Yarning Along: On to the sleeves!

This week's knitting is focused solely on sleeves, because the body of my Pavement Sweater is done! Ideally I would have it completed in time to wear to Yarndale on Sunday, which would involve getting the jumper knitted and cast off by Friday so that I can get it washed and blocked in time. I'm not certain that's going to happen, but I can try. If I can get a sleeve done by the end of today I feel like there might be some hope! On thing that did hold me up yesterday was picking up the stitches for the sleeves. I had allowed the marker indicating the centre of the underarm stitches to travel down the sweater as I knitted, then removed it when I was knitting the hem. It turns out I needed the marker to indicate where to start picking up the stitches. Oops. As a result I had to do rather more counting yesterday than I had hoped...

I have finally finished reading The Miniaturist! I feel like I've been reading this for ages, but this week I have made a concerted effort to spend a little more time reading rather than watching TV. I really enjoyed The Miniaturist; I found it a bit slow at the start, but once I had read a third of the book (the point where the first mystery in the book is resolved) I started really getting into it. The book is made up of several small mysteries within one larger story, resulting in a story with a lot of twists and turns, and everything is resolved neatly at the end. This story had me guessing the whole way through, and I would definitely recommend it.

Last night I started reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which Amy recommended to me and I picked up at the weekend. I have only read a couple of chapters, but already know that I am going to enjoy it. I'm glad I got it in hardback as I can read it while I get on with my sleeeves. I wouldn't be that surprised if I finish it by next week's post.

What are you reading this week?

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

A pooling predicament

Yesterday I finished my socks (hooray) and picked up my Pavement Sweater for the first time in a few days. I inspected it, and realised that I was really close to the main section of the body being done. I always have to add extra length to the backs and sleeves of jumpers, so I decided to try the jumper on to assess how much more I had to knit. The jumper currently falls at about t-shirt length and the hem adds another 4 inches, so I was really not far off being done.

But one thing struck me as I glanced in the mirror: the yarn has pooled horribly. The jumper is knitted from Araucania Ranco, a hand-dyed 4-ply yarn, that probably falls into the category 'semi-solid' - a yarn with various shades of the same colour within it. The advice generally given when knitting with hand-dyed yarns is to alternate skeins while knitting to avoid pooling, and I did that throughout the jumper, so I really have been unlucky. I could almost live with the spiralled pooling round the torso, if it had happened for the whole jumper. For no apparent reason the pooling stops in the section nearest the bottom.

So, do I pull the pooled section out (probably the full 15 inches of body that I've knitted so far)? Or live with it? I really wanted to get this done in time to wear to Yarndale (next weekend), but I'm not sure I'm going to love it when it's finished. Answers on a postcard please.

Yarning Along: Low sun and long shadows

I did consider not sharing a book this week. I am still reading The Miniaturist, but very, very slowly. A more accurate 'what I'm doing' post would feature a photo of my diary as this week is a bit of a whirlwind: yesterday was the final day of the summer holidays so leisurely mornings are a thing of the past; all the after school activities have started up again, as well as a couple of new ones. On the plus side today I have time to do some pattern writing (for the first time in what feels like ages), and this morning I got to visit my friend's newborn daughter and deliver the corner to corner blanket I shared a couple of weeks ago.

I have several projects on the go at the minute, not least my Pavement Sweater, which needs about 4 inches more stocking stitch on the body before I start the short rows and the hem. I'm certain that if I worked solidly on it I could have it done in time for Yarndale in a couple of weeks, but I know that I have a lot of other things that need to take priority. I spent yesterday evening working on it while I watched Bake Off, and felt like I made fairly significant progress on it, so there is some hope, but maybe not quite enough...

The project that is currently at the top of the list is a new design I am working on with Fay of Bea and Rose yarns. I'm casting the project on this evening, and can't tell you much more than that I will be making socks, but I can share the yarn. Isn't it pretty? I sat outside earlier to wind the skein into a ball, and was struck by how long the shadows were - autumn really is just around the corner.

I hope that you're having a good week whatever you're up to.

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

September plans

Hello there September! The past few weeks have been a wonderful whirl of holidays, beaches, parks, gardens, travelling and other fun stuff. I have really enjoyed the summer holidays, but I'm now looking forward to a slightly quieter month; besides, the weather feels autumnal now and I am ready for autumn, handknit socks and cozy blankets!

I'm not certain September is going to be much less busy, but it will defintely be differently busy. I will be off to Yarndale on Sunday 24th September. I wasn't planning on going, but a local friend is driving down, and it would have been rude to turn down the lift (ha ha! I leapt at the chance!). There are two things I need to do before I go to Yarndale: one is to work out what I want to buy (I am currently considering picking up one of the Coop Knits books and the yarn required to knit some colourwork socks); the other is to finish my Pavement Sweater, which has languished for the whole of August. I really hope I can get it done!

The most recent Pavement sweater photo. There's quite a long way to go!

I will be releasing at least two children's sweater patterns this month, assuming I can get my daughter to agree to a photo shoot soon! Photo shoots are always good fun, but there is never a guarantee that I'll get any good photos - I tend to take several hundred as children are great at the unexpected... Turns out 'never work with children or animals' is good advice!

This gingerbread man will be making his appearance later in the month!

