Waving hello :)

Ooh, it's been a long time hasn't it?

I have posted on and off on my other blog, but here? Well there has been nothing, absolutely nothing to blog of creatively! I've had no crafting get up and go at all. Days are spent at work or with the children, evenings are spent reading with the children, watching a DVD, and going off to bed as early as possible. I've thought about making stuff. I've flicked through patterns, other blogs and Ravelry for inspiration, but I just haven't had the energy to do anything. By time the evening meal is out of the way and the dishes washed, children calmed, PJ's on, I just want to relax and then sleep. I haven't had the energy to even walk up the stairs to bed most evenings. You know, I haven't even bought a single knit/sew/crochet/crafty magazine this year! Oh no, I lie, I bought the March issue of Let's knit hoping for a hit of inspiration, but no, nothing. Even flicking through the magazines in the shop has failed to inspire me into actually buying them. I've bought no yarn, not checked out the links in the yarn shop e-mails, not even hopped around Ebay looking for beautiful yarn bargains. Creative crafting has been at an all time low.

BUT, and yes it's a big but (literally and figuratively lol), I did keep the creative flow ticking over in that quiet place in my mind. And so I worked on the mega granny stripe. An odd few trebles here, a few clusters there, whole rows taking days and weeks to conjure up. But I had to keep at it. It needed no thought, no planning, no concentration, it just came out, ticked along, and reminded me that the feel of the yarns, the hook in hand, the growing project, is all good, and not to be let go forever. So far the mega blanket is around 220cms x 100cms, almost big enough for a single bed, and I've stopped for now. The blanket is happily living across the foot of our bed, the days are slowly warming and it is providing just that little extra comfort for chilly morning toes, although it's a little too heavy to work on now the evenings are a touch warmer. I haven't edged it, I'm hoping to work some more on it when autumn returns, hopefully using up a lot more of the acrylic scraps I have lurking around:

But it's ok like this for now, it did it's job, it kept the creativeity ticking along. A few days ago I cast on the King Cole Dolman cardigan. It's very similar to the EZ baby surprise jacket I think? Anyone who has knitted the BSJ please feel free to offer your thoughts :) I wanted to try the BSJ for ages but couldn't find the pattern in the UK. A colleague at work was also trying to find the same pattern and she came across the KC dolman and kindly offered me a copy. So I took this as a sign that I needed to get the needles out and get creative once again. Casting on and starting the jacket was a bit ....hmm...strange? Apparently I was casting on the sleeve edges, shoulders and back of neck. Even looking at the front picture I couldn't work out how that was happening. But then it shows the jacket from the front, the initial knitting is the sleeves and the back I later discovered. Just like I've heard about the BSJ, this jacket doesn't reveal it's true self until you're almost through. There came a moment, about 80% through, that it suddenly clicked, and that was such a blinding moment that I was in awe. I couldn't wait to cast off and before joining I had to share the reverance with anyone who happened into the room - look, a baggy heap of knitted fabric, a quick fold up and ta-dah, a beautiful baby jacket! Stunned faces all around. Even the "not into knitting" passers through were taken back by the sudden transformation.

And so I joined the shoulders, the only joining required, and here it is:

Lovely don't you think?

I knitted it using some of my lovely, luxury stash, one skein of Fyberspates hand dyed Sheila's Sock yarn, and I used such a tiny amount, just about 60g, it's such a soft, squishily smooth yarn that I'm happy to have left overs. I cast on straight away with another favourite pattern - the Aviatrix. A super speedy knit, a couple of hours later I was done:

Ok so the buttons aren't added yet, but I wanted to share and let you know I was back, hopefully, the creative juices flowing once more :)

Both together, beautiful for a newborn don't you think:

And the hat itself took only 20g so I'm hoping there's enough for a little something to complete the set.....

Can I just say, if anyone has actually stuck by me through the drought, that I am so happy to be back, I've still been following so many blogs, but circumstances have just made it impossible for me to stay regular, stay in touch, and let you know I'm around. Thanks for the awards received whilst I've been away, accepted gracefully in mind if not in type. And thank you for coming back again, to share the haphazard creativity. Happy crafting days for all of us.

-x-

All wrapped up.

I have finally finished something else. At last! 

You want to see what I've finished?

Then here you go:

Forgive the bad picture!

Very snuggly, wouldn't you agree?

A lovely warm, squidgy, winter scarf to go with the lovely warm, squidgy, winter hat I knitted a few days ago:

Another bad picture!

At last, something to put away for gifting. Just hoping now that Jen will like it. Oh, and that I can find a similar shade of DK to knit a pair of gloves to go with......

