October

I've had a few weeks off so I'm just squeaking in right at the end to share what I've been up to this month.  I've mostly been working on secret projects, which is not ideal blog fodder but here's what I can share.

After finishing a secret spinning project, I decided to be really good and finish up another old spindle project that's been kicking around for years.  I'd got to a point where the spindle was full so I spun the little chunk of fibre that was needed to finish the stripe I was working on on to the wheel first, then wound the spindle spun fibre on to the bobbin and now I'm spinning the up the rest.   I can't wait to finish this.

Despite having a very strict spinning plan and banning myself from buying any more fibre until phase 1 is complete I did have a blip when I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace a few weeks ago.  I was literally just leaving when I spotted the Spin City stall out of the corner of my eye.  I'd been eyeing up Louise's fibre on Etsy for a while and I couldn't resist these two lovely braids.  Her shop can be found here now, her spindles alone are well worth a look.  My only other purchase was the Sewaholic Seymour raincoat.  I'd nearly downloaded it a few days previously but decided to treat myself when I saw it on the Fabric Godmother stall.  My sister, Jess and I had a really nice day out together, even though I didn't buy much, it's always nice to be surrounded by so many people who love making stuff as much as I do.

This is yet another Woolly Wormhead hat for Cassie, this time Lollie from Twisted Woolly Toppers.  The style of the hat is a little shorter than I'd normally go for as it doesn't quite cover her ears, but it's made from bulky yarn so it will keep Cassie warm unless it's really cold.  The yarn is DROPS Peak, which is a bit acrylicky for my liking and I probably won't use again, but it is ridiculously pink and therefore completely awesome for this particular pink enthusiast!

It's swap time again for the Due in April 2012 Ravelry group.  I got this awesome package from Gio in Switzerland and I am so excited to knit with Yak yarn!  I've got a few projects I need to finish first but it's definitely going to jump the queue because its calling to me very loudly.  The chocolate also keeps calling, I've been rationing it because it's really yummy but there's only so long I can make it last!

And lastly, have you seen Eskimimi's latest pattern the Tiny Roar Lion Bonnet?  I couldn't resist her call for test knitters last month because it was so cute.  The pattern is really great and has a couple of helpful videos (seriously, I'm going to be applying icord to the edges of EVERYTHING now!) but unfortunately Lissy wants nothing to do with this hat.  This is literally the only time she has agreed to wear it so I haven't got any good photos.  It's got plenty of room in it though so sooner or later I will catch her wearing it!

So Happy Halloween to those who halloween and have a nice weekend to those who don't.  I'll be back as soon as my swap parcel arrives in it's location and I can finally share it's contents.

FOs: Quynn

Without meaning to I seem to have been on a bit of a mission to knit as many Woolly Wormhead hats as possible for my girls.

This is my back catalogue, minus a Tipper I recently made for a fellow Raveller's newborn which I forgot to photograph before I mailed it. And now I've added a pair of Quynns to the collection.

I had only intended to knit one for Cassie, out of some Noro Kureyon I had leftover from a pair of armwarmers I knitted myself a while back. I began to suspect quite early on that it might come out a little small, but I ploughed on regardless because I figured it would probably fit someone. It turns out that I was right on both counts, the hat was far too small for Cassie, but it fit Felicity perfectly.

Not that I can prove it because photographing a hat on Felicity's head in the split second before she whips it off is beyond my skills I'm afraid.

Because the first one came out so small I sized up pretty much everything I could think of for my second attempt. I knitted the next size up, on the next size needles and used some slightly thicker yarn. This time I went for Drops Delight in Atlantis which is also a slow striping yarn but the colour shifts are much less dramatic than the Noro. It's really nice.

Success! It fits and, although it does look a bit bonkers I do love it. It keeps her little ears warm and makes her face look all round and cute. I get the feeling she's not so keen, this was her response when I asked if she liked her new hat!

"NO!"

 

New WIP

I finished Cassie's owl mittens right before I went to bed last night and woke up this morning with a spring in my step (well as much of one as the average 31 weeks pregnant lady can manage) knowing that I would get to cast on something new today. The mittens are currently drying so they'll get their own post hopefully tomorrow.

