Two FO's

I knit Birch from one of the Rowan Magazines recently. It was a present for my friend Nicky. I used Rowan Kid Silk Haze in Fondant and the pink fluffy bundle of knitting I carried around with me while knitting this project looked just like a big blob of candy floss! After blocking it became a lovely airy shawl and I have some beautiful deep red Kid Silk Haze to make myself one.

I have also just finished a cabled baby coat from the first Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino book. There was so much work in this project but I am really happy with how it turned out. It is for a friend at work's new niece but as I don't have any babies in my family at the moment I had to rope in my bears for a spot of modelling

My Granny's bear below looks very cozy:

Teddy is so cute if a little wee for this coat:

Ishbels two and three

This is my Fyberspates Ishbel in 'Moonlight'. I love this shawl. I am wearing it as I type. Definitely one of the most beautiful things I've ever knitted. While knitting this shawl I visited my mum who said she would love one too.

This Ishbel in Silk Garden Sock is the one I made for Mum. We blocked them together over my Easter visit and enjoyed watching them dry in the sunshine on the conservatory floor. Mum loves her shawl too.

Almost FO

I finally seamed my Lush and Lacy cardigan!!

I just need to sew in the pockets and find the perfect fastenings.

Ishbel

I finished my Ishbel! I absolutely love this shawl. I already have yarn to make another one!

For this first Ishbel I used St Magnus Orkney 100% Angora 4ply. A knitter friend gave me the yarn after finding it too tickly to knit with. I found it absolutely heavenly though and will definitely be buying it for future projects. One ball of the 4ply weight is 100 metres and I had enough yarn to make the small size stocking stitch section but the large size lace section of the Ishbel pattern.

Here are the pics!

I bought the Ishbel pattern on it's own when it first came out on Ysolda's blog but bought the whole 'Whimsical Little Knits' collection yesterday and have plans to make many of the projects . First off I plan on an Ishbel beret and another Ishbel shawl. I bought a skein of Old Maiden Aunt 4ply from K1 in Edinburgh in a purple and green colourway. I am heading off to Lancaster for a Women's Studies career day on Monday so plan on starting my second Ishbel on the train.

New Year Knits

In the first couple of months of the New Year I knit quite a few projects. I don't have my shawls ready to photograph yet but here are a couple of projects, including my new haircut!

Gretel by Ysolda

For my Gretel I used the recommended Noro Cash Iroha in this gorgeous magenta colour. I did make this exact same hat before Christmas but it was always a little big for me as I made the largest size. Over Christmas when I was home my sister tried it on and it was perfect on her, a much better fit than on me. So she got to keep it. I still loved this hat/yarn/colour though so decided to make myself another one. This time I made the middle size and now it's perfect for me. I love this hat so much!!

Evangeline fingerless gloves knit with RYC Soft Lux for a work friend's birthday

I really enjoyed this project and plan on making some for myself in the future.

Here is a shot of my new hair. It's shorter than my usual style and much choppier. And I have a fringe!! These pictures are of the 'up do' my hairdresser showed me how to do. The actual haircut when in it's natural state is like Chrissie Hynde from the Pretender's style.

I really like it but I'm not quite used to it yet. I feel like I'm peering out under a carpet of hair with the fringe!

And here is my current WIP. It's the Selbu Modern beret. I'm using St Magnus Orkney Angora DK and it will be a birthday present for another friend at work. Another project I'm planning on making for myself at some point.

Whoa, where did February go!!

I have been knitting and got Jamie to take photos of a couple of projects last night, so will blog about those later today.

I've also knit two shawls that are in need of blocking so I'll post pics of them once that is done. The shawls are Ishbel by Ysolda using the ever beautiful Orkney 100% Angora and the Birch shawl in Rowan Kidsilk Haze shade Fondant. It looks like knitted candy floss!

Be back later....

Happy 2009

I can't quite believe it's 2009 already. This year has sped past for me. Like most people I have some goals for this new year. These include more frequent blogging. I hvae been a lazy blogger lately but I have been knitting a lot and I want to make sure I keep this record of my adventure with knitting complete. So I've taken photos this morning of some knits I've done over the past couple of months.

Firstly, a 100% 4ply Orkney Angora scarf. It has a very simple lacy eyelet pattern but nothing except the electric blue colour is showing up in my photos (another goal this year is to learn about my camera). This scarf is the most cloud like thing I've ever knitted. It is so light and floaty but oh so cosy and snug. I wore it yesterday before blocking and it was lovely to have it wrapped around my neck.

Another lacy scarf I worked on this year is a design by Louisa Harding using her yarn Kimono Angora. I finished this scarf a few months ago as a Christmas present for my boyfriend's mum.

Next up is another lovely wrap around for my neck. Laura Chau's Just Enough Ruffles scarf. I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted for this project. All I can say about this yarn is that it is an absolute delight to knit with. Unbelievably soft and buttery. I have lots of plans to use it again in the future. The pattern was also great. Very clearly written and quite a simple knit.

After knitting the ruffles scarf I had enough emerald Malabrigo left to make a Crofter's Cowl designed by Gudrun Johnston

I've also knit another patern by Laura Chau, the Simple Yet Effective Shawl. I followed the pattern but used one extra ball of the Noro Kurayon sock yarn to make the shawl larger.

And last but not least a simple beret using Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica.

And now for the WIP's.

The Lush and Lacy Cardigan by Sweaterbabe. I've only done the back so far. I'm using RYC Cashsoft Aran and had to go up to a 6mm needle to get gauge.

The cardigan is my main project at the moment but I also have a little portable project too, the Mohair Portrait Scatf by Veronik Avery from her book Knitting Classic Style. I;m using a lovely cashmere silk mixture called Filatura di Crosa Golden Line Superior. It's 70% cashmere and 30% silk. I bought it fromDi Gilpin's shop in St Andrew's where my boyfriend took me on my birthday in July.

Other knitting goals for 2009 include the usual stash busting I always fail to do but also to learn Intarsia. I want to learn intarsia with the aim of knitting the Map of the World afghan as a wedding present for my best friend. I have just over a year so it is an achievable goal but it will be a massive undertaking.

I also want to knit more sweaters this year and do a couple of lace shawls.

Hope everyone had a great new year celebration!