My Longest Project Ever is Finished (sort of)

My first blog post about this project was on 19th December 2008!  This has been a marathon project out of all proportion with the actual finished project.  There are 17 blog posts linked to this project on Ravelry (well with this one there will be 18).  I am of course referring to the monster that is the KAL Blanket.  I started this project as part of the group A Year in A Blanket on Ravelry.  The group is still there, but there seems to be very little activity on the discussion board, which is hardly surprising, as it was started around the time I started my blanket.  I had very grand plans for this blanket, which gradually grew smaller and smaller as the project dragged on and on.  I finally got a blanket sized thing and sewed a backing on it and declared it finished.  So here we go, the big unveil - ta-day!

I finally got the gorgeous flannel from The Bramble Patch attached to the blanket, though it isn't very straight.

But I don't care.  It is a great blanket and I am keeping it for myself and therefore I declare it fit for purpose.  It is the perfect size to cover me whilst I lie on the sofa and feel cold or ill.  It has a lovely weight to it, so it stays put on my legs as I move around. I don't get hot and sweaty as it has a large cotton content.  The yarn is Elle Elite and is comprised of 50% wool and 50% cotton and I really love it.  (In fact, I have a large quantity of this yarn left and intend to make myself something nice to wear in it).  The flannel is 100% cotton and gets softer every time I touch it.

I can cope with the wonkiness and the mismatched squares because it keeps me warm, without being hot, and I can run my fingers of the centre panel and it's bobbly cabled texture.

I can see my history of knitting in this project.  In each block you can see improvement.

I love this blanket and all its frustrations and annoyances and it makes me nostalgic for the knitter I was when I started this project.  I was so ambition and created a complicated design showing off all the skills I had learnt, cables, bobbles, intarsia, swiss darning, etc.  I wouldn't begin to knit something like this now.  I would consider it too fussy and disconnected.  I would create something more tied together.  This blanket stands as a testament to my learning curve.

I whipstitched the flannel on to the blanket using the same brown yarn that I used on the knitted block and edging panels.  It disappears into the front and forms a feature on the back.

At some point I intend to sew the flannel to the blanket using quilting cotton and stitching in the ditch on the inside edge of the brown knitted panels and blocks.  I think this will help keep the blanket together and straighten up the edges a bit more.  I don't know when I'll get round to doing that, as I said, it is already fit for purpose and it isn't going anywhere.  Maybe when it is cold and unpleasant in the Winter, I will be more inclined to add this final touch.  But until then - I declare this blanket DONE!

To see more DONE projects, click on the button below.

Normal Service is Resumed - WIPW

After the madness that was Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, normal service has now resumed, ie irregular postings that occasionally match up with other stuff that's going on in the land of the internets.

As it is a Wednesday, I thought I would get back into the swing of blogging again by joining in with my good buddies on Work In Progress Wednesday, hosted by Tami.  You can look at other people's blogs by clicking on the button.  (But don't forget to come back and finish reading about my adventures in crafting, or I'll wish I'd put the button at the bottom of the post like I normally do!)

OK, you're back now are you?  Good, so last week kind of wiped me out so I didn't start anything new, I just kept on trucking with what was already on the needles.  However, one of these projects was something I hadn't shared with you before last week hit.  This project is using up my left over yarn from my Mum's Christmas/Birthday shawl. Originally this yarn was going to make a big cardigan for me, but Mum loved the yarn so much I had to use it for her and the shawl did turn out beautifully.  So as I have 2 and a half skeins of this stuff left I decided to make a cushion for the cat.  I decided on using Frankie's Ten Stitch Twist pattern as I like the effect of the slightly ridged spiral.  This is what I have so far.

I think this is going to look very pretty, but I'm kind of inclining towards making it a circular throw and hanging it over the back of the sofa, as the colours really work in my lounge.

Aren't the ridges pretty?  I love how they emphasise the contrast between each colour on the spiral.  I shall decide as it get's bigger what I am going to do with it, and especially if I have enough yarn to make a circular throw.

The alpaca wrap I've been working on, is going great guns now I am using life lines!

