Still Busy

Despite the finishing flurry recently, I'm still busy. I have three projects on-the-go at the moment, and countless others I can't wait to cast on.

The project which is going to be on the needles for the longest is definitely an exersize in deferred gratification:

'House Colours' scarf for the Resident Radiologist. The yarn is Old Maiden Aunt 100% Merino 4 ply in the November colourways 'Put on the Day' and 'Midnight Owl' from the Previews Yarn Club. As soon as I opened the parcel, the RR exclaimed that the colours were his old house colours from school. That sealed it - they were destined for him.
I'm knitting the scarf on 3.5mm needles in 2x2 rib and it could take some time - I'm aiming for 60" long (if there's enough yarn) and I'm currently at 7"!

The next project is actually now off the needles and just awaits felting:

Chaton Minet Felted Cat Basket by Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer (Rav link). I've been knitting it in Lopi Roving from Twist Fibre Craft Studio in Fife. The current state of this project is floppy and huge, but I'm hoping it will end up dense and compact. I'm going to try felting the swatch before going for the whole thing. A fellow raveler has knitted the same project in the same yarn and had to put it through two 40C cycles to get it felted, so I'm not too worried about messing it up on the first run.

The last project on the needles is a pair of socks:

Leyburn byMintyFresh (Rav link). These were meant to be for me, but they've come up just too big and happily fit my sister perfectly, so once this singleton has a pair, they'll be winging their was east to keep her feet warm.

Finally, I'd just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

I'll be back on-line some time between Christmas and New Year.

Instant Gratification

I'm usually a process knitter and a long-time connoisseur of delayed gratification, but occasionally, a bit of instant gratification really hits the spot.

Two things I've made this week fall into this category:

A little blueberry baby hat...

Details:
The pattern is Baby Berry Hat by RandomStitches.
The yarn is Peaches and Creme 100% cotton by Pisgah Yarn Company.
I used 4.5mm needles throughout.
Total knitting time was less than two hours!

A lovely spiced apple cake...

Details:
The recipe is the Chalet School Apple Cake from Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket.
I swapped the ground hazelnuts for ground almonds and added some of the sliced apple through the mix as well as on top.
The results were delicious and didn't last very long!

Little Sister's Dress

All done - after the big decision making process with the buttons, at the last moment I found two little olive green buttons at the bottom of my button box and realised that they were perfect.

I crocheted round the whole neck opening and made two loops as I went for buttonholes.

Details:

The pattern is Little Sister's Dress by Tosa Froseth.
The yarn is RYC cashcotton 4 ply in citron (the colour is better in the second photo).
I used a 3.25mm addi lace circular needle throughout.
I used a 2.5mm crochet hook for the neck.
My row gauge was a little off so I made a few modifications to account for this.

This project has reminded me how much I love RYC cashcotton 4 ply. It feels beautifully soft and wears and machine washes well so should be good for baby clothes. It has been discontinued now so I've been online in the last week, scooping up as much as I can from the virtual bargain bins. I now have a nice little stash of it for baby jumpers and socks and the like.

Pretty Thing

The little green dress is now finished, but while it's blocking, here's another finished object hot off the needles...

'Pretty Thing' by Stephanie Pearl McPhee. This was a really quick knit and is great for wearing under my winter coat when I don't want the bulk of a scarf, just a warm neck!
I knitted it to match the Rose Red beret I knitted last year in the same yarn and which has become a staple for walking to work in the winter.

Forgive the wierd expression, I was trying to look at the screen of the camera in the mirror...

Details:
The pattern is Pretty Thing by Stephanie Pearl McPhee (Ravelry Link).
The yarn is Orkney St Magnus DK in burgandy (an angora / lambswool blend).
I used two 4mm circular needles and many stitch markers throughout.

Decisions, decisions

Since my knitting mojo came back at full-strength and I've cleared a few larger projects, I've been hankering to go on a stash-busting project-starting frenzy. I've already started a few projects:

Pretty Thing by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, using Orkney St Magnus DK (to match my Rose Red beret from last winter).

