Everything Must Go!

Help a girl out - the lease on my current flat runs out at the end of March, and I'm in the midst of looking for new flats, and packing frantically. And I've discovered that I own lots of stuff...I swear I didn't even buy some of that stuff, they just appeared, like leprechauns. 

Anyway, I'm listing a few items on my blogshop, in the hopes that I'll sell them before I move and won't have to pack them up. I've got a couple pairs of shoes up there now, and I'll be posting a few other items soon, so please keep checking back over the next few weeks to see if there's anything that may suit you. 

I've also got a whole stack of minty green bias binding, so I'm listing them in 10 metre packs in my Etsy and Artfire shops. I'll be happy to sell more than 10 metres at a time too, should you guys need it.

So, while it's not really an 'Everything Must Go' sale, I certainly would like to get rid of some stuff before I move, and I would be sooooo grateful to you guys if you'd just help me spread the word. 

Anyway, speaking of Etsy, I've been hard at work on a 'Spring/Summer' collection, and more capes, so keep an eye out!

P.S. If you're in the London area and would like to meet up to receive an item instead of paying for postage, just drop me an email and we can work something out.

Berry Ruff

The bell and berry stitch beanie is finished. It looks a bit warped, probably because of the trouble I had with some of the stitches, and slightly too small, but I'm guessing it'll stretch out with a bit of wear, as most of my other beanies have done.
The instructions tell you to purl 5 together, which sounds easy in principle but is actually a bitch to achieve. The stitches insisted on not cooperating with my hands, so in the other, after a bit of yelling and stomping, I discovered another method of purling 5 together. Basically, you slip 2 stitches onto the right needle, then purl 3 together, which is much easier to achieve, then slip the first 2 stitches over the 3 stitches that have already been purled. Much, much easier, and no histrionics involved.

Anyway, for those interested, here are the instructions for bell and berry stitch, as supplied by Patons'.
1st row - k1, *k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 all into the next stitch, p5tog* repeat * to last stitch, k1 on last stitch
2nd row - k1, p to last stitch, k1
3rd row - k1, *p5tog, k1, p1, k1, p1,k1 all into next stitch, repeat * to last stitch, k1
4th row - k1, p to last stitch, k1
5th row - *k1, (yrn) twice, repeat * to last stitch, k1
6th row - *k1, drop next 2 stitches off left needle, repeat * to last stitch, k1

Note: (yrn) stands for 'yarn round needle' which just means to wind your yarn around the right needle, thus creating a new stitch without actually knitting.

Once you get into the hang of things, it's easy enough to follow the pattern and adapt it as you wish.

This is a horrible photograph of my neon orange neck ruff. I'd been hankering after a Jacobean ruff for ages as a homage to Vince Noir, and finally decided to knit one about a month ago. It's incredibly easy and can be finished while watching one or two episodes of The Mighty Boosh. The ruff is based on the principle of hyperbolic knitting, about which you can read more of in this article.
Basically, to make the ruff, all you need is a set of needles long enough (circular needles work well) and enough yarn in any colour you want. Cast on enough stitches to go around your neck, then knit the first row. In the second row, start increasing by one in every stitch, so that you end up with twice the number of stitches you started out with. Keep increasing in this method and you'll eventually end up with a ruffle. As long as your needles are long enough, you'll be able to make the ruff as big as you want.
If you feel like it, get a nice button and sew it on, so you can button the ruff when you have it on.
I'm starving now, time to feed.

Time Lords and Berries

Weather like this means it's beanie time!
Watch out for a newie coming soon, done up in a bell and berry stitch.

I found a Paton's Woolcraft booklet in the op-shop a couple months ago, and have been dipping in every now and then for new stitches. A girl on the Tube the other day had on a beanie with this stitch, and it looked nice and fluffy, which made me decide to try it out. That, and the fact that I like giggling at the typo - "Bell and Berry Stit". Not very mature, but I get my laughs wherever I can.

I know I said scarves bore me in my last posting, but I've secretly been working on a long stripey scarf based on Tom Baker's scarf during his incarnation as the Time Lord.
It's done in an idiot proof garter stitch and means I can knit it without looking at it while watching old episodes of...Dr. Who. It's progressed a fair amount in a couple of hours.

And in my defence, the scarf will end up a present for a massive Dr. Who fanboy.