Knit-a-long

As I've mentioned a few times, I have pattern and yarn to knit the gorgeous Stripe Study Shawl. And, the very lovely Sarah (of Crafts from the Cwtch) is also planning to knit the same shawl.

So we decided it might be fun to have a bit of a knitalong (KAL). We're both probably starting sometime over the course of this weekend.

Sarah very kindly designed this pretty banner to go with our posts (don't worry, she checked with the designer that it was ok to use the picture!)

And this cute button for the sidebar too *smiles*

If anyone wants to join in, we'd love to have you!

I don't think we have any rules, we just figured it would be a bit of fun to do a KAL, as we'd both be knitting the same/similar patterns at the same sort of time *grins* We're planning to post progress on Tuesdays so we have a weekly sort of check in.

I'm all excited to get started now!

Sunny Skies, Grey Knitting...

You know, it's funny but I always seem to finish the books I've been reading on a Tuesday night, leaving me with very little to say about the book in my picture on a Wednesday *laughs* Suffice to say, I haven't started Autumn yet, but I've heard it's pretty good ;)

Knitting progress has been good. You can sort of see that my two at a time socks have come a long way since last week *grins* They have heels now, and about an inch of leg. I was expecting them to take longer than usual, because obviously I'm knitting twice as much at once. I thought the time saving would be minimal, but the benefits of having both socks done at once would be more than worth it. And yet, they seem to be progressing much faster than I thought they would *grins* Which is excellent news and might mean that all socks must be 2 at a time from now on ;)

My Narragansett is also coming along fairly quickly:

Not much more to say about this than I have before, but I'm still loving the squishy yarn, and the pattern is nice and easy (especially at this point, where it is just stocking stitch in the round!)

I chose a pattern for my Gran's scarf, that I mentioned last week. It's the Lace Stripe Scarf, which is very simple but I think looks really soft and lovely in this yarn. I've made the garter stitch sections longer than the pattern, I think it shows off the lace panels better that way.

Boyfriend's sock hasn't got much further than last week, so I didn't picture it (also because then 3/4 of my pictured projects would be grey! Which seems funny considering the sun is out and I feel I should be knitting bright, spring-like colours... I do love grey yarn though!)

With a long weekend coming up, I'm hoping to make even more progress on some of these projects. Then I can get started on my brother's socks, and the Stripe Study Shawl. I'm itching to cast the shawl on, I roped boyfriend in to helping me wind the yarn "just in case" last night - although we only got through 1 skein. I "forgot" to tell him that Wollmeise is longer than the skeins he has helped with before *cheeky grin*

On the plus side, he's now very keen to procure me a ball winder ;)

As ever, if you want more lovely knitting and reading content, head to Tami's and Ginny's *smiles*

My Queue

I thought it would be a good time to look at my queue of patterns I want to make; as the new Nerd Wars challenges are up, I'll be trying to knit things to fit into specific categories on there! But also, I tend to have a quick queue review *laughs at the rhyme* every now and again, to remind myself what I want to knit, and to remove anything I no longer love.

Plus, it's a really helpful way to line up my stashed yarn with actual projects, so that it might actually get used *laughs*

I've mentioned this before, and it is probably next on my to-knit list *grins*

I've had 3 balls of burgundy fingering/sock weight yarn in my stash since a couple of months after I started knitting... About time I chose a pattern for it really!

I've mentioned this next pattern before, probably some time ago. I didn't cast on as, at the time, everything I was knitting was 2x2 rib and I couldn't take any more ;) Of course, now everything I'm knitting seems to be grey, so it might still be a while before I get around to this *laughs*

  

 The Debbie Bliss yarn I bought in a destash will most likely become this...

  

And one last pattern, that I don't yet have yarn for. It will have to wait until I've achieved more in the stashbusting, but it'll be a nice reward I think *grins*

Blog Tag

Apparently I have been blog tagged... Thanks Susan *smiles*

Susan has asked 11 questions for me to answer, which seems like a fun way to start the week ;)


What is your favorite animal and why?


It changes, to be honest. I love Meerkats, just because they are so much fun to watch. I love tropical fish, they're so beautiful and relaxing. I also like big cats, particularly Ocelots. I don't have any pets, although I'd like a cat at some point.

< Ocelot. Don't think I'll be getting this type of cat though!

What do you love to make above and beyond anything else?

That's quite a tough question actually. I just love making things in general! I definitely go through phases, so sometimes my favourite thing to make is socks, sometimes it's garments and sometimes it's cake *laughs* I love being crafty and being able to make all sorts of things. 

Cake or socks?! 

What's your biggest wish for the future?

Happiness for myself and my loved ones. 

What would you say is the worst thing about you?

Hmmmm... I have bad habits, like anyone, but I don't know about "worst". I can be a bit of a procrastinator, and I can definitely be stubborn. I don't like being a learner, when I start things I want to be able to do them properly straight away. 

I think that's why I clicked with knitting so well, I picked it up and found it easy. This might also explain why I don't really crochet - everything I make with it looks like a learner made it *laughs*

What would you say is the best thing about you?

