skein

Picnic Blanket - May's progress

It's a real struggle for me to knit the 8 squares each month, especially when I delegate them to one week's knitting only.  

I've now knitted 7 of the 9 squares on strip 5, which Chris is graciously holding up for me as it was raining on Monday when these were taken.















And sewn strip 4 onto the earlier strips.  It's looking good (apart from all of those unsewn ends)















26 squares to go!  I'll be knitting 8 in June, but July and August are a bit iffy, as I'm hoping to be concentrating on socks for the Summer of Socks!

Summer of Socks. Four week countdown.

I am so excited about this! Ravelry link for the group here.  It doesn't start until 21st June but I thought I'd do a few posts beforehand to gear myself up for a mammoth sock knitting session, a whole ten weeks.  (I do intend throwing in the odd baby garment, or blanket square).

I won't win Most Socks - last year's winner knitted 42 pairs of socks!  Wow, she must have knitted in her sleep!  At the best I hope I can knit 1-2 pairs per week - in 10 weeks that's 10 -20 pairs (if I don't get waylaid or bored, of course). 

I don't have any clear plans yet, but this is an ideal time to try those sock yarns I've hoarded and not used yet, and those sock patterns I like.

My sock books, and an A4 arch lever file crammed full of patterns. I have more books which I can't find at the moment, and several sock patterns/booklets which will be somewhere on the bookcase!
















Over the next four weeks I'm also going to do a few flash the sock stash posts, just so that I know what I have where.   That should be fun. I have 5 boxes of sock yarn.

Big Box 1 - German wears-like-iron sock yarn
Big Box 2 - Cherry Tree Hill, Yarn Yard (I'm in the sock club) and a few oddballs of other sock yarns.
Box 1 - Lorna's Laces and a few Fleece Artist
Box 2 - Oddballs of other sock yarns
Box 7 - Solid, nearly solid sock yarns.

There's also the sock yarn which hasn't found a box yet, you know, the ones from sock clubs or those which you bring back from yarn excursions. 

Picnic Progress

(I don't have any other knitting progress, but I want to try out the new Typepad editing buttons. At last, a centre button!)

This is my Wip of the week, and I've been managing just under a square per evening.  I'm 16 rows short of square #4, then I'll have another strip complete which can be sewn onto strip 3 over the weekend.  I might even  attempt to knit another 6, not 4 , squares, so that I can complete strip 5.  This will be finished in 2008!

 

We have another Bank Holiday this weekend - it's the Spring Bank Holiday (what a laugh, the weather's dire, again), and that extra day will be put to good use trying to get stuff finished ready for Summer of Socks. My very optimistic list (up to the end of May, not just this weekend!)

1) Knit the other 4 squares of Picnic (maybe another 2) and sew strips together.

2) Try to get to Libertys to buy buttons for Autumn Cardigan and Neutral Tailoring 1 (forgotten about these, eh?) so that they can be officially Finished.

3) Finish Sweet Dreams baby cardigan - which I've not blogged about yet as the damned stocking stitch is curling and it's not very photogenic at the moment (I'm just not very organised in the evening to block it out)

4) Finish the Neckdown Scoop neck t-shirt.  I've a whole body to knit.

Wish me luck!
PS I'm still trying to sort out photos on this new typepad interface ey are coming up HUGE if I click on them and I can't seem to sort this out (and it's slow in Firefox).  You can see a bigger image (but not ginormous) if you left click and choose 'view image'.  I'm not wasting more time on this, as I have knitting to do tonight.  The only thing I can think of doing is resizing my photos before uploading them - more work!     sorted I hope!

WIP of the week

Well last week's WIP of the week was the fabulous Norwegian Woods shawl, knitted in fabulous Knitwitches silk.

All going well. Up until Wednesday, when, late at night I realised that I'd knitted the second half of the row 2 rows down incorrectly.  I attempted to correct this by tinking back two rows on just that side of the centre stitch.  In normal circumstances I'd have persevered even if it took hours (in fact, it would be quicker to pull out the entire two rows and reknit them, but I'm stubborn and don't like a simple lace pattern to defeat me). But something wasn't gelling with the pattern and yarn. Love both, just not together.  The lace silk is destined for either a nice scarf in a lacey rib, or a more open lace shawl. I'm thinking along the lines of Diamond Fantasy, which I've already knitted and it's a super quick pattern.

Bye bye Norwegian Woods.

