Catching Up

Arg, again it's been ages since I updated this page. I think Ravelry's killing my blog :( I've been surfing that site obsessedly, gathering patterns for my queue (over 600!), and generally just hanging out there. I've got a total case of startitis as well, so maybe that's got something to do with my overall mood, where I don't have the concentration to do any more than sit and look at billions of pattern.

So first of all, an FO!




Pattern: Wabenschal
Yarn: Rennie pure wool in purple. I got this off of ebay as part of a test order to see what a shop was like, and this was my test project for the yarn (but don't tell my mum that, cos I gave it to her). It turned out really good, and blocked really well. The difference after blocking was amazing.

And, that's the only FO. All the other things I've been working on are still WIPs.



This is a garter stitch shawl I cast on cos I wanted something really brainless. It's not even normal shawl construction, it's just casting on 3 sts, then increasing at each end every other row. It's good for working on when I'm watching something. I'm about 2/3 of the way done, and I think I'm going to add embriodery afterwards to make it more interesting, maybe some flowers so it'll be all springlike. This project is good cos it's using up a thin yellow yarn that I got from a charity shop, and would probably not use for anything else cos of the colour.



I'm learning how to crochet properly at last! I taught myself off of some obscure instructions on the web a while ago, and recently bought Stitch and Bitch: The Happy Hooker, which is brilliant! Even though it showed me that I was doing it wrong :( I was going under only one loop of the row below, where I should have been going under both, so mine was more like ribbing. Also, I was throwing the yarn round like I do when I'm knitting. Probably not a big thing, and it probably doesn't matter to the finished product, but I wanted to be doing it right, so I'm changing. My 'beginning' project for this new crochet is Treenah, from the 1st edition of the Inside Loop. This pattern is good for me cos it starts off with a lot of treble crochet, so I get time to practice before the lace. And that tiny little bit in the picture? That took me 3 rippings and 2 hours of solid work just on that little bit (ie not including the time spent on the bits that got ripped) Crochet is harder than it looks!



And finally, I'm making Stargazer, from Magknits. I'm using some random red 100% wool I got off ebay ages ago. I was kind of saving it up for some imaginary intricate cabled sweater that I could never find a decent pattern for. I just couldn't find what was in my head, and couldn't be bothered spending the time to design it. Then I looked on ravelry and saw other people's versions of Stargazer, and one of them had a black border. I saw that, and thought that a black border would go well with red, and started making it :) I've modified the width of the top rectangles, so that it would meet the body rectangles under my bust, instead of in the middle of it. I'm in the middle of the last rectangle now, then I just need to join them all together. Making such big rectangles is hard going, but I'm so excited at the thought of having this top, it's not too hard to force myself to keep going.

So, I should be kept busy with all of that, but I still find myself wanting to cast on more projects. Ravelry is just tempting me far too much!