A little bit of knitting and a hospital trip

Two new wips.

First my Fiddlehead Scarf bought as a kit -yarn and pattern- from Morehouse Farm

This is such a fun knit and I'm really loving it!! And it knits up amazingly quickly. I'm using super smooth Addi lace 3.25mm

And my Morning Glory Wrap from Anne Hanson at Knit Spot in Posh Yarn Eva 4ply- Turquoise
a slower knit needing a bit more concentration but very satisfying.

I know Morning Glory should be more purply/lavender but I like all things green atm.


One new finished Montego Bay Scarf. This time knitted in Sea Wool from Handmaiden, colour Pinata.

And another one in Seasilk started and finished over the weekend but no picture - Rachel has taken it home with her!

The Montego Bays really fitted the bill when I needed something relaxing to knit last weekend. I kept having flashing arcs in my already not A1 eye and after a telephone consultation with the hospital at home I worried for the weekend and then went to our local hospital in France on Monday. To cut a long story short my eye is ok, I was able to see an opthalmic consultant that same day and there is no retinal tear and as long as it doesn't get worse there's no need to worry. Of course I am still worrying and not least because as in all hospitals they did my bp and it was sky-high and just before we came away for holiday my bp medication had been reduced to zero. I'm going to keep my eye on it and if it doesn't begin to go down as the stresses decrease I'll phone the surgery at home and see if I ought to restart the tablets.

This is so far not a relaxing holiday.


And I must reply to your comments and questions about my Handsome Triangle shawl - Piglottie ,the Piece of Beauty Silk de la Mer yarn I used was easier than The Yarn Yard's to work with as it was quite a bit thicker so altogether it provided light relief from MS3. Christina thank you for your concern for DD - she's recovered well with rest and tlc! and the pattern wasn't at all hard and -Arianwen - in fact was a very easy one to follow from the charts in Victorian Lace Today. No less enjoyable for that! There are lots of others that I would love to make in that book but I agree, Probably Jane they are all lovely. And Queen of the Froggers the Fyberspates silk is gorgeous yarn and I'm sure your shawl will look lovely.

The Golden Compass

Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials" is probably one of the most thought provoking books I've read in recent years. I shan't attempt to describe the complexities of Lyra's world of parallel universes and those incredible daemons. But if you haven't read them, do. They are very compelling and real page turners and definitely not just children's books. I have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone.

I was very excited to read here on Kai's blog and here on Aknita's blog that there is to be a film "The Golden Compass" based on Northern Lights - the first book of the trilogy and I loved seeing a clip and of course I couldn't resist checking out my own daemon.



He is Zotius, a snow leopard.

The film is to be released in December 2007. That's one I shan't miss.




And Glade?

I was so disappointed with Glade's fit when it was finally tried on. It needs some serious restructuring and I might completely abandon the sleeve bottom edging and have 3/4 sleeves with some crochet to finish it off. And the same for the front frilly trim. I've unpicked it and I think I shall have to use scissors and sewing machine to adjust the shouders and then use the crochet trim on the front opening edge to make that fit better. In other words, it's got to be botched....at the moment it's in a bag, on a shelf out of sight. I just don't have the heart for it. We don't talk about Glade.....

But socks and shawls - they are reliable. They're like old friends. Comfortable and reassuring. You know where you are with them.

And exciting too.

Fleece Artist have produced a new sock yarn called Sea Wool. Like my favourite for shawls, Sea Silk which is a combination of silk and sea cell, Sea Wool is 70% Merino and 30% Seacell.These are the first two I've chosen

They're a bit more subdued than usual but I think they'll make nice summer socks.

And two finished pairs....
This
Toe-Up of course and short row heels but a variation from short row toes. I did the Turkish cast on and Make one Right and left increases with a simple lace 3 x YO,K2tog from PGR's Simple Socks. I'll write out more details in next post. The yarn is lovely hand-dyed Merino from Hobbledehoy

And this

And a close up of the stitch pattern and you can see the colours better
This is the Fyberspates Sock Club yarn for May and the pattern that went with it Helterskelter. It's absolutely gorgeous - 90% Alpaca and very soft.

