Westside cap

Pattern: Westside by ChicKnits
Yarn: Cascade 220
Yardage: around 0.75 skeins - used up all the leftover yarn from a previous project

A very enjoyable pattern to knit, the twisted rib cables really "pop" especially when blocked (I found it definitely needed blocking to achieve the required shape, as the cables naturally pull the cap in). Cascade 220 works very well even though it is not a "true" aran weight, great to knit with and is very soft and cosy after blocking.

I've also finished the main knitting on the pink tweed cardi, it's now awaiting blocking of the pieces before I start seaming and add the button bands. Which leads me on to:

Plans for 2009!

- my next project will be a Clapotis in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted
- also going to cast on a cardi and/or hoodie, quite possibly Ginny and Cassidy
- and I must have more berets! Porom is probably next

I have also been musing on things I'd like to learn or achieve in 2009:

- socks! Something I fully intended to do in 2008, but didn't have the time and energy to attempt
- learn a little more crochet (I can do a (US) single crochet edging and that's it), so I'm not daunted when I see those pretty edgings. I also really like Bergamot from the Rowan Purelife Wool collection, so I guess I have something to aim at!
- tackle those "interesting" techniques like a tubular cast-on
- knit more items in laceweight yarn. I'm currently knitting Alhambra in Posh Eva 2-ply and seem to have got the hang of working with finer yarns at long last.
- knit some of the lovely things in my queue, using stash
- do some sewing, hand and machine (which involves learning to use the machine!)
- warp up my loom and do some weaving at long last

Here's wishing everyone a very happy and productive 2009!

Boo!

Meet Boo the bat:





The first time I have attempted a knitted toy, he's mildly lopsided but then so am I :-D I used buttons for eyes, partly because I didn't have any of those special toy eyes, but mostly because I like Coraline. This was a gift for the Mr and served in lieu of a Christmas card - we'd rather do something a bit more permanent and different.

The pattern is from mochimochiland and I used the called-for yarn, Cascade 220. I also used DPNs for the entire thing, quite the achievement for someone who usually descends into cursing if forced to use them!

Last gift knit was a quick-to-knit pair of mitts in leftover Miski. Well, it would have been entirely leftover Miski if I hadn't calculated I was 4g short for the second mitt, so another skein was swiftly acquired.



Gifts completed, I've picked up Alhambra again and now have 6 pattern repeats complete. I seem to be coping much better with the laceweight yarn this time around. It probably helps that I'm not tired or stressed! I'm looking forward to finishing and blocking this piece and seeing the scrolls and curvy sides in their full glory.

Last night I made a start on a Westside cap from ChicKnits. Using Cascade 220 again, the silver grey used for Boo, I should have enough I think. The brim cast-on was, er, interesting, I suspect this is some kind of tubular technique. I'd never done one before but I think it looks OK so far.

This will probably be my last post before the big day so I'll wish you all a very happy Christmas!

Beret and cowl

More Christmas gifts complete and now with their recipient:



Last Minute 'Purled' Beret knit in Fyberspates BFL aran. Gorgeous yarn to knit with. I left the beret "right" side out though.



Quickie Cowl in King Cole Anti-Tickle Merino DK, used doubled to sub for chunky yarn. I've had this yarn in stash for a while, again it was great to knit with, very soft indeed.

Blowsey Ruffles scarf

Blowsey Ruffles, made in Mirasol Miski, for a Christmas gift. The pattern is originally from The Inside Loop. The Miski was lovely to knit with and blocked nicely.

You may have noticed that Ruffles is being modelled on a dress form. I've promised myself an adjustable dress form for a long time, and bought this one from DonAngeli on ebay. Great service and a good budget product (mine is the Supafit adjustable dress form). I bought the small as my sizing is towards the top end of this size, the larger model would be a bit too big unfortunately. It is quite easy to adjust the sizing with thumbwheels, overall height is also adjustable and there is a hem marker too.

I'm currently knitting away on more Christmas gifts, last night I finished a Last Minute Purled Beret, and my current project is a Quickie Cowl in doubled-up King Cole merino DK. After that it's some simple mitts, and a mochimochiland pattern which will remain a mystery for now!

