Stitched Together

A Test Knit Revealed!

2012-01-27T09:31:00.000Z

Well, I finally have permission to show you the test knit that was taking up so much time in November an December. I really wanted to share the process with you guys, but the designer wanted it kept under wraps while the testing was going on and changes were being made to the design. The design is fantastic and is by Carine Lai. The garment I made was a tunic with a cabled panel up the front, raglan sleeves and a hood. It also has interesting ribbing on the bottom of the tunic and on the sleeves. Most importantly (to me) was it has bust sizing! The garment of which I speak is The Archer.

The pattern is knit in DK Weight yarn and I used some very cheap yarn I picked up for a song on eBay. It is Stylecraft Pure Wool DK (Machine Washable). I got 2560m for £15.98 (including delivery). This means that this lovely tunic cost me the grand total of £8.59 - now beat that Tesco! More importantly, because I used this yarn, I can chuck it into the washing machine. This may be useful as I am wearing this tunic a LOT!

I did take photos whilst knitting this project and I think this one shows the cable panel quite well.

The ribbing on bottom of the tunic is broken, which means it doesn't pull in around the hips and instead skims over them (and covers my bum!). Because the panel extends from the broken rib, the cable is knit over a background of garter stitch and bordered by the continuing broken rib. I love this panel so much and I really enjoyed working it.

I also really like how the cable panel splits to give an almost sweetheart neckline. Which again, can be seen more clearly on a work in progress photo.

This photo was taken after the pieces were blocked, so the cable looks a bit neater too! The pattern was created from the bottom up in pieces then assembled using mattress stitch, before picking up the live stitches, round the top of the tunic and creating the hood. The hood continues the broken rib from the central panel around the front edge.

Short row shaping brings the rear of the sleeves up to meet the raised back neckline. It's a lovely detail and makes the shoulders fit beautifully. The hood is joined together using grafting (or 3 needle bind off if you don't fancy fiddling about with a sewing needle!). Personally I really enjoyed the look of the grafted hood, it made it feel more organic, than having a seam would.

For me, the best part about this garment was the bust sizing. As someone who usually has to do short row shaping to get a sweater to hang right it was interesting looking at a different method of creating an increased bust size. Carine provides a worksheet with the pattern, that you need to use to calculate how many increases you need and over how many rows, for your particular measurements. The increases are done above the ribbed band and are spaced out according to your calculations. If you are looking for a simple and quick knit, this probably isn't it, though if you are a B-Cup or less, you don't need to do any maths! The maths aren't that hard to do but it will take a bit of time and patience to work through it properly and to make sure you know what you are doing. Personally as I have to do this most times I knit, it didn't bother me at all.

I can honestly say that despite a few hiccups, that were part of the testing process, I really enjoyed knitting this garment. It has plenty of straight forward bits for mindless knitting and lots of interesting bits to keep you entertained. And most importantly, I LOVE wearing it. I have had so many compliments about this garment, because not only is it a nice looking knit, it also actually FITS! At the end of the day, can you ask for anything more?

If you want to look at anymore finished projects, hit a button!

Mittens hit a Brick Wall

2012-01-25T12:43:00.000Z

Well my gorgeous mittens have hit a brick wall. I now have two finished outer mittens and they look lovely.

This was aided by new purchase. After working with the colourwork chart, I remembered how difficult it is to keep the paper pattern on my lap and keep marking it off. I did use highlighter tape, which was great but didn't stop the paper bending and sliding off my lap. As I know that after this project I'll be doing more stranded colourwork and lace charts I decided to splash out on something I've wanted for a while.

It's the Knit Pro Chart Holder. It is the same fabric finish as the needle case I have, which is designed to hold my KnitPro Options, plus a small project. (I have to confess my case doesn't have room for a project as it is stuffed full of notions!) This chart holder is the larger size and I got it from Hulu. I've used them before and they are great for service, plus they have a great magazine selection, though sometimes I wish I could choose to have something delivered from them, that I didn't have to sign for! At least it arrives properly if you have to sign for it, I suppose, but it does mean waiting in for a package that could fit through the letterbox.

This chart holder has three small powerful magnets that hold the paper in place. There is a long magnetic strip that you use to mark your current row and then you can close the whole thing up to keep it marked properly. The closure tab also is used to keep the chart upright, if required, either in landscape or portrait mode.

You can see on the above picture the highlighter tape that I had been using. I believe that you can get longer strips of highlighter tape, which would be better for marking long rows than the little tabs I have.

