All Fingers and Thumbs

Pattern: Sophie Yarn: Sirdar Bonus Flash DK - Peacock - glad of the strength of this as I pulled and pulled at it to knit around the stuffing for the head without leaving great ladders between the dpns - used about a ball Needles: 3.5mm Bamboo DPNs Started: 15 February 2008 Finished: 24 February 2008 Notes: Loved knitting it once I was past the cast on where whilst wrestling the dpns I feared it might go the way of Clarabelle's Woodins . My cast on didn't entirely disappear as it should and I confess I thought I was starting at the nose so would be able to hide it with embroidery but you actually start at the back of the head. I'm happy enough with it and I don't think that little Elsa (one today) will mind too much. I took the tip to use a crochet hook to pick up the stitches and found that worked really well; there are fiddly moments after each body part pick up (urgh sounds dodgy!!) but enough plain knitting to be quite soothing and watching the little creature grow...

The Fiery Socks are all done and what could be better for keeping my beloved's toes toasty in the current cold snap? Purty yarn and a simple (sock equivalent of a garter stitch scarf) pattern mean they were finished quick smart. The rich colourway made these a natural choice for my Project Spectrum 'Fire' project though I had nearly put this skein aside to send to Ambermoggie for her Hospice Socks project until the beloved suggested I might use it for socks for him. Ah the boyf request - so hard to resist! We struck a deal, I have knit these for him and he is making a donation to the hospice . Pattern: Plain stocking stitch - 52 stitch cast on, twisted 1x1 rib and eye of partridge heel Yarn: Not quite one skein (dang and blast) of Colinette Jitterbug in Tapis Needles: 3.75mm Metal DPNs Started: 3 February 2008 Finished: 17 February 2008 Notes: I'm reasonably happy with the finished socks - love the heel - but if I had spent a little more time preparing and a little le...

Beautiful yarn, it's my one weakness as Dorcas Lane would say when another little parcel arrived from Get Knitted . The latest little indulgences are a ball of Megaboots Stretch and some Tofutsies which was on sale and is so Project Spectrum friendly in colour it would have been unforgivable not to buy some! I can see the sock yarn featuring large this year as I try to buy in less than the number of skeins that go out. That one or two odd balls here and there may add up but a lot less quickly than the odd ten or so here or there for a jumper. (And no I am not even thinking about yardage!) So far this year some quick bears (two balls), a couple of chunky scarves (six skeins) and a pair of socks (two skeins) have done me proud, giving me another six skeins I can buy already without another knitted item being completed :o) And if some more Harmony needles made their way here too? Well - fine needles are my one weakness. I haven't yet got any socks onto the Harmony DPNs but I wa...

Sometimes I think it's more about blogging, friends, feeling inspired and alive than woolly items. Sometimes it's a about a new favourite band! I'm really enjoying Pink Martini ; in particular the album Sympathique which of course my musicophile other half has had forever but just forgot to share with me. It took an article with the knitting lead singer, China Forbes in Knit1 for me to catch up and now I have the latest album Hey Eugene on order. Knitting, it gets in everywhere :o) Here's a bit of Pink for PS in celebration of Pink Martini

As well as the Fiery Socks I have another couple of colour appropriate knits already underway that it would be good to get some work in on over the next two months. I'd like to think I might finish one or even both, but I'd feel happy with just some visible progress and I think the inner knitter may be in agreement as she would like to be wearing one of them and seeing her Mama in the other. Knit One is the long hibernating Moonlight - I put this away last summer as it is such a winter woolly. The back is done so I'm a good portion in; sleeves or fronts next is the question? Knit Two is the fresher on the needles Cabled Cardigan; look at those red needles - what could fit better with the current scheme. Focussing on the colours does give me a boost to get to work on the malingerers, it's like seeing a different side to them. It would be nice to have a finished item to give to Mum for Easter; I'm mid sleeves here and then just one front, seaming and collar to go. Def...

I blame the yarn fumes. I wasn't going to buy any yarn in January - not a diet but a rational thought that maybe this year I would try and knit up more than I would buy. It soon became clear that depriving myself of yarn in gloomy January when I wasn't feeling well was about the most irrational thing I could do. So when I saw some hand dyed sock yarn called Sea Spray from an ebay seller based in Cornwall I had to have it :o) Then I saw that Get Knitted has the Knitpicks Harmony DPNs set so I just cruised on over there for a peek and managed to talk myself down from the full six pack to just trying one pack - ooh just look at them. I got the 2.25mm size as someone who shall remain nameless (but who has been wearing a nice scarf of late) sat his great bottom on my set of 2.25 sock needles and snappyed one. I think I may love these more than the Brittany's. Though the proof will be in the using - the Harmony's are ahead at the moment as they're longer, more colourfu...

Inspired and encouraged by Rose Red's toe up sockcess I took a few quiet moments this morning to actually read the instructions for the short row heel that has been the latest road block to progress with these oh so troubled socks . Having managed the toe you'd think I would have pushed on through the heel without a pause but pause I did last November and then it became a big deal in my mind. Having to actually read instructions has been the bridge too far for months and I was starting to believe that this was too hard for me. Pah! With time, patience and the wisdom of generations of knitters to draw on I learnt to knit in the first place so with the same resources available there is nothing to fear in the knitting. Thanks to Rose Red for the advice to set aside some time to tackle this and to Wendy Knits for the original instructions. Aren't bloggers grand :o) Here's a little PS colour to finish off with as I seem to be knitting on my greyest of projects this ...

Bring on the fire. The themes for the first two months are the element fire and the fiery shades of red, orange and pink. For me the beauty of this project is that I can be involved at whatever level works for me;I like the sense of being part of a bigger group all focussing on these themes in our own ways. Encouragement and inspiration without pressure. My starting plan is: to knit one item in an appropriate shade for the two month block to add appropriate themed photos to each of my posts during the project and then collect these into a sticker set at the end to participate in the Artists Trading Card swap to work in some other colour/element themed creativity such baking (always happy to bring food into the equation) and maybe some embroidery? My first knitting project will be a pair of socks in this deep rich, fiery shade - Tapis. I am making these for my guy so sadly the gorgeous and oh so fitting Flickering Flames pattern seems a little too girly. Instead I think I will stick...