I'm back! With Owls!

I can't even remember when I've last posted a knitting update, but I have high hopes that I'm back now. I have another couple of busy weeks until the Easter break, but even so I'm a bit more in control of the workload so hopefully it won't get the better of me again the same way that it did these past few weeks. 

So things are looking up - I'm utterly exhausted, and also in the midst of one of those persistent won't-go-away types of cold (I'm pretty sure the exhaustion and the cold are linked...), but I have room again to occasionally, in the evening, think of things that are not work! 

Surprisingly, even to me, I still have quite a few things to show. You see, I've been doing quite a bit of work-related film and television viewing in the evening, and while that isn't compatible with constructing and writing blog posts, and while I've had very little time to model and photograph knitwear during the day when the light is better for taking pictures, this kind of activity is quite compatible with a bit of not-too-complicated knitting.

This means that I have a few FOs and WIPs to talk about. I've not photographed all of them yet, so I'll drag this out and post it a bit at a time.

Anyway, without further ado, I present...

OWLS

Showing off the shaping at the back:

Front and shaping at the side:

And another shot of the back section...

And the front again... (no idea what I'm doing with my left hand on this picture...)

Photographs courtesy of boy #1, also known to longtime blog-followers as The Bean. 

He's not really The Bean anymore these days - he's rather outgrown that and doesn't much look like a bean anymore. ;)

He's turning into quite a good little photographer and when I asked him to take a few quick pictures of me wearing Owls before school he happily agreed, even though he predicably didn't bother with socks or shoes before following me outside and got freezing feet as a result of it!   

Afterwards, before heading off to work myself, I took a couple more shots of the owls in the mirror:

I am so happy with the way this jumper has turned out. I don't think I'll even bother with the buttons for the eyes of the owls, though if I change my mind I might add them at a later date. For now I'm calling it finished and I'm so so thrilled with it.

Despite my concerns about the thickness (or thinness) of the yarn I like the density and definition of the knitted fabric and the way the structure of the owl pattern looks, and it fits so well - comfortable but snug around the waist and the arms, but not too tight either. Unlike others I've not even had a problem with the shaping at the small of the back. It doesn't bulge but fits snugly, and I love the way the shaping adds interest to the back section.

The only quibble I have is that it's a teeny tiny bit tight under the arms. It doesn't show, but it pinches a bit, and if I were to knit it again I'd probably add a few stitches there to loosen it up a bit. 

That said, I've already worn this to work twice now and I love the way it looks with a skirt - casual, but dressed up enough for work, what more can you ask? 

Shared with:

Yarn Along

Keep Calm Craft On

A Year of Projects

Stitch Along Wednesday

WIP Wednesday Update...

... and boy do I have WIPs! I've gone a bit WIP-crazy over here, starting new projects, knitting a bit, then reverting back to older WIPs, then flitting back to the newer ones. Occasionally I finish something, like the handspun hat for boy#3, but mostly I'm starting things. At this rate it'll be months before any of them are finished because that would require me to, you know, not start new projects but actually stick with what I've got for a while. 

That said, it's fun, this Starteritis, and since all the yarn is coming from stash it gives me a huge sense of satisfaction - all those different wooly treasures are finally finding projects that suit them!

My needles for Owls arrived the other day, so I'm back on track. I am a little worried about the thickness of the yarn. The first ball of yarn seems, to me, to have a different thickness to the rest of the pack, meaning that what initially looked like something between aran and bulky now looks much more like a normal aran-weight yarn... Since this project calls for bulky to achieve the density of fabric that will make the owls look good this is obviously not such a good development. I'm continuing on for now, but I am a bit concerned... :/

The brown v-neck raglan on the other hand has been an unexpected delight.



Look how far I've come! (sorry about the Skylander who snuck into the picture. He was on the table when I took the pictures but since he matches the orange yarn so well he was permitted to stay).



I've really enjoyed knitting with this yarn - it's as soft as it is indifferent in looks, lol. Since all of you seemed to agree that I should go with orange for the contrasting yarn that's exactly what I did. I've finished the body and have started the first sleeve.

I've also done a swatch for yet another cardigan. It's Amy Christoffer's Acer Cardigan.



