skein

On a roll

Another FO!  This is the Dale baby cardigan.  As Nic said when she looked through a few of the Dale pattern books, lovely patterns but you need 5 yrs notice!   

Unblocked and very scary looking!

Blocked (well steamed actually, I'll give these a wash just before I give them to the mother in waiting)
Back view

Looking marginally better, the the yoke draws in quite a bit. I'm sure that with a baby inside the cardigan it will look miles better!

Front view

I bought the pattern books and yarn from Kirtland's Yarn Barn.
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull
Pattern book #142

I foresee a few more baby Dales in my future, just not now. That 32st/4" is quite time consuming!

And the winner is...

a draw!  No-one guessed the exact amount, but we have Fiona and Karen guessing either side of the correct answer, 258.  A parcel will be winging its way to both of you shortly!

August knitting.
A lot of my August knitting involved finishing off the stuff I started for our summer holidays! And there's still stuff on needles from July and earlier, so I don't feel as if I've accomplished much knitting this month.

Fleece Artist toe up socks

The Koigu socks

The purple beaded Project Spectrum socks

The baby hat and slip on bootees (cute!)

And finally, the baby blanket.

My September knitting list:
Finish the fixation socks (should be easy; dk ankle socks!)
Finish the LL socks in Argyle colour
Finish Flower basket shawl
Hunt some Debbie Bliss Denim yarn to finish Henley
Finish the Debbie Bliss silk shrug
Finish Swallowtail shawl (no pics yet, early days)
Finish the Dale baby cardigan

This is a tall order!
I'm only going to start something new if

1) it's a gift (and I have to knit a pair of socks for Chris's father's 80th b'day next month)

or

2) it's quick and will be finished in a few days

or

3) I finish two wips.

I want a clean(ish) slate for October and garment/Chritsmas knitting time!

Oh, and whilst I'm on about October, Bev is hosting an October birthday swap!  Any October birthday people please join up!  It's a pity that my birthday's in January!

A few small FOs

Mid August, but my July Project Spectrum is finished!

Yarn: Lorna's Laces in Blackberry
Pattern: Heartstrings Anklet Coronet
Needles: 2.5mm dpns.
Loved the pattern. The top of the foot has a nifty ribbed pattern.

And more for baby. AC the pregnant one has asked for a white plain wool hat.  I've opted for Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK weight.  I had enough left over to knit some cute bootees.

The hat is just a plain stocking stitch hat with a ribbed edging and tubular cast on.

The bootees are from Zoe Mellor's 50 Baby Bootees to knit. A book I'd overlooked first time around but I found one in Amazon's marketplace going for a song and couldn't resist.  The slip on bootees aren't very practical, I know, but might suffice for the first week or so. Just gorgeous to look at.

I'm now working on the next socks on the list, koigu socks.  These are toe-up (I don't want to run out of yarn) and I started these as two socks on two circulars, but I've quickly realised that this method is not for me.  Especially when the yarn is stuffed in each sock, they weigh a tonne! (well 100g).
So they're now separated, and I'm an inch  off starting the eclectic heel, great for high insteps where a short row heel on its own is a little tight.

I'm using 2mm circulars, but aim to knit the leg on my new 2.5mm ebony dpns from Scottish Fibres, can't wait!

June knitting

Hmmm, a little rush of FOs around here for June! Makes up for the April and May drought!

T-twist has been finished  for a few weeks.  I love this, but don't particularly like the short sleeves. The top's far too warm for hot weather, and if you're planning to knit this in cotton angora, make longer sleeves, and wear it in the cooler weather!  I'm now going to knit a cover-up in the same yarn. Just not yet. In the Autumn!

Pattern :  T-twist tee, Spring 06 Knitty.
Cotton angora might shed, but it's delightful to knit with!

Cotton garter stitch rug is also finished.

It's a bit wibbly wobbly here, just off the needles, though I doubt I'll block it!

And last, but not least, baby cardigan #2.

The yarn is Rowan's cashsoft dk, originally bought for a patchwork blanket, but I'm now going for a one colour blanket (to be decided). It's from Knitter's Almanac by EZ (and there's another version of this in Vogue's American Collection). 

And the other stuff from June:

Oh, and I've started a few more things - couple of tops, and a second pair of socks. They're all in incubation stage though, with maybe an inch or so knitted, not quite ready to be included in my wips. 

Let's just say that there are a couple of prospective Project Spectrum July wips there!

Donna progress

I'm struggling with so few wips! 

Here's the progress of donna (and those asymmetrical looking orange blobs at the bottom of the photo are my breasts!  I can only presume that they look so uneven because of the way that I was holding the camera!  (Breasts covered in Colinette Giotto!)

You can't really see any definition as the yarn is a dark blue colour, but it's looking good. I'll take it along to Libertys tomorrow night.

And a FO!  This is a baby top using the cotton/lycra mix from Elann.  It's been finished for a month or so, but I just couldn't find any buttons that matched the yarn colour.

And last, but certainly not least, a non-knitting piccy of Chris with my nephews Ryan and Joe, in happier times, at Crystal Palace park (before their mother cracked up)

Future projects are building up again! 
I've the the next six sock kal due out this week (must finish the socks I'm doing at the moment), the Lara kal (all ready!) and today brought the IK crochet magazine (not much, a couple of bags, maybe a few hats, but quite disappointing), I MUST knit a poncho!  I hate coats, too hot, and used to wear a wrap a dozen years or so ago. Loved the wrap, but it kept falling off, so I might try a poncho for mindless knitting, and if I don't like it, give it to a younger person who might be able to get away with it!