Knitting in the park #2

I think I was just being a bit thick earlier with my photo upload! I won't tell you what I did because it's so silly! So, anywhere, here are some more pics of our little bit of knitting in public this afternoon.

My mum seems to be getting along nicely with her Louisa Harding beret, I think if she hadn't taken so long with her cast on she'd be finished before bedtime!

The Kimono angora is so nice, I can't believe how soft it is when it knits up. Mum says it's lovely to knit with too. I am definitely going to knit myself a beret too, probably in the teak colour, it looks very pretty. Mum has promised to send me a ball when she gets some more colours in, hopefully it will take a while so I won't be distracted from my cardigan!

When we were in the park, some policemen came along and said "Bonjour petites tricoteuses!" That's hello little knitters, we thought it was quite sweet! I was thinking they might tell us off for knitting in the park, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Swiss had a strange law about knitting in public! It would go with their law that prohibits you from flushing your toilet after 10pm and stops men being allowed to go to the loo standing up after 10pm! (I have to say that me and hubby are complete rebels and pay no attention to these silly rules!).

Here's a nice photo of me knitting on the park bench. Still working away at my cardigan. It's really growing now, I have armholes and everything, it's all very exciting. It's definitely the most challenging project I've worked on so far. I just wish there weren't so many stitches! I think I might have to get myself some longer circular needles as I still have another increase to do, taking me up to a total of 544 stitches! I do think I knit more quickly in the round though.

It's a bit difficult to see how far the cardigan's got because of it being on circular needles, but I promise you that it's getting there! It's starting to get quite heavy, but it's very warm and keeps my lap warm while I'm knitting it!

Hubby was very pleased that Man U won the football today, so everyone is contented in the apartment, mum's knitting, hubby's listening to music and the cat is curled up on the duvet on the sofa bed. We are all nicely full too after my roast, which I have to say was very yummy, it's only the second one I've ever made, the potatoes were particularly delicious, even if I do say so myself!

I think we will go off to Nyon for lunch tomorrow and then maybe on to Lausanne if we have time. I plan on having a lovely, relaxing birthday. I'm very excited about the presents I might be getting, I'm pretty sure they will all be lovely, I am a very lucky girl. I'm sure I will have lots of photos to post of all my new goodies!

Knitting in the park

My mother is here at the moment, which is lovely, lots of knitting to be done!

We spent the afternoon today in Parc des Bastions doing some knitting. It has been such a nice day today, so we thought it would be a good idea and would also help to get rid of my hangover!

My mum is currently knitting a Louisa Harding beret from the Venezia in Kimono Angora, it looks like it will be really pretty. She did have a bit of trouble doing the picot cast-on, I think she was a little brain dead this afternoon, perhaps it was all that Rose we drank last night, or maybe it's all that fresh Swiss air! She got there in the end though, but it took a long, long time!

She says that the yarn is really soft and lovely and that she wants to wrap herself in it! I am thinking I will have to knit myself the beret too.

I am still working on my Debbie Bliss circular cardigan, I think it could take a while before I get it finished, I wish I was a faster knitter! I estimated it could be 6 weeks before I get it finished, I hope I can get that time down as I really want to be wearing it! Plus, there are tons more projects that I want to do, but I refuse to start anything new until this is done. I expect to have some new projects tomorrow as it's my birthday and I suspect I may be getting some knit-related pressies!

I have more pictures from today that I want to post, but for some reason the image uploader seems to have stopped working, how irritating. I will try to post them later, but right now I have a roast dinner I need to finish making, especially as I told hubby not to be back late from watching the football!

Finishing Off

I have given up on my orange socks, they are insanely boring to knit and so I have decided to knit my friend a carrot with fangs like in Duckula! Have nearly finished that already so will have it in the post to her next week, she will be very happy. If I'd carried on with the socks, she probably wouldn't get them for at least another month, which would be rubbish as it's her birthday on Halloween and I want to knit her a pumpkin hat (I have lots of orange yarn to use up!)

I was very excited today when I went over to Carouge to the yarn shops and found a ball of Debbie Bliss cotton Cashmere which I need to finish a basket I started ages ago. I never thought I'd get it as a girl at knitting had bought the last lot and it's been discontinued, but I found one lone ball in Tricolaine which had been returned, result! I thought I would either never finish it or have to finish it in a different colour, which I really didn't want to do. I have to say, I think a cotton cashmere basket is a little extravagant, but hey, never mind, it's nice to knit with and I liked the colour for a basket!

