Thursday, December 23, 2004

I am such a copycat. Stealing a good idea from Ms Spikeygirl I'm going to list my Best of 2004


Most Worn Knit of 2004: Tricot

Honourable mention: Lara – I’ve worn this lots it’s so versatile. My only regret is that I knitted it with yarn recycled from an old sweater instead of the spanking new yarn that it deserves. I’ll be rectifying this if I ever finish the current 2 items on the needles.

Best Read of 2004: I’ve read some excellent books this year but to come top of the list it has to be more than a good story. The prose has to be as good as the storyline so that I’m enjoying the use of words as much as the story itself. This was a difficult decision so much so that 2 books came out top. They are:

“Touching The Void” by Joe Simpson. This is simply an awe-inspiring book. You’ve just got to read it.

“Fergus Lamont” by Robin Jenkins. You will dislike the main character but that does not stop you wanting to find out how his life turns out. Great use of Scottish prose. I nearly didn’t select this as a “Best Read of 2004” as I didn’t find the ending all that satisfactory but the more I thought of it the more I found the ending to be apt to the book. The book is the memoirs of Fergus Lamont written by an old man in ill-health so of course he’s bound to die before he dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts and is going to leave unanswered questions.

The runner’s up (in no particular order) are:

“The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger . This came highly-recommended by Ms Spikey so much so that she even bought me a copy so that I’d read it. I read it while I was on holiday in Chicago this summer so that added a new dimension to the book.

“The Perks of being A Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky. This could have been the winner. A great little book but sadly let down by the ending.


Author Discovery of the Year : Robin Jenkins. I’ve read 5 novels by him this year and not one of them was a disappointment.

Best Film of 2004: I don’t go to the cinema so all the films I watch are on DVD. I enjoyed “Cold Mountain”, “I am Sam” and “Mystic River”. Also I was pleasantly surprised by “The Butterfly Effect”.

Best film of the year though goes to the documentary “Touching The Void”. It did justice to the book.

Music Discovery of 2004: I used to buy quite a lot of CDs but over the past couple of years music has become less important in my life. I much prefer to stick on a DVD and watch a film while knitting. One new singer I discovered this year was Jann Arden and that was thanks to the knitting blogs. Indigirl Amy linked to Jann Arden way back before the summer and I followed the link , listened to some samples, liked what I heard and bought 4 of her CDs – two of which I play constantly in the car. So, thank you Amy.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Sometimes I'm amazed by my own stupidity. Chocolate gives me a migraine but I can eat a certain amount before it causes a headache. So, it was suggested to me that perhaps good quality 82% organic chocolate wouldn't cause a headache. 6 little squares spread throughout the day on Saturday has led to a massive 3 day migraine. At least now I know for sure that it's the cocoa in the chocolate that causes the headaches.I have managed to do some knitting though. I've been switching between 3 projects the socks, the sleeve and the koigu scarf. None of them are finihed yet ut I've high hopes that the scarf will be finished before Christmas.

Saturday, December 18, 2004

I've done an embarrasing little amount of knitting in the past week that the sleeve to the Consuela sweater is not worth posting. I did start a sock though:

Not sure of the pattern but I'll persevere with it. Speaking off socks check out Rebecca's post of the 16th for a photo of some socks I knitted.
I've been reading more than knitting this month. Finished:
"Scott and Amundsen" by Roland Huntford
"That Summer" by Andrew Greig
and am a good way through "Fergus Lamont" by Robin Jenkins

Friday, December 10, 2004

Wow, where has the week gone? I've hardly done anything this week. I've knit 19 rows of a sleeve, read half a book and that's it. The only thing I've achieved is to make the house look more of a tip than it did on Sunday evening. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow - yeah knitting, there's still a path after all from the sofa to the kitchen through all the junk ;-)

Monday, December 06, 2004

Yet more cold weather gear:


The mitten pattern is the Gifted mitt pattern from Kate (see previous entry for link - I'm feeling to lazy to link!!)

