Its Green and its a Frog

Here is some more of my work in progress projects. This is a pattern called Pax by Patons. It's a sweater for a small boy and as I happen to have one of those I'm knitting it for him. I'm using some yarn from my stash as I have a lot of white wool, ok 1000g of it, that I got cheap on ebay and this will use up about 150 - 200 g of that. I'm also using some purple stash yarn that is probably Patons but I've had it for so long I can't actually remember now for sure. I don't have a label for it unfortunately. I've now finished the back and just started the front. It's knitting up quite quickly so hopefully this project will be sorted soon.




This is another project I'm working on at the moment. I'm using soy silk that I managed to find half price in a sale at the Knitting Parlour in Malvern. They only had two balls of each colour but as two of the colour variations had the same blue in them I've used four balls of two different colour variations in a 20 row stripe pattern. The blue pulls them both together and the different colour variations creates a bit of visual interest. The sweater itself is a pattern from a 1986 edition of Anna, Knitting and Needlecrafts. I've made so many projects from these magazines over the years and despite being from the 80s, a lot of them update quite nicely with modern yarn choices. I love the way this yarn is knitting up, it's absolutely gorgeous and so smooth and silky. I expect it will be lovely and comfortable to wear and perfect for the hot summer days I'm assuming we will get at some point during the year;-) I don't have much more knitting to do on this one now so I'm hoping this will be another project finished in time for me to wear it on holiday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I have enough yarn to finish it.





Yes, it's green and it's a frog. No, honestly it is because despite it knitting up exactly as it should do, I just feel when I've finished it it will feel a bit tight and restricted and I don't feel comfortable in sweaters, particularly warm ones, that are too tight. I much prefer a looser fit. I don't want to go ahead and finish this and then have something that sits in the wardrobe and never gets worn because frankly that is just such a waste of time and money and its a lovely, comfortable, snuggly yarn that makes a lovely, snuggly and comfortable piece of fabric so I really want to wear this one. I just feel its destined to be a tummy hugger and after four children I don't need my tummy being emphasised! I'm starting to frog the pieces I have finished and I will make a start on re-knitting this when I've finished the two jumpers I want completed before the holiday. It didn't take long to knit first time round so I don't think this will take me too long to re-do and I will be so much happier with the end result that it will be worth it. It's knitted in Alpaca Soft and is a pattern called, I think, Cuddles from one of the Rowan Alpaca Soft pattern books.

Finally finished the pieces

Incredibly this will be the first jumper I have knitted for myself for many a long year. This photo was taken early on in the process but I am now much further along. I have knitted the front, back and both sleeves and I just need to sew in the ends and block the pieces then I can do the neckline and sew everything up. Brilliant. It's a design called Sailor by Louisa Harding made from her Nautical Cotton. I made it bigger than it needed to be because I usually find cotton yarns don't have much give in them and can feel a bit restricted. It was a nice yarn to knit with and a lovely simple pattern to follow, a nice relaxing knit and believe me I've needed to relax a bit just recently! I bought this last year from the Knitting Parlour in Malvern when I was visiting relatives there.




This is a project that is on my pins at the moment. I'm in the Yosemite KAL in the Knitty group on Ravelry. I can't remember ever having knitted a jumper in the round on a circular needle before so this is a bit of a learning curve for me but I'm loving it. It's a great pattern and is very enjoyable to knit. The yarn I'm using is some mixed fibres yarn I picked up very cheap on ebay a while ago. It's actually knitting up to tension and looks and feels very good. I'm hoping I will be pleased with the end result. I haven't got very far with this as it takes forever to do one row and my other projects are taking priority at the moment.






I'm hoping to finish Sailor in the week. It's very tempting to put it in a bag and bury it at the back of the wardrobe because I have so many things I want to make a start on. Must resist temptation! I want to be wearing it on holiday and that is getting very close now. Yippee:-)

Let Joy be unbounded

Not the best of photos - I think the flash got a bit confused. This is my sock wool. I am determined to learn how to magic loop socks. I forgot to get a circular needle in the correct size so currently I'm aiming to finish one or two projects so I can start these as a holiday knit in a few weeks time when I have the correct needle to use.

Yeeeaayyyyyy! Easter holiday is over and today all four of them went back to school. In the south of England we've just had our two week holiday - absolutely nowhere near to Easter and at a completely different time to my nieces in Worcestershire who returned to school as my lot started their break. Chaos. Why can't they standardise these school holidays. They complain about parents taking children out of school but if you are going on holiday with friends or relatives from different counties with a different holiday, what choice do you have?

