Licking Xmas...one project at a time!

This week may not have been the most stress-free thanks to some pesky paperwork leaving me financially worse off for three weeks but after hours of phonecalls and the invaluable help of Wirral Bridges, fingers crossed it won't rear its ugly head again. Still, a combination of that and waiting in all day for the safe return of the wheel has been extremely beneficial for the knitting schedule.....

There's the FIL's Xmas socks AKA Fraternal (or spot the difference) socks...


...Mostly because I didn't actually write the pattern down first time round (it was make-it-up-as-you-go-along time) but they look close enough anyway! I think that's why I put off starting the second one for ages and fretted so much over the first one's pattern but, hey, they're done now so I can cross another Xmas project off the list.

I've been reassessing the list ( I DO get the propensity to keep adding MORE things!) and worked out that I'm a few short projects away from completion...providing I don't add any more pressure on, that is!

Actually, there's 2 more FO's to show you but you'll have to wait...despite taking the camera to the LYS all week, I still didn't manage to get photos...too busy and too preoccupied I guess! So that'll have to wait for next time. I can tease you even further by saying that both the Military Jacket AND the Bergere De France Jacket fit well and will make great cosy winter wear. Thing is, I don't want to pill up the BDF jacket before Xmas and so Made might as well use them for display until then..maybe get a few sales too...

Whilst I'm being virtuous about those projects, it occurred to me in a somewhat panicked state on Monday that I had nothing on the needles...Well, you know what I mean, I have at least a dozen UFO's outstanding but most are unsuitable for outdoor travelling or need more concentration than knitting group can stand or other reasons so I needed to start something new!

...And that's where the early up and long wait came in handy, transforming this pattern...

...Into the vast majority of a back which was completed the next day! Knitting's been a wee bit slower since then but I'm over halfway into the first front now so I'm hoping I can get wearing in the next couple of weeks. I've been stuck wearing a small selection of pure wool thick sweaters in the house to keep away the cold and it could be useful to have something new I CAN wear!

In the spirit of the recent knowledge acquired by the knitting of hte UURgh! coat, I've found a new respect for changing needle sizes to get tension and magically, the whole fabric becomes denser and how it's actually meant to look! With this pattern (common in Sirdar patterns), I've not only gone down a needle size but also a pattern size so it measures up to MY size...

I actually did manage to squeeze in a few extra rows of Mystic Ice too (though you probably can't see the difference...)

It's been hard going somehow...probably because this is the first square shawl I've ever knitted so the pattern's repeated four times and it makes for increasingly loong rows! The pattern itself is not that difficult but I guess I need to give it more of my time than I do at the moment...and be at home to use the laptop too!

I've also spent most of the week queueing at the sorting office collecting undelivered parcels, one of which was yarn from Turkey which looked like it might appropriate gauge for this somewhat more expensive yarn....

I picked up the pattern book half price over a year ago and when I saw the yarn reduced recently, it set me thinking. Still, at £3 per ball and at least 10 balls (16 for one project) needed, it was a lot cheaper to try this one instead.

It's a 50% Wool, 50% Acrylic singles spun yarn and the recommended needle size is 8-9mm but it seemed thinner in the flesh sooo...I did a multiple tension swatch to let the yarn speak to me.

Starting from the bottom, I swatched with a 9mm needle then went down in whole mm sizes so it covers 8,7,6 and 5mm. Personally, I like the feel at around 6mm so maybe I'll try a Noro project instead, it could be a substitute for Iro? Then again, it could be a push to design something for myself...It never hurts to put a little groundwork into a future project, particularly when you're feeling antsy for the next thing. Startitis, you fickle beast!

It could be a reaction to months of xmas knitting where I had to knit from yarns I wasn't aching to get into but I am trying to be kinder to myself right now, particularly as I'm busy and still fighting off the residue of this darned cold. The Noro stash started whispering sweet nothings into my ear, the Sirdar Escape keeps calling to me and then there's that Finnish number that I'm determined to make even if I can only work out about 25% of the words! Still, I'm finishing the Hug coat first and any final Xmas stuff then it'll be open season on the stash! And the Joy's relocating to Made so I get to spin at least on a Thursday and I can quell those cravings.

There are never enough hours in the day, but I seem to squeeze plenty out of them anyway!

Next stop will be the grand room clearance in prepration for the tree...is it really only a few weeks away?