Lace - It's more difficult than you'd think.....

if you are unable to count accurately and tend to be clumsy. As I am both, I am finding it very difficult to knit this shawl/wrap/extremely short scarf for Lucy's graduation ball. I was very pleased to have some comments on the blog. Please comment, I would love to hear from you. Anyway, the advice I received was very helpful. Both noblinknits and cathairinmyknitting made very sensible suggestions regarding patterns and yarns and I intended to take on board their comments. First of all, I tried using the Knitwitches Forest 3 ply cashmere and found that although it is truly lovely, it was a bit thin for a novice. Next up I tried a new laceweight from the Old Piggery. I used Sandstone which is lovely mixture of greys and rusty browns. Gorgeous. I got a bit further but felt I needed something more substantial. It is really fabulous though and I have put a photo in of one of the lovely colourways we have in the shop.

Now Lucy must enter the mix. She phoned and said that what she really, really wanted was the Victorian Lace shawl in Kidsilk Haze Jacob. So, I thought I would give that a go - after all I was not getting anywhere. I find the Kidsilk much easier to knit with, but much more difficult to rip - exactly as my advisers said. I now have about 6 weeks to get this finished as Lucy will want to take it back with her after the Easter holiday. So, Lucy, would you like a lace hanky to go with your dress?

A bit of a surprise

As promised, here is a photo of a little lemon cardigan I have made for a friend's baby. it's sweet isn't it. Not much to add about it, knitted in garter stitch, size 0-3 months, yarn, Sirdar 100% cotton (old from stash). Hope the baby likes it. Actually, this is not a good photo - it is much more lemon than this.

Now, this is the surprise. Regular readers will know that I have, in the past, had terrible experiences of knitting socks. So much so, that I thought my sock making career was over, pretty much before it began. However, a friend of mine had an accident and was in hospital for a while. I thought of all the things I could send (not many apparently, no flowers, no eats, no cards) and thought that perhaps some socks might be a nice idea. So, from one of the marvellous Charlene Schurch books, I produced these! One sock is slightly longer than the other,this I am sure is to do with me and not the pattern. I must learn to count accurately. The yarn is a new handdyed yarn which may appear in the shop one day. Anyway, I enjoyed making these socks much more than the others, so this may become a regular habit.

Spring is in the air...

Well, look what arrived on my doorstep on Monday. Yes, the new Spring/Summer collection from Rowan. It was ironic that it arrived whilst the majority of the country was covered in snow and ice, but at least we have had some distinct seasons this year. I am sure there are lots of blogs showing interesting photos of snow covered landscapes, snowmen and other jolly winter items. Unfortunately we haven't had any snow in Brixham, no, not any at all. Which is strangely disappointing and lucky all at the same time.

So, what does Rowan have in store for us all this summer. Lots and lots and lots of cotton in every which way. Handknit, Organic, with linen, with milk protein, in double knit and 4 ply, in pastels, bright colours and all shades inbetween. Many of these will be in the shop within the next few days. Look and dream of hotter climates and sunny days!