Happy Father's Day!

Hello, how are you all? 

It's been a long time again so I thought I'd report back with some updates on kitting, crocheting and other crafts.

I've got a few FOs to report!!

First of all, I've finally, FINALLY finished Black Acer. Seriously, there were moments when I thought it would never happen. A few weeks ago after I finished another project and was itching to start something new but didn't have the right yarn I thought to myself - I really want to finish this, I want to be able to wear it this summer! It coincided with the boys wanting to do a Marvel movie marathon so I needed some knitting while that was happening. I don't mind Marvel, but it doesn't keep my interest massively well, and it was just perfect to watch and knit at the same time. 

Seriously, after procrastinating with this cardi for literally YEARS I finished it in a couple of weeks or so. I even sewed the buttons on!

I've not washed it and the weather has been so bad that I've not managed to get a few good shots of me wearing it yet, so I've got to remember to get that done. 

I'm really pleased with it and I'm so excited that I finally get to wear it!!

Second FO - my Mohair Cowl. This hasn't been on the needles for quite as long, but it's been long enough that I'm happy to be done with it. Again, no pictures of me wearing it yet, as I haven't got round to it, but it fits and I've actually already given it an outing or two. 

One thing to note about this pattern - the sleeves are way too long! I knitted it just as the pattern asked me to and I could have omitted at least 3-4 inches from the upper sleeves. I was thinking about unravelling, but then I'd lose some of the ribbing, which is supposed to go up to the elbow, and I'm certainly not going to unravel and knit both sleeves again. It's a bit annoying to have to pull them up all the time (which I think is intentional, it's what you are supposed to do), but it's fine, it'll have to do.

Third FO - in an attempt to finally get rid of the scatchy never-ending olive no-name yarn that I bought years ago on ebay I decided to crochet a basket. I made it extra large (so did more increases than demanded) but I managed to completely use up the yarn and even a little bit of leftover burgundy yarn. I'm using it to store the multitude of gaming paraphenalia the boys have  (cables, xbox controllers, headphones...). 

And guess what, yesterday was my birthday and this is what I got from D:

It's a full kit for the Yellow Queen Sweater!

I'm so excited to finally knit something that isn't from stash. I wound all that Cascade 220 into yarn cakes yesterday and I can't wait to cast on! 

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Holiday prep...

We are off on holiday to the Netherlands in a few days time.

Well,  next Friday really, but this coming week is looking to be such an insanely busy week, with school stuff, and getting all the critters sorted, and boy #1's leavers celebrations (he is off to secondary school in September! Where has time gone!?), and then an unexpected hospital appointment for me next Wednesday, which will likely set me back a day or so in preparation, that I really have to get a move on with my holiday prep now or it won't get done in time. It feels weird to be quite this organised, but I'm going with it...

This does not mean, however, that I have my priorities completely in order. I have, for example, already spent an unreasonably long time contemplating what knitting projects I want to bring. Do you find that you spend far too long thinking about things like this?! Realistically, I probably won't get a lot of time to knit anyway, and yet I find myself weighing up different projects, WIPs, looking at more patterns. Insane, when I have so much to do!

I'm currently thinking of bringing my newest project, the Mohair cowl that I'm knitting with some stash yarn that I recently unearthed. I can't even remember where I got this stuff, but it's quite nice to knit with and will hopefully make a nice light but warm jumper with a generous cowl. There is lots of this yarn, so I'm not likely to run out no matter how generous I make it.

I'm also thinking of bringing my will-it-ever-get-finished Black Acer. This cardi has been on my needles so long it's unreal, but I find it so hard to work on it. It's not so much that the pattern is too difficult as that it takes my full concentration and I so rarely have a moment during the day when I can give it that. I tried knitting in the evening, but the black is awful to work with in artificial light. Perhaps the holiday will allow me to make some headway with this project? I'd really like to wear that cardi sometime before I retire...

I'm also thinking of perhaps bringing my parrot socks?  These are usually my handbag project and I tend to drag them all over the place because they are an easy no-thinking-required stockinette stitch and therefore ideal for quickly picking-up and setting-down as required.

