Diviknitty

A sock and a half

2010-03-18T16:16:00.003Z

Rick socks from Cookie A's "Sock Innovation". Not too much left to do - don't you just love the way the left and right feet mirror each other? The yarn is Natural Dye Studio; it's so soft and should keep toes toasty. It's a bit splitty so needs some concentration, but worth the effort.

This is the first pattern I've tried from this book, which takes sock knitting to a whole new level. The instructions and charts are clear and easy to follow, and Cookie gives loads of info on successful sock design. I've made a couple of minor modifications - including a shaped arch which I find gives a really snug fit, and the usual star toe I favour over a grafted toe due to my ridiculously pointed feet!

Portree finished

2010-03-17T18:58:00.003Z

A very quick post to show off my recently finished Portree vest, which I'm very proud of! Once set, the pattern's obvious and I found I didn't need to keep my eye on the chart. I'd recommend knitting this circularly though - the pattern's awkward to match up for sewing the side seams. The yarn amounts were plenty - I've got a whole ball of the lighter colour left over and about half a ball of the rust. Lovely yarn to knit with (Rowan felted tweed) and I'd definately use it again.

I did a continental cast on to give a gently rounded edge; in hindsight, I think I'd do a regular cast on, as the one I chose (for neatness) has a bit too much elasticity, and I think might end up a little baggy - time will tell. But all that stranded colourwork should makethis top lovely and warm - just as spring seems to have sprung!

2010-02-14T14:05:00.003Z

These are my 2 current wip's - Portree from Rowan in Felted Tweed, the back is now finished and the front has just got the ribbing completed . The pattern is intuitive after the first couple of repeats and I'm pleased with how it's working out. I usually do fair isle way too tight so I'm really trying hard to loosen my tension for this, and so far so good. Blocking should smooth out any kinks. I'm not sure yet if Ill do the belt for this - I think I'll wait and see what it looks like without.

The socks are Rick from Sock Innovation - all of the patterns in this book are noteworthy and it was difficult to pick one; in the end I thought this would go well with the yarn I wanted to use - Natural Dye Studio blue faced leicester which has been in my stash for way too long. It's incredibly soft and quite loosely plied so it's a bit splitty, but I'll forgive it because I like it so much. The pattern is lace and twisted rib which swirls around the sock so I'm finding I need to re-arrange the stitches after each 4 row repeat. I've done a bit more work since I took the photo; I'm almost at the heel flap now.

Sissinghurst

2010-02-07T15:31:00.002Z

I finished Sissinghurst a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed knitting this and I love the result. The yarn is Rowan pure wool 4ply in the colours depicted in the magazine, and I actually had at least one ball of each colour left over - that's a first for me with Rowan. Everything I've ever made from Rowan has always required me to go and buy extra, so this was a bonus.
The pattern looks more complicated than it is to work - slipped stitches on 2 of the 4 pattern rows give the illusion of fair isle but only one colour is used at a time; as the colour changes every 4th row there are masses of ends to weave in, but I did this at the end of each knitting session to keep things under some sort of control - I don't think I could've faced doing them all at the end. I made the smallest size - 32" - 34" - which turned out to be a good move as it blocked slightly larger than the expected finished measurements, so it fits quite well after all.
Currently knitting "Portree", another Rowan from their latest mag, and that's going well - I'll have piccies soon, along with Rick socks from Cookie A's "Sock Innovation". Both fit in with two personal goals for this year - to get better at colourwork and to better understand sock construction.

2010-01-26T13:24:00.002Z

No photos today, just a quick update on what I'm knitting. I managed to block the Sissinghurst vest from Rowan's winter magazine last weekend, and have now done the neckband and 1 armband. The other armband is scheduled for this evenings knitting and hopefully I'll get time to sew it up too - I might even wear it tomorrow.
With Sissinghurst blocking, there was no knitting on the needles, so I started Portree, also from the latest Rowan magazine. I did the ribbing but had a bit of a false start. This is my first venture into stranded colourwork for a long time and you know when you've only done a few rows of the main pattern but you just know something's not right? Well, I had that moment and decided to rip back. I'd only done about 8 rows so it wasn't a disaster, but it was a good choice. I reworked the rows and now it's much better. I've put it to one side while I get Sissinghurst finished - if I don't get that sewn up soon it'll never get done, and it's too nice to languish in the unfinished objects bag.
I'll attempt to take photos of both projects soon.

First FO's of the decade

2010-01-17T15:33:00.002Z

I finished 2 projects this week - quite an achievement for me.

First up, Pyroclastic socks from the latest Knitty. I used sock yarn from stash, obtained a couple of years ago when I joined the Yarn Yard sock club for a short time. The stitch pattern is relatively easy to memorise so the leg was no trouble at all to knit. On the first sock I got a bit confused with the movement of the stitch markers, so I had to frog when I realised I wasn't reducing the width of the pattern on the instep, but once I'd figured out exactly what I was doing, it flowed naturally. These socks have the EZ shaped sole which gives a lovely snug fit, and I changed the toe to star shaped which I find suits me better. If I'd change one thing, it'd be the choice of yarn - the stitch pattern has got a bit lost there. I think it'd be much better in a single colour, or a semi-solid. Other than that, I'm pleased with the result.

Next is the mini dress I started last summer with the intention of taking it on holiday. The pattern was in a supplement with Knitting magazine and the yarn is Bergere de France Coton 50. I had 8 balls of this languishing in the stash for about 6 years and I'm glad I finally broke it out. It's beautiful to knit with, very soft with good stitch definition, blocks well too. I made a couple of minor alterations - I cast on for the second size and decreased to the first size for a better fit, and also knit it a lot shorter than the pattern calls for, since the model was about 6 feet tall and the suggested size would probably have reached my ankles! Both have worked well and I'm really pleased with the result. I think it'll be good to wear on it's own or layered over a vest for spring/summer, but might also look nice over longer sleeves in colder weather.

A bit more Oz

2010-01-07T17:14:00.005Z

We saw so many amazing things while we were in Australia that it'd be impossible to show photos of everything. Between us, Mr.Diviknitty and I took about 1500 pictures so I'll try to show some of our favourite places and also capture the great diversity of the place.
Still in Western Australia and travelling north is Ningaloo reef, not as large as the Great Barrier reef over on the east coast, but easily accessible from the beach at Coral Bay. A short ride out in a glass bottomed boat is all it takes, but if you look closely you can see the coral just a few metres out. This was a picture postcard bay of white sand and turquoise sea; we went snorkelling on the reef, working on the assumption that they didn't feed tourists to the sharks so it was safe to swim! I'd never been snorkelling before and I admit to being terrified at first - I couldn't get the hang of breathing through the snorkel at first, but what an experience once I'd mastered it! Such beautiful, colourful fish swimming all around us, and nothing with sharp teeth!

In contrast, this is Limestone Lookout - can you believe the vast nothingness beyond the horizon in every direction? And it was hot - a dry searing heat that you could feel sucking all the moisture out of you.

To finish, photos of two very different rivers - the Murchison looking how a river should look (except for the flies, which were many and very annoying!)and the dry bed of the Gascoyne. Not a drop of water in sight - that's us, only a few metres from the bank, so you can see how big it is - but can you imagine it actually fills up when there's rain in the tropics?!

Look what I found on the Christmas Tree!

2009-12-24T14:05:00.004Z

My efforts at stash reduction have not gone well this year. Not only have I not used up that much yarn over the past twelve months, but I've been seduced by new stuff on visits to Wibbling Wools in Bury St Edmunds. However, that involves a bit of travelling for me which means I'm not tempted that often. Even so, the stash has increased ever so slightly.
The first photo here is of Cleckheaton 8ply that I bought home from a craft shop in Cowes on Phillip Island, Australia. Recommended needle size is 4mm so I guess it's equivalent to UK double knit. Well, I had to bring home at least one souvenir, didn't I?

The two skeins of Artesano Hummingbird were bought at the recently opened Ely Wool Shop. This is what happens when a lovely new LYS opens barely 3 miles from home! I could be mistaken but this doesn't bode well for stash reduction. Even worse when you learn that another LYS is due to open in Ely in the new year! That's seriously good news, though. Ely looks set to be the yarn capital of Cambridgeshire and I can't wait to have these little oases on my doorstep, especially after Bobb-ins closed this autumn. I don't know yet what I'll make with any of these new aquisitions; I'm content for them to sit and look pretty for the time being.

And this is the progress made so far on Sissinghurst, from the current Rowan book. The colours are lovely, the yarn (pure wool 4ply) knits up a treat and is beautifully soft, and the pattern is easy. The slip stitch pattern means that only one colour is used at a time but the effect is of stranded colour work. If I have a minor bugbear it's the hundreds of ends that have to be sewn in, but as long as I do them as I go along, it's not too tedious.

So all that remains is to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy knitterly New Year.

Monkey Mia

2009-12-20T18:08:00.002Z

Our first stop on the coach tour was at an amazing place called Monky Mia. If you look at a map of Western Australia, follow the coast north of Perth and you'll come to a double peninsula; Monkey Mia is on the inner peninsula. The first photo was taken at sunrise.
It's a very special place where, during the 1960's a lady started feeding bottlenosed dolphins. A wildlife spectacular was born and now the dolphins come into the beach several times a day .

From the several hundred animals that inhabit the Indian ocean in this area, Monkey Mia has 30 or so regular beach visitors, only females and sometimes their young (males are too aggressive so are actively discouraged) with up to a dozen arriving for each feeding session.

You can see how close in they come. The sea is about knee depth and they'll come right up to you looking for food. The whole affair is closely regulated by rangers as dozens of people line the beach to catch a glimpse.

If you're lucky enough - and this was my lucky day - you get picked from the crowd to feed a dolphin a fish! Words cannot describe the experience but I would've come home a happy woman if I didn't see another thing in the whole of the holiday.

From Perth to Ningaloo - stage 1

2009-12-15T18:42:00.006Z

The photos from our holiday in Australia will keep me in blog material for quite a while, so I'll just do a bit at a time and try not to bore you. We started off in Perth and this is a veiw of the city from Kings Park. A nice city and fairly laid back, easy to stroll

round; Kings Park is home to the botanical gardens - just look at those huge palm trees!

This is a red wattle bird. They seemed to be as common as our blackbirds but a whole lot cheekier. There were also yellow wattle birds which had (yes, you guessed it) yellow wattles! Many things out there are given names that exactly describe their appearance, and these were no exception!

After a couple of days in Perth recovering from the journey,

we went on a 5 day coach tour which took us some 600 miles north on one of the main highways. Roadhouses provide comfort breaks every so often and this beautiful parrot was spotted at the Cataby roadhouse. The further north you travel the emptier the road gets - you see another car or a road train every 5 minutes or so, a refreshing change from being stuck in traffic on the A10 into Cambridge every day! It also gets hotter, and this photo was taken at the Billabong roadhouse. Stepping out from the air-conditioned coach was like stepping into an oven. That red earth is so typical of how I'd imagined it, and it was so darned hot! Just 3 or 4 hours drive north of Perth and it was 40°C, and not even summer yet. That ice lolly that I'm holding was melting before I could eat it.

This is Port Denison, where we stopped for a picnic lunch. A quiet little seaside town but absolutely idyllic. It was the first of many beaches we saw where the sand was white and the ocean was crystal clear and turquoise blue. It reminded us of picture postcards you see and you think the colours have been enhanced in photoshop. Let me tell you, they haven't; it really does look that way.

This was the first day of an absolutely fabulous 5 days; we really were looking forward to this tour but it exceeded our expectations. We saw so many amazing things that I'll tell you about soon - Monkey Mia next time (where I fulfilled a life's ambition!).

It's been a while!

2009-12-10T18:35:00.002Z

In fact, it's been a very long time, hasn't it? I hope now that I can get back into some serious blogging without the long absences. Knitting's been a little slow this year - I joined a stash knit-down group on Ravelry, thinking it might give me some incentive to make in-roads into the yarn mountain. I've managed to use up a whopping 17 balls of yarn this year - not good, eh? When you take into account the 35 balls that have found their way into the stash during the past 12 months, it hasn't been much of a stash down either! I will be trying again in 2010, mainly because I think the idea is fundamentally a good one. There have been extenuating circumstances this year that have prevented me from doing too much with the sticks and string, so maybe the new year will give me a fresh knitting start.
However, I do have many photos to share, just not today. Mr Diviknitty and I haven't long returned from a fabulous three and a half weeks in Australia and Fiji. As soon as the photos have been sorted out I promise to pick out some choice moments to share with you .
Current project otn is Sissinghurst from the latest Rowan book. I haven't made anything Rowan for a while, but several garments in their winter offering caught my eye. It's a vest knit in pure wool 4ply in four shades; the slip stitch pattern is one of those wonderful ones that looks like fair isle but in fact you only knit one colour at a time. So far I'm very happy with it and I'll knit a bit more so that I've got something more worthwhile to show than a few rows of ribbing.

2009-07-25T16:18:00.003Z

Phew! Has it really been 3 months since I posted - doesn't time fly?

To be perfectly honest, I haven't felt that motivated after a fairly dismal first half of 2009. Work has been - well - c**p after a massive restructure in April which left moral at an all time low
but I'm trying to be positive. I refuse to let the gremlins take control!

After the flood we suffered in February, the house is now repaired and redecorated, new carpets, new walls and new ceilings - yes, it really was that bad!

And although I haven't blogged, there has been knitting. These are 2 recently finished items - the green eyelet dress is from summer 08 Vogue. I wasn't sure how this would turn out as I used Araucania Ranco Mutly which I think is more of a sock yarn, but the weight and gauge were right so I plunged in. It's turned out ok, and only took a little over 2 skeins, so there's plenty left for a couple of smaller projects - perhaps some socks!!

The blue medallion sweater is also from summer 08 Vogue, and this is lovely. Great for a cover up on a chilly summer's evening but also looks good layered too, so it'll be wearable in the winter too.

I've also got some new things otn, a couple of new magazines to drool over (new Rowan and Knitscene) but to prevent a photo overload, I'll save those for another day.

Things are looking up!

2009-04-22T18:12:00.002Z

All the dirty work has been done and our house is gradually being put back together. We had builders in all last week - I've never got through so many packets of biscuits and teabags - and all the flood repair work has been done. Next week, it's the turn of the decorators. Everything is covered in a layer of concrete and plaster dust which reappears as fast as I try to get rid of it, all cupboards have had to be emptied and cleaned, and I'm desperate to get some carpet back on the floor!

Knitting has been slow I'm afraid. I haven't really felt like doing much but I've taken a photo of my 2 wips - the completed back of the Medallion sweater and the beginnings of the Eyelet dress, both from Vogue spring/summer 2008.

A big step forward

2009-04-07T15:42:00.004Z

Eight weeks ago this coming weekend, we went to visit my mum and dad for an overnight stay, and when we got home, the ballcock in the bathroom toilet had broken and the house had flooded. A whole months worth of water had poured through the house in a little over 24 hours! Some had gone through the overflow pipe, but this had also broken due to the force of the water!A couple of you out there in blogland knew about this domestic disaster, but rather than bore you all with it in an everlasting saga I decided not to go on about it, but it's the reason why I didn't post for several weeks. We lost almost every carpet in the house, but were lucky in that very few personal possessions were damaged; just a few books and magazines that were left on the floor, food in the freezer that had turned off when the electricity supply tripped, dining chairs. In fact, the most annoying thing was I'd just bought the new Rowan magazine and that was ruined! It took over 6 weeks for the place to dry out properly, with industrial de-humidifiers running 24/7. And tomorrow we're taking a big step forward to having our home back - the first lot of builders are arriving to put us back together. The ceilings need replacing in both the living room and kitchen/diner, all the skirting boards have to come off, and the bathroom floor has to be taken up and replaced - we hope this is what will be started in the morning. After that, another 2-3 weeks work before we're redecorated, then recarpeted. Wish me luck, I think I might need it!

2009-03-31T14:50:00.002Z

It's been a while since my last venture into blog world. I really do apologise to those of you who read my ramblings, but I've had a particularly stressful time over the past month. I think things should now be getting back onto an even keel so I intend to pick up where I left off.

I've still found a little time for knitting; I think it's kept me sane actually! Strange how the rhythmic working of the stitches can ease a troubled mind! This is my only recent FO and very proud of it I am too. I sourced the stitch pattern from one of my dictionaries and converted it for working in the round, then after swatching I used my Sole Solution software to create the instructions. I've had this program for a while now but hadn't used it in over a year so I was really pleased with the result. The yarn is Brooklyn Handspun which I bought at Ally Pally last autumn and it's so soft; the socks are really comfy and warm. The colours are subtle without any pooling or striping and it was a joy to knit with. Worked top down, I cast on with 3mm dpns because I like a slightly longer sock, so needed it to fit about halfway up my calf instead of round my ankle then changed to 2.5mm after just a few rounds. The heel stitch is partridge eye, handkerchief heel style, with my favourite Elizabeth Zimmerman shaped sole (you can't see it in this photo but there are more on my Ravelry page). Toe style is star - regular decreases around the work which gives a more pointed finish.

I've got a couple of new things started, which I'll post another day, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Textiles in Focus

2009-02-25T19:32:00.002Z

Last weekend was Textiles in Focus weekend, a fabulous little trade show that takes place at Cottenham Village College during half term week in February. I usually go on the Friday afternoon, on my way home from work, so I get there about lunch time, and this year things got off to a great start with lunch with some of the lovely ladies from Ely and Cambridge ktogs - Tigerchilli and her mum, Picperfic and Caughtknitting, and Deborah (sorry, I don't know if you have a blog to link to Deborah!). Then a pleasant hour or so browsing the varied stalls on show. There's always so much to see - embroidery, beads, art supplies, patchwork, sewing machines, and exhibitions of really exquisite work.
This is a photo of the stuff that somehow found it's way into my bag! Rather than do a photo overload, I've just dumped it altogether in a heap. If I try to place things artistically it always ends up looking contrived, hence the "just tipped out of the bag" approach. So, from the top clockwise some laceweight from Wibbo's Works in a wonderfully cheery colourway called "Happy", then Unwind Yarns sock yarn, Manos del Uruguay silk and 2 skeins of Fiddlesticks laceweight all from Woolly Workshop. Oh, and a small bag of multicoloured roving - I want to ttry some thrummed mittens.

2009-02-21T15:04:00.002Z

Although I started off the year with good intentions, I've been a bad blogger of late, but the last couple of weeks have been hectic, this week has been particularly bad for a reason I can't go into in the public domain, but I have managed a little knitting.

I started these socks using some Brooklyn handspun that I bought at Ally Pally. The stitch pattern is adapted for working in the round from a stitch library and is working quite well, I think.
It's called Tiles, so that's what I've called the socks too (I'm nothing if not original!) and this is the reverse side according to the book, but I prefer it to the "right" side, which isn't as defined as this.

And Catriona is finished at last. In fact, I completed it a couple of weeks ago but only got round to taking photos today. I loved the cables the first time I saw it and they really stand out even in this acrylic brushed yarn. Again, I adapted the pattern to work it in the round up to the start of that very deep v-neck, then back and forth in rows to the armholes. No armhole shaping required, so I split it into back and front to work them seperately and did short row shaping at the shoulders so that I could work a 3-needle bind off. Are you getting that I didn't want to do any sewing ?! I even did the armhole and neck ribbings on circulars. I'm pleased with the result, I love the colour, and it's a useful little vest for all year round - unless we get a really hot summer this year - haha!

Snow

2009-02-06T12:44:00.002Z

I took this photo of the veiw from our office window on the Cambridge science park just before I left work at lunch time. Look at all that lovely snow! It'd been coming down hard all morning and was still snowing at noon. A winter wonderland.

Not 30 minutes later and 12 miles down the road this second photo was taken of my garden - where's all the snow?! You can see grass! Ely has been curiously devoid of the white stuff for most of the week whilst everyone else in the entire country (or so the press would have you believe) has been labouring under several inches of it! What you see in the photo are the mere remnants of the couple of inches we woke up to yesterday morning. The road outside is a slushy mess.

I love the snow. I wanted to build a snowman and make snow angels! I don't doubt that there are plenty of folk out there who've had a really bad time this week and can't wait for the thaw; perhaps they could send some of their snow to Ely?

Monkey socks finished

2009-02-05T17:19:00.003Z

My Monkey socks are finished. These were the first pair of socks I've made in a year and they were a good re-introduction to this gentle art! The patterns fairly easy and works well, even with this variegated yarn.

They're shamelessly unblocked - I'm afraid I don't see the point; they're going on my feet - who'll know? Well, apart from anyone reading this, of course. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice a marked difference in the toe shaping. Sock #1 on the left was knit to the pattern instructions and there's nothing wrong with it, except I forgot I have ridiculously pointy feet and a very stubby little toe, so normal socks with this squared off toe shaping leave me with a baggy side bit where anyone elses pinky would fit, but not mine. So I modified sock #2 and knit more decreases to create this pointier, better fitting (for me and the elves) shape.

So the knitty gritty:

Yarn: Sockotta Italian collection, 414yds/100g

Content: 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool, 15% nylon

Needles: I like my socks longer than most patterns are written for, so I started on 3mm for the rib and knit an extra pattern repeat; the larger needles made the cuff that little bit bigger to fit higher up the calf; then on 2.5mm for the remainder of the sock.

2009-02-01T15:59:00.002Z

So here we are on the first day of February and to my shame I have failed to knit up a complete ball of yarn! January would appear to have been a knitting free month, although I do seem to remember picking up the needles on more than one occassion! In my defence, I'm working on 3 projects which aren't very good stash busters - monkey socks (1 ball), laceweight stole (1 ball) and the yarn I'm using for the Catriona cabled vest comes in 100g balls of brushed dk that seem to go on forever. I'm hoping to finish the socks today, if not then tomorrow for sure, so I can at least start a tally of balls/skeins knit throughout the 2009 stashdown challenge. The stole could take a while, but that's the nature of laceweight shawls; I expect that to rumble along in the background for quite some time. I'm doing the fronts of the vest now, so I could finish it quite quickly if I put my mind to it. But what I really need to do is sit down with a couple of good stahbusting projects, then I might start to see some impact on the yarn mountain! So, no photos today because there's really not much progress to show. I must go - there's knitting to be done.

Amber

2009-01-27T13:15:00.003Z

Sadly, two days ago, we lost our beautiful dog, Amber, after a brief (thankfully) illness. She started to go downhill about 3 weeks ago and by Sunday we had to face the inevitable and call the vet to her. We were priveledged to be in her pack for over 13 years and we've had so much fun with her. If you could make a dog to order, we'd have made Amber! I'd like to thank the staff here who cared for her during the last week of her life. Hers was the gentlest soul I have ever encountered and her passing has left a huge gap in our lives. Sleep peacefully Amber - we'll always remember you.

