Stealth, schmealth...

monkeys for k

Yep, 'tis time for the uncovering of some more stealth projects!  This time it's the couple of knits I made for my sister's birthday.  Yes, um, which was last month... Why didn't I post about them at the time, I hear you ask...  That's a mighty fine question and the only excuse that I'll give you is that I was on tour and couldn't blog. 
Such a big, fat lie.  Okay, okay, the real reason is that I was still in the middle of knitting the socks and the other items (for which I will eventually stop writing long enough to post a picture) were sitting in a jewellery box intended for DS's birthday.  The box was in my suitcase and I had forgotten the items were there, too...

So yeah, as excuses go, they're pretty lame...  I must get to some more 'art of b*llsh*t' classes before I lose the knack entirely!

I should just say that I was too lazy to post, and leave it at that. I suspect you'd all be perfectly happy to believe that, anyway!

monkey sock pattern by cookie a

So.  The socks...  the marvellous Monkey pattern by Cookie A, that is, I suspect, on the queue of most folk on Ravelry.  Oh, and thanks to T who has reminded me to tell you that these socks are knitted with Angels & Elephants hand-dyed Shetland sock wool, in the Tintagel colourway (in shades of denim blue and green). These are my second attempt... the first are separated by an ocean and several hundred miles, but shall be reunited at the end of the month!  Huzzah for easyjet! (Whoa - oxymoron anyone?)

I made some changes to the pattern this time around: I made 5, instead of 6 repeats before the heel-flap; I knitted the heel-flap itself in the eye-of-partridge stitch that I adore; and I made a basic 2x2 ribbed cuff instead of the twisted rib cuff.  Because I could. So nyah!

To continue, may I present some icord wire jewellery:

bracelet and pendant in black wire with black beads

I have to say that the icord bracelet was a real bugger to make.  I think I need to invest in a french knitting dolly with a bigger hole.  (And I also think I need to rethink that last sentence.)  In my first few attempts, the wire just kept breaking when I tried to pull it a bit through the dolly.  In the end I had to re-inforce the icord with plastic thread to make sure it didn't break when it was pulled through.  I cheated with the pendant and knitted a long rectangle with the wire, adding the beads at irregular intervals, rolled it up and sewed the ends together to make a tube.  Cunning?  No, just trying not to waste too much wire.  Scottish?  Why yes, yes I am... What gave it away?!

  the bluffers guide to icord...

Ach well, the socks fit, the pendant has already been worn, and the bracelet has been admired (although it's still a little fragile for everyday use...) so I think that entitles me to an element of happy-bunniness!  Yay!

Unmasking the Stealth

My stealth objects are slowly being revealed... slowly...

. . . t o o   s l o w l y. . .

So, to assuage my thumb-twiddling, clock-watching and hum-hahing I have decided to reveal (drum-roll, please...) the Wire Treasure Chest.  Dun dun DUUUN!

 uh... the Wire Treasure Chest...

Okay, so it's a treasure chest. And it's made of wire. You can tell my naming capabilities have been stretched to the max on this one...

There are a couple hundred gold, silver and pearl beads and bugles adorning the the chest...

pearl necklace an optional extra

The front, back and lid are all 25 stitches wide and roughly 12/13 rows long. (Ah... one of the beauties of knitting with wire is that it can be manipulated to make everything look the same size! Jolly handy!)

arty-farty lid shot

The sides were roughly 15 stitches wide and 16 rows long and I attempted to mould the last couple of rows into an arch shape by doing a k2tog at the beginning and end of each row and I curved the lid to make the overall casket/chest shape.

After sewing all the pieces together, with the exception of adding the lid, I decided that the chest needed a little re-enforcing.  The wire frame itself was quite sturdy, but the box was just on the wrong side of wobbly for me to be happy with, so I cut some board to size, covered them with black velvet then sewed them onto the frame. I did the same to the lid and then attached it to the box. And bygorrah, it fit and everything!

and it opens and closes, too! w00t!

Now I just have to wait and see whether the recipient likes it...

cue music of the nail-chomping variety and fade to black...

N is for...

