Deja vu

A little while ago, I posted about losing one of last year's projects. My Crochet Lacy Wrap was one of the first finishes off my list for the first Year of Projects, and I was very happy with it.

This was taken as soon as I'd finished it. I never took
a proper photo of it once it had been steam blocked.

I've been wearing it all year as a scarf at LARP, because the acrylic chunky yarn is great for keeping me warm when I'm wearing my low-cut costume. However, I lost it at Renewal in August, and have been sad about that ever since.

Another ball of James C Brett Marble Chunky happened to fall into my basket while shopping online at Deramores, this time in the catchily named colourway "25" (the original wrap was colourway "16").

Left to my own devices one evening, I wasn't feeling up to the endless rows on any of my knit projects, and wanted something simple to work on. Out came the 10mm hook, out came the chunky yarn and away I went.

I had some difficulties getting started. I was convinced the pattern was wrong, as I couldn't get the first row to work in the stitch count given. I got rather cross with myself for not having made any notes about it last time. I drew out a chart, to make sure the stitch count was correct. I may have had a bit of a tantrum, and nearly threw the yarn and hook across the room in frustration. Then I realised it was all my fault, and I was the one making the mistake. I had miscounted my starting chain. Four times in a row.

Once I got past that, the rest of the wrap was easy.

This one is a lot paler in colour than the original

Once again, I was surprised by the difference in colour between the internet photo (above) and the actual yarn. The first ball I bought was far more ORANGE than I was expecting; this one was far paler than I though it would be.

Finished in one evening but not steam blocked yet (although I will have to do that before I go to the next event, which is in November). And a big note to myself, if you make this again, COUNT YOUR STARTING CHAIN PROPERLY!!! There will be far less tears and tantrums that way.

Year of Projects 2011-2012 Final Post

So this is it. The final day of the inaugural Year of Projects is here. It's been an absolute blast. Kudos to Keri for coming up with the idea in the first place and a massive thank you to everyone in the Ravelry group for getting on board and getting stuck in.

My original list has changed multiple times over the past twelve months, as you can see from my page! I started with 20 patterns, fairly evenly split between knitting and crochet. By the end, I'd added another five, and removed a total of 12. That leaves thirteen projects to have completed in the last twelve months...

I present to you my eleven finished projects from the list! Clockwise from top left:

• Hypernova in Wollmeise 80/20 Twin
• Victorian Scarf in Sirdar Simply Recycled
• Jane Austen Shawl in Knit Picks Shimmer
• Sweet Pea Shawl in King Cole Bamboo Cotton
• 198 yds of heaven in Rowan Pure Wool Aran
• Free Rapunzel! in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky
• Thinking of You scarf in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK
• Leafy fingerless gloves in Knit Picks Palette
• Fern Cowl in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
• Crochet Lacy Wrap in James C Brett Marble Chunky
• Alasse Miriel Hooded Cowl in Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool

The other two projects still on the list are not finished, but they are well on the way to being done. The Cherry Wrap is still waiting the time and space to be blocked and seamed, whereas Eleonora is progressing nicely and should be finished soon.

Lets not forget, that as the first Year winds to a close, a second Year of Projects will be starting tomorrow! I've already set up my new page and decided on at least half of the patterns I'll be using in the coming year. I'm hoping that this year I will not get too distracted with projects not on the list, and stand a better chance of finishing them all.

So close

With just today and tomorrow to go till the first year is over, I thought I'd give you an update on how Eleonora is progressing.

As you can see, I made it through the rather dull stocking stitch back section, and am motoring my way down the second sleeve. I'm about 20 rows short of starting the cuff. While I might get the sleeve finished by the end of tomorrow, once that is done, I have the monumental task of picking up all the stitches around the body for the border. I doubt I'll get that done this weekend!

Switching back from knitting flat to knitting in the round was easier than I anticipated. I just switched over to my DPNs on my final row of flat knitting, then joined in the round and carried on.

I did discover an error in the pattern, when I got to the decreases halfway down the sleeve. They ought to mirror the increases on the right sleeve (five increases evenly spaced with four plain knit rows inbetween each one) but the directions hadn't been reversed properly and left me with only four decreases. I had to rip back and do it again. This was less scary than anticipated, as I used my circular needle to pick up the stitches in the row I wanted to rip back to, then knit back onto my DPNs from that.

I love how this yarn is knitting up. It is so soft and the stitches look beautiful. I don't think I'm in danger of running out, either, which is good news. I've only just joined my fifth ball and have three left, so depending on how much yarn the border takes up, I may have enough spare to knit something small to go with it. I guess I'll find out when I finally cast off!

Year of Projects update - 24th June

Next week is the final Sunday of the Year of Projects. In a way, I shall be sad when it is over, but I am already looking forward to Year Two!

