Purple

I believe I have issues with the colour purple, not the book, but yarn dyed the colour purple. See that there? that is a ball of Malabrigo Sock in Abril, it is beautiful (if you ignore the ball winder injury sustained on the right) but I cannot knit it.

There is something about purple that is making me shy from patterns, nothing is quite right, nothing quite fits how I want my finished project to look, nothing suits the colour variegation in the skein, nothing is darn good enough.

I have so far tried to knit 2 patterns from this skein, Travelling Woman and Kleio, both beautiful patterns in themselves, but thank god this yarn is great at keeping its tension when it has been frogged because otherwise I would have wasted £12. I want to knit a scarfy/shawly thing that I can wear to work, I want it to have a considerable amount of lace with a minimal amount of block stockinette or garter stitch because I really am not fond of variegated yarns in blocks of standard knitting, the pooling never seems to look nice to me.

I have trawled the Ravelry project pages for this particular shade of Malabrigo Sock, a favourite past time of mine when I haven't a clue what to knit a lovely yarn into, and nothing is jumping out at me. Despite my rules I am tempted to try a 'holey' wingspan shawl as project number 3, or buy another skein in a complimentary colour and knit either Colour Affection or Stripe Study Shawl (I could always use that periwinkle yarn I couldn't knit before I suppose) all of which could result in more pooling vomit and frogging.

I could of course simply give in and make some socks.

One can never have too many socks.

Blocking Pains

So I finished Ishbel last week, it is currently blocking on my living room floor. Man was it a pain in the bum to get that thing pinned out!
I am not sure if it was the Noro that I used to knit it, or just the pattern, but it did not want to stretch evenly, I managed to get it as close to even as I could and have left it, it will just have to be whatever shape it comes out as.



Now that it is finished I am not entirely sure how much I will wear it with it being so bright, but I am glad that the yarn has been used for such a pretty pattern as it really has knit up beautifully.
Maybe when I embrace my bright colourful side it will get some use, but in the meantime once it has been blocked there will be a Finished Object report.

:) xo

Ishbel, an update

I thought it was about time I gave you an update on the current state of my Ishbel shawl, mainly because it is the only project that is currently on the needles which I would call "active" (I haven't knit any for a few weeks now, but I am slogging away on it slowly)

I am also on holiday from workplace number 1 this week as it is my birthday on wednesday, so I am hoping to get it finished. That should give you an idea of where I am with it.

Now the colours in this are slightly off, because the exposure wasn't quite right when I took the picture. The weather in the UK for the past month has been awful. But, I am hoping you can see how far along the lace I am! 

I am currently on section C of the pattern, and as I am knitting the small version I have only got section D, the one row section E and the bind off to go. I am rather excited that this is nearly done, but I can't say it is for a good reason. The yarn I am using, Noro Kureyon Sock, while looking pretty feels almost like string while knitting. I am hoping with washing and blocking it will bloom a little so that it isn't horrible to wear, but the way it has been plied (I think) has made it feel very rough as it runs through my fingers, usually resulting in the little bumps I got a few summers ago using very small needles, so a contact rash.

The colours themselves however are working up nicely, I am so glad I chopped out the ugly coloured parts because this will make a great vibrant summer scarf now, where as before I know I would have looked at the mucky khaki and felt a little sad.

A note on the chart reading, I have been using the magnets method I first used for Marina (though I now have a little notie board instead of a cooking tray) and it is working so far, but I am finding it harder to track with this chart as you move between charts. I have however been introduced to an app called J Knit by Sarah from All Fingers and Thumbs and am going to give it a go with my next project. It is one of the few apps where I wish I could borrow my mum's iPad for it it though, the iPhone is a bit small.

Here's to hoping that there will soon be  FO report for this one, I want to start on something new!!

FO: Bon Temps Marina

I am so glad to have this finished in time for summer, I started it almost two years ago intending to wear it during that summer, and I can finally wear it, yellow like the summer sun, while soaking in the rays :)

Pattern: Bon Temps Marina

Pattern Name: Marina by Kate Blackburn

Yarn Used: Fresh From the Cauldron Super Wash Sock in Sookie Stackhouse 
Needle Size: 2.5mm circular
Problems: Another one where a small needle made it difficult to knit in the heat, and much easier to finish in winter. 
Modifications: Knit an extra repeat of chart 2, and modified edging to suit lack of remaining yarn to rows 1, 2, 11 and 12 of the edging chart followed by a standard bind off.
Skills Learnt: The first time I had knit continuous lace in this way, and became confident in reading charts.
Knit Again?: Probably not as it is quite detailed and therefore difficult.
Score: 9/10 I am really looking forward to wearing this!!