I have blurred out the charts, as this is not a free pattern! I used to have something very similar to this chart holder, that I used when I used to do cross stitch, except it was a metal sheet that was attached to my sewing frame. This is much better for carrying around with my knitting and it is better for sitting on my lap, which is usually where my patterns rest.

So with my new whizzy chart holder you'd think everything would be going quickly, and it did, as you can see from my outer mittens. But things have ground to a halt somewhat after finishing the lining of my first mitten. It looks great.

I love how crisp the lining edge looks after picking up and knitting stitches from under the I-Cord cast on. It even looks great when you put the mitten on.

What you can't see from this picture, is how bunched up the lining is. The picture below, shows a little bit of how the tip of the liner is bulging out the mitten top.

But it is only when you look at the actual liner that you can see the real extent of the problem.

After hitting this brick wall, I decided to have a look at the helpful notes section of the projects page for this pattern. I should have done this before I started knitting, as I am not the only person to have this problem. Lucyann's notes give her changes to the liner to make it smaller. I'm not sure if I need to change things quite so drastically, but this is what has caused me to pause.

I need to reduce the bunching at the top. I'm almost tempted to rip back the top edge of the liner and reduce it back to before the decreases, plus a few more rows, then perform the decreases , plus a few extra and then graft the end closed rather than pulling the stitches together to form a bulky ring of stitches. I think that might work.

I want to get these mittens right. They aren't any good to me if they are uncomfortable, no matter how nice they look. Someone suggested that I line the mittens with fleece, and I'm sort of thinking that might work well, especially as I have enough Noro left to knit another pair of mittens. If I saved the main yarn and didn't knit the liners, then I could knit someone else a pair of these mittens, and I KNOW that idea would be popular, as everyone who has seen these mittens wants to steal them from me!

So, while I have some thinking to do, I hope that this problem can be resolved soon, as the weather is getting colder and I need to get some wear from my lovely new warm mittens.

To look at other works in progress, that hopefully don't need so many problems solving, click on the button.

A quick finish to a long standing project.

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000Z

Last April I cast on a pair of socks. I was really enjoying a sock knitting burst of energy. Am I the only one who has those? Where as soon as you finish one pair, another is on your needles and you keep motoring away? Well these socks were my downfall. I decided that I wanted to make LONG socks. Not the normal ankle socks. I blogged about them here: in April, in May, and again towards the end of May. These sunny yellow socks did most of their growing in the first month. And then they stopped.

The stopped here:

I have no idea why they stopped, no cancel that, I do know why they stopped. They ground to a halt because I couldn't decide if they were going to decrease after the calf or not.

I picked them up again at the weekend. I decided to do a few decreases. Then I cast off. I put them on and I was exceptionally happy with them. They don't stay up, but they do create the most cozy slouchy socks I've ever worn. I think the only way I'll ever have long socks that will stay up is if I wear them with garters!

They are so warm around my ankles when I'm out on my scooter. They are also unbelievably comfy.

As usual, I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, which of course is amazingly stretchy and never bites into your skin, and with the added slouch factor they are so comforting to wear.

I just can't believe they took so long to finish. It's made me want to cast on another pair of socks immediately, but I want to finish my mittens first!

By the way, the photos have been doctored to hide my messy house and lumpy calves. Plus, I have Photoshop now, and I'm trying to learn how to use it. I haven't even got past the introduction in my "how-to" book, so I feel quite fancy working out how to delete my background through guess work! To have a look at more complete photos of finished objects, click on the button.

Working on Mittens

2012-01-18T11:06:00.000Z

As the title suggests, I am currently working on mittens. I was inspired by the mittens I knit for Martin at Christmas. These new ones are marvellous mittens and everyone wants to steal them from me. I am enjoying these mittens so much, and I am drawing out their knitting so I can knit them for longer. It helps of course the this Winter is yet to really kick in, and my hands haven't yet required mighty mittens of great thickness. If it gets colder I may speed up my knitting process.

So after all this preamble I will share my first finished outer mitten.

This is a Fiddlehead Mitten which is designed by Adrian Bizilia of Hello Yarn. I loved this design from the first time I saw it, but as it required several contrast yarns, I decided that I wouldn't be knitting it anytime soon. But, a few weeks ago I found two skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite that needed to be scooped up and made into something beautiful. They needed to be Fiddlehead Mittens. I decided that in order to maximise the buttery softness of this yarn, it should be teamed up with a contrast yarn that was equally soft. I decided on Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. I am really happy with my yarn choices.

