WIP Wednesday (On a Thursday...)

Time seemed to get away from me yesterday, but a date late isn't that bad, right? Especially when I have lots to show you! :D

First up is progress on the squares - I've decided a 6x6 layout is best as it's a preemie blanket. I've only got 9 squares left to go... I'll be sad when they're done as they're so fun! (Pattern from Bella Coco)

I won't be at a loss for crochet squares for long though! The lovely Emily at The Loopy Stitch has asked me to test crochet her new cushion pattern and I couldn't be more excited! It's a lovely pattern with step-by-step photos to guide you along the way and the cushion is so pretty! I've chosen my yarns - what do you think?

Finally, some Christmas knitting! I can't believe it's time to start gift knitting again - where did this year go?
Not going to say much about this one... never know who reads the blog, after all! :P

I'm sensing a theme at the moment - all my projects are pink!!
Are there any colours you're gravitating towards at the moment?

WIP Wednesday: Colour Blocking

Despite the autumnal hues outside my window, I've not been able to shake off the pink and purple yarns in my project basket just yet!

I finished off the last of the preemie cardigans - love the purple almost as much of the pink! (I think I just like the ombre effect!)

This week's project is thanks to Bella Coco... I watched her tutorial and now I'm hooked! (Pun totally intended!)

I've been churning them out whilst watching TV in the evenings - perfect now the season is really in full swing! Nothing better than curling up with hot tea, a warm quilt and the latest WIP!

I feel a case of start-itis brewing though... Christmas will be here soon so there are presents to start, and walking to work in the morning is cold so I'm feeling the need for some fingerless mitts... Hmm... plenty of ideas brewing!

What's on your needles/hook at the moment?

Wishful Wednesday...

This is what my life looks like at the moment! Full of life's little lovelies - reading good books, good magazines, drinking cups of hot chocolate, and a bit of knitting...

Okay, a lot of knitting.

Which is why this isn't your usual WIP Wednesday post - I've been completing more than I've been starting! I still have this pair of socks on the needles and they haven't gotten any bigger because I've been working on other things, and I'm pretty sure knitting doesn't grow unless you work on it. (Unless someone has come up with magic knitting needles? If you know if someone has invented those yet, let me know in the comments!)

But that's all there is! I'm thinking I need to start some new projects... you know, just so I have something to blog about... and also because my head is brimming with projects that I want to make. A couple of hats, some fingerless gloves, some preemie knits, innocent smoothie hats, and I may dig out some of my quilt projects just for good measure.

Where to begin? Stay tuned :)

It's Finished!

A basket of ends can only mean one thing...

Okay, so I know I would usually wait for a WIP Wednesday or FO Friday or some other fun alliterative title, but LOOK!!!
It's finished! It's finished! It's finished!

 I'm so pleased with how this has turned out! It took forever, but considering I made it up as I went along, I think the end product is quite nice, don't you?

It's another one for the hospice, as all the materials are from the Knit-A-Soc stash, with a few additions. From what I purchased, there is some of the grey left over, and a couple of pinks, so I can see a matching winter hat and glove set in my future... a nice reminder of the blanket!
This is definitely a pattern to remember for the future, as it was easy to grow attached to it as hexagon by hexagon was added...

...and the finished blanket came into being!

Ravelry project page HERE.
Join as you go technique from Attic24 HERE.

WIP Wednesday: Catching Up!

People, I'm on a mission! This summer is the summer of WIPs.
I've had a growing mountain of projects, and they have been all been vying for my attention. It's been difficult to choose what to work on! So, I'm working through them one by one, and hopefully by the autumn I'll have a lovely little pile of FOs to show for it.

I've been working on a shawl...

...which may or may not get turned into a pattern! I have a few patterns in the works at the moment, just waiting for the right time to publish them. Hopefully one or two will be out soon! :)

See these? Yep - that blanket is still in progress! These are the last circles... they need just one more round each and then they can get attached to the blanket... then some half-hexies, and a border, and the end is in sight!!

Now... I know I said I was only working on WIPs... and that I maybe wasn't going to start any more projects... but I caved. There, I said it. The sock yarn got to me. It was just so pretty and I couldn't deny it any longer...

See? It models so well!

Yarn is from Scrumptious Purl in the colourway "It's My Party". I love this yarn - it's knitting up beautifully, and the colours are divine! 
I promise I won't start anymore projects... maybe. Just depends on how well my willpower against the Stash is!! :P

Oh, and you'll remember that for Christmas I made my sister a dragon... I finally took a photo! Everyone - meet Saphira!

