I’ve Been Bad Part 3 (the final....for now)

 

I have been so bad at casting on new projects before finishing others. My Victoria top by West Yorkshire Spinners has been a victim of this. I had to rip out a few repeats of the pattern which put it on hold. Hundreds of stitches to frog in 2ply. I eventually did and I am at the point where I just need to finish the neck and then I can join them together before working on the sleeves. I needed time to be able to concentrate on that since this was only my second garment. So I worked on other things until I could do that and until I ordered a second stitch holder (since ordered and found other stitch holders). My Christmas knitting has put this on the back burner. Even my sister has commented on it and I’ve been told by her that I need to start working on it again after Christmas.

This zipped cardigan is the work in progress which replaced the Victoria. It’s called Franck by Bergere de France and is a delight to knit. I have been doing lots of other things in between and it’s surprising how fast I have been knitting it up. I even spotted a mistake in the pattern. Just a small one but since I am new to garments I am proud of myself. I am on the second sleeve. Next is the collar and then the sewing. I’m not actually dreading the sewing because I am so excited to see it finished. This will be part of my dad’s Christmas present.

My weekends have become dedicated to sock knitting. I’m sure I have mentioned this before. The Loveliest Yarn Company challenged the group to a sock knitting weekend and I have decided to keep it going. It means I can work on bigger projects during the week and still get to knit my beloved socks. For the most part it has been fine even when working. I have managed to knit quite a few pairs as a result. These cat socks though have proven to be a nightmare. Turns out I can only knit them during the day due to the black yarn. I’ve changed the lightbulbs in my lamps to cool in the hopes that it will help as I want them done for my sister. The second problem has been that when I am not working my sister has been spending quite a bit of her time staying with me (I’m her bubble). Today I might get the chance to work on them a little.

So, that has meant that I have been working on other socks. I knitted socks as part of a gift to my line manager since I would be leaving her. Then I was working on Christmas socks for myself and my sister. I thought it would be fun to do our own version of a Christmas Eve box with matching jammies, socks, snacks and wine. I finished the second pair last night.

Sundays became Study Sunday thanks to an idea from Stephen & Penelope’s Instagram account. I wanted practise on my colour work so bought this hat kit. It will also be a gift for my sister. I just need to attach the Pom Pom which I have yet to find the time to do.

I bought this beautiful set of yarn from For the Love of Yarn. Through Lisa’s instagram account I saw that she was making kits for people taking part in a MacMillan Knit a long. A charity that is close to me I signed up and ordered the yarn. The colours are beautiful and the pattern is lovely too. I’ve just not had the chance to cast it on yet. It looks like it will be a quick project so I am hoping to get it started and finished in time for Christmas. Maybe after I have finished my dad’s zipped jacket.

This scarf by Martin Storey has been the biggest victim. I started this at the start of the year as part of my project of trying new things and challenging myself. It took a back seat to my sock knitting due to lockdown. Then to my knitalong cardigan and then all the other projects I have started since. It’s almost finished too. I WILL get it finished.

On the Pins in February

I thought I would show a little of what I have been working on so that no one thinks that I have been doing nothing or disappeared again. I have two larger projects on the pins and they will take a little longer to finish as a result. I am loving them both though and I swap my time between them. They are both very different and so I haven’t minded that it is taking me longer to finish (too used to knitting socks is my problem).

The first is for my garment challenge and it is a the Windy scarf by Martin Story. I came across the pattern and the designer thanks to watching the Fruity Knitting podcast. Andrew of Fruity Knitting did this very same scarf in order to practise his cables. It was beautifully done and I initially thought that this might be good to knit for my dad or my uncle. Then selfishly I decided to knit it for myself as part of the challenge. Like the hat it is a bit of a cheat since I am not new to cables. I love a cable and I have never knitted a cable scarf before. I don’t want to say too much about it until I do my finish post but it is a lovely knit.

The second project is a continuation of learning Brioche. It’s another Knit Graffiti design and it’s a shawl called Parlour. I cast on the yarn that I found in my stash by Owl About the Yarn. I knit this on my days off while I have something easy on in the background so that I can concentrate. It’s hard to put down though and I am loving watching it grow just as much as I am loving the scarf. The scarf pattern I have memorised and I tend to knit that when watching something I haven’t watched before. I also occasionally do a few rows before bed after work as it helps me relax.

So I said in my last post that I was going to have a month or two of de-stash projects once my Brioche phase was finished. In that vein I decided to cast on the sock yarn by For the Love of Yarn which I also showed in my last post. I have seen numerous people knitting socks where the design is a simple slip stitch. I was sure I had this pattern saved somewhere but have struggled to find it. I have therefore cast it on myself but won’t be releasing it as I know that this already exists as a pattern. Since my last post I have also tidied out what was formerly known as my cupboard of shame. I can now find everything and that means seeing exactly how much stash I have. It is considerably more than I thought and it is disgusting. Another excuse to cast on socks. Really I was having sock withdrawal.

On the plus side I found that I had a second cake of this yarn. When buying Lisa’s club boxes I always opted for the larger size (which will explain my stash size). This yarn has large blocks of colour and so one sock will only have two colours in it. After realising that I discarded the mini which I had originally planned to be an afterthought heel and toes. I pulled out the second cake and I plan to make two socks the same by knitting from the outside. I have finished the first sock and one half is orange while the other is purple. Yesterday I also started a second sock by knitting from the inside which will be the first of a second pair. It has a different pattern and it’s one that I will be able to release when I have written it up. I have called it Bad Wolf. You’ll find out why at some point in the future.

I suppose that technically means that I have four projects on the go but I predict that my socks will be finished by next week. The other two will take a little longer.