It feels like a long time since I last updated what I've been making, but I've been busily working away, and the pile of WIPs has diminished significantly. So without further ado, here they are:

My Islay cardigan (pattern by Gudrun Johnston) is complete!

I'm really thrilled with how it has turned out. I added about 2 inches to the body length as I'm fairly tall (5ft 9in), and also continued the garter stitch "seams" down the arms, in the same way as they are worked on the body. Apart from those two small mods, I've knitted exactly as per the pattern. I used just over 10 skeins of gorgeous Buachaille yarn in Between Weathers, and I'm really pleased with how well this yarn works for Islay. It's such a smooth st st fabric, and the lace and ribbing pops really nicely too.

I had a dilema over which buttons to use for this cardi, and my cheeky side really fancied some red octopus buttons that I've had in my stash for a while. In the end though, they didn't sit nicely on the i-cord edging, so I went for these elegant fretwork buttons instead, and I'm delighted with how they look! I shall just have to knit another cardi for the octopi!

I have also finished my Pawkie mitts (designed by Kate Davies) from the Seven Skeins Club that ran before Christmas last year. I finished one mitt back then, but the bag languished waiting for its partner.

These are also knitted in Buachaille Between Weathers, this time with a Ptarmigan contrast. I'm really pleased with them, and I'm sure they will get plenty of wear in the office on chilly days this winter.

And last but not least in the FO parade is my Fractal Danger shawl (designed by Martina Behm).

I so enjoyed making this! I completed it as part of the Summer Strickmich Showdown in Martina's Ravelry group (though as a moderator I'm sadly not eligible for the wonderful prizes!). If you have a pattern by Martina on your needles, or fancy making one during August, then do head over to her group and join the fun!

I used a sushi sock roll from Easy Knits that I've had sitting around for far too long! And I'm really happy with how well it showcases the lovely construction of this shawl/scarf. This is another accessory that will get a lot of wear once the weather turns colder.

That's it for FOs, and I'm down to just two WIPs... My Golden Wheat shawl (yes, I know, yawn... one day I'll pick it up again!), and my Alfrick socks. Looking over at the project page for the Humungous shawl, I last worked on it on a car drive to Chester, and funnily enough we are off to Chester at the end of next week. So who knows? Perhaps I'll dust it off and work a repeat of two. My socks are coming along well too. I've finished the colourwork on the leg of the second sock and I'm ready to start the heel, so look out for finished socks before too long as well.

Whilst I love having a nice choice of projects to work on (and it's always good to have a portable, easy project alongside something larger or more tricky...) I also reach a point where I need to clear the decks. And that's the place I've been for the last few weeks. It's possibly the end of the school year that does it. I need to sort out my spaces and declutter. The same goes for my knitting projects and I'm eagerly anticipating my next few projects - a Harewood Hap and possibly Knitter's DNA. Both gorgeous designs and I've got the perfect yarn just waiting...

What are you working on over the summer?

My period of monogamous knitting appears to have ended. I blame the lure of the knitalong! I thought I would lay out the situation, and hope that in doing so, I'm inspired to work down a few of these projects. The fact is that I am looking forward to the finished product of each and every one of them, and when I work a few rows on this and a few rows on that across too many, it ends up feeling as if I will never finish any of them. So with this in mind, I set off on the half term holidays with 6 works in progress (WIPs) in my bag. And after a week of quite good knitting time, I finished one of them. Not terribly impressive! But I did go on to finish another shortly after my return home, and another isn't far off. So here is The State of the WIPS:

A pair of Dave socks (by Rachel Coopey), knitted in West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply Country Birds in the Bullfinch colourway (although to my eye it is far more Greater Spotted Woodpecker-like). These are FINISHED! They've been my handbag knitting project since the start of the year, and eluded discovery when Jim did a project round up a few weeks back, but some concentrated effort in the car resulted in a finished pair. They are a little shorter than they should have been, but I think that Jim's loss will be someone else's gain! More on my Ravelry page here: Woodpecker Daves

I FINISHED my Breezy cardigan (by Hannah Fettig)! This is a project which went much faster than I anticipated. I wasn't sure that I had the knitting time for a drape-front 4ply cardigan at the moment, but here I am wearing it. (And it's lovely and cosy today too - our office gets chilly as it faces north.)

I used some Merino Cashmere Nylon that Jeni at Fyberspates dyed for me many moons ago. It's a lovely variegated blue and green - right up my colour palette street! The pattern is really straightforward, and as a result I worked on it a lot on car journeys and in front of the TV. Even the final rib around the neckband didn't take nearly as long as I had feared. In fact it was the fear of how long it would take that stopped me from working on it over half term. I AM DAFT! More details can be found over on my Ravelry page: Breezy for Me

My Theme and Variation hap (by Veera Välimäki) is coming along nicely (still a WIP though). The final edging is slow going as the number of stitches increases dramatically, and there are two slipped stitch rows (for the secret stripes) that don't contribute to the depth of the hap. So it feels like it's not much bigger than when I last photographed it. But that's an illusion, and I mustn't lose momentum! I'm well on track to finish this before the end of term, which is great as it's a present for a very special teacher who deserves each and every stitch of this. I'm using Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the Raspberry Cordial and Logwood colourways. Anj at Meadow Yarn was particularly helpful when I was choosing shades, and I've really enjoyed knitting it up. I'm coming to the end of the first skein of Raspberry Cordial, but won't need very much of the second to complete the edging. More details on my Ravelry page here: Whoops I cast on a hap!

I've made more progress than I anticipated on my Islay cardigan (by Gudrun Johnston - last time it was on the blog I had only done the ribbing). Hurrah! I'm about to start work on the charts, which should help me to plough through the rest of the body. The KAL for this ends on the 1st July, so I'm not sure that I will be finished by then, but my attempt won't be too bad. I should be onto sleeves I would imagine (well, that's unless I get distracted by other things...). I'm using some beautiful Buachaille in Between Weathers that Kate generously gave me for my birthday, and it is such a joy to work with - all the best bits about proper wool (bounce! spring!) and soft too. I'm knitting this to go with the summer dress I sewed earlier in the year, and I'm so looking forward to wearing them together. Full details on my Ravelry page: Islay

I've made no progress at all on my Alfrick socks, Pawkie (it needs a pair!) or my Golden Wheat shawl (ahem!). But that's actually probably a good thing. If I'm going to finish things, I need to focus and make progress on one or two projects, rather than trying to do all of them at the same time.

Having cast off two projects, it seemed perfectly reasonable to cast on a new one! I recently started to help Martina Behm as a moderator in her new International Strickmich group on Ravelry, so it seemed only right that I should cast on one of her designs to celebrate this! I'm making Fractal Danger out of a deep-stash Sushi Roll from EasyKnits. The colours are gorgeous, and I'm going to work from light to dark, and back out to light again. This is one of those brilliant designs where it's simple enough to memorise, and I can (more or less) work safely on it while chatting at knitting group, without fear of having to unknit everything when I get home again. This is what I'm working on when I'm too tired to do anything else - it's the ideal soothing project. More information here: Fractal Danger

So that is The State of the WIPs! I don't think I have anything else lurking in a project bag anywhere... I know that by many people's standards, I've not got that much on the go, but I do like to take stock and simplify from time to time. Hopefully I'll be back in a few weeks to report that I've finished my Theme and Variation hap and my Islay cardigan. Then perhaps I can cast on another project from The Book of Haps...

Do you have lots of projects on the go? Or do you prefer monogamy in your knitting?

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