skein

A scarf and some felted clogs to finish off March

At last, a few more finished thigs for March. I honestly thought that I might not finish anything else this month!

Frist up, a Stitchnerds Green KAL scarf.  This is Integrali, a bias knit garter stitch scarf with a small lace border.  Very easy to knit, especially when it's larger, as it's mainly garter stitch.  The yarn is Wollmeise, from older stash, Boxkranzl.

This is the only outdoors photo we took. The weater was miserable, rain and wind, and MrC was about to run off to his boat!  So I took some indoors squashed up on the coffee table!

not that you can see in these photos,  but it's shaped like a boomerang.  You cast on a few stitches, and then increase on one side, decrewase on the other the other and when you are nearly done (it's a percentage system, so you weigh your yarn) you work the other lace edging.  I like that idea, that you finish on an interesting bit!

The second item is a pair of felted clogs for MrC.  His previous pair wore out last month. He had taken to wearing his BI irks as slipppers so as not to wear out his socks!  It is true, what they say, that wool wears out faster on carpet than wood, as his pair at the obart have outlasted the last two pairs here.  I cast these on weeks ago, but put them on the back burner as i found a pair of blue with pink trim felted clogs which I'd knitted last year and hadn't felted.

I usually use Fiber Tredns Felted Clogs, but found antoher pattern on ravelry, Easier Clogs for Wm and Men.

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They certainly look great, and I love the yellow inner soles.  Let's see how they felt. The construction is different from the FT pattern, and I think they're quicker to knit. If all goes well in felting , these may become the new Gelted Clogs default pattern (especially as FT now aren't selling to European buyers via ravelry, not that I blame them of course, I blame our silly VAT regulations).

As I was taking the bag of feltable yarns back into the bedroom, MrC spotted them and asked if they were all felting yarn, and could he possibly have a look through for future clog colours......

 

Leaf Loop Cowl

Arrgh!  Still not much knitting progress, but I managed to take a photo of my Leaf Loop cowl,  it's been worn a bit, so looks a bit curly at the top!

A very easy leaf lace pattern, if I didn't have so many other patterns to knit up I'd knit another one.  The yarn is not my usual soft as butter for next to skin wear. It's Countess Ablaze Lord Longwool DK, which (according to ravelry, as I don't have the label here) is Wensleydale.  But it's not too scratchy, actually. I have far more trouble with Kid Silk Haze!   I see it's now discontinued, but I have another skein in stash. It would make fine mittens, or a lace shoulder shawl too.

 I've stuck with my monogamous knitting.  I am FED UP with Integrali  now.  That might be becasue I've had to re-knit it!  Yes, re-knit!  I had a few dropped sts in the garter stitch section, had picked them up but wasn't happy with the ladder. The more I knitted the more I worried about whether blocking would even it up. In the end I pulled it off the needles and started again. I maaged to knit the whole of the main section in a day and a half. Not bad!  The only problem is that I dislike frogging, so just cast on with the outer yarn end from the centre pull ball. And managed to get the whole lot into a tangle. So I've lost about 9g of yarn (ended up just cutting it). I've knitted 20 repaeats, but would have knitted 21 if I hadn't had to lose 9g.

This is now the final bit, knitting the lace edging on the other side of the shawl.  Surely this will only take a few 3evenings...

 

Reducing the WIPs!

I only have four WIPs, but none seem to be progressing!  I'm picking up one, knitting a few rows, picking up another, knitting a few rows.  No real progress on anything.  I remember the days when I'd have trouble keeping the number of WIPs below ten! Ravelry has sucked up some knitting time, and I no longer knit at lunchtime or on the commute.b ut still, it's really slowed down.

I'm trying a new plan. I'm going to concentrate on one WIP at a time. Possibly two, as you sometimes need a bit of a change.   We'll see if I can finish something!

My four WIPs are currently (soemtimes I frog and don't restart!)

1) Felted clogs. On hold, but I think I may go back to these as soon as I finsih the current Top WIP.  I just don't like knitting with big needles!

2) New WIP cast on over the weekend. Ribs to Go, Lace version.  Very easy and once you've mastered the edges (it'sa  bias knit) in pattern, a good carry-along.  The yarn's Easyknits Depply Wicked Plump in Honey.

3) Another new project, started over the weekend.   I'd started this with some Manos Silk blend in olvives but wasn't feeling the love, so it's restarted with Silk Garden, in subtle stripes.

4) Designated Top WIP for the week!  It's Integrali, in Wollmeise,  A garter stich shal with a small lace border.  It's coming along, but slowly as the rows get longer.  This is how it stands at bedtime last night.  I'm on the 15th repeat, and should be able to get at least 22 repeats, possibly more, before I start the other border. It's a percentage system, so I'll weigh my yarn when I've done about 20 repeats.

