Ready to cast on

After a bit if a creative hiatus I'm getting back in full swing (hopefully).

A couple of weeks ago I went through my yarn stash to see what I already had that I could use for my little hat challenge.  Found just the thing.

I'm all set and ready to go just need to find some free time to get cast on.  Happy days

Fireworks in the bathroom

A while a go I painted my bathroom 'firework orange' (or at least one of its walls). 

I know orange isn't every one's cup of tea and a bright orange bathroom wouldn't be to every one's taste.  Even the guy at B&Q who mixed the paint for me raised an eyebrow when I asked for it.  But hey it's my bathroom, my favourite colour, I don't have anyone else to answer to and I love how it looks.

While I was having a root around in my yarn box last week I came across a ball or two of lovely bamboo cotton that I picked up from the bargain bin at a craft store a couple of years ago.

It looks pink in the picture above but you'll see a better representation of the lovely orange colour in the next shot.

I've been seeing lots of lovely hand made wash cloths everywhere recently and in need of some simple knitting to do whilst feeling ill last week I figured I'd give it a go and make some for myself.

I ended up with a small pile of four in the end.   In various stripe designs, from this book (also used recently for the ochre hat), although in all honesty no matter needed.  I do like how they turned out and think they look super piled up next to my bowl of lovely soaps by the handwash basin.

It feels good to have produced something pretty and practical in what was otherwise a bit of a wash out of a week (excuse the pun!).

2014 the year of the hat

Anyone read the lovely Liesl Made blog? Liesl has recently been doing a self challenge to make 12 hats. Anyone who visits here regularly will know that I am a big fan of the hat. I haven't set myself any real crafty goals for this year but I thought giving myslef a hat challenge would be just the thing.

So I am officially declaring 2014 the year of the hat.  I think 12 hats might be a bit ambitious so I've decided to give myself a target of 6. One every couple of months I think should be doable and if I manage more then all the better.

I'm happy to say that my challenge is already off to a flyer.  Two weeks in to the new year and I've already finished my first hat woohoo.

I picked out some yarn from my stash.  I purchased this way back in summer 2012 on my first trip to Yorkshire with plans to make something else that never quite came to fruition so I figured it was time for it to get used.

I picked a nice simple pattern from this lovely book.  A recent thrifty find at the bargain price of £2.  It never ceases to amaze me all of the good quality things that people give away.

A couple of lovely relaxing knitting and reading sessions over the Christmas break later and .......

....... voila one brand spanking new hat. And my first crafty finish of the new year.

Now don't get me wrong I like how it turned out and love the effect of the simple panels of alternating stocking stitch but I don't love it.  In the book the pattern is called 'ochre hat' and is made with a lovely ochre shade of yarn.  I just can't get over how lovely the one in the book looks and how for me, mine doesn't quite live up to that.  And it's nothing to do with the dreamy yarn I used I loved every minute of working with it.

I'm sure the hat will grow on me.  I'm not giving up on it and have worn it out a couple of times already so despite not falling for it yet it won't get shoved to the back of the cupboard forgotten and unloved.  After all I've never met a hat I didn't like .........

Obsessed with the Doctor

I have a new(ish) obsession. It's all James' fault (he gets the blame for a lot of things round here these days ..... but that's what men are for, right?).  Up until about a year a go I was a Dr Who virgin, but now I'm totally obsessed.

If you live in the UK, unless you have been hiding under a rock, you couldn't have failed to note that 2013 saw the Doctor celebrating 50 years on television.  Just this fact alone has to be testament to the greatness of the show. 

I can't claim to be an aficionado .... yet.  There are still many many hours of the Doctor for me to catch up on but this quirky time traveller is not just limiting himself to my television viewing he's starting to creep in and invade many aspects of my life, cheeky blighter.

This week, thanks to one of my Christmas gifts from James (see I'm not blaming him without reason) the Doctor has been keeping me company as I start (and almost finish ..... get me) a new knit project.

And after a break away from needle and thread he's even tempted me back to cross stitch again.

The picture above shows me in the throes of unpicking.  I some how managed to give Patrick Troughton, who played the second incarnation of the Doctor, a larger than called for crotch.  James thinks that was my subconscious coming in to play, I have no idea what he's trying to imply! ;)

My obsession looks set to continue for a while though and you'll see the Doctor here again soon as I'll bring him back for a more detailed chat about the cross stitch.  And I also found a post that I started last year following a trip to Cardiff that I'm going to get round to finishing and posting soon, in which I have a close encounter with the daleks among other things.