The hat obsession - latest evidence !

Well, I just can't get enough of hats these days ! I joined the We Call Them Pirates Knitalong and cast on immediately. I am loving the pattern. It's fun to knit and the hat is looking great so far. This has renewed my enthusiasm for fairisle and I will definitely be doing more. The hat should be finished today - I just need another ball of the black yarn to finish the hem. I will probably get enough to make the mittens. Meanwhile, having run out of yarn last night , I cast on for this groovy looking peaked cap...
I am using the recommended yarn Sirdar denim, which is not particularly nice in my opinion, as it is cheap. If I like the style there is some Colinette dk in my stash which would look great. And that's not all ! I whipped up this super chunky hat from a ball of Sirdar Bigga in a couple of hours.
I gave this one to my friend, Karen, who has been wearing it during this sudden cold snap we are having. The pattern has a couple of other designs that I quite like - particularly the one with earflaps.
I really must crack on with the Swanderful Bag for the Bjork KAL before I make too many more hats.

Another hat !

This is the Halley's Comet Hat - a free pattern from the talented Marnie Maclean. I whipped it up last night from a ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. It still needs blocking to show the lace pattern to best advantage but I just had to wear it today. This must be my favourite hat of the moment. It was fun to knit and looks really cute. The next hat on my list is the We Call Them Pirates design from Hello Yarn. I am joining the Knitalong for this one and bought some Cygnet dk this morning.

Meanwhile, the boring ribbed part of the shrug is now finished and I've started on the border. This is a little more interesting but there is 60" of it to go. I'm determined to have a finished shrug sometime soon.
I actually knitted this about two weeks ago and forgot to blog it. It's a little bag from the Glamour book by Erika Knight that I borrowed from the library. I had a skein of Sari Ribbon in my stash and knitted this up in an evening. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to track down a 6" purse clasp to finish it with. When I realised that this wasn't going to be as easy as I'd thought, the project ground to a halt. I'm still searching but can see this one getting frogged eventually. Tomorrow is Miss Millie's 6th birthday so there are presents to wrap before any more knitting gets done.

First FO's of the year...

I made this hat on Sunday from a single ball of Rowan Soft Lux that I picked up in the John Lewis sale. I'd been wanting to try this yarn for ages and a 50% discount seemed like a good incentive. It is lovely - soft and slightly glittery. Knits up beautifully. The pattern is the basic cable beanie from Stitch and Bitch. I would have liked it to be a little longer and will do an extra repeat of the cable if I make it again. The other ball of Soft Lux that I got in the sale crocheted up into this little hat a few hours later. The pattern was one I found on the internet.
I am still in love with the Calorimetry pattern and made this one up from some Debbie Bliss Soho that I purchased especially - I know, it's supposed to be a stashbusting pattern !
The serious knitting this week has been on the lacy shrug from Knit 2 Together. The large piece of ribbing is rather boring and I can't wait to get to the lace edging. I think this is why I keep getting tempted to make hats. I had originally intended to stay faithful to this project. I really, really love the shrug.
My knitting plans for 2007 are as follows -
1. Make a serious dent in my existing stash
2. Finish some of the UFO's that have been lying around for ages
3. Knit more intarsia and fairisle - I used to be good at colour work but haven't done any for ages
4. Start my Christmas knitting much earlier than last year
5. Try some lace knitting
I also want to do a lot more spinning.

Happy New Year !

On Sunday I made the effort to sew up my legwarmers so that they would officially count as a finished object for 2006. They are a bit baggy and I cant decide whether to leave them as they are or trim them down a bit with my overlocker. I guess they would look ok over jeans if I put som elastic around the top to hold them up. The pattern was from Simply Knitting and I don't much like it - definitely prefer a snugger fit.
Today I completed my first finished object of 2007...

Yes, it's yet another pair of Turkish Slippers ! There are several more pairs planned.