Forest Canopy in Cairi's Laceweight

I know...another Forest Canopy...Well I'm making no excuses, I love this pattern and until I get bored I can see no reason to knit a different one. I keep thinking I'll knit something else but I always come back to this and although I won't say I never make a mistake, I've finally got the hang of the pattern so it's a fairly relaxing knit and different yarns give it a totally different look.

This one is in Cairi's lovely Laceweight Hand-Dyed Yarn 90%wool in a stunning Teal colour. I wanted a slightly chunkier look and feel for this shawl so I hope you don't mind Cairi but I've used the yarn three strands together. It's turned out exactly as I hoped.
Lovely isn't it?

I hope the recipient will be as pleased as I am.

Another view


And a stitch close-up.


Glade

I can't leave this without a brief mention of the dreaded Glade.

It is almost finished but I've got a major problem with the sleeves in that they are too long. Exactly how much too long I can't tell until my daughter has tried it on but they are far too long for me and I have long arms. The sleeves and sleeve edgings are pinned in different places so that's why one is longer than the other. I'm not sure which will be best - or neither.

Rachel had decided that she didn't want the frilly part of the edging on the bottom of the cardi but she did want it on the sleeves. The gauge is exactly right with an increased needle size as suggested by Rowan. The stocking stitch part was knitted to the right measurements so I don't know what's gone wrong. And I'm not sure exactly where I'm going to adjust it to make it right.

Socks and Addi Lace Turbos

These are the finally finished socks that I started on holiday.

And a closer look....

They are all constructed in the same way - toe up and short row no-wrap toes and heels-
From the left

Knitting Goddess Pure Cashmere used double on Addi Turbo 2.5mm with Yarn Yard solid for the toes and heels.

Yarn Yard April Sock Club yarn, again one circular but this time I was able to try out my new 2.5mm Addi Lace Turbos!!

The last pair are Posh Yarn Eva (Silk/Cashmere) on 2.5mm Addis and using Miriam Felton's Razor Shell pattern . I extended the Razor shell over the top of the foot.


Did I say Addi Lace Turbos?? Yes I did and they are lovely to use. Have you tried them yet?

They are more pointy than the regular Addi Turbos, the cords are thinner and they are very very smooth at the join. I love them. They are perfect for "magic loop". There's lots of info here on Knitter's Review. And you need several pairs don't you......

Actually at the moment they are only made in 2.5, 3, 3.25, 3.5, 3.75 and 4mm ie US sizes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and in lengths 60, 80 and 120cm but Addi will even make a custom length for you!!

I bought mine from Colorsong Yarn and they offer free postage to Europe.


Glade....It is very nearly finished - pictures and details next time....

Glade Help from Rowan

A very quick update to report the phone back I've just had from Rowan.

Unfortunately the very helpful lady from Rowan didn't have the actual garment with her to be able to give me the tension the edging was knitted at but she did have some interesting measurements and statistics.

The garment in the pattern book was the first size and took 660gms. Two pattern repeats fitted along the base of each sleeve and I think she said 7 repeats along the bottom. The edging measures 29cm wide (ie parallel to the cast-on edge).

My edging only measured 27cm so her conclusion was that I was knitting too tightly and that if I used larger needles all my troubles would be over. I've now restarted and so I'll see if this cures it. I feel rather sceptical but lets see.

It certainly would have been helpful to have a tension given for the edging.

Glade's Progress

Here is the beginning of my edging for Glade.


Isn't it beautiful?

When I've finished the third pattern repeat it will be long enough to fit along the bottom of one sleeve and it will have used approximately 2 1/2 balls of yarn. Assuming the remaining edging uses yarn at the same rate I shall need ten or eleven balls - just for the edging! And as I've already used 7 balls for the body that makes a total of 17 balls for the whole garment. The pattern gives 14 balls so something is going badly wrong somewhere.

I've phoned Rowan and am waiting for a phone back reply. I know I'm not alone with this problem - have a look here at Damn, Knit & Blast It .

