Christmas Knitting

At last I can reveal what I was busy with in the lead up to Christmas.

 This is the Purl Ridge Scarf by Stephen West. I made 2 of these using Vintage Purls Max - and they were beautifully squishy. Of course it is summer here so they may not get worn for a while yet.

Then there was this:

Cosy Neck Warmer by Lucy of attic24. I'd made some more colourful ones earlier but this one was requested in dark grey and black. I used an Alpaca/Merino yarn from our local Mill Shop.

And lastly I went a bit ballistic with Zuzu's Petals making 6 of them using the Zauberball - very happy with the result.

So pretty much everyone got a cowl for Christmas. What better since I had declared it my Year of the Cowl.

Secret Squirrel Knitting

 The Baby Blanket is finished. It looked a lot better with blocking.

 The other projects I am working on  are Christmas things so all I am going to show is the yarn.

 The finished items will have to wait. And I have to get busy….

Latest projects

I finished these lovely Ngaire's  for my friend Lee. I used a Touch Yarn sock yarn that contained bamboo, silk, nylon and merino wool. It is very soft though I worry it may pill or rub.

And I am currently working on a Baby THrow - it is a Lion Brand pattern and I'm using the Lion Brand Cotton Ease suggested in the pattern. It is half cotton, half acrylic - worsted weight. Not the easiest to crochet but I'm loving the colours and affect as it grows. Also it is assembled as it is made - so no arduous finishing.

A wee break

Oops - have been a bit distracted/busy lately. But always time to knit so here's what I've been up to.

I finished 2 of these baby singlets using Vintage Purls laceweight yarn. They are so soft and squishy that any baby should be happy and cosy. Apparently they can be worn next to the skin as a traditional type of singlet or over a onesie as a kind of vest.

And I finished the Central Park Hoodie. This has been on my want list for a few years and I've even been sitting on the yarn for months - so good to see it take shape. And I like it.

 I decided to get some sort of toggle buttons - found these at Touch Yarns in Clyde.

Blanket is finally finished and something different from Knit Camp

Gee - at last the Rainbow Blanket is complete - have a look!

 I'm pretty pleased with it. I added a one row border as well.
I'm planning for this to last into my dotage.

And last weekend we had our annual Knit Camp - and did a non-knitting project - bookmaking and book binding. It's pretty cool. The part I enjoy the most is choosing paper and binding for the covers.
And Karen brought some of her stamps so we could add those.

 The pink paper is from Korea

 The blue is from Japan

 The map paper is Italian. It was good to find a way to use some of my stash paper.

And I embellished the last one with a stamp that seemed to suit it.

What's New?

Well I have finished the two cardigans for Rosie and Millie. I am going to catch up with them this next week and also give them the dolly blankets - finally!

 The second instalment of Vintage Purls Winter Sock Club was a lovely cowl - partly because I had harrassed Morag into doing one - seeing as I have declared 2013 to be the 'Year of the Cowl" for me.

 I used a different yarn (Colour Adventures Merino Light) that my sister had bought for me in Canada last year. It is a fairly simple knit - so I plan to make more for Christmas presents

Sue liked mine so I made one for her

Another Cheery Cowl - using leftover yarn from my first one.

And I finally started to lay out the squares for the Rainbow Blanket and began the sewing up.

I had noticed, when sewing up the dolly blankets, that my usual darning needle tended to split the yarn so I decided to try the HiyaHiya darning needles - and they work really well with their blunt curved tip.

But wait - there's more

This cheerful cowl is from attic 24. It is her Cosy Neck Warmer and she has a great photo tutorial for it. I decided to go for some cheerful colours - as a counter to winter blues.

 At first I decided to have the borders blue but changed my mind halfway through and finished with an orange border. So it could be worn either way.

 I really like the whole style of it and would make it again.

Another FO

This is Elfe - and I really like it. It is made from Vintage Purls Sock yarn - a fingering weight - so it is not too heavy. It could be worn on its own or with a top underneath - very practical for Dunedin's climate. I fell in love completely with the pink colour, Elsa S. It was from the Winter Sock Club and supposed to be for socks but I thought it was far too good to be hidden away.
And look how sunny it is here - we are really having a mild winter at the moment and it is confusing all the plants. I noticed some crocuses out this morning.

A Little Distraction

 Well the Mojo Socks are finished and then I got a little distracted with a smaller version of the Rainbow Blanket - one each for Rosie and Millie (my niece's daughters) and their dolls.

 It is great for using up scraps or yarn. And it has been a good trial run for working out a good method for assembling. Actually I have just used the recommended whip stitch that is shown in the Purl Soho tutorial.

Next is to start on assembling the bigger Rainbow Blanket - although my deadline is December.
I have a few more things to show but I'm still in Post-op slow mode - so it will be a drip feed.

Some progress

Well - I've had a wee break as I went and got a new hip - titanium no less.

I didn't feel like knitting until I got back home. Strangely my post-op days are quite busy with exercises, walking and resting. Also doing any task takes about 3 times as long as normal but things are improving daily so I'm happy. And I have managed to get some knitting done. The mojo socks are almost finished - just the 'afterthought' heels to complete.

And I've made another Stockholm-Helsinki-Dunedin cowl - this one as a present.

The crochet squares for the Rainbow Blanket are now complete - in fact I think I have 109 instead of 108. Next is to lay them out and sew up...

But what better than to start on a new project instead of finishing something - this is Elfe and I am using   Vintage Purls sock yarn - the pink is called Elsa S. and is from the latest Winter Sock Club. I thought the colour was way too good for socks - it is a glorious deep pink. It is a top-down and seamless construction. My gauge was off but then the pattern size was a little large so I'm hoping it will all come out in the wash. That may be courting disaster - so I've done something I rarely do and put in a lifeline just at the end of the cap sleeve - to make it easier to frog back if necessary.

The Big Mid-winter Swap Reveal

Finally we had our mid-winter swap dinner/party.
And what a night it was - all these beautiful things lovingly and thoughtfully made by special people for special people.
Shall I start with what I received?

 I'm not sure exactly what it would be called - but it is a drawstring bag/pouch made by the very talented Katya.

 It has the letters of 'Julia' on each panel and can be reversed.

 I just love the colours of the 'outside' fabric - silk?

 The beadwork is extraordinary - seams and even a tassel. I've never done any beading - it seems so intricate - and time-consuming.

 And then more beadwork surrounding the letters on one side.

 It is fabulous. I love it and will treasure it. And I think I will use it - so I can show it off!
Thank you so much Katya.

 My contribution was the opposite of delicate - a big infinity scarf made from Morag's (Vintage Purls) Max DK.
I dyed the colours. It is called 'My Favourite Things' infinity scarf - with the idea being that each person that makes it would use different images/charts according to their tastes. This was made for Jenni - her Ravelry name is Zoomer. It turned out very cheerful and is lovely and soft and squishy.

 And now I've started on Mojo socks using Opal Hundertwasser yarn - someone in my knit group had made them using the same yarn and they looked great.

And, hopefully, the last of the dyeing for the Rainbow Blanket.