socherryknits

In case you're wondering about Central Park Hoodie - here is the left front [back & right front done]. 4 inches of rib equals 30 rows. So I finally got to the stage where I could begin the cabling when I realised that I should have started with k2, not purl 2... The dilemma begins. To knit an extra row and say screw it? Or to frog it and begin again as I simply have to have all my rows the same to make seaming easier? Throw into the dilemma that I have been gaining weight of late, and am now thinking of going up a size, and also making this longer so that my bum isn't on show everytime I sit down. There's nothing like 2 inches of bare love handles hanging out going numb in the aircon to make me feel depressed and self-concious. *sigh* I want this to be a hoodie I love, not one that makes me feel fat. This of course means I have to see if the yarn shop has another skein as then I would be one short. So I'm putting this down and glaring at it periodically whilst eat...

Finally I am well enough to knit! A flooding washing machine led to an afternoon off work knitting another Noro hat - this one for my sister with the remnants left from the Christmas scarf I gave her. I doubt that there are many customers who respond as positively as a knitter on finding out the plumber will visit between 1pm and 6pm. Suddenly a flooding kitchen disaster has the positive side effect of an afternoon off work to knit! Pattern from Simply Noro using Noro Silk Garden colour #8. I have made this hat loads of times, and always vow to knit it in the round the next time, but actually I am always so amazed by the magic of mattress stitch that I actually enjoy seaming, and I prefer knitting flat to knitting on dpns if the needle size is quite large. Speaking to my sister last night - she is still knitting! whoop! She taught herself how to cast on and knit using a magazine with no knitters around to help. Knitting is clearly in her dna. The beginner's knitting magazine [mont...

No knitty content as I'm so ill I haven't knat a stitch all weekend. I did however go and stand in the Asda carpark to witness the demolition of the towerblock used by Sony to advertise their Bravia HD TV . Check out the picture I took above - I'm so pleased with it! The camera has a continuous setting, and will take 16 shots one after the other - I can't believe my luck that standing to down all fitted into one continuous pic - if it had ended too soon I would have lost bits. Click it to get an enlarged version. *please note that this image is copyright If you would like to use this image for any purpose please email me .*

Above - some beautiful armwarmers that I won by coming 2nd in the 'Guess the Yarn' competition at my Stitch n' Bitch meet - we have a month of competitions, quizzes fun and festivities because we have been going for 2 years and have just surpassed the 100th meeting! These lovely soft armwarmers were knitted by the organiser, Karen - whom I want to say a big public thank you ! Both for my prize and also, more importantly, for taking the time out to organise this group that has made such a massive, positive improvement to my life and from which I've made oodles of new knitty pals! Progress on a hat for my sister, to go with the scarf I made her for Christmas. It's from the Simply Noro pattern book, by Jane Ellison , and only uses 1 ball. I've made loads of these hats, here [Noro Aurora], here [Noro Silk Garden and Rowan Kid Classic], and another for my sister last Christmas - which she loves! And progress on Central Park Hoodie from Fall 2006 KnitScene - knit...

Ta-da!! I'm finished! Pattern : 'Under the Hoodie' from Stitch n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook - a drop sleeve stocking stitch hoodie. Yarn : Rowan Kid Classic [very very deliciously cosy!] in Cherry Red, Crushed Velvet, and a discontinued sandy yellow colour [I forget the name] - Aran weight. Size: Small Leftovers : Nearly 2 full balls of the main red, nearly a full ball of the yellow, and absolutely nothing of the bright red - I even pulled out my gauge square and used that! If I made it again: I would do upto the armhole shaping in the round, so that the stripe changes would be easier - lining them up when seaming in quite difficult - esp. when the narrow stripe is only 3 rows. I would possible make the sleeves in the round too, although I'm not sure if that would make sewing them into the body harder. Pick up the stitches for the pocket with a bamboo needle if you are using metals [see below] Changes I made: For the first sleeve I sewed it in as instructed. For...

