Rubber Duckies

Getting excited now, only 1 sleep to go!!! I'm such a big kid.

Well, I can show something I made now that they have been given to and opened by their recipients. Becca, Karen and I went to Stash yesterday lunchtime, to give Anne a send off on her last day working there. She is off on exotic travels. (Becca and I were slightly late as I got lost in the business park and went to the wrong building to pick her up!!) Here they all are...... top l-r Clare, Becca and Helen (shop owner), bottom l-r Karen and Anne.


I had knitted Karen, Becca and Anne a Rubber Ducky washcloth from Eskimimi's excellent pattern. I only had enough time and yarn to do the larger duck and I did all three at the same time on one long circular needle. It was fine as long as you turned the work in alternate directions between rows so the 3 different yarns didn't all twist round each other.

Then I made some stitch markers in coordinating colours, which I threaded onto matching ribbon and wrapped the cloths around some "smellies" and tied them with the ribbon. I think they went down well. I love it that other knitters appreciate that it may only be a washcloth but effort has been put into making it.

Beads

I've just got home and my order from The Bead Shop has arrived.


I ordered some glass beads in drops and rounds - these are all the drops and four of the 25 rounds,

and some Fimo beads for making sock stitch markers.



The Beadalon wire that I ordered is actually much thinner than I thought it was but luckily so are the crimps so they actually do match! Guess what I'll be doing later on.

I have now separated the arms of my Amused from the body stitches, I'm so glad, every third row I was increasing by 8 stitches and they were getting more and more squashed on the circular needle. I had 276 stitches by the last increase. I'm glad I wasn't doing any bigger a size! Part way through one of my Knit Picks cables broke and I had to dash to the LYS before they closed to get a replacement. I did try glueing the other one but nearly stuck my fingers together with SuperGlue so gave that up as a bad job! I can now work on 174 stitches to the bottom of the body. The cables are looking quite good.

A Ravelry sale

At the weekend I had a request from a fellow raveller asking if they could buy my 12 balls of Drops Paris yarn which I had listed for trade/sell on my stash page. I have had this for over a year with no project in mind, since my previous disaster with knitting in cotton. So I agreed and we decided a price. This is the yarn that is going off to Brighton today.


I thought it would be nice to pop in a couple of handmade stitch markers so while Colin was watching the football, I parked myself at the dining room table and made a few. I had had the beads free in a magazine so they cost me nothing to make. I wanted to try making them without the big stainless steel jumprings that I usually use and so I used the plastic beading thread that was in the packet. That way you can make the loops any size you want. I am quite pleased with my efforts and they were very quick to make. It made a change to do them rather than knit - (theroretically I should have been at knitting group but as I'm still slightly wobbly from the labyrinthitis I didn't want to go driving around in the dark!)

These are the ones I'm keeping myself, the others were purple but I have already packaged them up with the yarn.


I think I'll be making some more - watch out etsy! Unfortunately our local beadshop has closed down, just as I needed them again!