USE ALL THE COLOURS!!!

Evening all, how are the trials of winter treating you?  Grumble grumble grumble.  Ok, so it's not proper winter yet and it's actually been unseasonably warm today, but still, ugh. Darkness. My brain is still lingering in the Portuguese sunshine and Daylight Savings really sucks ass.

It could also be that I'm already grumpy because I've had to order new glasses for my tragically ageing eyesight.  Oh for the youthful days when I still had perfect vision.  It's not so bad as I only need them for distance, but that does mean that my job won't pay for them as I don't need them to use a computer.  Booooooo.  I have also learned that when you're a cheapskate who refuses to pay for anything but the cheapest frames there is a very fine line between middle-aged shushy librarian and PAY ATTENTION TO ME I'M SO HIPSTER!  Hopefully I won't utterly hate the glasses when I go to pick them up.

Sooooo, now that I've bitched enough about my own eyes, how about I ruin everyone else's?

Kapow! Are your retinas bleeding?

This little beauty which escaped from the UFO mountain this summer is Posse from Rowan magazine 51, knit in the specified Cotton Glace, which I now HATE with a fiery passion.  It was not easy to weave in these ends, and holy tuna there were thousands of them.

That's just the stripy neckline, so you can imagine how messy the back of the intarsia looks.  Since mercerised cotton doesn't stick to itself like wool does I had to leave a bit of end still attached so it didn't start unravelling - I've tried to strike the balance between so long it drives me crazy and so short it sticks through to the outside.  I've...mostly succeeded but there already a few stragglers which I'm stoically ignoring.

It's also a little on the cropped side which I don't really love, but that might just be because I don't really own a whole lot of suitable clothes to wear with cropped jumpers, so maybe I'll grow to love it.  Or perhaps it'll stretch?  Is that a thing?  How about if I get it really wet and hang weights off the hem?  Hmm. Probably not the best idea. 

This was photographed a while ago, pre tripod and remote, so I managed to persuade Martin to take one decentish picture on my phone before he got bored and wandered off to play truck simulators or something.  So make the most of it, awkward and fuzzy as it is, because I am far too busy skipping around in my Insane Stripes of Joy to take another one.

P.S. If you think this is bright, wait till you see what I'm making right now - it's not for everyday consumption so it doesn't need to be as tasteful and restrained as this was.  Oh god, I can't wait to wear this...

2 days to go!

I am two days away from the end! Not, I hasten to add, two days away from poncey gowns and mortarboards, I still have a little while to mentally prepare myself for that anguish, but my final deadline of the degree (CVs, portfolios and a lovely long evaluation about how wonderful the course is) is on Thursday. I had my big scary finished garments hand in 2 weeks ago, so this one isn't worrying me half as much, and I've been able to knit away to my heart's content in between preparing my portfolio and rather half-heartedly looking for jobs.

Ooh! And the costume I just handed in? Not only is it by far my best work, but I've been told by my Head of Costume that it's one of the best pieces he's seen ON THE ENTIRE COURSE. I am slightly swept away in a tidal wave of Smug right now. (Photos to come in a few weeks, gotta get a good photoshoot for this one)


And onward to knitting...


I have actually cast on at least 6 new projects since I last blogged, but in an effort not to make this post explode with images, I may leave those until later and catch up on some extremely late finished objects.



I finished my stripy jumper! About 6 months ago! (this is how behind on blogging I am) This marks a milesone for me. It isn't the first full size garment I made (that was the blue green and purple acrylic blob), nor is it the first jumper I've made that fit me (that was Tempting), but it is the first full size jumper I've made that fit me and STILL FITS AFTER BEING WASHED!! Huzzah, success at last! I love it, as you can probably tell from my out of focus grin. Ms. Walker is a genius and I look forward to making more garments from Knitting From the Top, though probably not any of the various styles of knitted trousers.

Just before finishing my (incredibly cartoonish) stripy jumper, I made a Kombu scarf from the Manos silk blend I bought in Scotland. I love this pattern, though...err...it possibly would benefit from something a little less drapey in terms of yarn.

