Just when you thought you'd finished!

Another hat is lurking in the wings. One of my students has been pestering me for a beanie so I have bitten the bullet.Cygnet DK in dark green and a pattern from the book on the right.

For anyone who's interested , this is a good basic book of patterns and many of them are easy enough for first time knitters. There are teach yourself to knit instructions in the front of the book.

I've owned this for some time and refer to it for standard shapes which I can then customise as I like.

I took a trip to John Lewis yesterday and bought a few Noro goodies for future use - exact plans to be decided, but I'm guessing gloves.

We look forward to a guest appearance by Tracey at knitting group this week. She's been allowed off the island for good behaviour!

Hats done!

Four hats done and that's the lot! There is a limit to motherly love and I feel I have reached it.
However, I have also promised a pair of gloves but I can't face them just yet.

So. it's back to my purple shawl I think, although I may check out the stash today and see what's sitting there. I've lost two stones in weight over the last few months and there are patterns which I like but have previously avoided - now may be the time!

Knit group was a lively affair this week. It amazes me that men are still slightly intimidated by a group of women knitting in a pub - however, they will have to get over it as we are an accepted part of the local scene now. Several group members purchase pub food so I would say we make a good financial contribution to the business.

Back to work next week and to sorting out my notes from the course I went on. Happy days!?

Hat factory and a bit of history

This is hat number 2 which I finished yesterday. It's in Rowan aran tweed which I've had for ages. I adapted the hat pattern in the Noro mini knits book which I bought recently - more stitches and slightly different shaping to take account of the different yarn weight and head size.

The miracle is that it fits!

I'm now on a mission to finish the others and a pair of gloves too as the boy is going to be skiing in Australia from the beginning of June.

Some of you will know that I am very interested in researching my family history and today I bought the latest copy of Family History Monthly; primarily this was because it has an article on the Dam Busters of World War 2 and my father served in that squadron. However, there is a very interesting article on the history of frame knitting and the working conditions endured by the knitters. There's a museum in Nottingham which can be investigated at http://www.rfkm.org/ . While I'm churning out my ski hats, I feel fortunate to be working in the comfort of my own home!

Ski hats for big heads and a new book!

Number 2 son has placed an order for several ski hats ( apparently you can never have too many! ).

So I am looking for aran weight wool in my stash. How is it that it cannot be found? There must be some lurking somewhere.I have discovered one ball of burgundy Rowan tweed that I will use and have sacrificed my Noro cashmere mix which was destined for long gloves. I'm sure there is more but I fear it's not very manly. Therefore I've ordered some Yorkshire tweed in blokey colours ( grey, murky green and rust ).

I'm adapting a pattern I already had by casting on more stitches and making the hat longer so it will cover ears;apparently this is vital to avoid frostbite. Son has a large head like his mother so the resulting hat looks massive but fits perfectly - more by luck than judgement. Photos will be posted but hat is being worn at the moment.

The Lerwick Lace Shawl book is the latest offering from Sharon Miller. This is a fascinating read and contains a charted shawl pattern which she has constructed from an old shawl in her possession. The level and quality of work which has gone into this is truly amazing and something I can only aspire to. The book also contains extracts from Shetland social histories and information on sheep shearing techniques.Is there anything this lady doesn't know about Shetland lace knitting? What also interests me is her discussion on the merits of knitting shawl borders inwards or outwards. I'm an outwards girl myself; it's not the traditional way but is a lot less complex to my mind. This technique was pioneered by Elizabeth Zimmerman.

The book can be purchased direct from Sharon's Heirloom Knitting website and, while it's not cheap at £17.95 for 42 pages, the level of scholarship and amount of information make it a very worthwhile purchase. Link to the site is on the left of this page.

Next week I'm off on a course for a couple of days but will be taking knitting with me for spare moments!