Socks on two sticks

Desperate for new hand knitted socks , I decided to try Knitty's Socks on 2 sticks pattern. It was really quick and easy and the finished result is pretty good. Im not sure it was actually any easier than using circular needles but it just didn't require as much concentration and was easy to memorize. The sewing up was a bit of a pain but you can't feel the seams when you wear them. I used Cygnet Superwash dk and managed to get one pair of socks and almost another foot out of two 50g balls. I like them so much that I bought another ball and intend to finish the second pair at work this week. I have about a ton of sock yarn in my stash and am hoping that I will feel inspired to use some of it soon. Socks are pretty handy for a small portable project - ideal for work knitting.

Feeling a little guilty about the amount of new yarn purchased and the number of UFO's lying around, I decided to tackle a couple of those nearly finished projects. The Sweetpea Cardigan is now sewn up with the lace edging added to the hem and sleeves. It just needs the embroidery and I would have completed it if I could just remember where I put those embroidery ribbons and cotton perle. I think it is a cute little jacket but it is nowhere near big enough for Millie - she is seriously miffed ! This is not because my gauge was out ! I just misunderstood the nature of the sizes in the pattern. There were no age guidelines but the largest size seemed to measure the same as one of her existing cardigans but obviously it has a few inches of ease to it and crochet is not very stretchy. I would say this will probably fit a three year old. Miss Millie is nearly six. I will finish the embroidery and then try to find a good home for it. Meanwhile I have bought 3 balls of a beautiful fluffy yarn, Zanzibar, to make a little cardi for Millie to make up for the disappointment. Like I needed more yarn !

The Alien Illusion Scarf is also going well - just under one alien head to complete. I want it myself but think it would be a great present for someone I know with a birthday in December. Do I really want to knit a third one ? Maybe !

All in a spin...

This week I spun the hand dyed Wensleydale up into this. I'm definitely improving on the wheel and the second skein, which is still on the niddy noddy, is even more even. Working with the space dyed stuff is great fun - much more interesting to spin as the colours keep changing. I am thinking of using this to make the Falling Leaves Scarf from the last issue of Spindlicity.

Eowyn and the Aliens

As if I hadn't enough projects planned already .... I fell in love with the Eowyn wrist warmers in the free Rowan supplement that came with this month's Simply Knitting. So, of course, I had to purchase a couple of balls of Rowan Kid Classic. I knitted them up in an evening and blocked them over night ready to sew up next day. I absolutely love the finished items. There were a few problems with the pattern and a search on Google revealed that most people have been slightly confused by the thumb holes. The wrist warmers are only ever pictured with the lacey edging covering your hands but there are thumb holes at the other end in the pattern. I just decided to knit it as written and the wristwarmers look great worn either way round. The yarn is soft and warm and I enjoyed knitting with it. You use two strands knitted together to make a chunky thickness - one each of two similar colours for a tweedy effect. . I think I could probably make 3 pairs from 4 balls and may well buy some more to do just this.A couple more Alien heads have been completed at work this week, although following the chart has been hard with all the distractions. I'm looking forward to being able to wear this one - the WIP has been much admired !

I bought some Tao silk last week with a view to making the crochet necklace from the Arboretum booklet. Decided to try out the pattern with some Twilley's Goldfingering and am quite pleased with the result. It was fun to make and I think I would wear it..Last but not least.... spinning ! I've spun up some of the roving I bought at Ally Pally last week. It is much more fun spinning with the hand dyed stuff. Watching the colours change is a real joy. The finished yarn looks to be about a worsted weight. I'm not sure what to use it for yet. Oh, and I've signed up for the Bjork Knitalong and am just waiting for my pattern to arrive

Last weeks knitting pictures

Well, Blogger has finally let me upload the pictures of last weeks knitting. I'm really making some progress with Madeline now that I've figured out the edging. It looks great and I can't wait to finish it. Distractions abound though,
in the form of dishcloths ! Two more of these little beauties in Rowan All Seasons Cotton. I like this design a lot and so does Miss Millie. The pink one I made a few weeks ago is now her very favourite facecloth. The Alien Illusion Scarf is also looking good and is mainly being knittedat work.
Meanwhile, I bought this month's copy of Simply Knitting and fell in love with the Eowyn Wrist Warmers in the free Rowan supplement. I knitted a pair yesterday and am just sewing them up and blocking them tonight. I also made a crochet collar/necklace from Twilleys Goldfingering using the pattern in the Colinette Arboretum booklet last night. It looks really effective. All in all a fairly productive week. Now I just need to work on using some of that stash.

Major stash enhancement !

