One, two, three ... not out!

The deafening silence here tells you how much knitting success I've been having recently;o)

Fetching

in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

Fetching, by Cheryl Niamath, appears to have been my last project that went as intended. The yarn was a dream to work with and I'll happily use it again for some future project. The pattern was very clearly written and the cable work was a really nice re-introduction to cables after too long a break. The construction of the thumb was different and I feel my finishing was a little less elegant than the method used in the Cranford Mitts.

Now more of my knitting disasters!

Firstly, remember these? No Purl Monkeys, hot off the needles for DD1. She wore them once and her boyfriend laundered them....

One of the sad pair now looks like this! Doesn't it look a truly sorrowful wee sight?? And this is the young man who wants to marry my daughter;o) I've soaked it several times and with Herculean strength, and much cursing, managed to get it loosened enough to force on to a sock blocker. I reckon it's a lost cause though ...

To con'sole' myself, I cast on another pair of socks. This time I planned to make the original Monkey pattern, by Cookie. I trawled through my stash and came up with the perfect yarn - a Fyberspates yarn in soft muted shades of yellow, brown and natural. Perfect! This was the 23rd pair of socks I've cast on and, as I've not yet got a pair to my name, were to be mine, all mine... The pattern's wonderful and was flying off my needles. As the length of the foot grew, I tried them them on - or tried to:o( They don't fit my clod hoppers without the risk of cutting off all blood supply to my feet! So, once SSS has been addressed, these may well become the replacement pair for DD1's lost socks!

Next, I cast on Ribby Yoke sweater using Sirdar Eco yarn. How wrong could this go?? Well, true to form I did balls this one up too! For anyone else who starts this project, don't be an eejit like me and misread the pattern:

Work in st-st (throughout) work 89 rows dec 1st at each end of the next and every following 8th row...

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but such a shame it is hind and not fore sight in my case! The pattern was NOT telling me to decrease on the 90th row as I initially interpreted it... Frogging back 102 rows of very soft, slightly fluffy yarn is not fun! The project is now back on track with the back and nearly all of the front done.

The Eco yarn was ordered online and delivery was going to take a couple of days. Could I wait? Nope! Startitis was raging - and I cast on a Climbing Vines sweater. I love this pattern and had been itching to try it out. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll be itching, wearing it! I used some Kilcarra aran that I'd stashed away. Now, the pattern is stunning... The yarn is lovely - but not something that you'd wear next to your skin, unless you have some serious masochistic streak or a very thick vest:o( It's not the pattern at fault, or the yarn - it's the dunderhead knitter that put the two together who's entirely responsible. If anyone can tell me that Kilcarra aran softens up dramatically in the first wash, I'll be delighted. If not, it's to the frog pond for this one too and the Kilcarra will become an outdoor type garment which the yarn currently appears more suited to.

They say that things happen in threes, don't they?

Hat's off to.....

Two posts in a couple of days? Well, at least my blogging inconsistency remains consistent;)

MissB is sulking that more of my blogging/knitting comrades want to adopt the dog, rather than her! Bless her, it should come as no real surprise ... look at Abbie, the mutt's cheeky wee expression, makes her so much more adoptable;) Anyway, here's slightly better pictures of the 2 hats (especially for dreamcatcher).

Sirdar Eco DK Lacy Beret

Sirdar Eco DK Lacy Pull-on hat

Knitted in one colour and minus knitted flower applique

Lacy pull-on hat crown

On the eureeka-moment knitting front, the end of the dirge that is the Blue Mile is nearing! I've just got the sleeves to sew in and then seam it up! Halleluiah!! It's a nice enough style but, OMG, what a drag to knit! However, pictures of my knitting nightmare should be posted by next weekend:) One wee disaster on the last leg... In need of legal stimulation (coffee!), I placed my knitting on the settee to pop off to put on the kettle. There it sat, resplendant on its Brittany Birch needles... Then the daft pup decided to take her favourite squeaking pig toy onto the sett ee for a good old maul and chew. Leaping like an Olympic athlete, she dived on to the sofa, landing straight on top of the Brittany needles, snapping one of them in two:( I'd to finish knitting it on lopsided, non-matching needles...

Angie ( http://jazzycrafts.blogspot.com) made my day, and got me blushing ... she's given me an award!

Thank you, Angie - I'm really chuffed and love watching what you're up to on the crafty front. Am off now to decide who to nominate others who inspire me and make my day too...

Adoption anyone??

Hmmmpphhh! All week, I've encouraged and cajoled (read nagged!) DD1 to take pics of her new hats knitted in Sirdar Eco wool. Do you think this young woman treats her mother's request in a manner appropriate to the knitting world?? Here's what she took:

Anyone want to adopt a sassy 19 year old??