The second scarf I made was for a two part swap over at the Monthly Adventures group on Ravelry, the idea being that we sent someone a skein of yarn (along with some presents for them), then they used that yarn to knit a scarf and sent it back. I ended up being paired with Twinsmama a second time for this one! She sent me 2 gorgeous malabrigo skeins which I used to make her a Reversible Cabled Brioche Stitch Scarf. This is another great scarf pattern, it has all the flat, reversible, extra squishy benefits of ribs, with added pretty cables all over it. 'Tis a good thing she picked pink yarn or I would have been sooo tempted to keep this for myself. But I did get a lovely lacy chevron scarf back from her so I don't mind too much!

Last minute Christmas presents! These were for a couple of my friends from university who unexpectedly gave me presents at the last minute (eep). Thems on the left are Fetchings, the most popular project on ravelry, for good reason. I think I finished those in one day. Thems on the right I designed myself :D Yup, I made charts'n'everything. I'm currently reknitting these as full mittens with some minor tweaks to the cable, then 'll write out a pattern. (Though it might make more sense if I waited until after the summer. Maybe)




Last one! This is the Limerick Moss Cap in mmmmmmMalabrigo, one of the lovely presents Twinsmama sent me in the scarf swap. According to my project page, this is the last item I finished knitting and I remember wearing it on my birthday. *sigh* that's over 4 months without a single finished item.

Hmm. So much for not having a picture heavy post.

Never mind. Just to cap it off, this is my small selection of current works in progress:

Hmm. I may be overcompensating for the last 4 months...

P.S. I did go and see the turtles at Weymouth in the Easter holidays, they are unbelivably cute! I think they're actually terrapins though. Bah. False advertising. But they are (were) about an inch long and thoroughly confused by the mirrored sides of the tank which more than made up for it.

P.P.S. I also went up to Wembley Arena the day after my final fitting to see the Prodigy play live :D (yes, I took 2 whole days off when making this costume). The Prodigy are, it has to be said, not as cute as baby terrapins, but they do set off this bizarre reaction in me that makes me dance like a broken marionette having an epileptic fit while stone cold sober. I am still on a high from this gig. Though I may remember to wear a sports bra if I ever see them again

P.P.P.S. I finally got round to casting on my second toe up sock, on the same needles, with the same number of stitches, only to find that my guage has somehow changed in the last 6 months. Well, bugger.

A hat! And a scarf! And no cold weather to wear them in!

I have housemates! They all moved in while I was up in Scotland, and while they're all very nice people and it's great to have someone to wander off to the student bar with, I'm still finding it highly odd to hear other people's voices in my house. They're all very impressed with my knitting too, which may have been a large factor in their earning my approval. Shelly, Emilie and Polly have all asked for knitting lessons. The boys haven't. Yet. I know they're just yearning to throw off the shackles of gender-based repression though...

My stripy cartoony jumper, though I was zipping through it at my parents, isn't going to be finished for enrollment tomorrow because I spent about 3 days casting off the hem so I'm now only halfway through the first sleeve. I'm using the 2x2 sewn bind off from the Vogue knitting book, so although it takes sodding ages, it doesn't have the chain along the bottom and it's a lot stretchier. I think I might unpick the neck edge and re-do it like this.

FOs though! I finished Thorpe about 3 weeks ago with some RYC Cashsoft from Get Knitted. (I like ordering from Get Knitted, they send you biros and lollipops in the package. Whee! Free stuff!) I decided it desperately needed a bobble on top, but apparently I've forgotten how to make them properly and it ended up so dense I could probably use it as a tennis ball.

I also finished My-So-Called Scarf before I moved but it only just got unpacked from my cold weather boxes. How can I forget about something this soft and yummy?! I feel unworthy. Malabrigo is just gorgeous. Smells bizarrely vinegary though. (Well, it did, now it smells of Persil Silk and Wool Wash)

And also, because obviously I am knitting so fast that my current yarn can't keep up (haha), we went yarn shopping in The Wool Shed in Oyne, where I displayed my stereotypical womanly ways by losing where we were on the map both on the way there and the way back.

Mum: Don't worry, we're taking the scenic route.

Hannah: We're in Scotland! It's all the scenic route!

