What a weekend!

Better pictures of my beautiful Technicolour Dream Cardi!!




My First Ever Toe-Up Sock!!!




I introduced Mr 7 to the Wonderful World of Worms!!!!

and you'll have to trust me on these two:

• I have done the toe of sock #2, and am starting the foot
• I have been dreaming of cables, in rich Merlot Silkroad Aran, and have swatched and practised and changed plans, and am ready to cast on!
  

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Now that the Technicolour Dream Cardi is done...

Penni and I had a lovely time at the S'n'B on Saturday; tea, conversation, lovely lovely 'Poached Chocolate Mud Cake' (I have no idea in what way it was poached, unless it was done in a bain-marie like a baked custard??) and the chance to finish my Technicolour Dream Cardi in front of an appreciative audience! Would you like to see the picture that BlackCrow took?

On the way home, Penni asked what I would like to make next, and started laughing as I listed the numerous ideas I have floating around in my head, not mention the various half-done items and UFOs lingering in bags and boxes... So in front of the tv on Saturday night, I played with various piles of wool, and took photos yesterday:

(Sorry, 2Paw, I only had one ball of green:} But look! Lots of purple for Jess!)

And what did I start?

For Miss 4, a cuff-to-cuff cardi, which I am making up as I go along :)

Anyone want to guess what I'm (still) wearing today???
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JAZZ HANDS AND A HAPPY DANCE!!!!

As the knitters at this afternoon's meetup can certify,
the Technicolour Dream Cardi is
DONE!!!!



A little blocking is all she needs
(and redo the shank of one button)

And how much yarn do I have left?


(better pics as soon as I can bear to take it off and block it)

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Now that That's all over...

After the TdF KAL, I now feel free to post on everything!!!
For instance:

These are the new buttonholes after marking spots, laddering down and performing various twisty actions with a crochet hook. Much better this way.

This is what you get when you follow the instructions on the left-hand page instead of the instructions on the right-hand page. The wrong cast-off. So, so, so wrong. Have been waiting for time and opportunity to unpick and fix. Must finish for SnB on Saturday. Oh happy tv viewing.

These are my two ratbag dogs who were thrilled to have me outside - they were sure there would be food involved somehow (there wasn't, but not for lack of communication from them!)

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Noro Still Life With Buttons

Photography by the MOMD, Styling by S

The cardi is looking good, but the line of very dark green on the needles is now a stripe running down the line of buttonholes, and I don't know....


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What Penni Saw

I met up with Penni today at Loaves (local bakery cafe - as you all deduced, I'm sure), and showed her the nearly-doneness of the Noro cardi:

In turn, she showed me the beauty of her Noro Silk Garden Lite Argosy (and I'm really sorry about distracting you so much Penni!), which looks just charming and quick and fun to knit - I'm thinking about a wider version (I'm not one for fine, elegant scarves - I like 'em cushy) - AFTER the TdF KAL, of course. While I am not going to start anything new for the next 3 weeks (other than Jean-Pierre and Sandrine), the WIPs are allowed to provide a little light relief (hopefully not of the comic kind).

PS: 2paw, I keep trying to find a phrase for TopDown, but end up with stuff that sounds slightly rude, so maybe Haut Tricot?? Rhymes nicely!!
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Progress Report

Despite my daughter's every effort to interrupt and interfere with every activity I attempt, from eating, watching tv, cooking, housework, through to knitting, uni marking and sleeping, I have managed to do small amounts of all of the above, and present evidence of progress on the only one you are really interested in:

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This is where it was at yesterday morning

See those stitches left there? Baby V wasn't going to wait any longer, it was 11pm, and I had to put it down and wait till last night, in front of the Torchwood premiere, to finish the hem! The good news is, the left sleeve is now past the elbow, and I should get a few more inches before I have to stop, in the interests of having enough yarn for a proper neck/button band. And when I stretch it down, the hem reaches below my waist! Yay!
Oh, and I went for a sewn bind-off, after googling for stretchy techniques and trying a couple of them, MOMD chose #3. It is stretchy!!!!

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I'm further along than this

but I haven't taken a pic yet, so have one from a day or two ago:

I've done enough more to bind off - just going to check my techniques bible for a nice stretchy cast-off, and the waist will be DONE!!

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Linky for the Hinky

Yesterday's post about the hinkiness of the waist on my Noro Cardi was partly inspired by this list from Claudia: Top Ten Tips
My Mum is here this week for a visit, so I shall model and discuss with the most honest of critics :)
PS there has been baby sock action while I wait - post pics later (love to make other people wait for their fun! I always have to wait for mine :P )
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Something's Hinky...

I've taken the Noro cardi far enough down to be cast-off-able, but I think I was a little heavy-handed with the shaping decreases - the fronts curve away down to beside my hips, and require a lot of pulling to come anywhere near the centrefront.

I also think I'd like the ribbing to start earlier, so I'm considering ripping back to where I started the shaping decreases (under the bustline) and just going straight down, stocking stitch for an inch or two then ribbing it, bayy-beeee! Then I'll pick up for a buttonband, knit the sleeves, and jiggle the last bits of yarn to use it all up! Still looks like 3/4 sleeves, which is fine by me :)

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Progress, decisions and designing

I'm having fun with my Noro cardi - despite having a few nights off to read a book (a big deal here in no-time-land), my cardi is now down to the elbows and ready for waist-shaping.

(The dodgy bit under my right shoulderblade is a couple of very badly woven-in ends - will find some blue thread and sew them into better positions once I''m all done)
I have decided to shape a little at the waist before doing a 3x1 rib (nice and chunky for the thickish stripey yarn), so I've modelled the decreases on the darts in my favourite blouses, putting one on either side at the back, and paired ssk/k2tog decreases under the bust on each front, which are spaced so that they will end up (down!) centred over one of the 3st ribs. I only need to do about 6 more rows (at most) to be ready for the ribbing - I'm aiming to just skim the pocket-line of my jeans - not a lot of choice about length when using stashed yarn !! I 'm also going to do another 2 inches on the sleeves and then rib those as far as I can - I tend to push my sleeves right up, so 3/4 length will be fine if I'm running out :>

The neckline is a little wide and rolls a lot (thankyou, stocking stitch), so I will have to put in a deepish ribbed band to Control the Roll and fill a few of the Wide Open Spaces.

**** News Flash ****
While I've been working on this post, Miss V (currently referred to as Miss Snottums due to green mucous) has been walking (ie taking more than 2 steps unassisted)!!!!!! She will turn one later this month, and her Nan is coming for a visit next week because she can't bear to be missing out on so much of my last child - what perfect timing!!
Happy Happy Joy Joy - hope you have something as beautiful in your day as we have here.

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