Inspiration for Ravelympics - 2012

The idea of participating in a ravelympics or knit along event has interested me for some time now. As a full time worker/student there never seems to never be an appropriate time to commit to an event. However it seems this year is going to be my year!

As an ex competitive swimmer who once upon a time had grand dreams of competing professionally, having the Olympics in my home country is a BIG deal!! Added to this is the timely end of my studies and some much overdue and well earned annual leave. What better a time to participate in my first Ravelympics than this summer!

I will have just completed an intense 2 year diploma in an allied health vocation which with the exception of my beautiful family is truly the biggest achievement of my life. I am feeling the need to mark this occasion by treating myself to a project that challenges my skills as a knitter (and probably my normal budget). So at first I was considering moving away from the usual knitted accessories and branching into socks which is unchartered territory for me yet in my mind still of a reasonable size. Or maybe I should be thinking BIGGER, maybe I should attempt my first jumper or cardigan?

Well today I made a discovery that was love at first sight - Kate Davies' Blaithin.

by wazz  Flickr

The last time I got so excited about a pattern was when I first saw a picture of her Peerie Flooers hat, I bought the pattern immediately and less than 24 hours later was plundering the shelves of Oxford Streets' John Lewis for Fine Rowan Tweed and had cast on during my train journey home.

Yes this is lust or love at first sight and with such a variety of techniques that will be new to me such as I-cord and Steeking this is going to be a worthy Olympic opponent. I shall spend the next few weeks investigating yarn options and then the only question is will I be able to wait until July to cast on???

A Cornish Weekend

A few weekends ago we spent a long weekend in North Cornwall.

Trebarwith Strand, North Cornwall

The sun was shining and the sea was glistening but with the wind blowing it was definitely welly and woolly weather!

I decided to make the most of beautiful scenaries and coerce my family into modelling some of my latest projects!

We walked up Trewint Tor near Alternun for a photo shoot

Peerie Flooers hat and Ptarmigan Cowl, Left - The Husband Ha,t Right

Wooly Wormheads Meret

Peerie Flooers

and whilst we were there we met and played with some ponies! 

Shetland Ponies - Not Bodmin Ponies! Trewint Tor, Bodmin

Searching for crafty distractions...

So this is a new and slightly scary adventure for me, the concept of putting my thoughts and feelings into the public domain....

As an allied health student, reflection and discussion of ones feeling is becoming more and more of a natural process. However putting pen to paper about my professional practice still seems slightly like work!

Ever the seeker of distractions, the idea behind this blog is that if I can keep a habit of reflecting on something that is fun, hopefully this will aid my academic and personal development too! It's a fun theory and I am going to run with it!!!

I learned to knit at the tender age of seven and was taught by my nana. Nana was an avid consumer of Jean Greenhouse knitted toy patterns and kept my siblings and I in a healthy supply of knitted companions, such as scarecrows, animals, clowns and jelly bean babies.

To date my knitting accomplishments include a Scottie dog, a pig and several hats, scarves and glove's. Not to mention some failed experiments in knitting cardigans in cheap acrylic fibres, blissfully ignorant of the gauge swatch!

However a new world has been unveiled, blogs and podcasts such as electric sheep, a playful day and yarngasm have opened my eyes to the beauty of natural fibres and the hazards of an ever expanding stash. Ravelry had shown me the wonders of Jared Flood and Kate Davis. Yarns and patterns are consuming all waking thoughts.

And so I have several recent small creations to be added to my ravelry projects, photos to be taken and uploaded. I have a ravelry queue of something like 60 projects and counting... Daily crafty blogs to inspire me and a much awaited parcel from Superknits held up in the royal mail system.

All I can hope is that my new yarn arrives soon as I have a week of commuting to London that is begging to be filled with a new adventurous knit. All that remains is honing the shawls in my ravelry queue down to the favourite!!!

Top contender this evening is Jared Floods Juneberry  ;

                                                      (Courtesy of Brooklyn tweed)

or maybe it is Madeline Tosh's Mara

(Courtesy of moonstitches)