More finished objects

It feels like I've been on a finished objects spree this weekend - the joy of quick projects.

Feathers and Fan bonnet



Although this was incredibly quick (one evening) and easy to knit the result looks pleasingly fancy. Next time I might skip the eyelets for the ribbon and knit some garter ties which run on from the bottom edging of the bonnet. There's a link to the pattern in the previous post.

Dead quick bootees

Knit from small amounts of aran weight yarn these really are a last minute gift. Each one knits up in less than an hour.



Materials
Yarn: 2 balls Debbie Bliss Merino Aran (or other similar yarn) in contrasting colours (you will not need the whole ball).
Needles: Set of 5 4.5mm double pointed needles.
Large yarn needle.

Cast on 16 stitches in contrast colour (CC) using Judi's Magic Cast-on.

Round 1: Purl around (this is tricky but not desperately so).
Round 2: (K1fb, K6, K1fb) twice (20 sts).
Round 3: Purl around.
Round 4: (K1fb, K8, K1fb) twice (24 sts).
Round 5: Purl around.
Round 6: (K1fb, K10, K1fb) twice (28 sts).
Round 7: Purl around. Cut yarn leaving a 3-4" tail.

Rounds 8-15: Switch to main colour (MC). Starting with a knit round and ending with a purl round knit the next 8 rounds in garter stitch. DO NOT cut yarn.

Re-arrange stitches as follows. Place 10 back leg stitches (5 from either side of the end of the round with yarn tail in the middle) on needle 1. Divide the remaining stitches evenly so that you have 6 stitches on each of needles 2, 3 (these are the instep stitches) and 4.

Instep:

Row 1: Join CC at start of needle 3. Knit 5 stitches from needle 3 then SSK last stitch from needle 3 and first stitch from needle 4. Turn work.
Row 2: K5 from needle 3, SSK last stitch from needle 3 and first stitch from needle 2. Turn work.
Rows 3-6: Repeat rows 1 and 2 twice.

Re-arrange stitches as follows: Slip 5 needles from needle 1 onto the spare needle. Slip 2 remaining stitches from needle 4 onto needle 3.

Row 7: K5, SSK. Turn work.

Slip 2 remaining stitches from needle 2 onto needle 3.

Row 8: K5, SSK, Turn work.
Row 9: K5, SSK, Turn work.
Row 10: K5, SSK, Turn work. 6 stitches remain on instep needle. Cut yarn leaving a 3-4" tail.

Cuff:

Resume knitting from the back of the leg with MC. Starting with a knit round, knit 8 rounds in garter stitch.
Change to CC and knit two rounds in garter stitch ending with a purl round.
Cast-off in CC using Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind-off. See here for instructions.

I'll hopefully knit another pair of these in the next couple of days and a) test-knit the pattern for bloomers and b) note down such ephemera as gauge and dimensions. The finished bootees were whisked off to baby Laurie so quickly that I forgot this time around.

Treasures

I've really been enjoying looking at all the old recipe boxes over at Mason Dixon Knitting. We don't really have recipe boxes in the UK, but we do have recipe books and this weekend I came across not only two of my granny's recipe books but one inscribed (in beautiful copperplate) "Mrs Holt Recipe Book" which must have belonged to my Mum's granny.



My granny's two books are small, leather covered, ring-binder style notebooks. The pages are filled with recipes written in pencil or pen in my granny's small, neat handwriting or else typed out on her typewriter.

Between them are stuffed relevant cuttings from magazines or newspapers with recipes for Royal Icing (next to the typed recipe for Christmas cake), Rhubarb and Ginger Fool, and Bury Simnel cake. The inside pocket of the brown notebook contains a cutting on how to deal with various "Cake calamities". There's also a small booklet with the title "Festival Fare" on its yellow cardboard cover which contains recipes from the congregation of "Blackburn Road United Reformed Church to commemorate the Bolton Leverhulme Festival" in 1981. There are reipes for Parkin (my gran's own recipe), Supper Ginger Cake, Pineapple Pudding and Mushroom Soup (this one from my mum). Page 36 is headed "Hints" and gives some sound advice:

Are you like me? Do you beg a recipe from a friend, try it out once, then lose it and have to search frantically for it only to be disappointed and frustrated?
More often than not they are written on pieces of note-paper, backs of envelopes* or whatever is handy at the time.
After one such day I thought, "Why not buy yourself a photo album, one with transparent cover sheets, and you can stick your scraps of recipes into that!"
In that way you would always know where they were and be able to find the right one in a trice.
The same idea could be used for knitting patterns taken from magazines.

Whilst my granny's book is packed with recipes that I remember her making and some that my mum still makes today my great-granny's book is much more exotic. Here recipes for cakes and biscuits are mixed in with home-made remedies. Here's a sample from the contents page at the back of the book which is written out in reverse to avoid running out of space.



