Not much knitting to show, but I have been spinning ...

Knitting, sometimes the knitting is done - but there isn't much to show, this week I've got a little progress on Nightingale, and I've been spinning - so there is a spinning FO to show and the next 'one the wheel' to introduce. the secret project goes well, grows, and grows, and shrinks(yes there was frogging - I overshot a change point and had to frog). Oh and there is news .. on the knitting front - a project and travel.

I've reached another milestone with Nightingale, the leg increases, so far I'm only 2 repeats in but it is a start. I've decided to work mine as stripes - that way the increase gusset won't have long floats carried across its width.

My real progress this week has been spinning, I finished working this Jacob, 82g, two ply, 162m, all done and plied and washed and bloomed. I loved spinning this - the fibre just flowed easily and evenly (why can't all fibre be like this?). This Jacob was a gift, generously shared by Jocelyn - thank you!

The fibre is a lovely grey, silver really, and has a silky handle with a bloom and drape .. odd really but seriously beautiful. I don't want to put this one away - it may become yarn decoration for a wee while first. I was impressed by how fine it has ended up, and even, due entirely I think to the lovely free flowing prep.

The next spin project is both a luxury and a challenge, a local spinner gifted me this chinese cashmere (yes she actually rang and asked if I was interested!). It is pettably soft and creamy and looks like toffee. I'm almost scared to spin it, what if I stuff it up? I tried a wee sample skein and it worked - but was hard work. Cashmere or this cashmere is short and it is like spinning water - I'm aware that when spinning this I tense up and work the fiber almost a centimeter at a time ... but perhaps that is how it is with cashmere.

Lastly way back at the start of the year I spent some time developing and submitting abstracts for conferences .. the one I was most excited about was In the Loop 2 - Knitting: origins and evolution, and I learned some months ago my paper was accepted. Which meant I had to apply for funding and wait .. the funding came thru and that meant I had to try and afford Lerwick (yes in the Shetlands - of the knitting traditions), after much too-ing and fro-ing and searching I finally sorted travel that is affordable within the budget and I've confirmed and registered. My paper is on four items of mid 20th C knitwear in the local museum ... and I'm suggesting they are perfect examples of taught British knitting at the edges of the empire. I've still go to flesh out the paper, go beyond the early working version I presented last year ... and rework it for a knitting and not New Zealand audience. I'll be busy .. head down reading and writitng and thinking - I will really need my knitting to relax me. And I'm already planning my 'trip' knitting .....I'm sure my local knit group are planning my shopping:D

take care
na Stella

Swap-prep

I've been knitting, one I can tell you all about, the other I can't (yet). There are two swaps I'm signed up for, one with the local knitters as part of a mid winter cheer us up dinner and the NZFW 4.0 ... the New Zealand Fibre Swap for spinning fibres. Yesterday I sorted a yarn and possible projects for my knitting swap partner .. and started that, today I spent the day dying fibre, one of which will be sent away for my fibre swap partner. Because I've been sorting things for both swaps today's post is a little odd, I can't really tell all about the swap stuff which leaves very little knitting I can share.

The knitting I can share is Nightingale, once I finished the heel I realized that the leg required following two charts, both of which were rather large for my little A5 sized chart keepers so I splurged on a KnitPro(Knitpics) A4 chartkeeper. The chart keeper arrived Friday and so I've been working on the leg .. which is going well. The front continues with the birds repeating.

The back of the leg has a stylized symmetrical flower motif repeated up the leg. The pattern includes instructions to work increases between the vertical borders of the front and back patterns .. I'm not at that stage yet but will be soon. I love the magnets on the chartkeeper, they are strong and click into place with a solid plink. The chartkeeper is nice to use, it folds up to protect the chart and keep the markers from being knocked askew, there is a wee pocket on the inside flap - opposite the chart, which is a little to small for A4 charts - I'm not sure what it is intended for ... but the size of the magnetic section is perfect for this sock. I notice that Nightingale is for sale now thru Ravlery.

The secret knitting project for my secret swapee .. I can't really tell you about, or if I did it would be along the lines of - I stalked ????? and saw she had ????? queued so sorted a copy of the pattern and found a yarn in the colours she has lots of projects in and started knitting, then I had a change of heart, frogged it and decided to knit ??????. So I sorted a pattern for that and a yarn for that as well and cast on and its all going well. I'd even be able to tell you that I've knit up X of the Y rows before I have to work the ????. And I'd tell you I was loving it, and part of me wished it was for me, and it might not be swapped after all .. but then it wouldn't be secret so I can't tell you any of that at all. The good news is that I'm about to sort a sweater for the oldest cub ... in the Possum yarn I bought for Owls and then discovered concealed any Owl I knit in it. Because he is a boy cub .. it will be basic, plain and ordinary .. with as much little fun knitters detail as I can hide in it as i work it.



