Catching Up...

Even in summer, when the weather is warm (although the weather today is decidedly NOT warm and summer-like), one must think ahead and be prepared for when the cooler temperatures arrive.  For a knitter, this means working away on all manner of warm, woolly garments to keep a body cosy when the thermometer drops.

As my store of hand-knitted socks has been wearing thin, literally, over the last winter I decided that this summer I needed to get working on several more pairs.  Although I enjoy knitting I still seem to be rather slow at accomplishing any results - the yarn for the first pair was wound into a ball several months before even a stitch was cast on.  But cast on I finally did in mid-December and have worked slowly away at the first Nine-to-Five sock (Ravelry link) since then. 

Last night I began on the heel flap as the pattern had it written only to rip it back and replace it with the tried-and-true eye of the partridge stitch as I felt this gave a thicker, more comfortable result.  As I was knitting the first rows of the heel flap, however, I noticed something rather disconcerting.  I discovered that I hadn't read the original pattern correctly.  My sock is pictured above.  The original pattern is below.  Can you spot the difference?

Hmmm...you would have thought that I would have noticed that the stitch pattern that I was producing didn't, in fact, look anything like the one in the pattern.  Yes, well, obviously I wasn't paying a lot of attention to my knitting!  I DO like the original much better but I'm not frogging half a sock, and three weeks knitting, and starting again.  I don't think.

I recently finished my Red Current Cardigan knitted in Vintage Purls Sock (as is the sock above.  I'm quite pleased with it although it may be a little long.  As it is knitted top-down theoretically I could unpick the bottom and rip it back a bit and redo the ribbing.  Is it worth it?  I'm not sure.  (Can you tell that I'm lazy?)  I don't have a photo of the finished cardigan and I've only worn it for a total of two minutes so I really haven't had an opportunity to test out how much I really like, or dislike, the length.  Yes, yes, you want to see the colour because it really is the best part!

Yesterday I also started working again on my Essential Cardigan which had been in recess for a few months.  This one I'm knitting in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool which I had heard lots of good things about.  I'm not really that enamoured about it.  When I first cast on it felt very similar to chenille; a feeling which is still to go away.  The yarn is also rather delicate and will break with a half-hearted tug.  It also contains a reasonable amount of VM, probably from the silk from the look of it.  I'm not sure that I would buy it again although the colour is rather gorgeous in person.

I had got up to the picking up of the stitches for the front band, a part which I had been dreading for two reasons - one being that the dark purple is hard to see at night when I do most of my knitting, and the other because I really dislike picking up stitches.  I know, I did tell you I was lazy!  But I finally got down to it in the sunlight and picked all three hundred and umpteen stitches.  Now to work out where I want the buttonholes placed and carry on and knit the three inches of broken rib.  Yay!  It's nearly finished!  Yes, yes, here's a progress shot from some time ago:

As if these weren't enough I also did a test-knit for Jussi Turner - a Katie Snowflake Hoodie which will, eventually, be for my eldest Grandgirl.  Again there are no finished photos (I am sensing something that I really need to work on in the future!) but, as soon as I have a suitable model lined up, that will surely happen.  This was a fun knit and should be great to wear when the weather is a little cooler.  I knitted this one out of Skeinz Vintage DK yarn - really nice to knit with and will hopefully wear well, too.

Ooops, I realised that I only have an image of the sample to show you.  Sorry about that but at least it does show that I do sample my knitting first!

Well, that has about caught you up with some of what I have been up to in the last couple of months.  Not everything, but enough of a taste.  Now to go and mutter some more to myself about my sock...