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Summertide MKAL Clue 3

Yes, I've caught up!  Amazing how much progress can be done if you're monogamous with your knitting, and not spending time on ravelry!

A fluffy pink thing!  I'm a bit surprised at how pink this looks,  it's not as pink as this in real life (I hope!)

Sunday afternoon I cast on a double loop cowl in extra chunky yarn (and finished it iwihtin a few hours.  It's washed and drying now, but here's a close up of the colour,

I even managed to darn in ends and give my Fine Sands Cardigan a quick steam press. I've decided not to wash it as it'll be going into summer storage soon, didn't want a damp cardigan to be vacuum packed!  I The pressing hasn't really made much difference to the uneven knitting (Linen Drape!!) but I'm sure next summer it'll be out and washed and the stitches will even out somewhat.  I need to get some photots taken, that'll involve a bright day and MrC  - thoguh he's been going over to his boat at the weekends to finish off various odd jobs that need to be done by the end of the summer. 

 

A new Mystery Knitalong

I've joined another MKAL.  It's the Summertide MKAL, by Helen Stewart, a designer I've not tried before, but whose Pebble Beach is in my queue to knit.

You can knit this in either two colours or one.  The two colour version has you knitting the first two clues in the first colour, so I thought that if I decided on two colours, they would be close rather than contrasting.

Can I just say that it's been a bit of a long journey to get this up and on the needles!

Stash hunt #1 - two colours, Seasilk, blue and green. Fail. Blue Seasilk was MIA.

Stash hunt #2 - two colours, red and purple. Fail. Wanted a red with more blue in it and could only find orange-red red.

Stash hunt #3 - One colour. So fed up with stash hunting late evening when it was dark and I was tired that I dipped into the nearest bag (Skein Queen) and found some pink Blush. This pink was designated suitable for baby girls only, Not my cup of tea.  However, I thought it might be suitable for a shawl as a gift.  Convinced myself it would be OK and CAST ON.

Knitting attempt #1 -  Clues one and two DONE. And then MrC intervened.  He came over to kiss me goodnight, glanced at my knitting.

'What are you knitting, is it something for H's baby?'

'No, it's a shawl'

'Oh'.  Long pause.  'I thought you were going to knit a red and pruple shawl'

And off he toddled to bed. That was it, I'd had my doubts and MrC's lukewarm response sealed the deal. Frogged.

Peachy pink, clue one.

Stash hunt #4 - two colours, Skein Queen bag (as I was already in there putting away the failed peachy pink yarn).  Blue/green colours.

Knitting attempt #2 - clues one and two complete.  And then I snagged the shawl, on pointy embroidery scissors which I hadn't put away.  I spent an entire evening and morning trying to sort it out.  Frogged about 10 rows and the last 30 stitches of the row and the yarn stuck together in a furry little knot.  I gave up. Frogged.

Green, clue one.

Stash hunt #5 - one colour, Skein Queen Blush, in pale pink.  Again, not my shade but this time it WILL be ok for an adult gift.

Knitting attempt #3 - clue one and most of clue two done.  Clue three is out today, so I'm a little behind but FINGERS CROSSED that I catch up!

 

Let's Twist cowl

 

Another cowl. This is Let's Twist, my Septenber Stitchnerd's KAL. 

A simple left and right twist pattern, it knitted up very quickly, but it's taken me a few weeks to get around to taking photos (had to wait for the weekend and for dry weather!) and another five days to get around to posting the photos. 

The yarn is Countess Abaze The English Gentleman DK and the colour is radioactive raspberry.  I have plenty left over for a two colour cowl.

I already have the next one on the needles though I may be spending this weekend knitting on a new MKAL...

Granny's Favourite baby cardigan

I've tried Puerperium (asymmetric with a million buttons) and Baby Vertebrae (frontless) and, much to the new mum's relief, I've now reverted to my usual type of baby cardigan. It only has three buttons, and opens in the centre. Asymmetricals really only look good buttoned up, and the frontless one is ok but that back will flap around! 

This is Granny's Favourite, a very sijmple top down and seamless cardigan. The garter bands are knitted as you go, and there's lace on the yoke and sleeves for a bit of interest.