House Colours Scarf (a simple 2x2 rib with skinny stripes) using the latest installment of the Old Maiden Aunt yarn club for the Resident Radiologist.

Little Sister's Dress by Tora Froseth, using RYC cash cotton 4 ply (left-over from my Apres Surf Hoodie).

In addition to starting this last one, I've actually finished all of the knitting and just need to make a desicion about buttons before I crochet the neck edging and buttonhole loops.

This morning, in what passes for good light in Glasgow in the winter, I got out my button box and had a good search through...

I have a few choices - the mother of pearl buttons are lovely with the yarn and are my favorites, but I doubt that they'll stand up to repeated machine-washing. The mock-horn one looks good and would wash well, but I can only fine one and I need at least two. The ceramic ones on the card strip look great colour-wise but like the shell ones, I doubt they'll wash well, so I think I'm going for the sensible choice, the small pearly white ones that look fine and will wash well...

Next up - the decision for what to cast on now... My Ravelry queue tells me that Better-than-booties Baby Socks by Anne Budd, Entomology by Laura Nelkin and Baby Berry Hat by Michele Sabatier are all in the running and I have the yarn in stash, but I just can't decide!

Aeolian Resurrected

According to my Ravelry entry, I started Aeolian way back in June... I flew through the bulk of the knitting, then four rows from the end, I ran out of yarn (I was using the left-overs from my MIL's Hanami wrap).

From then until a week and a half ago, my Aeolian has languished, unloved in a plastic bag in my project box, with its needles, beads and tiny crochet hook. More than once, I considered frogging it and knitting something else and the only thing that stopped me was the idea of the beads pinging all over the place when I was ripping out!

The light at the end of the tunnel came in the form of a Fyberspates Trunk Show at K1 Yarns in Glasgow a couple of Saturdays back. Jen brought a huge pile of beautiful stock with her and in the boxes, I found the perfect skein of Scrumptious Lace.

Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in Autumn Hedgerow colourway.

I hadn't wanted to buy another skein of the original Charcoal colourway because what would I do with another almost 1km of grey laceweight? Autumn Hedgerow fitted the bill perfectly though, as it contains small patches of charcoal in amoungst the autumn russets, so it complemented what I already had beautifully, whilst leaving me with almost a skein of something completely different.

The knitting was quickly completed, and blocking was immediate.

Yesterday evening I wove in the ends and I'm wearing it today. Yipeee...

Details:

Pattern is Aeolian by Elizabeth Freeman, published in Knitty Spring 2009.
Yarn is Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in Charcoal and Autumn Hedgerow colourways.
Needles used were 3.25mm throughout (Addi Lace, 100cm).
I made the small version of the pattern.

Zoom

Wow - this baby blanket just knitted itself! I laid out the cotton for it last weekend, as soon as I'd finished the Resident Radiologist's jumper, and before I knew it, I was three colour repeats in... I finished it in just over a week.

The yarn is Cookies and Creme from the Pisgah Yarn Company in the states. I've read about it on many blogs (especially Mason Dixon Knitting) but for some reason, had assumed that it might be a little hard on the hands for knitting with, especially before it was washed. I was wrong. It was beautifully soft from the off, and not at all splitty like some cottons are. I've got loads of each colour left over so can knit lots of other colourful baby bits and pieces.

Details:

The pattern is the Rainbow Chain Carriage Blanket by Erika Flory, published in Knotions. Slightly annoyingly, the pattern as written (even with the erratum included) does not make the blanket shown in the published photograph. There is a white stripe between colours, as written, which changes the colour flow and balance a bit, but it's still a lovely pattern.

The yarn is Peaches and Creme worsted weight cotton, available here in the UK.

I used a 4.5mm circular needle throughout.

I made no changes to the pattern as written (with erratum).

The finished blanket is quite small, perfect for a new baby, over a car seat and eventually as a comfort blanket.