Alternatively I could bring my red Hedgerow socks, again a project that's been on the needles far far too long. This might be the better option because the parrot socks will get finished one day anyway, because they live in my bag and come out whenever I have to wait anywhere for any length of time. The Hedgerow socks however are again somewhat more tricky, with a somewhat fiddly pattern to remember, and if I get distracted I tend to mess it up. Or should I rather take an easy project for the beach?! Decisions, decisions...

I'm also thinking of bringing some yarn to work on the larger version of the little crochet rat I made for boy #2. Boy #3 has been asking for a cuddly larger version for so long now...

I don't know... I have so many pattern ideas at the moment that I am finding it really hard to properly focus on a project. Should I instead bring something new and exciting?!

Or perhaps I should shelve these contemplations for a while and concentrate on packing things like trousers and underpants...

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FOs and WIPs and such... A Year of Projects...

... Well, in my case more like half a year of projects. Not that I have that much to show for.

I have, however, steadily been working on and I do in fact have one FO. It's been a FO for some time now, but I never got round to posting about it. It's the Scheepjes CAL Dancing in the Rain blanket. I joined the CAL on Facebook and, apart from a few lapses, kept up with the pattern pieces pretty well. Some were tricky, others were not favourites in the making, but mostly they were fun to make, and always challenged my crocheting skills. It's been good to make this blanket, yes, and it's very rewarding to see it used by the boys every day. They really do love their blankets. The first thing they said when we got to our flat when we went on holiday a few weeks ago was 'but there are no blankets on the sofa!!'. I think my enduring love of blankets may be to blame. Clearly it's rubbed off on them...

Anyway, here we go - 'Dancing in the Rain', all complete and such:

The yarn is acrylic, which, considering the near-constant use this blanket is receiving, is probably an excellent thing, and after some initial teething problems I actually got on with it very well. There was a significantly more expensive Merino option for the kit, but I'm glad I stuck with the acrylic - it's soft, and light, and the blanket feels very snuggly.

I'm also slowly making progress on two projects that I've had on the needles for ages - Black Acer, and the Boneyard Shawl. 

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WIP Wednesday Project Update

I've joined another CAL.

Yes, I know, I have enough to do as it is, and I'm not even mentioning the 2 (!) partially finished crochet blankets that I am currently working on, but this CAL was just too tempting to pass up.

It's called the Spice of Life CAL and yes, it is another blanket.

What I like about it is that it will work in lines, but with a variety of colours and stitches, so it should be a good stash buster for the selection of acrylic yarns that I bought for the Weekender blanket. The Weekender isn't finished, but because of the amount of colours I doubt that I will use up any of the big 100g and 200g balls that I bought for it and well, I'm unlikely to use acrylic for anything other than hard-wearing family blankets that need to withstand frequent washes. 

Why do I need another blanket, you might ask...

Well, I happen to think that you can never have too many crochet blankets in your life! Seriously, though, our blankets are in constant use. The boys, like us, are blanket fans, and whenever they curl up on the sofa to watch TV or to just sit with us, they will curl up under a cozy blanket. These blankets see a lot of use - they are dragged around the house, they are snuggled up in wherever the boys happen to be, and they even become walls, ceilings and bedding for an infinite number of elaborate dens.

So yes, I do think we can do with yet another blanket! ;)

In other news, I've been steadly working on all projects. A few more rows have been added to Black Acer, but not enough to warrant a photograph. 

Similarly, I've been knitting away on the Boneyard Shawl, but you can't really tell, so again, I'm not  going to bore you with a WIP shot.

I've also re-started work on the Weekender blanket. I've had this on the go for some time, but to be honest, that was always the idea. It's an easy and satisfying project, and one that allows me to take a ball of yarn along with me when I go to the doctor, or take the boys swimming. A little hexie is quickly finished, and once I've collected a few I pull out the blanket and sew them on. It's a long way from finished, but it's reached that critical point when a scrap becomes a blanket, and I've noticed that the boys have started using it as such. ;)

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Craft Away Thursday

Since I missed my usual Wednesday WIP update this week I thought I'd post an update on Thursday instead. 