I've searched through blogland and not found any other mention of Glade - problems or not, so I can only assume we're the only two bloggers knitting Glade.

Glade from Rowan Classic Nature

Glade

After the first ten days of being here with children and grandchildren, now that they've gone home it is very quiet. It was lovely having them here...but it's nice just the two of us too. And we so easily slip into the very laissez-faire attitude that creeps over us with the warm weather.

I've been doing knitting in odd moments but have nothing finished to show yet. Three pairs of unfinished socks and Glade for DD3.

Glade is knitted in Rowan's Bamboo Soft which has a divine feel and fantastic drape and lovely soft colours - I'm using the one illustrated in the pattern book - Rowan Classic Nature.

But it's slow - or rather I am slow. I'm still working on the boring stocking stitch part of the body and am having lots of trouble with the yarn splitting as I knit.

You see it's made of thirteen (!) fine filaments which are loosely twisted together and I think it would be better if I were using less pointy needles because I keep splitting it and sadly don't notice until much later...I don't think I've heard that anyone else has had this problem.....

I'm hoping to be on the fancy border pattern in the next day or so.


Nikon D70 or Panasonic Lumix FZ50?

Some of the sunsets this holiday have been amazing.....



And I've had the opportunity to use DD2's camera so some photos in the last three or four posts were taken with my own Nikon D70 (a digital SLR) and some with hers - Panasonic Lumix FZ50. The biggest sun in the sunsets was with the Lumix and the other with the Nikon...same sun just seconds separating the pictures and obviously a different view point.

I have always sworn by SLRs and as soon as the prices for a digital SLR came down to my range I bought my D70 - and I love it. But...I have to swap lenses. ..and use a tripod for some of the longer shots - and I don't have a macro lens at all.
.....you can see how I'm thinking.......
Kate's camera is much lighter, no extra lenses to carry round and an "anti-shake" feature that gives sharp pictures at high zoom. Oh and did I say the optical zoom range on this little beauty is an equivalent 35mm - 420mm!! I can't hold my Nikon steady at 200mm without really fast shutter speed and even then I really should use a tripod. And lots more pixels.

I am very very tempted by this and there are some interesting prices around. I would keep my Nikon because it will take a better photo and it is definitely faster so for snaps of the children where it's so easy to miss just exactly *that* expression, only an SLR will do.

.......but the Lumix is very good and the convenience....

Socks and More Socks

I like to have three or four different projects to be working on at the same time. One is usually a sock, one a lacy something - shawl or scarf - and something larger like a cardigan or jersey. So I don't know what's gone wrong this month. I started five pairs of socks - and have plans for at least two more in my head.

I think partly this must be due to my joining the Sock-A-Month club. And as I didn't join until March, I *need* to make two extra pairs to make up for missing January and February. My enthusiasm is fuelled by seeing all the gorgeous socks everyone is making / has made and not least by the lovely yarn arriving each month from the Yarn Yard sock club.

I'm too impatient to wait until these are all finished so here is the progress so far:

These little beauties are knitted in Noro Silk Garden shade 87. Iwas spurred into making these when I saw some similar for sale at an extortionate price on Ebay (and in fact they sold) . They make lovely slouching socks and are a very fast fun knit.

The second completed pair:
Posh Yarns Eva 4ply in colour "LoveHearts" a lovely 45% Cashmere/ 55% Silk mixture. The pattern on the legs from Miriam Felton's Razor Shell pattern.

These are more Noro Slouch socks, this time I've done the toe (and shall do the heel) in Rowan Kid Classic so that the legs can be a bit longer. The Silk Garden is colour 241.


These are going to be my Cricketman socks

They will be a very easy fit - and for relaxing in because they are 100% cashmere again from Posh Yarn. I'd intended them as normal socks but in fact they were wrongly labelled and are 6ply which is an Aran weight but as they were destined for a birthday present I decided to go ahead anyway even though there wasn't going to be enough yarn. So this is why they've been at a standstill for a while, waiting for some creamy cashmere to eek it out. There will be stripes and a little motif hopefully by next week.

