Why public transport doesn't work......

....for me, at least. I was relegated to the bus last Monday due to one car off the road, and I have to say it was a good journey. Said bus arrived only a couple of minutes late, it wasn't hampered by the horrendous traffic on the A10 between Ely and Cambridge at 8am, it went straight to the science park with only a couple of stops along the way, and I arrived at work at my normal time. So why would I not repeat the experience?

One word - PRICE!!!! A 20 minute journey cost £3.50. I know there are various options for dayrider tickets, weekly and monthly passes which do save money (I only needed a one way ticket) but even those don't make it a viable option for me to use public transport in favour of the car. Even with fuel prices as they are right now, it still costs me less to run my car for a month than it does to take the bus. Maybe my veiwpoint is a little too simplistic, but surely if ticket prices were cheaper, more people would use the bus (I would, for one) thus enabling the bus company to keep prices low, there would be fewer cars on the road making a better journey for everyone, be it by car or bus, and better for the environment. Oh, and at only one bus every hour, it's not exactly convenient, is it?

I'll get down from the soapbox now to return to the new things I'm knitting. First photo is of Touch yarns possum cabled sweater, a 5x5 rib with a plaited cable panel at each side, v-neck with shawl collar. It's approx 4-ply, knits up lovely and feels very soft. Second, Catriona cabled vest, a Debbie Bliss pattern that I downloaded from somewhere that escapes me right now. The yarn is completely the opposite end of the woolly spectrum - sorry to all the purists out there, but it's a 100% acrylic brushed dk that my mum gave me during a destash. Despite that, it's not looking too bad now that the ribbings established. I did tubular cast on and I'm knitting in the round rather than flat, because I really don't want too much sewing up with this yarn.

It's a dull grey and damp afternoon in Ely so what better to cheer the soul than some knitting?

It was hibernating for a while over the frenzied knitting of the Ravelympics, but my criss-cross sweater reached completion last weekend. It's very soft and cosy, perfect for a day such as this, and I'm really pleased with the result. My own pattern, it's hip length with a basket weave cable hem for the body and sleeves, saddle shoulders and polo neck with the same cable. The main body's in stocking stitch; the cable pattern used up huge amounts of yarn. Worked mostly in the round, the yarn is Lang "Zoom", a 60% merino 30% cotton 10% nylon blend that I bought at Ally Pally 2 years ago. Each 50g ball has 135m, not bad for aran weight, so it went a long way, even with the dense cabled areas.

The other photo is of my final Ally Pally buy from this years show - 4 skeins of Colinette Jitterbug, colourway Venezia. I wanted to get 6, but this was the end of the day and I'd spent out so had to settle for 4! The pattern I wanted it for was a long sleeved rib sweater, but I'm sure I'll have enough for a sleeveless version anyway.

I've also made a scarf in hyacinth stitch with the Fyberspates mix but my photos are rubbish (blame the poor light!) so I'll do that next time, along with the thing I've just cast on.

Sweaters and Shawls

After much deliberation I frogged this. Much as I love the pattern, there's a mistake in the chart. After trawling through other Ravelry projects, some genius had also found the problem and posted the solution, so I plodded on. It worked and I was very happy, but then I made another mistake, goodness knows where, and it suddenly went belly up again. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind a challenge. I consider myself an experienced knitter and can cope with most yarn enigmas, but what really bugs me is errors in patterns! Especially in publications like Interweave! The errata page on their website only mentions a mistake in the yardage, so no help there. I think this yarn is the yarn of doom; it's gorgeous, soft, I love the shade, but everything I start with it gets frogged. It has gremlins so I shall leave it for a while and console myself with more Ally Pally goodies!
Such as this - Cascade yarns Heathers in a deep blue-green. It's aran weight, I bought 7 skeins from Get Knitted. This year I went to Ally Pally with some specific projects in mind, this was meant to give me a bit of focus to avoid the crazy fibre frenzy that makes me buy things I don't really want or need, and this will be a Lana Grossa pattern I've wanted to start for ages.

