Taking stock

I've reached the half way mark of my Personal Sock Yarn Club.

 

From left to right I have knitted the following: Luminare, Angee, Gail, Traveling Woman, Master Upstream and Dahlia.

I have only recently finished my June project. I followed Cat Bordhi's Upstream Master Pattern. The yarn is Heirloom Jigsaw. Its been ages since I have knitted with a self striping yarn. And take note Mary, I only managed fraternal socks despite my best efforts!

Annis

I started knitting Annis while on Kangaroo Island. I loved the feel of the Malabrigo lace because it is so buttery soft and I knew it would feel great against my skin. But as the shawl progressed I realised that a variegated yarn often doesn't go well with lace.


I persevered knowing in my heart of hearts that I should stop and frog. But as you can see I carried on to the end.


The yarn is much too busy and consequently the detail of the pattern is lost.


I thought that with the large chunk of stocking stitch that I would get away with it but unfortunately I don't think so.


I console myself that the shawl feels good. You live and learn.

And now for some knitting

While on Kangaroo Island I managed to complete two projects and start a third. First off the rank was a Saroyan shawl.

Ever since I saw a picture of this shawl I have been itching to knit it. And I found the perfect yarn for it, Bendigo Woollen Mills Persian in Silky Berry (another backroom find). I modified the pattern only slightly by knitting seven instead of six leaves on the increase and decrease sections. I'm so pleased I did because I managed to use up the entire skein.

The blocked shawl measures 203 cm x 40cm. I know the colour of this photo is all wrong. I think the sun decided to disappear at this stage.


The second project was a pair of CookieA socks, the Cubist socks. I do like her patterns and really should knit more of them. This pair was knitted with Ripples Crafts Hand Dyed sock yarn in Jess.

I was rather taken by the heels in these socks.


And finally I started my Summer Swatch Sampler. BadCatDesigns has come up with a great KAL because not only do you get the patterns for the sampler but you also get patterns for socks, mitts and hats that utilise the sampler patterns. It's a great idea - go and have a look.

I'm using some 3ply yarn I picked up at the Australian Country Spinners Millshop in Wangaratta. So far I have completed the Peacock and the Lotus patterns.

This stole calls for a provisional cast-on and I decided to try Judy's Magic Cast-on using two KnitPicks cables. This means that I can leave the stitches on a cable ready to be picked up when needed. I've done this once before and it worked a treat.

Island life draws to a close

Our time on Kangaroo Island is fast coming to an end. By this time next week I will be back in the comfort of my own house with reliable internet connection again.

In the meantime I managed to get up close to some of the locals. Here is a rather attractive specimen.



A family group lazing in the sun.



Having a bit of a gossip.



And one of my favourite birds, the pelican.



Knitting has been taking place but more about that once I am home again.

From Kangaroo Island

I had started writing this post before I left home just over a week ago and it has taken more than a week to get back to it. I'm on Kangaroo Island at the moment with a rather intermittent internet connection. But the views more than make up for the lack of internet.

Before leaving home I managed to finish these socks. They are Bordhi's Bartholomew's Tantalizing socks using her Sky architecture. The yarn is the lovely sock yarn I got as a present from Val. Although I like the look of the socks I am a bit disappointed with the fit. They don't fit as snugly as the other socks I have knitted using Bordhi's other sock architectures. I think it might simply mean that Sky architecture is not meant for my feet.





I have also been mulling over what yarn to use for my Summer Swatch Sampler which is due to start soon. I ended up paying an unexpected visit to the Australian Country Spinners Millshop in Wangaratta and picked up some pure wool 3 ply there which will probably do the trick. And here is my swatch.




And finally here is a little fellow I met on my walk yesterday morning. In fact there were two of them lolling on their backs right up against the rocks.



Apologies for the lack of links but my connection is just too slow and my patience far to thin to sit around waiting!

A lovely surprise

Some weeks ago I bought some KnitPro needle tips from The Knitter's Studio and as a result I won their May Prize Pack! My prize arrived yesterday and I was absolutely delighted with it.



It includes a gorgeous Buddy Case, KnitPro Shawl Pin, Debbie Bliss Magazine and a packet of StitchDots. I have been wanting a shawl pin for some time and now I have one! The Buddy Case has also arrived just in time for my trip to Kangaroo Island. Now I have a practical case for all my knitting notions. I will be spending several weeks on the island and will have to go very prepared knitting wise. I'll be taking several projects with me.

I finally got round to blocking Gabriel's Wings. I knitted this shawl with a skein of Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn. Its quick, easy and uses up all the yarn in the skein. Don't you just hate having those little left over bits of yarn?

Meet Gail

When I opened my little project bag to see what it contained for my May personal sock yarn club I was delighted to see that it was the yarn I had chosen to knit a Gail (aka Nightsongs) shawl with. I have wanted to knit this shawl ever since I first saw it but somehow never got round to doing so. My personal sock yarn club is really paying off. Mind you, it helps to have a bad memory because so far I have received a lovely surprise each month! This is my fifth shawl in 2010, so I am half way towards my goal.



The yarn is The Knittery 4ply Sock: Merino Cashmere (OLD) in Warm Pinks. When I first felt this yarn I knew it was far too good to become a pair of socks. Unfortunately this yarn is no longer available.



Once you get your head around the chart then this is an easy shawl to knit. You just keep knitting leaves until it is big enough(or you run out of yarn) and then knit the edging chart. I misjudged my yarn a bit and was unable to knit the final two rows of the edging chart so did a bit of a fudge and managed to have enough yarn to cast off.



I have recceived a lovely skein of Spacefrog yarn from Val. She sent this as a thank you gift because I knitted her this scarf. Its a lovely colour and I have already cast on for Bartholomew's Tantalizing Socks.