She couldn't remember what these delicious treats were called, but they were on a list of 5 things a local told her she must eat on her trip. Thankfully, she didn't have time to eat them while in Copenhagen, so we got to share in their delight. A little bit like a marshmallow bunny, but 1000 times better and more luxurious.


I've also had plenty of time for the World Cup and Wimbledon. My favorite team for the World Cup has been Uruguay, and I promise it's not just because I've been captivated by the beautiful Diego Forlan. Though he certainly doesn't hurt...

quilting for friends

One of my friends was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. I wanted to do something special for him, so I decided on a lap quilt. I have heard these can be good for patients undergoing chemo. Besides the benefits of giving warmth in a cold hospital room, quilts are great ways of reminding people that you care of them. Also, colorful or intricate quilts can provide a distraction; something to look at or think about in quiet moments.

I wanted to maximize the colors and patterns, so I got two sets of coordinating charm squares. I only had to repeat 6 fabrics in the whole quilt. I also decided on a disappearing 9 patch so the colors would be broken up, but I could also complete the project quickly. Here's a look at the finished 9 patches, before I made them "disappear".


Once I finished the top, I machine quilted in a large, overlapping square pattern. Then I added a few details by hand. I quilted around each central square, and quilted an "L" for the patient's surname.



I had chosen greens and browns to give a forest feel, and embroidered a quilt label to match this theme.


I had some fabric bits left over at the end, so I decided to make a pin cushion for his fiance. This was my first time doing English Paper Piecing. This was a cute pattern I got at Fabric Shack last year. I sewed the entire thing by hand. It was actually very easy, and a great thing to do while watching some World Cup action.



This whole project was really fun for me, because it reminded me how much I love doing needlework by hand. I was quite pleased with my results, and how easily it all came back to my fingers.