Back to Knitting and Sewing

I am sorry that my blog has failed to mention much in the way of knitting lately. I am still working on my Circular Shrug from Ravelry and the tedious nature of the K2P2 ribbing was really bogging me down. Thank goodness for the transition point I reach the other day. After 7 inches of K2P2 ribbing I have now moved on to, you guessed it, K1P1 on the RS and P1Slip1 on the WS. This is referred to as Mock Ribbing. I keep asking myself why I ever started this project but I am one to try as best I can to finish- ahem-what I start.

Here is a ball of my hand painted felted merino that I am using for this project. The wool seems to take on a different look when it is wound into a ball. I have to say that I wasn't sold on the colors until I saw them this way.Here is my shrug or part there of.
Here is an up close view of the transition area from K2P2 to mock ribbing.
I have to say that things are moving much more quickly now because just before the transition I did 1 row of K2Tog P2Tog reducing the number of stitches I was working from 246 to 123. That's a bit of a relief. Then, with the mock ribbing slipping every other stitch on the WS I feel like I am flying through this project- as the Tui ads say...Yeah Right!

As a side project, I have taken on a sewing project with the guidance and support of my friend Shirley. She helped me choose a pattern for a skirt that the girls can wear to the International Rodeo that is taking place in Christchurch next month. They have brand new metallic pink cowgirl boots and western summery shirts but with teeny tiny wastes, finding something that fits skirt wise in a real challenge. Hence, this sewing project. Here is the pattern envelope. The skirt pattern is the purple skirt the little girl is wearing.
I have chosen to alternative the fabric in the tiers using a solid for the first and third tiers and a print for the middle tier. Here are the fabrics I will be using.
Ivy will be the recipient of this skirt. If all goes well and I can make this pattern work, I'll be on to making one for Melody. I have sewn together all of the panels for each tier of the skirt and am now needing to do the gathering.

I hope to have more done on both of these projects to be able to share really soon.