Much as I have enjoyed being with the offspring for two weeks, one of which was spent up in Worcestershire not seeing much of my nieces because they had gone back to school, I am nevertheless relieved that they are back into the routine of school because I have so much to be getting on with. When this relentless rain gives up I need to get the potatoes in at the allotment. I have to start sowing seeds so I will have other things to go in at the allotment and I have two jumpers that I want to finish before I go on holiday in five weeks time. They are projects that have been around long enough and I would like them done as I have two other projects I would like to start. I'm also building up quite a queue of projects on my ravelry notebook. I have about three jumpers lined up for youngest son and two for my daughter. I have also got a lot of reading to do for my OU course and I'm about to start (when the weather improves) decorating several rooms in the house as I have lived with it looking like a building site for too many years and it just has to get done! Quite where I am going to get the time to do all this is anybody's guess but over the next few months I will be starting to spend less and less time in the house and it just can't take as long as it normally takes just to try and keep the place in order. I'm getting buried under housework and it just has to stop. When I'm working I won't have this time available any more so things have to streamline a bit.

Getting the hang of this now

This is a project I am working on at the moment. It's a cushion cover made with colinette yarn from one of their kits. It's been fun to work on and I'm hoping to finish it soon. It's advanced considerably since this picture was taken so I'm hoping to post a finished piccie soon.




Traditionally, I always buy myself the Woman's Weekly christmas craft and cooking magazine every year as I love to sit down and browse. I do actually make things out of these magazines too but I just love soaking up the atmosphere of christmas with a mug of hot chocolate and a cosy seat by the fire.




Ah, this was a find from ebay and it is full of some lovely patterns that I have been making. I'm working on the loopy christmas tree, almost obscured by the glare from the camera flash. When it finally gets finished I shall post a picture.




Yeay!!! The christmas decoration I started and actually finished. This was an angel from a knitting kit I found at Hobbycraft - reduced so they were virtually giving them away. This didn't take long to make at all and looks really sweet. They come in three sizes so hopefully I shall have its big brothers finished by next December.




My son Will was Henry VIII in a school assembly so I had to make him a costume. No easy task I don't mind telling you. The bit on top is the hat and he could wear this over his school uniform quite easily which made getting changed easier for him.

Ok, Lets be Brave - How hard can it be?

There is some christmas patterns in here that I am hoping to work on before next christmas. I had hoped to have them done for last christmas but there you go!

I think I was using this for my christmas cards. I didn't get them finished as I was working on my Open University on-line project. Not easy to do in the run up to christmas, over the christmas period and on to the end of January. Especially as I had been ill for most of December with a sore throat and head cold that just wouldn't clear. Boy I felt ill over the christmas holidays I'm not surprised I didn't get everything done.



Now this one is a project I am working on at the moment, I've knitted a lot of it and despite knitting in the correct yarn and to tension, I have a sneaking suspicion it will just feel too small. I don't tend to wear tight fitting clothes (I've had four children and believe me the bits that tight fitting clothes cling to nowadays are the bits I don't especially like drawing attention to). I may frog and knit it again in a bigger size - hope this yarn frogs ok! I'll try the sleeve and see how it goes.



Well I've managed to lose two of my photographs in the construction process but it looks like it might have gone ok! I'm going to be ever so brave and press publish post - dare I look.

Here I Am Again

Yes I know! I said I would be back and posting regularly but you know how it is, best intentions and all that sort of stuff. My last blog entry proved that I haven't got the foggiest idea how to put photographs into my posts so that is on my list of things to do. I've been somewhat buried under the fine detail of coping with four children. It doesn't seem five minutes since Christmas and yet here I am on the Easter holiday and I'm trying to remember just what has been going on over the last few weeks. What with piano lessons, violin lessons, swimming lessons (until the pool developed a leak), school trips, five a side football tournaments, boys brigade, girls brigade, church events, and just the day to day business of preparing lunch boxes, reading with the kids, ensuring homework is done and just getting them to school on time and remembering to collect them in the afternoon. Where has it gone? I've also been helping a friend move house, been to London to see the terracotta warrior exhibition at the British Museum - absolutely fabulous - and started the next component of my psychology degree course. This year I'm doing child development and as I've received a Grade II Pass for the last two courses I've done I'm feeling under pressure to make sure I do as well this year. I should do well with child development, I have four children for goodness' sake!

I've been ravelling as well over the last few weeks. What a good way to organise everything! I've been merrily photographing partially knitted items that have been sitting in the cupboard for months, cones of yarn from under the bed, magazines and balls of wool from all over the house. Everytime I come across something that needs referencing I take some pictures. I'm getting some very funny looks from hubby and filling up my memory card so will need to deal with that. Although I'm not completely up to date, I have a huge amount of stuff that still needs to be photographed and entered on to my database, I'm more organised now than I have been before and can actually plan ahead more. No more sitting there thinking what do I knit next, or where was that pattern I liked, or what was I going to do with this yarn as I know I'd seen something I thought would be ideal. Excellent.

I also have a new hobby lined up - sock knitting. I have treated myself to some sock yarn from the Knitting Parlour (I'm visiting my mother in law for the week so have been in the vicinity and I always like to pop in and get something whilst I'm here). I'm determined to see what all the fuss is about and find out if I get addicted like others seem to be. I'd also like to take part in a future sock wars so need to learn how to do it. I'm going to have a go at this magic loop method. Just the one sock to begin with but if I can cope I'll try for two. Now, no laughing at the results if I post some photos! Actually, I'll try that separately.