Mwaaah, I wanna play

In my travels through blogland last weekend, I came across these and these gorgeous tea-light holders on Knits and Pieces. This week, Jenna, the creator, added another. Go take a look. I imagine knitting with wire must be pretty hard on the fingers, but the results are so, so pretty and make great presents.

So what was in the pretty Laughing Hens package? Well, lookee here, only six lovely balls of Cashsoft Aran in aubergine.

I am so, so pleased with the shade; it's even nicer than I thought it would be. The yarn is for a simple vest I'm making as a Christmas present for my father. He's not got the best eye when it comes to clothes, and I wanted a colour that had a bit of life, but would work well with mostly everything. Neither does he look after his clothes particularly carefully, so of course the yarn had to be practical, but still nice to wear. What better than a machine-washable merino/cashmere mix? Ok, so the cashmere is the smallest element, but IT'S STILL THERE.

I was so impatient to cast on, but I swatched first using 5.5mm Addi circulars (heh, I swatched, you have NO idea how funny that sounds). I obviously chose well, because my stitch count was fine for the pattern's requirements, although row count a little under. (I'll never understand why that should be.)

There have been a lot of comments about the durability of this yarn, like this one in the Knitters Review, but so far I am really feeling the love. It is so soft and buttery to knit with, just feels heavenly to the touch. The swatch looks very neat, although if I weren't knitting to the pattern's gauge, I would probably drop a needle size, especially for a rib pattern.

After swatching, I cast on and knit this pretty quickly. It probably looks like ribbing all the way, but in fact that's 1.75 inches of K1 P1 rib and the same amount in a beaded rib. Easy telly knitting. The vest is designed to be knit in the round, and from what I can make out, there are no seams to sew, and while this simplicity of construction is perfect for a gift for my father, this is my first time knitting in the round other than socks, and I'm finding it quite hard to get a feel for the size of piece without having to take half the stitches off the needle. On the plus side, whenever I look at my work and ask myself how can I only have just knitted an inch, I remember that I've knitted an inch of the back AND front, yay.

Interestingly, the beaded rib produces a completely different and useable pattern on the other side. I actually prefer this reverse side and remember a cotton summer vest I made for myself using this very pattern over 20 years ago. Think it's a bit too fussy for my D though, so will keep the rib the "right" side.

After the alcoholic excesses of this week, it's been a happily quiet weekend spent watching telly, knitting and catching up on blogs and emails. I can't believe it's Sunday evening already and back to work tomorrow.

Knitting hiatus

Having worked on Cozy for so long, I've been at a bit of a loss for another big project for sitting in front of the telly. It isn't that that I don't have other projects on the needles or in the queue, but for one reason or another, none of them has appealed recently. I did start on a gift for my SP, but wasn't completely happy with the first two inches, so ripped it. Obviously, I can't go into any more detail here, since it's supposed to be a surprise!

Luckily, my on-the-go sock-knitting keeps me sane. Besides KIPing on the bus and in the pub a couple of times, I've stood in a taxi queue for half-an-hour twice this week, and each time, the absurdly slow wait was made bearable only by Shepherd Sock and DPNs.

On Wednesday I went to another great I Knit London knitting group meet, which you can read about on IKL's blog. I hadn't seen Gerard since Ally Pally, so it was nice to catch up with him and Craig. Which also entailed drinking far, far too much wine that night.

I received two packages this week. First, the blocking wires for Cozy. BTW, marvellous service from Heirloom Knitting; the wires were ordered on Friday and delivered on Tuesday, with email updates throughout.

Then, on Thursday, another prettily wrapped package from Laughing Hens, the contents of which I'll show you tomorrow.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done

Cozy is finished! Yeah, baby.

Just cast off. I will take pictures of the blocking process; yesterday, I ordered some blocking wires from heirloom knitting, but I'm not sure when they're going to arrive. Until then Cozy is sitting folded by my side, measuring 67.5 inches long and 15 inches wide. I'm just so pleased to be done with the knitting, so I can concentrate on other projects, what with Christmas and a couple of other knitworthy events coming up.

