Blissed out

I Made Gloves!

I'm so excited because I've just finished making my first pair of gloves and I'm so excited about it! Rather sad, I know but I am! I've always been a bit intimidated by gloves (and socks) and although these are very simple to make because they are gardening gloves so don't have the fingers (although they do have a thumb) I'm still very proud of them. Aren't they pretty?

I love the color of the yarn - it's a Louisa Harding yarn called Kimono Angora and it is so soft and warm and the colors so bright and jewel like. They're for my Mum to match the scarf I've made her. I'm now making a pair for my friend Diane and might even do some with fingers.

Louisa Harding Beanie Hat

I feel like I'm on a bit of a production line I've been beavering away so much recently. I've just finished a cute little beanie hat for my friend Diane made in some gorgeous Louisa Harding Impression yarn. Diane's a big fan of color analysis and is an autumn, so the colors in this yarn are just so perfect for her. I've bought some plain green angora yarn to make a lovely soft scarf to match the hat - I'm thinking I'll do a rosette in the impression yarn to embellish it and some cute little fingerless gloves.

I made one last year in red and Diane liked it so much she begged, pleaded and downright whined until I gave it to her. I thought this year it'd be nice to give her a matching set.

Sweet pea shawl

I finally (Yes I know it's taken me forever!) uploaded some pictures of the shawl I crocheted on my trip to the states. I love crochet but haven't been doing it very long (completely self taught from Debbie Stoller's fantastic book The Happy Hooker) so I tend to use it for easy patterns and this sweet pea shawl was lovely to do - very simple and came together quickly (very gratifying.) I find crochet perfect for doing on planes as security people tend to be a bit suspicious of knitting needs (I can see their point I suppose.)

Anyway this was done in 2 7 hour flights and a couple of evenings in front of the TV. I now have it as a throw on my sofa and it's perfect for cold shoulders or legs on these chilly evenings.

Cute baby knitting –again!

It feels a bit like ground hog day but I’m knitting another really cute ducks cardigan- this time for Cole’s soon to be born half brother or sister.  He desperately wanted me to make something and after going through my (I have to say, embarrassingly extensive!) collection of baby pattern books, settled on the fluffy ducks.  At least I’ve some Rowan Kidsilk haze left over that I can use for the second one. 

But I DO love baby knitting. They’re so rewarding and instantly gratifying!  I’ve only been at it for 2 evenings and already I’ve done the back and both fronts.  Plus Rowan baby cashmerino  is SOOOOO lovely to work with; it’s soft and cuddly and the colours are beautifully vintage – perfectly washed out like sugared almonds.

I’m also getting totally Christmassy.  I’ve decided to do lots of baking as presents for friends and family do made 2 Christmas cakes over the weekend and have all of the fruit soaking in brandy for a 3^rd and 4^th.  I’m going to make some padded felt tree ornaments with Cole so am going to treat myself to a visit to the local Hobbycraft on my way home to cheer myself up as it’s been another rather rubbish day in work.  I’m sure it’s post vacation blues!

Louisa Harding's Impression Yarn

I can’t believe it’s been almost two weeks without a post – I think that’s the longest I’ve ever gone without writing anything. And there’s no real reason – it’s not like I haven’t been knitting because I’ve done loads! After finishing my peach cotton cardigan and fancy bag for my Knitty submission, I wasn’t in the mood to start something big straight away so I made a hat from an odd ball of Louisa Harding Impression yarn in Rainforest. It’s a lovely combination of colors – forest green with subtle flecks of red and yellow. I know it’s not really autumn (or fall – depending on where you’re hailing from) but I we had a few pretty cold days (plus our boiler was broken so we had NO HOT WATER for almost a week! Don’t worry I showered at the gym, but it’s not the same as sinking into a nice hot bath after work) and I was in the mood for knitting for warmth!

So I made a cute little beanie hat with flowers on it and then got stuck into a new project! I’m knitting a fitted cardigan from Louisa Harding’s Gathering Roses collection and I LOVE the dark green Impression yarn I’m using for it. Like all of Louisa Harding’s yarns, it’s a lovely combination of shades and very soft to the touch. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow in daylight so that you can get the idea of the yarn. I’m very excited by it!

And the nights are drawing in and I’m on total countdown to our holiday to the states in 2 weeks! It’s come around so quickly that I can’t really believe it’s nearly here. 4 nights in New York city followed by 10 days in Orlando. Cole can’t wait and I’m feeling a bit like those parents on the Disney World advert who are more excited than their kids and can’t sleep the night before!

Am I am to be excited by the chill in the air?

I know everyone in the UK will hate me for saying this - we have had an absolutely RUBBISH summer this year after all, but I'm actually quite excited about the prospect of autumn.  I know there are loads of great summer things that us knitter can, and do, make over the warmer months, but there's something about lovingly making cosy cardigans, jumpers, hats and gloves that gives me a lovely warm feeling inside! 

I've finished my summer Rowan handknit cotton cardigan and have been wearing it all weekend - and picking up some compliments along the way too I might add!  I think it's going to see me through the next month or so very well and will be quite nice to take to New York and Florida as it's warm without being cloying and a nice stylish cover up - especially for evenings.

But the colour just screams summer to me and my head's already into teal blues, burnt oranges and moss greens!  I've seen some green Louisa Harding Impression yarn at HALF PRICE in a local yarn store so have bought enough to do a cosy fitted cardigan from her Gathering Roses book.  I'm a huge fan of her designs and yarns, and while I was in the store saw for fabulous sparkly yarn called Collinette.  I treated myself to a ball (they only had one left) and am going to make a cute little bag from it.  I just have to work out the pattern.  I'm quite excited/scared as I've never designed something from scratch before but I'm in that kind of a mood - what's the worst that could happen?!

