WIP me nimble, WIP me quick… (or, if this is Belgium it must be…)

This post almost didn’t get written today. I could  have sworn that it was Tuesday…are we in Belgium yet? (ah, the sweet smell of frites…)

Sorry, on with the business of the day:

Knitting is definitely out of the doldrums and making headway with a  stiff breeze behind it. The breeze in this case being the impetus of the 20th July deadline for the Colourmart Lovers competition bash.

We have three real WIPs for disclosure this week. Yes, I really am working (hard) on three concurrent projects.

The Snowbird

Snowbird cardigan, May 25th

My Jubilee cardigan is turning out to be very slow and difficult work indeed. The yarn is inelastic and quite harsh on the hands and the whole piece is unwieldy and heavy – making for a strain on my wrists. I cannot bash away at this simple stocking stitch piece in the way that I had anticipated. It seems likely that it will be a UFO at 20th July. The photo was taken last night. I’m not down to the armholes yet – there’s an awful long way to go before it is completed.

I won’t give up. The finished object will be worth all the hard work. Plus, I really need a new everyday cardigan.

The Link

3.5 repeats, plus one border

The Don’t Fence Me In project is pretty damn wonderful. Great yarn choice. Lovely pattern. Fun to knit, and surprisingly fast. I would be making more progress on this if I were not so besotted with the hat…

The Lórien

Making good progress

My Ferry Bonnet sprang into life because I needed a portable project to take to town with me on Monday. I knitted hard on it over the weekend so that it would reach the point at which I could sit and knit among distractions without worry of anything going wrong – so I had the band knitted and the stitches picked up for the crown, and set the crown pattern by Sunday night.

I love everything about this hat! The yarn is stunning, now that it is washed. It knits up almost to a velour softness, and the shade of green is just gorgeous. The pattern is fun to knit – definitely not boring, but not too taxing either – and the resultant textures are wonderful. As for the leafy band – it is just plain adorable.

Confession time: – I’m knitting on this at every available opportunity. I want to see it finished. It was supposed to go to town with me again next week, but I think I shall have to start up a new portable project before then – I’m past the half way point already.

Surprised, as always, by just how much work there is in a hat – they really are not little projects at all. Have been tempted (more than once!) to make this hat less slouchy – but am steeling myself to go the whole way with it.

And there is more

Given that I couldn’t start any of these projects until late on May 20th then I think we can say that’s a whole lot of WIP-ping for one week. But there is more. Work has been done on the Morning Surf project (no photos) and some progress made on my current weaving.

What’s next

Clearly the Snowbird will be ongoing. I shall snip away at it, a few rows at a time. The Link scarf will make regular progress. I intend to complete the hat today or tomorrow and then begin a new ferry project – a rather lovely cashmere cowl – details on Tuesday, I think – ready to take to town next Wednesday. It requires the needles that are on the hat – which is great discipline in the startitis stakes 🙂

The big question for me just now is whether to begin a new jumper to replace Snowbird in the Sweaters class.  Yarn arrived this morning (Show and Tell on Tuesday!) . It needs skeining and washing. I have the pattern identified. I just need to decide whether to write off the Snowbird as a very long term project or to carry on in the deluded belief that I am capable of bringing it in under the finishing line on 20 July. A third option would be to do a Shawls class entry and not bother with Sweaters at all…

That’s your lot for today – a very WIP Wednesday indeed.