Unexpected quality knitting time

I definitely seem to be getting back into this knitting lark again. I'm actually feeling excited in the 'just one more row/section/piece' way. This has mainly been due to having time on my hands combined with a need to keep off my feet. I was off work on Thursday afternoon and Friday due to my arthritis playing up and attacking my feet. First the right foot, then the left. I therefore turned on the TV/radio/CD as the mood took me, sat on my arse, and picked up my knitting.

I'm fairly close to finishing the pinwheel cardigan, just two more rounds to go, then the sleeves. The most excitement has been with the toy tortoise (or rather turtle as the pattern states). I'm making Sheldon for my friends little boy, he'll be two later this month. This is a fabulous pattern. I love that it's in two pieces, the shell is like a jumper that fits over the little body section with it's huge head. I'm loving it, although it's quite hard going on my hands. I've gone down a few needle sizes so that it makes a firm fabric that doesn't stretch to show the filling inside, but it can be a bit tough going at times, at least the shell was.

I've almost finished the body, can't complete it until the safety eyes arrive and are attached, I ordered some today. I've done one leg - didn't manage to do the others due to impatience wanting to do the top of the shell. I've just finished the top and cast straight on for the bottom. Have had to stop to give my hands a break.



Yesterday saw the toy stuffing that I ordered online arrive. It came in a tiny plastic post bag which was bulging at the seems. I opened it to find it in another plastic bag with all the air squeezed out. When I opened that one, the stuffing expanded to about 10 times the size! It was amazing. Talk about tardis packaging. I'm only going to use fraction of it for this tortoise, so looks like I need to find more toy patterns. A dragon next I think, if I can find a good one.

Having had a restful weekend, my feet are a lot better, almost back to normal. Looks like work will be cutting into my knitting time next week :o(

sp12: Question of the week 6 and other brief comments

I am trying to post regularly, really I am. It's just not happening at the moment I'm afraid. I've got lots of things I want to blog about, just no time or energy to do it. More in a mo, but first, question of the week 6 (determined to answer it before no. 7 appears!).

What is your favorite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?

This is an easy one. I've not been on holiday (proper holiday) since I started knitting so I have no idea what I'd take! I've also never knit in public. Not got any plans to either, at least until I've seen more people knitting English style and I'm satisfied that my technique isn't the worst and slowest in the entire universe...

I've not been doing that much knitting recently, just bits, nothing solid since I finished my clapotis - and I'm not actually finished that, still got ends to finish and mistakes to fix. Not even got any photos of it.

I pick up my new sock project every few days and do a round or two. I've almost got 10cm done, when I get to 15 things will start getting more interesting. I treated myself to some Posh Yarn and I adore how soft and gorgeous it feels. I wasn't too keen on the colour at first, it wasn't what I was expecting having seen it on the web, it was far more brown that I thought it would be. Once I started knitting with it though, the other colours, although subtle, really start to make a difference. It's a very dark, boyish choice but there really is a rainbow of colours in that darkness. I've called them my Goth Rainbow socks on Ravelry. Photo to follow when I've got more done.

I did some dyeing too a few weeks ago. It didn't go all that well, and the yarn - specific yarn for a specific project - has decided to change gauge. Completely. Not sure what to do, but it's a whole blog post in itself.

I've stopped and started various projects, just not able to keep to anything and loosing interest as soon as I cast on it seems. I've started something new today which I seem to be enjoying, even though it's on little needles! 3.5mm! I'm making a shawl, I think I'm going to give it to my Auntie. I've been looking at designs for a while now, but finally bought some yarn today and cast on a Swallowtail Lace Shawl.

