argh

I have been knitting. I finished a pair of socks (Roza's socks, toe-up version) and the Bulky mini cardigan from Fitted Knits. I restarted Ivy in the beautiful navy cashmere yarn I've been trying to find a pattern to suit for ages and started a pair of Eleanora's socks for me.

And I haven't blogged about any of it because I am camera-less. A solution must be found.

come and find me

I'm on Ravelry, as of yesterday.
I'm pigwotknits. Not much of my stuff on there yet, but there will be.

ETA: Of course, my invite arrived just as I've left work (well almost, my official last day is Thursday) and given back the digital camera I've been borrowing. I'm a bit stuck for pictures until I buy or borrow another one, or convince my phone to talk to this computer.

one for me, one for Piglet

ribbed jumper for me, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've been knitting Bottoms Up from issue 1 of Yarn Forward for a while, it's 4ply so it's going rather slowly. I like it and it fits well, but I'm using Rowan 4ply soft which is Merino and rather warm, so I'm thinking that rather than following the pattern, I'm going to do my own thing and make it a long-sleeved v-neck jumper. I think I'd wear that more often than a short-sleeved top in very warm wool. My plan is to knit the arms next (using the same ribbing pattern) and then put it all on a longer circular needle and knit the yoke, with decreases up the front to make a v-neck. I want the vertical ribs to narrow towards the neck but I also want the front 2 central ribs to divide and continue all the way along the side of the V. Makes sense to me anyway. I thought I'd try it out on a Piglet-sized jumper first, so here he is.

ribbed jumper for piglet, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Started: 7 September 2007 Finished:9 September 2007

Pattern: Made it up

Yarn: Oddments of purple 4ply left over from Arisaig

Needles: 2.5mm circs

I must admit it doesn't fit very well, but it helped me work out what I wanted to do.

back to school vest FO

back to school vest, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Started: July 2007

Finished: 2 September 2007

Pattern: Back to School U-neck vest from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel

Yarn: 300g Troon Tweed from Texere in Purple multi fleck. This is an oiled yarn, so needed a good wash once it was done. It still smells a little oily, so I might give it another wash.

Needles: 4.5mm and 4mm circs.

Modifications: Made the ribbing longer, made the neck line a little lower, added a couple of inches before the arm holes begin, put a little shaping at the shoulders and did a 3-needle cast-off instead of a seam.

I love the fit. It's a little warm to wear at the moment, but I think once it gets colder, I'll wear it a lot. Lots of the knitting was done on holiday in Cornwall, so there are some good memories knitted in. Plus I am going 'back to school' in a sense this month. I'm going to be a student again, doing an MA course in English. Hooray!


back to school vest closeup, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

update needed

Hello there! I've been away on holiday. Looking around here, there's some updating needed. My list of work in progress is hopelessly out of date, the FO list needs some updating too. I've got one almost FO and a WiP at the point of deciding what it's going to be (short sleeve top as written or long sleeve top which would involve buying more yarn and making up the pattern, but which would probably be more useful), neither of which have really been blogged so far.

Pics and thoughts soon. Perhaps.

socks done!

The sockapalooza socks are finished and currently drying off after a wash. I'll try to post a picture before I send them on their way and then take myself off on holiday for a couple of weeks.

ETA: Photographic evidence.

See ya!

sockapalooza arrival

sockapalooza, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

My sockapalooza socks arrived. Thank you Carol!
Here you can see pretty pretty socks in gorgeous pinky purpley merino wool, yummy jelly beans, a beautiful card which matches everything perfectly and a sock monkey sock project bag (which is currently home to the sockpal socks I'm still working on).

Thank you Carol, they're beautiful socks and sooo soft and squishy.

Right, must get a move on and finish mine.

ETA: I'll do a modelled photo when it's not too hot to wear wool socks.

sockapalooza oh dear

sockapalooza sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This was the state of my sockapalooza socks this morning. I knew I was cutting it fine, but I think I overestimated how much knitting I could get done while running around managing a conference.