Not much other knitting to report this week. For a portable project, I cast on My Oh So Beautiful Socks again, this time with 72 stitches, but with such little progress, it's hardly worth noting here.

In blogging news, sometime during the week, I lost half my blog template. Don't know how or when, or indeed why, but I hope I've sorted it now.

With no knitting or yarny pictures, I'll leave you with a gratuitous picture of The Orange Cat Who Does Not Live With Me.

I'm on the home stretch. Cozy measures 48 inches, and I've just started the fourth skein of malabrigo. Trouble is, I'm getting more and more worried about the width; it's currently 17 inches stretched, but merino has so much memory, it keeps bouncing back to 15 inches. I am not convinced blocking is going to give me the additional five or so inches that I want. This is a present for someone, so ripping it is not an option. I thought about creating same-patterned panels to run either side, but even if the seaming was invisible, they would completely ruin the drape of the shawl, so I'll just have to add a border and hope block for the best. If anyone has any ideas or tips for blocking worsted merino, please, please let me know.

Time for a quick update, to show that in between weekends buying yarn, I do actually knit stuff.

First up, My Oh So Beautiful Socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. Several weeks ago, I turned the heel on the first sock, and it became painfully clear that the tent stitch (which shows off the different colours so prettily) combined with tight tension meant too small a sock. Hell, I couldn't even pull the cuff over my heel. I briefly toyed with the idea of carrying on and making the socks for a friend with much smaller feet, but no, the selfish gene is too strong. I just love this yarn and I love this pattern..... so it's been sitting in a bag out of sight these past few weeks, until I can bring myself to rip it out.

In the meantime, I have wound another skein of LLSS to start again and cast on. Since I actually like my very tight gauge for socks, I shall keep using the same needles, but this time increase the number of stitches in the round. Here's a close-up of the pattern.

Now I know that a strong flash and a crumpled sheet does not a good photo make, but I wanted to show you progress on my main project, approx 33 inches of Cozy using two skeins of malabrigo pure merino.

I'm utterly delighted with the shawl so far, although it's much narrower than I'd like (you can see the end nearer the camera is wider from my constant stretching). I'm hoping that aggressive blocking will sort that problem. I'm much quicker with the repeats now, but I don't have much time for knitting at the moment *sigh*, so progress is not as quick as it could be, but I make sure I knit at least one repeat every evening during the week and catch up at the weekend.

According to the pattern, this is the half-way stage, so, having run out of malabrigo, I went back to Stash Yarns on Saturday to buy another two skeins. Stash really is a fabulous shop, and into the bag with the malabrigo fell a ball of Louisa Harding's Grace in plum and a skein of alpaca silk plus assorted circular and bamboo needles. The photo below doesn't really show the colour of the alpaca (below right) at all well (believe me, the flash version is even worse), but it's a deep plum colour. Simply gorgeous.

Remember my plans for a Cozy for me? Well, I cast on the Jaeger extra fine merino aran on straight needles, allowing for the different gauge by adding two more repeats across the needles. Since the wool is black, my intention was always to have this as a portable project, particularly suited to long car journeys in daylight, Saturday afternoons at I Knit London and the like; I even took it to Ally Pally (all that sunlight in the Knit and Relax and Knitterati Glitterati areas would have been ideal, but in truth it never even left the car). Several weeks since casting on, I have barely finished the first repeat. It's not just that on-the-go-daylight-knitting opportunities have not been there, I'm not really sure the gauge is right. The fabric (all two inches of it) is stiff and tight. It could be that I need to knit a few more repeats for it all to fall into wonderfully soft drape-y place, but even B has noticed that I am simply not feeling the love (heh, B's appreciation of knitting is a concilliatory measure to appease me if I'm feeling irritable).

Me: Did you [find the phone charger/call the builders/pay the bill]?
B: Er, no. What [phone charger/builders/bill]?
Me: The [phone charger for the mobile, with the dead battery/builders supposed to be renovating the flat/bill that has "reminders" in red all over it] that I asked you to deal with a hundred times already.
B: Er, no
Me: I told you etc etc..... very important etc etc..... you never listen to me etc etc..... how many time do I have to tell you etc etc..... why do I bother etc etc.....?

