V8648 - progress . . .and a confession.

Just to prove that I have actually been sewing! I know it hard to see because of the print and because it's on a hanger, but it has shape! The princess seams pressed beautifully thanks to my tailors ham. The same can't be said for the neckline/armholes. Is there a trick to square necklines that I'm missing?! Seriously, the poor iron had to wrestle with it to get it as good as it is and it's far from perfect! If you know of any tutorials or anything, I'd be so grateful if you'd let me know about them :)

Ok, now I have a confession to make. I'm holding Roobeedoo responsible ;) It was her comment on my last post last tipped me over the edge and resulted in this:

Yep. Just hours after posting about my knitting plan and how I was going to be good and finish all my WiPs before buying yarn for the Lauriel cardigan, I went and bought the yarn and needles anyway. But Roobeedoo is right, a hard slog of knitting will just put me off. So yeah. I like the yarn a lot, especially for the price. I also really like the colour. It's more green than on the website which is what I'd hoped :) I'm excited! The needles need to hurry up and get here so I can swatch and get started!

It's not all bad though. Look what I finally finished up yesterday:

Now is it me or are the arms a bit short? Ah well, it should still be warm. I've also started on Dom's second sock too. And I've tidied away my other projects, so it at least doesn't look like I have a few WiPs :)
More later!
Ashley x

The Knitting Plan

I need one. I do. The reason?

(source)

This pattern is called Lauriel and is in my new book Little Red in the City. I need to knit this. I've fallen in love with it, and the best part?! I think I understand the pattern, and adding in extra bust shaping is simple to do for this pattern. I've also found some yarn that in my opinion is the perfect compromise between price and quality (it's here if you're interested. I like the 'olive' colour). As it's my first garment, I don't want to invest lots of money for it not to turn out. However, when I was babbling away about it to Dom and asking his advice on yarn colour and what not, he pointed out that I've got a few projects on the go and yarn stashed for three more. Damn, I thought, he's right! 

So the knitting plan. I've been flicking from project to project and not really making much progress on either of them, and some not at all. So I'm going to focus on one project at a time and only then can I move on to the next.

First up is the baby cardigan. Can you believe I've only got to sew up the sides and add buttons?! And I just haven't done it!

Then I plan on finishing Dom's pair of socks. I've now finished the first sock completely, so I've just got to do it all over again!

Next up is my cable wrist warmers. I've also finished the first one of these, so this is another one where I just need to do it all again.

Then I can move on to my Rosebud socks. I've now finished the first repeat on my bigger needles, so they're taking a while.

Then there's this:

I frogged it, as it wasn't interesting enough to hold my attention. I've found a new pattern that's prettier and much more interesting. Now this one I'm happy to keep as WiP, as sometimes it's nice to be able to take a break from what you're knitting and work on something else.
As for the three other projects that I have yarn for? Well one is the ever popular Antro-inspired scarflet using the Debbie Bliss yarn. I've looked at other people's projects on Ravelry and it seems I'll need another ball.

And the other two projects? Well they'll have to remain top secret, at least until the Crafty Christmas Club blog is open again! Yep, these projects are going to be Christmas presents! And they're perfect for the recipients! :)

I've tried to put them in order of how much time they'll take. This should mean that I can reduce the number of WiPs pretty quickly :)

And then. . . I can buy the yarn and needles for Lauriel. And I can start on my first ever knitted garment!! :D

I will of course keep you updated with my progress. Oh, and I've cut the fabric for V8648 too! I can't wait to start on this :)

Ashley x