Merlot

This is making progress, it's a lot of fun to knit. Not quick though because the bobbles slow you down. I can see it's going to require quite a lot of knitting to complete the whole garment.

Eddard Socks

These are slowly coming along. I need to get on with them and stop being distracted by Merlot. I really hope I haven't made a mistake about what row I'm on. I am not that great at reading knitted fabric when it is cables.

Louisa Harding Mila

I am a little bit obsessed with this new yarn. It's 91% cotton and 9% polyester. Gauge 18 sts and 26 rows, 5mm needles. It is soft and has a ply of golden sparkly stuff in it. It looks like sweets. I am obsessed with the colours and the gold sparkle. I have a few balls in yellow and orange. Look at this.

 And now look at the pattern support. I can't stop looking at this pattern book. I keep looking at that red, orange and pink sweater which is nearly identical to the red, orange and pink Colourful Top that I've almost finished making, which just shows what a creature of habit I am.

I am seriously thinking about making that top there with the frilly hem and sleeves. Seriously. I think it is because the yarn is frivolous and therefore it seems to need a frivolous design to show it off. I am thinking about making it in yellow with orange trim. It will either be awful and tacky or amazing. I think I'm willing to take a chance on it. I'm desperate to see how it knits up.

Merlot

A new project. I've suddenly fallen in love with Kidsilk Haze, about 10 years after everyone else. Merlot is by Marie Wallin and it is in the Rowan Parisian Nights pattern book.

I am doing mine in red because it's my favourite colour and I keep wishing I had a red cardigan to wear over various dresses.

I can now see why this garment is shown in such sombre colours because the rows of bobbles that are made out of sparkly yarn (that would be Anchor Metallic) are dangerously close to being a bit tacky, but I think it will be okay for evening wear and I could always make a plainer red cardigan for day time. There's no limit to how much I love the KSH and it looks gorgeous when that yarn is held and knitted together with the metallic thread.

Colourful Top: front and sleeves done (I hope).

I knit the front of this sweater without any problems.

Then the time came to do the sleeves. I realised the sleeve stripes should match the sweater stripes if possible. These are set-in sleeves, meaning that the number of rows in your sleeve cap doesn't correspond to the number of rows in your armhole, which makes positioning the stripes a matter of trial and error. I knit one sleeve as a test and found that the stripes were wrong. Then I knit another sleeve with the stripes positioned differently and that looked a bit more like it was going to match. But obviously you can't really tell when your knitting isn't blocked so the next thing I had to do was block everything. Here you see a pair of sleeves which I really hope are going to match neatly when I come to sew it all up, which I will do when Green Silk Happiness has finally dried and I can take it off my living room table.

Green Silk Happiness, finally washed.

When this is dry, it's ready to wear. I can't do another thing with it.

The pattern for this garment is called the Simple Knitted Bodice and I used the recommended yarn which is a  Tilli Thomas silk with no twist in it. I have to say, I did not find this at all simple to make which perhaps explains why it took me 6 or 7 years to complete. This is coming from someone who can turn out large intarsia projects and a twelve-foot lace shawl. Would not knit again. Never mind, at least it's done now. Here it is drying. Then I can face the challenge of finding some way to store it and maybe even occasionally wear it. It certainly has its fair share of mistakes, clumpy areas and loose stitches, none of which silk yarn is going to forgive, and we are just going to write off these mistakes as 'rustic' or something.

Kidsilk Haze Dark Blue/Green Scarf

This is a KSH Ballband Scarf # 2 of 3. I'm excited to see how the colours come out, it was really fun watching that happen with the pink/orange version that I've just finished.

Eddard Socks

These are the attractively cabled socks I'm currently working on. They are for a man, if the relationship outlasts the knitting.

Colourful Top

Right, I am working through projects in order of how near they are to completion. I thought a pair of socks would be next but it turns out to be this top, I have knitted the whole back piece so it is quite far along already. I am improvising a variation on a sweater called Neroli from an old Jaeger Handknits magazine. I'm eliminating a lace panel and substituting coloured stripes. It's only a short-sleeved V-neck number so unless I run into any problems making the front, it should be done quite soon.