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Bring it on. I'm ready for Arctic weather:

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Quick mitts:



Each mitt only took an evening to knit and sew up. I can see some more of these in my future. I used Kate Gilbert's Gifted pattern. I wanted to felt the mitts as I was needing something that would stand up to the rigours of Scottish hillwalking. I knit the man's size using Emu Chunky II which is a thick 'n' thin yarn (so it definitely needed to be felted if these mitts were going to be warm). I used this yarn for the Gatsby sweater that I knit last year. I used the size of needles recommended in the pattern but next time I'll go down a needle size.
These mitts are really warm I wore them this morning while I was scraping the ice off the windscreen.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

I'm sure you've all been asking yourself the question - did she finish 9 books in a month? And the answer is yes:
"Two Moons" by Jennifer Johnston
described as one of Ireland's finest writers she has written quite a few novels and has won some major prizes. This was the first book I've read by her and it was an okay book. It hasn't given me the urge to go out and buy some more of her books. I would also not rate this as a book as worthy of taking up my limited shelf-space so once my mum has read it I'll be selling it Amazon? It's only about 240 pages long but I thought it was 50 pages too long. It just seemed to go on in the same vein without adding anything new to the storyline.
How many books will I be reading in December?

Monday, November 29, 2004

This is the culprit that gave me the knitting blahs this month:

It's a cropped version of the Consuela jumper from the Debbie Bliss Silk Alpaca book. Yet again I'm re-using some old yarn. This time from an oversized 1980's style jumper that absolutely drowned me. I think I may still have the pattern somewhere not that I'll ever re-knit that jumper. I had to turn off the flash so that you could see the pattern. The colour of this yarn is a very bright red - it's so red it looks like plastic and I think it's in the brightness of the colour that my problem with this jumper lies - I'm just not sure I'd ever wear it.
In a bid to get back my knitting mojo I've turned to some quick knits. Here's what I knitted this weekend. It's the Lola hat from the Mission Falls Decade book:

and I couldn't get a clear image of the cables. I also couldn't get a decent photo of how ridiculous I look in this hat. I've still not found a style of hat that actually suits me but that never stops me from wearing them - warm ears are more important and my hats are also a standing joke with my hillwalking friends.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Just when you thought I had disappeared off the face of the earth, I'm back.

So what have I been doing for nearly a whole month? Not knitting (well hardly any worth blogging about. Instead I've been reading. Normally I only read 1 to 2 books a month with lots of knitting. This month I've read 8 books and I've still got until Tuesday evening to make it to 9!

What books have I read(in order):

"John Burnet of Barns" John Buchan
"Childish Things" Robin Jenkins
"Miss Wyoming" Douglas Coupland
"Poor Angus" Robin Jenkins
"The Green Isle of the Great Deep" Neil M Gunn
"The Fall" Simon Mawer (Boardman Tasker winner 2003)
"The Changeling" Robin Jenkins
"Dark Shadows Falling" Joe Simpson (I've got a big crush on Joe Simpson, I think he's fantastic)

I'm off to peruse my bookshelves and decide which book to read next.

Monday, November 01, 2004

Lara has been washed and pressed and I've managed to get that vital half an inch out of it. Well, at least enough to get it to cross-over without looking stretched:

It's okay, the yarn is more tired that I thought it was and I'd have preferred a longer version but I've already worn it to the office and nobody laughed at me.
My Lara is alot shorter than quite a few of the completed ones out in blogland. Mine has three quarter sleeves and stops just below the waist.

Some of the complete Lara's I've found:

crafty bitch
sixandahalfstitches
zeusstrik
Autumn Sway - see entry for 15th
Zeneedle
Wendy's

I love the chopstick closure look - I'm definitely going to have to make a larger size soon.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Still fed up with the green holey cardigan so I switched to another project:

It is, of course, Lara from The Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk pattern book. I used recycled wool from an old sweater that was at least 10 years old. This was a really quick knit and I may even knit another one except the next time I'll knit the next size up. It'll look better after it's had a wash - I didn't bother to wash the wool after I unravelled it so it's a bit "crinkly".

Monday, October 18, 2004

Haven't done my bit for Scottish tourism in a while. I was here yesterday (and those little white dots are sheep so this is a fibre-related post):

and while alot of people are posting photos of the sky can I be the first to post an in-cloud photo:


Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Feeling jaded and uninspired
Knitting this lace cardigan is so boring that I don't want to blog about it. I've completed the back,left front and am doing the armhole shaping on the first sleeve. I know it's going to look good once it's completed and that's the only thing that's stopping me from putting it aside and moving on to something else. Though I am thinking of knitting a sock when I finish this sleeve.
In the meantime, don't expect any further updates until I finish this cardigan.

Saturday, October 02, 2004

First time ever:

I've never wet block pieces of my knitting before - my blocking usually consists of a steam iron when I've sewn it all up. But, this cardigan needs it to show off the lace.
It's the Trudie jacket from Mission Falls. The pattern I'd bought the 1824 cotton for and couldn't get gauge. I'm now using Patons Diploma DK (from stash)and it looks alright.