I have been out and about in my lovely new tank top today, which was much admired by my friend at lunch and the owner of Tricolaine, I felt very proud! It's just a shame that the weather has suddenly got much warmer, but I was determined to wear it anyway! At least I know that it's very warm!

Just a week now until mummy comes, yay!

One down, 4 to go!

After knitting furiously yesterday and sewing up all morning, I finally finished my Freedom Spirit vest! Yay! and it fits me! Double Yay! I am very pleased with it. I even managed to do a nice neat neckline, not bad for my second go! I think I could have done with maybe making the vest a little longer, I made it much shorter than the original pattern as I didn't want it going over my thighs, but I might have shortened it a bit too much, but I don't know yet as I haven't tried it on over a shirt, which is what I knitted it for....

Now I can concentrate on some other projects. I really should finish both my pairs of socks, especially the Wendy Fusion ones as they're so close to being done, probably just an hour or so, but I seem to have second sock lethargy! Plus, I'm still obsessed with trying to get my Debbie Bliss circular cardigan done, oh, so many projects, so little time!

I made it to Stitch 'n' Bitch last night after so many weeks away, it was really nice to catch up with all the girls over a knit and a coffee and to see what everyone is working on.

My mum is coming a week tomorrow, I can't wait, I think I will have to try to make a nice itinerary for us, especially as the hubby will be working that weekend, boo. He's away at the moment actually, which is good in a way as I don't feel so guilty for spending my time knitting instead of doing something useful, like working, cleaning, shopping or job-hunting. I need a bit of self-indulgence once in a while!

I'm off to Carouge tomorrow for lunch with a friend I haven't seen in ages. I think I will have to pop into Tricolaine while I'm there, but will do my best not to buy anything, unless she has a ball of yarn I need to finish a basket I started ages ago, but didn't buy enough yarn for, I suspect she doesn't have it though as I know that one of the girls from my knitting group bought her last lot of it, so unless she's got more in, I'll be out of luck so might have to finish it in another colour...

Working Through the WIPs

Well, I have now almost finished my Freedom Spirit tank top. I can't believe it took me so long, I started it in February! I guess that's what I get for being impatient and starting new projects all the time, nothing gets finished!

I'm pretty pleased with it, I just hope it's going to fit, I might have to get back on my diet! All I need to do now is sew it up and knit the neckline, which I'm not looking forward to, I've only ever knitted one neckline and it turned out all wonky, so I will have to really make an effort to get this one right.

I love the colour of this yarn, it's so warm and vibrant. It was fun to knit with too because of the stripes it creates. The yarn is Freedom Spirit by Twilleys of Stamford in colour 502 - Fire and the pattern is from 'Knitting' Magazine #34, Feb 2007 (although I think it might also be in one of the Freedom pattern books, but I'm not sure).

I'm determined to get this finished within the next couple of days so I can move on to another UFO! I'm still itching to knit my circular cardigan, but may hold that for a bit while I finish off a couple of pairs of socks, especially my orange ones as they are supposed to be a gift.

I'm going to my Stitch 'n' Bitch group tonight, I haven't been for ages and I really miss it. It will be good to catch up with the girls for a gossip and to see what everyone's working on at the moment!

I think that's all I've got to say for myself right now, I want to be knitting, not waffling!

Frogging is so hard to do

I'm back to not working for a bit, well, I will be working freelance for reasons I won't go into right now, let's just say I'm keeping my options open on the job front.

Well, at least that means I have plenty of time to do more knitting (well, in theory, I actually need to be building a website for my mum's new online shop...)

I decided that I have been doing too much knitting for other people recently and that it's about time I got on with some of my own projects, especially now that it's getting colder. I picked up my Debbie Bliss circular cardigan (from Out of Town) yesterday and got on with knitting that, only to have to rip out a ball and a half's worth of work when I realised I'd been following the wrong size, I was so angry. I did think about leaving it, but then it would probably be too small and I'd never wear it, which would be insane as it's going to be so beautiful.

