Introducing Igor

So although Percival has been a good friend to Brian, he spends a lot of time in the freezer, which Brian is not happy with, so I thought the time had come to create Brian a new, more like minded friend. So introducing Igor.

Adventures New in She Bu

Adventures new in She Bu (pronounced Shay Boo - as in Shepherds Bush for those in the know). I love living in Shepherds Bush, it's a very lively area to live in and we're lucky to have 2 beautiful gig venues right on the doorstep, the Shepherds Bush Empire and Bush Hall. So last night we went off to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at the Empire and they were amazing.

I'd seen them twice before (Latitude and at the Mumford & Sons Festival) outdoors and so wasn't sure if they'd have the same presence at an indoor venue but the atmosphere was as amazing as always. It is such a beautiful venue, and not too big that it's a great place to watch live music. 

Afterwards, we headed to Goldhawk Road as my boyfriend had heard a rumour that a Brewdog Bar had opened up there (http://www.brewdog.com/) and was outraged that he had failed to notice this (he prides himself on having an encyclopaedic knowledge of pubs in West London). There was indeed a Brewdog at the end of Goldhawk Road and it was brilliant. They have an amazing selection of nice Beers (and a few good bottled ciders) and a really nice atmosphere. I have a feeling this may become our new local.....

Another Snowy Adventure!

So last year I discovered the amazing excitingness of skiing for the first time! (Well unless you count 1 day in Morocco where I mostly went down backwards!) I was very very very exciting when on the evening before coming back to work after Christmas, we booked a ski trip for 3 weeks time! And it was way better than last year!

We went to La Plagne in the French Alps and it was so quiet, we didn't queue for a single lift, apart from getting to the Glacier on the last day. So we literally skied non stop all day, getting the last lift up as high as we could go for a leisurely last ski down back to the chalet for afternoon tea and cake. They also have a tunnel which you can ski through!!

We took lessons again in the mornings and had a brilliant teacher called Valerie who was incredibly picky, which was great as it means I actually now think I know how to ski. I mastered going really fast and then stopping instantly which was great fun, and as my boyfriend had a ski app on his phone which tracked how fast we went, we spent a lot of time in the afternoons trying to beat it (42mph was the record!).

The sun only came out on 2 days but that was enough time to get some great photos of the stunning mountain scenery!

Double Pointed Knitting Challenge Complete

So after my attempts at double pointed knitting a few months ago, I finally took up the challenge to knit something properly with double pointed needles. A friend who is expecting asked me to knit a baby hat in case they have a girl, and gave me the boy option they'd already bought to use as a guide.

I know that I could have knitted it on straight needles but I thought it would be much nicer for the baby if it didn't have any seams which is why I persevered with double points.

After starting once and automatically switching into knitting all stitches, I had to start again remembering that I wanted a rib stitch for the brim. After about 10 rows I then decided that my 3.75mm needles were too big so switched to 3.25mm needles which worked much better. 

With the hat completed, I then started on some ears, again using double points which did get pretty fiddly as I'd only cast on 16 stitches!!

 After stitching on some eyes, a nose and a mouth, here is my finished hat - pretty cute I think! And below is the original 'boy option' which I was using for a guide, also pretty cute! Now I wonder which one she'll have...?

New Month: New Knitting Stitch

So it's a new month already! Crazy! Well in keeping with my new knitting skills, I saw a scarf recently which had the most beautiful, textured, zig-zaggy pattern. 

So I checked my Good Housekeeping Knitting Book and couldn't find anything, so then had a google and found a pattern for a ric rac knitting stitch which looked about right. So here we go:

Cast on a multiple of 3 plus 1 for this stitch to work. 

Row 1 (right side): P1, *skip first stitch, knit into back loop of second stitch (leaving stitch on left needle), knit into front of first stitch (removing both stitches from left needle), p1, repeat from * to end of row.

Row 2 (wrong side): K1, *purl into second stitch (leaving stitch on left needle), purl into first stitch (removing both stitches from left needle), k1, repeat from * to end of row.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until it's the length you want, and end with Row 2. Cast off on a right side row in a p1, k2 pattern.

Once you get the hang of it it's quite an easy rhythm to get in to and it quickly becomes clear which side is the right and which side is the wrong side. I practised with a soft black wool casting on 16 stitches and here it is: