New project soon

Scrap all the plans from my last post, I'll be getting my current cobweb shawl done ASAP and casting on for something new - Weaving Friend is getting married! The big day is not for another year, but cobwebby lace and beads take time, and her wedding shawl should be perfect. And Posh, of course. The yarn is Miranda Cobweb, in the colourway "Champagne" with cream-coloured beads, and the pattern is Aeolian, as per the lady's request. I'm debating needle size, although I think I'll end up using a 3.5mm needle. It's going to be fun! I've wanted to make this pattern forever (even tried it once, although I ended up frogging it), and it's hugely satisfying making things for people who will love them.

London weather

I feel like I'm getting whiplash from the quick-change weather we've been having here. Yesterday it was sunny and so warm I spent my lunch hour in a light jacket in the park, admiring the crocuses and knitting. Today it's pouring rain and the temperatures have plummeted.

I've cast on for a couple of new projects. One is a pair of felted slippers for me at long last - hopefully my kool-aid-dyed yarn won't bring me up in hives as the Icelandic stuff did! They are hot pink and fabulous, and the perfect antidote to the weather. I finished all my handbag-suitable projects, which is why I've cast on for these now. They go quickly, so I may even get them done this month.

I've also cast on at long last for the first leaf on my Vintage Tsocks. I've only had the kit for two years... :D The leaves are fiddly, but I suspect that they will get faster as I go along. I also suspect that if I don't knit all the leaves first and get them blocked, I'll knit both socks and never get around to making the leaves. Once all the leaves are made and I've done the fiddly inset leaf on the toe, these can move over into my handbag!

I've finally started to make some progress on the pink woven scarf, too. It's amazing what two evenings of tv-watching and weaving can produce. My selvedges on this scarf are not as good as some of the other scarves I've done, but this yarn is a wool/cashmere blend and behaves rather differently. I'm getting used to it, and at least it's remaining the same width, more or less.

Quick and painless

Remember that red art yarn I spun up a while back? Well, thanks to a knitalong on one of my Ravelry fora, I was inspired to knit with it. I found a perfectly reasonable pattern for a cowl, and over the weekend managed to produce this:



I'm hugely pleased with it. It's a good size, the yarn knitted up nicely, the stitch pattern works with the tweedy look of the plying. And the best part? It only took half of my handspun, so I can make another one for me after Mum absconds with this one. :D

Socks!

One bright and cheery new pair of socks, fresh off the needles and onto my feet!



They're a little loud for my taste (says she who loves orange and lime), but they fit nicely and are warm. Plus, I've now used up the oldest sock yarn in my stash! There are some scraps left, but they have already been added to the biscuit tin of scrappy goodness for making into squares.

I'm planning to spend time this weekend making some progress on my cobweb shawl, but I really want to get on with the woven scarf. I can only work on that at home, since I'm not hardcore enough to carry a loom around. Especially not after the great back pain fiasco of 2010!

So much for the resolution to blog

After getting back to London, I had a couple of papers to hand in for my MA. Shortly thereafter, my charming spouse decided to share his bronchitis, so I've been rather ill for the last few days. Nothing perilous, nothing needing antibiotics (unlike him!), but I've not really been up to much needlework. Still, I did manage to finish up the first project of the year.

Presenting my Travelling Blues Shawl:



Pattern is Travelling Woman, needles were 4.5mm, and those of you who have a good memory will recognize the yarn as some of my handspun! And a detail shot:



I love it. It's warm and snuggly and the colours make me happy. And I've nearly finished my first pair of socks for the year...

Old Year, New Year!

So, I am now back from a two-week vacation that included almost no computer time, and I am ready to get cracking on a new year of knitting and blogging! Quick wrap of 2010 in some numbers:

Projects completed - 29, which included

• 5 scarves,
• 5 pairs of socks,
• 6 shawls,
• 1 pair of garters,
• 1 pillow,
• 1 pair of mitts,
• 1 afghan,
• 5 snowflakes,
• 1 Thing,
• 3 lots of handspun.

My lowest count since the beginning of the blog, but then I have been working on my Master's degree throughout 2010. I'm not too worried! I'd intended to spend the year only making things for me, and I ended up with 4 things for other people. One was accidental - a pair of felted slippers that make me come up in hives that I've given to my spouse. One was for a wedding, and once-in-a-lifetime events were exempted from the ban. Mum's shawl* was my oldest WIP, so I wanted to keep working on that. The scarf I ended up giving to my spouse was a weaving experiment that suited him better than me, so there wasn't much point in claiming it.

I learned how to weave this year, and I took classes in spinning and knitting for the first time. I learned how to starch thread crochet and was again astonished at the magic of blocking. I finished up many of my oldest projects, and discovered that I don't like having fewer than two projects on the go at once! I neglected my wheel, but did a whole lot of fiber prep. I knit up more than I acquired, which to my mind compensated for the rather large volume of spinning fiber that's now living on my wardrobe.

As of this moment, I have five WIPs. They are:

• Yule Shawl (Posh cobweb-weight, and my oldest WIP),
• Posh Pink Scarf (weaving project),
• Travelling Blues Shawl (from my handspun),
• Peeps Massacre Monkeys (yes, another pair for me!),
• Sock Scraps Bedspread.

I'm happy with this number. The socks are living in my handbag, and I managed to finish the first while on vacation. The two shawls are good for working on when I'm in need of some stimulation, and the scarf and granny squares are perfect for tv-watching and talking to people. I'm not feeling the need to cast on for anything new, either!

My goals for the year are pretty basic. I'm aiming to finish 3 project per month - one spinning, one knitting, and one "other". I'm also planning to knit sweaters this year, which is going to mean getting over my swatching laziness! I want sweaters that fit me, darn it. I do have one long-term goal of crazy-making (besides a sock-yarn bedspread), which is to knit 6 cobweb-weight lace shawls for myself. I have all the yarn I need - all Posh of course! - and I've picked my patterns. One is the Yule Shawl that I'm currently working on. I'll do a big post about them a bit later on, but for now - summary done, goals posted, let's move on into 2011!

*Why yes, I do have a photo of the shawl. Here it is!

So apparently I have a blog!

And once upon a time I used to write things on it! My project to clear the decks of WIPs is going swimmingly and is a large part of why I haven't been blogging - I've been using the time to knit instead. Between the knitting and a wee bit of frogging, I am down to only 2 WIPs!

Most recently finished - a granny ripple afghan, sized for cuddling on a two-seater couch. Just in time, because it's been snowing all day and the Mr. and I have a long break from next Friday until the New Year! I'm quite pleased with it. It's exactly the right size, and it completely used up a ton of yarn.



Also recently finished - a sooper sekrit lace shawl for my mother, who picked the yarn and pattern, but has only seen the project at the "crumpled blob of spaghetti" phase of knitting. Hence no photos right now, since I'm going to visit her in a couple of weeks and will do the big reveal then.

My two remaining projects are my Posh Pink Scarf, which gained another 6 inches this morning, and my Cobweb Mandala Shawl, which I will be concentrating on once the scarf is done and out of the way. It's possible that I may not finish the shawl by the end of December, although my time off makes me hopeful, so I'm going to focus on finishing the project I know is doable first.