I know exactly why I've found a sudden focus on knitting today. It's because I took the day off to prepare for a job interview that I've got later this week. I'm really scared, it's a job I really want, and I've got to do a presentation. I've therefore barely done ANYTHING constructive to help me get the job, but have bought a new coat, some yarn, internet shopped for some shoes (I don't wear leather so shoe shopping is tricky, thank goodness for the internet - quick survey: will bright red shoes go with a silvery grey skirt and black top? No, I'm not sure either, but so long as I don't look like a clown...otherwise, it's long black boots with buckles on the side - I got away with this outfit for a recent funeral, not sure how it would go down in an interview). I'm also writing here, rather than doing more to my pitiful attempt at a presentation.

I've also got it finish (...start...) some edits on the report for a professional qualification that needs to be handed in by the end of the month...

I wish it was August.

Clapotis progress and PIF

Well, my clapotis is coming along. Just two more pattern repeats to do before I'm finished the straight section. I love the pink, purple and blue, but not that keen on the green - it just doesn't seem to fit too well with the other colours.



I'm a bit worried about this tuft though...



Fairly sure it didn't used to be like that and I have no idea how it happened - did I do it, or is it something about the yarn I'm using? (Wendy Fusion) Hope it doesn't get any worse...

I've also just added my two PIF projects to Ravelry. Two people signed up with me to PIF and I sent out their gifts a few months ago. I made them the same gift, used Frances Swiecki's Brown Bag pattern, but in different yarns. It's a great pattern, I really enjoyed making them, and felted them on the same day - so both bags qualify as my first proper felting project.



I'm really pleased how they came out. They're slightly different sizes as I made a few adjustments to the red one due to having a little less yarn. I filled the bags with knitting nick-knacks and chocolate.

Not feeling too great day. I'm going to relax and do some more clapping while supervising my boyfriends two boys make secret fathers day cards. We've already been out the the shop to get him some chocolate and beer :o)

Clapping

I'm working on my Clapotis again, yey! After avoiding it for a about a week or so after I made a stupid mistake, I managed to fix it in less than half an hour. Just goes to show what I can achieve when I'm in the right mood. I tinked back to where I prematurely dropped a stitch (I have no idea how I managed to do that - I'm going down the purl route so it should have been blatantly obvious, gah!) and away I go again. Still not sure about the striping of the yarn... The mood didn't extend to working out my sock troubles, but I'm sure it will at some point soon.

Clapotis and socks

I've not actually made any progress with my clap today, but this is how its looking so far...



...see what I mean about the colours? They're lovely, but...predictable. I'm making it with Wendy Fusion (got it v. cheap) and I'm getting a little concerned about how it's going to work out. I've not long since started my third ball and the colour changes aren't all contained within one ball but carry across two. The first ball had the dark pink and green as its main colours, with smaller sections of purple and blue. The second ball had purple and blue as it's main colours with small sections of pink and green - but I made sure the colour started in about the right place by unwinding a bit of the start of the ball (can't remember what colour it started with, but it wouldn't have looked right). The third ball is like the first. Looking at the rest of the balls, they all start with the same colours, so this two ball repeat thing may not last. I hope I've explained that ok(?). I'm trying not to worry, it could just be me being paranoid.

The only knitting that I've done so far today is starting my socks again. Only a few rows in, but it's progress :o)

Not much going on...

It's been a bit quiet on the knitting front lately. Just as I was getting my oomph back my arthritis has decided to start playing silly-beggars. I'm hoping it's starting to settle down but my hands, although not overly painful, feel a bit swollen and aren't working as well as they might. Tsk.

My socks have been frogged and are waiting to be cast on again. As well as making a mistake with the toe increases (which I was going to live with) I made quite a few mistakes once I got into the pattern. It got to the point where it would be easier to start again that try and fix it. So, that's what I'm going to do. I was surprised at how well I got on with the tiny needles, so as long as that continues, I'll have a pair of socks...in about a year ;o) Oh and Sarah - thank you so much for offering to finish them off if I don't make it, that was such a lovely offer! Although I'll keep it in mind, I really hope I don't need to take you up on it :o)

In other news, I've started work on my first Clapotis. I had a strong start, but things have slowed because of my stupid hands. I'm still doing a few rows each day, it's good exercise. I love the colours of the yarn I've chosen, but not so keen on the uniform colour changes. Pictures to follow. I've just done my third drop stitch. It's on 6mm needles and those don't seem too bad to work with.

