and actual finished things

A pair of Whitby Socks - from Nancy Bush's 'Knitting on the Road' (and a kitten-no-more-but-still-tiny for scale). And the amazing part? They took all of four days gentle knitting. Because they are in bigger wool. Bigger, beautiful Socks that Rock mediumweight. Only 51 stitches around. And all I want to know is, what on earth took me so long, to work out that bigger wool on smaller projects equals much, much faster. Happy, toasty new socks for February's chill. Yippee.


And a second thing, in really not long at all (though I'll admit that it isn't quite, quite finished). Instead of finishing a small jumper for my now 4 1/2 year old god son (which was due for his 4th birthday), I decided that I would make him a felted frog handbag. Well, I'll tell him it is a satchel (but then again, doesn't every self-respecting metrosexual 4 1/2 year old really need a handbag). From Nicky Epstein's 'Fabulous Felted Bags'. And bar the finishing, a very quick knit. And because it is due to be felted, mistakes aren't that important. So again, Yippee. There was a slight hiatus in the knit, because Jamieson's had been selling yarn kits based on erroneous gauge info in the book, which meant I was a little short. But Jamieson's came through for me, and sent down, free, enough red to finish making the frog's tongue. And I fudged around a little, making the yarn stretch by switching to a slightly stripy handle. Which I think gives it a manly touch (just to keep his daddy happy, because I am going to have so much fun teasing his daddy about his son's handbag).

(That Jamieson's might also have sent down some other bags of yarn is neither here nor there. But I just got to say, I'm loving the slightly stiff, dense, this is real wool you are working with feel, and the rich depth to the colours of their dk weight.)

So all I have to do is sew up the bag, cross my fingers for the washing machine (front loading felting is such a leap of faith), and then finish that acursed jumper.

And to remember, when discussing homophones with a bunch of 8-11 year olds, not to let them come up with their own. I must be old, not to have realised how hysterically funny we and wee are, let alone Pooh and poo, and to have forgotten quite how piercing the hysterical laughter of 8-11 year olds is. All this in an after school knit club.

(And Susanne - yes, you are so right about using a nice plain, smooth cotton as waste yarn. I really ought to get some one of these days!)