New Year Knitolutions

1. Conquer my fear of lace and have an actual lace shawl finished by Christmas next year.
2. Knit at least 1 pair of socks a month.
3. Finish 1 extra project per month.
4. Use up current stash before buying more (sock yarn is not counted as stash).
5. Learn how to knit using the Magic Loop method.
6. Learn how to knit toe-up socks.
7. Take photo's of finished projects and post them here, on Ravelry or at Phoenix Forums.
8. Save up for a Namaste knitting bag.

Dear Dad,

  The 5 balls of sock yarn that I purchased this morning really does not count as stash.  Neither does the ball I got to enable me to finish your cardigan or the 3 balls of wonderfully soft stuff that I bought to knit up as a Christmas present.

Stash would be the 17 balls of Rowan Cotton Glace that I bought back in April that is still sitting unopened in the bottom of my knitting basket...

Yippee!!!

The very first project I have ever completed for myself is done and it looks pretty damn good, if I do say so myself!

Mum sewed it up for me (still working on that part of things) and, while she was doing that, I managed to use up a couple of balls of stash to knit us both beany-type hats.

Now it's back to The Cardigan Of Doom (otherwise known as Dad's christmas present).

I have to admit that I've been procrastinating today on said cardigan by watching Starsky & Hutch and trying to figure out how to work Ravelry and the other knitting forum that I belong to (I'm not very good with technical stuff).

Jumper update

Back, front and 1 sleeve done.  Other sleeve, cowel neck and sewing up to go.

Doh!

Have just cast off the back of my new jumper, looked at the pattern and realised that not only have I been following the wrong pattern (apparently I've been knitting a tank polo) but I've also been knitting the wrong size!

Been knitting properly for about 8 months now and I'm finally knitting something for myself!  I've knit socks, gloves, capes, jumpers, blankets, hats and more baby stuff than I know what to do with but now, I've decided to be selfsih and knit myself a jumper.

I'm doing it in Sirdar Big Softie which is a beautifully soft chunky wool in an absolutely gorgeous shade of blue-grey.  I'm also using Rosewood needles for the frist time because Dad complains when I use metal/plastic in the large sizes (apparently they make too much noise...).  I'll attempt to post a picture of my progress so far (I love knitting in chunky, only started yesterday and I'm already up the armhole shaping on the back) but it depends on if I can remember how.

I just realised something.  I described myself earlier in this entry as being selfish for knitting myself something, but I'm not.  Everything I do is for other people and I deserve to have just one thing in my life that's mine and mine alone and right now this one thing is this jumper.

In other knitting news, during the massive sort-out we had at the weekend it was discovered Mum threw away an entire trash bag of wool.  Now, most of it was just baby wool and acrylic stuff but it also contained the vast majority of my Noro stash, all of my Zauberball and, and this is the really heart-breaking bit, 2 skeins of incrediblly expensive cashmere that I was saving for when I got the confidence to knit a lace shawl!

I'm ba-a-ack!

Been MIA lately thanks to a nasty bout of bronchitis for myself and Mum being ill (if you don't know, I'm a full time carer for my parents) but I've been using the time to get caught up with my knitting.

Various and sundry baby bits have been completed, Dad's cardigan has been worked on, finished a cape for Mum on 15mm needles which knitted up fabulously quickly, finished a pair of socks and started another pair and completed 4 hat and wrist-warmer sets for Christmas.

All in all it's been a most productive few weeks.  Of course, one of these days I'll actually remember to take photo's of stuff that I knit before I give it away.  I'll also eventually get around to actually knitting something for myself...

To-do for Christmas list

Half a sock (need to buy another ball of yarn)
Pair of socks - blue (yarn bought)
Wrist-warmers - purple (started)
Wrist-warmers - red
Wrist-warmers - yellow/black stripes
Wrist-warmers - black
Adult hat and glove set x 4
Child hat and glove set - red/blue stripes
Child hat and glove set - red/black stripes
Child hat and glove set - blue/black stripes

Well, what do you know?

I learnt something about myself today - knitting gives me confidence.  A year ago I would never have dreamed of striking up a conversation with a total stranger on a hour long bus journey like I did today.

Confidence has always been an issue for me and I was diagnosed years ago as having a social phobia which means it's very hard for me to talk to and interact with people I don't know (which is one of the reasons that I love the net so much, tbh) and yet, ask me to talk to someone about my knitting and I can.