Un-stretched it is probably about 50"-60", so blocked out it will be a great size.  I'll probably do a couple more repeats and then do the seed stitch edging before casting off.  I think this will be  a very versatile garment.

And decorative too!  I really want to get this off the needles and on the blocking board.  I just want to wear it!

Yesterday I woke up feeling lousy.  I couldn't face doing any knitting and I was cold, so I pulled out that old chestnut the Year in a Blanket!  I can't believe I have been doing this since January 2009 - isn't that appalling!  Anyway I decided to sew up the brown cabled squares and add them to the top.  I laid out the squares, and when I pulled out this amazing flannel I bought for backing the blanket, I realised that I couldn't add two more rows of blocks to each side of the blanket.  The fabric was too narrow!

So I took off two blocks per row of brown cabled squares and attached them to the blanket.  I now have something that is the perfect size for covering me while laying on the sofa.

I'd forgotten what a wonderful weight this blanket it was.  As it is wool/cotton, it is cozy but not heavy.  It's also not overly sweaty!  The flannel I bought for the backing of this blanket is just perfect.  I washed it to pre-shrink it and it is so soft and fuzzy now.  I think this shrinkage is what caused the difference in width planned and actual width of the blanket.  Never mind, it will be a good size whatever width it is.  At least it covers my toes!

I got this flannel it from The Bramble Patch last Summer.  Oh how I love that shop!  So now all I have to do on the knitting front is try and stop the curling under of the edges.  I know attaching the blanket to the backing will sort that out, but I still think I want to square it up a bit.  I can't decide whether to knit strips and sew them on, so the seams give structure, or whether to pick up and knit the edges to give an invisible finish.  The other option is to knit the edging on as I go round.  It's a tough one.  Advice please from you knitting gurus out there.  I know there must be one or too among you new followers!  By the way welcome if you have only just joined me.  I was very giddy when I saw how many people had decided to follow me recently.  It helps me feel like I'm not talking to myself!

Anyway, that is where I am up to on my WIP.  Sadly I've not made any progress on my Chain Mail socks, but I plan on working on that over the next week.  I don't know if I'll have anything finished to share with you on Friday, but I'm going to do my best!

WIP Wednesday

When I went to bed last night everything was normal and when I woke up, it was like this:-

The reflection from all the snow is what is making the posting of WIP photos possible, but it doesn't change the fact that I am housebound.  I keep getting followed around, by my furry friend who demands that I fix the weather.

The cat does not like the cold any more than I do, so she is being a bit clingy.  Despite her clinging, I have managed to finish my Mum's shawl.  I think it is a really good size and should keep my Mum nice and cozy when we get weather like today.

I did approximately 1 and a half inches of garter stitch at the edge before casting off.  I hope this will be enough to stop the edges curling up, especially after blocking.

I don't think I showed you the fabric that I bought to bind the edges of the knitting.  It is gorgeous (I think I already said that).  Here it is with the shawl.

It is a slightly darker shade of grey than this picture shows, as the reflections make it seem lighter.  I'm really looking forward to getting this all done and wrapped up and sent to Mum.  She will need the extra warmth if this Winter carries on like it is.

Because of the cold, when I finished Mum's shawl, I decided that I needed something to snuggle under.  I dug out my old blanket project that was started in January 2009!  I spent most of yesterday sewing blocks together.  I then laid it out to work out what I needed to do next.

I think I need three more pale blue blocks knitting and then I can finish sewing it all up.  I have some lovely spotty flannel to back this blanket.  It will make it especially warm, which I'm thinking will be a good thing at the moment.  I definitely need something to cover me up when the temperature doesn't get above freezing for weeks at a time!

I doubt I will have any finished things to show you on Friday, but you never know, the shawl might get dry in time, though I'm not holding my breath. I'm posting this as usual to Tami's Amis WIP Wednesday linky thing.  Click on the button check out other people's projects.  I have got lots of inspiration over the last few weeks, maybe you will too.

If I don't post again, I hope you all have a wonderful time with your family and friends over the next few days, or else you enjoy hibernating with a good film or book!  For all the Christians, have a very Merry Christmas, and everyone else, just enjoy the break!