FO: A (not so) Quick Ripley for Me

Unfortunately I left this to languish in my knitting basket for months and months, and so it didn't get a huge amount of use over the winter. It is fab for keeping my ears warm though!

Pattern Name: Ripley by Ysolda Teague
Yarn Used: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Needle Size: Can't remember :(
Problems: I left this in the basket with just the join on the crochet band left to finish, but forgot how to join it together! So it is a little rough I think, still wearable though.
Modifications: Knit to pattern.
Skills Learnt: That even when i intend something to be a quick little knit, it can take over a year to finish.
Knit Again?: This is the second time I have knit this pattern, and I do love it so who knows, maybe I will do it in a different colour for myself.
Score: 6/10

FO: Marian Chunky Cowl

Some actual knitting content!
You can expect to see a few of these over the next few weeks as I have finally taken pictures for all my finished objects, I was holding out for pictures with me wearing them, but for now these will have to do I'm afraid. Maybe when I have an available photographer I will add some more :)

FO Report:
Name: Marian by Jane Richmond
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool in 42
Needle Size: 15mm circulars
Problems: I didn't really have any, though the cast off was a little tight.
Modifications: I doubled the size by using two skeins of yarn, and I didn't knit the twist into the pattern.
Skills Learnt: None
Knit Again?: I really like this, and it has been my go to scarf for the cold winter, so I would probably knit again in a grey colourway.
Score: 8/10, practical and simple!

A Periwinkle Problem

I don't think I have mentioned it yet, but recently all the volunteering I have done at my local library has started to pay off and I was offered a place on the relief panel for the library service (and hopefully this will lead to permanent hours!) 

Naturally being a knitter and a bit of a clothing addict, my first thought was the uniform. The corporate colours for the service are black and purple, I have plenty of black clothing, but inexpensively finding something purple for my outfit struck me as a problem, as I really didn't want to just go to Primark and get something really cheap. It occurred to me yesterday that I probably actually have some purple yarn that I could turn into a shawl or scarf or something to give me that pop of purple that I need. 

After a little Ravelry browse and then a rummage I found this Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid in Periwinkle. Now periwinkle is a bit of an odd one, being almost purple, almost blue, and this yarn does look more blue in person then the picture suggests but I think it will be fine for work. 

Now what to knit with it! I really haven't a clue at the moment. I had planned on turning this into socks originally, so I have two skeins, but I am sure I can get some more (probably not the same dye lot but I will manage) so do I go all out and knit my first cardigan, or stick to a little shawlette/scarf? 

Hmmm choices choices!

A nook of one's own

It occurred to me the other day that while I have been talking about how I have been slowly getting myself back into both knitting and reading since last September I haven't really discussed how I am going about it. There is really one change that I have made which has helped the most so I thought a blog post about it might be interesting to you.

I am talking about my little nook. No I don't mean a Barnes and Noble E-reader, I mean a little space specially reserved for specific activities, in this case reading and knitting (though it sometimes becomes storage for cardigans and the like too).

 

Now I will apologise, because I have recently moved this, I rearranged my bedroom and have swapped which corner this chair is in, but I am using it in exactly the same way so I shall give you a little history.

I have had this chair since university (it was a cheap Ikea tub chair, cost around £35) and since moving back home it had lived on the landing, not a very reader friendly place to sit let me tell you. When I decided I needed to get back into reading I found initially that reading in bed simply didn't work for me any more, and neither does knitting there. My desk chair is incredibly uncomfortable for long lengths of time (which is why I am writing this in my nook actually) and so I decided I would squeeze my chair into my already crammed bedroom, and I managed to fit it in front of some bookcases, not entirely practical, but that's why it has now changed. 

I happily used the space to sit and get back into reading, and now that I am reading up a storm and knitting so fast my needles might catch alight my nook has also become just a general lounging spot. The cushion on the back of the chair actually becomes a foot rest, I don't keep it on the chair, and I have the blanket there not just to cover a massive coffee stain that my sister kindly added, but also for if it gets a bit chilly.

