FO: Aestlight Part Deux

Pattern: Aestlight by Gundrun Johnson of The Shetland Knitter [My Ravelry Project Page]
Yarn: Dizzy Blonde Studios Mean Girl Yarn Club (sock-weight, 560 yds/512 m per 115g, merino) Heartless Tart colourway.  Approx. 106 g used (516 yds/472 m)

Sizes (To fit/Actual): Larger size made. Wingspan 70 in./180 cm and top edge to point 30 in./75 cm
Needles and knitting style: KnitPro interchangeable Frankenwood 4.5 mm and Continental style
Dates: Cast on: 01/12/2009 Cast off: 04/02/2010

Modifications/notes:

• No modifications
• Made the larger of the two offered sizes (I made the smaller of the two last time)
• The yarn was the August offering of the Mean Girls Yarn Club from KnottyLa’s Dizzy Blonde Studios and it’s yummy!  If I could eat yarn, I’d eat this!
• To compare the sizes of the two Aestlight shawls:

 

Innie or Outie?

I’m calling this one an outie!

This is something new for me; the bellybutton centre start.  I found excellent instructions on TECHKnitter’s blog and at Two Sticks and Some String.  As you can see

I’ve yet to take courage and take out the waste yarn and synch up the centre.  If it all goes Pete Tong (site NSFW) I’m sure you’ll hear the screams from where you are!

The pattern, Snow Queen Shawl, is a mystery KAL on Yahoo run by BatCatDesigns (group is now closed to members but I think the pattern will be available to purchase at the end of the knit-along) in the same cobweb-weight, oiled yarn I used for my Swan Lake Stole.

Squares:

I’ve continued to work on my squares for the Block-a-Month crochet-along and you can see the ones I’ve finished so far on this page of my blog.

My favourite so far is this Little Dahlia square worked in pure wool Aran with a 5 mm hook

Pretty!

Project 365:

I’ve completed my first month on the second round of Project 365 (one photograph every day for 365 consecutive days) and here’s how/what I did

A health news update:

Thank you for the well-wishes about my recent clumsiness.  So far (fingers crossed, touch wood) February has been much kinder to me than January.  I’ll keep you posted if that changes!

 

I wasn’t, then I was, then I definitely wasn’t and so now I am!

(Note: this would have been brought to you sooner if I hadn’t done my back in putting on my jeans on Saturday and followed that up by falling in the supermarket car park and twisting my knee on Wednesday.  I’m hoping that all my bad luck is piling into January and the next 11 months will be plain sailing.  I know; but I can hope!)

I’m so weak-willed when it comes to a challenge and the Ravelympics is no different. I had some success the last time  I participated in 2008 and I’m hoping to replicate that this year.

I have entered myself in to two events; WIPs-Dancing and Sweaterboard Cross.

Here are the willing entries:

Knotty Gloves for WIPs-Dancing.

Completed: One glove and part of the second glove
To Do: complete cable on second glove, finish hand, work 4 fingers and a thumb.

Cupcake top in Sweaterboard Cross

Completed: Pre-tournament training swatching
To Do: well, all of it!

Sandvik Shawl in WIPs-Dancing
(This is my over-achieving entry in case I finish the other two in time)

Completed: cast on, one chart repeat
To Do: at least another 2 or 3 chart repeats to make a decent-sized shawl.

 

FO: Pixie slippers

Pattern: Peter Pan Slippers by Gabriela Ordenes [My Ravelry Project Page]
Yarn: Sirdar Cossack Chunky. Colour 086 – a black/midnight blue with rainbow flecks of colour.  Acrylic/wool/viscose mix. 130 m/147 yds per 100g.  115 g used (approx. 150 m/164 yds)
Hook(s): 6 mm plastic hook
Dates: 15th-18th of January 2010
Modifications/notes:

• I think these are my first non-washcloth, non-granny square crocheted finished object.
• I’m sure a more experience person could have knocked these out in less time, but a more experienced person would not have made the second slipper into a triangle instead of a square.  It’s OK, I’m laughing now.
• The pattern, despite it’s brevity, is not easy.  The author is not a native English-speaker and I think some things have been lost in translation.  With pattern and diagram in hand, though, I made it through.
• I wouldn’t recommend this to a complete beginner since you sort of have to know what you’re going to stick where and what it’s suppose to look like.
• But look how freakin’ cute!

 

Did I fall asleep?

If your immediate response was “For a little while”, then feel free to join me in weeping for another Joss Whedon vs Fox Battle, in which Mr Whedon lost.

I’m not solely reflecting on the demise of TV show, but on me (my favourite subject!).  The amazing shiner is gone, and the ear infection seems to be on the way out.  I’m still dizzy and bit woozy, but I’m much better than I was.  Thanks for all the good wishes.  I’ll probably never be well, but I can at least try to be less ill!

On with the craft!

It’s not the Sistine Chapel, but it’s my first non-standard crochet granny square.  There were tears, there were tantrums and there was a lot of ripping out, but with help from my fellow crochet-along-ers on Ravelry, I made it!