Breaking from the edge

I really should be finishing the edging on my Dark Star but every now and then I need a bit of distraction and lets face it, when it comes to knitting distraction abounds.

So I decided to join a friend on Ravelry for a quick KAL. We knitted the Rosebud Neckwarmer. This little scarf is meant to be knit in two pieces and then sewn together or grafted at the end. I decided to use Judy's Magic cast on and then just leave one half of the stitches on a cable while I knitted the other half, like this:



Once I finished the first half I just joined the yarn to the stitches waiting on the cable and knitted the second half. The pattern calls for plus minus 5 repeats. I thought my scarf would be too short so I knitted 6 repeats plus 10 rows. In hindsight I should have knitted 5 repeats and 10 rows because after blocking I think the scarf is just a touch too long to qualify as a neckwarmer.



The yarn is Morris and Sons Empire 4 ply merino in Luxe.



But, as if the scarf wasn't enough of a distraction, I also cast on for a pair of Kai-mei. And the yarn is Tofutsies.



And the week ended on a lovely surprise from Kelebek who sent me this lovely yarn which she dyed herself for my birthday. She calls it Kremali Gilek (strawberries and cream). And now I'm itching to cast on again!

Sock blockers

I have lusted after a pair of sock blockers for ages but could never find any affordable ones (I'd rather spend the money on yarn). And then the other day I chanced upon this site where they show you how to make your own. Now when it comes to anything I have to make (knitting excluded of course) I am as ham-fisted as they come. But I decided to give it a go and here is the result:



I made 2 blockers and here are my first socks blocking.



The pattern is Sunday Swing socks and the yarn is Miami from Bendigo Woollen Mills.



I'm rather pleased with the result.

More birthday goodness!

I just love it when my birthday season just keeps rolling on. Today I received this birthday parcel from the lovely Val.

Look! Two skeins of her own glorious homespun. I've already been trawling through the Rav patterns looking for just the right project. All suggestions welcome.



And to top it off she include this cute vinatage booklet.



It contains this lovely shawl.



The one thing you forgot to include Val is all the extra time I now need! Thanks again for a lovely gift.

Swing into summer

For the past week it would appear that spring has made an early departure and summer is here with a vengeance. It is hot! And what does one do when its hot? One casts a pair of socks on of course.



I've started to knit a pair of Sunday Swing socks. I'm knitting these on 2.5mm circulars (two at a time of course). And the yarn is Miami from Bendigo Woollen Mills. Its a lovely 50/50 wool cotton blend and ideal for hot weather knitting. Unfortunaly BWM don't advertise this yarn on line nor has it been available at the mill shop my last couple of visits. Its a shame because these are my last skeins and I really like this yarn.

Dark Star woes?

Well not really woes but I'm knitting the deeper 18 stitch diamond beaded edging rather than the 5 stitch edging for my Dark Star stole and it feels like it is taking forever.



Here you can see the stitch markers I'm using. There are 50 stitches between each set of stitch markers and that represents 100 rows of edging. I love it when I can remove a stitch marker from the needle but gee it seems like a long time between markers!



I've turned one corner so far and I am getting very close to the next one.....

November lace

I have finished the first lace project for this summer. I knitted the Shetland Shimmer Scarf for my Christmas swap partner. (I figured I could post it on my blog becuase she doesn't know who I am). I knitted this in Touch Yarns 2 ply Merino.





And as an added bonus I also made her a little dog because who wouldn't like a well behaved puppy for Christmas?

It's time for a lacy summer again!

Yep, here in the southern hemisphere the days are getting longer and warmer again. So its a good time to join in some lacy fun. Bellsknits is starting up A Long Lacy Summer again. Last year I found it a good incentive to get through a number of lace projects and I hope to do the same this summer.

This time round my challenge will be to finish a few lingering projects. The one that has been around the longest is my Maltese Shawl. All though this only has a 6 row pattern repeat you do need to pattern every row. And the fact that I chose to do this in a fine mohair doesn't make matters any easier but I am determined to get it done this summer.

My other challenge is a large one - queen size in fact. I want to complete my Summer Squares blanket which I am knitting in a 4 ply cotton. This is easy knitting - just a lot of it!

Then there is my Dark Star stole that needs to be finished. I have just started on the edging and I hope to finish it by the end of the month.

And finally I also want to start some new lace projects 'cause I have pretty yarn that is calling my name!

Anyone else going to join me in some lacy fun?