 

I use the chest of drawers to the left to keep stuff on, and a bookcase with my favourite crime books, and all the classics I aim to read is located to the right (though I may...and it kills me to say this...mess up my cataloging system and have that bookcase full of my to be read books, shock horror!) and I have space for a lamp and a mug of tea and my review record books. Where the chair is now located is also conveniently angled towards the new television I got for Christmas, perfect for when knitting! 

Really it is a very simple idea nominating a small space for a specific task, and we do it with so many other tasks which we do each day, desks are for working, vanities are for makeup, kitchens are for cooking. But taking the time to create a comfortable peaceful space where I can take some time for my hobbies has helped me to realise again just how much I love them, and I think everyone deserves a little nook of their own.

A Bank Holiday

It's bank holiday Monday and although I didn't have a huge amount planned I thought I would snap a few pics of my day seeing as it was mostly book and yarn related :)

a/n: most of these are iPhone pictures, so excuse the quality

The day started as it often does with some reading.

I've been picking this up and putting it down for a couple of weeks now, it's only a little book but a fun light read so I find it easy to grab when I'm not really awake yet.

Rapidly followed by breakfast (tea and a chocolatine, nom), IM-ing and some YouTube beauty videos from my subscription box

 

This is a pretty regular sight all day, but I probably first opened it during breakfast, it's Tiny Tower, a free game on the iPhone/iPod where you build a skyscraper. It is seriously addictive!

 

While the rest of the family put away Christmas for this winter (I wasn't being lazy and not helping, I had to put it all up because my mum fractured her arm and my sister was away at Uni and it was rather stressful and tiring, so I said my sister could take it down while she was home) I sat and wove in the ends of my Bon Temps Marina Shawl now that it is all blocked and pretty. (FO report coming soon!)

 

 After some thorough cleaning of the house I sat down to watch a film from a favourite series of mine, and one which is often shown around Christmas and New Year, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It seems so strange seeing the stars so young every time I watch and it definitely isn't my favourite of the series, but it is always fun, I love when Ron gulps before valiantly sacrificing himself in the chess game, such wonderful acting ;)

And as the day began to draw to a close I realised I had missed one of my traditions, I am a HUGE Agatha Christie fan, and watch the Poirot or Marple that is shown at Christmas every year but this year I missed it and so instead watched on ITV Player. It is a bit confusing though, as this is the first episode of season 12, and we have already seen all the other episodes, this one wasn't shown last year. Not sure why, it was still great though!

After some telly watching I did a bit of knitting on this lovely pattern, and then realised I had gone wrong somewhere and decided to frog and start again. When I did frog though I had the genius idea to wind the yarn and chop out the horrible khaki colour bits in the Noro Kureyon Sock I was using, god knows what Noro were thinking including such a muddy shade amongst such lovely vibrant blues and pinks!

 

So now I have some lovely bright balls of yarn (left, bad picture doesn't really show how yucky the other ones are) and some horrible shades which im sure I will still find use for (right) all ready for casting on, which I think I will do right now!

 

I hope you all enjoyed your bank holidays if you had them off :)

xo

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a great time last night ringing in the new year, and that everyone was safe.

Image from We ♥ It

I thought a new challenge setting post for 2012 would be appropriate.

I clearly failed terribly at project 2011, though the beauty challenge became something else entirely and what was originally just going to be an attempt to use up all my old products became a new hobby, a new blog, and a venture into YouTube! It has certainly been exciting.

The reading and knitting challenges were not quite so successful, and ultimately I think it has been obvious that I decided to take on a huge challenge during a year where I already had far too much going on. I managed to read and review only 12 books for the entire year (though for some I reviewed the whole series), along with a couple I didn't get around to reviewing. I read a couple more library books, but I really did lose my reading mojo last year.
For 2012 I still hope to read and review 52 books, but I am not going to pressure myself, and I am going to include library books because books should be for enjoyment and if something fluffy from the library takes my fancy then I am not going to enjoy the books already on my shelf. So, hopefully I will manage to read a nice range of books over the next year and provide lots of reviews for you to read. I will have a post about using a filofax to keep record of those reviews soon too!

Knitting definitely got moved to the back burner in 2011, and I am just glad to have managed to finish my only remaining 2010 project in the last week. I really wanted that Marina Shawl finished before 2012 started, so look out for  a finished object report on that.
For 2012 I am hoping to finish the projects I currently have on the needles and possibly knit a few more. I would love to finish at least 12 items, and I don't want to buy any more yarn still as obviously my stash hasn't been reduced.