This design uses an I-Cord cast on, which I'd never done before, but I really like the nice rounded edge it creates. The instructions in the pattern were clear enough that I didn't have to go looking for a tutorial. I think I may use it in the future on something else, as it's a useful new technique to add to my repertoire.

Now I have started to knit in the Continental style, I have found stranded knitting so much more simple. I hold the contrast yarn in my left hand and the main yarn in my right hand and knit the appropriate colour with the relevant hand. It speeds thing up no end. I also chose to knit the mitten inside out so the floats didn't pull across the back of the fabric.

As you can see, I've done pretty long floats across the back, but as there is a lining to the mittens I didn't think it would matter, as I will not be able to catch the floats when I wear the mittens.

I really have enjoyed watching the colours gradually change on the contrast yarn (the Noro) as the long stripes emerge. It makes it as effective as having several contrast colours, but without the hassle of weaving in ends!

I have done the cast on to the second mitten and plan to take this project with me for a train ride back to York to see my family this weekend. I hope to then gently block these outer mittens and then I will have to pick up from the I-Cord cast on and knit the inners in the Cashmerino yarn. These are going to a VERY cozy pair of mittens as effectively they will be three layers thick. I am going to be toasty warm and stylish too!

To check out other projects still in progress, click on the button!

Christmas Present Catch Up

2012-01-16T17:17:00.000Z

As I still haven't shown you all the presents I made, I thought I'd better get my act together and get this post written.

There are still two presents that have yet to be delivered due to illness but I can show you the rest.

The first one is a present for my Sister-In-Law's lovely new husband, the father of H, who I gave the felted bag to. It is always hard making something for a man, especially one you don't spend a lot of time with. I wasn't sure whether a made gift would be well received but I thought I'd take a punt on knitting a scarf. Now this particular gentleman is quite a tall and broad shouldered individual, so I thought in terms of "man-sized". I managed to pick up some lovely yarn from Mary-Clare. It is a super-bulky yarn from Katia, called Tierra. It is roving type yarn made from 70% Wool and 30% acrylic. This simple scarf knitted up in a few hours.

As you can see, it was a simple seed stitch pattern, which I knitted until I ran out of yarn. It is enormous and ooo so squishy.

The reaction to this scarf was perfect. Exactly the kind of thing a knitter likes to see. The recipient immediately held the scarf up and buried his face in it, he emerged grinning. I had no idea that this scarf would be so well received, but I think I will have to try more makes for this family, as they certainly seem to appreciate it!

My other gift was for another male recipient. This was an easy choice as it was for my friend Martin. My friend Martin LOVES wool. He always asks me what is on my needles and likes to touch each project to see how it feels. Any yarn based project for Martin is a no winner. It helps that he is a dog walker and goes hiking in all weathers. Of course I had to make him woolly mittens! Last year I knit him this:

I decided that Martin needed some cabled mittens to match. I picked up some Rowan Felted Tween Aran and got busy!

I love knitting with this yarn, it is so light, warm and springy. The texture is perfect for a rugged outdoorsy type who loves yarn!

The pattern is Cruiser by Cailyn Meyer. It is a free pattern and I knit these in the largest size. I really enjoyed knitting this project as the cable is easy and fun. The thumb is an afterthought thumb and I think it places it nicely.

When I tried these mittens on to take photos I was very taken with them.

I can definitely see myself making these again. I think simply changing the yarn choice would completely alter the look. A soft pale merino would instantly change them into feminine mittens.

I could grow very fond of mittens, I have some on my needles at the moment. I'll tell you all about them on Wednesday - promise!

A Finished Winter Warmer

2012-01-13T11:56:00.000Z

Well I finally got around to taking my photos of the Winter Warmer, I told you about a couple of weeks ago. Here it is:

I have been wearing this for over a week now and I've come the conclusion it works well when worn like I am in the above photo, though it is a bit loose around the chin so a draft hits the neck in high winds. However, when you try and lift the bottom half up around your nose, as was shown in the original pattern photos, for when it is really drafty, it looks a bit silly and I have to hunch my shoulders to get it to stay up. See for yourself:

Essentially, my ribbing is too loose. If I was to knit this again, and I may well do one day, I would use smaller needles for the ribbing section. It wouldn't be easy to do, but I think it would be doable if I used two circular needles for knitting in the round. Another solution might be to make the ribbing section smaller, so the opening wasn't as wide.

I think to fix this problem, I will buy some knitting elastic, and weave it through the couple of rows nearest to the "face hole".

When the hood is worn back, the cowl portion of this accessory is very very snug indeed.

