See the problem? No? How about now?

The vest fits perfectly up to the armholes and then it goes very, very wrong. If I wore a lot of padding around my arms, perhaps it would fit better, but they’re just too deep and the fabric just flops over and looks stupid. Ideally I need to lose about two to four inches from the length.

I am a lot calmer about this than I was yesterday. If I’d written this post yesterday afternoon then the language would have been enough to make a sailor blush. But I ranted a bit to Diane and eventually realised that in the end there was only one thing I could do.

So when I can face it, I’m unpicking all the ribbing, undoing the crocheted steeks and very slowly unravelling back to before the first steek and starting again with a revised chart for the rate of decreasing. But this weekend will be sock knitting. You know where you are with a sock.

Mr B just doesn’t get it. He casually mentioned the other day that there’d been a couple of due baby announcements in his office and within seconds I was on Ravelry, searching for the cutest babywear I could find. I adore baby knits, but I just don’t have enough babies to knit for so any chance I get is going to be seized. Does he not realise that telling a knitter that baby clothes might be needed is like telling me that Thorntons have free chocolate for one day only? It’s also making me desperately broody, but I think I’ll draw the line at producing more offspring in order to have a reason to knit more baby clothes…

The problem is, I have no idea whether they will be boy babies or girl babies. I want to knit pretty girlie things or cute boyish things and ideally not be limited to neutral colours and styles that would suit either.

So I’ve sorted out a few favourites for now, and I might just hedge my bets and knit a few boyish and a few girlie things and wait to see if there is any more news about what they’re likely to be. The thing is, I was desperate to know whether I was having a pink or blue baby, so it’s hard for me to understand why anyone would want a surprise. But then I hate surprises as a rule, anyway, so maybe that’s just me.

Firstly, wouldn’t the Cargo trousers look adorable with the baby Hoodie for a little boy? I have some All Seasons Cotton in my stash in pale blue which would work for both patterns, and I could just stick a teeny pompom on the top of the hood for added cuteness. I don’t get to put pompoms on anything my boys have these days, as they’re old enough to have an opinion about what they wear, sadly…

Alternatively, there’s the cute hat option. A couple of these are fairly unisex, and I just adore Buzzbee from Wee Woolly Toppers (middle row, on the right), which would do for any baby that needed a warm noggin.

Finally, a few adorable cardigans. I’m very tempted by A Cardigan for Merry (the green one), and knitting it in that colour would do for either a boy or a girl.

Are there any really gorgeous patterns I’ve missed that I should know about? (Please don’t suggest the Baby Surprise Jacket because the idea of knitting something completely in garter stitch doesn’t appeal to me at all.) I think my mind is almost made up, but just in case…

So yesterday armed with the new ball of yarn, I knitted the final 7½ rows of ribbing on the neck of the Deep V Argyle Vest, finished it off and now it is blocking. I have no idea when it’ll be dry. I squidged as much water out of it as I could before laying it on plastic bags to dry, as recommended in the pattern. It’s also in my new favourite blocking spot which is on the landing, as there are heating pipes running directly under the floorboards so it’s a fairly warm spot. It would be lovely to have a finished project parade before the end of the month.

Anyway, I do realise that I’m becoming a bit of a sweater bore right now, with about three weeks of posts with little content other than stranded knitting and steeks. But the end is in sight… until the next project that I get obsessed about.

I have yarn! Now to knit those last few rounds of ribbing…

Good
I have finished the ribbing on the armholes of my Deep V Argyle Vest and have started the ribbing for the neck.

Bad
I have run out of natural black yarn. I have almost two balls left of the ecru colour, but I know if I made a two-colour neckband I’d end up being less than happy with it, so I’ve ordered more yarn which means no vest finishing photos yet.

Good
I bought new jeans today in a size smaller!

Bad
I tried on another pair in the same size and I couldn’t get them over my thighs. Stupid random sizing in shops.

Good
I bought pressies to add to my UK Swap parcel.