So, Project 2012 shall now be declared started, but I wont be setting myself any limits, they are more of a guideline :)

The great knitting update

So I think after a several months knitting absence an update is in order. A refresher of sorts.

While I haven't blogged about knitting in a while, I also haven't actually been knitting. University really did just take over for the majority of the past year and it has taken me several months recovery to slowly get back into several of my hobbies, I sadly had to set both my knitting needles and my books aside which I found really quite odd and it didn't really help my stress levels. 

Obviously this means that I had several projects part finished, so I have taken some quick pictures to give you an update on their current progress to start fresh.

Calm Sweater

Pattern: Calm by Kim Hargreaves

Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Aura in Vintage

Needles: 6mm

Progress: What you can see above is literally the current extent of my progress, about 10-15 rows of kidsilk knitting. This forms either the front or the back panel, I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I think I shall probably frog back and start again. I don't have any other plans for the yarn however so I will be re-knitting in the same pattern.

Eric Socks

Pattern: Eric by Janine Le Cras

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid in Powder Blue

Needles: 2.5mm Needles

Progress: As you can see from the mess above, I have pulled the needles out of these. I have done this for two reasons, firstly because I cannot pin point which line I am on, and secondly because I am not as in love with the pattern anymore, and so I shall be recycling the yarn with a different one. I will probably keep this for another pair of socks though.

Bon Temps Marina

Pattern: Marina by Kate Blackburn

Yarn: Fresh From the Cauldron Super-Wash Sock in Sookie Stackhouse

Needles: 2.5mm

Progress: This is the only already existing project that I have worked on since I put down my needles at the beginning of the year, though only in the past few weeks. As you can see it really has gotten quite large, I am half way through the fourth repeat of the second chart and I intend to knit at least seven repeats so this actually isn't that far from finished. I can't wait to get this one finished as it really is a beautiful pattern so I am continuing to work on this at the moment.

Ishbel

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock

Needles: 4mm

Progress: This right here is a newbie. I cast this on a few weeks ago shortly after my "can you hear that clicking" blog post. Eagle eyed knitters will know that the shawl I was knitting there was actually Damson, and I intended it as a present, but I changed my mind and made my friend some cupcakes and instead frogged Damson to make myself another Ysolda Teague pattern. Ishbel so far is almost at the lace stages, and I am reasonably happy with the way it is turning out, I'm not overly fond of the mucky green in the yarn, and am contemplating doing the maths and seeing if I can chop it out and still have enough yarn to finish the pattern. I have seen an Ishbel knit in this same yarn however and it looked beautiful completed so I may just persevere.

So that is where my knitting basket currently stands, and I think I shall have to finish at least the Marina before I cast on for anything else, otherwise they will get away from me!

Can you hear that clicking?

So I picked up some knitting needles today for the first time in months in order to make a special item for a friend.

I can't even explain to you how great it makes me feel to be doing this again, it really is a bit like coming home. I get all excited as I complete each row and it turns out successfully. It was great to dive into my antique leather suitcase and rummage through the yarn in there too.

To happy knitting from this point forward!

Project 2011: Knitting

So Over the past year I have gone from having little to no stash to having so much it wont fit in both my pink polka dot storage bag thingy and my red Cath Kidston knitting bag.

2011 is going to be about using some of that up!

The plan is to knit at least one thing per month from my stash yarn, and not buy yarn for more then one project per month. Obviously this should result hopefully in the stash going down, but it will at least make sure that it wont get any bigger!

I am participating in the HPKCHC again for the next three months so I hope that will help get some of this stuff used up, and I am hoping that when I am really busy with university this knitting challenge will provide me with something to distract me when studying gets to be too much.

I will be using Ravelry to manage this challenge, I am in the middle of overhauling my queue so that it will only have items on it which I have the yarn for. Everything else will go into the favourites.

I will be tagging projects which I finish that apply to this challenge with the Project2011 label and will be so happy if I manage this, I have never wanted to be one of those knitters who have so much yarn that they will never use it all, and I was beginning to feel that way about my stash. My time has been really limited and knitting has often been set aside in favour of research and essays so I hope that this will also help that!