Long time no blog

Hoping to post here a little more often in future. There are a few FOs to show:



Twilleys beret pattern knit in Fyberspates DK wool (shade Foxglove). Intended as a matching beret for my long-serving Clapotis in the same yarn - the beret yarn is brighter but the overall effect is good.



Marble Muffin by Woolly Wormhead - knit in the called-for yarn, Araucania Aysen, lovely stuff. The finished article isn't very slouchy and might improve with blocking, although I maybe should have knit the largest size.



Dashing gloves in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino aran - made for terri in the Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns Autumn swap. I love how this yarn knits up and was loath to let them go!

As for my current WIPs, Flutter Sleeve is currently hibernating (plans are afoot to finish it off soon), as is Alhambra (ditto). My Sirdar cardi in the pink DB tweed is coming along nicely, with one sleeve left to knit before some seaming is required.

At the moment I'm doing some Christmas gift knitting, not something I've attempted for the past couple of years. First up is the Blowsey Ruffles scarf in some gorgeous Mirasol Miski:



The yarn is 100% baby llama, incredibly soft and knits up nicely. It does shed fibres a little though. Hopefully a good soak and gentle blocking will reduce that a little.

In other happenings, some very exciting (to me, anyway!) news was announced recently - Ultravox will be playing a reunion tour next year! I'm signed up with the official site so got priority booking, and we have seats 3 rows from the front for Manchester. This tour is something I never thought I would see, I think pretty much all fans were resigned to the fact that they would never tour again. This is also the full original line-up of the band, I can't wait!

Ocean Waves shawl, and mitts

Two posts in one week, whatever next!

Ocean Waves shawl in Posh Yarn Emily:





More details on ravelry.

Also made this week, a pair of fingerless mitts in New Lanark Donegal Silk Aran, for my husband.



Again more details on ravelry.

I'm now part way through the Marble Muffin hat in Araucania Aysen, gorgeous yarn to knit with!

Sirdar cardigan in Calico

Finished last Bank Holiday Monday and added to Ravelry a week or so later. I'm adding it here as it has been a WIP on the sidebar for a while!





Details are on Ravelry. I'm very pleased with the finished item, and particularly pleased with the seaming, which I tend to take my time over and it does pay dividends. Sirdar Calico is a lovely yarn to use and knits up into a soft fabric.

I'm not sure what the future of this blog will be, as I tend to post and update my projects on Ravelry these days, and don't have time to duplicate information over here. If it's a choice between knitting time, and sitting updating the blog, I'd rather knit! In any event the blog will stay around, I may or may not update it, but I'm not going to delete it. I'm also way behind on other blogs, even with whip-up posts removed there are well over 400 new posts showing on Bloglines. It's probably a time to admit that I can't keep up with everything I might like to, and with the best will in the world I won't be able to read every post properly. I'll drop by when I can though!

Central Park Hoodie

At long last, I had the time to sew up CPH this bank holiday weekend! I took my time with the sewing, using mattress stitch on all seams, so it took quite a while. I like the idea of sewing in the sleeve heads before seaming the side and sleeve seams all in one go, I think the sleeves are the neatest I've done so far.

The Rowanspun Aran (shade Hardy) was lovely to knit with and blocked very nicely, softening somewhat in the process. The only slight down side is that it tends to break when you are sewing up with it. I'd heard this beforehand and even though I took care to try not to leave very much stitching to tighten up at a time, I still had a number of breaks. I'm struggling to remember how much yarn I used in total, I think around 6.5 skeins (time for a stock take in the Rowan department!).

I'm so pleased with how this garment turned out, it's a great fit with some ease so you can easily wear things underneath. I made the 40" size as I'd heard this could run a little small, but after blocking it's just right. The sleeves are quite long but I like them that way, nothing worse than sleeves at "half mast" particularly when it's cold!

I didn't make many mods, I used a three needle bind-off on the hood rather than casting off and seaming (could have grafted it too), and I knit the front bands all in one go rather than each side individually. I made 6 buttonholes and used olive wood buttons.