Knitting is one of the few things in this world that I know I'm good at.  I'm not great at it, and I probably never will be, but I'm learning new things and getting better at it all the time and that's giving me confidence as well.  I know in my head that I'm not, but there's always been a part of me that's been convinced that I'm stupid and useless etc.

Now I know I'm not and that's done more for my self-esteem than any amount of therapy or what have you could have done.

So the person who invented knitting, whoever that may be, I thank you.  You have honestly changed my life in ways I would never have imagined (not to mention my bank balance which is at an all time low thanks to my habit of heading to my LYS when I'm down/bored/stressed).

*yawns*

Been a busy day knitwise today.  I finished off a teeny-tiny lace cardigan for Cheddar, grafted the toe on a sock that I actually finished knitting about 2 weeks ago, started the huge task of picking up the stitches around one of the armholes of Dad's pullover and started work on one of the 25 squares needed to make up a baby blanket (the blanket is actually supposed to be knit in one piece but there's a tiny mistake in the counting on the chart for one of the motifs and it was screwing me up).

I also sat down and made a list of all the stuff I've already started on and the bits and pieces that I promised people for Christmas in an effort to get a little more organised so I don't find myself getting to Christmas Day and having half of it not actually started yet alone finished!

Dearest Cheddar,

While I love you with every fibre of my being, your mother is driving me mad by not letting me know whether you're a boy or a girl!

It would be so much easier to knit stuff for you if I had an idea of what precisely to knit.  At the moment, you're going to have a wardobe full of multi-coloured (mostly made of self-patterning sock yarn) booties, mittens and hats with the ocassional white cardigan thrown in. 

It's only approx 10 weeks until you join us on this fair planet so please, instead of kicking your darling Dad in the ear, kick your wonderful Mum and tell her to get on with letting us know what you are!

Much Love,
Auntie Emma.

In other news, I discovered today that pattern designers are not Gods.  I've completely falled in love with an absolutely gorgeous baby blanket for the little one mentioned in the above sweater that's knit in Hummingbird Alpaca.  The slight problem is that I haven't attempted anything that big before so am naturally a little nervous about it.

The lovely lady who works in my not-so-local yarn shop (seriously, it's a 2hour round trip by bus and I live in London!) sat me down and talked me through the pattern and then informed that even the blanket is made up of one piece, it's actually made of blocks of different patterns and could therefore be knitted up in separate pieces and then sewn together.

This idea astounded me!  The thought of actually going against something that's written in a pattern had honestly never occured to me before.

*is thoroughly plastered*

The dream of every knitter has come true for me this weekend.  I chipped a bone in my ankle yesterday and have today been informed that I am to stay off it as much as possible for at least the next 2 weeks.

The chipping my ankle bit wasn't fun but I now have an officially sanctioned excuse for sitting on my arse in front of the tv for the next 2 weeks!

Grr Arrrgh!!

Dyspraxia has been playing up lately so not got much knitting done because I'm just not co-ordinated enough when I'm like this to manage the needles.  Tried working on one of the many pairs of socks that I'm working on as Christmas presents and had to rip it back so many times today that I ended up losing my temper and throwing it across the room.

I've given up on the Christening gown because there seems to be an error in the pattern somewhere.  Even my Mum tried it and she was going wrong on exactly the same row as me so I know it can't just be my ineptitude.

One thing I have managed to finish recently is my first pair of gloves!  They're not perfect but considering that I've only really been knitting for 5-6 months, I think they're pretty damn good!

Oops!

Spare a thought today, dear readers (if there are in fact any of you out there), for my darling Mother who spent 2 months knitting an absolutely beautiful circular lace Christening shawl only for one of our 19 year old cats to decide today that it would make the perfect place for a nap and in the process pulled all the stitches off the needle.

Suffice it to say that it will be a bloody miracle if said cat makes it to 20!

Whee!

This has nothing to do with knitting but I'm so excited I'm telling everybody.  My 16yo old niece, Bethany, just got her exam results:  1 A*, 1 A, 5 B, 1 C and 1 D!

I'm so pleased for her.  She's had a rough few years with one thing and another but she got her head down, worked hard and has reaped the rewards.

Ergh!

Ripped back 3/4 of a sock last night because I wasn't happy with the way it was working out.  It was a new pattern that I was trying for the first time and it just didn't seem to be coming out right (it looked more like a sack than a sock!).  I've gone back to using my previous pattern with the exact same yarn and needles and I'm liking it much better.

