11 in 11 Update

Well, it's been quiet around here lately. I've been blogging sporadically here and knitting has been happening which I'll try and get onto the blog. But first 11 in 11. As I'm sure you've guessed from the silence at the end of 2011 I didn't manage to complete all of the planned projects. I've continued with the list into this year so a quick round up is in order.

Baby Surprise Jacket #1 Finished, blogged and delivered.

Tiny Tea Leaves #2 Finished, blogged and delivered.

Poppy #3 Finished, blogged, still waiting for a home.

February Baby Sweater #4 Finished, blogged and sent to a new home, complete with matching socks.

Baby Yours #5 Finished, blogged and delivered to this little chap. 

Kusha Kusha #6 Knitting finished, blocked, still needs the ends weaving in.

Alhambra #7 Still on the needles with zero progress.

Pomatomus #8 Waiting to be pulled out and reknit - tension too loose. 

Baby Mine #9 Finished, delivered but still to be blogged.

Girasole #10 Finished, waiting to be blogged.

Anemoi #11 Still waiting to be started.

As I did so well on last years challenge I decided not to set one for myself this year. I'm still trying to use stash yarns and the remaining 11 in 11 projects are still on the knitting list and hopefully might be finished by the end of 2012! 

Slow Going

Well 11 in 11 has gone from ticking along nicely to very slow going. Some progress is being made but not nearly enough if I'm going to manage to reach the finishing line.

Baby Surprise Jacket #1

Tiny Tea Leaves #2

Poppy #3

February Baby Sweater #4

Baby Yours #5

Kusha Kusha #6

Alhambra #7

Pomatomus #8

Baby Surprise Jacket, Tiny Tea Leaves, Poppy and February Baby Sweater are all finished.

Baby Yours has been knit and block and just waits to be seamed.

Kusha Kusha has been finished and blocked, I'm just waiting for it to dry so that I can weave ends and declare it completed.

Alhambra has passed the half way mark but remains stalled as I have to concentrate while knitting it. A concerted effort on this would see it done in a week.

I have been knitting Pomatomus on the tube and have reached the foot on sock one. I have 2 more weeks of tube travel before Christmas and hope to get sock one finished and a good portion of the second leg done.

Baby Mine is the last of the started projects and at the moment is one almost complete sleeve. This will be going with me to Spain and a couple of airport waits, flights and nights away on my own will (fingers crossed) see the back of this project broken.

And that just leaves projects 10 and 11. I had planned these to be Anemoi (a pair of stranded colourwork mittens) and Girasol (a circular lace shawl). While finishing the cast on projects this year is a possibility I'm pretty sure I'd need a thirteenth month to add completed Anemoi and Girasol to them. While my rules would allow substitution of a simpler pattern it feels a bit like cheating as I'd always planned to include Girasol in the years knitting. The most important knits will be finished - baby garments for imminent arrivals - and if they others don't quite make it ...

Ticking Along Nicely

With the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally fast approaching I've finally cast on some yarn I purchased there three years ago!

These are both 11 in 11 projects as the patterns have been queued for longer than I've had the yarn. And with these 2 projects well under way that puts me in a better position for hitting my target than I'd previously thought. I thought I had 6 more projects to cast on for but it turns out I only need 4 more. 7 + 4 = 11 right? right? someone please tell me I'm right!

February Baby Sweater

Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February) by Elizabeth Zimmerman from Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Pine Over Gold
Needles: 3.75mm circular
Cast on: June 2011
Cast off: September 2011

This has been on my want to knit list for quite a while. This version by Brooklyn Tweed sent me off to Amazon to buy Knitter's Almanac just so that I could knit one too. I then kind of freaked out that as a fairly novice knitter I couldn't follow the pattern. Fast forward a few years and this was a no brainer inclusion on the 11 in 11 list.

I used a stashed yarn, Sundara Yarns sock yarn in Pine over Gold (coincidentally a similar yarn and colour to BT's version). The yarn was a little crunchy and rough whilst I was working with it, which was unexpected as previous colourways that I'd used were lovely and soft. Once the cardigan was finished I blocked it using Eucalan and it softened up nicely.

I took this project on holiday with me, knitting happily away on the plane to and from Guernsey, neither security nor stewards batting an eye. The pattern is well written and I found it easy to follow. However, in my usually fashion I managed to sabotage myself. In this case when I switched from the garter stitch yolk to the gull stitch body I was so busy concentrating on the lace pattern that I kept forgetting to knit the first and last few stitches to form a garter stitch button band. I also forgot to start adding button holes, which is why this version only has two, slightly randomly placed, buttonholes. I've made a big note on the pattern so that next time I will remember to add button holes!

