Cross a sheep and a kangaroo?

My new wool(1) arrived yesterday. Well, it actually arrived the day before yesterday but as it didn’t fit through my letterbox I had to collect it from the post office. The colours are lovely, and I’m currently knitting up a 4inch square in the pattern I hope to use it for. It knits up nicely, though it does pill a little, I put this down to it being a wool mix, and it isn’t really a problem unless I need to undo it. I’m also very pleased with my attempt at (ssk yo k2tog) (2) which is the pattern I will be mostly using for the new project. It’s a shrug as seen in Simply Knitting recently. I have a couple of new things to learn in the course of the project. There was the stitch pattern (this is my first pattern with ssk or with yo in), there is also some knitting in the round which I have yet to do, buttonholes, and no doubt increasing and decreasing in ways that I have not yet seen.

In preparation for this yarn arriving I have got some dpns(3) in the same size as the needles recommended by the pattern. Hopefully when I have knitted up my tension square it will prove to be the right size, it’s looking pretty promising. Then I’ll be away and knitting my shrug. I think it gets knit all in one piece, so I will not have to do any seaming, which I find quite challenging at the moment.

Anyway, the wool is exactly as I had hoped for! It’s really soft and the colours are excellent. Pinks, whites and browns is a nice combination. I may try to get some more of this wool from the same seller, although chunky wool-mix will probably be a bit warm for spring/summer (if spring/summer ever gets here!)

This does also mean that I’ve finished knitting my first hat-and-bootee set for sending off to the local SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit) – they are so tiny, I’m amazed that you can get babies that small! I have lots of 4ply wool though, so I should be fixed for doing a couple more sets before I package them up. There’s also a pattern, from the bliss charity website, for a little cardigan, but it looks complicated! I might have a go at it, but I’d like to know whether there’s a need for such items first.

Anyway, I’ll sort out some pictures of all these bits and stick them into this post sometime over the weekend.

Oh! Last point: I accidentally(4) ordered a sock knitting set from an ebay shop called knitterbabes. I have already ordered some stitch markers from them which were lovely, so I just couldn’t resist. The set comes with surina dpns, opal self patterning sock yarn, some sock stitch markers and a pattern for the socks. Hopefully these will go better than my previous attempt at a sock! Having actual sock yarn should help a lot.

(1) Yes, it’s really wool, it’s a 50% wool 50% acrylic yarn, so I think I can call that wool.
(2) ssk yo k2tog is a sequence of 4 stitches, slip-slip-knit (ssk) is where you start to knit a stitch, but instead of knitting it you slip it onto the right needle, then you do the same with the next stitch, then you put the right needle through the front of the two stitches and knit as normal knocking both stitches off. Then yo involves bringing the yarn to the front of the needles, as though to purl a stitch, but then wrapping it around the needle once, leaving the yarn at the front. Finally k2tog which is knitting two stitches at once but in the normal way.
(3) dpns are Double Pointed Needles
(4) Ok, not really accidentally, but I wasn’t supposed to be buying any more yarn or needles until I’ve knitted up at least some of what I have, and until all of my previous orders have arrived.