Simmer Dim

Among the baby knits, quilts and commissioned sewing projects this year, I have been selfishly knitting shawls. Not enough to take part in Glittr's 11 in 11 project, but there are definitely plenty to keep me cosy as Autumn arrives.

This shawl is 'Simmer Dim' by Gudrun Jonston, aka 'The Shetland Trader'. I started (and almost finished) knitting this shawl during a ten day stay with my parents in April following an operation. Then it sat in a sad little pile waiting to be blocked.

When I finally got to blocking it, the pattern and yarn blocked out beautifully. I was quite aggressive with it, and pinned out every point of the picot edging, but the time spent was definitely worth it. I used Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in 'Corsage' which is a pretty shade of pink that reminds me of raspberry ripple ice cream! Tosh Sock is my absolute favourite yarn now (knocking Koigu KPPPM from top spot). I've got several skeins stashed ready to cast on more projects, including another shawl for me and another Simmer Dim for my Mum's Christmas present.

A few weeks ago, I had an unusual feeling that can only be classed as crafter's smugness. It was August and I had finished knitting a Christmas present for my niece. My first present finished! In August! Ah yes, I was most definitely feeling smug.
This is the 'Thinking Dress' from 'Miss Bea's Rainy Day' by Louisa Harding. I knitted the size 2, even though Meg will be 3 in March, thinking it should be big enough. I've knitted this dress before, both times using the suggested yarn, Rowan All Seasons Cotton, which is perfect for this pattern. It has great stitch definition and knits into a deliciously chunky and tactile cable.Strangely, my tension seems to have changed a bit over the last few years and I had to drop a whole needle size to knit this on a 4mm needle. That actually gave me a tension that was slightly too tight but it resulted in a lovely sturdy fabric and the final dress width is only about half an inch narrower than it should be.I found the perfect polka dot heart button at my local shop, Creative Quilting, to close the back opening. So there I was, nicely smug about conquering my Christmas knitting list in August. Then I remembered...It's my God daughter's 2nd birthday on 6th October and I haven't started knitting anything for her yet. So, I think she'll be receiving this dress for her birthday and I'll be knitting another (size 3) for Meg for Christmas.

Oops. Not so smug after all!

The last twelve months have seriously kicked my butt, but over the last few weeks, life has returned to normal and I am feeling far more like myself again.

The one lovely piece of news I received over the last few months is that I'm going to be an Auntie again. My sweet little niece Meg is going to have a baby brother or sister, due in mid-November. November babies need plenty of knit wear, right?!

First on the needles for this late Autumn babe was a Placket Neck Sweater, knit is a pretty shade of silvery grey. This yarn has a beautiful sheen.

Success!

More photos and details to follow later...