4. Butter Sandwich
Vanilla cream
Russian Sandwich

3. Jam
Christmas Macaroons
Rubbing bottle
Backache

2. Treacle Cake
Extract of Malt
Emulsion

1. Constipation
Ginger biscuits
Cocoa-nut Biscuits

I don't know whether there's any link between the recipes and the remedies, or whether one could be brought on by eating the other.

Some of the recipes contain unfamiliar ingredients. What on earth is "Patent flour"? Luckily, should I ever want to make the Russian Sandwich the recipe for Patent flour is on page six. This was back in the days before you could buy self-raising flour and baking powder ready-mixed from the supermarket.



There are some very traditional sounding northern dishes - tripe & onions anyone? - and some with great names like "Railway Pudding".

Page 48 is headed "Party for 50" and page 49, the last written page in the book, is dated 7-10-40. I suspect great-granny would have found it difficult to get all the ingredients for her baking in the period of war-time rationing.



Later on in the book, after a few blank pages, there are more recipes cut out from newspapers and, best of all, a helpful article headed "Useful Measurements For the Sales - take this list with you" for anyone who has found themselves in Liberty at sale time wondering how much fabric it would take to make a dress or skirt.



Finally the article reasssures you that "These quantities are fairly generous estimates, and the woman who is a really clever cutter will be able to manage with a little less".

A quick FO to round things off. Dad's socks have finally been finished and given to him.



Pattern: Cast on 16 sts at toe and increase to 48 sts around. Begin gusset 4 inches short of end of foot and increase to 72sts. Knit toe-up heel flap with short-rows. Stripe pattern is 6 MC, 2 CC.**
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed (one ball each brown and blue)
Needles: 3.25mm

* My gran's book actually does have a recipe for pickled onions written on the front of an envelope addressed to "Aunty Ruby and Uncle Harold"!
** Notes are mainly for my benefit for the next time I want to knit my Dad some socks that actually fit.

Where did all the time go?

I'm not quite sure how it's got to be nine days since my last post. Things have been pretty hectic since I got back from my vacation at Craighall Towers. The boyfriend arrived back first on January 2nd, put the car away and then discovered that the garage door wouldn't open*, then I got back on January 4th to a ton of laundry and discovered that the washing machine had taken the decision that draining out the water should be an optional part of its program. So there has been lots of ringing of repairmen and the landlord (on my part) and waiting home for them to come (on the boyfriend's part).

And in the midst of all that there has been work and knitting and sewing.



This is my newest toy. My Mum and I chose it at John Lewis back in November and since then it's been sitting in the spare wardrobe wrapped up in blue paper with robins on waiting for me to get back after Christmas. I had a little difficulty fitting the quilting foot. Despite the fact that Janome (who made the foot) apparently make John Lewis' own brand sewing machine the line in the foot is a millimetre out of sync with the needle position. I've found the right size washers to shift the foot over a smidgin, I just need to have a play with my dad's tools this weekend to see if I can customize one so that it all fits together nicely.

Even with this technical hitch I still managed to make my first quilted project with the new machine using leftovers from the baby quilt.



The needle roll is kept closed by two (slightly off centre) press studs.



Behold, needles and snails! I still absolutely adore these fabrics from Anna Griffin which I bought from The Quilt Room. I kept stopping whilst sewing up the binding by hand just to stare at and admire the different patterns next to each other.

On the knitting front my Dad's Christmas socks are almost done. Hopefully Dad will like the reversed colourway on the second sock as much as I do. He has been warned so there shouldn't be any exclamations of "but they don't match!".



I've also squeezed in this gorgeous little bonnet which turned out to be the quickest thing to knit ever. One evening and all it needs is ribbon and a one inch seam to be sewn up.



Pattern: Feather and Fan bonnet by Larissa available here.

It looked a little on the small side when I'd finished but I think it will block out quite nicely.

* I should say "wouldn't reopen". If the boyfriend had been actually locked in the garage we would have got it open in sooner than a week!

Just do it!

This was the basic message of the New Year episode of Cast On "Start as you mean to go on" and as (as a runner) I never underestimate the power of the inspirational slogan* I have picked up the Anya sweater as my first step towards knitting more sweaters in 2008. I have plenty of them lined up: Anya to finish off, a sleeveless sweater in Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4 ply for which I bought yarn back in November, a long sleeved sweater in Wensleydale Longwool which I bought back in August and strangely didn't feel like knitting up at the time (who buys longwool in August for goodness sake!).

Anyways, after a particularly mild and wet Christmas the promised cold snap has arrived (it was bitterly cold and windy at the football match this evening) so it's perfect sweater knitting weather and Anya is coming along quite nicely. One of the front/back pieces** is done up to the start of the funnel neck and I've knit 9" of the second piece (below).