On Thursday I took a day off work and went to the Knit and Stitch Show at Ally Pally - highlight of the knitting year ! It was great - really inspiring. I came home exhausted and loaded with knitting goodies. Firstly, it was great to pick up some spinning supplies without having to pay a load of postage - and to feel the fibres first. I picked up some lovely soft wool roving in a natural cream, brown and some hand dyed. Also a bag of different coloured wool tops. I plan to get adventurous with my spinning wheel. I also found a niddy noddy for winding skeins - something I was particularly on the look out for. The Colinette stand is always a big attraction for me as I have long been a fan of these wonderful yarns in their many fabulous colourways. Two hanks of the new Tao silk are now in my stash and I am thinking of making a crocheted collar/necklace with one of them. Two hanks of Parisienne in a wonderful purple colour were also irresistable. These may be destined to become a shawl from the new Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts magazine. It seems quite like Kidsilk Haze and I cant wait to knit it up. A couple more hanks of Fandango for more of the boa scarves also made their way into my bag. Oh, and not forgetting 200g of dk in the Monet colourway. You don't often see the dk and I was tempted to buy enough for a cardigan but then considered how many I could already make from my existing stash. So, restraint was exercised and I am thinking maybe legwarmers and gloves. When I tore myself away from the Colinette stand there were plent more goodies to be found. I have been drooling over Nicky Epstein's Swanderful bag from her new book of felted bags for a few weeks now. It is such an original design and looks great fun. Jamiesons Shetland were selling yarn packs for some of the bags in the book and when I saw this one I couldn't believe my luck. I had almost ordered it online a couple of days ago at a considerably greater cost. I have ordered the book from Amazon and am looking forward to getting started. There is a KAL for this project and I might just join. The single hank of Noro Daria is to be a belt using either knittting or crochet. The flower kit is all I could afford from House of Hemp's stand by the time I reached it. I've wanted to try hemp yarn for a while. It is quite expensive and feels quite hard and stringy but it does take the colours beautifully. The woman on the stand was wearing a lovely crocheted waistcoat that I liked a lot. Perhaps if I had seen it before the Colinette stand I may have bought the kit. Oh well, I took a card and will track them down online when I have more money.

There has actually been some knitting going on this week. The Madeline Jacket is coming on great now that I have worked out how to do the edging. I'm about half way round and fairly pleased with how the whole thing is looking. Two repeats are complete on the Alien Illusion scarf - just four more to go. Two crochet dishcloths are finished . Blogger is playing up again and won't let me download any more pictures so I will have to try again later.

Madeline is back !

I finally picked up the White Lies Madeline Jacket again. This is something that I really am looking forward to wearing. However, I was completely stumped when I reached the edging - the pattern made absolutely no sense to me. It was really frustrating. Eventually, I tracked down someone on the Craftster website who had posted pics of her finished Madeline a while ago. I emailed her for advice. This very nice lady (knitters always are !) had exactly the same problem with the edging but had figured it out with some help. When she explained what she had done it seemed to make a bit more sense. After a bit of practice with scrap yarn I have managed to proceed and it looks fairly ok. The rest of the pattern was quite simple and clear but I think that this problem would have caused a less experienced knitter to give up. Anyway, my plan to finish this jacket to wear to the Knit and Stitch Show at Ally Pally this week is unlikely to come off. Three more dishclothes flew off the needles while I was mulling over what to do with Madeline.














These latest three are all knitted from free patterns downloaded off the internet. I've actually started using some of these cloths - they are pretty good.
I've also started new project at work. My second Alien Illusion Scarf from Stitch 'n Bitch. The first one was a Christmas present for my nephew last year. It was such a fun scarf to make and to wear that I have been promising myself I'd make another for ages.

Scarves and hat

I finished the Granny Square Keyhole Scarf from First Crochet and am really pleased with it. Blocking worked wonders - it was transformed into a really great looking finished item. I will definitely wear this when it gets cooler. There is probably enough yarn left to make another two of these. I didn't buy the recommended yarn but am still surprised at how much was left over. So, maybe another scarf for a Christmas present or perhaps a matching bag for me.

The second Curly Wurly has now been given to my sister Jude, who is modelling it for me here. These scarves look great and are really easy to make.
It is my birthday today and my sis and neice knew just what I wanted . They bought me some balls of Wendy Moiselle which is a lovely yarn. I am trying to decide what to make with it - perhaps a scarf or bag.
Also just off the needles is a hat made from 2 balls of Rowan Biggy Print that had been in my stash for ages. I got the pattern from the book Hip Knit Hats which I borrowed from the library. It's a great book and I would probably buy it at some point. This hat feels comfy and is definitely very wearable. I'm trying to make things that will actually get worn at the moment as I realise that I have often made things just for the pleasure of making them. It seems such a waste if things don't get used. I wore my One Button Bolero last night when we went out for a fab Indian meal to celebrate my birthday. I felt great in it.
I have also managed to crochet another 3 dishclothes. I'm not so pleased with these three and think that I will be knitting the next few. I am enjoying the KAL. There are some excellent dishclothes appearing on the blog.

Flower Basket Shawl - finished !!!

