Mmm...Fair Isle

My second book came in the post :D




















To be honest I hadn't expected it to be quite so...uh...seventies, some of the garments are really laughable, but it's the charts I'm after and there's loads of them. I just have to promise not to make the boyfriend one of these.




















And for those of you having trouble with people not fully appreciating gifts:




















Now the ungrateful brats know just how much went into this. If you like, you can add 'It's really hard' in the next band.


On the knitting front, I've mostly been doing Tempting, both sleeves now done and attached, looks like a proper jumper now. One for dolls, mind.




















And more excitingly, I've got a job at my local fabric shop! Yay! Only three days a week so I won't get much money, but I get to knit at work! (ooh, too many exclamation marks) Now I just need to spend my first few weeks gaining their trust, then persuade them they want to expand the yarns to more than acrylic and fun fur.

I want a club! (not the biscuit kind...although that would be nice too)

I met one of the elusive fellow-knitters in High Wycombe today (well sort of, she was looking for a book on learning to knit, so possibly more of a fellow-knitter-to-be), and I'm aching to join a club now. Miraculously almost as soon as I started searching I found another person on a forum wanting to start a club in the High Wycombe area, so I'll cross my fingers and hope she comes back to me.

Bought a pattern magazine from Burda the other day (I spent over a tenner on magazines this week. That's so bad.), since I feel I should probably get some more sewing practice done before I forget how to entirely. Besides, I need some trousers that fit properly and I don't think it's entirely practical to knit them. This is what I'm planning on doing (but probably won't), minus some boring yet functional trousers and jackets I couldn't be bothered to scan.






Reeeally don't like that colour, but yes, I need more skirts suitable for work.















'Why does this suit look both elegant and saucy? Because the short jacket was inspired by typical waiters' waistcoat designs!'

Because we all know how stylish those waiters are. London fashion week will indeed be overrun with them. Mind you, will probably look better if it isn't in shiny pinstripe.






























I LOVE this skirt. Need to get some shoes to go with it though...



















This will be item I am bound to make, then change my mind about and never use.










And I got one of the knitting books I ordered today :D Doesn't have the neckline I need for the top design in my head, but I'm sure it won't be hard to find it elsewhere. I can tell it's going to be used to death anyway.

Sleeves and Secret Pals

Finished one of the sleeves for my huge jumper, I think my guage (or possibly the instructions, as I did actually check this time) is off since I magically reached the required length without doing the block of work even I was supposed to do. Oh well, at least it wasn't something important I missed out.

Also been having great fun stabbing myself with DPNs for the first Tempting sleeve. Gah! Why are they so long! What on Earth are you going to knit on DPNs that needs to be that big? Socks for yetis? I think I've more or less got it figured out with minimal puncture wounds now, and worked out that you can work into the back of the first stitch to avoid big ladders. Cunning eh?

And since I've been having trouble with DPNs, it makes a great deal of sense that I just did my guage for Broadstreet Mittens. Of course. Not supposed to be starting this till one of the others is finished, but the yarn is calling to me. It looks like cookies and cream!












And finally, I've just signed up for Secret Pal 6. Eee, v. excited about this, though I imagine I'll waste lots of money buying stuff for myself while shopping for my pal. Not good.

On the Needles

This now the third time I've attempted to update this blog. I'm gonna go and cry if it crashes again. On a lighter note, I found my camera, so I can upload my multiple WIPs

















Lace shawl based on Leaves &Waves, but without the strange block of stocking stitch. Made from a recycled charity shop jumper, which was great fun, especially with my new wool winder, despite the fact that it left mohair everywhere.

















Huge polo neck jumper which I'm worried is going to turn out somewhere between small enough to fit and big enough to look like it isn't meant to. Oh well, maybe it'll shrink in the wash.















Mmm Tempting. I love this project. Especially the yarn, it's so yummy and soft. It's gonna be so hard to go back to cheapo acrylic cack after this stuff.


Right, crossed fingers.

Um...how do you actually start a knitting blog?

Hi. *waves to all the countless millions of people who don't yet know this blog exists*

I'm Hannah, it says more about me up in that there corner, or at least it will when I can be bothered to fill it in properly. I've been knitting since last Christmas, learning the basics from my mum (who is fantastic and has agreed to take me to the Knitting and Stitching show this year), but mainly self-taught, and I've sadly become obsessed with the new creative outlet. I'm sure you can sympathise.

Hmm...the site's still in construction at the mo, so no photos of my WIPs yet (a lace shawl, a huge poloneck jumper and Knitty's Tempting, which I hadn't intended to start, but it lived up to its name), no finished objects gallery and I will probably be 80 before I figure out how those silly percentage WIP bars work. Bah.

I may just return later with some nice juicy photos....