I've not got around to making a light box btw. This photo is just the serendipitous result of combining a flash and a cream bedspread.

I'm starting to wonder a little bit (as is traditional when knitting Rowan patterns) about the yarn estimates. I know that I've switched the colour scheme about a tad but I seem to be going through my 1 ball of Kidsilk Night at an alarming rate, even though I think that if anything I'm knitting less of the colourwork with it than specified. Fingers crossed I won't end up having to buy an extra ball. Conversely I'm not sure why they specified 2 balls of one of the KSH shades as that seems to be used least. I suppose if push comes to shove I can always switch the colours around again for the sleeves and pretend it's a design feature.

* "Impossible is nothing" (Adidas) got me through two marathons.
** Back and front are identical for this sweater, or would be if I hadn't made different errors (of pattern and colour rather than rather than anything ugly like dropped or twisted stitches) on each. I'll wait until both pieces are finished before deciding which is prettiest and should be the front. Neither mistake is earth shatteringingly obvious - indeed I'll buy a drink for any sharp eyed Bluestocking who spots both mistakes the next time I bring it along to a meeting.

First footing

I took a little break from post-Christmas Christmas knitting to knit the first pair of baby practice socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters.

Little Sky Socks
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK
Needles: 3.25mm



These, needless to say, are going straight to baby Laurie (my lovely new niece). I don't suppose she'll appreciate the revolutionary sockitecture but they're very soft and warm for her little feet.

I've also got in some work on the Anya sweater today - apparently the cold weather's coming and I'll be needing that cosy mohair. I've finished the front up to the funnel neck and I'll be working that as soon as I've finished the back ribbing (as I've only got the one 3.5mm needle with me).

It's been a very educational holiday for me. I've learnt how to make the almond icing for the Christmas cake, how to steam a pudding, how to change, bath and bottle-feed a baby and today Mum showed me how to knit 1, purl 1 the English way with the right needle under my armpit which makes moss stitch a whole lot easier. I managed to get the hang of it pretty well but I'm sticking to my non-traditional method of knitting for the rest of this sweater as I don't want to have gauge issues.

Photos of (hopefully) a finished sweater front tomorrow!

Sockapalooza

Star Christmas present this year is Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters.



My Dad ordered it from Socktopus and it came in such an awesome package with pink tissue paper, a Socktopus stitchmarker and two samples of Eucalan fabric wash.



I now have quite a collection of stitch markers as I also got five from my OBS secret santa along with a great alternative Christmas mix CD (thank you Secret Santa!)



Our secret santa gifts were swapped at the final OBS meeting before Christmas which took the form of a party at Lara's newish flat. I managed to get a fairish bit of Christmas knitting done despite the distractions of a table crammed with edible goodies and the entertainment of Felix playing the accordion.

Back to the post-Christmas Christmas knitting. The reason why I haven't yet started knitting any of the revolutionary mini socks in the new book is that I'm still working on a pair of the more traditional variety for my Dad.



These are knit in Rowan Felted Tweed on 3.25mm needles using toe-up with gusset and heel flap method. I'm trying to make these a fitted pair so really it's a good thing that I'm running late with these as it's nigh on impossible to fit someone for a sock whilst keeping it a surprise! I'm nearly done on the first sock, despite the fact that I spent most of today working on a quilt (which I'll post about tomorrow on All To Pieces) and acting as tech support whilst Dad tried to get his new digital photo frame up and running. It's been educational though as I've learnt how to add or remove images from an XD card without waiting for a popup window or options and how to retrieve an XD card from the inside of the PC when it's been accidentally posted through the wrong slot. It's amazing what you can do with a stout sewing needle and a bit of blu-tac.

Sprint to the finish

I've got 25 rounds to go on the last item of Christmas knitting, a Shedir* in Rowan Felted Tweed. Normally I'd consider this the home straight but the pattern for the crown decreases is by no means straightforward and it's been slow going this evening. I've created some of my own issues by (on 2 separate occasions) attempting to start round 56 before finishing round 55, but what do you expect when attempting complicated cable knitting whilst watching Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Concentration is bound to slip at some point.

Given that I only started a fortnight before Christmas it's a fairly impressive haul: one pair of socks, one hat, one scarf. I've had to drop one item from the roster but I'll make it up to the would be recipient at some point and it's not like anyone is going without a present.

Hopefully I'll post some shots of finished items as modelled by the lucky knittees soon, in the meantime I wish everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas!

* I'll be knitting one of these for myself asap btw - I love the pattern and the hat fits me a treat!

