A better example

I have resigned myself to the fact that my pictures don't look good. I have put in this picture of the Looking Glass Top from last summer's Interweave Knits to show you how my finished item should look. It does look like this in the flesh, in a gorgeous rasberry silk yarn, but the picture of it in last week's post is terrible. Also, I don't look as good as the model!

I have started a baby kimono jacket from Interweave Knits Summer 2005. Unfortunately they don't have pictures posted on the website for the projects in this edition of the magazine. You will just have to wait until I gather up enough courage to start photographing again. It is knit in Rowan Wool Cotton in cream and it is just plain garter stitch. The fun bit is that the pattern is knit in one piece, with minimal finishing. You only have to sew up the arm seams. I still have to finish my socks using the magic loop. Don't get me wrong, the loop is great, but I have lost track with them and need to get going again.

I really need to start using up my stash, a continual theme that I am going to keep coming back to. I am toying with the idea of making baby blankets with it. My cousin is expecting a baby any day and my brother and sister-in-law are expecting twins at the end of the summer. I think that I am going to be knitting baby gifts for a while!

Indecision

As usual I am posting days after my last post. I never seem to make the time to do any blogging, maybe it is because I am not a natural writer. I am hoping that once we move to New Jersey and I no longer work I will have time when the kids are at school. Or it might be that I am spending all my time exploring yarn stores and expanding the stash.

This brings me to another subject. STASH. I really want to knit it up. It is so hard to find inspiration and make decisions. At the moment I am debating whether or not I have enough double knitting cotton to make a couple of baby blankets. I also have loads of sock yarn, but am not in the mood to make socks. Indecision is a major fault of mine. I am contemplating making the log cabin blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting, again, not sure!

Finished projects:


Project: Looking glass sweater, Interweave Knits Summer 2006.
Yarn: Knitshop Chinese silk yarn, wine red.

I couln't get a good picture of this sweater, but I've finished it, barr the weaving in of the ends and blocking. It was easy to knit and I love the shape. These pictures really don't show it properly, so look at the link for a better idea of the way it looks.



My first attempt at lace knitting, ta da!!



Project: Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style.
Yarn: Colourmart lace weight cashmere, doubled.

This pattern was addictive. Once I had finally managed to cast on the correct amount of stitches, not drop any in the first few rows or break the yarn, I could not put it down. It is a great pattern and I loved the way it turned out. I have to block it and then give it to my sister Claire. I want to make one for myself, but I can't decide whether it would look good in a handpainted, variagated yarn.

Itchy feet

We finally did decide to leave London and relocate to the U.S. Oli has taken a job in New Jersey, not the nicest of states, but we will be living about 20 minutes from Manhattan, over the George Washington Bridge. With the excitement has come endless worries about what to do with the house. We still haven't finished doing it up and furnishing it. I have to find someone to finish our bathroom, paint the outside of the house and touch up the paintwork inside. Then I need to to get curtains for the living room and carpet for the landing and stairs. It is impossible to find good workpeople who want to do a series of small jobs well. I will continue my search!

Knitting seems to have taken a back seat lately, with planning for school and house issues taking up most of my time. I still have to take photos of what I am doing at the moment. I have finished my sweater and am in the process of sewing it up. My socks are on a back burner and Ene's scarf is doing well. I want to try and work through my stash before we leave in the summer, so that I can start trawling yarn stores in New Jersey and Manhattan as soon as I arrive.

I want to knit a baby sweater with Koigu but can't find a good pattern, anyone know of one?

Pictureless

I never get time these days to write a post, never mind take pictures to show. I have now cast on about 6 times over for Ene's Scarf in Scarf Style. I either dropped a stitch, lost a stitch or the yarn snapped each time. Anyway, I was very stubborn and wouldn't give up and I am now on row 42 and it is great. It is addictive! I will post a picture and put a link in, but I can't be bothered now. I also have to show pictures of my socks and the sweater I am on, but maybe this post will tantalise you and you will visit again to look. My sweater is in raspberry aran weight silk, bought at Alexandra Palace and it is great. I am almost finished.
There are so many things that I want to knit at the moment that I don't know where to start. I want to work my way through my stash because I think that I should move to New Jersey with little, if any yarn, so that I can go wild when I get there. We are going in the summer, if the visa comes through in time. I have to make another trip to house hunt etc. so I also have to make room in the stash for some more yarn.

Can't put it down

I have been so busy lately, it has been ages. However, I haven't been too busy to start knitting Badcaul socks. they are knitted toe up and I am doing them in Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn. I love it! It is so springy and the colours are gorgeous.


I started to get a little worried about the yardage in the skein, one is supposed to be enough for a pair of socks, so I decided to start knitting the second one too. I had originally started the first sock on DPNs and I thought I would try the second one using the magic loop method. It is amazing! It is so easy and much quicker to knit, than using DPNs.
I also have a sweater on the needles at the moment and a lace shawl for my sister, but more about those later! I have to go, so I will add more about the other projects at another time.

Stash

Before I went to New Jersey I decided to make a visit to Stash Yarns in Putney. I knew it wouldn't be a good idea, but I couldn't help myself. I indulged by buying two skeins of Koigu. More stash! I'm not sure what to do with them, they are too nice to wear on my feet. I am thinking of yet another scarf.

Snow in London?

I haven't written an entry for ages. I took the children in my class on a school trip to Bournemouth, wow! Then Oli and I went to New Jersey and we brought the weather back with us! He has been interviewing for a job and I went to look around. We were able to spend the weekend in Manhattan with some friends. It was freezing and hence the snow followed us home.


I did manage to visit some great yarn stores in New Jersey and I even managed to pop into String Yarns in Manhattan. It was expensive and just seemed to sell cashmere yarns and a selection of Koigu. I did contemplate buying a skein of Koigu cashmere, but I couldn't think of what to make with just one skein at $50, so I left. Afterwards I thought I could have knitted a hat, but the yarn obviously did not inspire me particularly.

New Jersey was great for yarn stores and I bought a few things.

My first stop was in Teaneck in a shop called The Skein Attraction. It had a really big selection of yarns and I really enjoyed looking at everything. I was very restrained as I knew that I had other stores to investigate. I purchased some Addi turbo circular needles, a stitch counter and a chic lit novel called 'Knitting under the influence". I will let you know if it is any good when I have read it.

The next stop was at an even better store Stix and Stitches, in a town called Montclair. It is a pretty town and has lovely shops. I managed to buy a gorgeous top for myself as well as some yarn. The noro Kureyon, which I am going to make two squares for the Lizzard Ridge blanket. I will continue to make them but I didn't want to bring back a whole suitcase of the yarn, I can pick some more up as I go along. I also bought a skein of Sirino Tapestry yarn from The Great Adirondack Yarn Company. It is a 50% merino and 50% silk mix in a fingering weight. I have 675 yards of it and I think I am going to make a wrap with it. It is really soft and lovely, so I have to knit up a swatch asap. As it was my birthday last Tuesday my kids bought me a couple of knitting books, "Mason Dixon Knitting" and "Ripple Stitch Patterns" by Jan Eaton. It is this book that I am going to use to create a pattern for the wrap.