I would post a picture of my latest project, but I am ashamed to say that it was a disaster, when it really should have been so straightforward.

I have a good excuse for my distraction. Last week, Col and I took the week off and my sister's three kids came to stay with us over half term. The week flew by in a fun blur of Temple Run, Monopoly and chlorinated swimming pools. By the end of each day I barely had the energy to lift my knitting needles and when I did, it went so very wrong...Firstly, I slipped a stitch and hoped it would go away (it didn't). Second, I messed up on some pretty basic 2x2 rib (not pretty). Third, I lost one of the knitting needles for two days.

It was not my finest hour.

Meanwhile, Col has been nagging me to finish his scarf, but I think he should be grateful that I didn't pick it up last week...

As for last week's attempt, it's about to be frogged! Here's to a more productive crafty week.

x

So far in this blog I have avoided mentioning frogs or UFOs.

Frogs

I have only had to 'frog' - or completely undo - one project. I started on the hat for James late one evening and I lost concentration, the 1x1 rib stitch was all wrong. Unlike my good friend Russell, I've not yet learned how to mend my mistakes. I might leave them alone and explain to the recipient that it's all part of the 'hand-made charm'. However, with the hat, I was determined to make this one without mistakes. So I started again, having only (thankfully) worked on about 8 rows. Nevertheless, it was a sad day for me as I'm not fond of having to start again.

UFOs

The name UFO (an un-finished object) was passed on to me by my talented quilting friend Chloe, who had been explaining the concept to me before I got into knitting. It stuck with me. I like to imagine that Chloe attended a UFO convention. Nothing extraterrestrial, but rather a place to tackle these little half-finished monsters which haunt the dark recesses of our cupboards and keep us up at night (especially when we've been eating lots of cheese before bedtime).

At the moment I have one UFO but it's the elephant in my imaginary china cabinet. I started it in April last year! Up until the second week in January, it was still there, barely a third way through, always there taunting me, niggling in the back of my knitty mind whenever I start a new project and always popping into view whenever I went to get a different size set of needles...

It's a bolero. It's a lovely pattern which my Mum kindly let me borrow (sorry it's taken so long to return Mum!). It's a tricky yarn to work with as it has fluffy bits which mean it can be difficult to see whether I am picking up extra stitches (or dropping them) as I work along the row. But it has taken shape and it's looking really quite cute.

The new me will not let this UFO defeat me in 2012, I am determined to persevere this time around. I plan to complete it ready for the spring. If anyone is interested in kitting out their 1-2 year old girl with the finished product, do let me know as it will give me motivation to get it finished.

Do you have any UFOs lurking in the dark recesses of your yarn drawer? Or are you a frogger? I'd love to hear from you.

More scarves

Colin was the recipient of my second ever creation, a scarf made over a few evenings using Wendy Pampas super chunky in a gorgeously warm barley colour (#2203). I used the enormous 12mm needles, so it didn't take long to complete but I had learned from my previous mistakes and the finished scarf was much prettier as a result.

Growing in confidence with my new hobby, I wore the Big Green Monster into the office one chilly morning last February. Amy spotted it and before long I was knitting her a more attractive cousin to the Big Green Monster. More recently, I knitted another scarf for Amy, she picked a gorgeous marbled grey colour, while Georgina was brave and asked for a scarf in the shade 'Little Big Horn'; I absolutely love the purple in this yarn.

Both Dads received a hand-made scarf for Christmas. For a bit of a change, I found some lovely warm Life Chunky yarn in granite marl for Mr Palmer and black for Mr Swain snr. For the occasion, I splashed out on some new 6mm needles. I still get very excited when buying new equipment. These are a good size to work with and I've used them a fair bit this month. I admit that my father-in-law didn't get his scarf in time for Christmas (it was three days late) but hopefully it will be useful now the cold snap has arrived.

Woolly hats

Our niece Abigail was the recipient of my first attempt at a drawstring hat, using Ecobaby yarn in unbleached white, with a flower knitted using Sidar Snuggly Smiley Stripes in multi-pink. My first attempt at knitting a 1x1 rib was quite a shocker, but fortunately for Abi, the final effect was pretty and stretchy too. I have made a few more hats since this first one and I'm really pleased with the results. I used the Sidar Smiley Stripes in blue for James Champkins in April and he looked absolutely yummy in it. For Christmas, I decided to make hats for our Godson James Cox and his three siblings. James's hat sports the biggest (detachable) pom-pom imaginable; Thomas's black beanie was finished with a red thread woven around the edge to give it some colour; Ellie's hat was a candy pink colour with a pink and white pom-pom; baby Amelia's hat looks very similar to Abigail's in white ecobaby yarn with pink flower.

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments I received last week. Chief Duck is busy with some exciting orders received through the site so I'd love to hear what you think of my recent projects.