As next week's post will be saved for a run down of everything I made this year, I thought I'd use today's post to talk about my plans for next year.

I have been thinking about this for some time, and have created a new list and a new page for Year two, which you can find here. I've dug out all of the lovely yarn in my stash that I'd like to use in the next year, and started pairing it to patterns. So far, nine pattern/yarn combinations have been decided on, and I have ten yarns left to assign patterns to. I'm not going to rush into that, as I'm sure I will change my mind multiple times before I cast on! There is also one pattern I would love to knit that I don't have the yarn in my stash for, so I will need to make at least one yarn purchase this year.

In addition to the projects on the list, I will be working on my long term projects: sofa bed afghan, poncho resurrection, the daffodil filet crochet which is currently in hibernation, and the work I started last year when watching Game of Thrones first season, designing and crocheting a blanket based on the books. (I did just hunt back through the blog to find the last time I posted about it, but it's been so long I cant find it!).

In other news, I've hit another couple of awesome blogging milestones... this is my 300th post, and just recently I skipped past 30,000 page views. Both of these are pretty amazing, although the spike in views is entirely down to my crocheted uterus pattern, which is still driving most of the traffic to the site!

I will be organising some sort of giveaway in the next couple of weeks as a thank you to all my lovely readers, when I eventually get some time to myself again!

Butterfly buttons

As I was away at a LRP event this past weekend, I missed out on posting on Sunday. We are so close to finishing this first year of projects and I am starting to realise I won't finish everything in time. Eleonora is going well, but still has a lot of work required before it's finished. As I am away this weekend coming and have visitors the following weekend, I don't think I've got the time to dedicate to it. So I'm deciding not to worry about it, and just finish it when it wants to be finished.

Equally, the Cherry Wrap is still sitting in my knitting basket in pieces, waiting to be blocked and seamed. I need to tidy and clean the house before I do that, so perhaps in the week after I've had my visitors the house will be in a suitable state to spread my blocking everywhere!

I can show you this though. I finished the cardigan for our niece Rosie's Christening gift, but had no buttons that were suitable. A quick trip into town yesterday ended in me picking up these gorgeous blue butterfly buttons, which I think go perfectly with the yarn.

Full photos to follow next weekend, once the Christening is over and she's been given her present.

Year of Projects update 10th June

So we've got three weeks left of this first Year of Projects and I am closing in on the final two items on my list. First up is Eleonora, which hasn't had much time spent on it in the last couple of weeks.

I am motoring through the plain stocking stitch back, having finally switched over to the circular needle. I am ten inches through the 23 I am supposed to knit. Not sure I will get this finished by 30th June, as I have no time to knit at all this week. That said, I've got a couple of long car drives ahead of me in the next two weekends, so I might take it along as car knitting after the success I had knitting Jamie's gloves in the car.

The final project on my list, which I haven't really considered until now, is meant to be the Pond Friends Stacking Toy. I put this on the list with the idea of making it for our niece Rosie, but I just couldn't decide if I could make it with the yarns I already had in my stash, or if I needed more. After some debate (and the realisation that the Christening is in two weeks and I still hadn't started anything) I decided to throw that one out of the window and remove it from the list. Cheating, perhaps, this close to the end, but don't worry, I've still got a project on the go for her present!

I haven't taken a photo of the WIP at the moment, because it is frustrating me so much. The original pattern I chose lied about it's yarn requirements (either that or I screwed up my calculations, but I was erring on the side of caution the whole time) and I ran out of yarn before I was done. So I had to frog that and start again with something slightly different. I think I've got enough yarn for this one.

One thing I have done this week though is start planning my list for Year Two! We start over again on the 1st July, so head on over to our Ravelry group to get involved.

WIP Wednesday and other things

I've been making solid progress on Eleonora this week. I've reached the shoulder and have started the long and boring back section, stocking stitch knit back and forth for what seems like will be an age. You'll notice I'm still using the DPNs; the pattern indicates I should have switched to my circular by now, but the cable isn't long enough on the one I have for magic loop and I'm still too close to the tube of the sleeve to knit flat comfortably on the circular, so for now I am knitting back and forth on the DPNs, which isn't so bad.

You'll notice my bright pink lifeline in there. I wasn't convinced the sleeve would be long enough if I knit according to the pattern directions, so I put in a lifeline where I was supposed to stop. Good thing I did, because it was clearly too short when I tried it on after increasing for the shoulder shaping. I had to rip back and knit another inch or so. 

I put it back in the second time I reached the shoulder shaping rows, just in case I get halfway across the back, try it on again and decide they are still too short. One thing I am quite pleased about is that you can't tell where I stopped knitting in the round and started knitting flat, as there is no difference in my stitches either way. That wasn't always the case, as I discovered recently that I've been twisting my purl stitches all this time! Not really noticeable when knitting anything else I've done in the past, but really would have been highlighted in this cardigan!

