Bebeh Bootehs

I warn you not to make these. They are a complete pain! It took me ages to finish them because I got a feeling of dread whenever I thought about the pattern. But finally they are finished and a weight has been lifted off my shoulders : )

The best part was choosing the buttons from my button-bottle. There is something very satisfying about collections of practical things that sit on your bookcase looking interesting.

Hat Fail.

So, this was intended to be a hat for you, but it turned out kind of hideous and I can't inflict it on you after all! It started off so well, I love the knubbly brim and I finally nailed the joins in dpn knitting, no ladders, just a nice neat pair of stitches bumped up together. Plus, this project had the added bonus of using up some partial balls of really nice wool. However...It turned into this. I ran out of white, and when I went to buy more I found that it had been discontinued, so I thought 'oh well, I'll stripe it with my nice noro wool'. I ran out of that too. So it is finished with a nasty white acrylic on the top. So I am taking a leaf out of your book and sending it to a 'Hats for Haiti' charity drive. I know it's hideous, but I think it's made reasonably well (meaning that I wove the ends in properly and such, so it's not going to fall to pieces) so maybe someone will use it anyway.

On a different note, here is a picture of the lovely soft wool I bought from the markets in Pisac, Peru.
The lady selling it had a cool store that was a little room, jammed floor to ceiling with alpaca wool (at least she said it's alpaca, and I'm inclined to believe her given the number of those creatures wandering all over the country). She liked that I wanted it for knitting, she liked that Cameron and I were married, she hoped that we would have children soon (Peruvians are big on family, it's lovely) and she would have sold me the whole shop if we weren't backpacking and having to carry it all ourselves, but I couldn't resist getting this lot and I am still really glad that I did. Nothing worse than coming home from somewhere you are unlikely to visit again and wishing you had bought this, that, or both. If you see any shawl, wrap, or cardigan patterns that you think would be good then send me a link because I want to use it but don't know what it should be yet.

By the way, your new coat is lovely! Looks great with your scarf xx

Long overdue

Almost 2 years later I have finally taken a picture of the first knitted item I've made, my pink scarf, along with the scarf I knitted for Tim. I did it so as I wouldn't be so ashamed of my Ravelry profile after finally finding yours and discovering you have uploaded no less than 27 projects!

So here they are:

That's the coat that I bought here too, which I completely love, even though it seems to pick up every bit of lint going, including numerous of my flatmate's long blond hairs. Tim might start to get suspicious...

(Ew, the pictures look a bit yuck, but I had to use the flash today as it's a bit white outside.)

I'm really enjoying getting into knitting more while I have some time, but I have to admit that I feel guilty spending all my time doing just this. I'm not exactly having much success finding work (this worries me of course), so at least I have something productive to do. And which isn't baking, because I just eat that.

Passing the time

Your wrap (thneed?) looks great! Clever you, mastering the yarn overs and cables.

I, meanwhile, finally taught myself to knit on dpns! And it's so easy - what was I so worried about?! I finished my first baby hat tonight. Now, you're not allowed to laugh, because I took some serious liberties with the pattern due to the garish pink and black yarn running out before I was finished. I know I should have matched the yarn weight, but as I previously mentioned, there's a dearth of acrylic in Lund and so my options were limited. I have, therefore, created a very odd looking hat. It reminds me a little of an iced cupcake and I'm tempted to make a "cherry" to go on top.

(Tiny needle-felted red ball? How?)

I spent some time today stocking up on knitting necessities. In the bag packing rush, I omitted a tape measure, stitch markers, crochet hook, tapestry needle... expensive habit. But of course, I couldn't stop there, and also bought a beautiful skein of organic Swedish wool. Now that I'm a dab hand on the dpns, this is going to be my first me-sized hat. A slouchy beret I think, to cover my wee ears in this chilly place. If it's a success, who knows what may follow...

The yarn is sitting on my other current past-time - a children's story by Selma Lagerlöf, who was a prolific writer during the early 20th century, and also a Geography teacher (she's so important that she's on the SEK 20 note). The main character, Nils Holgersson, is turned into an elf and rides on the back of a goose over the Swedish countryside and has many adventures. All the while, Selma takes the opportunity to point out all the important landmarks Nils encounters along the way. I like it.

Burning through the under-bed stash!

I have finished the cable project that I posted about previously, it was quick! 8mm needles helped with that. I'm pretty happy with it, it's just a tiny bit loose so I might move the buttons when I can be bothered. Or I might wait until winter and see what it's like over a thicker jumper. But it's very cosy and soft which I like. Here are some (bad) photos, excuse the be-speckled bathroom wall in this one, and the crazy exposures. Camera is a wuss without the flash!

In this one however, I was clever and photographed it so that you can't see the big snarl at the beginning while I was still getting used to the pattern. Yarn-over confusion again. I like how the wool is all fuzzy around the edges...the label says it's 'virgin wool'. Who knows what that actually means! This project is the first one where blocking has made a real difference, it got HUGE compared to what it started as, and all the yarn-over holes and twists got miraculously evened-out and opened up.

I love these buttons. Went on a button-buying spree actually. I am trying not to buy any wool until June as I have too much and I need to use what I have already spent money on (especially seeing as I STILL haven't got a job!).

I have been feeling bad at the time it's taking to get your present finished, so I'm sending it off now and will post it in two installments!

This way it won't be summer before something arrives : )

It's not much but hopefully you will like it! Thanks again for the gorgeous present, haven't taken the scarf off since I unwrapped it xxx

The wool that will NOT end.

I bought 4 skeins of this stuff because I love the colour and it was on sale. But I am fast getting sick of it because it just doesn't ever seem to run out! I have made 4 things from it now and I still have a whole ball left! First thing I made was this shrug (which has been very useful!).

Then I made a little bat toy (for fun). I got the pattern from the nice lady who I did that wool swap with last year. I used 'safety' eyes, hehe, as I am paranoid about giving things with buttons on them to kids who might pull them off and eat them leaving me in the bad books with their parents.

Then I made a star and had fun felting by hand. Tedious and not awfully rewarding.

And then there is the latest attempt at finishing which I won't show you as it's part of your present...
So I hope you like the colour too! By the way, I LOVE wearing that apron you made me and I get lots of compliments on it. Even from Cameron who I swear wouldn't notice if I started wearing nothing but pvc and did my make-up every morning. Hope all is good in snowy Sweden, great photos, keep them coming!

Down-sizing and up-skilling

Back to basics. This is to be a hat for an African bébé. The knitting group is making some hats for Save the Children, to be sent to Africa in April. This kind of charity doesn't come at a great price - this one is made of the finest acrylic yarn... Oops, looks like it's got all twisted.

I finished the knitting on the sweater on Wednesday - finally! Now it's just sewing up and blocking like anything to make it fit! Once this is done, I'm going to concentrate on baby goods for a while before embarking on my next sweater. A project that large needs to have some interesting bits, but I can't tackle those until I have some half decent skills.

Another picture for you, taken during a late afternoon walk yesterday. It was probably only about 4 pm actually.