I've got another project in mind. More details when I've got more time but briefly, it's a pattern that is for a discontinued yarn. I've not been able to find a suitable sub but did manage to lay my hands on enough of the right yarn in the wrong colour. I'm going to dye it black. This will be my first dyeing experience.

Lastly, I've signed up for Secret Pal 12. Other than Pay it Forward, I've never taken part in a swap before. Hope it goes well!

Sarah's Fault Socks...

...that's the official title of my new knitting project! I have no idea if this project will ever be complete, but it's been fun so far. This is what I've been up to today:



Yes, it's the beginnings of a pair of socks. It seems that Sarah put something contagious in that PIF parcel! In no time at all I found myself adding a lovely, shiny set of knit picks 3mm dpns to my Options order - even though I hate dpns. Then I found myself browsing the web for sock yarn, found some on Etsy that I liked - even though I hate using thin yarn (I also surprised myself with the colour choice, but loving it so far). Finally I found myself searching Ravelry for a free sock pattern (I mean, is there anywhere else to look these days?). I definitely wanted to do toe up so that if I got fed up I could just make them really short!! I also like to idea of trying them on as you go. Found a pattern that I'm hoping I can do called Cut & Paste Socks.

I'm getting on remarkably well considering! My hands can be quite temperamental when either holding something small or holding something tight for a little while but so far they've not complained too much. To be honest, I'm finding the small dpns easier to manage than larger ones - although I've never used 5 before now, I generally use 4, so not sure if that has anything to do with it. I have a feeling it won't last...

I'm quite happy for this to be a pick-it-up-when-I-feel-like-it project. It will be quite interesting to see how I get on.

I think it might be returning

I can't say for sure, but it does seem like my knitting apathy is starting to fade. It was weird that I kept knitting throughout this time, but then, it wasn't just my knitting that I was fed up with, it was everything!

So, I started making a hooded top for my nephews third birthday in April. I'd thought about it for a while, and took a while to find some yarn that I liked. I chose Lion Brand Jiffy as it's chunky, feels nice, is machine washable, and comes in a good range of colours. I'm going for a red top with gray sleeves.

I hoped I'd get near gauge with this yarn but I didn't. Going up a needle size got me closer, but not near enough. Normally, I would see this as a challenge and launch into rewriting the pattern to suit my gauge, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was hoping to cheat and make one of the larger sizes, with just a crazy hope of it working out. I asked for help on the Ravelry forum to help me work out what to do since my brain wasn't playing. I was warned off doing anything stupid and I listened. I love Ravelry.

I took this project with me when I went to my parents house over Easter, hoping to make a start. My Dad helped me work out the gauge issue. It's nothing I couldn't have done myself under normal circumstances, but I was glad to have some help. We worked out that stitch-wise, I could actually use one of the larger sizes, we calculated that it would work out (give or take half a cm). Length-wise, the pattern gave a schematic of each of the pieces and their measurements which meant I could use the measurements of the right size. The only bit to worry about is getting the increase and decrease spaced correctly, especially for the sleeves. Everything seems to have worked out for the back, I finished that over the weekend.



I sat down last night and rewrote the sleeve appropriately (well, here's hoping). I was also encouraged to find myself making additional changes to the sleeve to make it better (for me). Now, **that** is progress. The sleeve uses moss stitch for the cuff, then stocking stitch for the rest, and is knit on straight needles. Now, because I'm not sure of length of my nephews arms, and because the pattern shows the cuffs as being folded over, I want to avoid having an ugly seem. I'm not sure if my nephew will need to fold the cuff - so I can't predict which side to put the seem on. I therefore decided I'd do away with having a seem on the cuff at all! I'm going to knit just the cuff in the round, then change to knitting in the flat for the rest. I think I've taken everything into consideration that I need to, will just have to see if it works out.

