FO: Verity

My Verity beret is finally finished!

I used my two special skeins of Artyarns Supermerino for this, and it was well worth it - it's fabulous to knit with! I started this back in July, but as i'd just shifted I could only find one skein of yarn as the other one was packed, so it was put on hold for a couple of months while I hunted. I think I would have been able to finish this in one weekend if I had them both. The colour is closest in this next photo rather that the one above:

The pattern [Rav link] is by Ysolda and she is very talented - it is a great pattern, very easy to follow. And the result is gorgeous! I'm definately keen to try out another one of her patterns.

I made the small size and opted to just do a ribbed band rather than the patterned band with the button, because I didn't think I would have enough yarn (turns out I would have had plenty for the patterned band!).

I would highly recommend this pattern - I would say it would be rated beginner-intermediate.

Photo gallery (part 2)

More photos and information about what i've been up to lately...

There's been some baking - lemon tarts with homemade lemon butter filling:

And, of course, my puppy is as cute as ever:

I've also done some sewing. This little bag was gift wrapping for my sister's birthday present. I'm hoping she can come up with something else creative to use it for! I used up some of the fabric I got at the easter fair earlier this year, and used some of my ribon yarn for the drawstring, with a couple of beads tied to the end, and a felt star sewn on for good luck. She has a thing for red :)

Current knitting
Buttony is still festering away in the corner of my room... but I have a couple of new projects in process at the moment. The first is Verity [Rav link] - a beret pattern from the very clever Ysolda, which i'm using with my Artyarns supermerino yarn. I totally love this project - the yarn and the pattern are working really well together, and the colours are coming out well.

The only problem is that I have two skeins of this yarn - i've used up the first one, but the second one is still packed in a box in the garage from when I moved! I've had a quick look through the boxes but its not jumping out at me, so i'll have to wait a little longer until I can fully unpack the boxes. Its a real shame, the weather is perfect for a beret at the moment!

I've also started on the Baby Surprise Jacket [Rav link] again - this time with the assistance of some very helpful videos I came across on YouTube through the BSJ group on Ravelry.

I don't think I would have got this far if not for these videos - its hard to figure out the deal with the markers if you just look at the pattern (well, it was for me, anyway!) - so if you're thinking about making this I highly recommend the vids as a starting point. Its my new lunchtime project, and its super easy so far - i'd say advanced beginner, once you figure out where the markers go. Its plain knitting all the way, with simple double increases and decreases, and very little seaming at the end - just along the shoulders. Its kinda like knitted origami, from the look of it. The M1s in the pattern look a little tricky, but the videos explain them too.

I'm also working on a simple baby beanie, using up some lovely baby merino from my stash, but that's coming along very slowly - its on DPNs, and i'm yet to figure out how to avoid the runs between the needles - any assistance would be gratefully accepted!

That's about it from me for the moment, although I do have a few quotes to catch up on for next time, and there will be another MMM soon - Wellington's having a special restaurant deal with cheap lunch menus for a couple of weeks in August, we just have to decide which one to pick...

~Happy knitting!~