I noticed the other day that the rose growing outside our kitchen window was starting to bud. I have no idea what variety it is, so was not sure what colour to expect.

Turns out it's pale pink. They are so pretty and I can see them from the kitchen when we're cooking or doing the washing up (by which of course I mean loading and unloading the magical washing up cupboard).

This little guy was just chilling out in the garden when we came home from work yesterday. He was quite unafraid of us, and I managed to get up onto the lawn to take photos before he decided to run away. I think he was more concerned about Mr Fidget than me!

Year of Projects Update - 27th May

An exciting update today, because not only is Hypernova now finished, but it is blocked, the ends have been woven in and it is ready to wear!

Ironic really, that I have finished it during the hottest week Britain has had so far this year! I don't think I'll have much need for this scarf now until the Autumn.

I don't mind though, because this glorious sunshine makes for some excellent project photos.

When we first saw this house, I looked at the fence in the garden and thought I could totally use that for project photos. 

Of course, with Hypernova finally off the needles, that means work on Eleonora has begun. I got quite a lot of knitting in yesterday as it was our first weekend off since the end of March.

I've got 4 inches or so left to go before I start the main set of increases to the body section. It's going really quickly. I know I will probably slow down a fair bit when I get to the body and have to start knitting stocking stitch back and forth, instead of in the round, but as I'm enjoying knitting with this yarn so much I doubt it will stagnate like some of my other projects have.

If I get around to it, I will also start blocking out the pieces for the Cherry Wrap today. I'm not sure I have enough foam blocks to do the whole thing in one go though. But it is starting to look possible that I will get my list finished by the end of June!

How Time Flies!

I just don't know where the time is going at the moment. This week has absolutely flown by! Lots of exciting things going on though, so I'll do a quick round up.

Hypernova is finally being blocked! I soaked and pinned it out yesterday evening, and it is now sat out in the sun on the decking to finish drying. I'm hoping it will be dry before the sun goes away completely, so I can take some proper beauty shots of it in the natural light. Here's a sneak peek:

Finishing Hypernova meant freeing up my 3.5mm needles for Eleonora. I knit a swatch, and decided I could get away with the 3.5mm. However, I then realised I didn't have DPNs in that size, so had to wait two more days before I could cast on, while I waited for my new needles to arrive!

I love the yarn I'm using. It's Rowan Wool Cotton and it is wonderfully smooth. It slides beautifully over my bamboo needles. I'm almost done with the first cuff, maybe three or four more repeats to go, and then we're into a lovely long stretch of plain stocking stitch. I'm quite looking forward to it.

In non-knitting news, there have been plenty of exciting developments this week. Firstly, we started letting the cat out into the garden without his lead, which was pretty nerve-wracking at first because we had no idea if he would behave himself, or if he'd just run away. Luckily, Fidget is a professional cat, and managed to stay fairly close to the house, investigating the neighbouring gardens but not attempting to get any further away from the house.

Our living room is now finally complete, as our new sofa was delivered on Thursday.

We did quite well in finding a sofa to match our existing sofa, and one that was exactly the right size for the space we had. 

And finally, some very exciting news. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you'll have already seen this, but I wanted to share it with you all today now I've had a chance to sleep on it and get used to the idea!

Jamie and I got engaged yesterday!

The morning after..

Yesterday we held a joint birthday/housewarming party, rejoicing in our ability to fit more than two extra people in the house before it gets full. You don't get a birthday party without presents, and as my friends know and love me well, there was of course new yarn!

First up, this gorgeous purple skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace. I love Fyberspates; every time I go to the haberdashery in John Lewis I spend a good few minutes in front of the Fyberspates section, stroking the skeins and wishing I could think of a reason to have some. Now I have some, I need to think of what to knit with it! My initial thought is Rock Island by Jared Flood. I saw a purple one knitted in Wollmeise Lace at Unravel earlier in the year (this one, to be precise) and it was gorgeous. Will have to conquer my irritation of knitting with laceweight though! Otherwise, I'll have to find a suitable crochet project for it.

My other yarny gift was these seven balls of Rowan Fine Tweed, bought to accompany the pattern I was gifted on Ravelry yesterday morning - Peerie Flooers. Em knows I want to try my hand at stranded colourwork so got me the perfect challenge! This one is definitely going on my list for the second Year of Projects.

I had quite a few other non-yarny gifts too, all of which were perfectly chosen (for example, the bottle of Hendricks gin). We also received a few joint housewarming gifts, which was totally unexpected and absolutely wonderful.

A new cookbook and a gardening diary

We've already spotted a few things we'd like to try in the cookbook (after all, I haven't done a cookbook challenge in ages!) and the gardening calendar will come in really useful, now I have real garden to do grown up gardening in.

