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

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saturday, 30 september 2006

Ta-da!

It's done! It's my first project, adapted from the book (not my design thou). What a great stash-buster knit, relieving me of approx 3 skeins of Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed (including left overs from the vintage capelet).

Now I just HAVE to wash it cos this yarn is bad! Itchy scratchy kind of bad, but it does improve somewhat with a good soak in hair conditioner, although I must confess I'm glad it's gone from my stash, the only thing going for it it's the striking colours, but as far as fondling goes, uh uh, not recommeded.

I made a few mods, or I should say... ahem, I glanced over the pattern, got the gist of top-down construction (my first, it rocks!) and sort of knitted on, making it up. Obvious changes were the two small pom-poms instead of tassels, and ribbed border instead of garter stitch.

And I think I got a little carried away with the top pom-pom, using up almost half a skein just for that, but I like the fact that it looks so obvious you couldn't just walk past and ignore it! Roll on winter! ;)

friday, 29 september 2006

What's wrong with me?

Mmm... something's not quite right... I seem to have been unhealthily coveting socks lately, hand-knitted socks, that is, oh, the horror! I'm not quite sure how it all came about. You see, I vowed never ever ever to knit socks, for the simple reason that nothing on which I'd spent several hours working, would ever end up on my feet! Being trampled and stamped on, trashed in my boots, invariably ending up with holes on the second wear, thus into the bin without the slightest hesitation... darning socks? Oh, settle down now, no need to swear in my presence.

So I've always been more than happy to make do with shop-bought disposable socks, nothing wrong with that, no sweat (well, at least not mine) gone into their making, I never did think twice before chucking a pair out.

Then why is it that I found myself scouring Knitty for a pattern which I remember having seen some months ago, which seemed to stir something inside of me, only placated by the thought of fiddly DPNs and SSS. That was then. Cos at AngelKnits this week, Nikki and Ann showed me the magic of knitting in the round with two circulars. That has got to be one of the most wicked techniques I've laid my eyes on lately. You see, I had heard of alternatives to DPNs, but it wasn't until I actually saw it in action, that I grasped the beauty of it, the possibilities (two socks at the same time!) and the prospect of not having to purl on DPNs (something which sees me incapacitated for long periods afterwards).

So, fine, sock knitting wins, I'm going to make a pair. All I need now are some teeny weeny circulars (two of them) and some sock yarn. And the most difficult thing of all is choosing amongst the mind-blowing variety of yarn out there, so my question to you, my dear readers, what's your favourite sock yarn and why?

tuesday, 26 september 2006

A week in colour

Which week exactly I don' t know... You see in my mind it's all an indiscernible blur of textures and hues, ideas scribbled down on wandering post-its and hours spent looking for notes I was sure I had written somewhere... To the more observant eye, I must appear to have been doing very little knitting indeed in the past few days, in fact very little fibery-stuff has happened chez annarella worth blogging home about. Surely that can't be right though, I mean, look at this mess artistic arrangement I have all around me, wherever I turn I see some string and sticks hopelessly intertwined crying out to be completed or if that sounds too unlikely a task, at least be put out of their misery and taken to the frog pond. In fact, whilst I'm typing this, I have a bunch of stitch markers to my right and a half-started (or is it half-finished?) hat to my left, and that's just my work desk!

I am my worst enemy when it comes to tying up loose strings in my life (do excuse the pun!), so no sooner did I near finishing Very Berry (I swear, I have about 20 rows to work on each cuff and I'm done), than I got cast-on mad, starting 3 new projects in as many days!

But don't they all look so pretty, even though not one of them is wearable/usable, something that's never put me off starting something new I must say... ;)

thursday, 21 september 2006

The P word...

That would be Published... yes, the book is out, I just received my copy this morning... I can't quite articulate my excitement at seeing my designs and mugshot in print, yep, that's right, on the old paper, to be saved for posterity, beloved, darling paper ;)

The book comprises mainly of Heather's patterns with guest designers including myself!! I have two patterns in the book, one for holey hats, apt named Put your hair up and another for flared legwarmers, aka Not-quite-'70s Legwarmers.

I'll just leave you with pics from the book and go back to grinning like an idiot :D

Edited to add: More pictures, this time modelled by yours truly are available here (please do ignore the filthy shoes!)

wednesday, 20 september 2006

Doh!

