Monday, 31 January 2011
Infatuation
Housework is definately overated anyway. After 5 hours of blissful knitting I realised several things:
1. I love the colours of the Trekking XXL
2. This project is going to grow very...very slowly, and as such will not make the most exciting of bloggable projects.
3. A new project is like a new relationship. Currently I am in the Infatuation stage - the project and I just wanted to spend all of our time together.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Travelling Scarf
P1280365
Originally uploaded by l.tilbrook
I just wanted to show off my completed Travelling Scarf from some lovely people on the Phoenix Knitting Forum here in the UK. It was a year long project and we all knit one section per month on a scarf, then sent it on to the next person on the list until finally it arrived back home with the person who cast it on.
I love it, not least because it is a beautiful reminder of the lovely people I have 'met' through the forum and a great expression of our craft.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
The right tools for the job
Excitedly I sat down with a fresh cup of coffee to cast on and suddenly - horrors - I don't have the right sized needles.
Now I have been knitting for over 2 years now and during that time have acquired an impressive stash of Addi Turbo's, in addition to which my lovely OH bought me a set of KnitPro Symphonie interchangable needles last year.
I have 3.0mm needles and 3.5mm ones but do I have 3.25mm ones - No. I'm tempted to wing it and just go with the 3.5's but then it is going to be such a lot of knitting that I really don't want to have to re-do any.
Will just have to bite the bullet and wait a few more days before casting on.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Contenders for the 'C' socks
Cusp
Clandestine
Circle socks
Court Line
Cauchy
As you can probably tell, I am torn between something more elaborate and Cookie A related (for me) or something more sensible and manly for one of the several men in my family who have birthdays in the next few months. Unfortunately, like many men, their taste in footwear is rather conservative and they have large feet. I've wanted to make Cauchy for some time now but I'm not sure how stretchy the resulting sock will be - something important when it comes to gifts. Court Line looks very smart but most of my man-friendly superwash sock yarn is in quite dark colours and I'm not sure how visible the pattern will be.
On the other hand I have some lovely Lorna's Laces sock yarn in a beautiful yellow/green shade which is just crying out to be made into Cusp or Clandestine.
Decisions....Decisions....
Sunday, 23 January 2011
B is for BFF socks- finished
BFF socks
Originally uploaded by l.tilbrook
My 'B' socks are now finished, and very pleased I am to see the end of them. The good news is that I am now very happy with cabling without a needle and my, weren't there a lot of them in this pair of large men's socks. The bad news is that I didn't really take to this yarn. It was Regia Extra Twist merino sock yarn and whilst wonderfully soft and squidgy, it was more splitty than a very splitty thing - sorry but I can't think of a suitable 'splitty' analogy.
Now I have a few days to tackle those WIPs languishing in the knitting basket, before starting on the 'C' socks. Hmmm - maybe I'll just go and browse a few patterns first!
Saturday, 22 January 2011
More sock yarn
I seem to be obsessed with mammoth sock yarn projects. Projects involving mammoth amounts of sock yarn, rather than sock yarn specifically for large woolly beasts.
The plan was to rid my stash of the many skeins of sock yarn that have languished in there for far too long. Now I find myself obsessing over this project. For some reason I didn't really notice Abotanicity when it was published in Knitty some time ago but when the lovely Hoxton Handmade featured it on her blog it made me sit up and take notice.
The rational part of my brain is screaming "It's a sweater knit in sock yarn" "A large part of it is knit in rib" "You are certifiably mad"
The knitterly part of my brain is making me scour online knitting stores looking for the perfect shade of Trekking XXL.
At this point, it's 50/50 which side will win.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
B is for BFF socks
I decided to use the new Regia Extra Twist merino for these but, although the colour is lovely with a faint subtle colour variation, the yarn itself seems very splitty and I'm only on the cuff. This doesn't bode well for all those cables, particularly as I plan to do them without a cable needle.
Hmmm, this could be interesting
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Castiel: Finished and ready to go
P1150319
Originally uploaded by l.tilbrook
This great little hat knit up very quickly - just a few evenings was enough to give me a lovely warm squishy little number, and giving some beautiful NDS yarn from my stash a much needed outing.
The problem? Until recently it has been colder than a polar bear's cold bits around here. Now that I have my lovely new hat, the temperature is into double figures and the morning school run on Friday with me in my usual handknit items, turned me into a sweaty dishevelled mess - typical.
Still the British winter is nothing if not predictable. It's just lulling me into a false sense of security. But never fear - when it snows at Easter I'll be ready!
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Castiel
Castiel is a pattern for a relaxed slightly slouchy beanie, worked in a dk yarn it knits up quickly and has a lovely drape. I am using some beautiful yarn, now discontinued from the Natural Dye Studios. It is called Caress Aran but despite the name it works to a dk weight. The colours are beautiful - pale chestnut brown, slate blue and slightly rust-red hints. It has been sat in my stash for quite some time awaiting the perfect project and I think I have found it.
Monday, 10 January 2011
Winter's Day
Winter's Day
Originally uploaded by l.tilbrook
A view taken yesterday on a short walk at the back of the house. The boys had a wonderful time cracking ice in all the puddles, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. Such a change from the foggy and murky days we have had recently.
It was glorious, but very cold, so we headed home for hot chocolate and cuddles
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Other NYRs
So, A for Angee is completed and I have a week to underake a small (non-sock) related project before casting on for B - probably the BFF socks as I have a bit of a Cookie A thing going on at the moment.
New Years Resolutions
P1080297
Originally uploaded by l.tilbrook
Just checking to see if this link still works. My new years resolution is to start blogging again and so I thought I would try to resolve the technical problems that I struggled with last time. I am too impatient for my own good and when a problem arises I am far more likely to wander off with some good knitting than I am to sit down and try to solve it (hmm - metaphor for life maybe?)
Anyway, armed with my lovely new netbook and a Flickr account I am good to go. Happy New Year and Happy New Project - Angee socks