FO: Helena Cardigan for Isobel

I finished this ages ago but have only just got round to blogging it.

This is my Helena cardigan made for my niece Isobel in Artesano Superwash Soft Merino DK in Navy from Pack Lane Wools.  I made the 12 month size and that took 4 50g balls. 

 

This is my first proper item of clothing that I've knitted so I was quite worried about the sizing and how it would all work together.  This is a top down pattern with no sewing as the sleeves are knitted in the round.  It took me about 3 weeks to make and I'm pretty pleased with it.  The yarn was lovely to work with, very good stitch definition but it did make my fingers blue when working with it for a few hours.  Lovely pattern, very easy to follow and I only made a few mistakes with the lace pattern when I miscounted, I ended up using stitch markers at the end of each repeat so it would be obvious if I'd gone wrong.

Sometimes I hate knitting

... usually just after I've spent over a week on a certain Christmas present and found I've mis-read the pattern.  The last 20 rows are wrong, there is no way I can frog it back and this is the third attempt (each time a different mistake).  I've had enough.  I've finished with knitting.  Well for a few days at least.

I quite fancy giving this a go.

From the incredibly talented Ysolda.

My First Pair of Socks

Tadahhhhhhh my first socks.

I’m very proud of them.  Made from Regia Design Line (cheap from Kemps).  I love the stripeyness.  They are a little big and the sole of my feet complain if I wear them walking too much but they are great house socks for lolling around.  I’ve nearly finished my next pair using an actual pattern, but they are top secret so no photos yet.

In other news, my first 10k race is this weekend.  I’m quite scared and very nervous, my training has gone very well and I’m sure I can run the whole way but I’m not fast and desperately don’t want to come last.  My next race after this one is a 5k Halloween night race, so I can relax a bit for that.  I’ll try to beat my last 5k time (31:30) but as it’s at night I’m not holding out much hope.

FOs: Phone Sock & Blanket Bunny

The finished objects (FOs) are coming thick and fast!

First we have my first attempt of knitting in the round on double pointed needles (DPNs).

I used Laughing Yaffle's Banshee yarn, I quite like the splodges of colour instead of stripes.

I've also finished a blanket bunny for my neice (who is due tomorrow!!).  I think I may have made THE most disturbing child's toy.

It gets worse...
This is the other side of the head which, quite by accident
(it has my tying off of the black wool).






On a brighter note, I treated myself to a set of needles so I don't have to worry about having the right size all the time.

How scrummy are they?

FO: Baby Blanket

I started this baby blanket for my sister's baby in January.  Four months later and I've finished my first knitting project.  It was really hard work, I didn't know it was going to take so long and probably wasn't the ideal first project.

I love the textures of each square and I think the border finishes it really well.

So, what's next?  I'm going to try knitting in the round which means I can make hats and socks without seams.  I'm planning a phone sock just to practise before starting my first pair of socks.

Yummy Sock Yarn

This arrived in the post this week.

How gorgeous are they?  From Laughing Yaffle and I can't wait to turn them into lovely socks and/or wraps/scarves. 

The baby blanket is coming along well, half way through the third border, I'm hoping to finish it this weekend.

London Marathon

I'm watching the London Marathon as I type this, it's raining really quite hard in London which is a complete turn around from the beautiful weather we had yesterday.  I spent most of yesterday sat in the garden reading my latest book group book, more about that on my book group blog (subtle plug :-)).

I always find the marathon so inspriring, just watching the elites and how fast they effortlessly glide along fills me with awe.  My running training (which is nothing compared to even the slowest marathon runner) is going really well.  I had a sports massage last Monday which left me battered and bruised (but feeling better) so I decided to take a week off training.  I went out for a test run (literally) yesterday (in the glorious sunshine) and everything felt fine.  Just at the end I felt my hip beginning to ache to I stopped and walked.  I've still got ages before Race for Life in July so I'm quite happy to take it slow and steady.

My baby blanket is coming along leaps and bounds, I've sewn it up and I'm knitting the border in 4 sections.  I sewed the first border last night and it finishes off the edges really nicely.  The 2nd section is 30cm long, so only another 50cm-ish to go, maybe I'll get that done while watching the marathon ....

Arrrgggghhh my fingers....

My hands ache, knitting has broken me.  I've been spending my time off work trying to finish off the baby blanket for my sister.  This is my first knitting project, it's been great teaching me all the stitches and practising, I'm quite fast now.  The blanket is 30 squares of about 40 stitches and 50 rows, I started off doing about 2 squares a week gradually building up to 3 but even so I've been knitting small squares for 3 months now.  I've now just got 2 squares left which are stocking stitch with bobbles.  After then I have to block (wetting each square and pining them out to the correct size) then sewing them together before knitting the border and sewing that on.  Here's the bag with all my squares.

 Phew!

I can't wait to get it finished and I've been so good not buying loads of wool and I haven't started any other projects to distract me.  I can see the end of the tunnel and can't wait to start my first pair of socks with my Regia self-striping wool.  Here's my stash, complete with nosey cat.

In other news, I've been doing lots of batch cooking for the freezer, we probably have close to 20 meals in the freezer now.  I sorted out the lounge shelves so they're nice and neat without the heaps of crap we usually dump there.

Yes, this is actually better than it was before.

Relaxation and even more knitting

I've just come back from a gorgeous weekend at Ragdale Hall, a spa near Melton Mowbray.  It's become a tradition in my family, we've been going there once a year for about 7 years and every year I love it even more.  The atmosphere completely relaxes you as soon as you walk in the door, everyone serenely wanders around in white bath robes and slippers, people doze in comfy chairs, even the resident cat is chilled out.  The treatments are the best I've ever had, I've never had a bad experience there, all the girls are cheerful and polite, each treatment is perfectly done and I float out of each one even more relaxed than before.  In case you hadn't noticed, I can't recommend this place enough.

