two of a kind

So far, February has been, you know, a bit Januaryish… I feel like I’m stuck in some Groundhog Day of rain, job applications and people being ill at me. Rah, roll on halfterm and Orkney!

I finished the Song of the Sea cowl for a friend. I really want woolly waves of my own now, and am eyeing up a particularly fetching collection of sea-coloured mini skeins that I bought at Yarndale in October (but can’t be othered to get off my arse and photograph).

(100g, 400m)

On the bright side, I got carried away last week and started another blanket. What can I say? I like blankets. This one is made of Shetland wool. I like Shetland wool, so I think it’s win-win. Here it is, as a work in progress, in the patch of sunlight that’s suddenly appeared on the windowsill, hurrah!

I made a quick and easy pair of fingerless gloves as a Random Act of Crafting Gift. There was a moment when I thought this gift was going to lead to impulse yarn purchasing, as the recipient tends towards a very different palette of colours to my usual, but then I found a lurking ball of Mini Mochi in colours so unlike me that I can’t think how I ever came by it (note to self: must try new colours in 2014). I can’t decide whether the mismatched colour sequences are a charming quirk or an irritating flaw, but there wasn’t enough yarn in one ball to match.

(50g/ 200m)

I also finished off these rainbow fairisle gloves. I was having a bit of second glove syndrome with these after the number of ends I had to darn in on the first one, but now they’re done I’m quite in love with them.

(50g/ 200m)

These don’t match either, due to the erratic hand-dyed yarn. Different coloured thumbs, horrors!

More gratuitous glove shots, because, honestly, what is lovelier than well blocked fairisle in hazy winter sunshine?

And I’m not the only one who’s been knitting. For some reason, my darling daughters have revived their long abandoned knitting projects, and are having a “Scarf Race”. Small girl, on the left, appears to be in the lead, probably due to all the days she’s spent coughing on the sofa lately.

*The latest total for Stashdown 2014 is 910g/ 3290m knitted/ gifted.