Quick Report

No pictures today, I'm in work and flickr is blocked :(

I've finished the first sleeve on my Medallion Top, and have started the second. I had to buy the other ball of yarn (thanks ThisIsKnit for holding it for me!) and even at that it's going to be a tight squeeze. The sleeve took a smidgeon over two balls to do, and I have two balls and another smidgeon left to finish the sleeve and sew the side and sleeves in. Fingers crossed I'll have enough, otherwise what could I use to sew the seams??

No real progress on the Noro socks other than I've finished the first one and am onto the foot of the second. The second toe looks much better than the first now I have the hang of the wrapping (sort of, I can't see the wrapped stitches for the life of me, so I have to do all the wrapping in one go while I count)

I had a fab weekend, I went to the first Oireachtas (pronounced ear-ocht-iss) Family Fun Day yesterday. The Oireachtas is the Irish government buildings (think Capitol Hill or the British Houses of Parliament) and there was an open day for everyone to tour the debating floors and see all the portraits of past leaders along with visiting dignatories. There was a fabulous flag donated by JFK of the Irish regiments that fought in the American Civil war. There were also acrtobats, musicians and artisan food stalls.

I'll post more about it when I have pictures.

Happy Birthday to me!

Project Progress time.

Toe Up Socks using Noro Kureyon Sock and Amy Swenson's Universal Toe Up Sock Formula
I dunno about this technique. I chose it because I want to make ankle socks to wear with my sandals on holidays. I'm not much cop with wrapping stitches, but I'll get there with practice I suppose. I don't like the yarn either, really scratchy and awfully thick and thin in places. Not one of my greatest pleasures to knit.




Medallion Top from VK Spring/Summer '08
Loving this pattern, not the yarn as I've said before. Plus, I have a dilemma. I bought 13 skeins of the yarn, and after completing the front & back I only have 3 left. Will that be enough for the sleeves? I doubt it, the yardage is so poor on this yarn. I really don't want to buy any more of it, as at €5.95 per ball it's not a cheap project! Could I knit the sleeves two at a time from the top down and just keep going until I run out?? I have no idea what to do. Hubby said to buy more, but I really don't want to if I can help it. I think I read somewhere before that sleeves take about 1/3 of the yarn required to make the body, which was 10 balls. Does that mean I'll run out just at the end?? I'm so confused and p****d off about it now...

Oh and by the way, I didn't win the Scavenger Hunt :( (Ravelry Link:) Deimne did. Congrats Deimne! Still, it was fun! I am surprised that there was only one placing though, I thought there was going to be a first second third etc.

It was my birthday yesterday and I got a bounty of knitting goodies!
More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch
Favorite Socks by Interweave
Knitting Without Tears by EZ
Knitting Around by EZ
The Opinionated Knitter by EZ
Knitting Workshop book and DVD by EZ!

Isn't my hubby the best? How he kept all that hidden in the house I don't know... and breakfast in bed!
My lovely Mam & Dad also gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and paid for my scrummy Indian dinner out last night.
I love birthdays!

WWKIP Madness

Well, maybe not madness. The day yesterday was great, I met loads of knitters I had only known on Ravelry and had a lovey time working on my Noro Toe up sock while listening to a brass band. I enjoyed it so much that I wonder why I don't just go and sit in the park more often.
It didn't rain either, although it certainly thought about it, so that was a bonus!
And, I won a prize! A gift voucher for a yarn shop. I think it's this one: Yarn. Even though it's in Galway (the other side of the country) they do mail order so yay! If it is them I'm bagging me some Jitterbug!
Thanks to Aileen and This Is Knit for organising the get together and prizes.

Like I said earlier, there was a scavenger hunt organised by my LYS, This Is Knit.

Have a look here for the photos I got:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11244278@N08/

This is the link to the group if you want to see the other entries so far:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/wwkipireland/pool/

I had so much fun! I made a complete fool of myself running around the city and accosting politicians, bus inspectors, unsuspecting members of the public, bar staff etc. The one thing about the whole process is that no-one said no. I think that says a lot about people, that in this day and age when all we hear is how selfish people are becoming, not one person refused, and all but one did it whole heatedly with a smile on their face. The only one who didn't was the barmaid because she was getting awful teasing from her colleagues and customers, but she still did it, so that means bonus points in my book, smile or not!
I have no idea if I'll win anything from it, but to be honest, the taking part was so much fun that I don't mind one bit.

Sock Down!

I've finished the never ending socks! This was definitely my worst case of second sock syndrome. I didn't realise how long these took me until I was updating my Ravelry account and saw I had cast on on April 22nd! That's ages ago!

Anyway, here they are:

Pattern: Belle Époque Socks from 2-at-a-time Socks

Yarn: Lornas Laces Shepherd Sock

Needles: 2.5mm

I love this pattern, I think they are gorgeous.

As I'm sure you all know, next Saturday is WWKIP day. My LYS, This Is Knit has organised something really fun, a KIP scavenger hunt! We've been given a list of tasks such as have your knitting and the flyer photographed with an animal in the park, in the shopping mall etc. It's going to be great fun! We have until next Friday to get as many of the items on the list, and the person with the most points, wins! The prizes are great, a set of KnitPicks Harmony Interchangeable needles, a €50 voucher for the shop, a skein of Noro sock yarn etc. Aren't they great?

Slow but Steady

Dad had his cataract op yesterday, and all went well thank God. He's relieved it was over! I think I may have a bit of trouble getting him back in there for the second one, he said it was awful getting it done. I can imagine! He's good though, just a bit uncomfortable. I really admire him, he's such a strong man. I must get him something special for Fathers Day on June 15.

Hubby is on his way back from his work conference, sans any yarn :( oh well, you can't win them all.

Progress on the medallion top is slow but steady:

I'm about half way through the back. It's an interesting knit, but not one I can really do in the evenings. I have to really concentrate. It looks good though! The yarn (Debbie Bliss Prima, 80% Bamboo, 20% Merino) is ok. It feels lovely and soft, but it's very splitty. This is the second big project I've made using her yarns, and I'm not that enamoured with them. I think they're very expensive, yardage per ball is poor and the splitting of this one and the pilling of the Cashmerino Aran is a bit much. I doubt I will purchase any more unless I'm stuck.

The Belle Époque socks are coming along, almost finished. I've turned the heel and am working along the foot now. Once I get these done, I'm on the lookout for some ankle socks I can make for my holidays to wear with sandals. Any ideas?

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!