Kool-Aid and yarn

The Easter vacation is less than an hour old and we are already doing stuff.
I had bought a kit of yarn and three packets of Kool-Aid from Hipknits.
Noor did not want to use the yellow lemon Kool-Aid, she wants to drink it.
Kool-Aid is not available for general sale here in the UK.
We were shocked to see that what we thought was pink is actually a blue drink.

First the plain sock yarn had to be washed - gently.
We used a small emty drinks bottle to skirt the Kool-Aid on the yarn. It got a bit messy.
By the time we started with the red dye, Noor was being a pro.
This is the yarn after we boiled it in the microwave oven.
Noor doesn't like the way it looks, She was hoping that the colours would be much stronger. She also thinks it looks not stripey enough. The two colours have merged to much.
The yarn has been washed (by me).
Now it is drying and then I can roll it into a ball for knitting. Since it is sock yarn that is what it is going to be.

Cassie, Noor and Kay

Cassie has been finished. It has been a very busy week here. Some things were very existing and others were very sad.
But first to the knitting.
Noor is happy with the fit.
The sleeves are the right length. She doesn't like it when I make sleeves with room to grow. Now that she is older, hopefully she won't grow that fast any more.
Noor has a few younger cousins who are more than happy to wear her clothes.
The other day Noor forgot one of her jumpers at her cousins house. She is 3 and loves Noor's clothes. She thought Noor left it there for her.
Cassie the coat can be worn both ways.
It looks very trendy with the seams on the outside. I have taken great care that all the ends have been sewn in very neat.
Or at least that is what I thought I had done.
When Noor was ready to take the coat off and take it up to her room, I saw two little ends that I had forgotten to darn in.
Well I was doing this at the end of a very nice Mother's day.
Johanne and I, we made our way very early to Islington. Well it was early for a Sunday morning.
We visited Loop were we met Kay.
There was a big crowd inside the shop. Kay showed us how to make a log cabin blanket.
It was great finally meeting Kay.
I can see how log cabin knitting can be addictive.
Johanne has started one this afternoon.
She has also taken the plunge and started her own blog. Don't be shy, go an visit her.
Kay has by now been reunited with her family in Paris.
We have had a busy week here in our little corner of London. Traveling will never be the same again. My friends parents have gone on holiday, mostly to visit their son in California but also to see some of the worlds most beautiful scenery. They traveled to Toronto and then took the train through the Canadian Rockies, they greatly enjoyed their trip. On Tuesday last week they boarded a ferry in Prince Rupert. Now they are safely with their son in California. What happened on the ferry is beyond words. I am very grateful they survived the accident. I have spend a lot of time with my friend. She has been knitting a bit as well. I hope the knitting has been a stress reliever for her. Her parents are going to spend the next four weeks with their son, there they can recover from everything. We here are just happy that they are now safe.
Knitting has also been good for me. I have started this tunic in GGH Savannah yarn. It is knitted on 6mm needles. A quick and easy knit. The pattern is interesting enough but easy to remember.
I did not feel like blogging but I did knit whenever I felt I needed to gather my thoughts.

Nearly finished

Cassie the coat is nearly finished. All the knitting is done. Now only the sewing is left. I made a good start yesterday.
I haven't done the sleeves, because I want to use them to teach my friend a few sewing up techniques. She has almost finished the main parts for her waistcoat. After the sewing up she will do her border and I may still manage to persuade her to knit sleeves and turn the waistcoat into a jacket.
Noor has tried on her coat, I think it fits her well. But last night she was feeling grumpy.
She had a very busy day at school. She was very upset with me for taking all her stuff out of her bookbag, I do that every day. But last night I found the mothers day card in it and I wasn't supposed to. Mothersday is on Sunday. I think only here in the UK, everywhere else it is on May 14.
Noor was not happy with Cassie, she thought that the loops were going to be all over the front. Hopefully she will recover and like a finished Cassie and wear her.
The socks are also nearly finished, all that is left are four ends of yarn.
They are identical. I am very happy the way they feel and look.
But I am not so sure about the Jaywalker socks. Noor will have to try the one I finished so far and if she feels it is to tight or to uncomfortable it is going to the frog pond.
If she likes the sock I will knit the second one. If not I rather knit a plain pair with the yarn.

Perry is rarely grumpy, sometimes he gets bored. But generally he is a happy cat. He is very gentle and likes to be babied. I sit him on my lap and I can sing Patty Cake with him!
I put Noor's ballet skirt on him. He did not want to sit or stand in it but he thought it was good fun to roll around in it.
But there is a mean streak to him, he is taking care of all the mice in the back gardens. Five mice in about ten days! The only problem is that he brings them home. Perry, cats are supposed to keep the house mice free and not the other way round. If they are still alive, I take them outside and I hope they recover and become wiser.
I am going to go and start a new project. I have had the yarn and needles ready for a few days now. As soon as I have knitted a bit that is worth taking a photo off it will be on my blog.

