I made it!!!
It got a bit boring now and then but once you've started, it's so easy that you can do it without needing to count or measure. I soon learned to recognise whether I was on an increase row or a follow-up by the shape of the stitch at the increase places. I made a few mistakes which show to the experienced eye but I hope they do not detract too much. Anyway I only discovered them when it was too late to turn back.
I bougt a 100cm addi turbo circular from Kangaroo, thinking it would do the job but, I ended up spending so much time squeezing the knitting around the needle that I trawled the net for a longer one. I ended up with a 200cm addi turbo from www.kcgtrading.com ( Knitting and Crochet Guild).
I have spent decades knitting without addi turbos. Why did I take so long to discover them? What am I going to do with all the shoddier needles that I own?


The pattern for the blanket was illustrated with a load of tiny pompoms sewn around the edge but I couldn't face making the necessary hundreds so I cast off using a "frilled cast off" method from Montse Stanley's book. I find "The Knitters Handbook "is a worthwhile investment. I learned to knit before I went to school and once I could read I taught myself to follow patterns but I never learned all those little tricks and finishes. This book has all of them.
I surfed the net for that illusive equation that allows you to leave just enough yarn to cast off with. Eventually I came to the conclusion that 4x the last row is good enough so I doubled it for the frilled cast off and then added a bit more. I ended up with a tail of less than three metres which wasn't bad seeing as I started with a ball of 200gm of 4ply baby wool which could have been well over half a mile in length.


I've done a close up of the finish here. It blocked out really well and drapes beautifully. The baby is due in August in Australia so I shall have plenty of time to pack it up in tissue and send it off.
I'm waiting for an insurance assessor to come next Thursday and check out the broken spinning wheel and the packaging it came in. Once they have been I can see whether I can do anything to fix it at all. I'm not too good with tools but I'll have a go. One of the things I have to do is remove the hub pin so that I can get the wheel off to see if it can be re-glued in any way.
Any advice would be most welcome.

Cheers to all Gillian

Got Rid of the Blues

I have a penchant for 4ply. I like the less bulky. So, I bought some lovely, light blue 4ply cotton to knit a summer top.
That was six weeks ago and in the mean time the cotton has been the makings of three jumpers. I have not liked any of them. It has not knitted up smoothly and I think that I need to consider a smaller needle than that recommended but I certainly don't want to do that now. I have now decided to "bag" it all away and find it again one or two years later in the eternal stash.
Even the needles have gone away with it because not only do I have a pair of needles in grey metal, faux tortoiseshell and anodised in every size needed, my mother has the same again and tried for the third time to give me her collection three days ago.
but I needed something new to knit so..... Sue and Isabelle gave me Bloke the bear and he certainly agrees with the new project..
It was a bit tricky getting started with three needles and five stitches! After three goes I cheated and cast on on a straight needle and knitted it until I had ten stitches and then placed them into 3/3/4/. New row hits in when the four pattern section comes up. After a while there were enough stitches to fit onto a circular needle. I am still pulling all the stitches to the start and then joining them to the finish of the last row with a loop in the needle but the circular is now filling up and the routine of the pattern is easy once it has been established.
I think I probably twisted one of the original needles and so the pattern at the centre is not as daisified as it is meant to be but I'm happy with it so I will knit on.

I shal be taking my mother's friends to the hospital tomorrow because some serious tests need doing so I will be glad to have this baby-banket with me.

Cheers for now Gillian