It's now only 6 days to the Goodwood Roller Marathon. For those that might not know about this, it's a sponsored charity skating event held at the historic racing track as Goodwood (the clue is in the title). I am doing this and I think that I am slightly mad for doing it.
I started skating with the Sheffield Steel Roller Girls at the end of April and I love is so a group of us are doing the marathon for the Sheffield Children's Hospital and so far we have raised over £500. Our target is £600 so please donate if you can. We have a Just Giving page and any amount would be gratefully received.
Most of us who are going have been practicing on bits of tarmac around Sheffield and its been lovely to get to know my team mates outside of the derby environment. Our favoured place of practice is Millhouses Park as it has a fab length of tarmac that's over half a mile long. Okay, we have to avoid other park users but that's where our derby training comes in: really it's only the dogs and children that are the main problems, the adults usually flee for cover when they see us coming.
So for Sunday wish us good weather and a calm day and I hope to come back having skated 26.62 miles and had a lot of laughs.
Monday, 2 August 2010
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Bad me! Spank me!
Yeah, I know, it's been a while blah, blah, blah and the usually excuses that I make about my appalling lack of blogging. But this time I have a good reason, well reasons. My lovely man moved in so now we are a cohabiting partnership (doesn't that just sound so romantic?) and I have been way too distracted by roller derby things and I have found joy in my sewing machine again amd that's about it.
I have hardly knitted anything except for a few hats that we sold at the Sheffield Steels Roller Girls bout against Newcastle on Saturday and I have made a few half arsed attempts to finish stuff off but that doesn't seem to be happening just yet.
On the plus side I have done more sewing and I am thinking of getting my act together to actually start making a range of roller derby inspired clothes and nick nacks but first I need to tidy up my house, sorry that should be OUR house. Now there's 2 of us there twice as much stuff and somehow just not enough space. So you know what that means? Yep, ebay extravagance time. Must start listing things and seeing if that makes a dent in it.
I have hardly knitted anything except for a few hats that we sold at the Sheffield Steels Roller Girls bout against Newcastle on Saturday and I have made a few half arsed attempts to finish stuff off but that doesn't seem to be happening just yet.
On the plus side I have done more sewing and I am thinking of getting my act together to actually start making a range of roller derby inspired clothes and nick nacks but first I need to tidy up my house, sorry that should be OUR house. Now there's 2 of us there twice as much stuff and somehow just not enough space. So you know what that means? Yep, ebay extravagance time. Must start listing things and seeing if that makes a dent in it.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Jamming in Wonderland Fundraiser
Just thought that I'd announce a fundraiser for the Sheffield Steel Roller Girls that is happening on Friday 21st May (yes, that's tomorrow) at the Lescar Hotel on Sharrowvale Road, Sheffield, S11 8ZF
There's going to be Bands and Burlesques and it's fancy dress if you want - the theme is Alice in Wonderland. I'm dressing up if I can finish my costume so come along and support this great team (that I now practice with). Oh do I ache but that's another story altogether.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
More ebay goodies
Although it's not the best time of the year to be selling on eBay, I have to make room for things so I am continuing with the clear out of my house. So far this week I have listed a group of vintage sewing patterns and they are fab.
There are some 1940s dresses and some great rockabilly style 1950s dresses too. Most of the sizes are reasonable normal although there are a few Junior sizes for those that are petite.
I'm also selling a skein of Wollmeise. It's from the first sock club and it's a colour way that I'm not that keen on so thought it was better to get rid of it than store it forever. The colour is Saami and it's a white, blue and red on natural
The link to my main eBay page is here and I'll be adding more things later in the week.
Got more sewing patterns, knitting patterns and clothes to add as well as a load of bits and bods that I no longer have a need for.
There are some 1940s dresses and some great rockabilly style 1950s dresses too. Most of the sizes are reasonable normal although there are a few Junior sizes for those that are petite.
