Fashionably late (Yarn Along February 2019)

Last weekend I went to visit my sister, and for a 60 hour weekend away, with a baby, I packed one sock project, a jumper project, a spare 150 g of yarn for the jumper and an extra 100 g of sock yarn *just in case*. I’m pretty sure that makes me an optimist, even if only about the amount I can knit while (1) driving, (2) feeding a baby, (3) sleeping, and (4) entertaining three babies and a preschooler. Perhaps predictably, I didn’t get that much knitting done. I did however, spend a lovely couple of evenings sat feeding my baby in a hotel room and getting into a good book, which was such a treat - I feel like it’s been ages since I last sat down with the specific intention of reading for an evening. With all that in mind, here’s this month’s Yarn Along post, better late than never!

So, what's on my needles? This month I've been joining in with the Lots of Socks KAL in aid of Down Syndrome International (full details can be found here,* but the prize list is amazing and you only have to knit one sock to enter) so have two pairs of socks on the needles. The first pair are three-quarters done and are fabulously pink! The yarn is King Cole Zig Zag, in the colourway Pinks. The colour is not one I would typically go for, but is so marvellously cheery that it's perfect for February.  I'm using a pattern from Kate Atherley's Custom Socks - Basic Ribbed Socks - and am planning on knitting several pairs of socks to this pattern over the next few months for a project I'll talk about once I have the first few pairs off the needles.

The second pair of socks is a bit slower as the pattern (Galiano Socks by Tracie Millar) is a tiny bit more complicated (though not that complicated in the scheme of things - there is some texture and a cable or lace round for two rounds out of eight). I'm knitting the socks in a sparkly brown sock yarn from a Knit Crate from November. Again, not my usual colour, but the shades and tones are so rich that I'm enjoying every stitch.

The jumper I mentioned is for the This One's for Me KAL* that I'm running in my Ravelry group, and is a Bright Above Me jumper in Drops Karisma. It's my first top-down colourwork-yoked jumper and I will confess to finding the pattern a challenge: the floats are looooooong, and that combined with the increases is hard work. I think that’s why I gave up at the weekend and opted for reading over knitting, but once the colourwork is done the rest of the jumper is rounds and rounds of stocking stitch, which I can do while feeding, so I’m quietly optimistic I might get this done in time to wear to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival.**

The book that grabbed my attention at the weekend was Some Kind of Wonderful by Giovanna Fletcher. Liz has been with Ian for 10 years, and is expecting him to propose while they're on holiday in Dubai. Instead he tells her the relationship is over, and she embarks on a quest to find out who she is now she is no longer 'Liz and Ian'. Yes, it's an easy read, but that seems to be what I need at the minute!

Are you favouring knitting or reading at the minute? Any recommendations for reading for tired eyes?

Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along.

*Ravelry link. You need to be a member of Ravelry for this link to work. Membership is free.

**I’ll be there on the Saturday. I don’t have an advance ticket, so you might see me in the queue! If I’m not wearing a jumper with stars round the yoke, assume I didn’t finish it, and that sleep won over knitting...

Yarn Along: Welcome to 2019

Happy New Year!

It's the first Wednesday of the month (and indeed of the year), and that means it's Yarn Along day. For those of you who haven't been following my blog for very long, Yarn Along is a monthly blog feature where I let you know about my current work in progress (or works in progress, there are often a few) and what I'm currently reading. Yarn Along is organised by Ginny of Small Things, head to her post if books and crafts are your thing as all the Yarn Along posts for the month are linked there.

Things have quietened down a lot here in the Bird House since all the Christmas madness. All the gift knitting is complete, and this month I'm concentrating on knits for me. I started my Vinterskov sweater in October and have finally reached the yoke, so not much more to go! I'm currently working on the plain rounds before the colourwork, and it won't be long at all before I get to start on the trees. I'm now pretty confident I'm going with a pale lilac for the trees, having gone back and forth between a few options. This is the first bottom-up in-the-round jumper I've knitted and I am finding the yoke a bit tricky as all the weight of the jumper makes shuffling the stitches fiddly, but I'm nearly there, and really hope I'll be finished by Twelfth Night (I’ve just checked that and the date is ambiguous; I was thinking January 6th).

In the next day or two, I'll be swatching for my next jumper project, and I'm going for Bright Above Me, a gorgeous top-down jumper with stars around the yoke. I definitely need to swatch for this one as I'm knitting in Drops Karisma, which is a DK weight yarn, rather than the worsted weight yarn called for in the pattern. I'll be knitting this jumper as part of the This One's For Me KAL that I'm hosting in my Ravelry group. Full details can be found in this blog post. Once I've completed the yoke, I'll be swatching for a Chuck sweater as I like to have once tricky project on the needles, and one that is much more mindless.

Yarn for Bright Above Me

Yarn for Chuck

My current read is also knitting-themed as I'm reading A Stash of One's Own, a series of essays about knitters and their stash, curated by Clara Parkes. This book is a wonderful easy, yet thought-provoking read. It's fascinating to learn about other people's approaches to their stashes, whether their stashes are beautifully curated or a haphazard mishmash. I'd recommend this read to anyone who has an interest in yarn and knitting, or any other craft - there is more that unites us than separates us.

