New knitting, new needles

Completion of one project means a new one can be started.  Having admired Nita's Charlotte's Web shawl at Urchfont, I bought the yarn in WildFiber and have cast on using the new needles I picked up from Mary.

It'll be a while before it looks like this

 

TaDa!

Others have said it so much better, but the good feelings arising from a finished and blocked shawl are to be savoured and shared.

So here we are.

When it's dry and unpinned, there is a distinct possiblity that there will be another photograph.  Or two.

Anyone would think I was pleased with my achievement!

Like-minded

Heaven knows how anything serious would get done if I lived closer to my like-minded friends.  I spent yesterday chez Sue and in between all the chatter, Ravelry reading, show'n'tell and general enabling, I managed to finally put the final stitches into the crochet scarf I began at summer school.

I'm rather pleased to finish this since I was beginning to get a little bored with the pattern, now I've got the hang of it.  Isn't it always the same - as soon as the challenging becomes doable, it gets boring! 

I'm still a little confused as to my choice of colour for it, but am generally quite pleased with the finished scarf.  Might make it again at some point - not now, though.  I have other plans.  Added to which, the Forest Canopy shawl is nearing completion and I am anticipating a sprint to the finish!

During the last hour or so of the afternoon, Sue reminded me why I'd enlisted her support - I've had an Amy Butler bag pattern for ages and just couldn't get myself psyched up enough to start the thing.  I took along two lengths of cheap, flashy fabric bought years ago in Thailand - green for me, blue for Sue - and we cut out a bag each.  Quite how long mine will remain in the ziplock bag without my friend and enabler, who knows?  We will see!

Finally, how yummy is this?  I couldn't leave that skein of Misti Alpaca there any longer and simply had to wind it.  It's #11, FoxTail but in the best hand dye tradition, is somewhat different from the sample shown on the MistiAlpaca website.  I don't anticipate it will become anything just yet - I'm just going to enjoy it for a while!

For the first time in years, I'm giving the Knitting and Stitching show a miss today and looking forward to hearing all about it from friends instead.

Fresh start

I am a better blogger whilst on holiday than I am when I'm at home.  For one thing, I have more to blog about.  Here, the days whiz by full of activity which is pretty mundane for the most part, although I did have an interesting Tuesday on the judging panel of a knitting competition.

On this Bank Holiday weekend however, I am preoccupied.  On Tuesday we'll start to set up an exhibition in Tewkesbury Abbey to celebrate 90 years of the WI in Gloucestershire and that's quite some task.  Needless to say, my mind is there already and I'm making lists.  And more lists.  Hopefully this time next week, I shall have great tales from the front line to tell.

If you're in or around Tewkesbury next Friday, Saturday or Sunday, do drop in!

For now, though, let's talk knitting as I try really hard to use today to relax and forget about next week!

Inspired by my friend Nita, at our recent "escape" to Urchfont Manor, I wanted to start a triangular lace shawl.  This is not the first time I've tried.  The archives here tell of failed swallowtails, of tinked Ene and of encouraging sessions with talented friends who reassured me and shared their tips and hints.

But, off on holiday with plenty of car time to knit, a skein of Handmaiden SeaSilk (Lily Pond) from my stash, I set about knitting the Little Arrowhead Shawl which seemed a fairly straightforward pattern that even I could manage.  Sure enough, I could manage, though I still made some basic mistakes which irritated me intensely (I'm such a perfectionist) and the end result is less than perfect and rather small.  Even though I added several extra pattern repeats, as many as my ball of yarn would allow, I find the shawl more of a neckerchief and the border pattern disappointing to the point where it might as well not be there at all.

But I did it.  I have a completed shawl and my confidence is restored.  Thanks Sue and Sue for sharing those tips and tricks which made it possible.

The other holiday project was a crochet scarf begun at Urchfont as a hookalong with friends.  They've all finished theirs already (some have made more than one!) and most are double the size of mine as a result of my tight tension issues.  Still, I'm pleased with it, am still enjoying the process but find that I can't do much at one sitting as the crochet tires my hands (tension issues?!)  The Sublime cashmere merino silk yarn is so soft and cosy and was an excellent choice but why did I choose brown?

 

Anyway, with these gorgeous yarns sitting on my table, yesterday I found myself thinking back to Nita's knitting and went in search of a pattern for a better lace shawl.  Still nervous of my ability, I was glad to find the Forest Canopy Shawl which looked pretty good and would be a great one-ball-project.

Look!

Treasure

Though there was much treasure to be found in and around Umea (much of it in the Hemslojdens shop) just a couple of small things found their way home with me.

 

These short, handmade birch (of course) needles were such a great find that I was sorely tempted to buy a pair in every size.  I didn't.  We'll see how useful these are and perhaps I'll make a list of more sizes when a further visit to Umea is scheduled - maybe later in the year.

I've tried to find a link to the small but very comprehensive knitting shop where I bought them, or to the makers themselves, but sadly no joy. 

Of course, I couldn't leave the Hemslodjens store empty handed and fell for this book of terrific wristwarmer patterns.  In Swedish.  Crochet.  Do I speak Swedish?  No.  Can I crochet?  Well.....not very well.  So, we have the next challenge!