Losing it

2009-01-18T10:24:00.002Z

This morning, Mr.Diviknitty couldn't decide what he wanted for breakfast. He originally thought boiled egg and toast would be nice, but there wasn't enough bread for both of us, and toast being my breakfast of choice and he being forever the gentleman left the bread for me. He eventually decided on bran with a chopped banana, and got as far as pouring on the milk before noticing he was making his breakfast in the dog's bowl. I shall say no more....... my case rests......... he's lost it!

Recently Stashed

2009-01-12T20:13:00.003Z

I know this looks bad but I haven't broken my yarn diet, honestly! I bought these from the wonderful Wibbling Wools in Bury St Edmunds just before Christmas; I've only now got around to stashing them officially. I felt a bit guilty buying them, it certainly hadn't been my intention to leave with yarn, but you know how it is! You walk into a yarn shop vowing to be virtuous and determined not to be seduced, then this happens! Money that was intended for presents somehow gets spent on two skeins of Natural Dye Studio lovelies. The top skein is merino/bamboo sock yarn, the bottom skein baby alpaca, cashmere & silk laceweight. It's probably good for my bank balance that I don't live too close to Bury, especially with stuff like this to tempt me!

Catching up

2009-01-11T12:57:00.004Z

During the few weeks in December when I didn't blog, I was knitting - perhaps not as much as would have liked, but at least a little. I've shown you the completed possum sweater so here's something else that I did a bit of work on. I started it a couple of months ago; it's a Debbie Bliss pattern which I downloaded from Prima magazine, but now I can't find the link - apologies - but I believe it's called Catriona and it's been Ravelry'd a few times, so there may be details somewhere. I much prefer working in the round these days - fewer seams to sew! - so I've had to modify the instructions somewhat but it's working, and I just love those cables! It's a v-neck sleeveless vest, the neck shaping starts before the armhole shaping, so it's worked in the round to that point then the stitches adjusted to enable changing to rows without disrupting the pattern. I'm up to the armholes now and have divided for back and front, which'll now be finished back and forth in rows.

I have to confess that the yarn is, well, slightly less than wonderful. I rescued it from my mum's stash a while ago (it was about to be made homeless so I took pity on it) and I think it must be many years old. It's called "Abigail" and it's a Woolworth's special buy according to the ball band, 75p for 100g - when did that last happen? And the biggest confession - it's 100% acrylic. But what the heck?! It doesn't look too bad and they tell me that cables are BIG this winter, so I shall continue and show it again when it's an FO.

First FO of 2009

2009-01-09T16:46:00.003Z

And it is.......the possum sweater, draped casually over the sunlounger in the conservatory. I'm pretty pleased with how this had turned out. It's a loose fitting design with very little shaping in the body; I picked the smallest size with finished measurement of 42.5" and it fits well. Modified drop shoulders, and I knit the sleeves about an inch longer than normal and they just cover my wrists, so success there too. Its very light weight, but extremely warm - you know those moments when you've just completed something and you just have to try it on and parade in front of the mirror and unsuspecting family members? Well, those 5 minutes wearing this sweater had me gently perspiring. So it was perfect to wear out last night to the Ely ktog, where it was passed around and cooed over! Perhaps I should say at this point that I was wearing it over a polo neck underneath, so there was no baring of flesh in the bar of The Lamb! I'm not 100% happy with the shawl collar - it's turned out a bit floppier than the leaflet photo appears, but I think I may have over blocked it and ended up a bit too wide. Also, even though I undid and resewed the crossover at the front neck, I just couldn't get a neat seam. But the good ladies of the Ely ktog made approving noises - thank you all!- so maybe I'm being a bit too self critical. So, yes, I like it. It's a fairly neutral colour so it'll go with lots, good to wear alone or layered, and the yarn has a beautiful halo which doesn't shed too much - and it's very soft too.

So, the knitty gritty:

Touch yarns Possum, wool 40% possum fur 60%, 100g skein approx 420m, knit on 3.75mm needles so I guess it's around a 4ply weight. Cost around £11 per skein, bought at Ally Pally last October and worth every penny!

In a dark, dark corner....

2009-01-05T18:53:00.007Z

....of a dark, dark cupboard I found three folders full of patterns I'd collected, mostly fron the 1980's. They weren't lost or forgotten, just languishing, because I hadn't given them any thought for so many years. Over Christmas I decided to dig them out and look them over. What a treasure trove! It was great looking at the fashions of 20+ years ago, remembering the things I'd made, or hoped to make.

Many of them were so dated - huge baggy sweaters, completely shapeless, and the shoulder pads!! Those patterns have no place in the 21st century! It did make me realise though how things have changed and how lucky we are now to have so much choice and so many beautiful fibres to choose from. These photos show some of my favourite designs from my trip down memory lane. The first is a design from a Patons leaflet that I fell in love with al over again. All the designs were quite innovative for the time - highly textured and assymetrical. I made a close fitting DK cardi in 2 stitch patterns with a front closure from the left shoulder acoss to the bottom right side of the welt - very trendy! The sweater in the photo is dk, the jacket chunky, and I think they both still look great.

The crew necked cable sweater in the 2nd photo is another of my favourite knits - I made it in peach brushed dk and I loved the deep ribbed welt which buttoned at both sides.

The last 2 photos were made in Hayfield Lugano, which was a beautiful mohair yarn. I never got to make these because then as now, I really cannot wear pure mohair. It drives me crazy! Fortunately, 25 years on, we have mohair blends that knit to the same tension on the same size needles.

I want to make all of these sweaters as part of my 2009 knit from stash challenge. I've got yarn for all of these - plenty of smooth dks for the highnecked textured design, some Rowanspun chunky for the jacket, which has been waiting for just the right project to come along; some brushed dk in pale blue for the side buttoning cabled favourite; and many balls of Sirdar blur for the 2 mohairs.

So, no skeletons in my cupboard. Just several hundred semi-vintage knitting patterns, which will now take pride of place on the bookshelf!

Possum blocking!

2009-01-03T16:54:00.003Z

At the risk of sounding a bit Dame Edna, my possum sweater is blocking. All the main pieces are finished - the sleeves are all pinned out too but the photos I took of them were worse than this one, but you get the idea. I'm about halfway through knitting the shawl collar, which is a band of 5x5 rib some 70cms long, good to work on whilst watching tv. I want to finish this project before starting on the Ravelry stash knitdown; it wouldn't be fair to count it as part of the challenge as most of it was knit in 2008. I'm sure a couple of days won't make much difference over the course of a year long count!

Cars

2009-01-02T16:09:00.002Z

This morning we had a ride over to Huntingdon garden and leisure centre; Mr.Diviknitty had birthday money burning a hole in his pocket so he had to go out and find something to spend it on. "Haven't you bought a coat?" he enquired. "Why would I need one?" I replied; as we were going from door to door, it seemed a bit pointless. About a mile from our destination, a red warning light appeared on the dash accompanied by a worrying engine noise. "That doesn't sound good" I commented. "What does it sound like?" asks Mr.Diviknitty. I should point out here that he's deaf in one ear and currently has man flu so what little hearing he does have is more impaired than usual. Have you ever tried to imitate engine noises? This one sounded like a bucket of bolts was rattling around inside it. I paused, then attempted to impersonate said noise, whilst beginning to regret not having bought a coat - I had a feeling things were going to get cold!
Fortunately we weren't too far from a petrol station, and this one had a nice machine that dispensed a reasonable cup of hot chocolate, which only just made up for my lack of outdoor wear. Mr.Diviknitty, ever the gentleman, did give up his jacket, despite the man flu. We read the Hunts post (the only newspaper on sale) and did a couple of crosswords from the latest edition of Puzzler; then a lovely man from the RAC turned up within the hour, diagnosed the problem and towed us home again. Nice morning out!!
Mr.Diviknitty still has birthday money to spend, I must remember always to take a coat even on the shortest of winter excursions, and if you ever need anyone who can make the sound of a broken oil pump, well - you know where to come!

Resolutions

2009-01-01T11:53:00.003Z

Happy New Year! Wherever did 2008 go?!

We went for a walk around an old orchard that we're lucky to have right on our doorstep and here's a photo of the birthday boy! Yes Mr.Diviknitty has his birthday on New Years Day. Not a great day to have a birthday on because nobody wants to celebrate and everywhere's closed so we always try to do a little something, even if it's just a walk in the Cambridgeshire countryside. It's looking a little bleak today, but we'll blame it on the mist that hasn't lifted properly since last weekend.

Amber enjoyed the walk too; it's her favourite route - lots of rabbits and muntjack deer to smell, I think. Not to mention the opportunity to add another stick to the ever growing collection outside our kitchen door!

I don't make too many resolutions but I have made a couple this year. Firstly, I resolve to knit from stash! I joined a new group on Ravelry - Stash knitdown 2009 - which I think will give me continual inspiration to complete this task! The nice thing is you don't have to go on a yarn diet, even though I need to and have resolved not to buy yarn in the foreseeable future, but at least I don't have to feel guilty if I do succumb to any yarny delights. There are a couple of challenges within this group which appeal; first, to knit 100 balls/skeins during 2009. This might be more difficult than it at first appears; it works out to 8-9 balls every month, and I don't think I come even close to that. Looking back at my 2008 output, I need to increase my knitting 3-fold! The realist in me tells me it can't be done, but at least I have a goal. Also running is the personal sweater club; I like making sweaters and they take up many balls of yarn, so this might help in the knitting of 100 skeins.

My second new years resolution is to do more dressmaking. Now, I made this one last year too, and only made a pair of trousers in the whole of 2008, so we'll see. I really want to draft my own patterns and I got a book for Christmas totally dedicated to showing you (simply) how to go about it. I've got a few tools to buy, which will have to be done online as nowhere in Cambridge sells French curves and pattern notchers. Looks like 2009 is going to be busy!

Why public transport doesn't work......

2008-11-21T17:12:00.002Z

....for me, at least. I was relegated to the bus last Monday due to one car off the road, and I have to say it was a good journey. Said bus arrived only a couple of minutes late, it wasn't hampered by the horrendous traffic on the A10 between Ely and Cambridge at 8am, it went straight to the science park with only a couple of stops along the way, and I arrived at work at my normal time. So why would I not repeat the experience?

One word - PRICE!!!! A 20 minute journey cost £3.50. I know there are various options for dayrider tickets, weekly and monthly passes which do save money (I only needed a one way ticket) but even those don't make it a viable option for me to use public transport in favour of the car. Even with fuel prices as they are right now, it still costs me less to run my car for a month than it does to take the bus. Maybe my veiwpoint is a little too simplistic, but surely if ticket prices were cheaper, more people would use the bus (I would, for one) thus enabling the bus company to keep prices low, there would be fewer cars on the road making a better journey for everyone, be it by car or bus, and better for the environment. Oh, and at only one bus every hour, it's not exactly convenient, is it?

I'll get down from the soapbox now to return to the new things I'm knitting. First photo is of Touch yarns possum cabled sweater, a 5x5 rib with a plaited cable panel at each side, v-neck with shawl collar. It's approx 4-ply, knits up lovely and feels very soft. Second, Catriona cabled vest, a Debbie Bliss pattern that I downloaded from somewhere that escapes me right now. The yarn is completely the opposite end of the woolly spectrum - sorry to all the purists out there, but it's a 100% acrylic brushed dk that my mum gave me during a destash. Despite that, it's not looking too bad now that the ribbings established. I did tubular cast on and I'm knitting in the round rather than flat, because I really don't want too much sewing up with this yarn.

