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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Yarn Along Wednesday

With all the Christmas business this is my first Wednesday update in a while. I do have things to show for though, both WIPs and FOs. I won't dwell on the latter here, as I'm planning a more extensive FO Friday 'reveal'. ;)

In addition to my usual A Year of Projects update and Keep Calm, Craft On, I'm also joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along this week and I thought I'd for once do the reading-and-knitting update that Yarn Along really is about. I actually read a lot, but I rarely remember to blog about it. 

This Christmas I got a little book of poems on motherhood from my brother in law. It's Carolyn Jess-Cooke's BOOM!, and I'd been hankering after this book for a while now so I'm thrilled to finally get my hands on it. The poems are lovely - in turn funny and touching and always so very recognisable in the emotions that they express. Truly beautiful. 

I'm also dipping in and out of sixteenbynine, which is the pilot issue of a new journal on television. It's interesting, but not having read much of it yet, right now I'm probably most in love with the cover design, which I desperately covet as a poster to put in my office! ;)  

As for knitting, with various projects close to completion I've embarked on another Ink Flare. I fancied making another one ever since I knitted one with my unruly purple wool last summer, and I had this perfect green hand-dyed mohair yarn from Fleece Artist lying around here. I'm making this one in the round to avoid all that sewing and on 6 mm needles this knits up so fast. After knitting both Tea Leaves and the Garter Yoke cardi on 4.5 mm needles I'd forgotten how quickly a project can grow on big needles. I've already completed the body and have just started the first sleeve.  Judging from prior performance with sleeve knitting this will probably be the point where progress slows right down, but it's a lovely yarn to work with and I really REALLY want to wear this jumper soon, so I'm hoping this will keep my motivated. The knitted fabric is loose and airy, which is what I'd intended, and the colour variations give it some texture and I'm so looking forward to seeing it finished!

As for my other projects, the Scheepjes Mystery blanket is truly finished now. Here is a little peak before the bigger post:

The Garter Yoke cardi is also finished, at least the knitting part. I've ordered some buttons for it that will hopefully arrive soon. 

There is some progress on my never-ending sock, but not enough to warrant a photoshoot. Who wants to see the same sock every week anyway if there isn't any vast difference?!

WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along

Late on Wednesday, but I was at work all day so I only now found time to quickly plunk all my knitting on the table after bringing boy #3 to bed. Boy #1 is doing his loom bands and boy #2 is watching Transformers on TV. D is tinkering with something he built in his workshop earlier. It's a typical summer break early evening scene. 

Knitting has been slow this week. I am still feeling the effects of the cold I picked up in Germany - to be honest, I'm not sure it's even still the same cold. It might be that it asked a few friends along, because this cough feels slightly different, plus I also have a sinus infection now. I'm also back at work of course, which means that daytime knitting isn't really happening at the moment. I have a day off on Friday and I might take the boys to the cinema so we'll see if that generates some knitting time...

Still, work has progressed. I'm still knitting along on the Garter Yoke cardi and am nearing the end of the garter section. All the shaping has kept this bit interesting, but it's also been a bit difficult to keep track of the rows while sneaking a bit of knitting in while sitting with the family. 

I've also knitted a little more on the Lombard Street sock. I'm enjoying the pattern but progress has been slow. I think I may knit a bit more tonight.

As for my reading, I've (slowly) been working through David Pirie's Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes books which are based on the Murder Rooms television series (which is excellent), which he also scripted. They are fiction, but have biographical elements to do with Arthur Conan Doyle's life and his friendship with his mentor Doctor Bell. He writes the fictional adventures and criminal investigations of the two as Doyle's inspiration for his fictional detective. It's really clever in mixing fiction and fact and it's well written, and I've really enjoyed the books. 

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