Category Archives: Knitting

A sock, a book, and some yarn

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Knitting progress is still slow, but some has been made. I finished the first Conwy sock for me a couple of days ago – and I love it! The yarn, The Knittery’s Chubby Merino sock yarn is gorgeous, nice and smooshy, and the sock feels great on. I’ve knitted Conwy twice before, and love the pattern, but both pairs were given away, so these socks will be mine, mine, mine!

Pattern: Conwy by Nancy Bush Yarn: The Knittery Merino Chubby

Pattern: Conwy by Nancy Bush Yarn: The Knittery Merino Chubby

I’m also slowly making progress on a shawl-collar jacket I’ve been knitting for a few months. The back is done, and I’ve almost finished the fronts. Then it will just be the sleeves, and sewing it up…. of course, I’ve still got a jumper in pieces that I haven’t sewn up, by there hasn’t been much impetus to do it during summer. Now we’re in autumn, and the weather is starting to cool, I’ll take it out of hibernation and finish it sometime soon!

My major finished object lately is nothing to do with yarn – but I finished the revisions on my second novel, and sent them into my publisher this week. It won’t be published until September, but we have the cover design almost finalised – and it’s beautiful! Since I haven’t had much knitting/weaving to show off lately because I’ve been working so hard on writing, here’s a sneak look at the book:

Book cover - Dark Country

Book cover - Dark Country

And my reward to myself  for finishing the book – some yarn 🙂  The Knittery, suppliers of yarns that I love, is sadly shutting up shop, so I’ve ordered some undyed yarns from the stock clearance- some more of the Merino Chubby sock yarn, and some skeins of the Merino/Cashmere sock yarn. Hopefully they’ll arrive at my PO box by Friday, when I’m next in town.

And now that the book is done, I’m going to spend tomorrow at my long-neglected loom!

Slow progress

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There has not been much knitting lately, unfortunately. The wrist is getting better – slowly – but my non-knitting is due more to being flat out with work for the past few weeks.

However, I have now turned the heel on some Conwy socks for me, and almost finished the decreasing for the foot. The yarn is the gorgeous Chubby merino sock yarn from The Knittery, in the shade denim. This is where the first sock was at a couple of weeks ago:

Pattern: Conwy by Nancy Bush Yarn: The Knittery Chubby merino

Pattern: Conwy by Nancy Bush. Yarn: The Knittery Chubby merino

There’s some light at the end of the work tunnel, so I may get some more knitting done over the next few weeks. I may even – but don’t hold your breath! – get to sit at the loom again. Sometime this century.

FO: Three Sisters Scarf

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For the first time in a couple of months, I’ve actually finished something…

The Knittery Merino/silk 2ply

Pattern: Three Sisters Scarf # Two by Monika Steinbauer Yarn: The Knittery Merino/silk 2ply

20090121threesistersscarf2

20090121threesistersscarf3

The pattern instructions are to knit it on one piece, from end to end; I knitted it in two pieces, and grafted them in the middle. The scallops therefore hang the same way on the ends, and block the same way. I think this works better and is more balanced – could be my Libran nature coming out here!

Very happy 🙂

Knitting in the slow lane

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Painful wrist/hand + book deadline = very little knitting lately 🙁

I’m only knitting a bit at a time, a few rows here and there spread across several projects, so progress on all of them has been slow. However, I’m only a couple of pattern repeats from finishing the second half of the Three Sisters scarf – so hopefully in the next day or so it will be finished, grafted together, and blocked. I haven’t had a FO for over a month – longer for knitting – so I’m itching to be able to change a project status on Ravelry and upload photos! Maybe this week.

My jacket in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran has seen a little progress – the back is finished, and I’ve started the fronts, almost finished the lower moss-stitch bands. I’m knitting both fronts at once, to make sure I get them the same.

