Too many excuses

I can't believe that it is mid March already and this is my first post of 2008. I have been knitting, but not able to take any photos as the digital camera has broken. We need to buy a new one which I hope Oli will do when he travels to Boston at the beginning of April. Until then I will have to blog without pictures.
I have started a cardigan for Oli, using Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentage system and knitting it in the round. I am trying to practice steeking so that when I start knitting Autumn Rose I will be an old hand at it! I bought all the yarn for Autumn Rose so I am really excited about starting it, but need to find a long stretch of quiet time so that I can concentrate. That might not happen for a while.
I have also been knitting baby gifts, but I am not sure whether to continue. I made a really cute hat for a new baby, which was an ok size. If the newborn has a small head it would keep for six months. I didn't get much of a thank you, just that it was too big! I love making gifts, but they are time consuming and if they aren't appreciated then I don't think that I will bother. I was surprised as I thought that this friend would like that fact that it was hand made. Anyway, I feel better now that I have that off my chest!
I have also made 7 squares for the Lizard Ridge afghan. I am really pleased with how they have turned out and now have to continue to collect more colours of Kureyon to complete the blanket.

Last blog of the year

Look! I have finally taken pictures of the Tangled Yoke Cardigan that was finished at beginning of December. I love it. It is very soft and easy to wear. I added a little on the length, which in retrospect I didn't need to do. The yarn is lighter than the felted tweed used for the original, therefore mine has some 'holes' where the cable pattern twists. It actually looks fine in real life and I am hoping with washing and the yarn softening up they will close over time. I have had some compliments when wearing it, so I am happy.

I have been so busy doing I don't know what! The kids are off school and we have spent a load in the sales, having put off buying anything for the house for over three years. It has finally caught up with us and we have been spending like mad.

I even bought some Noro Cash Iroha in black in the John Lewis sales, it was half price and I couldn't resist. I am still not sure whether to take it back or keep it in my stash, which I am trying to reduce!

I am working my way through the cardigan for Oli, using some Knit Picks yarn. It is based on an Elizabeth Zimmerman saddle shouldered sweater and I am knitting it in the round. I am going to steek it which is quite a scary thought. I will keep you posted. I have also started making squares for the Lizard Ridge blanket from knitty.com. I love the Kureyon and need to keep adding more skeins as I go along.

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

Wow! Haven't posted for over a month, but I have managed to complete both sleeves and the yoke on the cardigan and am now in the home straight. I have to finish the collar ribbing and am awaiting the arrival of a size 0 needle to pick up the stitches for the three needle bind off. I have even sewn up the tank top that I made for Gad using some Noro Blossom I had in my stash. I really want to use up my stash, but I have sock yarn I don't know what to do with as I think that it is too nice to use for socks! I can't take any picture at the moment because I need to replace the batteries in the camera.

I took a last minute trip to Boston last month and did buy a little to add to the stash, obviously more sock yarn that is too nice to make into socks! It is Mountain Colors Barefoot and is gorgeous. Any suggestions of what to make will be gratefully received. Not much else on the needles, although I need to start the cardigan that I promised Oli as I was able to pick up the yarn I ordered for it when I visited Boston. I bought it from Knitpicks and it was so reasonable. I also got my Harmony interchangeable needles which are great, but one of the needle connections on a number 4 needle is faulty. I am hoping that they will be able to send me a replacement.

Oli is off to New York next week and I am wondering if he will have time to stop by String and buy me a skein or two of something interesting. It is Chanukah this week after all and I only need a little skein of something to make me smile!

Frustration

I am still trying to get the sleeve right on my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I have reknit it using 3.5mm needles but have now found that I have what look like seam lines between each set of stitches on the double pins. I have ordered a 16 inch 3.5mm circular needle in the hope that if I frog again and knit using this I won't get the lines. They are hard to see on the picture, but I tried!
I have had a fairly eventful past week, having seen a gynaecologist on Tuesday and then finding myself having a laparoscopy the next day. I had a cyst on my left ovary which was large enough to need removing. It wasn't until during the procedure that the surgeon discovered that it looked a little suspicious and that there was no living ovarian tissue left. He went on to remove the ovary, cyst and fallopian tube. I am going to get the lab results tomorrow and hopefully all will be well. It has been a little worrying, but he thinks that it is benign. I have found it hard to concentrate on my knitting and subsequently the sleeve started to get on my nerves. I have put it to one side whilst I await the arrival of the circular needles.

Here is a picture of the project I started to keep my fingers busy whilst I wait. I wanted something simple and fairly mindless, as well as something that might use up my stash. Well here it is. It is a pinwheel baby blanket using some yarn that I have had knocking around for a while. I used some a few weeks ago for a baby sweater and now I am using the rest for a blanket. I have a couple of friends expecting babies so I am trying to get ahead of myself and knit something for them.

There isn't much else on the needle at present as I am waiting for Oli to go to Boston to pick up my Knitpicks package.

Tangled Yoke Cardigan - frogging

I ripped out the sleeve on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan, I thought that it looked at bit baggy as I was trying it on. I have now cast on using 3.5mm needles instead of 3.75mm. I hope that it works. I think that as it gets near to the top of the sleeve I will use one of each size so that when I knit across the yoke using 3.75mm needles the gauge change is not too noticeable. It sounds a bit mad, but I want to try it to see. I love the yarn that I am using so I really want to be happy with the finished article. I may have enough for a sweater for Lily left over as I think I bought too much. It was a really good value buy and I hope to go back to Florence and buy some more.

Latest projects

I have been using my stash! I am so proud of myself for finding a use for some Noro Blossom that has been sitting in a box for about 2 years. I am making a tank top for Gad.
I am so proud of myself that I am making this for myself as a reward.
It is the Tangled Yoke cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall 2007. I am using the cashmere that I bought in Florence in the summer. It is really soft and a lovely shade of pale blue. I have made good progress, having completed the body as far as the underarms and having knitted about half of the first sleeve. It is quick knitting and so far so good.


The garter stitch ribbing on the cuffs and bottom is really nice and I hope that the cardigan looks good when it is finished.
Knitting it in one piece has really inspired me to read Elizabeth Zimmerman and I bought 'The Opinionated Knitter' from the Socktopus stall when I went to Ally Pally last week to look around the knitting and stitching show. Socktopus is a new online store selling some great yarn, but they had an even greater selection of Elizabeth Zimmerman books at reasonable prices. I was really pleased to be able to look through them and choose which one I wanted to buy, rather than relying on reviews online. This one is a collection of her newletters which have some really great patterns in them. They are very inspiring and there are colour pictures of many of the designs that have been knitted up. I particularly liked the examples of stitch patterns that she included in some of her designs, charting them out for the reader to use.
I have now ordered some yarn from Knitpicks. I want to knit a saddle shoulder cardigan for Oli from my new book. They only ship to American and Canadian destinations, so as Oli is going to Boston I have had the parcel sent to some friends there and he will pick it up. I also purchased a little something for myself. I have long wanted some wooden interchangeable circular needles and now they stock them at Knitpicks. I can't wait!

Blackberry

Yesterday was a very sad day for us. We discovered that Blackberry had escaped from his hutch and run in the early hours of the morning and had been killed by a fox. Gad and Benjamin went out to feed him when they got up and couldn't find him. After searching the garden they found him. Gad was inconsolable all day and didn't feel calm until Oli returned from work and helped bury him. He was a great rabbit with a lovely personality and all the kids miss him.