Endo Blip

Over the last few months I have been doing really well (well for me anyway, it's all relative). However over the last week I kind of hit a wall. When you are merrily moving along through life at a constant and predictable level of pain it always surprises you when you have a blip. I think it is sometimes harder to cope with pain when you haven't experienced that higher level in a while. When you let yourself relax and start to believe that what you are doing every week is going to be possible in the long term and start to make plans, it is harder to cope with when you are reminded that nothing can be taken for granted.

This week hit me very hard. The pain levels I have had this week are nowhere near what I have had to cope with in the past but I have found it much harder to cope because the pain levels had been so stable. I had several days when I couldn't face doing patchwork because that involved thinking and the pain was interfering with that. So to cope with the pain I dug out my long lost blanket. The blanket is made up of lots of squares, many of which are very simple to knit, and I can slip into the meditative state that knitting without thought induces in me.

This blanket has been ignored for far too long so I worked out what I needed to do in order to finish it. I have made a note of all the squares I need to produce in order to complete the blanket and it is not that many. I have made the decision to work only on the blanket squares when I am knitting in public. I will take the blanket squares as my outside the house knitting. The squares are portable, require not that much thought and quite often I can get a square done in a knitting group session.

By restricting my public knitting to this one project I hope to get the blanket finished before the end of the cold weather. I stopped knitting the blanket last year when it got too hot, so hopefully I can get it finished before that happens again.

In the meantime I will allow myself to knit what I like at home to keep me challenged. That is if there is time left over after I finish my patchwork homework each week. It seems to be taking up lots of my time.

Blanket Love

I am finally back to working on my KAL Blanket. It has been languishing in a bag on a high shelf out of my line of sight. I have finally been shamed into starting it again because I promised Mary Clare that I would have something done, even if it was a WIP, for the annual Mary Clare exhibition, held in November.

I decided to start on something quick and easy that would grow the blanket as fast as possible. I settled on knitting two strips 6" wide to be attached to either side of the central panel.

Exciting isn't it? No, it's not, but excitement is not why I love it. I love it because it is knitting at its most elegant and simple, nice yarn being shown off in a smooth sheet of knitting. It is also mindless, so it has been useful while at knitting groups.

Once the blocking is finished and the strips dried out, I will attach them to the centre panel. Remember this?

I then plan on picking up the stitches at either end of the stitched together blocks and knitting for 6" to complete a full border around the centre panel. I think this will be a good solid piece to have ready for the exhibition, to display with the smaller individual squares that I have yet to sew together or even arrange. Then all I have to do is decide what else I want to put into the show.

The Blanket Grows

I feel like I hit a huge milestone today. I blocked my KAL Blanket centre panel. This panel has been hanging around since February, and the rest of the blanket is to be built around it.

The panel is based on the pattern for Tie-Back Cushions from The Knitter, Issue 1 and is by Amanda Crawford. I love this pattern and have enjoyed every single repeat of the cabling. I finished my 13th repeat just before my yarn ran out and when I measured it, for blocking, it was 36" x 12", which is the perfect size to build the rest of the blanket around. Most of the coloured squares are 6" x 6", so they should fit around the panel perfectly. Now all I need to do is calculate how much more yarn I will need to finish it off. Psychologically I feel that blocking this panel has brought me a great deal closer to finishing the entire blanket, even though I know I am only half way through.

After all my hard work cabling and blocking, I decided that today would be a lace day. I watched some recorded tv and worked my way through Ishbel.

I have decided to do the larger version of this scarf, because I am not a small person, and I would like it to at least cover my broad shoulders. I have managed to finish the stocking stitch part of the pattern and I am now on the first section of lace.

As you can see I have already started with my lifelines. I followed a tip I read somewhere once, (I can't remember where, unfortunately) that suggested threading the cotton through the little hole on my KnitPro Options Needle and knitting the row concerned. This automatically threads the lifeline through the row, without any effort at all. It's a marvellous suggestion and I will use it at regular intervals throughout the pattern. I have found a video on YouTube that describes this method, you can find it here.

I have only managed 4 rows of the lace pattern so far, but I am enjoying watching it grow and can't wait to be able to wear it. Considering this was only a test knit, I am rapidly falling in love with the yarn and know that when it has been washed and blocked it will be very beautiful and soft. I knew I would fall in love with lace once I started, that's why I bought all that nice yarn!

