Knitting is slow, but steady.

I'm at present, working only on the prayer shawl. This is becasue it's getting bloody old here in Manchester, and I want something I can wrap up in and throw off.
I'd really prefer a nice shetland or faroese shawl for this winter, but I've not got one near completion (or even started, for that matter. . .).
But, in order to facilitate my wish, I'll be ordering a book of shetland shawl patterns off the net (ok, I forget where from, but I've got the picture in my head), then I'll be ordering Alison Hyde's "Wrapped in Comfort" book from Amazon. After that, I'm getting the wool for both and starting one or the other in the summer. I will have one of each eventually.

So, for the time being, it's a slightly-skinnier-than-I-wanted-but-I'm-not-frogging-it prayer shawl for this winter. It's warm, as it's been tested by sitting on my knees while I was knitting, and they were nicely toasty. *mmm*.

I'm hoping, that with less than a standard ball left to go, I'll finish it by the end of November, but It'll probably be in December that I'll be casting off. That's fine. There's only two ends to weave in - about 15 minutes work.

I'll be looking forwards to washing it, as I expect (ok, hoping) that the wool will bloom and get fluffier once clean and dried.

Ok, got to go knit . . .

Later.

Sweater in the headlights. . .

The skirt is still chugging along.
I've finished the knitting on a scarf (just got to do the boring sewing and washing), and I've done a little bit of knitting on my stalled sweater.
That's the thorn in my paw - the (Debbie Bliss) sweater. I don't know whether to continue and finish the back and see how it turns out or frog it and. . . - what to do, what to do. . .
Arrgghhhh!!!!! *snarl*
I think that really, I'm resigned to finishing the back following the pattern. The worst that will happen is that it'll be longer than I wanted, and the best . . . you get the idea.

No pictures this time.

Later.

The flickering Flames Skirt . .

is roaring into life. I'm on the third tier, and dreading the row lengths. 640 stitches - that's the biggest thing I've had to do so far. 64 repeats per row. OW. I'm going to take them slowly and carefully as I know I'm going to drift away during them. I can just imagine me and the fate of the skirt if I have to rip back more than row to fix a mistake. Not Pretty. Not pretty at ALL.

The ever changing photos at the time of this entry also include (besides the skirt) the 10 groupings of the cotton blanket squares, SOTS II (the feeble amount I've done on it) and a future present (which most of the time is blind knitting, as I cannot see the stitches through the fur - so it's "resting").

The mitered vest is on the 21st square per front. I'm still colour blocked on one side (don't know why), so I'll be concentrating on that during the weekend.

Until the next Entry.

Night.

Mitered vest. . .

I'm stalled. I've completed 17 and 1/2 squares on each front panel and I'm having a think about colour graduation. I'm not sure where to take it.
I'm not even sure right now if the fronts will remain the fronts or if I'll turn one of them into half of the back.
I'm just hitting a "writer's block" in knitting.

Ah well.

The skirt is ticking along. All the sweaters are still in limbo and last week I actually knitted a few rows onto the SOTS II shawl that I wrote about earlier this year. Not that there's any photos of anything yet. Well, I took a few photos of the mitered vest fronts, but I haven't processed them yet. Maybe tonight. Maybe not. I'm feeling lethargic.

I've put together a kit for a future project (a wall hanging in two parts), but I look at it and I don't know. Ok, so it's part of that "knitting block".

I'll sign off now. I've got colours and squares to look at. Wish me luck.

Later.

The mitered vest. . .

Is coming along. Had a few frogging incidents after discovering faults with my plan, but all is (slowly) ticking along.

I'm working alternately on both the fronts, so I can then see how I'm going to progress with the back. I might (might) be able to get away with knitting it together competely (picking up stitches for the square sides as I go along), but I'm nowhere near that point. Hell, I've only managed to knit a total of 5 squares so far (3 for one side and 2 for the other).

I've decided that the mitred fronts are going to mirror one another, with one diagonal going left and one going right, but I'm not decided which side is going which way - but the colours look good so far.

Anyway, I've done my entry and it's time for bed.

Night,

New project (and old one)

I've finally finished the squares. Every last stinky one. The last ones are drying as I type this and in a couple days, they'll be packed away. Ok, they'll be packed away for about two weeks, while I finish the last two pieces of homework for the year. Then I'll take photos and then I'll start crocheting them together. *crossing fingers* You know, I really hope my plan works. . .
Well, I suppose there's going to be news on that as it happens, won't there. *grin*

I've also started that new mitered square vest project. I did the samples and I've worked out (approximately) how it's going to be constructed (there might be triangles, there might not). With the detachable sleeves (yep, that'll be "fun" if it works), I expect though, that it should take about 18 months to get finished. Nothing new in the speed stakes there.
I've also decided to add the aqua shades to it just to take the edge off the colour changes. Well, it might work. If not, it'll get fixed.

