Service resumed

Contrary to appearances on this blog, there has been knitting action around here. I've just been too busy or exhausted to blog about it.

First up, my sister's vest is up, and she has pronounced herself satisfied. I hope she gets lots of wear out of it.



Although a simple enough knit, this item required a lot of finishing with armbands, buttonbands and seams. I think this would have joined the pile of UFOs if my sister hadn't been so persistent in pushing me to finish it. Hmm, maybe I need to get her to 'adopt' a project at a time, and push me to finish it.

I used my butterfly clips to hold the eges together for seaming, and found this worked really well. I also tried an invisible sewn bind off technique from IK, but it was very slow and quite fiddly, so I reverted back to a regular bind off.

Next, I've cast on for the moonstone cardigan using the Manos silk blend I picked up at the iknit London day. I started out using Addis, but found it a bit difficult to pick up the unplied yarn without splitting, so have switched to Knitpicks options needles.

The pattern has a slightly unusual construction. The lace edging is knit first, all in one piece. The back and sides are then split and knit separately to the top. I've finished the back, and am halfway through the left side.



As it gets colder, I am wondering whether 3/4 sleeves are really a good idea, as I know they will restrict the usefulness of the cardigan. On the other hand, I don't have enough yarn for full length sleeves, and am concerned that adding them may unbalance the pattern, as the body is also slightly cropped.

Finally, I made up the big knit rug. It was surprisingly quick, and the result is wonderfully squishy. So much so, that my husband is now hankering after one for himself.

Iknit day 08

I had a good day at the Iknit day on Saturday, although my shoulders still ache from my shopping! The new venue, the Royal Horticultural Halls, was tricky to find, but much more spacious and comfortable.

I had good intentions of not adding to the stash, but was soon tempted. It's so nice to be able to feel yarns in person, rather than squinting at photos on the internet, so I ended up indulging. I got a copy of the new Debbie Bliss magazine. I'm not sure how many of the designs are new, as I definitely recognise some from earlier publications, but it was a nice collection.

I visited Socktopus to get a book I'd had my eye on, but they'd only brought yarn, so of course I ended up with both sock and laceweight.

I was impressed with the really fine work at this stand:



The Dutch knitters' stand was great, with lovely twined mittens and brioche stitch accessories, but I got distracted by the cake and forgot to take a photo...

George, the British wool sheep:



The knitted interior display from the Gingerbread House project for Great Ormond Street Hospital was impressive.



I didn't realise the fire extinguisher was knitted to start with, it was so realistic.







I've signed up for the latest big project - knitting an underwater tunnel.



I couldn't resist the Big Knitting concept





Lots of people had a go, including me. After a lunch break to ponder whether I really needed to buy 1 inch diameter needles and 2kg of yarn, I decided I really did, and bought the supplies to make a small rug. Ingrid was very charming and helpful, and full of infectious enthusiasm.

Where's the vest?

I didn't entirely neglect my Vest Vault event in the Ravelypmics. I finished the back, and started the left front before the Olympic flame was extinguished.

I also resurrected the bamboo shawl on a long car journey over the holiday weekend. I had frogged back a fair way, but decided to live with a couple of minor mistakes further back. Before my trip, I gave up with the written instructions and decided to chart out the pattern. I find charts much easier to follow to work a lace pattern.



All was well until I found a knot in the yarn part way through a row. I tinked back, and joined in the new length. A couple of rows later it happened again. And then again. 3 knots within about 4 rows! That's really poor quality control. By this point, I was so fed up that I rewound the rest of the ball just to check for more knots. I'll be doing the same for the remaining balls...

Olympics over

So the Olympics is over, and it was spectacular. Unfortunately, I failed to finish in both of my Ravelympics events, due to prioritising the gift I was working on. However, I can now unveil the completed gift items.

A set of golf club cosies! A belated birthday present for my father, who was gratifyingly delighted with them. They were pretty quick to knit, but the swiss darning, seaming and pom poms took as long as the knitting itself. I knew he liked them when they were quickly put on the clubs before I'd even completed the pompoms.

I love it when a gift comes together.

Entering the vest vault

I ended up entering two events in the Ravelympics; the vest vault and WIP wrestling. For the former, I am tackling my sister's waistcoat, and for the latter, the bamboo tape top that is not too far from being finished. I had hoped to enter a third event, the gift knits pentathlon, but my broadband died in the critical few days before and during the start of the Olympics. Back online now though, and my gift knit will be a kind of shadow competitor, as I do have a deadline of next weekend to complete it.


At my husband's behest, I agreed to stashdive for the vest rather than rush out and buy more yarn. The pattern is from Noro's mini knits, but I am using some Rowan aran tweed which has been in the stash a while. I had to swatch several times and am using pretty small needles compared to the ball band, but now my main fabric is knitting up tighter than my swatch! My row gauge is off too, so I'm having to throw in extra rows here and there to get to roughly the right length.