It’s All A Bit Slow…
Seem to have hit a bit of a slow spell since Christmas. I’ve got three projects on the go — all started mid-December — and not one of them is close to being finished yet!
Boot Cuffs
I had some black fun fur cuffs hanging around that I used to wear over the top of a short pair of boots (since gone). Saw a pattern for boot cuffs and thought I’d improvise my own,
K’s Cabled Sweater
K needed a new winter sweater. Because he hates crew or turtle necks, it had to be a V-neck. Fortunately, I already had a basic pattern for a child’s chunky V-neck sweater that I’ve used many times over the years, so it was just a case of finding the right yarn. He finally settled for some bright blue Wendy Swiftknit that I spotted on eBay. He also asked for “some of those twisty things” on his sweater — which turned out to be cables, so I incorporated two mirrored cables into the front & back plus a single cable along…
K’s Super Warm Gloves
The weather turned really cold and K only had fingerless gloves! He hates normal gloves but I managed to persuade him that warm mittens wouldn’t be so bad. Took the Fluffy Cuff Mittens pattern from Stitch ‘N Bitch and converted it into a child’s size. Then used a strand of blue and a strand of blue green aran yarn held together throughout. It was a bit hard on the hands but I managed to finish them in a day. Good job too. A few days later, it started snowing!
K’s Netbook Cover
K got a netbook for his birthday, so I decided to make him a felted netbook cover. Found some shetland wool on eBay and set to. The yarn is listed as sport/5ply but, in my opinion, was closer to a 4ply, so I used it double throughout. Worked a swatch first and felted that so I could work out the initial dimensions for casting on. Unfortunately, I worked the swatch in garter stitch using 6mm needles but, at the last moment, decided to use stocking stitch for the cover itself. Bad idea! I should have done another swatch as stocking…
Armwarmers
Spotted a pattern for armwarmers in the Autumn issue of Knitty. My warm winter jackets is a little too tight to wear a thick sweater underneath — which isn’t a big problem but my arms do get a bit chilly sometimes. So I rooted out 100gms of Magi-Knit (James Brett — colourway:YW2) and a week later, I had a pair of armwarmers. I particularly liked the Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. I think I’ll be using that elsewhere. I also came across a stretchy cast on method that uses a crochet hook. I might try that for my next pair of…
Moiselle Hat & Quant
I have to stop buying yarn just because it’s pretty! I bought 250gms of Moiselle from eBay recently just because it looked so nice. Took some away with me to the Irish Discworld Convention in November and made yet another Quant. A Tea Cozy Hat followed shortly after.
Cabled Shrug
I love shrugs. Apart from the fact that there’s no need to work buttonholes and then try and find suitable buttons (not easy when your nearest LYS is a 30 minute bus ride away), they’re so easy to simply “shrug” on and off. I’d had my eye on a cabled shrug pattern for a while and finally decided to treat myself a kilo of Paton’s Symphony – colourway: Truffle. Love the finished shrug which was pretty easy to work up. Even better, Someone actually approached me whilst I was wearing it last week and asked me if I made it…
Marble Chunky
I’ve always liked the look of James Brett’s Marble Chunky. The colourways are absolutely gorgeous. So when K asked if he could have a new winter sweater, I took him down to my LYS (which is anything but local) and asked him to chose a colour. Surprisingly, he opted for a red/pink/orange colourway. I added 100gms of plain black to the 2 skeins of Marble (200gms each) and we had enough for a kid’s shirt-collar sweater. Having completed the sweater, I still had more than 100gms left of the Marble. So I also made a Quant (my favourite hat/headband) and…
Yuri MudFlap Top
Managed to get hold of 200gms of Noro Yuki recently. I love Noro yarns but they’re normally so expensive. This one was a bit unusual too. A multicolour mix of cotton and silk with a little nylon added to give it strength.
