FO: Pea-green baby jumper

Simple baby jumper I started on the way back from Japan from some leftovers of my main project (which is still top secret as is a xmas present).

Yarn: Knitpicks sock yarn solid. No idea on the colour - GREEN. Very soft stuff this yarn, probably much better for baby clothes than socks!
Pattern: My own, a top-down raglan worked roughly from this guide then with a zig-zag patterned stitch I made up on the plane as a way of stopping me go mad from the simple st st. I'm pretty pleased with this stitch, it gives a nice drape as well as texture.
Needles: Addi 80cm 2.75mm circs, using magic loop.

Home

Back from Japan and having unpacked, sorted email, drunk a cup of PROPER tea, eaten PORRIDGE and cleared my 215 feeds on blogroll, I'm ready to post.

Knitting on the plane was no problem. I came armed with a print out of my email from the airline (Virgin) saying it'd be ok but didn't need it. The main thing I worked on was getting xmas knitting (getting ahead), so I can't post about it. But you don't want WIPs, you want SWAG. I used Pinku's notes on Japanese yarn stores, which Gleek pointed me to.



As well as Avril, I visited a big craft store in Shinjuku and lovely fabric shop in Kyoto. I was going to go to another craft store near Avril (in Kichijoji station) but it seemed to be closed. From Avril, I got the shiny white yarn above (I may dye it, but its pretty lovely as it is) which is 60/40 of *some* mix but I don't know what. We're thinking linen and silk, but it was exceedingly cheap (in the sale bin). I also got a load of a verigated wool, but that's going to be turned into a gift, so again will have to stay secret.

So, the fabric, I was pretty restrained considering.



Cheesecloth with robots (!) very 70s flowers, cute ladybirds and (because I had to) a punkish Alice in Wonderland tea party. The ones above will probably be tops or skirts, the last may be a quilt of some sort. I'm not sure about wearing something based on my name, seems a bit *too* self-referential.




In other news, Kirsty the blog-less flatmate is no longer blogless, as those who have followed the links from her crafter posts on the amazing wonder-woman jumper will already know (people who read my flickr may have seen this jumper before - it's amazing). So we are now a two knit-blog household. Go to her latest post to see the fabric I bought back for her (and the cherry blossom welcome home cake she baked me!).

FO: quilt (plus question about Japan)

I finished the quilt!




Actually, I finished it last week, but have been waiting for a day with decent enough light to take a photo. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't constantly rain in the UK, we have been having a bizarrely wet summer.



It's pretty simple, I just made it up myself, but I'm pleased about it as a first go. I really enjoyed it and am itching to do another. But I'll have to stick to small ones; my sewing machine isn't big enough to fit a larger one. Or I guess I could hand-quilt the middle section.

Working from home today also means I was in for the delivery of some Amazon swag. I'm going to Japan next week. First to Kyoto for this conference, then to Tokyo for a few days on my own, largely to geek over the quantity of science museums there.



The crochet collection and steampunk are for the long flight. I emailed Virgin and they have assured me my knitting needles will not be classed as offensive, but I figured a novel, hook and crochet pattern for back up might be worthwhile. The guidebook, although great in many ways, is missing the all important list of 'yarn and fabric shops you really must go to' (tsk tsk, when will Lonely Planet catch up?) for which I ask the assistance of you, dear readers - any recommendations? I know at least two of you have recently bought yarn in Japan because I squeed over their hauls.

FO: London Skyline Scarves

This was knitting by request. Some friends of my old flatmate, Anne-Marie, are emigrating to Canada, and she commissioned a couple of scarves. One for a young girl, the other for her mother. Anne-Marie specified: London Skyline, Big Lettering, Pinkness and No Sheep.

I thought I'd do the skyline at the bottom, as a sort of visual 'frill' and then a rain-like pattern through the scarf to (a) go with the London theme and (b) break up the screaming pink a bit. The letters (the recipant's initals) are only on one end, floating into the end of the 'rain' section.


I knitted them mainly on the bus - it seemed appropriate, plus I have to look at the work the whole time with doublekntting, and when I knit at home I like to watch tv/ surf the net/ talk to people. When commute-knitting, I tend to use circs, even for knitting flat. Because they are shorter, my elbows won't annoy people sitting next to me. But with the extra balls of yarn for double-knitting, the wire can be annoying, so I used a pair of dpns with point protects at the end to turn them into a set of short straights. This also meant I could use an especially pointy pair we had (a good point being very important for quite double-knitting).


Anne-Marie and I choose the yarn together and, though I was a bit concerned about quite how pink it'd be, it worked out ok. It's Debbie Bliss Cathay, which I normally avoid because it's so splitty but, as long as I was careful (which you have to be with double-knitting anyway) it worked really well. A neat, defined look and lovely sheen over the finished piece. Plus they feel really silky. I was worried it wouldn't be warm enough for a Canada scarf, but with the two layers it feels pretty cosy.


Before anyone asks, I'm not posting the pattern. But you are welcome to try to transcribe the chart from my pictures - it's pretty straightforward. If anyone wants advice on double-knitting. I said all I have to on the topic here.

the weekend

Yesterday was about celebrating fruit at the Innocent Fate; listening to music in the sunshine while perfecting my ability to knit backwards.


The yarn boucle. And verigated. And, er... 93% synthetic. My excuse? (a) I was on holiday. (b) It was on sale. (c) I knew it'd look amazing in entrelac. I'm going to have a lovely, super-soft, stupidly long scarf with pink-green-purple fairy-scales.

So far, today has been about sleeping, burning toast, enjoying the flowers my boyfriend surprised me with this week and filling in surveys on YouGov. But it is going to be about hoovering, cleaning the bathroom, finishing off the quilt and blocking the doubleknit scarves I've been doing for an old college-mate:


EDIT: both scarves are my own design, there are no patterns. I'll do proper FO posts about them when they're properly done and dusted.