Knitting Round Up

So things have been a bit busy and my knitting needles haven't been able to go full speed ahead, but here are my latest projects (and by latest, I mean dating back to November 2012.) (I also ripped apart several projects - WIP #1 & #3 from this post - after baby girl was born, so my output's been a bit low.)



A little bolero cardigan in a beautiful, warm, light merino that my darling girl has enjoyed wearing. Love how it turned out, but sewing the edging on was a pain in the behind. This was my first finished project after she was born! It took 4 months... There was very little knitting time to begin with. Thankfully that's changing.

 

My second project after her birth... I was keen to try out doing cables. They weren't nearly as hard as I thought as they would be. I also love how this vest turned out. Made with a beautiful Alpaca/Merino blend wool from Skeinz. This one only took a month!

Hands down, my favourite project. Last year when we went to visit our new niece in Feilding, we stopped at my favourite wool shop on the way and I picked up some more wool. I fell in love with this colourway (aptly named Watermelon) and had to have it. When I found out I was expecting, I was secretly hoping it was a girl so I could knit her something special with my beautiful wool. The pattern was actually quite easy and pleasant knitting. This one also took a month.

Smittens - a holiday garland... next time I knit a Christmas gift for a friend, I will start it earlier than mid-November - especially if it's a big project like this one. I'm thrilled with how it turned out though (and I think Bexki liked it!) Also, an Advent Calendar, given on Christmas Eve means that the recipient can open 24 little gifts the next day! I used scraps, leftovers and the wool I dyed with Kool-Aid (so those little mittens smelled delicious!) (This one should be first, but it keeps getting bumped down... I did this one while preggers and kept me busy while I was in and out of hospital in December. If it wasn't for those hospital visits, I doubt it would have gotten finished in time!)

I'm presently working on another wee vest for a friend's boy, finishing a sock and eyeing up hat patterns for a baby that is due in December (Just to clarify, not my baby due in December. A family member's bub.) I missed the soothing sounds of my clickety-clacking needles.




Too Busy To Blog, But Not To Knit!

Rest assured friends, although my blog has been silent, my needles have not been.  I've recently finished a Mobius Shawl/Wrap (which is in the back of my car, so I need to get snapped modelling it) and a cute little cardi for Phillipa's baby-to-be.  (Third try lucky.)  I'm actually quite in love with it.  There was a hat that went with it, but it was quite hideous and was promptly ripped to bits once I finished it.

Sorry about the poor image quality - I snapped the pic with low light and my phone because I was too pooped (from weaving in all the ends) to get up and get the camera.

I find that the longer I knit, the more willing I am to rip projects apart and start over. I guess that means I'm becoming more confident in my ability to make it look better the second, third or fourth time I make something! The wool below started out as a shawl, but I felt like the colours made it look to nana-ish as a shawl, so 3/4 of the way through *rip* *rip* *rip* (!)

A Work In Progress (WIP) - a cowl to keep a darling friend's neck warm while she's unwell.  My beautiful perendale wool from The Wool Co. in Utiku.  It's lovely and squishy and soft and makes me so happy.  I've just noticed they have some wool on sale.  Uh oh.

I do feel as though my knitting ADD is kicking in now.  I've got 16 rows to go, and I just seem to have come to a stand still.  My mind has already moved on to the next project(s) I'm thinking of!  Oh, to have such simple worries. :)