November WIP

 Sometimes it feels like I am working on the same things all the time. Other times it feels like I never finish a project before I start another one. Just now it's most definitely the latter. I have been finishing projects though. For example, I have been doing well with my sister's winter woollies set. I am now onto her hat. Yes it's the same as the two hats I did for myselfhttp://willgiveitago.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/one-snuggly-cowl.html. I just love the pattern. Plus my sister saw me knitting this for myself and has requested that I knit her one. As it is a surprise I pretended I was too busy. There will be a pom pom at the end of this particulare hat (on request).

My good friend Lisa sent me the tweed yarn in cream as requested. So I am now back on to the blanket which was originally for my gran. I love the cream. I think it goes well.

So the plan for these hexies is to have them all finished by the end of the year. I have about 10 to make so I think I will do it. Then it's just a case of putting them together. Wish me luck

September WIP

Almost ran out of time for this months WIP post. In fact I was even going to give it a miss because I wasn't sure I would have anything to show. You will notice that none of these projects featured in August's post. And one of these I realise I am over reaching with. That's not to say that I have finished ANY of lasts months WIP's. In fact I haven't touched them since. No real point in showing them again.

So first up we have a basic sock. You might recognise this as the sock yarn I brought back from York. I actually started knitting these up in order to help a friends mum. I sent her my sock knitting lesson and she was struggling with the heel. I figured the best way to show her how to do it was to photograph each step as I did it myself. Hopefully it will work. And I have a pair of socks started. I haven't decided who they are for yet.

From the same stash post I mentioned some tweed like yarn that I got from Lisa. I crocheted all three skins into solid granny squares. The plan was to make a lap blanket for my wee gran who hasn't been doing too well since my mum passed away. Sadly my wee gran passed away at the weekend. She was a talented lady who inspired both my mum and myself. I plan on doing a post dedicated to her later. These squares will still become a lap blanket but I will donate it to someone else who could use it. My gran was always donating blankets she had knitted and so I think she would like that.

Lastly, my good friend Helen gave me this fabric to play with. I have been talking for ages about wanting to do mug rugs or to try hexies. Obviously sick of hearing about me wanting to do it she has given me the fabric so that I could practise. These colours are actually perfect for my sisters living room. So I am going to try a hexie cushion for her. The fabric is all washed and ironed. Next week I plan to start cutting.

One Very Green Blanket

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I finished my sister's throw! I say throw, it's too big to be a throw. It's big enough for a double bed or a table clothe (not that I would use it as a table clothe. I only mention it because it's almost as big as the table). Remember the preemie blankets? They were 20 rounds each with the fan edging. This is 55 rounds with the fan edging. My sister is tiny so she can have it over the back of her sofa and pull it down to snuggle under. This took just under 900g of yarn all in.

It's not perfect though. I have made a mistake here and there when I wasn't paying attention. It's also slightly wonky in one area. I think though that blocking would take care of that. I love blocking but this blanket is huge and life is too short. Sister of mine will have this washed within an inch of its life (hence the acrylic) so I am sure it will right itself. If you are wondering which image accurately shows the green it would be neither. It's very much a lime green. It fits in perfectly with the green hints in my sister's predominantly blue living room.

Just now I am moving time is different inside my head than it is in reality. Basically I have convinced myself that Easter is ages away and not two weeks away. I have basically given myself two weeks to finish each of the handmade gifts for my sister (our Easter tradition). See, this is why starting lots of projects is not a good idea! I have come to the realisation that I can't do it all. I might get some of it done. Which means that the socks that I had planned to knit for her Easter she will get at a later date. Instead she will get the pair I started with yarn my friend Helen gave me with the words "Here is some hideous wool your sister will like". The first sock is already done (and on completing the lovely Helen changed her mind about just how hideous it is. I personally think it's quite pretty).

I wasn't actually going to post this photo as, you know, it's supposed to be a present. Then I remembered that my sister was with me while I knitted the first sock. So it's hardly going to be a surprise. I promise the pair I had originally planned will be.

In between all that I have two weeks of placement to do and an essay to finish. There is nothing quite like putting the pressure on. Tonight though, I plan to take some time out. I have some magazines to read. I WILL NOT start a new project. Who is betting that I will start the free kit?

Sneak Peeks!

I started placement this week which is why this is my first post and there was no pinterest post. I had intended on posting at the end of last week but time got away from me. Basically, I just want to let you all know that I haven't disappeared. It's been difficult to update now that I am no longer at uni and my laptop is still not working. I need to resign myself to the fact that it's never going to work again. Thankfully it works enough for me to get all my stuff off it. Plus, good news, I have a shiny new laptop which I will hopefully set up tonight.

