Oh happy day!

My yarn arrived yesterday and so I was able to finish my Rogue last night. I love it!







But as fate would have it the sun is shining today and it looks like we are going to make it to double figures temperature wise. If only I had my Rogue during the last cold spell. Although I'm sure to still get plenty of wear out of it over the coming month.

SOTSIII Hint 2

I have finished Hint 2 of the SOTSIII. This shawl is giving me great pleasure so far. Its a lovely easy knit. And, as always, I love seeing the mystery gradually unfold. It keeps me guessing. I started off thinking about snow and now I'm thinking about falling leaves. Perhaps even a combination.

I've had some bad news regarding my Rogue. The extra yarn I've ordered is out of stock. I have to wait for them to process some more and thus I have no idea how long that will take. Sigh, so near and yet so far.

FO: Golliwog

A friend asked me to knit her a Golliwog. And of course I complied:



Over the years I have knitted quite a number of gollys. They seem to remain ever popular. Each time I knit one I am always taken back to my childhood. I was a great Enid Blyton fan. In particular I loved her Noddy books. As a very young child I had quite a collection of these books and I used to lug them around in a little pink and white gingham case. I hated to be parted from my books and would attempt to keep them close at hand at all times.

My older brother wasn't such a fan of Noddy but would still read them until we discovered his weak spot. The scene where the Golliwogs steal Noddy's clothes and car always made him cry which of course led to merciless teasing by his siblings. Ah, yes, I remember it well....

Will winter ever end?

On Friday morning we woke up to this:



It was really hard to get out of bed but we did eventually. Lit the fire and spent some quality time knitting.

Then when we went down to our letterbox we found this on to of it:



Compliments from our neighbours!



And I finished my first pair of toe-ups:

Secret of the Stole III has begun!

I finally managed to cast on for SOTSIII and to my delight Hint 1 just flew off the needles. Here it is (apologies for the lousy picture but we haven't seen the sun in days):



I'm knitting with Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 2 ply in Almond on 3.75 mm circs and #8 clear crystal beads.

A stumble at the final hurdle

Looks like I'm out of the race. Last night, with a mere 48 rows to go, I ran out of yarn. Can you believe the luck? I was on my second sleeve of my Rogue when this disaster struck. I've ordered another ball but I can't see it getting here before the weekend. I thought I would be finished by today and had already pictured myself wearing my Rogue on Thursday (snow predicted again)!)>

Oh well, as consolation I think I will cast on for the Secret of the Stole III today.

Ravelympic progress

I'm participating in the cable steeplechase in the Ravelympics. I managed to cast on my Rogue on Saturday morning and ever since I've been snatching knitting time wherever possible.

Here is a side view:



Last night I got to this point:



I've almost finished the left side of the neck and I'm about to rejoin for the right side.

This jumper is knitting up really quickly. Maybe it only feels that way to me because it's been a long time since I've knitted a larger project on large needles and a chunky yarn. For this project I'm using 4 mm needles and Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12 ply.

We are experiencing a really cold spell of weather at the moment so with any luck I'll get the jumper done in time to ward of the chill.

A weekend of celebrations

My significant other turned 60 on Saturday! Celebrations started on Friday and kept up until Sunday evening. All that eating and drinking has left me quite tuckered out. Food again? No thanks, I think I'll pass for a while.

In between celebrations I managed a late start in the Ravelympics. I did some catching up last night and my Rogue has reached the top of the kangaroo pocket.

To crown the celebratory weekend we woke up to this on Sunday morning:

In the meantime

So, seeing as I can't cast on for my Rogue until Friday I needed to keep myself busy with something else. I decided to try my hand with my first pair of toe-up socks. I used this cast-on. And I can assure you it is truly magical. Just look, can you see where I cast on?



This is also the first time I've knitted with Noro Kureyon Sock yarn and whereas I love the colours I'm not very impressed with the quality of the yarn. I'm still only on the first sock and I have already encountered three knots. Not happy Jan!

Limbering up

Yep I'm preparing for the Ravelympics. I've done my swatch for the Rogue Hoodie.



Fortunately my needle choice (4mm) was spot on. I'm not a big fan of swatches but occasionally you just have to do it.

Having got that out of the way I then thought to clear the decks and I finished Joy's socks.



And seeing as I was in swatching mode I did another swatch for the SOTS III. I went up to size 3.75 mm needles and now have to decide which look I like the best. I think I'm inclined towards the lacier look. Any thoughts?