..uh oh!

I was tiding up in the sewing room early yesterday morning and came across some long neglected knitting.

It wasn't long before I remembered why it had been set aside.

N did volunteer to melt it back together - I said there was no flame going anywhere near the knitting! Luckily a quick trip to the the yarn store for a better quality needle and cable and some sticky tape saved the day!

...still knitting

The version of the Honey Cowl most recently cast on has so far not suffered any of the earlier technical difficulties as the numerous earlier versions.

Nevertheless it is suffering from a lack of time spent working it - I am really looking forward to having the finished product around my neck but the act of stitching it again and again is leading to a little less enjoyment.

The socks are also marching forward - I'm still not quite finished the first of the pair - the Kitchener bind off as me caught in the headlights a little but I am sure it wont be as bad as I fear when I get to it. The second sock is well under way - because of the self-striping in the yarn this one will look quite different to the first. I'm hoping to get four socks from them skein and will then end up with two pairs with two matching socks. 

...knitting

As the season is changing my thoughts have turned a few times to knitting. Over the last little while I have been trying to remember if I learnt to knit or sew first. I can't. I remember learing to cross stitch when I was about 8 or 9 and I am sure I knew how to machine sew and knit before that but try as I might I can't put the arrival of these implemements in a better time context than that.

I am almost 100% sure these were given to me by my Grandma, as opposed to my Nan, which is a little strange because Nan is the 'knitter' and Grandma is the weaver, spinner, gardener and general tryer of many things (must be where my craft and home skills ADD comes from). I'm also almost certain that it was actually Mum that taught me the basics and I know it was her that had to fix all the mistakes cause I'm still not confident with the unpicking side of things when it comes to yarn stitches. I do know this was my first 'kit' of yarn tools.

Over the years I've chosen sewing more often than knitting and I have not developed any skills at all in crochet. I don't really have the patience to hand knit a garment - takes too long and I too easily loose my place. With some thought I could probably list everything I've ever finished knitting, a few scarves, some baby socks that I had to start again from scratch everytime I made a mistake (see unpicking issues) and one jumper, sweater for all the Americans with very fat wool and needles. I did this one in four days/sittings (front, back, sleeves - see losing my place issues). There was also that sock effort that was abandoned last year and the yarn sent of to Mum for completion.

None of this has put me off completely and I'm planning the Honey Cowl and a pair of Pom Pom Peds this winter. Never mind that this is the umpteenth cast on of the Honey Cowl and I am trying to convince myself I don't actually need to pull it off the needles and start yet again to fix the pattern repeat issues. The bit that really cuts me about this is I acutally finished it earlier this year and something went wrong with the casting off and it all fell apart.

I've tucked this aside for the peds - along with the hope the bamboo needles are a little more friendly and this lot does not have to be sent on to Mum as well.

...of the weekend

Lots of sewing and a little (unphotographed) sewing and baking.

Nothing finished though so no pretty and polished pictures to show. How about some unfinished and unpolished progress ones instead?
 At the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild Sit and Sew day the first of the cogs for Nik's Cogsmo Cog and Wheel Quilt that I cut out at the last SASD. It was all going well until I sewed on the background  and it all went out of shape. I think I may have got some of the 5 and 5R pieces around  the wrong way. I'll work it out after I've unpicked a few stitches...

And because I haven't got enough projects on the go I started sewing some strip sets for the Postage Stamp Quilt-Along hosted by Rachel I missed but bought the supplies for in January.

Fabric: Giddy by Sandy Gervis

And I cast on some socks, inspired by some on sale wool with a pattern on the band and out cold temperatures last week. I have got this far and it seems a bit beyond my limited knitting abilities so I am keeping this one to keep trying at and sending the other ball for the second pair to Mum to finish. When she visits in another couple of weeks she might get this one too :)

I have made some great progress on the bakery project. Ready for basting and quilting. I have plans for the latter that are a little different than other projects featured on that site.