Ruby Star Hat

 I'm slightly off my feet at the moment (I had x-rays today, the doctor thinks I may have broken something, now to wait for the results).  I decided that I would allow myself to start something once I had worked a bit on other projects.  The Three Tams Pattern had been on my queue for years and I think this variation was always going to be the one I was going to do.  I pulled some of my stash Aran Yarns and found a cream ball of Noro Cash Iroha  and a reddish ball of Noro Kureyon, and started working, two days ago...

 Yeah, it's kinda addictive knitting, and I knit it two-handed, where you hold the yarn in each hand and throw with one hand and pick with the other.  I made myself learn this technique when I was doing one of the Art of Knitting Throws.  It's slow at first but you get used to it and it makes tensioning colour knitting a little easier for me.

The lower picture is in-progress.

I'd knit it again...

Lucky Finds

I collect knitting and crochet books and sometimes I find things that surprise me.  One day I was in an Oxfam and I found a book that kinda interested me, so I flicked through it.

Interesting but perhaps not completely my thing, wondering was there anything on Irish Lace I opened it up...

wondering how the heck the loose crochet, and it's terribly fine crochet, stayed in.  I kept going, there were a few things as bookmarks including this, I suspect handkerchief holder with some very fine crochet edging.



I was also reminded me of a lucky find in a Society of St Vincent de Paul shop in Phibsboro.

Looking at it, I was curious.
The side says 1 euro each.... 

I think I gave them more than they quoted me.
These are the non-ball items.  I suspect that the blue crochet hook is early plastic, and is cut according to my husband rather than moulded as you tend to get today, and there's a very fine but very pitted hook among the items (size 4 Cross Fox Brand), it almost looks like it has been made by a blacksmith.  The Aero Stitch holder suggests that this fine crocheter was also a knitter.
 
I'm going to have to reverse engineer the motifs, or see if they're in one of my crochet books and try to finish what this crocheter started, or possibly just fasten them off and have them mounted in some way but I suspect they were going to be something and that would be more what the artist would have liked.

These aren't my only charity shop finds but the two of them have a special place in my heart.

Future plans

At the end of last year I did an overview of some of my WIPs. Now it's time to make some plans about how to deal with them. All 16 of them.

There are a number of types of projects.  Apart from the "Good Gods why is this taking sooooo long to make" types I divide them into several categories.

The first type I have is those that are done but need time, a dry day and energy to block.  I have one left of those, Sherwood.

Second type needs buttons or zips
Purple Biker (1)
Purple Versatility (2)
Brown Windows
Purple Leap

In progress
Dianna (3)
Memories of Springfield (4)
Brown cardigan (5)
Victoria (6)
Carmel Knotty
Multicolour square (7)
Curve of Pursuit (8)
Leaf or Stay
Sock Yarn Quilt (9)
Aquaphobia

Ripped back and needs restarting
Blue Inara (10)

with Carmel Knotty in work, Aquaphobia socks as my travelling project and Leaf or Stay at home, no buttons yet for Brown Windows or Purple Leap, that makes 10 projects that are available to do.  I may have to find one of my 12 sided dice and use it to decide what I'm working on.  Why a 12 sided dice and not a 10 sided? 11 and 12 would allow me to start a new project.  Just looking at the projects many of them are on small needles in thin yarn and really that's part of the delay.  It sounds like a plan.

I made myself some promises this year, to knit things that suited me and to try to ensure that I examined things while I knit them to ensure that they're actually good for me.  And then I spent the last two months doing a fair amount of knitting, so this is going to be a long post.


Garments:

Bramblewood Vest












Noro V-Necked top, which I may have to make into a pattern

Cowls:

 Turquoise  Drip-Drop cowl

Dented Cowl below as a test knit for the designer.


matching dented hat, which was a riff on the original

Dishcloths

I joined a monthly dishcloth along and these are the January

and February cloths











 I also knit the Big Damn Washcloth


Socks

the Par 5 Socks for Mac

Thanks socks also for Mac


Other stuff





The Serenity Blanket got finished it now needs blocking.











 A friend left work and I made two bookmarks for her bellflower bookmark (left) and Piccola (right)







 So far this year I've knit over 4km of yarn! I feel pretty chuffed with myself. I'm almost finished my Vog On socks, I got a chunk of them done during PCon last weekend and I'm happy with them.  The Nevada City Windows cardigan is almost there too. After that I'm going to go back to the Garter Stitch Cardigan and fix those damned sleeves