This is also destined for a queued project - Greenland from one of the Vogue magazines, fall 08 I think. The yarn is UK Alpacas DK and I think will be a comparable substitute. I was really impressed with their yarn; they do other weights as well as the DK, all very soft with an excellent colour range, and very economical too. These are 2 projects that I really want to start, so now the stole is frogged, I might just cast on for something new.

More Goodies

So today some more of my Ally Pally haul, 3 skeins from Knitwitches. All are laceweight, but different fibres and colours, so I'll have plenty of scarves/shawls to choose from! First up, 100g/1200m of dark lavender; this is 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk, 10% cashmere, so it's unbelievably soft.
Next photo is 120g/1116m of 100% cashmere. The colours haven't come out too well, but it's described on the ball band as "Sage Blush" which is a pretty good name for it - more muted colours of sage green with pinkish brown contrasts. The weight is 3ply heavy laceweight, so not quite as fine as the other two, for a bit of light relief fromfeatherweight yarns!
And finally, this gorgeous kid mohair, again 100g/900m and I just adore the colour! Described "Aqua Ice" on the band, and it really is the most beautiful shades of aqua. It's so fine though, that whatever I make will probably be a labour of love. Watch this space!

Sock Yarns

Today, I thought I'd show you the two skeins of sock yarn I bought at Ally Pally. The first one is from the Natural Dye Studio; it's Blue faced Leicester and very soft with a lovely haze to it. I think the resulting socks will keep my toes toasty. They also had lots of patterns to go with the yarns - I got one called "Dragon Scales" which they unfortunately don't have a picture of on their website, but if you can imagine the cuff of the sock made of rows of overlapping triangles, you kind of get the idea. The colours are a mix of soft pinks and apricots with a splash of teal thrown in.

Next up, I got this from the Socktopus booth; there were some very individual yarns on sale, I assume from small independants, so I got this from Brooklyn Handspun, superwash merino in shade Red Robin. It's not quite as strong a red as the name would suggest, but is a blend of softer shades of red, and the result is really pretty.

Away from the knitting, I flew to Belfast on Friday afternoon to spend a little time with my daughter and her partner. I had a really lovely time - thankyou Carly, if you're reading this! - and I came home yesterday, but today I ache from the small of my back downwards! Nobody ever said plane and train travel were comfortable, but I did about a half mile sprint in 8 minutes so that I could get the next direct train to Cambridge. I made it by the skin of my teeth - as I leaped onto said train, the doors closed on my bag! But at least I got home half an hour earlier and I don't feel like I should go to the gym for a day or two!

The Perils of Ally Pally

The perils of Ally Pally are many. From the moment you hand your ticket over to the heavies at the entrance your senses go into overload with that glorious rainbow of colour that is Colinette. And that's only the beginning of the veritable fibre frenzy that is the knitting and stitching show. I didn't go last year so I had plenty of catching up to do. I was as good as I possibly could be; I didn't buy the first thing I saw but wandered round with a notebook to jot down stands worth a second visit and a bottle of water, so refreshment stops didn't encroach on yarn time. I've left it until the show's over before posting purchases so that I didn't spoil the surprise for those who went on Saturday and Sunday, and although it's difficult to pick out favourite buys, I went for these two first. The top photo is some Handmaiden Camelspin, a real luxury buy. This is so soft and silky and will make a scarf, I think. The colour was very difficult to capture on my little camera, but it's a very dark midnight blue with a lovely sheen to it.
The picture below is some Touch Yarns Possum and it has to be my favourite! Another peril of Ally Pally is the certainty that you'll find something that little bit different, and I was won over by the softness and warmth of this beautiful yarn. I bought a pattern to go with it, a ribbed sweater with a cable panel at the right front and a ribbed shawl collar. Four 100g skeins to make a ladies size medium, so quite economical, between DK and 4ply weight, and I'll be starting this soon.
More photos soon, but I thought I'd do short posts so as not to bore you!

So, what did you buy at Ally Pally?