Alexandra

This has been finished for a little while, blocked earlier this week:





Alexandra from Fitted Knits, using Rowan Plaid in shade "Sea Thistle". I added a little extra length between the decreases and increases, and also after the increases. This version has an extra cable twist right near the lower edge. I settled on doing short sleeves instead of the three-quarter ones in the pattern. With my mods this only took a little under 4.5 balls of the Plaid, in the 36 size. Needles were Denise 6.5mm circs.

Beret in Posh Yarn DK

Used just over half a skein of the Helena merino DK left over from the Forest Canopy shawl - I now have a matching shawl/scarf and beret! Already worn when I went shopping this afternoon :-)



The pattern is from Twilleys Freedom Spirit book 455. I'm going to make another to match my original Clapotis too.

This week I've been working on Alexandra from Fitted Knits. I'm just finishing off the garter stitch edging then casting off the main body. This is a very quick sweater to knit. I'm using Rowan Plaid in shade Sea Thistle.



I didn't bother to add extra cable for the photo so the lower edge looks small in the photo. I've been trying this on as I go along and I'm very pleased with the overall fit. I've added a little extra length in the body, both in the mid section between decreases and increases, and also after the increases to incorporate a fourth cable set.

I've just bought some lovely lace patterns from Knitspot - Gale, Alhambra and Hypoteneuse. Gale will be perfect in some purple Rowanspun 4ply from my stash, and I'm thinking of using one of my 55g skeins of Posh yarn laceweight for Alhambra. I don't know whether to start one of these next, or make the Earth Maiden wrap by Ilga Leja. Definitely in a lace knitting mood though.

Great news, our tickets for the Mighty Boosh were delivered today - and we have seats 5 rows from the front in the stalls! *happy dance* Very glad to at last know what seats we were allocated, as the original priority booking just said "general admission".

Finally I've added my pattern notes for the Glam Rock Ski Hat to the original post, linked from the sidebar. The pattern is also now linked in on ravelry, although I seem to be having a few issues being able to have my own "designer" linkup on there - more on that depending on further developments!

And in other news

The CPH front bands are now cast off and it's ready for blocking!



I knit the edging in one piece, as I'd used a three needle bind-off on the hood and saw no reason to do the front in two halves. I've added 6 buttonholes too.

Some more yarn acquisition, from the Yarn Yard again:



100g of sock in "Spring" and a 50g toning skein in "Bedazzle". There were more tempting colourways this week but I missed them, you can see them on the YY blog. I confess I snagged a bargain skein of merino yesterday too, along with another 50g of Mysteron!

After seeing Oxford Kitchen Yarns sock yarn on Sarah's blog I'm afraid I was led into temptation once again:



100g of 100% BFL sock yarn in "Candyfloss". I'm blaming all these pretty colours on it being Spring! It was certainly a lovely change to be able to take photos outside last week. One of the advantages of getting up early for work is leaving earlier too, so I can get home in the strong daylight. A disadvantage is trying to readjust your body clock to getting up over an hour earlier, I've spent two months back at our old offices and last week was a shock to the system! So much so that I ended up sleeping in very late yesterday, but I still managed to finish CPH and start a beret from the Twilley's Freedom Spirit pattern book in the remaining merino DK from the FCS.

I recently mentioned that I was going to the theatre to see "Sleuth", then entirely forgot to report back on it. I enjoyed it very much, it really is a two-man play, and both Michael Praed and Simon McCorkindale were excellent in their respective roles. I don't think I've ever seen the film before so I didn't know the plot, and the various twists and turns were very entertaining. Being in a front row seat was a wonderful experience, and I caught Michael's eye a couple of times, once during the play itself and also during the curtain call :-) (and he has very lovely twinkly eyes). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when you see it next month Aknita!

I hope my fellow F1 knitters enjoyed the Malaysian Grand prix last Sunday too. Compared to the Melbourne craziness it was a relatively tame affair, but some great moments including Nick setting the fastest lap of the race, and doing some impressive overtaking. Huge congrats to Nick for getting back up the field after an unfortunate start, and to Robert (Kubica) for coming in second! Go team BMW Sauber!