Knitted up with the other three 100g skeins of Wendy Serenity super chunky, using 10mm needles so finished in a flash. I wasn't sure about whether to add the fringe but now it's on I like it, kind of finishes off the scarf properly I think?

So what about that other bit of knitting do I hear you ask? The dashing-along-without-a-care-until-the-very-last-row bit of knitting? Well I finished it! Yes, the Hitchhiker is all done, wrapped up and put away for gifting to another grown girl. So I'll share a peek shall I?

I need a bigger room to lay it out in!

What do you think? The photo is so bright but then the colours are just as they seem. Just right for the woman who loves colour and brightness and fun:

I really enjoyed knitting up this scarf and I'm already fairly sure there may be another one appearing pretty soon. A quick reminder of the technicalities - Hitchhiker pattern is found on Ravelry. The yarn is King Cole Riot DK. The pattern originally used 150g Wollmeisse sock yarn I think but the Riot is a thin DK, edging close to a 4ply so it turned out a nice size. I used around 165g altogether to get the full 42 teeth worked. The King Cole yarn was ok to work with if a little splitty and I'm glad it was a simple garter stitch pattern as it meant the snagging didn't slow me down too much, well, until I got to that last row already blogged about! I think this scarf would look wonderful knitted up in Noro, and would be a real luxury item. In fact the guy in our LYS did briefly think it was Noro until I told otherwise. Maybe I'll knit the next one in a smoother sock yarn? We'll see. But before i think about that I have more projects in mind, and another cast on already.

Oh in case you're wondering - the Pixie hat was the size of a newborn so that's gone to the Dolly wardrobe already!

-x-

Aaaaarrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

I knitted on the train again yesterday, whilst travelling between workshops. I chatted to a lovely widower who told me all about how how wife used to knit him pure wool v-neck pullovers when they were courting, and how she would knit their children an aran (fishermans) cardigan every winter. He admired the Hitchhiker and said how lovely it was to see someone younger (me?) keeping up the old skills. He hoped I had or would teach my children and keep the skills alive. I reassured him that handcrafts were booming once again with so many people enjoying them. A lovely conversation. And the Hitchhiker thundered along, being garter stitch it only requires a quick glance now and then. The yarn is a little splitty and so I snagged now and then but nothing major. Or so I thought.

1am this morning I was on the final row before casting off. I glanced down and noticed a thin spot. I looked again and noticed that there was definitely an almost hole. And I knew immediately what had happened. Whilst chatting away I had snagged the yarn but didn't look down, just moved the needle out and then re-did the stitch. But of course I re-did it through the snagged strand, which was as fine as a hair. And that superfine strand was now the base of every knitted stitch above for at least 15 rows! 150+ stitches a row. Do the maths - scary number of stitches right? So no ripping back then. Instead I deliberately dropped the stitch at the top of that column and laddered right down to that one pesky stitch. Kind of worrying as the yarn being so splitty meant that I had to tug most of the stitches to open them up. Still, the alternative was much, much less appealing. I picked up each stitch in the ladder with the crochet hook. At 1am. After waking at 7am that morning. And a full, busy day in work. With the light low so the girlie on the sofa didn't wake. But I did it. 

And so I finished knitting that last row. I semi reluctantly began the cast off, the Hitchhiker had been a lovely no stress project (well almost). But still I was there, casting off, thinking of seeing it fully opened up and sharing with you. And then 60sts off the needle, 100 to go, the girlie woke up. So it was off to bed we went.

So you want to see the finished Hitchhiker?

Well then you shall.............

When I finish that cast off at some time today!

-x-

Indecisive - moi?

So last post I said I was going to get back to projects already started, right? Wrong! The Granny stripe stayed in it's bag, and the pair of socks is still only a sock and a rib. 

But remember I said the merino was going to become my crochet cushion? Until I used some for the baby set? Well the cushion in my mind was a big, squishy, round huggable circle of softness. Instead the yarn is slowly becoming these:

See the sunshine glow across that project box? It's been such a beautiful day here so between long walks, cooking the meals, cleaning the home and feeding the little girl, I have also had time to sit in the front window, feeling the sunshine and hooking away. Wonderful.

Being the indecisive type I also cast on for part of Helen's yule gift:

Not the pattern I thought I would use, but I just know she will love this quirky little knit when she sees it :)

And staying on the theme of indecisiveness I definitely think I'm going to turn some of the King Cole Riot into one of these! I have loved this little scarf since I first saw it blogged here and I knew I was going to make it for someone. Then I forgot all about it! Until I noticed it popping up in blogland just lately and so I went and downloaded the pattern. I think it's going to look great in that riot of colour, don't you?

So there we are, after posting all those plans for all that yarn, I've already changed my mind on three things! 

Oh well there's plenty of time to get back to the others one day.........

-x-