Life is gourd and then you pie

Tis the spooky season, and I kicked it off the best way possible – Scarefest at Alton Towers with my sister Rabbie and her husband.

And you had better be-leaf it, we tree had a blast.

It was exactly what I needed to help get my knitting motivation going again, starting with Rabbie’s slipper subscription:

Made following the free pattern Nola’s Slippers by Nola Miller – I love this pattern as it just eats up odds and ends and, after Rabbie jokingly let me loose on the actual scraps pile, ended up with the craziest slippers ever.

Even if she doens’t like them, I know she will wear them to death as she lives in slippers.

But before I -fall- down that particular rabbit hole, and yes, I know thats a-corny, lets get to the big project I wanted to show today.

This is my new Autumn Wreath. Its a mixed media, and multi person project. Felix made the needle felted fox and acorns, and Inkling made the needle felted squirrels for me. There’s brown alpaca, black Hebridean and beetroot dyed Jacobs fleece in this, as well as a range of wool types for the leaves.

Speaking of, would you be-leaf it, another free pattern – Autumn Acorns and Oak Leaves by Amanda Berry was used for those leaves.

This was one of those projects that just kept sprouting…leaves and roots I guess. I needed something to balance the fox, I needed more leaves, I need more colours… I tapped into my Valkyries Craft coven three times to help decide on placement but, finally, its done.

And I am actually a little sad that its place in the window is currently being taken by my Halloween wreaths. Next month it will get a chance to shine.

Want to know what’s made me more sad? Devastated in fact? Just looked at the first of two highschools today as Felix will begin highschool next year… She’s too little! Too sweet! My little baby is growing up too fast!

If anyone comes across either a time machine or a device that stops time, let me know. Asking for a friend.

With that, I will call this post done and I’ll catch you next post. Untill then, stay safe.

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 73
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 27
Wool given to me – 37
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 858 (Net difference: +17 – no change this week.)

Ray of sunshine

Trying not to get too hopeful, lest I salmon Sod’s Law, but the immediate future is looking eel-ly fun with a few shenanigans planned with Rabbie.

But I wont start ray-ving about those until they’ve happened.

Swimming along now…

Let me shoal you my latest project!

I wanted to knit some-fin aquatic themed to go inside some-fin for someone. Both my kids immediately declared it needed to be a manta ray.

This little cutie is knit following the pattern Ray by Sachiyo Ishii from her book ‘Mini Knitted Ocean’.

Doesn’t he look so cute and happy? There was just one problem…

Someone has clearly been eating all the frys…

Even if he had been skinny, the plan for this guy was doomed to fail. So instead, he is off to the bag of things to use/gift at a later date.

And you know what? That’s ok. I eel-ly enjoyed knitting this guy and would like to make more of the cuties from that book.

With that, I’ll be fin-ishing this post. Just a very quick, short update on knitting and knitting only.

…

OK, there was a trip to Abakan’s and my wool collection has grown by ten. I only bought four, but Felix picked up four for a set of gloves and a cowl and my friend gave me two to knit some Viking cheat socks for her.

With that, till next time, may fins go along swimmingly for you!

…

Just keep knitting, just keep knitting…

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 73 (1 used)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 27 (+4)
Wool given to me – 37 (+6)
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 858 (Net difference: +17)

Lets cut a rug!

This particular project was a real floor-midable opponent, not gonna lie! But be-floor I get tangled up in all the excitement, lets start at the beginning.

Several months ago, Engel came back with an interesting charity shop find – a latch hook rug. I explained to him, then to Felix and Inkling, what it was, how it was used, and what kind of things could be made.

Felix took to it immediately and has made a few pieces herself. Inking likes to pick it up and put it down, but he can quite confidently just get on with it,

So what did I do? Well, as a lover of the crafty yet thrifty ways people of ye olde times used to get around anything and everything, I have a particular soft spot for rag rugs.

There’s something very pretty about people taking the scraps and odds and ends of one thing, to turn it into something useful and practical and generally of pretty designs and colour placement.

