green bin and gone

This picture represents how good I've been at making things in this month's Project Spectrum colour, green. Er, rubbish. I'm surrounded by green things, plants, trees, bins, but no knitting. I did buy greenish sock yarn, not done anything with it yet. Next month is blue. I have one blue project waiting to be finished (Angelica, she needs arms. I knitted half an arm, it took ages, I didn't like it. The armholes are huge, I want close fitting arms, I can't think of a way of decreasing that won't look rubbish, so I think I'm going to do short sleeves and call it a day), another sort of blue project I might start (lace shawl in blue-grey cashmere sock yarn). Roll on July and purple. I can do purple.

ta da!

purple cotton cardigan, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

(Apologies for the state of the bathroom mirror.)

I present, the Time Traveller cardigan. Started 6 May 2006 while watching Dr Who, finished 27 May 2006, just after Dr Who, worn to work for the first time today.

Pattern: made it up as I went along. I swatched, I measured, I knitted, I ripped, I guessed, I did maths. Jenna Wilson's Knitty articles (part 1, part 2, and especially part 3) on the maths of set-in sleeves were very useful. I ended up with a vaguely 1940s sleeve top, which wasn't quite what I was going for, but I decided to keep it and try to work out how to make my next sleeves better.

Yarn: Araucania Nature Cotton, about 650g.

Needles: 6mm straights and a 5mm crochet hook for the edging and button holes.

Notes: This was a very quick knit, even though I reknit some of the pieces several times. Nature Cotton is lovely stuff, very soft (although this does mean it sheds fluff everywhere and I expect it's going to pill). I used metal needles because they're the only 6mms I have, but I think that helped. As usual, I had to look up how to crochet and it took me several attempts to get it right, but I think I actually ended up with something that's almost an official crochet stitch, even if I can't remember if it's single or double. (I think it depends which side of the Atlantic you're on). The buttons came from the bead and button shop in the Real McCoy Arcade in Exeter.

If I knit this again, I'd add some bust shaping and improve the armscyes and sleeve cap shaping. I'm please with the result though, I have what I wanted, a v-neck cotton cardigan for summer and I've learnt a lot about making things fit in the process.

still knitting

Hello there. Sorry, no progress pictures today, but there has been knitting. Purple cotton cardigan is finished, but for the buttons. I'm hoping to buy buttons from the funky button shop in Exeter and finish it this weekend while visiting HP. Somewhat cowl body is finished, I'm doing the neckline next, and the arms last. I like how it fits so far, although curious to see what the collar does to it. Pre-collar, the neckline's so low it's unwearable in public.

What was May's Project Spectrum colour again? Oh yes, green. Not much green knitting going on, but I am surrounded by green leaves. Here are leaves (and pigeons) as seen from my favourite town centre chain sandwich place.

this morning's post

This morning, I was late enough (or he was extra early) to still be at home when the postman came and he brought socks! Hooray! Here they are, beautiful Boysenberry Pie socks knitted by Judy of Dragonflyknits. Yay! They're beautiful! They're beautifully soft and just my colours. Thank you!

And that's not all. She also sent beautiful stitch markers, look. Pretty! As I was dancing round the kitchen and taking pictures of my feet (as you do) there was an item on the radio about online communities and how they affect people. This knitblogging thing is a little odd, perhaps, but it's fun thinking of all those socks flying around the world, all those connections that wouldn't have been made otherwise. Big round of applause for Alison for making it all possible!

oh look, another purple thing

In my defence, I'll be able to wear this one as soon as I finish it (assuming I do finish it.) I went to the HipKnits shop on Saturday which was interesting, especially when my car refused to start to take me home. (This was actually a good thing since it meant the AA came and looked at it and discovered the loose battery terminal which has been causing the car to refuse to start reliably for several weeks.) I bought this stuff - Araucania Nature Cotton - and following Dee's suggestion I'm using it make myself a summer cardigan. I swatched not long after I got home and knit about halfway up the back while watching Dr Who (Slightly bonkers episode, 18th century France, clockwork robots and a controversial snog) and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (not a brilliant chick flick, but mildly amusing). I'm making it up as I go along and surprisingly, it's not a top-down raglan. (Gasp!) I've no idea whether I've got enough yarn for a long sleeved cardigan, I've got 7 skeins and the back looks like it's going to take at least 2. So I'm hoping 2 skeins for the back, one each for the fronts and a ball and half for each sleeve. It'll need buttons or something, so I might have to buy some more yarn to do a button band or a crochet edging. Anyway, it's fun making it up as you go along.

socks sent

The socks have arrived with my sockpal, Knitting Iris. I think she likes them! :-)

I like finishing things

Really I do. I just don't seem capable of finishing anything other than socks. Starting stuff though, I'm very good at. Like this. A Somewhat Cowl in Debbie Bliss Maya, which is a beautiful colour and will be too hot to wear for months. I love it though. The yarn is just thick enough to make progress at a satisfying rate and the colour is just subtly variable enough to give it depth and interest.
But I still haven't finished Angelica (she's got half an arm and may have for a long time yet. Knitting arms is boring. I need a long and dramatic film or several. Or a really long train journey) and Forecast hasn't got any further than this. And what I really need right now is a little, lightweight v-neck summer cardigan. Maybe like this once Ysolda puts the big sizes up. Or maybe I should just invent something. But I'd need to buy yarn. Or maybe I should finally get round to making Arisaig, which I've wanted to make ever since I saw it, but have been scared of the lace. But now I've knit lace, I can see it's not scary at all. So maybe I should do that. Or maybe I should write the essay that's due in a fortnight.

wave your feet in the air

cashmere socks in the air, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Especially if they're clothed in newly completed cashmere socks.

Pattern: make-it-up-as-you-go-along. Toe-up, 64 stitches. Zig-zags made with k2tog YO and YO ssk holes, short row heels, k1tbl p1 twisted ribbing, picot cast off (cast on 2, cast off 4).

Yarn: yummy cashmere sock yarn from Hipknits.

Needles: 2.5mm Addi turbos

Soft, colourful, fun.