Better late than never

At last a finished object to blog about! I'm pleased with how this has turned out; I wasn't sure if I'd made it too small but it's ok. I think it'll be quite versatile, worn alone or layered, and the flecks of pale pink and mint green in the yarn mean it can be worn with lots of things. So, the lowdown:

Brocade Leaves pullover by Kathy Zimmerman from fall 08 Knitscene

Yarn: I have to admit to an acrylic blend of something obscure that my mum gave me during a de-stash, but it's quite soft and I liked the colour.

Size: 38", but I used 3.5mm needles as my tension was way off on the 4mm the pattern called for. I made the sleeves a couple of inches longer to allow for my longer than average arms!

Now I'm returning to a couple of projects that I started before the Ravelympics, an aran polo neck and the cobweb lace stole from Interweave spring 08.

I'm Sorrrrrrry!

I've been a very lax blogger just lately, haven't I? In fact, I've been a very lax knitter too! There hasn't been much of either going on, I'm afraid. A few weeks ago, I found I was feeling really tired and Mr.Diviknitty commented that I always seemed to be doing something and ought to spend a couple of evenings quietly doing nothing. Now, I find doing nothing very difficult, but he banned me from knitting for a week, and you know what, it did me the world of good! So I had to admit he was right (something else I find difficult!) but as a result I've rediscovered other past-times - like reading a good novel. It's ages since I've sat and read! I've also started going to the gym again, something I gave up about 6 years ago when I increased my hours at work. I feel much better for it and I've lost 2lbs into the bargain.
We were on holiday in northern Italy last week, a beautiful little town called Cannobio on Lake Maggiore, where you can't help but slow down and relax. Stunning scenery, warm sunny weather, delicious food and again, no knitting, but a good book to read every evening on our hotel balcony with a glass or two of wine.
So we've been home for a week and have been moving our youngest daughter into her room at Uni - she starts nursing on Monday at Addenbrookes hospital and is very excited - and we have the house to ourselves! She'll be back for her Sunday lunch within half an hour though!
I have done a bit of knitting this week though - I've almost finished the second sleeve of the Brocade Leaves sweater I started for the Ravelympics. When I completed the first sleeve, I wasn't sure if I'd made it long enough, so I sewed it up and tried it on for size before finishing the whole thing. It turned out to be fine, but I do have long arms and many's the time I've finished a sweater only to find the full length sleeves in the pattern are about 2" too short! I want to finish this before I go back to what I was knitting before - a polo neck in Lang yarns "Zoom" and a lace weight stole from Interweave, which I might give up with as I hit a snag and don't know if I can be bothered to sort it out - bad lax knitter that I am!

A quick update

A very quick update on my Ravelympics sweater as I'm on my lunch break and the knitting must continue! The back is blocked, I finished the front last night and will probably be blocked tomorrow. I've cast on for the first sleeve, but I have long arms so I'm pretty sure I won't get the thing finished by Sunday's closing ceremony. I am, however, pleased with what I have done. The stitch pattern's very effective and I think it's a sweater I'll wear a lot. So what if I'm not an olympic speed knitter? I've never got this much of a sweater made in such a short time, so I've definately beat my personal record, and that pleases me!

When I heard about the Ravelympics, I was in two minds about whether or not to join; after all, there are currently 2 projects otn, do I really want another? I've knit to deadlines before and don't really like it, but it is after all just a bit of fun, so I decided to go for the brocade leaves sweater from the fall issue of Knitscene. Although it isn't my favourite design from the magazine, it was the only one I could find suitable yarn for from stash. It's a dk that I got from my mum when she had a de-stash a few months ago in cream with subtle splashes of very pale pink and green, really pretty. I swatched last week and I'm having to use smaller needles to get the right gauge; with 4mm it was very loose, so I've had to go down to 3.5mm - the fabric's a bit firmer, but still works ok. So, cast on was yesterday, during the opening ceremony of the real olympics, (which I'm afraid I didn't watch because all those drums drove me batty after 5 minutes!) and as I've had a day to myself today, I've done quite a bit of knitting. The challenge for me will simply be getting a sweater finished in just over 2 weeks, so I really wanted to get a good start. I've just had a message from Mr.Diviknitty to say his plane from Belfast has been delayed an hour, so no more time to blog - there's knitting to be done!

