Rowan Kidsilk Haze
I’d heard so much about this yarn that I decided I had to use it to knit another Wisp. People were describing it as “gorgeous
“, “addictive
” and “crack silk haze
“.
So I bought two skeins (shade Wicked – black) and, last week, sat down to begin work.
Winter Socks
When it gets really cold, I love being able to slouch around the house wearing really thick winter socks. Given that my current pair were looking slightly worse for wear after last winter, I decided to treat myself to a new pair. I got hold of 100gms of beautifully soft, hand-dyed merino wool on Ebay and set to using a Sock Generator pattern. The wool was almost aran weight, so I ended up using the entire 100gms but I’m sure that I’ll appreciate the extra warmth in December/January. And they are beautifully soft and comfortable.
Recent Projects
I thought it was about time I listed some of my recently completed projects that used other people’s patterns. Aran Cozy Knitted with James Brett’s Denim with Wool (aran weight). Finished Length: About 5 foot Finished width: About 2 foot Pattern: Knitty (Fall 2004)
Glasses Case
My old spectacle case was looking decidedly worse for wear, so I decided to spend a few hours knitting myself a case that I’d actually enjoy using. Now at least I get to handle alpaca and silk yarn on a daily basis… I also felted my case slightly but bear in mind that this will reduce the size (especially the length) of the case a little. So bear this in mind when working out how many stitches you need to cast on and how many inches you need to work.
Recycled Sari Silk Bag
I recently bought 100 gms of recyled sari silk to try out. Can’t say I was impressed. The yarn was very stiff & rough (even after gentle washing) and seemed, to me, to be rather fragile. Since it was too rough for a scarf, I decided it wanted to be a bag. But, bearing in mind its fragility, I though it would be a good idea to combine it with a fine but strong yarn (such as mohair). The strap was crocheted using 100% cotton on the grounds that it would be reversible, wouldn’t stretch as much as a woollen…
Dropstitch Scarf
What do you do with a couple of odd balls of Sirdar Medici? In my case, it seemed to me that the yarn would make for a nice, loose and relatively unstructured, scarf. Since I wanted the final scarf to be as loose as possible, I opted for a dropstitch pattern that my mother taught me when I was about 12 and wanted to knit a 6 foot scarf inside a week! She called it “French Knitting“. I just called it “Really, Really, Fast Knitting“. So as well as giving me the looseness I wanted, this dropstitch also had the…
Blur Cowl
My version of the Dolores Park Cowl made using 2 x 50 gram skeins of Sirdar Blur which have been hanging around in my stash for months. I used two strands throughout. I think the colourways were “Inca” and “Desire” which look absolutely fabulous together. I ended up abandoning the circulars recommend by the pattern and switched to straight needles as the smallest circulars I had were 22 inches and, at a gauge of 3sts per inch, 60 sts works out to only 20 inches! I can’t figure out why no one else seems to have had a problem with…
Stash Fidget
The Fidget is a small scarflet that uses the twisted moss stitch for texture and only takes about 100 yards of yarn. You can also make it using almost any weight yarn. For this fidget, I used some DK yarn that I happened to have in my stash but used 2 strands held together throughout. I did like the stitch pattern (which was very easy) but found that the completed Fidget was still curling at the edges even after gently blocking. I might try lightly steam blocking it.
Thrifty Shrug
Crocheted this shrug in a day based on a Bernat pattern using about 250gms of yarn that I found in a local thrift shop. Cost? About £2. The yarn was some sort of cotton mix and around fingering/sport weight, so I used two strands held together throughout. Rather than sewing up 8 inches to create sleeves as the pattern suggested, I found it was easier (and safer) to leave 18 inches in the centre open.
The How Many? Knitting Tool
I really dislike working things out on scraps of paper, so I’ve created a ‘how many?’ tool to do it for me.
