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... 

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A Year of Projects

Keep Calm, Cast On

Yarn Along

Stitch Along Wednesday

FO - The Garter Yoke Cardigan

Two FO Fridays in a row! This hasn't happened in a long time!

The Garter Yoke cardi is finally finished. The buttons arrived this week, were sewn on, and I've even already worn the cardi. :)

This cardi has been soooo long in the making. Seriously, there were moments when I thought I'd never finish it, lol. It's not that I didn't enjoy knitting it, and the pattern is great, but those sleeves really got to me. With that DK yarn it just seemed to take ages, you know?

That said, I'm really happy with how it's turned out. I ordered these buttons for it because I thought it might be nice to go for some yellow ones to complement the yellow flecks in the yarn. The alternative was wood, but I wanted something a bit more eye-popping than that. I was going to order some normal round ones when I spotted these elongated ones. I wasn't sure it was going to work but seeing it all together now I think it does!

I can already tell that this cardi is going to get a lot of wear this winter because it has long sleeves (hurrah for not giving up on those) that are going to keep me warm, but with the dk yarn it's not heavy and bulky but instead drapes really nicely and will fit under my slim-line coat.

So there you go the Garter Yoke cardi is finally finished - tadah! ;)

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A Year of Projects

Fridays are for FOs!

Yes, yes, they are!

It's been so long since I've been able to show off any finished projects on a Friday, and I'm so very happy with this project.

The Scheepjes Mystery Blanket has been finished for a little while now, but I never seem to get round to photographing it because either I'm at work, or it's in use, or it's too dark and dreary to get good light...

But anyway, here it is, in all its glory:

And another one for good measure... 

And from above... 

And if you haven't had enough now, here are some detail shots... 

I added the squares together with a single crochet stitch, which works quite well I think, because it adds a little raised frame around each of the squares but it is simple enough not to draw attention away from the individual squares. After some contemplation I added a plain single crochet border. I was going to make it wider, but D convinced me that it was good as it was and I was pretty sick of border crocheting by that point, so who was I to argue? ;)

Again, I deliberated for a while but in the end decided on a simple border because i didn't want anything too busy that would compete with the crochet squares. I really like how it's turned out and it's definitely been a success with the family, boys and cats and all - it's almost constantly in use, in particular as boy #1 seems to have kidnapped my granny square blanket for his own personal use in his room. Yesterday when I snuck up there before I went to bed he was all snuggled up in it. Much as I'd like the blanket back to keep in the living room I just don't have the heart to take it when he clearly likes it that much. Maybe I'll have to make another one...

I'm still waiting for the buttons for the Garter Yoke cardi to arrive, so I'll have to leave that FO for another post... 

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A Year of Projects

Happy Monday

Well, happy Monday, everyone.

Despite a rather so-so weekend including a trip to the 7-day surgery because of my body's rather excessive reaction to a red ant bite (my whole arm basically became one of those balloon animals) and further exciting adventures in summer colds and sinus infections, my Monday was actually quite happy. I went into work and was quite content to be in my office, tinkering and getting things done, and this evening D went off for his Banjo lesson and I went up for an early bedtime. Boy #1 pounced on the chance of some mummy time (a rare commodity in a household with two younger brothers) and is snuggled up next to me, inspecting my knitting.

Which gets me to the image for today - the first tentative beginnings of the Garter Yoke Cardi! I cast on this weekend and have been knitting slowly but steadily. Even so, since this picture was taken I've already managed to misread the pattern twice (!), but I'm not ripping. I think both mistakes are sort of fixable/hideable, and the thought of ripping out all these hundreds of stitches (because this is a top-down cardi there are a LOT of stitches) fills me with despair. I'll just have to try and hide the mistakes.

Anyway, here is is, next to some more flowers from the garden. It looks innocent enough, just lying there... ;)  So flowers + new knitting project + pretty yarn = happy thoughts for a happy Monday, right?

FO - Tea Leaves Cardigan

It's finished!! 

Pattern: Madeline Tosh, Tea Leaves 

Yarn: Rowan, Rowanspun dk

The Rowanspun DK was perfect for this project - it's warm and cozy, but not too thick, making it the right choice for a nice lightweight summer cardigan. With that in mind (and because I wanted to finally finish it!) I decided to omit the long sleeves and go with short ones instead. I made the garter stitch hem a little thinner than the pattern suggests because I thought that with the short sleeves it might be too overpowering. Because I was using very large buttons I also made the button holes slightly larger. Otherwise this is knitted as per pattern. 

I'm so in love with this cardigan. Have already been wearing it this evening, despite the fact that it's not even blocked. I can see myself making another one, this time with long sleeves.