For the fibre swap I've been working on what to swap. This time there is a thread with open questions on the Ravelry group, where some one asks I wonder if my swapee likes pink or green, or a really important issue like dark chocolate or milk, tea or coffee? Then all of those signed up answer .. its quite a bit of fun. I started the day reading thru those and then had a go with with a blue and purple dye .. but its not my best work ... I really prefer less contrast and more semi-solid colours. After that I put a bit more planning into my dying. This is all Perendale combed top.

Next I dyed a citrus lemon tangerine and followed that with a skein of lime green , the last one is just out of the dye pot - palest pink and lavender at one end and stronger pink and purple at the other. I had 200 grams in the dye pot and found the dye didn't penetrate all the way down, but it is pretty. I've not decided which if any will be the swap fibre - the plan was to dye several and see how it went. What I learned is that a little pre planning and mixing up dye solutions that related by colour family gave me results I was happier with than just winging it. I kept the dye pot just under a simmer and the fibre came out lovely and fluffy when it dried.

Take care - I've got a day not teaching tomorrow, so plan to spend the time sifting thru readings and make sense of them as preparation for a paper I'm writting. I'm looking forward to it, hope your week starts as interestingly .. take care,
na Stella

Some weeks

the pace of life conspires against me, this Wednesday I was happily sitting on the sofa knitting, just thinking about how it was very nearly late and I should really make moves towards sleeping .. when I realized it was Wednesday and there was no blog post. How could that happen? In hindsight - one little interruption to a day can pretty much derailed normal events for the day. Our car needed its regular 6 month service, nothing odd there, usually Bear drops it off in the morning, he collects the cubs after school and taxi them home, then I taxi to the service agent pick up the car and home I go. Our car is 'older' but reliable, except a few weeks ago the radio died, I've been missing the news and weather and current events as I drive .. and we were both slightly worried that as the radio was permanently on, with lights but no sound and we couldn't turn it off .. and worried that the electricity flow to it was constant and might be a danger. Much as I would love insurance to pay out for a replacement car.... I couldn't be bothered shopping around for a replacement right now or struggling to live even for a short time without one while we did that. So we explained and asked them to disconnect the radio ... and they said they had a small supply of fairly inexpensive radio/cd/mp3 player units which they could install. Sounded good ....except when I went to collect the car at 4:30 it wasn't quite ready, the plug between the new radio and the car wasn't the type they needed, so a mechanic shot off to obtain the right one and promised me it would be all done by 5pm .... and at 5, a quick discussion that that cable wasn't right either .. but it would be sorted by 5:30pm .. at 6pm one of the mechanics dropped me home sans car. They were really insistent I stay and it would only be a little more, and were really sorry .. but there is only so much free coffee one can drink after work and only so many glossy magazines one can flick thru sitting on a sofa in a car place. It appears that the radio connection that our car has specified is not the type it has installed .. and yet the car has had one careful owner(us) and no modifications, it still had the factory installed radio. Thursday the cubs and I walked to where we had to be. Poppy's idea, she really really wanted to walk ... 35 minutes to their school and a further 30 minutes to my work. I was totally surprised that they not only managed but skipped and chatted the whole way. I do have to say it was pretty much all downhill. After work Bear collected the car, with new radio, and mp3 playing unit, and its fab. Turns out the installer ended up resorting to 'old-school' techniques, rather than using a pre-manufactured plug. He cut wires and soldered, nice to know they can still do 'old-school' when they need to. The look of the new radio makes me smile, its very 'bling' after the old budget one, this has far more lights than I'm used to, its new and black and shiny and glows with fake neon lights at odds with the the rest of the car that is worn and black fading to dusty grey.


We are back on track now, today will be a standard Friday, and I've got finished knit objects, Toby's Turkish socks, all done and progress on Nightingale, a heel done in colour work. Nightingale is a fairly quick knit, despite the fact I've now worked this heel cup and heel three times in total - nothing to do with the pattern just me learning to best tension which stitches how and when to achieve a neat and tidy finish. Part of that was reading the pattern properly .. my first go was messy, the second go a little better and the third attempt involved reading carefully and following all the instructions to the letter.. and it worked like a dream. Funny that - how following instructions worked best.