Debut Scarf

This is the Debut Scarf, so called because I think it's the first thing I've ever made in crochet. It was in the Finishing Basket for two years, waiting for me to sew a flower on. I just sewed the flower on. I would say it took me about five minutes.

Green Silk Happiness

This is finished, I've just weaved in the final end. It needs to be washed because it's been in progress for 7 years, it's one of the very first projects I ever posted about on this blog, and now it's complete. One quick wash and it's ready to wear. It will be much less ragged and crumpled when it's been washed and blocked into shape.

Kidsilk Haze Pink/Orange Scarf

Not a single end remains to be woven in, I've done them just now, after catching the last of the daylight for photos. We are done. Very nice, fluffy, mohair scarf, 6.5 foot long. The yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe and the pattern is printed on the back of the ball band. I like the pattern and the yarn so much that I am going to make a couple more of these.

Zpagetti Rimini Handbag

This was made in no time at all from a Zpagetti kit. The Zpagetti yarn is the heavy cotton you see there and the kit includes bag handles. I added the bows myself, it is Louisa Harding sari ribbon. The bag is currently in use hanging next to my desk, storing lipsalves, tissues, hand cream, etc.

Mittens

OK, so the knitting bug bit me quite badly and I found myself in WHSmith one day with the strong urge to knit something and no materials. So I picked up Issue 48 of Let's Get Crafting: Knitting and Crochet.

Now, this is not what you would call a serious magazine but the cover gift included yarn and needles, and the magazine included patterns for about 8 small projects that you could make with the yarn and begin right away. So I did. In no time at all, I'd knocked up this pair of mittens. I was happy about this because I've never made mittens before and I've been wanting to try.

I am unsure whether these are perfectly correct or not. On the one hand, the pattern couldn't have been simpler. On the other hand, I'm not convinced that they are perfect mirror images of each other and I don't know if it's because of some quirk in the arrangement of the decreases that I'm not contemplating very carefully. In any case, this was a very quick and low risk introduction to mittens so I will definitely try some others now, using nicer yarn.

See that owl cushion on the front cover of that magazine? I am so ridiculously tempted to make that. This is how I know there is something wrong with me. I really don't need or even want a small owl cushion, yet I'm itching to cast on.

Blog Spring Clean

Well, I am still knitting frantically so we'd better have a thorough clean up around here, post photos and update everything. Here goes.

Knit knit knit

Finished the Kidsilk Haze scarf in no time - okay, in about four days. I am burning to start more projects. It's extraordinary. I feel the need to knit most urgently. I want to make tea cosies, hats, socks, more scarves, sweaters and to finish every WIP I've ever allowed to lie around my house. What is wrong with me, I wonder. Ah well, we shan't complain. There will be scarf photos very soon and I am going to look for more unfinished projects to work on right now.

The Kidsilk Haze was an absolute dream to knit with and now I want to make more things. I have the yarn for a stripy blue/green sweater using KSH and now I want that sweater.

Suddenly knitting

Funny how it suddenly strikes you, isn't it. I've finally completed Green Silk Happiness, just a couple of ends left to weave in on the inside, then it needs washing and blocking. I crocheted a bag the other day in a matter of hours. Now I'm spontaneously knitting a scarf in Kidsilk Haze and reading knitting magazines and we all know where that leads. Expect more news in due course.

Still knitting in 2013.

I finished the pink baby blanket I was making for my sister. Tonight I finished weaving in the ends on the blue version, which will now be washed, blocked and saved until someone next has a little boy.

I also FINALLY sewed in the last remaining ends on the Sunshine Sweater. It is hanging up in my wardrobe. I will be able to wear it this summer!

I am actually surprised how well it fits.

I am in the mood for finishing things now. Maybe 2013 will be a year when I get some of these lingering projects finished off. It really has felt good emptying two project bags this evening, they significantly contribute to household clutter.