(Nick on the podium in Melbourne - picture courtesy of and © BMW Press Club)

Forest Canopy Shawl

Finished last weekend and blocked Sunday/Monday, and an outdoor photoshoot on Thursday after work:



Pattern - Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl by Susan Pierce Lawrence
Yarn - Posh Yarn Helena DK shade "Dales"
Yardage - approx 116g used out of 200g
Modifications - three extra pattern repeats

PIF, prizes and live comedy

I sent out my PIF parcels last week and both have now been received, so I can now show you what I made!

In the end, after trying several other patterns, I settled upon the "Pashmina Cowl" from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I do recommend this book as it contains a lot of lovely useful patterns, including the famous Chevron Scarf. The first cowl for gilraen was made in Posh Yarn Emily, shade Digress:



The second cowl for blog-blethers was knit in Stroud Wool sock yarn (Socrates) from Violet Green, shade "Solent":



In the end I only had two rather than the usual three PIF recipients, so when the lovely Sarah offered to obtain some Koigu for me from the USA, I hatched a plan :-) In addition to the yarn I sent in return I whipped up a pair of Dashing gloves in Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran (shade Hero). I knew these were on her "queue" and I also knew she was awfully busy making gifts for other people, so it was a nice opportunity to surprise her with a wee handknit gift :-)



Not the most fantastic photo of mine, but Sarah does have better pictures on her blog.

My CPH is almost finished! Just the front bands to knit on, then washing/blocking, and seaming. Oh and sewing on buttons! I'm looking at making a couple of the sweaters from Fitted Knits next, probably Alexandra first, but I may just have to squeeze in a Forest Canopy shawl in some lovely PY merino DK that I've had for ages! My original FCS has been doing a sterling job keeping me warm in the face of air conditioning this winter, as has my Clapotis, so another one of those in Lorna's Laces this time is also on the cards.

I received this lovely prize from Liz at fluffyknitting this week, which I won in her blogiversary draw:



A skein of Lamb's Pride worsted in "Chocolate Souffle" (yummy), a pretty FQ of fabric, some choccy (yummy again), and this gorgeous set of stitchmarkers:



Thanks again Liz for my lovely prize!

I will be running a blogiversary draw this month, as it was three years ago that I first set this blog up. It took another couple of months for knitting content to appear but it doesn't seem like three years at all! Stay tuned for the details.

We had a great night out on Friday, as we went to see French & Saunders on their final UK tour. What we didn't realise was that this was the opening night of the tour! We'd found our seats and were sitting looking around before the show, when Mr DC said "Isn't that ..." and nodded over to where none other than Lenny Henry was walking through the stalls near us! I wasn't 100% sure it was him, although I have sat a few feet away from him a year or so ago during the filming of the last "Vicar of Dibley" episodes! Anyway it soon became clear that we were right as Dawn said some of her family were in the audience that night!

We really enjoyed the show, a clever combination of live sketches interspersed with filmed segments (allowing for more complex costume and prosthetics changes). We'd never seen them in a live show before (although obviously I've seen Dawn at the VoD filming), so make sure you go if you're a fan as this really is their last tour! There was some very funny rivalry running through the show, Vicar of Dibley versus Absolutely Fabulous for top sitcom and comedy goddess! It did culminate in a hilarious sequence near the end but I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet seen it.

My next theatre visit is in a couple of weeks, to see "Sleuth" with Michael Praed and Simon McCorkindale. Michael played Robin in the wonderful "Robin of Sherwood" of course, so I had to go to see this! I even managed to get a front row seat :-)

Nice hat, Garibaldi

... which is another Babylon 5 reference but seems appropriate. Either that or "oh no not more hats" :-)

Rollin beret in unknown chunky green hand-dyed yarn:



Boho beret, felted, in Noro Kureyon:



(links go to the ravelry project pages, more photos on there)

I'm currently working on finishing that poor CPH that has been repeatedly put aside for other things. Half way up the second sleeve, hoping to finish it in time to wear it before the weather warms up :-D

I'll leave you with one of my recent sig graphics, made in honour of Ashes to Ashes starting this past week: