Cobblestone

I seem to be on a bit of a roll with finished objects recently, although in truth I finished this a week ago or so and have been waiting for good light and a willing DH to help with the photography.

Neither were available so I just had to do the best I could:



It is the well known Cobblestone pattern by Jared Flood but sized to fit me. Although it is quite a simple knit I am ridiculously pleased with it. It is the first time that I have successfully managed to alter the size and gauge of a garment to end up with something wearable. I do love that feeling when you manage to produce something exactly how you pictured it in your head.

I used some delicious Rowan yarn: Rowan Pure Life British Sheep Breeds dk which is a lovely marled effect yarn. It is quite thin as far as dk goes but it knits up beautifully on 4mm needles and manages to be both soft and pleasantly sheepy smelling at the same time. I did think it might be a bit rough for wearing next to the skin but after washing it is lovely and soft with no itching at all.

I knit the 3rd largest size in the pattern, as the original called for aran weight and at a gauge of 22 stitches to 4" I worked out that this would yield a final chest measurement of 38" I normally wear a UK size 10 (34" chest) and this gives just the right amount of slouch without being too baggy. I had to adjust the depth of the yoke a little and I didn't want the neck too high so I bound off earlier than called for in the pattern.

On the last few rows of the yoke I tried it on a lot, which was a bit of a faff, slipping it onto waste yarn and cables, but it was worth it as I got the exact fit I was looking for.

Right..am off to wear a jumper and go for a healthy outdoor walk before the fog descends here again.

xx

Owls!

Just time to show off a little FO before we dash off for a half-term break.

My niece is mad about owls and all things owl related. Her mum mentioned that she was in dire need of a warm winter hat and this pattern was too cute to resist. Why are owls so darned cute? There is something about these squishy little cables which are such fun and so addictive to make. The hat literally took an evening to knit, and it took much longer for me to sew on the little beads for the eyes. My finishing skills always leave a little to be desired and my procrastination got the better of me for a few days whilst I dithered - eyes...or no eyes...?



But, on the whole I think it looks better with eyes. And the thought of the squeals of joy from my little niece made the hour sitting with tiny beads and needle and thread worthwhile.

I had plenty of yarn left over so I did a quick pair of fingerless mitts too using this pattern

Delicious

I have been fairly frugal recently with my yarn purchases. The weight of the stash has been bearing down on me and I've been feeling the urge to use up some of my lovely yarn, rather than squirrelling it away in the spare bedroom. It has been a very satisfying feeling to go for a rummage amongst the boxes and bags - not quite as organised as I would like I fear - and emerge, flushed but victorious, clutching a perfect skein or two for that next project.

But, the sock yarn stash was a little depleted and in a weak moment I treated myself to some new beauties:



From left, we have some beautiful SuperKnits Bessie sock yarn in the Your Woman (Green) and Silcone Heaven (Grey) colourways. I have been meaning to try this yarn every time I hear it mentioned on the A Playful Day podcast so I thought, why not?

Then we have some delicious yarn from Sparkleduck, first a skein of Galaxy in the Neptune colourway (a lovely blue-green) and then a skein of Spirit in the Duckwing colourway (a rich blue-purple)

The colours are fabulous and I am dying to see how they knit up. Just need to get some WIPs off the needles and I can dive in!

Spoilt

Now I am not normally a yarn snob. Stylecraft acrylic nestles next to Purl Alpaca and Rowan Kidsilk Haze in my stash, but much more of knitting with this gorgeous yarn and I could become a convert.

The lovely skein of cashmere I won the other week from The Sheep Shop was just begging to be made into something squishy and luxurious.

Initially I tried for a mobius cowl and was very chuffed with mastering the Cat Bordhi cast on, but then there followed a rather unpleasant incident with a broken KnitPro needle which is no longer referred to in the madmum household (husband sat on it). There was much frogging, some tears (I won't lie) and a few glasses of red wine.

Then I calmed down and in true knitterly fashion cast on for something nice and simple: The Honey Cowl.

I've made one of these before but for this one I just cast on 120 stitches to make a nice simple loop and knit merrily away until I had a smidge of yarn left - just enough for the cast off as luck would have it.



And there we have it. Simple and effective and something that I can see myself getting a lot of wear out of. In fact, I haven't taken it off much since I cast off :)

Busy...Busy

So much knitting, so little time.

A lovely weekend away in Buttermere (and the resulting laundry mountain) has slowed down my knitting productivity somewhat this week. Well, that and the fact that I have a job to go to and DH was packing for a 10-day trip to the US. Just as an aside, I wonder why men are unable to pack their own belongings by themselves and why every drawer and cupboard in the house must be turned inside out in the process. I know that I don't go away from home very often (in fact I would kill for a night in a swanky hotel - just me, a bathrobe, glass of wine and TV watching in bed) but I wouldn't generally need my spouses assistance to locate sufficient clean underwear for the trip.

Anyway, we had a lovely weekend, plenty of walking and great autumn weather which made the 12-hour round trip well worth it. Note to self: really must try to relocate further north at some point.



Morning light by the lake



DS2 enjoying a biscuit break on the descent from High Stile



A fabulous view of Crummock water

And then I came home to this little beauty:


Two skeins of Fyberspates Scrumptious aran in the Slate colourway. I've never used this yarn before and it is gorgeous stuff, so much so that I couldn't wait to cast on. Like many other knitters I was smitten with the BFF cowl pattern in the most recent Knitty and have joined a Ravelry swap with this group. My swap partner is using the Rose Pink colour which is equally lush and pretty soon we should have ourselves a fab new winter cowl each. Just in time for my next trip to the Lakes...hopefully.

Happy Sight

As knitters we do our fair share of knitting for others, as well as ourselves. If you are anything like me you churn out the socks, scarves, hats, blankets and baby things for our nearest and dearest without a second thought, whilst that lovely cabled cardigan you picked out for yourself languishes in the WIPs basket. I always seem to be promising myself some selfish knitting time but there always seems to be a new baby arrival, or a birthday or a gift needed. Not that many of these are specific requests, but I always feel a sense of satisfaction at being able to whip out a woolly gift and see another little newborn head off into the world with a nice warm noggin.

Anyway, coming downstairs the other morning this wonderful sight made my knitterly heart sing:



Two small boys, sharing blankets, cuddlies and Saturday morning TV cartoons.

Please excuse the hurried, slightly shaky camera-phone pic. I kept out of sight whilst taking it as, if they had caught sight of me the spell would have been broken and I would have been inundated with requests for snacks, refereeing over minor disputes and ownership of the remote control.