And so, latch hook in one hand, an anti slip mat which was no longer used in the other, I tackled my yarn scraps. And that of a few friends. And all those tiny odds and ends balls of wool I had in the stash (hence the high numbers of ‘wool used’ the past few months) and go to work.

Its mad. Its crazy. There is no order. No pattern. It just is. And I love it. Its scrap-tacular!

Its especially amazing on the somewhat cold laminate floor for my bare toes first thing in the morning!

At some point I will make another – a true scrap rug – which should probably take me a few years to makes if I resist the urge to stash bust again. And that one will go on the other side of the bed. Or where this one is as Felix and Inkling have been making attempts to steal it for their own rooms…

I’ve already lost two rugs to them! I wont lose a third!

(Can you tell I’m fraying at the edges about the thought of my toes being cold again?)

In other news, the car shenanigans are about done – just need to source a few parts to finish having her repaired as the insurance decided she wasn’t worth saving despite being structurally sound and without the crazy amounts of extras they had listed, came well below the percentage that would typically be classed as a write off.

And I know for a fact that they would have sold her for scrap, just to repair her and then sell on for a profit…grr…

Now this, this is making me unravel. But, its almost all done, just need to keep calm and rug on.

Until next time, stay as safe as a bug in a rug!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 72 (1 used – black DK)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 23 (+1 as i needed more black DK)
Wool given to me – 31
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 849 (Net difference: +8)

Pining for the Fjords…

Its with some re-leaf to say that things are beginning to be oak-y. And I’m happy with oak-y. oak-y is a lovely breath of fresh air compared to the mountains and chasms the past bit has felt like.

Update schedule may or may not get patchy – if I have something to share, I’ll share, and I’ll continue branching out with the non knitting creations too.

This week though, is a knitting project. A finished one. And with just over tree months to spare!

All 100 trees have been decorated, have their tree trunks knit and are all sewn together. Thank you for all who were rooting for these!

And yes, it is a bit of a copse out, but I had been putting off the sewing of these for a month.

I’ve tree-ly enjoyed the kids being able to help out so much with these as well. Felix may have done more decoration sewing than Inkling, but he diligently cut out 100 sets of ‘tinsel’ and picked which trees got which kind. I wonder what I’ll have chosen for next year and how much more they can help with that!

…

Actually, Felix may not want them next year as she will be in Big School come next Christmas…

Nope! I’m going back to being a mushroom on that thought! I don’t want to get all sappy now.

Moving on…

The Viking show season has wrapped up for the year, and I have passed a grand total of five tests, which I have been told is very impressive. Going to try for two more and a second kit by the end of next year and get my next level in the society!

I passed basic combat on Thursday where I ended up being hit with axes, swords, spears, two hand spears, a Dane Axe, javelins and arrows. They’re all blunt and the blows are mostly pulled but I was run to the point I was ready to drop… And I miraculously passed despite flinching at the Dane Axe coming down on me! (I shoved my shield in the way and side stepped frantically, so it was classed as a parry.)

And on that note, this rather sleepy Viking is going to leaf it at that and until next time, stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 72 (1 used)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 31
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 848 (Net difference: +5)

Out on a lamb

As ewe all know, I have quite the wool stash. I also have quite the stash of fleece too. Plus all the spinning and needle felting accessories to ewes said fleece.

Small problem is, as its not a very ordinary hobby, so whenever anyone comes across fleece, they snap it up and give it to me against my wool. Which is lovely, and generous, but also means i have seven alpaca fleeces and five Romney cross fleeces in the woolservatory. There is also two foot stools full (if only that was three bags) in the living room, and another alpaca and maybe six, seven more Romney cross fleeces in the attic.

Its insulation and I’m sticking to that exc-ewes. Engel feels that he has been fleeced with this hobby he initially encouraged.

But lets herd this conversation baa-ck to the topic at hoof.