I'm also selling a skein of Wollmeise. It's from the first sock club and it's a colour way that I'm not that keen on so thought it was better to get rid of it than store it forever. The colour is Saami and it's a white, blue and red on natural
The link to my main eBay page is here and I'll be adding more things later in the week.
Got more sewing patterns, knitting patterns and clothes to add as well as a load of bits and bods that I no longer have a need for.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Floppy Hat
The summer is trying to make an appearance here in Sheffield but that are many days of cold cloudy weather. Since I have been trying to get my garden ready and planted up with veggies, I realised that I needed a sun hat for those days when the sun actually managed to break through so that the tops of my ears don't get burnt. I have promised myself that I do not need to buy any more yarn so decided that it had to come from my stash and found this double knit cotton that I bought a few years back in Lidl as some knockdown price.
After hunting on Ravelry for all of 5 minutes I came up with the Sunshine and Lollipop design by Alison Reeves and my mind was made up.
It's a nice and simple pattern that is well presented and the bonus is that Alison not only gives you the size of an adult but also gives you the instructions on how to make it to fit no matter what size head it's for and even better you don't have to do any of that irritating swatching. I do swatch if it's a garment but for socks, hats, scarves and gloves I really can't be bothered.
I used Zettl Colorado for the main part and some Sirdar Snuggly Babay Bamboo for the band and the underside of the brim on 3.75mm needles. I don't really like the colourway of the Colorado but since I'm not going to see it I really don't care. Once it was finished I realised that I should have gone down a size in needles as it was a bit loose and not have made the sides so long but there was no way I was going to rip this back. Anyway I now have a slightly silly floppy hat that will keep the sun from my ears.
After hunting on Ravelry for all of 5 minutes I came up with the Sunshine and Lollipop design by Alison Reeves and my mind was made up.
 |
| From finished things |
It's a nice and simple pattern that is well presented and the bonus is that Alison not only gives you the size of an adult but also gives you the instructions on how to make it to fit no matter what size head it's for and even better you don't have to do any of that irritating swatching. I do swatch if it's a garment but for socks, hats, scarves and gloves I really can't be bothered.
I used Zettl Colorado for the main part and some Sirdar Snuggly Babay Bamboo for the band and the underside of the brim on 3.75mm needles. I don't really like the colourway of the Colorado but since I'm not going to see it I really don't care. Once it was finished I realised that I should have gone down a size in needles as it was a bit loose and not have made the sides so long but there was no way I was going to rip this back. Anyway I now have a slightly silly floppy hat that will keep the sun from my ears.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
The Clap and Cream
I have been shockingly industrious in the past couple of weeks. Finishing 2 things and now half way through a pair of socks - what is the world coming to?
So first things first. I have done a Clapotis by kate Gilbert. Yes, that seemingly ubiquitous wrap/shawl/scarf that is much loved on Ravelry with 14824 started projects and 11411 finished articles. Well it has another to add to the list.
It was made for my sister as she loves big scarves and this completely fitted. The end product finished up being about 20" wide slightly stretched and about 70" long. I forgot to measure it but that's roughly how big as I soft blocked it on a yoga mat I have around.
I used some Silk Garden Lite that I bought from Hejhog and used about 5.5 balls or 748 yards. The pattern was a doddle and for those that are slightly in awe of it I'd say jump on right in there and don't look back. Basically it's just knitting and purling with the occasional dropped stitch. make sure that you have enough stitch markers and you'll be well away.
My second finsihed marvel is this very cute semi-circular shawl Citron by Hilary Smith Callis.
I got the yarn from a charity shop ages ago, never quite sure what I wanted to make with it. This worked really well.
The pattern is easy to follow (as are all of those that I have tried from Knitty) and it really clicks along at a fab pace. As the shawlet grows it takes longer to wind from one side to another but funnily enough you always get to the other side. I chose to used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off when casting off and it works well as it allows that fab crinkly edge a place to run free.
So first things first. I have done a Clapotis by kate Gilbert. Yes, that seemingly ubiquitous wrap/shawl/scarf that is much loved on Ravelry with 14824 started projects and 11411 finished articles. Well it has another to add to the list.
 |
| From finished things |
It was made for my sister as she loves big scarves and this completely fitted. The end product finished up being about 20" wide slightly stretched and about 70" long. I forgot to measure it but that's roughly how big as I soft blocked it on a yoga mat I have around.
I used some Silk Garden Lite that I bought from Hejhog and used about 5.5 balls or 748 yards. The pattern was a doddle and for those that are slightly in awe of it I'd say jump on right in there and don't look back. Basically it's just knitting and purling with the occasional dropped stitch. make sure that you have enough stitch markers and you'll be well away.
My second finsihed marvel is this very cute semi-circular shawl Citron by Hilary Smith Callis.
 |
| From finished things |
I got the yarn from a charity shop ages ago, never quite sure what I wanted to make with it. This worked really well.
The pattern is easy to follow (as are all of those that I have tried from Knitty) and it really clicks along at a fab pace. As the shawlet grows it takes longer to wind from one side to another but funnily enough you always get to the other side. I chose to used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off when casting off and it works well as it allows that fab crinkly edge a place to run free.
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Green and Lumpy
This shows what a bad blogger I have been over the past few months - I finished this sweater in January and have only just got around to prattling about it.
So, Ta-Da!!!! What do you think?
The pattern is Cathode by Stefanie Japel and was in Knitty Winter 2004. The main body is knitted on 8mm and the ribbing on 3.75mm
The main part is knitted from Stylecraft Loop the Loop which I picked up for a bargain at 59p per ball from Kemps and the ribbing is from some old Rowan Lambswool DK that I got from a lady on Freecycle so the sweater was practically free. Okay, it did take me a while to get going and then a while to finish off the ends but it is now done.
I liked the pattern, it's clearly explained and worked from the top down so you can adjust any bits that you need whilst going along. There is no sewing up at the end which means just can just knit and knit and knit and then wear with none of that faffing that seems to take forever when sewing garments together. I also think that it's a great pattern for someone looking for a first sweater.
I think that my yarn choices were inspired, well I would say that, the contrast between the lumpiness of the Astrakhan and the smoothness of the DK works very well. Also having a textured yarn helps with making it more interesting to look at rather than a smooth body.
I also think that this shape flatters just about any body shape and makes your tits look huge (or so my boyfriend says) which is no bad thing in my book. The collar is very glamorous and almost reminiscent of a 40's style drape while the ribbing helps with giving you a smooth line as well as pulling you together. I think this is a classy vintage looking sweater that is easy to knit and, if you get your act together, a quick knit too.
So, Ta-Da!!!! What do you think?
The pattern is Cathode by Stefanie Japel and was in Knitty Winter 2004. The main body is knitted on 8mm and the ribbing on 3.75mm
The main part is knitted from Stylecraft Loop the Loop which I picked up for a bargain at 59p per ball from Kemps and the ribbing is from some old Rowan Lambswool DK that I got from a lady on Freecycle so the sweater was practically free. Okay, it did take me a while to get going and then a while to finish off the ends but it is now done.
I liked the pattern, it's clearly explained and worked from the top down so you can adjust any bits that you need whilst going along. There is no sewing up at the end which means just can just knit and knit and knit and then wear with none of that faffing that seems to take forever when sewing garments together. I also think that it's a great pattern for someone looking for a first sweater.
I think that my yarn choices were inspired, well I would say that, the contrast between the lumpiness of the Astrakhan and the smoothness of the DK works very well. Also having a textured yarn helps with making it more interesting to look at rather than a smooth body.
I also think that this shape flatters just about any body shape and makes your tits look huge (or so my boyfriend says) which is no bad thing in my book. The collar is very glamorous and almost reminiscent of a 40's style drape while the ribbing helps with giving you a smooth line as well as pulling you together. I think this is a classy vintage looking sweater that is easy to knit and, if you get your act together, a quick knit too.
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