Bad
I have to give them all away.

Good
I spent yesterday working on a new design.

Bad
It turned out to be completely stupid, so I frogged it.

Good
The new attachment arrived for my hoover so it now works properly and actually sucks up dust.

Bad
I now have to do housework.

Good
I have a hot cup of tea and a couple of hours peace before school finishes.

Bad
There’s really no downside to that, is there?

Except maybe – woohoo!

The body of the vest is done. Now comes a *lot* of crocheting and then the scissors… wish me luck!

Progress has been made. The armhole steeks are in place and now I’m working up to the top of the neck and the final one. It’s getting a little slower now: the knitting is pretty heavy and a bit more cumbersome.

I should point out to all the people who think that I’m some sort of super fast knitter that I’ve been working on this exclusively for the past week and pretty much neglecting everything else. Housework, feeding people, laundry, and so on…

The new Rowan magazine plopped onto my doormat this morning. So I settled down with a cup of tea for a read.

I have something of a love-hate relationship with Rowan. Back when I got into knitting again in late 2000/early 2001, I discovered Rowan yarns and joined Rowan International. At this point, I was a fairly green knitter and all the designs seemed impossibly complicated. I kept my membership up because I was always determined to knit a design from one of the magazines. And then when it got to the stage that I was a better knitter, I was too rotund to fit into any of the designs!

Of course all that is now something of a moot point. The sizing is more generous and I am less like a Weeble. And there are some lovely designs in this issue. My favourite is Honeysuckle (bottom right) which is knitted with Kidsilk Haze and is in essence a circular shawl with sleeves. Except because this is a British magazine, the circular section is knitted flat and seamed. But truly, it wouldn’t be hard at all to knit it in the round instead, and the same applies to the sleeves for that matter. Which means no seaming (and who would want to seam using Kidsilk Haze?!) and a much more enjoyable knit.

The other deisgns I like are all mainly very feminine, but I also like Flamborough (top left) which is the complete opposite, but I love the side-to-side construction and the fact that it looks so snuggly.

I think I might even be inspired to look through my stash and queue a few of these pattens.

I have fallen completely, utterly and totally in love with stranded knitting. Ever since I knitted my first two-colour project, I knew that it was something that I enjoyed, but it wasn’t until I started this Deep V Argyle Vest – the biggest colourwork project I’ve ever attempted – that I realised just how much I want to make sure that every project I make for evermore uses two colours in every row.

I’ve been fortunate to never have problems with stranding. I just picked up one yarn in each hand and started knitting and it was as if I’d been doing it all my life. The rhythm of the pattern, the constant changing from one hand to the other and seeing the pattern form in the fabric is addictive.

I have set the steek for the neck shaping, and will shortly reach the armhole shaping where I’ll need to put more steeks. Then it’s fairly plain sailing until the end when there’s one more final steek and then the fun really begins…

Whilst looking for something entirely different yesterday, I came across the vase containing all my straight knitting needles. I had to look at my finished projects page to work out when I’d last used them. I think it could possibly be 2006, which means they’ve been sitting in that corner of the spare bedroom (aka dumping ground for everything that might be useful one day) for nigh on three years.

The thing is, I use circular needles or dpns for everything these days. I’m either knitting in the round, or knitting large flat items that work best on a circular where the stitches don’t get bunched up.

So I have this jar of various needles, mostly unexciting bamboo and metal, but there are some prettiful Brittany Birch ones in there, three pairs of colourful Pony Pearl needles bought because they were, well, colourful, and the gigantic 15mm plastic ones I bought back when Rowan’s Big Wool first came out and I made a fetching lilac and lime green striped scarf. The one main advantage of straight needles over other kinds is that they look so nice in a jar together. Circs are great, but you can’t use them as art.

