stash busting Paulie

So I’ve finally finished my stash busting Paulie cardigan and I love it!

Well, it is minus buttons but that can wait until the perfect buttons show their face, and a lack of buttons has never stopped me wearing anything in the past!

I decided to do this project to use up a chunk of my left over sock yarn as well as having a new summer cardigan!
I gathered together a bunch of colours that I thought worked well together a basically worked the colours until they ran out,
you can see in the pictures the change in colour stripes as I went along but as I kept to a strick colour pattern I think it works.
Using the same three colours for the thinner stripes helped keep the pattern together.
I decided to do rib cuffs and bottom band as I personally prefer the rib to the garter stitch for the way it sits but I kept the garter stitch for the collar section.

I really wanted it to include a hood so I worked a bunch more short rows in garter stitch after the collar until I go my desired shape!

I think it will be well worn and my stash is tidy and organised with will a few remaining left overs to work those little baby booties and socks that are akways needed at short notice!

The best thing is that whenever I wear it I can look at the different yarn colours and fibres and think about the projects I made originally!!!!!!!

too many shawls?? – never!!

When I decided to knit my sister a shawl for her 30th birthday I didn’t think it would take me this long to pick one!

Her birthday was on 28th Feb!!

I knew I was leaving it late as I still hadn’t finished my brothers socks, (due 19th Jan! Still waiting to be posted!) but even though I’m never normally on time with knitted gifts, this is even late for me!

The first point I was stuck at was picking the yarn. I gave Jen six options and she got it down to two……

Wollmeise Pure in Petite Poison

And

Madeleine Tosh, Tosh Sock in Moss

Eventually I decided to go with the Wollmeise as Amethyst is her birth stone and I wanted a shawl with more delicate drape than comfort squish.

Other than finishing Adams socks and picking a yarn, my main issue was that I couldn’t decide on a pattern. I had a few ideas in my head but wanted it to be special and perfect for her. So I took to Ravelry to see if it would help.

Looking through Ravelry just made it harder, there are so many amazing shawls out there, all pulling me in different directions!

So I decided to put together my favourite five shawls and compare them all together to help me decide.

The greatest thing about Ravelry is having the ability to see many knitters versions of patterns, it different yarns, weights and colours.

The pics shown are a mixture of the designers own and other Ravelry knitters projects.

I love the bold, determined style of Trilinear designed by Cindy Garland, but the thought of having to make another decision for the second colour has put me off this but has also put this at number eight in my Ravelry queue!

© Wild Prairie Knits

The delicate draping leaves of The Lonely Tree Shawl designed by Sylvia Bo Bilvia are just gorgeous and the border adds such a pretty finish but I didn’t want a block lace pattern for the entire shawl. (I think this would be awesome in another yarn in my stash too)

© Sylvia Bo Bilvia

The shape of Lazy Katie has me obsessed! Brigit Freyer has designed a work of art in this shawl but it needs a bold, colourful, variegated yarn to create the brilliant effect.

© BonnieRed

Semele Shawl designed by Asa Tricosa is practically perfect, it has a delicate drape a base of stockinette stitch and pretty lace border, I think it has made the final cut….

Knittimo

Whenever I think to knit a shawl my default designer will always be Susanna IC and Oslo Walk is fantastic. I love the dangling ice crystals and the yo’s breaking up the main section of the shawl. Susanna’s construction is always a winner for me so into the final it goes…

© OrangeLauren

The final decision has been hard but due to the weather at the moment being so cold and so icy I’ve made my choice…..

The winner is Oslo Walk!!

olympic heartbreak

My Ravellenic project has completed stalled. It’s the knitting equivalent to pulling a hamstring on the back straight, straining an Achilles tendon over the first hurdle, missing the bar completely and landing in the pole-vault pit shoulder first. With only two sleeves and the button band to go, I’ve had to rip out.

A week into the Ravellenic Games and I was flying along. My aim was originally to get as many WIPs finished as possible, but quickly turned into just getting my Tinder complete. I love this pattern and so although I have far less time than I did for the last Olympics, I’ve at least really been enjoying knitting on it. Which is a good thing seeing as I’m now going to have to reknit the entire thing.

My swatching had gone beautifully. I got just short of gauge on a thicker yarn, which means I would have been right on target for my size (MATHEMATICS!). On Monday, I had the back finished and ready to be blocked. On Thursday I had completed the left front. By Saturday I had completed the right front. Sunday I wound my second mega skein of Fleece Artist Organic Merino Aran and cast on my sleeve.

Notice anything?

These are not the same colour.

