annarella | handmade : beaded stitch markers and original hand knits, london

« october 2005   december 2005 »

wednesday, 23 november 2005

My stitch markers on HipKnits

I am so excited to let you know that HipKnits are now stocking my beaded stitch markers.

Go and take a look (and buy some too!)

Wow, two posts in one day, this is an eventful occurence!

Winding my days away

Yeah! I'm the proud owner of my own wool winder (at least I will be as soon as the eBay seller despatches it)!

After using Nikki's winder at AngelKnits a few weeks ago, I realised I couldn't possibly live without one.

In a previous life I was promised one by Ferdie, who, as soon as he saw this version built out of Lego bricks, solemnly promised me to make me one, and would I please not go out and buy it, as he would devise a way to make me a winder (although not out of Legos, as tragically we don't have any in the house - would you believe that??). Anyhow, I patiently waited and waited and waited and to my dismay no 'hand-made' winder ever appeared on my desk, so eBay here I come and bid and WIN! Awright, enough about that!

tuesday, 22 november 2005

Not so much a bad blogger, rather a busy one...

Ok, so I know I haven't updated for a few days, lots going on, not much time to sit still and take some pictures, but I promise I HAVE been knitting!

I'm in the middle of a sweater I designed a little while ago, and finally got right into it. It's in a soft black DK, so 3.75mm needles are my new friends, and I know I'm going to love it once it's done, as it'll be all snuggly, but thin, not a bulky feeling in sight. I'm making it in the classic top-down raglan construction and am on sleeve #1. As I only have ONE 250g ball I'm knitting the sleeves first, then do as much as I can of the body and then use Rowan KidSilk Haze in Wicked for the bottom part (I'm hoping I'll have enough to at least get to the waist, before switching yarns). Hope to finish the sleeve at AngelKnits tonight.

So, what else is new? Sort of taking a break from my Xmas knitting at the mo, super confident I'll finish everything in time, even though this probably means panic knitting on 24th Dec!

Right, that's all for now, better get back to work... bum*er! ;)

friday, 18 november 2005

Friends don't let friends knit ugly

If you haven't come across this site yet, go and take a look - it's hilarious!

I'm obviously in the mood for these silly tests...

God, that's so predictable...

You Are 27 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

thursday, 17 november 2005

My birthdate

Your Birthdate: April 21

You're a restless rebel with an unpredictable nature. Bright but unbridled, you tend to seek out wild experiences over new ideas. People are frustrated by your great potential, but you love your unconventional life. You're a heartbreaker. People get attached to you, and then you're gone. Your strength: Your thirst for adventure Your weakness: Not taking time for slow pleasures Your power color: Hot pink Your power symbol: Figure eight Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

monday, 14 november 2005

Umm... where did today go?

I have finally dealt with all my knitting-related emails today, going from 40 unread messages (might not sound a lot, but I tend to get agitated whenever I have any unread stuff...) to... 0! I felt quite proud of myself, like I had accomplished something, so I went to lunch, came back and found my inbox was full again... and I'm not even counting mail from those prolific people at UKHK. Oh well, it's afternoon already, another hour or so and off I go to knit a bit.

saturday, 12 november 2005

Yummy

I ask you, is there anything nicer than getting up late on a weekend and feast on mince pies till you feel sick? Oh, I love Xmas! ;)

friday, 11 november 2005

More Xmas goodies

Here's a few more pics of gifts I've been knitting. More hats in the making, who knows, I might just finish in time for Xmas...

CW we have: Noro Kureyon, Sirdar Cossack, Sirdar Cossack again and Noro Silk Garden. Enjoy!

thursday, 10 november 2005

Xmas is coming

Just an update on my progress with Xmas knitting. This is a mini Clapotis (yes, I know, I said I wouldn't succumb to the bug and NEVER EVER knit one, but as it isn't for me, it really doesn't count, right?), I wanted to make something a little different for a neighbour, so I decided to jump on the Clapotis band wagon ;) I made it into as scarf, as opposed to a wrap, with only two increase repeats. This way it was a quick knit, I think I worked on it for a couple of days only. It came out rather nice, not a colour I would wear myself (so no temptation to keep it for myself), but I can just see it on the receipient. I also crocheted a scalloped lacey border on the two ends to give it a better definition.

Now it just needs blocking, but I have a feeling I might give this one a miss, since my "crafts desk" which doubles as a blocking board is totally submersed by bags and bags of yarn, needles, etc..., so I have nowhere I can lay this out. Oh well... I'm sure it won't even make that much of a difference (she says hopeful)...

wednesday, 09 november 2005

Handspun goodies

Following on from this thread, here's the final result of Ann's hard work. Two gorgeous mini hanks of yummy handspun yarn. The purple & grey one has already been washed and is ready to become a corsage, whilst I'm told I need to set the twists on to the pink one before I can work with it. Thanks Ann! :)

Do take a look here where I've added some new wallpapers based on the above. Enjoy! xx

tuesday, 08 november 2005

Here's one I made earlier

As I've not been able to post lately, take a look at what I made on Halloween... it's kind of silly, but Ferdie's been bugging me for some knitted juggling balls for months, since I had the ill-thought idea of making him one, just as a joke. So here goes my Halloween-themed juggling ball, filled with soya beans. When he's not playing with it (the ball, you naughty people, playing with the juggling ball!) he sits it on his monitor and calls it his third eye... see what I have to put up with? ;)

monday, 07 november 2005

I married a genius

Yes, yes, yes! My baby is back after the longest absence ever (ok, ok, I know it was only 2 weeks, but it did feel like 2 years!). A huge thanks to Ferdie who sorted it out yesterday :) and a f**k off to those ba****ds who gave us the run around for a fortnight. Anyway, the worse is over, now I need to work through the backlog, which thank god isn't enormous, but still...

So since I wasn't able to do much work last week, I had a stab at Xmas pressie making. I have made some progress, however "it's a long way to heaven sweetheart" so I cannot allow myself to go back to selfish knitting until all my gifts are out of the way. So, there I was crocheting flowers, as you do, when I took a look at my desk and thought it really looked like a tip. Beads, yarn, a bunch of crochet hooks, hats, flowers... So I just had to take a picture... now I'm not quite sure why I'm sharing this, since there's very little to show off and quite a lot to be ashamed of... I know there's a tidy person inside me trying to get out, and maybe one day it will, till then, enjoy this pic! ;)

friday, 04 november 2005

Long time no speak...

No, no, no need to worry, I'm still here if still computer-less... it's already two painfully long weeks since my little baby decided to pack up and leave me in the lurch, not only with my personal stuff (AND EMAILS!!!), but also with all my design work commitments... needless to say I've not been a happy gal... especially after having been messed about by a ridicolously sloppy and unprofessional support company who's been systematically postponing picking up my machine every day with a new and different excuse... talk about creativity!

Anyway, Ferdie decided to take the matter into his own hands after we've both been at the end of our tether, so we're going replacement shopping tomorrow, Tottenham Court Road here we come!