Decisions decisions

While sitting in Starbucks last night I asked my fellow knitters for their opinion on my 'over Christmas knitting' while I ate the cream off my hot chocolate with a spoonSo, do I :

1.  Finish some wips like the dress that just needs it's ribbed bits done, or my sisters cardigan. ..

2. Start a beaded knit night for me,

3. Make a start on a multi stranded blanket that will eat miles of yarn, or

4. Tackle the sock stash (This large bag is just SOME of the sock stash)

It started to look like the sock stash tackling would win, so I'm throwing it out there.

And, while the jury is out, I'll get on with knitting my reflective hat.  Health and safety begins at home after all. 

A little bit at a time

Tonight at knitting I brought a few things to work on...a cowl to sew together, mitts to sew up, a hat to finish and a scarf to knit.

By the time we left the hat, cowl and mitts were finished and I had a few more repeats of the scarf done.

Knitting night lends itself to simple easily memorable projects as you don't want to be having to concentrate too much and miss out on all the fun. 

Christmas spirit

Usually when I get a magazine I tend to disguard the free gift, especially if it's a thing to knit. I prefer tools like stitch markers, tape measures and scissors.

For the the kits are useless. I don't knit toys and have no interest in knitting santa, hedgehogs or puss in boots.

So I was very surprised when my latest magazine purchase came with a kit that I really wanted to make...

I thought this was something different, something I hadn't seen before with a magazine. It was finished in a night and I really quite like it.

It just goes to show that every now and again magazines can surprise you.

Aftermath

Tuesdays update didn't happen for one very good, fluffy and cute reason.... we refused to hand back my mum's 3 year old Westie,  Gibbs.

My dad stole him back last night so normality can resume.                                                           

Dublin this year was great as always and we finally managed something I've wanted for years.... a new yarn colour wheel!                 

Just remember that I contributed to the colour wheel, I didn't buy all that yarn despite what some people think. (Although in the past I could have created a wheel all by myself)

There was much knitting in the evenings and by the time we got off the train in Belfast I had just the rib to finish on my socks.

And finally, the moment you've been waiting for....may I present the new stash.

Everything in the new stash has a plan...sock yarn for socks, yarn for a really pretty cowl, 2/3rds of a shawl and yarn for another shawl. This time round it's quality not quantity so there's a lot of indie dyed yarn too...close up pics next time!

Not quite right

I started knitting a rather simple man hat over the weekend.

Right size needles? Check.

Cast on right number of stitches? Check

K1 P1 for the round? Check.

Knit round? Ummm no.

Seems I left this part of the pattern out so was content knitting rib all weekend! I only realised when it came to the decreases....which I ended up making up.

But, I've another hat for the gift box and I won't make the same mistake twice!

Squish!

Last week I volunteered to knit a sample for A Fine Fish Yarns
(https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/afinefishyarns)

I was given a skein of aran weight yarn and tonight I set to work winding it from this lovely skein into a cake.

The colourway is called Sheelagh and the yarn is amazing. It's soft, bouncy and each stitch is a pleasure to work with. It's one of those yarns you just want to keep working with.

I picked a pretty simple hat pattern for this yarn. I wanted the yarn to be the focal point without creating a completely plain hat. I'm just hoping it turns out to be as lovely as seems to be.

Despite the fact that I'm going to Dublin next weekend on the annual knitting pilgrimage,  I think I need this yarn in my stash!

Oops

You may have noticed the lack of post on Tuesday and that's because we took ourselves off to the cinema to see spectre.

Wednesday was a little yarn delivery from Germany. Just one or two balls of sock yarn being added to the stash