You know how long I've been looking forward to Ally Pally this year? No? Well, at least since I came back from Olympia in March. After the months of this painful yarn diet I've endured, I'd been rubbing my hands in anticipation for Ally Pally, even gave myself a budget (tiny, but a budget none the less), wishlist and what not... and what do I go and do? I've only mixed up the dates and booked a trip to Italy, haven't I? And yes, you guessed correctly... I'll be away for the entire show... ARGHHHHH!

Things have been mad at "chez annarella" lately, but normal service and pretty colourful posts will resume shortly, promise :)

sunday, 17 september 2006

Uncoiled - free pattern!

Hello Peeps, hope you're having a great weekend!

First of all, let me show you a hat I made a few weeks ago, to see me and my often unkept hair through the rigours of our British winter, you can stuff a lot in there I tell you, no more wearing my hair down just because I want need to put on a hat.

And it's so warm I can't wait for the days to turn colder so that I can be wrapped up in this buttery alpaca blend! Now with pattern.

Tess, this is for ya :)

Then, let me tell you about yesterday. What's with those pictures, you say? Well, we trecked across London (to the end of the world, aka, zone 4) yesterday to pick up Ferdie's new antique bike, courtesy of eBay, on one of those rare occasions which saw me gagging for a car of my own, as it would have saved us wasting the best part of Saturday on public transport, but he's happy, so I'm happy. We changed three trains, walked for three miles and then did it all again to get back home. Thank god it's Sunday today... Phewwww...

Don't ya just love the texture of the ancient vintage saddle?

PS: We encountered this bus stop along the way, and it just made me laugh :D

thursday, 14 september 2006

I dare you...

...to look at them and not weep, they're so beautiful.

Now, honestly, I have no business looking at shoes on the 'net, firstly cos nothing so precious will ever be made in size 2 (yep, c'est moi) and secondly because devastatingly spectacular as they may be, they're just about $448 over my current footwear budget. Ah, I was forgetting the most elementary thing... I can't walk in heels!

But a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

I forgot to add...

For those of you who haven't noticed (where have you been?!), the autumn issue of Knitty is up and is sweaters-heavy.

Lots of really nice stuff, but after spending the best part of an hour browsing the patterns yesterday, I've decided that I MUST knit Serrano on the left, by CosmicPluto, so pretty, love the hooks detail and the split cuffs.

Other possibilities which didn't quite make the to-knit list in the end were Cactus and Ivy, maybe one day, when I find myself a rich man and turn into a lady of leisure and (paid) work is no longer a necessity, but, alas, not before.

thursday, 14 september 2006

Just because...

...lately I don't seem to have the luxury of time to update this blog on a regular basis, let alone read my faves (Bloglines duly informs me that there are 154 new posts in need of attention, you are a prolific bunch, aren't ya?), ...

...or don't have any progress pictures of Very Berry to show you (but take my word for it, I put it on waste yarn and tried it on yesterday, it's looking good my friend, especially seen as I'm making it up as I go along, although I might still unravel the lacy bits on the sleeves yet again and go for a less fitted look around the cuffs-area)...

...it doesn't mean I can't treat you to some pics* from Tuesday night at AngelKnits when Ruth brought along her mini-wheel, what a beaut!!! You've all seen the photos on her blog, but in person it's just delicious! And so tiny, really, if it wasn't for the money, I'd have no excuse with no space in the flat and all that. So, I had a go...

But don't let the pics fool you, I did make an arse of myself, not quite managing to get the hang of which direction the flipping wheel was supposed to turn (yeah, you can laugh, but take it from me, you can't simply will it to spin, somehow it doesn't quite work that way), but it was all gooood fun. Oh, and Hi C, we finally got to meet in the flesh :)

* courtesy of Ruth too, must remember to take my camera with me!!!

sunday, 10 september 2006

My slacking of late

Well that's not entirely accurate, let's just say life has sort of taken over lately, having me working out of my studio almost every day, resulting in little or no time left for catching my breath, blogging, knitting (oh, the horror!), beading...

