Well, apparently bribing myself with Jitterbug yarn works, because I spent the other night finishing off this little cutie:

Isn’t this just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen??? I bought the pattern about 3 years ago because I simply could not leave the shop without it. I had no use for it, but figured I might in the future and I just fell completely in love with this little critter.

I started knitting the rug within a day of us finding out I was pregnant and work on it diligently as during my first trimester the only thing I could do was knit, sleep and be nauseous. I actually substituted the Sirdar Snowflake yarn for a similar yarn from Wendy that was the correct weight and colour (off white instead of bright white) and was half the price. I worked right up until I needed to stuff and sculpt the head before the project fell by the wayside. I think I was afraid of messing up the face beyond repair…. but it’s done now and I’m really happy with it.

Here’s one more view just so everyone gets their overload of cuteness for the day:

Pattern: Sirdar Polar Bear Rug #3082
Yarn: Peter Pan Darling by Wendy in 361 Cream
Needles: Susan Bates 4mm straight needles
Finished Size: 21×28 inches
Started: February 2007
Finished: July 2007

Onto some works in progress:

This little jumper has been in the works for a while now, but I’ve finally started blocking it. Because it’s so wet here I’m finding it takes several days to actually dry from wet blocking but because of the ribbing I figured it really needed to be wet blocked. The back has already been blocked and the front is nearly dry… unfortunately I can only wet block one piece at a time. The yarn used for this is Rowan Cashmerino DK.

My current travelling project is a cabled cardi and it’s getting very close to being done as I’ve only half the hood to knit before the whole lot gets seamed and blocked. This was the state of it this morning:

I’ve also just finished knitting Wisp off of Knitty. I need to run through the DIY to grab some blocking wires of sort as I so don’t have the patience to pin this out and all it needs is to be blocked out.

And so that I have an at home project, I’ve just started the kiri shawl pattern available for from all tangled up. I’ve only completed 3 repeats of the main pattern but I’m already loving it. I’ve substituted the Kid Silk Haze for some laceweight Merino for my shawl.

There’s more, but they are so close to finishing I’ll wait until they are completed to post about them. :)

I’ve been a lucky knitter in the last week as my stash has been nicely enhanced with a few new yarns. Love yarn. :)

The first is for a jumper for Joey:

This is Sirdar’s Country Style DK in Highland Blue. I’ve used this yarn before to do a wrap for myself and I really love it. It’s an acrylic/wool blend that looks and feels lovely and yet is really inexpensive (I usually buy it on offer, but even at full price it’s only £3.25 per 100g) and since it has a good amount of yardage I can make a jumper for about £20 – £25. Love that. The jumper itself is a seedstitch and cabled mix based on a jumper (Bluefaced Leicester Cabled Pullover) by Kristin Spurkland in Interweave Knits Fall 2002. I say based on because I’ve had to completely redesign the pattern to fit my husband’s small frame and make the shoulders a little more fitted. Unfortunately, other than the stitch pattern everything has had to be reworked.

Next was gift yarn, which is always welcomed especially when I get to pick it out. Friends of ours wanted to buy something for the baby, so they decided yarn for a baby jumper was just the thing (love how they think!). :)

This is Rowan Calmer which is a cotton/acrylic mix. I’ve heard so many good reviews about this yarn, I’m really excited to start working with it. I’m thinking of designing a small cabled cardi with a hood.

Onto sock yarn. :)

I love cotton based sock yarns, so I was happy to pick up a skein of Hot Socks:

I’m thinking of making a pair of Monkeys but I’ll see how I like it once I’ve done the guage swatch.

And the best for last. A skein of Colinette Jitterbug 100% Merino Yarn. LOVE this yarn. I’m acutally going to use the pattern on the band as I’m quite worried about running out of yarn if I choose anything else as there’s only 267m on the skein. The pattern states that one skein is enough to make a pair of size 42 socks, so I should be okay. If all else fails, I’ll frog them and make ankle socks. ;)

The colourway is called Mist, and it was the colour that Joey actually picked out. He’s got good taste, doesn’t he? I can’t wait to get this yarn on the needles, but I’m being very good. I’m not allowed to cast on these socks until I’ve made progress on a few UFOs including:

• polar bear rug (who needs his head attached)
• baby’s cabled jumper (which just needs blocking)
• baby’s hooded cardi (needs the hood finished… but it’s my current travelling project so I’m not as anal about finishing it)
• baby’s striped blanket (needs ends woven in, blocked and backing sewn on.

... among other things.

Truth be told I’ll probably cast on as soon as I’ve finished the hooded cardi…. I really want these socks. :)

At least I was. This was the state of my swallowtail shawl about 5 days ago. I was one pattern repeat from switching to the border pattern when I noticed a mistake. Near the beginning. One stitch.

Normally at this point I would say a few harsh words and throw my ball of yarn across the room, but I figured 3/4 of a kilo of merino might actually do some damage, so I thought it was best just to set it down on the table.

