Two projects finished, two projects started and more in the queue

1. Ross' Blue Toes 1, 2. King Cole Aran 309 Dark Turquoise, 3. Fairy Mother and Child 8, 4. Fairy Mother and Child 9, 5. Fairy Mother and Child 10, 6. Fairy Mother and Child 11, 7. 1939 Morgan 1, 8. 1939 Morgan 2, 9. 1939 Morgan 3

I have been quite busy since I last posted, finishing off Ross' socks, buying wool to start knitting the "Louisa" sweater published in issue 12 of Yarn Forward magazine, finishing the Fairy Mother and Child design from Joan Elliott (in record time, I might add) and starting my father-in-law's seventieth birthday present - phew!

So then, the socks were from Rita Taylor's Teal Toes design and have cables down to the start of the toe shaping. I guessed at the length of the foot and it seems I have guessed right! The wool is a beautiful shade and you can find a lpicture of the sweater I'm going to knit with it here. I'm afraid you will have to scroll down a bit though, and the picture doesn't really do the sweater justice - I hope mine will when I've finished!

I finally finished the metallics and beads on Fairy Mother and Child by Joan Elliott and I am so pleased with the results - just waiting for my friend to have her baby so I can stitch baby's name and date of birth and get it framed for her. It took me 58 hours 17 minutes (so far) so I seem to be keeping a regular pace with the old needle and thread...

My father-in-law will be seventy in March and I wanted to mark the occasion by stitching something special for him. I looked all over for a map of Worcestershire that he might like and even enrolled my husband on the search. We couldn't find one, so I left it in my husband's capable hands to find a suitable pattern for me to stitch for his father. We finally settled on a 1939 Morgan 4-4, which was built in Malvern and so will still be dear to his heart. When it is finished I hope it will look something like the picture on the front of the kit:

It's quite a tricky chart to follow though, with all the vertical and horizontal (as opposed to diagonal) fractional stitches and I have had to unpick a couple of sections to re-stitch them. I am still hopeful, and as you can see from the last picture in the mosaic, I'm not doing to badly after 11 hours' work!

When I finish this one I will have to start on the family friend's sixtieth birthday present, which I cannot give any insight to or any photographs of until her birthday, for obvious reasons. Suffice to say that the rabbit I published on my other blog is not the project I have planned for her, due to a change of heart. I'm afraid you will just have to keep guessing until May!

I can't wait to finish that one because I will then be starting on my birthday present from my husband, Rejoice designed by Monica Stewart for Anchor's Maia range. Here's a reminder:

Of course, I might stray over to the Joan Elliott or Bothy Threads designs for a time...

I think I'll leave you with that food for thought!