One FO and one WIP

This bit of unrecognisable nothingness is my lovely new brown scarf. Quick and simple still counts for a Finished Object. It does. What else was I to do, when I bought myself some fabulous brown boots for winter (hmph, they didn't have them in black) but I didn't have anything to match? Almost my entire work wardrobe is black, with maybe some purple. So, a-stash-diving I went, and surfaced with this fabulously soft and squishy Debbie Bliss cashmerino astrakhan. Yes, it's boucle, and I'm not normally a fan, but I bought this at the Shearing Shed moving sale an age ago, for a ridiculously low price, and I knitted it last week into a so, so simple garter stitch scarf. And I love it.

And this...? It's a not very good colour representation of the beginnings of my first Pi shawl. Made in the ultimate of beautiful yarns - Blue Sky Alpacas Melange 100% baby alpaca, bought in a little yarn shopping expedition in New York last year. I love this knitting. It is SO addictive.

Pay it forward - the next steps

OK, Hashi, Becca and Rhonda, you're in!

Hmmm (she says to herself, meditatively rubbing her chin), what little delights will I create for these lovely people?

Stay tuned.

Pay it forward

Way back when, I signed up for Pay It Forward with Bells. At the time, I didn't have a blog, so I couldn't pay it forward myself. Then, when I did make a blog, I was so sure that noone was reading it anyway, that I didn't want to embarrass myself by asking for players, and risking getting no responses. But the weeks and months are moving on and I am well aware of my responsibilities in signing up to play.

I am still pretty sure that my darling family are the only ones who read this blog, and I'm going to plunge in regardless. Sometime in the twelve months from when I signed on, Bells has undertaken to send me something handmade. And now it's my turn. I will send something handmade to the first three people who offer to keep on playing. If it's my sister, or brother, or niece, or a darling daughter or even ma minette, great. If someone else is reading me now and will take on the challenge of paying it forward, great, too. And you know, you can even do this if you're blogless. Just promise me you'll pay it forward by doing something lovely for someone, and asking them to pay it forward too.

Leave a comment if you want to play.

BSJ finished, and not a moment too soon

Well, I was feeling pretty darned pleased with myself. Not only had I finished a project, but it was the much-frogged Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket, and it was for ma minette. Looking at it growing on the needles, I thought 'surely this will fit a 2 year old, not my little minette'. Then I cast off, flipped it magically into shape, sewed on some very cute buttons, and there it was...my first BSJ. And it looked to be just the right size. My, my, I was pleased. (Well, except for those pick up ridges, but I have read a few ravelry hints on how to deal with those next time.) It was knit in yarn that was grown, spun and dyed in Cowra. Not only cute, but local too.But then, I hadn't quite remembered that babies grow. Too quickly. Yes, it's a little snug on ma minette. Not too tight, but just a little snug.But I don't think she minds too much. It will keep her warm and looking quite pretty too, n'est-ce pas?

We had a lovely day playing at Nettie's. Do you think she'll be a knitter?