 

I wonder if it's do-able, trying to finsih this, the other shawl, a double cowl and clogs, by the end of March?

 

 

Not much knitting going on here!

Ah, March started off with such promise.  And here we are, nearly halfway through the month, and I have barely anything to show for it!

I've frogged my two pairs of socks.  I wasn't feeling the love for them, and rather than have UFOs hanging around I pulled them off the needles, deleted the ravelry projects and put away the yarn.

My Ribs to Go scarf is done, but not what I'd wanted. .  I was using some long stashed Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted.  Lovely yarn to knit with, lovely colour.  But the second skein has less blue-green than the first. I had two options.  Frog back several more inches, and start introducing the second skein in gradually, so that the colour change would be less drastic, or cast off and have a smaller scarf. I chose the latter, and (when I find the scarf!) I will see how much bigger it grows on blocking.  I don't need a large scarf, but like one that wraps around my neck a few times.  Now if this had been a double cowl I would have carried on, probably not even introducing the second skein gradually. Bummer.

I've cast on a double cowl in some Manos Silk Blend which has been in my stash for five years, leftovers from Moonstone cardigan I knitted back in 2010.  I lvoe the yarn, and it looks great in the cardigan, but with the short colour runs of lighter colour it's difficult to find a pattern which works with te yarn.  I've cast on Simply Rippled, a bias knit scarf or cowl,  The Jury's still out.  I've seen other projects, and it looks fabulous in solids, or noro!!  But it will make a soft cowl, and wrapped twice around my neck I don't think the odd light bit that looks like a bit of odd pooling will be noticeable, do you?

 

I've started a new shawl. This one's called Integali, a Stitchnerds nias knit scarf with just a small lace edging, the rest ois garter stitch. In Wollmeise Buxkranzl, green for their March KAL. This one seems to be going smoothly so far!  It's several repeats bigger now.

And finsished a cowl!  Leaf Loop.  I've washed it and ladi it out to dry. I decided to not pull out the points on the top of the cowl, let that part lay even, and gently pull the bottom leaves into the points.  Here's the hot off the needles shot. i rther like it bumpy!

And finally, something which hasn't even made it to ravelry yet, and is currently unworked on. Some felted slippers for MrC. I found a pair of unfelted blue and pink clogs, so there' sno emergency now.  I WILL get them done"

I'm also  toying wiht the idea of casting on a Lacy Ribs to Go.  In 4[;u/ If I can find some already wound up, at hand...

 

February knitting and March knitting goals

Just typing that makes me feel like Spring has sprung!

February - I don't feel as if I have done much knitting.  A LOT of time spent browsing ravelry, having a little play with some stash and tinking/frogging!  I've also started a Stash Knit Down Mad Dash - knitting as much yardage as possible from stash over six weeks - and I've not made a dent in the stash.  Some knitters are going for 12000 yards in six weeks.  That's 2000 yards per week.  Wow.  No wonder there's multiple stranding going on!

Right, on to February.

FINISH

1) At least one pair of socks.  FAIL!  I've frogged one pair, went wrong on the heel and was tkaing too long to sort out. The other pair is unworked. Sigh.

2) FIVE hats. DONE!

        

3) Stitchnerds ravelry KAL for February.  It's anything in red.  Done!  A Heart Warmer cowl.

4) Another Stitchnerds pattern, Hearts on hands mitts.  I reall like the yarn I used for the cowl, so used the remaining partial ball to knit some mitts.

 

Not a huge amount of knitting for February, but lots of little things, and all from stash.  Some ofthe hats are from OLD stash, too, very pleased to use it up!

 

Now for March

I seem to be a bit directionless!  I have a few projects on the needles, but things keep going wrong!

Finish

1) Those pesky socks

Start and sinish something green for the March Stitchnerds KAL.

2) A cowl, probably Leaf Loop, probably in Countess Ablaze Lord Longwool,  I'm a bit concerned with how hairy the yarn is, and if I can wear it as a cowl, but it's such a nice colour that I may just have to wear it with apolo neck.

3) A shawl, not sure which one yet, probably in Wollmeise.  My first choice is a skein of green which has been in the stash since the Wollmeise sock club! 

Conitnue

4) Some felted clogs for Mr C.  His have worn through at the heel and the poor thing is wearing some Birks around the flat, because he's afraid that he'll wear out his socks.  It really is the nylon in the carpet which wears them out. The ones on his boat are still going strong and are older.  He has wooden floors (of course!)

5)OR FROG  my Ribs to Go.  I'm happily knitting away on this with the second skein of Lorna's Laces, and the blooming colour looks different!  I'm going to tink back the few inches and cast off, see if I like te smaller size. I think it might be too small.  Drat. 

6) Undecided

7) Undecided

I'm still into cowls and scarves. Over the hats!