Finished sock 2 - and it looks remarkably like sock 1 - photo to follow:D I sleeve down on Samus aswell - Im starting sleeve 2 tomorrow:)

LisaH xxx

Did you spend the entire bank holiday weekend knitting? :)

I've just finished picking up a hundred and odd stitches along the front, neck and sides of a cardi so I can add a stitched border. It's got to be the most boring knitting-related thing I've ever done, particularly as I had to do the first bit twice.

Looking forward to seeing the sock pictures (and to the review of 'Happy Hooker'... :D ).

Well done Lisa, nothing more satisfying than the finished product. I think LisaH and I have both spent the weekend knitting because I too finished my 2nd sock. The instep is in the right place this time and after the instep shaping I managed to get a grip on the laddering. Progress indeed! Looking forward to RE starting the shrug from Simply Knitting. Click click :thumbsup:

Well done Turra21:D I didnt do all that in the weekend - Samus sleeve has been done for about a week:S

After looking closely at sock 2 I noticed that Ive done a row less before toe shaping so the toe colouring doesnt quite line up - Im a bit of a perfectionist:(

Ah well Ive balled my Brightdyes purchase ready for the Jaywalkers but first I NEED to do sleeve 2 of Samus. Gotta get a move on as the yarn I want from Jannettes rare yarns (on EBAY) for Rogue will be in in 2-3 weeks:D

LisaH xxx

I've just finished picking up a hundred and odd stitches along the front, neck and sides of a cardi so I can add a stitched border. It's got to be the most boring knitting-related thing I've ever done, particularly as I had to do the first bit twice.

Looking forward to seeing the sock pictures (and to the review of 'Happy Hooker'... :D ).

You think that was boring - the Samus body involved picking up 192 stitches :-o Luckily it went really well and I didnt have to redo it - the sleeve I had to try twice though:S

The Happy Hooker review um yes **cough cough** I guess I should do that:S I think whats stopping me atm is that I cant crochet and dont have the tools to try:D

LisaH xxx

once I've knitted the body of this shrug I will need to pick up 436 stitches to do the rib border!!! Now that will be boring!:banana:

Are you really going to attempt Rogue lisa? It's beautiful. Can't wait to see Samus finished and made up,will you model it for us?:D

once I've knitted the body of this shrug I will need to pick up 436 stitches to do the rib border!!! Now that will be boring!:banana:

Are you really going to attempt Rogue lisa? It's beautiful. Can't wait to see Samus finished and made up,will you model it for us?:D

Which shrug are you doing. 436 stitches to pickup:(

Oh yes I will do Rogue - probably wont be finished until Autumn though:D Looks quite difficult but Im sure I can do it:S I will model Samus for you if you insist - wont be for at least a month I should think as Ive heard that applied I cord is a pain to do:( Need to find somewhere big enough to block the blighter first:s

LisaH xxx

once I've knitted the body of this shrug I will need to pick up 436 stitches to do the rib border!!! Now that will be boring!:banana:

Are you really going to attempt Rogue lisa? It's beautiful. Can't wait to see Samus finished and made up,will you model it for us?:D
436 stitches?!! Good grief! That's knitting as torture!

On the cardi I've just finished, I thought I'd be clever and do a lovely slip stitch selvege. According to my trusty Vogue knitting book, it makes the prospect of picking up stitches a little more inviting, and it's great for seaming.

The seams do look fantastic, but I neglected to consider the fact that each slip stitch spans two rows of knitting. This means that a) you can't pick up the specified number of stitches, as there are too few loops and b) it makes the edge a little looser than it should be and so the border is a little looser too.

Fortunately, it's worked out. I improvised on the stitch count. The border is in moss stitch and is finished with a picot cast off, so as long as I picked up an odd number of stitches it was fine. The looseness isn't noticible either now it's blocked. Phew.

I'll post a pic once it's finished blocking.

Blocking - um theres a whole topic on its own:S I NEED to block Samus but dont know the best way as its huge (what with the body being done in one part) and Im not sure I have the room:S How would you block something huge made from wool? How do you block Hecate?

LisaH xxx (currently scared of blocking:D)

Blocking is scarey!

How do you block wool? Very carefully :D . There are a couple of ways I'd consider. You could either immerse the item in cool water, making sure all the fibres take up the water, then gently squeeze out the water before wrapping it in a couple of soft towels to absorb the excess. I always find doing the full wet blocking rather alarming though, particularly with wool, as the fabric becomes realy loose and distressingly easy to pull out of shape.