Wearing it this way is wonderfully warm. Which is why I'm determined to fix the little gaping problem. I know it could be a fantastic way of keeping warm. In fact, what I did the other day was wear my Central Park Hoodie under my Winter coat and put the hood up, then I put the Winter Warmer over the top with the hood up. Now THAT was cozy! So I may also try it with a hat on underneath the hood, but I have high hopes for the knitting elastic solution. I'll keep you posted.

If you want to look at some other finished objects, click on the buttonshown below. I'm sure you will be inspired, I know I always am!

Getting Back In Control

2012-01-11T10:30:00.000Z

Last year went a bit wonky for me. What with surgery in the Spring, followed by not getting quite as well as I had hoped for. Then I had all the fun of learning I was to be assessed to see if I was "fit for work" under the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) which is replacing the Incapacity Benefit I had been on, for about 10 years. This caused me so much stress and worry I am still amazed I got through the year with my brain intact. While I had all the uncertainty going on, I found myself go through a bargain yarn buying frenzy. I was so scared that I was going to lose my benefits and not be able to afford yarn that I just bought up ALL THE YARN!

Now I have learnt that I have been moved successfully over to ESA from Incapacity Benefit, which means I will continue to receive my benefits for the next 12 months. This stay of execution has made me re-evaluate the yarn that I own, and the books and the magazines. It has all got a little out of hand.

I was already considering cutting back on the yarn buying when I was mocked excessively by my dearest friends and my partner on Friday. I was called on how much yarn I owned and was challenged that "you can't possibly know how much you have, surely?" . Of course I was stupid enough to say - "Of course I do, it's all on Ravelry!" So of course the next question was "oh, so much do you have?" I was then forced to mutter, after quickly checking my stash database that I have 253 entries.

As you can imagine there was much jeering and taunting from the gallery, and not even my very sound reasoning that it could be called insulation, would calm the baying throng. Admittedly, this jibing was all in good natured fun, and there was no malice or even real criticism involved, but it did make me pause a little bit after looking at my entries.

So whilst I am avoiding making this a resolution post - because I don't do resolutions, I have decided it's time to get my act together and work out what the hell I'm doing with this enormous quantity of yarn and patterns.

One of the other questions in "let's torment Chrissy evening" was "so how many miles of yarn is that then". I refused to even contemplate answering that question. This question was actually answered when I was taking that nice little screen dump I have higher in this post, when I noticed the button which says "Export to Excel". I thought I'd click it and see what happened. I was amazed, because it imported my stash into my OpenOffice Calc program and showed my stash in all it's gory details. I have 28,793m of yarn in my stash. Gulp. That's a LOT.

OK, now I have that information I have decided that I need to work out how much I'm either knitting or acquiring in each month. This isn't going to be a situation where I never buy yarn or only knit from stash, because I know myself. I WILL be buying yarn. I just want to know where I am, when I do so. So I have created a spreadsheet thingy. Each month I will export my stash from Ravelry and cut and paste the total meterage column into my freshly written calc sheet. I have created a quick and dirty way of subtracting the current meterage from last month's meterage to create a running total of the meterage used in the year. This is what it looks like at the moment:

Not very glamorous is it? Never mind it will serve it's purpose. I'm going to set a reminder on my calendar to perform this export on the first of each month and I'm probably not going to give you an update every time, but at least I will know what is going on with my stash.

Of course now I am keeping up to date with my stash, I need to start using my magazines and books. I am currently working my way through a massive pile of magazines and I am ripping out all the patterns I might conceivably want to knit one day. I am also keeping all the tutorials. I am putting them in plastic sleeves and filing them in folders by category. I'm then going to work through the folders and work out if any of my yarn and patterns could work together and then I'm going to queue the projects so I can see what the yarn is destined for when I look at my stash. Obviously I'm going to do a similar matching up program with my books.

Hopefully when I can see what patterns are going to be used with what yarn it will stop me buying yarn to knit a new and shiny project that I've just come across - which is what usually happens. I'm also hoping, that by matching yarn and pattern, I will have less "faffing about" on Ravelry. I will be able to go to my queue and pick out a project according to what I fancy making, without losing days in a surfing frenzy. I will have a finite number of choices, which will hopefully make choosing that much quicker and less painful.

I guess this is technically what you could call a Work in Progress, because that is what it feels like. I want to spend this year getting back in control of all sorts of things. The yarn and knitting thing is just the first step on the journey, and probably the only one I'll blog about, because that is the only thing even remotely interesting and to be honest looking at this post, I'm thinking I shouldn't really be sharing this nonsense with the world. However, in order to keep me on the straight and narrow I've got to share my intentions, to keep me moving in the right direction. So in that spirit I've hooked up to WIP Wednesday. Click on the button below to take you to actual crafting works in progress!

