skein

Wrapping up NaBloPoMo and my November knitting

It's the final post for NaBloPoMo!  I can't quite believe that I've managed this.  My usual frequency of posts is 2-3 per week.   I won't say that I've enjoyed it much, there was always the chance that Typepad would go down. Poor Brigid had a monitor failure!  I have work and two home computers, so I wasn't too concerned, though posting late at night had me worried about the broadband going down!

So I completed NaBloPoMo.
Not so good on the monthly November knitting goals though. 
November goals

1) Finish the Bee Fields Shawl. One more repeat to go, though this looks like it may be another challenging pattern. No, not even touched this one. Failure!

2) Work on the Autumn Leaves cardigan.  I would like to get as far as the armholes... No, just picked up again last night. Failure!

3) Keep up with the Secret of the Stole.  Success!  I've finished and blocked this.  I need a few outdoor, daylight shots, which will be on next month's list.

4) Finish the Regia Silk socks. Success!

5) Finish my ISE5 pal's scarf. Success!

6) Start, and finish, a baby cardigan. Success!

7) Start something new!  Success! A few new things (all finished).

Gloves

Hat1

Hat2

I'm quite pleased, though for months now I've wanted to knit a few more garments.  I looked through my shawl patterns (not the books!) and I have a box file crammed full of lace shawls or scarves which have been on my wish list for YEARS.  That's not forgetting that each issue of Interweave Knits usually has a couple of things I want to knit - going back years.

So I'm eager to finish off these things by the end of 2007.

My december goals.
1) Take photos of Secret of the Stole.  (A tough one this, I have to coordinate camera with natural light, and pray that Chris can manage to get a centred, in focus photo.

2) Finish Bee Fields Shawl

3) Finish Autumn Leaves (gasp!)

4) Finish my plain, Parfait socks.

5) Start a new garment!

6) Knit a beaded baby cardigan (one of Debbie Bliss' patterns, but I'm at work and can't remember which book it's in - one of the recent ones)

7) Do a few strips of the Picnic Blanket (Debbie Abrahams).  I really want to join her Mystery Blanket 2008 knitalong but keep this current blanket as an active wip.

Quite a lot of stuff, again. Good job I'm not NaBloMoPo-ing! I also want to try one of the scarves from the new scarf book, maybe knit a small triangular shawl, a pair of fingerless gloves. I'll hold off until something's finished though!

Bye!  I'm having a weekend free from blogging. See you Monday!

 

 

Another new project

I went to a Kaffe Fasset talk yesterday (no photos, too embarrassed to whip out the camera).  Some of us met up beforehand and spent a few pleasant hours knitting and chatting. As all of my projects needed some attention (charts) I cast on a new sock. For me, plain, using  Lorna's Laces yarn as Chris has lost one of my LL socks.  I have a box full of LL sock yarn, but only 3 pairs of socks!  I've knitted another 4 pairs as gifts, but most is for me, eventually.

So I cast on some very plain socks. Really plain. 2x2 ribbing and stocking stitch.  Instead of getting some mature LL sock yarn, I reached for the fresh stash.  Parfait, bought at Ally Pally in October. 

Very nice. This will be my commuting knitting, which I'll alternate with a Picnic square (from Debbie Abraham's first Blanket book).

It's the penultimate day for NoBloPoMo, and am I relieved!  I've tried to stick to knitting posts and succeeded, with one lapse on Bonfire Night.  One more post tomorrow. 
My knitting hasn't quite gone to plan: I've finished five out of seven goals (and the failed goals are the same ones as last month!).

The good news is that I've picked up Autumn Leaves cardigan again. I have five pattern repeats to the neck and managed half a repeat last night. That means I can finish the repeats off by next Friday and start the sleeves. The bad news is that this looks too narrow for me. It's hard to judge on a 80cm circular though, but as I'm enjoying the process again I'm not frogging.  I can lose weight or even give it away if needs be!

Another quick project

Portia by Louisa Harding

 

Chris took a few photos last night, but they were out of focus and centred on my nose, rather than on the beret!

Pattern: Portia, from the Louisa Harding Venezia, Una Volta book.
Yarn: Louisa Harding's Kimono Angora Pure, one ball (angora wool blend)
Needles  (smaller than recommended) 3mm and  3.75mm
Alterations: I-cord on top rather than the chain cording in the pattern (I have no idea what chain cording is, probably just a crochet chain?).  I knitted it back and forth, with a seam to sew, as per the pattern instructions, rather than in the round, just because I couldn't be bothered to recalculate the pattern.
Started: 26th November
Finished: 27th November.

A quick knit, for the Christmas pile.

I seem to be dragging my heels as regards my two big projects - the Autumn leaves cardigan and the Bee Fields shawl. I don't know why, I have a yen for small projects at the moment. Just looking at my boxes of odd balls makes me think of hats, scarves, gloves.

Secret of the Stole, hint 8

Last hint!  Not only that,  it's blocking!  This is amazing. I'm always shattered when I arrive home from work, but I found the energy to block it (mainly because we need the floor space today for lots of extra laundry) and it's drying now.

The cashmere was coned and oiled, so it's had a very hot, soapy wash and has bloomed dramatically.

