Gretel

This was an interesting knit for me as all of the berets by Ysolda have been knitted from the centre out but this one worked from the band in. Maybe this method lends itself better to a cable pattern but I found I prefer working from the centre. I find all the needles running into each other annoying - and although this must have been true in the other hats, it didn't 'feel' as annoying so.... Apart from my personal preferences :) Ysolda's pattern is again cleverly thought out and looks visually stunning from both sides...

I used Paton's aran beehive and bought it online without feeling the yarn. I should have checked beforehand, I know, but for some reason thought it had about 50% wool in the mix. In reality it has only 15% and is less soft than I expected. I blame Debbie Bliss for this as now I have used cashmerino and alpaca silk my fingers have become much more sensitive to yumminess and nothing really feels as soft as I previously thought:)

This pattern can be knitted in fitted, regular and slouchy - this is the regular as I've done quite a few slouchies and wanted to compare the difference. And if it suited me then it could become mine in all its pink loveliness.....


Ah, don't you just love the intertwining cables? I really do think I might have to knit another one - in cashmerino maybe?

reboot!

hello all!

Well, I didn't intend quite so long a break away from blogging! Once something happens to break the flow then I find that life tends to get in the way and suddenly nearly a month has passed and no updates.

The good news was that blogger fixed my site quite quickly after my last post, just in time for my computer to get infected with a very nasty trojan that started wiping files and corrupting all my programmes. Eventually, I had to admit defeat and back everthing up and wipe the whole computer and start again from scratch.

Warning! Do not do this when you are very tired. It really pays to be focused at a time like that. Of course, I WAS tired and desperate to get my computer working again so I made a major mistake. Please do remember to disconnect the external hard drive that is storing all 5 years worth of backed up files, photos, work, etc before you format all the drives on your computer. The weeping and wailing that follows about how the world has literally ended are not pleasant for anyone else to witness.

There is a happy ending to this tale as I managed to get a recovery programme to 'find' the files underneath the new coding so I got everything back - whew. I did have to pay for the privilige but it was worth every penny:-) I've also realised that I've been storing a lot of crap too so a good clearout is in order. If you have converted your drive to RAW then do look at the ZAR recovery programme - lifesaver. It lets you see the files it has recovered and if you have the patience of Job then you can download 4 files at a time free. But since I had over 100,000 files, I decided not to do the maths and work out exactly what century I'd be in when I'd finished:-)

So now I can get back to showing you what I've been working on this month. The Heather Verity has finally got a button and is already delivered to my sister with the fixed purple verity, just in time for the cold snap. I've completed a pink gretel beret - another lovely pattern by Ysolda - and the cables are dense and warm looking. I've also completed another slouch beret in a heather tweed by Rowan and although I intended it for the christmas pile, I've decided it goes with a lot of my clothes and is now, therefore, mine:-)

Here's a sneeky peek at the pink cables - I'll go into more detail on the gretel tomorrow with pics and close-ups but for now, I'm just glad to be back!