I started a pair of socks in The Knittery’s merino/cashmere sock yarn, but the needles I had were driving me mad, so I frogged it to start again with a different pattern, on different sized needles. Around Christmas time I had started a pair of plain socks, using one of the Cherry tree Hill yarns, but the pooling was gack, so I frogged it yesterday, too.

However, I really need to get this darned book finished this week, so knitting will continue to be sporadic, and only what helps me concentrate on writing, until next week at the least.

But on the good news front, I have walked on the treadmill EVERY morning for the past 19 days, so my exer-stash fund is looking healthy. So when I finally get some real money again, I won’t feel guilty spending it 🙂

And that being said, it is time to get my walking shoes on and go and walk – and then it will be writing time, for the rest of the day (and night!)

Inkle cottons

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I was in Canberra for a few days over Christmas, and visited Lincraft on Boxing Day, where they were having a 30% off sale. I mentioned in a previous post that it’s hard getting a good range of colours in 4ply cottons for inkle weaving – well, Lincraft had a good range! I chose the less expensive yarn, and, with 30% off, was able to splurge a little on 12 different shades:

Cotton 4ply yarns

Cotton 4ply yarns

Other than that, I was restrained at the Lincraft sale – the only other purchase was a ball of plain dark brown Sullivan’s sock yarn.

However, since my wrist is still quite painful, I am doing very little knitting at the moment. Having it x-rayed tomorrow, so I hope to find out what’s wrong – and what the treatment is!

Knit 1, Sleep 1, Write to end

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I’m back home again after almost two weeks in Sydney. Another medical procedure down there, which went well, and this time only involved one night in hospital. I stayed down there longer, though, on GPs advice – because if complications arose afterwards, they’d likely be serious and quick, and we’re just too far from specialist medical services here. Sydney is large and busy and noisy, and the combination of noise and post-operative tiredness meant that I didn’t sleep well at nights, and had to take a nap most afternoons.

I’m on a deadline for a book, so knitting is taking second place, but some is still happening while I stare at the screen. Just before the end of November, I started two socks for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous November challenge:

Slip-stitch socks

Slip-stitch socks

I love the colours of this yarn, but in the first sock I started knitting with it, the colours pooled into definite stripes. I needed a pattern therefore that broke up the pooling to give a more mottled effect. One of the SKA challenges for November is slip-stitch, so I’ve used an improvised slip-stitch pattern – 1st round: *slip 1, k3; 2nd& 4th rounds: knit; 3rd round: k2, *slip 1, k3 (thus offsetting the slip sticth from the previous pattern round). I’m quite happy with how this pattern is muting the colour changes, and also with the lightly textured feel of the fabric produced. This was also my first ever toe-up cast on.

Peace socks

Peace socks

Another of the challenges for the SKA group is to knit a design by Wendy Johnson, of Wendy Knits. I’ve had the beautiful ‘Earth’ colourway of Cherry Tree Hills Supersock Potluck in my stash for a couple of months – it seemed appropriate, in the lead-up to Christmas, to knit a design called ‘Peace‘ with the gorgeous ‘Earth’ colours. This was my second ever toe-up cast on – which I had to do from memory, as I hadn’t taken the instructions to Sydney with me!

Crimson lace mitten

Crimson lace mitten

I knitted my niece lacy fingerless mittens earlier this year, but unfortunately stuffed up and they ended up slightly different lengths. I’d promised her another pair, and when she was in Sydney with me in June, she chose this gorgeous crimson yarn for them. I’ve now knitted the first mitten – one more to go before Christmas! The colour is actually a little richer than it shows in the photo.

In the meantime, I’m still working on the Three Sister’s Scarf, and I’ve almost finished the back of a shawl collar cardigan. Yes, I have too many wips on the go. However, I did finish my Komet socks:

Nundle Retro 4ply

Pattern: Komet socks, by Stephanie van der Linden. Yarn: Nundle Retro 4ply

I’ve been suffering a little from some carpel tunnel or similar problem in my left wrist, so I’m alternating between different projects to give my wrist some variety, and also knitting slowly and gently – and sometimes not at all. I don’t think its the knitting that’s causing it, but I’m still not going to overdo things and make it worse – because I still have a book to finish writing in the next few weeks!