Friday, September 24, 2004

Well, that was a quick knit:

what do you expect when I was using 7.5mm and 9mm needles!!
I very rarely knit with super bulky yarn - aran weight is the heaviest that I usually knit with. I'll make an exception again for this Modigliani yarn. It's lovely and soft and ever so stretchy. That's the second lot of yarn from Chicago used up - I'll have to go back again and get more!
So what's next? I've got 4 projects half completed but none of them appeal to me at the moment. I'm thinking of ripping out 3 of them anyway but I do know I desperately need some cardigans for work. So, I'm off to look up some patterns. Have a good weekend.

Monday, September 20, 2004

Fini

I was between sizes so I decided to go for the larger one. Should have chosen the smaller size. I still love the sweater though it's going to get loads of use. Also enjoyed knitting with the Mission Falls cotton.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

After buying all that new yarn in Chicago I just had to start knitting with it. The Koigu scarf gets boring after a while so I've decided to knit up the Mission Falls Cotton. I'd got this yarn with the intention of knitting the Trudi cardigan from the Decades book but after going down a couple of needle sizes I still couldn't make gauge and the jacket was going to turn out huge after it had been blocked. So, I decided to reknit the Shrug Pullover from Interweave Knits. I have knitted this sweater before. I'm not going to have 2 sweaters of the same design but in different colours. The first one met a sorry end in the washing machine and I've missed it ever since.

Thursday, September 09, 2004

So, what yarn did I acquire while I was in Chicago. First off was not a purchase but a gift from Carolyn.

Isn't it gorgeous? It's from Foxhill Farm and it's 65% Come and 35% silk so it's got a lovely sheen to it. It's destined to be a tank.
I did buy my self some sock yarn:

Though strictly speaking the Lorna Laces sock yarn (on the right) was not bought in Chicago. Arcadia Knitting had only 1 skein in stock and I just had to have this colour. So, Carolyn ordered it for me and had it shipped to her ofice but I gave her the money in chicago so it's a Chicago yarn purchase.
I also bought some Koigu from Wool and Company:

as you can see I couldn't wait to knit the Koigu and I started a scarf while in Chicago.
Next up some Mission Falls 1842 cotton:

more on this yarn in my next post.

Finally, some Modigliani which sure is a strange yarn - it's incredibly stretchy:


No idea yet what I'm going to knit with it. Currently, I'm thinking a ribbed top of some kind.

Wednesday, September 08, 2004


That's me enjoying my holiday in Chicago where I got to hang out with the awesome Ms Spikeygirl. I do have to point out that we are not as wide as that normally - it's all the Bean's fault. Carolyn very kindly took me to the Chicago Art Institute and then helped me spend lots of money by taking me to just about every yarn store in Chicago. She was aided by Monica one Sunday who helped us visit a couple of yarn stores out in the suburbs.
I did lots of KIP on the Metra trains, on the beach in Winnetka, in Millenium Park and in a coffee shop in Belmont where Carolyn had arranged a mini SnB and here I gotto meet some very nice knitters. I promise to post photos tomorrow of all the yarn I bought in Chicago but I've got alot of things to catch-up with that I should have done before I went on holiday!!

Monday, September 06, 2004

Hopefully, I'll find sometime later on this week to take photos of my stash enhancement and for a proper blog entry. In the meantime, here's a photo of where I've been for the past 2 weeks. Don't you just love the distorted buildings?

Friday, August 20, 2004

On holiday. Check back in September.

Monday, August 16, 2004

Spent 2 nights working on a new tank design before I realised that I didn't have enough yarn to complete it. So that's been ripped out and I'll think about knitting it next year. The design was based on a t-shirt that Sandra Bullock wore in the film "28 days". After that disaster, I switched to socks.

I picked this yarn out of the European GSRP box (it had been put in by Emma). I was expecting little stripes but it's been fascinating watching what pattern is emerging.
And don't think you're escaping this week's obligatory photo of Scottish scenery. This weekend I was at Glen Mark:


Tuesday, August 10, 2004

I haven't quite sussed out the best way to take self-potraits with the new camera so this is the best you are going to get for this time of night:

Not bad considering I changed the gauge of the pattern but didn't do any maths and just knitted the XS size. The sleeves are a bit wider than I would have liked but it doesn't bother me that much and any way it's for slinging on over a tank during the day when I think I might be getting too much sun exposure on my arms and you don't want tight arms during the hottest part of the day.
Here's what you would have got if you had followed the pattern. A bit different - yes?