Not sure I'll be making any more amigurimi toys anytime soon, but I'm glad that this one is well loved :-)

WIP Wednesday: 2 FOs and Blanket Progress!

Happy Wednesday!

Feeling like I've been quite productive on the crafting front recently! It's been nice to get some of those WIPs off the needles and onto the finished pile. Although there are plenty more WIPs where they came from! I can't seem to help but have a few projects here and there to flit between :-)

So, what are these finished items? SOCKS!

First were these simple ribbed pink ones...

These were a simple project which kept me going through all my essay and dissertation writing - seems fitting that they got finished just as I finished university. I think these will forever hold a special significance because of it :-)

Next were these Rose City Rollers by Mara Catherine Bryner...

 Yes, I know I only have one sock-modelling pose!! 

I loved  knitting these! Is it possible to have a crush on a sock pattern? :-P
They were quick, they were easy, and they are oh so comfy to wear! I love ankle socks, but they don't always stay on my feet nicely, but these ones do! I can definitely see myself making more of these in the future :-)

The next WIP to try and finish is my pink charity blanket. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you'll realise I've been working on it for quite a while!

I'm about 4 rows in, and still only on the first ball of grey! I bought quite a bit of grey, so I can see myself having more than enough for some borders.

It's moving quite slowly, slower than join as you go squares (but then again, there are more sides!). Luckily, Wimbledon is on and keeping me amused! :-)

As always, full project information can be found on Ravelry.

WIP Wednesday: All I see is PINK!

Phew! What a busy month! I finished my presidency of Knit-A-Soc (my local yarnaholics group), took a 2 week trip to Canada (many photos to follow) and found out that I had achieved a top final grade for all my university work (to my surprise and delight!).

All this busy-ness has meant that I have been turning to creating more than ever, picking up my latest project whenever I have a spare moment. That project, if you've been following on Instagram, is a pink dream! What started out as playing with some scraps has turned into a full blanket project. It's a wild one, this project, and started to get out of hand the moment I let those pink scraps loose!

I've spent several weeks making 50-odd pink circles... Each one different from the others, and all blindingly PINK!

This has been so fun to work on! But to stop the pink being so loud, I've decided to tone it down by joining them with grey, forming hexagons...

(Sorry for the quality - that last one was snapped with my phone)

I'm so quickly falling in love with this project that I may have to make another one afterwards for me! (This one is for the hospice...)

What are you working on? Link your blog or Instagram in the comments so I can see!

FO: Granny Square Blanket

Blankets seem to be my go-to projects these days - I think it's because they are something lovely and quick to work on. I can see progress quickly, which is particularly nice at the moment!

I'm pleased with this one - so simple, but very cozy, and quite effective I think!
(Yes, those are sheep stuffed animals on the bed... consequences of being a knitter - lots of sheep gifts!)

The greens, golds and coppers don't show up very well in the photograph, but the marbled yarn changing colours whilst working on it was very comforting...

Yarn: James C Brett Marble DK
Hook: 6.5mm
Pattern: Just a simple granny square...

Just under 2 weeks to go until my last ever assignments are in! I can't believe it, but am very much looking forward to having some time to work on personal projects - I have another blanket on the go, as well as a growing reading list, and I have a trip to plan and learn the language for! Lots of exciting things to look forward to!

What have you been working on recently? I'd love to hear!

FO: Pinks and Blues...

Look! I have something to show you! Something more exciting than links! Can you guess what it is?

 
The finished blanket! I'm so pleased with how it turned out - I almost didn't want to give it away!

 
And it has the bonus use of being a cape! (Thank you to my boyfriend for being such a good model and humouring me taking all these photos!)

Pattern: TinyTinBird's Granny Square method for the granny squares, and Attic24's for the Join-As-You-Go method...
Yarn: Scraps from the Knit-A-Soc stash...
Hook Size: 4mm

Hopefully this will provide someone at the hospice with lots of happiness!

WIP: Charity Blanket

Between assignment deadlines and having a horrendous cold, I haven't had the chance to work on all that much recently - just a few bits and pieces for charity. Some of which I will post in a few days, but first I wanted to show you that there has been progress on the blanket!

It had started to be put together in this post, and now it looks like this!

I've not been putting many together, but I have been churning out the coloured centres, and they are all finished... I just love the colours!

Aren't they pretty?

Another afternoon of Netflix and joining these squares and I should make good progress :-)

What have you been working on?

Granny Square Crazy!

I had a feeling that when I got into crochet, granny squares would become a favourite - just how much of a favourite, I never quite anticipated!
Much like socks, I seem to always have a granny square project on the go...

