My current knitting and crochet projects...

I haven't been that prolific with my yarn projects this year for some reason, but I did manage to finish a lot of old projects and keep to a max of 5 at a time! Because we are moving to New Zealand at the end of this year, i've been been very frugal and havem't bought any more new yarn. I've been using up my suitcase full of stash and enjoying it quite a lot :D

When we visited NZ last year I brought back quite a lot of yarn with me and I've only just dug into it.

I think I went slightly mad when I bought this 2-ply, of course I would never knit such fine wool! But it was so beautiful, 100% alpaca and hand dyed, what a dream.. and so soft too. But I found the perfect project for it, big needles with another thick yarn - New Zealand wool bought by my grandma ages ago, which i spun up into a bulky single ply yarn.

Pattern: Loopy and Luscious shawl
Yarn: Flagstaff Alpacas 2-ply in Sage
Needles: Size 7mm
Started: Sept 8th

 This project is so simple yet so satisfying, and interesting because of the texture it creates! I love the way it looks when you hold it up to the light, like cobwebs. I can imagine wearing this scarf in Dunedin by the coast in the cool breeze, it'll be nice and toasty :)

Even the colours remind me of NZ, like these tussock hills near Queenstown.

I have had this yarn for too long, I hand dyed it last year with food colouring and vinegar. Of course its always hard to find a use for fine wool and this 4ply was no different, the only way I could use it was to to crochet it up quickly. And what to do with all the odd balls? Because they are all unique.

Pattern: Half Granny square shawl pattern
Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills wool, hand dyed by me.
Hook: 4mm
Started: Sept 9th

 I was looking around Ravelry and I found a granny square shawl, now usually I think granny squares are daggy but this looked pretty cool. I started working the colours in stripes, and boy does it eat up the yarn! The colours seem to meld pretty well too :)






















Nothing more satisfying than seeing those balls of wool dissapear and turn into something useful :D

Now I love a project with interesting construction and this pattern has that alright!
Again using Flagstaff Alpaca wool this time in 4-ply but the colour repeats are somewhat shorter. This made it really hard to choose a pattern, because I wanted to make a shawl because I find alpaca somewhat irritating against my skin, but most shawl patterns are worked over long rows. It would pool like crazy if I used it that way, the yarn wouldn't show its true beauty, and it is very beautiful wool too!

Pattern: Ten Stitch wrap (ravelry link)
Yarn: Flagstaff Alpacas 4ply in Moonshine
Needles: 3.5mm?
Started: Not entirely sure, probably September.

This pattern is perfect for this yarn, the short rows that sanke around and join together as it is made mean that the colours are shown off to their full advantage.

This one will take a while to complete, being such a fine knit, but when it does it'll use up both skeins and be warm and cosy on my shoulders :)

I'll update on these projects as I complete them, hope you enjoyed them!