These are buttons. Yes. They have no purpose yet, but I'm sure when I find it, it will be magnificent. They are from Touched by Scotland, a craft shop next door to the yarn shop, which sounds incredibly cheesy but is actually full of Very Very Nice Stuff.

Manos Silk Blend in 'A Shot in the Dark' for a lovely scarf, though possibly a short one I have to pin together with a brooch. Hmm.

This is...err...a stolen photograph of Jitterbug in Raphael, because my skein went into my slightly-less-accessible yarn storage before I took a photo and I'm too lazy to take it out again. For someone who previously didn't see the point in knitting socks, I seem to be developing something of a stash.

Must. Knit. Faster.

Neeewwww knitting

I am feeling somewhat windswept today. One of my friends from Kentucky has come to England, so Jade (who I also met in Kentucky, but lives in Bournemouth, obviously) and I are using this as an excuse to do all the touristy things. Today we took an open-top bus (really rather too windy to be entirely a good idea) around Sandbanks, until recently the most expensive land per square foot IN THE WORLD, Studland Bay ferry and Swanage, where we strolled along the beach with our hoods up, ate massive cream teas, and attempted to explain the mysteries of the British Summer Holiday, for instance, why beach huts are great despite the fact that you can't sleep in them and how Punch and Judy does not in fact mentally scar generations of young children.

There has been New Knitting since I last made a non swap-related post. Also New NotKnitting. Oooh.

First off, New NotKnitting! I am giving crochet another chance. I'm actually happy with it this time, it's going slightly better than the Yellow Triangle of Doom from a few years ago. I promise, this one isn't actually triangular, it just looks like that because the trebles are bigger than the doubles. Not sure how far my yarn and my patience are going to go with this, but I can tick off a technique, and hopefully the novelty won't wear of before I can make an armpit bag that I will probably never use (ha)

My rainbow of Cascady goodness is started and going pretty damn fast by my standards (particularly since I haven't bothered to blog about it in 2 weeks). I'm not using a pattern for it, just a swatch and the instructions in Barbara Walker's Knitting From the Top, which looks to be such a brilliant book that I will forgive her for having a whole chapter on knitted trousers. This is going to be my Scotland holiday project, so I will put it away and finish up some other things in the next 3 weeks instead.

Snapping Turtle is still awaiting a zip because I am lazy.

Mia is still awaiting photos because I am Really lazy.

And because I am hopeless I just joined another Monthly Adventures challenge. I have til the 7th to make and embroider a stuffed toy. One evening and two legs down.

P.S. The bouncer in the night club last night recognised me from the knitting club in Poole and came over and started talking to me about socks and baby garments. Heh, love it. Rock'n'roll baby.

Cuffs galore

Nyeh. Ok, so the red jumper will not be finished for Woolfest (day and a half to go! EEE!). Possibly by the end of the month, but not for Woolfest. My stupid titchy swatches are haunting me with their inaccuracy. Eh. I didn't have any smaller needles and I decided it would be quicker and easier to work out how to knit it to a different gauge than to order new needles and wait for them to arrive. Ha. I still have not knit one sleeve I am happy with.

Attempt #1

























Knitting from the pattern with the wrong tension. Hahahahahachump.

Attempt #2






























Only did 4 lace repeats (the pattern uses 6), then increased up to the armpit. The sleeve fits (yay!) but the cuff looks weirdly long and thin. Makes me feel somewhat stickfigure like.



Attempt#5














I have decided to knit a little flare into the cuff. You may have noticed that attempts #3 and #4 are missing. This would be because despite not being overly familiar with lace, I decided I could decrease it without working out where the decreases would go first. 3 and 4 didn't get beyond the second repeat. We shall talk no more of them. #5 is decreasing from 5 to 4 repeats. There's an attempt #6 too, going from 6 to 4 repeats, but I think after a little blocking this one will be enough. I hope so anyway, since I've now knit the first cuff six times. This jumper will make me happy if it kills me!

I am now breathing deeply and dreaming of all the lovely yarrn I will buy at the weekend. I have two skeins of stunning yarn from Etsy sitting on my desk already but it's not mine :( It's for my UKswap partner and totally not colours I would have chosen for myself but I fell in love when it arrived and now I want to keep it. Hmph. *stamps foot* Ah, roll on Cumbria.