Not fibre – but fun!

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I know there’s a few people who visit here who entered in my contest on my writing blog last month. The good news is that my wonderful publisher has arranged another giveaway, this time in conjunction with the Romance Writers of Australia. If you’d like to enter to win one of five copies of my romantic suspense, As Darkness Falls, head over to the RWA’s giveaway page and send in your email entry, before the end of November.

The giveaway contest is open to everyone, not just RWAustralia members, and all you’ll need to do to enter is send an email to the address given on the web page. (RWAustralia has a strict no spam policy, so your email address won’t be used for any purpose other than the contest.)

And to give this post a bit of yarn content, while I’m working on book 2 to meet my deadline, I’m knitting very simple socks – the basic plain stockinette pattern I’ve knitted a lot of times before, that needs no concentration. They’ll probably be for my Dad for Christmas. I’ve actually finished sock 1 and am on to sock 2 now, but here’s a pic of #1 in progress:

Basic socks in Moda Vera self=patterning yarn

Basic socks in Moda Vera self=patterning yarn

FO: Christmas Stocking

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I’ve been part of the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous monthly challenges the past couple of months. Each month, there is a technique and a designer nominated; you must cast on in that month, and finish by the end of the next month. The September Challenge included Cookie A designs, so my Hedera and Monkey socks were entered in it. The October challenge includes Stephanie van der Linden’s designs, and holiday stockings. My Komet socks are a Steffi design, and I’ve now also knitted my first ever Christmas stocking. I wasn’t really planning to knit one – they’re not so much part of our culture or my family traditions here, as Christmas is mid-summer. But an idea nagged at me, and then when I was in Sydney the other weekend at the Morris & Sons/Tapestry Craft sale, some inexpensive red and green yarn talked me into buying it.

This afternoon I finished my Christmas Elf Stockings:

Christmas Elf Stocking

Pattern: My own improvisation. Yarn: Cleckheaton Country 8ply

I’ve also finished my first Komet sock a couple of days ago:

Nundle Retro 4ply

Pattern: Komet by Stephanie van der Linden. Yarn: Nundle Retro 4ply

And I’m working on and enjoying my second attempt at the Three Sisters Scarf – this time with a finer solid colour yarn that works better for the pattern:

The Knittery silk/merino 2ply

Pattern: three Sisters Scarf #2 Yarn: The Knittery silk/merino 2ply

FO – Monkey and Tudora

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I’ve finished the No Purl Monkey socks, and also knitted up another quick Tudora.

No Purl Monkey socks

No Purl Monkey socks


Pattern: No Purl Monkeys – and adaptation by CraftyPancakes of Cookie A’s Monkey socks, from Knitty.com . Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock potluck, in Jewels colourway.

Tudora neckwarmer

Tudora neckwarmer


Pattern: Tudora, from Knitty.com Yarn: Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed.
This will probably be a gift for a friend – it’s the third Tudora I’ve made in the past couple of months, and I’ve given two away already – they make great gifts!

Hedera sock

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The only craft work that’s happened in the past 10 days or so is this Hedera sock:
20080910HederaSock

Pattern: Hedera by Cookie A, from Knitty.com Spring 2006. Yarn: Heirloom Argyle 4ply.

I finished the first sock last night, and cast on for the second this morning. It’s a nice easy pattern, so I can knit while I’m writing and in the few hours a week that I watch season 3 Battlestar Galactica DVDs with the DH – other than Wire in the Blood on Fridays, that’s the extent of my TV watching at present.

Oh, and I sent the red Tudora to a friend for an early birthday present, and she loves it. She’s off to Bhutan in a couple of weeks, so it will go travelling with her. Lucky Tudora!