skein

Ten years ago April 2007 Scales Skin socks

I really liked my sock kntting in those days!  Not plain ribbed socks, but patterned socks. Here's April's socks

Scales Skin socks

• knitted in Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock, Tickled Pink

Well it looks like I won't be doing that third blog post about April knitting in 2007 as according to ravelry I only had two FOs!  It seems highly nlikly that I only knitted socks and a waistcoat, despite doing more commuting and lunchtime knitting in those days. 

Or possibly that I didn't join ravelry until June 2007 and the Projects aren't all in there?

Striped socks

It's taken me a whole month to get around to taking a photo of these socks!  In the end I've had to get one just before setting off for work, on the front door mat!

This is self striping dk sock yarn from The Knitting Goddess, in silver and magenta.

I had it in my mind that these had about 40 stripes, so aimed for 20 stripes in each sock. I could have make them slihtly longer in the leg as I had leftovers. Maybe next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So far, I've used this yarn for hats and socks. I'm thinking of trying some fingerless mitts next.

Ten years ago April 2007 Persian Poppies waistcoat

A few weeks ago someone asked me about an old FO, and in looking back at the project on ravelry I realised that there are so many projects I've forgotten about.  Remeber a few years ago I started doing a weekly blog about old projects? That time I only blogged aobut ones which either involved a lot of knitting or patience.

I thougth t'd do that again, but not just stick to significent projects.  Not set in stone, but I'll try to blog once a week on Thursdays.  As it's nearly the end of APril I'll kick start it with three posts over the holiday weekend. 

Let's start with Persian Poppies.  Blog post here. 

My memories of this:

• MrC wanted one of these after I told him about Brigid's waistcoat
• Luckily he'd bought me Kaffe Fassett pattern book for Christmas.
• the yarn is mostly from a shadow knitting kit I never used (can't remember the designer's name but at the time Yvonne and I liked her designs!)
• the rest of the yarn (mainly green and turquoise) was from stashed J&S yarn
• I spit and spliced the yarns. rendomly chosen and just winged it with colours
• I used a cup of water to splice when MrC was around, he wasn't happy that his waistcoat was put together with my spit!
• MrC asked for a buttonhole so that he could thread headphones through for his music.  Before bluetooth headsets were widely available
• but when we were in Germany (in a yarn shop of course) he found a red ladybird button and sewed it over the buttonhole for added interest
• the waistcoat came out for special occasions like parties or meeting up with old friends
• alas he tucked it in a dark corner and the moths did some damage.  he still has it but you can see the repair on the shoulder. I blame him for not taking care of it but he says it's partly my fault as I spit and spliced (despite it being washed)

 

Crosscountry cardigan

Apologies for the rubbish photo.  As usual, I left it until Sunday morning before asking MrC rto take a photo. He's on his way out to the boat and in a hurry, so he fires off half a dozen and leaves.  It was sunny and the colours were washed out when we went outside, so he took some with me in the hallway.

 

Not only were they a bit dark, but he didnt' centre me!  I've had to crop off a large bit of wall!

This is a Two Little Plums design. Last summer I knitted Sandshore, and they're pretty similar in design. Top down raglan, open, wide ribbing, a patterned back panel. Sandshore had an asymmetrical lace panel (which I centred!) adn Crosscountry has a textured centred back panel. Unfortunately the photos didn't really show off the panel - it's just a type of broken rib pattern.

I only had six ends to darn in (courtesy of cone knitting) and yet I STILL managed to elave in the contrast yarn I had darned through the beginning of the sleeve so that I could easily measure the length! I just need to snip that out and the cardigan iss done. I've been wearing it around the house. Although it's similar to the last one I knitted, Effortless, that one has droopy fronts, this one is just open.

I'm 13% done with the next one, Wishs. This is yet again another top down ralan, but it's by Joji Locatelli and veers slightly away from the typical top down raglan (on the fronts, not the actual way you increase for raglan. I'm past the sleeve - but wait!  There is A LOT of knitting to go. I'm now increasing across the row, and will do another two increases before I'm done on the body.

I had to change yarn :(.  The Rowan Summerlite was just too floppy at theis looser tension.  I could only find some Rowan Wool Cortton with htis yardage.  Unfortunately it's pink.  I can't seem to get away from red and pink!  Why don't I have more blues and greens in cardigan yardages??  I've said that I'll knit a baby cardigan  next month, and the girl is just so traditional, wants pale pink...

Easter knitting

Back to the grindstone after a lovely four days off work.

No photos, alas, I've been busy knitting and planning!

MrC offered to do the cooking over Easter, leaving me free to knit (and not cook roast dinners!)

It started off well.

In the frist two days I finished my Crosscountry cardigan and a pair of dk socks. I started another pair of socks and some felted slippers for MrC.

Sunday I realsied that the base of my thumb was very sore. making movement a bit painful. It's most likely caused by knitting double strands of aran weight wool on 8mm needles. Which meant that Sunday was a da of rest.  NO KNITTING!

Instad, MrC pulled out my bin of summer yarns - these are the packs of yarn suitable for summer garment knitting, mainly cotton or blends including cotton.  I spent a lovely morning and afternnoon rummaging through this stash and on to ravelry browsing patternbs.

I pulled out two aran weights.

Stylecraft Malabar - easy to knit and easy care. But it's bright orange and I'm not sure I want to knit this until it's properly summertime.

Summer Tweed - though lovely I struggle at the best of times to knit with this, so it's on hgold until my thumb is much improved.

And two dk weights

The cone of 'Cathay' rediscovered wutgt ge Synner Tweed,

Stylecraft Malabar in DK weight, but it's bright pink!

