after the summer

Well, the kids are definitely back at school.  Just me, the dog and the cat now.  And while two of our number snore away the day, one of us can usually be found with a hook and a ball of yarn.
I currently have... (counts in head)... 8 wips on the go.  As is always the way, I am going through a period where I can't settle on any one thing.  I have loads of ideas pinging through my head and not enough hours in the week to get them all done.  So I will work on each project a little at a time until I make  a decision.
Part of the problem is that I'm all shawled out.  I completed the 12 shawls challenge months ago but I still have 4 shawls in progress!  One of them is languishing at the bottom of the pile because it requires more concentration than I can give it right now, one is a prototype for a new pattern I am thinking about, one of them is being worked in a pure silk yarn that is forever knotting itself up.  The last one is a rework of my p-hop pattern, October Leaves.  I am using some left over Fyberspates yarn from 2 other projects - a gorgeous green called Chartreuse that I used in my first Jacob's Ladder Shawlette, and a vibrant purple from Betty's shawl.  I like the possibilities of October Leaves - one of my testers did a striped version that I ended up using as the first picture on the pattern.  My project will be mainly green with 3 purple stripes (I don't have enough purple left to do any more than that!).

I've been getting a few patterns tested (and re-tested) recently.  Firstly, hopscotch cowl:

I've updated the original pattern a little and also written it up using US terms as well as UK.  The testers have all added their projects to Ravelry, you can have a look at them all here  The pattern is available for £1 for a short time only - available here (discount at checkout!)

Secondly, and still currently being tested are my steampunk mitts.  I've borrowed the stitch pattern from springy socks and turned it sideways and hooked it up with the stitch pattern from my yoga socks pattern.  I'm thinking that I will probably offer the pattern for free for a few weeks once it is released...

 

 

Finally, I have bitten the bullet and put Betty's shawl up for testing as of yesterday.  I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone gets on with the pattern :)

 

At this rate I will definitely hit my target of having 20 patterns on the ravelry database by the end of the year!