knitting neels

I finished my lacy scarf. Here it is in its blocked glory.

I used a 1.5mm hook and DMC Petra 8 cotton from here. A few things: 1. The little metal cap that goes on my hook? That doesn’t get old. I was really careful to put it into my project bag every time I took it off and miraculously, we survived the project intact. 2. The yarn blocks out wonderfully. It’s almost like silk, it’s so shiny and soft. I don’t think I even used half the ball so that’s pretty good bang for my buck right there. 3. This is Knit’s online service is a thing of beauty. They recently revamped their site and it’s great. I ordered my yarn and hook and they were posted the same day, so I had them the following morning. It’s not quite instant gratification but it’s about as close as you’re going to get by post.

The last time I was in Galway, I picked up some fresh, loose lavender from the market stall that sells olives. Olives are one of the few things I dislike to eat. I’ve given them a fair try, too, eating them fresh in Greece, Italy and Argentina. Yuck. But fresh lavender? Swoon! They gave me a bag and I took what I wanted. It didn’t seem such an enterprising system on their part because, charging by weight, they basically charged me for a bag of air – I got a big bag of it for €2. I have a big wad of scraps so I cut up some squares and made these. Lavender sachets.

I spent a little while yesterday making them up. Very easy. If you have a lavender bush at home, this is an easy project for the summer. I have about a third of my lavender left over so I will make a few more, I think.

Last but not least, here’s a modelled shot of my Wiksten tank.

Fabric: Quilting cotton from Pippa Blue. I bought 1.5m but only needed a little over 1m.

We’ve had some warm weather recently so I have been wearing it a lot with my denim shorts. It is extremely comfortable!

Today was the day I finally got around to taking modelled shots of what I’ve been making lately. I have a lot of projects to share this week!