Featherweight

So, as I'm sure you've read on many a knit blog, camp was wonderful, as usual.

Wonderful friends, awesome settings, a drink or two (never mind that in nearly every picture of me there's also a wine glass!) and knitting all weekend, what's not to love? Except maybe the fact that I neglected to remove my camera from my bag the whole weekend, except when Ailsa took some pictures of my Featherweight for me!

Specs:
Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Yarn: Dream in Color Baby in In Vino Veritas from The Loopy Ewe (just over one skein)
Needles: 3.75mm
Mods: I made it a bit longer in both the body and the sleeves, otherwise, none.

I made the smallest size, and probably would have got it out of one skein if I hadn't made it longer. But I wouldn't have worn it at the recommended length, it was just too short for my liking.
Other than that, it's an awesome knit! Despite it being knit in laceweight, it goes super quick, probably because it's knit at a fairly loose gauge. And it's not a difficult pattern at all! Top down, with a little bit of increasing to create the raglans, it's all fairly basic stuff.

But it's something I'll probably knit again - just because it's such an easy knit with a great outcome! And something I'm already finding myself grabbing as I run out the door.

Next up? Tempest, in Wollmeise. Fuchsia, and Poison Nr 5.

I've got an awesome start, thanks to the aforementioned knit camp. The fuchsia isn't quite as bright as it's photographing!

Excuses

So I've now started work placement for the course I'm doing at TAFE. What this means is that for most of the term, I'll be doing unpaid work two days a week. In addition to the three days a week I go to TAFE. This is impacting on my life. And.I.Don't.Like.It.

Regardless, it has to be done. And hopefully they'll like me so much that I'll eventually get a job out of it. Part time!!

Knit Camp happens tomorrow! I get to spend the whole weekend drinking and knitting with some of my favourite people. What's not to like?

So the top secret knitting I was working on a couple of weeks back can now be revealed!

My lovely friend RoseRed is having a baby any day now. And a week or so back she had a baby shower. Of course, I left it until the last minute, but I knit a little something for the baby, currently dubbed Teddy.

Too cute!

Specs:
Pattern: Baby's Raglan Sleeved Cardigan, design 6 from Cleckheaton #425, Little Babies Volume 2.
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Monbebe in Navy and Cream
Needles: 2.75mm and 3mm.

Mods: I worked it in the round up to the armholes, then knit the sleeves to the armholes, then joined it all up and knit it in one piece to the neck. The pattern has you knit all the bits separately, then seam it all up. I don't have to remind you all about how lazy I am, do I?
Another note: the pattern tells a dirty, dirty lie about the amount of yarn required! I had two balls of Navy and one of Cream (all 25g balls) and I knit the largest size. I had leftovers. Loads of them. The pattern says you need 4 x 25g balls of the main and 3 x 25g balls of the contrast.

I have no idea how they came up with the discrepancy! I used a different yarn, but the yardages are similar. Very odd.

When I finished the cardi, I wet blocked it which resulted in a bit of a flurry on a twitter. It grew. A lot! I panicked for a minute, then decided to toss it into the dryer for a few minutes, despite the care instructions saying not to. Ten minutes in the dryer, and all was well!

Hopefully he'll be along soon to wear it!

To camp I'm taking some socks.

And some yarn for a new cardi. Seeing as I've finished, and failed to blog, Precious, Rogue, Featherweight and the Lacy Diamond Cardi. Soon!

Hole-y shit

I had a great many knitting dates this week. Four in five days as a matter of fact. But for all that, very little knitting was done. And I'm not really in the mood to discuss knitting, anyway.

I picked up my entries from the Easter Show yesterday. When I got home and went to put my knitting away, I discovered a minor disaster.

Venezia has a hole. Two, in fact. About a centimetre apart, and it looks as though it's been done when they've been snipping away the fishing line. For quite some time, many knitters have been complaining about the way the Easter Show displays the knitted entries. They use paper clips and fishing line, and you get your stuff back totally distorted and in need of a good blocking to reshape it all. We've also been saying for some time that one day, someone's knitting will be permanently damaged by the display methods.

Well, the day has come. I've emailed them, but there's a disclaimer in the schedule that says they take no responsibility for exhibits, so I don't think anything will come of it. But there's no way I'm ever entering my knitting again until something is done about the way they're hanging the entries.

I've been sewing some this week. I came up with a circular needle storage thingy at the behest of Ailsa.

I've been working on making a few more, and if you're interested, I'm hoping they'll be up in the store by tomorrow night!

The other sewing project I've been working on is some finger puppets. We're doing a little storytime thing at TAFE, and I got nominated for the crafty bits. (Wonder why?)

Here's what I came up with.

Guess what story we're doing?

Not much!

So I haven't blogged much this week, but to be honest, I haven't got much worth blogging! The Lacy Diamond cardi body is done.

And the sleeves are underway.

These sleeves feel like they've been sent to torment me! This cardigan hasn't been the smoothest knit, but these sleeves just don't seem to ever end. There has been a stealth project going on this week which will come to light a little later, but even with that in mind, these sleeves won't ever be finished. (They will probably be done at some point tonight, but why let that get in the way of a good whine?)

As well as the stealth project, I had to make a headpiece for Em's newest costume. I've been putting this off for weeks, because I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and had no idea how to do what I wanted to do.

But on Thursday I made myself sit down and work it out, and it all came good in the end!

Alas, she is not here right now to model it. But it really brings out her inner Showgirl!

Back on Track

The Diamond Lace Cardi is back on track.

So not throwing it across the room turned out to be kinda rewarding!