What are you currently working on and reading? Do you have any crafting or reading-related new year's resolutions? I'm going for the very conservative target of 12 books for 2019 (I'll be listing them here), so hopefully I'll be reading something else by the time I write my Yarn Along post for February! My only crafting target is to end the year with less yarn than the amount I started with, but I'll elaborate on that when I post the final few Yarnometer posts for 2018.

Happy knitting!

It's all about me Knit Along (KAL): decisions, decisions...

A couple of days ago, I announced the launch of a three month long 'This one's for me KAL', starting on January 1st 2019 and ending March 31st 2019 (any time zone). 

All you need to do is to knit something that is destined to be for you and post about it in threads in my Ravelry group (chatter thread;* finished object thread*). Your project can be something big like a sweater or even a blanket, or it can be something small like a hat or a pair of socks. I'll be drawing one winner from each thread, so it doesn't matter if you don't manage to finish your item within the three months. You can read this post for the full details.

So, what am I considering knitting for the KAL? I’ve decided I’ll be knitting myself a jumper, but as I have several sweater quantities of yarn in my stash, that doesn’t narrow it down very much. Here, in no particular order are my top contenders.

1. Lush cardigan by Tin Can Knits

This cardigan has been in my queue since it was in testing. It has a lace yoke that is knitted sideways, then the body is picked up along the bottom of the yoke. I have seen so many of these cardigans at yarn festivals, and really want one. The yarn I have planned for this is Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK in the vibrant Grass shade. As the sizing range on this is huge, I might even manage matchy-matchy mummy and baby cardigans.

Image copyright Tin Can Knits

2. Bright Above Me by Dieuwke Schack-Mulligen

Another ‘I saw this and knew I had to knit it’ jumper, this one is knitted top-down and features a star motif around the circular yoke. The pattern is written for worsted weight yarn, but I have some Drops Karisma (a DK weight) in the perfect colours (charcoal and mustard) that should work with a little tweaking of the pattern.

Image copyright Dieuwke Schack-Mulligan

3. Chuck by Andi Satterlund

This isn’t a jumper that would immediately have me itching to cast on, as written - the cropped length and very fitted style doesn’t really work on my long-bodied, ‘I’ve had three children’ figure - but there are some beautiful examples of modified versions in the projects.* I plan to lengthen the jumper to below the hip and to eliminate the waist shaping to make something rather more cozy and relaxed. I’ll be knitting this in Drops Nepal in Deep Red, which was a Christmas present this year.

Image copyright Andi Satterlund

4. Greystone by Sarah Cooke

A cardigan I have considering knitting for a while, this one has nice long lines, and pockets! I bought some Drops Karisma in dark grey and an autumnal rainbow at Yarndale this year, and would love to work the yoke in stripes and the rest of the cardigan in grey (omitting the texture on the back), creating something very similar to the Baby Vertebrae I knitted for my daughter in the summer. I think this would be perfect for layering once Spring starts to arrive in a couple of months.

Image copyright Sarah Cooke 

Which one is your favourite? What are you planning on knitting? Enjoy choosing something to cast on!

*Ravelry link. You need to be logged in to Ravelry for this link to work; membership is free.

This one's for me knit along (KAL)

Over the course of November and December, I did an awful lot of gift knitting. I'm not even sure I meant to. My nieces' blankets that I started in the summer needed finishing, but those, and a stocking for my daughter, were the only gift projects I had planned at the start of November. Yet by the end of November I had committed to knitting two pairs of charity socks, two pairs of gift socks and a hat (that I knew would be perfect for the person I drew in a Secret Santa), so my nice relaxed Advent plans fell by the wayside, I didn't finish my festive jumper, and my daughter's stocking was completed on Christmas Eve (no one is surprised; the stockings for the older two were also finished on Christmas Eve). With this in mind, I have decided that the next project I cast on is going to be something for me, and I suspect some of you also feel that you deserve a little me-knitting.

I like my knitting for myself to be at a very leisurely non-stressful pace, so today I'm announcing a three month long 'This one's for me KAL', starting on January 1st 2019 and ending March 31st 2019 (any time zone). 

All you need to do is to knit something that is destined to be for you and post about it in threads in my Ravelry group. Your project can be something big like a sweater or even a blanket, or it can be something small like a hat or a pair of socks. 

I've set up two threads in my Ravelry group for the KAL. Thread one is a chatter thread and thread two is a finished object (FO) thread. I'll be drawing one winner from each thread, so it doesn't matter if you don't manage to finish your item within the three months.

I really hope you'll join me in some me-knitting. I can't wait to see what you come up with! I'm off to look through my stash and decide what to cast on first...

There are a few rules (clarifications really, this is a very relaxed KAL!):

1. The KAL runs from January 1st to March 31st 2019; works in progress do not count

2. Items should be made for you, not as gifts or for charity

3. Entries can be knitted or crocheted

4. One winner will be drawn from the chatter thread and one from the FO thread; you will only be eligible to win one prize (if the same person is drawn from both threads, I will re-draw from the FO thread)

5. You can make as many items as you like, but please make one entry in the FO thread and edit it to add extra items as you finish each item

6. This KAL is taking place in my Ravelry group; you must be a member of Ravelry to take part (membership is free) 

If you fancy sharing what you’re working on over on Instagram, don’t forget to tag me (@vikkibirddesigns), and use the hashtag #thisonesformekal