I have blogging fever ... it's official! After my long festive blog-break I'm back and just can't stop wittering on. Well today it's about my knitting, all mine. I'm knitting for me, me, me and loving it! Under the Hoodie has grown and is now in the seaming stages. I meant to take more photos along the way but was lost in the moment. If you get lost in the moment during the seaming stages then it must be grabbed, as these are surely the most dull parts of knitting. Well maybe not seaming - which I actually enjoy since my granny showed me how to do the 'magic hidden seam' [or mattress stitch as it is more commonly known] which never fails to amaze me, as my seams just disappear into the fabric - gone! Nothing! Weaving in ends though - that makes me want to cry. I have to do them slowly. Weave in 2 ends, then a couple of rows of Central Park Hoodie alternately. Below is the arm sewn in - I still have to seam the arm and side - the pattern said I had to sew in...

I found this on a blog and it made me crack up; Type into Google "name needs" [insert your name] and what are the first 5 entries that come up? 1. Elaine needs to "get yourself to a Dr. ... 2. Elaine needs an e ... 3. Elaine needs to spend time undergoing complex treatment 4. Elaine needs your vote to ... 5. Elaine needs to transfer logins in SQL Server from one server to another. ... And a totally hilarious website that the boy found called The Museum of Kitschy Stitches: A Gallery of Notorious Knits by Stitchy McYarnpants - just look at the poor boy above.

A couple of shots from the journey up North to see my folks - the top one is lying fog in Pitlochry, and the bottom is the mountains on the way. Raspberry brownies for our Christmas day dessert - made by adapting the walnut brownies recipe from Cupcakes Galore . [Just replacing all mention of walnuts with equal amounts on raspberries!] Served with raspberry and cream mash, raspberries, cream drizzle and a snowflake shaped icing sugar stencil [stencils bought from Lakeland ] mmmm... delicious! So tasty in fact that the boy never even noticed that there was a snowflake on his cupcake... And on a knitty subject - I've got a callus ... from knitting [I very kindly didn't include a picture]! I'm a hardcore knitter now! On my pinky finger - at first I thought I was a wart or something, and never having had anything like that, I freaked. The boy alerted to me to what it actually was. All the [lucky] knitters at my Stitch n' Bitch will get to see it :)

This is the 2nd pre-Christmas project - a Noro Silk Garden [colour number 8] scarf for my sister - knitted in a 4x4 rib with a cable running up one side [crossed every 10 rows]. The cable was for me really, to avoid the tedium of a scarf in rib - but it looks quite good once the scarf is blocked wide and it's more visible. The pic above is the scarf drying the night before the journey up North ... I tried blocking it between towels on the bed, but it just wasn't drying quick enough. Lilith suggested putting it over a drying rack and aiming a fan below - the blocking went a bit pear-shaped here, with little pointy bits where the clips held it to the dryer, but at this point all I cared about was that it was dry enough to wrap... She loved it - and asked for gloves too. Not a knitter - my sister sent me the most exciting text the other day - she has taken up knitting, and was 4 rows in!! It's the delicate stage where I want to rush at her with cashmere and bamboo needles, an...

Finally I get to share the 2 pre-Christmas projects I was working on! This one was for my mum. Knitted out of Posh Yarn's Henrietta [which doesn't seem to be available any longer] - if my memory hasn't failed I believe it was a Cashmere, Angora, Merino blend. It was a DK weight and utterly utterly sumptious! After all my substituting research for some reason I completely failed to even check the yardage of the pattern ['A Scarf of Your Very Own - Bright Yellow' pattern by Ann Budd, from Interweave Knits '11 Favourite Scarves' supplement from the Autumn or Winter? 2006 magazine ] and managed to buy double what I needed. The scarf was finished with 150g - but all ended well as my mum loved the scarf and fancied making herself some gloves to match - so I have sent her the remaining 150g. The pattern was a dream to knit with - although it was my first chart, and there was definately something awry with the even numbered rows of the charts. They didn't seem...