So look out for a list of patterns I am hoping to knit up over the next 12 months on the Project 2011 page at the top and the accompanying yarns (FYI I added the list of books the other day, and have chosen my first one!)

Wish me luck and a Happy New Year!!

FO: Ice Queen

So my final knit for the year 2010.

I finished at twenty minutes to 11 so I was cutting it fine, and this was actually supposed to be finished for Christmas so it was already late.
I knit it for my mum after a bit of a fiasco with some Rowan Big Wool. I was aiming to knit something which resembled the headscarf that Judy Garland wears at the end of Meet Me In St. Louis when she sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. My Mum told me when she was little she had always wanted one just like it, so I set about to knit something similar with the Big Wool and some Kidsilk Haze I had in my stash. I knew exactly how I was going to do it, and I knew it would work (I wont say more because I will re-attempt this for the future) however the yarn was far too heavy for it to work and so on the 23rd of December I ripped it out and started Ice Queen.
This has taught me several new techniques, which I will list later, but the best has been knitting with beads. I actually made a little video of me knitting a couple of beads which I might post at some point, but I learnt to hook them on with a tiny crochet hook, and it is so cool! The effect is great!

FO Report:
Name: Ice Queen by Rosemary Hill
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in cream
Needle Size: 5mm and 3.75mm 16in. circulars
Problems: I love the feel of Kidsilk haze, but I hate to knit with it, it is so fiddly! Other then that this was actually a pretty speedy knit once I got down to it. I also hate picot cast offs, so much work for each stitch!
Modifications: No modifications, I knit the chart A version of this in stocking stitch.
Skills Learnt: Knitting with beads, picot cast off, knitting with crazy mohair silk blends (yes that is a skill)
Knit Again?: Yes I think I would, it really is very pretty, I think I would add more beads though.
Score: 8/10 because it is so pretty.

Snow day!

I have been beavering away with University over the past couple of months, but I have been knitting, and as today is a snow day (more images of that at the end) I have a chance to actually take some photographs and show you!

First up is another Robin's Egg Blue Hat, for my sister for christmas.

I knit it up in Rowan Cocoon and grabbed the button from John Lewis. I did make a couple of modifications to the pattern, I changed needle sizes for the stockinette portion as I felt mine didn't have enough stretch, going up to 6mm, and I like the way it has come out. It is waiting to be blocked at the moment so hopefully it will still be great after that!

Next up is Marian. 

I first came across this pattern when I was browsing Ravelry for hats and discovered all of Jane Richmond's designs (which I love, and have purchased). Marian is a simple chunky weight cowl knit in seed stitch and I am loving it, this picture was taken at around noon today and already I have knit a lot more, it should in fact be finished this evening. I have made some modifications to make it bigger, which I will go into in more detail when it is finished, but suffice it to say, I LOVE it and can't wait to wear it!

               

The next item to share hasn't been started yet.

These are the ingredients I intend to use to cook up my Mum's christmas present (he kidsilk haze there is from the shawl that I frogged at the beginning of december, it just wasn't going anywhere). She told me the other week that she always wanted Judy Garland's head scarf thingy from Meet me in St. Louis when she sings "Have yourself a merry little Christmas" so I am having a go and designing one for her!

Finally is my Eric Socks, which I have been meaning to knit for aaaages!

As you can see I haven't gotten very far, and that is purely because these are meant to be my traveling socks and I keep forgetting to pack them in my rucksack :S

I am still very happy that they are started now though as I got the yarn way back in March. 

These socks have brought to my attention that I do like to hoard yarn though, and I do always seem to have a pattern in mind for it when I get it, so I suppose it isn't as bad as if I were to just buy it and have no intention of knitting with it, I am going to say though that for the foreseeable future I am only going to knit from stash (I have all the stuff I need for christmas present knitting). We shall see how long that lasts. 

Have you ever tried to go on a yarn diet? 

Snow pics, as promised:

Yesterday afternoon when it was starting to get heavy

This afternoon, not at the deepest point because I didn't want to get my jeans wet, but that is over a foot and a half of snow on our back patio!

Deep deep snow, a lot of it, in a rare moment where it had stopped my Dad was desperately trying to clear the back so we could get the car out, but it is snowing again as I type!!

Let me assure you, this is incredibly unusual for England, My part of England anyway. We thought last years snow was bad, we have so far had over twice as much and it hasn't stopped, and it is earlier in the year! Mad!