During an impromptu day trip to Wales to go crabbing I spotted a wool / fleece / spinning shop. I hoofed it in and bought some brake and drive baa-nds and a tension spring for the wheel. Treated myself to a bobbin too. Whilst there, I petted the wool, the fleece, the sheep skins, the…vegan…sheep…skins…?

Yes. Vegan sheep skin.

Upon investigation, this ‘sheepskin’ was actually a large piece of felt with a sheep fleece carefully needle felted into it.

Hmm…and thats when the idea of making my own began to form.

Not gonna lie, this was a project and a half. First I tried making flat felt. Turns out, alpaca is a baa-d choice for that.

Once I had made a mat of some description with bits and bobs and ends of various sheep breeds, with Felix’s and Inklings help, we started needle felting the alpaca into it. Some patches took well to this, some…not so much.

I ended up digging out a large piece of felt, and baa-cked the mat we had made on to that and then needle felted the alpaca.

This worked. It took a long time and between us three we broke all but one of my needle felting needles, but we did it.

Is it good? Sort of. Patches wool need reinforced again later as and when they crop up. Some patches are very fluffy, some less so. It is however very soft, and at a glance, passes as a sheep skin.

Was it a good stash buster? Yes. I emptied half of one of the foot stools on the mat, and the alpaca fleece remnants now fit into that space freeing up some space in the woolservatory.

Wool I make another? Not sure. I guess if I have need to I would, and I certainly know what not to do to make it an easier experience.

Lamb I glad I did it? Yes, 100%. I proved to myself I cud do it, with trial and error, but I managed. And that’s what matters – setting a challenge and managing it, even if was by the fleece of my sheep!

Until next time, stay safe! Don’t let anything baa-d happen to ewe all!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 71 (1 used)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 31
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 847 (Net difference: +6)

Under Avest

Ever felt like a project your working on is more punishment than pleasure?

Yeah… That was the FILs birthday vest for me.

Sew, before I unravel this thread, lets start at the beginning.

In July 2021, I knitted a vest for my FIL out of wool that was frogged from a sweater (no waist wool even then) I had knit him a few years prior. Yes, this story has gone round more times than the washing machine already. Anyway. I ended up knitting three vests – one for him and matching ones for Felix and Inkling. Jump forward to the beginning of 2024…

For sweater or worse, all the 2020s have been challenging for everyone, and my FIL has had a few health issues (thankfully nothing serious-serious, the tests have ruled the worst out) but subsequently he’s lost a bit of weight. A lot of weight. And he approached me, whilst wearing his vest, to say that it was the only thing in his wardrobe that he liked to wear as it fitted him. Could I make another?

He has never asked me to knit for him before, and given the situation, of course I said yes.

I asked what colour? What style? And he told me he wanted exactly the same as he already had, but in blue…

…

Here is an in-progress knit from 2021 of his vest. Please note the lovely delicate cables and the blue colouration.

There was a pause, just a moment, before he continued with ‘the purple is nice, but I think a blue would suit more of the clothing I have’. I am meanwhile having flashbacks to the “purple hotel” from Blackpool where everyone in the family all agreed it was purple despite being blue.

As an aside, my FIL is colour blind, I know this, his family do, we all do, and yet it never fails to amaze me how everyone just agrees with him even when the colour isn’t what he thinks it is.

Hesitantly, I agreed to blue, then made him wait as I brought out all my blue wool. After a few moments of him poking a few ‘purples’ out of the way, he settled on ‘blue’.

Told you this was quite the yarn to unravel.

Skip forward eight months and…yeah…finally finishing the neck and arm holes…

I just didn’t enjoy this. I have knit three blue sweaters of this exact pattern already. I have knit two dark green vests of a very similar pattern. I have even knitted a neon orange and navy blue vest.

But yet I carried on, ironing a path through the wrinkles of other more tempting projects…

And there it is, the long and short of a project I just didn’t want to work on. A ‘blue-blue’ cabled vest. Pattern is a free Ravelry download by Dad’s Cabled Vest by Ira Dearing.

He’ll be receiving this at the weekend as a birthday gift. I’m hoping he doesn’t ask me for another, I would much prefer to knit him some ‘blue’ socks…

And with that epic tale, I shall bid you farewell until the next post.