September will be very busy on the knitting front: I managed to sneak a small pile of submissions in over August (I worked like I was possessed for a couple of days knitting swatches), so will be working hard getting my Spring samples knitted! Obviously all those patterns will be secrets until they're released, but I am really excited about all of them.

My aunt and uncle are having a big birthday party in October, and as they already own everything, I will be knitting them a pair of socks each. I haven't knitted socks for either of them before, but am pretty sure that they are both knitworthy people.

So, September isn't going to be less busy than August, but there will be more knitting time as the kids are back at school and nursery. I will miss them when they're not at home, but at the same time I am very much looking forward to a little bit of time to myself.

I hope you've had a lovely summer. What are your plans for autumn?

Yarning Along: A heel short of a sock

This week has been swatching heavy, so while I have done a lot of knitting, I don't actually have all that much to show for it. The Pavement Sweater now looks like a sweater, but still has a long way to go. Which isn't to say I'm not enjoying it. The long rounds of stocking stitch make excellent television knitting, and I can happily work on the jumper while reading, which makes for lots of extra reading time.

I haven't done much work on my Felici socks in the past week, but I do now have a sock! While the kids were at soft play this afternoon I added the afterthought heel (I nkow that if I don't do the heels as I go then they won't get done!). There were a couple of stumbling blocks - I had failed to pick up either scissors or a darning needle, so I had to improvise a little. I used a fork as a pair of scissors to snip the yarn to unravel stitches to make a hole for the heel, and managed to do Kitchener stitch using just the knitting needles that were holding the sock to pull the yarn through the stitches (I used the instructions in this blog post for the actual Kitchener stitch). While it would have been easier to wait until we got home and I could access a darning needle, it was hugely satisfying doing it the unconventional way!

I have had time to read this week, which has been lovely, and this afternoon I finished The Keeper of Lost Things, which I loved. The story is made up of two separate threads, one set in the present day, and another set in the past, but moving towards the present. The present day story is about a man who collects lost things to make up for something he lost in the past, and the story is one of loss and love. I related hugely to the characters and really enjoyed the writing style. There were a few elements of the story that startled me as I was so invloved with the tale. I highly recommend this as a nice light summer read.

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

Yarning Along: Round and round we go...

Hello... Is it Wednesday already?! Half a week in to the school holidays and I have lost track of the day of the week!

This week's knitting is almost exclusively stocking stitch in the round. One pair of socks in Knit Picks Felici in the fabulous colourway Captain Nemo, and my Pavement Sweater. Neither requires much attention (I'm knitting the socks with afterthought heels, so I haven't even had to think about the heel yet), and I'm switching between the two depending on the size of needles I fancy working with (2 mm for the socks and 3.25 mm for the jumper). Both are perfect portable projects for taking along to play dates, so I'm making good progress!

Last night I finished reading Running on the Cracks by Julia Donaldson. A well-written and tightly plotted read, whose thiller element was very much at the young adult end of the genre, I enjoyed this book, and throughout was keen to see how it concluded.

I've just started reading The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan (which I came to via Rachel) and four chapters in know that I am going to whizz through it, and love the ride. So far, the central characters have been introduced, and I am finding them all fascinating.

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along. If you like crafting and reading, head over there to see what other people are sharing.

Yarning Along: A lot of stocking stitch

The past week has been a long one. Between my two children, there has not been a whole 24 hour period where no one has been ill. Thankfully today they are finally both better, and we have been able to leave the house and get on with life as normal.

I've not felt much like knitting anything complicated for the past week, and have been very grateful to have my Pavement sweater to work on. I have completed the yoke (there was a bit of a panic about it not being long enough, but a lot of the yoke depth is added by the underarm stitches, which I hadn't taken in to account; I have tried it on and it will fit fine), and am now working on a very long stretch of plain stocking stitch. The only complicated bit is that I am alternating skeins to avoid pooling, so the jumper isn't very portable, but I'm quite happy to take it along to knit night or coffee with friends.

Book reading has been slow this week too. I'm still reading the Julia Donaldson book, and it's an easy read. I'm pretty certain I can get it finished by the weekend, provided my kids manage to sleep through every night!

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along. What are you knitting and reading this week?

Summer knitting sorted

You may remember that, last week, while reviewing my ideas for the Best Year Ever CKAL, I posted a photo of some cornflower blue yarn, thinking that it might become a Pavement Sweater. Well, on Wednesday, while at home with a poorly toddler and at a bit of a loose end (looking after an ill child is similar to looking after a new baby - they require a lot of attention, which takes all your mental energy), the idea got stuck in my head and I found myself knitting a swatch.

And when the gauge was a little out, I found myself knitting a second swatch.

Then winding the yarn. And before I knew it I had cast on a jumper.

The pattern is knitted top-down, and in many ways is similar to knitting a sock: the yarn (Araucania Ranco, long since discontinued) is fingering weight, and the vast majorly of the knitting is stocking stitch, with the odd more interesting section (mostly short rows) for variety. This is a perfect project for our and about (or it is until it gets too big to be portable).

The collar called for smaller needles, 3 mm vs. 4.5 mm, but as I had to go down to 3.25 mm needles to get gauge (normal for me!) I've plumped for 2.5 mm needles for that section. I'm hoping that works out, they felt very small while I was knitting it!

In any case, my summer knitting is go, go, go! The only problem is, the summer holidays don't start until the end of the next week, and there are other things I should be working on until then...