Time Flies

How time flies!  I really did intend on making sure I had a new post out each week so I can't believe that two weeks have gone by since my last post. 

Firstly the brilliant news for this post is that my work colleague took her triplets home from the hospital last Friday.  Here are the little teensy matinee sets that I had knitted, I was chuffed to bits to discover that she had used them for the babies' coming home outfits and they had been much admired.  I made two sets with pink buttons and pink pompoms for the hats and one set with blue.  The pattern was one from a Sirdar book for newborns and premature babies, called Sirdar 280, Early Arrivals Booklet if anyone is interested.  I was going to put a link to the article in our local newspaper about their homecoming but it appears to have been taken down already! 

Baby Roots cardigan

In other knitting activity, I've also knitted a baby jacket for another work colleague's new grandson and also a hat for his big brother so he didn't feel left out.  The jacket was a free one on Ravelry, Baby Roots Cardigan  (Rav Link) and I really enjoyed knitting it.  It was knitted top-down in one piece which is my favourite construction for cardigans.  I used some stash yarn which was Rico Aran Duo in a cream mix colour and it turned out really well. 

Bubbles

The hat was Bubbles by Woolly Wormhead and I knitted the flat top version which I think is so cute.  I usually love Woolly's patterns and this was as well written and clear as ever but it had far too much purling in the round for my liking and I don't think it's one I'll knit again in a hurry.  It turned out lovely though and I'm looking forward to seeing Ethan wearing it.  The yarn was some stash yarn that has long since lost it's ball band but I seem to remember it being Stylecraft Aran with Wool.



 I've also started Tappan Zee for myself.  I've liked this pattern ever since I first saw it in Knitty's Spring/Summer 2010 edition, but as usual it got lost in the queue.  However, after knitting my Meret in the lovely Soffia Plus, the rest of it in my stash started shouting Tappan Zee, Tappan Zee everytime I walked past the shelves where I keep my yarn stash so I had to cave in and cast it on.  It's another top-down seamless jobby so I'm a happy bunny knitting along.  I'm pleased with the look of it so far, I just hope I have enough yarn...I'd hate to hate to frog my Meret to finish it!

Last weekend, Patrick and I went to Manchester to the National Winter Ales Festival.  We set off in the chucking rain, the M62 is most unpleasant to drive down in that kind of weather I must say.  We arrived in the chucking rain and it was still chucking with rain when we left the Premier Inn on Saturday morning.  However, we didn't go to sunbathe, we went to drink lots of lovely dark winter ales.  Mission was accomplished most satisfactorily.  As usual we met some nice people and had a giggle with them.  One group of lads had brought along their lager drinking friend to try and convert him and he wasn't much impressed.  However as an ex-lager drinker myself I understand that it does take a while for your palette to adjust to drinking alcohol that actually tastes of something rather than just being wet and fizzy.  On reflection though, dark and flavourful winter ales probably are not the best introduction to a real ale drinking career!  He would be better at a summer ales festival I'm sure but I doubt he'll give it another chance.  He did make a very valid point though and one which I have often made myself.  Where the hell do some of these people hide when they are not stalking around beer festivals?  Seriously there are some people who at best could be described as "characters" but really are just a little bit weird.  There are the usual anorak, back-pack carrying oddities but also some very strange looking people, like the little guy with the leather trousers, leather waistcoat, leather cowboy hat and aviator sunglasses...indoors...in Manchester.  He would look ok cruising Route 66 on his chopper maybe.  I really wanted to try to take some surreptitious photos of some of the "characters" but it would have been too obvious.  Although lager boy did grab Mr Leather & Sunglasses and insist on having a photo taken with him, I should have taken one too. 

And now to remedy the lack of.....

....personal hat knitting from last year, I have at last knitted the Meret Beret by Woolly Wormhead.  This is a gorgeous hat that has been on my radar for about 2 years I think but for some reason it kept getting left behind in the queue.  Teamed with some stash yarn that I had won in our knitting group's raffle at some point last year, Adriafil Soffio Plus in a lovely pale olive green and this is the result.  I'm hoping to get some modelled pictures at the weekend because this picture of it blocking really doesn't do it justice, the colour hasn't turned out well with a flash and you can't really see the pattern properly over a dinner plate.  It is such a lovely pattern.  I did the version with the rolled brim and 2 x 2 ribbing combo (as in the picture on Woolly's pattern page linked above) and did an extra pattern repeat and it fits perfectly with just the right amount of slouch.

Of course I haven't finished Maude Louise yet, or the partner sock to the one I finished last September or the other projects that are in hibernation at the moment but you know how it is when your stash calls out to you!

I don't really have much else to report for last week so I'll leave you with some pictures I took when Patrick and I went for a Christmas walk around Tophill Low.  It was a beautiful sunny crisp day and we saw a deer in the woodland walk but it dashed away before I could get a photo, scared by the noise of my camera zoom.  We also went into a couple of the bird-watching hides but to be honest, there really wasn't anything much to be seen, not that I would know what I was looking at anyway unless it was something common like swans, geese etc.  All the same it was a nice walk and blew off the cobwebs and I got to model my Corella , the Woolly Wormhead mystery hat from November, in a pretty location.

So what happened...

In 2011?  Well, I finished all of these projects.

That's 18 projects in total comprising of:


1 jumper - I'm not sure I can call this finished actually because I'm still not happy with the shoulders so won't wear it until I've unpicked and re-done them.  Oh sod it, it's finished technically so it goes in the list
1 bolero - This may yet be sent to the Charity shop, I don't really like the yarn so probably will never wear it.
4 shawls - Love, love, love these and wear them all the time.
1 scarf - A gift for my OH's sister
1 cowl
1 pair of facecloths - Both cowl and facecloths were part of a swap on Ravelry, blogged about here.
4 hats - and only 1 for me!!
1 set of 3 baby layettes - for my work colleague for her triplets.
1 pair of mitts/glittens - requested by my 17 year old son who insists that my knitting is better than anything shop bought! (I've brainwashed him well obviously)
3 cardigans - the Red Mr Greenjeans was mostly knitted in 2010 but I did complete it in 2011. The February Lady I knitted in some bargain Debbie Bliss Rialton Aran and I wear it a lot and the Hampton is in Patons Caressa dk and is a really lovely cardigan which always gets complimented whenever I wear it.
You know, when I put it like that, I've actually been more productive than I realised, I tend to think that I don't really produce much in the way of FOs for all the knitting I do but I'm rather pleased with this tally.  This is the first time I've really put together a collage and list of the things I've knitted and it's been quite interesting to me.  Clearly I'm a selfish knitter because most of the things are for myself :-).  However I'm quite surprised that I've only knitted one hat for myself this year. I have knitted the same hat three times for my son, my OH and my mum's friend though!

My main knitting resolution last year was to knit from stash.  I kept to that...mostly...but I can't resist a bargain so I did make some purchases.  Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran at £1 per ball simply cannot be passed up!!  I think that is all I bought though so I'm calling that resolution a success.

So, onto 2012.  Aims for this year are:
1. Continue to knit up that stash and work from my Ravelry queue.  I have loads of things that I really want to knit.
2. Colourwork - I have halfheartedly started some mitts but I do intend to crack this colourwork malarky this year.
3. Knit more socks!  I haven't knitted many pairs and I need to rectify this.
4. Blog more regularly.  I know I say this everytime I haven't blogged for a while but I really do want to try to keep up with this because it is fun to look back on.
5. Put away a little money each month so that I can go to Harrogate for the Knitting show in November.  I've wanted to go for the past 2 years but when it's come to it, I just haven't had any money to spare.  I intend to go this year come hell or high water.

So a belated wish for a very Happy New Year to you all.  May 2012 be all that you need it to be.