One more off the needles

I finished the SK Kozinski Mystery KAL and I am quite happy with the way this shawl turned out.

This shawl is started with a provisional cast on. I used an easy loop cast on with a second cable which made picking up the stitches really easy. The lace section is knitted first and the you pick up the stitches for the short rows to finish the shawl.

I used Drops Fabel yarn and 4.5mm needles and I added size 8/0 beads to the last lace repeat. I probably should have used size 6/0 beads because the beads are a bit lost on this shawl. I went down to size 3.75mm needles for the cast off and did a tight cast off. I have learned my lesson with these crescent shaped shawls, a tight cast off prevents rolling at the neck.

I have remained strong and I've not yet cast on anything new...yet....

In progress

I am working on three projects at the moment and I am trying desperately not to cast on any more. But... yes there is always a but, there are several projects clamouring for my attention. I even have the yarn waiting so how am I going to resist. The two projects screaming loudest is the Sugar Plum Fairy KAL and the Dahlia cardigan.  See what I mean? How am I suppose to resist

As for the progress I have made so far. I have finished clue one of the SusannaIC January KAL and I am about to start on clue 2. I'm using some handdyed yarn I swapped on Ravelry.

Not much to show yet but considering that this was yet another shawl that started with a 409 stitch cast on and it has 7 stitch nupps, a fair bit of knitting has already taken place.

I have completed clue 3 for the Shui Kuen Kozinski Mystery KAL and now have only one more clue to go.

This shawl started with a provisional cast on. I used an easy cast on and left the live stitches on a cable. So now I just have to add my needle tips to the cable and I am ready to knit the short rows for the last part of the shawl.

I have not neglected that blanket and I have finished another 2 and a half squares.

Now how long am I going to last before casting on something else?

I've made a start...

.... finishing wips and starting new  projects!

I finally got round to finishing the Birgit Freyer Mon Bijou shawl. As I have said before, I really love her patterns and this shawl was no exception. I always find her patterns very relaxing to knit. The stitches seem to fly off the needles. This shawl would have been finished ages ago had I not put it down because of other commitments.

The yarn is KnitPicks Gloss Lace in Mermaid. I was fortunate to get this yarn in a karma swap seeing as KnitPicks doesn't mail to Australia. Needle size is 4.00mm and  the shawl measures 97cm from the centre neck down and 140cm in width. I used Matsuno beads 8/0.

I have also got back to that blanket and I have knitted another two squares. I am going to do my best to finish this blanket before the end of summer (I have to keep telling myself that).

And then of course I have started two new projects, both of them are mystery KAL's, The first is a mystery KAL by Shui Kuen Kozinski and the second is the SusannaIC's January Mystery KAL. A third KAL, the Sugar Plum Fairy KAL which has recently started still awaits me. More about the KAL's in the next posting.

Resolutions?

Each year I think about making resolutions and mostly I manage to keep them. I think that's because I tend to make rather general and vague resolutions. And this year isn't going to be any different. I did think of adding a few more specific knitting resolutions but then I thought why?  Well, I have to have at least one knitting resolution. So my knitting resolution is to finish all those wips that have been hanging around for ages (one of them since 2009) within the first six months of 2012. I think that sounds doable.

Just before the year ended I managed to finish one more shawl. This one is number 19. The pattern is the Language of Roses shawl. And the yarn is KnitPicks Shadow in Hot rod. I used almost 2 full skeins. There was so little left of the second skein that it didn't register on my scale. This was not an easy shawl to block because its not a true triangular shape and the roses at the end were a bit fiddly. It took me two attempts to get the shape more or less right. I would have liked to have blocked the shawl harder but I just couldn't get the shape to work then.

This will be my last commission knit for a while so that I can focus on finishing those wips  and also participate in a couple of KALs.

Happy knitting in the New Year!

Muir

I finished this project a while back but just didn't get round to posting about it. Muir is another commission knit I did so I didn't get to choose the yarn. The yarn is Moseley Park Yardea and is beautiful to knit with because it is so soft and stretchy. Unfortunately the colourway is not the best to show off this pattern and I had great difficulty in trying to photograph this shawl.

Fortunately the recipient has decided to over dye the shawl.

Now for all you knitters who have iPads, you must check out the knitcompanion app. I have recently discovered this app and I love it. Its a great way to import pdf patterns and then to combine all your charts into one and add a whole host of things to help you follow your chart. Do go and check out the tutorial videos to get a good idea how it works. You can download a free app which comes with sample patterns and gives you an opportunity to test it out. If you want to import your own patterns you will need to purchase the app.

And finally the year is drawing to a close. I wish you all a very Happy New Year filled with all you desire. And have you been giving some thought to those resolutions?

More quick gifts

A friend had a dilemma. She wanted to give her young niece and nephews some toys for christmas but didn't know what to buy for children who are already swamped with toys. So I suggested something hand knitted and she took me up on the suggestion. So I set aside a few evenings and got to it.

itty-bitty toys by Susan B. Anderson came to the rescue once again, helped by my stash of left over sock yarn. I knitted two Baby Bears and a Monkey.

My friend was very pleased to have something unique to give to the children.

I hope those of you who were knitting for christmas managed to get it all done in time. For those of you who believe in christmas, I hope you have a merry one and for those of us who don't : Bah Humbug!

Oslo Walk

I finished this shawl a little while ago but I have held off posting about it because it is a gift for a dear friend's birthday. But now I think its safe to reveal the shawl.

 The shawl is another of Susanna IC's designs called Oslo Walk. I knitted this shawl with some KnitPicks Shadow in the campfire  colourway. I have had this yarn in my stash for ages and I was waiting for the right project to come along. And this was perfect. Not only is the colour one that I think will suit my friend well but I also think it goes well with the pattern.

The shawl is knitted on 4.5mm needles and I used Matsuno beads 8/0 in a matt white colour.