Not sure I would have been able to update anyway. My placement is amazing but busy. I also have a couple of hours of travel to get there. That all combined, I just want to crawl into bed when I get home. There has been no crafting. Instead I have been managing to read a little. I have a few days off though and I plan to get some crafting done in between studying.

The first plan is to finish a pair of socks. That's the first sneak peek. I think they will be done this weekend and when I post about them it will also include a giveaway. So look out for that.

Knowing that I was going to be tired after shifts I wanted something simple to work on. I had some lovely Rowan yarn that I have been dying to use. It was originally going to be used to make something for my sisters bedroom. However, it's handwash only. My sister will happily accept handwash only socks but not throws or blankets. So it's now for me. Frustratingly I had thought I had bought more of the yarn than I did. I have used up the pink and so will have to buy more of each colour if I want to be able to use it as a decent sized throw or lapghan.

So, I started another throw. This time definitely for my sister. The yarn is just an acrylic (yarn snobs beware) so it can be washed at high temperatures. She wanted something to brighten up her living room and so I offered to do this for her. Really she is doing this as a favour for me as I now have something that I can work on without thinking about it. Yes, it's another solid granny. I really haven't gotten enough of those yet.

Yarn snobs come back! I decided to have a go at colourwork. If I kept putting it off I would never get round to it. This yarn is the loveliest yarn I have ever knitted socks with (not counting Lisa's yarn mind you). It's regia but it's angora. So lovely and soft. Not sure how my colourwork is turning out but who cares. It feels nice. It also takes a lot of concentration to follow the chart. So I will only be doing this a little bit at a time.

So that's what I've been up to. I will soon have an update on my sock class which finished last week. I also hope to return to pinteterest posts as of next week. I may not have many finishes over the next two months but I will still be around.

More Baby Blankets!

I was hoping that by this point I would have something to show you that I am a might bit proud of. However, I ran out of yarn. I ordered more thinking it would only take a few days but it took a week. It finally arrived today and it's completely the wrong shade. I just have to hope the store has the right colour when I return it. This really has nothing to do with this post but I needed to vent my frustrations.

In other news I finished three more baby blankets for my friends preemie charity. She is collecting preemie hats and blankets from members of the online group and then sending them off to two charities. The first photo I stole from my knitting group blog page. The photo's I originally took made the red far too bright thanks to the lighting (bring on the longer days). The red was leftover from another charity I knitted for (hope to have photo's from that soon). I thought that would make the blankets nice and bright.

This white is the last one I am handing in as I have another charity to knit for. I had originally planned to make a large granny blanket for myself. This would be something else off my bucket list. I love that slate blue. Even though it's basic acrylic it is so soft and I love the colour. I also love the minimalist style and had planned mainly white with a strip of blue every tenth round. The truth is, that as much as I love the blue it wouldn't really fit with the colours that I am planning for my flat.

So I edged it off and handed it in to Lisa. I think this blanket might be my favourite of the five that I have handed in. It's not as brightly coloured as the others but hopefully someone will like it. I can use the rest of the blue for the knitting groups charity.

First Finish of the Year!

This is my first attempt at blogging from my iPad. The truth is my laptop and I had a little falling out over tea. Not the first time I have to say. I am hoping like last time it will come out of its huff after a week of drying out. Unlike last time I had backed up my essays.

In the meantime I thought I would share my first finishes of the year. You caught a glimpse of it in my last post. As I said then I took a fancy to some crochet after seeing some lovely images on Instagram. Two baby blankets for a crochet along. Blankets and hats are being made for premature babies.

I took the opportunity to learn a new pattern. It's called a solid granny. I thought i was being clever and moving away from the granny. It's just another take on it. So not sure I can claim this as something off my bucket list. I used the yarn I had leftover from the mug cosies which is so lovely and soft but acrylic too. I know, the high brow knitters are cringing at the acrylic but it really is so very soft. Plus, it has to be acrylic. The hospitals request it as it can be washed in high temperatures.

I didn't have enough of the blue and so edged it in a darker blue. I used the fan edging I am so fond of as a border. I enjoyed it so much I did the same again withe purple and edged it with the small amount of white I had left. I did pin them but they still had a slight wave. I was unable to have them pinned for as long as I would have liked. I quite like the end result though.

Hmmm, well that was a big fat waste of time. In the end I had to borrow my dad's computer to add the photo's again as they were fuzzy the first time and edit the font. Never mind, I use the iPad for just about everything else.