Name change

I goofed up. I thought I had a cute and original name for my blog, but I should have known it was too good to be true. Turns out there is a website out there, "woolflowers" and the author has published some patterns and has an online presence that precedes mine by a number of years. So, it would be incredibly rude of me to continue under the name "woolflower", methinks. I've sent her an email on Ravelry to apologise, so I hope she realises I did not intentionally mean to snake her name. Since I mean to start offering patterns of my own I now need a new name though... I've temporarily changed the blog name, as you can see, so let me know if you like it. I'm waiting until I get the new name sorted out before I figure out how to set up a designer page on Ravelry and post the sock pattern for free download! The fabulous Ellen has knit one sock from my pattern and I can't thank her enough. She gave wonderful feedback, and I'm just messing around with a few things and getting a final proofread.

Any thoughts, suggestions or other comments on the name?
By the way, if you've done me the honour of linking to this blog on yours, I think the link will have to be updated, don't think it adjusts automatically. Sorry :(

Just a bit of spinning eye candy...

my treasure chest, a basket full of predrafted roving



a gratuitous close up of the spun singles. Can't wait try navajo plying to keep the colours intact

Pattern Written

I posted the pics of the finished socks on Ravelry a few days ago, and was flattered to have 2 hearts by the end of the first day, and also an offer by the lovely Jamie12 to test knit the pattern for me, even though it's written top down! I'm blushing. Once it's veted I'll work on getting my "designer" page set up on Ravelry and put it in as a free download.

I've also been doing a little bit of spinning. This has been in the stash for a few months, and I couldn't resist it's siren's call anymore. The colours....be still my racing heart! I'm spinning fine, hoping to navaho ply to keep nice blocks of solid colour. The first photo shows the blues and pinks the best and the second one gives a good idea of the green in reality.



Now I've just got to predraft the rest of the fibre...

computers suck

Well, I managed, mostly, by Sunday night, to get the instructions written down for the sock pattern. Even slightly formatted so I thought it might look ok. I celebrated by cooking a big pot of black bean and kangaroo chilli which we ate along with a nice bottle of red wine. Well, I ended up drinking most of the red wine because it's not S's favorite. We sat companionably in the living room and I did a little messing around with the formatting, corrected some grammar etc, secure in the fact that after each little change I dutifully saved my work. Now, I don't know if it was the red wine gremlins or the computer gremlins but after going to bed satisfied with a full weenend's work well done, I got up Monday morning and tried to email a copy to myself at work so I could show off when asked the inevitable Monday question "What did you do this weekend?". You can imagine my horror when I open up the file to discover that HALF of my pattern instructions were gone! GONE! ARRRRRRGH!

So, I spend Monday night rewriting the pattern (grumbling and grouchy) after trying to open up the file at least half a dozen different times just to make sure I wasn't having a horrible hallucination.

Today, Tuesday, I received a call at work from S to say he'd tried to open a new document on the computer, and what popped up? Yup, you guessed it. Probably could have saved myself some work if knew enough about computers to know where to look.

I think the socks might need to called Recovered .

I have never paid enough money for a knitting pattern

My brain is doing a slow simmer, sort of wheezing and groaning like water just off the boil, and I'm going just a little cross-eyed. What have I been doing you ask? Trying to write down my simple sock pattern, that's what! I've been at it all day, neglecting the housework that I normally get done on the weekends, and I've only just started... I guess it must get easier and quicker with practice (please tell me it gets easier with practice) but I swear knitting pattern designers must be the most underpaid people on the planet. If I hadn't liked designing and knitting this pattern so much I think I might have quit already. Here is the finished item:

Pretty, isn't it? These are the Man-size version, I am writing an average woman's foot size as well so I'll be looking for test knitters once I get the pattern down in readable format. This could take some time! They are so nice that I might have to knit a pair for myself too.

I just love how the twisted stitches create texture and how the ribs at the top flow into the pattern with only some minor wrestling to make them see the light and choose the right path.

Oh yes, and the cabled sock...I had a request for a clearer photo let me see if I can oblige...

It's not an updated photo but just for you "I Hate Toast" you bossy yankee you! Actually, I brought this on Wednesday night to get an opinion from Joey, the frog queen, and contrary to what I thought she might say she concluded that while perhaps not the optimal pairing of yarn and pattern, it was a nice subtle combo and should not hit the frog pond. I have the go ahead for the second sock so these will be coming out of hibernation just as soon as I get the blasted sock pattern written. I'm doing this for fun, right?