skein

Knitting catch up

Ah, if I title a post with the words 'knitting catch up' it usually means that I haven't any finished knitting to show, and haven't managed to do much knitting.  This is the case today, despite my best intentions.  This is  a short month, and I have a long list of knitting goals!

I brought the new hat into work to knit on during lunch. I only manage about four rows a day, but there is still some progress.

And Acer.  I've brought this one in today too, but only to take a photo!  I am jsut not orgainisd enough to get one before work.

I'm 10" done on that first sleeve.  I wouldn't care, it is such an easy knit, why haven't I finished it yet??

 

The knitting should be feverish - I have these two things to finish, plus seven hexipuffs, and a whole pair of fingerless mitts to knit, all in four evenings and two days (and I have housework and cooking to do!).  Realistically, I think that I can still finish Acer, and knit the hat, and knti the hexipuffs.  The mitts might be a dream!

One project done, a new one started

I finished Urban Troubadour over the weekend.   Saturday I knitted and Sunday I steamed it and added little nupps to the corners of the lace section. 

Photos to come, but here's a teaser from the weekend.

 

This is meant to be a hooded cape, except mine is more like a shoulder warmer!  And the hooded bit - well, not really something I'd be wearing, so I finished the ribbing 50 rows shorter than the pattern stated, and will just turn the ribbing down and wear it as that.  I'd ran out fo the red too, so finished with soe lime green. 

And I can't get enough of the yarn!  So I've started a hat, again, bought as a kit from Renaissance Yarns.  It's the Hall of Fire tam, and there's only one project on ravelry!

 Really, just started, that pigging ribbing took me a whole evening.  It's knit colour A purl colour B, and soooo slow.   I'm on the charts now.

New projects tend to distract me from my other wips, so this is staying at work, for lunchtime knitting. I need to get a move on with Acer.  I have another three inches of body, then the seeves to do.  That will be mindless evening knitting.  If I lok at my February goals, in the next eight days I need to finsish this hat, Acer, start and finsih some fingerless mitts and knit 7.5 hexipuffs!!!

Ghastly socks

 

Right, where do I start?

I'm making 12 pairs of socks this year, and none done so far, so I opted for the thick sock yarn in the 'German' sock stash. 
This is yarn which Mr C chose several years ago, when we went to a German yarn shop.  It's about aran weight.  Very bright.  I bought three balls thinkign that this would be enough.  It was.  But somewhere oh ravelry there was something about needing three for a woman's size foot, so I've kntited these toe up, with a short row heel to conserve yarn. 

Pattern: Toe up, starting with 10 sts, increasing to 44 sts.  Short row heel worked until 8 stitches are left, then 3 rows of plain knitting, before starting the 3x1 ribbing on the leg.  I decreased down to 40 sts for the leg and larger needles.   It's snug! 

I tried a different cast off for these, and I love it!  It's one on Knitty, where you do yarnovers before knitting or purling the next stitch, and pass this YO over the stitch, before doing the usual passing stitches over.  Stretchy!

Needles:  mm for the foot and  mm for the leg.  This yarn is just wool, no nylon, so I wanted a denser fabric on the foot, and Mr C has been banned from wearing these around the house without slippers or shoes on (we find the carpet really wears down socks - his felted clogs at the boat are still going strong, but the ones he wore here wore out a while ago)

 

Hey, it's stash and a quick knit.  I can't believe the pooling!

 

 

Noro Hat

I'm aiming to knit twelve hats this year.  This is the first.

It was raining when we went outside to take photos, so there's only four, two with me and two with Mr C.  I forgot that I was over seven inches shorter, so these ones of me are the only ones where you can see the top of the hat!

Pattern: Noro Hat

Yarn: Noro (of course) from stash, vaguely Autumnal colours, 83g.

Needles: 4mm (I knit loosely and wanted a tighter fitting hat)

Started and finished: 5th-12th February.  Would have been a bit quicker, but I made a very basic knitting error - joined in the round and twisted!  After four inches I realised...

A very easy pattern, just purl and knit ridges.  I thought briefly about knitting a flatter top, but went with the pixie look.

This hat was made for no-one in particular, but when I went to look for it mid week it had disappeared!  Mr C had taken a liking to it, and it had gone over to the boat with him.  Officially his, now!

 

 

 

Acer progress

Not a great lot of knitting done this weekend.   Whenever I go home to see the family I always take far too much stuff with me. Not clothes, but knitting, audio books and ebooks to read on my phone.  
Audiobooks - had 2.5 books to listen to, managed 0.5.

Kindle books - had 2.5 books to read, managed none!

Knitting - took Acer cardigan, with four skeins - knitted just one skein.

Noro hat - took restarted project and FINISHED it!   Took photos yesterday and have left the sd card at home.

Ghastly socks - took 1.75 balls home, did hardly any knitting on them. It's pretty hard to get motivated...

I have had a lovely weekend.  I nearly brought a very cute 3yo and a 10week old back with me. Their mother held onto them tightly!  And a fabulous eight week old puppy, a little pug/shih tzu mix (I think).  Who would have thought that a little dog with a squashed face would be so appealling?  She was such a happy little thing, very cuddly, lots of tail wagging and face licking.  She is half the size of the cat, though the cat currently has his winter outdoors coat  and looks large.  She looks big here, but the person holding her is a petite teenager!  Very puppyish, I took a few photos but most were 'action' shots, and a bit blurred. Hope her new owner will be quick to catch her.  Early reports are that whenever she wanders over to the big German Shepherd,  the latter runs away, she's frightened of this little puppy!

Back to Acer.  This was taken on Saturday afternoon.   The sund was shinging and showed up the ribbing well. Not so the colour, which is a dark olive.  Once past the ribbing it's just plain knitting.  Front bands are knitted as you go, so that's the only bit I have to remember to do (it's a garter stitch band).

I've finsihed that third skein and have worked about 20" of the body.  It's only about 55" in length, and I'm thinking of adding a few inches to this.  However, I've just worked the sixth buttonhole.  Now, do I work another one nearer the bottom and have seven or do I have a longer bit wit no buttonholes?  Not sure what to do.  I've been 'trained' to always do a buttonhole an inch up from the bottom, it is a very difficult habit to break!

I need to wind some more skeins, so I guess tonight it's Urban Troubadour ribbing instead.  I really must get a few things finished!