Entrechat is done!

Truly and completly. I still think it's a little tight and that I'll do one in a slightly bigger size and with the sleeves knitted in the round. Please excuse the crappy pictures but there is still a distinct lack of daylight available when I need it.





So since I finished two FOs this weekend I picked up the first knitting club parcel and it's Sophie. It's knitting so fast! I only started yesterday afternoon and I have already finished the head and body and I'm onto the first leg. The construction is really quite clever and good for people (like me) who dislike sewing up. You knit one piece and then you pick up stitches for the next piece. Hopefully I'll finish it this week and then I'll continue knitting the blanket and when I come back from the dance competition this weekend I'll cast on for the Ravelympics project.

Personal Knitting Club

The Knitting Club is ready. I just picked up the yarn that already had patterns attached to them and gathered them with the pattern. I have 12 bags (13 if you count the sweater I promised my bf a long while ago, so that one doesn't really count).



Here's a list (in no particular order, all links Ravelry)

• Handspun by Lani (pink) for a Subtle Twist Hat
• Indiecita Baby Alpaca (green) for Veyla
• Knitterly Things Vesper sock (Spooky) for Permanent Residency
• KPPPM (grey and red) for Firebird (I don't know if this one will succeed as I think I don't have enough yarn)
• Malabrigo Lace (Amaroso) for Little Valentine
• Malabrigo Lace (Applewood) for Featherweight
• Malabrigo Worsted (Navidad) for Holding Hands Feeding Ducks neckwarmer
• Malabrigo Silky (Ankara Green) for Clothilde
• Malabrigo Silky (Teal Feather) for Swallowtail
• Middlearthknitter (Sloe Gin) for Sleepy Hollow
• Phildar Pegase (pink) for Sophie
• The Unique Sheep Pima Petite (Pumpkin) for Rusted Root

The total potential yardage (the sum of all the yarn listed above) is 5582 yards so it should make a nice dent into my yarn diet.

Finishing up is hard to do

I always have a problem finishing things up. Remember the Entrechat? It's still not finished because I keep wondering on the best way to sew the sleeves. By the way, I think I'll do another one but with further mods. I think I'll knit the sleeves in the round (thus avoiding the sewing up question) and make them a little wider as I fear it'll be a little too tight.

Now remember the little baby top? There has been progress.



You might thing that it's finished but you're wrong. The knitting is done but I still need to sew the back. It's only 15cm and yet I still haven't done it. Nor have I woven the ends in. I have until June to do that. ;)

I have picked up a WIP though. It's the log cabin baby blanket that I started back in the autumn. It's going well because I can just knit a few rows and then put it back.



I have decided to make myself a personal knitting club. The Yarn Harlot has a sock club going on right now on the same principle. You just pack up yarn along with a pattern and then each month you pick up a parcel and knit it.

Mine will be slightly different. I'm still going to pack up yarn and pattern together. I won't restrict myself to socks. And I don't promise I'll do one a month but then I can just pick a parcel at random and not think about what I want to knit next. Whatever is in the parcel, I knit it. I'll only be allowed to pick the first parcel once I finished a current WIP though, otherwise it just accumulates.

So the personal club is still in preparations. I'll show you the parcels when they're ready.

Three cakes, one chair and one hat

What a day! I spent the afternoon baking.

First I did some marshmallows and rice krispies squares. They are really easy and really yummy, if a bit sticky.



Then I couldn't decide between two cakes from the Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache recipe book. So I made both. The first one is the Pistachio Chocolate cake.



The second cake is the Coffee and Walnut Courage Cake. If the cake is as yummy as the icing then it's going to be a gorgeous cake. I don't like coffee or walnuts but both together in a cake is beautiful.



Yesterday I went to Ikea and bought a new chair for the craft space and some boxes. I wanted the seat with the tractor seat but it's not available anymore. I still found a suitable chair.



Finally, I recently finished a new hat for my bf. Actually I had to frog the Gaussian I made him before Christmas but it didn't fit him. So I made him a Subtle Twist hat. It's mostly a ribbed hat with some twisting cabling at the top. This one has better fit otherwise I steal it!

Preparing for the Ravelympics

For the Ravelympics I'll be part of the Eat.Sleep.Knit team and will take part in the Sock event. I have two projects lined up and hope to finish at least one. The second is just lined up in case I go really really fast with the first pair.



The first pattern is Everything's Connected and the yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in Shiny Moss (purchased at ESK).

The second pattern is Summer Sliding and the yarn is again Dream in Color Smooshy but in Go Go Grassy this time.



I still have plucked the courage to sew up my Entrechat and I haven't finished my mittens. Yet I started another project. Admittedly it's only a tiny thing and should go quickly. It's Katja and I'm knitting it in SWTC Oasis in the colour Candy. How cute is it going to be.



With all the babies who are going to arrive this summer I also decided to raid my stash and knit toys so expect to see a few pop up on the blog.

And now I have to go through my closet and get rid of things I don't wear anymore or don't suit me anymore.

Entrechat

In the last post I hinted at my Entrechat knitting. I did manage to finish knitting the second sleeve and it's now blocking. Hopefully it'll be dry by Sunday when I come back. All it needs is sewing the sleeve seams, pick up and knit the ribbing border and weaving the ends in.

One mitten done

I seem to have failed to show you the mitten I completed after blocking it. The second one is in progress but I put it aside awhile (because I started a new project).





As for the new project, it's the Entrechat pattern. I'm knitting it in Malabrigo chunky in the colour Paris Night which is a deep blue. It's knitting fast but I'm getting cramps from knitting with big needles (it's also a reason why my February Lady Sweater is in time out). I'm hoping to have the main part finished by Friday so that I can block it then and it can dry over the weekend while I'm away.

I slightly modified the cable pattern when I started the second sleeve. The pattern has you start the first chart again from the beginning but then it's not the same set of lines which is on top. So I just carried on, keeping the lines where they were. Actually, what I would have prefered, had I realised that earlier, is some twisting happening at each end of the entrechat chart. I'll try to show you on pictures when I have some.