This I've saved until last and is the one that at the moment I'm most excited by:

The main yarn is Poshyarn "Alice" which is handspun 100% Cashmere and I don't think it's ideally suited to making into a sock because of the handspun irregularities. But I love it and I shall have enough left to make something more appropriate with the rest. It is soooo soft. The fairisling bits are done mainly in Kid Classic and some leftover red Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed. The twined edging at the top is the edging on Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Caspian Sea Socks and in fact I may have to undo it because I've practised on a swatch and I can do it much better now. The second sock (already well underway) will be better. I shall try and chart my pattern and post it with my other knitting notes eventually.

Blooming Desert Flower

These socks are knitted in the lovely Desert Flower colourway sock yarn from Piece of Beauty. I won't bore you with my trials, tribulations and false starts of the simple little flower motif but this is the final version.


and the pair...



It doesn't matter that each sock only has one flower and that one is a bobble flower and the other is a lace flower. After all, no-one can see both sides of your legs at the same time.

Kate's AbFab

This is finished just in time for me to get it to Kate for her birhday.

The creams and browns are quite contrasty and not the subtle colour changes I think she was hoping for so I'm a bit apprehensive about her reaction. Fingers crossed that she likes it - it took ages to get these colours together. Anyway if she doesn't I'll do another for her but she'll have to come to Colinette with me and choose herself.









Inside/outside, flash/no-flash make such a difference to the photos.

It took just over 8 skeins of different Colinette yarns and measures 60" x 44" excluding the fringe.

Felted Bebbie Bliss Aran Tweed Bag

It's Kate's (DD2) birthday on Friday and her AbFab will be finished then but I had hoped to have it ready to give her when we spend this weekend in London with her. Unfortunately the last of the wool I wanted didn't arrive until Wednesday and there just hasn't been time to get it fininshed.

Here is an in-progress photo to show you the colours.

I hope she likes it as much as Rachel (DD3) liked hers.

I made this DB Aran Tweed bag with some yarn left over from my cardi. I used 6 balls and could have used less because although I'd swatched, the finished bag didn't felt as much as I'd expected so it is quite a bit bigger than I wanted. It'll still be useful though and it looks good with that pinky Boden dress that I've still not worn. It was funny because the wool actually felted very nicely - no stitch definition left etc but it just didn't shrink as much as I'd expected. Strange. But then I know felting is a fairly inexact science.





Knitting Obsession

Have you seen this little video clip from YouTube? It's called "The Last Knit". Kate sent it me....I guess that's what she thinks of me...but it's not true - I'm not that obsessional - and anyway I don't have long hair.

First Colinette AbFab Finished

Rachel's throw is finished!! And just in time because her birthday is next Tuesday.





You can tell I'm pleased - three pictures instead of one! What do you think? It's nice isn't it?

It has turned out really well and I've got enough bits and pieces of yarn to make one if not two cushion covers to go with it although I might not be able to do that before Tuesday. I think the overall colour of the throw is most accurately reflected in the front fringe of the last photo.

It measures 72" x 40" including the fringe and took 800 gm of different Colinette yarns.


New Stash Acquisition

Although this came a little while ago now I can't not show you the lovely yarn my Secret Springtime Santa sent me.
It's PoshYarns Eva, a 45% Cashmere/55% Silk chunky weight mix that I think I shall use to make a Cherry Garcia cabled neck tube. I'm so looking forward to knitting this - thank you jam_mam

Another one from PoshYarn

This is Eva again but a dk yarn colour - "electric". This will be a shawl.

It's so difficult to resist buying something from PoshYarn at the regular "one-off" Sunday evening sale. All the yarn is dyed just for that evening's sale and can't be bought before and when it's gone, it's gone so it's first come, first served. You get the feeling that if you don't buy it then there will never be another chance. Actually, it's quite stressful but I think you've got it right Dee.

And the last one - Handmaiden Seasilk colour Sangria and another shawl.....

Doesn't this one just shout "Summer"!