2008-11-13T15:54:00.002Z

It's a dull grey and damp afternoon in Ely so what better to cheer the soul than some knitting?

It was hibernating for a while over the frenzied knitting of the Ravelympics, but my criss-cross sweater reached completion last weekend. It's very soft and cosy, perfect for a day such as this, and I'm really pleased with the result. My own pattern, it's hip length with a basket weave cable hem for the body and sleeves, saddle shoulders and polo neck with the same cable. The main body's in stocking stitch; the cable pattern used up huge amounts of yarn. Worked mostly in the round, the yarn is Lang "Zoom", a 60% merino 30% cotton 10% nylon blend that I bought at Ally Pally 2 years ago. Each 50g ball has 135m, not bad for aran weight, so it went a long way, even with the dense cabled areas.

The other photo is of my final Ally Pally buy from this years show - 4 skeins of Colinette Jitterbug, colourway Venezia. I wanted to get 6, but this was the end of the day and I'd spent out so had to settle for 4! The pattern I wanted it for was a long sleeved rib sweater, but I'm sure I'll have enough for a sleeveless version anyway.

I've also made a scarf in hyacinth stitch with the Fyberspates mix but my photos are rubbish (blame the poor light!) so I'll do that next time, along with the thing I've just cast on.

Sweaters and Shawls

2008-10-24T15:58:00.004Z

After much deliberation I frogged this. Much as I love the pattern, there's a mistake in the chart. After trawling through other Ravelry projects, some genius had also found the problem and posted the solution, so I plodded on. It worked and I was very happy, but then I made another mistake, goodness knows where, and it suddenly went belly up again. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind a challenge. I consider myself an experienced knitter and can cope with most yarn enigmas, but what really bugs me is errors in patterns! Especially in publications like Interweave! The errata page on their website only mentions a mistake in the yardage, so no help there. I think this yarn is the yarn of doom; it's gorgeous, soft, I love the shade, but everything I start with it gets frogged. It has gremlins so I shall leave it for a while and console myself with more Ally Pally goodies!
Such as this - Cascade yarns Heathers in a deep blue-green. It's aran weight, I bought 7 skeins from Get Knitted. This year I went to Ally Pally with some specific projects in mind, this was meant to give me a bit of focus to avoid the crazy fibre frenzy that makes me buy things I don't really want or need, and this will be a Lana Grossa pattern I've wanted to start for ages.

This is also destined for a queued project - Greenland from one of the Vogue magazines, fall 08 I think. The yarn is UK Alpacas DK and I think will be a comparable substitute. I was really impressed with their yarn; they do other weights as well as the DK, all very soft with an excellent colour range, and very economical too. These are 2 projects that I really want to start, so now the stole is frogged, I might just cast on for something new.

More Goodies

2008-10-22T15:05:00.003Z

So today some more of my Ally Pally haul, 3 skeins from Knitwitches. All are laceweight, but different fibres and colours, so I'll have plenty of scarves/shawls to choose from! First up, 100g/1200m of dark lavender; this is 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk, 10% cashmere, so it's unbelievably soft.
Next photo is 120g/1116m of 100% cashmere. The colours haven't come out too well, but it's described on the ball band as "Sage Blush" which is a pretty good name for it - more muted colours of sage green with pinkish brown contrasts. The weight is 3ply heavy laceweight, so not quite as fine as the other two, for a bit of light relief fromfeatherweight yarns!
And finally, this gorgeous kid mohair, again 100g/900m and I just adore the colour! Described "Aqua Ice" on the band, and it really is the most beautiful shades of aqua. It's so fine though, that whatever I make will probably be a labour of love. Watch this space!

Sock Yarns

2008-10-19T12:01:00.002Z

Today, I thought I'd show you the two skeins of sock yarn I bought at Ally Pally. The first one is from the Natural Dye Studio; it's Blue faced Leicester and very soft with a lovely haze to it. I think the resulting socks will keep my toes toasty. They also had lots of patterns to go with the yarns - I got one called "Dragon Scales" which they unfortunately don't have a picture of on their website, but if you can imagine the cuff of the sock made of rows of overlapping triangles, you kind of get the idea. The colours are a mix of soft pinks and apricots with a splash of teal thrown in.

Next up, I got this from the Socktopus booth; there were some very individual yarns on sale, I assume from small independants, so I got this from Brooklyn Handspun, superwash merino in shade Red Robin. It's not quite as strong a red as the name would suggest, but is a blend of softer shades of red, and the result is really pretty.

Away from the knitting, I flew to Belfast on Friday afternoon to spend a little time with my daughter and her partner. I had a really lovely time - thankyou Carly, if you're reading this! - and I came home yesterday, but today I ache from the small of my back downwards! Nobody ever said plane and train travel were comfortable, but I did about a half mile sprint in 8 minutes so that I could get the next direct train to Cambridge. I made it by the skin of my teeth - as I leaped onto said train, the doors closed on my bag! But at least I got home half an hour earlier and I don't feel like I should go to the gym for a day or two!

The Perils of Ally Pally

2008-10-13T15:20:00.003Z

The perils of Ally Pally are many. From the moment you hand your ticket over to the heavies at the entrance your senses go into overload with that glorious rainbow of colour that is Colinette. And that's only the beginning of the veritable fibre frenzy that is the knitting and stitching show. I didn't go last year so I had plenty of catching up to do. I was as good as I possibly could be; I didn't buy the first thing I saw but wandered round with a notebook to jot down stands worth a second visit and a bottle of water, so refreshment stops didn't encroach on yarn time. I've left it until the show's over before posting purchases so that I didn't spoil the surprise for those who went on Saturday and Sunday, and although it's difficult to pick out favourite buys, I went for these two first. The top photo is some Handmaiden Camelspin, a real luxury buy. This is so soft and silky and will make a scarf, I think. The colour was very difficult to capture on my little camera, but it's a very dark midnight blue with a lovely sheen to it.
The picture below is some Touch Yarns Possum and it has to be my favourite! Another peril of Ally Pally is the certainty that you'll find something that little bit different, and I was won over by the softness and warmth of this beautiful yarn. I bought a pattern to go with it, a ribbed sweater with a cable panel at the right front and a ribbed shawl collar. Four 100g skeins to make a ladies size medium, so quite economical, between DK and 4ply weight, and I'll be starting this soon.
More photos soon, but I thought I'd do short posts so as not to bore you!

So, what did you buy at Ally Pally?

Better late than never

2008-10-05T12:45:00.004Z

At last a finished object to blog about! I'm pleased with how this has turned out; I wasn't sure if I'd made it too small but it's ok. I think it'll be quite versatile, worn alone or layered, and the flecks of pale pink and mint green in the yarn mean it can be worn with lots of things. So, the lowdown:

Brocade Leaves pullover by Kathy Zimmerman from fall 08 Knitscene

Yarn: I have to admit to an acrylic blend of something obscure that my mum gave me during a de-stash, but it's quite soft and I liked the colour.

Size: 38", but I used 3.5mm needles as my tension was way off on the 4mm the pattern called for. I made the sleeves a couple of inches longer to allow for my longer than average arms!

Now I'm returning to a couple of projects that I started before the Ravelympics, an aran polo neck and the cobweb lace stole from Interweave spring 08.

I'm Sorrrrrrry!

2008-09-28T10:53:00.002Z

I've been a very lax blogger just lately, haven't I? In fact, I've been a very lax knitter too! There hasn't been much of either going on, I'm afraid. A few weeks ago, I found I was feeling really tired and Mr.Diviknitty commented that I always seemed to be doing something and ought to spend a couple of evenings quietly doing nothing. Now, I find doing nothing very difficult, but he banned me from knitting for a week, and you know what, it did me the world of good! So I had to admit he was right (something else I find difficult!) but as a result I've rediscovered other past-times - like reading a good novel. It's ages since I've sat and read! I've also started going to the gym again, something I gave up about 6 years ago when I increased my hours at work. I feel much better for it and I've lost 2lbs into the bargain.
We were on holiday in northern Italy last week, a beautiful little town called Cannobio on Lake Maggiore, where you can't help but slow down and relax. Stunning scenery, warm sunny weather, delicious food and again, no knitting, but a good book to read every evening on our hotel balcony with a glass or two of wine.
So we've been home for a week and have been moving our youngest daughter into her room at Uni - she starts nursing on Monday at Addenbrookes hospital and is very excited - and we have the house to ourselves! She'll be back for her Sunday lunch within half an hour though!
I have done a bit of knitting this week though - I've almost finished the second sleeve of the Brocade Leaves sweater I started for the Ravelympics. When I completed the first sleeve, I wasn't sure if I'd made it long enough, so I sewed it up and tried it on for size before finishing the whole thing. It turned out to be fine, but I do have long arms and many's the time I've finished a sweater only to find the full length sleeves in the pattern are about 2" too short! I want to finish this before I go back to what I was knitting before - a polo neck in Lang yarns "Zoom" and a lace weight stole from Interweave, which I might give up with as I hit a snag and don't know if I can be bothered to sort it out - bad lax knitter that I am!

A quick update

2008-08-21T11:43:00.002Z

A very quick update on my Ravelympics sweater as I'm on my lunch break and the knitting must continue! The back is blocked, I finished the front last night and will probably be blocked tomorrow. I've cast on for the first sleeve, but I have long arms so I'm pretty sure I won't get the thing finished by Sunday's closing ceremony. I am, however, pleased with what I have done. The stitch pattern's very effective and I think it's a sweater I'll wear a lot. So what if I'm not an olympic speed knitter? I've never got this much of a sweater made in such a short time, so I've definately beat my personal record, and that pleases me!

2008-08-09T18:18:00.003Z

When I heard about the Ravelympics, I was in two minds about whether or not to join; after all, there are currently 2 projects otn, do I really want another? I've knit to deadlines before and don't really like it, but it is after all just a bit of fun, so I decided to go for the brocade leaves sweater from the fall issue of Knitscene. Although it isn't my favourite design from the magazine, it was the only one I could find suitable yarn for from stash. It's a dk that I got from my mum when she had a de-stash a few months ago in cream with subtle splashes of very pale pink and green, really pretty. I swatched last week and I'm having to use smaller needles to get the right gauge; with 4mm it was very loose, so I've had to go down to 3.5mm - the fabric's a bit firmer, but still works ok. So, cast on was yesterday, during the opening ceremony of the real olympics, (which I'm afraid I didn't watch because all those drums drove me batty after 5 minutes!) and as I've had a day to myself today, I've done quite a bit of knitting. The challenge for me will simply be getting a sweater finished in just over 2 weeks, so I really wanted to get a good start. I've just had a message from Mr.Diviknitty to say his plane from Belfast has been delayed an hour, so no more time to blog - there's knitting to be done!

To "art kane"

2008-07-21T08:24:00.002Z

I've just read your comment on my post dated 2nd July, I'm so sorry I missed it until now! Our next meeting in the Lamb is on August 7th at 7pm; we have all ages and abilities there and you'll be most welcome to join us. If you need any more information either leave me another comment (I promise to keep up to date!) or go to the ktog website here. Look forward to meeting you soon.

