Dunes Jumper

I am making progress on the Dunes Jumper, the weather has been overcast but very steamy, but with air con. it makes knitting enjoyable anytime of the year. It is knitted from the neck down. I am using Tasman Yarns Alpaca 8ply natural colour in Camel. It is a nice knit, I think the pattern is a bit out though, it starts off with the same amount of stitches for all sizes with more repeats of pattern for each size, I am knitting the 2nd size, when I had done 2 of the 3 repeats I had the 2nd largest size number of stitches, so I stopped there and continued onto the body. I have 1 and a bit balls of yarn left I am hoping that is makes it to the length I need, it is the size in the photo at the moment. Photo on the right is pretty true to the colour, the other photo was taken with a flash.

For Kiama Show I put in nearly all the same items I put into Albion Park show, I took Rae's (CR&K Daisy Designs) baby shawl to the show for her, It is absolutely beautiful, it is knit in 2ply, It took out Best in Show for the knitting along with first prize in the class it was entered. My shawl came in 2nd in the same class. Very happy with that result. I rang Rae and she was so excited.

My nice 3 piece baby set with the best flat seams ever, didn't get a look in, 1st in that class was a very nice very lacy set, but 2nd prize went to a loosely knit acrylic set, don't know what these judges are thinking. There were a couple of others that in my opinion were alot better, but that is the way it goes. My alpaca bootees got a Highly Commended and so did the child's jumper with the yarn I dyed. So pretty good results again.

In a class of other items not mentioned but not wool, that is where my alpaca bootees got the highly commended, it was the where I put my swirly scarf too, there were 4 other swirly scarfs and guess what, one of them won 1st prize in that class, not mine. So it goes to show that some beautifully knitted items don't always win and sometimes silly knitting yarns with fun type items as the swirly scarf can win.

Albion Park Show - Success!

I went to Albion Park Show this morning to see how my knitting went, and I was so happy with the results. I am thinking already about what to knit for next year's show.

The spiral scarf and these bootees didn't get a look in at the show.

The child's jumper and stacked stone mittens won 1st Place.

The 3 piece baby set won 1st place and the alpaca bootees won 2nd place.

The baby shawl won 1st place and Albion Park Show Champion - wow I am happy with that.

So now back to reality....and what I am knitting now.

I started on the Salty Peanuts Cardigan which I started a few years back and it got pushed aside or down deep which I think was more the case, well most of my UFO's are on the study/craft room floor and as I really would like to see more floor it seemed the perfect thing to get out and finish. I did a few rows on Thursday night....not really loving it now and I realised I may not have enough yarn to finish it....so what does a girl do....Yeap....frogs it...more like a rip though.

So now on the needles with the same alpaca yarn is a top down jumper...feeling OK about this pattern so far....the pattern is Dunes Jumper. And being a knit in the round, there won't be any seams to sew up when I finish knitting...gotta love that.

The New Year has sprung

I had a very slack 2011 knitting wise....I plan to rectify that in 2012. I have also been very slack in my knitting for Albion Park Show which is on this weekend (14 & 15 January). I finished the baby shawl last week. I felt bad as I had spent the past two years building up the knitting section at the show, and more people are putting knitting in which is great,so I have been knitting like a demon the past two and a half weeks, I have photos on my iphone which I will put here when I upload them.

I started a 3 piece baby set last Friday night and finished it on Monday Night, sewed it up on Tuesday night, wet and blocked it so the border sat correctly. Monday night I did start a pair of bootees, but after finishing one and then half way done on the second one, was not liking them at all. I was using an acrylic baby yarn, of which the bootees are now in the bin and the yarn in my bag to go to the trading table at knitters guild....I know someone there will take it....and they are welcome to it. I started another pair of bootees on Tuesday night in a 4ply pure wool...ah so nice to knit, I finished them on Wednesday night, sewed them up and are already to go. The other items I am putting in are a pair of fingerless mittens knitted in the Stacked Stone pattern with each mitten reversing the colours in the pattern using an Australia Alpaca/Wool yarn from The Australian Alpaca Yarn range. I also had knitted a pair of bootees in The Ardent Alpaca yarn in colours of brown, beige and white, I really like them, a bit boot looking, but very nice, so even though it is a bootee section I am thinking that the traditional bootee looking pattern is what they want, well we shall see on Saturday morning when I go to the show to check out how my knitting went. Aother item is a ruffle type scarf out of that new yarn with all the holes in it so when knit it just swirls around and around, looks pretty though. And a nice child's jumper I knitted in yarn I dyed myself. So I only have 7 items in the show this year.

I was going to start knitting beanies but can't find the pattern I printed off last week. So I have pulled out a UFO, a cardigan pattern "Salty Peanuts" which I started a few years back, and it got put aside and pushed to the bottom of no where, only to be found while looking for something else. So I may get that finished, I have completed the back and 3/4 of one front.

I have lots of ideas of things I would like to knit this year.....and a heap of stash to knit....so maybe the two will come together and make some nice things.

Plan for 2012, finish the damn stash and only buy if knitting something specific I don't have yarn for if knitting for my grand-daughter.....thems the rules!