Computer going to the doctor tomorrow to see if I can get my DVD drive fixed, I shall return with pictures of various fibre-bearing beasties, and possibly Bournemouth Stitch'n'Bitch, since I'm not working tomorrow.

I am a mite pissed off

My boss tried to get hold of me when my bus was late to work this evening and called my old phone by accident- the one I lost 3 months ago. Some guy called Steve picked up. WTF??! What the hell is some guy called Steve doing with MY PHONE! I have spent most of the night fuming at the nerve of this arsehole. For god's sake, he could have at least put a new simcard in my handset. Of course, in clearing out my room I've chucked away all the old receipts and the like so I no longer have any proof that its my phone. Dammit. What are the chances that he just found it and he's honest enough to return it to me when I politely point out that it is in fact not his. I'm thinking slim. I may phone him tomorrow anyway, at least I'll get to vent my frustration at him if he doesn't. And then, since I am on contract now, I shall phone him every single night until he's forced to stop using My Sodding Mobile. Hahahahahaaaaaaaaa, sweet vengeance is mine.

Anyhoo, since I finished work early and am too irate to sleep, I guess it's as good a time as any for the long overdue update on My Life Since Uni.

Unfortunately, the last 3 weeks (I feel so ashamed that it's been that long) have been largely camera free, not through mechanical fault, just through my own laziness. For the whole 8 days I spent in Scotland, my camera didn't leave my bag once, so I have no pictures of the beautiful Moray Firth landscape, or the art festival we were volunteering at, and only one stolen piccie of my parent's new puppy.




































Say Aaaawww. This is Oscar. He likes eating, sleeping, running on the beach, chewing people's shoes, licking people's jeans and getting in the way of the tv when engaged in a wrestling match with his bed.

I managed to finish the back and knit one sleeve of my red jumper (which really needs a better name than 74-7 Ribbed Pullover in Safran - the Drops people make great patterns, but are rubbish at naming them). I was sort of knitting the sleeve on autopilot once I got to the stocking stitch, being determined to finish it even though halfway through I knew it was going to be too big. Bah. It is too big - I could probably fit a leg in there. It seems that despite swatching I didn't in fact get gauge. Must make bigger gauge swatches. Tsk. I shall go a couple of needle sizes down, and make it a bit slimmer anyway to make up for my twig-arms. I can show you the cuff though, for that ROCKS.






























I love those tucked ridges! And they're so simple, just stitches from four rows down hoiked up through the back and knit together with the new row. Definitely going to use this technique again. Hopefully it will make the fact that I have to knit the sleeve again from scratch more bearable.


This is getting to be quite a long post...


Luckily I have no photos again of the Costume show, in fact I was backstage and didn't see most of it, but in short it was an utter shambles and the director will not be invited back next year. After we had sorted out most of his disorganised messes for him, we had a ton of free time between frantic dressing sessions during which I finished a pair of socks....which I don't think I've mentioned on this blog yet...there will be photos. I am not putting a time limit on them though.

Last bit to squeeze in before I should really go to bed: I made my costume for the summer ball! In one and a half days! Yay! I can't bear to look at it too closely because in the last 2 years at uni I've been trained to be a perfectionist and there are an awful lot of cut corners, but to the untrained eye they were fantastic (ah, who am I kidding, they were fantastic anyway). This is me, my best friend and her boyfriend as the Jack, Queen and King of Hearts, in my favourite photo of the night. I have absolutely no idea who these people are but we were wandering round the site and found the ace to the eight of hearts! Love it.

Aaaahahahaha. Four and a half months of freedom is MINE

I handed in my last project of second year this morning. Oh Thank God. It's about time, I think I was ever so slightly losing my mind by the end of it.

I suddenly ran out of ink at half past 6 last night, halfway through printing my workbook. There followed much high pitched swearing as I searched every inch of my room for the spare black cartridge I just knew I had, more high pitched swearing while frantically signing on to the internet to find the closing time of Staples, a fair bit of screaming and flailing at the less than efficient modem with the nearest thing that wasn't attached to the wall (a fold-up Christmas tree), and then more high pitching swearing, because I had found that I still had enough time to get to Staples but by that point the swearing had become a comforting thing.