Pause

B: Darling, have you bought any yarn this weekend?
Me: Ooooh yes, I went to [Stash/Loop/IKL] and I bought some [Debbie Bliss/Jaeger/malabrigo/Cherry Tree Hill] and..... and...... and...... [more excited chatter]
B: Because the black one isn't working out.
Me: EXACTLY, you're so clever, you're such a wonderful man for listening to me and taking an interest in my crafty pursuits etc etc....... I'm so lucky etc etc .......
B: *sigh of relief*

Last Saturday was a day of irritation and stress, interspersed with short bursts of knitty goodness. Knitflicks at the Ritzy was showing The Devil Wears Prada, and since my trips south of the river are not as frequent as they used to be, I decided to combine a visit to Stash Yarns to pick up some more malabrigo pure merino for Cozy (progress report to follow in next post).

After a tortuous drive, due to 1) a dreadful standstill at the Wandsworth one-way-system and 2) road works in Putney, I was not in the best of moods when I finally arrived at the shop, but my mood lifted as soon as I stepped through the door. Luckily, I had phoned ahead to make sure the malabrigo was there, so there was no disappointment on that front, and a little chat with Michelle, the shop's owner, and a look at the new (and older) yarns made for a very pleasant and calming 45 minutes. Pictures of purchases to follow.

Unfortunately, there was no way I could avoid the road works traffic and it took me just under an hour to get to Brixton. The programme had already started, and the box office closed when I arrived at the cinema. I know I was in an irritable mood and probably over-sensitive to the minutes ticking by, but you know Mr Cinema Manager, in order for the public to see films, they have to buy tickets, and get this for a novel idea, for them to buy tickets, the ticket office has to be OPEN, dammit. Whilst I screamed silently, other people waiting were more vocal and eventually the duty manager opened up the office.

Miraculously, the film had not yet started, hoorah. I chose a seat and sat down, then a minute later, moved again, and again a third time. The screen for the showing was small, with dreadfully uncomfortable (through age and much use) and dirty, ripped seats. It was certainly not conducive to knitting. Worse still, it was half-term, and in the front row were three pre-teens, who walked and talked throughout the film.

All in all, the experience was nothing like the usual at the Ritzy. As for the film, it wasn't the satirical look at the fashion industry I'd been expecting, but thoroughly entertaining nonetheless. I loved every minute of it, and the clothes, ohmigod, the clothes...........

After the film, I braved more bad traffic to get to I Knit London. I wanted to see the Cherry Tree Hill supersock they had recently got in store, buy a few things for my secret pal and then relax in the shop and perhaps sew a few blue squares together. In the end I only bought a set of dpns and the first issue of Yarn Forward. I'd forgotten that Gerard and Craig were in Bracknell for the Unravel festival, but got to meet Stefan instead, who was just as helpful and charming as the boys, if in somewhat odd attire. While I was there, a lady came in to learn how to knit for the baby she was expecting, how cool is it that she felt that she could walk in and ask to learn? When I left the shop, she had needles and yarn in her hand and was looking very happy.

So I headed back north of the river. In total I’d driven about four hours but very few miles. Before going home and closing the door on the world, I stopped at my local, where over an excellent Thai red curry and a large glass of pinot grigio, I finally relaxed and read Yarn Forward. It's had rave reviews from bloggers so far, so I'll reserve my thoughts for another post.

Thanks to a little judicious shopping yesterday, my camera is again talking to my pc. Having uploaded the photos, I was really tempted to edit previous posts and replace all the bad pictures taken by my mobile, but I have decided just to focus on future posts.

However, it does mean that I can update on something long overdue, namely Sock Wars. These are the marvellous socks knit in Koigu that killed me. How lucky am I? Sent also by my assassin were lip balm, chocolate (um, already eaten) and raspberry and pomegranate tea, but even without these wonderful goodies, I am so absolutely delighted with the socks. Thank you Geeyouknit for a fabulous package.

This is the sock and remaining yarn (and small thank you present) that I sent back to my assassin. As posted previously, I could have started (and perhaps finished) the second sock, but t'was not to be. Unfortunately, Geeyouknit has also been killed, so I'm not entirely sure where the socks are at this moment, but hopefully they are on their way to Spooky Knitter. Sock Wars was a lot of fun (and these pictures are soooomuch better than my mobile's).



