Thursday 28 August 2014

FO (Knitting): All Seasons Cardy.

One of the projects I finished just before I went on vacation was my daughter's All Seasons Cardy. The pattern (All Seasons Cardy by Kelly Brooker) is available in plenty of different sizes from 12 months to 6 years, and is also written for different yarn weights. I made a size 2 years in a light worsted weight yarn. 


The cardigan is a seamless design and worked from the yoke down. It knit up quickly, especially once I got to the lace section, which was simple and repetitive enough to work even while watching my daughter play in the garden. The hardest part for me was chosing the buttons. When I started working on the cardigan I thought the colour I had chosen would work best with simple wood buttons, but when I tried different wood buttons on the finished piece the just didn't look right. Then I found two light pink flower buttons in my stash - and they just looked perfect. I fortunately remembered where I had bought them and was able to get a third one.

As always, my daughter was very excited when I told her that her new cardigan was almost done. She watched me very closely when I soaked it and pinned it out on my blocking mats. Then she kept asking if it was dry yet... and I had to help her put it on right away when finally it was dry. 


I love how it turned out - the slightly puffed sleeves look really cute on my little girl. The size is perfect - it does fit quite well already, but it's still large enough so she won't grow out of it immediately. And it's really quite versatile. So far, she has worn it over simple T-shirts when it was a bit chilly in the morning - but it also looks great worn over long-sleeved shirts, so it'll be perfect for the coming autumn months too.

Monday 25 August 2014

So I've got some catching up to do...

If you are actually reading my blog now and then you might have noticed that I've been silent for more than two weeks now. That's because I've been on holidays in Northumberland (well, right on the border between Northumberland and Durham, but still just on the Northumberland side of it...) for the last two weeks.

Rainbow over Derwent Reservoir

We stayed in a wonderful cottage at Winnows Hill Farm and enjoyed walks along the shores of the Derwent Reservoir, trips to Hadrian's Wall and to Kielder Water and Forest park, and lots of other stunningly beautiful destinations. It came as a surprise, but I didn't really mind having no access to the internet most of the time - I only ever checked my emails and ravelry messages twice in those two weeks!

Blanchland

But now I'm back, and I'll try to catch up on my FOs - the ones that I finished just before we left, and the ones I've made since then - and then give an update on my current WIPs. Might take a couple of days, though...

Hadrian's Wall - near Housestead

Friday 8 August 2014

Mindful Spin-Along

Mandobug from Mandobug Crafts has been hosting a "mindful spin-along" in her ravelry group these past two months - and it's still running until the end of August. The whole point of this spin-along is to know what you want to do with your yarn before you start spinning.

The goal I set for myself was to spin enough chain plied worsted weight yarn to make a cushion cover. I did not have a specific pattern in mind - I decided I would make up my own pattern. The hardest part for me (as a new drop spindler - this is my first "big" spinning project) would be to spin consistently over more than one skein. I'm spinning on my 75g bottom whorl spindle.

So what have I got so far? I am trying to spin approximately 50 grams at a time, and the spinning went really smoothly when I spun the first single in June - it took me just over a week. I was really happy with the evenness of that single.


After plying I ended up with 52 grams and 97 m of DK weight (11 WPI) yarn. Not quite what I was aiming for, but hey - it looks surprisingly good, and since I'm designing my own pattern I'm flexible when it comes to yarn weight, right?


So I was quite enthusiastic when I started my second single. I was off to a good start, but then I seemed to be hitting some kind of a wall - the fibre suddenly seemed to be very hard to draft, I had trouble producing an even thread, etc. I'm still not sure what the real reason for those problems was, but they lasted for about two weeks, until about a week ago. At that point, I had spun up about half of my second chunk of fibre - which had taken me WEEKS. I spun up the second half in merely FOUR DAYS! Only difference I can see: the weather. It had changed from very hot (around 30° C) to what to me is comfortable temperatures (around 20° C)...


Anyway, all those problems aside, I was now curious to find out if I would match the DK weight of my first skein... The single did seem very thin...And...uhm... nope. When I took the plied yarn of the spindle and wound it on my niddy noddy I measured it in five or six different spots, and always got the same result: 18 WPI (give or take a wrap). Oops - looks like I've spun a light fingering weight...? The picture was taken before I gave it a hot bath - the yarn is almost dry now.

I will not be able to use this second yarn for my cushion - so what will I do with it? My meterage estimate for this skein is 167 m, which might just be enough for a pair of fingerless mittens.

So while I seem to be getting fairly good at spinning one single evenly, I need to work on matching yarn gauge when spinning more than one skein. My next step will be to try for DK weight again. I've still got plenty of Coburg Fox top, so I'll keep on spinning...


Wednesday 6 August 2014

FO (Knitting): Rosie the Mouse

Just because it was such a fun little project: Meet Rosie the Mouse. The pattern (Toerag the Tubemouse) came up as a Mini-KAL in the beginner's KAL group I'm active in on ravelry. I decided to make one for my daughter - she had been so patient lately when she was watching me making toys for swaps and I kept on telling her I would make something for her soon. So this was perfect: I could use up some leftovers, it was quick, easy and  simply cute - and it turned out to be the perfect companion for the first toy I made for her more than a year ago:


The pattern calls for DK weight yarn - but since I couldn't find any mouse coloured DK in my stash I went with grey leftover sock yarn held double for the body. The body knit up quickly, and so did the tail, feet and ears, which I made from scraps of variegated pink/purple sock yarn. I did not hold the yarn double for those small parts, but noticed later that I probably should have done so for the feet. Rosie does have problems standing upright because her feet came out quite flappy - I think I'll try to reinforce them with duplicate stitch.
Anyway, she can stand up for a yummy apple:


The part that took the longest was to pluck up the courage to pick up a needle and embroider a face and a pair of front paws. To my own surprise it worked out fine this time, and I am really happy with the result - maybe I am slowly getting better at this kind of embellishment.


Oh, and did I mention that Helena LOVES her mouse? She couldn't wait for me to finish it when she found out what I was making and that it would actually be hers. She wanted to cuddle with it even before it was finished.


Tuesday 5 August 2014

FO (Knitting): Two hats - Heather and Fern

I knit two hats last month. I know mid / end July with temperatures around 30° C is probably not the time most people think of  hats... BUT... Winter is coming... it's inevitable. So better be prepared.

To be honest, I have never really liked wearing hats until I started knitting... by now I've got plenty, and I'm still adding more. I like knitting hats - they are small enough projects to take and knit anywhere (a bit like socks), and they are quick projects. Well, I felt the need of some quick instant gratification projects and had those two gorgeous hat pattern in my queue...

The first hat I knit last month was Heather (pattern) - a really quick to knit hat with a lovely lace panel that gives the brim a nice shape and can be worn on either side. As suggested in the pattern I chose to use a fingering weight yarn (Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cornwall) and held it double. I love the feel of the fabric produced that way, and I'm sure it will keep my ears warm next winter.



Sword Fern (pattern) on the other hand is not your standard hat pattern. The construction is a little different and a little more challenging - and I loved knitting it. The only change I made to the pattern was twisting the knit stitches on the brim, just because I like the look of it. The hat is knit in fingering weight yarn (I used Lana Grossa Cool Wool Baby) and rather light and airy - and I am looking forward to wearing it often when autumn comes.