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 70 (2 used)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 31
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 848 (Net difference: +7)

A claw-some de-fright!

I don’t want to dragon too long for this post, but well…

Welcome to the Pungeon!

As you all know, I run Cthulhu, but if I did run DnD it would devolve quickly to Dungeon Disasters. My friend though does run Pathfinder, when the group find the path to get to his all at the same time. (Gamers, like herding cats.)

Last session, we started a discussion (good thing there’s no Bard in the party, or else it would have been a percussion) about the height of Reyth, my kobold barbarian character – when prompted, Reyths answer is ‘exactly three feet tall, rounded up’, and is actually under two and a half foot. Which is better then being six foot under like the necromancer is so fond of…

The talk of tiny kobolds (better than mini-taurs) lit a fire under my friend as he started to tell me about his favourite character, a red kobold in red samurai armour named Skiradren.

The kobold body is based on Bag of Troodons by Tina Barrett from her book ‘Knitted Dinosaurs’. Armour was knitted on the fly, or winged, as I went along.

It was pretty claw-some having the chance to do a side by side comparison too of Reyth and Skiradren. Want to know what was even more claw-some though?

Both kobold outfits are entirely removeable, and I think Reyth looks fang-tastic in the samurai armour.

In other news, my car was rear ended the other week, and dealing with everything that comes with that, on top of everything else, has put me in a dire mood, which is probably equally as bad as a dire wolf to the players… I’m fine, everyone’s fine, the car is yet to be looked at and judged for its crimes of stopping at a give way line, but it is only a car.

My poor Battletank…

Anyway, because of that, I’m gonna keep this post more a short sword than a broad sword in length, thus, I wish you a safe adventure, and may your travels bring you back here safely later.

…I deserve to be punished and put in a punitentiary for this post…

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 68
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 31
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 850 (Net difference: +9)

Wool count disclaimer: Due to the dire mood I haven’t kept track of the balls of wool I have used since the last blog post. I have also been given wool for a commission. So, for my sanity, I am just going to ignore the ins and outs these last few weeks and will continue the count as it stands last post.

When it comes to the big end of year count/sort/shuffle, I’ll be able to get a true count. But life is far too short to worry about that now.

A Fangtastic prop

Let us begin at the beginning. Like a lot of people, when I mention I like anime I always get asked what my first anime was. Then my first Ghibli movie (Princess Mononoke for those curious, and its still my favourite).

So as a vampire loving, alternative nerd of a teenager, I of corpse ended up watching Hellsing (the original anime, not the remake!) as my first anime. The perfect blend of horror, humour, plot somewhere in there, and heaps and heaps of sass.

So when my nephew announced that he was going to an anime con just after his birthday with Rabbie and her husband, and that they were doing a group cosplay and he was going to be Arucard…

Jealousy aside, the bite side of this was that I had a perfect opportunity to get involved and tie in his birthday present.

This particular project took quite a while to make, or perhaps, was a project I had to sink my teeth into.

Engel did the 3D printing, assembly, then sanding, filling, sanding, filling and final sanding, before I got them for painting. And what was this fangtastic gift for my nephew?

Why, Arucards iconic guns of course!

A big fangs to Rabbie who took this amazing photo of the finished result with the coat that she and my nephew helped make and also the gloves Rabbis carefully painted/drew.

Did I mention I was jealous?

In other news, Felix has now attended the weekly Viking meetings two weeks in a row and I think I have a proper little Viking! She’s been great company in the car, and incredibly well behaved at the meetings – she’s also made fast friends with some of the other kids. So much so, or perhaps, sew much sew, she made a pair of bow socks for two of them as part of her first sewing machine lesson.

She has taken to the machine better than I did upon first, second, third…umpteenth try, and I would like to think that’s because I gently coaxed her through the process, but its more to do with the fact she picks things up like a sponge.

