Drops Hat

I finished a hat for my eldest daughter last night, she goes on her first ski holiday on Sunday so I'm hoping this will be warm and get some use.

It's a Drops design and can be found here.

I must admit I did not enjoy knitting this, that was a bit of a surprise as it's such a fun looking hat but for some reason I just couldn't get into it.

I used 8mm needles and some of the super bulky Zettl Maribel yarn I got from Lidl.

Twisted Seedling:Fingerless Mitts.

I've been wanting to tell you about these fingerless mitts for a few days now but wanted to wait untill I had the pattern hook up done. Hook up is now done and I can finally, finally share my glee.

I designed a pair of fingerless mitts and I love them. They're made from Sirdar Click Chunky and are doing a great job at keeping my hands warm. I used 4.5mmDPNs and they were finished the day I started them.

Although I originally designed them because I find other gloves/mitt patterns are large on me (even the smallest size) according to my sister-in-law they fit her great and her hands are quite a bit larger than mine.
It's probably not a great pattern, written or otherwise but it's my first and I love it (like a small child LOL). I've a free PDF available here, if you do make them I'd so love to see a picture if you wouldn't mind sharing.

To Pick or to Throw?

Nobody ever really taught me to knit, although I do vaugly remember my Nana knitting Aran jumpers. I remember being interested but not enough to actually ask her to show me what it was she was doing.

Why I eventually picked up the needles I'll never know but I'm so glad I did. Of course my first effort didn't work out so well, it was supposed to be a baby cardigan but resembled more of a doily in a triangle shape with the amount of stitches I dropped and then picked up. So it got shoved in a bag in the back of a cupboard in my first home and has never been seen since, think it got left when I moved.

Then in 2006 I saw a knitting magazine and thought 'what the heck, I'll give it another go'. I bought cheap acrylic and some needles and me and my purchases went home happy.

The magazine had a how to guide in the back and was a revelation, I didn't even realise that needles came in different shapes and sizes, let alone the multitude of yarn choices, I was entranced.

The internet is a marvellous thing, my next knitting efforts actually worked, anything I didn't understand and the magazine didn't show how to do, I looked it up on the net and had many a eureka moment.

My confidence and abilities grew as did my stash, my ability to talk to other knitters was non existent as nobody I knew knitted (by this time my Nana was no longer around) so my only source of knitting knowledge was my magazines and the internet.

Then towards the end of 2007 somebody on a wedding forum was gushing about a knitting website called 'Ravery'. I signed up not really thinking much of it, epecially as I had to wait for my invitation.

Mooching in my email one day, there it was my invitation to join Ravelry. When I first looked at it I thought, okay this is neat, I can list my projects, my yarn, my needles and I can even get a load of free patterns.

Then, then I stumbled across the groups and howly cow, my knitting world exploded. There were all these knitters, talking and sharing information. Some of them were actually doing the same project as me and we could discuss it, we could share our highs and our lows, we could share our successes 'look, look what I made isn't it great?' We could also share our not so greats, 'what did I do wrong?'.

My knitting world expanded, I realised I wasn't this lonely knitter, there was actually thousands of people who 'got' it, this urge to pick up yarn and needles or even hooks. Yup, I got the crochet bug as well. I can still remember how amazed and chuffed I was the first time I made a granny square.

In my perrifferal I remember reading about people who were pickers or throwers (huh? thought I) if you knit you knit...right?

Wrong, there are all sorts of ways to knit and everybody either does it the way they were taught or the way that feels right. I'm a thrower as I didn't even know there was any other way. But now I want to learn continental, why? Because I want to speed up my knitting and not be put off by ribbing.

I've seen many a design that I thought, 'eek, all that ribbing or stocking stitch' and so never cast on for the project. Circular needles have gotten rid of my avoidance of stocking stitch (so long as the project is worked in the round), now I hope learning to knit continental will get rid of my avoidance of ribbing/purling.

I've some links for those that also would like to join my jouney and learn Continental knitting:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9XImtoQmZ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kybhNmLWHhA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVxnSpFJl6s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNfG05FeLsE

Violet Green Socks

I finished another pair of socks yesterday, I used the yarn I dyed for the February DAL details can be found here.

