Busy, Busy, Busy

There has been no time for blogging recently. Rather than spending all evening surfing the net I've actually been doing some crochet, sitting in the garden enjoying the last light of the day.

I've nearly finished square number 12 and I'm liking it so far.
I've been knitting on the train too. Here is Haystacks sock number 1.

I should have *just* enough yarn to finish number 2, they might not be completely matching however! I'm hoping to finish the second sock soon as I'm getting all excited about my first yarn yard club parcel for a while which should arrive in the next couple of days. I'm having lots of fun imagining what colours Natalie has dyed for us.
In between crocheting and sock knitting I've been keeping up with my "Knitting for me" resolution..

This is the start of Liesl by Ysolda in some boring black GGH Samoa - hopefully it will be perfect for work.
I'm also going to swatch for Secret of the Stole III - in some purple Malabrigo laceweight. Are you going to join me?

Embossed leaves and Blankets

My latest pair of socks. Lime Green Embossed Leaves

Pattern: Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt from Favourite Socks
Yarn: The Yarn Yard Bonny in TdF Treize, purchased this time last year.
Needles: 2.5mm
Started: 4th July 2008
Finished: 18th July 2008
Comments: I have had these socks in my head since the Favourite Socks book arrived about 8 months ago and I have finally knit them. I love the pattern, so easy to memorise. It goes perfectly with the lime green Bonny yarn too. I messed up the toe a couple of times, that'll teach me to only photocopy one page of the pattern for commuting knitting and then make up what I can't remember. A fab quick knit.

In preparation for the hundreds of babies due from October onwards I have started my first blanket, using squares from 200 Crochet Block by Jan Eaton. I'm joining as I go this time but I'm still going to make every square different if I can. Here is the progress so far:

I'm off to cast on for Liesl from Ysolda now. It is about time I made something I can wear!

UK Swap Question of the Week #5

Quick fire questions this week, based on a game I've played with friends whilst on (very long) car journeys!
Choose one - don't think just choose...
1. Stop or go? Go
2. Going out or Staying in? Staying in
3. Small town or big city? Big City
4. Happy or sad? Happy
5. Straights or Circulars? Circulars
6. Red or Blue? Blue
7. Seaside or countryside? Seaside
8. Fish or chips? Chips
9. Surprises or plans? Plans
10. Wine or beer? Beer
11. Sweaters or cardigans? Sweaters
12. Pizza or Pasta?Pizza
13. Chopsticks or fork?Chopsticks
14. Early Bird or Night Owl?Night Owl
15. Knitting or crochet?Knitting
16. Hot or cold? Cold

And now for the picture part of this quiz (copied from a meme that's going around at the moment)
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.



1. My GO Arrow, 2. Positano, 3. central london from the sky, 4. The Earth is God's Canvas., 5. Star light, Star Bright, 6. Just hanging around, 7. Shell pick 'n' mix, lightly arranged, 8. Belgian beer and belgian chips, 9. 48/365 moleskines, 10. Untitled, 11. 365 Days - Day 71 - Hippy Tree Huggers, 12. Homemade Pepperoni Pizza, 13. Colorful wooden bowls..., 14. Just a chick I picked up !, 15. Well, what do you keep in your sock drawer?, 16. 2008 here we come

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Muir

Muir is finished. I must thank Romi for such a wonderful free pattern.
Here is a picture along with the dress I am planning on wearing to my friends wedding next weekend. Not a bad match eh?

And, as ever, I can never resist a little photo collage.
The sun came out so I took the chance to get some photos in the sunshine.
The ones with the blue background are taken with Muir spread across the double bed, and the ones at the bottom are pre-blocking.

Pattern: Muir from Knitty
Yarn: Posh Yarn Eva 2 ply in Hot Pink.
Needles: 4mm Addi Lace Turbos
Started: 5th June 2008
Finished: 8th July 2008
Comments: I did two repeats wide and 12 repeats long of the lace chart and it measures 60cm x 180cm - a perfect length for me. I left out the picots down the edge too. I had about 15g of Eva left over, so I could have managed the full 13 or maybe even 14 repeats long but I felt it was long enough. It was a joy to knit, and I had most of the pattern memorised after repeat 3 or 4.

Now I'm wondering what lace to knit next! Any thoughts? In my Ravelry queue are Hanami, Laminaria, Matilda, Luna Moth and Forest Canopy

I need to get on with some baby knitting too. Counting up I realise there are now 7 babies due to my friends before the end of the year. So I'm thinking this Alphabet blanket by Debbie Bliss (Ravelry Link) might quench my thirst for lace and make an amazing present.

Socks from the Stash June and July.

My Fruit Pastel socks are done. These were my socks from my stash for June:



Started: June 12th
Finished: July 3rd
Pattern: Speedway Socks
Yarn: Opal Feelings - 1701
Needles: 2.5mm
Comments: Another pair of chevron socks, this time with yo's rather than M1's. I'm over the chevron thing for a while I promise! Very Stripey, very me. I love them.

So onto July's socks from the stash. These have been in the planning stage for quite a while.
I finally cast on for my green embossed leaves earlier in the week. I'm using The Yarn Yard TdF yarn I must've had since this time last year! They are speeding along quite nicely, the pattern is easy to remember but looks complicated:


Hopefully these will help with my lace addiction.... as Muir is finished! More later in the week.

Secret Pal 12 questions weeks 4 and 5:
1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?
Oooh, that's a hard one. I think I'd really like to try some Handmaiden.
2) What yarn do you never want to be without?
Any sock yarn, preferably machine washable. Alternatively, some squidgey malabrigo lace.

1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?
A cottage in the UK. Near a pub, with a log fire. So I can chill out and knit and maybe do a bit of walking.
2) Where is one place you’d like to go?
I'd love to go to the Rockies and the Grand Canyon. Closer to home, I'd love a trip to the West Coast of Scotland.