First FO's of 2014..........and I have a winner.

Good morning, at last, I've opened the curtains and it's not raining!!!!!! It's a beautiful, frosty, sunny morning, my favourite kind of winter weather. I've got three FO's to show you this week, the first of 2014.

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My first one is my second Fair Isle Style Crochet Cardigan, this was for a little girl's birthday so I needed it to finish by the 4th January. It is quite a quick project, compared to knitting, anyway. I used a 6mm hook with Drops Nepal yarn which is probably why it works up so quickly. I didn't start it until the 17th December but finished in plenty time. I love this pattern, it is by Ball, Hank and Skein and I'm sure I will end up making another one.

Technically, this is off my hook, not on but I was making this as part of Chrissie and Marrianne's,  Bloomin' Crochet Along, so I thought I would share it with them.

My second FO is my Henslowe Shawl and I love it!!!!! I think this is my favourite shawl to date, I'm not sure whether it is the yarn I've used or the beautiful lace pattern. I used Skein Queen Tickled Mink and it is as light as a feather and so very soft but is actually really warm on these cold winter days.

One last project that I forgot to show you, I finished my Lace Beret, back in the middle of December, using Malibrigo Sock in Ravelry Red, I love this colour. Sorry about the cheesy photo, hehe, it was a "selfie".

I blocked it, using a dinner plate but it is a little bit too big on me now, so I will try and re-block it using a smaller plate.

Check out more FO's over on Tami's blog, my Ravelry queue always gets longer when I've seen everybody's gorgeous projects.

Now to announce the winner of the Swatch Like You Mean It giveway, generously donated by Mel of Single Handed Knits. I did it a very technical way by writing everybody's name on a piece of paper, who wanted to enter and picked one out of a teacup.

Drum roll...............................the winner is Linda Tytko. Congratulations Linda, can you get in touch with me, please, so I can pass your details onto Mel.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend. I'm hoping the weather will stay dry and we'll have a trip over to the beautiful town of Stratford Upon Avon.

xxxxDebxxxx

Yarn Along.......my weekly round-up.

A quick post today, as I'm off to do some more Christmas shopping in a bit, hopefully this will be the last trip. I haven't done a lot of knitting as my little finger has been hurting where I'm constantly bending it, so I've had to learn how to hold my yarn a different way, it's taken a while to get the hang of it but I think I've got it now, I just hope my tension will be o.k.
I'm still on the first Rosebud Sock and have nearly finished turning the heel. The Rowan Fine Art sock yarn is so nice to work with and I love the narrow stripes on the foot.

I'm on the last part of my Henslowe Shawl and have started the Cast Off Picot edge, I should have this finished by next week.

I'm still reading Knit the Season but I'm also reading Inventing the Christmas Tree by Bernd Brunner, an history of the Christmas tree. I told you I love everything about Christmas but it is a lovely little book. If you pop over to Ginny's blog which is called Small Things, you can see what everyone else is knitting and reading this week.

My festive red yarn has arrived from Tangled Yarn, it's Malabrigo Sock in Ravelry Red, a luxurious 4 ply, pure merino. I think I've changed my mind about knitting a pair of socks with it though, I quite fancy making a pretty lace beret with it. Watch this space!!!!!

Also check out Tami's blog, where you'll see more WIP's, it's a great place for finding new patterns.

Thanks for stopping by.
xxxxDebxxxx

Yarn Along...........another pair of socks on the needles.

Good morning, I hope you all had a good weekend, it's a busy time of year and not so much free time on our hands but I have found time to cast on another pair of socks.

I've always got socks on my needles for a few reasons.........

1- I have lots of sock yarn that I want to use up in my stash, my goal for 2014 is to knit from my  stash.

2- They are portable and can just throw them in my bag if I go anywhere.

3- They are quick to make, I love seeing my knitting take shape and very satisfying when you've finished a project.

4- I like to have a smaller project to work on when I'm knitting larger projects so if I start getting bored I can pick up my socks.

 The pattern is Rosebud by Wendy D. Johnson and they are from the book, Toe-Up Socks for Everyday. I'm using Rowan Fine Art sock yarn in shade 302, Tawny. It is a variegated yarn and I know some knitters would perhaps do a Vanilla sock or less patterned as you don't really see the full effect of this pretty lace pattern. I prefer to knit a patterned sock and though it's hard to see the pattern you can see the texture which I love.

As you can see, I've started Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs, it's a fun read with the same characters from A Friday Night Knitting Club. I'm linking this to Ginny's Yarn Along, check out what everybody else has been reading and knitting this week

On the subject of sock knitting, I've decided I need to knit myself some festive socks and have just ordered some Malabrigo sock yarn in Ravelry Red, it should be here by tomorrow. I haven't decided on a pattern yet but I'm thinking something with cables.

I've also been working on my Henslowe shawl and have now started the lace edge, it's coming along quite quickly to say it's a 3ply yarn. The yarn has a very soft halo and is so warm without been bulky, I can't wait to finish it so I can wear it.

Check out other WIP's over on Tami's blog, enjoy the rest of your week and I'll be back on Friday with some Finished Objects. One last thing do you remember the Livingston cardigan I was knitting my nephew, well I've decided to frog it. He is 6 months old and he is growing rapidly, he is in 9-12 months clothes already It would just about fit him now but wouldn't last him a few weeks so made the decision to undo it and maybe knit him a cardigan instead.

xxxxDebxxxx

WIP Wednesday....Henslowe Shawl

 I haven't had much knitting time this week, most of my knitting is done over the weekend and as you saw on my previous post I was busy scrapbooking.

I promised myself that I wouldn't start any new projects until I had finished one of my WIP's. Ok, we'll that didn't happen, the thing is I've had a skein of Tickled Mink from the Skein Queen in my stash for sometime, it's so soft and warm and the weather has dropped really cold here in the UK so I fancied making myself a new shawl with it.I wanted more of a scarf than something to wrap around my shoulders. I started looking through Ravelry for patterns using a 3 ply yarn and came across a pattern by Beth King called Henslowe.

I first saw this designer in Pom Pom Quarterly and loved the shawl she had designed on the front cover of Issue 5. I love all her designs and have a few more of hers in my queue.

It's a simple construction starting with just a garter stitch body. This was perfect to take with me on the weekend for any spare time I had as I didn't need to read a pattern.

Also I haven't had much reading time, I'm still reading Take a Look At Me Now by Miranda Dickinson.What I have been flicking through is another book by Vibe Ulrik Sondergaard called Lullaby Knits. I loved Labour of Love and Lullaby Knits is just as good, full of gorgeous baby knits. It's on offer at The Book People for £4.99, another bargain as I will knit a few patterns from it.

Check out what everybody is up to over on Ginny's Yarn Along.

and Tami's WIP Wednesday.

Thank you for stopping by, have a good week.
xxxxDebxxxx