By request

It would seem that everyone wants to be mentioned on my blog and so the time has come to talk about CNG's youngest daughter Sophie. She has been very proficient in the knitting department. i taught her last year and she has taken to the craft like a duck to the proverbially water. She is a natural. She has completed a scarf, a rabbit that she thinks is retarded but seriously is just cute. She's currently working on a monster from the Osbourne Learn to Knit book and a scarf for her teddy bear Snuggles. What a girl.

Happiness is....

Finishing a sweater and having it appreciated. Appreciated by not just the recipient (CNG) but also by his teenage daughter, praise indeed that she has taken to wearing it almost constantly since its completion. However my heart did almost miss a beat when I espied her wearing my handiwork whilst she was cleaning cars at the local garage. I must remember that what happens to my knitting after it has been gifted should not be cause for panic. People are allowed to do what they want in it. However the hole that was discovered that evening was not met with such grace I have to admit.
CNG being utterly fantastic then decided that the sweater curse must truly have been averted due to his sweater being utilised by daughter and that as curse was now defunct I should have no problem knitting a second or even THIRD sweater. I happen to think he might just be right.
We went the next morning for him to choose the yarn and pattern for the next one. He chose a jumper done entirely in Medallion rib, (rib is not my favourite stitch but hey if it looks good on him) and he chose a multi yarn, Cleckheaton Paintbox, in browns and charcoal. It looks fabulous and so long as I dont think about the 76,000 stitches in it I can hold onto my sanity.
Since Saturday I've managed to knit up to the armholes on the back, but the rest of my life is falling by the wayside so it might be time to get some semblance of balance back.
I will post pictures if teenage daughter happens to be around when the camera is.

Progress

has been made in several areas.
Firstly the weekend away was great. Cute neighbour guy and I had a lovely time and grew closer as a couple. He wore the vest I knitted all weekend which was so sweet of him. It's going so well that I am yet again working on his jumper. I've finished the front and the back and have now started on the sleeves. Just as well as the weather has begun to grow colder and it wont be long before it will be needed. He is getting impatient for it as well, and loves telling people that I'm making something for him.
I also responded to a cry for help from a friend who had attempted a scarf only for it to turn into a monster blanket, wrap affair. The only option was to frog and start again. Trouble was there was a deadline. Only three days to get it finished. Yikes!

It was black and a scrumptious blend of possum and merino. My friend had bought 8 X50g balls each covering 120 metres. She'd cast on 120 stitches. I cast on 35 stitches and just knitted every row until I'd used three of the eight balls. It looked long enough. Deadline met. Just.

Better go and do some more knitting I think I might just be on another deadline. One that it gives me great pleasure to be on.

Milestone

I am so excited. Cute neighbour guy and I are heading away for a weekend together without children! It's going to be so good to be alone with him at last. Of course it's taken the kind of organisation that would make organising a world conference seem like a walk in the park.
Between us we have 6 children, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 10 rabbits, and 2 fish to find carers for. It wouldn't have surprised us if arrangements had gone on well into the next decade. But somehow the planets have aligned in our favour and things have fallen magically into place.
So early on Saturday morning we're heading South to Thames, a beautiful town on the Coromandel, for some well deserved us time. Let's hope the sunshines on us and we have a wonderful time.

Finished

Despite serious motivation issues (or more precisely lack of motivation issues) Tatijana's top is finished. As you can tell by the photo she is totally delighted with it. Me, well let's just say I think I could have done better.
No I'm being too harsh. It was always going to be a challenge, dearest Tatijana had decided on a completely different top and we went looking for the yarn for that. Nothing in the shop was just right, it was the wrong ply, the wrong,colour, the wrong texture. At times I wondered if we might be in the wrong universe! Then she found a new pattern (the above top) and fell in love with it, but again didn't like the suggested Yarn, Natautica. She had been drawn to the Zhivago home several times and in a moment of lunacy I told her that of course I would be able to knit her top in a completely different yarn. No problem that the pattern stated it had a very particular tension.
There the issues began, the dreaded tension square was an absolute must, no way round it this time. If only there had been just one tension square. It took 8, yes 8 to get even close to the right tension. But finally knitting could begin in earnest. Notice the loops. They created the second issue. Despite the tension being almost right the loops when knitted were way, way, way too big. So another round of minor experimentation was called for. Finally I discovered that by using a much smaller needle just for the loop row I could get the effect desired.
The top is knitted sideways and is only about 100 rows. It should have taken days but instead took weeks. Am I pleased with it? Not entirely. Am I glad I made it? Absolutely. It looks beautiful on Tatijana and I am very pleased to have been able to make her something she will take back to Germany with her.

Drum roll if you please

At last you all get to see a picture of cute neighbour guy. Last Friday was the biannual Officers Ball and my date was no other than cute neighbour guy. I asked him way back in October to be my date and he agreed but as regular readers know it's been a bit of a rocky journey since then. I am very happy to say that the path has smoothed and we are now officially a couple.

The ball was fantastic, red carpet,guard of honour on entry and lots and lots of dancing. I had the best time and I know my man did too.
Now hopefully I will be able to concentrate on some knitting.
For those who asked here's one without the shades

I wish

I had some knitting news to share but sadly I have been terribly slack in the yarn department. I have three projects on the go, a second sock for middle daughter,a pink beaded affair that is progressing in minute increments. At the current rate she may be able to pass it on to a daughter of her own, or possibly a grand-daughter.
Then there's the sweater for you know who that is in abeyance because of the you know what curse. Let's not give fate any more ammunition at this point. A cease fire has been declared and it maybe wise to build up stocks and reconstruct before facing another onslaught.
And last but not least I am knitting a top for a friend. I started out very enthusiastic and willing, the project isn't complex and the back was knitted in days, but now I am procrastinating like a greek philosopher over finishing the front.
It is a lesson to be learned here that agreeing to knit for someone else is likely to end in tears, probably theirs.