Back in the Swing of Things

Today is my friend Lil's 80th birthday. Happy Birthday to her. She doesn't look 80 and she certainly doesn't act 80! It was only when I was returning home after calling on her first thing this morning that I realised that I had forgotten to photograph her card - never mind - she loved it anyway.

Before I went away on holiday I was in a dilemma about what knitting or crocheting to take with me. There was nothing bland that required minimal extras. So in the end I decided to have a holiday from the woolly stuff.

Amazingly I never missed it! The holiday was so fab that I never gave knitting a thought ( apart from buying a knitting pattern magazine over there!). My fingers never itched for the needles and yarn.

Now that I'm home, I'm back in full swing - refreshed, revived and raring to go!

This week I have finished Amory.

Very pretty, feminine and a great fit.

The pattern is by Kim Hargreaves (as usual). It is called Amory and is from the Heartfelt Collection. I used Sirdar crofter fair isle effect DK yarn - 5 balls in total. The colour changes are more subtle in reverse stocking stitch than in stocking stitch and the overall effect is very pleasing.

I also got round to photographing the tammy I made for Eve. If you can remember, back in June, I was experimenting with fair isle to make a tammy. The first attempt lacked volume! Here is the second version, made for Eve.

Much better. I do intend to write out the pattern but it is so complicated. I have scribbles and arrows and diagrams and cryptic codes that will take a while to decipher and put into a printable pattern - but I'll get there eventually!

Grace now wants me to make a tammy for her. Hopefully re-knitting the pattern will make it easier to transcribe.

I'm still working on the mohair cardi that I am designing. I'm doing this is short sharp blasts as the mohair keeps going up my nose! It's growing quite quickly, back finished, left front started - so should be finished soon.

However, I have strong urges to start some other projects, so this might slow things down.

Oh and I've just remembered, I'm crocheting a cute teddy bear - arms and legs only to go. It's a good job the Open golf is on the television all day long - I have an excellent excuse to sit and get on with things.

Finally, we're hoping to go to the pictures to see Toy Story 3 this week. I've heard that it reduces grown men to tears - there's no hope for me. Grace and Eve have said they are going to put a bag over my head!!