Aran Jumper

Another knitted item for DS. This is knitted in James C. Brett Aran with 20% wool and is a Sirdar pattern. I think the cable would probably have shown up better in a shade without the flecks but seeing as I've got 3 x 400g balls of this yarn in my stash, I thought I'd better use it up instead of buying more! ;)

This was another quick knit which took about a week from start to finish. The back and sleeves were a bit mindless though because they were just stocking stitch.

I like the fact that this has buttons on one shoulder, which completely gets rid of those "screaming the house down" moments when the top DS is wearing simply won't go over his head (even though he didn't have a problem putting it on *rolls eyes*!)

FO - Estonian Garden Scarf

I promise that these are the last photos I'm going to show of the Estonian Garden scarf! ;)

The colour is more accurate in the first photo. Unfortunately, they're not very good pics - I took this morning in work and had to rush before anyone came in. ;)

I've really enjoyed knitting this, it was quite quick (took 5 days from start to finish) and is definitely one I can see me knitting again.

Blocking lace

Here are some close-ups of the Estonian Garden scarf. The first picture shows the Lily of the Valley lace on top (with the nupps) and trellis lace underneath.

The second picture shows the small flower lace which forms the main part of the scarf. This is an extremely easy 8-row lace pattern which I was able to memorise after only two or three pattern repeats. :)

Estonian Garden Scarf

On Sunday, after finishing an Aran jumper for DS (which I haven't sewn up yet) I cast on for the Estonian Garden Scarf pattern from Fiber Trends. I've had some Posh Yarn laceweight (Felicity - pure silk) in my stash from the November lace club and when I saw this pattern I knew what the yarn was destined to be.

I've done 33 of 41 repeats of the main body of the scarf, and will hopefully get onto the Lily of the Valley edging with "nupps" later tonight.

The Posh Yarn is lovely to knit with and has a gorgeous sheen. The colour is probably more accurate in the first photo. Once this is finished I intend to do something from the book Victorian Lace Today but haven't been able to decide yet. ;)

Little Red Rascal

I finished this just before I caught that awful 'flu bug and have only just got around to sewing on the buttons.

It's knitted in Sirdar Tiny Tots DK and has a simple cable running up the front and back, although you can't really see it in these photos. The cable actually shows up much better IRL. It was very quick to knit and took just 4 days to finish.

I'm not overly fond of the hood (I've never been a big fan of hoods) but my son likes it and that's the main thing. He chose the pattern and the colour of the yarn - all I need to do now is teach him how to knit and we're sorted!

Getting Withdrawal Symptoms

Apologies for not keeping my blog updated recently but I've been hit with a really bad dose of 'flu, which started last Thursday and is still hanging around now. Most of the time I've been in bed shivering and when I'm not in bed, I'm lying on the sofa under my Perugino throw ;) I can honestly say I've never felt so rough before. I haven't even picked up my needles - it's been 6 days now and I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms. I can't remember not knitting for such a long period. Hopefully I'll be back on track soon and will have some FO pictures to post.
Hopefully ...........

Seduced by the Posh yarn

I was merrily working through my WIPs (only 3 at the moment!) determined not to start any new projects until I've finished 2 of them. I was doing really well ..... or so I thought until I came home from work today.

Two packages arrived in the post from Posh Yarn - the skein on the left is Emily sock yarn (colourway - Sweetshop), bought in the last OOW (one off Wednesday) in December. It's 80% lambswool, 10% angora and 10% cashmere and has 400 yds to 100g.

The skein on the right is the January Sock Club yarn (colourway - Twinkle). It's 70% merino and 30% cashmere.

I had a fondle and a drool and put the skeins to one side while I continued working on one of my WIPs (a lacy baby cardigan), thinking I'd use the yarn another day. But I kept looking over at the Posh yarn, thinking what gorgeous colours they both were, wondering what I'd make, etc.

I knew I was doomed when, three quarters of the way through the second sleeve of the cardigan, I noticed my stitch count was out and realised I should have increased about 22 rows previously. ARRGH! So I frogged it back to the cuff and put it away. The baby's not due till June anyway. Plenty of time to get it finished LOL!

*Sigh* You just can't give in to the pull of this Posh yarn. I wound the Emily yarn into a ball and it's the softest, most luscious yarn I've ever felt (and I thought the Lucia sock yarn was soft). I just can't wait to get knitting with it and get those lovely soft socks on my little tootsies!

New Year Knitting

New Year's Eve saw me frantically trying to finish these socks, which I finally managed to do at 10.30 p.m.. They are knitted in Opal Feelings #1702 on 2.5 mm circs and are possibly the brightest socks I've made so far. ;)

So that leaves me with 3 WIPs to take into 2007 (an improvement on the 15 I had during 2006!) - a dog sweater for Faith in Spain, socks and a shawl for my cousin who's due to have her second baby in June.





This is the second dog sweater I'm knitting for Faith in Spain. She bought the yarn from an e-bay seller based in Ireland but unfortunately I can't remember the name. The yarn is lovely and tweedy and knits up somewhere between DK and Aran on 4 mm needles. I took the patterns from the Harmony Guide Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches. From the outside in we've got Double Moss Stitch, then Knotted Cable and Criss-Cross Cable with Twists in the centre. I'm hoping to get this finished by next weekend.



I've had these socks on the go for a month or so now but they *will* be finished by the end of this month. ;) I've finished the first one and just cast on for the second. They are knitted in Schoeller & Stahl Fortissima Colori 1000 Socka Color on 2.5 mm circs. The yarn feels much softer to knit with than the Opal I've just been using.


















And finally, I'm knitting the Elisha Shawl from Paton's Newborn Collection. The yarn suggested in the book is Paton's Fairytale 4 ply but I couldn't get hold of any of that so I'm using Sirdar Snuggly 4 ply on 4mm needles. It's knit in the round and at the moment it just looks like a white blob (!) but once it's finished and blocked, I'm hoping it'll look like the picture in the book.

I've got plenty of time to finish it as my cousin isn't due to have her baby until June. BUT towards the end I'll have 704 sts OTN so it could turn out to be a bigger job than I anticipated!