Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Clearing Decks

The first Milo for the boys'

I have been very good & knitty. The first Milo for the boys' has been completed. It is knitted in the stunning Naturally Me Merino/Cashmere 8ply. It's such a pity it is now discontinued. It was very pricey, $15ish per ball, but I lucked out & got some balls for $9 on sale. A Milo for the boys' has taken just over two balls, so $20 to knit a stunning vest. I have some more 'Me' in a rich blue & some teal Gedifra Merino leftover (I did a vest for Hugo in it last year & should have enough for a Milo). I just need to get the boys to wear them!
The yarn for the other two Milo's
My father called two nights ago, thrilled with his vest, it fitted perfectly & he was concerned it was a little to 'flash' to wear to work! I will have to get him to pose for me in it when I am up in Gizzy for Easter.

The Ahuriri Cushion is about 85% done!

I am clearing decks before I get into another Milo, I have decided to get the Ahuriri Cushion completed, Dr. Phils' annual Winter socks done (I am even doing them in the round this year!!) & I am prowling around for a project for me, ahhhhhh I love heading into a knitty time of year!

Phil's Socks worked in the round using two circular needles.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Slacker!

I am a slack tart! Six weeks since my last post, six bloody weeks!!

Excuses?

Plenty.

'Last of the Summer' holiday. Been a slack tart. Had to rearrange childcare. Been a slack tart. Doing more hours at Skeinz. Been a slack tart. Turned another year older. Been a slack tart. Teaching three ladies how to knit. Been a slack tart. You get the picture.

The weather has now turned decidedly Autumnal, the boys' are engrossed in cartoons & I have decided to remove the slack from tart & get the blog updated.

Ross' Elders Vest

The positive in all of this is, I have been very busy on the knitty front, both at work & at home. The long promised vest for my dad was started on the February holiday (we were in Gisborne, so I thought I'd better work on that just to prove to him I hadn't forgotten my promise!!) and finished it yesterday in fact, just in time for this cooler weather. It is knitted from a new heather type yarn we have developed at work, using natural Southlander yarn as a base, a series of colours have been over dyed & they look great. Mine is 'Coast' on an Oatmeal base. Perfect for my dad who works as a wool buyer, visiting local farms up & down the East Coast. It is an impromptu pattern, started whilst I had a few wines on board, so of course three quarters of the way through I discovered the glaring mistake, buy hey, that's was makes it one of a kind eh?



The new Hawkes Bay Knitters Group on Ravelry has been meeting regularly & growing in size. It has been a real joy for me to have contact with such a inspiring group of women. I learn something new every time we get together. Sharing yarn, patterns & techniques has been revelation in moving my own knitting forward. One of these 'Ah Ha' moments came with the discovery of the Milo Vest by Georgie Hallam from Tikki designs. Having acquired the pattern & knitting up a newborn Milo for a friends baby, I can safely say, it's love. I have started my second Milo, as a part of a triptych for my own boys (they are of such a similar size that I am knitting them up for both of them to wear).


Maia's Milo

My next mission this Winter is to refine my sock knitting. I am a butt lazy sock knitter. I detest straight dpn's, so I have purchased books on knitting socks in the round using two long dpns, and yet I still resort back to may favourite Lipstick socks. 'Ah Ha' moment number two from the HBK group, I have one knitter accomplished with the two needle technique & another who uses the 'magic loop' technique... I think my two needle sock days could be numbered, especially with Dr Phil asking when his annual pair are next due. Time to stop blogging & restart knitting!

Slackness gone?