One year of blogging

Yesterday I remembered that I started blogging about a year ago.
Well I missed my blogging anniversary, it would have been on Saturday.
Blogging and knitting is a great way of combining the two. One reason for blogging is to keep my family abroad up to date of what is going on here in with us in London.
The other reason for blogging is a very selfish one, I wanted to keep some sort of log about my knitting.
I tried keeping a journal but I find it much easier on the web. Sometimes I do go back and look what I have knitted .
Blogging has also made me a better knitter. I have tried and incorporated new techniques. I have done colour work and beads. One day I may even knit a Dale of Norway.
I greatly enjoyed the knitting Olympics.
Blogging has also made me stick to my projects. Besides the current projects I have actually finished them all.
At the moment my socks are just lurking around. The Regia socks are almost done. It is the Jaywalkers that are giving me a headache. The first sock is finished and I find it a bit tight for Noor. I wonder if she will actually wear them.
She is looking forward to her new coat. The back, left front and two sleeves are finished. Last night I started on the right front. I have only done about 5cm.
Of course I am already thinking about what I should start next. The socks can stay as traveling projects.
There is a GGH yarn for a project I have seen in the 2005 Winter Rebecca. Then there are two Rowan jackets I want to knit. Both as birthday presents. Both are done on 7 -8 mm needles and should knit up fairly fast.
Perry is feeling a bit bored. It is still cold here. Spring doesn't seem to start. But apparantly we have a water shortage and should be happy with every drop of rain.
Perry has gone exploring in the living room. He knocked a few pictures down and then the candles followed.
Maybe he has seen these black and white fellows and what they can do he can do better.
He has been in a naughty mood.
Yesterday he wanted to 'knit'.
Not even my knitting but my friends. She has knitted a scarf last year and has now moved on to a waist coat.
I wrote the pattern for her. She has finished the back and has started on the left front.
She has plenty of yarn, she may even manage to knit sleeves and then it is not a waist coat but a bolero.

Half a coat

She is back to her normal self.
She likes the way her new coat is coming long.
I have finished the left front and I have started on a sleeve.
I needed some knitting to do in the new car.
Of course the husband has wanted to go on a longer drive since the day he got his new car.
We stayed home last weekend because Noor was not well.
I knit about half a sleeve while he was driving.
I try not to give myself a deadline while I knit this coat. But Noor's spring holiday starts in three weeks and I hope by then this will be finished and the weather warm enough for her to wear this coat.

Loopy Knitting

Noor is still a bit ill. She still has a stuff nose and a soar throat.
She is at home and bored.
I have finished the back for Cassie. A slightly boring plain knit.
Debbie Bliss Merino Aran is lovely to knit with. After all that thin yarn I was quite happy to sail away on thicker needles with a lovely yarn. In a wonderful brigth pink.
I was really looking forward to knitting the loops.
Never before have I knitted anything like it.


I started the left front on Sunday night. It took me forever to figure out the pattern. Try after try.
I think I nailed it.
It looks like the photoghraph in the pattern book.
Even if it is not exactly like the book I am happy with the result.
Knitting with beads is more straight forward.
Two evenings of knitting and it is not really growing. The socks are also at the same stage.
I did go on a little outing on Sunday. Johanne and I drove up to Sawbridgeworth and visited Kerrie and her new shop.
Her yarns are lovely. I ran out of my house without my check book and no cash. Johanne only had a little bit of cash on her. I only got some plain Merino yarn and a few packets of Kool Aid as a kit. I am sure Noor is going to love doing the dying.
Kerrie is having her next open day in April! I know where it is now. We actually did find it without a problem. She is only about 25 Miles from us.

Perry is not impressed. He has another new collar. He either loses them or he wears them out. The last one had a tear in it. I thought I better replace it before it tears completly while he is out. He never brings them back home.
Boy, you need the magnet, it is the key for your door!
Here he is, modeling his new collar.
His vet told me I should just super glue it on his fur. If he gets stuck somewhere, he would just have to pull his hair out, outsch!
First I thought his vet was telling a silly joke.
But now I actually consider doing it. Maybe I should go to the hobby model shop and ask for glue that works on felt and fur.
Peery is totally bored, it has been raining since two days - he is inside. Noor and Perry are annoying each other and me.
Maybe they let me sit down and knit a bit.

My little Ballerina

My little Ballerina is feeling poorly. She has fever and a soar throat.
But she is very happy with her new Ballerina top. She did not want to pose in her tutu. She is feeling to cold.
She loves the softness and warmth of the Baby Cashmerino.
She doesn't want to tie it at the front.
Behind her on the sofa, you can see a little bit of bright pink. It is the start for Cassie the coat.
Noor is keeping an eye on me and she is watching how fast or slow it is growing.

Even though she is not feeling well, we went for a bit of fresh air - in our new car.
After the husband has been talking about getting a second car for 2-3 years, he has finally gone and ordered himself this brand new car.
Since there is three of us, we needed a car with four seats.
Noor hates the new car smell. Any reason to drive with the top down is good enough for me.

Olympic Gold