How bad can it be?

What's your oldest WIP? What deep dark woolly secrets lie within your cupboards and drawers? Mine is probably a cardigan I started over the summer of 2005, and never restarted. I'll get around to it one day.

Yesterday afternoon I received a bag containing the ultimate Work In Progress.

This jumper was started over 48 years ago. My mum wants me to finish it for her. The neck needs to be picked up and a band knitted. Oh, and the sleeves after that, but she thinks there might be a problem in the neck shaping, so fix that bit first.

"I don't like sewing in ends."

Now I know why it's taken so long to finish.

Always look on the bright side

The advantages of being ill are minimal, unless you happen to be a knitter. Then it's all about how long you can knit for while watching TV, skolling bottles of cough medicine and taking pills for blocked sinuses. Oh, and honey-centered Butter Menthols. I love them.

Monday I finished up Dot's vest. It is adorable, isn't it? Less than two weeks and really easy. Best kind of knit. I don't have a photo of her in it, because that would require her to sit still. This rarely happens, unless flour is involved....

 As I'd finished her vest by 10:30am I started another of my Sherlock Holmes blanket squares. This one was called Goodge Corner, from "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" and was great fun. Lots of twisted knit stitches, and it was a constantly complex pattern.

That was finished last night, however I did notice a mistake that made me drop a stitch down 43 rows, correct it, and come back up again. So what's on today's agenda?

Casting on 286 stitches. Good thing I'm still sick.

And Then There Were None

Dot spent last week being sick.

I joined her on the weekend and we were both sick.

Marcus looked peaky yesterday and this morning he's sick.

Felix is staying home to take care of us all.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter... Unless you're bring me yarn. Then you're allowed in. I myself will be on the couch drinking tea all day, and very slowly knitting.

Make it at least 70%

Ahem...

Winter musings

The Finishing Touch took off again, as it inevitably does each year. At one point I had seven projects to sew up, and one to knit!

Now I can sit back and work on a little vest for Dot. It's much less stressful and still cold enough for it to be necessary.

Quidditch, Round 2

One of the reasons I joined up with the Harry Potter group was to try and use up a lot of my stash. I have lots of bits, one ball here, some scraps there, and I was hoping to kill them all off and go on a massive bender when Bendigo rolls around again this year (July 18, for those of us marking off our calenders).

I had two balls of Morris & Sons Pure, a single-ply Aran weight wool that I picked up for something else, and never used.

Now they're a Stone Circle beanie, the two colours representing the two most famous stone circles in England: Stonehenge and Avebury.  The pattern is called Christian's Hat and it was ridiculously fast. 

Plus Felix gets another beanie. That is never a bad thing.

Quidditch!

One of the really fun things you can do as a member of the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup is play Quidditch. Usually, it's between the four houses, but this is a World Cup year, so it's time for the 18th Quidditch World Cup! GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!

Round One we had to make something representing one of the teams playing. I misread the instructions and though I had to make three items. So first we have an Irish Rose jar cover...

...then we have a Brazilian samba skirt (for the record I did NOT buy the Bratz doll. Ew.)...

...and finally a mini jumper for Romania.

I tend to try to be an overachiever.

A notion for Potions

Next up I made A Very Brady Cowl for my Potions class.

The yarn was brought home from Japan by Joex and I LOVE it. Even better is the name of the yarn: "Olympus make make". The colour didn't match what was allowed in a Girding Potion, but luckily the class copy of the Potions book had some handy hints handwritten in the margins...

For the honour of Slytherin!

Growing up I read a lot of school stories. You know the kind: poor girl wins scholarship to expensive boarding school, or twins go off to school, or a finishing school overseas or any number of ideas. I own a lot of Enid Blyton, obviously. My two favourites growing up were "The Testing of Tansy" and "The Honour of the House". When I went to a high school that took it's house system very seriously I was in my own little heaven.

A few months ago I discovered the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup group on Ravelry. The idea is that you're sorted into houses, you make projects for your classes, maybe knit up an OWL (a three month long project) and compete in the Quidditch. Where do I sign?!?!

As a result I've been having a LOT of fun, and getting a LOT of stuff made. Time to start showing off...

First thing I made was a rose for my Herbology class using the sock wool from my Rivendell socks (I frogged them, they wouldn't go over my heel!). I swore I'd never make another one, but I couldn't resist.

The idea is that it is obviously a mermaid's rose.

Obviously.

Whimsy

When did you last knit something so completely ridiculous it made you laugh out loud?

I'm bringing these back. Everyone, cast on for toilet roll covers, ASAP.

Beanie fever

I hope you all had a lovely long weekend. Ours was a little bit terrible, with two sick kids, but we made some important changes that will pay off in the long run (we hope).

Felix likes beanies. He has a LOT of hand knitted beanies because I like knitting for people who appreciate the end result. His latest is a doozy.

