Anticipation

I am on tenterhooks waiting to find out how my Adamas Shawl will turn out. It's currently blocking and looks a bit like this (but less wonky - once I saw the photo I moved some of the pins around to try and straighten the diagonal edges):

I am quietly confident that it will turn out well (at least I certainly hope it will). I couldn't seem to quite get it to stretch to the measurements given in the pattern - mine is just over 5' wide at the top and about 2'6" down the middle - I think that should be a good size though - I would expect I'll mostly be wearing it as a big cuddly scarf anyway.

There was a slight delay in beginning the blocking process when I realised I didn't have any pins that were up to the job; that meant I had to wait a few days while the 'T' pins that I ordered online turned up.

I haven't been slacking off in the meantime though, I have not one but two finished projects to show you from the intervening period. These two go together with my Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf (as blogged here) to complete a little garter stitch trilogy.

I give you without further ado my Zeebee hat:

Knitted in James C. Brett Marble DK - 5mm needles - I messed up my gauge measurements so I knitted 5 segments instead of the 4 stated in the pattern. Pattern here; Ravelry page here. This pattern is genius - the fit of the hat that it produces is really nice - covers the tops of my ears well which I like in a hat! I, sadly, am not a genius hence the reason I miscalculated the gauge and ended up knitting 5 segments instead of the stated 4 - it doesn't seem to have harmed the finished product at all though.

Next up are my garter stitch mittens:

Knitted in James C. Brett Marble DK - 4mm needles (magic loop method). Pattern here; Ravelry page here. This pattern is also simple but effective - I had a couple of false starts with these but that's because I didn't bother to make measurements of my hands before I started and just worked on a trial-and-error basis - they still only took a few evenings worth of knitting to finish though.

I'm very pleased with my little garter stitch collection - I only hope the jacket that kick-started the whole process still fits me this winter!

I've just been swatching for my next planned project as well - news of that to follow when there is something worth reporting on! All I can say for now is that I have managed to get the correct gauge without too much trouble - phew!

With any luck the next post from me will be one which is full of pride for a successfully completed shawl. Fingers crossed!