I'm knitting it with Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in black. I cast on for the swatch yesterday, using 4 mm needles, and hit gauge immediately. OK, the swatch is perhaps 2 mm out, but I'll take that! ;)  It feels curious to knit with the cotton cashmere - it behaves so differently to the wool that I normally knit with, but I like the evenness and drape of the fabric and I think the cables of the cardigan will add some interest to the plain black, while the black will give this project quite a classic, classy look. I'm hoping that keeping it neutral will ensure that it'll be versatile - the kind of cardigan you can wear with a dress or a skirt, to work, or with a pair of jeans when taking the kids to the park. 

And finally, what am I reading right now - D and I finished The Luminaries a few days ago, and rooting around for a new book to tackle I became intrigued with a very different kind of novel. It's To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris. It's so unlike The Luminaries that when we started reading it it took us a while to leave the world of the 19th century New Zealand gold rush behind and shift our attention to 21st century New York! The two novels are so unlike that in fact, the only thing they appear to have in common is that they were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize, which isn't entirely incidental - every year D gives me the Booker Prize shortlist for Christmas. :)

This is the blurb from Amazon:

"Paul O'Rourke - dentist extraordinaire, reluctant New Yorker, avowed atheist, disaffected Red Sox fan, and a connoisseur of the afternoon mochaccino - is a man out of touch with modern life. While his dental practice occupies his days, his nights are filled with darker thoughts, as he alternately marvels at and rails against the optimism of the rest of humanity.

So it goes, until someone begins to impersonate Paul online. What began as an outrageous violation of privacy soon becomes something far more soul-frightening: the possibility that the virtual 'Paul' might be a better version of the man in the flesh . . ."

The reviews on Amazon are pretty mixed. I only skimmed them because I don't want to spoil the plot, but I can see where both sides are coming from. It's such an unusual read, it could go either way... 

Shared with:

A Year of Projects

Keep Calm, Cast On

Yarn Along

Stitch Along Wednesday

WIP Wednesday and A Year of Projects Update...

It's time for another WIP update - how quickly time passes. So much to do, so little time!

I've been busy this week. Term is about to start and everyone is trying to squeeze one last meeting in before teaching starts. Add to that the usual prep work that precedes teaching and there's just not been enough time in the day! 

That said, I have been knitting. Although I've toted my knitting everywhere it's usually been an evening activity, but even so I have managed to make inroads into both Owls and the V-neck. I'm kind of enjoying them both - what one project has in looks (I love the way Owls knits up) the other has in softness (that GGH might not look like much but it's buttery soft - the oatmeal wool I'm using for Owls isn't!). 

Owls is a very quick knit - if you want to finish a project quickly then 6 mm needles really are the way forward. I've managed to damage my needles, though - they weren't very good quality to start with, and the plastic of the cable is cracking where it's joint to the bamboo of the needles. I'll have to buy some new ones - that'll slow me down a bit...

Good thing then that I have the V-Neck Raglan to knit while I'm waiting for my needle replacement. I love the top-down raglan construction, so clever, and you can even try it on as you go along. Good job I did too, because that way I realised that I needed a bit more room under the arms and was able to make three more stitches as I joined the sides to start knitting in the round. It fits much more comfortably now. 

I think I might be a tad short on wool though because I suspect that some of those balls of GGH weren't complete. I'm planning on 2-coloured sleeves to make sure. I'll knit brown until about t-shirt length (from the top), then continue on in an accent colour. To tie it in more I'll add a row of that colour around the neck and possibly also do a couple of thin stripes at the bottom of the jumper... That ways I won't have to worry all the time that I might run out of yarn, and it might also break up the unrelenting brown-ness of this jumper a bit. I'm thinking of either some orange or some muted turquoise from stash... What do you think?

I think I'm at about the same stage with both projects, even though one is from the bottom up and the other from the top down - both are at around waist-height right now. :)

As for reading - not much time for that this week I'm afraid. I'm currently finishing up The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, though, which D and I have been reading together at night. 

This is the blurb from Amazon: 

"It is 1866, and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky. The Luminaries is an extraordinary piece of fiction. It is full of narrative, linguistic and psychological pleasures, and has a fiendishly clever and original structuring device. Written in pitch-perfect historical register, richly evoking a mid-19th century world of shipping and banking and goldrush boom and bust, it is also a ghost story, and a gripping mystery. It is a thrilling achievement and will confirm for critics and readers that Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international writing firmament."