To "art kane"

I've just read your comment on my post dated 2nd July, I'm so sorry I missed it until now! Our next meeting in the Lamb is on August 7th at 7pm; we have all ages and abilities there and you'll be most welcome to join us. If you need any more information either leave me another comment (I promise to keep up to date!) or go to the ktog website here. Look forward to meeting you soon.

This is the first half of the cobweb lace stole which I cast on about two weeks ago. The stitch patterns in this are gorgeous, and there's a lot going on to keep it interesting. I don't follow charts very well, I lose my place easily, so to avoid the dreaded ripping back which I've been having so much trouble with of late, I'm translating the chart into a written pattern. Not so bad as it sounds - some bits of the chart are easy to follow, the rest can be written out in fairly short blocks and it's well worth the trouble. The yarn is hipknits cashmere lace weight; I think it's finer than the original yarn used, and thus the stole will be narrower, but that's ok.
I have a confession to make - I've succumbed to start-itis and cast on for a sweater as a bit of light relief from the intensity of the stole. My reasoning is sound (or so I keep telling myself!) - I could never work on the stole at a ktog, so I need something else to take along that I can work on and talk/drink at the same time. No photos yet, unfortunately.

In the absence of a suitable human candidate, a rather large cuddly horse made a good stand in model for the lace weight shawl I made for my youngest daughter! He didn't complain, as teenage daughters often do, nor did he move very far, just very obligingly stayed eaxctly where I put him and kept quiet!
The colour has come out worringly orange though. It's more of a vibrant mix of rainbow shades; I must learn how to use Mr.Diviknitty's posh camera but at least you can see how many times horse wrapped it around his ample neck!
So, a nice ripple stitch edging, Rosie, with a simple diagonal lace for the main body.I knit the two ripple edges first, put one piece on a holder, then knit the main panel until I ran out of yarn, and grafted the two pieces together.
I've started the cobweb lace stole (scroll down) which I'll post about soon.

Thank Goodness for Ravelry!

Before casting on for the cobweb stole (scroll down) a little voice at the back of my mind told me to see if anyone on Ravelry was making it. I found out that there's a mistake in the materials section of the pattern; the magazine states 230m per ball (7balls=1610m) but it should read 169m per ball. That's a big difference, meaning that the stole takes only 1183m, and I have more than enough hipknits cashmere (1500m) to make it without having to skimp on size. In fact, I might even make it longer; as a winter scarf it'll keep out those chilly fenland winds!
I should finish the lace weight scarf I'm making for my daughter during the coming weekend of much Wimbledon watching, so hopefully I can get started on the cobweb stole soon. I'm actually sticking to my one-project-at-a-time strategy without getting bored. I try to practise the art of mindful knitting, not always possible, especially when keeping up with a tennis match, but I do find it keeps me focused and helps me to avoid start-itis.

As I only have one wip at the moment, I thought I'd use a couple of posts to show projects that I'd like to make.

I love this cobweb lace stole from Interweave spring 2008. The stitch patterns are interesting and unusual, and I've got plenty of laceweight stashed to choose from. I think I might use some Hipknits cashmere that I bought at Ally Pally two years ago, in a pale turquoise shade. The pattern calls for 1610m and I've only got 1500m, so I'll have to make it either shorter or narrower

I don't seem to have had much time for knitting just lately. I've been sticking to the one project at a time thingy and it seems to be working. At least, I haven't had to rip anything back for a while so I'm hoping that the frogging gremlins have moved on elsewhere. Apololgies for the lousy photo, but this is what I've been working on. I think I mentioned it in my last post, it's a stole for my daughter who's been waiting for it for ages! I used a ripple stitch for the edge, worked to about 15cms,then a simple diagonal lace for the main panel. It's looking very pretty with all the colours and is a little longer than when I took the photo.

We've had this past week off work - bliss - and we went here. The Countess of Shrewsbury, also known as Bess of Hardwick, built this beautiful house at the end of the 16th century, and it's the most intact Elizabethan house in the country. Every room is hung with tapestries, some of which have never been taken down in the 400 years since she lived there. We spent a good 5 hours there; and I'd definately go again. You can also explore the old hall, which is a ruin, but the main staircase has been made safe and you can climb up to roof level and see all the wall friezes, which still partially remain.

