December 30th 2005
Filed under General, Socks, Sweaters
I nicked this from Woolly Warbler
What new knitting techniques did I learn this year?
Thanks to Tracy (she sent me a sock starter kit as part of SP5), it has to be socks and knitting with DPN’s.
Which completed project from the last 12 months are you most proud of?
I think that would have to be Lucky – she became a labour of love, or the beaded bolero I made for my sister.
What was your biggest knitting disaster of the year?
Not sure really – I guess it would have to be Florence that I started knitting realised I was never going to wear it and also I think the pattern was a bit too much for me, I am useless at intarsia.
What knit craze grabbed you this year?
Without a doubt it would have to KSH - I love it, so far all I have used it for is scarves – but I think I may have to knit a Butterfly or Cami in the New Year.
And New Year Resolutions?
At the moment none – but it is an excuse to make a list 
Happy New Year!
May 20th 2005
Filed under Finished Projects 2005, Sweaters
Yarn: Paton’s Cotton DK in Cream.
Pattern: Adapted from Bolero in Vintage Knits by Sarah Dallas.
Needles: 2 ¾ mm, 3mm and 3mm circular.
Notes: I knitted the body all in one – mainly as I hate seaming.
I started out with 184 stitches, and increased the fronts as the pattern called for but only increased the sides for the back, (the extra 5 stitches for the fronts were added one at the beginning).
The beads are 5 stitches apart – every sixth row – alternating to form the diamond (first bead was on the fourth stitch and the next beaded row it was on the second stitch).
Rather than make a tie for this (or leave it as the pattern suggests), my sister brought this lovely brooch from Gap.
May 3rd 2005
Filed under Sweaters
I love reading other peoples knitting blogs, it inspires me to be more productive. This weekend I managed to finally cast on two new projects, make some stitch markers and invest in The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques. I have loved reading about the Secret Pals 4 unveiling and wished I had taken part – I am hoping to sign up for SP5, when it starts.
Inspired by Monica over at the Lucky KAL, I decided to make the beaded bolero in one piece starting with 184 stitches realizing I needed stitch markers – instead of using safety pins, I followed Chrisknits’ simply tutorial – and even me with no jewelry making experience managed to follow. 
Finally, I was thinking about a small present to make for my sister for her birthday at the end of May, and knowing how much she loves scarves, it seemed like an obvious choice, I was thinking about Branching Out, but after seeing Metro’s fabulous finished projects, I thought making a scarf out of Rowan’s Cotton Braid in Picasso (all the colours are named after painters – I love it). It pretty weird knitting with my is coming along really quickly – it’s nice to be knitting with big needles again.
April 28th 2005
Filed under General, Stash Enhancement, Sweaters
With Lucky finished it is time to move on to my next project… after buying Rowan 35, I have been inspired to knit tons of projects with cotton. Hopefully, I will get on to knitting something from here soon at the moment Audrey is at the top of my list.
I also recently invested in some (more) Paton’s 100% Cotton, which is a great substitute for Rowan’s Cotton Glace. These four balls of cream are ear-marked for my sister’s beaded bolero.
I’m not really following a pattern, the basic design is the bolero from Vintage Knits, but I am making it with short sleeves, and then the two front panels will have the beaded pattern from the beaded sweater (image on the left).
I convinced my sister last night to thread the beads on the wool – I hate the tricky jobs… she used the clear nail vanish tip from SnBN which worked a treat
