Home again!

We arrived to a cold, wet, miserable day in Sydney. Our train was 45 minutes late getting into the terminal but we didn't have too long to wait for a suburban train to take us home. MIL was waiting for us at the station which was lovely. We had lunch together then she left, WM went to get the cat from the boarding kennel and I unpacked! Isn't that the worst part of arriving home?

Last night WM and I worked on our travel blog (you can find it over here if you'd like to see some of our photos). We are one day away from having it completely finished!

I did work on my hexie project on the train but didn't do anywhere near as much as I expected. This was partly because the lighting wasn't strong enough for me to see my stitching, and partly because there were views to watch, meals to eat and excursions to be taken as well as a blog to keep updating! However, it was always meant to be a long term project so I'm not at all concerned -- it is ready to go any time I have  the urge for some hand-piecing.

The hexie project bag I was working on before I went away is almost finished. In my last class before I went away, I lined the bag and joined the two pieces together with the casing. All it needed was the casing to be hand-stitched down. I took the project away with me but I didn't touch it. It was too difficult to sew in a moving motor-home and I was too tired in the evenings to sew (or do any other form of craft)!

I took three knitting projects with me: yarn and needles for the bed socks mum had asked me to knit, Emily's unfinished baby blanket and an almost-finished pair of socks. The last two projects never saw the light of day! The bed socks are finished but I didn't get them done in time for Beulah's birthday so they are still with me (mum gave Beulah something else). What's that? You want to see them...

Here is one.

They are both finished but I only put one on to take the photo with my iPad. They are knitted cuff down in Moda Vera Marvel (DK) on 3.75mm double-pointed needles to a pattern I modified from Wendy Johnson's Lacy Ribs Socks (Ravelry link). This is the link to my Ravelry page. My modification was to add a rib of mock cabling between the lace; I think the mock cabling should have been done every fourth row instead of every eighth; what do you think?

Anyway, I have four loads of washing to do -- one is on the line (it's a cloudless, mild winter day today), one is in the machine and two are still on the laundry room floor! Then I'd better go and help WM in the garden -- it is overgrown with weeds due to three months of concentrating on the Renovation Project (no, it hasn't rented yet!) followed by our three week absence!

And I still have over 500 blog posts to catch up on! :-(

progress is being made

The 16th, being exactly in the middle of the month, seems like a great time to share progress on my January focus list.

So far I have worked on only three of the eight items on my January list. 

But I am happy with that, considering I had house guests until 9th January.

I have cast on another pair of socks -- these don't interfere with my Year of the Finished Project. Plain stocking stitch socks, single-coloured garter stitch squares, class samples/projects and rainbow scrap quilting blocks are exceptions and are not counted as new projects.

You will no doubt notice that the toe of the first sock has not yet been grafted. That's because it's easier to cast on for another sock while in the car than to try grafting while in a moving vehicle! 

Socks make great travel knitting: they are small and easily transported, they don't lie in my lap when the temperature outside is over 35°C (95°F), and because they are knit in the round on dpns are only ever sixteen stitches from the "end of the row"!

Many of you would have read that my first "finish" of the year was to "frog" (rip out) a baby sweater I started in November 2011 because I thought the head hole was too small after I knitted the collar on. That's one thing off my Focus list, even if not the way I originally intended.

My "big" knitting project is the Westall cardigan that I am making for myself. I planned to be up to the waist shaping a few days ago but had to extend that deadline to yesterday because the cotton/acrylic yarn, while knitting up into a nice soft fabric, is hard on my hands so I can only do a few rows before I have to take a break.

knitted from the top down, back and both fronts at the same time

I did reach yesterday's deadline and have started the waist shaping but I'm beginning to have my doubts about having this finished by the end of the month! Nevertheless, I will persevere, I will soon be up to the plain stocking stitch part of the body so it should go a little faster then!

And on the quilting front, I started thirty-two square-on-square blocks last Friday and finished them on Monday (I had no time for sewing over the weekend). I only needed thirty-one but it doesn't hurt to have one extra, just in case. Yesterday I sewed the blocks into rows and the rows into a flimsy, so I have met my goal for January for this project and need to turn my attention to other projects while I think about the borders for this one.

I think I'll use a thin blue solid inner border but I'm not sure about the outer border. Strips (piano keys) with corner stones?

Time to baste this baby, I think. Eight months in the waiting pile is long enough!

So, how about you? How are you going with your January goals?

Linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced (hosted by Lee).

first finish of 2013

Here is the January linky party for the Year of the Finished Project. Please join us if you haven't already.
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I started this pair of socks during the last week of December. I needed something to knit while I was sitting around with my family, particularly my mum.

These aren't on my list of WiPs from 2012; there are always socks on my needles for those occasions when I can't concentrate on lace, or work with the many colours of my multi-coloured blankets.

Sorry about the photo -- mum snaffled them just as I removed the last end from the second sock. I had to find them in her suitcase and take a photo with my iPad!

At least I know someone likes my hand-knitted socks, this is her fourth pair -- I only have one!

Nitty-Gritty

• yarn: Moda Vera Noir sock weight yarn, 75% wool/25% polyamide; colourway "Rainbow"; purchased at Spotlight
• needles: 2.25mm (US 1) purchased at Lincraft
• started 24 December, finished 2 January -- 10 days of on-and-off knitting
• pattern: k1p1 rib, stocking stitch, hourglass heel on 64 stitches
• size: small women's

on and off the needles

Firstly, thank you all for your kind comments and emails regarding my internet fiasco! I really appreciated each and every one of them. Yesterday, I spent over an hour (knitting and) watching a fourteen minute video from my course. I watched two minutes of the second video in half an hour – time to give up when it gets that slow!

I have been knitting and sewing as well as spending a lot of time on the computer. Today the knitted objects have the limelight.

I have continued to knit cowls and mitts for the charities I support.

I indulged my interest in stranded colour-work to use up some of the left-overs from previous cowls.

As winter approaches I appreciate having a roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in and I really feel for the homeless and less fortunate at this time of year.

I also couldn’t restrain myself from seeing how this yarn knitted up. DD won a ball of novelty yarn, Carmen by Mondial (Italian), at the Knitters’ Guild meeting last month. I didn’t take a photo of the ball but here is a snippet of the yarn – it’s basically variegated blue tape with little dangling yellow pieces every couple of inches. The second picture is the detail of the knitted yarn.

DD gave the ball to me because she doesn’t have the patience to knit novelty yarns. The vendor at the meeting claimed that a scarf could be knitted from one ball.
As you can see, it’s a very small scarf even knitted on needles one size larger than recommended (6.5mm - 10.5 US). This one is approximately 10cm (4”) wide and (90cm) 36” long. Ah well, some young girl will probably like it.

Mothers’ Day is approaching and I found myself wondering about a gift for my mother. I have already knitted a pair of striped socks which she knows about but have added a second pair. I hope she likes them because they are fraternal not identical!

On Tuesday evening, I foolishly thought I could get another pair finished before Sunday. A cuff-down pair with baby cable rib and a gusset heel (instead of my usual hourglass heel).I am using Cleckheaton Cocoon (70% wool – 30% polyamide). This is the first sock at the time of writing.

Do you think I can get them finished given that WM and I are leaving for northern NSW this afternoon and will be at mum's late morning tomorrow?

I do so knit!

Cast on 1st January.

First sock finished second of January (I had a stomach bug so was at home in front of the television alone for most of the day).

Mum admired the sock, tried it on and it fitted! So the socks will be hers.

Second sock cast on 3rd January, heel turned last night. The colours in the photo below are more accurate.

What's on your needles?