Slackness continuing...

Deadlines for finished items looming... still no return of keen spark. Not enough even vaguely watchable enough on TV to bother and so the computer has lured me away from the doing of stuff...

Must be more disciplined (she says continuing to type).

A warm wind blowing

It's about this time each year where my enthusiasm drops right off, the warm winds seem to suck the creativity out of me...

Having said that, the two current pieces are trundling on. And with time running out, need to get a move on. Also have confirmation that the jacaranda baby jacket will not be going to the intended recipient, but to the next girl bub who turns up. Need to get started on a suitable replacement.

Trundling on

The first of the Jigsaw socks has its heel turned and is probably about 3/4 of the length it needs to be. Now I need to measure the foot it is to go onto! Then it's only about 1 night's worth of knitting to go + another whole sock.

I have finished one half of the cotton pink scarf, and started on the next half - so it's moving along.

Of course this has meant that the other pink scarf and the jacaranda baby jacket are stalled for the moment. I need to figure out exactly where I was up to with the baby jacket - ths requires a brain that is not completely exhausted. Hopefully this week I'll be able to figure it out.

Another pair o socks - nearly as addictive as scarves

Started on another pair of socks, making them up as I go along (somewhat) with some general guidance from a couple of patterns... The wool is Heirloom Jigsaw - it's self striping and looking very cute so far. I also finally bought the Socks, socks, socks book that I have been borrowing from the library every chance I get.

Still have a number of projects on the go - haven't done any work on the 2 pink scarves for a while now - need to get moving on those. The baby jacket in Jacaranda Biggan wool is coming along. I really like the selvedge detail on it - I may use that in plans to come.

Have sketched out some ideas for jackets & things to use up some of the stash, but haven't got the necessary headspace at the moment to take it any further than that.

Snuggy warm socks

All done! And the "ladderation" issue has improved due to much internet advice searching... One excellent site that I stumbled arcoss was Techknitting - linked in the sidebar. It seems to have solved the main problem. I was pulling on the first stitch after the needle changeover, now I'm waiting for the second stitch before the pull - and hey presto - much less ladderation (though still a bit of a line). If I could be bothered blocking bedsocks, I reckon even the line would fade out a bit.

More plans afoot...

When I said knitting is mostly maths...

I had no idea how far some people have gone with the concept. Theory meets reality and all...

More Socks and stash

The Stitches & Craft show really did not live up to expectations this year. There were only a few stalls with yarn/knitting related stuff and thousands of people who wanted to look. In the end I bought a sock knitting kit with a lovely blue/brown colour mix for bedsocks, a lighter brown & cream self patterning yarn for socks, some bamboo sock needles and Nicky Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge and Knitting Beyond the Edge.

By far the best find of the show was Biggan yarn. There was a fashion show on right in front of me just as I was drooling over the knitting books. I was quite impressed with the colours and wandered by the stall afterwards to see if the wool was just as soft and lovely as it looked on the models. It is! I spoke a little with the designer - she was wearing a full length skirt and a long sleeved top that she had made with the yarn about 3-4 tears ago. It had seen some wear - but was still soft, minimal pilling, no saggy bits - and she machine washes them apparently.

So yes, more stash was purchased, though I was very restrained and just bought 4 balls of 2 colours suitable for baby wear and have plans for a little cardi of some sort. If it is as nice to knit with as I expect, there may end up being bigger plans afoot.

Even though I can't wait to get on with the lovely soft yarn, I actually cast on the blue/brown socks when I got home. The bamboo needles are easier to work with in the round than the metal ones, my knitting in the round stocking stitch "ladders" are improving (though not completely gone - I think I need some more advice). It's knitting up quicker than I expected, I hope to have the first one done by the end of this weekend. Here's where I was up to on Monday: