WIPs, glorious WIPs.

You'd think, with exams fast approaching, that my crocheting output would have declined somewhat in the last week. It hasn't!

I finished my first sock.

Haven't started the next one, though I did check and I should have enough yarn left in the ball to make the second without breaking into the other skein! So I suspect I will either make a second pair (slightly smaller, for me), or use it to knit some sort of shawlette. We shall see. I have to get the second sock done first! May start that tonight, at roleplay night, if I decide I don't want to face the fiddliness of the filet panel.

I also started my birthday present project.

This is just the first three motifs, I'm actually well ahead of this now, I just don't have a more recent photo to show you all! I'm almost finished, in fact. Just a couple more rounds of the edging to go, but I got to the end of the second skein of yarn on Sunday. I didn't feel like winding the third skein into a ball, so the cowl has kind of stalled since then.

I have to say, I am loving the alpaca/silk blend. It whispers through my fingers like, well, silk, really. The stitch definition is amazing. I can't wait to see what the cowl looks like once it's finished and blocked - I hope the blocking transformation is spectacular enough to warrant a spot on Ravelry's "Blocking - before and after!" thread as well. I still need to find buttons to use on it though.

Before I descend completely into yarn-snobbery, though, I did have a bit of a splurge in Hobbycraft yesterday. The Hayfield Bonus DK acrylic I use for my amigurumi projects and granny blankets was on sale, down to £1.59 a ball. So I picked up a few colours I needed for some upcoming projects:

Now I'm not going to say what most of the colours are for, because its my new super seekrit project. But the pink, well, I was so excited about my plans for the pink that I got hooking almost as soon as I got back from the shop (hey, it was a Bank Holiday and it was raining, what else was I supposed to do?).

It's a Hello Kitty purse which I'm making as a surprise gift for my friend's daughter. Millie has recently developed a passion for Hello Kitty, and last time I saw her she was very excited to show off her new Hello Kitty trainers. So I thought I would make her something Hello Kitty-ish as a present. I searched the Rav database for ideas, and this cute little purse jumped right out at me. I had all the colours I needed apart from the pink, which is of course needed for Kitty's bow, and the strap.

The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn, but I'm using DK because that's what I've got! It's also my favourite weight of yarn to crochet with. The bag is, therefore, coming out on the small side but since Millie's only nearly-four, I think I will get away with it. I even managed to bag myself a bargain in the fabric shop at lunchtime yesterday, an offcut of the perfect pink material to line the bag, for just 60p.

I think I will use the rest of the pink yarn, along with the purple and white I already have, to make pretty flower granny squares. Maybe cushion covers, or even a scarf or poncho.

To see more WIPs, head on over to Tami's!