Our eldest daughter visited from Belfast for the weekend; it was lovely to see her and her partner after 4 months since our visit to Northern Ireland.

There are a couple of lace stoles that I have in mind to knit for myself. I thought I'd queue them for future projects rather than succumb to start-itis, but I think I'll leave them for another post.

I've been tagged!

No photos today, I'm afraid; I've been working on a lace stole for my youngest daughter, but haven't got around to getting the camera out. Liz tagged me the other day, to take part in this little meme - this is the first time I've ever been tagged so I was quite excited!
The Rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, leaving a comment on their blogs, asking them to read their blog, and telling them they've been tagged. Let the person who tagged you know that you've answered.
1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Working my butt off in Waitrose and wondering if I was ever going to escape the drudgery!
Getting back into knitting after having had a few years in a yarn desert. I had neither the
time nor the energy whilst my kids were little.
We'd been in our house a few months, so I'm sure there was some decorating going on.
Working out at the gym 4 times a week - I was pretty fit back then!
2.What are 5 things on my to do list today (not in any particular order)?
Watch the French Open final.
Make some bread rolls for packed lunches.
Plant some herbs in pots on the patio.
Sew the hem on a pair of trousers I've been making.
Call my mum and dad.
3.Snacks I enjoy.
Anything chocolate, especially the Belgian variety.
Most fruit.
4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire
Buy a pad of very expensive writing paper on which to pen my resignation! I enjoy my job,
but let's face it, none of us would work if we didn't have to, would we?
As we're in the realms of fantasy here, I'd build my very own Starship Enterprise, seek out
strange new worlds and civilisations, and boldy go where no-one has gone before. Then I'd sit
back and watch from a safe distance whilst the human race destroys itself.
5. Places I have lived
Wolverhampton
Manchester
Cambridge
Somersham
Bluntisham
Ely

And there we have it! Picperfic kindly agreed to be tagged, but everyone else I know who has a blog has already done this, so I'll have to stick at one.

It seems like an age since I had an FO to show, but here at last is my Posh Yarn cardi in all its glory. For those of you out there who have drooled over (not literally) this gorgeous yarn, and have passed it around between you at recent Ely and Cambridge ktogs, I give you "Flounce" and hope you like the finished article as much as I do. The low down: "Amelia" dk in colourway "Loiter", fibre content merino/alpaca, 4x100g skeins have made a waist length fitted cardi with flounced edges at the hem and sleeves, which are 3/4 length with set in shoulders, V-neck with shawl collar in moss stitch. There's even about 40g leftover.

I've cast on for a new project using the laceweight I dyed at Liz's workshop last summer, a large lace stole for my youngest daughter which I promised her months ago and was one of the many frogged objects. No photos yet as there isn't much of it, but as it grows I'll show the progress.

One project gal!

For most of my knitting life I've stuck to one project at a time. Concentrate on one thing, no distractions, no 2nd and 3rd projects fighting for attention. Complete said project before casting on for something new. This has worked for me for more years than I care to count. Then I amassed too much stash with too many beautiful yarns crying out to be cast on for just one more project! This has not worked well for me at all. About a month ago, I decided to have 4 projects otn; I thought the variety would make a change, it'd be nice to have the choice of what to work on. Bad Mistake! One by one, my four projects have hit the shagpile! Last night was the final straw; my posh yarn lace shawl was frogged again, and I just cannot figure out where the problem is but the pattern simply isn't working out. I don't know if there's a typo in the stitch library I'm using, if my eyes are going nuts trying to focus on the dark colour, if my concentration is off.....! I've had a stressful month at work, I don't want to do stressful knitting. After all, it's supposed to be a relaxing past-time, isn't it? I like to feel I'm making progress; I hate knitting 2 rows then pulling out 4! So I'm going back to what I do best, no more multi-task knitting for me! I'll complete my Posh Yarn dk cardi then start something new! My yarn deserves it, and so do I!