All in all I'm pretty pleased with how this project worked out. I like the strong colour combined with the openness of the lace and after it's bath the yarn has a softness that will be perfect next to a baby's cheek.

Blocking

I finally got around to blocking the next two 11 in 11 projects today. With any luck (and by luck I mean if I don't distract myself) they should be completed with buttons and all this weekend.

Pink Poppy

Pattern: Poppy by Justine Turner
Needles: 4.5mm bamboo, 3.25mm circular
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in 300021
Cast on: 26 August 2011
Cast off: 28 August 2011

This was a nice quick knit. The pattern was well written and easy to follow. The yarn is cashmerino aran which I've used lots and is always nice to knit with. If I made this again I would look at the slipped stitches. The pattern says not to knit them but I don't like how noticeable they are on the finished hat. With a more tweedy or variegated yarn they may have been less obvious so that could be worth a try.

This is the third finished 11 in 11 project. There are a couple more than are knit but need seaming or blocking. Having said that I will need to get a bit of a wriggle on to hit my December deadline, especially as Jared Flood's Girasole is on the list! I'm glad I've got a lot of baby projects in the 11 as several friends have bumps. I should be able to hand out appropriately coloured hand knits once the babies arrive.

Tea with the Queen

Yarn: Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino DK Shade 0001 (light pink)
Rowan Pure Wool DK Shade 00042 (dark pink)
Needles: 4mm and 4.5mm bamboo
Pattern: Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi
Cast on: January 2011
Cast off: February 2011

I've had this pattern in my queue for quite a while and as I had some lovely pink Sublime yarn in the stash it was ideal for 11 in 11. The yarn was lovely and soft and a joy to work with. The pattern was well written with interesting shaping and patterning at the start before speeding through stockinette to the finish. I put shorter sleeves on as I didn't have enough yarn for the full length ones. The buttons on this cardigan came from the stash. Originally from Duttons for Buttons a fantastic shop in Harrogate that I can never resist when I'm working there. Well it is only 2 doors away from the theatre and like a treasure trove!



The resulting cardigan was so cute that I couldn't help but knit it again for the older of my 2 god daughters. This did mean breaking the no new yarn rule though but I think it was worth it to have 2 little ladies decked out in fantastic cardigans. The buttons for this darker cardigan came from the stash too, the rest of the set having been used on the Pink, Pink, Pink cardi from last year.





They like them so much that they picked them to wear when they went to see the Queen! You can't ask for more than that.

11 in 11

I've seen a few variations on this Ravelry with people pledging to knit 11 shawls or sweaters or pairs of socks in 2011. While I would love to knit myself 11 sweaters by the end of the year I know that this just wouldn't happen. It would be at least 2 full time jobs worth of knitting time and I'd need 2 full time jobs to fund that quantity of yarn! I'm also continuing last years pledge of using up my stash and there isn't really enough of any one yarn to knit me a sweater.

The Aim

:: Knit 11 items in 2011

The Rules

:: The yarn has to come from the stash
:: The pattern has to be one I've wanted to knit for a while
:: I have to finish before midnight December 31st 2011

I have put a group of patterns into my queue on Ravelry that are contenders. They are a mixture of lace, cables, baby sweaters, shawls and so on all of which could be made from the stash. There are more than 11 items on the list so that I can choose what I fancy as the year goes on and I see how much work/free time that I have.



One down, ten to go!

Baby Surprise Jacket

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket from Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton in 907 (deepest olive) and 900 (antique)
Needles: 4mm bamboo circular
Cast on: January 2011
Cast off: January 2011



This is another of the kids kits that I put together last year and the first of my 11 in 11. I went away for a couple of days over New Year and grabbed this to keep me going on the train and in front of the telly. The pattern has been in my queue for a really long time. In fact I bought the book in July 2007 after seeing this version by Brooklyn Tweed.



The yarn had also been in the stash for a long time, since 2005 I think. I had planned to make a Handsome Hound but never quite got around to it. Since I sold the Lucinda Guy book that the pattern is in two years ago it is unlikely to get made now!



As I had a limited amount of yarn available; 2 balls of antique and 1 of deepest olive; I decided to make the jacket striped. 4 rows of white then 2 of green. I had intended to knit this without any alterations as it is the first time I have knit this pattern. However, I did end up making 2 small adaptations. Firstly when told to knit 10 bumps (2 rows of garter stitch = 1 bump) across the center section I only did 9. This was to keep the stripes correct. The other alteration was to pick up stitches around the neck, knit a row and then cast off. This was to neaten the neck up and to make it match the front edges. The buttons again came from Franklins in Salisbury.



Having knit this pattern once I can understand why people return to it time and again. I have a feeling that this will not be the last BSJ that turns up here!