Temptation

I'm about halfway through the Stasis jersey I've been working on in dribs and drabs for months. It will be lovely when it's finished (fingers crossed), but right now it's at the endless-rounds-of-plain-stockingette stage. And true to form, I'm obsessing over what else I want to make soon! I love the choosing colours + yarn + other variables stage of a new project - Mum say it's the fun part, and I totally agree.

Here are a few of the patterns I'm dreaming of while I slog through my slow work-in-progress... :p

A new shawl design, suitable for homesick Wellingtonians (I want to make one in sky-blue):

Oriental Bay by Sue Schreuder

A cute sheepy cardigan (I'm mulling over various neutral shades):

Angry Sheep Cardigan by Pinneguri

A nice practical knitted top (in either golden or red sock yarn):

Park Slope by Laura Aylor

A graphic shawl (I have the perfect vermillion merino/silk yarn):

Antarktis by KallioKnits

And some cute wee bunnies for Easter:

Henry's Bunny by Sara Elizabeth Kellner

The end of the arrow

My Follow Your Arrow shawl is finished, and looking very fancy indeed. :)

It's nice and big, which I appreciate in a shawl because I like having a lot of fabric to drape around my neck...

I followed Ysolda's how-to video for the bind-off, as it was a new method for me. It was nice and easy, and stretchy enough for something that needs to be blocked out. I'll probably use it again on my next lacy shawl.
I'm enjoying Ysolda's new 'Technique Thursday' posts on her blog - I've learned a few new tricks including these amazingly simple little tips.

So here it is, a Follow Your Arrow shawl with options 1B, 2A, 3B, 4B, and 5A, in Vintage Purls Sock yarn. My coin-flips resulted in a very pretty flow of lace patterns. Lucky me!

Triumph!

My epic crocheted rainbow blanket is finished, and it's amaaaazing!

It took me exactly two weeks, including two days worth of pompom edging. The blankie came out a good size (about 1.2 metres per side), so it'll be a great lap-blanket in winter.

Dad took a bunch of photos to commemorate the occasion...

Weaving in the last few ends

Close-up of the bobble edge

Ta-daaa!

Naturally I had to go and pose with it in the garden, despite everything being wet from the rain. Here it is, with a short human for scale:

And then things got a little silly... ;)

Sword Blanket swallowing!

Looks like it's fluttering away...

The birth of a blanket

My Ravellenics Rainbow Blankie is well underway! Once I changed my mind a few times about whether to start with red or white, it's been speedy mindless crochet all the way. :)

Day 1, with sorbet

Day 2, with chillies and basil

Day 3 (thanks Willie!), with decorations

Day 4, with solar lanterns

I think I'm roughly halfway through now. Amazing for four days' worth! I'm going to take a break from it today and work on my Follow Your Arrow shawl, since the final 'clue' came out yesterday. I'm dying to find out how it ends...

Rainbows over Ravelry

Coinciding with the Summer and Winter Olympics, it's a Ravelry tradition to craft something challenging while the games are on. Crafters enter the Ravellenic Games alone or in teams, competing against themselves to finish their project before the end of the closing ceremonies. This year, because the Winter Olympics are being held in Russia, many of us are crafting rainbow-themed projects to raise awareness and as a gentle protest against Russia's new anti-human-rights laws.

My plan is to make a big crocheted blanket, in concentric rounds alternating between rainbow colours and natural white wool. I'll arrange the rainbow colours in a gradient, splicing in each new colour as the previous one runs out:

Colour amounts not to scale!

I'm probably mad to attempt making a whole blanket in two weeks, but this is supposed to be a challenge, right? :)

The rainbow-coloured yarn is Prism Organic DK from Skeinz, mostly leftovers from making Rowan's Tetris scarf. The natural white is Norway 8ply from Morris & Sons.

The pattern I'll be using is the Op-Art Afghan Square, expanded to one giant square. I used the same pattern last year to make a tree-cosy for Yarn Corner's 'Royal Granny Parade' project. Sadly, many of our tree-cosies were removed by dastardly vandals before I could see them myself, including my one. Ah well, that's yarn bombing... I did get to see photos though! They're all on Facebook here and here.

This one's mine - thanks Bali for the photos. I hope my blankie will have better luck...