Karmic Knitting

As the recipient of fabulous test knitters' time and energy, I felt it would only be appropriate for me to respond in kind. Not necessarily by testing something by my test knitters, but by testing something from the same group on Ravelry. It is a wonderful group I have only recently joined, where anyone can put out a request for test knitters. The test knitters then use their own yarn and then knit the pattern and give feed back. If anyone else feels like doing their karma some good, the group is on Ravelry and is Free Pattern Testers.

The pattern that I tested was BlueBonnets and this was designed by Sasha Evans of Sasha's Blue Carpet. I really like her blog which is full of a mix of craft and intellectual debate. She describes herself thus

"This blog follows the domestic antics of a broke, punchy, feminist, sword-toting graduate student as she knits her way to freedom."

I already read the blog, so when the pattern was listed I jumped at the chance to do a small quick project for somebody I quite like. The pattern is for a headband and uses a little bit of lace, a little bit of cabling and some nifty plaits.

The pattern used Paton's Bamboo Silk, but I wasn't quite as upmarket and used Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo. I really like this yarn. It is soft and silky but strong with a nice drape. I will probably knit something garment sized in this yarn eventually.

The pattern required using provisional crochet cast on. I think you can see that I may have gone a little lopsided. I thought I'd corrected any errors, but you can see it after blocking, if you look carefully. I'm banking on most people not knowing where to look.

I like how the cabling and lace shape the head band.

I have worn this all day, as it is just what I need to keep my growing out fringe, out of my eyes. I may well make another one, with the Baby Bamboo I have left over from the Cyber Sam project.

Along with the above, this weekend I have been knitting my Ishbel and carrying on with the great KAL Blanket project. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed cables, so after doing the BlueBonnets I dug out my big centre panel and got cabling. I'm sure it will end eventually as I only have 1 and a bit balls of yarn left in this colour. I just hope it is long enough, after the yarn runs out.

Blocking Blanket & Scarf

I have finally thought of a name for my Porom Inspired Scarf. I'm going to call it Romberry. The name uses part of the name of Jared Flood's pattern and adds berry for the raspberry colour of the hat and the bramble colour of the scarf. I think it works, and it is slightly less convuluted than the name I have been using up to now.

I took my Romberry to my knitting group last night and picked the brains of those wise in the ways of the knit. A compromise was suggested that I had not considered. I will block the ENDS of the scarf. Why did I not think of this clever idea? It will open up the stitch pattern where it is visible and yet leaves the neck alone. I knew my friends at knitting group were the ones to ask.

One of the clever people at my knitting group is called Liz, and she has recently set up a website to sell some of the lovely things that she makes, as well as some of the patterns she has written. Liz has written most of the kitty patterns I have knit. Have a look at her website to see some of her gorgeous stuff. The website is called Bettyknitter.com.

I haven't actually blocked my scarf yet because I have been blocking my KAL Blanket squares, using my new blocking board, i.e. card board box covered in cling film and gingham fabric. The board works really well and the gingham makes blocking so much easier and faster, because of being able to keep everything straight while being pinned.

These squares have been dampened with a water spray so the colours look darker than they do when dry, but you can see more clearly the colourwork than in previous photos.

I have got a bit behind on my blanket squares, so I have spent the last couple of days churning out more squares. I have chosen to speed through some of the plain stocking stitch squares so that I get caught up by the end of May. So far this week I have knit 5 and a half plain squares and they only take a couple of hours to do each one. I am intending to get another 5 or 6 done by the end of the month and then I think I will be nearly caught up with my schedule.

However, I do think I need to splash out on more pins, because I only had enough to block 4 squares at a a time. I definitely need more so that I can use my entire board.

At least once these squares are blocked I will have an idea of how the finished blanket may look and how much more yarn I am going to need to buy. I already have quite a lot of the yarn I ordered from Mary Clare, but I need to work out what else I need so Clare can put the unused yarn on the shelf for sale.