They fit wonderfully, Violet Green's sock calculator pattern works like a charm and so fast to knit. I used 4ply sock yarn with 2.5mm DPNs made to fit a UK size 3 shoe. I'll have to ask Kevin if he can make me a sock blocker in that size.

Then of course because I had nothing to mindlessly knit whilst watching the TV I just had to cast on another pair of socks (can we say 'new obsession'?). This time I used the new yarn I dyed, the Limed Carnation (pink & green) and the same pattern.I hope to eventually have enough hand knit socks to last a fortnight :-) They're just so much nicer/better than shop bought.

February DAL (Dye-a-long)

They say patiance is a virtue, well I never claimed to be virtuous. There was mention of a DAL on Ravelry for February, the theme: Passionate Pink.

So, I ordered some dyes (Kool Aid and Procion MX) and a skein of yarn from DT Craft & Design. As usual their service is wonderful and my yarn and dyes arrived the next day.

Not being able to wait until February I had to have a play, well I've never used Procion MX before and dyeing is just too much fun not to mess around with it.

My base yarn is 75% Blue Faced Leicester/25% Nylon sock yarn and I used 2 sachets of Kool Aid Lemon-Lime and a quarter teaspoon of Procion MX dye powder in Brilliant Pink. I used the dip dye and microwave method.
I'm really pleased with how well the Procion MX dye worked, gave a good colour saturation throughout the skein.

Back to school Vest

My Back To School Vest is complete, I've even sewn in the ends.

I was really pleased with this pattern it was so simple to follow and quick to knit, there are a couple of printing errors in the book, they were easy to figure out though or you could check here.

This is the first time I've knit something slightly smaller and actually increased for my bust, it's worked really well. Rather than being swamped you can actually see my figure, although with just having got over Christmas this may not be a good thing LOL.Now I just need to finish my other sock, my goodness I'll have two finished projects in the same week...go me!

Pah!

Well (cough), remeber that resolution I was pratteling on about the other day? Yes, yes the one where I don't cast on anything new unless I finish 2 WIPs.

Well, err, I kind of broke it already. Okay, I didn't break it as much as I threw it on the ground and stomped all over it.

On Saturday (3rd January) I cast on for the Back To School U neck Vest by Stefanie Japel from Fitted Knits, I justified this by telling myself that I had just finished two jumpers and a pair of fingerless gloves.I'm using King Cole Fashion Aran in colour 162 Heather, that I got from Abakhan in Manchester and I'm using my Harmony options size 4.5mm and 3.75mm.

But then yesterday I decided I'd do a DAL (dye-a-long) that I found on Ravelry, the theme January Blues. I got out my one last undyed hank of BFL/Nylon sock yarn and set to dying.
I used 1 sachet of Grape kool Aid, 1 sachet of Black Cherry Kool Aid and half a bottle of Dr. Oetker blue food colouring. Rather than dip dying I decided I'd be clever and actually hand paint the yarn this time (yay, go me.) I finished it off in the microwave instead of the slow cooker to ensure the colours didn't bleed into each other.

Then I was so excited about how well it turned out I wanted to see how it knitted up, so I cast on a pair of socks, I'm using Violet Green's sock calculator pattern and size 2.5mmDPNsSo I haven't really broken my resolution as badly as it seems (or at least that's what I'm telling myself) and hopefully I'll have a lovely vest and pair of socks by next week.

Resolution, hmmm.

I've just been on the Selfish Knitters group on Ravelry and seen a discussion called 'Jan KAL: Resolution knitting'. You've got it, resolutions about your knitting.

A wonderful person said her resolution was to complete two WIPs before casting a new project on. Now I like that idea, I've so many WIPs at the moement I really must do something to spur me on.

So my resolution is to complete the required two, then I can indulge and cast on something new. Of course now that I've wrote that down I'm trying to find loop holes in the rule so that I can cast something (anything) on LOL.

But I'll endeavour to complete my two, starting today with my modified Paris. Wish me luck, I've a feeling I'm going to need it :-)

Delicato Mitts

Okay, I've only finished one so far and I'm already in love with both the pattern and the finished one.