Back to the real world and back to knitting, which has become my life recently.  I've done 22 squares of my 30 square blanket, so close I can almost smell the finished article.  I've learned to cable, which was easier than I thought and I love the effect of it, it makes the squares nice and chunky.  My plan is to finish the last 8 squares in the next 2 weeks, then start blocking them (wetting, pinning and letting them dry so they become all the same size) and then sewing them together which will be very exciting as that's when they properly become a blanket.  Then it's just the border to finish and sew on.  I'm hoping to finish everything in 7 weeks which takes me up to mid-May.  Just in time for my niece who should arrive on 17th May (give or take a bit).

I've been a bit lax with my cycling recently, I've had a week off but am raring to get back to it.  I'm starting my running training in a few weeks, ready for Race for Life in July.  Pete, as ever, is doing so much more exercise than me.  His JOGLE training is going well, he had a week off work and cycled over 100km each day which is unbelievable and fantastic.  Tomorrow is the Reading Half Marathon which I'll be watching from Madjeski Stadium (might take my knitting).  Good luck to everyone who's running it including Pete, Gail, Fiona, Harry and Gill.

Knitting in earnest

Knitting has begun in earnest, I'm 10 squares into a 30 square blanket.  Here are some pictures of my work so far...

I've become slightly obsessed with knitting (as is my way) and I've already got a list of stuff I want to try including circular knitting to make socks...







I also like the look of these wrist warmers...











and bag...






Watch out friends and family, guess what you're getting for Christmas!

In other news, I've signed up to do Race for Life in July.  I'm going to train for it properly unlike last time when I went for approx two runs and then died during the race getting the quite pathetic time of 39mins59secs (and that was with a sprint finish).  I've worked out a 16 week plan which should mean I can run all of it in about 30 minutes.  I'll let you know how that goes when I start it in March (when it's light enough in the evenings for me to run after work).

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was my birthday yesterday and I had a lovely day.  It started off with opening presents in bed and then off for a back massage with Lisa which was heavenly, I didn't know my neck and shoulders were so tense until she'd relaxed them.  After that I had an afternoon of knitting followed by a meal at Colleys.  I thoroughly enjoyed my deep fried goats cheese, cream of celeriac soup, sorbet, navarne of lamb and treacle sponge.  Their treacle sponge is to die for, the sponge is made with suet and just seems to absorb the syrup making it so sweet and gooey.  All in all, a wonderful birthday.

I've been very good keeping up my resolutions, I've been giving myself a weekly facial when I've been good (done quota of knitting and exercise) and that means using up all the bottles of stuff in the bathroom.  I've finally finished a really expensive bottle of shower gel I was given last birthday, I had a strange sense of achievement doing that!  I'm keeping up with my knitting, I've worked out that to finish the baby blanket by the time he/she will arrive (sometime in May/June) I need to do 1.7 squares a week, that leaves me 4 weeks to sew them all together and knit the edging.  I've rounded this up to 2 square a week, 8 squares a month and I've already finished January's quota and am starting on February's today.  Again, this gives me great satisfaction each time I finish a square and start a new one, I think I'm actually going to finish this project (another resolution done!).

I'm getting very enthusiastic about knitting, I'm starting to think about what else I can do when I've finished the blanket.  Socks seem very popular and I'd like to learn how to do circular knitting (so the socks don't have a seam).  I also like some of the wool you get which makes the socks stripey with no extra effort!  I think'll need extra help to learn how to do this, so I'm going to a knitting group (no it's not as old fogey-ish as it sounds) next Sunday, I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it's over a year since I started this blog, I've been looking back on what I said this time last year and a lot has happened since then. So, what will 2010 bring? Well I can start by putting my resolutions into print:

1. Give myself a weekly facial (but only if I've completed what I said I'd do that week, exercise, jobs etc).
2. Finish what I start. This relates to projects I start and never finish and to products I start to use but then leave half empty but buy more so I have a plethora of stuff. Prime example of this would be the blanket I've started knitting my sister, I'm determined to finish it.
3. De-clutter. I have too much stuff, from bathroom products (see no. 2) to clothes and shoes I never wear. I need to have a good sort out of all cupboards, drawers and the loft and make sure I give away/sell anything I'm not using now.
   

Like last year, they are quite small and achievable, nothing life changing. So how did I do with last years resolutions?

1. Get fit and stay fit – I started cycling and swimming late last year, I've lost a bit of weight through it and felt great. Unfortunately the winter weather has stopped cycling until further notice but I'm starting swimming again this week.
2. Listen to more music – I failed at this one. My idea of getting a new CD a month slipped away by April. I still mostly listen to the radio but I am getting some CDs for my birthday.
3. Say 'Yes' more – I think I have been more open to things in the past year, I have tried new experiences and done things I could have so easily have chickened out of. My greatest success in this is joining Ladies Circle, meeting a room full of people I didn't know was very daunting but I've made loads of new friends and my social life is very full as a result of it.
   

I read 43 book last year, not bad, that's almost one a week! I will be keeping track of my 2010 books in the same way as I like seeing what I've read over the year.

What else has been happening? As I mentioned before, I'm knitting a blanket for my new niece/nephew who should make an appearance in May. It's square based so is quite satisfying finishing each square and seeing the pile grow. I've nearly finished my second square and reckon they take me about 4-6 hours each, depending on complexity. It's very therapeutic and also gives me a great excuse to watch loads of TV!