I am Spartacus

2012-01-09T15:54:00.000Z

I know I set up my Scars Inside blog to avoid dumping all this campaigning stuff all over my nice happy crafting blog, but today I want to reach as many people as possible, so I'm repeating my post.

Today a report was published. It is a report that has been researched, written by and funded by sick and disabled people and their carers. This report is called the Spartacus Report and it addresses the proposed change from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payments.

This report, which can be read in it's entirety here, has revealed some interesting facts.

The Government broke its own code of consultation over the DLA reform
The Government has entirely misrepresented the views submitted as part of the consultation, giving a partial and biased view.
The Government claim that DLA must be reformed as claims have risen 30% in 8 years - the report has found that these statistics are entirely misleading and give a "distorted view"
There is overwhelming opposition to the new benefit, Personal Independence Payments
Some elements of PIP appear to already be going ahead, despite a rejection of the plans and before legislation has passed.
The Government are repeatedly warned that proposals for PIP may break International and UK equality and Human Rights legislation

This research was the source of all the headlines you saw over the weekend regarding Boris Johnson and his claims that removing DLA and replacing it with PIP is unlikely to help sick and disabled people, and is more likely to harm them. In order to find out the above, the researchers had to obtain the responses to the Consultation under the Freedom of Information Act. This is how Boris Johnson's views were discovered.

What appalls me about this report, is that it was needed at all. Why were sick and disabled people and their families forced to conduct their own research into something that the consultation process has hidden and twisted.

Sick and disabled people have been subjected to all sorts of lies and misrepresentations since this Government came into power, we have systematically been torn down so that we can be stuffed inside our quiet homes, where we can't disturb the fit and healthy. We are abused in the street because of our disabilities, so we are already afraid to leave the house, so removing our access to transport isn't going to make much of a difference is it? You can almost hear the cogs turning as they work out the best way to cut the benefit bill.

Well this time the cripples have not shuffled off to stand in the corner to count our blessings for being alive, the way the Government would want us to. This time we have had our gladiators fighting for us. Sue Marsh and Kaliya Franklin have swallowed their pain meds and dragged themselves into the arena. They, and others like them, have been battling tirelessly, not only to get out of bed every day, but to strive on our behalf.

They shame me that I have not done more. I donated a few quid to get the report printed and posted, but that was it. I've tweeted a bit and I've emailed MPs and Peers, oh and there is the odd blog, but it has all been done from the comfort of my own home. These women have struggled to face down our detractors and demand they get answers to the hard questions, and each time they were ignored or ridiculed, got up again and kept on going.

Our champions do this on our behalf because we can't. They do it because it needs to be done. I wonder how many people would do the same for their fellow human beings?
If you believe that sick and disabled people and their families have the right to be heard and not have their views twisted into a vague resemblance for political expediency then please email your MP. You can do this via the House of Commons Website. Please ensure that you include your name and address when you do so, to ensure they understand you are a constituent. A suggested email could read:

Today a report has been published relating the reform of Disability Living Allowance. This report is available via this link: http://tinyurl.com/78erjru.

This report into Disability Allowance Reform has been written, researched and funded by disabled people. As one of your constituents,I am very concerned by its findings and the misrepresentation of disabled people that it exposes. Please will you read the report and support sick and disabled people in calling for a pause to Personal Independence Payments in light of this new research.

I look forward to your response,

Then you could let your friends and family know about it via Facebook or Twitter (using #spartacusreport) or email. Please help get the word out into the public arena about what this Government have tried to do and hide from you.

Not the advertised post...

2012-01-06T10:47:00.000Z

I'm afraid I can't keep my promise, of Wednesday, to do a big woolly Winter Warmer reveal. It's not that it isn't finished, because it is. My broken promise is a result of breaking myself yesterday by being silly. By being silly, I mean trying to work my through my massive pile of craft magazines, ripping out patterns and articles I want to keep and recycling the left overs. I also found new homes for mountains of yarn tucked behind the sofa. This was silly because I didn't listen to my body telling me to stop. I felt the twinges and I ignored them. I went into my old "get everything done NOW" mode that I had before I was ill, when I could push through fatigue and pain and just get the job DONE. I can't do that now. I forgot. I now hurt LOTS. I blame my horrid colds and coughs. They laid me low for several weeks so I forgot how to pace myself, because I wasn't doing anything except laying in bed surrounded by empty tissue boxes, feeling sorry for myself.