Not that there is an awful lot happening, but it's good to stay in some kind of routine, right? ;)

This past week I've found my way back to a project that I've neglected for quite some time - Black Acer. I find it very difficult to find time to knit on this with the kids around, because you really need to make sure to concentrate on the pattern and I found myself constantly double-checking and re-counting my rows to make sure I didn't miss those with cables. 

It took some time to re-familiarise myself with the pattern because in my infinite wisdom I obviously DIDN'T make a note of which row I was on. In the process I also found a number of real whoppers - proper mistakes that I hadn't noticed at the time. They are mainly at the beginning, those first few rows, when I wasn't really in the swing of things and the pattern was unfamiliar. I also, at the time, tried to work on this quite a bit with the kids around, so there was a lot of picking up and putting down of knitting. As a result I have one cable row where things are just... wrong. 

Guess what, though?

I'm not frogging. I'm leaving it as it is, because even though I can see the mistake I'm pretty confident that the casual passer-by who happens to see me wear Acer is never ever going to spot the mistake. 

Similarly there are a couple of mistakes further on, where I somehow managed to not do a yarn-over and therefore was a stitch short. I noticed a couple of rows further in and just corrected it then. Although if you stretch the fabric apart you can see that there is something not quite right in that section, due to a purl stitch right after the yarn-over there is a natural crease in the knitted fabric that conveniently masks the missing hole from the yarn-over. As far as I'm concerned a mistake that nobody will notice is not an actual problem. ;)

I'm about to start my third ball of yarn for this, so I'm going through the yarn quite quickly. Hope my calculations were right so I won't run out with half a sleeve to go!

I've also been working on the Boneyard Shawl. 

In contrast to Black Acer, this is really a pick up / put down kind of project for me. Right now I still can't tell much of a difference, and of course as the rows get longer, progress gets slower, but I'm persevering. Sooner or later it's going to get done.

And last but not least, look at this:

It's done! I've frogged Cowl! Isn't it funny how many small balls of yarn came out of that sweater? What on earth was I doing?!

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WIP Wednesday

Is it really Wednesday again?

Already?

This week really has raced by. It seems like yesterday that I posted my last Wednesday WIP update.

Progress this week exists, but is a bit unspectacular.

I’ve been watching Orange is the New Black (so good!!) and while I was doing that I was mainly working on the Eyelet Yoke, which is at that mindless stage of sleeves knitting. Oh, how I hate sleeves. I should really only knit short-sleeved garments, because I get so bored with sleeves and when I get bored I start procrastinating and progress stalls…

I’ve at least managed to get past the elbow, so I guess I’m on the home-straight with this sleeve at least.

Not exciting, but for the sake of documentation, here it is:

 

I’ve also taken delivery of a huge (and I mean HUGE – I kind of underestimated how much toy stuffing 1kg was!!) bag of polyester toy stuffing, so I was able to finish Roly’s body. I quite like this project – it’s fussy, but with all the short rows and the counting, and the Kitchener stitch and the 3 needle bind-offs it’s never dull, and it’s the perfect project to become more at ease with the fiddlier aspects of knitting technique.

Picture of the kitchener stitch seam on the belly: 

I’m also finished knitting the horns and am now on to knitting 14 (!) little insect legs. Once that’s done and all those tiny legs are sewn onto the body I’ll only have to embroider some eyes on and it’s done!!

I’m also slowly continuing to knit on Black Acer. Even though this continues to be slow, considering that for a few months the project stalled almost entirely this is actually really good progress. As I’m settling into the pattern more it is becoming less confounding as well, which is great, because I’m now not continuously glued to the pattern print-out and can actually enjoy the knit.

Here, have a black blob, so you can admire my work this week (isn’t black impossible to photograph?!):

Last but not least, I've been a bad girl and have bought yarn. This was prompted by boy #2's wish for a hat and scarf for next winter, but really, we all know that this is a feeble excuse  - I could easily have found something to use in my stash...

Look at it though, isn't this gorgeous?

This is Manos del Uruguay, Silk Blend, which is a 70% wool, 30% silk yarn, approximately dk / aran weight. I bought it through Ravelry. 

The other day it occurred to me that this Year of Projects is drawing to a close. I can’t believe it’s been one year already.

