Finished!

I finished the South Cape!!! Hurray! Sorry it's late, teacher. ( I have said that many times in my life)

Pics to come tomorrow, hopefully. The cape is still a bit damp and I don't have time to take a good photo today.

See you soon.

Yarn 9 is Out - the KAL is over

Thanks for joining in on this KAL, the first I've ever run. I'd love to see what you've ended up with in your endeavors to cover at least one project from each Yarn edition that you own. Do you have intentions for any outstanding projects? I look forward to hearing from you all one last time.

Thanks especially to Barb for the fun of the first 8 editions of Yarn. I'm looking forward to jumping into my edition #9 tonight!

Slow progress

I feel like I'm caught in a Groundhog Day loop. I've been knitting and re-knitting the damn placket on the purple sheep cardigan three times now only to find that the I've still picked up too many stitches and the band is below the level of the waistband. At least it doesn't concertina this time and as for the first effort, well, I guess I was a little nervous because the stitches were so tight I couldn't even insert a needle into them! I will pull it out and make attempt #4 tonight. Hopefully by the weekend I shall finish this blighter. I feel quite discouraged and a little bloody-minded about the whole thing now. I will do my level best NEVER to do another cardigan with separate button bands.

Knowing my luck, Tilly will have grown too big for the cardy by the time I've finished it! If so, you'll be able to hear my anguished groans from Perth!

Cheers!

My Wine and Roses Bolero, from Yarn 2, is finally finished.

Cast on in December 2005 as a test knit, just after Yarn 1 came out, this jumper has been with me through it all. Its stitches show the tension and the joy in all their variation, the learning, the mistakes, the successes, everything. I gained and lost and gained about 8 kg during the time this jumper was on the needles -- which is why you see it now on a hanger instead of on me -- and I am thrilled to see it done, even if I can't wear it. Am I feeling a little misty? Yes, I am.

But the timing is good...here comes Yarn 9 to take us somewhere new. Thank you Kate for organising this Knitalong, and thank you to everyone who participated in honor of 'the Coddington era', as it has been put. The honor really has been mine!

One more for the road

Issue 9 is on its way according to the Yarn blog!

It took less time to knit this last project than it did to procrastinate and then sew it up. I give you Broken Rib Cover from Issue 5.

Yarn: ancient Villawool 20 ply
Needles: 8 mm
Pattern changes: Cast on 42 stitches to cover 16" hanger (30 sts wasn't going to work).

I'm going to keep working on other patterns from the first eight issues as time lets me. I have not finished everything that appeals to me by a long shot. Thanks go to Barb for giving us such a high standard magazine for two years.

Lou

Ready for a new Yarn

It's finally finished. A quick, easy knit that took longer than it should due to me not reading the directions correctly, running out of yarn & joining a bag swap that took priority. But it's finished, just in time for the cooler weather & I'm really happy with it. This would be a great stash buster project...maybe multi coloured next time? I knit 2 yarns together, swapping one when I felt like it. I wasn't too concerned about gauge, as this changed throughout; but for the style I wanted, a gauge that was "close enough" was fine.

If anyone is interested...the shawl pin is from Katherine Kowalski, she has a website at http://www.daystarhandworks.com/ & an etsy shop.

Slow progress

Oh, how this tendonitis is annoying! The cardy is still at the sleeves stage. Progress is slow but the end feels so near that I can almost taste it. This is only because I'm judging future progress by my usual knitting pace. But disappointing progress nevertheless.

Instead of posting beautiful photos of the finished cardy, I'll list what I'm hoping (!) to get finished before Yarn appears on the shelves. Keeping in mind that the magazine is due out this month perhaps I'm being a tad ambitious?

Vol 1 - wine bottle bag
Vol 5 - tea cosy 1
Vol 7 - ear flap cap
Vol 8 - Melba (I really need to knit something that fits properly!)

So, I'm sort of getting there but likely to finish all my ambitions sometime toward the end of 2008!