As I'm trying very hard to have a WIP of the week and one commuting/portable project, this means that mid week my commuting project took over as WIP of the week. It's the Knitting Pure & Simple Neckdown Scoop T-shirt.

Here it is on Thursday.

That was taken early Thursday.  I spent two lunchtimes, four commutes and two whole evenings knitting after this was taken.  Then, 4" after dividing for the sleeves, whizzing down the body of the top, I looked at the front and thought it looked a bit baggy.  Counted front and back stitches, and realised that I'd an extra 8 stitches on the front, and that at some stage I'd mixed and matched sizes.  So off to the frog pond, and back to before I joined into a round (which was hardly any knitting at all). 

So it's now pretty much where it was on Thursday. At least I'm on the body now and have lost 100 sts per round.

And this week's WIP is my Picnic blanket - I want to knit another 8 squares, which will mean I have 4 strips joined, and only another 26 squares to go! 

Oh, I've started another baby cardigan, new born size, in pale pink. It's Sweet Dreams,  and will be very sweet when it's finished. I may or may not change the lace edging - it's a knit until slightly stretched sort of edging, my least favourite.   This is my commuting knitting this week.  Photos soon!

More plain socks

Yarn: Fortissima-Socka Mexiko Color 0029 dk weight sock yarn.
Needles: 2.75mm
Pattern:  Top down ribbed socks with heel flap and gusset, worked on 52 stitches. 

Very quick, very easy. 

I'm planning to start another pair of socks soon, but I want to try a patterned sock next time.

As these are off the needles my new commuting / foolproof knitting is now the Knitting Pure & Simple Neckdown Scoop neck T-shirt.

Rowan's Damask is proving to be a right pain to knit with.  The yarn's splitty, I'm having to watch that I knit each stitch properly. I tried to take  a photo of my progress last night, but the yarn has shiny bits in and the flash wipes out the colour.  This morning I fared no better; the weather has returned to its usual dank, dismal, dreary, damp state.

May's Mystery Blanket squares

I've finished the last two of five squares for May's squares.

Old stone wall

Farmhouse

All five squares

And that's all the knitting I've done this week!

The sudden hot weather has made me go all Spring Cleany. 
I've turfed my woollies out of the wardrobe

The camera doesn't quite catch the huge pile of garments!  Some of these haven't been worn at all this winter, some only a few times.  So I've spent today doing a HUGE woollens wash.  In the bath, which is quite back breaking.  I've spread them all outside on our two airers, and we've also improvised by putting 4 planks of wood across from the window ledge to the wall. 

Then I spring cleaned the living room.  As I don't do housework, this is a real chore. Instead of just vacuuming around the furniture, it's all been pulled out, the shelves and any ornaments have been washed, woodwork washed down, windows cleaned and the living room nets washed. I've even sorted out all of my knitting tools and needles.   Phew!  I am exhausted!   I've started sorting out my winter clothes to store, and the summer clothes are out ready to iron.  I think I'll do that next week, now it's time to cook supper and relax with my knitting. 

I'm going to work on the Norwegian Woods next week.  I haven't picked it up since starting it, and I don't want it to become a UFO. 

Mystery Blanket May Squares

No, they're not finished yet, but will be in a few days time.  Last week I didn't have a WIP of the week - I decided I needed a break.  This week it's the Mystery Blanket.  I haven't had as much knitting time as I thought I would, but still, I've managed three of the five squares. 

All repeats, or variations, this month.

Furrows

Another sheep (with a black face and white eyes this time)

Harvest Cable

I haven't 'sorted' the bobbles out, so they're looking pretty messy.
I've two more to do, one is a basketweave variation with 3 colours; the other is another intarsia with beads.  By Friday these will be done, leaving me with a weekend for other knitting.  I might pick up the shawl (Norwegian Woods) which is sadly languishing.  Or my newest project, a plain top down scoop neck t-shirt.   

Please tell me I'm not alone in wanting to cast on a million summer projects as soon as the weather warms up!  I've not shown the slightest interest in starting what I call Summer Knitting (cottons, short sleeved tops, the latest summer season magazines) until last weekend, when we had warmer weather.  I very nearly didn't just cast on the scoop neck t-shirt - I actually had a bag of the latest acquired yarns and thought I might cast on six new projects last Sunday!  Common sense prevailed, and the bag's gone into the wardrobe, out of sight. 

Must concentrate on:
Plain socks
Top down scoop t-shirt (lots of stocking stitch)
Norwegian Woods
Buying buttons for Autumn Kauni Cardigan (so it can be put away with the winter knits)
Buying buttons for Neutral Tailoring Cardigan
8 Picnic squares (which will mean I'm joining the 4th out of 9 strips).