I bought them about three years ago from Purlescence back when it was run by Robynn, who was always super careful about this sort of thing, so even though there is no dye lot number I can be pretty sure they are from the same batch (NOTE: I’m not blaming the source in this AT ALL; it’s very clearly my fault as you’ll see). At the time, I untwisted both skeins and laid them between each other to check the colour and they blended in together beautifully, as though one. You couldn’t tell which strand came from which skein.

But a lot can happen in three years, including fading. I can only surmise that the paler skein is so because it used to live in the shelves that face my bedroom window, and our bedroom gets a lot of sun in the afternoons, which is what did the damage. Nonetheless, it’s heartbreaking. I’m going to have to knit the whole thing, as I should have done right from the start, interchanging strands to make sure the colours blend. Except now I’m worried that because these are So Very Different the finished piece will be noticeably striped. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I feel like such a dingus. I listen to the Knitmores, I should have known better: When gearing up for any major event like this, you have to put the hours into proper training. Lesson learned.

buttony update

A got my new Buttony finished last week and forgot to put up the photos!
Well I’ve not really taken it off since!

I took Emmms advice (smart woman) when it came to the sleeves and knit 2 inches longer than I thought I should knit as my sleeves always come out too short however they were still too short for my liking!

So I finally took it off, added extra length to the sleeves and managed to get some photos taken too so here it is!

all buttoned up

I managed to get my new/old cardi finished today!!

I had enough yarn to complete the sleeves to the length I wanted

and to put the stripes down the front button band.

I picked some of my favourite buttons from my stash, knit some I-cord loops and it was finished!

I’m so pleased and have not taken it off since!

A hodge-podge knitting success!

rip it up and start again

A few years ago I made a sweater out of some discount yarn I got in the winter sales.

I don’t normally knit with such chunky wool but thought it was a good deal so found a pattern I liked and got knitting.

I was never particularly pleased with the result and it got put aside.

I was going though my winter clothes a few months ago and came across it again, I left it out in the hope that someone would wear it but it still sat there.
So, on Sunday I decided to unravel the whole thing and start again!

I knew I wanted a cardi instead of a jumper but couldn’t find a pattern I liked in such a chunky yarn so I got knitting a basic raglan, top down, no sewing cardi.

I have been trying it on the whole time (great benefit of top down!) and pretty much blagging the whole project!

It has been quite fun to knit as I’m doing a lot of guess work, absolutly no measuring, not a guage in sight and no shaping planning mathematics, and I’m not actually sure that I have enough yarn to finish it the way I want! I like a risky knit!

I’ve already done a button band however I’m hoping to be left with enough yarn after the sleeves (which I want to be loooong!) to add a stripe or dark brown followed by a stripe of light brown to each front!

I’m planning on adding button loops and huge chunky wooden buttons to finish it off!!

I do enjoy hodge-podge knitting even though the results never always work out!!

Fingers crossed this one does!!

christmas is coming (quicker than I thought!)

So, I thought I was on top of all my christmas plans.

Decorations are up

The cake has been baked, fed and is now waiting to be eaten

my Chutney is settling nicely

my niece’s christmas sweater has been made and being worn by her for christmas parties.

This is an adaptation of Drops Christmas Jumpsuit with Hood, I used the Reindeer pattern from Knitting Matters blog and flipped it in PS to get the alternate side. Also across the back is a white and red snowflake motif.

(There is no way my neice could have an Aunt that knits without having a Xmas sweater, not only that but it matches mine from last year)

With my visit to the local Christmas market been planned with a detour via the Micro Brewery this weekend I thought I had plenty of time to finish my knitting, however with only 10 days left to go time is speeding along and Im getting slightly worried!!

I decided my Secret Santa person this year would be receiving knitted sock in amongst their gift so I chose the pattern Bex from Cookie A, Sock Innovation.

What a treat to knit!

The pattern is very easy to remember, with repetitive structured cables and travelling rib sections you can knit away getting lost in the texture. That is until the pattern jumps slightly, grabbing your attention back to the  design and taking you on a similar but slightly different journey than before.

The result is a bold, 3D like boxy pattern, reminiscent of Escher Stairs. Absolute Genius!

The yarn I am using Sparkleduck British Merino,  just adds to the texture of the pattern with a really tight twist in the ply and strong bold colour. Love it!

So this Sunday I am planning to bake something glorious out of the Nigella’s Christmas Recipe book, settle on the couch and finish these socks!

A Stitch in Time 1930-1959 – Volume 2

When I first came across A Stitch In Time 1920-1949 :Volume 1 knitting pattern book I thought my dreams had come true!

I have tried before to knit a vintage sweater using a vintage pattern and to be honest I gave up pretty quickly, the pattern wasn’t really that old either, late 70′s!!