They certainly live up to their name, very delicate and light on my hand and such a wonderful fit. Also with them being 100% lambswool, they are nice and warm as well.

The 2.5mmDPNs I used are perfect, the yarn and colour is perfect, the fact I only did 6 instead of 7 repeats of the lace panel pattern is perfect. Did I mention I loved these mitts (mitt)?
I know I'm definitely going to have to keep these away from the girls or I'll never see them again, let alone get a chance to wear them and show them off.
I've now finished both and am definitely in love with them LOL. Any ideas on how to block out the ladders on the palms?

Mitts For Meeeee.

I bought this absolutely georgeous yarn from Ebay, it's a 2ply hand dyed laceweight and 100% lambswool. This stuff is so soft and the colours are so gentle, I was stuck for a while on what it wanted to be.

Then I came across a pattern called Delicato Mitts and I thought the name and style of mitt really went with my soft pastel laceweight.So, out of shear boredom I cast on for them late last night and so far am loving them. I'm using 2.5mm DPNs instead of the recommended 2.75mm, not only to accomodate the fact I'm using a lace yarn but also because my hands are quite small.

Christmas Jumper Two Finished.

I put the finishing touches to mum's christmas jumper yesterday, I'm not best pleased with a small issue on the left neck edge at the beginning of the ribbing but don't know how to correct it. As it is more than wearable I'm just not going to fiddle with it.

I wish I had of put some waist shaping into it, but mum isn't keen on that so I just hopefully made a snuggly raglan sweater.

I liked the Patons washed haze aran although I think adding a new ball is a bit of a pain and even though I've darned in the ends I'm not overly confidant of them but only time will tell.

I really like the Ann Budd book The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, I'm sure I'll use it many more times to create many more sweaters/cardigans. For my first raglan I'm really quite pleased with it.

Mystery Beret.

Remember my wonderful lace beret, the pattern was a Woolly Wormhead mystery?

Well, it's now a felted basket (sob, howl... stamps feet!). It was my most favoured hat, thought I looked good in it and I stupidly (very stupidly) put it in the wash.Can you believe I actually forgot that it had a wool content, for some reason I thought is was acrylic, gah! It turns out James C Brett's Ripple has a 55% wool content.

Cobblestone Christmas Pullover

I've finished and it's fantastic, the construction and ease of following this pattern has really pleased me. I've come to realise Jared Flood is a bloody genius and I'll be following more of his patterns.

December 15 2008

I’ve just started the yoke and have 9 days to finish, I’m enjoying knitting with this yarn even though it’s still a bit scratchy just hope it softens when I wash it.

Argh, I’ve never wrapped and turned before and have no idea what I’m doing, I’ve followed the instructions but think I’ve followed it wrong. I’m not even sure what the wrap and turn is supposed to do so can’t even fudge it.

I now understand what the wraps achieve and once that clicked into place was able to storm along and have gotten up to decrease 1.

December 17 2008

I was just getting up to the 3rd decrease when I realised I’d made a stupid measurement mistake and have had to frog back 4 inches, stitch by flaming stitch…sigh. It will be worth it though as the jumper looks to be turning out wonderfully and hopefully my dad will like it as much as I do.

December 20 2008

I’ve finished and it looks wonderful, I so love the construction of this jumper. I also can't praise the New Lanark wool I used enough. It knits up beautifully and the stitch definition is great.

Meret Cowl Delight

Okay, remember the mystery beret/tam I did (the pattern was by Wolly Wormhead) that was supposed to be for my daughter? Well I claimed it for myself as it was so nice and the designer as decided to call the pattern Meret.

I just wanted to make something to go with it, so I made a cowl. I cast on 91 stitches joined in the round and then knit 3 rounds, I then did the pattern 3 times and another few rounds plain knit and tadah, a matching neckwarmer for my Meret beret.

Wonder if I can make a matching pair of mitts?

I used the James C Brett Ripple again and circular needles in size 4.5mm, the pattern is only available on Ravelry from what I can tell.

Breeding Hats!

I seem to be experiencing a bit of a hat obsession at the moment and spent last night knitting another tam/beret.

