Sunday 23 November 2008

Actual Knitting Content!

I took the test mittens to a SCA event yesterday, where happily one of my friends showed up with a camera! So, for your viewing pleasure, a front and a back of a partially finished stranded mitten.

The blue thing is a stitch holder for where I'm putting the thumb later.

Thursday 20 November 2008

Holidays getting in the way of blogging

I am deep in the throes of marathon Christmas/Yule/non-denominational winter festivity knitting and crocheting. Thankfully, I'm half a sock away from everything that needs to be mailed overseas being done, so I should (fingers crossed) get that done by the end of the month.

I'm taking a slight detour from holiday knits at the moment, though. Dee, purveyor of my favourite yarn in the world, designed some mittens a while ago. Everyone loved them, so she decided to dye up 5 different colourways and sell them as kits. Unexpected financial problems meant that I wasn't going to buy one, so I'd resigned myself to waiting until the pattern was available next year and coming up with some other yarn. Except, of course, that patterns need test-knitters before they can be given out - so I volunteered! I'm currently partway through the ribbed cuff of the first mitten, looking forward to starting the stranded hand. I picked the colourway Bonfire, which is shades of orange and brown and looks just like you'd expect. And when they're done, I get to keep them! Yay!

Since my blog has been rather boring of late, I thought I'd post some photos of what are going to be the last stash acquisitions for a while. They're none of them recent - it's everything from the time my camera died!

This little lot is all stuff that my mother bought for me to turn into something for her. Some Jitterbug for socks, though I haven't yet picked a pattern. Some Mirasol Hacho, destined to become a pair of Broadripples. Several skeins of Cascade 220 Wool, destined to become several things! The mauve and pink are going to be a shawl for my mum, which I've already started knitting. (And put down because there's no way it's going to be done in time for Christmas!) The purple was intended as a hat - and I've made it! There's still nearly half a skein left, so I'm planning to make a second hat at some point in the future.

Mum also got me a gorgeous skein of Jitterbug for myself. I have no idea what I'm going to make with it, but right now I'm perfectly content to just pet it.

More later - don't want to use up all my photos at once!

Tuesday 11 November 2008

An early Christmas present for me

From my grandmother, who absolutely rocks. She came over to visit for my little brother's graduation at the end of October and decided to do a bit of shopping while here.

On her first full day she joined me and my reenactment friends on a fabric expedition to Walthamstowe Market. It was good, we shopped, but that wasn't our only destination. We also made a trip to the Handweavers' Studio, a nirvana of fibery yumminess. I had never been there, but thought I might get myself a new drop spindle that's heavier than the one I already had. Well, I was looking at the spindles when my grandmother called me over and asked what I thought of the wheels.

You can probably guess where this is going.

I tried out an Ashford Kiwi, loved it, thought it was wonderful. This now lives in my living room.

I've got it all set up, and once I finish my Christmas knitting I plan to throw myself into spinning the bag of fiber I have ready to go. (I also got several sample packs of different fibers to try out, including some camel! Yum!) For right now I'm practicing treadling and getting to know the wheel.

If anyone has any name suggestions, now's a good time to throw them out!

Monday 10 November 2008

Progress

I finished the purple hat last night. It's blocking, although I really need a bigger plate to stretch it over! I still have quite a lot of the yarn left, so I may be able to get a second hat out of the same skein. I'm really pleased with the pattern - it knits up much more quickly than I was expecting, especially since I was knitting the larger version!

Still no darning needle. I really need to go get one, but it's a question of finding the time!

I cast on for another Christmas present this morning, but it's a secret...

Thursday 6 November 2008

Christmas swaps are fun!

I'm really enjoying coming up with creative ways to spoil my swappees, but it makes for rather boring blogging - I can't tell you what I'm getting/making in case they read about it!

I can mention the new hat I've started. It's a present for my mum's best friend. A lovely deep purple, and happily I had the requisite circular needle to start immediately! And I went shopping this morning to get the other needles I need for my holiday knitting, so feeling quite pleased about that. Halloween Monkeys continue apace. I'm knitting the toe of number one this evening, and will be taking number two with me for the weekend. (Reenactment events tend to allow lots of time for crafting.)

Sock progress, indeed knitting progress in general, has be somewhat delayed by the disappearance of my darning needle. Not a major incident, one might think, but This was a special darning needle. I used it to sew in the ends on my very first knitting project, and all subsequent projects! I've had it for years now, and suddenly it decides to disappear. Very annoying. And this morning the yarn shop was sold out of darning needles, so I'll have to wait until Sunday at the earliest to buy new ones at the sewing shop. Grrrrr.

Monday 3 November 2008

Owww.

Ok, I think I need to do a motto sampler that says "Too much sewing and not enough stretching makes the Knitting Fiend hurt lots." Yes, once again I have managed to embroider myself into a serious neck-and-shoulder knot. Thank goodness for hot baths and neck rubs.

The upside is that I managed to get loads done on the poetry sampler this weekend. I'm nearly done with the cross-stitch parts and have made good inroads on the backstitching. Although I'm 99% certain I'm going to need another skein of Claret to finish. Fortunately my friendly neighbourhood needlework shop carries Gentle Art Sampler Threads!

I also cast on for a new project on Friday evening. Mum has been after the Wool Peddler's Shawl from Folk Shawls for a while now, and since there was a secondhand copy on Amazon for cheap she bought the book and had it sent to me. It came on Friday, and since we'd already gotten the yarn I saw no point in delaying! It's a very basic triangle shawl - garter stitch for about half of it, then an arrowhead lace pattern for the second half. And the edging is just more garter stitch, so I can knit the lace pattern until I run out of yarn. This makes me very happy, as I won't have to find something to do with the leftovers!

Stitch 'n' Bitch tonight will see me working away on the Halloween Monkeys while eating birthday cake. A friend is celebrating, so I've made chocolate indulgence for her, complete with frosting! Mmmmmm...