Some FOs

Not as many as originally intended, but I have decided that finishing off UFOs and WIPs is boring! Pictures are the two projects I enjoyed knitting, my Artyarns socks and the Clapotis.
Here is sock no. 2 with the tube part finished. Knitted from the toe (on the left!) upwards to the castoff (on the right!). You should just be able to see the 32 stitches of waste yarn on 2/3rds of a row where the heel will be inserted:

Then I went back and inserted the DPNs on either side of the waste yarn:

The waste yarn is then removed, and all you have to do is knit round and round on the DPNs for the heel, decreasing as you go. See. Easy! ;-)

Yes, I know this finished shot is dreadful, but I read on someone else's blog (can't remember whose now) about taking photos of socks with your feet in the air, so thought I'd give it a try. Would probably have worked better a bit earlier on when the light was better. Or I could just get Mum to take a photo of me wearing them! The garter stitch castoff cuff is a little loose on both of them. I don't think it will matter, although I have thought about redoing that part with ribbing. But I like the texture of the garter stitch there...

Below is Clapotis, after blocking. I love my Clapotis - very good for wrapping round sore throats to make them better (it is now, thank you, although I'm still a little lacking in umph and didn't make it to Knit Lincs yesterday.).

Meanwhile, Pretty in Variegated Purple (PVP) is STILL waiting for me to sew the ribbon on the front. Yes, I bought the ribbon a fortnight ago and it requires a TEENSY TINY amount of sewing to attach it. But I haven't got round to it yet.
Similarly with the Feed the Children baby jumper. I finished the 2nd sleeve yesterday and am now doing the collar so it's on the verge of being finished. But I LOATHE 1 x 1 ribbing, which is why it's stalled...

I WANT TO START SOMETHING NEW!

So, you see, instead of getting on with PVP/the jumper I have been lounging around reading Scarf Style and flicking through my new copy of Rowan 38. Ooooh yes, I've just won a year's membership of Rowan International! :-) It was one of the competitions in Simply Knitting a while ago, and the second one I'd won so it's well worth entering!

This morning I went to renew my Young Person's Railcard for the last time. You can renew it any day up to your 26th birthday, and the man very kindly gave me on extra day (as my birthday isn't until Tuesday but I won't be able to get to the station to renew it tomorrow). This is very SCARY though. My last ever YP railcard. Old age is just around the corner. GULP. And full price train tickets. GULP. Oh well. In 34 years I'll be able to have a Senior Railcard...

I have been very jealously reading everyone else's posts about Ally Pally, although I'm kind of relieved I didn't go, as I'd never have been well enough to enjoy it this week. Roll on Harrogate! In the meantime, enjoy the pics and descriptions on the following blogs:

• All Tangled Up
• And All That Stash
• Knitter Natter
• Lixie Knits It
• Skein
• The Wool Palace
• Woolly Warbler

Thank you to blueadt for advice about getting the cat to catch the mouse! Unfortunately it didn't work as he just made even more noise than normal. In the end we caught the mouse with a humane trap and let it go in the field behind the house (where we think it originally came from, before it was frightened indoors by the grass being cut!).

To raise funds for Harrogate (yummy yummy yarn) I've just listed some more stuff on ebay. Please go and take a look (and bid large amounts of money!).

Right, now, should I go and sew the ribbons on PVP or should I start something new. Hmm...