Thursday 25 March 2010

KD's travels

Well well well - my two weeks off work is almost up and if anything I'm more exhausted than before, not to mention having made no dent in my long list of knitting! Can't complain though - my roaming ways have taken me to see some long unvisited friends and drink more wine than Jilly Goolden on a Saturday night lash-up. *hic*

First stop last Wednesday was the delectable Ruthie in Leicester - if you're on Twitter look her up under @MissRuthClare - although I still think she should have gone for @RealBridgetJones... :) Ruthie's the sort of galpal who I may not speak to for weeks on end, and then one of us will send the other a message, apropos of nothing, along the lines of "I wish Kim Woodburn was my mum" and we both know exactly what that means. I had the best intentions of taking her a commissioned Inverse Union Jack cushion, although that is still sitting in my to-do pile looking forlornly at me, and will have to travel by Royal Mail now - she certainly came up trumps with a gorgeous bangle and chunky ring set for my birthday though! 3 hours and two bottles of wine later (or orange juice, if her boss is reading) and our mission to put the world to rights was not yet half done. It's tough, this lady-of-leisure lark. Lord knows how Her Maj manages it.

Two days and one mild hangover later I was visiting Foo and Baby Bri in Banbury - no wine this time, although not for wont of trying :) Word of advice to anyone preparing for the London Marathon - you haven't run anywhere until you've run after an 18-month old with a Houdini complex. SHATTERED. Once we'd shoehorned him into the pram and got him off to sleep though, me and Foo had an awesome girly day fawning over craft materials and fabrics and charity shops. She does a rather superhuman job of bringing up the little dude with the pitiful benefits she receives, so when I'd finished fannying around with china duck ornaments (this one shop had hundreds of them) I had to concede I felt a little ungrateful for my relatively substantial lot, complaining about ONLY having two weeks off before getting back to the daily grind. I did briefly consider kidnapping them both and setting them up in our spare room, but I didn't have train tickets for them...

Ding ding! Monday's stop: Loughborough, and Katie B's houseboat. The rain put paid to any chance I had of taking photos, but the set up over at the marina is nothing short of idyllic. I had the extensive tour of the boat, which is compact and perfectly formed - there's a place for everything and everything is in its place. Could only be the home of a stage manager of course :) It's such a close neighbourhood too - apparently you can't bump your knee without the whole marina getting wind of it, but then the upside is you also can't walk 10 yards down the pontoon in the summertime without having a pint put in your hand, which seems like a fair tradeoff to me... Anyway, after a good old sesh of theatre gossip and some fajitas I was quite sad to leave Katie B and the ducks, but having promised it won't be the last I see of them both I can hardly leave it at that, can I?

Same day, different town: this train will be terminating at Bromley South, where I went to bid bon voyage to one of the best housemates a girl could ever ask for. Nola and Damian are relocating *SOB* to the sunny shores of Oz (from whence Damo hails) to become Mr and Mrs Damo and there was a raucous, if slightly weepy, last-day-of-work knees up at the Partridge, hallowed refuge of the Churchill techie. It wasn't all sobs though - good wine, old friends, babies on the way and no fewer than 4 engagements in the room made for a smashing night that really never felt like a goodbye (hmm, must check I did actually say goodbye before swanning off in a merlot mist)...

I could go on, but I've got some knitting to get on with - what with all this socialising I've barely crossed needles in a week and ducks don't knit themselves. Suffice to say I have an awesome bunch of friends and not enough time in the world to see them all. The only solution is getting your knit on.

Laters all. Have a glass of wine on me.
xx

Thursday 18 March 2010

Knitted Duck's Folksy shop is up!

Oh. Em. Gee.

I've finally got my Mediterranean bee-hind into gear and Knitted Duck's Folksy store is UP! Don't take my word for it - check it out at http://www.folksy.com/shops/theknittedduck

The items are currently as per the Etsy store but everything is now in Sterling and so much more UK friendly, and new items are being updated regularly so keep checking in.

I will also be putting up an Item of the Week offer on Twitter so to get in on the act follow me at twitter.com/charminglass - lunatic ramblings disclaimer notwithstanding...

As ever, love and knitties everyone xxx

Monday 8 March 2010

Ad break...

Just a flying visit knitfans...

The Etsy shop is up to date FINALLY (woo hoo!) - I honestly do not know where the time goes sometimes, I had such grand designs on this about three weeks ago. Anyhoo, it's here now, featuring the knitty bits from last Friday's blog post, and you can find them here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/theknittedduck

And as always, don't be put off by the dollar signs - I do of course sell in pounds (prices on previous blog) and can make commissions and custom makes as well.

Now, if you've looked through the shop and thought "This is great, but what I really need is a knitted beard" then I know just the place for you. Wife of Brian is run by a fellow theatrical type called Vicky, and if you want to see the fantastic things she makes visit http://www.wifeofbrian.com or follow her on blogspot (she's in my list). What that girl can't make with a pair of needles is not worth making. She's also the reason I've pulled my finger out at all and got The Knitted Duck up and running proper, so when I make my first million with knitting it'll be her I have to thank :) If you like what you see please spread the word.

That's all for now - I'll be back soon with photos, new fings and eventually (fingers and needles crossed) a knitting clinic for those of you who want to know the difference between pearls and purls :D

love and knitties xxx

Friday 5 March 2010

So, March is here then...

Wow, I've been slack. Well, not slack; vv busy with the day job working on Ghost Stories by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith (little plug there) which is pretty effing awesome, if I do say so myself... if you're a fan of having the proverbial scared out of you check it out here.

Anyhoo, I'm out of a production period and back to reality now, just catching up with the days of the week and slightly startled that March appears to have happened without my prior knowledge. Not that I can complain, what with it involving two weeks off to get on with the long list of outstanding knitting, the KD photoshoot, and, ahem, MY BIRTHDAY! There are at least 3 visits to the Adventure Bar in Clapham Junction in the planner, and one night in Project Orange - if you are of the rock persuasion or just appreciate bars run by staff who genuinely love doing what they do, I sincerely recommend both. Adventure is cocktails and cheese anthems, complete with flaring, 2-4-1 happy hour and awesome hairdos; Project Orange is the dark side, Sex Pistols videos and gothic murals on the wall, live music, and a playlist run by the bar staff (who always play Tonight Tonight for us!). I would live there if I could.

Enough plugging I think. In the meantime, I haven't been completely idle - I've finally got my new line of accessories inspired by good old Blighty up and running! The pics and prices are at the bottom of this post, you can also find them in my Etsy shop at http://theknittedduck.etsy.com/, and I can of course make more on request. Currently they don't have any fixings on them unless stated, so they can be brooch pins, hairclips or keyrings - if you're interested in any of them let me know what you'd prefer. And as always keep em peeled - lots more coming up over the next two weeks too!

So, that's that from me for now; be happy and knitty, and catch you all on the flipside...

Red Apple £5
Bumblebee £5
Goth Bow £5
Black Cherries £5
Ladybird £5
Pink Bangle £5
Yellow Duck £5
Emma's Butterfly £5
(as designed for Andy's sister on her return home after 18 months in Australia!)