The whole cardigan is knitted in one piece on circular needles, leaving spaces for the sleeves, which are then knitted into the main piece. I'm knitting it in Louisa Harding's 'Grace', colour 09. It's such a beautiful yarn to knit with as it's 50% Merino wool & 50% silk. I quite often have problems with yarns drying out my hands, but I have none of this with the 'Grace'.

I really want to get on and finish this as I think it will be so warm and perfect for these chilly days in Geneva, especially now that the wind is picking up from the lake, it's called le bees (although I'm not sure if that's the correct spelling) and it can be really icy and evil!

I also started my amigurumi doll,I'm quite please with how easy I've been finding it, although I'm not too happy with how it's looking at the moment, but then, it is my first attempt, so I can't expect it to be perfect.

I did start out following a pattern, but then kind of went off at a tangent and have been making it up as I go along. I did kick myself though when I realised that I have a lovely pattern for an amigurumi robot in an old copy of 'Craft' magazine, so I will probably give that a go when I'm a little more confident with my crochet technique. The good thing about these dolls is that you only need to be able to double crochet in a spiral to make them, so that makes it nice and simple for anyone who doesn't know how to crochet very well (ie, me!).

I'm really excited that my mum is coming over next weekend, especially since now that I'm working freelance I won't have to work on my birthday, so we can spend the whole day exploring and looking for more knitting shops. I think we will head over to Lausanne, as I'm sure there'll be a shop there somewhere and I've never really been there, except to a concert once. I know there's a shop in Nyon somewhere too as I drove past it last year on the way to see a friend, but I can't remember for the life of me where it is. If anyone is aware of any good yarn shops in Suisse Romande, please let me know! I know there are two in Carouge that I have been to, including the lovely Tricolaine and there is also a small one up the road from me called d'au d'argent. If we had more time I would take us over to Zurich, but I don't really think it's worth it unless we stay the night,

I saw these cute little chaps last weekend when we went to a little festival in Carouge, I really wanted to shear them and spin their fleeces, they look so lovely and warm!

I have some lovely Garn Studio alpaca that I want to knit some socks with, I think they will be perfect for the Swiss winter, I hear alpaca is extremely warm.

Knitting in the UK

Been busy again with not a lot of knitting time, except for last week when I was in the UK hanging out at my mum's yarn shop, so lots of knitting done then!

I decided to knit a pair of chunky socks for my friend who's going back to Canada next week, I finished them last night.

As you can see, they didn't really turn out to be a pair because the colourways in the balls of yarn are so long, so I have had to knit another pair so I can get matching ones! At least that means that I get a pair for myself, they're super warm and comfy and the cat seems to like them too! They were knitted in Wendy Fusion, but I can't remember the colour, sorry.

I loved making these socks because they were so quick to knit, you can knit one in an evening, no problem. I knitted them on 5.5mm dpns over 32 stitches if you fancy giving them a try yourself.

I really want to learn to crochet at the moment, especially with all the pictures of amigurumi dolls that I have seen lately, I desperately want to make some, but my crochet leaves much to be desired, but then I have only ever crocheted one edging on a baby cardigan and that's it, I guess practice makes perfect.

I love this doll on the right, it's so cute, in fact, I think all amigurumi dolls are cute. This one is from Gourmet Amigurumi.

Talking of cute things, my hubby bought me this cute Japanese cat on the left as a "good luck" gift for my new job. I love it, it's fantastic!

What with the new job and not getting home until 7.30-8pm every night, I'm not sure when I'm going to get time to learn to crochet properly, especially with all the knitting projects that I want to tackle. I got a copy of the new Rowan magazine when I was in the UK and I think there's about ten projects that I want to do. At least now that I'm working I will be able to buy some yarn and won't have to wait until I go to the UK to work in the shop and be paid in yarn! Plus, it's my birthday in 3 weeks and I'm pretty sure that I will get a few gifts from my mum's shop stock! Very exciting!

There's some beautiful things in my mum's shop at the moment, I'm loving this weaving mesh. In this picture it's had Louisa Harding Sari Silk woven through it, it's so beautiful. You just need 1-2 metres of mesh and one hank of silk (although you can weave whatever you like through it), I am very tempted to make one for myself. The mesh comes in different colours, I'm tempted by the cream and weaving a champagne coloured silk through it, very elegant.