Specs:
Debbie Bliss merino DK, 100% merino wool in burnt orange.

I went to Ally Pally this week for the Knitting and Stitching Show. It was my first time and it didn't disappoint, it was eff-ay-bee.

I loved being able to look and touch beautiful yarn that I have been drooling over on the internet. It was particularly exciting that Cheryl Potter from Cherry Tree Hill was there, and I came away with a skein of Supersock and a pattern for a vest that I am going to make for my father.

I went with Gerard and we focused on the yarn stalls. We both thought the new Sirdar range, Sublime, looked like Rooster, yarn, brochure, image. Talking of Rooster, did anyone see the fabulous knitted sofa cover? Now, that would look very nice in my study.

I would have loved to look at all the other non-knitting stalls, but I'm glad I didn't. I would have ended up buying things and starting new projects, and right now life is simply too chaotic to allow for any other crafts.

It was great to see Gerard being recognised so much - hopefully, I will be seeing him and Craig behind their own I Knit London stall next year! In fact, one of the best things about the day was meeting other knitters, bloggers or LYS owners, although one person was heard to say that their shop was too high-end for Ally Pally. Oh, we laughed about that over a glass of wine in the pub afterwards. Miaow.

Comments, what comments?

I have just found unpublished comments left this week by my Secret Pal and by my Sock Wars assassin over two weeks ago! It turns out comment moderation was activated, but the email address for notifying me was one I used when I started blogging way back in 2001. I hardly ever look at this particular email address, as it's now just a repository for email from strangers who generously want to share their massive wealth with me, if only I would just give them my bank details, or those good, good people, who, naturally concerned for my health and wellbeing, keep me up-to-date with the latest pharmaceutical offerings at very fair prices.

Back to the point: I have updated the email address for notification, and removed comment moderation altogether. Many apologies for seeming to ignore you guys, honestly I had no idea, and I do appreciate you dropping me a line.

Hello Secret Pal

Secret Pal 9 has begun. Well, actually, it doesn't start until the 15th, but the questionnaire has been posted, and we have been matched. I've already visited my spoilee's blog, and am really looking forward to spoiling her. So, for my secret pal (hello wherever you are!) and anyone else interested, here are my answers to the questionnaire.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I have mostly knit with DK wool, sometimes cotton. This year, I've started to use different textures and weights, and am pretty much open to anything at the moment. With all the lovely choice of natural fibres available, I can't see the point of acrylic on its own, although undoubtedly there are practical benefits, I mean who actually enjoys handwashing?

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Um, nothing. They are usually poking out of my basket, alternatively I find them under the sofa, under the bed, in the bed. Some of the roll-up holders are so pretty, but all the straight needles I use are 35cm long, which tends to limit the choice. One day I'll make one. I have a set of pretty coloured Boyes interchangeable circulars which came in a practical, but oh-so-ugly (olive-beige, plastic cover, nasty) zipped pouch. Any rogue Addis get stuffed in there too.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
My mother taught me about 30 years ago, and I've been knitting ever since, but there is always stuff to learn, for example, I knit my first socks this year.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, but it needs updating.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
Fresh, lemon-y smells rather than sweet, musky ones (although they are nice too!). I am not keen on vanilla. I love seaweed or watermelon scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Although I DO like chocolate, crisps are more my thing. I prefer salty or sour things (margarita, anyone?).

