in the round sweater update and disaster!

So I got to the underarm part of the body of the jumper whipped out my new short circular needles and cast on for the sleeve, but in the process broke the needle! So Now I have to glue my 3.25mm needle before I can use it *sigh*
Determined to do something I decided to use some left over wool to make a hat for my neighbour (he asked for a grey one, I had grey wool left so thought it was a great way to use it up) So I got almost finished and ran out of wool *sigh* In the process I used the 4mm circular needle which is now out of action until I get out for some more wool. So its still a no go on the sleeves for the jumper. Not sure if Ive posted the link for the hat before but here it is anyway. KOGO Beanie. I used a 4mm needle instead of a 4.5mm and I added extra rows to the straight bit. I made one before and foudn it wasn't long enough and the 2x2 rib was too loose, so this time i used a 1x1 rib and made it longer. the first one I knitted straight, this one was in the round so its a nice pattern to convert between the two.
I must admit knitting in the round scared me quite a bit but I'm absolutely loving it! I would reccoemmend it to anyone and everyone!
So in an attempt to fill my crafting time with something (anything!) I started to crochet a blanket!

So this is as far as Ive got with it. It looks a bit wobbly around the edge but I'm hoping it'll turn out ok. I'm planning to get to about single bed size but my last attempt lasted about cot sized, so we'll see how it goes. Its about big enough to fit on a car seat at the moment.
So far the few people that have seen it have all asked if I'm pregnant and expecting a girl. I am not amused at all! I am not!!! I'm just using up left over wool and I like the way its turning out. There's not much I can do with half a ball of pink wool in this house (having 3 boys) so anyway I can use it up is a blessing. Its actually peach in the middle, lemon, then a speckled mint (purple and blue speckles through the wool) then pink on the outside. I'm running out of pastel colours though so once the pink wool is used up i might have to buy some more for this.
Oh, I better tell you what pattern I used. You can find it here. I chained 10 as the pattern says.
I also saw this pattern and wondered about adding the little flowers, but not sure the boys or husband would appreciate anything quite so girly!
I like granny blankets because you start so small and work until you get fed up (or at least thats what I do) I did see other designs but it meant working back and forth and starting with a rediculous number of chains to start (something like 230+) Knowing me I'd get to about the third row and be fed up already!

Hopefully I will get superglue for the needle, get wool for the hat and also get more wool for the blanket before I run out of everything and have to start something else!

On a completely unrelated note I came across this one facebook and Ive now added it to my to-do list (at least the captain america jumper if nothing else)
Fun Patterns Perfect for Avengers Fans
I will probably end up using the same jumper pattern (raglan hayfield pattern) and knit in the round.
I'm looking for ideas on knitting a hulk jumper too. I though about doing a torso pattern on the jumper but dont think I'll be able to get the range of shades I'll need. Any ideas are more than welcome!

In the round Jumper update

 

Here is my prgress update on my first in the round jumper. As said in my previous post I am using Stylecraft special DK yarn in Greengauge (which is like a green and yellow twist yarn although on the website I bought it from it looks more like green and beige) I used my favorite pattern (which is a simple raglan pattern that i got from my mum - I will attempt to find the pattern number next time I go round to see her - but the pattern is a back and forth pieced pattern so I'm converting it to in the round)
I started at the bottom and worked about 16 rows in 1x1 rib (i lost count as I was working so guessed a bit) and I'm now up to where I need to add the sleeves. I was comtemplating working 4 less stitches (I assme they would have added 4 - 1 at either end of the front piece and the same for the back) but I just cast on the amount of the front and back to save confusion later!
I made my own sitich markers. The ones I biought are great but I thought they made my knitting a little looser, so I made some out of spare beads i had lying around and some elastic cording

I added 2 beads to the first one so i could easily identify the start of the round... but i got caught up in whatever was on the tv and accidentally knitted the other one into the jumper! :0

Oh well, at least its cheap elastic so will be easy to cut and re-thread. So the first tip I have is pay attention to your stitch markers haha.
Now comes the difficult part where I have to do some research into how to increase on the sleeves. I recently knitted a cardigan (which incidentally once I'd finished I hated it *sigh*) I got the body finished and was left with ony 1 ball of wool so had to try to work out the best way to add the sleeves at a 3/4 length without ending up with one shorter than the other. I searched high and low to find another ball of wool, but it was discontinued so I picked up stitches and knitted the sleeve down from the armhole (this totally didin't work as it was shaped at the top) but it did look a bit weird with the increases over about 6 stitches at the start and end of the round. I ended up knitting them flat from where I guessed elbow length would be and they worked out ok.
I'll post another update when I've figured out what to do next!

Finished Projects

I finally got round to finishing off the ear warmers I knitted for my neighbour. All I had to do was sew in the ends and sew a button on. but it seems to have taken me weeks to get round to it. With my first in the round jumper project taking up most of my time I wonder if I'll ever get round to making one for myself? They look like they would be really handy for the random Peterhead weather thats bright sunshine one minute and snowing the next! My neighbour wanted one to go for walks across the beach, so hopefully she'll like them

This is a double knit one (with a random button I had lying around that totally doesn't match) using this pattern Ripple Shell Ear Warmer. I really like this pattern and if I ever do get round to making some for myself I'll use it for sure!

this one was I used chunky wool that was  left over from a jumper I knitted but I have to admit I don't like it as much, but with using chunky wool it will be much warmer than the DK one. I used this pattern How to Crochet a Ear warmer.
The Dk one is also much more stretchy (i think this is to do with the stitch)

The other thing I finally got round to finishing was a school cardigan! My eldest is starting school in August so I'm starting early (for once) and trying to be organised. I used an old pattern I got from my mum which I absolutely love. Ive knitted quite a few jumpers with it already - a star wars inspired nordic jumper for PJ, a dinosaur jumper for Eli, a 'leftover' jumper for me and a jumper for Conan. I will add another post on this pattern later with all the projects Ive used it for.
This is the first time Ive knitted the cardigan from this pattern. The button band seemed to take ages and was quite frustrating to knit (mostly because I'm impatient). But here is the finished item!

I did wonder about adding a pattern to it to make it a little more interesting but I wasn't sure the school would appreciate it too much, especially as Eli was asking for yet more dinosaurs!

In the Round Sweater

My least favorite parts of knitting are actually the sewing up parts. I really dont like it. I guess that's because that's when you get to see if your project actually works. I've had many failures during my years of knitting (and crocheting) and after about 10 years I've only just made my first successful sweater that I actualy like to wear.
With that in mind I have set myself the task of transforming my favorite sweater pattern (A very old Hayfield DK pattern I got from my mum) into an in the round pattern. I figure it should be simple enough to convert being a raglan sleeve sweater.
So last night I cast on the relevant amount of stitches for both the front and back onto my circular needle and started.
My first impressions of knitting in the round are that each round takes what seems like forever, but after only 6 or so rows I can actually see the beginnings of a jumper!
I chose Stylecraft Special DK in Greengauge which is a lovely mottled green. I've only ever used this yarn once before and it seems less fluffy than the Robin DK I usually use, so hopefully it will last longer before bobbling and looking untidy.
It's slow going but wont be too long I hope before I can post an update on a decent sized knitted piece and I won't have much sewing up to do.
Although I am wondering if I should've tested this on a smaller jumper for the kids first!