It's always hard to answer this sort of question, I hate sounding like I'm bragging! I think I have lots of good qualities; I'm loyal, creative, inquisitive, intelligent (that sounds big headed, doesn't it?!) and other stuff too *laughs*

What's the most treasured memory you have so far in your life?

I have many. I have been extremely lucky to have had some incredible experiences in my life, and all of those memories are treasured. 

However, memories of my dad are the most precious, as he passed away a couple of years ago. My most treasured memory is actually one of the most mundane memories I have - just a hug and kiss from him in the family kitchen, whenever I'd come home for a visit. 

If you won the lottery what would be the first thing you would buy?

A boat.

What is your favorite type of flower?

I adore Freesias. The smell is one of my very favourite smells in the world. The orange ones smell the best, followed by the pink and then the white. Yep, I have indeed ranked my favourite flower by colour *laughs* So, although I tend to prefer white flowers, with freesias it has to be orange ;)

What's the most favorite thing you have in your wardrobe?

Interesting question - and again, it's something that changes depending on my mood! I love the things that I have made, I get such a sense of satisfaction wearing them. 

Currently my Shalom is one of my favourite garments. But there are times when my favourite thing is a dress, and others where it is my jeans that fit just right and are the right level of worn in *laughs* 

The most versatile thing, which you may have noticed from my FO pictures, is a white long sleeved t-shirt. Boring, but I love how it goes with everything! 

What started you blogging?

After I started knitting, it seemed like an excellent way to show my mum what I'd been making *smiles*

What's the best thing about blogging? 

The community, for sure. I've met some amazing people through blogging, participated in great fun things like Knit and Crochet Blog Week (and I'm looking forward to this year's!) and the Blog Hub Swap. I've won some really cool prizes in giveaways, and had great fun posting giveaways of my own. 

So, yeah, the people. That's the best thing about blogging *grins*

Now, according to the rules, I'm supposed to come up with some questions and tag 11 other blogs. But it is Monday morning and I really don't have the brainpower! So, please feel free to tag yourself and answer these, or any other questions!

More Nerd Wars FOs

I was planning to show you my gorgeous cowl today, but unfortunately my photographer is otherwise engaged this morning, and self portraits just didn't do it justice. That'll teach me for not taking pictures until the last minute *laughs*

So, instead, here are a couple more FOs that I submitted to Nerd Wars.

First up, the awesomest baby hat ever...

Seriously, what baby doesn't need a flaming hat?! As ever, this is not a hint that I'm having a baby, it's just that sometimes baby knits are so much fun *laughs* Due to the lack of aforementioned baby, I have called into action my trusty soft toy to model the hat for me ;)

Silly, I know, but still - cool hat, right? 

Then there's this little guy

My first monster. I love him (although I'm not keeping him). He's only little, which caused some fiddliness, but he's just adorable, if I do say so myself *laughs*

And it's Friday, so you know what to do... Visit Tami's, Natural Suburbia and Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Have a great weekend  

Knitting for Others

Recently I've not been working much on the knitting for others part, although boyfriend's socks have finally seen a little bit of action.

But a few days ago I had a letter from my Gran asking if I would please knit something for her. As I made something for my Granddad (dishcloths for his workshop for Christmas) and have knit for my mum, brother and boyfriend, I thought it was probably about time I knit for Gran too.

She has requested a scarf, in grey yarn (possibly with some pink or maroon involved), light and wispy, and not too long... Everything else is up to me.

Mum and I deciphered the "wispy" to mean lacy rather than mohair type wispy *laughs*

So, I have procured some yarn that I think will work...

I did check my stash first to see if I had anything that would work, but unfortunately there was nothing that quite fit the bill, despite my over-abundance of grey yarn ;)

It's a silvery grey, with a subtle amount of colour range that includes some pink tones. It's light and also slightly wispy, it's lovely and soft but is also partially acrylic and therefore machine washable (I generally try to make gifts for other people as easy to care for as possible *laughs*) and not too expensive.

The cost part is key, as my gran is inisiting on paying for the yarn. As yarn has come a long way since she was a knitter, I have a feeling that she might be a little taken aback by what I would happily spend to make a scarf!

Now I just need to settle on a pattern and I'm all set to get started.

Wednesday Again

Is it just me, or do Wednesdays seem to come around really quickly these days? *laughs*

So, the lack of plum coloured yarn should hint that I finished my cowl *grins* As ever, all will be revealed on Friday. I also finished the little monster I was making (which may not have appeared on a Wednesday, I can't quite remember!)

Finishing those projects gave me a few slots free to cast on new things... Except I didn't. I still have the languishing socks that I've been neglecting. So, boyfriend's sock now has a few inches of progress, which is nice. The socks I mentioned on Monday have been categorised as too girly for my brother, so it looks they have to be for me instead. What a shame ;) I do need to come up with a new plan for him now though!

And my Narragansett is progressing nicely, I'm ready to separate the arms now. Of course the weather is currently unseasonably hot, making it a little strange to be working on a warm and cosy jumper (sweater). Ooops ;)

I'm mostly reading the spinning book I mentioned yesterday at the moment, so nothing new to report there *smiles*

As ever, if you want more lovely knitting and reading content, head to Tami's and Ginny's *smiles*