Winter of Textured Knitting March summary

This post has been edited to add an apology to participants and to change some of the photos. Edited again [Saturday 4 April] because I forgot Delighted Hands contribution! A thousand apologies, C!
~~~~~~~~

Well, it certainly doesn't feel like winter yet. The first month of autumn has passed but the temperature remains relatively warm - still in the low twenties [that's about the low seventies for those still using the 'old' measures!] Daylight saving finally comes to an end this weekend - I'm certainly not against the idea but keeping it going until the second month of autumn is a tad ridiculous. The sun doesn't even rise until after 7am. Poor WM said the other day that he'd like just one week of getting up when it wasn't dark [he starts work at 5.30am]. He was deprived of that small pleasure by the extension of daylight saving for an extra month!

I've been knitting - mostly beanies* - as explained in the previous post. Most, but not all of them have been textured: so far I've tried a number of different stitch patterns from The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches. There have been cables [seen here and here] but also various types of slip stitches and 'knit below' patterns.

It has been a great pleasure to have participants in the KAL from both hemispheres; one heading towards winter and one gratefully escaping from winter [judging by Deniasha's latest post] so here is what I've found as I've scoured their blogs [hey, fellow participants, could you please explicitly state when you are knitting something for the KAL instead of keeping me guessing! LOL] I have included here anything textured that I found on the participants' sites since the KAL started; the knitter may not have intended them to be part of the KAL and if that's the case, please accept my apologies for 'jumping the gun'.

Now, in almost no particular order we have some knitted goodies. I have cropped the photos so that you have to go to their blogs to see the articles - so much more interesting than seeing it all here! I apologise in advance for the different sizes of the photos; obviously different formats are saved in different sizes and I can only work with what I know [which isn't much, sorry]. Still, my inability to get it right makes it [hopefully] more likely that you'll go over to the original blog...

First is Jan, because she emailed me to say she had finished an item for the KAL. Well done Jan. Wristwarmers with "cables, moss stitch and cross over diamonds". Jan, you're tempting me to join Ravelry, something I've been seriously avoiding because I spend too much time on the 'Net. But it's so, so tempting...

Anyway, go over to Jan's blog and look at the wrist warmers. They look warm and such a lovely subtle colour too. While you're there take a peek at the beautiful socks and cardigan she finished recently [lace is textured too!! LOL]

Lilypily is knitting a pair of Child's First Socks by Nancy Bush. This photo shows beautiful texture and gorgeous colour but I suspect they'll be lace when they're finished and blocked! Hey, lace gives texture and I did say "whatever stitch pattern you choose". I'd rather people join in and are free to do whatever they want than feel excluded for some minor quibble over what constitutes 'texture'. Heck, I may want to knit some lace myself before winter is over!! LOL

It was Lilypily's owls that inspired me to knit cables and other textures this winter. I had been avoiding cables because of the inconvenience of using a cable needle but after seeing Lilypily's jumper [while it was still in progress], I fell in love with cables all over again - and these are particularly cute, especially since I have a very large collection of owls [in boxes]. One day I might tell the story...

Paisley Womble has finished a cardigan called Mr Greyjeans - it looks so snug and warm I bet she's longing for winter to really get here so she can wear it! Or perhaps she's wearing it already and hang the heat! She is also teasing us with a very colourful swatch for Hanne; can't wait to see the finished item.
Over in the US, Delighted Hand's mom has been busy knitting a "lap robe" in what looks like mitred garter stitch squares. I love the way all the different sizes and colours are coming together. Delighted Hands is living through a renovation being undertaken by her ever-patient and hard-working husband. You can read about one day in their lives here.
Delighted Hands herself has recently finished some socks for her daughter M who was recuperating after surgery. I love the colour of these socks and their simple looking pattern [were they simple to knit, C? You finished them very quickly.]

Back in Oz, Bells won't have much time for knitting this month - she's celebrating her blogiversary by challenging herself to post every day for the month! Happy Blogiversary Bells. Bells knitted a cardigan in a beautiful shade of blue but she wasn't happy with it so she bravely asked people to leave comments. What I found interesting was that she wrote to the designer and got an answer - Ravelry is an amazing place [but we're not going there, are we?]

On a smaller but none-the-less textured scale, Bells made two Ipod sock covers, you can see one here. Go to her blog for the story.

Sue is going through a tough time at the moment with the forced sale of her home. I hope she's finding some solace in her knitting and her blogging friends. She has recently finished the cutest pixie jacket. All the texture is in the band and the gorgeous and unusual hood.
And so ends this first part-month of our KAL. I hope the participants have had fun knitting textures of various kinds and continue to do so. If you'd like to join in, it's not too late - leave a comment or send me an email.

*photos in a forthcoming post