And the Turkish socks, Toby's are all done and into their second day of wearing. At first they were a little tight to pull on, but today they are easier, a huge relief, as I didn't want to knit them again. Note: his jeans are longer - I just made him hitch them up for the photo.

So nearly time to leave for work, and listen to the new and improved old school installed radio - and find out whats happening with the weather and news about town.

take care
Stellla

Weekending ...

Weekending, I'm sure its a verb used to describe the activity that occurs in weekends. For me this weekend that means knitting, tidying up, and baking .. and for the cubs this weekend meant party time, for when you are a cub weekends seem to mean at least one birthday party or team event, or leaving party or plain old play date. The cubs also finally talked me into indulging them in the last of the unopened Christmas presents (Yup really = we made them wait that long). And I managed to balance all of that with knitting and an educational comic book.

Firstly the first of the second pair of Turkish socks is done and I'm well into the second of the pair. I played with the leg section of this pair, working an asterisk or snowflake on the front of the leg and

just introducing an ever widening triangle on the back of the leg. I didn't plan this and in hindsight perhaps I should have, if I had worked a few more rounds the triangle would have widened to full width .. but I'm being conservative with my yarn, making sure that I retain enough for sock two of the pair.

In the first pair, I worked a small 10 round repeat colour work pattern just below the cuff braid, but when those socks are worn the braid rolls down and covers the pattern. I wanted to finish this pair with a band of something that wouldn't roll, and the checkerboard edge of the Ccatca hat I knit ages ago. So my turkish socks got a little south american in their cuff ... it is a set up round knitting 2x2 colour work, followed by two purl rounds in the colour as set .... and then a set up round knitting 2x2 offsetting the colours. The purls squares seem to be a nice match for the Turkish braided edge.

Nightingale is singing along merily, every second night. Look how it grows, I've now got the head and shoulders of a second bird ... which means ...

that I'm mid way thru the heel flap! So far so good although I've not tried it on since the heel cup/flap started. That is the first thing I'll do once the heel flap is fully formed.

and this is the Christmas present that Toby and Poppy rediscovered, it was a kitset gingerbread house, complete with gingerbread panels, icing, foundation tray, and lollys. We had tucked it away in the laundry at christmas. There was so much food open and so many other treats that it just got tidied away and forgotten .. until we were packing away jams and pickles and it was noticed. I promised cubs they could make it Saturday .. and they did a great job - icicles and all. They both decided to leave it to 'look at' until today, and about an hour ago they finally broke into it. Toby gave in first ... lasting a good 10 minutes before coming to ask if I would mind if he didn't eat his half, he said it was giving him a headache. Poppy lasted only a wee bit longer before pushing it away ... I think that gingerbread houses, commercially made kitset ones are probably are way more fun to decorate and look at than to eat. I once read that sugar highs are a myth, that the body can only absorb so much sugar so fast, and that makes sense - I'm trying to raise cubs that can self regulate their diet in a good way .. and part of that is allowing them to indulge in treats like this when they are provided (usually by well meaning extended family). I'm so pleased that our standard daily diet is obviously so lacking in sugar that they find a sweet treat like this just to much. Score! Add to that we made snicker-doodles and chocolate chip cookies, and both cubs told me the house biscuit base was not as nice as the baking we did.

During the week we also discovered The Big Band Book, and I contacted James who nicely sent a pdf version to Toby and Poppy. James is a knitter, or as he says was, but a proactive knitter, in his own words "setting up the Knits of the Brown Table, a Monty-python loving group at Brown University". The knitting link continues as I discovered the Big Bang over at Kverulantinnen. As she writes "What's not to like about the theory of relativity and the big bang in rhyme?", having read Bang several times now I have to agree, its great with a hint of Dr Seuss rhyme. Even though my two are now 10 and 7 ... this has been a bedtime read every night since we got it. The dawings are fun and clever and clearly done by some one who likes drawing and is good at it, and there is enough sophistication in the message to satisfy parents and yet enough fun to entice kids, or at least our two. I'm going to buy a copy for the cubs school library to entertain and educate all those comic book loving kids they have (Toby is one of many).

so that was my weekend, its now nearly ended ... and I'm off to cook Spinach and chickpeas for Sunday tea .. or more properly espinacas con garbanzos if I can work out how to pronunciate it without mangling it. And tonight I knit on nightingale a leetle more ....

na Stella

I got spinning mail!

