Friday, June 30, 2006

Excuses, excuses..

No, I haven't forgotten I have a blog now. Work has been very very busy, and home about the same.

Last weekend however, was busy on the yarn-doing side of things, and so hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to photograph and post about the things I have been up to - knitted felting, and knitting myself a big chunky scarf for the cold mornings at the bus stop :)

I also continue to make progress on the Vogue Lace Cardi and am planning to knit myself a sprint/summer work cardi too.

More this weekend, life permitting!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Finished Object: The Coronet hat




As promised, photos of the Coronet hat.

The photos didn't turn out too great so bear with me. The model wasn't terribly keen on sitting still.

The hat is pretty though, and looks very cute on.

It also covers her ears, which the old (much loved) hat did not.

I like the top - it reminds me of a Chesterfield chair.


The yarn worked well, it was tweedy - Grignasco Tango, 50% Wool, 25% Viscose, 25% Alpaca. (The top photo is more colour correct, kind of a sky blue.)

All in all, a success. She wears it, it looks cute and the pattern worked well.
The only real problem I had with it was the ball band said it was a much finer gauge than I found it to be - until I doubled it. Then it worked fine (even if I did have to get another ball ... sigh... )

Now? I am working a storm on that lace cardigan. Specifically, Pattern 22 "Lacy Cardigan" from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2005 issue. I have made good progress, but had a major hassle with it, which I am now getting over. I shall talk more on that issue in the 'other' blog I have been invited to join - it's called Craftyaction and is the blog of the stitch and bitch group I have recently joined. :)

Bye for now folks. Be good. And remember, don't read patterns for casting on when sick.

Friday, June 09, 2006

I'm in a knit-a-long! Wheeee!

I'm very quietly (keeping it to myself) tickled all shades of pleased that a couple of ladies/girls from my monthly knitting group were admiring my (slow) progress on my lacy cardigan and are going to knit it too!

I've not ever had this happen before, and am very much looking forward to seeing how they (and those of their friends who are apparently going to be doing it too) are all going to turn out :)

I have also taken some photos of my daughter's Coronet hat, but am tired and will download and post them a bit later.

I have been eyeing my newly-arrived red silk yarn (of which I have about 625+m of, in a DK/8ply weight) and am now deep into the decision process about what it should become...

Then again, it is pure silk, and thus probably more of a summer project - meaning, the decision can wait.

I'm also toying with the idea of knitting my darling daughter a new jumper with the stack of red Zara I picked up on sale at the Wool Shack. I think I'd like to do a v neck, with pairs of cables up the front maybe. I'd like to do black stripes too, but really, that's more me than her, truth be told. And then I have another part of me saying things like "Finish the damn lace cardigan THIS winter so you can wear it!!".
I'd like to do both, but worry starting one will result in neither being finished this winter.

So I'm a little conflicted. If only I had more time to knit, I could do it all .. Bwahahahaha!

The knit in Public thing (KIP) is on tomorrow which I'd like to attend, but it would really mean taking little miss, which more than likely would mean spending the time chasing and playing with her, rather than knitting and gossiping, as is the object. Oh well. Knitting group Monday (maybe). Will get fix then... my mother looked at me the other night while I was proudly showing off the new knitting book I'd acquired, looked me dead in the eye and said deadpan, "You are SO addicted to knitting, you know.."

Saturday, June 03, 2006

The hat is done!

Yay!

Well, using the aforementioned blue tweedy yarn, my daughter's hat is done. :)

It's very cute -I'll try and post a picture sometime soon.

I also managed to finish the back of my lovely cardi and have started on the left front. Whoo! Wouldnt it be nice to have it finished sometime actually during winter?

Anyway, quick post - off to watch a movie with my man. :)

Thursday, June 01, 2006

It hasn't arrived yet..



Well, I didn't get too much knitting done today. Just a little more on the beautiful lace cardigan I've been working on. It looks like this picture, only I'm doing it in Liquer Kidsilk Haze, which is kind of deep burgundy/red. I so love a good bit of victoriana. I was near-miss goth. I was too old really by the time I hit the goth scene (read.. met any goths. Middle class suburb. meh) so I really just dabbled at the edges, admired many, and realised I didn't care about anything enough that much to bother. Yes folks, I think I was actually too depressed as a teenager to be a goth ;-) Beautiful, but too much work.

And I've only (nearly) finished the back. ... It's taking a while. I am learning, slowly, that lace has its own pace, and trying to go at near my normal speed only causes later enevitable frogging :(

I've also bought some scarlet red pure silk yarn on ebay, which I am waiting on, hoping it is as nice as it sounded. I broke my ebay rule - "Only buy something you've seen an example of in person". A moment of weakness, and one I am hoping I won't regret. Hence the title of this post.

Thankfully, I did get another ball of the tweedy blue 'Tango' yarn I need to finish my missy's hat (that'd be my daughter) (Thanks to a kind MIL who lives near the specific - though with saldly unhelpful staff- yarn shop.) That's using the Coronet pattern from knitty and is turning out really nicely - though I skipped the double layer over the ears thing. We live in Perth. It just isn't that cold! But it's very pretty, both in colour and I think the tweedy yarn works especially well with the cable. So, as I am up to the decreases, that should be done very shortly. Well, if I can bear to put down the lace.

Anyway, enough for now. Must go. Home life stupidly hectic at the moment, and I am overtired and needed sleep. Bye for now oh-empty-void of net. Sleep tight.