knitting neels

Last week was a busy one but in the nicest way possible – Alb and I got engaged! Yay! He actually popped the question Friday before last, when we were in Kinsale for the day. Much of last week was spent looking for a ring; now I just have to wait a few weeks for some tweaks and we’ll be good to go. Although, I must say I have been enjoying telling people and then showing them my left hand. (Sorry, guys).

My knitting on our road trip was this alpaca cardigan from Drops. It’s a really straight forward knit – lots of mindless stockinette with a few bits of shaping thrown in to keep your attention. The only problem for me was that my mind was elsewhere most of the weekend and I totally forgot to work in the buttonholes. It was a bit of a slog until I divided for the armholes and then it really started motoring along. I got most of a sleeve worked up yesterday.

The instructions include a nice bell shaping for the cuffs. I like the shape but it’s not very practical for me. I end up dipping it in everything or it gets caught in every door handle I pass. So I skipped that bit and cast on the number of stitches it specifies directly after the shaping.

I have also been ploughing away at Audrey. I got both sleeves done and am on the button bands. It was pretty cumbersome to bring along with me in the car so I am only really getting back to it today.

I really love the texture of the ‘bib’. The yarn, Debbie Bliss’s Amalfi, helps that a lot too.

The only thing that concerns me is that it is working up to be a bit floppy. I suppose I expected that but perhaps I should have anticipated it better and knit a size smaller. I think I will try throwing it in the tumble dryer to tighten up the fabric when I’m finished.

I got a bit bored with knitting at the weekend so I started a project I’ve been meaning to get stuck into for a while – a linen hexagon bathmat. I found the pattern via Ravelry to Pierrot, a Japanese craft site. Here’s a direct link to the pdf. The written instructions are in Japanese but the diagrams are very clear.

The yarn is Lin from Drops, their 100% linen yarn. It is just like the other linen I used before. Maybe a bit shinier. I hope it fluffs up like the other stuff, too. That’s all my World Cup knitting for now. I hope to finish off both cardigans by the finals!

I haven’t even started on my Tour de Fleece spinning yet but I know Eimear and Laura have. I have a crazy idea but I don’t know if it will work. I am going to practice and see about it later. Will keep you posted.