Is there anybody there?

I have been gone for a very long time and am wondering whether anyone is still out there.

Cooeee. You there?

I'm toying with the idea of resurrecting the much neglected blog - anyone still interested? I tend to live on Ravelry now, but might dip my toes back into Blogland now and again.

That's all for tonight, but just because I never did like a post without pictures, here's a couple of things I've been up to in the last, um 7 months...

The Beekeepers Quilt - an ongoing project, need about 600ish hexagons for the size I'd like.

And look what just flew off the needles at the weekend, finally!

More progress...

We've just been away to Welsh Wales for a few days - which apart from the beautiful scenery, means plenty of knitting time for me. Turns out though that I haven't really got much to show you. I managed to get a few more inches of Carica done (congratulations to anyone who can remember that far back!). I seem to have slipped up with this though. I started it exactly as the pattern said, but it was huge - bigger than huge infact. It would have fitted a baby elephant. So very sensibly I decided to go down a size and drop a needle size. On reflection it seems that one or the other would have been a more sensible option. Still, it will be good when I lose weight... and shrink a bit height wise too!

Here is my latest dog-walking sock. Despite the absence of the dog on holiday (he stayed at home with my mum and dad). It's the first of Snape's Stockings, designed by the same person who did Hermione's Everyday Sock. I was hoping to love it as much as Hermione's. I do not. I'm not terribly keen on the yarn either (when will I ever learn to just stick with Posh?) it's Tosh Sock and actually feels a bit nylony even though it's pure merino. Very loosely plied too so ends up being a bit splitty. Still, never mind, it's keeping me entertained while I'm out with the hound.


But here is another sock, another story altogether. Tug boat socks. It's mostly Posh with little bits of an unknown alpaca in. I love this sock. I love everything about this sock. The fish, the waves, the boat, the red bit at the top, and the heel... oh the heel! This is my most favourite heel ever in the history of heels! And even though I only cast it off a couple of days ago, I have already started on number 2. Something of a record for me! No second sock syndrome here. Love it loads (thank-you so much Trashy for pointing me in the right direction for this one!)

My queue on ravelry is gettting a bit long once again - I have 46 pairs of socks on it that I really want to do! So I'd better get on and do a spot of knitting don't you think?

Progress and pudding

Progress on the tug boat socks has been slow, but oh my goodness, I am so loving these socks. Look at that heel - I love that heel so much! I want to do all my heels like that from now on. I won't because it took ages, but I'd like to!

The second Dog-Walking Hermione sock was finished. I will go back to that pattern time and again. It was a delight to knit - so easy and so effective. Anyone else done one? I have started on a second pattern by the same designer - Erica Leuder - Snape's Stockings in an incredibly acidic green Tosh Sock. I'm only on the rib so far and while the yarn is OK, it hasn't had the same impact that Posh Martha has. Love Posh Martha. Really really love her. Though not in a lesbian kind of way (wasn't it Bridget Jones who said that?) (one of my literary heroines!)

Here was the Mother's Day pudding. Chocolate mousse cake heavily laced with Baileys and decorated with Cadbury's Caramel button things, white chocolate and strawberries just to be healthy! Yum, yum and yum again! Would you like some? Well sorry, but you're too late. We ate it all!

Oops - again!

Sorry. It's been ages again hasn't it? On the knitting front, I have finished my second Aspen Leaf cardigan. It is such a gorgeous pattern, really quick and well explained and I really, really love it. So it is such a shame that I seem unable to get the yarn right. My first one was knitted in Posh Yarn's Martha aran weight - it bled, so I washed it (may I just point out there that this is the first time I have ever had so much as a slight problem with Posh). Anyway, I decided to machine wash it. Not such a good idea. I killed it.

But never mind (well I did mind, but no use getting upset when it's all my own stupid fault) so I ordered some Almerboo from Woolhunter. Same problem with the bleeding yarn, but this time I decided to be so good and hand washed the cardi until the water ran clear. And then I put it in the washer on the gentle spin cycle. Mrs Woolhunter told me not to do this, but I knew better... well it turns out that Mrs Woolhunter was right and I was wrong.

So I now have 2 felted Aspen Leaf cardigans. Do I try for a third? In superwash something?

While I ponder this question, I was sent the Ravelry link to a pattern that was apparently right up my street. (Thanks Moogsmum and Trashy). A fantabulous sock with little boats on, fishes, waves, cables and loads of colours. Oh how right were you both, this pattern was ordered within minutes.

Oh heavy sigh. Next time I'm sent 'good ideas', someone please remind me to check the pattern first. A sock with 80 stitches? 2.25mm needles? Intarsia in the round? Loads of ends to darn in? It is certainly a challenge, but I absolutely adore this little sock. Doubt I'll even end up with second sock syndrome here - there's so much to keep me entertained.

But after all the knitting dilemmas, I feel a slice of something nice is in order. This is healthy. It must be. It's got 2 whole punnets of strawberries on. Surely their goodness outweighs the all-butter puff pastry, the double cream, custard, white chocolate and full-fat yoghurt?


PS anyone fancy joining me knitting this rather wonderful bag? I think it might possibly be the best hand knitted bag I've ever seen!

WIP's

I'm beginning to feel swamped by my WIP's again. I love them all. I want to finish them all. Why can't I just get off this machine and knit them all? I have too many WIP's. A friend of mine who comes to the Stash Basket house once a week to knit has only got 2 WIP's. She is making me feel like I need to get something done. (I keep telling her to get more stuff cast on!)

I was seriously thinking of concentrating hard on one particular project, just so I could get it off the needles. Reduce my 8 WIP's to 7 and then 6 and then 5...

... But then I saw this. 17 WIP's. I no longer feel quite so guilty, just a bit of a light weight (oh if only!) with such a paltry amount of projects hiding in the house!

At last!

OK then, get the patterns out and the yarn and the needles. I need to start casting a few more things on. The interminable Mystery Blanket is finally finished and off the needles. Thank goodness for that, I can now breathe a huge sigh of relief. The colours are much brighter than this photo shows (rubbish light today, grey clouds and drizzle).


Some of the colours in it really bother me. I can't bear the hideous bright coral pink - it was awful yarn to knit with too - and the brown is just wrong. But I love the greens and blues. The multi-coloured cable squares were a pain to do, but worth every last grey hair - they are lovely! The picture squares are all great too - so pleased with the turtle and shell in particular. I didn't like the mermaid so changed the centre square to a policeman's helmet, er, jellyfish. It is far from right, but I couldn't bear to pull it down. In future years I'm sure it will make me smile - sitting in my dotage in a nursing home with it draped over my knees, I will no doubt wonder why I didn't do the mermaid but opted for a policeman with dreadlocks instead.

A friend of mine is doing this year's and despite my initial reaction of 'I don't like that' I would like to hearby change my mind. The colours are lovely, the yarn is gorgeous and the squares are beautiful - and look very complicated! But I am pleased I'm not joining in this year. Too many other things to knit (and indeed finish) and a whole big lot of sock yarn waiting to be turned into socks.

That being the case, I wonder why I've just bought 900g of Almerboo Aran and 600g of organic wool/alpaca. There is no hope, truly there isn't!