All this means that I can't face taking photos today. It requires too much standing and bending for this broken body, I'm afraid. So instead I bring you a couple of FOs from my Christmas gifting pile. The ones I didn't share because I thought they might be revealing too much. The first FO is a fake fur stole that I stitched.

I gave one to my mother and one to my mother-in-law. Both of them thought they were shop bought. They couldn't comprehend that this was something that could be handmade. I think it was because the fur was so opulent.

This was my first time sewing with fur. It was a learning experience! I followed the tips given on BurdaStyle and it went fine. I won't say it was quick or easy, but it worked. Pulling out all the trapped strands of fur using a knitting needle was strangely addictive though! I think it was a very successful experiment, especially when you consider I have quite a big chunk of the fur and the lining left. I'm wondering what to do with it - maybe a fur lined muff? I shall have to ponder. It's not like it's going to go off or anything.

Secondly, I have a bag that I felted at the same time as making my felted slippers. In fact it was the same wool. I bought the skeins on eBay for a song, basically it was like buying the three skeins half price. I knew I needed one skein for the slippers and I searched for a pattern for the two remaining skeins. I found the perfect one, in the shape of the Woolly Bully Bag by Lori Puthoff. This pattern is lovely and a bit different, with garter stitch and stocking stitch combining to give lovely curved edges. It is also free!

Here is the bag after being felted, and then dried while stuffed with shaping materials.

By the way, that table top ironing board has saved my body so much pain. It is light and easy to get out and put away and when it sits on my table, it is the perfect height.

I really liked the finished bag and was all set to use it myself when I realised that the strap was just too short for me to wear it messenger bag style. I don't use bags that just sit on my shoulder, very often. It's because they always slip off, and when you are using a walking stick or rollator it's hard to shove the strap back to where it belongs. So, after sobbing that I wouldn't be using this bag, I thought about who else might want it. Maybe someone who is shorter than me - maybe a child. Then I thought about my step-niece, H. H, is 7 years old and quite a girly girl. She likes pink but it is being eased into the purple by my sister-in-law. Then I found the perfect fabric to line the bag, especially if being lined for a 7 year old girl.

I love this fabric. More importantly, H did too! I was stitching the lining in on the 27th of December, the day before we were due to do our "in-law's Christmas". I had left it so late because of being ill. I was determined to get it finished though, and I am so glad I did, because it finished the bag off perfectly. Changing it from a funky bag, to a funky bag for a 7 year old.

H, seemed to love it a lot. Apparently my sister-in-law does too! H, immediately put her stuffed toy in the bag and carried it up to bed with her at the end of the night. I think it will be useful for the little girl who has everything!

I am almost tempted to try the pattern again but on with the yarn held double on bigger needles. It is such a lovely shape.

To go and see other finished things, perhaps more recent than mine, click on one of the buttons below.

New WIPs for a New Year

2011-12-30T15:50:00.001Z

I know I've been gone a long time. I have had a really evil cough, followed by a really evil cold, on top the Christmas rushing around like a mad thing. I'm going to skip all the usual "Review of 2011" posts and smack head-long into the New Year with some new WIPs.

I don't know about you, but as soon as all my Christmas crafting is completed I want reward myself with some fairly quick fix selfish projects. In that vein, I give you - the Winter Warmer!

I know it looks weird, but it makes sense if you know it's designed by Cat Bordhi. The pattern on Ravelry is Warm All Winter. It's a balaclava/cowl type affair, and I knew as soon as I saw it, I wanted to make it. I have been struggling to find a way of keeping my head and neck warm on my Mobility Scooter for a couple of years, and all options seem to be flawed in some way. This looks like a winner to me.

The pattern is constructed in similar way to the socks I made last year from her Personal Footprints for Insouciant Knitters book (<--this link takes you to a website that will post outside the US). If you are in the US, you can buy from Amazon.

The main technique in this book, which is also used in this head wear, is to mark a couple of rows with waste yarn, with one row between, whilst knitting. Then when the main body of the item is complete, the waste yarn is replaced by a circular needle, which you can see in the first picture in this post. The row in between the rows on the needles is removed by cutting one stitch (not on the needle) and then the row is unravelled. It seems like magic to create an opening this way, but it does really work. In the sock pattern the leg is simply knit upwards from the newly live stitches on the needle. In the Warm All Winter pattern, you simply cast off to get a space for your face!