Only two knitting days till Christmas

And there are twinkly Christmas lights at the end of the tunnel. One item of Christmas knitting is complete* and two more are over halfway there leaving only a single item which hasn't been cast on yet. I'm not actually doing a great deal, it's just that due to the Peacock Feathers shawl I only started on December 10th. Remind me not to do that again next year would ya?

I'd be more sure of finishing on time if I didn't have other Christmassy jobs assigned to me like cake decorating, bauble adorning and table setting**. Plus Mum had added the item "black and white mobile?" (for baby) to my list, apparently it's a developmental thing, and although she's insisting that I prioritise the knitting I really want to have a go at making one! I've already worked out materials and construction (black and white felt, clear nylon thread and a smallish embroidery hoop) and I don't think it would take long to make.

Anyway, back to the knitting. Back on the hottest day in August (we were slapping suncream onto our flip flopped feet as we waited at bus stops) I impulse bought 2 skeins of oatmeal coloured cashmere from Devon at i knit London with the rationalisation that I would use them to make a Christmas present for my sister.

Time passed and two days ago I cast on. Not being completely insane I had tried to think of a non-scarf project that I could knit but drew a blank. The fabric wouldn't be sturdy enough for a hat*** without knitting at a ridiculously fine gauge and the yarn (pale as cream and soft as butter) was not practical for socks or mittens. I had a quick hunt on Ravelry for patterns which wouldn't be too complex to knit (as I would be picking it up to knit in odd spare minutes) or use too much yarn (only two skeins) and came up with the Little Pyramids pattern, a simple 6 stitch by 6 row (and rows 4-6 are the same as 1-3, just in a different order) repeat.



The result is rather gorgeous in an understated way and it's all down to the amazing yarn. The finished object should be a shortish (36-40", maybe a little longer with blocking), very light scarf which can be tucked inside a jacket neck, either on its own or with a bulkier scarf on top.

* Two, if you count Elijah who had to have a bath today to get him ready for meeting the VIB (very important baby).
** Which are all fun things to do, just a little time consuming.
*** I hate baggy hats.

Pins and Needles*

The crochet cast-off is done, the new pins and extra strong Gutermann thread (my secret blocking weapon to ensure a straight top edge and centre line) have been bought and the Peacock Feathers shawl is currently stretched out damply** over three towels on my living room floor.



Note: this is not the final blocked shape, I stretched out that wonky bit on the left later on and rounded out all the feather ends.

The thing is huge, there was only just enough room for it and I didn't block particularly aggressively. I've no idea how it will look on, or with the dress, but in its in-blocking state it is gorgeous. Helen's Lace tends to look rather woolly in the ball and especially when knitting but as soon as you block it the silk content comes shining through.





It took a lot of pinning out - there are about 200 separate points to pin around the lower edge. It's a good thing I finished today as I don't think Mum would have been at all keen on my sticking 200 pins into her new carpet, even in the cause of my having the shawl ready for the wedding! I wasn't too finickety about measuring an even distance between points on each side, I just pinned each side roughly and then stretched it out until it looked fairly balanced. I can always reblock when I'm not on such a tight schedule. Now I just need to fire up the dehumidifier and cross my fingers that it's dried by tomorrow morning.

* Oh dear lord, blocking is hard on the knees!

** My other secret weapon is a bog standard plant mister from Boswells (font of all that is good) as I find that my dampened lace tends to have mostly dried by the time it's pinned neatly in place, especially if I forget to sew in the top and centre threads beforehand.

I'm done with knitting!

That's right, I'm not doing any more knitting on this wretched Peacock Feathers shawl - because I'm finished!!

Finally I'm onto the crochet chain cast off, in fact I'm nearly halfway done and hope to be finished by this evening so the shawl can block tonight!



It's looking pretty good this far, I really like the pattern of the lace edging and it's going to look amazing when all these little raggedy loops are pinned out straight (note to self: buy more pins after work).

I'd like to thank all my Bluestockings buddies at this point for their encouragement, especially Felix who has been sending me emails and blog comments along the lines of "GO TEAM!" at the announcement of each milestone. This one's for you guys!

Oxford Bluestockings at Prick Your Finger

We all had a completely lovely time at Prick your Finger on Saturday afternoon. Ellen and I had braved torrential rain in Oxford to catch our train and it was rather dark, cold and damp when we arrived in Bethnal Green. However, we had the warmest of welcomes from Rachael and Louise who thrust mugs of tea into our hands and made us try Felix's gorgeous bread buns with rhubarb jam. My own contribution to the feast was in the form of heart-shaped custard creams* from Feast by Nigella Lawson. They're surprisingly simple to make and really are fun - next time round I want to try orange creams, another childhood favourite.



Kirsty was there when we arrived and Lara turned up a little later on with a present for me!



