Silk, handspun and other things...

One of the skeins of Colinette Tao silk that I got from Ally Pally got knitted up last week. There are several one skein patterns in the Arboretum booklet that supports this yarn and it was difficult to decide which to make. I settled on the Sycamore fingerless gloves. The yarn is lovely and soft and knits up well but I feel that the colours looked far nicer on the skein than they do in the finished item. They look nice - just not special. At £13.50 a skein I want really special ! I haven't sewn them up yet. I also need to sew up a second pair of Sox on 2 Stix that I made at work.
















This scarf is the first thing that I've knitted from my own handspun. I decided to just make a simple garter stitch skinny scarf. It looks quite funky and will have a fringe when it's finished. This was merino wool tops that I spun up into a chunky yarn. I like it. I'm now working on spinning a finer, more even yarn. It's not easy but it's fun trying.















I bought this book last week and it has some great patterns in it. I've made great progress with the Grownup Bonnet especially as I can only work on it when the person who will be getting it for Christmas isn't around. I also plan to make the lace edged shrug from this book and have purchased a yummy wool/silk blend to knit it with. I need more time !

Pink fluffy things

My favourite model, Miss Millikins, kindly agreed to show off the Colinette Fandango boa that I made last week. This has already been gifted to my friend ,Fiona, who had a birthday last Wednesday. Millie loved it and I had to promise to make another one for her before I could get this one back from her. Luckily I have another skein in shades of pink that I purchased at Ally Pally. Fiona loved the birthday boa and I must say that it suited her well. This is a pattern that I have used about four times now and have always been pleased with the results. It only takes one skein so it's a great way to try out some Colinette colourways.

The second pair of Socks on Two Stix are very nearly finished. They came to a halt when I ran out of wool again and couldn't find any more of this colour at John Lewis. I will have to make them a little shorter than the first pair. It should only take about half an hour to finish the second sock and slightly shorten the first one. Finishing them off would be the right thing to do.... so of course I cast on something else instead !
The back and left front of Millie's fluffy pink bolero are finished. It is working up quite quickly and looks cute.
All in all, last week was very busy and not a lot of knitting got done. Halloween, school disco and firework night have cut severely into my knitting time - but hey! Millie has had a great time and will hopefully be in need of a few early nights this week.