Em said Leila loved it though, and didn't want to take it off, which can only be a good thing. Let's hope she still feels that way when she's a teenager and I'm still knitting clothes for her. Ha ha!
Look at this! A skein of cashmere sock yarn in my very own 'Alice' colourway, dyed just for me by Kerrie! It's beautiful, and probably destined to become my first pair of Jaywalkers.
These are my favourite gifts: two vintage baby knitting books. I want to knit some of the patterns from here in nice contemporary colours.
I think the first thing will be this 'Double Breasted Shortie', knitted in some deep dark purplish red Rowan 4 ply Soft. The patterns are beautiful, but I especially love the adverts. I think I was born several decades too late :o(
And the best bit was my secret pal revealing who she is....it's Ruth!Thank you so much Ruth for the fantastic gifts. They're going to keep me entertained for a very long time :o) Ruth visits friends near where I live, so I'm hoping we'll be able to meet for a trip to Stash sometime.
I knitted this on 4.5mm needles. Now it's finished, although I've fallen in love with it, it's going to be a gift for my purple loving friend, Pumpkin. This shows the colour and pattern:
I finished my third Calorimetry on the train back from York after a visit to the Viking this weekend. I was sorry to find that it's too big. I knit this version with a about two thirds of a skein of Malabrigo, colourway 'Velvet Grapes' and 4mm needles. I love this yarn, and the colour is beautiful, but it's just too big, so I'll have to rip it and perhaps knit a hat instead.
Speaking of The Viking, he's demanding to be introduced properly, so here are me and Miles earlier this month, just before I caught a train back to London. Cute eh?! By the way, we're sitting down, he's taller than me really!
I knitted my first Calorimetry a couple of days after Christmas, but it was enormous, even with my big hair it was far too loose. Yesterday, after a bit of a disaster with Ellie's second Fetching handwarmer, when I ran out of yarn just before the last thumb row, and discovered that the yarn I used is a discontinued colour (aaaaarrrrgh!) I decided that I would try re-knitting Calorimetry. Thanks to Sarah, I saw some threads on Craftster where other knitters had had similar problems with the sizing. Rather than using a 5mm needle, I cast on the second attempt with a pair of 4mm Brittany Birch needles, which I love. The combination of Brittany needles and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn was a dream to knit with. A little bit of luxury for the New Year.
The photo above shows the back view, and how the ribs help the fabric cling to your head. I'm wearing it at home now, and it's keeping my ears toasty warm! I dashed into town this evening just before the shops closed, ran into John Lewis as the 'closing in 5 minute' announcement was being made, and bought two purple Rowan buttons. Grey looked boring, but the transparent purple is a nice touch, especially as the buttons will probably be hidden beneath my hair most of the time. Like wearing pink knickers under a black skirt!
Keeping my ears warm:
I'd definitely recommend knitting this, it doesn't take much yarn, is a very quick knit, and the pattern is simple and well written. Hmm, how long before I cast on another one...?
And here's the finished scarf:
I definitely got the colour right: Fiona managed to wear perfectly co-ordinating clothes on Christmas Day!
I'm probably the last person to knit a pair of 'Fetching' from Knitty.com, but having decided that cables really aren't as scarey as I had thought, I'm knitting a pair as a late present to send to ex-flatmate Ellie, who's now living in San Francisco. I cast this one on last night, and finished it this morning. I'm about to cast on the second, and hopefully I'll get them posted at the weekend. I'm home today with a nasty cold so simple distracting knitting is the way forward I think.
I knitted a 'Calorimetry' on Boxing Day, but it was too big, so I've ripped it and am going to re-knit it on smaller needles. Perhaps I'll do that this afternoon instead. Or both. Hmm, decisions, decisions...
I spent the weekend of my birthday in Newcastle and York, so I was able to meet my lovely Centurion Knitters on Saturday morning, where I was given such wonderful presents!
Jen gave some Manos Del Uruguay yarn that she bought me in New York. Emily gave me a beautiful purple notebook, which will be perfect for knitting notes, and Lucy gave me a needle gauge from the Knit Tin and some peace fleece needles. I had chocolates from all the girls too! I'm sure I've forgotten about something, if I have, remind me in the comments!
Suzanne gave me two balls of charcoal grey wensleydale yarn from the Wensleydale sheep shop. Such a great shade, and destined for a scarf I think.
After the Centurion, we headed to the newly opened Wagamama in Newcastle, before I had to dash off to Central Station to catch a train to York. I went to a ball with Archie the Viking, had a fantastic evening. I think he was even quite impressed with the bolero I knitted to wear to the ball to comply with the 'shoulders covered' dress code. I don't have any photos of me wearing the bolero, and it really deserves a proper post of its own, seeing as I abandoned my Christmas present knitting to make sure it was finished on time. In the end, I finished sewing the ends in as the train pulled out of Central Station leaving for York. Cutting it a bit fine, eh?! Here it is, I'll do a proper post when I can get someone to take photos of me wearing it.
I think this is one of those things that definitely looks better on than off!
Lots more updates to come this week, including the Christmas present I managed to knit half of on Christmas Day morning, and my new found love of cables.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007 TO YOU ALL
