Eurovision

I never really *got* Eurovision, I didn't watch it as a child, and when I was at university I was quite happy to give it a miss. But after university a school friend who had moved to London started hosting a Eurovision party every year, and some of those parties are among my finest memories. Even after I moved to the north I would always put Eurovision on the calendar at the start of the year and book train tickets to go down and see them for that weekend, even attending when I was many months pregnant (as was the host; comparing bumps is always fun!) with my daughter. And then a couple of years ago my friend announced that she and her family were moving to the country, Cornwall to be precise.

Cornwall to is too far to travel for a weekend from Durham. The train takes all day (nine hours) and the plane doesn't take much less time once you have to travel at each end. So for the past few years I haven't done anything for Eurovision (last year I spent the day in the office writing my PhD thesis; I listened to Eurovision on the radio; it's not the same without people, barbecued food and visuals!) and I've missed it.

Sweepstake preparation

I decided that this year would be different, and yesterday we hosted our own Eurovision barbecue. There was plenty of food and drink, cupcakes and brownies, bunting and a sweepstake, and a lot of small children running happily around the garden. And it was lovely. Only a few people stayed for Eurovision itself, as small children aren't generally compatible with late nights, but those of us that watched enjoyed the show (the digital effects were amazing! And yes, half of us were doing handcrafts while we were watching) and my son delightedly supported Australia, who he'd drawn in the sweepstake, even though he had no idea what was going on. 

The party bunting came out to play (I made it for my son's second birthday from play foam,

grosgrain ribbon and staples! It's wearing surprisingly well)

Cupcakes and brownies. What's a gathering without cake?!

Now we've done a practice run, maybe next year we can do something bigger! Are you a fan of Eurovision?

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I was blogging every day in May, but skipped yesterday as I didn't have time, and have decided that I am going to stop. While I have enjoyed writing more posts than usual, I have started to feel that the posts are getting a little repetitive! If you want to read what I posted in the first half of the month, follow this link.

F is for Friday and feet and failures...

Friday! The day before the weekend. I have managed to stick to not knitting, and have been occupying myself with lots of other activities: baking, crochet, and printing out things for Eurovision tomorrow!

First up, baking: one large batch of cupcakes and a batch of brownies. The brownies went perfectly. The cupcakes created havoc in the kitchen - I dribbled mixture everywhere while spooning the batter into the cases (and that was without any assistance from my kids), then exploded icing sugar everywhere when making icing with the Kitchen Aid. The worktop is still rather sticky...

Second: feet! My chameleon is finally back on track. Today I finished one leg and have started the second. I have no idea whether the feet are correct (I didn't realise from the picture that the chameleon has toes, but apparently he does), but I have done one and the other three will match.

Thirdly: printing failures. I order a couple of new printer cartridges earlier in the week as ours had finally totally run out. I excitedly loaded them into the printer ready to print some bunting for Eurovision tomorrow night (I am taking it seriously this year!), and the black one doesn't work. Boo. So I got as far as half an Albanian flag before giving it up as a bad job (it also turns out I was printing out bunting from last year's contest).

Not the best Friday, but onwards and upwards... What do you have planned for the weekend?

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I'm blogging every day in May. I you fancy reading along, follow this link.

Never not knitting

Last year in the knitting world the words to the Dr Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham suddenly started appearing everywhere, but corrupted to describe the actions of a knitter:

"I will knit on a boat, I will knit on a train... I will knit here and there, I will knit anywhere!"

And that describes my actions pretty well; I always have some knitting on me, just in case I get caught in a queue, or in traffic (obviously not when I'm driving!), or with a spare couple of minutes. I knit while stood in the kitchen waiting for pasta to boil and while watching television (I can do basic knitting without looking, and more complex knitting if what I'm watching isn't too involved). There are very few occasions when I do not knit.

Kitchen-knitting

But about an hour ago I cast off the final stitch on my latest commission. And I will not be knitting again for a couple of days. My recurrent knitting-related finger injury has returned, and requires at least four layers of micropore tape to make knitting bearable, and I have developed an ache in one wrist, so rather than pushing it and doing further damage, I am stepping away and not knitting.

