Autumn Knitting

Right, so it's getting colder and I need to keep warm.  Check out that autumnal light.  

Just finished this today.  It almost finished me.  It's been a while since I knitted something in so many bits.  Sooo much seaming and sewing and fiddly and fussing.  But I swear on my orange ukelele it was totally worth every headache inducing, eye-squinting, finger pricking minute of it.

I gotta tell ya, this is royal baby alpaca, no ordinary llama wool for me!  Unbelievably soft and drapey and pretty.  Somehow shiny and matt at the same time, wooly and silky, smooth and snuggly.  Thank you Webs closeouts!

Obviously the best thing about this sweater is the pockets to hold my wool when I walk around the house knitting. Actually I could walk to the shops knitting in this.  Will the kiddos be ashamed of their crazy mama when she turns up at school knitting out of her kangaroo pockets?

But the rest of it looks pretty good too:

Slouchy and comfy, but stylish and a little tailored too.  Just like me, he he ;-)  Thank you Norah Gaughan for the wonderful pattern.  One very clever lady.

This is my other new sweater for Autumn.  A test knit of  Calvados by Thea Colman.  The wool is Jo Sharp Silkroan Aran Tweed in a colour called Jewel.  It's impossilbe to photograph for some reason.  It does something weird to my camera and makes everything look hazy and pink and makes me vanish.  See:

 

Spooky Mulder.  I love it, especially as it's not really anything like that colour - think Shiraz and you're closer.  Perfect over a merino on an almost cold day.

 

Actually today is gorgeous.  Sunny, a light breeze and 17C, I'm too hot in my alpaca!

I had some Silkroad left over so I whipped up this tweedy beret.  This is a test knit of a new pattern by the lovely Sheryl of Shorty Stitches (who always looks gorgeous in a beret) and will be available soon.  In the meantime you might like to knit her other new beret pattern, the Dolce Beret.  Life is sweet.

So I've become a testing whore.