At the moment, I'm working on two - this first one is for charity. I was bored with my project at Knit and Knatter, and so with some scraps that were in our group box, I started some squares, and it just seems to have taken a life of its own! 

I'm working them all in shades of pinks, purples and blues, with the lighter tone in the middle and a white border to tie everything together.
 

I decided a slightly different technique for this one - I am joining the squares as I go using Lucy's tutorial, and I'm absolutely loving it! No fiddly sewing up, and it saves on yarn too!

The other project is my blanket that you've seen before HERE. I wasn't so clever as to join as I went, but I am still loving how it's turning out.

Remember I asked for your suggestions as to whether I should checkerboard the design with plain white squares or whether to just stick with the coloured ones? Well, I've decided to do both. Because why not?

I'm going to do a central panel of 6 squares by 7, add a few borders to it, and then have another border of the checkerboard effect, then maybe add some more borders. There is still a lot of work to do, but I think it'll be worth it! :-)

I'm baaack!

 I seem to go through ebbs and flows with blogging... I keep knitting and crocheting (that never stops!) but writing blog posts tend to fall by the wayside when life gets busy. Luckily, I'm back! I have spent the morning taking photos of what I've been working on, so I can share my projects with you lovely people! :-)

And, if that isn't enough, I'm back on Instagram! You can find me HERE.
For some strange reason/technical difficulties, I had my account deleted. Which I was very mad about, and so caused a bit of a rift between me and IG (we have a love/hate relationship - apparently so does Justin Beiber, as the same thing happened to him, and some other celebs too) and so I refused to get myself back on IG straight away... but I couldn't resist any longer - it's such a great way of sharing what I'm up to, and I love seeing what you're up to as well!
So if you're on IG, let me know in the comments - I'd love to see what you're working on!

P.S. Above is the yarn I treated myself to yesterday when I went on a yarn crawl with my friend (Hi Emma!) - aren't they pretty? Two of the sock yarns are for a friend I'm doing a swap with, but the rest is for me to play with - yay! :-D

WIPs... (Or all the half projects that I've started!)

I figured it's been a while since I've actually posted any crafty content, mostly because all my projects are half-finished and I haven't really had a chance to work on any of them!
But I thought I would share what's in my knitting basket at the moment :-)

First up is a labour of love - I have finished the head, body and tail, and one of the legs for the dragon for my sister... This is a project I have to sit down and really focus on - ask any of my housemates and they'll tell you it's common to hear me say "Ssshhh! Don't talk to me! I'm COUNTING!" while working on it... not exactly the most sociable of projects! I need to really set some time aside to work on it though... with only 17 days until Christmas, I better get a move on!

Which has led to me starting this project! Little granny squares which are easy to work on during knit and knatter evenings with the girls! These are a little more sociable as they're easy and I don't really have to think about what I'm doing...

They are for a preemie blanket for the hospital... I love the pastel colours - so cute!

And of course my knitting basket wouldn't be complete without a) A knitting project - I seem to be crocheting an awful lot recently! And b) a pair of socks! I finished my last pair in the summer, so I thought it was high time I get another pair on the needles! They are just simple ribbed socks in self striping yarn - I'm thinking they'll be an easy project to work on during the holidays :-)

Hope you have a great week - it's the last week of term for me, and we have our Christmas knitting party tomorrow! Hoping I'll be able to get some pictures to show you!

Christmas is coming...

Are you ready for Christmas?? Luckily there isn't much for me to knit present-wise this year, however I had one very special request from my sister...

Can you guess what she's asked for?
I am going attempting to crochet her a dragon! I looked on Ravelry for a knitted one, but it was this rather cute crocheted one that caught my eye... I'm not very experienced with crochet though... wish me luck!

Snapshots...

I've been having fun with taking photos this past week, as I have discovered Instagram! (Click to find me - thetangledknitter).
I'm quite enjoying it, as it's encouraging me to look for the pretty things in life so I can take photos to share with you all! Here are just a few things which have made me smile... not all were taken with Instagram, some have just been taken with my phone camera :-)

Found this pretty flower growing on my spider plant... 

I love that it's the time of year for Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

An interesting book found in the library...

 Aren't granny squares pretty?? They've been sitting waiting for inspiration, think I may have to make a few more just to be sure...

I love that I get to read this book for schoolwork... such an interesting read!

Cookies and Hot Chocolate to help with studying...

Afternoon knitting...

Really looking forward to using Instagram more - combined with blogging, it's so nice to have so many ways to connect with my blogging friends!