Night

 lunar echo

I am a night owl. I seem to get most work done in the hours of darkness and feel more at peace then, too. Of course, at this time of year and the heat it brings, I love the cool evenings even better... It has always been thus and I suspect always shall be.

The photo above was an attempt at capturing the face of the Man in the Moon, but all the photos turned out a big blur of light except for this one, which although does have the big blur of light, it also managed to capture some kind of reflection through my window pane. I like it a lot!

Night. Excepting end-of-term hysteria in this student town, the nights are quiet here. 3am is so still. And night-time has so many photographic personalities.

  Foggy night in Tours

Colours are exaggerated yet muted around a street lamp on a foggy evening, or sharpened and enhanced with reflections from water...

 Amsterdam Gracht

It makes me think of home...

View from my parents house to my grand-parents house

 Sunrise

...but then it can also invoke annoyance. See the big, wide-open space between the 2 houses here? It opens up to the field in the heart of the village... See an earlier post entitled 'There Goes My Childhood' for further explanations of my disgust about the future of this view...

But, the night is not always my friend. Insomnia strikes occasionally and then any lure of the dark and love of the night flees from my soul and I pace the apartment muttering not-so-sweet nothings to my over-active brain. I must admit that the first time I ever appreciated French tv was during one of these episodes.  Falling asleep to re-runs of the Simpsons in French leads to strange dreams, however.

My last sleepless night was a few days ago... Or a few nights ago, if you prefer. The tv wasn't doing anything for me, camomile tea only made me closer acquaintances with my porcelain necessarium and pacing about hurt my foot too much. My eyes fell on my knitting, but I knew I wasn't in the mood for cables, or indeed anything that entertained a certain brain-using thinky-type element. Some no-counting mindless knitting was called for. I saw the silver wire and a tube of little shiny beads (oo - shiny), sat down and ended up with the beginnings of this.

Pointless and Arbitrary Wind Catcher 

I dedicate this wind-chime-catcher to the Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Group on Ravelry. It seems apt. It will neither catch the wind nor chime, but it looks pretty and shiny and sparkly and, well, does it need any more point than that?

It's made from quite a few metres of 28-gauge silver wire and a multitude of little silver and glass beads. 

oo - shiny...

And at that I shall off and switch on every light in my flat. There's a thunderstorm brewing and, ironically, they frighten me when it's dark outside...

MERG

'Tis that travelling time again - I'm off up to Holland tomorrow for a reprise of the dance production 'MERG' (which is Dutch for 'marrow' or 'an inmost or essential part') with the Leine&Roebana Dance Company, and - oh woe is me - I'm leaving my little hermitage! (I chose a career that is not completely conducive to my homebody sensibilities... what's a girl to do?!) But I thought I'd throw on a couple of FO's before I left to go and sing some Luzzaschi, Monteverdi and Rossi... I've been a mad-woman with the sticks recently! Nothing amazing, but I'm pleased that they look okay! I'm staying with Q when I'm up there and I wanted all his birthday pressies finished before I arrived. Nothing like a dead-line to concentrate the mind...

I decided to make a little pouch from the ever-open 'Last-Minute Knitted Gifts' to house the bear I made for Q. Actually, it started off as just something else for his birthday (Q, not the bear!) but he looks cute in it, (the bear, not Q!) so I've decided to combine the two, as it were...


The pouch does look better on it's own, however well-meant my ambition for a bear-bag was, but it does has a high cuteness factor just the same!! I couldn't bear (pun not *really* intended) to cover the wee man's head, so he looks more like he's in a fancy-schmancy sleeping bag!

I'm also making bits and pieces for my Mum's birthday coming up in May - she'll be reaching another mile-stone age and I know she loves hand-made things, being the arty type herself. (You should have seen the great vase my sister decorated her for Mother's Day last weekend.) So far the Wire Rose is for her, as is the Coco bag currently in progress, but I've just finished my first crocheted thing... Okay, it was just a couple of chains and some jewellery findings, but...













Green 28-gauge wire (Hoh yes - I've learned the Lesson Of The Wrong Gauge) and a 2.5mm crochet hook! Oh, and a lots of green glass beads!

