Saturday, January 20, 2007

News Hour

So much to catch up on - where do I start??


Firstly: have I mentioned that Amanda is awesome! In the middle of nesting, making bootees and generally being 9 months pregnant - which should be enough for anyone - she still managed to send me my box of Knit Picks Options, which I had shipped to her house, AND the coolest Christmas presents :-) The box was delivered to my work and I didn't have the camera with me so no pics of the lovely wrapping which Amanda always takes care over - I just ripped it all open in 2 minutes flat!


Clockwise: My KnitPicks in their folder - these are awesome and Amanda sent me extra cables so I can now have a million projects on the needles without ever running out :-D candles, chocolate mix, hand-made stitch markers and scissors dangly, SOCKS THAT ROCK!!! Woohoo, I love this yarn. And there is so much of it in the skein I'm thinking maybe a scarf or something. I could easily make two pairs of socks if I wanted to. In the middle of the pic is the sweetest little ceramic teabag dish and squeezers, and some Christmas flavoured teabags, yum!! There were some other useful bits but they are in my knitting bag, hard at work.

Thank you so much Amanda :-) I love everything! I hope you and baby girl are doing well Can't wait to see some pics so I'm haunting your blog :-)

* * *
In knitting news, I have broken my yarn diet and my one-at-a-time rule and cast on the Swallowtail Shawl. My excuse? It's Koigu. For those of you who have used Koigu, no further explanation is needed. If you've never tried it - get out there and buy some! It is divine. Gorgeous. Pure Luxury. I have even seriously contemplated unpulling things I have knitted out of this yarn so I can have the pleasure of knitting it again. It is pretty tough on the old purse though, so make it a special knit. People have used it for socks but as Bronte says: Koigu is too nice to put on your feets. I expect to use three skeins for the shawl but have a fourth on standby just in case.

The silk lace has been reinvented as a Flower Basket shawl - with beads. No way was I unstringing all those beads. They are now, by the way, conveniently spaced along the first couple of hundred yards of yarn as I left them exactly where they were when I frogged. It saves a lot of time when you don't have to regulalry stop and move them along.

I finished two pairs of socks for myself recently:


"Untitled"
Yarn: Fleece Artist, colour 'burgundy' Pattern: Bluebell rib from SKS, toe-up with the Zimmerman 'sewn bind-off'. Being a toe-up gal I am still searching for the perfect cast-off. This is not too bad: It takes a while and is basically impossible to undo, which could be a pain, but is seriously stretchy and this is the first pair of toe-up socks I don't have to put on carefully. I will probably continue to cast off this way until I find a better method.

'Cafe Curtains' (need a close-up of the pattern really)

Yarn: Lorna's Laces, colour 'Lakeview'. Pattern: My own - I've had some requests so hope to have it up here in the next few days.

Wrapping up the WIPs, I have finished one of Neil's oh-so-boring socks and will need to find a suitable movie/TV series on DVD to get me through the other one :-)

Here is the progress update on Anemoi, I am still loving this project but it is such an anti-social knit, requiring serious concentration, that it tends to get left on the shelf. Maybe I'll kick Neil out to the pub tonight and put in some hard yards :-D

Your turn now! What have you been up to?

Ciao, Diane

posted by dianemulholland @ 3:44 pm

9 Comments:

At 4:23 pm, Blogger dianemulholland said...

P.S. Blue Sky Shrug? Don't ask.

Currently hidden at the bottom of the knitting bag while I knit with KOIGU :-D

 
At 5:02 pm, Blogger Kai said...

ohh... lovely knitpicks!! i'm liking the tea bag plate and squeezers too!! :)

STR!! nice.

bothe pairs of socks look really cool.. and the anemoi are looking good..

 
At 8:55 pm, Blogger Kate said...

You're a tease. :( Promising me Koigu and then not a single photo. *hmph*

I do like your socks very much. I need to spoil my feet with a new pair, too. :-)

 
At 9:02 pm, Blogger dianemulholland said...

Sorry, I left it at work :-D

 
At 10:44 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice looking socks! and so many pairs of them. I'm jealous.

Your Anemoi mittens look gorgeous! I really like the color contrast. I think Neil could use a lovely night at pub.

 
At 12:09 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You missed your calling to be a foot model! ;) Love the pose!

 
At 10:50 am, Blogger Heather said...

I'm on my second *blushes modestly* African baby jumper.

It works wonderfully starting at the yoke. Nearly down to the rib and NO SEWING UP. Even weaving in the ends.

 
At 3:16 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lucky you, I have heard so many good things about the options needles.
Love the socks & the gloves too.

 
At 12:18 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gorgeous parcel from your friend. LUcky you. love the STR. I've still not tried it. Love the socks. Anotehr fab pair. And as for bind offs. I've just learnt a new technique called 'Russian bind off' which is neat andstretchy. Knit 2 tog, pass st on RH needle back to LH needle and k2tog again. Carry on like this until you've no stitches left. Ive used this on my 'Socks with a Twist' Knitted in Cashmere. Pics on my blog.

 

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