All Fingers and Thumbs

Glibly a few weeks ago I said I was off to order orange and yellow yarn for my granny squares. It didn't occur to me for a second that would be a challenge.  The base yarn for the blanket was some Wendy Mode from Kemps bought a long old time ago. It struck me as a perfect blanket yarn 50/50 wool acrylic so easy to wash and great value at £1.39 a 50g ball. I got a cream, a white, a navy and a red. A classic palette but a little too restrained for my first granny square extravaganza. So then there was the souvenir yarn from Easter camping, van green and purple. Good strong clear colours that I knew would blend in nicely. That stuff is Jarol Heritage 55% wool, 25% acrylic and 20% nylon. Then I may have pillaged a light blue and a black Patons Diploma Gold DK from a set meant for this little cardigan . Plenty of colours to play with but definitely calling out for a bright yellow and orange to add a little warmth and balance. I thought it would be an easy mission as I just want...

Having made great strides with learning to crochet this year it's giving me confidence to sidle up to the sewing beast to see if we can make friends. Actually having signed myself up for a f ive day course on dress making in July, I'm not so sure it's a sidle so much as a full on dance outside it's lair! Last year I was resolving to just play around in the shallows before diving in but without any focus all I've done in over a year is mend a couple of split seams.  So I've got the course as something formal to look forward to and a couple of months to get in the shallows and splash! In a quiet hour on Sunday I got out the machine. Gulp, needles and hooks were never as frightening as that monster! I just took an old nightie, cut it into some bits and sewed random seams and squares and then the urge to make something kicked in, so a little lavender sachet was made. Then I heaved a big sigh of relief and quit while I was ahead! Little and often is the motto for ...

Yesterday I knit the ribbing for the right front. Today I knit the ribbing for the right front. In the correct size. Last night when I discovered my mistake I caught myself thinking "oh no what a waste of time! I wanted to get the fronts finished this weekend, now I have to do this over again." Then I thought again. How is time spent knitting a waste of time? Sure, I all I had tangibly to show for it was a pile of crinkly yarn, but the time spent making the stitches in the first place was time well spent, time which is calming and knits something inside of me. Time I was happy to spend again this morning.  Old lessons, often repeated, maybe one day I will embrace the path more than the fruit . Daydreams of the future are fun but it's how I spend the now that matters.

This  Double V venture has a stitch pattern I love. Both the look of it once it's done and the rhythm of it to knit. Just a four row repeat and within that on the two purl rows you just work the stitch as it is. That only leaves the two knit rows requiring anything like thought and happily not much of that as to me they make sense. By that I mean it seems obvious to my hands and brain what I should do next to get the pattern to work. I don't always find that with lace repeats so it's a pleasure not to have to think too hard about this as it flows along. That leaves plenty of brain space for sweet daydreams of the finished item which will fit me PERFECTLY. Daydreams of how I shall waft around in the heat of the summer in my new maxi dress, suitably summery cocktail in hand. Ooh how delightful! Well you know how one good idea leads to another.... Fly fingers fly! So many pretty summery cardis to knit  so little time! Here's hoping cardi and the hazy summer days to wear i...

As I've been playing merrily with the grannies my knitterly thoughts have turned to what garment I should feel disappointed by knitting next. I've got a real contender for that crown with the Double V Cardigan I started last summer . Before abandoning it for who knows what shiny new project I knit the sleeve I'd promised myself I'd start with to try and grapple sensibly with the gauge issue. Having spent a lot of this afternoon. measuring/headscratching/searching Ravelry for the meaning of life I'm starting to think the Short Lucky 'press on in there and make the best of what you end up with' approach should always be followed, it might at least mean I get to knit which is after all the aim of this game. I've been round the houses scribbling numbers on paper but I think basically my row gauge is quite a way out 23=4 compared to the pattern 28=4 so I'll need to adjust for that in the body. Stitch gauge is also a stitch out over 4 inches - 24 instead ...

Since the slight anti-climax of making Short Lucky a bit too Large Lucky (though thank you for your kind comments)  I've been playing with my crochet. I've promoted myself from the first stage of clueless crocheter = only allowed to make granny squares with scrap yarn to adept beginner = cracking out the blanket yarn, van green included. It feels much more playful than the oh so serious business of garment making. No pattern to follow, no fit to worry about, the biggest decision is which colour comes next. Delightful. This weekend I'm going to let myself order some more. Yellow and orange are top of the list. I know, crazy days! 

I've been lazing around all long weekend, such bliss, I'd like to get some better photos of Short Lucky for the blog but that involves me and him and more effort than can be mustered! Time to make do with a few that were snapped this morning in between me hanging out the washing and him making ramps for our creaky old cat to climb over the fence to visit her chums next door (who's in on the sweepstake for when she'll use it? Sorry, never's already taken!) Talking of hanging out the washing - scuse the action shot  but this is about the nicest one of Lucky herself. Pattern:  S hort Lucky Yarn: Patons Wool Blend Aran - less than 6 balls Started: September 8th 2010 Finished: April 24th 2011 Ravelry page I was convinced I'd get most wear out of this top tied at the front - like this: but my gauge was about 3.5 stitches to the inch instead of the pattern gauge of 4.5 so I've got a lot of fabric to spare and closing the fronts creates a bit more of a blocky, bl...