Meanwhile, I've cast on another quick project.  It's Portia from Louisa Harding's Una Volta book, one of the Venezia books.  I've a horrible feeling that this Kimono Angora Pure is a yarn which I can't work with!  My eyes feel all scratchy, as does my nose, I think it's the tiny bits of fluff.  NOT good news, as I have a stack of this in that wonderful inky purple colour for a jumper. 

We won't mention the Bee Fields Shawl, or the Autumn Leaves cardigan. Later.

Eve Scarf for my ISE5 pal

Finally, a finished scarf! 

Pattern : Eve, a kit by Kim Hargreaves.
Yarn: Rowan Kid Silk Haze, one ball in each colour.
Extra: 442 beads (the kit came with size 8 beads)
Adjustments: I grafted the two halves together rather than use a 3 needles cast off.  Hardly necessary, this is a fuzzy yarn and who'd notice, even on a near stationary horse?

For: my ISE5 pal!

 

and modelled by Chris. We took this photographs on Sunday late afternoon, same time as the glove shots, which is why he's showing them off again. 

 

These have an ocean to cross, so I'm posting them today.

Gloves!

What a quick knit!

Pattern: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns

Size: Men's large

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto in Navy

2x50g with very a few yards, if that, left.

Needles: 2.75mm dpns (for a tighter tension)

Alterations: twisted ribbing (K1tbl, P1), and I picked up extra sts at the base of the fingers and thumb, decreasing on the next row, to minimise those dreaded holes.

   

 

Secret of the Stole, hint 7

Hint 7. One more to go, and this last hint is decreasing down to a point. I reckon that I can do this in a few hours and then it's off the needles.

Excuse the bright yellow playmat.

Today's post was meant to be about my Eve scarf, but by the time I was ready to take photos it was too overcast and gloomy.  The wind didn't help either.  Try photographing a looonnng skinny scarf on a blustery day. Most of the photos had fleeting glimpses of the scarf in the corner of the frame...

Gloves

I'm a lady of leisure today.  One day's holiday. 
Arise 9.30
Hairdressers 10-11
Home and cleaning 11-2
I'm k-nackered!  I really do not fit into the mould of Domestic Goddess in any form.  This is pure torture.  Vacuumed, dusted, wiped down and now just the tidying up. I've moved all the rubbish which was lurking behind chairs, cushions, under the table and piled it on the sofa. Now I just need to find new homes for everything.  My knitting stuff is all over the place, overflowing from bags, circulars not put away, odd dpns lying around.
Now to shop for dinner, and put stuff away before Chris gets back.
NO knitting done at all!

I fully intended to work on the Secret of the Stole last night, and all day today, ready for the last clue. Of course it hasn't gone to plan, again.

That's because I worked on a fingerless glove for Chris. I'm knitting the largest size and realised yesterday that my 50g ball of yarn was looking a little sparse.  So I decided to keep on knitting and see if I would run out of yarn (which would mean a run to Stash).  I had enough, just. This is the first finished glove, and the ends - including what's left!  I'm keeping them, just in case I run out on the second glove!

NaBloPoMo 23rd November. Seven more posts.

This must mean...

that I've finished Eve!  Ahead of schedule as well.  The Plan was to knit x repeats per day, finish it on Saturday, wash it on Sunday and post it on Monday.  I finished it last night.  I'll wash it over the weekend and try to take some outdoor photos.  This means that I'll be on the lookout for goodies this weekend to go in the parcel.  I already have the packing material (aka lace yarn).   

Tonight I'm working on hint 7 of Secret of the Stole.  I have most of this still to knit, but I'm confident that I'll catch up this weekend. Won't it be great, a big project wrapped up for November?  I am (shhh) trying to reduce my wips so that I have a clean slate (or cleanish) for the New Year.

More stash

except this doesn't break the yarn diet, as it's all from clubs.

I'm currently in three Yarn Yard clubs:  merino, sock and Nat's new club, a glove club.

Today two parcels landed on my desk at work, this month's sock club and the new glove club.

Unusually this time, the sock yarn doesn't have a smaller skein of complimentary yarn, but contrasting yarn; it'll be interesting to see how the socks turn out (when I get around to knitting them). The glove yarn is intended for this knitalong - I'm not sure if there's enough for the gloves (must read the YY blog to find out) but I can handle the fingerless gloves, thank you. There's a lovely knitalong (and the patterns are downloadable) too.

I must keep up - I found these under a cushion on the sofa.

More sock yarn, and a couple of skeins of the merino club yarn.

I'm happily knitting away on Eve, for my ISE5 pal. Just another five pattern repeats to go and it's finished.   This means that I can get on with Secret of the Stole (last clue on Friday) and hopefully I'll be seeing out November with either my much neglected Bee Fields shawl, or my even more neglected Autumn Leaves cardigan (or is that Persian Poppies?  So far it's 76.7% to Autumn Leaves in the poll.)

If this post is a little disjointed, it's because England are on tv, and it's crucial that we win or draw (unless Russia lose, unlikely).  They have just equalised. We've had to crack open a bottle of wine, it's so stressful!

ETA:  We lost!  How abysmal is that!