Knitting all sorts

It's been a busy week here in North Norfolk. Coming home in the dark is pretty grim! And the air has a definite nip in it! But at least it gives me the perfect excuse to wear one of my (many) scarves! I have lots of knitting to show you, but first I'll fill you in on our weekend adventures. We drove down to Portsmouth to see family, leaving Norfolk on Friday evening. Mr Josiekitten was driving, and I had a rather cunning plan to allow me to knit in the car, in the dark! I borrowed Mr Josiekitten's clip on light that he uses when playing the guitar. A perfect solution, and I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I managed to knit almost down to the heel of my 'Eat your Greens' socks before disaster struck. We were driving round the M25, just over the bridge, heading round towards J10, in the rain, when the windscreen wiper on Mr Josiekitten's side suddenly sheared off!!!!! Picture the scene if you can - a busy motorway in the dark and the rain. Luckily for me, Mr Josiekitten remained very calm, and by hunching himself over towards me to see through the clear part of the windscreen, managed to drive the car until the rain eased off. On the other hand, I was so stressed that even my knitting couldn't calm me down, and I had to put it away for fear of snapping my wooden needles gripping them so hard! I was mighty glad when we finally arrived in Portsmouth, some 6 hours after leaving home. I had a yarn shop-free weekend, but Mr Josiekitten more than made up for my lack of spending! We had to pick up a guitar that he'd bought off eBay, and also just happened to be very close to Nevada music - most convenient as they were celebrating 40 years of trading with lots of special offers! I guess that it was the equivalent of me being in a yarn shop to Mr Josiekitten. He came away with an electric mandolin, and another guitar stand. Here's a very small part of guitar heaven ............

On the way back, we called in at Sainsbury's, and I just had to take this photo.....

Mr Josiekitten made himself scarce while I ooh-ed and aah-ed over the Innocent Smoothie hats! I had to explain what I was doing to a rather bemused lady, who asked me if I'd had anything to do with the little hats. So I was very proudly able to say 'YES!!!'

Time for a knitting update. I have finally finished my July socks! I am so pleased, you can't imagine. These socks (well, the yarn really) have been tormenting me for months! I just couldn't find a pattern to go with the yarn, and finally settled on Jules by Kate Blackburn. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in the colourway Desert Flower. The pattern is lovely, and very easy to memorise.

I also finished my October socks (and in October too!!) The pattern is Garter Rib from Charlene Schurch's book, Sensational Knitted Socks. I knitted them toe-up, as I was using some Koigu KPPPM yarn, and was worried about running out. I love the colours of the yarn in the skein better than how they turned out in the socks - a bit too much pooling. I did short row toe and heel, and I am definitely getting neater.

I finished my Noro Snuggly comfort scarf for Lesley. She was thrilled and totally surprised, as she hadn't realised that I'd knitted my Lizzy cardigan. I managed to use up most of the left over yarn to make a pretty decent length scarf.

I've made a good start on my November socks. I'm using a Trekking yarn, and am enjoying the subtle colour changes as I knit the Primavera pattern. It's a 6 row pattern repeat, with only one row that really needs much concentration. Here's how they're looking so far.....

The aforementioned 'Eat Your Greens' socks are progressing well, and should be done this weekend. I'm making them for Michele to give to her Dad for Christmas. Photo next time. Talking of Christmas, I'm also making a scarf for Michele. It's the Drop Stitch scarf pattern that I used in the summer, only this time I'm using a Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend yarn - oooooh yummy!

Because I'm of the opinion that there's no such thing as 'too many scarves', I've started a Baktus scarf for myself, using a Crazy Zauberball and a ball of purple Elle sock yarn. I've seen some stunning ones on Ravelry, so am hoping that mine will turn out ok too! Not much to show so far.....

I took part in a swap on the Phoenix Knitting Forums. The theme was 'Something Blue', and you had to knit something in the favourite shade of blue of your swappee. I made Beech Wood, a beautifully textured cowl designed by Ilga Leja, using Colinette Cadenza yarn. I love the pattern and the yarn, and will probably make one for me too!

My swappee likes baking, so I made her one of these. Can you guess what it is before you get to the last photo?!

A doughnut pincushion! A bit daft, but hopefully of some use too! I've just signed up for another swap, this time Christmas themed. I'm off to my local yarn store this weekend for a workshop on Christmas knits, so I'm hoping for some inspiration! I'll show you what I made next time. Bye for now!