d’oh!

i just realised what happened with the mittens: i had 177 feet, not yards. i forgot to do that final calculation step where i divide by three *hangs head in shame*. so i actually had 59 yards – had there been 80 i would have been spot on. lol, i was utterly baffled by why anyone would give a yardage for one mitten.

got me silk found a long sumptuous silk brocade dress in a charity shop today.

the silk is in really good nick, barely a snag or anything, although the dress seems well used and is starting to come apart at the seams. i’m hoping this means it should withstand being a lining okay. there’s also an equal amount of a lighter weight plain black lining that i can use to line the strap and stop it stretching. the whole vibe of the bag is turning out much more delicate than i envisaged, i hope it’ll be fit for more than just an evening bag.

and i just couldn’t pass up this fabulous turquoise wrap at £1.50.

i gimped the colour so it’s a very close match for the real thing. it’s very loosely woven and slightly felted (by the manufacturer, doesn’t seem accidental). i was planning to felt and chop up into a bag or something, but me and madam have been fighting over who gets to snuggle up in it on the sofa and i think it might have already become a fixture au naturel.

i’m very behind the times in my current turquoise phase, isn’t it all a bit passe now?

i found this response to a question on holes in yer ankles on knitters review. i’m going to paste the answer as chances are by the time i get round to my next pair the thread will have been archived or deleted.

This problem is basically very localized laddering, caused by stress on the corner when you’re working the heel and the instep stitches are resting.

For covering up the ones you’ve already done, take a little scrap of yarn and duplicate stitch over the holes to pull them together, then weave in both ends of your yarn scrap.

For preventing them in the future, either lift the stitch from the row below on the instep side and knit it together with the first stitch on the heel side, or vice versa, or pick up the bar between the stitches, twist it, and knit it together with the next stitch. If you can still see a small gap, a little judicious work with a crochet hook, easing the slack into the surrounding stitches, will take care of it.