Sunday, August 08, 2004

I'm so tired tonight that I can't be bothered knitting despite the fact that I'm a considerable way into the armhole shaping of the blue cardigan and that an hour or so more of knitting and it'll be finished. This week's gratuitous photo of Scottish Hills isn't as stunning as last week's of Glencoe - it's of the high fells of the Ettrick Hills which I like for their solitude:

To make this entry a bit more spicey I also give you the Fat Belly Girl:


Thursday, August 05, 2004

Look at these:

Aren't they cool? They are a present from the lovely Emma. I'll be putting them to good use on the next pair of socks I knit.
The blue cotton cardigan is coming along. Nearly finished the right front (probably finish it this evening) which will just leave the second sleeve and then the ruffles. I'm undecided about the ruffles as I'm not sure how much yarn I'll have left and they will take too long to knit. I want this cardigan for my holiday and I also want to knit a shrug before I go. Will I have time?

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Look what I did today:

That's peak no.1, I'm sitting on peak no.2. We really needed a good day to do this mountain and luckily we got one of the very few sunny days we've had this summer. There were lots of other mountains to look at:

there were also a couple of sea lochs to look at :

Knitting coverage will resume tomorrow.

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Here's what I'm currently knitting:

It's the first pattern in the spring/summer 2003 issue of Vogue Knitting. It's going to look nothing like the design in terms of fit. I'm using a DK weight cotton yarn that I've reclaimed from another summer cardigan that was a wee bit on the tight side. There was no way that I would meet gauge using this yarn and being lazy I couldn't be bothered doing the maths so I'm just knitting the XS size. It's knitting up with plenty of ease which is fine by me as it's to wear over t-shirts and tanks. I'm halfway through having completed the back, one sleeve and am halfway up the left front. Got to finish before the middle of August.

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

If you only read one book this year make it "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. It is such a touching story. I just loved it.

Monday, July 26, 2004

One of the things I've been busy with over the past week is learning to use my new digital camera. Today was it's first outing. See, it can take views:

It can also take photos of dogs:

Wonder what it's like at knitting?

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

I may not have been blogging but I've still been knitting. The finished T3:

Umm, I don't know why it turned out so cropped I was aiming for it to go past the waistband.

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

I've still not got back into my daily routine yet. The number of knitting blogs I read daily has gone way down. I am also finding myself getting into work half an hour earlier than I was before I went on holiday. Don't know how long that'll last.
On the knitting front. I thought I'd use up those 4 spare balls of Patons Coral DK straight away so I am now knitting T3. I've done the back and have just started the front.

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Just finished sewing the last end so it hasn't been blocked:

I think the wide neck may stretch after a while and start to annoy me by slipping off the shoulders. The yarn used was Paton Coral DK in the Candy colourway. The pattern was a Sirdar booklet. I've got over 4 balls left so I can see a pink tank in the future.
The pink tank will be finished sooner than Friday. I've finished the knitting and have seamed one half ot it. I'll finish seaming it tonight and if it looks alright without blocking I'll take a photo.

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

That's me back from my holiday and back at work. I had a fantastic time and I came back feeling that I had been away for a long time. It's taking me a while to adjust back to my normal routine so although I've been around for a few days I haven't caught up on my usual blog reads. Knitting has been non-existent until last night so I don't have anything new to show you but I predict a new FO by Friday.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

I'm off for a few days holiday sampling the delights of Rannoch Moor, Glen Affric, Fort Augustus and finally Skye. Should be fun. No knitting is being taken as I can only take limited luggage and the choice was gin or knitting and guess what won?

The pink top is moving along very nicely - I've finished the back, 2 sleeves and am nearly ready for the armhole shaping on the front. Poor Lucille hasn't been worked on since the last photo I posted of her.
Reading wise I've just finished "Frence Revolutions - cycling the Tour de France" by Tim Moore. It's very funny and you do learn some interesting facts about procycling - did you know that professional cyclist has a life expectancy of 15 years less than the average man?

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

I can't knit lace and watch DVDs at the same time so I've started another project using Patons Coral DK:

It's a bit pinker than the photo and apart from the eyelets in the edging it's all stocking stitch. I'm knitting Sirdar Pattern 5083 and tonight's DVD is "The Bourne Identity"

Does anyone have any suggestions for a cotton/acrylic blend which looks and feels like All Season's Cotton but is a DK-weight yarn?

