The State of the WIPs/FOs

It feels like a long time since I last updated what I've been making, but I've been busily working away, and the pile of WIPs has diminished significantly. So without further ado, here they are:

My Islay cardigan (pattern by Gudrun Johnston) is complete!

I'm really thrilled with how it has turned out. I added about 2 inches to the body length as I'm fairly tall (5ft 9in), and also continued the garter stitch "seams" down the arms, in the same way as they are worked on the body. Apart from those two small mods, I've knitted exactly as per the pattern. I used just over 10 skeins of gorgeous Buachaille yarn in Between Weathers, and I'm really pleased with how well this yarn works for Islay. It's such a smooth st st fabric, and the lace and ribbing pops really nicely too.

I had a dilema over which buttons to use for this cardi, and my cheeky side really fancied some red octopus buttons that I've had in my stash for a while. In the end though, they didn't sit nicely on the i-cord edging, so I went for these elegant fretwork buttons instead, and I'm delighted with how they look! I shall just have to knit another cardi for the octopi!

I have also finished my Pawkie mitts (designed by Kate Davies) from the Seven Skeins Club that ran before Christmas last year. I finished one mitt back then, but the bag languished waiting for its partner.

These are also knitted in Buachaille Between Weathers, this time with a Ptarmigan contrast. I'm really pleased with them, and I'm sure they will get plenty of wear in the office on chilly days this winter.

And last but not least in the FO parade is my Fractal Danger shawl (designed by Martina Behm).

I so enjoyed making this! I completed it as part of the Summer Strickmich Showdown in Martina's Ravelry group (though as a moderator I'm sadly not eligible for the wonderful prizes!). If you have a pattern by Martina on your needles, or fancy making one during August, then do head over to her group and join the fun!

I used a sushi sock roll from Easy Knits that I've had sitting around for far too long! And I'm really happy with how well it showcases the lovely construction of this shawl/scarf. This is another accessory that will get a lot of wear once the weather turns colder.

That's it for FOs, and I'm down to just two WIPs... My Golden Wheat shawl (yes, I know, yawn... one day I'll pick it up again!), and my Alfrick socks. Looking over at the project page for the Humungous shawl, I last worked on it on a car drive to Chester, and funnily enough we are off to Chester at the end of next week. So who knows? Perhaps I'll dust it off and work a repeat of two. My socks are coming along well too. I've finished the colourwork on the leg of the second sock and I'm ready to start the heel, so look out for finished socks before too long as well.

Whilst I love having a nice choice of projects to work on (and it's always good to have a portable, easy project alongside something larger or more tricky...) I also reach a point where I need to clear the decks. And that's the place I've been for the last few weeks. It's possibly the end of the school year that does it. I need to sort out my spaces and declutter. The same goes for my knitting projects and I'm eagerly anticipating my next few projects - a Harewood Hap and possibly Knitter's DNA. Both gorgeous designs and I've got the perfect yarn just waiting...

What are you working on over the summer?

Getting ready to knit a sushi roll

Well there's a weird post title, if you're not familiar with EasyKnits' beautiful sushi sock rolls...

I've had this in my stash for what feels like forever, but for some reason I've not got around to knitting from it... And yes, there's what's stopped me right there: I know that you can knit straight from the end of the knitted panel, unravelling the panel as you go, but I also know that it would drive me crackers. I hate knitting with kinked yarn. It drives me bonkers.

So last weekend (or thereabouts) I finally got around to preparing it for knitting...

Finrstly I unravelled the panel and wound it onto my swift. It would have been best to wind it onto a niddy noddy, but I don't seem to have one any more, and my swift was already set up for another job. It worked.

Then I soaked the kinky-noodle-like yarn in a bowl of warm water and Soak. I left them there for long enough for the fibres to really relax.

Once the yarn was fully soaked, I gently squeezed out as much water as I could, without wringing it, and possibly stretching the yarn.

And finally I hung the yarn up over the bath, weighted down by another clothes hanger. It's not perfect, and you can see in the picture that the yarn is still a little bit wibbly-wobbly, but it is WAY better than it was. If I was really bothered I could soak it again for a bit longer, but now that it's all wound up I am itching to cast on for some socks. I just need to decide on a pattern that will do these lovely hanks proud. Any suggestions?