She had these made for people to wear at the i knit Stitch 'n Bitch day. I also got a "fluent knitter" sticker from Rachael which I will be sticking on my knitting journal as soon as I locate it. I didn't feel quite so fluent on the train back to Oxford as I discovered a horrible looking mess a couple of rows back in my Peacock Feathers shawl. I more or less fixed it after two separate attempts but it still looks a bit snarly. I'm just crossing my fingers that it won't be too noticeable after blocking.

The shop itself is lovely. Maybe not the place to go if you have a specific yarn or pattern in mind, but certainly the place to get inspired and pick up gorgeous one-off skeins and cute notions. Ellen and I were very tempted by the contents of the ribbon drawer, especially a bluey/green/silver affair with scalloped lace and sequins. I will definitely be going back there in the future.

Right now I'm heading back to Peacock Feathers. I've just finished row 211 and I really want to get to 224 (the end of the lace pattern) o.n.o. by bedtime.

* These scored very highly on Felix's approval meter being both kitsch and retro (not to mention delish) and I felt the effort of making them, especially dotting all the little holes round the edges, was well repaid by the speed with which they were consumed.

Arithmetic for idiots*

Last night in an effort to stop me fretting about whether I would have enough time remaining to finish the Peacock Feathers shawl before December 9th the boyfriend demonstrated how to calculate how many stitches remain in a triangular piece of knitting.

Take the number of stitches on your current row (A) and subtract from the number of stitches on your final row (B). Divide this number by 2 and add to (A). Multiply this number by the number of rows you still have to knit (C).

or:

((B - A)/2 + A) x C

In my case:

A = 346 (number of stitches on current row)
B = 495 (number of stitches on final row)
C = 75 (rows left to knit)

so:

495 - 346 = 149

149/2 = 74.5

346 + 74.5 = 420.5 **

420.5 x 75 = 31537.5 stitches remaining.

I think I was happier not knowing!

You can also use this to calculate how far you are through a triangular piece percentage-wise (no more guessing on Ravelry). So:

Starting number of stitches = 3
Final number of stitches = 495
Total number of rows = 250

((495 - 3)/2) x 250 = 61500

(31537/61500) x 100 = 51% left

I've not even reached the halfway mark - should I just give up now?!

By my reckoning I need to put in at the very least 20 hours of solid knitting in the next ten days. The only chink of light is that it looks like there may be an option to skip rows 191 to 222 of chart 7, curtailing the "big feathers" portion of the shawl and move straight onto the edging chart. Luckily it's my lace-knitters anonymous (a.k.a. the Oxford Bluestockings) meeting tonight so I can get some expert advice and find out if this is really a viable option.

* by which I mean a knitter who takes on a complex piece of lace knitting to a tight deadline without checking how many stitches she will have by the final row of the piece.

** this is your average number of stitches per row (in case you're interested)

Felted goodness

So after boasting about my display of good behaviour in John Lewis the other week (where didn't buy so much as a button!) I promptly fell down hard in said store twice in one week.

Last Wednesday I executed a lightening raid on the Oxford Street store coming away with seven balls of Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply clutched in my grubby little fingers. It's going to be discontinued, alright!



This Sunday I visited the Trafford Centre store and, whilst assuring the lady next to me that Kid Classic would indeed "felt like crazy", picked up 6 balls of Rowan Felted Tweed with which to knit Christmas socks.



Of course whilst the excuse that "it's not for me, it's Christmas shopping" is a good and valid one, it doesn't quite stretch to explaining how I'll have time to knit three pairs of Christmas socks on top of the Christmas something I already have planned, and the Peacock Feathers shawl (deadline December 9th), and the Anya sweater which I really did want to have done in time for this Christmas.

Still with socks at least I'm on home territory and I can hopefully whip these babies up on 3.25mm needles which should make them a relatively quick knit.

Meanwhile the Peacock Feathers shawl (aka the shawl that time forgot) is still progressing at a steady rate although I was somewhat relieved to realise that it's not because I'm a particularly slow knitter or that I'm finding the pattern especially taxing. It's just that it's huge. There are already around 320 stitches per row and there'll be nearly 450 by the time it's done. I really should have read through all the charts before starting! I'm halfway through chart 6 and there's just under a fotnight left - it's going to be close run thing.

Something for the weekend

Compared to my lightening progress on the Kiri for Aliki's sister's wedding progress on the Peacock Feathers shawl has, quite frankly, been a bit on the slow side. I cast on just before I set off for Dublin and I'm still ploughing through chart four of eight (and chart seven, let me tell you, is a monster). Partly it's because I've been distracted by baby knitting - so much more fun really - and partly becauseit's not friendly knitting for the evenings (dark wool and lots of pattern stitches) or for company, the only knitting I've really managed on it on Wednesdays has been before everyone else has turned up.

