Quick post, then off to the gym...

I finished weaving in the ends of the fair isle square last night. Does anyone else here suck on the end of each piece of yarn before threading it through the needle? You know, to make it straight and pointy?

God help me. I may stop yakking up colourful organic merino furballs sometime in the coming weeks.

Till then, I'm going to run some crochet around the edges of this square to stabilise the sides. Photos to come as soon as the little darlings are blocked!

Can't talk... gotta keep knitting...

Lola-Frog's sleeping less these days and certainly not sleeping in unison with WonderBoy, so I've gotta take what I can get, in terms of knitting time. I still haven't finished July's third square (though I have started it two and a half times and screwed it up twice, so surely that counts for something...?) and I am determined not to get held up in this KAL to the point where I'm posting pics of July's squares in November this year.

I shall prevail!

Until then, I'll just keep knitting.

Clearly, I have some weaving in to do...

Here's a full-on Fair Isle attempt from me, for Lola-Frog's 2009 blanket. It's the second of the three July squares... If and when I get the ends woven in, I'll block the bugger and post a picture!!

Meh.

It really really has been one of Those Weeks. Poor little Lola-Frog spent five days in hospital over these last two weeks with pneumonia. It just about broke my heart, seeing her all hooked up to the IV antibiotics and oxygen. But she's home now, much stronger and eating better. She's almost back to her usual smiley, giggly little self.And now for the knitting?

Firstly, all the time spent sitting with Lola-Frog in the hospital made for ample knitting time, particularly to catch up on knitting the Sea Wool Scarf which was intended for Mum's birthday... last Wednesday. So, after one complete frogging and several tinked rows, I found that I'd done somethin' stupid with the 'feather and fan' rows, creating wobbly waves that increased rather exponentially...

... so I was left with wobbly-wave-ruffles.After finally casting off and realising what had happened, I did a totally non Knitter-with-a-capital-K thing. I looked at it and held it up. I threw it across my own shoulders and pulled it round my neck. I turned it around and held it across my neck and chest, and said:

"Meh."

I was so over the whole thing that I think I conned myself into thinking 'Hey, it's still pretty, it still looks kinda cool... sorta free-formed and avant-garde. Yeah, avant-garde, I like that...'. I'm about to sew some green glass beads onto the corners, where I've also added the requisite tassels. More photos to come on completion.

Having upheld my end of the bargain in casting off the scarf successfully (hey, I said I'd get it cast off, not finished!), I decided to open my package from Interweave...I'm very impressed so far. I'm trying to read both books at the same time, and I've already watched the beginning of the DVD three times over. Once to get an idea of what's going on, once to try to commit it to memory, and a third time whilst actually having a crack on the spinning wheel. Excellent, excellent stuff - the books are well-written with lots of useful information and clear photos that really help me to make sense of what's being said. I'm learning lots, which for me is a pretty big deal!

Frenzied mutterings

This damnable scarf is killing me.

I have four (count 'em, four) other things I want and need to get started on, and each row of this scarf is taking longer and longer each time. This may be due to the four-stitch increase on each row, but I don't like to presume anything.

Oh, the agony!

This arrived yesterday:And I know what's in it, too - the books and DVD on spinning that I ordered from Interweave as a bit of a birthday present to myself. Sadly, I have restricted myself from opening and devouring the contents until this is finished:
It's Mum's Sea Wool Scarf, which I have to have finished for Wednesday. Although, maybe I should try to get it done for Tuesday so it can be blocked. Aack! Now I've got even less time.

This one has been unnecessarily frustrating; I've frogged it once and restarted after coming into stitch count issues that I couldn't resolve through a few extra K2TOGs, and I've also found I've had to tink several rows when I've not been paying attention. All I can say is, I hope I can finish it unscathed before Mum's birthday!

What are you proudest of making?

I received a very thought-provoking email newsletter from 'Knitting Daily' a couple of weeks ago, entitled "What are you proudest of making?", and it piqued my inspiration for another blog post (can one 'pique one's inspiration', I wonder? Oh well, I'll say I can.)

So, what am I proudest of making?

1. Mohair cowl-neck jumper, also known as 'My First Jumper'. I had been knitting blanket squares for what seemed like forever, when Mum handed me a big bag from Victoria House with balls of Heirloom Picasso, needles and a Patons (or was it Cleckheaton? Maybe it was Cleckheaton.) pattern book, saying to me "Here. Now knit something useful!".

I discovered that with my ability to knit, purl, increase and decrease, I really could make myself something wearable. The colours are a dark rainbow of sorts, reminding me of an oil slick. I followed the pattern to the letter. The ribbing is riddled with errors, hidden mercifully within the fuzzy mohair; the seams are lumpy and awkward, as I had no idea about weaving pieces together; and the entire thing is enormous, as I was convinced that the best size to knit would be The Biggest. Because, after all, I could wear something that was too big, I couldn't wear something too small.

2. My First Socks; continuing the 'My Firsts' theme I have going here. There is something amazing about knitting your first pair of socks. Realising I could knit a tube using five needles was a revelation, and turning a heel to create a specially-placed dent in the tube was, well, mind-blowing. I credit Stephanie Pearl-McPhee with helping me make sense of it all, and showing me just how easy it really is. Plus, handknit socks really really impress knitting Muggles: "Oh, these? Just something I whipped up myself..."

3. My 'Raspberry Clapotis' and my 'Baby Mine': Firstly, 'Baby Mine'... I can knit lace? Yep. I can knit a seamless garment? Yep. A challenging and extremely rewarding knit - I loved it. It was this and my 'Raspberry Clapotis' that I believe helped my Mum (who taught me to knit) to see my knitting in a whole new way. When looking at the half-finished Clapotis on weekend, she commented that I seem to knit like I'm creating art. She has also mentioned that my Gran (her mum, who taught me to knit the second time) would be so proud to see my knitting. I'm instantly proud of anything I've made that can prompt a compliment from my mum.

4. WonderBoy's Weasley Sweater: The first knitting I've done where I've really thought about gauge, yarn substitution and the mathematics of size. It turned out reasonably successful, and I'm extremely proud of not just knitting what the pattern says.

And, in a preemptive listing on the 'Proud-O-Meter', I have a very warm feeling about Lola-Frog's 2009 blanket. Each month, I feel good about the squares I'm completing, and I'm so proud to think that she'll be have a tangible, huggable reminder of how I felt about her arrival.

Knitting speaks volumes, and I love that.

And the details

I meant to add, the Meret came about with a skein and a bit of Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed, knit on two 5mm circulars...

Meret photo - of sorts

I finally managed to have a photo taken of me whilst wearing the Meret on the weekend... just the one. And it doesn't really show it terribly well! I should ask Pete to take a couple of photos from the back...WonderBoy seems keen, though.

And in other news, I shall hark back to the completion of Lola-Frog's June Squares. I'm not terribly happy with the 'R' square. The stranding was pulled waaaay too tight, resulting in this; top left of the heart:I contemplated snipping the strands and eaving the ends in, but... apathy reigned.

As much as I feel I want to get started on the first of the three July squares, I'm in the middle of knitting Mum's birthday present. Called 'Sea Wool Scarf', I got the pattern from 'Yarn Forward Magazine' after Mum admired Barb's at WWKIP.

Trouble is, though - because I've got a deadline (Mum's birthday is next Wednesday), I've found that I'm finding good excuses not to get on with it. Ugh! It's like having an itch that you can't get rid of even though you're scratching... as you continue on, it's getting progressively more irritating even though you're doing all you can to alleviate it. Must be all in my mind.

Not unlike Rob & Mick of Shitscared fame:

"With his miiiind!"