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Crochet, sewing, tapestry, card-making, albeit I haven't done any of that for years. I cannot spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
In my dreams, I am on a dark stage in a smoky club, singing my broken heart out à la Judy. When I'm not a diva, I listen to a wide range of music, from Sinatra to the Sugababes, Crowded House to the Cure. I was a teenager in the 80s, so own a lot of punk and goth music (love those jangly guitars). My current favourite band is the Killers.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I've always loved purples and pinks (dusky tones though - bright pink is a big no-no). Currently, I am strangely drawn to burnt orange and all greens (really, my younger Goth self would be horrified). Not keen on brown on its own, but love it mixed with, say russets and gold, autumnal colours. The colour blue is very evocative (the sky, the sea), but I have no blue in my home and very little in my wardrobe (jeans). Looks great on men though.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live alone. I have an orange cat, but last year he moved to live in a house with a garden. He doesn't call or write.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Hats don't look so great on me, or rather, the hats looks great, I on the other hand look utterly ridiculous.
Scarves - love 'em. What's not to like? Quick to knit, makes a great present, transforms a so-so outfit to a great one. Love scarves.
Mittens - sorry, knitted gloves are not for me.
Ponchos - pass; not entirely sure what this means. I love shawls, but ponchos? I think I had one as a child.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Jumpers/sweaters, although I'm really enjoying shawl knitting at the moment.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Socks, scarf, two shawls, jumper, cardigan

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Handmade or bought, all gifts are treasured.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
35cm straight, only because that's what I am used to, and I think they have all been aluminium. Am still a bit of a circulars newbie, and only on flat pieces so far. DPNs tend to be 5 inch bamboo.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No. I wind yarn using other someone else's arms or various inanimate objects.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Six months. A fabulous jumper with bell sleeves, using a gorgeous purple Jaeger DK. All knitting done, just can't bring myself to sew the pieces together (because then I can no longer pretend that it's gonna fit).

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas and new year, and so many others.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Stationery. Candles. Green glass. Bills. Clutter.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to Interweave, although I haven't received a magazine yet, that's my only subscription. I buy the UK's Simply Knitting off the shelf sporadically. There are loads of things I would love to get my hands on, too numerous to list here. Most of the overseas yarn that I covet, I try to find online, but I suppose what immediately springs to mind as hard to get are the KnitPicks products, especially the needles and KIPer bags, because KP do not ship outside North America. Bad KP, bad!

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Loads! Finishing techniques, magic loop, toe-up socks.....

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Socks are a great portable project, and sock yarn is luscious. My feet are a UK 5.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

ETA: this post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a few days now; bizarrely, I want to answer each question with my life story. Sorry for rambling, I'm not so good on short answers.

Gee, I don't feel so well

As soon as I had her email address, I googled and checked out my assassin's blog, but as there was no mention of SockWars, I figured she was one of those who hadn't been keeping up with events and was in the dark about her target. I relaxed. I stopped knitting my socks.

Fool, fool! For, as I write, my assassin's socks are winging their way over the Atlantic to me. Upon receipt, I shall die and must send her my own weapons (currently consisting of 3/4 of a sock) and target's details.

I always thought I would go out in the first round, but I might have had a fighting chance of getting further if I hadn't been so complacent. Never mind, it's been great fun, and I can help my assassin by knitting as much of the sock until the package actually arrives. Elizabeth, I'm really looking forward to receiving your socks, even if they are full of all of your sad.

Another week of knitting goodness. Monday I went to John Lewis, where I changed my mind about the DK for SockWars and bought this ball of Cashsoft. I've been wanting to try this for some time, and thought socks would be a great small project to try it out, plus add a little special softy goodness to the gift. I swatched on Friday, was relatively happy with the result, went back to JL on Saturday to buy another ball........ to find that there wasn't a single ball left of the same colour, let alone dye-lot.

So I bought two balls of DB merino DK in a deep orange. So far, it's been lovely to use, but I'm not convinced that it's a good yarn for socks (especially those with a stretchy rib pattern - unless they were only ever to be used slouching on a sofa in front of a fire).

The SockWars pattern is simple and suits DK - (with a more robust yarn, these would make great socks for men) and I knit the leg, turned the heel and picked up the instep very quickly. Quite a few of the warriors had finished their socks in a couple of days, although with no homes to go to..............

..............due to power outages and resulting IT problems, the onset of war was delayed, dossiers still have not been sent out resulting in much confusion and some resentment. This is a great shame, because by all accounts, the Yarn Monkey has organised this war on her own, while looking after her family and keeping down a job. If I had been affected by a hurricane, I'm not sure that emailing 700+ knitters their dossiers would be very high on my priority list, and the fact that she has obviously had to overcome huge obstacles to provide us with enough information to make a start is nothing short of amazing. I wish the kill-joys would remember this is supposed to be fun.

