An Unseasonal Finished Object

So, yeah, daisies in the middle of autumn!

I did most of the crochet for this last spring, when the daisy colours were very apt.
I did the assembly of the parts (ingenious) and the sewing in of most of the ends last summer, and then I started acting up at work and all things crafty took a backseat.
Back in my normal position at work now so I have a bit more free time at my disposal.

One thing I wanted to do was thicken the straps to make them stronger, and that seems to have worked well.

Here is my Daisy Bag then, my version of Inga's Hakelbeutel, which you can look up on Ravelry if you are so inclined.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ingas-hakelbeutel-2

It's made from Rowan Cotton Glace, 1 1/2 balls of the blue, less than one ball of white, yellow and green.

Don't let the time it took me to finish this trick into thinking that I didn't enjoy making it. On the contrary, I thought it was great, and I would gladly make another.

Why, yes, that *is* ladies and gentlemen playing croquet in the background of the middle shot!

I have included a closer shot of the daisy squares as the bright sunshine (believe it or not) is kind of bleaching out the colour in the main shots.
There are more shots of this in progress, such as how it it constructed, in this post from last year.
Daisy bag post last year

I'll use this as a wee project bag I think, certainly until next spring.

And lastly a shout goes out to karie bookish who first brought this pattern to my attention in 2010. x K

Holey moley

A shawlette made from Noro Kureyon Sock Colour S250.

That's all very jolly, but it's got a whopping great hole in it!!!

 I knitted this last summer and it has sat unblocked for ages.
I started with three stitches and increased from there.
I don't know really know why I left it untouched for so long, but after I had soaked it for a short spell and went to rinse it, I saw it had a blinkin' hole in it!

Can you see Toby's face keeking out? (I am Scottish, I say keeking, not peeking. I also say sook not suck, but that's a whole other discussion for a tea shop in Granada at 3am.)

 I don't know what has happened here.
When I was knitting it I was very, VERY conscious of the whole thick> thin going on with the yarn.
Have I just been unlucky that a lot of thin areas have aligned and caused a weak spot?
Is it a splice which has gone wrong (I don't actually remember splicing it TBH.)
Or, worst case scenario, have critters got to it?

 Is this the kind of thing moths would do to a knitted object?
I feel a bit sick of it at the moment and don't imagine myself doing anything at all with it.
If it were feltable I'd blanket-stitch round the hole and make it the centre of a flower or a sunshine or something, but it's superwash, so no joy there.
I may secure it and then put a fancy button or knitted flower or even butterfly over it.
Covering it with a button may also be an option.

 I do remember thinking while I was knitting it, "I'm glad I'm not actually making socks here, the yarn doesn't seem all that durable, but then again my other knitted socks are made from Regia and my
Jaywalkers, for instance, are six years old.

There are some other very weak spots too, likes of near the point.
I may just cut it up and make it into embellishments of some kind.
What do you think?
And what would you do?   x K

Granada shawlette

Without any preamble I'm going to launch into posting to my blog again.

Here are some pictures of a shawlette I made up and knitted in a lovely yarn by Janet Renouf-Miller of Create with Fibre based in Dalmellington. I had bought some of her yarns from the Galloway Craft Guild Shop in Castle Douglas earlier this summer. It's described as a sock yarn, a fairly heavyweight one, I'd say, but as ever I cannot resist sea greens and blues.

I cast this shawlette on on the train between Madrid and Granada, where I was having a study visit. On that train ride I was full of anticipation and a little trepidation wondering what my two weeks in Granada would hold.Well, I had an absolutely WONDERFUL time- I learned so much, met some fantastic people and saw the really beautiful city of Granada from up-close. I knitted bits of this scarfy shawlette while I was there, while I was on the train back to Madrid, and when I got back home.

Every time I wear it I will think of my wonderful experience in Granada, and all the friends I made there.

In a future blog post I'll tell you about how inspired I was by the tile-work of the Alhambra, but for the moment- Granada Shawlette! x K