Shaaaawwl!

Well, nearly. I have got this far:

Phew! I am really enjoying knitting it, although I have to concentrate quite hard on the lace rows (each RS row; WSs are all purl) and I can't take it to my knitting group. Oh, or even really watch TV... I am also rather worried that I'll need a third ball of wool - which, at £11something, is a bit of an expense. It's Debbie Bliss Fine Donegal Tweed and a pattern from the accompanying book - gorgeous, but not cheap. The pattern does specify two balls, but I have a way to go to 21 stitches remaining... Anyway, we shall see. I am so looking forward to wearing this in the Autumn - and, dare I say, that looks like a realistic goal?!

In other news, I have been listening to The Archers. Now, I appreciate this isn't news for the majority of the Radio 4-listening population, but I've never got into it. However, now, it falls at just the right moment when I come downstairs after the hustle and bustle of a busy/lovely/tiring/long day parenting. So I am catching up on all the characters and drama of it all. And the omnibus seems to be just nicely soporific if I'm woken up in the night. Yes, I'm turning into my mother.

 

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Nothing like blogging about someone else's knitting

One of the many struggles of motherhood is avoiding all the pink, ruffly, cutesy girls' clothes. I have nothing against a bit of pink, but there are some really ghastly clothes for girls out there. I have been trying to find some little knickers to go under dresses but they are all pink and covered over the back with ruffles ... Then I looked in an old knitting book (Knitting for Children by Louise Daniels) I was given by my aunt, and - hey presto! Lovely knitted baby knickers. My mum is knitting them up, and here they are, so far!

 

 

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Knitting a Shawl, continued ...

Well, I have done about fifteen rows of the shawl! I dread to think how long this has already taken me; the first two rows of the pattern took me an hour and a half. Still, it is looking as though the pattern is working and I love the colour, so I am cautiously optimistic about it.

I have a feeling it'll be the first item I actually block, as it will probably need it. The wool is a glorious colour and a nice texture to work with, but it does scrunch up a bit.
I have also be rootling through this superb stash of old patterns, bought for me as a job lot from a church sale by a friend.

Anyone else recognise the 'bazaar' toys on the left? I have been reminiscing about my lovely Grandma's excellent knitting; she made us lots of these things and we loved them. I've also turned up this knitting classic:

So, back to the shawl. It seems a good summery knit - what do other people knit in the summer?

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In which I finally complete some knitting ...

Hurrah! The seldom-felt joy of completing a knitting project. This is a cardigan for my daughter. This is the 1-2 year size which will hopefully be a good fit. The yarn is much nicer than it looks here - it's Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a lovely pale green. The cable effect pattern is a trick achieved with slipped stitches, so it was much easier than it looks - perfect.

Green is a colour she wears a lot, as I try to avoid too much pink, or ghastly clothes with lots of slogans on them.

Next project: a shawl for me! I haven't ever made a shawl, so this will be interesting ...

 

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Finally, I get time to knit!

Well, it's been a while I've had time to knit. A friend had a new baby recently (by recently, I mean in November!) and I wanted to make her something. I'd recently made these little bootees for my own daughter and they're so useful - she has them as slippers and wears them in the car, in her sleep suit and at home. They're not at all fiddly to put on, and not too girly. Lovely. The yarn is Rico Baby which I hadn't used before but it's really nice. Soft, but not floppy, and the fleck is beautiful because there's plenty of the greenish shade. Can you tell I'm really pleased with them?! I wish I'd bought some more yarn though as I'd like to make something else in it.

Other than that, life is rather hectic with a Little One! We are having fun, though - swinging on swings, swimming and playing. It just doesn't leave a lot of knitting time :)

 

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Although I've been quiet, I've been knitting!

Well, I haven't written this for a very long time. This has been because of a huge, lovely change in our circumstances: the arrival of our daughter! As you can imagine, we have had a total change of lifestyle and I am finding I have much less free time! Still, I did do some lovely baby knitting before she arrived:

I've just updated my Ravelry page on this tank top (Sirdar 4420). It's a good pattern, not too tricky and it looks good. It's nice and stretchy, too. The only drawbacks are the the shoulders are quite wide for a small baby and I found the decreasing for the V-neck quite tricky as the numbers of stitches weren't written out row by row - you're left to "continue", which I found rather hard! Nevertheless, the Jarol yarn is lovely and she has been wearing it over sleepsuits in the mornings so it's been getting plenty of wear - and washing!!

I also made this blanket, from the fantastic book by Nikki Van De Car, What To Knit When You're Expecting:

This was obviously a very easy knit. I did it in cheap Aran and it's knitted up really well and is getting lots of use. The patterned border makes it more interesting to knit but the stocking stitch part is also nice and quick. There's lots in the book I shall also make, and I see there's a toddler book, too.

Nikki blogs here: http://www.whattoknitwhen.com.

Phew! I hope everyone's having a good weekend. It's lovely to be back!

 

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Reading in the garden. Time well spent...

I was excited to see a new novel by American novelist Anita Shreve. She's written more than fifteen novels and I think I've read them all. So, last week, I read The Lives of Stella Bain - mostly in the garden!

The novel is set in the aftermath of World War I, and Stella is a military nurse and driver who finds herself in London one evening, with no idea about how she got there, or what she is to do next. She throws herself at the mercy of an English couple, and they help her to investigate who she is and where she is from.

Once you get past the slightly unlikely extent of the help the English couple offer Stella, this novel is unusual and gripping. The Edwardian fascination with psychology clearly interests Shreve, as does the way the war affected the women involved. Like many of her books, The Lives of Stella Bain charts the journey of a lone woman in an unknown place. Shreve covers a lot of ground here in terms of Stella's past as well as her plans for the future. Like so many novels now, Shreve uses the present tense pretty much throughout, and somehow this suits Stella's character, as she can only really live in the present, knowing next to nothing of her past. This is a good read - interesting and unusual. It is a shame that this novel will probably be read by a predominantly female readership as it has male characters as well, and leaves readers with plenty to think about. However, if you've never read anything by Shreve, start with the superb novel, The Pilot's Wife!

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