skein

Wrapping up 2007.

As 2007 draws to a close, it's always interesting to see exactly how much knitting I can do in one year.  I've been canny this year (I hope!) and kept FOs in a flickr set, which should make it much easier to find my 2007 FOs.

Socks 17 pairs

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Lace 7 shawls (though a few are very quick knits some took forever)

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Baby garments: 14

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Garments: 4

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Accessories: 8

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So on average for 2007 (rounded to the nearest day!),
I knit a pair of socks every  3 weeks.
I knit a lace shawl every   7 weeks 3 days.
I knit a baby garment every 3 weeks 5 days.
I knit an adult garment every 13 weeks.
I knit an accessory every 6 weeks 4 days.

I've just realised that I haven't included my Picnic Blanket by Debbie Abrahams!  That's 12 squares knit from 81 (or maybe 9; I haven't checked yet).

Resolutions for 2008 will be posted tomorrow!

Happy New Year everyone!

Bee Fields Shawl - done!

What, is it still NaBloPoMo? I'm posting practically every day!  I think it's the time off work.  Lots of knitting, lots of stuff to blog about.

So the Bee Fields Shawl is done! (Sorry about the pointed bottom- we didn't spread it out before I put it on)

Pattern: Bee Fields (available as a download)

Yarn: Wooly Wonka Fibers (I loved this colour and didn't have anything remotely similar in my stash).

Modifications: none.

More photos of the finished shawl:

Bee in Field

Bee Swarm section

Bee Hive section

The whole thing

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Isola and Secret of the Stole

I'm still ignoring the weekly wip, Autumn Leaves cardigan, and working on Isola. I think it would be great to add this to the list of projects in 2007.

As you can see, I've only a sleeve to go, and the button loops!

Such a quick knit. I've been thinking that this is an aran weight yarn, but it's chunky, which is why it's going so swiftly. 13 sts /10cm. This design has 3/4 sleeves which flare out as shown.

I tried to take some more photos of the Secret of the Stole this morning (without Chris to help), just by laying it out on the grass.   These still don't show up the lovely loden colour of the yarn (it's looking rather washed out in the sunlight) nor the beads. But I want to wear this now, as a scarf, and I've been holding out trying to get some decent photos. Consider this photographed now!  Another of my December goals out of the way. The only one left to do (which won't be) is to finish off Autumn Leaves. Oh well.

 

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Socks, lace and a new project

I hope that everybody had a fabulous Christmas!  I've had a productive two days, lots of knitting and not too much alcohol (though far too many desserts/cakes/mince pies/chocolate.)

I've managed to complete two more of my December goals

1)Finish the Lorna's Laces Parfait socks.

which were my socks of choice on Christmas morning.

2) Started something new on Christmas day.
It's Isola, from Louisa Harding's Una Volta book, knitted in her Ca'd'Oro yarn.
I've had this yarn for a while, but until now haven't been able to get tension. I managed to get stitch tension, but the rows were way out.   Well, I pulled out my new knitpicks harmony needles - and bingo!  I've gone down a size but my row tension is spot on, and the knitting is much more pleasant with wooden circulars.

I started the back at 5.18pm.  By bedtime I'd knitted to a few inches past the armhole!  The colour is GREEN and yellow not blue at all.

(I did stay up very, very late!)
Boxing day I finished the back

and a front (but no photograh). I'm about to pick up the second front and work on this for a few hours. Then it's back to Autumn Leaves, the WIP of the Week!  I intend to get the body finished, all ready for steeking.

Today's been shopping and laundry day. I took time this afternoon though to pin out the Bee Fields Shawl.

It looks as if I'll be heading for the New Year with just the Picnic Blanket, Autumn Leaves cardigan and Isola, just three wips. This will be a first!

Just in time for Christmas

The Bee Fields Shawl if off the needles!  I still have blocking to do, but that'll be done after Christmas.

One more of my seven December goals completed.

I've four more to do:
1) Finish my Lorna's Laces Parfait socks - working on these today. I've half a foot to go and then I'll have an extra Christmas present for myself.
2) Start something new - that's for tomorrow and I am so excited!
3) Finish Autumn Leaves cardigan - nope this will go into 2008.
4) Photo my Secret of the Stole.  Oops. We had another try today.
London bloggers probably didn't notice that slight breeze today.
Here's our unsuccessful photo shoot today.

Chris attempting to take a photo of the entire shawl.

Attempts at showing one of the lace patterns.
 

Then it was my time to take a decent photo, with Chris holding my shawl.  Breezy.


Harumph.

Have a Happy Christmas!  We'll be having a very merry one.

 

Settling in for Christmas

The food shopping for 4 days is bought. We have cider, wine, vodka, advocaat (my Christmas day drink), sparkling wine, champagne, orange juice, brandy and whiskey. Far too many desserts (all for me!). This is just for us two as we're staying here on our own for Christmas.
Flowers, scented candles and pot pourri are filling the stashflat with a wonderful Christmas aroma.
The Great Escape is on TV.

I have the rest of the day to myself.

I haven't worked on the wip of the week - aka the Bee Fields Shawl.  That's because I've been working on another project.
A baby cardigan (one of my seven December to-dos)

This was the progress picture yesterday evening: one sleeve do to (just started on the right in the photo below) and one long border. Yes, I decided to stick to the knitted then sewn on border.  I took it to Stash yesterday as it's so mindless that I can chat and knit, and it's the only way I'll finish it off.

And I managed to finish it today.
All sewn up but not blocked at all, hot off the needles.