In other knitty news, I went to two knitting groups this week; on Tuesday I went to Angelknits, the first time in months. I do like the Rose Inn, but that evening the lighting was dreadful. Still, it was nice to catch up with people. On Wednesday the Phoenix hosted another excellent evening at the I Knit London club, which you can read about here.

Cozy is progressing slowly. I had a slight setback, when I had to rip out a few rows to correct an error, and as I've said before, frogging this yarn in this pattern is not fun. But I love the pattern so much, I really want to make a shawl for myself, so I bought some Jaeger extra fine merino aran in black.

After John Lewis, I paid my first visit to Loop. Just like Stash Yarns, the shop is much smaller than appears on the website, but Oh. My. God. What gorgeous, gorgeous yarn. I particularly fell in love with the Be Sweet yarns [tagline: creative products with a conscience]. As soon as I have finished both Cozies, I'm going to buy me some of this dang good stuff and knit me a piece of heaven.

Anyway, obviously I couldn't leave Loop without buying something; a couple of sets of bamboo dpns, my first Addis, and this, one skein of Debbie Bliss pure silk. I'm going to see how far it goes into making a scarf - using the Cozy pattern OF COURSE.

Right, that's me done for tonight. Must stop buying yarn and concentrate on some actual knitting this week. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of some FOs soon.

Last night I wound one of the malabrigo skeins into a ball, and cast on Cozy (twice in fact, having realised after four rows, that I was five stitches short, gah), and in very little time I was completely miserable. This afternoon, I picked it up again, telling myself that after another row, it would all fall into place, but coming to the end of the first repeat, all I had was an ugly mess.

It was clear that the yarn-overs weren’t creating the required holes. So, I logged onto Knittinghelp, and with the help of one of those nifty little videos, realised that I was creating a purl yarn-over rather than a knit one. So, I ripped back to the rib and started again.

And immediately saw the difference. I've now completed three repeats, and absolutely LOVE THE PATTERN. Pictures to follow soon.

I don't usually work with this yarn weight. It's a worsted yarn, but is heavier than aran. Unpicking stitches has sometimes been a little sticky, but otherwise, it's very easy to knit with.
The Boyes have been such a great investment. I love the fact that I can delve in for any needle size. I was a little worried about using circulars again, my KSH experience still not forgotten, and to be honest, a bit confused how you use circulars on a flat piece. Nevertheless, the logical way turned out to be correct, and I quickly got used to them. Due to my tight tension, I do sometimes have a bit of trouble moving stitches from the cable to the needle, but I love the way I can stretch out the piece for a good inspection, and the fact that I can toss the work aside without anything falling off the needles!

Another week, and more yarn purchases, but not for new projects. Earlier in the week, I received Lucia sock yarn from Posh Yarns, one skein each in Mulberry and Scuffle. The Scuffle was initially intended for my Sock Wars assassination target, but since yarn specifications were announced, they are both now headed for stash. Must. Not. Touch. Till. Two. WIPs. Are. Completed.

Today, I bought a ball each of Rooster's DK in grape and DB Baby Cashmerino in red. One of these will be my actual DK for the Sock Wars. I also bought 3.0mm, 3.5mm and 4.0mm DPNs, and, with six days till war, now I just need to find the time to swatch.

Progress on My Oh So Beautiful Sock continues slowly. I took it to my first Knitflicks visit today to see Black Dahlia. I really did enjoy knitting at the cinema very much, although the film's story required one to concentrate all the time, as does picking up the instep stitches. Needless to say, I lost the plot several times, and was looking forward to talking about it with the other knitters in the café afterwards.

Only there was no café afterwards. I was a bit sad about this, as I'd really wanted to thank Claire for organising it, but there were no knitters in the bar, so after a wander round the crafts on display in the foyer, I took myself off down the road to I Knit London, where Gerard informed me that the café at the Ritzy was upstairs. [I really could kick myself, as I have actually eaten there before].

Anyway, I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at IKL. I bought the Rooster and DB, Gerard made me cups of tea, and I spent a couple of hours knitting and chatting.