A gorgeous Calla Lily

I'll slip in a brief YoP update at the bottom, just to say that I've finished Hypernova!!! I will hopefully have time to get it blocked this afternoon, so there will be photos once it is done. Once I've got it pinned out, I will start swatching for Eleonora, which is the last major project on the list yet to be touched. Not sure I'll get it finished by the end of June, but I'll give it a go!

Year of Projects update 13th May

I had really hoped to be done with Hypernova by now, but it's still on my needles!

I made the tough decision to rip back to a couple of inches below the last chart, as I thought I would run out of yarn before reaching the bind off. I threaded the pink lifeline through, but didn't end up using it as the Wollmeise held up so well to being frogged that it wasn't needed.

I was halfway through the chart. I've knit back about half of that so far. Thirty or so rows to go and I'm done. Lets hope I have enough yarn this time!

Sad to say, I haven't had much time to knit. As I mentioned on Wednesday, I've injured my left wrist so haven't really been up to much knitting this week (although I am pleased to say it is much better this weekend, and normal knitting service should resume this week). Plus, after weeks of rain, this weekend has looked like this:

I just love the colour of the leaves on this tree

How could I resist getting out and enjoying this gorgeous weather?

We've actually been focusing quite a lot on sorting out the house this weekend, with a trip to Ikea yesterday to get a dishwasher (and you have no idea just how happy that magical washing up box makes us) and lots of box emptying and putting things away in the attic going on today. I'd say we were 90% moved in now, which is just awesome.

Our local neighbourhood fox, strolling through my garden

Cheeky squirrel stealing the peanuts

Year of Projects update - 1st May

A couple of days later than planned, but I didn't want to let another week pass by without an update! I was far too busy enjoying lazing about and not house moving or cleaning on Sunday to post! But we are all moved in and (mostly) unpacked now, so normal service is being resumed.

My moving house reward yarn

At the weekend we were out shopping for things for the new house. We ended up in John Lewis, where I couldn't resist the lure of the yarn any longer, and picked up eight balls of Rowan Wool Cotton in a lovely shade of grey for my Eleonora. I can't cast on yet, because I need to swatch on the needles I have which are not quite the right size, before splashing out on some new needles to knit it with.

The reason I can't use those needles yet, is because they are still being used for Hypernova. Once we were done with the move, I managed to find some time to get my knitting out again. It's been weeks since I've properly sat down to knit; I've missed it.

I came up with a cunning plan to ensure I could knit without fretting about how much yarn I had left, and still have enough left for the final chart.

I put the yarn on the scales, and pulled out enough to bring the weight down to approximately what I need for the last chart (I think I need 25g, so I was slightly generous just to be sure). I wound the spare yarn (about 20g) onto a pencil and knit from that until it ran out.

The scarf is now 51" long, and all I need to do is locate my print out of the pattern so I can get started on the increases for the fan. With any luck, I will have this scarf finished in a few days, and free up the needles to swatch for my cardigan! The scarf will get added to my ever growing pile of needs blocking and will eventually be ready in time for... the summer. Hmmm still not quite got this seasonal knitting thing down!

Good Friday

How is it Easter already? Where is the year going? It seems like only yesterday it was the middle of winter...

As I am off to the first LRP event of the year this weekend, I don't have anything new to share. But, in what is rapidly becoming a time honoured tradition, last night I found myself frantically blocking a finished item to take with me to the event!

When I finished my hooded cowl, I threw it to one side thinking "how the heck am I going to block this?". As the weather forecast is so dismal for the Easter weekend, I decided on Wednesday that actually, I'd quite like to take it with me. So a quick discussion about the logistics of steam blocking the hood was had with Jamie, and last night I set about getting it done.

Nothing is blocked correctly unless a cat is involved

I covered some of my foam letter blocks with a towel (I wasn't sure how the steam would affect them) and started pinning it out. I folded it exactly in half, along the seam of the hood, and stretched it out as far as it would comfortably go. It was quite tricky to ensure the bottom and top were pinned to the same dimensions! A quick steam with the iron, and it was done. I really don't know why I put off blocking my acrylic knits, because it takes hardly any time at all!

I apologise for the terrible photograph, but it's the best I could manage on my own. I trust you can see the difference blocking has made! It drapes so much better now, and the border pattern is more visible. I also stretched out the neck ribbing when I steamed it, so it wouldn't sit so uncomfortably tight around my neck.

The purple ribbon I found in my box of LRP kit, and will go perfectly with the other ribbons I wear in my hair. Hopefully I will get some photos from the event of me wearing it with the rest of my kit.

I'm also quite excited, because this event will be the first true test of my Leafy Fingerless Gloves, which were made specifically with LRP in mind.

I'm hoping they will keep my hands toasty and warm, even in the middle of the night!