Drastic times, drastic measures and all that. I have made the decision that the shawl is the only knitting that's coming up north with me this weekend. To that end I've transferred it from the Brittany birch 3.5mm straights (a delight to knit with but a tad unwieldly and not at all friendly to any person sitting near me on public transport) to a bamboo circular. Hopefully 8 hours on a train there and back will see me well into chart 6 (if not the black hole of chart 7)!

Hopscotch socks update

The pattern is currently being test knitted by Katie. I squee'd out loud when I saw the picture of my sock being knit by someone else. Actually my reaction pretty much mirrored hers back when I started knitting my first Hopscotch sock with her yarn.

Anyways, once I've got feedback from her I'll make any corrections, gussy up the charts, put in some better photos (which I hope to take this weekend) and pop it online for your knitting pleasure.

Introducing BP

In the middle of what has been a slightly hassly week at work (crises all of my own making) I had a wonderful day trip to the big city to see my brand new baby niece:



I was running rather later than intended so didn't have much time to sample the yarn delight of London. However, I did manage to snaffle a few balls of Jaeger Matchmaker 4-ply in John Lewis (there's still plenty left guys) to make a top for me and a cardigan (or something) for BP.

As it turned out my timing was perfect as BP had just been got up and changed as I arrived and was then awake and doing cute baby stuff and being very very good for the rest of my visit - she's a total charmer.

I'm not sure that Elijah really enjoyed his trip to London..



..but he looks much happier now:





He wasn't quite ready in time for me to present to BP on Wednesday (still missing most of one ear) but I finished knitting on the bus on the way home and he's waiting to be sent off as soon as I#ve taken the photos for my competition entry.

WIP - Elijah

I got in some good progress on Elijah whilst watching the final episodes of Heroes (season 1) with Ellen and Helen last night. It's not at all suitable viewing for a young elephant - lucky he's not got ears or eyes yet then!

I'm very much enjoying this pattern - the lack of sewing up is a joy and it really uses very little yarn, I may end up with a whole herd of elephants.

Diversions

I'm struggling to stay faithful to the Peacock Feathers shawl at the moment. It's not handy bus knitting due to the long needles it's on so if I want to knit it while travelling the boyfriend has to sit on a different seat which seems a tad anti-social.

Plus there are too many other temptations. I came across Oliver's blanket on the Mason-Dixon blog and discovered that it's actually a UK based project to raise money for equipment* for Oliver - a little boy with cerebral palsy whose mum blogs here. Blanket squares should be knitted from leftover sock yarn (of which I have more than my fair share) and should be 4 inches square. You can send comkpleted squares to Michaela until the end of November. Michaela is making all the squares up into blankets which will be raffled at the end of the year. Kay at Mason-Dixon knitting is also collecting squares for a US blanket.

Oliver's square



Pattern: see here (note the squares are garter stitch. Initially I knit mine in stocking stitch and ended up with more of a rhombus.
Yarn: Fyberspates sock yarn in Ocean Forest
Needles: 2.75mm

Even if you're not knitting for Oliver's blanket this is a great way to make squares more interesting and completely side steps the thorny issue of how many to cast on.

Meanwhile I also succumbed to temptation in the form of a little blue elephant who has been having the most exciting adventures over on Ysolda's blog. The final straw was finding out that Felix was already knitting the pattern and that I had the specified yarn in my stash (that almost never happens).

Introducing Elijah



Pattern: here for the grand sum of £2
Yarn: Rowan RYC Cashsoft baby DK
Needles: 3mm dpn

So far I'm progressing on the head at a steady pace but should speed up once I hit the trunk decreases. I need to hunt out some stuffing too as it's one of those projects where you stuff as you go so he should start looking more like an elephant pretty soon (although first he'll be resembilng a parsnip).

More knitting on Peacock Feathers at the weekend - I promise.

* Example a regular car seat costs around £20-£40, Oliver's costs around £1600!

Happy Birthday baby Porter

Yesterday lunchtime I received the very exciting news that I now have a niece. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology I was able to see photos shortly after that and she looks incredibly cute if a little grumpy. Of course that's hardly to be wondered at given that it's turned seasonably frosty outside - luckily the latest batch of baby knits is all ready to keep her cosy and warm.

Classic Cardigam



Pattern: Classic Cardigan from The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK
Needles: 3mm and 3.25mm
Modification: Pattern knit at 24 stitches/32 rows = 10cm instead of 18 stitches/24 rows = 10cm to make newborn size.

Posy bootees



Pattern: Posy bootees by Martin Storey from JB29
Yarn: Oxford Kitchen Yarns sock yarn
Needles: 2.25mm dpn
Modification: Pattern knit at slightly smaller gauge, tubular bind-off added at top.