For Warmer Ears...

...just add Baby Llama.

 

...and some needles

 

and be snug for winter in an Autumn Leaves Calorimetry :)

 

FO Report:

Pattern Name: Calorimetry by Kathryn Schoendorf

Yarn: Mirasol Miski in Coral

Needle Size: 4mm

Problems: Although my gague appeared to be right, the finish item is a bit big, despite going down needle sizes. Next time I would definitely knit smaller!

Modifications: I ran out of yarn so I had to stop a couple of rows short of the suggested amount in the pattern.

Skills Learnt: Not learnt but refreshed my short tow knowledge. I also got a great iPhone app for counting stitches!

Knit Again?: Yes, requests for Christmas have already been asked.

Score: 7/10

Georgie ♥'s Hats

Oh yes I do! I finally finished this earlier just in time for horrible wintery weather and I do so love it. It looks great in my own humble opinion (though please ignore the shine on that pic). I think I shall wear it to Uni tomorrow :)

FO report: 

Pattern Name: Hermione Hearts Ron by Christy Aylesworth

Yarn Used: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in 009 - Grey

Needle Size: 2.75mm and 3.25mm 16" circ's and 3.25mm DPN's

Problems: I had to frog and reknit once because I dropped a load of stitches but other then that it was ok.

Modifications: No mods.

Skills Learnt: No new skills learnt, except for where I tried to learn to knit continental and then had to frog it because it went wrong :S

Knit again: Possibly, if I did I would change the way the decreases work because I didn't much like that.

Score: 8/10

The basket of Dooooooom!

That is the WIP Basket of Dooom Dooom Doooooomy Doom Doom.

I have a basket (I bought it from Hemswell this summer when I went on that button haul) and in it lives all my WIP's. They often do not make it back out!

In there at the moment is the Hermione Hearts Ron hat (red bag) Bon Temps Marina (Blue spotty bag) Anisette lace wrap (green bag) some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino chunky that will be a pair of mittens to accompany my haven scarf and in the Alice bag is some Rowan Alpaca Cotton that I am going to make a teddy bear hat out of. 

That is a lot of projects for someone who has only been knitting a year (I just realised I missed my blogiversary, will have to do something about that!) and I really do have to do something about it. The teddy hat is going to be for a HPKCHC project so that will be sorted soon, and the Hermione hat is on the decreases now so should hopefully be finished this weekend. 

I think I have made the executive decision to frog the Anisette shawl, it is my first project using cracksilk haze and really I need something where I can just purl the wrong side rows as this takes too much concentration. I don't feel too badly about this as I think I have only managed about 15 rows, and there is a HPKCHC class that I can use the yarn in. 

Between now and christmas I hope to show you the contents of this basket diminishing, I would like to only have two WIP's at a time, but we shall see. For now, I will have to get my needles knitting!

On the fabulousness of hats

So I didn’t manage to get this out by the weekend like I had hoped, but I am getting it out to you now.

As I mentioned in my little post before, I am started back at University now. For Sarah, who asked, I am at the University of Sheffield in Yorkshire in the UK. I am studying for a master’s degree in Librarianship (which is why I have been volunteering for the past year at my local library) and the course should take a year to complete. It does mean that I am going to have a huge amount of work going on, I will have lots of studying to do while also keeping my part time job so my knitting time may be reduced a bit, but I do have an hours commute each morning I am there so when I don’t have an essay to draft I am sure I will be sat with my needles clicking away!

So, onto the knitting, I feel a bit bad because the WIP I showed you in my last post isn’t completed yet like I had hoped it would be. In case you hadn’t realised it is the pattern Hermione Loves Ron, which is a cable and eyelet detail beanie style hat based on a hat that Emma Watson wore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. If you remember the scene (cursed Katie) then I am also hoping to be able to knit myself the scarf she wears too once I have mastered Fair Isle. At the moment the hat is just going into it’s fourth chart repeat (the above photo was just after the first repeat), after that comes the decreases and then it will be done. If I am not too tired tonight I think it might be finished then.

