A Knitting Frenzy!

Hello to you! Sewing has taken a back seat since last post - I've been wielding the knitting needles instead. The current work in progress (posted a few weeks ago) has been bumped down the queue so as to make room for some birthday and baby gifts. So fun!

This was the first, and is a work in progress obviously! This is the Merlia scarf, and I won't say for whom I'm intending it, on the very slight chance that she may read this... Oh how I love a good cable project!

The colour here isn't quite accurate - it's more of a light aubergine-toned purple. I'm using Bendigo Woollen Mills Serenade. It's lovely to use; a mix of merino and bamboo, really soft. And it's not a flat colour, it has that slightly marle effect (what is that actually called??). I like yarn with a bit of texture to it. The charts are a bit involved, since there are a few different cables to keep track of. BUT I learned a trick last year doing my Beatnik that makes the whole thing much less confusing - and quicker. Colour coding! And just look how festive and cheerful my charts look:

Honestly, it cuts out so much checking and double-checking. Love it! I cast on last Friday night, and then woke up Saturday morning with a brainwave. Well, at six in the morning it felt like a brainwave anyhow...

It was a very dear friend's birthday tea on Sunday, and I'd been wishing I'd had the time to make something for her. What with working most of last week though, I'd decided to be "sensible" and go buy something lovely instead. Which felt like a shame, since she's someone who really appreciates extra effort and meaningful gifts, and being pretty darn crafty herself - this girl can crochet like no one's business - gets the magic of a handmade pressie. So, the brainwave? Woke up Husband and declared, "I think I can knit her something!" To his credit all he asked was, "In a day and a half?" then yawned and said, "Good for you." And promptly fell back to sleep.

Not me though! I went straight to Ravelry and within two minutes I'd found this Hermione beanie (I'm sorry, maybe it's because I'm getting old and grammatically anal, but I just can't use the word 'hearts' as a verb. It bothers me almost as much as a misplaced apostrophe...So simply "Hermione" it shall be.)

Luckily I had some perfect yarn in my stash - Rowan's Bamboo Soft. I knit up a hat in this last year and loved it. It's got a gorgeous sheen, feels like silk and drapes beautifully. (I bought some more immediately, planning to make a jumper, then read a multitude of comments by Ravelers bemoaning how it stretched and grew in anything larger than a hat. So this silvery grey has been sitting in lonely state waiting for the perfect project.)

The decreases at the crown were quite different to other hats I've made, but they formed a really pretty 'snowflake'.

And I DID end up finishing it in time - with ten minutes to spare! I'm kind of tempted to make one for me now. Though that'll have to wait a while, since on Tuesday and Wednesday this week two friends have had babies. All very exciting! I thought for the little girl I'd make a Korrigan, and have a pretty yellow cotton yarn all ready to go. Still musing on the perfect little something for the baby boy....

So a pretty full on knitterly week, all in all! I am hoping to do some sewing over the weekend though, because the fabric I ordered for the Sew For Victory project has arrived, hooray! That hooray, incidentally,  is one part excitement and two parts sheer giddy relief. I ordered from www.offsetwarehouse.com, which sells eco, ethical and rescued fabrics. It looked fantastic, but it's always nice to see proof that something measures up to expectations! Plus I noticed - AFTER I'd paid - the disclaimer that "fabric may take up to three weeks after dispatch to arrive". I really must learn to read small print. But all is well, and there's still plenty of time to make the dress. Definite relief!

How are your work-in-progresses going? Or has something more pressing (or exciting!) jumped the queue?

Have a wonderful week :)