Oy...

I'm currently knitting like a fiend. I cast on the triinu shawl while I was away at Kandos last week. I haven't been treated well by it though. I cast on, discovered my needles were the wrong size, knit away thinking it made a good practice swatch, made mistakes, ignored them because it was a swatch, got home. Found out my needles were the right size, but I had to rip out what I'd done because of the errors. It's now back on the needles, but a new, improved version. I went through and changed all the decreases to make it neater. MUCH neater.

However, I'm also taking part in a mystery shawl knit-a-long: dem fischer sin fru (The fisherman's Wife) which needs the same size needles, of which I only have one set of tips. The plan is to use the tips on the triinu after finishing each clue for the mystery shawl... At least until the new set of tips arrive! May be a while though, since they're currently out of stock.

I assume you'll be wanting some more photos of the recent happenings.

I spun some yarn on the lovely ashford joy my grandmother has generously lent to me:

The yarn has graciously allowed me to knit it into a pair of booties, since it spun up at about 4ply/fingering weight. The booties will be given to a pregnant friend for the baby's going home outfit.

I also knitted a practice bunny for the baby:

Definitely not to be given, the thing isn't machine washable and I wouldn't do that to the poor mother!


However, on a brighter note, last year I took part in the Knitters Tea Swap. My swap partner, Amy Artisan, sent me this wonderful parcel!

Detail shot of the yarn:


Not pictured: the three blocks of chocolate also included in the parcel!

I've not yet knitted any of the yarn she sent, I'm trying to think of the perfect pattern for that sock yarn! The biscuits were tasty, and the tea delicious. I'm really looking forward to this years swap. I'm considering gathering things together now so when it starts I wont be behind the 8 ball again!

Friday, the day of knitting and yarn!

Well, tonight marks the second last clue for the mystery stole. And I'm still over a week behind. It's not much further along than the photo shows in the last post. It's hard to believe that it'll all be over soon. Till next year anyway.

My push to get the alpine lace done kind of gave me lace overload so I've been a bit slack. However, I still have been busy, though it doesn't really look like it. I've been going to uni and keeping up with my work, and even trying to get ahead. It's easier to keep up if you're a week in front!

I had been a bit antsy about the tofutsies club. Everyone else appeared to have their yarn but me! I was right too, an clerical gremlin upset the shop's address book so she accidentally sent my yarn to the wrong address. However, the yarn appeared on my doorstep this morning! Yay for fast postage!


I have to say, if I'd seen this yarn in the store, I'm not so sure I would have bought it, but I'm glad I've got it. I'm really enjoying knitting it up. See?


Well, not quite yet anyway. Turkish cast ons on dpns are not my friend, but they do indeed look good and are good practice. That's what I tell myself anyway!

To make today even better (any day that include the arrival of a ball of yarn is a good one) we were visited by our godmother. She also brought yarn!


That's 6oog of laceweight! It's going to the stash for the moment though. I'm trying to make myself finish something else before I start more.

I've also been knitting on the boy's sock. I'm on the last pattern repeat of the leg before I try and figure out what on earth I'm supposed to be doing for the heel. The pattern isn't the easiest to follow, but it'll be fun!

Socks

Yes, I'm knitting socks. Yes, you say. We know. No, I say, you don't. Because this is the first you're hearing of this particular pair.

The tofutsies haven't been finished yet, but they're currently living in my bag to be taken places when I'm out and about. This new pair will likely never have the privilege of living in my bag. They are attached to a 200g ball of yarn courtesy of the Bendigo Wool Mills.

I wasn't really expecting them to be that large, so I ordered two to make absolutely sure I wouldn't run out of yarn. Yes, it makes sense that a 200g ball is 4 times the size of a 50g ball, but it didn't sink in till the balls arrived.


I think I have plenty to make at least two pairs of socks... Even if one is a pair of man-socks. The man-socks are actually Cable Net socks, which are actually remarkably similar to the pair I started with this yarn, then ripped back because the cables tightened it up too much.

The pattern is rather fun, complex without being too demanding, and no cable needle required!

And I got this far before heading to bed:

............

Yes, I'm rather enjoying the camera, thank you for noticing!


edit: I've fixed the comments. You can now leave a comment if you're not a member of blogger.

Sleeves, lace and books

The lace has been put on hold for the next few days. I'm finishing the shrug, dammit! I'm currently halfway through the second sleeve and I'm trying to decide what size needles to use for the body, considering the yarn I'm using doesn't quite match that used in the pattern... Anyway, I'll have to make the decision at some point tomorrow probably!

The lace is at the same place it was in the previous post.

As for books, I got two new books and a pile of yarn in the mail on Monday morning. The books are the twisted sisters sock workbook and fitted knits. And now I have a pile of things to add to my to do list... Oh, how terrible!

I also got 760g of burnt orange 8 ply crepe. Not sure what I'm doing with it yet, but it was cheap and good yarn.

And now, off to do uni work.

Day of Nothing

Today, I have done nothing. I have not spun, nor have I indulged in knitting. However, that does not mean I haven't done anything related to either activity, no!

Yesterday, I went shopping. I bought some yarn on sale. 4 balls of teal Zhivago. I had the idea to knit a shrug with it. I came home, searched knitty.com and came up with this. Perfect, the gauge matches my yarn and everything! With the exception of me being one ball down...

Today, I made a mad dash into the LYS and found they did indeed have some of the same colour, just not in the same dyelot. I decided to give it a go anyway. After taking this photo I can't tell the difference anyway. That may change after the knitting, but I'm not entirely sure it'll show enough that it will be noticable. I'll probably make a start on it tonight.



After coming home from the shops, I found a big brown paper parcel on the doorstep. It held this:
And this:

The top one is the natural grey tops I ordered from Wendy Dennis, and the bottom one is a bag of natural grey with silk. I'm looking forward to spinning these up! No project in mind for them as yet, but that may change.

And in case this post wasn't photo-heavy enough, here is a lovely shot of my cat, who has decided to comandeer the alpaca wrap I bought at this years easter show.