Misleading Tension

Some of you may remember I was making a Forest Canopy Shawl. I did my tension square on 4mm needles as instructed and it was OK. I knitted the shawl and did 12 pattern repeats and 10 edging rows. Alarm bells started to tinkle when I realised I had only used 60g of Opal sock wool. They positively clanged when I looked at it and realised how small it seemed. I looked on Ravelry and everyone extolled the wonders of blocking - so I blocked it for all it was worth.



The result wasn't a Forest Canopy - more of a Thicket or Copse. It isn't even big enough for a headscarf.



So, after much musing and head scratching and unladylike language, I measure my tension on the shawl and it was 28 sts x 38 rows to 4" - much, much smaller than my tension square!!



After more thought I realised that my tension on 4mm Addi lace circular needles must be different to tension on the 4mm straight needles I used for my tension square. I went back and did another tension square using the circs and it was very different. I then did a tension square on dpn's and, lo and behold, my tension was different again. I have now frogged the shawl and will start again making a tension square on circs this time.



The moral of this story is: I must always do my tension square on the actual needles I will be using as different types of needles give different results.





On a positive note though, I have finished my spindle spun Alpaca. It weighs 100g and measures 350 yards - maybe I should use it for another Forest Canopy??????

Not Just Bread

Having watched various programs highlighting the horrors of commercial bread (emulsifiers, flour improvers etc) I thought it was about time I made my own.

I looked at Breadmakers, but they can only be used with yeast sachets containing flour improvers, and I want a natural loaf using ingredients that have been tried and tested for hundreds of years, so that ruled breadmakers out.

Then I looked at flour and discovered how the steel grinding method destroys so many vital vitamins in the flour, so I needed to find a supplier of stoneground flour which didn't cost the earth.

That lead me to Shipton Mill organic stoneground flour made from wheat grown in the UK. The price is competitive and they deliver.

Then I considered the time factor. It takes hours to make bread apparently.......well, it doesnt. It took no more time to mix and knead my loaves than it does to load my washing machine. The actual proving time is spent doing other things, just as I do other things while my washing machine is working. The knocking back took 5 mins and my oven was only on for 40 mins, 10 mins to warm up and 30 mins cooking time.

So 2 weeks after my inital decision to make my own bread, here we have traditional home made bread, no additives or extra chemicals. No machinery needed, not even a food mixer or processor. Just flour, Allinsons natural dried yeast, water, sugar and salt. The only equiptment needed is a bowl, scales, a teaspoon, a jug and a knife for slicing the cross on the top of the loaf (optional) and 2 baking trays. And it tastes fantastic too!!!

Meanwhile, during the first proving of my bread, I plied the Alpaca:

And whilst it proved the second time, I finished off the Belfalas merino and labelled it ready to put away for a special project.

All in all, a pretty good morning!!!

Michelangelo reincarnated???

OK, maybe I'm going a bit far by mentioning Michelangelo and my son in the same sentence but......below is my 14 year old sons first assignment for his GCSE Art class, in pencil:
I may be a doting mother, but I'm impressed!!! My latest creation is a Forest Canopy Shawl in solid powder blue Opal sock yarn. Its my first attempt at lacework of this magnitude and so far, its working out OK

And finally, if either of my daughters are reading this - cue the giggles. I have finally managed to drag DH into Curry and bought us a 26" LCD digital, HD ready TV. This is a momentous event as it took months to persuade him, 10 years ago, that we needed a TV which used a remote and didn't have a fuzzy screen. This time is took weeks of banging the sides of the old TV when the sound kept cutting out - but he gave in and we have now entered the 21st Century LOL

Boys, Germs and the colour Blue

My DS is poorly. For 3 days now he has coughed and snivelled and I think he has finally had enough.......he has taken to hiding under his quilt!!!! It isnt the dreaded swine flu however, just a cold.

The last tiny bit of Belfalas is ready to spin - then the joy of plying : ) I think I need 3 hands for plying LOL

And this is waiting in the wings. It is 100% Alpaca and I have 120g of it. I have spun 90g on my spindle and just have this 30g to do before that too can be plied : )

Knitting seems to be taking a back seat at the moment - I love this spinning lark too much : )

Introducing Ebony Cat

I managed to take a photo of my elusive black cat. He usually moves whenever I point a camera at him. His name is Ebony and he is 9 years old now. His eyes are a deep green, but the photo doesn't show them very well. We got him from the PDSA, along with his sister Rowan, when they were 10 weeks old. He is very loving, has a loud purr and dribbles when I stroke him : )
Unfortunately he hasn't got the hang of catching mice etc yet and I don't hold out any hope that he will. A few nights a go a mouse wandered across our hall and lounge and disappeared into the cupbard under the stairs - and he just looked at it with a confused expression on his face!!

Hopefully I may get a photo of Rowan (a tortoiseshell) soon.

Socks and Spinning

I finished by socks in Regia Hand-dyed effect yarn and they are beautiful. Having worn the said socks twice now, I wouldn't recommend this yarn for socks!! On the plus side,the yarn is very soft and drapes beautifully and has the most fantastic colours in it. Unfortunately these same qualities make it pill like crazy and the rib is all floppy because there isn't enough elasticity in this yarn. I know its not the fault of the pattern because I have used this pattern successfully many times before.

The verdict: A wonderful yarn for shawls etc, but not for anything requiring elasticity or strength. Meanwhile, I have been getting adventurous with my wheel and am spinning colours!!! This is Belfalas Superwash Merino from Freyalyn and is very soft and well dyed with no white bits where dye has been missed. I love Freyalyn's work : )

Finally: My first wheelspun is finished. I have it hung up by my wheel for drooling and petting purposes at the moment. It may become some mittens.......but it may not LOL

October Special Offer

Until the end of October we are offering free postage within the UK on our swifts to members of Ravelry.

The full details are HERE

Happy Autumn : )