skein

June round up and July knitting plans

Where does the time go? Another month already!

I had a very successful June.

1) June Mystery Blanket squares. Done!

and two strips!

2) Finish Dawn, my NaKniSweMoDo #6. Done!

3) Start garment #7 for NaKniSweMoDo.  Done! (Started, not finished).  It's Hey Teach.  This is the only photo I have, of a half knitted back.  Both fronts and back are knitted, and the first sleeve started. These will be 3/4 sleeves, so will take a bit longer than the very short sleeves in the pattern.

4)Finish Ishbel.  Done!

5) Start some plain socks for carrying around.  Done!  But they're probably going to be around for months, I don't like knitting with this alpaca yarn.  I've even tried knitting in bed, doesn't work (I want to lie down, my arms ache, I fall asleep, Chris would kill me if he found needles int he bed!)

6) Knit a Nancy Bush sock for SKA's June socks. SolidSocks is natural or white, and I may or may not combine the two. Done and Done!  I decided to do both! 

SKA's New England socks :

 

SolidSocks' Taking Turns socks:

7) just because I like having seven things - start another project, small, maybe lacy.Done!  A small child's top, with lacy short sleeves.

 

Such a great knitting month! 

July's goals
1) Finish Hey Teach cardigan for NaKniSweMoDo #7.  Just two 3/4 length sleeves to do.

2) Start NaKniSweMoDo #8.  I think it's going to be Louisa Harding's Tide, in Glimmer. (Ravelry link). I'll be knitting the longer version. Yarn in stash!

3) Debbie Abraham's Mystery Blanket July squares.  And seam strips 1 and 2.

4) SolidSocks knitalong - blue socks.

5) (more socks, shhh) Socktapus socks - this month I love the yarn and pattern so will have to knit these, quick.  I won't say anymore for a few weeks in case anyone reading is still waiting for the package. Let's just say that the supplier is a firm favourite, and I lurve this colour.

6) Knit some dishcloths. Not fancy ones, I find that (in the kitchen) I prefer either garter stitch or that ballband pattern, looks like a brick wall.  I think it's the bumpy texture I like.

7) the little extra.  I can't make up my mind - mindless knitting / lace knitting / baby knitting?  Time will tell.

Another busy month!  Notice those alpaca socks started in June are left in the UFO pile ...

New England Socks

This is a pattern which has long been on my wishlist, and I've only just gotten around to knitting it, purely down to SKA and the June theme - Nancy Bush patterns.

Pattern: New England Socks by Nancy Bush
Started: June 6th
Finished: June 25th
Needles: 2mm
Yarn: Regia silk, pale blue.

Love the pattern!  I think I avoided knitting these because of the smaller needles and longer leg, but really, the pattern means that time flies.  I've been knitting on other things in between, but the second sock, for example, took only four evenings.

I keep thinking that I'll have a break from sock knitting, but it's addictive, and there's soooo many patterns I want to knit and haven't yet.  I'm not going to participate in SOS (summer of socks, ravelry) this summer, due to NaKniSweMoDo, but with SolidSocks and SKA I think I have my hands full anyway.

Hey Teach! is going well.  Back and two fronts are done, just sleeves to go - but as I've only used three of five skeins of Cotton Fleece for the body I'm going to knit longer sleeves, so it's Sleeve Island time.  I now know why I need many wips (or maybe just two or three) - my hand is aching from spending knitting time on just this garment since Friday.  I'm resisting casting on, but a ball of Zephry laceweight, in marine blue  has jumped out of box #3 and is sitting next to me now....

Spring Garden Tee

A very cute, very quick knit!

Pattern: Spring Garden Tee (ravelry pattern here)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton
Started: 21st June
Finished: 24th June
Needles: 3mm (I think!)

This is the 12 month size.
Modifications: decided to just crochet a row of dc around the neckline. My loose cast off (so the baby can get her head in it!) looked a bit messy.   OK, the photo of the top looks a bit messy too, but it's not, this is probably down to me having 30 seconds to take a photo this morning before work, and not rearranging it nicely on the grass!

