Door Snake and Knitting Labels

I have found time for some crafty things which aren't knitting this week. Number 1 was a new door snake to keep out the drafts and the road soot which squeezes under my front door.



Number 2 was these little labels to sew into my knitted items. I saw the idea on Grumperina's blog and thought it was brilliant. I have designed the labels and got as far as printing them yesterday, before realising my transfer paper needs the image to be reversed. I'm about to find out how to do that. Hoping to get some finished and sewn in soon.






Edited to add: Applying these using a hot iron on a synthetic, shiny, iron with a cool iron only ribbon was so not a good idea. This project looks to be one of those that turns into an ongoing one!

Wicked

I still have no decent photos of Arisaig. There are no good reasons, but a lack of photography skills mean the photos I have tried so far were awful. One day when the sun is shining and I don't feel too stupid to try and take some timer photos in my garden, I will definately try and get some better ones.

Meanwhile, I started knitting on Wicked on Saturday, after the lovely people at John Lewis let me swap the 30cm circular needle I had mistakenly bought for the purpose on Thursday. The new 80cm needle is a much better idea! I wasted time on Saturday evening worrying about how the increases looked. After studying a book I've borrowed off my mum I decided they could look much better if i just paid more attention, and also used small bits of wool instead of the stitch markers, which just seemed to be getting in the way. I frogged back to the ribbing and it is now looking absolutely fine.

I love how quick this is knitting, i loved being able to try it on this morning to check there were enough increases to fit round me and my arms comfortably (I have added a couple of extra increases) and I love knitting something in wool thicker than 4 ply!

A hurried progress photo as of Monday morning is below, although I have knitted a lot since then and am now just past where the sleeves split from the body.

This wasn't the only knitting of the weekend. I did start on some socks in Trekking XXL. I had intended ot knit Monkey socks from Knitty, but I hadn't realised the yarn was stripey. I frogged and start the Jaywalkers pattern instead, but I'm not sure I like these. I love the heel construction, my first time knitting a heel flap, but I'm not sure I like the patterned yarn. I'm still undecided what to do about these.

That was my roof...

I have been a bit busy recently, still knitting, but also avoiding the mess where I am having double glazing installed and my flat roof redone. I was greeteed by the evidence of much having been done when I returned from work yesterday. This was my roof...



Unfortunately, although we'd planned only to replace the roofing felt, the wood below was found to be rotten, so that got replaced too. So, everything is still yet to be finished and the builder is coming back tomorrow, so meanwhile there is not point cleaning the mess, so i'm living in it!

Knitting news, Arisaig was blocked at the weekend, and is now sewn up, but no photos yet. I am very pleased, and looking forward to wearing it to knitting group this evening!

Not really any knitting to report. I now have 3 peices of knitting that look like the one in the photo from Tuesday., the back and two sides of Aresaig are knitted to armhole height. I would like to check the maths on the sleeve caps before i continue. I have started knitting both sleeves though.

On an un-related topic I saw this quiz somewhere else this lunchtime, and liked it a lot.

Take the Quiz here!

I spent a lot of time watching the Jane Austen film on tv last night, and the how it was made type programme earlier in the day yesterday. I'm wishing i had a good excuse to visit Bath again!

I just started knitting Arisaig on Saturday (link to pattern is in side bar). I love the lacey pattern and it is going a lot better than the swatch did. I've learnt to read what's coming next and the stitch markers have been more a reassurance than anything else. The 2x2 rib was relatively quick too. I think after a couple of pairs of socks, 4 ply wool is a lot less daunting than it used to be.

Progress as at the end of lunchtime, knitting at my desk again.

Close up of the pattern, unfortunately with the macro button on my camera refusing to work. Still looking good though.

The colour is actually somewhere between the two photos, and is looking curiosly similar to the colour of my shedir hat!

I won, twice

I had a lovely Friday afternoon at work. I won a prize in the work Easter raffle, and although I don't think i'm much of a soft toy person and all the prizes included soft toys, I actually thought this one looked quite cute, and it didn't hurt that he was holding chocolate. He sat in my intray all afternoon and kept getting stroked by passers by!


The second good thing about Friday afternoon, I won a prize through the Angel Yarns knitting forum, a luxury cabled scarf kit which looks lovely.




Having spent lunchtime in a pub with colleagues also helped Friday afternoon go quickly.

Finally, but maybe best of all, B was home for the weekend. It was lovely to have him back, and just a little miserable to see him fly off again.

Knitting news, i've cast on for Arisaig and almost got to the top of the ribbing for the back, which looks lovely but is a pain. And I finally put an order in for some sock yarn and enough yarn for Wicked, and I bought the pattern for Wicked. That should keep me busy for a few weeks...

Finished

My Ivy cardigan is finally finished, well almost... I don't like the way the neckband sits at the back so i will be unpicking that and re-sewing it a bit tighter. i hope that this will bring the shoulders slightly more together to stop it sitting quite so wide apart on me, but it is so close. I wore this all yesterday evening after i returned from the gym, and i think i might actually wear it! It warm and cosy, and the sleeve length is long, but i like that. A blurry, too early in the morning photoshoot means that this was the best photo i managed! And I've just spotted a small knot peaking out from my sleeve, oops.

Pattern: Ivy from Knitty

Yarn: Sirdar Countrystyle double knitting, only 4 balls (annoying leaving 2 leftover)

Time taken: About 3 weeks to knit, another week to persuade myself to sew it together, and a surprisingly long time to buy buttons