Another WIP

I've lined this one up for the Tour de France knit-a-long as well.
It's a simple lace pattern (that I've had to unpick umpteen times because I wasn't paying attention or my mind simply wondered) and I'm using one of the balls of yarn that I dyed.

















I'm really enjoying it and hopefully just the one ball should make a nice length scarf as I don't have any more in that colour!

The second hat

Here is the second hat.
For me.
The cables around the bottom form owls.
My first go at cables, I'm a bit apprehensive, cables on double pointed needles aren't easy - needles sticking everywhere.


I am involved in a Ravelry knit-a-long tied to the Tour de France.
My goal is to finish as many works in progress as possible. I think I have lined this one up as a warm up lap as I might have it finished before the TdF starts... I have plenty more unfinished things!
I'm on the "Silence-Lotto" team, we'll be barracking for Cadel Evens.
(Which on a side note, takes me back to when I was pregnant with the boy wonder 2 years ago. I ended up sitting up late at night watching the Tour as it was the only show on tv that gave me enough light to knit by with out having to turn the bedside light on. It was exciting to watch Cadel then, and I think I may have stuck 'Cadel' on the list of possible names, but my dear husband vetoed it pretty quickly, he wasn't sitting up and watching the TdF! I finished the jumper but didn't sew it together before The Boy Wonder made an appearance so maybe I should finish it this time round...it's soooooo tiny compared to the great big thing he is now.)

A matching hat

Being that it's cold down at The Farm and we're due to head down in a week and a half, in the middle of winter, I thought I'd better make some hats.

Here is the first.
It's a matching for the stripey vest.
Unfortunately he won't wear it. It's more fun to pull your hat off than leave it on.
Maybe when his ears are so cold they're about to freeze and fall of he might like it a bit more.

His sister likes it so I asked her to model it.
She told me that she was sick of smiling and so would look like this.
I suddenly flashed forward to her teenage years. *shudder*


And here she is trying hard not to smile and seeing as her face is a naturally smiley one it is much more effort to pull a bored face.
The only way I've found to keep her quiet.

Don't cover Thomas!

The vest is washed, blocked and dried - despite the rainy weather we've had here lately.
This is the second wearing. The first time I dared put it on over a Thomas the Tank Engine top, and despite the fact he loves that it has all the engine colours in it, he doesn't like it covering Thomas - he walked around holding his vest up so everyone could see Thomas. (Like we didn't know Thomas was there.)
It suits his happy, cheeky personality.

And now when he takes off he looks like a bright streak of colour.
Lots of people have commented on the top - apparently it's a big hit, which is good as I thought it might be a bit gaudy.
It's just right for a very cheeky, nearly two year old.
I have to knit another one, *exactly* the same.... for his big sister as she loves it too,
and can squeeze into his, but the arm holes are a bit tight.
The next one should definitely be quicker to knit.... when I work up the enthusiasm.

[Photos taken at Playgroup today.]

World Wide Knit In Public Day

My photos from WWKIP at Darling Harbour.
It was nice to get out. Thanks to my lovely husband for looking after the children.
It was nice to visit in the city.

Just for me

I really want to knit something just for me. Something to show off.
Ok, so I've got a green lacy scarf on a set of needles somewhere, but that was really to practise some lace (having not done it before) and to give some of my dyed wool a test run.
I had a cardigan in mind but I really want help measuring myself up for it and then adjusting the pattern. I also need to know I have enough wool to finish it before I start, otherwise I'll get something else.

So.. what should I do? Well I've been looking at Ishbel for a while. It seems to be the current trendy thing to knit, and I figured I might be able to get it done to wear to the Bendigo Wool and Sheep Day.

What to make it in? Well I've dyed some red and some blue yarn, but as I was going through my stash to hunt down something for DD I found some yarn I bought in NY.
It's a cashmere/silk mix and I'm hoping it washes up a lot softer than it currently is!

I love the red colour in it.. not too fussed on the red/green mix, but beggars can't be choosers and I think it wasn't priced too badly.
There is definitely enough in it to make the small size Ishbel and if I'm smart enough I may be able to make it a little bigger, but not the big size.This is it caked and sitting on my bench.
It sort of has a Christmas feel when I look at it here, but in real life it feels very rich in colour, and caked is very red dominant.
I cast on last night. The first part seems pretty easy, I'm enjoying it ,let's see how I go with the rest.
Will post project photos soon.

Skeined

I re skeined the ball I was sending in my green swap - skeins just seem to show the colours nicer.

I added my own label.
This is probably a truer colour.
It was more bright green and darker green than yellow and green.
It looks nice all skeined up. I hope it knits up nicely too - I am knitting a similar yarn and enjoying it, it seems to work well for lace, but I hope it doesn't pool too much. I really try to avoid pooling by using colours all in the same tones, this yarn has quite vibrant changes so there will have to be some pooling, but once knitted it will hopefully work well.

Oh, I also sold one of the skeins I dyed (the other green one here with more blue toning) to one of the ladies in my Guild knitting group. She's a new knitter and has no stash! Just one big (and I mean HUGE) pink ball of yarn. I passed on a simple lace scarf pattern that I'm working on too - it will be interesting to see what she comes up with. (It may be nothing until one of us can rewind the ball for her!)