The armhole is roomy, and the pretty sleeve cap is very girly.

I also finished my New England socks last night (no time for a photo this morning though!) so that means I've managed to reach all of my June goals!  I'm going to carry on with Hey Teach!, which hs been largely ignored this week, if I can resist the lure of knitting baby garments, just love them, they're so quick.

Taking Turns socks

Pattern: Taking Turns by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Louet Gems Pearl
Started 9th June
Finished: 20th June
Needles: 2.25mm

These were knitted for June's SolidSocks theme on ravelry, which was white or natural (undyed).   Last summer I put relevent coloured yarn into monthly sock bags, for SolidSocks and SKA on ravelry, so I had a little surprise at the beginning of the month.  I thought I had no white/natural sock yarn, but when I opened June's sock bag there it was, some white yarn!  It's the first time I've knitted white socks. Can't say I wear them much, but it was far easier on these middle aged eyes than dark sock yarn.

It's a lovely pattern, very easy to memorise. 

Finishing these means that I only had the New England socks on the needles last night (Saturday) plus Hey Teach!, so of course I've cast on a 'quick' baby top today! 

Dawn

Pattern: Dawn
Started: 24th May
Finished: 12th June
Yarn: Rowan handknit dk cotton
Needles: 3.5mm.

 

I had to go right down in needle size, this pattern is stretchy, and my knitting was far too loose. I knitted the first front, up to the armhole increases, and had to frog, the lace was far too open, and when I measured my tension I was out by 5 sts per 4 inches!

The pattern stitch was awkward - yon, p2tog, keeping my knitting fairly taught. 

I've folded over and sewn down the armhole edging - it looks to me as if that's what's been done in the book as well. We took a stack of photos on Sunday morning, without me realising that the arm edging was only partially folded. Retook the photos on Sunday evening, but poor light meant that they're a bit blurred. Oh well!

This is garment #6 of NaKniSweMoDo.

Garment #7?  So far it's HeyTeach! from Knitty. 

Current Knitting

I don't know how long I'll keep this up, but I quite like blogging a weekly post about my knitting progress and plans. 

Last week I gave myself a few targets - all met except one, knitting a baby garment.  I thought I'd leave it until Autumn.  I've discovered that I quite like having just 3 or 4 things on the needles, I seem to get more done!  I expect that the baby will have lots of first sizes, and with our upcoming hot summer (allegedly) I might be better off knitting something in the 3-6 months range, in a few months.

Finish Ishbel - done and post is here.

Finish Dawn - done and post is later on the week :)

Knit sock 1 of Taking Turns -  done.

Knit the leg of New England socks- done.  It speeds up when the back patterning is finished, a bit like knitting a foot of a sock with the plain sole.

And finally, an unexpected extra bit of knitting.  Having finished Dawn I needed to start the next NaKniSweMoDo (number seven!).  It's Hey Teach!, a free pattern on knitty, and I'm using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.  I've had five balls maturing in stash for several years.  Initially I didn't like Cotton Fleece at all.  My idea of a wool/cotton blend is Rowan's Wool Cotton, and this is nothing like it. It's rougher and very splitty. However, now that I'm used to knitting with it, it's quite a pleasant knit.
I thought I'd better blog about it now as I'm racing through it!
Here's the back, started on Sunday. Stocking stitch and ribbing section done Sunday, and the lace pattern knitted last night. 

It's Prosperous Plum.  A very quick, relaxing knit.  If I have enough I'll knit longer sleeves.

This week's list:
Finish Taking Turns socks (you can see I've not made much progress!)
Finish sock #1 of New England Socks
Finish back of Hey Teach! (I'll probably start the front as well)

Ishbel

Pattern: Ishbel
Started: 23rd May
Finished: (knitting) 6th June
Blocked: 13th June
Needles: 3.75mm
Yarn: Wollmeise supersock merino, Lowenzahn

Lovely, quick knitting.  I was  a bit thrown by the off centre points at the bottom (forewarned by a knitting friend, but too lazy to recalculate the pattern)

The wollmeise in this shade is just what I was looking for - something which had flashes of colour which would show up the stocking stitch area well.