2008-07-18T15:30:00.002Z

This is the first half of the cobweb lace stole which I cast on about two weeks ago. The stitch patterns in this are gorgeous, and there's a lot going on to keep it interesting. I don't follow charts very well, I lose my place easily, so to avoid the dreaded ripping back which I've been having so much trouble with of late, I'm translating the chart into a written pattern. Not so bad as it sounds - some bits of the chart are easy to follow, the rest can be written out in fairly short blocks and it's well worth the trouble. The yarn is hipknits cashmere lace weight; I think it's finer than the original yarn used, and thus the stole will be narrower, but that's ok.
I have a confession to make - I've succumbed to start-itis and cast on for a sweater as a bit of light relief from the intensity of the stole. My reasoning is sound (or so I keep telling myself!) - I could never work on the stole at a ktog, so I need something else to take along that I can work on and talk/drink at the same time. No photos yet, unfortunately.

2008-07-17T17:19:00.002Z

In the absence of a suitable human candidate, a rather large cuddly horse made a good stand in model for the lace weight shawl I made for my youngest daughter! He didn't complain, as teenage daughters often do, nor did he move very far, just very obligingly stayed eaxctly where I put him and kept quiet!
The colour has come out worringly orange though. It's more of a vibrant mix of rainbow shades; I must learn how to use Mr.Diviknitty's posh camera but at least you can see how many times horse wrapped it around his ample neck!
So, a nice ripple stitch edging, Rosie, with a simple diagonal lace for the main body.I knit the two ripple edges first, put one piece on a holder, then knit the main panel until I ran out of yarn, and grafted the two pieces together.
I've started the cobweb lace stole (scroll down) which I'll post about soon.

Thank Goodness for Ravelry!

2008-07-02T15:58:00.002Z

Before casting on for the cobweb stole (scroll down) a little voice at the back of my mind told me to see if anyone on Ravelry was making it. I found out that there's a mistake in the materials section of the pattern; the magazine states 230m per ball (7balls=1610m) but it should read 169m per ball. That's a big difference, meaning that the stole takes only 1183m, and I have more than enough hipknits cashmere (1500m) to make it without having to skimp on size. In fact, I might even make it longer; as a winter scarf it'll keep out those chilly fenland winds!
I should finish the lace weight scarf I'm making for my daughter during the coming weekend of much Wimbledon watching, so hopefully I can get started on the cobweb stole soon. I'm actually sticking to my one-project-at-a-time strategy without getting bored. I try to practise the art of mindful knitting, not always possible, especially when keeping up with a tennis match, but I do find it keeps me focused and helps me to avoid start-itis.

2008-06-26T20:56:00.002Z

As I only have one wip at the moment, I thought I'd use a couple of posts to show projects that I'd like to make.

I love this cobweb lace stole from Interweave spring 2008. The stitch patterns are interesting and unusual, and I've got plenty of laceweight stashed to choose from. I think I might use some Hipknits cashmere that I bought at Ally Pally two years ago, in a pale turquoise shade. The pattern calls for 1610m and I've only got 1500m, so I'll have to make it either shorter or narrower

2008-06-22T17:48:00.002Z

I don't seem to have had much time for knitting just lately. I've been sticking to the one project at a time thingy and it seems to be working. At least, I haven't had to rip anything back for a while so I'm hoping that the frogging gremlins have moved on elsewhere. Apololgies for the lousy photo, but this is what I've been working on. I think I mentioned it in my last post, it's a stole for my daughter who's been waiting for it for ages! I used a ripple stitch for the edge, worked to about 15cms,then a simple diagonal lace for the main panel. It's looking very pretty with all the colours and is a little longer than when I took the photo.

We've had this past week off work - bliss - and we went here. The Countess of Shrewsbury, also known as Bess of Hardwick, built this beautiful house at the end of the 16th century, and it's the most intact Elizabethan house in the country. Every room is hung with tapestries, some of which have never been taken down in the 400 years since she lived there. We spent a good 5 hours there; and I'd definately go again. You can also explore the old hall, which is a ruin, but the main staircase has been made safe and you can climb up to roof level and see all the wall friezes, which still partially remain.

Our eldest daughter visited from Belfast for the weekend; it was lovely to see her and her partner after 4 months since our visit to Northern Ireland.

There are a couple of lace stoles that I have in mind to knit for myself. I thought I'd queue them for future projects rather than succumb to start-itis, but I think I'll leave them for another post.

I've been tagged!

2008-06-08T13:13:00.002Z

No photos today, I'm afraid; I've been working on a lace stole for my youngest daughter, but haven't got around to getting the camera out. Liz tagged me the other day, to take part in this little meme - this is the first time I've ever been tagged so I was quite excited!
The Rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, leaving a comment on their blogs, asking them to read their blog, and telling them they've been tagged. Let the person who tagged you know that you've answered.
1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Working my butt off in Waitrose and wondering if I was ever going to escape the drudgery!
Getting back into knitting after having had a few years in a yarn desert. I had neither the
time nor the energy whilst my kids were little.
We'd been in our house a few months, so I'm sure there was some decorating going on.
Working out at the gym 4 times a week - I was pretty fit back then!
2.What are 5 things on my to do list today (not in any particular order)?
Watch the French Open final.
Make some bread rolls for packed lunches.
Plant some herbs in pots on the patio.
Sew the hem on a pair of trousers I've been making.
Call my mum and dad.
3.Snacks I enjoy.
Anything chocolate, especially the Belgian variety.
Most fruit.
4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire
Buy a pad of very expensive writing paper on which to pen my resignation! I enjoy my job,
but let's face it, none of us would work if we didn't have to, would we?
As we're in the realms of fantasy here, I'd build my very own Starship Enterprise, seek out
strange new worlds and civilisations, and boldy go where no-one has gone before. Then I'd sit
back and watch from a safe distance whilst the human race destroys itself.
5. Places I have lived
Wolverhampton
Manchester
Cambridge
Somersham
Bluntisham
Ely

And there we have it! Picperfic kindly agreed to be tagged, but everyone else I know who has a blog has already done this, so I'll have to stick at one.

2008-05-18T14:35:00.002Z

It seems like an age since I had an FO to show, but here at last is my Posh Yarn cardi in all its glory. For those of you out there who have drooled over (not literally) this gorgeous yarn, and have passed it around between you at recent Ely and Cambridge ktogs, I give you "Flounce" and hope you like the finished article as much as I do. The low down: "Amelia" dk in colourway "Loiter", fibre content merino/alpaca, 4x100g skeins have made a waist length fitted cardi with flounced edges at the hem and sleeves, which are 3/4 length with set in shoulders, V-neck with shawl collar in moss stitch. There's even about 40g leftover.

I've cast on for a new project using the laceweight I dyed at Liz's workshop last summer, a large lace stole for my youngest daughter which I promised her months ago and was one of the many frogged objects. No photos yet as there isn't much of it, but as it grows I'll show the progress.

One project gal!

2008-04-27T11:12:00.002Z

For most of my knitting life I've stuck to one project at a time. Concentrate on one thing, no distractions, no 2nd and 3rd projects fighting for attention. Complete said project before casting on for something new. This has worked for me for more years than I care to count. Then I amassed too much stash with too many beautiful yarns crying out to be cast on for just one more project! This has not worked well for me at all. About a month ago, I decided to have 4 projects otn; I thought the variety would make a change, it'd be nice to have the choice of what to work on. Bad Mistake! One by one, my four projects have hit the shagpile! Last night was the final straw; my posh yarn lace shawl was frogged again, and I just cannot figure out where the problem is but the pattern simply isn't working out. I don't know if there's a typo in the stitch library I'm using, if my eyes are going nuts trying to focus on the dark colour, if my concentration is off.....! I've had a stressful month at work, I don't want to do stressful knitting. After all, it's supposed to be a relaxing past-time, isn't it? I like to feel I'm making progress; I hate knitting 2 rows then pulling out 4! So I'm going back to what I do best, no more multi-task knitting for me! I'll complete my Posh Yarn dk cardi then start something new! My yarn deserves it, and so do I!

Knitting mishaps

2008-04-26T12:11:00.002Z

The knitting hasn't been going terribly well. Apart from not having had much time to sit with yarn and needles, everything I've done has had to be frogged.This is going ok though, but then it's just stocking stitch, so not much comfort there! I've done a bit more work on this since the photo was taken; the back is almost complete. It's still the best yarn I've ever used, so soft and gorgeous colours, so I'm pretty pleased with this project.
This one isn't too bad, but I'm struggling to make any headway. It's Posh Yarn "Arabella" laceweight and I'm working on another big scarf like Vivid, which I love and have worn so much over this past winter. I'm using 3.25mm needles which give a nice lacey effect without it being too loose. I worked 8 repeats of this chevron border and I'm now on the main panel, but I haven't got to the stage where I'm comfortable with the pattern, and it's a dark shade of burgundy which is difficult to knit in the electric light, so this is one of the projects that I have to keep frogging. I resorted to a lifeline at the end of the border.
I started a shawl with the yarn I dyed at Liz's workshop last year; I'm not too fond of shawls, way too many stitches for my liking, and I lost my place after about a dozen rows of 300+ stitches, so that got frogged completely! I haven't had much luck with that yarn at all - I've made 3 false starts with it, so I think I'll make her a stole instead.
So after all the recent mishaps, I'm consoling myself with these, which I bought from Norfolk Yarns, when the Cambridge ktog group went to Norwich for the day. The green hand painted is Araucania Ranco, approx 4ply and lovely fresh colours - 4 skeins of that.
And this is my first ever purchase of Noro! Two skeins of Korchoran, soft enough for a cosy scarf, in pretty hues of purple and blue. Thanks Rosie, for organising a great day out!

The Good Life

2008-04-02T15:30:00.010Z

I wouldn't describe myself as a gardener, not by any stretch of the imagination! Plants, especially those of the indoor variety, tend not to thrive from a little TLC administered by my less than green fingers. However, having been assured that, with a little preparation it's not that difficult, I've decided to try my hand at a few veg's. These are my salad leaves..........

....and here we have a selection of winter veg's - brussels sprouts, calabrese, cauliflower and cabbage. I also have some runner bean, carrot, parsnip and sweetcorn seeds to sow. This is quite a challenge for me and I'm not at all convinced that the outcome will be favourable, but you have to start somewhere and I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew (pun not intended). I definately won't be giving up the day job to become self sufficient!
So back to the more familiar knitting. I finished the gloves for daughter n°1; these were well received (picture below) but I had a bit of a moment and made the second glove considerably larger than the first! She doesn't seem to mind - they keep her hands warm, and what else could you need from a pair of gloves?!

I've also started this, with the Posh Yarn "Amelia". This yarn is absolutely the best I've ever knit with! It's oooh soooo soft, the colours are delicious - can you tell that I love it? I only hope my veg's are as satisfying! There are a couple of other new things started, but they're even less to look at than this is, so I'll get a bit further on before I take photos.

The gloves of two sizes!

Accessories

2008-03-23T14:58:00.009Z

Apologies for the silence of late - Mr.Diviknitty has been rebuilding the computer so it's mostly been in pieces over the last couple of weeks. Things are slowly getting back to normal, and it's made me realise just how much computers become an every day part of life. I've missed Ravelry, friend's blogs, window shopping for new stuff..... the list goes on!

I haven't done too much knitting either - a cold laid me low for a few days, and although the snuffles and sneezes didn't last too long, it left me feeling exhausted for some time.

