I finished the second rectangle for the poncho I am making last night. I think I cast off differently for the first so I might end up doing it again. I left it in my flat here anyway. I'll finish it off next time I am down. I intend to sew the two together, then depending on the size of the head hole I'll knit some edging and do some tassles. Maybe I can pick up some beads to go round the edge. 
I started a cardigan for myself this week (Ruffles from Magknits) in the Alpaca Silk I bought before Easter. It's not really the right yarn for the pattern but I think it looks quite good. I'll see how it turns out. I made a slight mistake on one side near the start, but hopefully the trim will disguise that. As I found out from doing my tensions square, this yarn is very difficult to frog. I thought it was better to leave the error than mess up the entire thing.
I too the cardigan along to the Forth last night and consulted with a couple of people about the best thing to do. I ripped out the top part of the hood, missed out the plain knitting and did the second lot of shaping over half the rows than was suggested in the pattern. I sewed it up and finished the edging and here it is (front and back). 
All it needs now is a zip. I suspect I bougth one at the time but I must have used it for something else. The original recipient has now outgrown this cardigan, so it doesn't have a home to go to. It will have to wait until other small people have grown a bit. It feels very good to have it finished. I think I will now turn my attention to other unfinished items and see what I can do.
When I was a kid I was a big fan of Lego. I used to think my Dad was magic, because I'd go to bed at night and when I'd got up in the morning there'd be some wonderful construction waiting for me. Often it would be a train, with a face at the front, like Thomas the Tank Engine, who I loved. I remember being so excited about it. Of course now I realise that my dad was as big a fan of Lego as I was. :)
Another thing he used to do which made me think he was magic was produce stuff from his briefcase. Dad coming home from work was always quite exciting, but it was even more exciting when he'd go in his bag and produce a Mr Men book, or a plastic cow for our farm, or something similar. I remember the excitement the day he brought back a toy hay bailer. I still have it somewhere. Often I'd sneak into the kitchen and loiter around Dad's briefcase, just in case some toys should suddenly appear. I don't think I really understood where they came from.
Anyway, there's two Dad-related memories for father's day. Thanks for being a great Dad, Dad.
A lot of people take great joy in someone else's viva and enjoy taunting the victim/candidate beforehand and going for a drink afterward. Unfortunately I usually just feel nervous for the person in question and can't settle while it's going on. On viva days I feel my stomach churning and I tense up, waiting. This time it is particularly bad because I am close to Cat and I know how hard she has worked on this. As I type this the viva has been going on for 2 hours and 34 minutes. Can't be long now.
Last night, after a fabulous dinner cooked by my friend Enrico (lovely saffron flavoured fish), I cast on the first of the princess pink, North Pole socks I am making for my friend Natalie. Natalie is going on an expedition to the North Pole in January and wants to keep warm. This is her on a taining trip in Resolute Bay last March. I'm so excited that something I am knitting will be going to the North Pole. :) Socktastic!
The first thing my officemate Nigel said to me this morning was 'Happy World Cup Day'. I don't think this was without irony because Nigel is actually a big rugby fan. I have mixed feelings about the world cup. In previous years I have enjoyed watching the international matches and supporting England but I don't remember hearing as much about it before it even started. I am already sick of hearing world cup songs (there are about 20 different ones), discussions about Rooney's foot (As Nigel said, it would be better for all of us if they just chopped it off.) and comments on Sven's team picking, and I'm sick of seeing flags everywhere and promotions for football shaped cereal bowls.
I feel slightly releaved that the whole thing has started, even though I know there's a month of relentless football ahead. At least the warm weather means that there are plenty of things to do outside, away from the TV.
Sarah and I have planned a picnic in Victoria Park (Leicester) for Saturday afternoon (3pm, all welcome). So even though I can't make it to Tynemouth for Glittr's WWKIP (World Wide Knit in Public) Day picnic I will be doing some knitting in public, probably combined with some eating sushi in public, throwing frisby in public and drinking in public.
Recently a couple of people who've seen what I've knitted have asked me to knit things for them. They've offered to pay me for it. I don't think I could ever feel comfortable asking a friend for the amount of money that would cover the time spent knitting. It would not be worth paying that much for the item in question anyway. I've come to the conclusion that people don't really understand what they're asking of me. I feel bad refusing, but I do it for pleasure and out of love for the people I knit things for. I don't want to start to resent it because I'm working on things I'm not interested in. I might eventually do a couple of the things I've been asked for, but I'm not working to anyone else's demands.
I feel a bit selfish now for writing that. I usually don't mind going out of my way to do things for other people, but it is a big things to ask. I hope people don't read this and think I've said 'no' to them because I don't value their friendship as much as other people's. It's not that at all.
The highlight of the evening for me was Natalie and I spotting this small tent in the window of Canyon Mountainsport. 
Natalie is standing next to it for scale. I suspect it is just a display item, but we did spend quite a while discussing what it could be used for (Cat camping, food store, borrowers...?). Maybe this shows me in a slightly insane light, but I am a big fan of miniature, oversized versions of things. I like the gianty/hobbity feeling I get from it.
After that I popped over to Jonny and Emma's for a chat and a huge glass of Merlot. For some reason when I got home it then seemed like a good idea to take a picture of me modelling my nearly finished first sock. All I can say is that it's amazing how much progress can be made when you're stuck on public transport for 7 hours.
Turning the heel was OK but it's not as good as I would have like. There are a couple of holes because I knitted too loose on the edges of the beginning of the heal flap. Not that noticable though and their only for me. I suspect the second one will turn out better. Now I have to start thinking about the toe. Anyone know how far down the foot I should knit before I start the shaping?
Going to Leicester Stitch n Bitch tonight. Hope it's fun.
I made Mum a shawl for her birthday. I'm not very good at lying, especially to my mum, so it's been quite a struggle not to accidentally mention it to her on the phone or write about it here by mistake. Instead I had to make up things about what I was knitting/crocheting at the moment.
Here's the shawl anyway. It's from a Rowan book. It's supposed to be done in cashsoft but Mum prefers cotton, so I did this in Rowan Cotton Glace. I ended up using 1.5 times as many skeins as the pattern suggested.
Modelled by me here (I wish I had done my hair before taking this picture)
I could rant about my seven hour train journey from Newcastle to Leicester yesterday but I'll spare you all. I would just like to say that I hope the git who works for GNER at Peterborough station, who told me to get on the wrong train yesterday stands in a big pile of dog poo on his way to work.
I took the picture with my new camera phone. I think it looks rather odd. Like a photo in a 1950s knitting pattern.
My friends Fiona, Ben and Chris came over for dinner. For dessert I decided I should use up some of the unfeasably large ammount of rhubarb my mum gave me, from their garden, last weekend. I really like rhubarb. I never buy it from the shops but only get it through donations from friends and family. It grows like weeds in some people's gardens and they can't get rid of it quick enough. I decided I was bored with my default rhubarb crumble and I couldn't be bothered to do a rhubarb pie either. I googled for rhubarb desserts on google and found a website dedicated entirely to rhubarb. The Rhubarb Compendium
I made the rhubarb torte which was more or less rhurbarb meringue pie. It was also my first stab at a meringue pie. I think it turned out well. It had a gooey meringue top, rather than the hard, crispy kind, which I prefer. Still it was a big hit. The sweetness of the meringue went well with the tart of the rhubarb. I heartily recommend it.
