off the needles

I received an email from Corinne at Thicket the other day, asking people for help knitting moss stitch squares that she will in turn sew into blankets which will then be passed onto bushfire victims.
It was a beautiful and heartfelt response to the devastation of the fires, and I was only too happy to help her by knitting a few squares.


A simple moss stitch pattern on 5mm needles knits up quickly, and as Corinne had asked for colours of regeneration - greens, browns and blues - I decided to use up some of the single skeins of green I had lurking in the stash.

I hope the blanket/s my squares end up in help a family out, and provide some comfort.

In amongst all this devastation and destruction, there has also been new life. Two little bubs born, and I have a new stand-by pattern (and yarn!)

The seamless baby kimono from Mason-Dixon knitting is my new favourite newborn gift, particularly when paired with Layette yarn (80% bamboo/20% wool). I can knit one of these up in a night, and the Layette comes in lots of lovely gender-neutral colours!

I've got enough for two more kimono's - one in a linen colour and another in a pale mint green. I'm thinking I'll make a few up as standbys too!

While I was working with the Layette yarn, I was so impressed I decided to get enough to make a tank top for myself too.

Kirsten TenDyke's Broken Rib Tank. I converted the pattern to be knit in the round, which was very simple, and it flew off the needles. I will probably wear it as a vest over a tee or lightweight top in Autumn, as the yarn is a little bit heavy (and a tiny bit itchy next to bare skin) for summer wear.

Overall, I was really happy with this project - I love the red, and the drape of the yarn is gorgeous. The pattern was so well written and the yoke gives a lovely finished effect to the garment.

Knitting in the round always gives you much better knitting tension, and along with the excellent stitch definition provided by the yarn, I have sat marveling at how even all those rows of stocking stitch are. I may never knit flat again!

so now, after a flurry of finishing, I have found myself with little left on the needles. I still have about 25% of Lily's Stranded socks to go, and of course my Ripple blanket is still going, but I always knew that was going to be a long-term project. By the end of this week, I'm hoping to have the socks finished though, so I can get onto new things! I am trawling Ravelry for ideas and inspiration, and think I nearly have it all worked out...

but that will all wait for next post - after all, new projects deserve a post all of their own, wouldn't you agree?