Then I left the house. I got approximately halfway to the bus stop before I realised I had no money to buy ink. I don't mean that I picked up my purse without checking I had any cash,or picked up my bag without my purse in it. No. I left the house without my bag. I even went into my purse to get the bus fare, then put it back and left. Seriously, what?? Was an honest, hardworking life getting to me so much that I was subconciously planning to rob Staples?

It's possibly time for some proper sleep.

Today I need to go down to Sewing World and rip them a new one because my sewing machine is broken again. Ugh. I don't want to leave the house. My sewing machine is heavy and it's raining. Bah. The 2 weeks of beautiful sunshine I was stuck inside for has definitely disappeared now, it is crappy and English again. On the plus side, I don't get quite so many odd looks for knitting a jumper.

Ah yes, I'm knitting a jumper.

This is the Cathay Ribbed Pullover I swatched for at the beginning of the year. I'm about two thirds of the way up the back now, so I should be finished next month, in time to go cavorting with sheep in the lake district. I try to conceal most of my excitement about this because it is unseemly for mature, well brought up young ladies to squeal.

I am finally back online in Bournemouth after being pissed about by Virgin Media for about 2 weeks and my God I have missed it so much. I have access to the internet at uni, but the library is always so busy that I just about have time to check my email before I have to relinquish the computer to someone who's actually trying to do work (pah, who are they trying to kid?) I am gonna attempt to keep up to date on my blog now I'm back on the net, partly because it's a fantastic way to procrastinate from what I'm supposed to be doing (my poor sketchbook is lying abandoned under a pile of books and magazines on my desk) and partly because Alison called me sparkly and full of life, and that made me disproportionately happy. And also because I get to use words like disproportionately, which just don't fit into everyday conversation.

So, yes, 2 week catch up, uni is going slowly, we're on a design project (my last with any luck) at the moment which means largely independent study rather than studio time, so not that great for getting back into the swing of early mornings. I'm in the same house as last year, which is great 'cause I don't have to work to make it feel like home. My new housemates are lovely, though at this stage that opinion is mainly based on the fact that I'm not the only person in the house doing the washing up and taking the bins out. I also just started a job last week working behind the bar of my favourite club - could be a little odd when I go there on a night out, but at least I like the music and the clientele. It's only 2 nights a week on minimum wage, but I get by pretty well on my student loan anyway so that just means an extra £70 a week to spend on whatever I want. I’m thinking new knee high boots, if I ever find a decent shoe shop that sells half sizes.

Knitting wise I'm in a bit of a bad mood recently. I seamed up Rapunzel when I got back and it doesn't fit. I am devastated. Seriously, I think this was designed for rugby players; the shoulder seams are about 3 inches longer than my shoulders. I vow never to knit from another pattern without doing my own maths first. I'm currently debating whether to cut and sew (dead scary) or rip it back and knit it again (annoying as hell).
I got Chloe up to the neckline, but yesterday I decided it was a bit baggy in the chest so I've ripped that back to where I attached the sleeves and I'm gonna put some more decreases in it.
On a more positive note, I finished my roll neck jumper just before the holidays (but forgot to take it home). I realised halfway through knitting it that it wasn't going to fit me, but was hoping it would fit my mum, and Ta Da! It does! Success at last.

Photos!

So, now that I can actually get some photos online, here is the finished Tempting (hoorah!)



















I can't believe how big the pattern is, I did a size smaller than I usually wear and went down several needle sizes for the top and it still slips about like crazy. It looks navy but it's really a teal blue.

And then this is all my lovely yarn from the knitting and stitching show :D Very sorry if you don't have broadband, far too many photos for one post.













Mystery cheapo £1 a ball stuff, no idea what I'm gonna do with this, the white stuff is really odd, feels almost like raffia.













Lovely neutral coloured yarn for a scarf for my brother.













Bargain grey Jaeger merino wool, probably for a jacket of some kind.













