At Last!

 

2 years and 1½ months after she was cast on, Lady Kina is off the needles!!! One of my 2013 goals is realised, albeit a little over schedule. Mum is pleased with how she's turned out, and even more pleased to finally have possession of her :) Now, I can resume sock knitting and turn my attention to my next project,
Baileys Irish Cream, which is going to be for me, made from this yarn, or this yarn...I'm yet to decide.

The only valid reason I have for taking so long is that for the most part I didn't enjoy knitting with cotton. It doesn't have any give like wool, and as I am a firm knitter, moving the stitches along the needles became a real pain in the patootie. I loosened my tension slightly, switched to Knit Pro acrylic needle tips, and the knitting became much more enjoyable.I wouldn't rule out knitting with cotton again, but I have definitely ruled out a project that is solely stockinette stitch!

The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton, 8ply, in the discontinued Noir. It is a proper black, but for some reason it is looking a little charcoal in these pics...my quality control inspector is not at all pleased ;)

A Taste Of Honey

Introducing...my Honey Badger socks, which I cast on on Christmas night. I hadn't really knit them much until Sunday. It was hot outside (Sunday turned out to be the last day of a week long heat wave), and the only thing I could do was hug the A/C and watch cricket. I made great progress, finishing the cuff, and starting on the pattern, which is easy to memorise. I am also sticking to my goal of having Lady Kina off the needles by the end of January, she has grown 12cm since Sunday...phew!

Happy New Year

I love New Year. Shrugging off the old year and starting a brand spanking new one, full of hope and possibilty. I don't make New Years resolutions, but this year I am setting goals at the start of each month for things I want to achieve for that month. My first goals for January are knitting related. 2012 was not a great year for knitting achievements, and I'm blaming the following two culprits. Endless rows of stocking stitch does not a happy knitter make ;P

Lady Kina

Simple Spring Swing Cardigan

Both of these cardigans are for Mum, and I'm rather ashamed to say that the Lady Kina has been on the needles exactly two years today! The Simple Spring Swing Cardigan has been finished a while, but I have to frog and reknit the button bands. The bands are tight, as I didn't pick up quite enough stitches, and this makes the bottom corners of the cardigan turn upwards. Of course, I'll also have to frog the row around the neck, as it was the last to be knit :\. The frogging and knitting in total is 15 rows...but you'd think I have to start from the beginning, it just feels like such an effort. Getting these two off the needles is my goal for January.

Other knitting projects are for the first half of this year are...

...finding the perfect pattern for this gorgeous wool that was a birthday gift from Mum last year. I have been  marking candidates on Ravelry.

Frogging this cardigan...

Ms Greenjeans

I knit it in Cascade 220 Heathers (Celery), and while I love how it turned out, I have never worn it. It just isn't me! So I have decided that instead of having perfectly good wool sitting around, off to the frog pond it goes. It's going to be re-knit as the Hampton Cardigan, a pattern I have adored ever since I bought the book :)