Finally!

Well, it's a few weeks since I posted. Life's been 'out of control' busy. Nothing disastrous, just busy. Every time I thought about blogging something happened to prevent me!


There has been slow progress on my projects. But finally the red rib cardi is almost finished. I just need to sew it up.

I don't think I will ever knit this again . I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it when it's finished BUT at the moment - Mmmmmmm. I just HATED the endless rib - rib - rib - rib - rib - rib - rib [well you get the idea].


I've also finished knitting the teal and orange hoodie, but it's half sewn up and in a state of visual disarray, so no picture til it's done! Hopefully very soon.


And now that I've finished knitting two items, I've allowed myself to cast on a couple of new things. I don't have strict rules about how many items I can have on the go at any one time, but one is not enough (I need to be able switch projects if I get fed up with something); two or three is manageable; and once I get to four or five I'm starting to feel out of control.


This winter hat for Mr S uses the Benambra Blue yarn that I bought at the Red Hill Show in March. It feels beautifully soft. It's a mix of wool and silk. It has some imperfections (fluffy slubby bits and some variations in thickness), so it suits a more rustic design. You couldn't knit the perfect twin set with it!


And this is the start of a cardigan for Mr S using Jo Sharp's DK Silkroad Tweed in navy. It's difficult to see the pattern, but it's a variation on the basketweave pattern. Mr S is in DESPERATE need of a navy cardigan. I'm hoping I can whiz this one up a bit more quickly than the two months it took to knit the red cardi!


On the domestic front:

Autumn in the garden is in full swing. These yellow kniphofias flower every year at this time. I have other kniphofias that flower during summer and winter. The leaves are turning colour and I'm feeling a bit sad. I love autumn, it's beautiful, but it feels like everything is dying. AND it's almost dark at 5pm!! YUK.

Mil seems fine. Her illness is a total mystery. The specialist vet has asked that I make contact with him at the end of May and suggested doing the heart tests again in a few months. The pictures are The Mil outside in the street. She loves going out side our house; it's a real treat for her. All the doggy smells. She can spend a long time with her nose firmly pressed to the ground!

So far Mr S is doing well with the introduction of food. The Organic Cookbook is a gem. I've cooked 'First Vegetables' and 'Cheesy Potato' - both delicious (even if I say so myself).

Click Clack

Progress is slow on the red rib cardi for Mr S. I keep telling myself it only 'feels slow' because I am knitting the whole thing in one piece, but I cannot stop myself from measuring it continually. The tape measure is my constant companion!

And I have started the hoodie for Mr S (based on the Sirdar pattern) using the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. It is knitting up much quicker that the red cardi (the result of stocking stitch rather than rib, and DK rather than 4 ply - no surprises there). Normally I knit right on the given tension of a pattern using the specified needles but with this I'm knitting tighter - not sure if it's me or the yarn? I quite like the stripe. They are not the normal colours I would choose, but given that I had the orange already I think the teal/aqua goes with it quite well.


And I have bought these really cute shoes to go with it - orange suede Italian shoes! They are Mr S' first ones. I've also joined a new group blog about knitted toys - called .... Knitted Toys.

It has some really cute stuff on it and I really like the button.

The mind turns slowly

I bought these for Mr S

Which reminded me that I still had this - Shepherd 4ply Baby Wool


I'd bought it while knitting this


At the time I thought that I would make a jumper to match.

The problem is that even though I'm an orange lover, I'm just not sure that I like this shade?

I keep looking at it and feeling very guilty about the waste if I don't use it. But my knitting time is so heavily rationed at present, do I really want to use it knitting something I won't like? What a dilemma. Which means that the wool just sits around while I 'um and ah' about whether to cut my loss and move on, or stick with it and make the [beep beep beeeeeeeep] jumper...

Anyway, the purchase of those socks got me thinking...

So I purchased these to experiment with - Rowan 4ply Scottish Tweed and Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK


And came up with these swatches

• top few lines: Rowan Scottish Tweed and Shepherd 4ply knitted in stripes in single strand on 3.25mm needles
• middle rows: Rowan Scottish Tweed and Shepherd 4ply knitted together initially on 4mm needles, then on 5mm needles
• lower section: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK and Shepherd 4 ply (double strand) knitted in two types of stripes (two row and four row) on 4mm needles.

I quite like the lower section (using the Cashmerino and the orange 4ply doubled).

So I'm going to use these yarns and the stripes concept to make something like one of these Sirdar designs...

Easter's coming!

But no Lent for me -no stash reduction commitments either! I'm a bad bad woman!!! Naughty, but nice (I hope)!!!

It's stash enhancement all the way!


I'll confess about my recent purchases at the Stitches and Craft Show another time. But last Thursday, after the relief of handing in my entries, I felt I needed a reward - so off to the LYS ...
I've been thinking about making an Easter Bunny for Mr S from this vintage pattern. It came from a very quirky shop in Mt Eliza, who still has the original (where this was photographed).


And so I've started...


The yarn is Freedom by Twilleys of Stamford. It's 100% wool and normally knits as 10st in 10cm on 10mm needles - but the pattern requires 12st in 10cm, so after fiddling around with tension squares I figured out I needed to use 8mm needles. Knitting a bit firmer for soft toys is better anyway.

I've also bought some red 4ply to make this lovely cardigan and hat for winter. It's a new Cleckheaton book that I bought at the Stitches and Craft Show at a reduced price.

Done but not dusted

Well, after much activity I've finished and handed in nine items for the Red Hill Show. None are perfect, all have mistakes, all could have been done better... but they are FINISHED. Nothing like a deadline to push one along.

Pictured below are

• Mr S' stripy shawl/blanket - I didn't have time to embroider the french knots, maybe I will when I get it back after the Show. The knitted front looks great, but the fabric back is a disappointment. It just doesn't sit right. But the i-cord edging is great. Sorry you cannot see it from the picture ; and

• a Jaeger jumper for Mr S this winter. The design is swiss darned. It's the first time I've done this. After a few rows I wanted to pitch it! But I kept going, and while it's got tension issues and I stuffed up one row of the design, overall for a first go it's OK. I finished it at 2am this morning, praying with every stitch that Mr S would keep on sleeping!