I've made a start on the first sleeve, just a few rows into the cuff. I stopped to write this. But what I **should** be doing is writing a report that needs to be done by the end of the month and I've only got today and tomorrow free. I've also got some other non-work work to do...not sure how much of anything I'm going to get done. Best make a start though and at least get dressed (I'm sitting writing this in my pyjamas and dressing gown)...then have another coffee...and then see where all my other avoidance tactics take me :o/

Knit Picks interchangeables, a change of heart - and other stuff

I've decided to slowly build up a custom set of the Knit Picks interchangeable needles. It would be silly of me to buy a full set when I don't use small needles, and I'm not sure I'd ever be able to decide between the wooden and the metal tips. Building my own set means I can mix and match.

I was spurred on after reading a discussion on Ravelry where someone suggested buying single tips of each type to try them out before buying a set. Not sure why I didn't think of that myself! I went straight to the Get Knitted and bought a pair each of the tips, and a couple of cables. I was gutted when they arrived (after a few more days than I would have liked) to find that they got my order wrong and sent two sets of the metal tips. I sent two emails over the course of a week to try and get the correct needle but didn't hear anything. I'd only used Get Knitted once before and had heard really good things about their customer services so I was getting annoyed and impatient to say the least! Am desperate to see what the wooden needles look like in real life, and have a project ready and waiting to jump on them! I eventually found the note on their website saying that they'd been having email problems, which calmed me down a bit and made me a little more sympathetic to them...although I'm still really peeved. I rang them up on Friday and she said the correct needles would be sent that day - I hoped they would arrive in the post on Saturday, but they didn't. Grr.

One good thing I found about the stuff that arrived correctly was that you get two end caps and locking pin with each cable (all for 99p!). Although this was all shown in the photo on the website, it wasn't included in the description, so I assumed you would just get the cable. Bonus. This helped with my decision.

Even though I'm not Get Knitted's greatest fan just at the moment, I have just sent them another order, including more cables and needle tips. It's not like I can go to any other supplier as, as far as I'm aware, they're the only ones who have them in the UK!

I just need to think of a storage solution for them as I'm going to be case-less. I'm going to look into fishing tackle cases as they are generally cheap, often take the form of a neat, zip closed binder with a number of transparent, sealed pockets. Sounds perfect for circular needles! I just need to find a nice looking one...

So on to knitting progress!

I eventually finished my scarf. It's a short, button closed affair and I love it! The softness and gorgeous coloured yarn works out really well. Very happy, although could have done without the numerous froggings of other patterns, I could have knit the scarf 3 times over, easily!



I also made birthday gift for one of my friends. It was an early gift, her birthday isn't until March, but she was calling in over the weekend so I thought I'd save the postage and give it to her early. I also wanted to see her reaction...but curses, she didn't open it but said she'd keep it for the big day. Ah well, I wasn't going to force it.

I used Noro Iro which is a very beautiful yarn. I made a narrow scarf which set the striping off wonderfully, and made some flip top mittens to go with it. I was very impressed with myself regarding the mittens. They're the fiddliest thing I've worked on, especially as I didn't have any suitable needles to magic loop them, so had to use the dreaded dpns. My boyfriend was fascinated with them, I regularly caught him staring at me working on them. He had very nice things to say about the finished article too and was really appreciative of how much work had gone in to them. Aww. He wasn't too happy that it took me a whole evening to do the sewing and weaving in of ends as I needed the main light on in the front room which is very bright and spangley. Ah well, I finished in time to settle down and watch Jools Holland in our more customary mood lighting.







I've come to a stop with my shopping tunic. I'm two thirds done and am at the point where I could try it on. With some help from my boyfriend holding the needles, I wiggled into it and stood in front of the mirror. We were both in complete agreement as to how TERRIBLE it looked. It's supposed to be quite fitted, but this thing is far too tight, and being quite chunky it makes all my bits that are quite big enough look HUGE. Disaster! To try to salvage something I'm going to play with my swatch and see how much it grows in the wash. I've made two of the same size so I can compare after one has been washed and blocked. Too fed up to face it at the moment though.

