New Year, New Knits

Or should I say Finished Knits.  Finishing UFOs is something I really like to do as New Years Eve approaches, and if we stay in, I quite like to knit on the eve itself.    Having just arrived in beautiful Scotland, we were jet lagged so skipped the big Hogmanay celebrations, and I finished up three knits on New Years Day:

Anise, by Sarah Hatton, in Rowan New Shapes. I have the book, but this is available as a free pattern on Ravelry.  This knit is designed for big wool, but I used the heavy worsted/light chunky handspun I picked up at an op shop in Nowra with my sister last February, knitting the medium size on 10mm needles to create a loose gauge in this stiff and course wool yarn.  I had tons of it and also used it for the Pickles' One Night Coat:

So I have two yellow cardigans! One for each location that I spend time in; Anise can stay in Scotland.  I bought some yellow-brown coconut shell buttons from John Lewis in Glasgow earlier this week, but haven't attached them yet.  I wore Anise over a long sleeved white thermal and with navy leggings and boots on New Years Day, and have also been pulling it on as a bed jacket when sitting up drinking tea and surfing the net in bed during the long, dark, and cold northern winter mornings, so already getting a lot of wear.

I started Anise in 2015, but the following knit dates from 2014 at least, and perhaps earlier.  It began life as a poncho, subsequently abandoned.  It then morphed into what I hoped what be a warm hoodie in damp and chilly Yorkshire, using Susan B Anderson's top down raglan KAL recipe.  A yarn shortage meant I couldn't do long sleeves or a hood - abandoned again.  It was shipped to Oz with the rest of our stuff, so I threw it in my bag and flew it back to the UK, where it has become a half sleeved sweater:

I wore this on Jan 2nd with jeans and ankle boots, and it was very cosy.

And finally, I knit the top border on London Shadows, in coordinating black sock yarn as I had run out of the Katia Darling used for the bottom border and body of the shawl. This is awaiting blocking but here is a shot showing off the colours and drape:

London Shadows was a MKAL by Wild Prairie Knits which started on my birthday in 2015.  I participated as a treat for myself during a very busy year, and am very glad I did - I love it and what it represents; self care, time to do things I love and that restore me.  I will create more opportunities for this in 2016.

Knitting in Kiama

Well, the end result of a year of intense planning and travelling, and of general planning for some years before that, is now achieved and we have relocated (again) to the beautiful seaside town of Kiama on the NSW coast.

Within two weeks of arriving, I had started a demanding (although enjoyable) full time job a commute away in Sydney.

The summer months were hot, sticky and busy, and its only now, post Easter, that I feel some semblance of routine and settled-ness. The weather has grown cooler, and I am knitting properly again, rather than little bitty projects which give me instant gratification but don't soothe my soul in the same way.

My main project this weekend is the Kolmarden Jacket, from Knitscene Winter 14/15, to which I have made pretty major modifications and have toyed with ripping out completely. In the end I have persevered and should have a completed pic for the next blog post. The mods have partly been about my yarn shortage, and partly due to pattern errors which made me not want to trust continuing as written.  Here is an early progress photo.

I picked up my Susan B Anderson raglan KAL hoodie as well. I have a similar yarn shortage with this one so am thinking short sleeves, slipover style, with hood - probably more suited to the climate anyway as it is knit from Harris and Donegal Tweed.

A couple of shorter projects have come off the needles too - a shawl and a cravat are "a block away" as the Knitmore Girls say.

Some recent photo highlights:

The curvy squares tee gets worn.

The sea foam shawl from One Skein Wonders in Debbie Bliss Angel Prints.

Chair socks from the Toronto Knit Cafe pattern protect my (already scratched) wooden floors.

La La's top down afterthought heel socks in Knitglobal, colour Ocean.

Autumn comes to Australia - time to pick up the needles and get stuck in!