So much FUN!

I've been enjoying muself immensely with all this lovely wool to spin and this merino top was scrumptious! I spun up two bobbins so I could ply the resulting singles into a 2ply yarn that was about fingering weight. When I washed it a HEAP of dye came out but I think I got rid of most of it. It looks so nice!!! I can't wait to find something worthy of it to knit :)

But what I am most proud of is I finally finished my Buttercup Top. I used recycled yarn from an unravelled cotton blend jumper and knit Large although I could have gotten away with Medium I suppose. But I like the slightly oversize look. I serves very well as a smock to layer over other clothes. I'm really pleased with it and I wore it today even though it's not blocked or anything.

I LOVE it!

Happy Knitting :)

Finally, some lace!

I've had a bit of a blitz on the yarns I spin and then tend to hoard, mortally terrified that if I use them somehow I'll commit them to a project beneath their ability to shine. I think I've proved sufficiently to myself now that is not true!

I've had this Tussah silk and Wool blend for ages and couldn't think of anything to use it for that would do the lovely soft yarn justice. Then I found the perfect pattern! It's the Wasabi Hat that I got off Ravelry. I've wanted to have a go at knitting lace for a while but I needed a small enough project that wouldn't seem overwhelming. This was absolutely perfect for all these requirements.



Isn't it gorgeous?
Strangely enough I can't see the pattern as clearly as the camera can so it's gratifying to see how well it worked out. I love it already and it feels so beautiful on!
Second project noteworthy for the swiftness of completion. I visited a craft store in Denmark and they had handdyed rovings! I love these since they are so easy to spin and you get such individual colour schemes. So I bought about three bags of different colours and different fibres. But as soon as I got home that night I sat down and started spinning this rainbowy coloured alpaca roving.



By the end of the night I'd spun up the singles and then navajo-plied the singles and then wound it on the niddy noddy and went to bed. It was about midnight by then! Next morning I gave it a gentle wash, slapped the water out of it against a verandah pole and hung it out to dry. While I waited for that, I began exploring for just the right pattern. The finished ball, once dry and balled up was just a single ball of about 8ply weight.



I wanted to do a pair of socks but I knew I wouldn't have a lot of yardage to play with and I eventually found just the pattern on Ravelry. The Double-Take Anklets. As soon as I'd finished the beret, damped it and stretched it out onto a plate to dry I cast on for these socks. It took me less than a day to knit them up and they are so cool!!



They fit fine, I used up every scrap of the yarn and they feel great as well. Very proud of myself and I've had so much fun!! I love having lovely yarn to work with :)
Happy Knitting :)

I think I might have too many projects going...

I've been busy knitting since the felted slippers and the owl. Just lots of mindless knitting. I'm beginning to think I've got a few too many projects on the go at the moment though.

I made up this lovely Tassel Hat with a ball of Moda Vera Cardellino. Very quick knit and feels lovely. It's almost like having yarn plaits on either side of your face :)



I finally finished the October Nursing Shawl that I tried before but the yarns I used I could bear on my neck. The ones I used this time were from my dying experiment and they feel lovely! I stuck with the plain garter edge though instead of the ruffle because I don't really like it.



And I also finally tried the Skew Sock pattern from Ravelry. SO different! And so good! It fits so well and looks impressive too.

But while I've been doing these I've been slogging along with a seafoam scarf in a lovely varigated colouring which requires a bit of concentration. I'll get a better picture of it soon since I've managed to use up one ball of the Moda Vera Bouvardia and am onto the last ball. It'll make a nice sized scarf when I'm done.



But the thing that's been holding me up most is the Ribbed Lace Shrug. The lace pattern's not difficult, just fiddly with two yarn overs and I ended up having to put stitch markers all the way across even though the stitch pattern's only 4 stitches long! But it's one great big rectangle that seems to go on forever!!! I've got to get it to at least 18 inches long before I can start doing the rib pattern to finish it but I'm at 13 inches and that's only because I made myself sit and knit through Bones and Castle! (Good episodes though) I don't even care anymore if it fits or even if it'll look good on me. I'm knitting it now just to finish it and get rid of some of this fluffy acrylic! Totally over it unless when I finish it I find it actually looks nice. Who knows?

But while I'm ploughing on with that I'm also starting a Buttercup Top. It seems to go so much faster because there are sections of instructions to go through so I don't get too bored. But theres so much to do and so much yarn I can make into cool stuff. I don't think I'll ever get bored with knitting. Sigh :)

Happy Knitting :)