So what have I cast on for today? Well I have one planned Christmas gift left to knit so that really should be a priority, but it's more colourwork and I could do with a day or two off from charts. For that reason the winner is another hat for baby. A nice quick simple project, easy and instantly gratifying. Also watching the little basket I've set aside slowly filling up with woollies just for her reminds me that before we know it she'll be here. Predictably it's another hat from Wee Woolly Toppers, Kilkenny this time in cerise Drops Lima. At this rate baby will have the entire book of hats to choose from but I don't care, they're all so cute!

 

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FO: Tinker

Tinker is done and way faster than I'd anticipated. After all of the false starts and changes I made before I started this project I'm very pleased to say that I love it. It fits Cassie really well and she looks great in it. I think she likes it too, I tried it on her head yesterday, needles and all, with just a few rows to go and she threw a bit of a tantrum when I had to take it off her and continue knitting. I think we'll have another knitter in the house before too many more years go by!

So, vital statistics? Pattern: Tinker by Woolly Wormhead in the 19 inch size. Yarn: Araucania Azapa, I used around 70g. It is lovely and soft and squishy, but it is a little hairy and sheds a bit. I would absolutely knit this again, but I think I might have a break from cables for a little while!

 

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Progress: Tinker

When I first started knitting Tinker each row was taking me so long that I actually considered casting on another, simpler, project so that I could see some sort of progress to keep me going. It has been a lovely surprise then that I'm seeing quite a lot of progress on Tinker itself. Whether this is as a result of cabling without a cable needle I don't know, but I'm quickly becoming a convert. I wasn't too sure at first, but once I hit the left leaning cable section the difference was pretty marked. I'm now halfway through the knitting and I'm really pleased with it so far.

Cracking on, I should have an FO in a couple of days, yay!

 

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New skills

Seeing how slow going Tinker is going to be I thought last night that it was probably about time for me to look into the witchcraft that is cabling without a cable needle.  I've never bothered before because most of the cables I've knit in the past have involved cabling just a few stitches every few rows and it's no problem whipping the cable needle out for a bit and then popping it away again.  The cabling in Tinker, however, is very frequent and I'm swapping needles every 3 stitches or so, so it had to be worth a go.  Despite the whole operation looking a little alarming in the pictures, with my knitting in hand it took me about three seconds to figure it out and I was off.  My verdict?  I'm not convinced that it is actually any quicker for me, but it is certainly simpler for such small frequent twists.  Given my current limitations (yes I will admit that baby brain is making me pretty stoopid these days)having to keep track of one less needle is a major bonus.  Of course this means that the popular spectator sport of 'watching mummy frantically looking for her cable needle' will have to stop for a while!  Clue: It's in my hair.  Every time.  Except when it's on my lap obscured by my giant tum.

Belly!

Swatching all day, ripping all night

Ah swatching, I will admit it is useful, but oh how I hate it. Yesterday alone I must have made about 6 of the stupid things, nearly every one dashing my hopes that it would be my last. After completely failing to decide on a new project, I put all thoughts of knitting temporarily aside and dived into my stash looking for something suitable for a swap I'm taking part in. As I'd suspected there was nothing inspiring lurking there, but I did come across some Wendy Freedom Wool in chunky which looked promising for Lollie. Could Lollie be back on? 3 swatches later I can safely say no, Lollie is not back on, but as I had Twisted Woolly Toppers open I rediscovered Tinker and wondered if the Azapa I'd originally wanted to use for Lollie might do for that instead. It took a couple more swatches but yes it will indeed do. Hoo-flippin-ray!

Not much to look at yet

Of course, nothing is ever that easy (ha ha ha, easy? ha ha) and after a slow cable cast on and 1 set up row I started to cable and.....nope the instructions made no sense. The chart just didn't work with what I had on my needles and I could go no further. I checked the Woolly Wormhead board on Ravelry because surely someone else must have had trouble making sense of this? Nope, nothing. What was I missing? I am ashamed to admit that it probably took me another 20 minutes to realise that *P2,K2,P2* does not equal *P2,K2* in any way at all. So back to the beginning it was for me. All is fixed now and I think I've got it right. I have a feeling this is going to take a wee while though, the (admittedly uncomplicated) cable pattern is repeated every 6 stitches and there are cables on nearly every row so an FO is probably not all that imminent. It's a cute hat though, it will be worth it.

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