Thursday 3 April 2014

Plans Afoot

Just because I'm in the middle of a bout of finishitis doesn't mean I'm not planning... In fact, the finishitis started when I wanted to start a new project from the latest Knitty but couldn't bring myself to do it until I'd finished Amy Singer's Beatnik - behold the Icarus



PHWOAAAAAAAR! LOOK AT THAT!

It's a beaut ain't it!? Obvs. I'm going to change like everything about it... It's knitted in a worsted weight yarn and that doesn't say summer to me so I'm thinking a 4ply. Specifically a 4ply that I bought at Yarndale last year. I haven't got a photo of it and I can't remember who it was from really but I think it was easyknits but now I can't find the colourway so I'm not sure. I'll photograph it one day but for now here's a description: it's a handpainted 4ply merino/nylon that I bought for socks or gloves potentially (in my head I was thinking feather and fan but god knows why because I hate knitting that...). It ranges from a deep grassy green to an incredibly vibrant almost neon yellow (who would have guessed - green and neon yellow???). I've only got 100g of it so that isn't enough for the full thing but I was thinking I could intarsia the lace bit and have something else for the body. Something like this:



Which is a new colour in the Patons' 100% Cotton 4ply that I haven't got on the internet yet because I am a failure... You can't really tell on the photo but I can only describe it as a pastel yellow neon. Does that make any sense at all!?!?!?! I changed the colours using picmonkey to try and show what it's actually like because the camera has washed it out somewhat but it's unlike any colour that I've ever seen and I, for one, bloody love it! However... I'm not entirely sure that it'll go with the hand dyed stuff that I've got and I'll only know that for certain when I bring the hand dyed stuff in but I'm not bringing it in because then I'll just start it and I want to finish the eight petal thing from yesterday or at least concentrate on that for as long as I can muster the enthusiasm (that makes it sound like I'm not enthusiastic. I am! Last night was the first time in ages that I've stayed up past my bedtime to get on with a project just because I love it and not because I know it will get finished. I'm officially on the last half repeat before I cast off for the arms!!!).

I'm also going to leave off the little arms - not for me and I'll probably shorten it somewhat because I'm already a shortarse and it looks like a tunic on the model. I might do it very close fitting and put a little shortrow shaping in for the bust. We'll see. But that is a big thing on my radar.

Secondly, I got to talking with Elizabeth t'other day about this book here:



Vintage Knits by Rowan.

It was the first 'proper' knitting book that I bought, it was about £15.00 which was (and is!) a lot of money for me but I loved it. And you know what's most unusual? I still love it. There are twenty three (23!) patterns that I would knit for myself, or other people I quite like, in there. Out of 31. Imagine that! That never happens does it!? I have a serious hankering for the Chinese Basket at the moment but that can be another blog because I have a lovely and sweet story about it involving acrylic dk when it should have been wool 4ply. Haha.

Anyway, I've attempted about six patterns from the book but because I bought it so early on everything I tried it with was on 5mm needles with acrylic dk. That's not what every pattern in the book calls for. Fact. Ahhh. To be a beginner knitter again. In fact, I have the back of one of the jumpers somewhere in my 'have fun and make things drawer' that's really just a 'oh god, it's gone wrong but maybe I can chop it up for something later' drawer. Whatevs. But. Look at this:


This is Bex's Alouette and I reccomend you pop over the that rav page to see her in it because it is cute as anything but I didn't want to plaster her face all over my blog and I want to publish this and I can't expect her to be hovering on rav waiting for me to ask if I can use her face - I hope she doesn't mind that I've borrowed her other photo. Blarghhghghgh, netiquette. I think I'm okay because I've linked back.

It's in the Truly Wool Rich 4ply!!! Which means it will be cheap and available to me and oh my god I would have never put those colours together. OMG!

Annnnnnyway, look at the comments page by clicking here. Can you see who made this comment: "
I can’t stop thinking about this top. I am mega borrowing coughstealingcough this colourway. Beautiful. :)"??? It's only bloody me ain't it!?!? And when did I make it!?!?! 24 MONTHS AGO! That is how long I've been thinking about this top! Two entire years. I have a bit of a rule with buying/knitting things. If I'm not entirely sure about something, or I don't have the time or money or whatever, then I go away and think about it for a week. If I am still thinking about it in a week then it's miiiiiiine. And this is two whole entire years. It's mine. And I think it will be dead quick and easy.

However, this is before Rowan realised that fat people knit too. So it only goes up to a 40" chest. I'm hovering around 43"/44" but I think it should be simple enough to change and whilst I'm at it I'll probably lengthen it and lower the neckline. Maybe add some length to the sleeves too.

Still. Not before I've finished the eight petal thing.

And then the last thing that I'm seriously thinking about is this:



Which is the Lush Cardigan by tincanknits (of Snowflake fame - a proper obsession in the shop it seems and lovely in the Bamboo Cotton).

I'm thinking perhaps to shorten it a little and I'm going to do it in the grass-y colour of the Patons' 100% Cotton DK that I bought in the sale. Mwahahaha. In fact I can get a picture because one of the balls hasn't made it home yet...



It'll be amazing. I know. But I probably can't afford to buy the pattern because I have a strict money plan for before my holidays. Maybe I'll buy it to knit on my holidays? The eight petal thing will almost certainly not be finished before then - is it mad to have two holiday projects on the go?? A year apart?!?!?! I would deffo get the Lush done over my holiday and a few days after I reckon. But then I thought that about the eight petal thing. Hmmm.

Anyway, these are my plans. Three lovely little tops. I will do them but only after my eight petal thing is finished or my finishitis is finished. Whichever one comes first. And I'm off to do a bit more code learning - I made a great website yesterday that consisted of a picture of me with the line "Hi, I'm Eleanor and I'm learning coding because I met a bastard once. Fact". Very proud. I'll update you on that a bit more once my coding plan comes together.

Love Eleanor. xxx

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