WIP Wednesday : Temper, Temper

Tarot of Durer

So there it is. I am so over shawls right now I can't even tell you. No, the Epic Fail was Monday, and today all I have to show you is a Tantrum:

That is WYS Signature 4ply in 'Bubblegum' - a nice bright color, quite springy, and not a skinny fingering weight yarn. Somewhere there are a couple hundred toning size 6/0 beads. Next to the yarn is the pattern - a beautiful shawl, 'Blue Dahlia', which, in spite of looking complicated, isn't, owing to the clearly charted instructions.

So why the temper and the crumpledness ? Because the publishers chose to print the charts so that they go across the middle of the book, with a break in the middle, rather than printing them landscape style so it would fit in one piece. In addition, the charts are not large. These 2 things combined to make what tennis buffs call a 'forced error' which I could not fix.

So I threw it across the room and ripped - ripped being the operative phrase - it all out, beads sproinging off to all corners.

I am SO over shawls right now.

So I started a cardigan. In beige. I have no idea why I chose this color, it's so nothingy.

Madaket, using Drops Lima. I still don't think this is quite unthinking enough of a knit for my requirements - I'll be spending time keeping company with Auntie Fashion in the hospice to which she has been moved, so I need to occupy my hands but not so much my brain or concentration. Perhaps some kind of crochet for my squillions of metres of yarn leftovers ....

FO Friday 152: Discounts and Done

New Palladini Tarot

Last year I booked Destructo Boy's birthday party at a football centre because a friend had pointed me in the direction of a discount website, which meant we got a 50% discount on the cost.





More recently, I am discovering just why couponing is both popular and addictive - we paid 25% of the going rate for 2 games of bowling because of a discount voucher I had, and for the cinema I had a 20% discount, one free adult ticket and a voucher for free popcorn, so we have seen Despicable Me 2 (not as good as the first film, I am sorry to say). I had a voucher for 25% off in the store where I bought Destructo Boy's uniform, and a £10 off voucher for the the store where I bought some of Mini Diva's uniform. I have had lots of discount vouchers for my weekly online grocery shop this summer, and lots of discount vouchers for petrol. And I still have a £5 voucher for Morrisons, which I am saving for a blue day when I really need their Secret Surprise Centre Lemon Muffins to heal my soul.

This is kind of new to me, as couponing has not been big in the UK - so I am keeping my eyes peeled for more exciting discounts and deals, although I would like to reassure you that I am some way off yet from dumpster diving in a frantic hunt for coupons.

And in the same vein, ie. success that makes me happy, I completed all my self-imposed crafting tasks for August: 1 baby cardigan, Mini Diva's school cardigan,1 baby hat, 1 patchwork cot quilt, and Destructo Boy's school cardigan:

I think I should have made it a size bigger, but hey, I can squeeze him tightly to make him smaller ....

All this also means that when a forlorn and neglected DH asked me if I'd started his old man cardigan yet, I could truthfully say 'yes'. I'm on a roll .....

See who else is rolled up over at Tami's Amis .....

WIP Wednesday 156: Bobbing Along

Spiral Tarot

Firstly, a little reminder that today is the last date for entry into my free tarot deck giveaway - all you have to do is leave a comment on this post here.

I have to confess, I've been slacking a bit recently - I got caught up in all the excitement of finishing a couple of projects over the weekend, and have rested on my laurels somewhat this week. However, my work ethic is kind of uncomfortably prickly (the Devil finds work for idle hands), so I have started Destructo Boy's Grade 3 School Cardigan , using Cygnet DK in 'Navy':

I'm using a retro/vintage pattern I found, but of course am changing the buttons to the other side for him. The original stitch pattern is some type of eyelet cable, but I tried it a few times and it just didn't look right; having taken advice from Ravelry, I blew it out of the water and am using a simple 3x3 twisted rib stitch, which has thus far met with Destructo Boy's approval.

It seems that recently I have been using mainly retro/vintage patterns, and so far I can say that some of the things I have noticed is that they are reliant on design and stitch patterns for interest, as opposed to any particular 'fashion' yarn, ie. a DK pattern is a DK pattern and any ordinary DK can be used.

Therefore, the designs and stitch patterns seem to be far more unusual and interesting than most modern patterns; they also tend to use what to me are unusual sizes of needle - the pattern above requires 3.75mm needles for the body, when a more common size for DK weight yarn would be 4mm.

No, there's no point in whispering - or even shouting - 'swatch' at me. Like Ramon, 'Let me tell someting to joo' - it just ain't happening. 

I bet you can see other people who knit properly over at Tami's Amis ....

WIP Wednesday 147: Seaweed and Old Men

Old English Tarot

So this week has continued sunny, if a lot less warm because of the northerly winds; hard to believe it is so very different in Prague.

I know that you will be totally impressed to hear that in last week's holiday I only acquired a tiny bit of yarn. 

Well, 2 balls of it. 

Yes, each ball is 400g/14oz, but you wouldn't know that from the picture, so being stupidly honest, I just tell you brazenly..

I didn't even buy this. Shrek aka DH liked his last sweater so much that now he wants a cardigan. But not any old cardigan. Oh no.

 It has to be a 'Dad' cardigan, ie. frumpy old-man vintage and classic in style and design. It must have pockets. I am dreading the request for elbow patches and fake leather buttons.

you can buy these here. If you had to.

