FO: Hey Tech

Now this has been on the needles for a very long time... sort of. It was almost all knit and bound off - just the edgings and button bands to knit on but it just sat around waiting to be blocked... for a year.

Still, here it is, the first pieced garment I ever started (and the second I finished ;)).



Love it! I worried for most of the sewing it up that the sleeves were going to fall exactly in the fold of my elbow - they don't. It could be an inch or two longer but it's not 'too short' and the below bust ribbing seems to fall in the perfect spot.

Pattern: Hey Teach! by Hélène Rush.
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too 2nd Time Cotton in Claret, bought at Natural Stitches in August 2009.
Mods: Sleeve length according to someone's Ravelry project notes. An extra buttonhole.
Project: Online at Ravelry.

Mistakes

I read a thought-provoking post about mistakes today on The Perfect Fit.

As I've been plugging away on this week's WIP Wednesday project, the second of my Allgäu Socks, I've been able to see mistakes in the first that I never knew were there.

Spot it? This is the underside of the sock and the mistake is more visible here than on the pattern section.

There's two of these... do I care? Well, unusually, no - not really.

I can't quite tell why, I normally have a zero-tolerance policy for mistakes in my handknits but these just aren't really bothering me. Perhaps it's just the sheer quantity of work that would be involved in ripping back a sock because you made a mistake on the third pattern repeat, perhaps it actually just doesn't matter.

I can't see a mistake in the second sock yet ;)

Decorating (Part 2)

(If you missed it, part 1 is here).

Go go decorating...

Day 4: - Decision Made!
Hobnob worked late into the evening in order to get the last paint onto the ceiling. (Don't ask what I was working on, it was work work and then it was cancelled - some holiday!)

Day 5:
Admiring the new light fitting and painting all manner of edges.

Day 6:
A few more edges and a to-do list for the next week or so forever.

Day 7: - A Day of Rest, Kite Festival

Kite Festival

This weekend (in a that's-quite-enough-decorating-for-this-week moment) we took a trip out to 'Catch the Wind' a kite festival in Morecambe:

Lots of kites in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colours, in the above picture you can see two octopi (one green, one multicoloured), a clownfish, a blue fish, a set of dogs and a whole bunch of colourful shapes. (Also some sunbathers, the weather was pretty good actually).

Here's the blue fish closer up with a bunch of other animals:

Another close-up (ish) the blue fish, the dogs and an octopus:

We also liked this magic hoop thing:

Lots of colourful wind socks:

Walace and Gromit:

And, perhaps a favourite of mine, the humble butterfly (and a seagull):

Decorating (Part 1)

This week's WIP Wednesday is a little bit different:

Day -1...
Lots of chaos in here, it's all going to have to be rehomed before we can start work.

Day 0...

Good, what's next...?

Day 1: - Let's Go!
Sugar soaping you say? It doesn't look any different to me.

Day 2: - Decisions, Decisions

Nine tester pots, two colour schemes and finally a few decisions made.

Day 3: - Paint inside, cat outside
Time to start really painting.... so which one did we choose? PS - Note the 1st coat of paint on the ceiling too.

Books I Read in June

Um, that'd be one then...

Total 1 books:
Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences (Cordelia Fine)

This book has quite mixed reviews on Amazon and my feelings are broadly similar. The book is highly critical of pop-science gender books and yet delivers something that feels broadly the same. On the plus side, there's lots of interesting research referenced - lots to follow up - with a selection of critical points. Unfortunately the criticisms seem weak and uninteresting in many cases with no significant opposition beyond the (often obvious) failures in previous research or writing. Flawed and not interesting enough to keep around or reread.

Second Sock: His N Hers

This week's WIP Wednesday, second socks:

In orange and yellow, what will be a pair of Allgäu Socks for the lovely Hobnob (His). These are a slow and steady project - not terribly exciting to knit but satisfying in appearance (if you like bright colours). I do like the way the stitch pattern works in the pattern. Top-down on 2.5mm needles, progressing slowly.

Project: online at Ravelry

In a very lovely green, what will be a pair of Ribbed Ribbon Socks for me (Hers)! These are a reasonably quick knit, I finished the first one in a week (small feet has its benefits here). The pattern is charted and my memory's not quite good enough to go chartless, but the chart is simple enough that it only really needs one or two quick glances per row. Again the stitch pattern is really effective and I loving these (and I don't like lace socks as a general rule). Toe-up on 2.25mm needles. Progressing plenty quick enough given that I'm not wearing socks at the moment - our summer may be short and unpredictable, but it's here right now and that's enough for me!

Project: online at Ravelry

Blogged: here

Appropriate

For quite a long time now I have bought clothes I loved and then never worn them because I felt them to be appropriate to some particular time or occasion that I simply never encountered.

As I've got older (most noticeably in the last year or so) I've somehow started to realise that (as long as the clothes aren't wholly inappropriate) its ok to wear them in my normal everyday circumstances and that, shock horror, noone else will notice or care.

Today I'm wearing a perfect-for-summer-barbeques-with-friends-who-have-nice-big-gardens skirt, it's fab!

Inside*	Outside*

* The skirt is actually reversible - this is today's inside and outside.

PS - This is not the post I was planning to make today. Come back tomorrow for some sock-update photos.

More Green

This week's WIP Wednesday:

Cast on for a new project today. My supply of sock needles was looking a little thin so I ordered two 2.25mm Kollage square circulars as a bit of an experiment. (I ordered from YarnBox if you're wondering).

When the needles showed up last night I felt the need to cast on. Rationality held me back a little, so this morning I dug out one of my untouched Natural Stitches purchases and my copy of Socks a la Carte 2 and promised myself an experiment with a new toe (and perhaps a new heel too).

This is my project, newly cast on using Conjoined Creations Flat Feet.

Initial thoughts suggest that the yarn isn't overly stressful to knit with yet (despite the crimping) and the needles feel gorgeous in my hands. Really lightweight and the cables are so incredibly soft and flexible. Two at a time is how I like my socks when I'm going but right now this feels like a huge faff - I do wonder if the needles are a tad long.

I'm curious to see how this knits up. What kind of gauge will I get with the square needles? What exactly will the yarn do? Only time will tell...

In Celebration of Green

I love greens. This is the first of my July Sockdown socks (project online at Ravelry.). The pattern is Wendy Johnson's Ribbed Ribbon Socks from Socks from the Toe Up. I've had this book for a while now and not knit anything from it so was glad to have an extra kick of motivation. I normally don't go for lace on socks but I liked the way this one looked and figured it was worth a go. As it is, I think it's a great yarn/pattern combo. The pattern is fairly straightforward and is charted (24 rows of 10 stitches) and only takes up two sides of paper which makes a nice change from some of the trees I've been knitting from recently (long patterns have their place but it's nice to have something so straightforward).

The yarn is CraftsMeow Soft Serve in flavour (colourway) Granny Smith. I absolutely love the way the colour is working out, it's fabulous.

The project bag is also new and comes from The Laal Bear - I bought it at this year's Woolfest (my first, probably not my last :)). I like the fact that as well as having drawstrings this bag has a little handle (not pictured) which for me seems to mean that I can knit and walk much more easily with the yarn rather less likely to twist up around the drawstrings.

There were other Woolfest purchases, they may come out and talk to you another day.