Alternatively, you could pin out the item first, and then either give it a good spraying with water using a plant mister, or use a steam iron to give it a little steam, making sure not to inadvertantly touch the fabric with the iron. I'd be a bit wary of steaming wool though, with its tendency to felt at the slightest provocation. It should be alright, given that it isn't being agitated at the same time, but you never know. Not that I'm paranoid, of course...

EDIT: I've just pinned out an item for blocking, and the method suggested in the pattern was to pin it out dry, and then cover in a wet towel, so the water is slowly taken up that way.

I've pinned out large items straight onto the floor, covering the carpet with a couple of bath towels. If your carpet is really clean and cat hair-free (unlike mine) you might get away with pinning it directly onto the carpet, but you'd want to make sure that the wool is colour fast.

When it comes to pinning out the item, make sure you've got a list of the key measurements of the item (chest width, back length etc) and pin out those axes first, using a pin or two at each end. Once you've got the key mesurements done, you can concentrate on straigtening everything out, getting the stitch rows lined up etc, pinning at every inch or so.

What else? I had an idea for using a couple of large de-framed cork notice boards put together as a blocking board. I'm going to get some gingham fabric to cover it with, because the little squares are fantastic for getting edges perfectly aligned. They boards are very cheap at Tesco at the minute, and at Ikea, so I might get a few and make a really massive one :) .

The section in the Vogue Ultimate Knitting book on blocking is really good, if you can get your hands on it.

Blocking is scarey!

What else? I had an idea for using a couple of large de-framed cork notice boards put together as a blocking board. I'm going to get some gingham fabric to cover it with, because the little squares are fantastic for getting edges perfectly aligned. They boards are very cheap at Tesco at the minute, and at Ikea, so I might get a few and make a really massive one :) .

The section in the Vogue Ultimate Knitting book on blocking is really good, if you can get your hands on it.

I do happen to have a copy of that book that work bought for me - although they might not buy me any more knitting books once they find out about the pink fluffy stuff from my work neighbour:D Got rather a good knitting library c/o work:D

Now theres an Idea - I wonder how much cork tiles are at Wickes or have a look in Tesco or somewhere - hmmmmm My carpet is most definitely not cat hair free so it would need to be covered in towels anyway:(

LisaH xxx

I do happen to have a copy of that book that work bought for me - although they might not buy me any more knitting books once they find out about the pink fluffy stuff from my work neighbour:D Got rather a good knitting library c/o work:D...
Whatever your job is, I want it! I bought a rather expensive copy of 'Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine' through work, but I think they'd draw the line at Nicky Epstein or Debbie Stoller's latest...

...Are you really going to attempt Rogue lisa? It's beautiful. ...
Can I just say that if you haven't done so already, you really must listen to Cast On (http://www.cast-on.com/), the knitting podcast by Brenda Dayne, an American knitter living in Pembrokeshire. She's a really inspirational knitter and her podcast has such high production values that you'd be fooled into thinking it was made by a professional broadcaster. Honestly, I really can't recommend it highly enough.

Anyway, back to Rogue. She has a feature in each of her podcast episodes where she chooses a sweater from her enormous collection and describes how she made it, the story behind the yarn and the pattern etc. She featured 'Rogue' a few episodes ago, and described it really evocatively, especially the glorious cables.

I can't remember now which episode it was, but as I'm going to do a review post on knitters' podcasting once I've caught up with all the episodes, I'll find out then.

So anyway, evangelical point of the day: Get listening to Cast On. It really is superb.

Whatever your job is, I want it! I bought a rather expensive copy of 'Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine' through work, but I think they'd draw the line at Nicky Epstein or Debbie Stoller's latest...

Tee hee. They have an employee development scheme where you can have £50 to spend on developing yourself - NOT work related. I chose knitting and crochet books - The Vogue one, S N B Nation, The Happy Hooker and the Finishing Techniques one - all came to just over £50 from Amazon:D

LisaH xxx

LisaH I'm knitting a shrug from Simply Knitting Spring copy the one with the mistake in it I hasten to add! It's already been down (you knit from the neck down to the hem) to the cast off arms once because the pattern said to use two strands of wool but you only need one so out it came and start again. Absolutely nothing compared to your Samus or Rogue, just the lacy option.
P.S. Can I Get a job at your firm?