I really should learn not to stab holes in my finger while knitting 

What does not knitting entail? I'm not really sure. I can't remember the last day I did not knit on - possibly when I was in hospital having my daughter a few years ago, possibly longer ago than that. My default non-knitting option used to be reading, but that's hard with two children to look after! I do have some seaming to do, so that will be done first. Then I might get some pattern cutting done. But when I'm out of the house and at a loose end? Who knows?! I wonder whether I can still crochet...

Seaming can be done with an injured finger

Wish me luck!

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I am blogging every day in May. If you want to read all the posts, follow this link.

Some socks are not meant to be

Once in a while the universe shouts loudly that I have too many projects on the needles. As it was Yarn Shop Day today, I wanted to cast on my limited-edition West Yorkshire Spinners self-striping yarn in their Yarn Shop Day colourway. I had the yarn ready, and yesterday posted the options for heels and toes to Instagram for a few opinions (overwhelmingly blue, if you discount the many people that suggested mix and match; anyone who has ever seen my sock drawer is aware that is not an option). I knew I would need another ball of whichever yarn I chose as a contrast, so popped into the yarn shop in town yesterday lunchtime to pick up a ball, only to find that they were out of stock of both colourways! Rather than hunt through all my cupboards to find some 2 mm needles, I had also decided to get another set of needles for this cast on (yes I have plenty, but all the good ones are in use), and there were none of those in stock either.

Not one for quitting, this morning I drove to the next-nearest yarn shop, where I bought one ball of the pink and one of the blue (still a little undecided in which colour to go for), and my son added a ball of blue self-striping for some socks for him (he commented on the way home that it wasn't fair that only one person in the house could knit, as he'd like to knit socks too, so that's a future wet weekend sorted), but still no 2 mm needles.

Blue stripes that have been claimed by my son

Before we'd gone out I had located a Knit Pro Zing 2 mm circular needle, but when I took it out of the bag to cast on, I remembered my (almost) irrational fear of knitting socks on Zings; I don't like them and they don't like me (many reasons, but I can't get consistent gauge with them, which is the main one). So when we got home, I dug out the bag of emergency needles: magazine freebies, half pairs and cheap needles purchased when nothing else was available. Hooray, a 2 mm 80 cm circular needle. And I cast on.

I'm using blue for the contrast, and the needle is totally fine. A bit stickier than I'm used too, and the join isn't the smoothest, but certainly not too bad. And I am making excellent progress. Sorry to all the other sock projects, you might be on the sideline for a little longer...

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I am blogging every day in May. If you'd like to read the other posts, click this link.

Yarn Shop Day 2017

This Saturday is Yarn Shop Day, a celebration of the local yarn shop and their role in the community. I don't have one single yarn shop that is my 'local', but I do have several local favourites where I go to see yarn in the flesh (colours and textures are always better in real life than they are over the internet), talk to the staff about yarn and patterns (yarn shop staff at small yarn shops, at least the ones I've come across, are generally very knowledgeable and willing to help) and get involved in the local knitting community. Many also run classes and events, which can be excellent places to expand your crafting knowledge.

Many local yarn shops are holding events to celebrate Yarn Shop Day, a map of yarn shops taking part can be found here, so if you're free, why not pop along to your local and see what's happening. Or you could try out somewhere new.

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it to any yarn shops this Saturday as we already have plans, but I will be knitting some of this exciting self-striping sock yarn, a limited-edition release from West Yorkshire Spinners on their Signature 4ply base, which I've raved about previously. And if I get a minute tomorrow, I will be popping into a yarn shop to get hold of some yarn to use as a contrast for the heels, cuffs and toes. The yarn is only available through yarn shops, not on the internet, so if you want some for yourself, you'll have to head to a yarn shop and hunt some down!

Are you doing anything for Yarn Shop Day? Which is your favourite yarn shop?

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I'm blogging every day in May. This post is the fourth. If you'd like to read the others, follow this link. If you're getting involved, let me know in the comments!

Yarning Along: Chama, chama, chama, chama, chama, chameleon!

Last weekend I had a little look through the cupboards at some slightly neglected projects. The one that stood out most was my TOFT chameleon. I had been so excited about the chameleon when TOFT launched it last summer, and only resisted buying because the hand-dyed kits were cost-prohibitive. In the autumn TOFT released new kits featuring their coloured yarn, which, while expensive, brought the cost down to an amount I was willing to pay.