A very nice knit,  

  

DK sockd for MrC

My first pair of socks in 2015!  MrC is verypartial to thicker socks, as am I, less knitting! 

The yarn's Doubly Reliable Sock Yarn, from Ripples Crafts. It's a wool/nylon blend, very nice to knit with and comes in 150g skeins, plenty for bigger feet!  As it is, MrC likes tight socks, so I can get away with 100g for his skinny legs and feet.  Very pleased with this yarn. 

Now I need to knit another few pairs for his December birthday and Christmas,

Expect photos next week!

I took a rare day off work yesterday.  I fully intended taking photos of finished DK socks and baby cardigan, but instead spent the entire day trying to sort out my under-bed stash. And a very pleasant day it was.  Our bed used to be one of those high IKEA beds (like a top bunk, but with no bed at the bottom, and Queen size) and when we had no further use for one so high MrC sawed off the legs so it's a normal bed now. Except, thinking of under bed storage. he left the bed higher than a regular bed. I can't sit on the edge and put my feet on the floor!  It's also great for blocking shawls, not as much bending!  So I have enough room for a double layer of stash. Bottom layer is boxes,  top layer is vacuum packs.  I felt it time to replace the vacuum packs and take that opportunity to do a little stash rearranging.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself!  I think I'm becoming a bit of a single skein hoarder, just love looking at skeins of yarn!  

Job complete. I now know which vacuum packs are under the bed, and what they contain (and have made a note).  Next job will be to sort out a few bins of cotton stash.  There's stuff which has been hanging around for years, I need to decide if I'll ever use it.  I would never be as drastic as to say if I haven't used it for a year then it's gone, but maybe 10 years?

I did manage to finish the first (three-quarter) sleeve of Fine Sands.  It's not that slow a process, but the inen Dape is just terrible to knit with, right up to the cast off.  

So this weekend I'll be taking photos of socks and baby cardigans, finishing a sleeve, casting on a cowl, deciding if another cowl is a keeper or not (I need sunlight for this one and the days are pretty gloomy right now),  So tempted to look for more patterns, now that some stash has seen the light of day, but I'll resist!!

August knitting and September knitting goals

Oh August, where did it go?  Not a complete success, but some knitting was done.

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1) So I Gather - done!  

Continue

2) Grey socks - fail!  Who was I kidding?  MrC would NEVER wear dark grey socks!  So they're frogged.

3) DK socks - success!  I've actually finished these, over the rainy Bank Holiday, but MrC was not congenial to sitting outside in inclement weather. The nearest we got was MrC standing outside, in the rain, standing on his Birks. Not great photos.

4) Fine Sands cardigan - success!  Not finished, however, but the body is knitted and I've started on the first sleeve. I absolutely loathe Linen Drape.  Good job I destashed the rest of it!

Start and Finish

5) Stitchnerds August KAL. Success!  Sorta Horta

6) Another Stitchnerds pattern - fail!  Just ran out of time.

7) Unplanned - success!  I chose a pinkish baby cardigan and finished it over the weekend. Just need to get some daylight (haha!) photos,

So not bad.  I'm glad that I frogged the socks, I do dislike having stuff hanging around which I have no love for!

Now on to September.

I'm fond of the Winter/Spring and Summer/Autumn season changes. It's now time to get the wool out again and think of warmer knitting.  Plus, September is my busiest month for family birthdays - six - and my parents wedding anniversary!  It's the month when I do a bit of stash rearranging, getting out some woolly yarns and putting away the cottons.  I've ordered some fresh vacuum bags and moth killer stuff ready for the stash diving!

I do hope to knit as well.

September knitting goals.

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1) MrC's DK socks

2) Granny's Favorite baby cardigan

FINISH

3) Fine Sands cardiga. I don't think that I'll get any wear out of it as summer is disappearing rapidly, but it'll be there for next summer. 

Start and finish

4) Stitchnerd's September KAL Back to School. I'm not sure what I'll be knitting yet.  This depends on what yarn I discover!

Start

5) More DK socks, probably for my brother

6) Not sure, thinking of a cardigan, in wool

7) Not sure!  I'm going to wait and see. 

Pretty tame this month, But you never know...