A Year of Projects Update - week 12

Settling back into a school routine has been a bit hectic this week.  We went to Goodwood last week to watch some vintage cars racing and despite the fact I fully intended to post an update last week, it never happened.  Hopefully I am now back to some sort of normality after the summer.
So how has my progress been?  It seems very slow after a few finished objects, but I have worked on several different things.
First is my September socks.  These are the Dragon Pox pattern by the Knotty gnome, and the yarn is Hedgehog fibres in the Arcade colourway.

I have never used Hedgehog fibres before and this is absolutely gorgeous - so soft but definitely has nylon in it so should wear ok.
I have also made good progress on my candy cane socks.  I am have just turned the heel.

This is just a vanilla sock with a fish lips kiss heel.  Yarn is candy cane by Mothy and the Squid, with a contrast heel in West Yorkshire Spinners yarn.  I have lost count of how many heels I have done in this yarn now and a pair of socks for my older son, but it is now finally finished.
I have also made good progress on the body of my Christmas jumper.  I have already finished one sleeve and the body is coming along nicely.  The yarn is John Arbon textiles knit by numbers and it is delightful.

I have done some work on my scarf, but I will post a picture of that next week when, hopefully, the progress will be tangible.

I have just been uploading photos and just realised I do have a finished object that I have not shared here!  My Breathing Space is finished.  I love it and have already worn it before blocking.

I think that is about it, I have just dug up our third crop of potatoes and now going to settle back with some knitting and an iced cappacino, before making up packed lunches for the week and doing the ironing.
Hope you have a great week.

A Year of Projects Update - Week 10

The summer is nearly over here.  It's been a bit of a whirlwind this year, but I wouldn't change a thing, we have had a brilliant time.  I go back to work tomorrow, but the boys and Darren are off to Howletts, which is a wildlife park about an hour away.  I will miss them tomorrow :-(

Anyway to the knitting!
FO's
I finished my August socks on the last day of the month.  These are the Spattergroit socks by the Knotty gnome and the colourway is the first surprise club yarn by Little French Meadow in the Up, Up and Away colourway.

I can also show my test knit - Wildflower Honey by Knitterarium (I think I could show it before but better be safe!).

I have also made a few skirts and tops, but they are not photographed yet so I will report on that in a later post.
WIP's
This has been a week of sleeves.
I finished one sleeve on Breathing Space, so I am nearly done with this one.

I also knit a sleeve on my Christmas jumper.  This is John Arbon Knit by Numbers and I love this yarn, it is so soft and warm.

I am hoping to cast on the body today.
I have also cast on my next pair of socks, which is going to be my Christmas socks.  Yarn is Mothy and the Squid - candy cane.

And I have wound my yarn for my September socks (sorry the pic is upside down!)  This is Hedgehog fibres in the arcade colourway and the pattern I will knit is the next one in the Knotty Gnomes collection.

Acquisitions
My last surprise club package came last month and it was stunning.

I didn't sign up to the next one as I had bought the advent package.  I will probably buy the surprise club in the new year again.
I also bought some Blacker Yarns Lyonesse so that I can knit a second Zinone.
And that, is that!  Please visit the group in Ravelry to see what everyone has been up to.  Link is on the side bar.

A Year of Projects Update - week 8

The summer here is whizzing past in a blur of camping and knitting - definitely not complaining.  We went to the New Forest here in England last week that was absolutely gorgeous.  We stayed in a campsite right next to a steam railway and subsequently caught the train on the days we were there.

So that was the camping and this is the knitting - I have FO's!
FO's
I have finished a second pair of shortie socks.  These are knit in Mellifera yarn in bluebell.

I also finished my Bon Bon mitts from Pom Pom magazine.  These are knit from Malabrigo Arroyo in the Archangel colourway.  I love these and will omit the pom poms as I think they will get in the way.

WIP's
I, as always, have several.  I am making my way down the first sleeve of Breathing Space.
I have cast on my August socks in Up, Up and Away from Little French Meadow.  These are a splendid colour and I am going to be using the Spattergroit pattern by Knotty Gnome.  I will be taking these with me this next week (as we head off for our last holiday to Cornwall).

My triangle socks and Sevilla are still ongoing.
And finally, I have cast on my Christmas jumper.  I shall be following the tender heart pattern from Heart on My Sleeve.  They suggest you use the sleeve as a swatch and given that I don't like to swatch this is a great idea.  I shall adjust the sleeve as I go and then take my gauge from that to knit the body.
I am using John Arbon Textiles Knit by Numbers DK which is gorgeous and was going to insert a photo here but then my computer broke so it is not to be!
Acquisitions
I received the third instalment of the surprise club this week, but here is a sneak peak at parcel two.

I also signed up for their advent club so that I can knit some scrappy advent socks.  And that is that.  Next week we have our last holiday but I will try to post when we return - it will probably be late again!  Have a lovely week.

A Year of Projects Update - week 6

Ok, so I'm late again!  This week I was at my mum's at the weekend, and it's just easier to update at home.
I thought I might evaluate the list this week, since we are now into August.

Sewing
Skirts:

• Gathered skirt - one done
• Delphine skirt - one done
• button through skirt
• yoked skirt

Tops:

• Tunic top
• t-shirt style top

I have made progress on this section, two skirts made, the fabric cut for both the button through skirt and top.  I hope to make the top today.

