Knitting in the UK

Been busy again with not a lot of knitting time, except for last week when I was in the UK hanging out at my mum's yarn shop, so lots of knitting done then!

I decided to knit a pair of chunky socks for my friend who's going back to Canada next week, I finished them last night.

As you can see, they didn't really turn out to be a pair because the colourways in the balls of yarn are so long, so I have had to knit another pair so I can get matching ones! At least that means that I get a pair for myself, they're super warm and comfy and the cat seems to like them too! They were knitted in Wendy Fusion, but I can't remember the colour, sorry.

I loved making these socks because they were so quick to knit, you can knit one in an evening, no problem. I knitted them on 5.5mm dpns over 32 stitches if you fancy giving them a try yourself.

I really want to learn to crochet at the moment, especially with all the pictures of amigurumi dolls that I have seen lately, I desperately want to make some, but my crochet leaves much to be desired, but then I have only ever crocheted one edging on a baby cardigan and that's it, I guess practice makes perfect.

I love this doll on the right, it's so cute, in fact, I think all amigurumi dolls are cute. This one is from Gourmet Amigurumi.

Talking of cute things, my hubby bought me this cute Japanese cat on the left as a "good luck" gift for my new job. I love it, it's fantastic!

What with the new job and not getting home until 7.30-8pm every night, I'm not sure when I'm going to get time to learn to crochet properly, especially with all the knitting projects that I want to tackle. I got a copy of the new Rowan magazine when I was in the UK and I think there's about ten projects that I want to do. At least now that I'm working I will be able to buy some yarn and won't have to wait until I go to the UK to work in the shop and be paid in yarn! Plus, it's my birthday in 3 weeks and I'm pretty sure that I will get a few gifts from my mum's shop stock! Very exciting!

There's some beautiful things in my mum's shop at the moment, I'm loving this weaving mesh. In this picture it's had Louisa Harding Sari Silk woven through it, it's so beautiful. You just need 1-2 metres of mesh and one hank of silk (although you can weave whatever you like through it), I am very tempted to make one for myself. The mesh comes in different colours, I'm tempted by the cream and weaving a champagne coloured silk through it, very elegant.