Pattern: Iced Gem from Louisa Harding's Enchanted Garden book.
Yarn : Kashmir aran weight, 5 balls.
Modifications: Just one. I knitted the body in one piece up to the armholes. After that, I followed her instructions - 3 needle cast off for the shoulders, sleeved knitted straight and then sewn in. Border knitted separately and then sewn on.  I chose to knit the sleeves as written purely because I didn't fancy carting the whole garment around with me (ok it's small, but this was commuting). I chose to knit the border separately because I like the horizontal garter stitch.  The border's relatively wide, which is why sticks up over the neck - it does on the baby in the photo too, not a bad thing in winter.

Now I'm off to do a little Bee Fields knitting.

ISE5 has arrived!

What a treat!  I have been spoilt!  Lots of lovely goodies in here. My pal is Betty Jean, and she has come up trumps for me.

Look at these goodies!

There lots of flavoured coffee (yum, vanilla), toffee and chocolate bars, snacks, some orange and spice tea (very Christmassy), notelets, a novelty tape measure, nail file, some lavender body lotion and a Texas key ring!  A skein of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox,
which I've not seen before - very lovely and soft!

The scarf is brilliant, it's garter stitch on the diagonal in three colours, and the colour changes are very effective - everyone here in the office admires it and I'm wearing my brown coat today - it goes so well with it!  Thank you so much BJ, this is a real treat!

In my knitting news I haven't picked up the Bee Fields Shawl, which is my weekly wip.  I was too tired last night to knit lace, so I finished off the fingerless gloves from Louisa Harding's new accessory book, much shortened and still requiring more than one ball of yarn!

Pattern: Victoria Fingerless Mittens

Book: Louisa Harding's Knitting Little Luxuries

Yarn: Grace (Louisa Harding ** pattern calls for 1 ball, and I used approximately 1.12 balls!  With a shorted pattern too!

Modifications:  I suspected that one ball would not be enough, so I
1) worked it in the round, losing the two seam stitches throughout the length.
2) shortened both the ribbing (by 13 rows) around the wrist and the palm length (by another 2 rows). Not a problem, as these are a gift for someone with a smaller hand, but still!

I'd make these again as I love the picot edging. Grace is a dk weight yarn, so there's lots of possible substitutions.

Tuesday night I also did very little knitting, but it wasn't the Bee Fields! I cast on a baby cardigan for a speedy Christmas present.
Aran weight, it shall be a quick project!

Autumn Leaves Cardigan update

I hoped to finish the cardigan's body this week, but fell short by about 7 rows. I'm not bothered, though, as this weekly project morphed into a weekend project. I think I did well to do this much knitting.  I've finished the leaf pattern and am doing a dead easy 2x2 colour pattern now. I've put the front and back neck stitches on hold and cast on steeks for these, so the photos look a bit lumpy and bumpy.

Outdoors shot with one more leaf pattern to go.

BTW I fullly intended to take an outdoors shot of my completed Secret of the Stole, as we had a brief period of winter sunshine, but the wind!  Just the slightest breeze means I can't take photos without the stole taking off!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sunny, windless day...

Here's some very late at night indoors shots.
This is a front view, you can see where I've put the front neckline stitches on a bit of yarn, then cast on the 13 steek stitches, which makes it bunch up.

A side view, which shows the front steek on the right side.

And now it's the turn of the Bee Fields Shawl for this week!

And I didn't manage much knitting

It's because, as a full time working person, I imagine that if I didn't work I'd have an extra 11-12 hrs per day to knit. Weekends should point me to the fact that this doesn't happen in real life. Late starts, shopping, cooking, cleaning, chatting, bathing tidying all take up a significant part of the day.  My two days off work involved shopping and visiting so I didn't have as much time to knit as I thought.

I managed to finish off three more squares for Picnic (which was one of my December goals too)

I've joined up for Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket knitalong, which lasts 10 months, so I'll have lots and lots of squares to knit now.

A little gripe:  Louisa Harding, Knitting Little Luxuries.

Fingerless gloves, plain, should take one ball of  Grace.
WRONG!!!  I was a little worried about this, so I made them (much) shorter, and narrower by two stitches.
Still...

I think that I'll buy another ball anyway, they're very pretty and will make nice Christmas gifts.

I intended started on my Autumn Leaves cardigan this week, but it's looking like it will be a weekend rather than a week project.  Oh well, if I can get the body finished I'll be absolutely thrilled.

Bee Fields Shawl Update after one week

By Sunday I'd finished the third pattern and have even knitted the first five rows of the twelve row edging.  Very pleased. This means when I pick it up (after a week of Autumn Leaves cardigan) I really should be able to finish the knitting on this.

Although these photos look very similar to my last blog post, they aren't!  There's been a precious 17 more rows knitted since then (which are getting longer too).

On the very last pattern repeat for the body I made no less than three mistakes.  Two involved the tops of each bee, where you cast on four stitches each side of the centre. I managed to miss out four stitches on one side, and in another area I cast on three lots of four sts instead of two lots. So I have a baggy area and a tight area!  Then I did a whole row of the wrong sort of decreases (should have been left leaning not right leaning). Am I glad that I'm having a week off! I need to be fresh to do this shawl, I think.

Anyway, it's now Autumn Leaves week, and I want to complete the body of the cardigan.  This wouldn't be too much of a  problem, except I'm going to visit the family for a few days, and won't be picking this knit up until I get back on Thursday.  I think it's a little too big to cart around with me, so it's keeping Chris company until I get back.

Instead, I'm taking my Lorna's Laces Parfait socks with me.

One down, one to go.
And my Picnic squares. I want to knit another two squares this month.
Just in case I get bored.

A skein of Malabrigo for another pair of fingerless gloves, and a ball of Louisa Harding's Grace to knit a picot edged pair of fingerless gloves, from her new book Knitting Little Luxuries.

I doubt that I'll do this much knitting, I'm only away for two days!