At the age of 35 I've suddenly come to the conclusion that hats are great and they keep you feeling so much warmer, not to mention if you're having a bad hair day you can just plonk a hat on your head and you've got instant chic.

Anyway, I was in Lidl yesterday and they had 600g of bulky yarn for £6.99. Okay, it's only 20% superwash wool but the pack did come with free 8mm circular needles and 4 free patterns and the yarn does feel very soft and fluffy.

I used Sarah-Hope Parmeter's bulky tam pattern and size 6.5mm circulars. This was such a quick and simple knit, only took 5 hours and that was with interruptions.

I did find the ribbing on the brim to not be quite tight enough so had to run an elastic round so that it wasn’t so big and would fit my head. Perhaps using a smaller needle or a 2x2 rib would be better.

I was surprised that it took only one ball of wool, I even managed to make a small pom pom.

Lace Beret

Woolly Wormhead posted a mystery beret on Ravelry, I've now completed it. It was a quick and satisfying knit with easy to follow instructions.I originally made this beret for my daughter as one of her birthday gifts, it's turned out so nice I'm not sure if I can give it away :-)
I used James C Brett Ripple in H1 and 4.5mm needles. The ball of yarn is a true representation of the colour.

Christmas Gift Knits

Okay, it's that time of year to start the gift knits and everything else has been put on hold. I've decided on sweaters this year and have them picked out and started already (yay, go me for once on being organised-ish).

Dad was easy to think of a pattern, I've gone for the Cobblestone by Jared Flood, I'm using New Lanark Donegal Silk Tweed Aran in the colourway dark graphite, it's a wool silk mix that feels a little scratchy to begin with but when washed really sofens up (at least that's what others have said, I've not got to the washing stage yet.)
So far so good, it seems to be working up real fast and as of yet I've not encountered any problems although that could all change when I get to the short rows as I've never done short rows before (eek!).

Mum was a little harder to think of until I got my new book The Knitter's Handy Book Of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd, I'm in love with this book and just want to give everything a go :-)

I don't want to give too much away as mum reads this blog on occasion but I’ve a gauge of 7 stitches and 10 rows = 2 inch in stocking stitch in the round using 6mm circs and Paton's Washed Haze Aran, so I cast on 140 (instead of the recommended 160) stitches to achieve a 40 inch chest. Just hope my math is correct :-)

I’d finished binding all the neck stitches off and had also finished all my decreases. I should have had 31 stitches but I had 62, so a real mess up somehow. I’ve frogged back and will re-attach the sleeves today and hope that I don’t mess up this time. It seems I didn't do enough decreases and should be able to get back on track in no time as this jumper is so fast to knit it practically flies of the needles.

I'm getting a little worried that I may run out of yarn so will order a couple of extra balls this week to be on the safe side.

Fingerless Mitts

I used the last of the Wendy Fusion (probably still have 30-50yrds left) for a pair of fingerless mitts for my youngest daughter, Mary.

I'm quite impressed that I managed to get two hats and a pair of mitts from the three balls of yarn I bought (yarn was on sale as well) seems I've saved a pretty penny or two there and the girls are pleased with my efforts. So everybodies happy :-)

Ribbed Hat

I wanted to work on something pretty mindless today and this pattern filled the bill.

Worked on 6.5mm circs, I made another hat from the Wendy Fusion for my eldest daughter.
A simple 2x2 rib that took next to no time to knit up. There is still most of one ball of the yarn left, just have to figure out what to do with it.

Super Droop Jellyfish tam.

My eldest daughter asked for one of those hats that droop, but she wanted it quite large. Hmm, the jellyfish tam v2.0 (the super droop) must be what she's after says I.

Boy I couldn't have been more wrong, the thing was huge. You could fit two whole heads in this thing. Would have been great on a Rastafarian with crap loads of dreds, but looked, well, ridiculous on my daughter.

So I ripped it back to the point where the v2.0 pattern deviates from the original pattern and carried on from there.

Much better and bonus, she likes it. I'll believe her when I actually see her wearing it hehe.

I used Wendy Fusion in Bouquet Garni and size 4.5mm and 10mm DPNs, think I'll definitly be using the Fusion again as I really like how soft and quite it is to knit up, also has a nice drape.