In fact, after ripping both sleeves to the elbows and re-knitting them (am much happier with the result the second time 'round), my Very Berry has been sitting idly on the back of the couch for a week now, throwing me dirty looks every time I happen to pass by and I swear I felt it knocking on my head last night, demanding attention, when I was vegging on the couch. It's like my fingers are gagging to handle some knitting, but my brain is just too tired to tell the fingers to pick up the bloody knitting already and get on with it.

Ok, I'll give you a couple of pics, cos I know you want them :)

So, until I've re-charged my batteries (have been working towards that rather diligently today by laying in bed till ten past one in the afternoon* ), I thought I'd let you all know that I've uploaded some free patterns which I hope you'll like. I've tried to be as detailed as I could and hope they make sense, but I haven't really got an awful lot of experience writing up patterns, so if you find anything that doesn't make sense, you make sure you lemme know, ok? Ta very much!

And before she thinks I've totally forgotten, I haven't, I know I still owe Tess two hat patterns, which will follow shortly, promise!

PS: Oh, and thanks to everybody for all the good wishes for the run and cold, especially to Sue for checking up on me :)

* then I got up and darling Ferdie went to the shops to get me some chocolate biscuits, all in all today isn't shaping up too badly ;)

tuesday, 05 september 2006

A gorgeous Sunday morning in Hyde Park

So, this was my second race fun run this year, this time in support of the Alzheimer's Society (btw, you're still in time to donate if you want to :) ). A huge thank you to all my sponsors, you've again surprised me with your amazing generosity, thank you so much! I love you all, but toasty warm hugs go to my mum and Gill.

To my utter disbelief, the race itself was much harder than I had expected, I can't blame it on the weather (gorgeous, but not too hot), or on the course (mostly flat, just one tiny incline), or the crowds (the cheering was extraordinary!!) so it must have been my lack of training then! I shall admit to not having run at all an awful lot lately, but with all the miles packed with all my cycling, I boldly thought: surely, I must be fit enough to run 5K, in fact, it'll probably be a breeze... it turns out that I use completely different muscles when cycling, as I woke up aching all over and could barely walk yesterday, it even pained me to breathe...!!! I'm a disgrace, really...

saturday, 02 september 2006

First things first

Thanks for all the good wishes, I am so much better now, finally had the chance to have a lie in this morning, after what I can only describe as a frenzied week during which my feet haven't touched the ground. Thank god for weekends, eh? Having said that, I have my race tomorrow, but although I'm still not 100% I am really looking forward to it. The plan is to do without public transport tomorrow, so it's: cycle to Hyde Park, run the race, and then cycle back home, just for that I deserve some sponsorship surely, don't you think? ;) Go on, don't be shy, it really is for a good cause. Thanks!

Thank you, Secret Pal Emerald!

I received a third parcel from Emerald a few days ago (she also sent a pair of pretty vintage needles, but I forgot to include them in the shot, and Amazon are still to send me a book!!). I loved everything you sent, thanks so much! It's so weird that she ended up being my Secret Pal. I had come across her design portfolio some time ago (I've got a bit of an obsession with checking out other designers' Web sites) and remember thinking I really loved her style, fancy finding out she's the one who's been spoiling me for the past few months!!!

Uh? What? The cup cake, you're saying... Yes, fooled you too, didn't she? I had said I would prefer not to receive any edible treats, so she knitted me a calorie-free cake instead (at first sight Ferdie thought it was real!!), that's so sweet! Any chance of a chocolate cake or chip-choc cookies which won't end up on my hips? ;)

A couple of FOs

I'm happy to report that I'm right on schedule having completed the sweater by the end of August as planned, in fact as I was a few days early, I made a quick matching hat with left overs:

I've written the patterns for both, just need to whip up the new section and pop them on the site... shouldn't be too long. That's all for now, have a great weekend x

saturday, 02 september 2006

And the winner is...

There were 57 entries for my July-August competition, by far the highest so far, wow people, you really did want those prizes! :)

The Random Number Generator* chose Sheila Piasecki as this month's winner, congratulations, Sheila!! If you're reading, plz send me your postal address, ta.

After every draw I hate the thought of everybody else who goes home empty handed, so this month I've decided to pick a runner-up who will receive a set of Flower Power too. And the stitch markers go to... Sharon! :)

* no affiliation, just did a Google search.