As Promised

Here, then, as promised are pictures of Fulmar.

The front:



Close-up of some cables:



Close-up of the welt:



I cannot say I am particularly impressed with the pattern transition from welt to body. It doesn't exactly flow - the one stops; the other starts. I would have thought Ms Starmore might have given this kind of design issue some thought considering she is so very precious about her work -remember all that performance about people being told off for mentioning her name in their Ebay auctions? There's an article from the Seattle Times if you are faintly interested. Personally, I'd rather be knitting. I wonder if one of these is winging its way to me, even as I type?

The back is also finished and looks remarkably similar to the front. I have started the one sleeve:



The going is extremely slow (but slightly faster now I've got the hang of making cables without recourse to a cable needle) because, in order to get the correct gauge, I find myself using 2.5mm needles. I am, in effect, knitting an Aran jumper on sock needles. What possessed me? Why do I put myself through it? It is a beautiful pattern. What can I say?

This is last week's back field, taken by #1 daughter, who is quite handy with a camera:



We are threatened with snow on Monday and if that comes to pass, I'll certainly give you a picture.

Catch Up

Something I didn't mention in my list of items done, done, done in my last post was the dodecahedron:



and here it is in the hand of #1 daughter (who happens to be wearing the asymmetric wrist warmers I made with the angora that Lixie sent me all those months ago):




'Im indoors asked, "What's it for?" Whereupon I threw it at him and said, "It's for throwing at people who ask stupid questions." (it's also good for throwing at the TV when one can bear it no longer.)

I used some Regia sock yarn in the Brasil colourway and 2mm dpns. The pattern, should you want one for your very own, is here. It's not hard to make, though the final point is a bit of a fiddle. It was fun.

I have also finished Cinxia from Knitty. Here's the back:



and here's the side:




Here's a close-up of the button that I added - a find in the "boutique" aka Charity/Thrift Shop:



I used some of the yarn I bought at in Yorkshire at SkipNorth last year. The good news is that I'm going again in March - excitement is mounting and I'm preparing my stash fund.

That's all for now. Pictures of the start of Lyra; Fulmar; the sock blanket and news of designing a cabled waistcoat/vest thingie (technical term) will follow.

I leave you with this article from "The Daily Telegraph" - she's knitted a brain?? I thought I was off the wall with the 'flu virus but a brain?

Black Dog 1, Blog 0

The Black Dog has certainly been dogging my footsteps and the blog has suffered. There has, of course, been knitting - even at my very lowest I can usually manage to pick up a needle.

I blocked the three squares that make up the Estonian Potpourri :








and fastened them together in the rather strange (but ingenious) way the pattern directs. I then tackled the border, which required picking up stitches all the way around. There were a great many stitches on the needle at the end of it but eventually it was finished, even though it involved a number of the dreaded nupps.

Speaking of nupps - I have, it seems, been mispronouncing their name. That is, if this video is to be believed. Nancy Bush demonstrates how to knit one of the pesky little fellows and she says "nupp" to rhyme with "soup" (and not "cup", as I've been saying all along).

The border is done but needs to be blocked and I just haven't been able to raise the enthusiasm for crawling around on my hands and knees. I will certainly have to do it before I go to SkipNorth in March. It will be an essential item in the "what did you make with all the yarn you bought last year" questions which I know will be forthcoming.

There has been plenty of other knitting - Cinxia from Knitty, done; a hat for Diego, done; 371 squares of the sock yarn blanket, done; Fulmar, resurrected, back and front, done; Lyra, started; but pictures and all that jazz will have to wait because now I have to go to work.

Now the days are getting lighter and the Black Dog is slinking off, I'm hoping to blog a little more and knit a lot more.

Ester is Finished

I finished Ester. Here she is in the garden:



I think it's turned out rather well. It's just the job for this time of the year when it's neither hot nor cold but you just need something on your shoulders. It did use up quite a lot of yarn - no bad thing with that green stuff.

Here she is from the side:



Although the blurb says you can wear this either way up, it feels more comfortable for me to wear it this way, so I have added a button to join the front. I didn't bother with a button hole but just sewed the thing together and attached the button over the top. It does mean I can't wear the shrug open and I do need to put it on over my head but this is not really a problem.

This was a quick, easy knit - gave me plenty of practice in making cables without recourse to a cable needle and used up oodles (tt) of the bright green tape, so all in all, a good thing. I'm thinking it might be nice in a slightly fuzzy (tt) yarn. Not so fuzzy that the cables are obliterated but just fuzzy enough to give a slight halo (this is a real technical term) - something like Rowan Kid Classic (if it hasn't been discontinued, something that Rowan is constantly doing. Don't get me started.) I'd probably have to use the yarn doubled to get the gauge, although the pattern is so straightforward, it wouldn't be difficult to adjust for any yarn.

For those who are interested the Sock Blanket is at 287 squares and looking good - I work on it while watching TV that I can't take my eyes off - a great deal of work is going on during the snooker.

The weather at the weekend was lovely, which makes quite a change. I spent some time visiting the Domestic Fowl Trust at Honeybourne (because I'm thinking of getting some chickens) and driving there made me realise how lovely England is.

Even the back field looks nice bathed in sunshine:



I'd better get on with a few more nupps.