8/6/16
I am so excited as i have finally got hold of this pattern book. I am waiting for it to arrive and am scouring the known universe for the yarn i need…. nothing to show yet but will post as soon as there is an update!

9/6/16
ok, maybe i am a bit obsessive, but i actually stayed awake last night due to ‘yarn insomnia’…. ooh which colour scheme to choose, so many lovely colours and combinations. SOOooo, have take my lovely other persons advice which came in the form of “well why dont you just use the colours that are listed in the pattern”…. hmmmm, genius comment from a ‘non-yarny’ so have just ordered what same lovely other calls ‘bits of string in various shades of mud’. I am going to have to hide the credit card statement this month!!!!

OK, yarn has arrived but i mande a big boo boo when ordering and somehow got the wrong bllack yarn. Go the single ply for weaving, not the stuff for knitting this particular sweater. got to send the cones back and get the correct stuff…. the anoying this is that is it one of the first colours to use so i cant even begin even though i have all the other colours already! never mind. I think timing wise this is going to be my summer holiday knit!

i can’t wait!

22/07/16 DAY 1 OF KNITTING - AND SO IT BEGINS!
ok, so it is the 22nd July 2016, officially the second day of the summer hols, and i am going to start knitting today, starting with the swatch! Have finally got around to sorting out the missing black yarn, and that should be with me in the next few days, but untill then, swatch it is!!! So, have just done swatch - i didnt do the pattern as specified (started but eyes went and complained!), so just did a bit of a random colour pattern so as to emulate the colourwork tension. Tension was great, and cam our pretty much as specified in pattern. I am happy with tension, will be perfect when blocked!

23/07/16 - DAY 2
I have just finished the bottom cast on and ribbing (K3, P1, rep), plus the first row of set up. “Curses!” I cry as i am waiting on the black yarn to arrive, so I can’t continue yet, so i think i will keep myself busy by knitting up the 2 sleeve cuffs. Not sure if i want to stick to specified sleeve length, as I love the short sleeve look (where sleeve begins at elbow crease) or the full length from wrist upwards.

24/07/16 - DAY 3….

ok, it is 7th August, and i gotta say… that this is the most ‘concentrate’iest’ thing i have ever knitted…. literally have to concentrate on every little square on the chart for the pattern…. my eyes are exhausted, but i am enjoying this.
it really is a labour of love.

SO, i honestly think this is gonna take alot longer than i thought, and that this as a summer holiday project is just too ambitious! i just can’t knit an do the kid thing at the same time as both of them deserve my fullest attention! so i am reevaluating my time scale and reckon on the first half term of autumn once the kids are back in school!

i will post pics of my journey so far, but as of this morning i am about half way through the first medallions following on from the lowest band of ribbing……

ok, it is 10th August,
have finished first medallion and criss cross band above it, just about to embark second medallion.
have decided to start both sleeves to be knitted at the same time. going to use safety lines in these as i will be drinking wine as i go (always fatal mistake, but hey it is the holidays)… watch this space!

19th August 2016
oooookkkkkaaaayyyyyy…
so am just back from holiday in lovely Welsh Wales, and i can confirm that every spare moment was filled with knitting. So then, ok, well i got to admit that fairisle on the beach while 3 kids are running feral is not the most relaxing of occupations, but i can confirm the following….
1. have decided to lengthen the sleeves for a full length version.
2.have suddenly realised that i will have to re position my knitting to fit the chart of the body so that the changes to the arms will fit the joining up with the body pattern-wise.
3. have finished ONE of the sleeves to the armpit, and will continue with the second sleeve having cast in and done the ribbed cuff so far…..

A wonderful thing that i wish to share is that i have realised that i have a natural ‘gift’… yes it is true… i CAN knit fairisle while drinking large glasses of red wine (plural). No frogging needed, but safetly line used just in case……

watch this space!

OK, IT IS 30th OCTOBER 2016, and i confess, i had a little time out from this as i had so many other things that i had to get done, and as it always goes in these situations, the knitting project that is for me went imediately to the back of the queue…..
so, i am gooing to try and get this done and my aim date is Christmas day!!

so…… wish me luck, i am going in……..

ok, so i havent been as good with my knitting schedule as i had hoped, but on the 19th March 2017 i decided to go for it…. and have now finishes on the 10th April 2017. so so pleased with the results. will post a pic as soon as i manage to find my camera.

totally delighted, although i am somewhat dismayed about the number of unused balls of spindrift i have left, seriously i have at least 10 balls left - not a problem though, i can use them as the basis of another project in the future. One thing i would like to note however is that i ran out of the ‘old gold’ colour in the last bit of knitting when i completed the neckline, so i used another of the colours as a substitute. loved knitting this and feel so proud of myself!