Knitting

Sweaters:

• Breathing Space - in progress 
• Epistrophy - Coldharbour Mill yarn
• Tell it Slant - Eden Cottage Yarn
• Christmas Jumper - Tenderheart - John Arbon Textiles knit by numbers
• Cropped sweater for winter - using my De rerum Natura  Gilliatt - Finished July 2017
• Chuck sweater - Coldharbour Mill yarn 

Accessories:

• Bonbon mitts - in progress
• Socks - I am not going to specify a pattern as new ones come up and I always want to do them
• Shortie socks - to use up stash
• Knees up

Again I have made progress on this section.  Cropped sweater is just waiting for the appropriate weather to wear it in!  I bought the yarn for a second cropped sweater over the weekend.  A lot of the others are now in progress - the Christmas sweater is just about to be cast on, Bonbon mitts are still going and socks are progressing nicely.  Breathing space is at this stage

I now just need to do the ribbing and bind off and I am on the sleeves.

The test knit socks are ready for the pattern part, so far, as always, the pattern has been lovely to follow and I have done my first gusset toe up with ease.  The pattern is by Knitterarium.

I have also started a new pair of shortie socks - seen in the picture. 

Other items

Gifts:

• Socks - dad, Luke and a second pair for mum to do
• Scarf - Sevilla - in progress for a friend
• Bath bombs - for pressies and myself
• Christmas jumper for Thomas - follow tenderheart as for me but add colorwork from Anders

Craft fair/other crafts:

• Embroidery - develop to make myself some bags
• Dog coats - knit some more
• Hot water bottle covers
• PE bags and pencil cases for the boys

I am hoping to do the pencil cases today and I have finished a gift knit for dad, so more to do in this section.

Finished items:

• Cropped sweater
• July socks
• gathered skirt
• Delphine skirt

And that is it for this week.  I am linking with Frontier Dreams as well as a year of projects this week.

A Year of Projects Update - week 5

I'm late this week for A Year of Projects  but thought I would post anyway and combine it with Craft Along.
We have been camping - hence the late post.  We went to watch the Touring Car championship at Snetterton and again had a brilliant time.  Here are the boys with one of the drivers

FO's
I have an FO!  I finished my July socks.  These are My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth socks by Ruth at Knitterarium.  Yarn was Life in the Long Grass in arcade.

WIP's
I have not worked on a lot of my WIP's as we have been away, but I did make some progress on my test knit.

These are again by Ruth at Knitterarium - yarn is Little French meadow in the every flavour beans colourway.  I have just started the gusset increases.  This is the first time I have done this type of heel toe up so I'm interested to see how this fits.
I have also cast on another pair of shortie socks.  I took them camping but there was a lot of rain so these did not get much attention.

These are the Rose City rollers toe up and the yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners at the moment and then some Knitting Goddess.

Acquisitions
I subscribed to a surprise club from Little French Meadow a few weeks ago and have not been disappointed yet.  The first installment was Up, up and away which is pictured here.  It came with yarn, a notions pouch, sachet of tea and stitch markers.  I love it all.  I love the second installment as well but won't post yet just in case some people don't have it and read this (unlikely but you never know!)

The big skein I am going to use for my August socks and is already caked up ready to go - the contrast mini skein I think I will use as contrast to some Christmas socks.

 Other crafts/reading
I have not done any other crafts or read a word, so I am still on A Handmaids Tale by Margaret Attwood and waiting to watch the finale of the series recorded while we were away.

We are going to my mum's this week so more knitting will be done and we will have to see how the blogging fits in with that!

Craft Along

It has been a very long time since I did a mid week post, life has just been in the way!  Anyway, now I have got to the summer break I thought I might make an effort.
So what am I up to?  I did a little audit for my Year of Projects post a couple of weeks ago here.  So that was all of my knitting projects.  Recently I have been making great progress on my cropped sweater for winter by Andi Satterlund.

I was not into cropped sweaters, but in my quest to start a handmade wardrobe, I have been converted to skirts.  And as a consequence of that cropped sweaters are more the thing rather than tunic style ones that were more my thing.  I am already planning my next one as I love this one and it has knit up so quickly.  Yarn is De rerum natura - Gilliatt.

The other project I have worked on and finished this week, is another skirt.  This is the Clemence pattern by Tilly and the Buttons. 

I have worked on other projects but these are the ones with the most progress.  

Reading wise, I am making my way through the Handmaids Tale by Margaret Attwood.  

I am also watching the series, we are up to episode 9 - can't wait for the finale.  I hope over the next couple of weeks to finish this.

So there we go - I am off to the Touring car racing at the weekend and camping at the circuit, so as long as the weather is ok, I hope to knit lots of socks.

Linking with Nicole

A Year of Projects Update - week 4

We made it!  I have survived another year and reached the summer holidays.  I am hoping to fit in a fair bit of knitting time in the next few weeks.
For now I have some progress.
FO's
I have one and lots that are nearly...

These are some socks for my dad for Christmas.  The yarn is a sport weight by Lana Grassa, which is lovely and soft.

WIP's
I have made progress on Breathing Space but haven't taken a photo.  It is nearly at the solid bottom part and hopefully I should have that finished by the end of the week and have cast on the sleeves.
Of course, I would have had that finished if I hadn't been distracted by my cropped sweater for winter by Andi Satterlund.  I have the body finished and am now doing the sleeves.  It is a worsted yarn so is knitting up quickly.  The yarn is stash yarn - De rerum natura and is gorgeous.

I am nearly done with my July socks - these are knit in Life in the Long grass sock yarn in arcade. The pattern is My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth by Knitterarium.

I have also started another test knit, again for Ruth (Knitterarium), so I can't show you those but the yarn is here.

Finally, the last WIP I have made noticable progress on is the Bon Bon mitts by Joji Locatelli from the latest Pom Pom magazine.  These are knit in Malabrigo Arroyo and I have just started the thumb gusset.

I think that is all the progress this week.  I am making cakes today and hopefully getting to some sewing later.  I hope you all have a great week.