I've been doing a bit more of my PIF knitting too, but keep needing the needles for other things. This is one project that will come along much faster once Get Knitted send me the RIGHT needles!

I also got to the free limits of Flickr this week. 200 photos! After much thought, I invested in a Pro account but didn't really want to. I'm quite happy with having a Pro account for my general photos, as I have a lot of friends and family I share them with. I don't want to put all my knitting stuff on there as it would take it over. After getting frustrated that I was taking photos and not adding them to Flickr (and Ravelry), I decided I would be happier just biting the bullet and spending the extra money. Happiness over frustration...and it's not *that* expensive...although all these things add up.

Well, I think that's enough rambling for now, I need to do some stuff round the house - although the weather is so lovely, I’m fighting the urge to curl up and have a snooze in a sunny patch - cat like.

This and that...

I can't quite remember the full conversation, probably because of the shock, but the other day, my boyfriend said he didn't mind how much yarn I bought...! *sharp intake of breath* ...so long as I didn't keep it in the front room. I just wanted to log that for prosperity. I've been stopping myself having a huge yarn splurge all week!!

I'm toying with the idea of buying some of those beautiful knit picks harmony options interchangeable needles. It's a difficult one as they're not an ideal solution, and I've already got my pink Denise interchangeables, which I love dearly when it comes to functionality, but they're not the most aesthetically pleasing little things.

The thing is, the majority of the harmony needles are in sizes smaller than I generally use. At the moment I'm going through a 7mm needle phase and my hands seem to like this. They were hurting the other day when I was working on 15mm, which surprised me as I've found bigger sizes to be kinder to my hands in the past. It might be something to do with the type of needles too - my favourites at the moment are my 7mm addi turbos (80cm - the 40cm ones in the same size have a shorter needle body length and are less comfortable). The length of the needle in my hand is comfortable and I like how slippery and shiny the metal is. Would the harmony ones have the same comfortableness? Also, 7 of the 9 needles are smaller than I would use - unless my hands suddenly change their minds about what they can cope with. So that's only TWO pairs of usable needles (although I'd probably use some of smaller ones on the left when knitting in the round). I'd also probably buy some of the larger needles separately (on an as-and-when basis) which takes the price up by quite a bit. I looked into buying the bits I'd use separately, rather than starting with the full set, but it would cost even more, and Get Knitted don't seem to sell the end caps and cable keys separately - so that would be a bit of a problem. You small needle knitters have it so easy!

Anyway, enough about that. I've actually started to make some headway with some knitting for me! I've not actually made myself anything to wear yet! I'm making myself the Shopping Tunic from Twinkle's Big City Knits. Annoyingly, the pattern only goes up to a 33" bust, so I've had to do a bit of guess work to make it a little bigger. I'm also using a different weight yarn as I need it to be machine wash. I love all these gorgeous yarns, but my hands can't cope with hand washing big items, so I need to think carefully about that in my choice of yarn. I've gone for Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in black. It's cheap, machine washable, and actually feels really nice too. I used this converter to help me recreate the pattern to my new gauge. I just hope it works out.

I'm also knitting myself a scarf. It's been a bit of an epic as I've tried and failed a few patterns. I've frogged it so many times I'm not sure the yarn can take much more. I've ditched the My So Called Scarf pattern as I made too many mistakes which I found really difficult to fix - especially with the thick and thin yarn I'm using. I've finally gone for Misti Chunky Ribs & Ruffles Scarf, it looks ok...but not great in this yarn, but sod it, I can't rip it out again, it's this or nothing!

Last weekend I finished a belated birthday gift for my neice. She's really into Harry Potter so I made her the Dark Mark Illusion Scarf. I was really pleased with it but couldn't really tell if she liked it or not...