Knitting mishaps

The knitting hasn't been going terribly well. Apart from not having had much time to sit with yarn and needles, everything I've done has had to be frogged.This is going ok though, but then it's just stocking stitch, so not much comfort there! I've done a bit more work on this since the photo was taken; the back is almost complete. It's still the best yarn I've ever used, so soft and gorgeous colours, so I'm pretty pleased with this project.
This one isn't too bad, but I'm struggling to make any headway. It's Posh Yarn "Arabella" laceweight and I'm working on another big scarf like Vivid, which I love and have worn so much over this past winter. I'm using 3.25mm needles which give a nice lacey effect without it being too loose. I worked 8 repeats of this chevron border and I'm now on the main panel, but I haven't got to the stage where I'm comfortable with the pattern, and it's a dark shade of burgundy which is difficult to knit in the electric light, so this is one of the projects that I have to keep frogging. I resorted to a lifeline at the end of the border.
I started a shawl with the yarn I dyed at Liz's workshop last year; I'm not too fond of shawls, way too many stitches for my liking, and I lost my place after about a dozen rows of 300+ stitches, so that got frogged completely! I haven't had much luck with that yarn at all - I've made 3 false starts with it, so I think I'll make her a stole instead.
So after all the recent mishaps, I'm consoling myself with these, which I bought from Norfolk Yarns, when the Cambridge ktog group went to Norwich for the day. The green hand painted is Araucania Ranco, approx 4ply and lovely fresh colours - 4 skeins of that.
And this is my first ever purchase of Noro! Two skeins of Korchoran, soft enough for a cosy scarf, in pretty hues of purple and blue. Thanks Rosie, for organising a great day out!

The Good Life

I wouldn't describe myself as a gardener, not by any stretch of the imagination! Plants, especially those of the indoor variety, tend not to thrive from a little TLC administered by my less than green fingers. However, having been assured that, with a little preparation it's not that difficult, I've decided to try my hand at a few veg's. These are my salad leaves..........

....and here we have a selection of winter veg's - brussels sprouts, calabrese, cauliflower and cabbage. I also have some runner bean, carrot, parsnip and sweetcorn seeds to sow. This is quite a challenge for me and I'm not at all convinced that the outcome will be favourable, but you have to start somewhere and I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew (pun not intended). I definately won't be giving up the day job to become self sufficient!
So back to the more familiar knitting. I finished the gloves for daughter n°1; these were well received (picture below) but I had a bit of a moment and made the second glove considerably larger than the first! She doesn't seem to mind - they keep her hands warm, and what else could you need from a pair of gloves?!

I've also started this, with the Posh Yarn "Amelia". This yarn is absolutely the best I've ever knit with! It's oooh soooo soft, the colours are delicious - can you tell that I love it? I only hope my veg's are as satisfying! There are a couple of other new things started, but they're even less to look at than this is, so I'll get a bit further on before I take photos.

The gloves of two sizes!

Accessories

Apologies for the silence of late - Mr.Diviknitty has been rebuilding the computer so it's mostly been in pieces over the last couple of weeks. Things are slowly getting back to normal, and it's made me realise just how much computers become an every day part of life. I've missed Ravelry, friend's blogs, window shopping for new stuff..... the list goes on!

I haven't done too much knitting either - a cold laid me low for a few days, and although the snuffles and sneezes didn't last too long, it left me feeling exhausted for some time.

I'm making these gloves for my eldest daughter; the pattern is something of a hybrid from Robin Melansons book "Knitting New Mittens & Gloves". Pretty much a basic full fingered glove with a lace fingerless glove over the top. The yarn is handpainted sock yarn from The Yarn Yard, one of my club yarns from last year that's too pretty for hiding under trousers! I should finish these today as they'll be winging their way to Belfast on Tuesday.

Also making progress on Arbacia by Woolly Wormhead; I've completed 5 of the recommened 7 wedges, but I think I might have to knit an extra wedge.

I was a bit worried that the things I'm knitting at the moment seem to have a distinctly wintry feel about them, what with it being the first day of spring a couple of days ago, but then we woke up to an inch of snow this morning, so they might get some wear sooner than I anticipated!