Finally, three 4 ply yarns

Rowan Fine Milk cotton in blue

Rowan Panama in an off white

Rowan Summerlite cotton in an off white

Monday I cast on. I chose the Fine Milk Cotton and Wishes cardigan, a design by Joji Locatelli.  I've not knitted any of her desings, and this particular design ticks the boxes for me. Top down, seamless and open. 

Weeeellllll.  When I knit shawls, I don't start off with the Garter stitch tab. I dislike it. I find it fiddly and twisty and it's even worse if you have to start off with a provisional cast on. Trying to unpick it when I've barely started knitting is a pain.

This pattern has a 1x1 ribbed tab!  The borders are 1x1 ribbing and this is the back of neck collar bit. I couln't really think of how to do an alternative, unless I just do garter stitch borders, so I just did it. Not with a provisional cast on though. I can live with a little line at the back of my neck/

I'm sad to say that I've had to abandon the Fine Milk Cotton. It looks lovely and soft in the ball, but the quality is dreadful.  I've had two knots and weird overspinning (which looked like a knot but couldn't be unravelled).  All at the befinning.

Second attempt iw with the Summerlilte. The collar is done, but I'm not happy with it. Cotton is not as forgiving as wool, and where I've picked up stitches there are holes. Very messy,  I'm not too sure that I can avoid holes, unless I knit iwht a wool-cotton blend.  Harumph.

This morning I looked at the next bit of pattern and saw tat the ribbing is put on hold whilst you knit the yoke. My frist thougth was that I may have to do a ribbed knitted border separately, and sew it in place 'slightly stretchd'.  Something I've not done since the eighties! But no, you go back and rejoin it somehow. I'm sure it will become crystal clear as I work my way through the pattern. She also has extra stitchmarkers around the raglan lines, not something I like doing, sm, k1, sm!  At the moment I'm only using a few markers, but might have to add more if it gets complicated.  I do like the finished project, and her pattern is clear, it's just hat I'm not used to her style yet... she has some fabulour patterns, well worth checking out. I think this is one of the easier ones, Do check her out.

So this is my current knitting. It wwill be slow going, thin yarn and metal needles...

 

Two striped hats

I had an idea to knit hats, rather than socks, with The Knitting Goddess UK's self striping DK yarn.

There's Graha, without the rib pattern on the main body.

 

and Barley, though the garter section is a bit of a waste of time with patterned yarn.

As these only used about half a skein I can knit a few more striped hats!

Crosscountry cardigan progress

Not a lot of knitting this weekend. Instead, I decided to get out the summer clothes and put away the winter ones (well, most, those thick woolly umpers, with most of the trans-seasonal clothing still out. Good job too, it went from Summer to cool Spring in one day! 

But I have started the sleeves of Crosscountry.  CI'm on the last five inches of the frist sleeve, should have this done in a few evenings. As I've already doen the borders and am knitting from a cone, there's very little finishing. Just a wash once it's done. I'm itching to get my hands on some warmer weather garemnt knitting. 

I think the next one will be a cool colour one...

MrC's DK socks

These were finished last month, a quick pair of socks for MrC/ I'll probably put them away and he'll forget all about them till Christmas!

I thought I'd get SO MUCH done this weekend.  Like knitting the sleeves on my cardigan, washing the hats I'd finished and maybe getting a sock doen. But my phone died on me and I hadn't backed up :(   Luckily I had a newer phone waiting in the wings, so I've spent a very large part of the weekend  sorting this out.  Fine tuning.  Just have to sort out the new sim tonight and I'm up and running. And then can knit!

I've set myself a mini deadline, stuff I'd like to clear before Easter.

Wash and blog the two hats I finished last month

Finish Crosscountry cardigan (two sleeves)

Finish a pair of dk weight socks

Easter is the time when I swap over stuff, make the summer yarns more accessible than the very woolly winter yarns, get summer cloethes and shoes out.  Not quite warm enough for hot weather stuff. Mind you, yesterday morning I saw a woman wearing just a thin seeveless (and nearly backless!) dress, no coat or cardigan in sight. Today I spotted another woman in a short wsleeved dress. Wishful thinking??

T

March knitting and April knitting goals

March wasn't as productive as it should have been! Stalled projects, tinked projects, frogged projects.  I say not enough planning!

 

BLOG

1 Milo Vest - done!

2 Effortless Cardigan - done!

START AND FINISH

   3 Socks for MrC - done but not blogged yet

4 Felted slippes - fail!  I've cast on and knitted two soles, but the needles ar a bit fiddly, so I'm going to restart with larger needles.

5 Shawl.cowl hybird - done! I chose Adamas.

START

6 A cardigan - done, it's the Cross Country cardigan

7 More socks - done!  I've cast on two pairs of socks

So overall I've nearly done all of my goals, BUT the amount of yardage is not good for Mad Dash!  I've yet to tot up the totals, but not grat.

Now for April

BLOG

1 MrC's DK socks

2 Graham hat

3 Barley hat

FINISH

4 Cross Country - two sleeves to go!

5 Striped pink/silver socks

6 MrC's 6-fach socks

RESTART AND FINISH

7 Felted slippers for MrC

Quite a lot of knitting, but still...

START

8 Garment - either a cardigan or jumper, not sure yet. I'm thinking of Joji Locatelli's Wishes Cardigan or Ceera Valimaki's Confetti jumper (love the pink!)

It seems a bit weird to be only thinking of one new project this month, but I have lots to finish from March.  Mind you, if the weather gets warmer I may be tmepted to starrt some 'summery' things - either in summery yarns or summery colours.