Reduce, reuse, recycle.

I concluded the sale of my Ashford Country Spinner last week. It went to a really nice sounding lady from Essex, and I was very happy with the price I got for it. (She was happy too...nice wheel, good condition and a sight cheaper than a new one. Good deal all round.)

The sale of the wheel was part of my Big Plan for reducing the volume of our possessions a little...there`s been an incredible amount of dejunking going on here these past few months and now I`m turning my attention to getting rid of things we like, but in all honesty aren`t pulling their weight when it comes to space. Like the Ashford. But of course, as soon as you get a little money in the Craft Supplies Account you want to spend it, yes? Reuse it, even? So I bought myself....Mason-Dixon Knitting, Big Girl Knits and a set of Boye Needlemaster needles. And I`ve still got cash left in the kitty for SkipNorth. So all in all I`m quite pleased with the results of recycling my wheel. :-)

FOs!!!!!

I finally finished Duncan`s somewhat boring stockinette sweater. It`s based on Nell from the Debbie Bliss book Junior Knits. I made one for Mairi as well.



Both were knitted in Sidar Denim Aran which is a 60% acrylic, 25% cotton 15% wool yarn, very soft, knits up into a nice springy, cushy sweater and which can be machine washed. Excellent for kids clothes. I don`t make stuff for the kids that has to be coddled and hand washed.

As I said earlier, both were based on the Nell pattern. Why only based? It`s the Bliss kiddy sizing again...all her kids seem to be short and wide, while mine are tall. (In Duncan`s case wide as well, but still not as wide as a Bliss child.) So for my five year old (but takes Age 7 clothes) daughter I made the 3-4 Bliss size, with extra length. Duncan normally takes an Age 12-14 (he`s 10) and rolls the sleeves up. In his case I made him the Bliss Age 10 but with extra length added. Both sweaters still have PLENTY of room for sideways growth, belive me.

Bliss has some weird, WEIRD sizing issues. Her Age 10 kids sweaters are inches wider than a woman`s 34" bust size, for example. The biggest adult sizes in her books are smaller than some of the baggy kids patterns. Puppy fat????? More like baby elephants metamorphosing into stick insects.......