I've also started my PIF knitting, but haven't got too far, I want to finish my top first.

I think that's all for now.

Chanting (my so called scarf)

Amongst other things, I'm currently working on My So Called Scarf. I love the look of the stitches (even though I'm making it in a thick and thin yarn) and I really can't wait to finish. I'm making it as a short but wide neck warmer and am planning to add a button or two to keep it crossed over at the front.

Thing is, I occasionally find that I've dropped a stitch and I find it an absolute nightmare to unpick these stitches!! I suspect I'm loosing my stitches on the purl row, where you have to kinda purl two together then purl the first stitch again before you drop the stitch off the needle - I suspect I must be loosing concentration and occasionally just puring two together.

I'm also finding this project quite hard on my hands, which isn't good. The fewer mistakes the better (for my poor hands).

I therefore seem to have taken up chanting to keep on the right track! I'm chanting the rhythm of the stitches in my head as I go along - in the hope that I'll realise straight away if I go wrong! Not sure if this means I'm starting to go insane. I suppose it's an extension of the counting that I usually find myself doing in my head - even if I don't have to count the stitches! When I do that, when I don't have to, and without realising I'm doing it, 9 times out of 10 I'll end up with a number that *isn't* the amount of stitches I'm supposed to have, so I'll panic and have to do a full recount - it'll always be something like 29 when I'm suppose to have 30.

I may put off worrying about it until I start doing out loud. Even worse would be if I start doing it out loud without realising...

Garter stitch, stripes, kitchener stitch, perseverance, but mainly stupidity

I did it! I finally managed to graft my garter stitch stripes! I tried to do this sooo many times! Each time failing miserably. I have a bruise on my forehead from where I just slapped myself when I realised what was wrong. It was all my own stupid fault! I had the technique right all along!!

Short answer:
I hadn't taken into account the cast on row. I'd basically cast on then knit two rows of black, two of red etc. Essentially, I had created three initial rows of black instead of two. No wonder it wasn't coming out right!! Curses!!

Long answer: (which will hopefully keep my stupidity at bay next time I need to do this)
This is what I had in front of me, two row high black and red garter stitch stripes. I cast on and started off with two rows of black, carried on red, black etc until the desired length and ended with one row of red - the graft making up the final red row (and I thought I was clever for having working that out!).



I found instructions for how to graft garter stitch and followed them. I got the right set of red double bumps but an extra set of black - I thought that the black bumps should have been on the wrong side, rather than the right side, so tried again. And again. And again... I lost count of the amount of times I tried.

Browsing through the Ravelry forums in despair, someone mentioned that there was a way of cheating at kitchener stitch! Trusty Google came to the rescue and I found these instructions:
http://pinklemontwist.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html (scroll down to Dec 22nd 05). Genius!! How to do kitchener without kitchener(ing).

It was through adding my extra contrasting coloured yarn rows that my mistake was detected. Things just weren't looking right, that extra row of black bobbles was still appearing. That was my d'oh moment. I unpicked the 'extra' cast on row and thing looked a LOT better!!

I still went ahead and tried this technique, even though, technically, following my initial kitchener instructions would now work...

This is how I started, two extra rows at each end of the graft in a contrasting colour.


Then just follow the lead of the contrasting yarn for the weave of the graft. For some reason it felt more comfortable to do this from the wrong side, not sure why as it would have been a similar experience from either side...(although probably better to have done it the other way round so that tention of the stitches was visible).


Completely zipped up.


The zip from the right side...


Unzipping the contrasting yarn all went very smoothly...


And there I have a finished graft...although those ends look a bit daunting...


How glad am I! And how cool is that technique! There was something very satisfying about unzipping that extra yarn and seeing the perfect graft appear. Although next time (next time!!?) I'll have my wits about me so I don't have any pesky extra rows getting in my way, and have a go at proper kitchener (not the cheat version).

...and relax.