I'm making these gloves for my eldest daughter; the pattern is something of a hybrid from Robin Melansons book "Knitting New Mittens & Gloves". Pretty much a basic full fingered glove with a lace fingerless glove over the top. The yarn is handpainted sock yarn from The Yarn Yard, one of my club yarns from last year that's too pretty for hiding under trousers! I should finish these today as they'll be winging their way to Belfast on Tuesday.

Also making progress on Arbacia by Woolly Wormhead; I've completed 5 of the recommened 7 wedges, but I think I might have to knit an extra wedge.

I was a bit worried that the things I'm knitting at the moment seem to have a distinctly wintry feel about them, what with it being the first day of spring a couple of days ago, but then we woke up to an inch of snow this morning, so they might get some wear sooner than I anticipated!

Last weekend, I went to the NEC for the Sewing for Pleasure exhibition. I used to do quite a lot of dressmaking when the kids were little, but it's kind of taken a backseat over the past few years. I have to admit to getting bit fed up of getting ripped off by the extortionate price of everyday things (soapbox moment!) so I went there with the sole purpose of getting some material and rescuing my sewing machine from it's dark and dingy cupboard. I came away with this lot:

Pale green linen for the full length trousers.

Red broderie anglaise for the sleeveless top.

And deep turquoise cotton for the dress. All for just £30 - you couldn't buy a dress in the shops for that, so I'm well pleased! I've got a couple of days off this week, so guess what i'm gonna be doing?

Hoodie and a hat!

2008-03-04T16:30:00.004Z

The first Ely ktog went really well with 8 members turning up - see here for more details and a few pics.

I finished the hoodie cardigan in Jaeger Trinity, and I actually had enough yarn for a hood this time - but only just! There was just enough to do all the finishing so it was a close call. I took a few photos and enlisted the help of daughter n°2 who turned out to be a very able model! The buttons are from Injabulo, I got them from Textiles in Focus. I really enjoyed knitting this and I'm pleased with how it's turned out. Constructed from the bottom up , 2x2 rib on 3.5mm, st.st and cable panel on 4mm, no waist shaping for a more casual feel, set in sleeves and a shaped hood on a round front neckline. Jaeger Trinity is a cotton/silk/nylon mix so it has no stretch to it, but it does drape beautifully and gives good stitch definition.

This is "Arbacia" by Woolly Wormhead from the new online magazine The Inside Loop - go take a look, it's worth it! The yarn is from The Yarn Yard, a sock yarn that I've had for about a year and always felt it was too pretty to be hidden under a pair of trousers, so it's destined to be a hat. I love the eyelet holes on this design, and the triple row of cables that form the brim. It does take quite a bit of concentration though, to get the counting for the short rows right - I've had a couple of false starts and had to rip back, but that was my own fault and I only pick this up when I can focus fully on it, so I won't be taking it to the next ktog!

K2tog in Ely

2008-02-17T11:04:00.000Z

Knittedrabbit and I were discussing at the k2tog in Cambridge yesterday, the severe lack of knitting groups in Ely. I’m sure we’re not the only ones who find it difficult to get to Cambridge for the Tuesday evening k2togs, but would love to meet up a couple of times a month for drinks, chat and all things yarny! With this in mind, we’ve arranged to meet at 7pm on Thursday 28th February in the bar at The Lamb Hotel in Ely. Please come along and join us, bring a friend, bring your knitting, and let’s take Ely by storm!

Progress

2008-02-03T12:20:00.000Z

Isn't it nice to get a week when you seem to have lots of knitting time? This has been one of those weeks so one sock has been competed. I used the sock solution software to create a toe up sock with easy toe cast on, half handkerchief heel with partridge eye; the construction seemed a little odd - the sole was knit straight to the very end of the heel with the heel turn at the back of the heel, but it seems to have worked out ok. I knit about 10cms of k2p2 rib for a deep turnover cuff with picot edge - I like the result, and the basketweave pattern has enhanced the self striping yarn.
Also got quite a lot done on the Trinity jacket, back, 2 fronts and half a sleeve so far. Hopefully got a Sunday afternoon of knitting to look forward, so I'd better get on with the (small) pile of ironing so I can justify any other inactivity!

It's here!

2008-01-28T17:07:00.000Z

Exactly one month after Christmas, Santa paid me a visit:

It came in it's very own drawstring bag, and even has printed instructions as to what to put where!

I spent a very pleasant Saturday afternoon trying to decide what to put in it. Thank goodness everyone was out, because several decades of collected knitting paraphenalia was spread across the living room floor. I soon realised it wouldn't all fit, so in an attempt to be sensible I decided on necessitites (scissors, tape measure, stitch markers etc) along with only what was needed for the current wip's. I suceeded in removing 4 smaller bags of stuff and replacing it with the very beautiful and practical Jordana Paige knitting tote.

So, no more dashing around at last minute trying to remember everything I need to take to a Cambridge k2tog - it's all there in one very convenient place.

Wish me a Merry Christmas - albeit belated!!!

New project started

2008-01-17T15:51:00.001Z

I delved deep into the stash basket last weekend and came out with this Jaeger Trinity that I've had for a couple of years, started several things that didn't quite look right so ended up frogged, and finally had a moment of enlightenment. I think a casual cardi is what I need, with a cable panel for a bit of interest, and that doesn't take 3 weeks to knit an inch! It's coming along nicely with the armhole shaping almost done; it's nice to be doing cables after so much lace!

And this is Bubbles. Apologies for the blurred picture, but a wide awake , 3 month old golden hamster just doesn't stay still and is very difficult to take a photo of! This was the best I could do - the rest were of her tail as she attempted to bury herself into the crook of Tamsin's arm! She joined the madhouse just before Christmas, and very pretty she is too. As long as I don't have to clean out the cage! Take note, Tamsin!

Ta-da!

2008-01-09T20:35:00.000Z

So, over Christmas, I had a cold, as I think half the population of England did. It started on Christmas Eve and I didn't feel well again until the afternoon of New Years Day, and I was back at work on January 2nd! So much for a nice relaxing break! Still, much knitting was done - see the never ending lace jacket is finally off the needles! I didn't get the hood I'd hoped for, just 2 pattern repeats of madeira sunset which made a decent collar.

I'm so pleased to get this finished; it's taken 10 months - with many breaks from it to make other things - but a final push was better than lemsips and paracetamol!

I seem to be having trouble with all these photos - they won't stay where I put them, so sorry if things seem a bit muddled!

I also managed to finish this scarf in Schaeffer Ann. Looks very effective and the colours are beautifully rich. However, so much dye came out in the wash! And when I wore it for a couple of hours, the sweater I had on and my neck, turned a delicate shade of purple!

I scored these 4 skeins of Posh Yarn Amelia DK in Dee's half price sale. The first yarn I've bought for 6 months, and as always from Dee, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Lastly, this is a consolation Christmas present. Mr.Diviknitty ordered a Jordana Paige project bag, at the end of November, but it didn't arrive on time. Indeed, we're still waiting for it! By way of an apology, the online store we were dealing with (I won't name them because I don't want to give them a bad name, and they have been very apologetic and helpful) sent me an Opal sock kit. So while most people have opened all their gifts, I still have one to look forward to!

And then there were two

2007-12-23T17:27:00.001Z

Sleeves, that is. It's taken a while, but there's definate progress here! The first sleeve took me weeks to complete, then I had a break from this project and made the Papillon sweater, and over the past couple of weeks I made a determined effort to get the never ending lace jacket finished. As you can see, I'm not far off; in fact, I fully intend to be able to label this a finished object in the not too distant future. All that remains to be done is to pick up stitches for the hood/collar - not a huge amount of yarn left, but as it's laceweight, a little goes a long way. I'm just going to keep knitting in the madeira lace border pattern until it's all used. I'll either get a hood (doubtful) or a fairly deep lace collar (more likely) and whichever it is, I'll be very happy to be able to wear it at last! Other projects - the baby sweater for charity was finished on time, but I passed it on to the organiser then realised I'd forgotten to photograph it. Still working on my scarf in Schaeffer Anne; another project that I really want to finish over Christmas. Hopefully I'll have a whole batch of FO's to show off before the end of the year.

Christmas shopping all done!

2007-12-03T18:21:00.000Z

What more can I say! We got to Peterborough just after 9am and it didn't get too busy till about lunchtime, by which time we'd finished and were resting on our laurels in Harriets tearooms. Now I can sit back and watch the crazy madness!

I have been knitting!

2007-12-01T14:43:00.000Z

Albeit slowly! Everything seems to be taking such a long time though! One thing I have completed is the mini sock and blocker, courtesy of and many thanks to Rosie. The cute little keyring, now complete with mini sock and shown in situ on my handbag, was my second place prize in Rosie's caption competition.

There's nothing new otn, and I'm getting a bit bored now with my current wips. My lace jacket has one sleeve finished and blocked, and I'm going to try to sew it in this weekend - I'll take a photo to post when that's done. My ripple stitch scarf is coming along, and I've got one sleeve left to do on a charity baby sweater that I've been making. Again, I'll take a photo when it's complete, which I'm hoping won't be too long.

With Christmas looming on the horizon, Mr.Diviknitty and I have got our annual Christmas shopping trip to Peterborough on Monday. We both hate the crowds at this time of year, so we deliberately choose the first Monday in December, which is always much quieter, and in general, we get it all done in one hit. Along the way, we treat ourselves to lunch and have a thoroughly nice day, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Photos at last!

2007-11-05T16:00:00.000Z

After weeks of manic activity, I finally managed to collar Mr.Diviknitty yesterday afternoon, while the weather was holding out, for a bit of a photo session of finished objects. Here is the butterfly sweater that I completed a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, I didn't quite have enough for the polo neck that I really wanted, but this is just fine - I didn't even have yarn for sewing up and had to use embroidery floss instead! It's one thing about Debbie Bliss yarns - they're beautiful to knit with but not very economical. There never seems to much in a ball (this wool cotton was 85m to 50g) and her designs always need about a million balls! But I managed to finish with 11 balls, and will try to gauge amounts properly next time. I always start projects with a "if I have enough yarn, I'll do this..." so perhaps I'm setting myself up for trouble! So the nitty gritty of the object - knit on 4mm needles, moss stitch rib in the usual places, waist shaping on either side of the central butterfly pattern, 3/4 length sleeves with set in shoulders and a regular round neck! After each butterfly was made, I placed 2 short rows which counteracted the problem of the central panel pulling up and distorting the work. Lovely yarn to knit with and very comfortable to wear.

OK, I admit it!

2007-10-28T14:47:00.000Z

My name's Jayne and I'm a ripple-aholic! As Rosie so rightly noted in the comments, one of my wip's does seem to consist of not 1, but 2 ripple stitches! It just seems to creep up on you unawares, doesn't it? Off to do some knitting now - I've spent the last 2 hours cleaning the oven (yes, it was a mess! Too much rippling methinks!).

The case for dishwashers!

2007-10-27T08:13:00.001Z

I'm one of those poor unfortunates who doesn't possess a dishwasher. I get along quite happily without one, as long as someone else dries and puts away. In fact, apart from dealing with the mountain of crockery and cutlery that is a part of a family Sunday lunch, I don't ever feel the need to acquire one! Oh, there is one other scenario. I fill the bowl with hot water, add a little fairy liquid for a nice soapy mix, reach for the marigolds to protect the knitting hands, and promptly drop them into said bowl of hot soapy water. I can think of one word to describe this - yuk! - because no matter how hard you try, the inside of that marigold just will not dry!

