Not Knitting

...but sinking under a report I need to write. It was supposed to be finished yesterday. I spent the whole weekend working on it (usual avoidance tactics apply). I may get it finished this weekend. It's for a qualification I'm not even sure I want. I'm not having fun but I've done too much work towards it to give up now (I keep telling myself). Knitting will hopefully resume shortly.

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.

Itchy!!

Well, would you believe it? It's weeks now since I lost my oomph. Not just my knitting oomph, my everything oomph. I've been slogging away at, well, everything, as you do, but sans-oomph.

But it seems, since finishing the hoodie, my knitting itch has returned! I've been itchy all day, although haven't been able to scratch it as we've had lots on today. Not sure when I'm going to get a chance actually, but I'm very happy it's back.

Finished item: Santa Cruz Hoodie

Really love this little top – although it’s not as little as it maybe should be. I’m feeling quite nervous as it’s currently in the washing machine...I ummed and arred about hand washing it initially but decided that since it’s 100% acrylic and machine washable, maybe I should just go for it. I’m hoping this smoothes out some of the stitching as there’s a section on the back of the hood where I made a mistake that is a little loose now, and the grafting along the top of the hood isn’t completely invisible.



I made a few changes to the pattern, which I’ve mentioned on my Ravelry project page. I need to think about the balance between this blog and my Ravelry pages, I’m never quite sure where to put what!

The main thing I did was use a substitute yarn which gave me a smaller gauge. To avoid writing the pattern totally, I (and my Dad) worked out that stitch-wise, although I was aiming for the 6yr old size, I could follow the stitch count/instructions for the small adult size. The pattern handily included detailed pictures of the individual pieces and their dimensions. This meant that I could knit to the right lengths for the smaller size. I know, it all sounds very risky, but it seems to have worked out – I was nervous when I got to the raglan seams, as I hadn’t really taken those into consideration!

Other things I did include knitting the moss stitch cuffs in the round to avoid the need for a seam, which means they can be worn down, or folded back. The rest of the sleeve was knit flat.

I also did the hood a little differently. The pattern indicated knitting the hood minus the moss stitch ending, then picking up around the edge and adding it last. I didn’t fancy doing that, so I just knit the hood complete with edge. As the top of the hood is grafted to avoid a seam, it meant I had to graft moss stitch! I tried not to think about that bit until I needed to. When I did get up to it, I googled but nothing jumped out. I eventually remembered how to cheat graft!! This involved knitting an extra row or two in a contrasting yarn, then doing the graft with the live yarn, following the lead of the contrasting yarn. I started by doing two rows in contrasting yarn, but I found it a bit confusing, so I pulled out one row and that made it better to see what I was doing. I made the graft, then pulled out the contrasting yarn. All worked out well! I’m sure it’s the only way to go about grafting moss stitch.



I’m fairly sure the top is going to be a little big for my nephew, but he’ll grow into it...I just hope he doesn’t need to grow into a new shape!!

ETA: It came out of the wash looking the same size (yey/phew) and far more lovely, soft and fluffy. The stitches have evened out a little, but my tention on the graft was obviously a bit tight (still doesn't look too bad though). I really love it. It's so soft I just want to snuggle my face into it!

Pay it forward: Fabulous socks!!

There was a parcel waiting for me when I got home from work today. It was my Pay it Forward gift from the lovely Sarah! You have no idea how excited this made me. I've been quite down in the dumps of late, the timing couldn't have been better!

Even though the anticipation was killing me, please be impressed that I savoured the moment and managed to take a 'before' photo:



Isn't it such a beautiful and inviting package :o)

And this, of course, is the 'after':



How gorgeously fantastic are they!! (the photo just isn't doing them any justice) The colours couldn't be more perfect. I'm so impressed that people can make such small, perfect and beautiful things. Thank you so much Sarah, you are a very talented knitter! I really love them and am wearing them as I type. I loved the knitting based card that you sent too (just peeping out in the photo above), my other half is going to roll his eyes when he notices it on the mantelpiece :oD

A further 'after' shot will follow...when I've shaved my legs ;o) and the light is better.

My own PIFers should not loose hope! I'm almost finished, so hold tight, it won't be long now. I still only have two, I'll be looking for a third soon. If anyone is interested, sign up on the original post here.

That's all for now from this cosy toed Von, I need to get some knitting done as I've got a Birthday deadline to meet.