Yarn updates and things

What lush weather it is here at the moment, I confess that I caught the sun in the garden at the weekend because I was sat working out numbers for a pattern, and was getting a little frustrated and kind of forgot that the sun was beaming down on me. Never mind, I need to make sure I buy good sun cream.

Shop has a little update, with amongst things, some scrummy superwash merino yarn, its soft as anything, about 19.5 microns for the boffins among you and 3.99 for 50gms, its to dye for, hehehehe parden the joke, and I have lots of it ready for Wonderwool, who is coming ? tell me tell me.

Oh and finally I finished the pattern for this little lovely tank top in squishy;

Its in the new arrivals and the pattern section.

Right thats all for now, i'll post some pics of my seedlings tomrorow, the are coming along lovely, and tell you about the grand design for my garden, yipeeeeeeee.

Knitting and Therapy

I'm not too sure how many of you who read my ruminations know much about my other knitting life, or just my other work life to be honest. In conjunction with owning Fyberspates I am a psychology researcher, I currently work on a project about attitudes, looking at prejudice, its mega interesting, but this is coming to an end pretty soon, and I needed to decide what comes next in my life academically, do I let it go, or use the skills I have developed.

When I first started my blog, I really wanted to run a project on the therapeutic benefits of knitting, but in terms of actualizing my ideas, I wasn't too sure exactly how to do it, and also didn't have the experience or confidence. Then I had the great good fortune to meet Betsan, who owns Stitchlinks, and is working to promote knitting, stitching and their therapeutic benefits. We've been talking about running a research project for ages and ages, and I started one last summer, which is taking ages because I need knitters, and unfortunately I need them to come into the lab, but also I needed a huge amount of funding, and we weren't quite there with people being accepting that it is something worthwhile researching. Well, it seems as if the time has finally come and things are starting to move. We are going to apply for a grant to research the project properly, probably over a couple of years, we now have in place access to pools of participants, which makes it possible. I am soooooo excited, its my dream to do something like this along side Fyberspates, so I'm also going to blog about the process of applying for funding and actualizing the research, because I know that if we can run this research, its gonna make such a huge impact on peoples lives, and I know so many of you knit and stitch to keep yourself sane, while the world goes on around us.

I'm not sure what else to say really, apart from the fact that I'm jsut very very excited.

I'm interested in hearing your views on knitting and its therapuetic benefits, if you would like to be part of the discussion, please join the fyberspates yahoo group, the link is on the left.

Yippee!!!!!!!!!!

x

FRILLY TANK TOP

So here it is finally. A pic of the frilly tank.

Yarn - fyberspates scrumptious in moss, and reds and plums for the trim.

Pattern -  mine available from the shop.

Yippee!!

I think I'm better, fingers crossed, the tiredness has finally gone today, what a weird cold virusy that was. It took three weeks to work its course, so I decided maybe my immune system needs a little bit of pepping up, so I am drinking lots of fruit smoothies and eating lots of different coloured veges and salads, and a tonne of fish, I am so addicted to it, sardines on buttered toast, yummmmmmy, and all sorts of other scrummy things, and obviously balanced out by chicken curry and chips last night after a couple of pints, had to be done really.

So that means that normal service is being resumed, sock club will be out to everyone by Friday, apologies for the lateness, ships ahoy,and its all steam ahead again.

I have some very nice pics of my little sprouting plants which I'll post later today when i get home, and ...... I'm getting a new camera this weekend which will mean that the website update is being saved for next week because I want to photo the scrummy yarn with the new camera and redo all the shop pics, and you might get too see the frilly tank top on me finally, getting my hair chopped today so its all good.

Food again

One thing that makes me feel miserable about being I'll apart from being it, is the fact that my hunger and taste is affected. I don't eat unless I feel hungry, or there is a cheesecake in front of me, so I was miserable because I didn't feel hungry, and everything I tasted was crap. Then by 2ish today after just sleeping my cold off I had a flash of inspiration, Chicken soup. Yep, there is a reason why chicken soup is a perfect food for illness, cause its salty, and is very plain, and can tastes nice with the few taste buds that actually work. I might add, that the rule is though, that it has to be Heinz; 'yes it says chicken on the can, but even though you can't see it, its in there, really, it is'.