I hate grafting

Grafting torments me. I can't do it. I hate not being able to do it. I'm pretty much a self taught knitter and have picked up techniques really well through books and the internet - I've actually been really impressed with myself. But grafting is HARD. It reminds me of pool...I'm a logical person, pool is basically geometry, so why do the balls do the complete opposite of what I thought/wanted them to do? Grafting works the same way...it's just a bunch of loops, so why won't they loop the right way?

I need to graft a small section of the hat I'm making for the boys. I've actually finished one. It took me about a week to do the grafting. Lots of swearing and unpicking and trying again. I tried soooo many times and went to bed with a headache on several evenings. I got to the point where I had a join that was pretty bad but, for sanity's sake, would do. I therefore carried on with the pattern for a few rounds. My boyfriend noticed that I'd given up and started looking at it, he convinced me to have another go (it did look quite bad). At one point he even picked it up and had a go himself! During the England match!! He didn't manage but I got a result in the end...it's not EXACTLY right, but only if you look REALLY closely. So this is the first hat - finished (except for the dreaded ends):


But now I have this in front me:


Two failed attempts so far this evening and a headache to boot.

Did I say I hated grafting?

Pressure

I'm starting to feel gift-knitting-pressure! I need to get the cable comfort throw finished before next weekend - preferably this weekend, so I can get on with other stuff. I've been picking at it, but not got that far with the last strip. I've been very focused this evening and have made some headway with it, only two repeat pattern sets to go!!



I've not picked up the sweater bag at all, and I'm desperate to make a start on the skull illusion scarves! Not decided on a pattern for the matching hats yet...but I do know that I'm not going to use dpns but try out the magic loop method. I had a bit of a play the other night and got on fine with it (at least for the few stitches, and few rows that I tried). It's got to be better than using dpns! I've even ordered an addi circular turbo needle for it (why don't Denise interchangeable have 7mm?). I have made half a Santa hat, so there has been some kind of progress...

Christmas knitting - revised priority list

I've been trying to stop myself aimlessly browsing the web (ravelry) and actually get some knitting done! Because of this, I am actually making some progress. It's taken me a while to work out what to make for some gifts but things are finally coming together. This is my new priority list and progress so far (more for me than for anyone reading this...)

1. Cable comfort throw. I got a call from Yarn last week to say that the rest of the yarn I needed had finally arrived. I got straight to work and have finished a second strip, just one more to go! Although...I have, due to my scrappy notes and a lack of checking) managed to make the two I've already done different lengths (d'oh) so am trying to decide whether I'm going to frog a bit of one, or add extra to the other. I'll decide when the third strip is at the critical point - I'm sure this will help me to see the potential size finished throw, and whether or not it needs the extra length. [60% done]
   
   
2. Sweater bag. Christmas gift for one of my nieces. It's coming along nicely and I'm enjoying the pattern and the Cashmerino yarn I'm using for it. The size 6.5mm needles are getting a little tiresome, but mainly because I have a few projects on the go on that size. Not sure how that happened. [25% done]
   
   
3. You Don't Know Our Women Hat and Cabled Fingerless Mitts for my other niece. I ummed and arred about making a bag, but couldn't find anything I thought she'd like. I've decided on a safe bet for now and will make something more interesting for her in the future (and I'm better at knitting). The hat's done! Only took a few evenings to do, and I'm about to make a start on the mitts). [30% done]
   
   
4. Skull Illusion Scarf [x2] and matching hats (not found suitable pattern yet, may improvise). I saw the skull illusion scarf and knew instantly I had to make it!! We've decided to give my boyfriends kids their hats for Christmas, together with the matching scarf. I really can't wait to see these develop. I'll have to get the yarn sorted out first though. [0% done]
5. Santa hat. I want to make myself a santa hat for Christmas morning. Hopefully this will be a quick knit, but if I don't get time for it, so be it.
6. Three Pay It Forward (PIF) gifts. I have one PIFer, need two more! I have lots of ideas, and an itch to get going, but I'm not going to make a start until Christmas is over.
   
