In Great Ant-icipation!

Its been a few weeks since this one was completed and gifted to a friend at work, but its also been a busy few weeks full of Viking mischief and mayhem.

(Yes, you can all bee excited that this is a non viking post! Kind of. More on that later.)

On the run up to my friends birthday, I was debating just what to make for her. Idea after idea but no ant-ser came to mind until…a conversation about pets.

As well as the cutest bearded dragon and the fluffiest main coon kittys, she also has several insects which she keeps. Some ant-astically bee-autiful beetles, and a few different breeds of ants. And it was these that gave me an ant-cellent idea…

This is one of the more exotic but beginner friendly ants you can have – Messor barbarus (Harvester ant).

And this is my knitted version. (Ant from Amigurumi knits by Hansi Singh) I’m pretty happy with the result, although everyone who saw it in progress (The Valkyries, my pathfinder group) all felt it was less antsy and more eldritch nightmare. I mean, it does look right at home on my Cthulhu Death may Die board…

The little critters went down a treat, and my friend was like the ant who got the honey.

Not sure my other work colleagues are quite so smitten with it, most look at it, and my tardigrade, with bee-musement.

On to other wool news, I have done quite a bit of spinning (three skiens since last week) and Felix has begun the great dying experiment. Nettle was first:

Such a nice greenish yellow (or garlic butter coloured as Felix has informed me) and then a second skien was put in the dye bath with a pinch of iron, giving it a slightly duller, darker tone (skien on top).

Do excuse the lighting – the sun is out and everything looks either bleached out or strangely dark…

Anyway, right now we have another cooking away – black currants, as our black currant bush is looking to be producing another bumper crop. Not as much as the 5kg of berries from the other year, but there’s a lot!

Will share that one next post, if it’s a success or not.

In non knitting or spinning news, we have viking news – I passed my history test and I’m now a Frihal! No longer am I slave to the title thrall, and I have a pendent and certificate to prove it! Not going to lie, studying for that test was hard – I hadn’t realised how little time I had to commit to something like that. Although between full time work, full time mum around said work, all the hobbies (weaving, knitting, spinning, dying, carding, shield making), vikinging, cthulhu, boardgame club, pathfinder… Yeah…

Hmm. May need to adjust my work-life-hobby balance…

Anyway, it’s been busy. But it’s been the good kind of busy. Oh, I snuck off to Alton Towers on Monday with Timbercat, highly recommend the nemesis reskin – it’s bee-rilliant! Especially if you get front row seats!

Until next post, stay safe and try and keep out of the worst of the heat!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 46 (Used 1)
Wool unaccounted for in my stash – 15
Wool bought – 19
Wool given to me – 28 (Engel picked me up two)
Wool gifted to others – 2
Wool handspun – 11 (up by three)

Total – 866 (Net difference: +24 – creeping back up – but it bothers me less when it’s hand spun wool, as I am using fleece that’s already taking space for that)