I'm not sure what it was like in the rest of the world, but here in New Zealand it seems that in the mid 20th Century there were a lot, and I mean a lot of spinning wheel makers plying their trade. As a result almost every spinner here has several wheels, one or more of those being an older wheel bought from another spinner, or through family, or friends or in more modern ways, on Trade-me (New Zealands answer to e-bay) or vintage shops. Me I have 3 'older' wheels, and have over the past three years seen two more pass thru my house. The prices of older wheels vary, locals in the know suggest that an Ashford Traddie, old style, one whorl with one bobbin should be free, or $NZ20 at most ... while Wee Peggy's or Little Peggy's have been bought for as little as $NZ50, but seem currently to go for around the $NZ100. Other more desirable wheels, can reach dizzying high prices of $300 ... but generally most spinners say that for around $100 you can pick up a old wheel, in very good running condition, with all the bits that will be an excellent spinner, you just have to wait until a good one comes along.


When I first got into spinning, and into buying older wheels, I would haunt Trade-me, and drive to local shops on the rumor of a wheel for sale - then I would visit the best online spinning wheel info site and search out its provinance, the maker, and features and details. That site is New Zealand spinning wheels, and is the result of a lot of detailed footwork by Mary Knox, and others she knows. The site is fantastic, more so if you have a mystery wheel and want to identify it, both Bear and I have flitted between photos on Trademe, or Ravelry or Flickr and Mary's site - discussing if what we were looking at was this kind of wheel or possibly that one. It is thanks to Mary that we identified my Wing .. one of my favorite wheels.

Now there is a book, New Zealand Spinning Wheels and their makers, which pulls together information from the site, and more and presents it as a coherent and sensible story specific to New Zealand. Its seems that traditionally New Zealand spinning wheels have been shipped around the world, just at Majacraft, Keeves, Ashford, Baynes are now ... I've seen Ravelry forums devoted to Pippys, Majacraft, Peggy's and others .... and most of those wheel owners are not in New Zealand. When I heard Mary was publishing a book, I told her I wanted to buy it when it came out, and when she emailed to say copies were available --- I jumped to order. The book arrived yesterday .. and it is every bit as good as the site. At the back of the book is a cd with higher resolution photos of most of those in the book, allowing readers to zoom up close and see details that will help them understand where their wheel might sit in the grand scheme of wheel history. There is a final chapter that discusses all the little inventions and tweaks that contribute to the New Zealand Spinning wheel identity. It is a nice book.
If you are at all like me, have a bit of a thing for New Zealand spinning wheels, and like to find out more ... this is a great book to add to your library. Mary is selling them direct, and at the moment is dealing with inquiries via email (address on her site).

And back to the knitting,
Green sweater is no further along but is getting great wear, this is it after a hard day at the office, marking and meeting. I still have done nothing about a closure .. and probably will wait for just the right thing to appear, until then I'm happy to wear as is, a closure will stop the hem and neckline from sitting at odd levels levels.

and socks, I've been splitting my time between Nightingale and the reknit of the too small Toby's Turkish sock. Nightingale is fun, this is the result of two nights knitting ....and there is a certain amount of colour work encouragement. A
case of wanting to complete the bird before heading off to bed .. don't panic as bedtime was well before midnight. I knit the turkish sock last night ... so Nightingale tonight (she says smiling).

and the reknit of the once to small to go over the heel turkish sock is not as bad as I expected. counting the frog of the two small sock this is effectively the third time putting together a sock design using the turkish shaping and selecting decorative colour work motifs and I think it shows. The pairs of dogs that I wanted to use on the instep didn't take up all instep stitches .. so I added a pair of side patterns, and then continued them up and past the transition from the foot to the leg. I had Toby try this on this morning, a moment of truth as going from 66 stitches to 74 stitches seemed in hindsight a very large jump and I began to wonder if his skinny feet would be swallowed up by an overly generous sock. No worries, it fitted great, with a little growing room. As I did on the the last sock I've worked a 1x1 stripe at the base of the leg, and am now working a snowflake into the front and a diamond into the back ... nearly there.

And its so nice to come home and think about family and spinning books and knitting .. and relax after a day spend marking. This week I've worked thru workbooks of second year students and first year students and felt totally demoralized by the lack of critical thinking and process .... and well 'work'. I've lost count of the number of times I've said 'highlighting is not anaysis', 'remember to tell me what you think' and even ' its a workbook, so please put work in the book'. Yet I know that it is always this way for the first project .. and as the year progresses their workbooks will bloom ..... and I know that there is always knitting .... and trash tv.

na Stella

Guess what?