I have to admit, I am quite enjoying churning out these plain squares, it feels like I'm making really fast progress, something that rarely seems to happen to me, because I get so easily distracted. I WILL focus on this blanket (for a while anyway).

To block or not to block?

I have come to an impasse. I can't decide whether to block my newly completed Porom Inspired Scarf (I really must think of a new name, why aren't you helping me with this one? I know somebody reads my blog!). Left as it is, the scarf feels quite dense and the ribbing pulls together, but not all the way because of the pattern. When worn, the ruffles cup the neck beautifully and because of the weight of it, the scarf hangs nicely and doesn't move around.

As you can see, the stitch pattern is actually quite visible. (By the way those are my new glasses). I felt I ought to block this scarf because it had a lacey pattern, and I blocked the Porom hat and it made a real difference. But I keep looking at this scarf and thinking, do I want to mess with it? I think I will take it to my knitting group on Monday and ask for advice. There are so many knowledgeable people at my group it would be a waste, to not pick their brains.

I have finally got my Sweetie Wrapper Socks pattern charts done, for both the front and the back of the sock, and have managed to knit around an inch of the leg.

I am loving these socks so much, it is worth the headaches I have had in writing up the pattern and drawing up the chart, so I can make them again if I want to. Writing it up is also clarifying in my mind how I knit toe up socks with a gusset heel. I think this is the way forward from now on, because the heel looks lovely. I also like being able to try my socks on as I go, so I can check that everything is fitting correctly.

As well as progressing my socks, I have also decided that my blanket has been ignored for far too long. In order to catch up with my lame efforts of the last couple of months, I am going to churn out lots of the plain coloured squares, that make up the side blocks of the blanket. This will move me forward very quickly and then I won't feel so left behind.

In order to move my existing projects forward, I am trying to resist casting on with my latest bargain.

I bought this Patons Jet from Kemps Wool Shop for £0.79 a ball. They have lots of wool on clearance here. I have had bargains from them before and have been pleased with the service. I felt at this price it would be silly not to get some wool for felting. I've not had a new bag in a while, and there is a very nice pattern in this month's Let's Knit (Issue 19). The bag is called Turtleneck and is designed by Kelley Deal and was originally published in Bags That Rock. The bag is felted and then a heavy rib sleeve over lays the felt. It looks lovely and I can't decide between that, a bag from Pursenalities by Eva Wiechmann, or a bag that is going to be in the next Yarn Forward magazine, due next week. It's a very tough call, because all the bags are lovely. I will probably end up doing more than one, I haven't had enough bags recently, and we are in a new season!

Changed my mind - as usual!

I am soooo fickle! I can't help myself. I have all these grand plans about what I am going to start next, then something bright and shiny catches my eye, and the next thing I know, the queue has grown and something totally new has been cast on. In my defence, the new thing I have cast on, does have a very definite and useful purpose.

I have cast on Joan McGowan-Michael's Shapely Tank. This is a very simple tank top, that helps you modify it, depending on your bust size. This has been my problem with clothes for most of my life - if it fits on my bust its baggy everywhere else, if it fits everywhere else it pulls on the bust. Knitting was always supposed to help me with getting clothes that fit. This Shapely Tank pattern is the start of that process.

The Bacall bolero I just finished, looks great from the front, but you will notice I did not show off the back. This because it is VERY baggy. Clare, my lovely LYSO has helped me solve the problem of the baggy back, which is to add buttons to the front of the bolero, which will pull in the back at the bottom and hopefully make everything look intentional. I have bought the buttons and as soon as they are attached I will take more photos. So, though this problem has been corrected, I became very aware that I didn't want this to happen again. I did not want to spend time and money making something I love, that doesn't fit right, so I never wear it.

I decided that before I cast on the lovely Sirdar Peru, I would use up some of my stash and do the Shapely Tank. I certainly do not want to waste that lovely wool. I want to be able to add short row shaping to the nice gilet pattern I have, to ensure I have a perfect fit. The stash yarn I have used is, Sirdar Click with Wool.



Sorry its not a great photo, it was one of my early ones, taken before I understood about close ups of yarn. The yarn is not gorgeous, but it was very cheap and I bought LOTS of it. I have heard that it washes and wears well and blocks out really nicely, so I have hope that it will be useable when I have finished my tank.