I suspect she’ll be making a lot more for herself in the future, perhaps I should hide the good fabric…

Right. That’s all this week as I have a busy weekend planned and have a bunch of things to sort, prep and make before hand. Talk about Comic Crunch? I have Saxon Squeeze… Viking Viscera sounded a bit too violent…

Also, aren’t you all Vlad there aren’t too many vampire puns I could easily slide into this post?

Until the next one, get the garlic and holy water and stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 66 (Used 1)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 31 (Gifted 1 from Engel as a pick me up)
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 852 (Net difference: +11 – this literally hasn’t changed!)

A knife day out

A few weeks ago Engel and myself took part in a blacksmithing taster session organised by my viking group for it’s members.

Vikings has certainly given me a new anvil in knife for all the possible hobbies I never thought I could try. It’s certainly quenching the never ending desire to learn!

But let’s forge on, back to blacksmithing and less hammering on about the vikings.

We all met at the Jarls house where a furnace was set up and the blacksmiths who were hired to run the event explained the different steps and safety precautions so no one would get injured. Once that was done, and some tea and biscuits consumed, we all stood riveted next to the forge as we each got to have a turn at the anvil. Choices were an S shaped hook or a knife – and judging by the bellows of excitement, I think it was knives all round.

Well. I say that. Me being me, I wanted to do something a little different with things I already have.

I turned two ‘viking eating spikes’ (not authentic at all) into little itty bitty knives to be cut and inserted into antler. I also brought my laser cut steel (as in flint and steel for making fires) to bash a bit so I can use it at shows. It now looks the part and I’ve checked, I can still light a fire with it! After all that I was definitely getting the tang of it!

Engel, unsurprisingly, went for a knife and has also picked out some antler from my stash to turn into a knife chopper. So that’s going to be a fun experiment! And yes, I also have a whole side of leather to make sheaves for all these weapons – good thing I’ve started to stab-le in leatherwork!

After all is blade and done, I did enjoy blacksmithing, but I prefer my hobbies softer. Engel on the other hand…

Rust not encourage that lest I end up with a forge in the garden!

In other news… Well… There isn’t much I want to chat about on here so… I guess we move on to the wool count?

Stay safe till the next post!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 65 (Used 0 – it’s been too hot to craft this week)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 30 (Gifted two from Ratmans mums stash)
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 852 (Net difference: +11 – and back again to double digits…)

A willing sock-rifice

Going to start this post by saying sock puns are surprisingly scarce, and foot puns…eh, feet….

Alright, lets kick this post into gear before I get cold feet.

As part of my viking kit, I nalbinded myself a pair of socks. They are warm, wooly, keep my feet dry and cushioned, and knit the part – I know, what a socker – and this leads to a problem.

The kids need socks, nice, warm, cushy socks. But my nalbinded socks took me forever to make, and I am not confident at making two pairs for children who are growing like weeds. But, this was not going to defeet me, I just had to be clever…

I can knit socks, quite confidently and quickly, and I can knit them to perfect size using the NO Swatch, ANY Yarn Socks by Ida-Maria Tyyskä (free pattern, amazing one at that, recommend highly) but I can also knit them bigger…say, two sizes too big…?

And as they are toe up… well, no one sees the feet, just the cuffs… Sole why not knit the feet and nalbind the cuffs?

Even Sockrates would have been proud of such good thinking.

Seriously, if your still reading this post after that awful pun, you guys are maschoknits or suffering Sockholme Syndrome.

Regardless, lets move swiftly onwards to other, less unsockable subjects…

Vikings is going great, Felix and Inkling have officially attended two shows and are eager for more. I have started to learn combat with the lofty goal of playing with a Dane axe for real, as opposed to having a little play with one now and again under strict supervision…

Life itself has been fine, things are going in in the background, some of which are good, some less sole, but we’re getting there.

One socked foot at a time.

With that, until next post, stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting toe-tal – 841

Wool used – 65 (Used 5 – productive week again! I promise I will share the final result when it’s finished!)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 22
Wool given to me – 28
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 850 (Net difference: +9 – single digits guys!!!!)