I am using Sirdar Peru as my yarn, in the Tailor colourway.

This yarn is hard to get hold of, as it is discontinued, but I really love it. I used it initially in my Blanket Blue Gilet and then used some left overs to knit my Sideways Grande Cloche. This hat has been my "go to" hat for when it is really cold, which is why I felt Peru would be a good choice for my latest head warming project.

So now I have my needles in place:

All I have left to do it make that one teeny tiny snip - I'll let you know how it goes on Friday! If you need something to while away hours until the big reveal, you can always look at what other people are up to, by clicking on the button shown below.

Ruffly Shawl

2011-12-16T15:14:00.002Z

I have been knitting for Britain over the last few weeks and there are few things I can't show you, because they are Christmas knits. However, I have one thing to show off that I am pretty sure I'm safe to share, because my friend doesn't read my blog and that is a cute ruffly shawlette.

Remember the other week when I revealed a new pattern from my friend, well she released another shawl pattern at around the same time. It's another freebie too! This pattern is called Cadbury Ruffle Shawl by More Twist.

The pattern calls for 50g of Colinette Tao (DK) and 25g of Colinette Parisienne (lace weight). I really wanted to start this project quickly, as, you might have noticed, Christmas is fast approaching. I decided to change the yarn choices to 100g of Debbie Bliss Andes (DK) and 25g Debbie Bliss Angel (lace weight). As, with the recommended yarn, the yarn I chose was from the same manufacturer the colours were pretty similar and blended nicely.

I love how this project turned out.

My version is slightly different from the pattern version as I ran out of Angel as I was casting off. I decided to undo the cast off edge and then knit 5 rows of garter stitch in Andes. I then cast off as directed in the pattern. This extra section of the heavier yarn has given the shawl an even more ruffled edge.

The added weight of the Andes, also makes the shawl drape better (in my opinion).

This shawlette is so pretty and extremely warm, that I think it would be a perfect Christmas party accessory.

It was a fun and quick knit, and I think it would be perfect for using up an odd ball of Kidsilk Haze that you might have knocking about. I think any silk based DK yarn would work well as the contrast yarn. In fact I have some Louisa Harding Grace that would work well with a pale blue Kidsilk Haze I've got, so maybe I'll get to make a version of this shawl for myself!

Please have a look at some of the other projects that my blogging colleagues have shared today, by clicking on the buttons below, and hopefully in a week or so I can share some of my other Christmas projects.

Finished Hood Thingy

2011-12-09T10:55:00.001Z

Do you remember back in October, when I told you about the generous gift of an enormous bag of yarn, that I received? Well, though I started the Modern Quilt Wrap, I have ground to a halt on it. This is mainly because of Christmas knitting. However, there is one project that I completed using my inherited yarn. You can actually see it at the bottom of this photo.

It's the pink strip. This little strip, tucked away at the bottom of the photo is the only place I can find on my blog that I referred to this project. This is sad, but it means I have a whole project to tell you about today.

The pattern is the Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda Teague. I do love Ysolda's designs, but sometimes her patterns are a little tricky to understand. This pattern is not a very straight forward one. The pattern is for a scarf, with increases and decreases making a hood. The scarf and hood are in moss stitch apart from "shells" at each end, and similar shapes in the hood area. The shells are made with increases and decreases around a single rib, with reverse stocking stitch in between the ribs, and moss stitch outside the ribs. If you think this sounds complicated, it is quite.

This accessory is wrapped around the neck and fastened with buttons, making it a scarf, with a hood. I've been looking for something like this for a while, so I thought I use my inherited Rowan Kid Classic yarn to knit the pattern. up.

I think I over-blocked this garment, as I forgot that this yarn isn't as springy as pure wool. The pattern schematic shows the buttons being sewn on at 90° to the long edge, but I couldn't make the scarf work out that way. With the hood down, the scarf looks like this:

The two pictures above show the colour as being more red than it actually is. In real life it is closer to this:

In the above picture you can see how I've angled the buttons across the width of the scarf. I tried the scarf on and got it to sit how I liked it, then attached lockable stitch markers through the space made by the buttonholes onto the scarf behind. I then attached the buttons, where the stitch markers were attached. It worked first time, which for me is a minor miracle. My buttons never end up where they are supposed to!

I got these buttons from my friend Mary Clare. I bought these same buttons last Winter when I lost a button on my Winter coat. I replaced all the buttons on my coat with these gorgeous buttons, so I was really pleased to find Mary Clare has some left, so my scarf and coat would match.