I'm now trying to decide what to take up with me to knit... Brigid socks, of course (I'm determined not to suffer from SSS); the Coco bag to finish cabling; I found a lovely pattern for socks called 'Giles Wavy Socks' that is a definite starter; a pile of yarn to make a draught-excluder for Q (don't ask...) and as long as I find a LYS up there, all other demands should be met...

I just have to remember how the music goes now...

Engauging mistakes...

I was determined to have Percy finished for the next time I wrote here, but alas, alack, it is not to be... Unless, of course, I leave my scribblings until next century. I have been waylaid in this task primarily due to the strap taking an unconscionable amount of time to get through. Damn that 1x1 rib... Mind you, this strap has temporarily become my bedtime knitting, and it serves very well as a sedative. I would offer a prize to those who manage to spot all the mistakes, but I suspect I wouldn't have enough money, gifts or cake to give out! Thank the stars that the yarn colouring hides them to an extent!! Huzzah!

BUT - I have two FOs for your delectation... Ya see - not been spending all my spare time playing Command and Conquer, you know!
First up is Q's Bear. He (the bear) is such a sweetie and I know he (the best friend) will love him! It takes me a little longer than the 'advertised' amount of time to make, but still, it is rather a quick knit, all things considering. He's so squishy and soft and huggable and cute and snuggly and... mmmm - I want one for myself!

Made with one ball of Phildar Phil Peluche in the Marmotte colourway - brown with some tinges of dark blue - to the 'Loveable Toys' design in 'Last-Minute Knitted Gifts' by Joelle Hoverson. (Such a lovely book.)
Second up is the wire rosebud, which turned into a rose as I the wire I bought just *cough* happened to be the wrong gauge. Yeah, okay, so I thought gauge 24 was smaller than gauge 28... Now I know! And so do my fingers...
So, I used 24 gauge gold-coloured wire (yes, yes, it was supposed to be 28 gauge) to knit the rose itself and emerald green 28 gauge wire for the leaves. The pattern was from 'Wire Knits' by Heather Kingsley-Heath. And now that I've managed to figure out some of the basics, there are quite a few things in there I'd quite fancy turning my needles to...
Percy, ah - dear, sweet, unfinished Percy... He is nearly complete now, though: I have blocked the shell; lined everything that needs lined; added inside pockets to the lining (have sewing-machine - will make pockets) and knitted up the inner yarn pocket/divider. Now just the 's' word to finish and then I can put it all together... Wheee! Maybe by next post...

D is for...

...D'oh!

No, not really. But my fingers hurt a little after my first attempts at wire knitting... There is a *small* possibility that I may be making it harder for myself than it should be, but I've been reliably informed that the knack will kick in soon... Effing well better, or my fingers will be in no shape to tinkle the old ivories. (Yes, I have been practising as well as swearing at wire!) Blood, guts, needles, bobbins and blue words flying this, there and everywhere. Well, not quite, but I'm sure this gives a good general impression of my fumblings.
Anyhoo, this little number pictured below will eventually be a rosebud from the lovely book by Heather Kingsley-Heath entitled 'Wire Knits'. It's a close-up photo because I've only managed to do one leaf and 8 rows of the rose so far! I love my tired, old camera! The wire... well, we'll see...


No, D is really for:

Door.

BIG door.

This is a gorgeous example of 17th century carving, found in Tours.

Wandering around this ancient town with a camera is a discovered necessity. You *think* you know a place, then take a side-street short-cut, get lost, (I can only tell what direction I'm facing if the sun is rising or setting...) and stumble across a wee nook or gated courtyard that you never knew existed. I wandered back recently to the building where I found this door and was sorely disappointed to find a huge 'vendu' (sold) sign fixed to one of the windows and the place where the doors used to be were filled in by plywood. AAARRRGGGHHH! How can somebody DO that to an ancient building? I can only hope that when I next get lost and find myself outside that old building again, that the doors will be back in place, looking nicely renovated... Hey-ho - A girl can dream.

Percy bag, on the other hand, is behaving himself very well indeed. I've decided not to post a photo yet (he is shy, you must understand) but soon he shall be fully clothed and presentable to the viewing public. And I'm starting to anthropomorphise my knitting... oh man...