It's called "Skullcracker"  and Felix decided he wanted some grown up colours instead of the usual bright orange and green. I used Cascade 220 for the first time and I now understand why it's so popular. Soft, lofty, lovely colours. The pattern was interesting enough to keep me awake, and I replaced the plzin ribbing with two colour brioche stitch, which is brilliant. I've found my new favourite stitch pattern!

Urgh

My precious children have generously passed along some germs to me. Despite what they might think, sharing is not caring.

I'm so groggy I flubbed up a pattern row so I'm now in bed, planning on a small nap. Full track pants , wind cheater and a very squishy cowl are all working to keep me warm.

Joex brought me back the yarn from her honeymoon in Japan. Isn't it gorgeous? It only took about three days to knit up. 

It's currently very helpful.

Is that....rain?

It started raining today. It's been such a mild end to autumn that getting bucketed on today gave me a bit if a shock.

Luckily I have two fairly well covered children. Marcus in his beanie...

...and Dot in hers.

And a tutu. And purple Cons.

Fashion. It's a very personal thing.

It's beanie season

Ah, the mildest autumn I can remember. Warm, sunny, running around the back yard in t-shirts, jumping in leaves. Bliss. It's a good time to give Marcus a haircut.

Handsome little man. Perfect cut. Turn back for five minutes to clean up Dot's mess.

Oh look! Marcus took the scissors and cut the centre out of his hair. Again.

It's beanie time. 

It's still too warm for wool, so I'm crocheting up one in cotton. Crochet is fast, too. We need to cover him up ASAP.

Really?

Felix and I escaped the confines of our asylum today to go to lunch and a movie - just like normal people! A few yummy plates of yum cha followed by "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and we were feeling pretty happy.

We were at the Jam Factory cinemas so we wondered off to check out Topshop/Top Man and see if anything took our fancy. I was a bit surprised when Felix picked up a jumper and said "I've always liked these."

I looked him. " Fisherman's rib? With a plain rib crew neck?" He nodded. I may have become a little screechy at this point.

"I've had 17 balls of charcoal grey Zara waiting for five years to make you a jumper! Any jumper! I bought the wool when I was pregnant with Marcus! You've never said anything about fisherman's rib!"

Felix looked at me. "Did you ask me if I wanted fisherman's rib?" 

"I showed you pictures of jumpers! I asked you what you wanted! You sod!"

"I'd like one like this, please."

If it wasn't for the please, he'd still be walking home now.

Stash smash

Obviously I didn't really spend fours days doing nothing but eating chocolate and knitting. I'd be further along than row 32 if that were true.

On Thursday night I sallied forth in pre-Easter traffic to Chantal's house where I started organising my stash. ALL OF IT. Five boxes worth.

Remember how long I've been knitting, so I have a pretty good excuse for so much yarn. I had two boxes of future projects with the yarn and pattern in bags, plus three boxes of actual loose yarns. But now?

Now I have one box of future projects and.....four boxes of stash? Okay, that went well. It is still to be further sorted out. All leftovers from my projects will be put into plastic pockets and sealed up with a note for what project they were for. I get rather paranoid about holes in knitting and mending stuff, so I will always keep leftover balls for repairs.

That might get it down to three boxes. I can't promise miracles, mind you.

Four day chocolate fest

What is it about Australians and Easter chocolate? The rest of the world doesn't go this crazy...

Anyway, the second Sherlock Great Afghan Adventure square was released on Saturday and I started it yesterday before heading off for a pleasant afternoon with my family. Yes, chocolate was involved.

Yesterday was also our seventh wedding anniversary. Traditional presents for seven years? Copper or wool.

Felix, I want more stash or a copper spinning wheel please. Or a copper sheep.

Blue...yellow...green...

Dot took Marcus' unfinished blanket out of my bed storage drawer. She dragged it into the lounge room and started naming all the colours. I think it's a very non-subtle hint to finish it.

And start one for her.

Woohoo!

I checked with the recipient of Egeblad, aka me mum. Apparently I am SO clever.

I love knitting for people who appreciate it.

Back in the mood

Well, I disappeared for a week, but I managed to get a lot of knitting done, so all fair there!

During the week I wrote out two lists: all the knitting I want to do and all the knitting I have to do. My have list included my customer's knitting, so I knocked those over pretty quickly. Felix stayed home on Friday to help with two sick-ish kidlets, which freed up a lot of time, especially for re-organising the back room! 

On my have to knit list was blocking my Egeblad doily. I love blocking lace; it's so much fun watching something all crunchy and wobbly turn into art. I've been putting this off because it's a circle and for some reason I was worried that I wouldn't be able to block it as a perfect circle.

I wasn't but I don't care. It's circular so I win. After a day pinned I'll release it from its metal prison and gloat a lot.

I also finished the first square in my Sherlock afghan series. The first story is "A Study in Scarlet" and the first square is called "Lauriston Gardens" after the address the body was found in. The pattern represents the brickwork of the building, and it was a lovely knit, lots of twisted stitches. I've only steamed it lightly for now, I'll block it good and hard when it comes time to sew up the blocks together.