Picking up where I left off

Do you get more motivated to knit after you finish a certain project?

I always do. I think it's the feeling of accomplishment that pushes me towards the finish line on projects which are taking longer.

Last week, after I finished my cosy red cowl, I picked up where I left off on my Aidez cardigan. This is an absolutely beautiful cardigan, and I'm knitting it with really nice wool. It's Cascade Eco + in a gorgeous shade of green with flecks of blue and yellow, and I love how it looks so far.

But it's cabled, and cables take me so long to knit and it felt like my progress was very slow, so I took a break. I knit the back and front panels already, so all that's left to knit is the two sleeves, which I cast on yesterday morning.

I'm knitting them in the round so that I'll have less seaming to do at the end, and so far I've knit about 14 inches of the first sleeve. It's knitting up much faster than I thought it would. Maybe by this time next week I'll have a whole new cardigan!

Here's a picture of my progress:

As for the cowl, I've worn it every day since I finished it, and it feels like it gets softer the more I wear it! It's so snuggly and warm, and I've got loads of compliments on it. I haven't enlisted anyone to take a picture of me wearing it yet because I keep forgetting to bring my camera to college, but I'm hoping to do that some time soon.

Finito

I've surprised myself!

Writing about my cowl seems to have given me the motivation I needed to finish it. I think I may have done more in the past 24 hours than I had done all week!

So here is a quick picture. My room is dark so I've tried to brighten it up a little. Hopefully I'll get some better ones in the morning.

What a great end to the weekend :)

Possibly my favourite knit yet!

It's been such a long time since I've had a minute to sit down and write a blog post! I had deadline after deadline this term in college, and this weekend is the first chance I'm getting to catch my breath.

Not only have I been too busy to make time for my blog, I haven't even had much time for knitting. I think I might have to train myself to knit while reading to help me get through the next few months of college work!

The worst part might just be that I didn't get to show you my birthday wool! I haven't photographed it all, so I will get round to that and show it off over the next few posts.

The first, and most exciting thing I'll show you is my Mirasol Tuhu. It is a DK weight yarn in a llama, merino and angora blend, and I think it might just be the softest wool I've ever felt! It makes it all the sweeter that I got it at 50% off with free shipping. I bought it in the Cranberry colourway, and my, my, it's gorgeous!

There has been some pretty chilly weather here in Ireland of late, so I knew I wanted some sort of soft, cosy cowl to keep me warm. I loved this one from Purl Soho, but I was worried it might be so simple I'd find it boring. How wrong I was. I love simple! Simple means I can knit in the dark and it still feels like no work at all.

I also thought that simple would mean it'd knit up in about two minutes, but I don't get a chance to knit every day so the cowl is taking its time. Here it is a few days ago:

If it looks as lovely as Purl Soho's when it's finished, this cowl has the potential to be my favourite project yet. So soft, so comfy, so cosy and so simple, I don't think I could ask for anything more!