I’ve got quite a lot to catch up on, and more than a few draft blog posts to finish up and share, but I’ve had five hours sleep for the past two nights (the Formula 1 Grand Prix was in Malaysia this weekend), and I’m completely knackered. At the moment I think I’m running on caffeine, adrenaline, and chocolate. (Easter chocolate, of course; specifically Green & Blacks and Mini Eggs. Mmmm.) So, I’ll go for the easy option: another finished knit.

Pattern: Cherry by Anna Bell
Yarn: Rowan RYC Cashcotton DK, colour #602 Pool, 5 balls
Size: 34″, no modifications save for working 1×1 rib as half twisted rib
Needles: 4mm and 3 1/4mm

This is a lovely pattern. The fit is very nice, with the waistline hitting exactly where it needs to be on me. The instructions make perfect sense, are easy to follow and won’t lead you astray, although you might want a little experience in certain areas (e.g. knowing to place waist shaping a stitch or two in from the edge, what sort of decrease to use where, etc). In this way it’s very much like the Rowan patterns - they aren’t hard, but they don’t state the obvious at every stage.

I re-purposed this yarn from my ill-fated Erin, which I talked about in an earlier post. I came to the sudden realisation that an A-line cardigan was the worst possible shape for me, and the back of the cardigan was turning out to be very large anyway (I suspect I may have had gauge issues). I lost no time in ripping it out and looking for something else to make. The yarn itself is incredibly soft, with a light halo that’s probably the angora content at work (it’s a blend of 35% cotton, 25% nylon, 18% angora, 13% rayon and 9% cashmere). Wearing it is like being very gently hugged.

Because the shape is so good for me, I plan to make a few more of these cardigans with different stitch patterns, yarns, and sleeve length. Perhaps not immediately, though… I have some other things in my knitting queue, and only so much time!

Last weekend I was away visiting a friend in Cambridge, and to the right is the necklace that I serendipitously found there - it’s also pictured in the two photos above. I don’t normally go for big, bold kitschy jewellery, but I couldn’t pass up a two swallows pendant, could I? (Besides, it matches my belt.) I bought it at the Sunday arts & crafts market in the Market Square.

I hope everyone’s having a good Easter weekend! Now I’m going to go and demolish the rest of these Mini Eggs. Yum.

I’ve removed the password protection on the directory, the products are in, and my shop for doll knits is finally open! This will only be of interest to doll owners, but it’s been a slog, and more than once I’ve wondered why I didn’t just use a pre-packaged “e-commerce solution”. I think mostly I was rebelling against the notion of using a “solution”, but the result is good and all my own work. It’s based on a wordpress install, so I can’t take credit for coding a site from scratch, but I think it’s pretty good, and it does what I need it to.

There are only nine items up, but I decided to focus on getting the vehicle up and running smoothly. I have a number of things on the go, and they’ll be put up as and when they’re finished.

I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend spent with a friend in Cambridge, but for now I need to start catching up on all the correspondence I’ve been neglecting (oo-er!). I hope to get my modifications of the Modern Lace Henley written up in the next few days, and I may have another finished knit (human-size) to share too.

Phew!