I've finished the Green sweater! Yes, well finished enough to wear, and wear it I did, out to a local knitting celebration, and then today I blocked. Oh there are still buttons and button loops or alternatives to sort .. but its done enough to wear. So today there I've got photos, and a new project launches. Like all my new projects launch seems like the wrong word .. for there was a wee bit of to-ing and fro-ing and indecision and back tracking before the project could be said to be underway.

But first the Green Sweater, Friday Bear and I had a mini road trip up to Waimate to collect the cubs and bring them home. I knitted all the way up, and we spent the afternoon catching up with my Dad and drinking tea, and in my case knitting. I cast off the i-cord boarder around the second sleeve cuff before we headed home but had to wait until I was at home to weave in that last end. Saturday Morag of Vintage Purls hosted a wee gathering for local knitters to celebrate her 2nd anniversary as a Indi-sock artist/knit business. I wore my green sweater ... which was noticed, and cast on for my next project. I also was told during the week that for now there is no more of this green singles yarn, the kind the original sweater was knit in - which makes mine feel even more special. T asked if I felt like I was 'channeling EZ as I knit' and I had to say that as I knit I did feel like I could see her thought processes ... it is a cleverly shaped sweater.

Being a knitter who sometimes takes the path of interest rather than the one that is most sensible .. I went ahead and cast on for a colourwork sock. That is right, I have Toby's Turkish sock on the needles (colourwork), and I was at an event that was serving wine and I cast on for another colour work sock project. Not only that but I brought the yarn all skeined up into four 50g cakes, two petrol blue and two pale pink, and two sets of circular needles and I cast on and worked the toes for Nightinngale. Nightingale came with a deeper hue of purple yarn .... but I was inspired by PSTATqueen's version in intense pink (here is a non rav link for non members). So I cast on first one toe and worked that and then the other toe, I like the idea of two at once, but I'll keep em on seperate needles and work them in sections, first one then the other. And yes ... that is a project bag with knitting chickens,

I liked the way the petrol blue background yarn went with the pale pink ... but realised in the natural dayligh of sunday morning that the contrast was probably to much. The delicate pink with hints of purple and lilac and rose appeared mostly white next to the petrol blue.


Today I sat down with my stash drawer and selected two yarns that I thought would make for a stronger contrast, the deep rose is I think from another sock club ... but it looked promising, I put it against a navy that I had tried and failed to use in at least two previous socks.


There is a new yarn in my stash, a celebration skein, a purple dyed to tone/match the Vintage Purls font colour, and the more I fondled that yarn,the more I realized it would be a good contrast for this sock.

So this is where I'm at mid Sunday afternoon, I've frogged the first toes, and set about knitting beyond the toe. So far I've just completed one toe, and I'm happy with the two yarns together, the blue is lighter (just) and the contrast darker (just) than my first choices.


and I am liking the way the two shades play together ....
Today has been 'one-out-of-the-box', a quaint old fashioned expression that means perfect, warm, sunny, with hardly any wind. Baking was done, Pavolva made (Bear had a birthday during the week), sweaters blocked ... and washing on the line. It is now late Sunday afternoon and the sky is clouding over and there is a distinct chill to the air, rain appears close .. so I'm off to save the blocking sweater and the dry washing on the line.
Take care - hope the week runs well for you ....Stella

Shush ..... but I forgot something

I'm almost scared to post progress pics of the Toby's Turkish socks, but its looking good so far. Of course I must remember that they looked good last time, but they didn't fit Looking good is no promise of success. And judging from the comments on yesterdays post - the knitting deities had fun with many of us, so I had good company down by the frog pond. Nevertheless it is looking promising, but I'm back for something else, in my last post I forgot something ... the latest installment of Vintage Purls Summer 2010 Sock club ..... which arrived last Thursday but was pushed aside, to deal with latter. Sock clubs are exciting, I love these, as left to my own devices I would buy sock yarn in the incredibly varied and wide ranging palette of blue, blue grey, grey and possibly duck egg blue, or pale teal, or other blue-grey soft colours. Sock clubs provide me with shots of colour that are outside my usual palete, and I love them.


They also provide candy .... which I (Ahem) may or may not still have in the house to share. And little knitting accessories ....that little package sitting on the lower edge of the pattern....

