September to me feels like the month when you finish off all the summer things, and start all of the winter preparations. All the while trying to deny to yourself that it might be time to start thinking about the 'C' word.
For me it's also the start of the Yarn and Fibre festivals that I get to go to, and this year, the end of my yarn diet! A fact that will become abundantly clear as we approach the end of the regular sections...
FOs
There's a couple of these, but one is really small and silly. I'll start with that:
I have called this a "Toe Protection Device". You're all familiar, I'm sure, with the feeling you get when you accidentally kick the edge of something, and then wonder if your toe is actually about to fall off. Having bought a new bed, that has an extra supporting bar, and therefore also extra legs in the middle, I have experienced this feeling several times in the last month or so. The last time I promptly stopped everything else I was doing, grabbed the nearest unassigned ball of yarn, and a spare crochet hook, and created this. It looks like it might be a loin cloth for a terrifyingly well-endowed action man when it's not appropriately deployed, but in place it provides just enough padding that your toe merely hurts upon kicking it, instead of demanding immediate amputation.
For reference, the yarn was Sirdar Softspun DK, the hook was 4mm, and the pattern was invented off the top of my head, but mainly consisted of a rectangle of DCs, plus 4 x 24ch, with returning slipped stitches.
The next finished object is actually several, but all on a theme, and with the same purpose.
These are very simple baby hats made with the leftover yarn I had after making the pram blanket for my sisters new baby.
September is also knit-a-long month for the Shefknit girls, and we're working on hats for charity. These are all destined for the local neo-natal unit.
WIPs
Talking about that pram blanket, it's very nearly finished. The knitting part is finished, but when I make a baby blanket, I always back it with a sheet of soft cotton fabric. I haven't sewed that onto this blanket yet, so it can't count as finished.
I am quite pleased with it so far though.
The yarn for this, and the charity baby hats, was The Womens Institute Soft and Cuddly. The pattern is my own, but very simple, based on a basketweave stitch.
I'm also still working on the Hypernova scarf that I'm making for Stephens mum. I really, really HAVE to get it finished before we head up to Shetland at the end of this month! I have no new photos to show you of this, because it looks just the same as last time, only a bit longer!
Next up is another hat:
ALL of September is charity hat-a-long month, not just long enough for me to knock out a few simple baby hats. I'll keep on knitting hats for charity all month, and when I get back from Shetland, I'll be taking, or sending them to the charities that will distribute them.
The three causes that we've chosen for this particular knit-a-long are the Jessops neonatal ward, the Calais refugees, and the Archer Project.
UFOs
Ahha! A new section!
This is actually a sub-section of WIPs, as UFO in this case means UnFinished Object.
Last year I made October my month for reducing the number of WIPs I had on the go. I'm not going to do that this year, but I am going to make some effort to finish a couple of projects that have been languishing on the needles for far too long. I've chosen 2 projects to concentrate on, and for a number of reasons, they're both selfish projects.
Firstly there is this:
This is a sweater for me, and it was first cast on a little over a year ago in the hope that it would keep me warm last winter. It has not progressed beyond this stage.
Then, even more distressingly, there is this:
This is a small shawl that I first cast on almost 2 years ago, and it still looks exactly as it did in this photo, with the exception that I've had to steal one of the needle tips from it to use on other projects!
This is a properly selfish project, it's a decorative item, I'm knitting it because it's a pattern by my favourite designer, and yarn by one of my favourite dyers. Because of this, it's the first thing to be pushed to the back of the queue whenever something more urgent comes up. But if I don't make an effort to finish it soon, then I worry that it will never be finished, and that would make me very sad.
So I'm not going to dive into these projects at the expense of anything else, but I am going to make time for them, even if it has to mean that a few other people have to wait a bit longer for their items.
Stash Acquisition
The diet is over!!!
This is Electric Peacock on Sparkle Sock yarn, by Truly Hooked. A few of my friends have been followers of Truly Hooked for quite some time, but I'll be honest and say that most of her work is too pastel, or too pink, for my tastes. However, recently she's come up with a few colourways that are much more vivid and bold, which have made me pay attention. This is one of them, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it knits up.
This is Stylecraft Life DK. It's a basic acrylic DK, but I've bought it for a specific project. It's my belief that this is a suitable colour for a horse. There is some argument on the subject. Stephen thinks it's too red. I think horses can totally be this colour, and they'll be more interesting than boring brown horses, so ner!
This is King Cole Glitz DK, and it was a total impulse buy. I was in the shop looking for horse yarn, and contemplating the possibility of *whispers* Christmas Stockings, when this yelled at me from across the room. Could you have walked out of that shop without one? Apparently I couldn't.
This is super exciting! This is "Hidden in cloud and fog", on The English Gentleman, by Countess Ablaze. Yes, she is in her new studio, and is dyeing again! Not only that, but as of the 18th September, she will be opening the studio regularly on Fridays and Saturdays to allow people to visit, smoosh the yarn and fibre (not too much, don't want to accidentally felt it!) buy the exact skein that you like the best (hand dyeing can be variable, if you're particular about your colour choices, then it can be nice to see the actual skein before you buy), and to sit around knitting, drinking tea, and chatting for a little while.
This one is "A supernatural storm", on Lord Kitchener 4-ply, also by Countess Ablaze.
You may notice that these last 2 skeins are missing their usual identifying bands. This is because I was offered the honour of being allowed to visit the studio before the official opening, as I happened to be on the right side of the Pennines on Monday. Since the first update in the new studio happened last Friday, this meant that I could pick up my order directly from the studio, instead of having to wait for the postman.
Unfortunately, technology can be temperamental, and the label printer had decided that it was going to be stubborn. I had to leave before it could be coerced into behaving itself, but I don't mind, I know what they are, and if I have my way, the English Gent will be caked up and on the needles very soon anyway! I had a lovely time chatting, and trying not to pet the braids of Perendale that were on the table next to me too much. That fibre is definitely on my wishlist for as soon as I've reduced my current fibre stash to a manageable level.
Travelling North
I have a very busy month ahead of me now. This weekend I head north with Kelly to run the Great North Run, a thing that even my doctor does not believe is advisable, and that has me both terrified, and excited at the same time. If I survive, I reserve the right to waffle on about it ad nauseum.
The following weekend I travel back to Manchester for the opening day of the new Countess Ablaze studio.
Then the week after that Stephen and I shall be driving all the way to Aberdeen, then taking a ferry to Shetland, where we shall visit his parents, and I shall indulge in some of the activities available during Shetland Wool Week.
Not to mention knitting more hats than you can shake a stick at, and finishing what seems like the worlds longest ever lacey scarf.
Penguins
I have only one, tiny little penguin to show you this time. He's so small that he didn't even register on the scales in the bagging area at the supermarket where we bought him!
So I shall leave you with that picture of outstanding cuteness, and talk to you all again when I return from Shetland. TTFN my dears!
