WIPs

This is the first one that I have in mind.



I've got the green that I got from Sue for my birthday and will be getting something in a similar gauge when I go to Birmingham next month and will combine the two.

Next up is this:



I've been promising MM an aran jumper for about two years. This is one of Alice Starmore's and is her "Traditional Aran Gansey" from "Sweaters for Men". I'm utilising my Clover stitch markers to differentiate between the panels. I will say though I am not too keen on the way she has written the stitch instructions as it caused me some confusion last night once I had finished the rib and was starting the main body.

I will take a pic and post it on here of progress tomorrow!

The next on the list is this:



I have been commissioned to knit a christening robe. I want to find exactly the right yarn for the job.


I also have the socks which are on the go but I do those at work only so there is definitely enough to keep me out of mischief!

One Quandry Solved and another to solve

Well I've decided that I'll knit the socks at work because they are relatively simple and I can pick up and put down in between interuptions. I'll do the Alice Starmore aran gansey at home with a bit of WRS on the side.

The quandry I am now faced with is Ish. For some reason she seems to spend inordinate amounts of time licking me. Now I have no problem with that per se. I mean I'd rather having her licking than nibbling as I'm kind of attached to my skin and blood but I just wonder if it is something I should be worrying about. Any ideas anyone?

Quandry

Should I start an Alice Starmore aran jumper for MM or should I restart the socks that I had to frog as I had forgotten where I go to?

Results

Cake - as expected I didn't get anything. Was slightly disappointed on this in the fact that the judges didn't leave any comments so I don't know how to improve. Mine was the only rich fruit cake though and did have my pistacio marzipan to boot.


Here are the two entries that featured in the "knitted family" section. The circus came first and was made by a lady from my local group.

Shawl - I got a SECOND!!!!!!!!!!!! The green cardigan came first. There was some lacework on it and some beading but I couldn't really see why it came first. Still there is always next year!

I finally finished the shawl at 3am and had to be up at 7am to deliver the shawl to the show in time. On getting up I found that Ish had managed to escape from the cage as I'd not put the roof on properly before going to bed. I literally did a dump and run when I got to the show. When I got home I had to completely dismantle the bedroom and found her hiding behind the middle of three bookcases. All of my bookcases have a double load so I have the equivalent of 6 bookcases worth of books!

Here are some more pictures I took once I got back to the show in the afternoon:

Pre-Show Displays

I'll be doing a proper posting later when I get back but in the meantime a look at the entries:

Pacific North-West Shawl - Fibertrends



Christmas Cake. This is only intended as a fun entry and I don't think I'll get anything for it to be fair but then as it costs approx 3x the prize money it certainly isnt about the prize!

Almost there.....

Here is a picture of a pre-blocked shawl but otherwise complete - hoooraaaahhhhhh

Half A WooHoo!!!

Have finished the main body of the shawl and will be starting on the edging tomorrow. International fame and fortune here we come lol

Shawl Good News

No its not that I've finished it. I've had my entry details through and it looks like there are only about a half dozen entries in the class that I am in. Now all I need to do is finish it!

Wondering & Shawl

Wondering here whether any of the famous designers ever trawl the web and see what people are saying about their products and how they respond.

Shawl
I thought I would post a picture of what the shawl will look like when it is finished as (a) it has been so long since I first posted it and (b) it is soon to be finished. I have just finished row 154 and have 24 more rows to complete the main body of the shawl. I then have all of the edging triangles which I am reliably informed will take me 9 hours. I have done a quick calculation and I should (!) just make it in time if I keep my head down and get on with it. I'll be taking it into work and do 30 mins before work and also an hour at lunchtime. How I am going to manage to squeeze in marzipaning and icing the cake for the entry as well I do not know. As for knocking up my belated birthday cake to take into work I think I'll be buying that one.

I am also going to do some investigating as to when the Keighley show is and I may enter it in that as well.

I have enjoyed it as a project despite it giving the odd occasional nightmare. I am planning my next lace project although it will be a couple of projects down the line and will be: http://www.fiddlesticksknitting.com/PeacockLarge.html. I want to find the right yarn though first before I contemplate it.