A grafting badge! Apparently there was a small selection of badges - your model may differ. And a wee teeny tiny sheep all ready to attach to something .... if only I could decide. While the kit has been sitting waiting for me to put it away with the rest of the sock yarn in my stash, the badge very quickly made its way to Owls, and has lived on whatever I've been wearing every since.

Just look at that green, in real life it is every bit as green, and lime and bright as it is here, don't adjust your monitor, but you may need shades if you plan to admire it for even a short time. Imagine how fresh and light ones feet would feel encased in socks made from this?


And the Turkish sock, the one I have made what feels like 116 attempts to knit? Well .. the chart may well have been the trick, the sole is working out well. This pattern was in AZ's Magnificent Mittens book, but I've also seen it called Chipmans Check in the Robin Hansen's Favorite Mittens book. This a neat little pattern that I've seen Kelly B knit, and she raves about it. Now I know why, it has a simple rhythm and looks far more complex than it is.

There are now 8 sitting dogs on the instep, and it no longer a case of when I finish this round but instead wait until I finish another pair of dogs.



Na Stella

Bother ....!

Bother, bother, bother, bother, fudge .... bother.
I am not sure if I'm exhibiting note worthy perseverance, or just plain dogged determinism, or some kind of knitting madness - but my current project is little slow to launch. More than a little slow ... in fact most of the time I seem to have been working backwards, for there has been as much frogging as knitting, but first, the family wedding.
Last weekend my little brother Andy married Caroline, at her mothers farm, south Canterbury, it was lovely, the weather threatened rain, but it was fine and warm for the garden ceremony, and warm for the evening reception in the local hall. The storm broke in the wee small hours after the party finished, and was cleared away in time for a cooked breakfast at the family farm to farewell all the guests.
The bride wore white, including the white lace jacket she had asked me to make, and I think it worked out very well. The dressmaker of the dress used a few of the lace motifs to decorate the dress and the two pieces worked together very well considering they were made in different cities.

I took my sock project along to knit, and didn't, there was too much to help out with. Poppy was a flower girl and I had forgotten just what was involved in having ones hair and make up and the general getting ready of a wedding. I had also forgotten the hospitality of a farm wedding, culminating in a barbecue breakfast with chops, bacon, eggs, whitebait fritters, toast and jam, and cheesecake - a surprisingly good addition to a breakfast I was assured by those brave enough to include cheesecake on their plates.

But this is a knitting blog, so my knitting, which has not been pretty this past week. I had so much fun knitting Poppy's turkish slippers, that I started a pair for Toby. I started Thursday at knit night, which meant that I spent much of the night casting on and frogging the toe, too many distractions.


The following Friday I made good progress and before we left for the wedding I was up to here .. the sole was in a neat diamond pattern, .

I had fun on the instep with a zig zag diamond, and I had left the heel empty and waiting and continued to knit, with a vertical stripe around the ankle followed by -

a pair of cute sitting dogs facing each other up the leg. It was looking good, and then I made the fatal mistake of asking Toby to try the sock on. Bother, he couldn't pull it past his heel ......
I thought carefully through all my options,

1. Would it stretch with a block (nope, probably not enough),
2. Could it be a second sock for Poppy for when she grows out of hers (hardly fair if she had two pair and he had none)
3. Could he use a moisturizer so it slipped on more easily? (now I was just being silly)
4. Could I frog it part way and add some sort of gusset (not easily without loosing the Turkish style)
5. Could I work the heel over more than 50% of the stitches - again not easily and keep the Turkish look of the sock.
   

There was no option but to frog, but that took time, I needed to come to terms with it. Even frogging wasn't easy I had to ask Bear to wind one yarn while I wound the other - frogging colourwork is no easy feat.

Then I started again, aiming for a larger stitch count, and realizing that I could make it more interesting by choosing one of the other stitch patterns in Anna Zilboorgs Sock or Mitten books. Again starting wasn't straightforward, I cast on and worked and frogged multiple times, stuffing up the stitch count, the placement of the motifs relative to the increases, the colourwork so the carry yarn showed on the front, and the increases .. before finally realising that I needed to chart it. This morning I charted the two patterns I plan to use, dogs on the instep and a cute off set checkerboard on the sole. So far so good, I'm well into the increases, the toe is taking shape and the pattern is place neatly in the middle, and the stitch count should be enough to fit over his heel.

So that has been my week in knitting, a week since the last post and hardly any real progress to show for it.

Perhaps the next few days will be more fruitful?
na Stella