Sorry sockpal, they're going to be late.

The yarn is Foxglove from Fyberspates, the pattern is based on Adrian's Cable Twist socks but with different sized twisting columns (3, 4 and 5 stitches rather than all 5s) and alternating directions. I like how they look. I'm a little worried that the stitch pattern is eating yarn and I'll run out, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The conference finishes tomorrow and then I'll knit as fast as I can so I get these posted off before I go on holiday.

ready, steady, socks!

foxglove yarn, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

My sockapalooza yarn is here at last. The first skein I ordered from Fyberspates seems to have been eaten by the Post Office, so I emailed the lovely Jeni and she sent me a new one which arrived next day.

I wound it into a centre pull ball almost immediately and began a Marigold. It's pooling a bit and I haven't got far enough to decide whether it's pooling in a way I like or not. But I've begun, at least.

one roza

one roza, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Proving that slow and steady gets there eventually.

Cast on date: 9 May 2007
Cast off date: 9 July 2007

I wonder how long the second one will take me?

And then there's the continued non-appearance of my yarn for sockapalooza. I wanted to have the socks done by 20 July since I will be busy at a work conference from then until the beginning of August. No yarn so far, not much time to knit and an essay to write, also by 20 July. Hmm. Sock pal, I think your socks may be a little late arriving.

slow sock

slow sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I'm still knitting, a bit. This is still my first Roza's sock, which is growing slowly, but steadily.

I really must start my sockapalooza socks soon. I've got a pattern in mind, I just need the yarn to arrive.

purple stuff

aka startitis or things I meant to blog about but never did.

I think it's obvious what my favourite colour is, don't you? Here we have various projects. From the top centre, a swatch for the Back to School U-neck vest from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel (recent acquisition, love it!), going clockwise, a small amount of sleeve for a cardigan based on the Treeline striped cardigan from Purl bee, a feather and fan comfort shawl in various oddments, and quite a bit of Bottoms Up, a top from the first issue of Yarn Forward. The last of these is what I'm knitting on most at the moment. It's in 4ply, Rowan 4 ply soft to be precise, and so is a slow grower. I'm not letting myself start the vest until at least one of these is finished.

I'm not sure whether I like the cardigan or not. I like the design and these colours, a dark purple and a lighter lilac, but the yarn is rather scrunchy superwash wool. Still, the first ever cardigan I made was in very squeaky acrylic in day-glo muppet colours and I wore that quite a lot. Still would if it wasn't now ridiculously loose. I expect I'll persevere, cardigans are useful. Plus there's loads of both those yarns sitting in a plastic bag under my desk and it's a good way to use them up.

I do like the top. I think it might be autumn before it's the right sort of temperature to wear it, though with the random weather we've been having lately, who knows. Cotton would be the obvious choice, but I had 4 balls of 4ply soft sitting around (an eBay aquisition), so bought 2 more to go with them and began (different dye-lot of course, so I'm alternating old and new).

This pic makes the shawl look like a big purple mess. It's nicer in person, honest. I seem to have got a bit obsessed with shawls. This is my third this year.

What else am I up to? The Shetland shawl needs an FO post. My first Roza's sock is still slow. I need to start my sockapalooza socks, once I've decided what I'm making.

I was supposed to be knitting less this year. So far, I'm not convinced I am. Ah well.

Shetland triangle 2 blocking

Shetland triangle 2 blocking - detail, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

She's blocking, at last.

kimono

kimono, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This was what I spent most of last Saturday making. I wanted a summer dressing gown and this fits the bill perfectly.