7. My poncho has been relegated all the way down here. I pick it up now and then. It'll get there.

There are sooooo many other things I want to make too! (...and sooo many things to finish that aren't on that list).Ravelry has not helped, it just fills my head to bursting point with new idea's and favourite patterns. It seems to be taking me forever to finish things! ...although, that said, I'm really chuffed with the progress I've made - both finished item-wise, and knitting technique-wise.

One third done

I just cast off the first of three chunky cable strips which will make my take on the cable comfort throw. The index finger of my right hand hates me and wants me to stop (one of my joints is swollen) where as I'm itching to cast on the next one! I shouldn't really as I only have a two half balls of yarn, with more on order - but no promise of getting the same dye lot. It would make things less obvious if I wait and do the other two strips in the new yarn, rather than having to change mid-strip. But how different could the colours possibly be? I have a feeling I may just have to start and just hope for the best. Alternatively, I could pick up one of my other WIPs... or even give myself a break!

Drop everything!

I suddenly have a new priority. My boyfriends Mam will be 80 next month...80!?! We obviously need to get her something extra special, but she is soooo hard to buy for! I decided that the best thing to do was to make her something, so after lots of thinking (she's hard to make something for too!) and some help from the Ravelry forum, I've decided to make her a modified version of this Cable Comfort Throw (Ravelry link). I'm going to make it smaller and a bit chunkier.

This is quite a big project and I'm a bit concerned that I'm not going to get it finished but I'm going to give it a try. I'm also a bit concerned because my arthritis has been playing up and I'm not sure how much knitting I can do - I hope it's just the change in the weather setting me off and everything will calm down soon.

Keen to get started I went out to buy yarn for it today (I would have bought online but the post strike means that waiting for it to arrive would cut too far into my knitting time). I went to Yarn in Beeston, Nottingham, as I thought I'd prefer to support my LYS rather than Hobbycraft for such a big purchase. I've only been there once before (last weekend in fact) in the hunt for 6.5mm dpns, but they didn't have any (had to buy online in the end). The lady who served me was lovely and really helpful. I had no idea what yarn would be best - just needed something in white or cream, machine washable and CHUNKY. After much yarn pondering and fondling we decided that Patons Symphony would do the trick if I doubled it up. I've been working on a test piece to workout needle size, I started out on 15mm needles but changed to 12mm which are working out fairly well.



I only have 5 balls as that's all they had, but they have ordered me some more. It's enough to be going on with.

At least I have another finished object! Yey! My green scarf is finished. I love quick chunky knits. I am wondering if I'm going to keep them though - they might end up as a birthday present for my sister-in-law...



That priority list I made needs to be updated, it's not exactly going to plan! :o)

Works in progress

I have two main projects on the go at the moment (and several more minor ones).

Firstly I have this...

which I’m making in orange Twilleys Freedom. So far I’ve finished the back and half a sleeve...

I’m a fairly rubbish photographer which is why this one is so fuzzy :o(

I’m fairly happy with the way it’s turning out although I wish I’d chosen the dark red instead of the orange. It seemed like a good idea at the time though. Secondly, it’s quite squishy and I think it would work a bit better as a more solid fabric, so using the correct yarn may have been a better idea. Ah well, not to worry.

I’m also desperately trying to finish a hat and leg warmers for a friends little girl. I’m enjoying using my new Denise needles, but not at all enjoying knitting on small (6.5mm) needles. I also took it upon myself to learn how to do cables for it, which are a bit fiddly for my hands, as well not actually following a pattern but make one up myself. I’ve already had to unpick half of it because my cable design wasn’t working, but I now seem to be on track. I’ve made it more simple, which I think I should have done in the first place! Talk about trying to run before you can walk. I don’t plan to do any shaping, but pince it along the top edge with a three needle cast-off - another technique that I’ve read about but not actually done before!! Anyway, this is my progress so far…