We’re going to talk about three projects today, something done, something begun, and something just not right.
Where to start? Lets start with Spirit!

What category do we think this might belong to? Maybe the “Something Done”?
Guess again. We have a problem.

It’s perfectly fine as long as I don’t move. This would be the “Something Just Not Right”. Not happy. I’m going to seam up the neck opening a bit, and that will help with it falling off my shoulders, but it just doesn’t look right. And if you look at the model, hers doesn’t seem to plunge quite so deeply at the neckline. I followed the neckline instructions exactly, so I don’t know what happened. I did make some changes to the pattern, but only in making the bottom half bigger to accommodate my shapely butt. From the waist up, it is exactly to the Small pattern.
Onwards to happier news.
Gretel.


Done! And this one turned out just fine.
Specs:
Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague.
Size: Regular (the middle size)
Yarn: Cashmere Merino Silk Aran by Sublime Yarns, 2 skeins (barely!)
Needles: Knitpicks Options 3.75mm and 4mm.
I love this yarn. Seriously, love it. It’s soft, it’s squishy, it smells of silk, and is smoooooth. It’s like knitting with butter. And the beret is pretty nifty, too! Happy with this knit, maybe I should stick to small projects and avoid clothing for myself, huh?
I am noticing that the stuff I knit for David and Em seems to come out okay, though.
And the something begun?

Inspired by a friend, I finally cast on a pair of Fetching. What took me so long? These fly off the needles. Modifications have been made, but I’ll discuss those next time, or I’ll have no blog fodder!

I love long weekends, but they never seem to feel any longer than a regular weekend. Why is that?
Kitri has been captivating me, and number one is done.

It’s pretty just laying there, but it looks even better on.

As modelled by Em. She ain’t getting them though, they’re mine, mine, MINE!

When I’ve finished the pair, I’ll block the lace cuff out. I’m not sure that my feet are worthy of these socks though. Maybe I’ll just frame them!
I did finish Gretel, and it’s now blocking. I did not run out of yarn, but it was a very close call. Here’s my leftovers.

I got a little panicky towards the end, and had to knit really fast to beat the end of the yarn. Don’t knock it, it worked! (And who hasn’t been there?)
And finally, Spirit is blocked, and ready for seaming. I was a little worried about using the boucle yarn to seam the sweater, but Kerry from my Stitch n Bitch group gave me an excellent solution.

Tapestry wool! 79c a skein, and it’s a perfect colour match. Now, just the seaming to go!

Super quick flyby post!
I’m in love. I’m up to the cuff on my first Kitri sock, and I can’t put it down.

Beads, lace, Zephyr, I’m in looooove. I have about a milliom things I’m supposed to be doing today, and all I want to do is work on this cuff.
I think this confirms that I’m long overdue for some lace.
And the toe is just as gorgeous.

It’s very cleverly constructed so that the fans go all the way down to the toe.
Love. It.

Thank you all for the lovely birthday comments, and the competition entries! I popped on over to random.org and used the random number generator to come up with a winner. And the winner is….
Bells!
Congratulations, Bells, and thank you to everyone who entered. I really should do that more often!
It’s raining. In fact, it’s been raining all week. And I’m over it.
So Spirit remains unblocked. If the rain doesn’t go away soon, I’ll just steam block it so that I can finish it. So all that remains on the needles right now is Kitri, and the first sock is coming along beautifully.

I’m hoping that by today, I’ll be able to start the lace cuff. I’m long overdue for some lace, I think, and the cuff is done in Zephyr, which is my absolute favourite lace yarn.
A few people have asked me about the gadget on my needles. Here it is in action, up close.

It’s a StitchKeeper! Here it is, off the needles.

It’s a great little knick knack! I use it all the time to keep my needles together. I got mine at The Loopy Ewe. Mine are the small size, in the 6″ length. I highly recommend them!
I did finish one quick project this week, a facecloth for the Cloth and Soap Swap on Ravelry.

It’s the “Ribbon and Lace” face cloth from the Fiber Trends “Bathing Beauties” pattern. I used some Brown Sheep Cotton Fine that I got from Yarns Online, but I’m a little worried that it’s too small. I hope my swapee likes it.
And I also finally cast on Gretel.

I’m using Sublime Yarns Cashmere Merino Silk Aran again. I really, really love this yarn. I am a little worried that I’m going to run out though! So far it’s going very well. It’s my first go at knitting cables without a cable needle, and I’m not quite sure why it took me so long to learn, it’s so much quicker!
Maybe by my next post it’ll be finished. Or I’ll run out of yarn!

It’s my birthday today, Happy Birthday to me!
Yet another year older. Why does each one seem to go quicker than the one before? The family got me another gorgeous Japanese stitch dictionary, amongst other things.

Yum!
And Twinkie tried to stick herself into a gift bag.

I had a lovely day, spending the afternoon at Stitch n Bitch, and going out for dinner tonight.
Knitting is coming along nicely!
Spirit is almost done.

I actually took that picture this afternoon, before SnB, where I was up to the start of the collar. I’ve finished the collar now, so all I need to do is cast off, block her and seam her.
Kitri is cruising along nicely, too.

There is an option of doing a fan on the heel, which I really liked, but I thought it might be a tad uncomfortable ina shoe, so I didn’t do it. But I’m in love with this sock!
Seeing as it’s my birthday, let’s have a give away. Leave me a comment on this entry, and I’ll enter you in the draw to win this.

It’s a hank of Wagtail Yarns 80% Mohair/20% Merino 5ply (Sportweight) yarn, in Deep Violet. There’s 375m to 100g.
Just leave your comment before midnight on June 3, and I’ll draw a name with a random number generator. Good luck!