It's All Over

Yes, it's all over - all the knitting & the preparations for the Jacaranda Festival which came & went. But Helen & I had a good time as we managed to sell some yarn & accessories plus create some interest in our community knitting groups - I am sure we will be seeing some new members next year.

That's Helen & I in action at our stall - it looks great with all the colorful yarns & the knitted display. I am sure we will be back at the festival next year!

I managed to finish the short sleeve bolero (from Jo Sharp's Knit 2) & even wore it to the fair ....

.... really love this little bolero as it fitted so well & it was quite an easy knit (except for the 300+ stitches pick-up of the band). I am thinking of knitting another in blue....

Another item that we featured in our stall was the felted boxes which were knitted by my younger daughter, Lydia (whom Helen refers to as our Knitting Fairy) as I was too busy with other projects ......

The box was knitted with 2 strands of Jo Sharp 100% wool & it felted so well - thanks to Helen who did all the felting as I can't felt it in my washing machine. The pattern for this box is from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book. Notice the lovely yarn in the box - they are the 4 ply merino cashmere sock yarn (from the Knittery, of course) that I am planning to knit another vest with.

Now I have to plan a list of projects to bring along for my trip to Singapore & Hongkong!

The Shop On Blossom Street

That's not the name of my new knititng project but a BOOK that I am reading. A new member just joined one of our knitting groups in the library & she told me of this book that she is reading & how good it was. Immediately, I checked with the library & it was right there on the shelf.......

....took it home & has not been able to put it down. It's a beautiful book about a yarn shop called A Good Yarn (isn't this a nice name), the owner of the shop & the lives of 3 ladies who never knitted before but joined a beginners' knitting class to knit a Baby Blanket. The wonderful thing about this book is to read about the owner's love of knitting & how this simple craft brings people together - this is something that all of us knitters can associate with! For those of you who have not read this book, do look it up when you are in the library. You can also check out Debbie Macomber for more of her books as I am going to read another of her books after I have finished this.

On the knitting front, I cast on a sock, Falling Leaves as I wanted to use my 4 ply merino from The Knittery & at the same time try a different toe-up method - it's a YO when turning short rows instead of wrapping the stitch - it was quite interesting & it's much easier than wrapping & unwrapping stitches like I used too & the shaping of the toe looks really neat .....

My only issue is that the toe is a little bit more pointy than what I liked (altho' it fitted perfectly) but now that I know this method, I can adjust the number of stitches for the toe & make it less pointy. I am really pleased with myself as I am really addicted to sock knitting!

A Knitting Record ...

... for me! I finished the Mum-In-Law socks in record time - cast on Sunday morning & cast off Thursday night (after extending my bedtime by an hour for 2 nights) - whew! I thought I was not going to make it but I DID IT and she loved it! I gave the socks to Sheila on Friday morning when we had coffee together & she left on Saturday morning. She said she will be wearing it during winter when she gets back to England. Managed to take a pic before I gave them away & here they are ....

Due to time constraint, I knitted the socks toe-up & plain & only had a Lace Ribbed Cuff using Opal Petticoat - altho' plain but I think the colors are really nice.

With the socks done, I was going to pick up my other projects but I did not. I had some yarn left over from the baby blanket & I thought that the baby may need a hat, so I cast on - it was a quick knit & the baby now has a matching hat ....

That's Lynette's Cabbage Patch doll modelling the hat. Altho' a quick knit, I had some problems with the shaping of the crown as I had to decrease & at the same time followed the pattern - created a mess & had to frog twice - in the end, it was getting on my nerves & so I decided to just knit the decreases in garter stitch & not worry about the pattern. I was glad that I did it as it turned out well .... here's a close up look ....

So that's done & the blanket & hat will be all wrapped up & given to the new grandma. Now I will have to get back to my Jacaranda Festival knitting - the summer poncho, short sleeve bolero & one more pair of socks. I have exactly 20 days to finish that & then I will be packing for my holidays in Singapore !

Basket Weave Socks

Sharon requested for the details of the Basket Weave Socks on my previous post & so here they are - the basket weave pattern is from Stitches of Violet & I just knit the socks toe-up & then incorporate the basket weave ribbing on the leg of the socks.

I use Lana Grossa sock yarn, Cotton Maya which is 45% cotton & 42% wool in color 7018 which can be purchased from Knitting Inspirations. It's a nice yarn & is suitable for summer knitting.

I am now knitting a pair of plain socks (toe-up again) with a lace rib on the cuff - using Opal Petticoat. I have just cast off 1 sock & cast on the 2nd - hope to finish that before Friday evening! Will post a pic of the socks this weekend.

Happy knitting to all (especially Michelle)