To begin with it was quite tough to find a suitable yarn, the sizing was very boxy and the pattern structure was sometimes quite difficult to read and although I do love designing my own patterns, i’m not terribly confident altering a pattern for such a large garment myself. This is why I fell in love with Susan Crawford, Jane Waller and A Stitch In Time.

Using their uber genius minds they took some of the best vintage patterns,  put them together in a manner that was easy to understand, included current yarn and sizes and published them all in a book with excellent instructions and descriptions, not to mention awesome new photos! What gives them the edge  is that they include the original patterns in the book too!

Since I bought A Stitch in Time I have knit quite a few patterns and love every single one! (I have blogged about them all  but my favourites are Concentrate on the Sleeves and To Wear With Anything) There are many more patterns I just cant wait to knit!

I really did not believe it could get any better…..

That was until, at Knit Nation this year, I learnt about A Stitch in Time  1930-1959 : Volume 2!!!

Immediatly I signed up!

I was gutted at the time to hear that it wasnt being published until September but knew that I would be so excited when it actually arrived. Unfortunatly there were a few publishing problems and the book was delayed for a while. This was not a problem at all as they were so nice about it, we were sent a free pattern from the book, via email, to whet our appetities and I must admit that it really did hype it all up for me not knowing when the postman would knock!

That day arrived last week, the doorbell rang just as I was on my way to the gym, and it was the book!!

I opened it immediatly to find not only the book

but a lovely bag and 2 money off vouchers!

It really just kept getting better!

This volume, a beautiful hardback copy signed by Susan herself,  knocks socks of the previous, something I thought I would never say.

Not only do we once again get the most incredible vintage patterns plus the originals, with photos, we also have an in-depth guide to ‘Perfecting The Vintage Knit’ covering all you could need to know from sizing to trims and (to my utter enjoyment) a whole page on ‘Choosing The Right Buttons’. Undeniably an invaluable addition.

The book is just full once again of fantastic patterns to suit every taste and shape and as Emmms proved whilst flicking through the book in the cafe last week, there is so much to coo over and so many pages to stroke that A Stitch  In Time will definitly keep your attention for a long long time!

My ultimate favourite has to be Cryscelle, which is used as the cover image.

Here are a few more of my favourites, I say a few as I couldn’t include the whole book!

(from left to right, top to bottom: ‘Lady’s Jumper-Cardigan’; ‘Lady’s Evening Jumper’; ‘Box Coat’; ‘Colourful Winter Sports Outfit’; ‘A Pretty Frilled Jumper’; ‘Tyrolean Jumper Coat’)

Emmm’s favourites should be up here soon!!

Thanks once again to the amazing Susan Crawford and Jane Waller !!!!

(All photos taken from A Stitch In Time 1930- 1959 : Volume 2)

baby blanket

I’ve finished my baby blanket and I love it!

Pattern: Sea of Dreams Baby Blanket by Aimee Alexander (size medium)

It’s the right mix of soft and cosy, delicate and lacy and hopefully perfect for my niece on her Christening day!

When my niece was born I knew that I wanted to knit her a durable everyday shawl/blanket and a more lacy, delicate ‘for best’ shawl/blanket so when I found out she was being Christened I took the opportunity.

However I did leave it late, getting the dates of the Christening a week out didn’t help much either, I’ve been working on it at every spare moment, but a few hours on an easyjet flight to Krakow, needles stored in pencil case through security, was all I needed to get it finished.

It has been blocking for the past couple of days but is now dry and ready for the big day this weekend.

The yarn I used was Natural Dye Studio Angel 4 ply sock, (70% baby alpaca, 10% cashmere, 20% silk) which I highly recommend.
It is wispy enough because of the baby alpaca, silky enough from the silk but also so strong with great stitch definition too.

I loved it so much I’ve used the left overs to knit a pair of socks (well I’ve knit one, but I do have a couple of days left) in an adapted version of the blanket pattern I put together.

Hopefully more photos of the little angel wrapped up in it to come!

Bo Peep revival and new pattern edition

It turns out that there is a bit of a revival of our Loumms Year of Socks pattern, Bo Peep!!

This pattern was originally released in April 2009 as a special part of our Year of Socks and there are now quite a few Bo Peeps floating around Ravelry.

In the past few weeks we have been contacted by many people showing an interest in these lacy gloves so I thought Id take the opportunity to edit the pattern properly to make life easier for everyone!

      

All the links have now been updated to the new PDF copy but just in case I missed one I’ve noted on the pattern that it is a 2nd edition.

Hopefully all of the errata has been included and brand new ‘Bo Peeps’ will be popping up everywhere with minimal fuss!!! I might even knit myself my third pair!

                   

             

So you can now download the new edition of Bo Peep here and also on Ravelry soon.

 (pictures taken from Ravelry)