But I am rippling, as you can see from the photo. Not quite ripplemania yet, as Rosie has become a victim of, but it could happen. The pattern is from Jan Eatons 200 ripple stitches, a fabulous book, and the yarn is Shaeffer "Anne". I love this colourway, it looks like autumn berries, and this will grow up to be a warm scarf ready for winter.

I finished the butterfly sweater in time for my weekend in York - in fact, I wore it for almost the entire time we were there, so it's awaiting a wash, and I promise photos soon.

Lastly, I received my Ravelry invite about a week ago, and have just started putting stuff on there. My user name is "justjayne", please come along and say hi.

I really love..

2007-10-12T13:00:00.000Z

....that Friday afternoon feeling with the whole weekend ahead. I finish work at lunch time on a Friday and even if I spend the afternoon catching up on housework, there's the satisfaction of knowing that the next two whole days are yours to do with what you please (generally!)

I also love this sweater front that Mr.Diviknitty very kindly photographed for me whilst it was blocking. He's supposed to be a good photographer, but he somehow managed to take this from a very odd angle so it looks a little mis-shapen. I wanted to try and finish the whole thing by next weekend for a planned trip to York, but this week's been crazy busy so I can't see it happening unless I get to knit all day tomorrow and Sunday, and I can't see that happening either! The back will be plain stocking stitch and the sleeves will have a single central panel of butterflies and be 3/4 length, with hopefully enough yarn for a polo neck.

I'm also pretty pleased that there are now officially more people behind me (10,000) than ahead of me (4000) in the Ravelry queue with something like 60% of the list invited. They seem to be getting through the list at the rate of a couple of hundred a day, so I could be there by the end of the month.

Ripping back

2007-10-07T13:55:00.000Z

I was getting a little concerned about the alternating butterflies sweater front - it seemed that the lifted stitches were distorting the shape of the entire piece but I kept going in the hope that it was my over active imagination. However, facts had to be faced and eventually I had to rip it back. By now, I'm back to where I was and with the addition of a few strategically placed short rows, the problem is no more. Satisfaction! Sometimes you just have to take a few steps back in order to make progress! I also re-knit the rib on one size larger needles; and it hasn't taken that long, really.
Sorry about the lack of pictures - my camera's been commandeered for a few days holiday in Belfast by daughter n°1. I promise a photo of the finished front while it's blocking, which I'm hoping won't be too long.

That stitch pattern...

2007-10-02T14:51:00.000Z

... posted yesterday, is called Alternating Butterflies and is from "400 stitch patterns" published by Murdoch books. Basically, Rosie, on 3 consecutive wrong side (purl) rows, you slip 5sts purlwise with the yarn at the back so that you get a strand of yarn across the right side of the work. On the next RS row, you put the right hand needle under the 3 slipped strands, then pick up the next stitch on the left hand needle and knit this st and the slipped strands together. I'll bring the book along to the next K2tog (can't make Octobers, unfortunately, but should be able to go to Novembers). I found it in Ely library and liked it so much I ordered from the little book shop on Ely High street; it has some really unusual stitch patterns in it.

I succumbed..

2007-10-01T15:38:00.000Z

...and cast on for a new project. I'm afraid I needed a bit of instant knitting gratification in the form of actually being able to see a bit of progress after a whole evenings work. The yarn has been languishing in my stash basket for an indecent length of time; one of those that you don't quite know what to do with but keep going back to anyway. A germ of an idea was born a couple of weeks ago and had to be started before being forgotten. I've got 11 balls of Debbie Bliss DK cotton, the colour's a sage green which is poorly represented by my abbysmal photography, and should soon turn into a 3/4 length sleeved polo neck sweater. So far I'm loving knitting with it - being a beautiful smooth cotton, it's showing stitch texture really well - and it's growing quickly, so knitting boredom has hopefully been averted! I am still knitting my laceweight jacket - I'm about halfway up the first sleeve, but it is taking a tedious time to grow!

By the way Rosie, I was midnight too! Oh, and there's about 10,000 ahead of me now in the Ravelry queue, so you were right when you said how quickly they're sending out the invites now.

16,467....

2007-09-19T19:23:00.000Z

..........people ahead of me in the Ravelry queue, so a little time to wait yet!

In the meantime, I'll busy myself finishing this, which has been otn for so long now I can't remember when I started it. I do know that if I put it down in favour of something smaller, or something that grows more quickly, I probably won't pick it up again this side of Christmas (by which time I might have received my invite for ravelry). That's not to say I'm hating knitting it, because the yarn (Cherry Tree Hill merino laceweight) is gorgeous, there's so much of it and goes a loooong way. I've knit the body on circulars in one piece and used just about half of the 8oz skein; planning long, fairly loose sleeves and hopefully a hood.

Still haven't done any dyeing, but I do have everything I need to start, so depending on how long it takes me to complete the never ending jacket ......perhaps I'd better get back to knitting and off the computer.

Just one more thing not knitting related - for many years I've wanted to learn to speak Italian. Mr Diviknitty and I went to Rome last year and I managed to get by on a few phrases learned from one of those 6 lesson cd/book courses (came free in a Sunday newspaper). Ely college offered a course this year but then couldn't find a teacher, but the community education lady put me in touch with Cottenham VC who do have a course running, and I've only missed one lesson if I go next week. Roll on Monday........wonder how many people will be ahead of me on Ravelry by then?

2007-08-27T13:21:00.000Z

Just a quick thank you for your comment, Rosie - glad you like the vest. It's turned out better than I hoped - I was seriously worried about having enough yarn to finish it.
As for the knitting room, it's coming along, but you really haven't seen the green! I've been tackling the clear up operation a little at a time and I didn't think it was possible for one bedroom to conceal so much rubbish! She claims it was a scientific experiment.
Currently working on a shawl for Tamsin in the laceweight I dyed at Liz's, and a hip length jacket in Cherry Tree Hill merino laceweight. I want to finish both of these before I start anything else. They're both large projects and tend to get put aside if I start something else. The jacket's been otn for several months now and I'm still not up to the armhole shaping! I think I'll head for the garden and indulge in my favourite past-time - an afternoon knitting out of doors.

One Finished Object!

2007-08-23T17:39:00.000Z

Sorry about the silence of late - lots going on that isn't knitting related. We've been helping our eldest daughter to move into a shared house with 2 friends in Cambridge. This happened 3 weeks ago now, and she's settled in well and seems really happy. We now have a spare bedroom - weird! Much as I love her dearly, I have to say that she was never the tidiest of people and for the past *#!^ years I've pretty much turned my back on her room as it really was a waste of time entering it with cleaning materials. Now we know what lay behind that closed door, and it's not a pretty sight! However, it soon will be, because I can vacuum and tidy up, and know that it will stay that way for more than 5 minutes. So we're winning, and eventually we'll redecorate and remove the lime green curtains and paint over the dark green walls with something a little more calming. Actually, it'd make a very nice knitting room!
Pictured is the sleeveless vest - I finished it with the tiniest amout of yarn leftover. It was a very close thing and I had to forget a deep ribbed neckline and settle for a couple of rows of garter stitch to neaten all the raw edges. So, the specs are this:
Schaefer Anne bought from Hipknits moving sale for a bargain; it's sock yarn, but I wanted to do something different with this cos I love the colours and didn't want to hide the yarn under a pair of trousers. It's 60% merino, 25% mohair and 15% nylon, knit on 2.75mm, gauge 28sts/10cm. The stitch pattern is called large openwork and involves yo to create an extra stitch which you lose later by passing it over the original stitches.

Something to show!

2007-08-02T16:08:00.001Z

At last, an evening of knitting! I was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms. I finished the back and this is it roughly pinned out. I love the colours - they're so rich and warm looking. It took just 50g to complete - exactly half the skein! It'll be a close thing but I don't think the front will take so much. I wanted to knit quite a deep rib on the neckline, but will probably have to re-think when I get there.

And this is a close up of the stitch pattern.

Not much knitting.....

2007-08-01T15:05:00.000Z

.....but certain members of the diviknitty household have been indulging in a little sunbathing with the onset of a (long awaited) burst of summer weather! Everyone say aaah......!

So, there really hasn't been a lot of knitting go on, due to a period of manic activity both at work and home, but I did crochet a square with the laceweight I dyed at Liz's workshop. Youngest daughter has asked for a shawl - she loved the colours - and I want to work it from the centre out but it was so fiddly and in the end I couldn't be bothered. A central crocheted square seemed like a good compromise. Stitches will be picked up on 4dpns and worked in rounds, increasing at the corners with yarn overs.

This has had a few false starts and has been ripped out and started over more than once. I've got just the one skein of Schaeffer Anne in this colourway, and with 560 yards, I'm hoping to be able to complete a short sleeveless vest. Initially, I picked stitch patterns that used too much yarn, but I eventually found this one and so far, so good. I'm about halfway up the armhole shaping and seem to have plenty of yarn left. If I do a deep v-neck on the front, I should be able to stretch it out.....

Dilemma

2007-07-13T15:18:00.000Z

So, as if by magic, the missing post has reappeared.......thank God it's Friday!

Do you ever feel that there are just too many yarn related decisions to make? I was pondering whether or not to rejoin Natalie's sock club. Not because I wasn't happy - far from it - but because I have enough yarn (how can that be, I hear you ask) and I'm trying very hard to knit from stash, and I want to get some blue faced to dye my own and now I can hear that I'm rambling almost incoherently! Then this arrived yesterday which has made the decision even harder. The colours in this months offering are absolutely gorgeous, inspired by the strawberry patch in Natalie's garden. Bear in mind that I still have April and June sock club yarn to knit. Of course, she also runs a merino club. Now that might be nice to try for a change...........

Lost post and new pics

2007-07-12T15:26:00.000Z

Last Saturday, Liz invited the Cambridge k2togs to her home to take part in a little acid dyeing, and on Sunday I posted these pics but blogger threw a hissy fit and decided not to publish! So I'll try again. These first two pics are the results of a great afternoon - as one of our number remarked "like all the best bits of primary school" - of sloshing seemingly random dyes over yarn pre-soaked in water/vinegar, wrapped in cling film and steamed for 20 minutes, et voila! The yarn is my favourite at the moment, laceweight, and my youngest daughter has laid claim to the first skein, and would like a shawl.

The colours in this skein aren't quite true - it's much brighter than it appears, leaf green through to turquoise and I'm keeping that one for myself, but I need to sit and look at it for a while longer before I decide what to turn it into.

Next, a WIP - spiral rib socks in Yarn Yard club yarn from a month or two back. The pattern is my first attempt with the sole solution software. No, I'm not a contortionist - there's another skein of yarn stuffed into the sock so I can show the half handkerchief heel and shaped sole.

And finally, the sock itself, this time on foot, but apologies because I forgot to rotate the pic before I downloaded it so feel free to twist around to veiw it right way up! I like the star toe - a new one for me but it seems to fit better. Maybe I just have pointy feet.

I have one new WIP which I started whilst waiting for my turn at the dye pots last Saturday, but I'll leave that for another day.

Dyeing fun!

2007-07-09T16:44:00.000Z

On Saturday, Liz hosted an acid dyeing workshop at her home, and I had sooooo much fun! I felt like a kid in a candy shop! They were about 8 of us and we took turns to do our knitting, or play. So I did this.....

and this.........

