View From the Ball-Pool

Last week I had a bead-purging session in the attic (land of all crafts) and Hobnob took some photos:

This is the new box of 'Brownie' beads - I did have Brownie beads sorted by colour but they get mixed up every time and I needed to let go of that particular obsession.

Now I just need to find some good crafty projects for the beads I've hung on to!

Not Meant to Be

Last Wednesday I was planning to take a trip to Barrow-in-Furness. By train this is usually a pretty quick journey, but right now they're doing some work on the viaduct from Arnside to Grange-over-Sands and the replacement coach services put on are taking rather longer than the train might usually do - I therefore *needed* to take a knitting project.

Current projects include two garments (one to be frogged and one to be blocked) neither of which require any knitting at present; a pair of socks which need trying on so I know whether to get going on the heel; and a home project I refuse to show anyone so as to ensure noone will know if it suddenly suffers a fate similar to some of the other projects I've attempted recently. For this reason, a new knitting project was clearly in order.

Unfortunately, time running away as it does (and preparation not being my strong point), what I actually took to the station was this:



Plus a set of 3mm needle tips with a couple of short looking cables, exactly zero stitch markers and two crochet hooks. I did remember to print out the pattern: Olatz.

At the end of the day, what did I have exactly?

Um... half a centre-pull ball and a skein just beginning to show signs of tangling. This, it seems, was an omen.

I've just ripped back my Olatz - it just wasn't meant to be. I have a suspicion that the pattern is gorgeous but it is masked completely by this yarn:

Pattern: Olatz by Marya Speton

Yarn: Flamboyance Yarns Elysian in colourway Frosted Hedgerow (Fabulous Yarn Club – January 2011)

Project: online at Ravelry

Oh well. Time to begin again, I think I'll try something with less-subtle 'lace' patterning, most likely Lavalette as I've seen a version of this in one of the Flamboyance Yarns and it worked out beautifully.

FO: Jagged

Four months in the making, Hobnob's Jagged socks are finally complete and modeled:



I think this pattern is lovely. I really like the way the cuff looks and the whole pattern looks particularly well defined in this yarn. They're now glued to Hobnob's feet with a declaration that he is wearing them for the rest of the evening and tomorrow.

Pattern: Jagged by Kirstin Kapur.

Yarn: Kollage Luscious in Pewter and Aqua.

Mods: None.

Project: Online at Ravelry.