Cole goes back to school tomorrow and I need to go in and speak to the school about how they're going to help him with his reading this year.  I'm trying really hard to remain sweet yet assertive Mum with them and not descend into fierce lioness Mum!  Maybe I need to be a combination of both? 

Drat and double drat!

I knew there was a reason wine and knitting don't go!  I don't know if that's actually true, to be honest, as I know lots and lots of knitters who really like a glass with their knitting.  I think it's just that I'm so rubbish at drinking that a large glass of wine makes me all fingers and thumbs.

I'm doing a really simple lace patter: Yfwd K1, K3tog, K1, yfwd K1.  Except that I somehow managed to do it wrong so that I ended up undoeing all that I'd ripping out the whole thing.  I'm now onto my THIRD attempt and had a wine free night last night so have made quite a bit of progress but it'll take some heavy duty knitting to get my shrug finished for Saturday afternoon - eek!

John was killing himself laughing at me when I did rip out my work - apprently I looked like there was steam about to shoot out of my ears and I was grissling and saying very rude words - but drat and double drat will have to do for these purposes!

The yarn is nice to work however, I've never really used kidsilk haze before because I generally find mohair mixes a bit too prickly.  But the silk blend is lovely and I'm pleased with how it's knitting up.

I'll post some pictures later on.

Jo x

I've the attention span of a small insect!

I've almost finished my cotton cardigan.  I'm mid way through the second sleeve.  I should be celebrating being on the home straight.  But instead I'm starting something else!  I know this is a supreme act of knitting attention deficit disorder (or KADD for short!) but I'm knitting a shrug in Rowan Kidsilk Haze.  I picked up a Rowan kit in the sales a few weeks ago at half price and I'm planning a birthday party for myself next Saturday.  I want something light and glamorous to wear with my party frock and the lacy shrug looks perfect. 

i did think about using some beads on it too for extra glamour but after spending ages threading little seed beads onto the yarn I realised that it was shredding the yarn too much and making it way too fluffy and weak.  If it needs that extra pazazz I could always sew a few on at the end.

I spent most of last night playing around with the tension as mine was way too tight.  I also think that it will be too small for me even if I get the tension correct - I've got broad shoulders and pretty long arms to I'm torn between knitting it with more stitches and knitting it to the suggested size with the view to possibly adding stitches to the cuffs if it does end up too small.

I'm also hoping that it's going to knit up pretty fast - once I've decided on the correct number of stitches to use.  I'll keep you posted.

Jo x

nearly finished one project - & already wondering about the next

I'm onto the last sleeve of my cardigan. I think I must have the attention span of a very small insect because already I'm thinking about what to knit next. I've got some Rowan kidsilk Haze in a beautiful teal color which I could make a lovely scarf out of but it's still summer and feels too warm to be using mohair. Plus, I find it hard to get excited about mohair because I find it too scratchy to wear myself. I'm feeling far too selfish at present to be knitting gifts - that's something I have a real winder association with.

Cole and I went fruit picking yesterday, which was fun-if prickly! We got a tub full of tayberries, which I don't think are 100% ripe so we're going to make jam with them. Having never made jam I'm swinging from blind optimism (obviously driven by total ignorance) to rigid fear (ditto!) Any jam making tips you have will be very gratefully received!

Jo x

sl2togK p2sso - a really nice effect

I'm proceding with the cardigan in fits and starts. I had a lovley coaching session in work on Friday and I came up with some strategies for dealing with my feeling of total lack of direction at the moment. I had planned to paint our bedroom this weekend as I wanted to be busy as I'm missing Cole who's off on his holidays with his Dad for a week. But my coach suggested I did some nurtuting instead - and some clearing out. One of the things I've been struggling with recently is I feel very scattered mentally - I can't seem to focus on one thing at a time. I've also got a new laptop, with wireless broadband so that I can do things like my blog and bits of work more easily, without having to go and lock myself away in the office. But what I've found is that instead of making life easier, it's actually meaning that I'm struggling to concentrate on anything - it's hard when you've got one eye on the keyboard and the other on Dexter!

So my coach and I decided that it would be a great idea for me to spend some time clearing out the office and making it a nice space to work in once more (it's become a bit of a junk storage heap of late!) This seemed a better use of time than painting with isn't urgent and really would just be me filling time and trying to run away from my feelings of missing Cole. So that's what I did yesterday and it felt great! It took a lot less time than I thought so I also did some real chilling out - watched Grey's Anatamy and The Accused with Jodie Foster (Ok, I know not the most uplifting film ever!) and I knitted for HOURS! I also fitted in a run and a body balance class and then oooked dinner and went out for a few hours with my friend Diane. I felt like I'd had a great day. I felt energised and focused AND chilled out and nurtured all at the same time. RESULT!

So my cardigan is coming along, considering I've completely restarted it. I've finished the back and most of one of the front sides.

There's a really nice stitch in the pattern which I don't think I've come across before. It's sl2togK p2sso.
Basically you slip the next 2 stitches over as though to K2tog, knit one stitch and then pass the 2 slipped stitches over. The effect is really nice - here's a photo:

The cardigan is from the Rowan magazine no 41 and it's got lots of lovely floaty, summer designs in it - which I have to say, have felt a bit out of place with the totally RUBBISH summer we've been having in the UK! However, the sun is actually out today and John and I have had a great couple of hours in the garden pulling out weeds and cutting down and digging out 2 enormous rose bushes and a perennial wall flower that was just taking over. John is all excited about the prospect of a bonfire later on! What is it with men and fire?

We're off out now for a late sunday lunch at a pub - something we NEVER do. Actually, I don't think John and I have ever been out for Sunday lunch together, just the two of us. I'm practically faing with excitement!

Jo x