Baby knit-o-rama

Baby Porter - my first niece or nephew (we're fairly sure niece) - is due any day now and so baby knitting has reached near fever pitch. I sent off the first batch of crafted stuff (plus some very bought cute toys and clothes that I couldn't resist) last week and I'm now working on the next lot - a newborn size cardigan in Rowan Cashsoft DK and some Posy bootees in Oxford Kitchen Yarns sock yarn.



I love this pattern which is one of many beautiful patterns from Jaeger Handknits JB29. They may or may not be named after Posy Fossil from Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield (one of my favourite children's books) but I couldn't resist the photo opportunity. Sadly the lighting isn't great but I'll take more pics when I've finished the i cord drawstrings. I used 24 grammes of Oxford Kitchen Yarns sock yarn in Raspberry and 2.25mm needles. Otherwise I've followed the pattern as written right up to the top of the cuff where I've added a 6 row tubular bind-off to match the piping around the foot.

Although I've been trying to knit the smallet sizes in baby patterns even the 0-3 month sizes have come out looking huge. I can understand why pattern designers don't want to give small pattern sizes - babies come in a varying range of sizes and grow very fast so you could end up with some very disgruntled knitters. Still, I really wanted to knit something that that baby could wear right away and so knit the classic cardigan from The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss using DK weight yarn instead of aran and size 3.25mm needles instead of 4.5mm. The result is a cardigan which is three-quarters the size of the 3-6 months size and which looks a pretty good fit for a newborn (fingers crossed). The yarn is Rowan Cashsoft in a very pretty lilac.



The bear transfer was my one purchase (for all of £0.99) at Hobbycraft this weekend - so sweet!

I was similarly restrained at John Lewis where Mum and I went to pick out my very exciting Christmas present (which is sadly staying firmly in its box and under wraps until December 25th - it might as well be a surprise for someone!). I think that my urge to buy yarn - even when confronted with exclusive to John Lewis alpaca and soon to be discontinued Jaeger (the Rowan rep said they still had plenty in stock) - was somewhat appeased by my Mum's purchase of 8 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino aran for a moss stitch baby blanket (also from The Baby Knits Book which I had luckily brought up with me). Mum wanted me to be around to remind her how to cast on and change colours etc. but she really needn't have as she's picked it up again like the proverbial bicycle and after just one evening she's already 2 inches in!

That's all the knitting news for now - I can't wait to get back to Oxford and hear all about how the various Bluestockings got on at the i knit Stitch'n Bitch day. From the small snippets I've heard it sounds like everyone had a great time. Katie's put a small preview up on her blog - I can't get over how great her knitted banner is!

Guy Fawkes night

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

I've always preferred bonfire night to Halloween*. It was always a big deal in our house with us and our next door neighbours from either side getting together for a big shared bonfire. My main memories are of the wet bonfire night at Brynn's (next door up the street) when we sheltered from the rain under a make shift awning made from sheet plastic and the year when we burnt the old table tennis table at our house. We retreated indoors because of the fumes from the paint and stood in the kitchen worrying whether the intense heat from the bommy was going to crack the windows. I have great memories of the food too. Sausages in rolls with onions and ketchup, baked potatoes in foil and kitchen towel, Brynn's special black peas (although I'm not sure that I ever ate any), rock hard treacle toffee which my brother and I made with Mum and then smashed into pieces with a mallet on the patio table.

There was (sadly) no bonfire for me this year but we did go to the Somerville college firework display which was a fantastic spectacle and I did get to have sparklers and treacle toffee (albeit from Thornton's).



I knit the fingerless mittens especially for bonfire night. The hand dyed yarn is a perfect autumn/bonfire colour and the stitch pattern is Flickering flames from the Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches vol. II. The lack of fingers make them ideal for lighting sparklers and fishing sticky toffee out of a bag!



Flickering flames mitts:
Pattern: 10 rnds of K1 tbl, P1 rib. 2 repeats of Flickering flames pattern, afterthought thumb and another 10 rnds of K1 tbl, P1 rib.
Yarn: Hand dyed Debbie Bliss merino dk
Needles: 3.25mm dpns


*Actually Halloween and trick or treating was pretty much banned in our house due to all the evil.

04:13:58

Yay, go me! The above is my "chip time" (sadly nothing to do with deep fried potato products) for the Dublin marathon which I ran in last Monday. I led up to the race feeling deeply under prepared due to a bad cold which had forced me to skip three weeks of training (including my 20 mile run and my 10 mile rehearsal run) right at the end of my training schedule which basically meant that I hadn't run more than 6 miles at a time for over 5 weeks before the race.

It wasn't even until I turned up at the registration Expo in Ballsbridge on the Saturday before the race to pick up my number and kit bag that I faced the reality that I would be attempting to run 26 miles on Monday. As at London the "Impossible is nothing" whiteboard on which runners and supporters scrawl their messages of good luck proved very inspiring.