Also, there is a reason why I should never be allowed to wear white! *looks down at pasta-sauce stained blouse and sighs*

It's taken me almost 5 months but I've finally finished my first pair of socks!

 

Look at them, aren't they fabulous? They're made from Regia 4 ply sock yarn (can't remember the name) and are actually a lot less orange and a lot more red than they appear in the picture (forgive the milk bottle legs, the only way I could take a picture was by laying on the bed and taking it down my body).

I even grafted the toe by myself and everything!  I would like to thank Silver for her on-line sock-tutorial which talked me through everything step by step and which I found immensely helpful.

Now, wonder how many friends I can give hand-knitted socks to for Christmas...

Question...

Does sock yarn count as stash? Especially as the intended socks are going to be Christmas presents?

See, I don't think it does. Dad, on the other hand wants to know why I thought it necessary to add more yarn to the stash I already have (otherwise known as "that bloody crap that's cluttering up the back room"). I tried to explain to him that it's for presents and that it's only sock wool so it doesn't really count but he wasn't having any of it. I am, apparently, not allowed to bring into more yarn into this house until I've used up at least some of what I already have.

Think now would be a good time to tell him about the 2 x 500g balls of baby wool I bought from my local discount store the other day...?

It's too darn hot!

Dear Self,
No matter how much you desire to go to your LYS to drool over the new lot of yarn that was delivered today, you neither need it or can afford it (seriously, you have 41p to last you until next Tuesday, stop it).

Much non-love, Me.

In other news, when did it get so freaking hot in London? According to my thermometer it's currently 27C in my back garden. I know in some areas of the world, that's considered warm but here it's absolutely sweltering!

I'm supposed to be working on Dad's pullover and I have been but I'm just too hot to care.

Joy to the world

Yesterday's poncho today became a shoulder warmer when I discovered that I had knit 3 rounds without increasing, couldn't be bothered to rip it back and so cast-off. It actually looks pretty good and has taught me that not everything has to be 100% perfect.

Popped down to my local John Lewis to purchase the needles to finish Dad's jumper and was gifted with 2 skeins of Noro Blossom by a complete stranger who accidentally smacked me in the face with a curtain rod! This yarn is truly drool-worthy and knitting a scarf in it is going to be my reward for finishing Dad's jumper, knitting my cousins christening gown (although I have until at least February for that one) and knitting stuff for the 3 other babies that are due to join my rather large and extended family.

I also purchased a book of DK baby patterns (on that note, do you have any idea how hard it is to find unisex baby patterns?) and some gorgeous Louisa Harding Kashmir DK yarn in a beautiful soft sage green. This yarn is 55% merino, 35% microfibre and 10% cashmere and is the softest thing I have ever felt in my life. The only problem is that the ball bands contain no wash/care instructions so any advice would be much appreciated.

Bugger!

Was going to start knitting the back of Dad's pullover but have managed to break one of my 3.5mm needles so have instead decided to knit a poncho. In chunky yarn while it's 26C outside...

Stash me, baby!

My knit kit. For the record, I loathe and detest those wooden needles. The damn things bend and break at the slightest provocation. I have no idea if it's all wooden needles this happens to or those in particular but it's put me off ever using them again. The white disc-shaped thing on top of the loathed needles is my favouritest thing ever. It contains a tape measure, scissors, needle protectors etc and goes everywhere with me.
The first half of the second sock I have ever successfully knitted. For some reason, I can't find the pair to it but I don't care, it's still my favourite thing to work on.
A wrist warmer knitted in Patons self-patterning sock yarn.
Baby booties and scratch mitts knitted in multi-coloured sock wool which are perfect for the recipient because the mother is not exactly traditional (but then I knit them, so what does that say about me...)
Finished products. The acres and acres of military grey stocking-stitch is the back of a pullover for Dad. Fortunately the front has cable so hopefully I won't go completely bat-shit insane before it's finished!
My wool stash, including various double knits, cottons, baby wools and way more sock yarns than can probably be considered healthy.

Magazines and patterns













And that's my stash. Not bad considering I've only really been doing this for about 5 months. I dread to think what my house will look like in 5 years!

Knitting is cheaper than therapy

Being inspired by the wonderful Yarn Harlot, I decided to create a blog purely my for knitting adventures (I say adventures because I'm fairly new to it and have no idea where it's going to end up).

I can't promise to be as amusing or prolifically talented as that wonderful lady but I mean to try.