It took several days, but I finally got the courage frog the entire thing. I thought about doing a different shawl pattern and return the this pattern at a later date, but I decided to cast on the swallowtail shawl once again. It’s going very well, and I’m currently pretending the first attempt was merely a large swatch. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I cast on my newest knitting project last night, and this is what my lace shawl looked like at about 10am this morning during a gale. I’m knitting the Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark as seen in the Fall 2006 Issue of Interweave Knits

For this shawl, I’m using a 1-ply merino. It’s currently off-white, although we have big plans to dye the shawl before I call it complete. That pattern calls for 50g of baby alpaca and I have 3/4 of a kilo of merino. I’m sure I’ll have a bit of yarn left over to do a few dye swatch samples. I’m actually thinking of knitting up some simple lace scarves to use as dye samples. Or maybe not. I have a while to decide.

Knitting a lace shawl is one of my goals for 2007. Before this, the closest I came to lace was an intricate poncho that used all the same stitches you would use for lace, but it’s not something I could ever call lace. If you knit that aran blanket poncho in the middle of scorching August heat you’d probably agree with me, too.

I’ll keep you updated on the progress…

... speaking of progress, I’m almost done the back cover of the fabric book round robin from 2006. I’ve received my book back and am stitching away trying to finish the remaining pages before I bind it. Photos to follow upon completion.

I love knitting these Voodoo wrist warmers. They are so quick and easy and perfect for the commute to work. The pair I’m wearing I finished just before Christmas and were the reason Joey wanted a pair of his own. They are knit out of some cheap and chearful acrylic that I found at the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate. I was a bit dubious about the acrylic content, but they actually came out rather well.

The pair on the needles is 100% wool knit with Twilleys of Stamford yarn. It was a fibre present from my hubby. :) I only have one or two more commutes before they are finished..

I was in the middle of making myself a pair of Voodoo wrist warmers when Joey mentioned he wanted a pair of these. I told him to pick out his own yarn, and he picked a lovely black Debbie Bliss cashmerino DK which he brought home on Thursday. By Friday I had them finished to put in his stocking, even though I told him they wouldn’t be started until after Christmas.

I also knit Joey a Moebius scarf out of some lovely Rowan classic baby alpaca. It’s so lovely and soft… even if the gent having his photo taken is less than amused about having a camera in his face. (I love you too, babe). :)

I found the pattern for this scarf pattern free online and then just knit until I ran out of yarn, which was about 2 balls in total.

Okay, I’m planning ahead a bit. Who knows, I may even start a few of these before the flip of the calendar year. Here’s a list of some of the knitted items I want to make in 2007:

• A few socks. I’m thinking Bayerische sock, Monkey, and a plain toe up sock. Made in pairs, naturally.
• Broad Street Mittens
• Fetching
• Mrs. Beetons
• Swallowtail shawl in Fall 06 Interweave Knits Magazine

I think I’m on an accessory kick. I’ve got the yarn for one pair of socks, the Mrs. Beetons and enough laceweight for at least one shawl. 2007 is the year I try lace. :)

I’ve finally finished knitting all the pieces for my wrap sweater and I’m so excited. I still need to knit up the edging and ties, sew the whole thing together, make sure it fits, and then block it, but it’s really looking like I may be able to wear this for Christmas after all.

Meanwhile, I’ve been looking at patterns for the stuff I want to knit next year. I’ll have the beginnings of that list up tomorrow. :)

I’m still working on my wrap sweater that I talked about a few months ago. I was doing really well on it in September. I cast on just before we left for Canada on holiday and managed to not only complete the back while on holiday, but cast on and knit several inches of the left front as well.

Then we came back. And it sat there. Untouched.

I had a lot of catching up to do when we got back, so knitting was certainly not a priority. I did eventually pick it up again and finished off the left front piece.

I will admit this right up front. I have issues with sleeves. I’m not overly keen on knitting sleeves, however I’m even less keen on sweaters without sleeves. Seriously. My arms do not need to flap in the breeze. That’s the reason sleeves were invented in the first place, right? So to overcome the dreaded sleeve issue, I decided to knit the sleeves before finishing off the second front panel. I also decided to knit them both at the same time.

This is actually the first time I’ve done this, mostly because I tend to knit in the round whenever humanly possible. I hate sewing seams, which, on reflection, is something entirely odd from someone who absolutely loves to sew. I don’t darn either. Or iron. Irons were invented to do things like mould non-fusibles and melt nappy liners. They (in my little world) were never invented to press trousers.

I digress.

I’m so happy about this knitting two sleeves at a time thing. So happy about it, in fact, that I will do this again. I had a few issues about needles space just before I did the cast off for the arm shaping, and thus if I’m knitting anything bulkier than a light DK on 3mm needles I will have to opt for knitting the sleeves on circulars, or if I’m knitting in the round I will attempt the magic loop method of using two circulars. Maybe I should try that on a pair of socks first…

However, the sleeves have been cast off and the final front panel is in full progress. I’m nearing the home stretch. Good thing, too. I’m planning to wear this sweater for Christmas. :)

For this month’s same paper challenge on Scrap That Moment I decided to create a much needed item—that knitting journal I’ve been on about. I’m quite chuffed with this, and have made several entries in it already detailing swatches, guage and adjustments for my current knitting projects. :)

If you want to check out what the other girls did with the same paper, you might want to have a peek in the gallery.