 

He had been mumbling about a fine yarn like a 4ply/fingering weight, but it's OK - I gave him The Look and squashed that crazy idea out of hand since as I haven't yet discovered the Fountain of Youth, I positively will not have the time to complete such a humungous folly undertaking before I grow old, wither away and die from the ensuing boredom.

Aran weight yarn for DH as I am not insane or immortal

My actual WIP this week is another eskimimi's Mrs.Tumnus by the Sea; the marine reference from the yarn's colorway, 'Seaweed'. I think it must be Arctic seaweed as I am sure even the manky dead stuff I have seen on the shore is brighter than this. But I had a tropical upbringing, so the appeal of subtle, classy colors tends to evade me. And the yarn itself (Knit Picks Choma Fingering) is really lovely and squooshily soft; there's a slight uneven-ness in the ply which is not quite enough to be described as 'slubby', but which makes it interesting.

subtle classy yarn in a subtle arty photo

And in last week's trek round the charity/thrift shops with Mini Diva - who possesses a very keen eye for a fashionable bargain - I found this lovely pattern for a baby sweater: I thought it was a little unusual because of the stripes, collar and just the one side cable, and shall be knitting it for the Nephew (August 2013 Edition).

Now I must rush away to satisfy my craving for Hobnobs, plain and undunked. But you who have not been afflicted like me can go and check out all the lovely stuff at Tami's Amis ....

WIP Wednesday 129: Wednesday's Child

Housewives Tarot

.... is full of woe. And disgust. And even though I was not born on a Wednesday, I sure am feeling aggrieved - it started first thing this morning when I got out of bed: I put my slippers only to instantly shake them off as they were soaked in cat pee from Moonheart, Mini Diva's cat who has raised the Art of Passive-Aggressive so high that all others bow to her expertise and thoroughness; thoroughness illustrated by not just drenching the slippers, but also the surrounding carpet.

Daringly barefooted, I shuffled downstairs to find that Sebastian had eaten over half a big bag of pfeffernusse I had left on my desk, leaving me only the empty cellophane. You'd think this snack would have satisfied him, but no, when I let him out, he pooped and promptly ate it.

Cat 2, Inky, now seems to grace us with his presence only when whichever old lady who cossets him up the road has run out of food; she must have laid extra supplies in as we haven't seen him for a few days. Which leaves Cat 3, Jewel, who managed to extract herself from her cone of shame during the night and then scratch herself to pieces.

Destructo Boy's Beaver Scout group has collapsed abruptly in a messy morass of personality clashes and unprofessional behavior, and emails to the hierarchy go unanswered, apparently leaving us with the choice of letting him go to Cubs, for which he is too young, or moving to another Beaver group elsewhere.

Mini Diva is home sick, DH's monthly eye checkup told him he needs another injection (after about 6 months without) and to stop smoking on pain of blindness: which to me is more scarey than death. I am having internal thermostat issues which result in night sweats and thus wet pyjamas to go with the damp duvet - but hey, I guess at least they match my slippers for moisture levels.

And to cap it all, after I posted a picture of my progress on my Spring Green cardigan last week, I had to rip it all out and start again, because not only had I discovered what then became a glaring mistake, I had also managed to completely and totally forget which row of the pattern I was on, and I didn't have the necessary synaptic connections sparking to work it out. So last week's

looks unsurprisingly similar to this week's

If you made it this far, I am totally impressed - well done ! Reward yourself by heading on over to Tami's Amis for happy people ....

WIP Wednesday 127 : Three to Get Ready

Gilded Tarot

Ermagerd .... Finally .... finally .... finished the purple yarn and the purple shawl: odd how that happened simultaneously, huh.

Seeing as how I have mostly dealt with most of my control issues, I can now have a Plan and a List and not stick to either of them; I can mix it up with the best of the bad boys, like shuffling from the bottom to the top, adding something totally new and extraneous and even - whisper it oh so gently - actually ignore stuff and do something random instead: go me and spontaneity, woo-hoo.

Of course, I am talking about knitting, you knew that, right ? I did say 'mostly', not 'completely' dealt with, remember - baby steps, people, baby steps.

So anyway in a spontaneous fit of random organization (oxymoron ? No, what's that mean ?) I sorted and shuffled my Ravelry queue of Things I Must Make (TIMM). And guess what - I was so free-spirited that now I even have the patterns, yarn and notions for the first three items; the first of which is this lacy cardigan available free from the Patons website:

I shall make the adult version in King Cole Haze DK in the shade 'Evergreen', of which I know Stephcuddles will approve as it is so very very green:

Second is the beautiful Sweet Dreams Shawl by BooKnits, which I shall make using Austermann Merino Lace,

with charteuse beads from the fast and friendly Highly Strung Beads website:

Hard to visualize now, but it will look Fabulous, I promise. There's almost a theme developing, isn't there ? Not to worry, to reinforce just how carefree I am, the third project is this cardigan, from this book:

Which I was fortunate enough to receive from Denise over at Voie de Vie, my fantastic swap partner (and now also my friend) in last year's Blog Hub Swap; I even have the specified yarn, Filatura di Crosa Brilla, a gift from my DH, although in cream rather than the book's pink.

Look at that, isn't it great ? Organized, listed, planned, yet with a touch of whimsy that is not green. So, what have I actually cast on ? This:

I must be off, to revel in my untrammelled-ness, humming this as I go:




Now you too will be humming it as you view all the other lovely things at Tami's Amis ... you're welcome.