Infatuation

With amazing service from Meadow Yarns my 3.25mm KnitPro tips arrived safely and very speedily. By happy co-incidence it was also my day off work and the two boys were safely installed at school. Yes, I know that the kitchen floor needed mopping and I really ought to sort out that slightly fuzzy something wrapped in clingfilm at the back of the fridge, but I felt the urge to cast on for my new project immediately.

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.

Travelling Scarf

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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.

The right tools for the job

I have finally caved in and bought the 4 x 100g balls of Trekking XXL required to make Abotanicity. I chose shade 419 which is a lovely muted range of heathery tones, great for casual wear with jeans, leggings etc.

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.

Contenders for the 'C' socks

For the 'C' socks of the A-Z challenge I've narrowed the contenders down to the following:

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....

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!

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.

B is for BFF socks

For my B socks of the A-Z KAL I have gone with the lovely BFF socks from Cookie A. I need some plain-ish man's socks for an impending birthday present and in a lovely muted pale grey yarn these will be perfect.
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

Castiel: Finished and ready to go

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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!

Castiel

For my non-sock related project I am working on the lovely new pattern from the very talented Woolly Wormhead. Her patterns are always really clear and well written and this little gem is no exception. The lace pattern is really easy to memorise and it makes for a great relaxing knit. And I must admit that it is nice to work on something a little larger than a sock.

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.

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

Other NYRs

There are many (many) things I would like to change but as far as the knitting goes I have joined a slightly mad bunch of Raveler's on the UK sock knitters forum. The challenge? To knit the A-Z of socks during 2011. Every 2 weeks the goal is to cast on for a pair of socks starting at a pattern beginning with A and working your way through to Z. I must be mad to think I can generate that much knitting time, not without giving up the day job and sending the kids to live with my mum - but I love a challenge and I love socks. It also ties in nicely with my other knitting related NYR - to build up a gift box of lovely knitted items that can be whipped out at a moments notice for birthdays and other opportunities - as long as the recipient likes socks this plan will be perfect.

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

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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