With that in mind I went back to my original project list to see what I’d achieved. At times I’ve ventured quite far from that original list, so not everything is relevant anymore and I’ve knitted and crocheted things that I didn’t even know existed when I first drew up that list, but again, for the sake of recapping the year, here is the original list:

The Garter Yoke Cardi - DONE

Ink Flare - DONE

Ink Flare 2 - DONE

Socks for boys - DONE, DONE and DONE

Bulky Moebius Cowl - DONE

Shalom cardi

Ubernatural - SWAPPED FOR LIESL (DONE)

Dietrich

Socks for me - DONE

Sideways Grande Cloche

Easy Raglan V-Neck - DONE

Granny Square Blanket - DONE

 I think I've done pretty well with that original list - and of course I've achieved so much more!! 

Projects that I've completed (or at least started) that were not part of the original plan were:

Roly the Roly Poly Pill Bug

The Eyelet Yoke Sweater

Black Acer

The Weekender blanket

Ripples

The Crochet Cushion cover

Boy #3's Handspun Hat

Owls

The Mystery Crochet Blanket

Totoro

I think all in all it’s been a productive year, and despite the fact that I’ve been super busy with work. I guess it’s nearly time to start thinking about next years’ Year of Projects – I’ll better get planning!!

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WIP Wednesday...

You know, when teaching finished a couple of weeks ago I really REALLY thought that things were going to be a bit more calm and less frantic and chaotic. 

Well, um...

This hasn't really happened. Yes, I am less busy at work at the moment, but that is only because I am MORE busy at home. Not only is it half term this week (and since I am for once not teaching I am taking some time to spend with the boys) but the boys have picked up some virus. First it was boy #2. He's not often ill, so we were surprised how this illness threw him. He was off school for a whole week, which just never happens to him (he's the kind of kid who will get a badge at the end of term for 100% attendance). It was an odd sort of bug - at times he was almost OK, but he got several temperature spikes throughout the day that we controlled through meds. When he was finally over the bug I worried that the other boys would get it. When over a week passed and nothing happened I started to relax. 

Well, they've got it now. Boy #3 isn't too bad, although he did run a bit of a fever and now has a nasty cough, but boy #1 has got it really badly. The poor child has been lying on the sofa for 4 days now. Initially it was just the fever, but now he has the cough from hell. I'll take him to the doctor's tomorrow so someone can listen to his chest...

So not only do I have all three boys at home at the moment, two of them are also ill, requiring special attention, plus, boy #2, currently not ill, is bored out of his mind because he'd like to go places. ;)  

All this is conspiring against both knitting time and in particular computer time, meaning that updates have been few and far between. That said, here is an update. :)

I've finished the shell of Roly the Pill Bug.

I'm so happy with how the Noro Silk Garden is working out for this project. The colour changes couldn't be more perfect if I'd deliberately chosen them to come out in that way. And that weird set of mushroom-y colours that, in a garment, always looked like something I'd never wear? Perfect for a bug as it turns out! ;)  

Progress on this has now stalled, because I got to the point when I need to stuff the body and then kitchener stitch the belly up and I needed to order some fiberfill because I don't think the sewing cut-offs that I stuffed Totoro with would work for this one because it needs to stay subtle and soft enough to curl up. 

On the plus side, with Roly on hold I've been making a bit of headway with Black Acer. Progress is still slow, but I've started the cable pattern. I'm a little confused because the order of the different pattern repeats is not all that clear, but I think I've got it right... Or so I hope, but once I've done the first set of repeats and can see the pattern better it should be more obvious if I have it right or not.

I tried hard to get a good shot of Acer, but not only is black really quite tricky to photograph but boy #3 insisted on photobombing every single time I lined everything up. :)

He even got his Spiderman to participate...

I suppose Spiderman is quite photogenic...

There is some minor progress on the Eyelet Yoke and on the Weekender, but I've not had time to photograph either of them. Got to aim to be a bit more disciplined again about taking pictures. 

So there you go, that is my update for the week. 

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WIP Wednesday - slow progress...