There's many more garments I want to start, but will wait a month, then post up a list!

Gingerbread baby cardigan

Gingerbread, by Kim Hargreaves. 

Started in late April, finished 2nd May. 
This is only available as a kit at Kim Hargreaves' site, in wool cotton.  I substituted some stash Debblie Bliss cashmerino in a lovely, girlie pink.

Pattern: Gingerbread, by Kim Hargreaves.
Size: 3 months.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino dk.
Needles: 3.75mm (I think, they're put away now and i didn't make notes).
I followed the pattern, but ran out of yarn about 1cm short on the collar - you can't tell.
I even knitted it in pieces, because I grabbed yarn and needles on the way to work one day, and didn't want to fuss with the conversion.  This is raglan shaped, but the fronts are shorter, and each sleeve has different shaping at the top to accommodate the shorter fronts raglans.

Next on the baby list is another Kim Hargreaves design,  Sweet Dreams, in some gorgeous pink 4ply Soft.  The only sticking point is the edging - it's a lace sewn on edging.  I will have another look at the pattern and see if I can rework the edgings. If I can't be bothered, I might just pick up stitches from the edges, and work the (side knitted) lace pattern together iwth the picked up stitches.

Neutral tailoring is going fine. The knitting's done. I need to sew in a few ends, half a side seam, and buy buttons. 

And what do I do today?  Do I pick up the Mystery Blanket squares, or my new cast on shawl?  Nope,  I start another project.

It's Knitting Pure & Simple neck down scoop neck t-shirt.  I'm using Rowan's Damask, which I bought this year.  I intended knitting Tulip from Rowan 41, but decided against it.  I have yet ot knit a wraparound cardigan; there's a stubborn part of my brain which thinks it's a waste of knitting to knit the front part which goes under the wrap.

There's a new sock on the needles too, a plain, top down ribbed sock in Fortissima Mexiko, for my brother (who loved the thick socks I knitted last month)

I have a strong urge to start lots of new projects.  I think it's because I spent most of today sorting out my individual patterns, and looking in the bag of 'summer' yarns bought this year, which is sat behind my chair, it never made it into the stash proper. I'm  hoping that by casting on a top down summer top this will rein in this urge.  I don't want to get the number of wips up again, it's so nice to finish a few things and I know if I have too many things on the needles it seems to drag out each project.

April knitting and May knitting goals

Where does time fly? Another month gone. 

I haven't done as well as last month, with 100% success rate. Only five out of seven (and barely that) completed this month.

1) Knit another 8 squares on the Picnic blanket. Done!

2) Knit the April Debbie Abrahams' Mystery squares.  Done!

3) Finish Neutral Tailoring 1  Not done! I'm working on the collar now.  Most of the seaming is done.  I need buttons.

4) Knit some socks for one of my brothers. Done!

5) Start and finish a small shawl (I have the yarn right here next to me, all wound up).
Done!  This was a gift for a knitting pal.

6) Start another shawl.  This is the Norwegian Woods shawl by Sivia Harding. (Barely) done! I have cast on and worked a few rows, so it is started, but just!

7) Baby things! Not done!  One sleeve and border/collar to complete.

Not bad but I could have pushed the boat out and knitted a little faster.

MAY GOALS
1) Knit my May Mystery Blanket squares
2) Knit 8 Picnic Blanket squares, which will mean I'll have finished strip 4 and 7/9 of strip 5.
3) Finish Neutral Tailoring 1.  I need daylight, so this will be finished (hopefully) over the weekend.  (Apart from buttons. As usual)
4) Finish Gingerbread baby cardigan. Just a sleeve, collar and buttons (which I have!)
5) Start something new - a garment, for Spring. Plenty of choice! I like a few Rowan designs, as well as Spring IK, and the new Kim Hargreaves book.
6) Carry on and try to finish Norwegian Woods shawl (I'm knitting the smaller version, so might get this finished)
7) Plain socks.
8) Patterned socks? 

This makes eight, not seven knitting goals for the month.  I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and lucky number.

And I've joined the Summer of Socks.  What, with two blankets on the go and the urge to knit a few summer tops, as well as baby garments, I might not have much time for socks, but I've not knitted as many pairs as I'd like this year, and I have boxes and boxes of sock yarn, so I'll give it a good go.  It's not until June 21st, so I have six or seven weeks to get stuff done.