I have long been wanting to knit my first shawl, and after weeks of surfing research, finally decided on Cozy (how cool does that chick look pairing it with jeans?). Having found the perfect pattern, I then spent a lot of time looking for the right yarn; given that this will be my first attempt at shawl knitting, requires a lot of yarn, must (if successful) match both casual and work wardrobes, I have looked at and considered a mind-boggling number of different fibres, textures and weights.

Then this week, I decided to knit the shawl for someone else. This made the correct yarn choice even more important, and so I took myself off to Stash and came away with two skeins of malabrigo pure merino wool in pagoda. It's a bit thicker than I would have liked, but the colour is just so gorgeous, a deep autumnal russet (not as pink as these pictures. Just hope the shawl's intended recipient loves it as much as I do.

I've never really had a stash, although my knitting basket has always contained balls of leftover yarn or one-offs bought for swatches. And because I've always concentrated on one project at a time, I have never accumulated yarn that doesn't get knitted into something straight away.

But recently, I can't stop starting new projects, and my current squeeze has been left in the cold while I flirt with these:

Stitchdiva's curlicue ruffle scarf.
After gushing over the pattern and yarn [in my last post], I cast on and knit a couple of rows. I have never used circular needles or knit with KSH, and I started the project in poor light, using only a side lamp. Suffice to say, I didn't enjoy the experience at all, and my initial enthusiasm quickly died. I still love the scarf and will definitely persevere (you gotta learn somehow, right?); I'm hoping that once I master KSH, a few presents could come out of this, but for now, this is on the back-burner.

My Oh So Beautiful Socks
A project of love. It started one warm evening after dinner at Chez Med, finishing a bottle of red in their covered outside area, when B held out his arms for me to wind Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn into a ball. I started the leg during shopping breaks last weekend, and took it to IKL's launch party. This is my travelling project, I knit it when B is driving, in the pub, standing in queues.

I love this yarn, it's so soft and so pretty, definitely my favourite sock yarn (haha, total experience to date = TWO). The pattern is simple to follow, and I think some presents could follow from this too.

Sock Wars
The arsenal (yarn and needles) has taken everyone by surprise: double knit and 3.5mm or size for gauge. Double knit? I confess I'm a bit disappointed by this because a) I had ordered a skein of cashmere/merino yarn from Posh Yarns and had been looking forward to knitting this for someone; and b) socks will be finished more quickly, and although I fully expect to be out of the war in the first round, my actual knitting and involvement appears to be even less than I first thought. Oh well, it's still a fabulously fun idea, and I'm excited to be part of it.

Cozy
My first attempt at shawl knitting, more yarn shopping yesterday, details to follow in next post.

Finally, back to my older WIPs. Remember DB's ribbon-edged cardigan [from now on to be called Ribbon]. As I've mentioned countless times before, I knit very tightly, but even with larger needles, I cannot get guage. A couple of weeks ago, I just felt that what I had knitted so far, was too small. So I frogged it. The resulting ball looked very sad.

I swatched again, but in the end decided to start again using the same needles as before, but trying to relax my tension. A few inches in, I am pretty happy with the result, it's just that I have so many other projects on the go, that I haven't got very far.

As for Marlowe, I still haven't done the neck edging. So near to completion, this is in danger of becoming a UFO.

I have six projects on the needles, and Christmas presents waiting in line. I know for some this is a pathetic number that they deal with on a daily basis. It is, however, too many for ME. So, I've decided not to buy any more yarn or start any new knits until two WIPs are finished. Hah!

Edited to add: um, I've just signed up for Secret Pal 9. I've been planning to for a while, and it involves more buying than actual knitting, so it doesn't count, right?

I am so sorry for the quality of the pictures in this post, but I'm still reliant on my mobile and I simply cannot wait for my camera to behave.