The yarn is lace weight, 1000m skeins, Tamsin (youngest daughter) likes this skein, so I'll make her a shawl. If you go here there are more photos of other peoples offerings. So, once again thanks Liz, I had a great time and think I feel a new hobby calling!

Silent, but still knitting!

2007-07-02T12:23:00.000Z

Yes, I am still here - things have been a little hectic, hence no photos at the moment but will attempt some soon. Finished the first sock to test the sole solution program; it turned out really well. I used a spiral rib pattern which is more effective that I anticipated with the hand painted yarn. Also did a half handkerchief heel, a shaped sole and a star toe, none of which I'd tried before, and the result is a snug fitting and extremely comfortable sock!
"Vivid" blocked well - just waiting for Mr.Diviknitty to take a proper photo on his fancy camera so I can show her off in all her bright pink glory!

Vivid blocking

2007-06-18T15:55:00.001Z

A couple of quick pics to show Vivid is blocking, but in 2 halves because I don't have enough room to lay her out flat all at once - yes, she's very long but very pretty so she can be forgiven!

Worldwide Knit in Public day

2007-06-12T18:48:00.000Z

Here we all are in the abbey gardens in Bury St.Edmunds on Saturday, worldwide knit in public day, and as you can see, it was a glorious day! The group generated a lot of interest from passersby, including a brave Swedish man who actually sat and learned to knit with one of the ladies! The local press were also in attendance!

Cast on for a new pair of socks to try out the sole solution software using Aprils Yarn Yard sock club offering and a spiral rib pattern. I don't expect to progress too quickly on these - socks aren't exactly summer knitting - as I'm still plodding on with the pink stole. It's appoaching 72" long now and probably long enough, but I like to be able to wrap this type of thing around a couple of times, so I'm going to keep on knitting till all the yarn is used.

New Stuff

2007-06-04T15:34:00.000Z

On Bank Holiday Monday, Kerrie
had a half price moving sale. Always on the look out for a yarn bargain, I picked up these - 200g of silk, approx 2000m! Had to have it - it was £1! Couldn't believe my luck - I usually miss out on things like that! I have no idea what I'll make with it, but at that price, who cares?

Next, 3 skeins of Schaeffer Anne, different colourways, and I think I might make some waistcoats or vests for the winter. The colours are really bright and cheerful; can't wait to start playing with it!

As far as actual knitting goes, I've been working away at the Vivid stole I pictured last time. It's about 5 foot long now and I still have loads of yarn left, so I'll carry on for a bit longer. I manage about 2 pattern repeats in a good knitting evening, and I've managed to memorise the pattern now, so I get along a little bit quicker than I was doing.

I found these two books in the 2nd hand book shop at Wimpole Hall this weekend. Both published in the early '70s so not exactly vintage; I tried my hand at macrame as a kid and thought it would be an interesting alternative as an edging for just about anything really. And this is just one of the fabulous designs from the lace knitting book - again, a couple of bargains!

Lastly, I treated myself to a software program for designing socks. Called "The Sole Solution" I haven't had chance to test it yet but basically, you knit a swatch in your chosen yarn and stitch pattern, enter in a few details (construction method, type of heel/toe etc) and the program does the rest! Cost $29.95 (about £16 in real money) which I think is really good if, like me, you're into designing your own stuff but hate the maths!

Looking at this post, it seems like I've spent a fortune, but I really haven't. The whole lot pictured here was less than £35 and will keep me happy for months, because I really HAVE TO start using up the ever growing stash!

To anyone out there who's going to the Bury St Edmunds knit picnic on Saturday (Worldwide knit in public day) I can't wait! Look forward to seeing you in the abbey gardens at high noon!

Not-so-old stash

2007-05-21T14:56:00.000Z

Continuing with the stash tour, a couple of things that are relatively new - purchased a couple of months back from Gill.

This is another huge 2400yard skein of Cherry Tree Hill merino laceweight, colourway Java. This definately won't remain in this state for much longer - it's beautiful yarn and I have plans for it. Moving swiftly on to a couple of balls of Sockotta sock yarn - no prizes for guessing what these are destined to be! It's beautifully soft with a 45% cotton content, so shouldn't have too much itch factor!

Onto a project update. Remember this from a previous post - well, look how she's grown! I took her outside to see if natural light improved my photography - the colour is certainly truer, but that's about all! Still, she has a name and from here-on in will be known as Vivid, because I think it reflects the bright pink really well. I absolutely love the way this is turning out. The lace patterns are working together well; it's so light and airy and I can't wait to get this finished. I don't know how long she'll ultimately be; she's about 25" at the moment with more than half of the yarn left, so probably 60" total.

Old Stash

2007-05-20T09:52:00.000Z

Thought I'd do a tour of stuff that's been lurking at the bottom of my stash for eons! So, clockwise from top right, Inca Natural from Jarol, Sirdar pure cotton Indigo Denim DK, Rowan 4ply cotton (sevseral balls in various colours) and Debbie Bliss DK cotton. All of these I picked up on a whim, lurking in sales and feeling lost and homeless. They're no longer homeless, but really should be made into something as they've been sitting around for far too long!

Next photo, some super chunky Emu in a glorious shade of purple that I traded at a stash swap at a Cambridge k2tog, a few balls of Rowan linen drape in a variety of shades (you can tell how long that's been in the stash basket!), some Bergere de France I bought on holiday in Brittany a couple of years ago - the multi coloured is a narrow tape that would make a nice summer top if I ever get around to it, and the other is a 4ply cotton in a coral colour - and some Sirdar DK chenille and cotton boutonne, also from the k2tog stash swap. I'm hoping the chenille will turn into a waistcoat and the boutonne would look great as a summer scarf.

And finally, from the top clockwise a couple of balls of Rowan chunky and aran, the latter was bought for a commission to make a slouch hat for Make it month last year, but the customer changed their mind about the colour. The hat eventually made it onto the website, and was also featured on the fashion pages of Marie Claire (my claim to knitting fame!) but in a shade of russet. At the bottom of the picture, some turquoise Jaeger Trinity, and last but not least some random multi coloured stuff I got from the NEC a couple of years ago. The blue is beautiful to look at - it's a mix of boucle with a very narrow nylon ribbon - but it's an absolute nightmare to knit! The yarn bunches up around the ribbon and you end up in a real mess of knots. I'll tackle it one day but it's not exactly high on my list of priorities!

And the book? Well, that's my personal knitter's bible - a part-works that was published around 25 years ago called "Get Knitting". The patterns are very dated now but the techniques never change too much. I refer to it time and time again and I'm so glad I never gave it away during my non-knitting years!

What's OTN?

2007-05-11T14:51:00.000Z

Lace, that's what! I love knitting lace - always have done - although my skills at photography are somewhat less advanced than my knitting skills! These are the best images I could muster, but you get the idea. So I apologise for the slight "out of focus", but hopefully I'll improve!

I know many knitters are less enamoured of lace knitting than I am, but it's the delicateness (I doubt that's a word, somehow) of the texture that does it for me! One day, this piece will turn into a hip length cardigan with a hood ( if I have enough yarn). It's Cherry Tree Hill merino lace, a 100g skein with a massive 2400m, colourway Tropical Storm. It's a dream to knit with, but this project has a lot of growing to do yet - I'm working in one piece on circulars, and being laceweight on 2.25mm and 366sts (yes, 366sts) well, watch this space! It's also very much a "just keep knitting and see where it takes me" kind of thing. I have a vague idea of the the end result, but I'm taking one step at a time - next stop, armhole shaping.

And now some more lace! Still very delicate, 2ply laceweight from here on slightly bigger needles - 3mm - this time, and nowhere near as many stitches as this is destined to be a scarf when it grows up.

So, it's Friday afternoon, the houseworks all done and I sense a weekend full of knitting in the offing - bring it on!

Stash Enhancer

2007-05-06T15:27:00.000Z

Yesterday we went to the Sandringham craft fair and I found this gorgeous mohair. It almost passed me by - on the stall were various odds and ends that I managed to resist; I even got as far as the wood carver on the next stall, where my other half made the fatal mistake of chatting to this wonderful man about his hat!

Unfortunately, I hadn't moved far enough away and the yarn stall beckoned. I couldn't resist one last peek, and then I saw it - a rail full of skeins that I'd somehow walked right past! You know how it is; I could hear this beautiful yarn calling me back - how could I resist? I was hooked, and came away with what you see above. Not sure what to knit yet; there's 25g of each shade and they tone really well, although the photo doesn't do it justice. I think it'll probably end up as a scarf or stole. Unfortunately, there isn't a web address on the leaflet I got from the spinner, but she's called Victoria Smedley and the company is called MoBair.

For now, I'm content just to look at it and stroke it!

Meet Amber

2007-05-02T16:37:00.000Z

When there's nothing knitterly to post about, pick something cute, so meet Amber, our labrador cross. She's ever so slightly crazy, but when you reach the grand old age of 12, I think she's earned the right! She's been part of the family since puppyhood; she was born in a rescue home where we found her.

And this is Amber's stick stash! Almost every day, she brings a new one home from her walk - this is where the "ever so slightly crazy" part comes in! So come the next ice-age, we definately won't freeze! Well, I have lots of yarn and Amber has lots of sticks, so I think, fellow knitters, we can all sympathise with that!

A couple of FO's

2007-04-30T15:50:00.000Z

Something bizarre happened to yesterdays post - when I went to veiw it, half of it was missing! It was all there in the preveiw but it seems I've been hit by the gremlins, so I'll try again today and see what happens.

A couple of FO's from earlier this year - above is a sweater I called Rainbow for obvious reasons. The yarn is from Lang Yarns and is called Mille Colori; the photo doesn't do it justice but there really are a thousand jewel bright colours. I bought it from Ally Pally last October - it's very warm and soft to wear; although it did lose a bit of colour in the wash.

This one is a hip length tunic I called Cloud. It's in Sirdar Blur, which is 70% acrylic/30% kid mohair.I'm one of those poor unfortunates with a wool allergy - I'd go crazy if it wasn't for that acrylic content which makes it beautifully soft next to the skin. It's also very economical - this took slightly less than 3 50g balls, knit on 5.5mm with a tension of 16sts/22rows to 10cms.......

.....and here's a close up of the lace pattern.

OK, fingers crossed that this publishes in its entirety!

First Post

2007-04-29T10:58:00.001Z

Welcome to "Diviknitty", so called because knitting is my little bit of heaven in an otherwise mad,mad world! I thought I'd start with a photo of my main WIP. The yarn is from here and is 4ply 100% cotton; the nice thing about this is that not only can you buy it in large 250g cones but also in 40m spools, which you can see at the bottom right, so you don't have to get huge amounts of every shade! It's for my youngest daughter who's into horizontal stripes, and the pattern is my own design. She wanted a deep welt which is in moss stitch, and she wants to be able to turn it up double so there's a row of buttonholes along the lower edge - all will become clear when it's finished. The rest is stocking stitch, except for the 2x2 rib for the boat neck, and it's knit on circulars from the bottom up. I'll do anything to avoid sewing up seams - my one pet hate about knitting! - so I've also picked up sleeve stitches from the armhole on dpns and am knitting them in the round too; a bit fiddley but it seems to be working out ok.

I do have a couple of other things otn but they're only just started and need some more work before they look like anything.

I'm going to leave it there for this first time because although I've been knitting for a loooong time, blogging is something less of a skill and I've had a few technical hitches today, so I'm posting this before I lose it again!