*meeps*

Thanks to a certain dog who will remain un-named, my attempt at a lace shawl was dragged around the garden and had to be frogged.  I didn't have the heart to re-start the same one so I started on the Upstairs shawl from Ravelry which is going much better.  I do have photo's of it and will post them at a later date.

I've also signed up for my very first knit-a-long for a scarf.  It starts today and I've cast on already for it.  I only hope that I can do justice to the no doubt gorgeous scarves that are going to be sent to me to work on.

Hold my coat, I'm going in!

This morning I embarked on my biggest knitting adventure to date, a lace shawl.

It's called the Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl, I'm knitting it on 5mm needles (did try it on 3.75mm but the fabric was coming up too dense, the bigger needles are giving it a much better drape and it feels so much softer) and using Manos Silk Blend, colour #7338 (a variegated blue) and it seems to be coming out really well.  So far anyway.

Thanks to the lovely people at the Phoenix Knitting Forums I've discovered the wonder that is lifelines and am sorely tempted to use them for everything from now on because I have a nasty habit of dropping stitches if I don't concentrate fully on what I'm doing.

I've also been advised to use stitch markers but I don't actually have any.  I would really love some of those gorgeous beaded ones that you can get but I just can't afford them right now *sighs*

I know it's not the most complicated lace pattern in the world but seeing as it's my first time, that's great for me.  Especially as it's written out instead of charted.  Ill try a charted pattern next time when I (hopefully) have a little more confidence and experience and know what the lace stitches are supposed to look like.

Bitch without the Stitch

Things are being finished at an alarming rate in my house at the moment.

Since Christmas I've completed the following:
Dad's cardigan
My socks
Kate's socks
Kate's hand-warmers
Claire's hand-warmers
Mum's hat
and my very first crochet square (been teaching myself with the aid of a new magazine)

Went to my first London Stitch and Bitch meeting last week and loved every single second of it.  Was really looking forward to going to tonight's meeting but my knee went pop when I got out of the shower leaving me in too much pain to even think about walking.  The pain probably hasn't been helped by the fact that my foot slipped off the top step yesterday and I bounced down the stairs on my bum, leaving me with some quite impressive scrapes and bruises.

I'm working on a scarf at the moment and, even though it's on 12 mm needles in super-chunky with a slight cable pattern, it's driving me completely insane!

Yippee!!!

Dad's cardigan is finally finished and it looks pretty damn good if I do say so myself.  Unfortunately, for some reason, my stupid laptop won't let me transfer the picture from my SD card so I can't prove it *grumbles*

I'm so incredibly proud of it (which I know is vaguely daft).  It's the biggest, most complicated thing I've knitted so far with it's shawl-type collar and raglan sleeves.  Apart from sewing in the sleeves (thanks for that, btw, Mum) it's all my own work and it actually fits him which I was really worried about as he's quite a big man.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go figure out what's going to be next...

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).