I doubt I’ll do anything but put them in a corner again for another three years. But don’t let me forget where they are. Just in case…

Pattern: Lily of the Valley Scarf from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush
Yarn: 1 x 50g skein of Malabrigo Lace (100% wool, 430m/50g) in “Emerald”
Needles: 3.25mm KnitPicks circs

It’s such a good feeling to have a finished project already this year when it’s not even halfway through the month! January tends to be one of the months for my occasional knitting slump, due to festive knitting completely sucking any love of playing with yarn out of me. But being selfish has clearly given me a renewed interest in what comes off the needles.

I had already signed up for the UK Swap when I got this book and was hopeful that my swap partner would not be averse to lacy scarves so that I could have a good reason for casting on a pattern almost immediately. The reviews on Amazon UK are somewhat unfavourable, but I think it’s a fine book. I imagine if you were expecting it to be “The Ultimate Guide to Estonian Lace Knitting” then you would indeed be disappointed. But I wanted this book because of the beautiful patterns, so I’m happy.

Unfortunately, there are some errata for the pattern, but on the positive side, it meant I had the charts printed out on a separate piece of paper that I could stuff in my knitting bag rather than having the whole book in use.

The scarf is knitted from the pointed edging upwards and then the second edging is worked separately and grafted on to the end. I think had I considered it more, I might have chosen to knit the scarf in two halves and grafted them together so that the pattern falls in the same direction when the scarf is worn. Although I never know whether it’s more desirable to have a scarf that’s more aesthetically pleasing when it’s worn, or whether it’s better to not have a line running across halfway where the pieces have been joined.

I have already professed my love for all things Nancy, anyway, and I am not going to be removing her photo from my shrine of my favourite pattern designers any time soon. I just hope that I will knit more patterns from this book very soon and not leave it for two years like I did with Victorian Lace Today…

As I gave away the first skein of Malabrigo Lace that I bought, this is my first real encounter with knitting it, rather than just squishing it fondly.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the yarn has a tendency to be unevenly spun. This doesn’t show when it’s knitted up, but it is awkward and often made me think that I’d split a stitch or had too many on the needle. But I’ll easily overlook that for the incredible cashmere-like softness of the yarn. The colours were perfect: just subtle variegation that didn’t interfere with the stitch pattern. There was some colour loss during washing, but after rinsing the water ran clear, so I’m not concerned about the colour transferring onto the recipient’s neck.

Next week I will go and buy pretty wrapping and little pressies and get ready to send the whole parcel off. I just hope my swap partner approves..!

My needles arrived! Now if I could just manage to cast on and join the stitches in the round without twisting them, I’d be a lot happier…

Almost ready to be revealed to the world, the Lily of the Valley scarf is currently laying on a towel, pinned into complete submission.

The Lily of the Valley Scarf is finished and ready to block, so I’m free to start the first of my selfish projects.

It’s a long time since I knitted anything that needed to fit to such a precise tension. But as I was not going to cast on the entire amount of stitches for my size and then knit for a few inches and discover it was too small, it had to be done. I started off with needles in the size stated in the pattern and knit a pattern repeat over fifty or so stitches.

This proved to be too small, so I tried 4mm needles, which was also too small so I had a fit, calmed down, washed the swatch, measured it, had a fit again and then stopped poking at it and left it to dry. Once it was dry, the tension was perfect and I stopped scaring everyone with my swatch induced rantings.

Despite the tension traumas, I am definitely loving the New Lanark yarn so far. It’s got a lovely stickiness to it, which reassures me that it will steek nicely. It also softened up after soaking and while it’s not going to be like wearing cashmere, I am never going to wear the vest against my skin, so I don’t have to worry about the chance of it irritating me.

So I’m all set to start, except that:

a) I don’t have a long enough circular needle in the right size, and

b) My printer is out of ink so I can’t print out the charts I need for my size. I printed the pattern out when I first bought it (probably a couple of years ago now!), but only the directions for the larger size range. I’m knitting the 42″ size, which is the biggest of the smaller size range. At least if a is resolved before b, I can cast on and work the ribbing.

