skein

Agnes

Agnes is a finished object.  Well, nearly.  I've pretty much decided that the ribbon is too wide.  Rowan specified 1cm wide ribbon, which is too wide, and is folding over, not nicely.  I suspect Rowan's 'fancy ribbon' is something lightweight and gauzelike.  Which would bunch up and not fold over.  It's a very quick job to replace the ribbon, faster than sewing on buttons, so in my mind this is finished.

Agnes. October 2004 - 4/6/05.  Rowan 4-ply soft.  I followed the pattern exactly.

Sorry about the bright yellow and orange kitchen, down to Chris I'm afraid.  It's the lightest place. This is a very good representation of the blue, I think. The flash tends to wash out the colour, and I haven't sat down with the booklet which tells me how to use the flash correctly)

I can't tell you how pleased I am at finishing this.  Agnes has been sitting around in my wips basket for seven months!  I deliberately didn't put this away, but left it out, and every couple of weeks I'd work another inch.  Once I'd finished the back, the sleeves were a great motivator; short, moss stitch, a bit of detail to keep me from getting bored. And onto the front, I knew this was the last piece, which kept me moving. 

I've also finished Scoop, but I need to get some halfway decent photos first.  I'm not brave at getting outside and snapping pics of jumpers hung up amongst the bushes!  Not in a block of flats, where half overlook the communal garden!  Last time I tried that, Chris went onto the balcony and started shouting out.  I'm certain a couple of curtains twitched!  More on that next weekend I think!

Back to knitting.

My Chutes & Ladders six socks kal (hey, SSKALCAL!) - onto the heel flap now. I've decided to continue the pattern down the top of the foot.

Can't you just imagine this pattern on a jumper?

Holiday weekend. Day 3. Agnes and Martha

End of the bank holiday weekend. Last post!  I'm back to three a week!

Good news - the knitting of Agnes is FINISHED.  I only have the seams and ends to sew, and ribbon to buy.  This has been a long project. When Rowan Vintage Style  was published (I'm thinking October 04) I went to Libertys in my lunch break and bought the yarn for Agnes and Suzette (a fair isle cardigan).  I started Agnes immediately, but she's got pushed onto the back burner so often that I never thought I'd see this day.

the seaming will probably take an evening, but what's that after seven months?

I'll try to get into town this week to buy buttons for scoop and ribbon for agnes.

Meanwhile, (until the third bottle of red wine) I've done half a dozen rows on Shoalwater shawl and picked up Martha

Lots more 4 ply knitting. 

Holiday weekend. Day 2. Scoop & Agnes

Scoop
After attaching sleeve #1 to the body, I realised it was going to be quite long.  So last night, I took scissors to my Scoop, and cut the sleeve off. I chose to do this just before the start of the armhole shaping, so that I could lose the length in the straight knitting after the increases had been worked.

Sleeve #2 was finished this morning and sewn in place this afternoon. All seams are sewn.  Still to do: sew in the ends (seems like a lot for a single colour garment!) buy buttons and press. Later, when I've had time to buy buttons.  Looks like my stashbuster for May will be buttonless until June, same as Lucy!

Scoop, looking forlorn and unfinished.

Agnes
This won't beat me. If Polly can knit a man's jumper in 4ply soft, then I can knit a woman's short sleeved jumper.
I've spent hours on this today, and have beaten it into submission. Up to the armhole shaping, hooray!  I'm positively looking forward to the moss stitch section!
This is a poor photo - I tried to pin it out to show off the pattern (this baby wants to contract like ribbing, and will need a firm pressing when she's finished).

Here's a photo of what the finished photo should look like (I'm using the same shade, see what flash photography does!)

I'm just dying to get back to Martha.  Look at this finished, beaded version! Fabulous!

Weekend knitting (so far) again

I'm trying to knit a stashbuster project each month. This month's stashbuster is All Seasons Cotton for the Scoop du jour cardigan.  As I didn't start this until about the 10th, I'm having to devote rather a lot of time to it, instead of doing my usual and flitting between projects. Just so not me.  My weekly goal was to knit one sleeve and one front this week. And I did it!  By Dr Who time (did you see it this week, very scary!) I was casting off the sleeve. 

Take my word, there's a front, back and sleeve!  I've sort of partially sewn the sleeve and side seam (just to get a feel for the FO).

So that leaves me free to play for the rest of the weekend.

What I played with.
Knitted a little bit on the Agnes front (last piece)

Have now started the increases after the waist shaping. Coming on!

Bias knitted waistcoat in Colinette from the UFO pile

This is from the Module Magic book, and is a sideways view (looked pretty uninteresting as a strip, much nicer showing the colours, though they aren't true on my monitor, of course).  Left back finished. Put away again (I dislike knitting with bulky yarns, and can only work on them for a few hours at a time).

And Lace! 
Picked up the Shoalwater shawl again last night. It's really been bugging me that I have no lace knitting on at the moment.  This had died a death, I'm afraid, but fortunately, I'd left it on the needles, and after working out which row I was on I've been knitting away on this for a few hours today. Love the reds and greys on this. I wish that I'd used a bigger needle though, rather than going for a US 7.  This laceweight is thick laceweight!  Never mind, the old shale pattern is showing the variagated yarn to good effect, probably more important than having larger yos.  It should block out as well.

Looking good!  Notice the long denise needle - it's a 40" cable bought from elann.

 

Knitting targets for the week

I've got loads to finish this month, if my wishful thinking list is anything to go by.

Finish Agnes
Finish the 6 sox kal sock
Finish Hamilton
Finish Scoop du jour.

In order to accomplish this(!) in only three weeks, I've set myself weekly targets.

By the end of this week (by Sunday bedtime) I should have finished:

7 inches of Agnes's front. 1.25 inches done. 5.75 to go.

The leg of the last 6 socks kal. Ribbing nearly done.

The first sleeve of Hamilton. Not going so well.

And the back of Scoop du jour. Going very well, just an inch left before the start of the armhole shaping. That blob in the centre is a safety pin.

There's only one evening and two weekend days to go.  I'm thinking to myself that the Scoop and the sock will certainly be finished (just the leg and back, mind) but Agnes and Hamilton are flagging. I'm taking bets now. I can see me doing a lot of May knitting with nothing to show at the end of the month!  I have the Kim Hargreaves kits tempting me. And the sock yarns.  And lace!  I haven't knitted lace for months. I've promised a work colleague one of those one skein koigu scarves. It would be nice to give it to her before our hot summer starts (someone mentioned a heatwave on the way)

Off to knit!