It's nearly 1am, so I'm off to bed.

Night.

Project done. . .

Well, I'm FINALLY, officially finished with the cotton blanket squares *much cheering*. But un-officially, I've got 4 more to do for the cushion. *sigh*. But, this means that within two days, I'll have totally finished the knitting for the latest "big project" with nothing planned to take it's place. No, I'm not counting the crocheting I need to do to put the squares together - that's starting in the winter and is a seperate part of the project all together.

I've many medium sized projects to take it's place (all cardigans), so I suppose they'll have to do.

But. . .

On the back-burner, there is a possible new medium sized project involving some (hopefully all) of the green and blue leftover skeins of floss. It (if it works out) is going to be a simple squared-up vest, based on a combination of a sweater I saw on the "Wendy Knits" blog and also from a free pattern on Elann.com - "sonata print lace-up tank".

They were both made of mitered squares and since I've seen them, the technique has grown on me. The sweater was lovely, but the Sonata tank needed to be made in a different colour as I think the yarn for that is hideous, but I always thought that the technique for both items was out of my league - I don't know why.

I just need to think on the mathematics for a while (about a month or so), then I'll knit a few test swatches and joined-square test samples (I'm not planning on sewing anything but side seams and buttons for this vest) and see if it's feasable - for me.

On a seperate project (green flickering flames lace skirt), it's working. So far. I've not gotten the first tier completed yet, but the "new" needle size seems to be fine, sizing wise. I've stretched it out a bit and there's no blatent "tent-ness" like there were in the first incarnations. *hooray!!!*

Later.

Small update

I've been busy - sort of. Between visits to my Friend and my Friend visiting me, organizing getting people to at least think about coming to my knitting group (the group I'm in) and degree work, I've managed to get a bit of knitting in.

I've gotten a mobile phone (cheap and basic - just fine for me). Made a cover (green cotton) for it.
I've been whittling away at the blanket squares - about 60 left to do. I think.
Ticking away on other projects, including SOTS II( just a few rows).

Photos eventually.

Night.

The Flickering Flame skirt is about to do just that. . .

Go up in a blaze. I did the swatch - in fact I did three of them last year, all on differing sized needles, just to make sure. I then got all 64+ little markers for it and started.

I came back to it last week after a while and found I'd been working on a tent. The effing swatches lied to me, and becasue of them, I've re-started this beastie twice now (I'm on the 3th attempt) and I've stepped down from a 5.5 to a 4.5mm needle (Denise circulars). Not quite finished the first row yet, but I'm crossing everything that this works. Otherwise I might torch the damned thing.
*sigh*
Ok, all I would do in that case is frog it and put the needles away for a while. I'd then wait a couple months, find the 4.0mm needles and start again.

I'm crossing fingers this works. . .
please?

Later.

Well, time HAS passed. I'm ashamed. No I'm not.

I'm not so busy I can't spend 10 minutes throwing in an entry.
I've got half an hour and here's an entry.
I'm still working an the black shawl - for all my bleating about how important it was to be finished, that didn't happen. I'm 60% finished though, and hopefully I'll be done with it this year - we'll see.
The blanket squares are being worked on - still - and I'm 85% done. got less than 150 to do and they SHOULD be done by the end of September.

I'm off to a knitting group meeting in about 2 hours, so I'm off. . .
Well - that took less than 10 minutes.

Later.

The 2 Main projects for April

Are the "Cotton Squares Blanket" and the "Silk Scroll Wrap".

They'll probably be the main projects for May, as well.
The reason for this is
1) because I'm 77% finished with the squares (only 203 left to do for the blanket!!! Whee!!!!
and
2)I need the shawl for a choir concert happening mid-May in Bakewell parish church.

Other than that, there's thought of frogging and re-starting my Debbie Bliss Rialto "Sophia" Sweater I've started twice now. I have been looking over most sweaters knit by people and have discovered with sweaters including cabling, unless the look is deliberately sloppy, like Aran cardigans, then it's preferable to have it a bit "snug". Not skin tight, but you want to know it's on you. So I'm having a bit of a think. I'd actually not be upset to frog it, but I'd be a bit ticked-off to find that I'm just going to re-start with the same size I'm knitting now. So it's in hibernation for a couple weeks while I do some maths.

