Angry and upset

** After the hurt and upset of yesterday and the overwhelming support I got on this matter, I am removing this post. I do not want to add fuel to the fire of the identi-kit glass maker, who I remain not naming. They know who they are, I have made my point. **

Working with a company in Rome

I've been waiting to tell you about this one for a little while. I am excited to be producing some cufflink samples for Talarico Cravatte in Rome, who make beautiful bespoke ties for their discerning customers. They're interested in my handmade, unique cufflinks so I am just about to start on an order for them. It is flattering to be contacted by someone from abroad, let alone a company like this one. I am looking forward to getting the kiln fired up. I expect I will put some other 'kiln filler' in too ;)

It is a pity though I am currently suffering from a cold and will have to hop back into bed soon, but I wanted to share this exciting news with you.

Knitting storage

This beats the carrier bag I had my WIP knitting in! Just got this £1.99 fabric box in a purpley colour to store my knitting-on-the-go, needles and book. Does the job quite nicely I think :)

The pink & grey knitting is the tablet-gadget's pouch, and the grey is the blanket. Can you see my 'knitting bible' hiding at the bottom?! ;)

Gadgets gadgets gadgets!

So, I indulged my love of gadgetry this weekend. As per usual, I planned to get one thing but came away with something else! The initial plan was to get a large-capacity mp3 player and a portable dvd player for my travel trips. I also wanted a compact digital camera for skiing etc as my SLR doesn't fit in a pocket!

I stuck to one plan and the digital compact I got was a fuji z37. It is very girly/'gay'! Hopefully it will be hard to lose. The reviews I've read seem to be singing its praises so let's hope it was a good buy.

The other purchase was something different to the plan, but I think kills 2 birds with one stone (the mp3/dvd player), and then some! I also got this archos 5. It is an internet tablet-type machine, with mp3/mp4 cababilities. It stores photos, music, videos, records from the tv/freeview etc, browses the net, has email, can be converted to be a GPS, plays radio and so much more! I am still finding out what it can do. Anyway, it was half price and I thought a good deal, especially with its 120gb hard drive. It is like an i-phone but without the phone bit I think. The geek in me is very happy :)

Internet find: Intres - Felt

* Internet find of the day *
These are kinda cute aren't they?! A bit different too. Loving these felt creations from Spain. Check them out on etsy.com at Intres.

Broken laptop, repeat business & knit progress

Sob. My laptop's up the swanny. It won't start up properly so until I get it fixed, I am without internet at home. I'm hoping it is simple to fix. I hate it when something goes wrong and you're incapable of fixing it for yourself. :(

By way of glassy news, I have been contacted by some old clients who got me to make some wedding cufflinks for them. They're after some more so that's good news. Will give me a good reason to fill up the kiln. (Along with some candle holders for my mum - I haven't forgotten! She reads the blog, you see.)

The knitting is still going well. A few little mistakes but I am now ok at correcting my 'fluff ups' so I must be learning something. The strip for the blanket is around 2ft+ long now, so not bad going. I'm thinking of doing some strips in double rib, then some cable stitch strips too - if I get the hang of it! Alas, no photos, as without the laptop I can't get the pics onto the blog.

Knitting club

Yep, I've joined 'knitting club' at work. I certainly don't need any more hobbies - I am already a busy lady, but this one is just for me :) Along with the knitting, I get to socialise with our sister company who share our building. I've worked at the company for years now but still only know 'the ladies downstairs' to say 'hi' to. Today was my 2nd club meeting. The 1st time I just flicked through knitting books, chatted and ate biscuits! I've not knitted since I was a child and back then knitting frustrated me - I couldn't help but knit super tight, making it so bad it squeaked. Safe to say, knitting and I fell out.

I was at my mum and dad's place last weekend so I asked mum to help me re-learn the basics. It is so much easier being shown something than trying to decipher a book - not sure if she would agree as my teacher... bless her heart, she stuck with it and showed me how to cast on, knit and purl correctly (I'd been knitting alright but making the purl stitch up!). We didn't get round to the casting off so I will have to get one of the club members to show me that.

Anyhoo, I've been practising, making mistakes and unravelling stuff this week, so I didn't make too much of a fool of myself at today's meet! I also bought some knitting needles (some on ebay, some in a charity shop) and some lovely wool. I think with any craft you need to be inspired by your materials :) The wool I picked for the blanket I am going to make is super-soft and just what I wanted - a natural-looking chunky tweed wool with colourful flecks.

Today I tought myself a new stitch. I tried out 'double rib' - knit 2, purl 2. I can manage that! Looks and feels fab and it grows quite quickly. I knew the wool I was using was perfect for a snuggly blanket when one of the ladies at the club couldn't resist touching the knitting to her face to feel the super-softness! I managed about 2 inches in 50mins during lunchtime, then tonight I carried on in front of some films. Ta da!


I also got my knitting book through the post today which I read at meeting #1 - it has lots of stitches in it which I look forward to trying.


This throw looks lovely - I am following the dimensions for this for my blanket but not the stitches.

Not sure when the blanket will get done but I intend to keep the pressure off and just enjoy myself :)

Internet find: Sarah+Bendrix - Heart Pics

* Internet find of the day *
Just spotted these pretty pictures on the Decor8 blog by Sarah+Bendix. Such a simple idea but so effective. I particularly like this one on black...

Twitter tweets

Well, I've decided to give twitter another go. Not sure if I will keep it up but I'll see how it goes. So, to keep up with one-liner descriptions of my day to day life, follow me here:

https://twitter.com/timefortweets

Internet find: Karen Thurman - Felt

* Internet find of the day *
Another lunchtime find on the net - the lovely, colourful, funky felt work of Karen Thurnam. I adore her use of colour, shapes and pattern. Just my style :)

Take a look at her website or buy from her etsy shop.

* * *

Still nothing new from my studio. Lots of ideas though so I'll probably get going the weekend after next on some new designs :)