Blackberry Soleil
This pattern look so pretty in Knitty but was almost a total disaster! The yarn kept splitting all over the place and I somehow managed to completely mess up one of the armholes. I ended up abandoning it for 4 months. In fact I fully intended to frog it but, faced with the prospect of a 2.5 hour return train trip to London, I decided to give it another go. Ripped it right back to the start of the armhole shaping and re-knitted it. The neckline still isn’t right. The fit is a bit too loose. And I don’t like…
Quick Wrap
A simple dropstitch pattern to make a very quick wrap ready for summer evenings. I used Cygnet Grousemoor aran weight yarn and 6.5mm needles but it could be made using any weight yarn and the appropriate needles. Some of the shiny ribbon yarns would probably work well for a more glamorous evening wrap.
How Many…? Tools Updated
I’ve finally found time to update the How Many…? Tools. There are now 4 separate online tools that attempt to help with burning questions such as:
- If I want to decrease 14 stitches over 6 inches – how many rows should I work between decreases?
- My pattern needs me to increase 13 stitches evenly over a row – how often do I increase?
- I want to knit something 13 inches wide – how many stitches do I cast on?
- I want to knit a piece 22.5 inches long – how many rows do I work?
The tools should now provide far more practical suggestions for awkward calculations such as:
- decreasing 7 times over 90 stitches
- carrying out 5 increases over 7 inches with a row count of 6 rows per inch
And, after all that maths, my head hurts…
More Socks
K has has a sudden growth spurt, so a few of the socks that I’d made for him previously no longer fitted. So there was a mad dash to get some sock yarn and make him a new pair (with growing room) for winter. Especially as he doesn’t like wearing slippers and much prefers to wander round the house in stocking feet. These were made using King Cole’s Zigzag sock yarn. I’ve not tried this before but it’s not bad. It’s 50% wool and 50% acrylic, so I’m not sure I’d use it to make socks for myself but for…
Branching Out
A little while ago, I managed to pick up 3 skeins of absolutely gorgeous Rowan Kaffe Fassett Kid Silk yarn in ivory on eBay. After a fair bit of research, I decided to make a Branching Out Scarf. Although the pattern looked a bit complex at first glance, it was a pure pleasure to knit up. And the finished scarf is currently my absolute favourite — which is why it looks a little crumpled in the photo. Once it was blocked, I wanted to wear it — not photograph it. So the photo was taken about 6 weeks after it…
Long Fingerless Gloves
I love fingerless gloves! Not only are they really practical when shopping but I just like the look of them. These Spirogyra gloves are a little different because they’re so long — finishing just below the elbow. I found them really easy to knit up and the final fit was perfect. I can easily see myself making another pair of these.
Winter Mittens
Fluffy Cuff Mittens knitted in the round using 1 strand of dark red and 1 strand of mid-pink double knit yarn for the glove body and a multi-coloured eyelash yarn for the cuff. I like the fact that the finished mittens are quite long, so you can wear them with the cuff turned up or down. Took about 6 hours to complete.
Quick Catch Up
Haven’t posted anything for ages – primarily because I’ve been spending most of my spare time knitting or crocheting. In the past 6 weeks or so, I’ve completed: A pair of Spirogyra fingerless gloves The Branching Out scarf using 3 skeins of absolutely gorgeous Rowan Kaffe Fassett Kid Silk yarn in ivory that I picked up on eBay. 3 pairs of Crochet Openwork Handwarmers (having made a pair for myself in under 2 hours, I promptly made 2 more pairs for Xmas presents) 1 pair of new socks for K – he’s started growing! A pair of Fluffy Cuff Mittens…
Eyelash Bag
I was recently given 500grams of eyelash yarn and as, I wasn’t sure what to do with it, I knitted up a small swatch in the hopes that the yarn itself would give me some ideas. In the end, it decided it wanted to be a bag. I’ve always wanted to try out the Unbiased bag pattern, so I thought I’d give it a whirl using this yarn. This was more of a cotton-type, scrappy, yarn rather the silky type that clearly needed larger needles than the pattern recommended. 6.5mm needles gave a slightly tight stitch which was ideal for…
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.