Last weekend, I went to the NEC for the Sewing for Pleasure exhibition. I used to do quite a lot of dressmaking when the kids were little, but it's kind of taken a backseat over the past few years. I have to admit to getting bit fed up of getting ripped off by the extortionate price of everyday things (soapbox moment!) so I went there with the sole purpose of getting some material and rescuing my sewing machine from it's dark and dingy cupboard. I came away with this lot:

Pale green linen for the full length trousers.

Red broderie anglaise for the sleeveless top.

And deep turquoise cotton for the dress. All for just £30 - you couldn't buy a dress in the shops for that, so I'm well pleased! I've got a couple of days off this week, so guess what i'm gonna be doing?

Hoodie and a hat!

The first Ely ktog went really well with 8 members turning up - see here for more details and a few pics.

I finished the hoodie cardigan in Jaeger Trinity, and I actually had enough yarn for a hood this time - but only just! There was just enough to do all the finishing so it was a close call. I took a few photos and enlisted the help of daughter n°2 who turned out to be a very able model! The buttons are from Injabulo, I got them from Textiles in Focus. I really enjoyed knitting this and I'm pleased with how it's turned out. Constructed from the bottom up , 2x2 rib on 3.5mm, st.st and cable panel on 4mm, no waist shaping for a more casual feel, set in sleeves and a shaped hood on a round front neckline. Jaeger Trinity is a cotton/silk/nylon mix so it has no stretch to it, but it does drape beautifully and gives good stitch definition.

This is "Arbacia" by Woolly Wormhead from the new online magazine The Inside Loop - go take a look, it's worth it! The yarn is from The Yarn Yard, a sock yarn that I've had for about a year and always felt it was too pretty to be hidden under a pair of trousers, so it's destined to be a hat. I love the eyelet holes on this design, and the triple row of cables that form the brim. It does take quite a bit of concentration though, to get the counting for the short rows right - I've had a couple of false starts and had to rip back, but that was my own fault and I only pick this up when I can focus fully on it, so I won't be taking it to the next ktog!

K2tog in Ely

Knittedrabbit and I were discussing at the k2tog in Cambridge yesterday, the severe lack of knitting groups in Ely. I’m sure we’re not the only ones who find it difficult to get to Cambridge for the Tuesday evening k2togs, but would love to meet up a couple of times a month for drinks, chat and all things yarny! With this in mind, we’ve arranged to meet at 7pm on Thursday 28th February in the bar at The Lamb Hotel in Ely. Please come along and join us, bring a friend, bring your knitting, and let’s take Ely by storm!

Progress

Isn't it nice to get a week when you seem to have lots of knitting time? This has been one of those weeks so one sock has been competed. I used the sock solution software to create a toe up sock with easy toe cast on, half handkerchief heel with partridge eye; the construction seemed a little odd - the sole was knit straight to the very end of the heel with the heel turn at the back of the heel, but it seems to have worked out ok. I knit about 10cms of k2p2 rib for a deep turnover cuff with picot edge - I like the result, and the basketweave pattern has enhanced the self striping yarn.
Also got quite a lot done on the Trinity jacket, back, 2 fronts and half a sleeve so far. Hopefully got a Sunday afternoon of knitting to look forward, so I'd better get on with the (small) pile of ironing so I can justify any other inactivity!

It's here!

Exactly one month after Christmas, Santa paid me a visit:

It came in it's very own drawstring bag, and even has printed instructions as to what to put where!

I spent a very pleasant Saturday afternoon trying to decide what to put in it. Thank goodness everyone was out, because several decades of collected knitting paraphenalia was spread across the living room floor. I soon realised it wouldn't all fit, so in an attempt to be sensible I decided on necessitites (scissors, tape measure, stitch markers etc) along with only what was needed for the current wip's. I suceeded in removing 4 smaller bags of stuff and replacing it with the very beautiful and practical Jordana Paige knitting tote.

So, no more dashing around at last minute trying to remember everything I need to take to a Cambridge k2tog - it's all there in one very convenient place.

Wish me a Merry Christmas - albeit belated!!!