Colourful WIPs

A colourful Wednesday update from me today. I've really been bitten by the stranded colourwork bug!

Last week I showed you the start of Peerie Flooers. Well, my replacement needle arrived at the weekend, and once I'd transferred the stitches from one to the other I was able to carry on knitting.

I have to say, I love my new Addi Premium needles. They are so much better than the cheap bamboo-and-plastic cable needles I've been buying up until this point. It's a slippery slope though, because now I know that next time I need to buy a new needle, I'll be ordering these slightly more expensive ones instead!

As you can see in the pic, I've finished the first full chart of flowers. I've actually knit a few more rows since I took this. It's so simple, really, as the chart is so narrow the pattern repeat is easy to memorise in each row. I'm slowly getting the hang of this colourwork lark as well.

In fact, I'm enjoying it so much I cast on a second colourwork project while Peerie Flooers was in time out.

This is knit in DK weight, with far fewer stitches on the needles, so it's progressing much faster than the hat. It's Mimi's Cool Stocking, featured in the Simply Knitting Christmas knits supplement. I didn't use the recommended yarn, as Debbie Bliss Cashmerino would have broken the bank a little. Instead I'm using Patons Diploma Gold, as there was 15% off all Patons yarn at Deramores when I was looking! It took me ages to choose the colours, I tried to get as close to the originals as I could. The navy looks quite black in the photo above, but I assure you it is blue.

I'm finding it harder to keep the correct tension doing stranded colourwork on dpns, but I'm getting there. Again, like Peerie Flooers, the chart is narrow, so it's easy to remember. Although for some reason I am more distracted when knitting this, and keep making mistakes!