Before I forget, while I said I'd started the "Secret of the Stole II" pattern, I had. But unfortunately, I decided I just didin't want to work on it. I completed 35 rows and put it into hibernation. It's lovely so far, I've seen photos of the finished project and it's beautiful.
The thing is, I'm just not in the mood for it. Maybe sometime in the future. I don't know.

Anyway, on another note, I really must go and read. I got a couple pairs of glasses last month (got to love Tesco opticians - free eye test and £20 for a pair including lenses - Yahoo!). I found out I'm getting on a bit and the finer lens muscles are getting weak, so I need reading glasses now (+1.50 and plano something (can't read it right now) in the left eye as well *sigh*), but according to the optometrist, everything else is perfect. At least I'm back up to my original reading speed again. Before the glasses, I was getting a teeny bit depressed there for a while. I'm fine now.
Got a lot of books to catch up on.

Later.

*Sigh*

Forgot yesterday - meant to make an entry.

Been knitting hats. In three weeks, I've finished 3 hats and started on a 4th. Not got photos yet, but I'm planning on purchasing a styrofoam/polystyrene wig head so I can do that.

I'm still with the mountain of projects.

Just to mention a few off the top of my head:

Two prayer shawls (both hibernating)
Two sweaters (one hibernating, one in danger of being frogged and re-started)
The ever growing Blanket Squares (now over 70% finished - Whee!)
A "Tickled Pink" scarf (pattern from an issue of Knitter's Universe)
Pair of basic socks (hibernating)
A lace leaf scarf (hibernating)
A pair of "Endpaper Mitts" (hibernating due to imminent frogging on just started 2nd mitt - I'm not happy with the tension)
2 knitted kitties in grey eyelash yarn (just got a head and a tail left to do, then got to sew and stuff them)
The hat mentioned at the start - it's due to be a gift, so I'm not divulging anything other than "it's pink and fuzzy".
2 finished projects that have needed the ends sewing in for three months (a Shawl and a mesh shopping bag) - don't know why I haven't yet done this, but I just keep forgetting them.
A Lace Skirt ("Flickering Flames" pattern off Elann.com) - I'm nibbling at this every week. I expect I'll have it finished for next summer.

I need to take photos of all the above things so I can document them on Ravelry. Sometime this month *cross fingers*.

There's other things, but I've got to go study.

Later.

News long awaited

Well. I've missed another month. I made a post in another journal (Wordpress), thinking that - somehow - it was this one. Silly me.

Basically, what I said in the othe one was that I had put most of my long-term projects to the side to work on a few small projects.
They were:
2 pairs of gloves (Maine Morning Mitts)out of two balls of Noro Kureyon.
3 scarves (two versions of the Noro Striped Scarf from the "Brooklyn Tweed" blog) using again, Noro Kureyon.) and a re-knit of a Christmas present I was given (store-bought scarf).

They're all done and washed now. I just have to take and post photos in Ravelry.

I've just today started the Secret of the Stole II knit-a-long. I've got 4 sets of clues to catch up on. I should be all caught up by (and waiting for) clue 7 (hopefully).

Back to the knitting.

My First Post of 2008

Well. It's 4:30am. I'm in the middle of insomnia. It's fine. No big thing.

In fact, I'm so used to its erratic nature, I do things to kill the time - in fact, I've been knitting blanket squares for that very thing. I'm in the middle of the 6th square since Midnight.

But on the other knitting front, Here's a general overview of 2007:

Knitting projects completed this year: I don't know (Really. I didn't keep track).

Knitting Projects on needles as of 31st of Dec.: 15 (I think - I just did a rough tally)
I do know I've not done as much as I wanted to, but on the other hand, I know that I've accomplished more learning curves in knitting that I expected to.

I did/worked on -
Knit-purl patterns
Lace - that of right-side patterning and each-side patterns.
Cables (easy and difficult at the same time - but immensely satisfying.)
Stranded knitting (NOT fair-isle - that's a big beastie I might never get to)
Intarsia - a.k.a. "the other type of stranded knitting that's not fair isle"
Horizontal striping (even did a small tutorial about it in this journal)
A knit-a-long
A sweater (and I plan to make (ok, begin) at least 2 more in 2008)
Adjusting other patterns
and
I made up my own pattern (that's not as easy as it seems, as an untaught flying-by-seat-of-pants skill - but I did it.)

I had hair-tearing-out moments and very satisfying "I-did-that" moments - as to be expected for 2008 as well.

I also expect to complete the knitting for the cotton squares blanket and also to make baby clothes (new thing) in this year. I might even get brave enough to learn "the dreaded" fair-isle.

Other than that, I'm fine with completing present projects and starting new ones within the year - I might even keep track of what I've done . . .*chuckle*

I'm off to knit some more - got time to kill before 8am.

Later.