I started excitedly in the gap between Christmas and New Year, optimistic that I could finish the chameleon pretty fast. But it turns out I couldn't. There is nothing difficult about working on the chameleon (fiddly, but not difficult); the pattern is really clear, but I have to concentrate on every stitch, which makes it hard to work on when I have the children around, and when I don't I have other things I would rather work on. But I want the finished chameleon, so this week I am going to work on it.

The chameleon's body and head are already done (I finished the head on Sunday), just four legs and two eyes to go. Maybe I'll have a finished chameleon by the weekend...

And as it's Wednesday I'm joining Rachel for Yarning Along. I'm still reading After You, and enjoying it. It's rather different to Me Before You, with only one central character in common, but I'm finding it interesting and want to know what happens.

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I'm blogging every day in May; this is post three. If you'd like to read all the posts, follow this link.

Lucy Locket Land

I meet a lot of people via social media, and some of them become friends in real life too. One of these friends, Lucy, announced earlier in the year that she would be opening her very own yarn shop.

So last month, I went to the grand opening of Lucy Locket Land.

Lucy has been running craft workshops and crafting groups in her house since the start of the year, and the shop is clearly designed with this purpose in mind. There is a large table for groups to work at and around, and lots of comfy sofas to make yourself at home. The shop is decked-out in a vintage style, and the whole shop is warm and welcoming.

Lucy has sourced items for sale from a wide variety of local artisans, and you can buy jewellery, bags, cards, felted items, ceramics, etc., as well as locally-sourced yarn, including yarn dyed by Lucy herself and her daughter, Penny. Lucy also stocks plenty of yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners, which is a favourite of mine.

The event was held in the evening, and while the shop is a bit of a drive from Durham (it's a little under an hour's drive), it was definitely worth it. I spent a lovely couple of hours sat on the sofas knitting on a pair of socks and chatting with fellow crafters. Of course I did a little bit of shopping too, and came away with a few beautiful items: a skein of yarn dyed by Penny (which you might recognise from the Lynda socks I shared last week), a couple of balls of Bergere de France Gloomy 50 (perfect for a pair of socks), a gorgeous little project bag with a rabbit on it, some mini skeins and a card. I also signed up to do courses on lino cutting and printing, and dyeing mini skeins (much easier to do in someone else's space than my kitchen!), and can't wait to go back!

If you'd like to visit Lucy Locket Land, full details about how to get there and opening times can be found on Lucy's website. I highly recommend it!

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This post is the second of my Blog Every Day in May posts, head here to see them all.

Blog every day in May: I have a cunning plan

Morning!

And suddently it's May. April whizzed past just as fast as all the other months have so far this year, so I fully expect we'll be at Christmas before I know it... Today is a(nother) bank holiday - you wait ages for one then four come along at once, and I'm pretty sure the plan is to lounge around and maybe head out to the local soft play later. I have a couple of magazine projects that need working on too, so those are going to get some attention, and tonight I have my regular knit night (in the local pub with friends), which is always a highlight of the week. What are you doing today?

I have also decided to take part in Blog Every Day in May; a blogging challenge initially set up by Rosalium, and while I don't think it's officially running this year, I thought I would give it a go. Let's see where it takes us. If you'd like to join me, post a link to your blog in the comments and I'll pop over to yours to say hello.

Image from SkitterPhoto on Pixaby

My major plan for May is to get a few long-term projects off the needles and hooks. Last night I dug out my TOFT chameleon and he only needs legs and eyes, which I could probably do in an evening if I find a quiet corner (I have to concentrate on every stitch while crocheting amigurumi, which is why the chameleon isn't finished yet). I have about 100g of yarn left to knit for my Dotted Rays, so that's definitely do-able (especially as the wedge consturction means I may not have to knit very much of the final 50g ball of yarn). And it's my husband's birthday soon, and I would love to be able to give him the socks I started knitting him earlier in the year (an ambitious plan, but possibliy possible, and if they're not done for his birthday they'll definitely be done for Christmas. Apparently there are no photos of these, and no Ravekry page...). And last but not least, I need to finish my Lynda socks for my Knit Night Collection KAL, which finishes at the end of May (there's plenty of time to join in - head to the thread in my Ravelry group for more details*). What are your plans for May?

TOFT chameleon

Dotted Rays

Lynda socks

*Ravelry link. You need to be logged into Ravelry for this link to work.