I have no idea why there was a can of it nestled amongst my tins of tomatoes and beans, but it was there, and I ate it accompanied, and I'm wincing as I type; a white sliced sponge/proccessed bread cheese sandwich, its the only thing I could stomach, and to be honest, it was absolutely delicious. Blimey, that and a pot noodle in the same week, I don't know what has come over me.

So by this evening, I am feeling allot better and decided to unpack the kenwood food processor that my mum bought me for Christmas. AHEM. I've been busy, OK.

I washed it and then decided to put it to the test for a simple nutritious tea. So I toasted rather too many pine nuts, savaged my basil plant, added some spinach, rocket and a tonne of yummy olive oil and Parmesan, and made a delicious pesto, I can feel the colour coming back to my cheeks as I type. 'sigh' with a grin.

ohohohohohoh and........... I planted a load of seeds on Friday to grow in pots in my garden, and I'm gonna do regular posts about my veges, cause I'm so proud of them, there are about 4 tomato varieties, squashes, rocket, basil, thyme, parsley, peppers, aubergines, courgettes, mushrooms and I also bought a cherry tree, a grape vine and a brambly apple tree, all to go into pots, as I'm having my garden completely changed, ohhh I'm so excited. I'll post more about that soon, do some before and after pics, I decided my blog needs a bit of livening up and diversion of topics, my life does revolve around my business, but seeing as I am getting more organised and settled, I have started being normal again, and I have so many fun things to talk about, which includes eating, cooking and growing things. Yippee.

I'm also adding a list of food blogs I like, I love reading about food, and I would like to read some gardening blogs, but interesting ones, any one got any suggestions/

I'm sure lots of you are growing your own veges, tell me what you are growing this summer.

Boo hoo

I've got a horrible horrible cold, which means all I can do is sleep and knit. I have finished my top which from fitted knits, but I ind of made it a little too small for me, its ok, but I need to find someone petite to model it. One thing I have finished which has made me soooo happy is my frilly tank top, I wanted to reknit it and add a little dart shaping at the back, which I have done, I also knitted a contrasting frill which looks superb. It took 3 hanks of scrumptious, 2 in moss and 1 in reds and plums.

I will model it once I look a little more attractive and less snotty. I didn't do the frill on the arms this time, I just crocheted a chain along the edge, it looks fabulous on.

Pot noodles.

I have a snobby aversion to packet food, however I just found myself overcome with a desire for a pot noodle, and it was very tasty. I'm still standing, well sitting actually, so I guess its not going to poison me to just have one is it?

Where do I start

I've got lots of things to say today, and I don't know where to start. Nearly finished my shrug from fitted knits, I'm going to dinner at Marie's tonight and we are having some knitting time, which I'm so looking forward to so, hopefully I'll get it done and take a pic tomorrow.

Sat I went to London to stay with a friend and took the opportunity to visit some yarn shops, yippee. I went to Iknit London, which is such fabulous shop, its so cute and in the most wonderful area. Caroline, my 'non knitting yarn assistant for the day' and I were arguing about whether we were going the right way to the shop, and a beautiful man, shouted across the road, 'the woolly shop is just down there' me and Caroline blushed and then continued arguing about how the hell he knew we wanted the knitting shop, she said it probably ha something to do with the large bags of yarn we were carrying. I wasn't so sure, I'm convinced it was merino boucle knitted hat. Any way at I knit I purchased a beautiful skein of Tilly Thomas yarn with beads on it.

We then tootled off to stash in Putney, and to my surprise, Alice was sat knitting with a group of other lovely knitters, so that was fab to see her. stash is also a fabulous shop, I'll be going back for definite, I was sorely tempted by some art yarns, but thought i should restrain myself, or I'll be homeless with nice yarn, but no where to stash it.

After a long day I arrived at mums and spent the rest of the weekend with her, and she took me birthday shopping on Sunday and got me some lovely clothes, she thinks I need to look like a designer so she got me a couple of scrummy outfits for spring, obviously being mummy fyberspates she gets unlimited free yarn, so there are some compensations to still having to buy her daughter clothes even though I am 29 now.

So on the shop front, I have now done a lace club, its a 4 month member ship and you can choose between a semisolid membership, a variegated or an undyed one, click on the pics for more details. Places are limited, due to yarn stock,

I am liking the 'New arrivals' section, it'll make it easier for people to see what new in the shop. and will be updated every Monday from now on.

Finally, did anyone see the felted vase pattern in Simply Knitting, hohohoho.

Oh finally, got a horrible cold, so I'm being pathetic and still in my pj's.