Finally Finished!

I've had these little beauts waiting to be finished off for far too long.  I made my crochet debut in about January and these were pretty much the first things I started to make.  I seem to remember them actually being finished and my wearing them on the school run and being ever so proud and hoping people would notice them, comment on them and me being able to proudly tell them 'I made them myself don't you know' and them being amazed, inspired and simply agog at my creative wonderfullness, well, because I sure was.  Well it didn't quite work out that way, I think what actually happened was after a distinct lack of notice I shoved them under my playground companions noses, forcing them to notice them, whilst informing them I'd made them, which was followed by some polite comments.  But I did receive the best compliment from Bella Bee with a request for a pair of her own, which were dutily made.  Afterwards, for some reason, which at the moment escapes me as to why, my pair were dismantled, and had remained so since.  Well it was jolly time this was remedied.

And so Ta-Dah...

And in background a sneaky peak at my latest knitty project!

Today I sat myself down and made myself finish them.  As many will recognise, they are the Striped Wristlets Pattern from the ever so clever Lucy.  I am very pleased they are Finally Finished.  Again.  Lets hope this time they don't mysteriously disassemble themselves again!  And so on to the next long unfinished crochet project.

Peace Out x

Cast Adrift

I feel like Peter Pan, I'm missing my shadow.  I've had an appendage removed and have phantom limb syndrome.  My sole purpose for the last six years has disappeared.  I feel lost and lonely.  I wander around the house not quite sure of what I'm supposed to be doing.    Bella Bee has gone on holiday with her Dad.  To Italy.  For 12 days.  I well up just thinking about it.  12 WHOLE days.  What do I do without my little mini me?  She stays at her dads' for weekends regularly and I appreciate the break.  She's even stayed there for a week a couple of times, but I'd still see her every couple of days.  Never for this long, and never in a whole different country.  I feel happy and excited for her getting to have her first 'proper' holiday.  Her first ride on a plane.  A lot of exciting adventures and experiences in a foreign country.  But she's doing it all without me and that makes me feel incredibly sad.  So while waiting for my daily evening calls from my little Italian bambino, which I treasure so much, but for her are an inconvenience, keeping her from important play, I try not to mope, I try to keep busy, doing something productive.  Trying to appreciate this child free time I've been given, making the most of it. 

So lets move on, to a Ta-dah.  I've finally finished my first circular needles knit.  The Honey Cowl pattern from Ravelry.

This took a little longer than I would of liked to knit up.  It's basically taken 3 weeks.  It was my only project on the go, I wasn't intensively knitting but I was doing it every day.  I had a couple of false starts and the finishing off took a couple of attempts.  So that added time, plus as a beginner I'm not the speediest of knitters.  I made a few mistakes, but I guess it's all part of the learning curve.  The perfectionist in me isn't completely satisfied, but I'm getting better at making allowances for being a beginner (for now).  It is a very easy pattern to knit, and ideal for a first circular project.  Over all I'm happy.

How hard is it to take pictures of yourself!  Trying to do that AND smiling? Out of the question!  And please ignore the decor.  It's horrendous.  Maybe picking up a paintbrush during this free time wouldn't go amiss!

I would have liked it a little looser when it's doubled over, but it keeps it nice and snug and very warm.  The colour is a little murky, but it'll be a good autumn shade, and as I got it in a sale there weren't many options.

Details:
Yarn used: Sirdar Click (30% wool) in Fern. 
Cost: On sale for £1.49 (50g) with just over 2 balls used is approx £3.50 total.

I already have another cowl cast on.  A different pattern.  It seems to be a much quicker knit as I'm already half way through.  I'm still not happy with the join in the first round though, it's too obviously the join to me.  I tried adding an extra stitch then knitting that and slipping the next over it, but I didn't like that one.  For this one I simply kept it tight when joining, but the first stitch has made, in my eyes, an obvious loop in the bottom ring.  Ideally I'd like it not to be noticeable at all.  Am I being too picky?  Is this possible?  Any tips or links to a good tutorial?

I'm going to tackle DPNs next and make a pair of fingerless gloves to match next.

With all this free time I'm sure it won't be as long to my next post as it was to this one.

Peace out x

A Very Proud First Ta-Dah

This is a momentous occasion.  Not only is it my very first Ta-Dah, it is also my very first knitted garment.  I have very limited knitting experience.  Said experience consists solely of a couple of very basic cushions and a hot water bottle cover.  I wanted to tackle something bigger, an item of clothing to be exact.  It seemed beyond me when I thought about it, but I knew I just had to knuckle down, get the pattern, start knitting and worry about the bits I can't do when I come across them.  

So off I trotted to my new LYS that I'd popped into once briefly, and wanted to browse more thoroughly.  I want to support local, independent businesses, especially ones filled with delicious yarn, even if I can't afford it, so I thought a pattern would be an ideal, and affordable purchase.  After deciding that Bella Bee would be the recipient of finished item (much quicker and more managable child size) and receiving a little advice I settled on this pattern, with this yarn, but in another colourway.  It's a very cheap yarn available from Wilkinsons, for approx £1.30/50g. I had one ball already at home that I wasn't sure what to do with, so picked up another three, as four are suggested for the short sleeved version of the cardigan that I was going to do.  In an ideal world I would of used the yarn suggested, but budget would not allow, and being a first attempt I was realistic enough to know it could possibly go horribly wrong, and if so didn't want the extra guilt of wasting good money and yarn.  

Knitting up the separate pieces went very well.  Better than expected.  I wasn't sure about the colours, but Bella Bee seemed very pleased, so on I went.  I was very pensive about adding the border to the two front sections and thought it might be above my ability, but I sat and I persevered and eventually conquered!  A very proud moment!  Then came the very tedious (in my opinion) of sewing all the sections together.  I get very easily distracted when doing something I don't really want to do so it can take much longer to complete said task, which then also frustrates me.  I knew I'd be pleased I'd be when it was finally finished so I made myself sit and finish it off over the last couple of days. 

And finally, today, It Was Done.  Bella Bee loves it, and hasn't taken it off since the moment it was finished.  It's a great feeling to see she likes something I've put so much work into, and helps encourage and motivate me to continue, and improve my knitting prowess.

Yarn used: Yarnfair Stripes, Shade 02

Approx Cost: 125g (only used 2.5 balls!) @ £1.30/50g = £3.25! Bargain!

Plus a whole lot of knitting confidence! Priceless!

The Sirdar Easy Knit pattern is very detailed and very easy to follow, and walks you through step by step, which is great for beginners.

Have yet to see how it survives a wash and will be changing the ribbon for knitted ties, as they keep coming undone.  I didn't bother to match the stripes and colours up in the different sections, as didn't want to be fussing around with it, so the colours don't match up where the sections join.  But overall a good result I'd say!  I'm not too modest to say I'm really rather proud of myself and have a little smile to myself whenever I think about what I've accomplished.

Even if you think something is beyond your ability, give it a go, you can only get better by trying something you previously couldn't do.