Monday, June 07, 2004

Now that I've finished the tricotalong I need a new knitalong and what could be better than the:

And look I've already got something appropriate on the needles:

Sunday, June 06, 2004

Finished my version of pattern 40 from the latest Rebecca magazine:

I could have got away with the smaller size but it's too late now. I reckon it'll look alright over a long-sleeved T. I might try that out tomorrow morning when the lighting is better.
The main colour is the denim shade of Patons Washed Haze and the contrast colour is called Reef.
I'm glad I ran out of the main colour as I think the shoulder panels look better in the contrast colour.

Friday, June 04, 2004

I've had a busy couple of days knitwise. On Tuesday I went on a roadtrip to Emma's to meet up with Carolyn and Kerrie. It was a great afternoon with much stitchin', bitchin' and eating going on. We also got the opprtunity to root around in Emma's stash - boy, does she have alot of good stuff and some lovely colours as well. I don't think I left a box unopened. The afternoon just flew by and it seemed that we had only been there about an hour when it was time to go. It was all a bit surreal - I mean who in their right mind would spend 7.5 hours driving for an afternoon of knitting!! Only other knitters would understand.

I'm knitting a new tank(it's the orange one) in my current love - Patons Washed Haze. I started it on Tuesday night and aim to finish it over the weekend. Housework can go hang itself. Of course, I've got worries about not having enough yarn but I've thought of away around that. The tank has shoulder panels so if I've run out of the main colour I can do the shoulder panels in the contrast colour with stripes of the main colour. It's a really fast knit, it's the finishing that's going to take time. The stripes are crocheted on and I'm no good with a crotchet hook.

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Why is it when you plan to take a photo first thing in the morning before hurrying off to work the weather's crap, you have to put all the lights on so you might has well have taken it last night when you had more time. Anyway here it is is finished:

I had a bit of a trial with the zip. It was too long so I cut it. That was no problem but what I forgot was not too pull it up all the way and of course it went flying of the end. I spent about 30 minutes trying to put the metal pull thing back on but it wouldn't go. So I thought how about Norwegian clasps. I sewed on three sets but they didn't look right so it was back to the zipper and I finally managed to get that sorted and sewed it in. Just as well, I'm planning to wear Tricot tomorrow.

I'm very pleased with the Patons Washed Haze but it still has to undergo the ultimate test of being machine washed.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Let me introduce you to Lucille:

Isn't she a little sweetheart? A bit zesty but it is summer. The yarn is Garnstudio's Silke-Tweed (52% silk, 48% lambswool. I've got 17 balls of this stuff (another ebay bargain) so i see a twinset in the future.
Still not received my extra ball of Patons Washed Haze so Tricot is still on hold. I did receive in the post my new passport so now I can go ahead and book my holiday - Chicago here I come!!

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Her's what Lucille looks like as a cardigan.
As of last night, Tricot is on hold. It's just a temporary hold until I can get more yarn. I'm just past the waist-shaping on the front and I've ran out of the contrast yarn. I've got too many things to do today so I can't go yarn shopping so I've mail-ordered the extra ball of Patons Haze. Now you just can't buy one ball of yarn so I've bought some more cotton DK yarn for a summer top.
When you're main project is on hold what's a girl to do? Perhaps knit on the other 2 sweaters that are currently on the go? No, much better to cast on for a new project. How about Lucille (it's the one on the left) but in the cardigan version. Very small needles will take me some time.

Saturday, May 15, 2004

Not bad for a 3 hour shopping trip (of which half the time was spent waiting for or on buses):

and for once most of the money didn't go on yarn. I won't bore you with the specifications of the hiking boots but the yarn is 6 balls Patons Washed Haze in denim for a tank in Rebecca No. 27. 2 balls Reqia Jacquard (I never knew that Regia was made by Coats but what yarn don't they make?) and bamboo dpns and a stitch holder (cos you can never have too many of them). I also got 2 patterns for Patons Washed Haze and Jaeger Booklet JB25 which contains some lovely designs. A good haul wouldn't you say?

Thursday, May 13, 2004

On my short break from Tricot I haven't just been knitting a sock. I've decided that it is about time that I sorted out my stash of ebay "bargains" and have started a stripey jumper:

Yes, another indistinct and blurred photo. That's 3 colours of Phildar Brisant. I didn't think I had enough of the darker yarn to knit a whole jumper (hence the stripes). Knowing now what sort of yardage you can get out of a 50g ball I probably have enough to do a one colour jumper. The plan is to do a polo neck but it may become one of those jumpers that I stop working on after I've finished the back.

Monday, May 10, 2004

Posted an update on the Tricotalong blog.
Go on check it out, you know you want to...

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

You don't have to get yarn for it to be a good mail day. Sometimes, all it takes is some new patterns:

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Made good progress on Tricot:

I'm only making very slight changes to the pattern. I'm increasing the ribbing by 2 rows and I am lengthening the sweater. I may do something different with the collar but then again I may not. It all depends what I feel like when I get to that stage.
The Patons Washed Haze is lovely and soft to knit with and is an excellent substitute for Rowans All Season Cotton (and is alot cheaper as well). Unfortunately, you've got to like blue as that's the only shade it comes in apart from white. I've got a hankering to knit something in pink for the summer.
It's not too late to sign up for the tricotalong. If you want to join just email me at lindaDOTmckie@zoomDOTcoDOTuk.

Monday, May 03, 2004

Finished a sock:

Yarn used was Regia Crazy Colour in the Nordic colourway. I'm not all that crazy about the pattern. I used the one that was supplied as for some reason I thought I had bought one of the sock yarns that makes a fair-isle type pattern. When I wasn't getting a pattern I looked up my order and realised that I had ordered the random pattern yarn. Anyway, it's a bit loose around the heel so I'll use a more tailored pattern on the next pair of socks I knit.

Saturday, May 01, 2004

Made gauge first time with Patons Washed Haze:

That's actually 2 shades of blue but the sun is a bit too bright this afternoon so the very light blue looks white. I thought I'd better practice my colour changes at the same time - I think I need more practice!!
The other tricotalongers are:
Alison who's using Cotton Ease in navy and light blue
Chris using Cotton Ease in hydrangea and white (see her April 28th post for the colours)
Petra who's also using Cotton Ease in Blueberry and Orangeade

The only other Tricot, I've seen out there is SavannahChik's who is knitting an orange and red Tricot. Is there any other Tricots out there?
It's May 1st which means it's kick-off time for the:

More to come once I've done my swatch.

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Thanks for all the nice comments about the tank. Right now, I'm sitting at work wearing the tank and the Balmoral cardigan I finished the other week. They do go very nicely together.
The tank was made from an amalgam of patterns. It started off being a short sleeve sweater from Vogue Spring/Summer 1998 isuue (a Joan Vass pattern). I decided not to do the ribbing at the botton and just go straight into the cable pattern. I've knitted this top previously and didn't want it to look the same. I only had 300g of the yarn (I could have sworn I had bought 4 cones but I could only find 3 in the cupboard) so when the first cone ran out I realised that the sleeves would have to go. The armhole decreases I swipe from Alison's Rosebud pattern from the Knitty. I did a couple of more decreases on the armhole that is in Alison's pattern as I was planning to do a deep rib edging around the armholes. Unfortunately, I ran out of yarn so the armholes are unfinished but they look fine unfinished. I'm going to be using Alison's armhole shaping in all my tanks from now on. The yarn used was Texere's Vision ribbon which is 100% viscose and very slippery. The shade is Dusky Lilac. I'm thinking about knitting a shrug to go with this tank maybe after I've finished Tricot.
The Tricot knitalong is starting on Saturday and I'm being very good and will not start swatching until then. Meanwhile, last night I started a pair of socks. I have only knitted 2.5 pairs of socks before - one pair top down and 1.5 pairs of mousetrap socks. I'm using Regia Crazy Color - Nordic and am just following the pattern that came with the yarn. I'm an extremely awkward knitter when it comes to double pointed needles.

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Hot off the needles:

do you like the two-tone arm? Guess who forgot the sun lotion on Sunday - and yes it's still sore to touch, ouch...
I seem to have deleted my template by mistake last night. I'm going to have to start from scratch again :-(

Monday, April 26, 2004

Here's what I took out of the European GSRP box:

That's 400g of red guernsey wool, 50g of moss green Jamieson 4ply (all put in by Gill) and two 50g balls of sock yarn (put in by Emma).

I didn't take a photo of what I put in as I think it'll spoil the surprise of what's in there. But I'll list what I put in: 500g cone of Texere autumn cotton (I used just under 500g to knit Grace), 3 hanks of Rowan 4ply botany, 2 balls of Patons Linen Look and a ball of Wendy'd Como ribbon yarn. I'm looking forward to round 2.

On the knitting front I am very close to finishing a tank. Just the neckband and the armhole edging to go.