'Black Watch' lambswool from Touchyarns New Zealand, which doesn't photograph very well but has bits of dark green and blue throughout it. Ooh, gorgeous.















More lambswool from Touchyarns, this one's for Rapunzel and did look a lot prettier before I balled it up, but is knitting up perfect all the same. I started knitting on the train up to Norwich to see my boyfriend at the weekend and managed to make a grand total of 5 false starts. I think I may have underestimated how long it would take me to get used to knitting from a chart. Thankfully it clicked into place on the way back and I'm now a few inches in and totally in love.

And finally, my second package from my secret pal, all with an underwater theme. Except for maybe the sweets.
















So, there is: 2 pages of fishy cartoon stickers, for sticking on windows I think...please correct me if I'm wrong before I go and wreck my glass, 2 pages of metallic fish stickers - I'm vaguely thinking about holding a underwater themed party to raise money for the conservation project in Mexico so they'd be good for the invites, if I don't do that (knowing me, I won't), I'll save them for a photo album when I get back, - a candy necklace which I'm eating as I type (in the proper fashion of course, whilst wearing it), and a tropical fish inpired ball of sock yarn, which is most likely to turn into a pair of gloves, so I can show it off without removing my shoes!

Right, I'm now off to knit some more of Rapunzel in front of the telly.

Yesterday was a gooood day. Firstly I went to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace and spent, um, £82 on yarn. Oops. Budget out the window a bit. Secondly Tempting got her first outing and received many a compliment from total strangers, and thirdly, I got back home at 7 laden with bags, to find a second package from my secret pal! This lot should keep me going for at least 6 months.

O...K... I don't seem to be able to put any photos up at the moment so I'll have to show off all my goodies next time. Nuts.

Just enough time for a great meme I found on Stacey's blog. Paste "(your name) needs" into Google and list the best 10 results.

Hannah needs...

...so much expensive care

...a home and a good daily walk

...to go into the tunnel and face the prisoner

...to apply lots of make-up so she can perform in her latest dramatic role

...to sleep now, she cannot feel her feet

...more than Taggert can offer

...an intermediate to advance confident rider who is gentle on the reins

...a little sister from China

...to be naked at all times, eats kebabs

...puppets

Hmm, I should really be less lazy about updating this blog, particularly when SP6 is going on.

Tempting is finally finished (Yay!) and it actually fits this time (Yay!), but I can't find my camera, so no pictures yet (Not so yay!). I've also made a start on sock number 2, mainly so I can get another project over with before I go to the Knitting and Stitching show. Less than a week! Eeee!

My wonderful secret pal sent me Rowan 34, which I've been trying to get hold of on ebay for ages (thankyou again!), so I'll have to look for some yarn for this when I'm there:

















Mmmm...fairytaley. Not sure what colour to do, I don't really wear light colours that much and the pattern would probably be lost in dark colours.

I'm also very fond of these, so if I get my way I'll end up with far too many cardigans and no money.




































And last but not least, I started learning to crochet last night. My sample is laughable as I didn't realise I was missing out a stitch at the beginning of every row, but it's sorted now, and I reckon its not half bad for a first attempt.

It is complete!

Tempting is finished! Well, ish. It's so lovely and soft and I want to take it to bed with me and other things I should be locked up for, but it's a little loose so I'm going to attempt to work backwards on the last 5 rows and re-do them with smaller needles. That should be fun. Photos when I can actually wear it without fear of it falling down and showing my bra.

I finished the knitting part of the Sirdar Frenzy bag at work today and brought it home to sew in the lining, which I havn't bothered to start yet. I still think it's horrible, but my mum, work collegues and random customers keep coming up to me and saying 'isn't that cool', so I shall hold my tongue and call it 'not my taste' rather than 'hideous'. Each to their own I suppose, there are probably many knitters out there who think the yarns I knit with are boring.

And Secret Pal's underway! Yay! I've already emailed my pal, and got a musical e-card (which made me jump out of my skin, I wasn't expecting it to suddenly start singing at me!) from the person spoiling me, and I'm off to buy my first gift tomorrow, if I can actually find what I want. All very exciting :D

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.

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.