My real hobbies are frogging, and stashing

Today, stash enhancement, swatching, and a whole lot of frogging going on. The fish count now lives in the side bar. For years I've been an on line knitter, learning both from books and the on-line knit community at places like knitters review, knitty, and wendy to mention only a few of the many many. I just could not find knitters who thought outside the pattern, who wanted more than heavy yarn that knitted up quick. But in the last month I have attended 3 different knit groups - who knew dunedin had social knitters in such numbers? not me! And now I'm off to a lace weekend workshop, 4-6 May, I can hardly wait, 2 whole days of knitting lace, and learning to read lace charts. I can't even begin to imagine what sort of bad habits this self taught knitter will have to unlearn. The knit groups are all so different, in one group we all knit in the round and the others have Knitpics options sets (I think I want some), The 2nd group all knitted flat, and had 3 learners doing the obligatory garter stitch scarfs, and the other group had more of a lesson on the finer points of finishing fair isle gloves and was mostly spinners (next few meetings traditional gansy techniques and Andean folk knitting).

I've been knitting up Toby's yarn into mittens, one is finished minus the thumb, the other half done. I'd like to line these to make them soft and warm, so back off to the yarn shop tomorrow. I've been a regular visitor recently. No photos of those- next time.


Baby surprise, I've found some yarn for the Baby surprise jacket, I took the Sublime a cashmere, merino, silk back to the yarn shop. What was I thinking? That winter white luxury fibre would have made the most adorable baby surprise jacket, which would have felt so so soft, and looked amazing until 3 minutes after it was put on a baby, any baby - then it would have milk, pumpkin or some other yellowish spill down the front. One month latter after numerous trips through the washing machine it would have been a felted yellow tinged white thing fit only to be worn at home on those days when nothing else was clean. So this is real baby proof yarn, superwash, machine washable, and of a colour to hide everyday wear. This yarn comes from sheep, real sheep, I know his as both yarn bands have sheep on them. Colour 4 me Tweed by Sheperd had their 6 year old draw the sheep. And where they live the sheep come in colours of white, green, yellow, blue, red and orange, no dye contaminates their farm. Checkheaton had a photographer do a family portrait of a ewe and her lamb, for their yarn band.

I've been unfaithful on the side, swatching the Dawn merino silk fingering yarn at the same time as dating another swatch. This time I am doing a real circular swatch. So far its not to exciting, just some moss stitch and stocking stich on 2mm, but I've found two possible inspirations for that here and here, with a sort of knit along here. But then I went back to buy the 17 balls I need and found a dark denim colour. And with a deep red - perfect. The silver grey was beautiful but I have a worry that when knitted it was soo going to be an old lady 'elegant out to dinner' cardie, I was even thinking about beads - and I'm sooo not ready for that - yet. So I picked up the dark blue and red and now I'm thinking a modern take on a Fana Cardigan. The drawing in PGR Knitting in the old way seems to have a much lower neck, which is what I'm going for in this one. Next step is to swatch in some colour work and see what works in this guage, and try a little checkerboard band or corrugated ribbing. and maybe back for a few more balls of red.

Here is the real color palete



And whats the story on my practice v-neck steek, my 'other' swatch? Well I can't get any more of the Rowan Soft in that colour batch so - frog, frogging, frogged. Here is the proof. Its a lovely yarn, but not meant to be. I will steek a v-neckline some time soon, just not now.