The pattern calls for a sport weight yarn, and originally I was going to knit it in some Blue Sky Alpaca yarn I had seen and liked the look of but since then in order to keep costs down I had switched to some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a almost silvery grey colour. I might still make the hat in the Alpaca at some point but for now I am happy with the way it looks and feels.
I like the needle sizes suggested, though I am having problems with my 3.75mm interchangeable needles, I have had a couple of Knit Pro ones where the screw teeth are either too tight or too loose after hardly any use and this is one of the pairs so I may have to get some new ones it it gets too annoying. I would hate to lose a whole hat just because my needle came undone.

While I haven’t managed to finish this particular hat, I have managed to finish another one. I knit it for the HPKCHC using the yarn I had left over from my Mum’s French Press Slippers, some Cascade 220 in chocolate. The Pattern is the Robin’s Egg Blue Hat, though mine is obviously not blue. The challenge was to knit something that used a button in the pattern; it couldn’t be a button that you simply added on, it had to be written within the pattern, and I chose a lovely vintage one that I got from Hemswell on that massive button haul over the summer.

I like this hat, and my sister (who is modelling it here) has requested one for Christmas so It will definitely be knit again soon. The yarn is held double for the stockinette portion of the hat and single stranded for the seed stitch band. I knitted both on circular needles for ease as I find it most comfortable though I do think I may have to order some new smaller sized cables.

In other HPKCHC news, I was part of the exploding snap last month and I had a list of WIP's I wanted to sort out. One of them was my Bella's mittens in pink, which if you remember I only managed to finish one before I lost interest. Well I tried to re-knit and I still had no interest, so they jumped into the frog pond.

I am staying positive about them because I now have some yarn I can use to whip up a little something for my cousin if I want who is nearly 3 years old now. Possibly something Peppa Pig related!

I am sad to say that I haven't made much progress on my Marina shawl, again crazy working hours and sorting out the Uni thing have really eaten my time up so I haven't had the chance to sit and knit something which takes concentration, and as my first detailed lace shawl Marina definitely fits that category. Hopefully once things settle a bit and I go back to a smaller contract at work I will have some chill time to actually finish it!

I hope everyone is doing well, I shall hopefully update later this week with a completed hat, perfect for the miserable weather at the moment :)

New Stuff

So, yesterday I went to York and paid them a little visit here:

Yarn ball ice creams!

The lovely Ramshambles, which I have been meaning to visit since it re-opened. (It was previously Sheepish which I had popped into a couple of times).
The staff were really lovely and we chattered a little about ravelry and I joined their group using my phone just as I left the shop (here) and they have the most Noro I have ever seen, ever, there is a whole bay and a half of shelving with it in, it was cool! I didn't get any though because I got these instead.

The colours are a bit funny :S

I had been looking for pictures of the patterns in Debbie Bliss' Land Girl patterns for a while and I really love them. I love anything vintage inspired, so I grabbed a copy of that, and I also had to choose between two skeins of beautiful hand painted BFL from right there in Yorkshire, the colours in this one won my heart though and so it came home with me. 

I haven't picked what I will use it for yet which is quite unusual for me as I like to search out patterns straight away but it is a 400m skein so I shall probably use it for a little shawlette or something.

I couldn't go to York without popping into Cath Kidston and grabbing a couple of sale bargains, I have needed a new pin cushion for ages as my traditional tomato shaped one keeps breaking the tips off my pins (I think it must be the filling) so I nabbed a little cheese-a-holic for £2.50

And to keep my camera safe, and nice gadget case for £6, though at the moment I am seriously considering ordering another to keep notions in, it is just the right size for bits and bobs.

Yes that is a button from my last post making it look like a face :)

I popped into the Bead Hive which is located up near the Minster and York St John University (next to the National Trust Gift Shop) and got a deal on a load of beads, it was 10g for £1 but 30g for £2.50 so of course I had to take advantage, I don't know if they will all be for knitting but some will be!

I recieved a few other things this week, but through the post, not from visits. 

I invested in a few books that I have heard loads about, and which I will probably discuss in more detail in the future.

I bought some amazing Kauni Multi Effekt from Janette's rare Yarns for knitting the Northern Lights Shawl, in shade EJ (I got the larger ball for a larger shawl)

You can see the colour changes inside.

And finally I invested in several new Knit Pro Metal needles, both Sock DPN's and interchangeables for projects I have in my queue. It seems I cannot use Addi needles to save my life, but Knit pro metal needles I am ok with, not as quick or as sure as using my wooden and acrylic needles, but I am getting there.

Now to see what progress comes from it all! I love setting things up so I have an idea of what I could cast on next.