And in the meantime, there’s blocking to do! Plus, it’s not as if I don’t have plenty of other projects to finish while I wait…

What is your favourite style of hat?
Beret, no question! I love beanie hats in that they are quick to knit, use very little yarn and are just so cute (!) but they look like crap on me, whereas berets allow for a moon face and three chins.

Do you have a favourite yarn for making hats with?
Anything squishy. I tend to choose machine washable yarns, especially for the men of the house, because they’re a little more forgiving when the hat has been used as a football…

What hat patterns are in your queue at the moment?
Not many, as I’m not planning to knit any for a while. I recently spied Selbu Modern, though, which is gorgeous and will hopefully get knitted for next winter.

Do you have a favourite handmade hat that you (or someone else) has made?
I love all the hats I wear, but I really want to say the 70s Ski Hat I knitted for Mr B, which I class as a complete success as he has worn it twice.

This might just be triumph of the cold weather over his image, but knowing him, he would rather his ears dropped off than have to wear a hat that he didn’t like.

I have been putting off knitting myself a sweater for a long time. I fell into the trap that I think a lot of permanently-on-a-diet knitters probably do, which is to think that “well, it’s not worth my while knitting a sweater when I’m going to lose weight and it’ll be too big and all that effort for nothing”. Plus there’s the idea that “well, I can save £5/£10 if I wait til I’m a few inches smaller and can knit a smaller size which needs fewer balls of yarn”.

So basically I have been denying myself sweatery goodness because I was an idiot. Though I’m not close to my target yet (though close to another weightloss milestone, which is a good feeling!), there’s no real reason why I can’t knit a sweater. What’s the worst thing that could happen? If it ends up swimming on me, then I can frog it and reknit it. And being selfish is all about spoiling myself and not spending all my time on projects that I never get to wear.

Trouble is, I’m spoiled for choice. I have so many pullovers, cardigans and vests in my queue that I could knit nothing else for the next couple of years. I have yarn all ready for at least four or five of them as well. So of course the only thing to do is to buy more:

My excuse being that my MIL gave me money for Christmas and if I didn’t spend it quick, it would end up being used for boring but useful stuff like toilet rolls. So I have 10 balls of New Lanark DK, 5 each in ecru and natural black (which in real life is a dark brown) and I am going to knit a Deep V Argyle Vest. Not clever and handspun like Diane’s, but steeking will be challenge enough as I haven’t done any since the steekalong a couple of years ago. Plus I want to finish it before the end of the century. The yarn is definitely going to be nice and sticky, but it’s not nearly as rough as I had feared it would be. And it’s under £2 for a 50g ball, which is a complete bargain for pure wool yarn.

Other sweaters I have lined up are Rogue (which I’ve been planning to knit for over three years; proof of this is the fact that I bought the pattern on 25th July 2005), Urban Aran Pullover-turned-Cardigan (I am finally small enough to fit into the largest size! hurrah!), Central Park Hoodie and Torbay. There’s a definite cable theme going on with my queue at the moment.

When there’s no room left on the shelf for any more knitting books, I know it’s time to have a clear out. I have so many books that I will never use that I bought on a whim or with good intentions which just disappeared. So they’ve just sat on the shelf ever since, never to be appreciated.

If you would like to rescue any of the books below and give them the love they need, just email me. All prices are excluding postage, which will be charged at cost. I’m happy to send outside the UK, too.

Paperback books, all £5.00 each:

Booklets, all £3.00 each:

Strictly speaking, this is my final project of 2008, not my first one of 2009, as I started knitting it on 26th December. But it’s not for me and isn’t selfish. Well, maybe a little.

This pattern, the Lily of the Valley scarf, was the one project – other than the gorgeous cover shawl – which really stood out when I was first given my copy of Knitted Lace of Estonia. And it coincided nicely with the UK Swap and needing to knit something suitable for my swap partner.

