WIP-Crackaway, WIP-Crackaway, WIP-Crackaway

Nic and Louise have got a fantastic plan: fight the startitis of the cold days and dark nights by picking up a WIP in turn and knitting till it is done. No more casting on all the things. Instead, finish something! #WIPCrackaway is happening in all the usual places: Ravelry (specific threads with prizes in KnitBritish and YarnsfromthePlain); Twitter; Instagram; Pinterest etc...

What with the stash acquisition that has been going on, and the slightly mad charting that seems to go hand-in-hand with an unpurposed skein, I felt rather in need of a cleaner plate. So, rather than casting on my beautiful Yarndale yarn, I have been most virtuous! The orange and green socks (blogged about way back in February) have been waiting patiently for the ends to be woven in. Check. The Regia sock is growing on me, though I still find the green / orange / pink combination is slightly too much. (Orange and pink, yes. Green and orange, yes. Green and pink, yes. All three? Not sure) They'll get plenty of wear this winter if it stays as it is, in any event.

I'm much more proud of my Devon pair. Finally finished (just in time for Yarndale in fact) on 25th September, after casting on in the Autumn of 2012?! I remember finishing the first sock after a slow knit in February of 2013 (backstage at Salad Days), but the second sock lingered even longer. Now they're done, and I'd be wearing them for work if only office rules would permit. Knit out of Easyknits Deeply Wicked in their Grape colourway, I'm really pleased with how they've turned out, and I like the combination of stripe and lace, even if the pattern is a little obscured from a distance.

Third is a bit of a secret knit, but the photo exists, so I'm showing them off. The yarn is Eden Cottage Yarns Pendle 4ply in Sand, bought at Yarndale 2013, and cast on in the Spring (I was originally hoping to have the pair done for Unwind Brighton this year). These are a test-knit of a new pattern I'm working on at the moment. More as and when it's ready!

And finally, in the centre are a long-awaited pair of mitts: in January this year, the office was very cold, and a colleague in particular was suffering. I said that I had leftovers that would suit, and could knit a pair of mitts. Only then I cast on too many stitches, and ended up with something too large for my (substantially larger) hands. So I sulked. And they sat in time out until this September, when I left that office for a new job, and finally decided to get them finished for her, before it gets cold again! So I ripped, and started again, and finished both hands!

And that's it - I've even picked up the next UFO, which I began just before the deadline, on 31st August. Now to turn a single sock into a pair...