The tank is designed to be a close fit, but I have decided to give it a 1" ease all over, because I intend to wear it over blouses. The yarn is quite heavy and can't be worn next to the skin. I also decided that as I was going to use this as an exercise is making a garment fit, I was going to go the whole hog. I decided to mess around with all the measurements to ensure it was the right length and fit. My waist is much smaller than the standard bust, waist, hips ratio allows for, so I had to up the decreases and increases in the pattern, but I decided that though I basically had to re-write the pattern it was worth doing.

Here is what I have so far.



I have to say, the yarn is knitting up slightly better than I had estimated, so hopefully, if the fit works, I will get some wear out of this garment. Here is a close up of the short row increases.



I'm quite proud of how neat they are! They are much neater than when I did my short row socks. Obviously my first try was on 4-ply so double knit should be much easier ( I always did try to run before I could walk).

I think that making this project next, really was the right decision to make, and wasn't just because it was nice and pretty. It was decided upon for a very valid reason, and I am sure that in the long run, I will be glad I did it.

In order to help myself in the future with designing knits, which you may notice I seem to have started to do, I have treated myself to Debbie Abrahams', Design Your Own Knits in 5 Easy Steps. I have been coveting this book for months now, and as it is my birthday this week, I decided to treat myself to it. I have only just started reading it, but it seems very interesting so far, and I am sure it will be a big help, in future design work I do.

In other knit news, I have finally finished another blanket square. I bet you thought I'd forgotten all about that blanket didn't you? Well I haven't. I have been filled with guilt for ignoring it, so I finally finished another square.



It was another tricky one, as intarsia is NOT my friend. I am very jealous of Susan Crowe's flowers. She has been going all out on her blanket and it shows. I need to up my square rate if I ever hope to get this thing finished by the end of the year. Maybe I'll do some nice plain squares for a week to just up my square rate.

In the meantime I continue with my socks. They are going well and I am on the gusset decreases. I am now starting to panic about how wide I should make the calves and what pattern I should put around the back. I keep trying the socks on and hoping inspriration will strike before I decrease them to the size of a small child's ankles. I'm sure something will come to me soon, it has to!

March Square

I have been very lax this month regarding my KAL Blanket. I have finally completed one of my March squares. It is taken from Debbie Abrahams, Flower Power pattern and I have used different colours. I have also used different yarn, but I'm sure I mentioned that before.



The square is larger than anticipated but as I really like the patterns I'm just going to have to jog the blanket to fit together, even if that means crocheting round the smaller squares to make them fit.

I apologies for the quality of the photo but I decided not to block the flower squares until I had more than one to show for my efforts. I have cast on my next one, and then I will try and dash off a couple of plain stocking stitch squares to up my March quota. I have done some more on my big centre panel, but I feel that doesn't count because it doesn't really look much bigger.

Ah well, I'm sure I will get there in the end.

Slow Progress

Once again it feels like forever since I posted a blog update. Once again I blame my manky eye. I went back to the hospital on Tuesday to be informed that I have scarring on my cornea. This did not surprise me as I suffer from adhesions (scarring inside the body). I am very prone to scarring so any damage does tend to leave me worse off than before. The doctor has given me some different drops and I am having to take two sets of drops 5 times a day for the next two weeks and then go and see a consultant. My eye sight is fine, I am not in any pain, but I am heartily sick of dropping liquid in my eye.

On a more pleasant note, the other reason I haven't posted this week is that I have been busy finishing off my Sushi Bag, which has been rechristened "Flower Clutch".



Can you see why I changed the name? I am very pleased with this project, as I believe the decoration work has transformed the bag. I have spent several days embellishing this bag and lining it. The flower was created using needle felting. I used some fibre I got from the Harrogate Show and the needle felting starter kit. I managed to break the needle I got, and as I had got half-way through the flower I decided to invest in a Clover needle felter. I got mine from Mary Clare and feel much safer using this tool than the exposed needle. It also works faster, though not as fast as Clare's embellishing machine, which she allowed me to play with. I may invest in a proper felting mat as the foam block that came with my starter kit seems to be flaking already, and getting stuck in the felt.



