Chasing My Tail

It feels like I'm running just to stand still at the moment. I'm getting very little done, but wearing myself out doing it!

I was back at the hospital on Tuesday, but not for me this time. It was for my 85 year old Dad, who has been told he has cataracts and needs them removed. I was the moral support. He will hopefully get the procedure done next Tuesday, or the Monday after. Fingers crossed all will go well and he can get back to driving and normality again.


In other news, I have two FOs!


Pattern: Phyllo Yoked Sweater from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan.
Yarn: GGH Safari Solid, 7 skeins
Needles: 4.5mm


I love this sweater, I think it's really cool! It will need a top underneath it, as it's quite "airy" but it will be perfect for summer evenings as it's linen. It was an easy enough knit too, the pattern is quite hypnotic, and it's done in the round from the yoke upwards, so very little seaming and that's always a good thing for me. I modified it slightly to make the sleeves about elbow length so it is more suited to summer wear.


Another FO -my first intarsia



Pattern: Exploring Socks VII Argyle Socks
Yarn: KnitPicks Palette, just over one skein MC, and less than a quarter skein each of the CCs
Needles: 2.75mm and 2.5mm


A great introduction to colourwork and I will definitely do more after this! The bloody blue lines did my head in though, it was very hard to get them to line up!


I also splurged and bought 13 skeins of this:



Debbie Bliss Prima, 80% Bamboo, 20% Merino. The colour is much more of a lavender shade than appears here. I have this earmarked for the Medallion Top from the Spring/Summer 08 Vogue Knitting. I can't believe I'm actually going to make something from Vogue, to me it was always a bit "out there" when it came to wearability, but there you have it!


It's a bank holiday weekend here this weekend and hubby is off to London for a work conference from Monday to Wednesday. My daugher also starts her summer holidays from primary school this Friday so there shall be much merriment and fun making whilst Daddy is away!!! tee hee!

It's a Beautiful Day

I can't get that U2 song out of my head recently. Probably because of the fabulous weather we've been having. Really hot and sunny yay! And I'm off to recuperate in it! What could be better?


I got my staples out on Tuesday so it's just stingy now, but well on the way to healing fully thank God.


So, what have I done this week? Well, lots actually!



Pattern: 15-15 Drops Kids Cardigan with Lace Pattern from here (free)
Yarn: Zettl Colorado 100% cotton
Needles: 4.5mm



This knit up really quickly. I'm not super happy with the underarms of it, they're very lumpy at the seams. It's my own fault though. The arms are increased out from the back and sides of the cardigan and then seamed together along the top and bottom of the sleeve. I increased using backwards loop cast on, so the edges were very uneven for seaming. If I were to make it again, I'd knit into the front and back of the stitches to increase more evenly.






I finished one of the argyle socks! I know the chart didn't work completely, but I'm happy with it for my first intarsia project. They're definitely winter socks though, that KnitPicks Peruvian wool sure is warm!



I'm almost finished my first Belle Époque sock too. About 1 more inch of foot and then the toe decreases.


I treated myself and went shopping yesterday after a fellow enabler at my SnB told me my LYS had yarn reduced. How could a girl be off work and not check that out?


Here's what I got:



Lang Venezia Color 2 skeins, €1.95 a skein. A steal. I'll probably make a scarf or something from it.




Sirdar Town & Country sock yarn, 2 skeins each of grey, black and navy/stripy for €2.95 a skein. I see lots of socks in my Dad's future!


Sirdar Pure Cotton 4 ply, 1 skein €4.95 I see socks for my wool hating hubby.


Regia 6 ply sock yarn for my daughter, not on sale :(


The guy ringing up my purchases is normally very uncommunicative, so imagine my surprise when he very drily says, "You like to make socks?" I resisted and just smiled demurely.

Have a good weekend!

2 at a time cheats and other things...

So this week I have an FO to show, albeit a cheat:

Pattern: Sugar Maple Socks from 2-at-a-time Socks
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton 100
Needles: 2.5mm circs

This was meant to be done 2 at a time, but I failed miserably and just did them one at a time.
On a good note, as per my previous post, I have obtained a ball winder so I will try again and am sure I will prevail!

I have cast on for another pair of socks in the meantime...

Pomatomus Socks by Cookie A from Knitty.

I have been dying to make these socks so here I go. I feel like socks are all I have been making recently, but they are perfect commutev (car) knitting, so I laways have some on the go.

The tangled yoke saga continues. I got to round 7 of the cable chart and all was going swimmingly, but I omitted 2 stitches from each repeat up to the centre, so I have to rip back to the beginning of the row and start again. Boo. I have ripped back so many times that the yarn is nearly beginning to felt! It's in time-out now until the weekend when I will have time and patience to devote to it.

I have also cast on for my first colourwork project! I am truly a fearless knitter lol. It may all go belly up, but at least I'm trying! It's a pattern one of the girls in my SnB gave me for a pair of argyle socks.

These are the colours I'm thinking of using:


The pink will be the main colour and I'll figure the others out as I go.

I've got as far as the beginning of the colour chart, and am terrified to go any further! I just don't know what to do next!
I downloaded the ebook, Stranded Color Knitting by Nanette Blanchard so I'll try and follow that and see how I go.

Exciting or frustrating times ahead! Let's hope it's more of the former than the latter...

I also picked up the Spring/Summer edition of Vogue Knitting yesterday. I am mad keen to make the gorgeous blue lacy top that's near the back! It's just gorgeous! I'm amazed that they have a garment I'd actually wear; usually they are very "conceptual" and that it's patterened in a size that will fit me! yay!

Happy knitting!