It's a strange kind of novel, beautifully written, and observant, with lovely character portrayals and capturing that strange frontier feel of the New Zealand goldfields in a way that brings it alive,  but also at times quite convoluted and ponderous. I have enjoyed it but it's not as gripping as many other books I've read. We have around 50 pages left, so things are now coming to a head and many of the  backstories are revealed, and we are picking up our pace a bit as we become more curious if all those mysteries will be explained or not. 

And last but not least, I thought it was time I consulted my A Year of Projects list once more. This is how things look at the moment:

On the needles:

Owls

Easy Raglan V-Neck

On the List: 

Shalom cardi (Yarn: Olive wool/cashmere blend)

Liesl (Yarn: orange and yellow handspun)

Dietrich (Yarn: sock-weight feltable yarn from stash)

Sideways Grande Cloche (Yarn: Single skein purple Cascade)

 Mermaid gloves

Flat Circle Pillow

Attic 24 Mandalas

Hitofude

pot holders (Hilde's Hot Pads, or or the Blue & White Pot Holders, or the Flower Pot Holders)

Cable Cushion (Cable & Twist cushion, Super Chunky Rope Cable Cushion,  or Super Chunky Basketweave Cushion)

Finished Projects

Purple Ink Flare

Pink Socks

Tea Leaves

Socks for boys

Bulky Moebius Cowl

Granny Square Blanket

Scheepjes Mystery Crochet Blanket

Lombard Street Socks

The Garter Yoke Cardi

Green Ink Flare

Granny Square Cushion

Shared with:

A Year of Projects

Yarn Along

Keep Calm Craft On

Stitch Along Wednesday

WIP Wednesday update

I'm on a roll, people, I'm on a roll!

I finally finished my Lombard Street Socks a few days ago. It took some effort to think myself back into that pattern, and as a consequence I think one of my heel flaps is a little too long and also has one error in it - the pattern alternates rows of s1k1 and k1s1 to create the effect of not ribbing but a kind of checkered, textured fabric. Just as I was picking the project up again I must have got it wrong once, because there is definitely a row of ribbing in there. I don't really care, though, because the socks are comfy and I love the muted grey, which makes them so very wearable, even to work. 

Pattern

The pattern was lovely - easy to memorise lace pattern and clear instructions.

Pattern alterations

I knit my socks on a circular needle and altered the pattern to that effect. This means that I got a bit confused when the instructions asked for needle 2 or 4 and picked up the lace pattern at a different place after turning the heel. I realise that this was to make sure that the lace pattern sits at a particular place on the foot, but I decided to follow my own instinct and just continued the lace pattern on as was, using the starting point at the cuff as the beginning of my row. I also did the toe without really consulting the pattern. 

I'm so thrilled to have finally finished these and with these and, all the socks from Godi, I have some very very happy feet this winter!

Up and on to WIPs...

I've started another jumper. It's on my list for the year, and it's from stash, so it's all good. It's Owls, which is such a pretty pattern. I'm using some of my no-name wool/cashmere blend. It's an odd sort of yarn - I bought it as Aran weight but it's closer to bulky, which makes it ideal for this project, and it's spun as a slightly uneven single. It's supposedly a cashmere blend but so far it's not at all soft. It's definitely wool, because you can feel (and smell) the lanolin in it - there is a lot of that still in there, so I imagine that after washing this yarn will fluff up quite a bit. I'm kind of curious how it's going to turn out to be honest, because this yarn is such a mystery. I do like the colour though, and I think it's going to be perfect for Owls. 

I'm also finally working up the courage to pick up the Easy V-Neck again. I've moaned about this yarn before - it's that sub-standard mottled brown GGH Savanna yarn that I picked up ages ago and never managed to find a project for. I'm not having high hopes for this jumper because I just can't imagine that the yarn is going to suddenly turn into anything stunning once it's knitted up, but I'm envisioning a warm and cuddly winter walk / allotment / cold day at the office kind of jumper, which, after all, is nothing to sneer at either! :)

Shared with:
Yarn Along
Keep Calm, Craft On
A Year of Projects