Stepped puncetto - finished

I got the stepped edge piece of puncetto finished. The edges are tricky to work and I wasn't sure it would work, but I am happier with the result than I expected to be. For my next project I have a pattern for a huge picture with a peacock - straight edges this time.



All three together!

I finally managed to get a photo of all three cats together.

Beekeeper's progress

Having been feeling unwell lately I've been sticking to small projects and making hexiflats (unstuffed puffs). These are from one ball of Noro Kureyon sock yarn - I still have about a quarter of the ball left. I'm hoping I will be able eventually to create an impressionistic garden with drifts of coloured flowers interspersed with green. The long and gradual colour changes seem to work well.



The garden in autumn

There used to be a quarterly radio programme entitled "The Countryside in Autumn" (or other season) which I always enjoyed. This is just my garden in autumn - the nasturtiums are on a bid for world domination!

The leaves are starting to colour and drop already - early this year.



Life is Perfect!

Sunny doesn't often stay long enough on any soft surface to fall properly asleep.



End of season flowers

I went out into my autumnal garden to see what was still flowering and found this rather bedraggled dahlia.

A tired hydrangea.



And some michaelmas daisies.

Why is it

that a cat who is looking oh so cute right up to the moment when you reach for the camera will suddenly decide that now is the moment for a really good wash?



Feeling seedy

I've been feeling very seedy for the last couple of weeks so have been making almost no progress with any of my projects. So I have started one of my regular standbys - I call it fancy rib scarf but I have seen the pattern called farrow rib. The yarn is manos del Uruguay.

Cardigan - side joined and sleeve started

Here is the side seam joined with a three needle bind off.

There is still an opening at the bottom of this section which can now be sewed up.

Here you see the side seam, and the bottom section sewn together. At the right is the back, then one section of the side/front, then the other. You can see how the side/front sections get narrower towards the bottom because of the short rows.



Coldest summer for 18 years

This was the spring in my garden. But then we had a miserable summer. I thought maybe I just feel the cold more these days so I was quite reassured to learn that it was actually the coldest summer for 18 years.



My sink is full of muddy paw prints!

Sunny hates the cold so is getting bored inside instead of playing in the garden. Her latest discovery is the fascination of a running tap. Getting wet is apparently not a problem.

Lovely!

I've been in bed for some days with a wretched feverish cold that just won't go away - so these are meant to be cheerful.

These are all beautiful. They look and feel wonderful - so should I really tell you they are actually artificial! (As my husband and I are both asthmatic it is the only way we can have cut flowers indoors.)



Her favourite food!

Sunny, making it clear that she really likes this cat food!

Haven't her eyes turned a beautiful rich gold!

Cardigan - short rows worked

Here is the section with the short rows finished. As the yarn is so dark I have placed markers to let me see where the wrapped stitches are. The next stage is to work across knitting the wraps with their stitches.



Looking back to the start of summer

The weather this month has been miserable so I was looking at some photos I took in the garden at the start of summer - when the weather actually looked quite promising.

Blackberry flowers - the crop was a bit of a disappointment when it arrived.



Cardigan -Side started

Here is the side worked to the point where the short rows start.

Aran cardigan

I noticed that my husband had pulled this from the cupboard to keep him warm at the computer. I made it before I was married - which makes it over 30 years old! The thing I remember about knitting it was that as I finished the back I realised one cable right down the bottom of the back was crossed the wrong way. To the horror of friends, I ripped back and started again - I was a process knitter even way back then!



Lacey cat scarf - finished

Here is the first half of the scarf finished. I always love the huge difference blocking makes to lace - you'd be hard put to know there is a lace pattern in there at this stage!

Autumn

The weather has turned very autumnal and the garden is following suit.

I was trying to get a good photo of Sunny, but she was very uncooperative - this is the best I managed!



Her first collar!

Doesn't Sunny look grown up in her first collar and tag!



Waistcoat - finished

I've got the waistcoat finished and the oil washed out of the yarn - it was a coned industrial yarn. The cashmere is gloriously soft. I am wearing it under my cardigan as I type and it is lovely and warm.

You can see here how leaving the wraps of the wrapped stitches from the short rows on the back - not knitting them together with the wrapped stitch - makes a little feature line up the armhole.

And this is the back. The instructions were to knit the edging and then sew it in place, but instead I knitted it onto the stitches of the back - which I had left live instead of casting off. As I was a little concerned it might be a bit wide across the back of the neck, I knit 3 together instead of two together when joining at a few places across the back.



Cardigan Back - in place

Amy Miller's Dockside cardigan with the back finished and joined to the ribbing with a three needle bind-off.

Here is where it joins the neck.

And here I have picked up for the left side and sleeve section.  You can see the bound off stitches at the bottom and the way the pick-up goes up the ribbing and down the side of the back. Even as an experienced knitter I found it hard to visualise how this would work out from the instructions so had to follow slavishly - something I rarely do!

I am posting so much detail about this cardigan because it is quite tricky and I thought some step-by-step photos might be a help to someone!

Waistcoat progress

Here is the left front of the waistcoat joined to the back. I decided to do a three needle bind-off for the shoulder. The edging stitches remain live as I will knit on the edging across to the centre of the back from both sides.



Traffic Jam!

Several times a day I hear and unhappy clattering at the cat flap and get up to find that two cats have come face to face, one wanting in, the other out. Neither is ever willing to let the other go first and I have to break the deadlock by opening the door. Imagine if this was what happened at road junctions!

Frilly Scarf

Having come to the conclusion that I am unlikely to get my daughter's cardigan finished this month, I decided to make it into a Christmas present. Instead, I got a ball of Frilly by Schachenmayr smc and started a scarf yesterday.

I was intrigued by this type of yarn, but it is not exactly knitting as I normally think of it. That said, I can see it would probably be easier if I normally held my yarn in my left hand - I don't.

I doubt if I will be buying another ball - but it is interesting to try once - and my daughter will like it. I wonder if this scarf will get pinched - I have had to make several replacement scarves and hats for her down the years as she has had the original stolen - now is that a form of flattery I wonder!

And here it is finished - on only the second day - now there's a quick knit! It is actually lovely and soft, and I like the silver thread that runs along the bottom edge of the 'yarn'.