After adding the flower, I stitched some Gutterman glass seed beads into the shape of a twisted stem. I filled in the gaps between the beads with some perle cotton in dark green. The stem twists round onto the back of the clutch.



I then, stitched up the lining and sewed on the magnetic clasps using a petersham fabric backing, to ensure that the lining fabric didn't fray. I then stitched the lining inside.



I filed down the rough edges of the dowels and stuck needle felted balls on the ends, to ensure the dowels didn't slide out of the handle slots. This bag will be kept unused, to be displayed in the Mary Clare exhibition in Novembe,r and then given away for Christmas. So now I have two Christmas presents made, how smug am I??

In Knit Along News, I have managed to reach the end of the repeats for the centre panel, that I set myself to do in February. I have placed the panel on a KnitPicks Options cable and put it away until next month. I couldn't face doing the same project, two months in a row, no matter how lovely it is.

I have cast on a square from Debbie Abrahams book Blankets and Throws to Knit. The coloured squares for my blanket come from a pattern called "Flower Power" which has bright colourful intarsia and beaded flowers. I am using the patterns for some of these squares but with the Elle Elite yarn I bought, which has much more muted colours. As soon as I finish my first square I will post a picture.

I have also been working on my scarves. I am about half way through both my Porom Inspired Scarf and my Noro Striped scarf.



This is the second time I have got this far on my Noro Scarf, but I think I made the right decision to start again. The colours are blending much more smoothly and the edges are much tighter.



My Porom Inspired Scarf is quite a complicated knit, so it going more slowly than I originally thought, mainly because if I take it to a knitting group I end up having to rip it back and start again.

I have treated myself to some pretty and girly pink silk sock yarn. I have never worn anything this girly in my life, but I just couldn't resist it. I going to try and find the perfect toe up/heel combo pattern if it is the last thing I do!



Pretty huh? I can't wait to start knitting with it.

Lots of bits and bobs

I have just realised how long it has been since my last post. I have been very distracted this week with lots of "bits" of projects. I feel like I haven't really had a crack at one single project, and I think that is why I have avoided posting. I felt like there was nothing to take pictures of, so I didn't want to write about the lack of progress.

Part of the cause of my project fickleness, is I want to do a felting wash. I wanted to knit some more felted slippers after the success of my crocheted ones. I live in these slippers and they have grown very stretched and need re-felting. I decided that if I had more than one pair, of felted slippers, it would mean I could wait longer between re-felts and maybe have other projects to felt at the same time. I really don't like to run a nearly empty felting load in the washing machine. So, with this in mind, when I read my Let's Knit last month I jumped at the chance to knit the slipper pattern. They recommended Brigantia Needlework for the aran weight wool and I decided to give it a try. They delivered promptly, and for free. When it arrived I was delighted with the yarn as it is springy and soft.



I have knit the slippers, which took no time at all, and I have put them to one side to wait for felting.

I also decided to add to the felting pile by knitting my contribution to Kitty Swap this month, in a pattern that needed felting.



This little kitty is from a pattern called Fortune Cat by Justine Turner. I found the pattern a little confusing at times, but stuck with it, because I loved the little cats on the projects pages of Ravelry. The main thing I hadn't noticed, was there was no part of the pattern for a tail! I will try and knit up a tail before felting.

I went to my knitting group yesterday and found the perfect bead for hanging round this little guy's neck. I was so proud of myself, I only spent 50p at this knitting group, that has to be some sort of record for me!!!



Its a perfect valentine's bead for February's swap.

I also knit alot of sock at the knitting group, but the first one is still not finished. I won't bother taking any more photos until I have a pair complete, but I am really enjoying knitting them up.

I have also made some more progress on my February square for the KAL Blanket. It is looking rather gorgeous, if I say so myself.



And that is about it for my week of knitting. It seems like nothing at all, but it felt like I was knitting like fury all week. Projects are sometimes like that, and then you have lots finishing, all at the same time. I suppose that is what will happen after I finish the felting wash. In the meantime I will continue to knit things for felting. I may try a bag with the lilac wool I got from Brigantia.... watch this space!