The fabric is a cheap (4m for £4.40) poly-cotton (probably) from the Textile Centre on Walthamstow market. I used a kosode/kimono pattern I came across online. You can't really tell, but the sleeves are sewn together under the armhole for those classic dangly sleeves. I did French seams everywhere, which took ages, but was worth it for a neat finish. The belt's just a long skinny rectangle. This was a fun pattern, because you just start with a series of rectangles, sew them together, do a little folding and cutting and there you go. Sort of. It took about 6 hours. Anyway, I like the result.

Roza's sock in progress

Roza's sock in progress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

To prove I'm still knitting, here's progress. I'm 2/3 up the heel flap on my toe-up Roza. So far, it fits perfectly. Look at that line of increases. I was reading somewhere about putting guesset increases or decreases in places other than all in a line beside the instep stitches, so thought I'd give it a go. I wonder if makes much difference to the fit? Probably not since it doesn't alter the direction the stitches are lying in. This has become my at work lunchtime knitting, so it's going to be slow.

The Shetland shawl from the last post is finished and awaits blocking. I was going to block it on Sunday night, except we were supposed to be having some small visitors coming for breakfast on Monday (the children of friends of my housemate) so pinning things to the living room floor didn't seem a very sensible idea. In the end, my housemate was ill and small visitors came there none. Still didn't get round to blocking. Maybe tomorrow night.

sock and triangle

sort of Roza's sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

See, proper content.

This is my take on Roza's socks from Interweave Knits Spring 06 (by the infamous Grumperina). I switched it to toe-up, just because and increased the stitch count to fit my large feet. It'll probably have a flap heel. I've never tried Brioche stitch before, I rather like it.

another Shetland triangle, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is another Shetland Triangle, rather smaller than the last one. It's in the small ball (40g) of 4-ply hand-dyed Shetland wool I bought from Shilasdair on Skye last summer. I think I'll have to find something to go with it to make it a decent size. We'll see. It's going pretty quickly so far. I began on Saturday afternoon, knitted through Eurovision and then did a couple more repeats on Sunday afternoon. Lace knitting in the warm, when it's pouring with rain outside. Bliss!

what have you knit?

I have knitting to show, but I haven't taken any photos of it yet, so here's a meme to amuse you. Found here and here and probably all over the place.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket (baby)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO (i've been knitting for years and I STILL don't know how to do this.)
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

um?

Does anyone know why the months on my blog archive are now appearing in Spanish (I think, it's not a language I speak, whatever it is)? I'm not averse to multi-lingual blogging, but I didn't do it on purpose and having checked all my settings, I can't work out why it's happening or change it back. Perhaps it'll disappear as mysteriously as it appeared.

ETA: Yep, it disppeared as soon as I posted this. Most odd.

bayerische cuff

bayerische cuff, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is far as it got. The colour's completely off (it's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in 'Berry' and it's a darker purple). I like the pattern, but it's not big enough to get over my ankle. Going up another needle size might fix it, might not. I'm not completely sure about the colour. The cables would probably pop better in something lighter. I've ripped it out and the yarn is waiting for me to decide what to do. I might try Cookie A's Twisted Flower socks.

In the meantime I've started Rosa's socks from Interweave Knits Spring 07. Except they're toe-up and over more stitches. Funny, the Bayerische socks were actually a rare case of my following the pattern as written. Nothing wrong with the pattern, in that case, just the size of my feet.

spring socks done

spring socks done, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Finished and enjoying the spring sunshine.

Started: 6 April 2007

Finished: 26 April 2007

Pattern: Elfine's Socks by Anna Bell

Yarn: Curious Yarns sock yarn in Sprung

Needles: 2.5mm circs. I used magic loop for most of it and 2 circulars for the heel.

Modifications: After making my first pair of Elfines for my sock pal last year, I decided I'd need to make them bigger to fit me. I increased the number of stitches to 68, leaving the lace pattern unchanged, but adding an extra knit stitch. On the legs, this means the purl column at either side becomes purl, knit, purl. I also did an toe-up flap heel. They're actually a little baggy at the heel now, so perhaps just one of those changes would have been enough.