Also inspiring (as it turned out) was the lovely new kit that I bought for myself - a reflective Dubin 2007 jacket, my very first pair of running tights (which should help reduce the effect of my runner's tan this winter), and a lovely Hilly water bottle holder with zip pockets (finally, hands-free running). One of the things that kept me going in the tough miles between 20 amd 24 was the thought that I would feel a complete fraud wearing my gorgeous jacket if I didn't finish the race.

The race day itself was gorgeous, freezing on the start line - luckily we were packed in like sardines - but with bright sunshine which never got too warm thankfully. The worst thing was the stiff breeze which was troublesome on the higher portions of the course, especially between 12 and 13 miles where we seemed to be running straight into it for almost the whole mile, but mostly conditions were fine.

I was a little more worried in the early part of the race (1 - 6 miles) than I would be normally due to the lack of training but once I'd realised that I wasn't going to break down in a heap at three miles I really got to enjoying it. Miles 5 through to 8 in Phoenix Park were really nice (pretty trees, fresh air, nice views).

Although the crowds were nothing like London (which was overwhelming in both positive and negative ways) there were little knots of people here and there and larger groups in places and they gave out very warm and encouraging support. There were lots of little kids holding out their hands for low fives as the runners went past which I was much more inclined to do than in London where I was so hot and exhausted for so much of the time that my main reaction was "are you kidding? do you know how much energy that'll take out of me?". Lots of people held out sweets (btw jelly babies and wine gums: good; boiled sweets, especially ones which you have to unwrap: v v bad) and orange quarters. The water stands were really well organised and well supplied and they even still had enough of the energy drinks remaining when I went by although I only tried that once as it tasted worryingly like Sunny Delight and made Lucozade seem low-sugar.

The general trend of the course was uphill until 15 miles and downhill thereafter which was a good thing as I faded pretty quickly after 18 miles. 18 miles is a magic distances for me in marathon running. It's the point at which I can be fairly certain that I'm going to get home, no matter what. After all, it's only 2 miles after that until 20, and then only 3 until 23, and then anyone can run, or, worst case scenario, walk 3 miles. When you break it down like that it sounds like you're almost there at 18 miles. In reality there's still 8 miles to go (that's almost a third of the race) and it was a long hard slog. From 20 to 24 miles I really took it just one step at a time. When you start running people will tell you that it's just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and it's true. The tricky thing is to keep making yourself do it, even when you're too tired to think about getting to the next mile marker. The great thing is that if you can keep doing it, and keep doing it at a reasonable rate, you know that in a certain number of hours or minutes it will be over and you can stop it.

All this doesn't sound like too much fun but I really did run round with a smile on my face for most of the time and the finish makes it all worth while. As soon as you pass the 24 mile marker you can see people all around you lift up their heads and pick up their feet. It's partly to do with the larger crowds near the finish line, cheering you all on, but mostly to do with the knowledge that you're so close. One last effort and you're done. By the time you get to 25 miles people who were struggling to step onto the curb 2 miles back are running like they were at the start of the race and runners who looked dead on their feet are going for the sprint finish, arms outstretched. My primary school headmaster used to say that if you could sprint at the finish then you weren't giving enough earlier on. He has a point but I feel that the effort that I give at the finish comes from a different place than the effort I put in during the race. It comes from knowing that I can give everything for the last mile, that I can run on empty because there's no more distance to run.

After the race I got a lovely shiny (heavy) medal on a red ribbon which physically hurt everytime it banged into me as it swung around my neck (I had to hold it away from me as I was just too sore already after the race!) and a goody bag which - if light on the edible stuff (luckily I had brought my own Kit-Kat and banana) did have a lovely long-sleeved t-shirt in the right size (London organisers take note, most of us are not XXL).



I don't think I will run Dublin again (too hilly) but I did enjoy the experience on the whole and I'm still chasing that sub 4 hour time. I'm in the ballot for London next year so fingers crossed for that and for a cool April 2008.

Happy Halloween

I have two possible routes to work from my bus stop - one takes me through the Day of the Triffids/28 Days Later style deserted hospital, the other takes me the scenic route, via the Maison Blanc patisserie window. Guess which one I usually choose.



I have lots to post about my Dublin trip and the marathon and I'll do it when I have a little more time at the weekend. In the meantime, here's a shot of the progress on the Peacock Feathers shawl.



I'm into chart 3 and it's going along quite nicely. I'm really glad I bought all those stitch markers at the Knitting and Stitching show though!

And, talking of shows..

Katie has just announced that she is going to have an Oxford Kitchen Yarns stand at the Stitch 'n' Bitch day in London. You can find out all the details over on Katie's blog.