Ideally, I would have liked to have used the Jojoland Cashmere specified in the pattern. I do have some stashed, but it’s not the right colour. After a bit of a search, though, I found that Malabrig(i)o Laceweight has the same meterage and comes in better colours. Despite the colour name (Emerald), the yarn is more peacock/teal. And knitted up, it is hard to tell that it’s not cashmere. It’s incredibly soft. The yarn is a little bit uneven in places; it does have thicker and thinner spots, but they’re not noticeable in the scarf, just when I come to p5tog for a nupp and then think that I have too many stitches because there’s one thick one taking up loads of space.

I’m pretty much halfway through the scarf now. I’m aiming for a pattern repeat a day, which is a nice relaxed pace and will still mean it’s finished well before the deadline.

Well, this post won’t take long, as I have never knitted a blanket. At least, not intentionally. The Large Rectangle in Leaf and Trellis pattern (Ravelry link) I knitted for Diane did end up being ginormous and a blanket of sorts, though.

If I *was* to knit one, I think I’d jump on the Hemlock Ring blanket bandwagon. I like the idea of blankets very much; it’s just the actual knitting of something so big and flat that bothers me!

Although a vast proportion of my family generally ignore my obsession interest in yarn, sometimes they surprise me. I went to visit my grandma today, and was finally able to hand over her Christmas present of the Beth scarf (which she loved). While I was there, she gave me a bag of yarn which she had found at her local charity shop. Once upon a time she used to churn out sweaters for my little sister and me when we were both much younger, but now she sticks to knitting blankets for the local cat shelter, which means she scours the charity shops for the squeakiest acrylics she can find. But this yarn was too good for the cats so I got it.

Both yarns are so old that the weight is in ounces. Googling them has yielded nothing, which is unsurprising. The Hayfield Babykin is a very fine yarn, probably almong the lines of Patons Fairytale Dreamtime 2ply, though there’s no meterage (or yardage) given on the ball band. I’m guessing that I have a total of approximately 500 metres, which should be enough for a small shawl or scarf.

The other yarn, which is equally as enigmatic (or possibly more so, as I have at least heard of Hayfield), is marked as double knitting, though in reality, it’s more like a fingering/4ply yarn. It’s tweedy and rustic-looking and I think would make lovely mittens used with a dark blue yarn. Again, there’s no meterage on the ball bands, so it’s all guesswork, but there’s easily enough there for a couple of pairs of mitts.

I imagine these yarns were part of an elderly knitter’s stash and maybe like all of us do at some time, she bought the yarn because it was pretty and then put it away, never to be used. Hopefully I can do something with it at last.

I’m not nursing too much of a hangover today. I stopped going out on New Year’s Eve about 11 years ago when I was expecting the eldest small person and have never got into the habit of doing it again. Though I imagine babysitters would charge treble for the pleasure of having to stay in while I went out and enjoyed myself and I don’t think it would be that much of a good time to make it worthwhile. Anyway, Mr B and I just drank nice champagne instead in front of the TV, which was nice and civilised.

So, on to my annual knitting resolutions. Last year’s Year of Lace proved to be very successful, as I posted last week. I think having general, non-specific targets works better as they’re a little more flexible. Plus having specific targets doesn’t mean I’m any more likely to do them, so there doesn’t seem much point…

I thought for a long while about what I’d like to do for 2009 and what struck me most as I looked at all my projects of the previous years is how few of them are for me. I love knitting for other people, so hopefully that doesn’t come across as whiny, but especially in the past few months, I’ve been either designing or making presents and it’s just been too much. *whispers* At one point I actually began to hate knitting. *hangs head in shame*

So 2009 is going to be my Year of Knitting Selfishly. I will still knit gifts if the mood takes me, but there’s always the option of fibre or yarn for knitterly people or just an M&S voucher for the non-knitters. A gift is still a gift even if it hasn’t been knitted with blood and sweat and desperation to hit a deadline.

From now on, 99% of all the projects on my needles will be for me. And, most importantly of all, I’m going to start with a sweater.