Garlic bread - it's the future

Short of any form of witty title for this somewhat delayed posting, I turn to "Phoenix Nights" for inspiration :-)

I was all set to blog last weekend. I'd finished a hat the previous Sunday (that's nearly two weeks ago now) but it needed washing and blocking before being photographed. However I was also working on another project which shall remain secret just for now, so waited to block both together. Without further ado, here's the hat:



Pattern: Lace Edged Hat by Julie M. Hentz
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK
Yardage: around three quarters of one 50g skein
Needles: 4.5mm 12" Addis (pattern suggests 4mm)

This is my September hat for Caps for a Cure. I decided to go with a slightly larger needle size in case the hat turned out too snug, it's fine and doesn't actually cover the eyes on a person, in case anyone was wondering! The head form is not quite to scale for an adult human head. I also did only two repeats of the lace pattern rather than three.

Next up, I've been working on my Bergere de France jacket this week. One front edge is complete and I'm half way through the second. I've turned the completed one back on itself to give an idea of how it will look when hemmed:



All of the cream edgings are folded double and hemmed on the right side when finishing. Just the hood to do after this then it's down to the seaming.

Here's some gorgeous yarn that arrived recently, Twilleys Freedom Spirit in Fire:



I'm still waiting for the pattern book, I'm planning to make the shrug/bolero with this yarn.

Speaking of yarn, I've embarked on a small yarn diet. No yarn to be bought for the month of October. Hopefully I can continue that into November too. It does give me a chance to knit up all sorts of projects without trying to fill the house with yarn at the same time!

Hopefully some of you listen to Carrie Anne's excellent BritKnitCast. If you do you'll know that in the episode before the current one, she was talking about her new loom. I'd already seen the first items to come off the loom on her blog, and they looked fantastic. Listening to the podcast convinced me that a loom would be a great acquisition and a whole new area of fibre arts to learn.

I've been interested in spinning for some time having seen many many bloggers who both knit and spin. However we are a bit short of floor space here, and a wheel with all its accoutrements wouldn't really have a "home", we'd end up falling over it! It also seems to be quite a learning curve to spin yarns well, and adding together my limited free time plus some coordination/dexterity issues, it isn't something I'll be taking up any time soon.

To cut a long story short, I ordered a 60cm Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom from P&M Woolcraft, and it arrived around 36 hours after ordering, how's that for speedy service! The loom comes with a 10DPI heddle (suitable for DK yarn), and I ordered a 7.5DPI heddle for aran weight as well. Sadly I didn't have time to wax and assemble it last weekend, but I'm determined to do that this weekend. Here's the loom in its box, it has been unpacked and checked then put back in the box:



There is a nice welcome pack included, with a copy of the Ashford knitting/weaving/spinning magazine, and various documentation. There is even a piece of sandpaper should you need to smooth any sharp edges! From what I've seen the wood is beautifully finished and unlikely to need the attentions of the sandpaper.

Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of the assembled loom some time this weekend :-)

As to the fate of the KSH scarf - it has been frogged and I will make it in garter stich this time! Thanks to Mary Lou for the insight - no, I don't really like moss stitch, especially with yarn so fine :-) Also frogged this week was Sgt Pepper. In common with several others I just didn't like the fabric the Cathay gives at the stated tension. Any suggested projects for the black Cathay (9 or 10 skeins) gratefully received. I'm sure I'll find something for it.