The Flower Basket Shawl is now finished and I am really pleased with the way the Rowan Tapestry knitted up. It is the first time I've used any soy fibre and I found it very soft and silky. The striping effect is also very pleasing. I like this shawl a lot and would like to make it again in the largest size. This is the smallest shawl and it only took a couple of yards over two balls of Tapestry. The smaller scarf size version is one of my most worn knits from last year. I made it in some Colinette dk that I bought on Ebay.
Tonight I also finished the granny square scarf and have pinned it out to block in the loft. I wasn't sure about it until I blocked it and now I love it. I am definitely a born again blocker. I used to avoid washing my knits unless absolutely vital but now realise how important this stage is for getting a really professional finish. It should be dry in a couple of days if the good weather continues and I will post pictures. Also finished today at work - another pink curly wurly scarf. The ends need sewing in, so photos will follow tomorrow. This one is destined to be a Christmas gift.
The Dishcloth KAL is proving quite interesting. There is lots of Finished Object Gratification. Last Friday I managed to crochet 5 of them in one evening. Very satisfying ! I may dedicate next Friday evening to dishcloths as well. I expect that my output will slow down once the initial enthusuasm has worn off. It has been commented that they are too cute to use - I am fighting this feeling at the moment. After all, it is pointless if you don't use them.

This week I have mostly been making ..... dishcloths ! Having joined the Dishcloth Knitalong I felt an obligation to get stuck in and knit some. So far I have made 7, with one yet to be photographed. The simple ones only took about an hour each and the others were pretty quick. I'm thinking that these could be quite handy about the house if i can bring myself to use them.

The Flower Basket Shawl is also complete but still needs blocking. I think it is going to look stunning. I've also started on a crochet scarf from First Crochet which is coming along nicely. It is lots of little granny squares joined together. It's about half done .

I had the best surprise this week - a parcel arrived from my downstream One Skein Secret Pal, the lovely Ruth of www.rooknitting.blogspot.com . She sent me a fabulous skein of Colinette Giotto in a most beautiful shade of green. Having read my blog after the August "reveal", she can be pretty sure that I am very well pleased with this. This just proves to me that Knitbloggers are the most generous and friendly people. I am constantly surprised by how willing they are to share their enthusiasm, skills and even their stash ! This may have to become another drop stitch scarf. Thank you so much Ruth - I love it !
Last night I crocheted my first Curly Wurly scarf. The pattern is from the book First Crochet by Lesley Stanfield and the yarn is Rowan Soft Baby. For a one evening project I am very pleased with this. It was fun to make, didn't take a lot of concentration and is a lovely scarf to wear. It took very slightly over one ball and I am wondering whether to try and get a matching beanie hat out of the leftovers or buy another ball and make another scarf. This is another possible Christmas present project.



















My first couple of skeins of handspun are looking quite good . I plyed the larger skein - not very well, but I had a go. I am more pleased with the singles . My technique is improving with practise and I am very much enjoying the spinning. I want to make something with these but can't think what. Any ideas ?

Another Flower Basket Shawl

Last week there was some serious knitting time at work. Of course I took the opportunity to start yet another new project when I really should be tackling one of the numerous UFO's. I decided to start another Flower Basket Shawl with the Rowan Tapestry. The last one I made was in Colinette dk and was the scarf size. The Tapestry seems to be going a long way and it's looking as if I will get the small shawl size out of the two balls. I have one more pattern repeat and the lace border to knit and then it's finished. The colours are just great - really Autumnal.
Yesterday I lined the Fit To Be Tied clutch bag that I crocheted weeks ago and it is now officially a finished object. It's quite cute. I like these simple projects that use a single skein of yarn and can be embellished in various ways.

I am thinking that these could be great Christmas gifts.

I knitted a few more rows of the Madeline Wrap and am now past the armholes and ready to start the lacey front edging.

On Saturday morning my final parcel from my One Skein Secret Pal arrived. The wonderful Hazel sent me a brilliant pair of fingerless gloves - the pattern is Fetching from Knitty. They are totally gorgeous and go really well with the scarf that I knitted with the skein of Feza Premier that she sent me last month. She is a talented lady and also makes jewellry - as I have discovered from reading her blog www.knityoga.blogspot.com . She also included a beautiful beaded pin that will make a perfect fastening for my crochet One Button Bolero. It is also nice to know that my downstream pal really liked the stuff that I sent her. The whole exchange has been a lot of fun.

I frogged the too small sleeves of the Sweetpea Cardigan and made them again with a larger hook. This time they fit the armholes - yay ! I'm going to try and finish this one during the coming week. That would be if I don't get caught up with my new spinning wheel. Spinning -I love it ! It really only took a few minutes of fiddling around to work out what to do and I am feeling quite pleased with myself. Now it is a case of practise, practise, and more practise to get a really good even yarn. My very first efforts have converted this pile of Masham fleece into a spindle of yarn. It's a bit lumpy but on the whole I am really proud of it. There is enough fleece left to fill another spindle so I will probably make a chunkyish plyed yarn with it. There should be enough to make something like a hat. I want to make myself something out of my very first handspun yarn.

I managed to restrain myself from purchasing any more expensive yarn this week but did pick up this bag of lovely 100% wool 4 ply from a charity shop for £1.49. How could I pass up such a bargain ? There should be enough for a couple of pairs of socks or maybe a scarf. I also bought a couple of pattern magazines from Interweave Knits which are full of amazing patterns that I will probably never have time to make. I will very much enjoy thinking about making them though.