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

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saturday, 28 october 2006

We have... FO!!

Fresh off the needles... I give you... my latest FO (latest in the sense that it's taken me a month to find the right buttons.. not that I've actually knitted one single stitch in the last 10 days...), made with DB Cashmerino Superchunky and Rowan Polar (which, as much as I adore its snuggliness, is a b*tch, having already started pilling after the first, yes FIRST wear). Whatcha think?

monday, 23 october 2006

It's competition time, folks!

Hello Peeps,

How are you all doin'? What with being away and drowning under piles and piles of work, it feels I haven't blogged in ages! Miss me? ;)

So, it's that time of the month (...year, or whatever) again... well, of course it's competition time, which will run till the end of November, so plenty of time to get those entries in.

So, do you like them? Well, come and get them! :) Fingers on the buzzers... and start sending your comments in!

So, what have we got here? A pair of handmade (by yours truly, who else?) Venetian glass earrings in the most gorgeous amethyst hue, with hematite coloured accent glass beads.

We all know the drill by now, but for anybody who hasn't paid attention so far (well, why haven't you?), there's only one rule for this competition, and it goes like this: only one lucky person will win these goodies. All you need to do to take part is leave a comment on this post (emails don't count, sorry!) by 30th November 2006 and one lucky name will be randomly picked by my trusty helper. The winner will be announced towards the beginning of December. Good luck! xxx

Please read if you have sensitive skin or allergies: the ear wire is stainless steel, all the other metal bits are silver plated, the accent round beads are hematite coloured glass beads and the main feature bead is Venetian glass.

Update: this competition is now closed and the winner will be announced shortly.

monday, 23 october 2006

PS

I have loads to show you, a FO!!!, a couple of started projects, some new yarn (yeyyyy!) and a new haircut... will try and take some pictures in the next few days... stand by!

Ah, and some shameful promotion another thing: I have put some stuff up on Ebay, mainly computer accessories and manuals, but there's more to come. Go on, support your fellow crafter, won't you ;)

thursday, 19 october 2006

All good things must come to an end

Just a quickie to say that my holiday has almost come to an end :( and regular blogging should resume soon. Luv to all xx

sunday, 15 october 2006

La dolce vita

Aka, how I've been keeping myself busy this past week, in no particular order :

• Getting used to lay-ins;
• On the rare occasions when I've had to get up early, it's been only to go shopping!
• Not having a care in the world, as my world is miles away;
• Catching up with old faces and realising that no matter how many lifetimes have gone by, some people will be there forever;
• Realising that other people are totally and utterly gone from the picture, and it really doesn't hurt, so it can't possibly be that big a loss;
• Stash enhancing!
• Having my hair cut;
• Knitting for a whole 5 minutes;
• Gorging on pizzas;
• Not looking at the watch once;
• Playing tourist in my home town;
• Being thoroughly spoilt and not feeling guilty about it.

There's more but lunch is almost ready, so I'll leave you with a few snaps - laters xx

sunday, 08 october 2006

Je suis... off

Typing this post is literally the last thing I'm going to do before leaving for the airport in 5 mins. So, just to say I'm off now, I'll try and update if/when I can, if not, I'll speak to you all on my return. Be good :) xx

thursday, 05 october 2006

The shortlist

So, having finally caved in, and sort of decided to splurge out on Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, the next step is to find a pattern I actually want to knit, not too difficult for a sock virgin (ah!), but also interesting enough to keep me entertained whilst I watch in awe my creation taking shape.

But, lord, what to choose? As I went hunting for sock patterns, I found myself being showered by so many beautiful designs which saw me salivating helplessly and left me more undecided than before!

With a ruthless selection process, I managed to narrow the candidates down to four, but now I need your help. Given that I've zero experience with socks, which ones should I start with? (Note the "start with"... sort of implying: I intend to knit them all at some point!!)

Baudelaire	Snowflake
Hedera	Widdershins

tuesday, 03 october 2006

Perfect fit

I must be on a roll, cos not a week after Flappy, I give you, fresh off the needles, the most perfectly fitting mittens I've ever owned. Well, if truth be told this is actually the first pair I've completed and am beside myself with just how great they've turned out :D
I luuuurve 'em!*

See, my main hurdle with mittens is that I've got tiny hands and have to buy kiddies gloves (but also socks, etc.), so all my previous attempts at handknitting meself a pair, have resulted in something which resembled some sort of maritime vehicle, rather than a cover for my frozen hands.

But this pattern absolutely rox, all I needed to size it down was go for DK yarn on 4mm instead of aran yarn on 4.5mm and voila, perfection was achieved at the first try and (ready for this?) no swatching! I churned these out in two evenings, and am feeling an addiction coming on! Must make a purple pair, but also red, pink, oh... the possibilities! ;)

Ferdie has already demanded a pair, although quite how I'm going to size them up for his gigantic hands without having to dig out paper and calculator I'm not sure...

* yes, alright, I'll go and get myself a life, you just wait and see...