Progress continues to be quite slow and plodding this week. I have been working on all the projects, but I've not got far. Still, I might as well show what I've been up to!

Liesl is still growing slowly but steadily. I've finished the body and have started the first sleeve. These shouldn't take too long because I'm planning on mid-length sleeves that finish just below the elbow. I'm finding it fiddly though, because the cable needle I'm using isn't particularly good for the magic loop method because the cable is so stiff... I may have to invest in a different one because it's driving me crazy!

The Eyelet Yoke Sweater is also slowly growing. I tried it on a couple of times to make sure that it fits and so far it seems OK. I've finished the body decrease (increased a couple of times more than indicated in the pattern) and I have about an inch to go before the increases start. It's not fast, but the yarn is so soft and cuddly, it's a delight to knit with, and the Clover needles that I'm using for this one are so much better than that clunky cheapies that I am using for Liesl. It really is false economy buying cheap cable needles, but I bought them years ago as a student. I'm replacing them as needed because one by one the plastic of the cable seems to go brittle and crack...

The Weekender blanket is still slowly progressing too - I think I might start adding a few of the hexies that I've been working on - I don't want to leave all the assembly work to the end and the boys have already been using the blanket anyway, even though it's only the size of a lap blanket right now!

I've also been working on my Black Acer, but progress continues to be minimal.

Last but not least, I've decided to alter the Ballet T-Shirt that I knitted years ago. The project info is here and I've honestly only worn this once or twice because it's simply too short. Fortunately it's knitted from the top down and I have a bit of the yarn left, so I've unpicked the hem and I'll add a few inches so I can actually wear this!

And finally, I've located the Noro that I want to use for the Roly Poly Pill Bug. I think the muted colours and texture of this yarn will be great for this project!

And what am I reading this week? 

D and I are still working on The Long Song, which is wonderful, but we've been so tired the past couple of weeks that we are not making much progress.

I've also started reading The Mist in the Mirror, which is a ghost story set in Victorian England. I bought the book at the theatre when I went to see a stage performance of it last week. The play was great, and, at least to me, pretty spooky! My jumpiness throughout was a source of endless amusement to the friends that came with me. 

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WIP Wednesday - more new beginnings...

Handspun Liesl is progressing nicely. 

It's fun, knitting with yarn that you've spun yourself, and it's been a long time since I've last done a big project with handspun. I don't often get the time for spinning now, so even though I have two fleeces currently waiting to be processed and spun, it could be a long time before I get around to it and before I have spun enough yarn for another big garment. Because of this it's a particular pleasure that I have finally found the right project for this yarn. 

Because I'm not already up to my eyeballs in work, and because the house is clearly not nearly chaotic and untidy enough, and because I can still see the washing machine over the pile of laundry waiting to be processed... I've cast on for yet another project.

It's the Eyelet Yoke Sweater. 

I've fancied the look of this sweater ever since I spotted it on Ravelry, and yesterday evening, while catching up on House of Cards on Netflix, I cast on with some sage Rowan Calmer that I still had lying around. I got gauge on the first try, with the suggested needle size, so I'm taking this as a good omen. ;)

The instructions for this sweater are somewhat vague - there are instructions only for the smallest size, which wouldn't fit me, and because of the lack of detailed information about sizing the pattern is indicated as for 'experienced knitters'. I'm not sure I'd class myself as 'experienced', but with my typical 'oh, I'm sure it'll work out' attitude I've cast on anyway. The gauge is 4 stitches / 5 rows for 1 inch, so I've cast on 8 more stitches to add another 2 inches to the bust and waist. Hopefully this will work, otherwise I have some frogging to do!!

I've not done any more work on my black Acer, which is such a shame, as the weather is getting warm enough that I would probably wear this a lot. Apparently I really REALLY don't like knitting with black. I suppose that's something to remember... 

I'll try to make some time this week to progress with this cardi because much as I don't want to knit it, I do want to wear it!  ;) 

And what am I reading this week?

Well, I've not had much time for reading, so my book hasn't changed. BUT I treated myself to an ebay purchase the other day: it's a back copy of Sew, with a little dress pattern that I'm hoping to make, so that's what I'm hoping to look through tonight. :)  

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