I haven't got any new FOs to show off, but have been making progress on some of my WIPs.
My Burridge Lake Afghan is a real labour of... well, not love exactly, but definitely like. I think it's because it's such a big item to be making (about 2kg of yarn) and because it's heavily cabled, each patterned row needs attention and I also find that my hands get a bit achey after a while. I'm still plodding on with it though and it'll be worth the time and effort involved once it's finished (which will probably be in another year, as it's taken me nearly two years to get this far). I think if I keep it in sight, I'll knit on it more. The first panel's finished and I've done five of 16 repeats of the middle panel. Then, the another side panel's knitted, reversing the cables on the first one before the three strips are sewn together and a top and bottom border added (which I'm going to knit on rather than sew on).
The yarn for this is Paton's Diploma Aran in a natural beige colour and the cables are very crisp.
What look like cotton wool balls in the background are, I'm afraid, the result of our 15 month old labrador (Jess) attacking her bed yet again and pulling out the stuffing.
Next up is the other blanket I'm making - my Granny Stripe one. I bought the 'Lucy' yarn pack of Stylecraft Special DK from Masons (very good service - I'll use them again) and then added one extra colour; a pale yellow. So far, I've done one colour repeat, plus a couple of rows and I'm really enjoying it. I've decided to repeat the colour sequence so I use up the colours evenly.
I also started a cardigan a couple of weeks ago. I wrote about the yarn that was misbehaving and pooling horribly. First off, I tried it with a plain cardigan from a pattern dating from the 1960s, but that didn't work out. Then, I thought I'd use the yarn to make a Tempest cardigan, but the yarn didn't want to be a Tempest and even though I alternated balls, it kept blobbing (that's the best word I can come up with for the effect). So, I went back to the February Lady Sweater pattern which I've used three times before, did some simple maths and worked out that using this yarn which is a heavy 4ply/light DK on 4mm needles, the directions for the largest size in the pattern would result in a cardigan to fit me (well, I hope so anyway). So far, I've done the garter stitch yoke, put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and am now on the body. I'm not doing the lace pattern of the original cardigan, but am doing stocking stitch instead. A bit mindless, but good TV knitting. I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to put buttons/buttonholes all the way down the front, or if I'm just going to have three on the yoke. When I get to the next buttonhole row I'll make a decision.
Finally, I've started another pair of plain socks. Patterned socks, especially lacy ones, aren't appealing to me at the moment. I've got a pair on the needles in a lovely pink yarn, but I keep passing them by. These spring-like socks are to my usual toe-up recipe and are in some Opal Rainforest yarn called Baronesse Bambolina. They're knitting up very prettily and the colours certainly brighten up these dreary February days.
So, that's it for now. I've also got my Kadril Orenberg lace scarf which I've put away for now until I can print out a better quality copy of the pattern as my printer was on its last legs when I first downloaded the pattern and the copy's a bit fuzzy and is difficult to read.
That's all for now. I suppose I'd better actually do some knitting or crocheting, rather than just typing about it!
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