So, first up, on Friday evening I was in an area in South Oxfordshire I know very well, and somehow on my way home absent-mindedly missed my turning to London and got lost, and in my resulting attempt to find my way back to the M40, drove even further westwards (helloooooo?) and ended up in Oxford, drove through a red light (not intentionally!) and almost lost it at a crucial roundabout moment. Eventually I got back to London, drove to Ikea (thank heavens for midnight closing), with great will and determination made my way round the store without looking at any of the goodies, and only picked up what I really came for (you know how HARD that was) and like a blinkered horse made my way to the check-out, where with a sinking heart I realised that I had left my plastic in the car. And I was desperate for the loo. Really, it was a miserable evening.

I remember a time when you had to walk the entire Ikea store just to get out again; fortunately, times have changed and so has their attitude. The store at Neasden has recently undergone a massive restructuring (jeez, you can even take your trolley to your car), and I was able to nip out to the car park and back again to the queue in less time it takes to write about it. The staff were absolutely fantastic and I am very grateful to them.

Anyway, this is all irrelevant; I am just setting the picture. I want you to understand how fed up and tense I was when I finally arrived at home late Friday, to find a package at my door, the contents of which were:

I have long been lusting after the KnitPicks needles (and still am), but having followed the discussion on AngelForums, was convinced to try the Boyes and ordered them from Woolly Workshop on Wednesday, and received them on Friday. [Fantastic, top-notch service from Woolly Workshop.]

The next day I went shopping for (clothes, make-up, shoes, and) YARN.

I bought these for Stitchdiva's curlicue ruffle scarf, which I have been wanting to make ever since I first laid eyes on the funky pattern. There are three yarns of different weights and textures used in the scarf, and I agonised for weeks about the choice. Eventually, I bought two balls of KSH, one in Marmalade, one in Majestic (contrary to what the photo suggests). They aren't both destined for the scarf; I really fancy the idea of an orange scarf, but can't decide on the colour for the edging, whereas I know what I'm doing with purple, and as it happens, later that day, at I Knit London's new shop (more on that in a minute), I bought a skein of Araucania Natural Cotton in a dusky pink, which is actually one of the edging yarns used in one of the scarf's kits. I still have a third yarn to choose for the purple version, and still looking at options for the orange.

I'd also been looking to buy the 9mm 80cm circulars required, but in a rare coming together of wants and needs, that particular problem was solved by the Boyes order. So, am set to start the funky scarf.

Finally, a quick word about the newest LYS in London, I Knit London, run by the indefatigable Gerard and Craig. I went (albeit late) to their opening day, to see the shop and marvel at their yarns. I also fondled a skein of sparkly yarn costing £30+, it was beautiful. Please visit them if you are in the area. Gerard and Craig are wonderful people, knowledgeable and charming, and they are working hard to make I Knit London a success.

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

Found courtesy of Daisy.

And there was me thinking all this time, I was a delicate and precious orchid.

FO - first socks

So it eventually occurred to me that a broken dpn did not mean the end of my sock knitting. [I've only been knitting for over thirty years, go figure.] I think it's because I'm such a novice when it comes to socks, and still dependant on rules Thou shalt need five needles for the heel rather than looking at the big picture.

But the knitting fairy waved her magic needle, and in a flash I realised (not without some embarrassment) that with the aid of some holding yarn through the unused stitches, I could work quite happily on the heel flap, then a judicious spread of stitches on three needles (hey, that's how it started, right?) meant I could turn the heel and shape the instep.

I had a lot of time on my hands last week, and I stormed through that second sock, STORMED I tell you, and tonight I finished and grafted the toe. My determination was fuelled by the desire for a FO, so that I could cast on the Lorna's Laces socks without guilt. Also, it was important for me to practice as much sock knitting as possible, to allow me at least a fighting chance in the upcoming Sock Wars.

I really loved making these socks. There is something incredibly satisfying in seeing tangible, practical yet pretty results in such a short time. In truth, there were times when knitting with four needles was awkward and fiddly, and Sock Number Two is not as perfect as its older brother and they could both do with being a little bigger, but this has been a huge learning curve for me and I am pleased as Punch with them (and with myself), and proud to add this skill to my repetoire. So, meine Damen und Herren, I present to you my First Socks.

Yarn: Opal Magic in purple
Needles: Schoeller & Stahl bamboo 2.5mm
Pattern: Simple top down sock pattern from Web of Wool.