Another shot showing the lace pattern. It's going to be a lovely accessory to my wardrobe.  Oh, I made the smaller shawl, but it's blocked out quite a bit. More like a small shoulder shawl to keep me warm on cooler days.

Current knitting

Mid week knitting catch up. 
I had a whizz weekend as far as knitting goes.  Finished the mystery blanket squares for June on Saturday and cast on several socks on Sunday, as well as finished a small Ishbel.  But then I spent wasted the past few evenings dithering, looking through crochet books, thinking I might start that crochet blanket I've been meaning to start for the past six months.  No such luck, the yarn is back in the bag behind my chair, and I'm back to knitting!

1) Ishbel knitted, just needs blocking.

This is the small shawl, and the knitting part really doesn't take long at all. 

2) 2x2 ribbed sock, in an alpaca sock yarn (label is missing). A bit boring,  but if I pick it up now and then it will eventually get finished.

3) Solidsocks June. The theme is white/natural yarn. I'm using some Gems Pearl. Pattern is Evelyn Clark's Taking Turns, and I'm down to the heel already.  A very easy pattern, this is the current carry-along project.

4) SKA June. I'm knitting a Nancy Bush pattern called New England socks, in pale blue Regia Silk.
This is the second attempt at this pattern (I am too impatient sometimes, and rip out too soon) and the third attempt with this yarn so I'm hoping this time it's a good combingation of yarn and pattern! 

This is the back - this pattern is continued for four inches, and then it's just plain stocking stitch.

And this is the front. 

Regia silk is lovely, but it's a bit floppy, and when I think of this sock I think of a nice woolly sock yarn.  But I'm surprised at how nicely it's turning out.

5) Dawn - NaKniSweMoDo #6.  I have 10 rows of ribbing on the back (you work your way down over the shoulder) and the back neck edging to finish. Oh, and the buttons, and the sewing up, but these shouldn't take too long.

Finally,.
6) Not started, but we found out today that an ex work colleague has given birth this morning, to a baby girl.They've been trying for several years, so this is very happy news for them.  So, what does that mean? Better get the baby wool out, quick!  I may have to drop everything for a few days and get a cardy to her asap!

So, this week I'm going to try to block Ishbel, finish Dawn, knit a baby garment and finish sock 1 of Taking Turns, and knit the leg of New England socks! 

June's Mystery Blanket

No new squares this month, but a new colourway.

Square 5. Lots of beads and some simple swiss darning.

Square 13. Beads, cabling and bobbles.

Square 14. Intarsia, beads, bobbles, texture.

Square 39.  Intarsia, beads, swiss darning.

Finally, square 43.  Beads and sequins!

I've enjoyed this month's squares a lot, apart from the sequins, what a pain to do! I will tidy them up.  For the moment I'm leaving the ends loose so that I can tighten them up later.

And we got to sew up strips two and three!

Dawn update

 Not much blogging this week, because I've only been working on two things.  Dawn has been my carry along knitting.  It's slow going, considering it's a short cardigan with short sleeves!  It's the stitch pattern - yon, p2tog, in cotton. I have to make an effort to knit tighter, so I knit slowly.

The sleeves are incorporated into the fronts by increases, then the fronts are joined and you work your way down the back. 
This photo was taken earlier today.  34 more rows of stitch pattern, then the back ribbing and the garter fronts extended around the neck.

and a close up of the pattern.

This is a lovely deep red, more blue than yellow as seen here.  It's my sixth garment for NaKniSweMoDo, and if I stick to it should be finished next week, ready to cast on my seventh!
I'm getting fed up of lugging this around with me so I may cast on some plain socks tomorrow.

Next post - Mystery blanket!  This is the other thing I've been working on this week, squares are knitted and I'm halfway through sewing two strips together.