By the way, my friend Mary Clare, now has an eBay shop where is she is selling off her old shop stock at very reasonable prices. She also makes project bags and other lovely things which would make great Christmas gifts. If there is something you want that is not in the shop on eBay, it is worth contacting her to see if she has it in stock, but not listed yet.

I don't know if this bag is listed on her eBay shop yet, but it's a good example of her work. I love the handles that she makes! I have to confess, I have already bought one of these bags and they work brilliantly for knitting projects. The bag sits on the floor with your yarn inside while you knit.

Anyway, back to my scarf.

As you can see, these scalloped shapes on the scarf are very pretty and unusual, and these are the areas of the pattern that are a little less than straight forward. There are instructions that use the words "continue in the pattern as set" but I really had to think hard to work out how that pattern would continue with only one row written out to work from.

As I said at the beginning, I think I stretched this scarf out too much during blocking. This has made the fabric of the scarf and hood thin and very drapey, which isn't such a bad thing, but it does make the hood less effective. I know that this yarn is really warm as one of the first garments I ever knit for myself was in Rowan Kid Classic, and I hardly wear it because it's too warm. This scarf is so much thinner and therefore doesn't keep my head as toasty warm as I'd hoped. However, this means, the scarf/hood will be more useful in the Autumn and Spring when a heavier weight scarf and hat combo will cause me to overheat.

Despite the mistake of over blocking, I do really like the project, and I'm sure I will wear it a lot when the weather is a little milder than it is at present.

To look at other pretty projects, click on the buttons below.

My Friend's Shawl Pattern

2011-12-02T09:40:00.001Z

I have finished test knitting my friend's shawl pattern and it is now available to download (for free!!!) on Ravelry. The pattern is the Rainbow Ruffle Shawl, and it turned out beautifully. I blogged about the yarn and beads here, a little while ago.

It's a really simple and elegant design and I really love how the beads give a subtle gleam on the border.

Doing a beaded cast on was pretty simple, using the crochet hook method, but it was VERY time consuming. The shawl is a bottom up construction, which means a lot of beads to cast on at the beginning and then after the ruffle is completed it gets much faster to knit. It was well worth the time spent though.

Litlemouse has also recently released another shawl pattern. It wasn't test knitted by me, but I am currently knitting a shawl from it because it is GORGEOUS! That pattern is called the Cadbury Ruffle Shawl, and I'll share photos of that when I get decent light for photography!

Until I get better light, why don't you go and have a look at what other people have finished off, by clicking on the buttons.

Stitch Markers

2011-11-30T14:08:00.001Z

Is it me, or does anyone else never have enough stitch markers? I know that there are dozens down the back of my sofa, because I keep finding them. There are probably several on the floor of the car, under the seat. I'm guessing there are also lots embedded in projects that are on a time out. Whatever the reason, I know that I have a shortage of good stitch markers.

I decided to buy some a while ago, but they were split ring based, and the split of the split ring kept catching in my yarn. So goodbye split ring stitch markers, you look pretty, but I cannot use you. So in a fit of enthusiasm, I dug out my jewellery making supplies and whipped up these little beauties.

I used up all the odds and ends of beads that I have left over from various projects. I like that they are all different.

I used tiger tail which, for those who have never used beads for anything other than knitting, is metal wire that is coated in plastic. It is flexible, strong and doesn't tarnish. It really is very useful for things like stitch markers.

They are very simply made, these little stitch markers. Each one only took; some tiger tail, a pretty bead, two small seed beads and two crimps. I essentially followed exactly the same process as KnottyGal did in her tutorial, which is similar to the technique I have developed for making stitch markers, except I added the seed beads between the crimps and the big bead.

I've just realised that I never shared my previous stitch markers with you, or at least I can't find the blog post if I did! I made them in March, and I think they got swallowed up with KniCroBlo 2011 and the preoccupation of the approaching surgery. (That feels so long ago now!). As you can see, the design is a little different with these older ones.

These older ones keep the ends of the wire inside the beads, which means there is less chance of the wire ends catching in the yarn, but it is more fiddly to make the markers this way. So I tried KnottyGal's technique this time.

I have to say, they were a lot quicker to make this way, and they don't seem to have caught on the yarn at all yet. I think you just have to make sure you trim the wire ends right back to the crimp.

It's so nice when you can make something pretty, that is also incredibly useful! Thanks to KnottyGal for putting up her tutorial and prompting to get off my backside and make some more stitch makers, rather than swearing when I run out!

Neck Warmer Extraordinaire

2011-11-27T20:00:00.001Z

I have finished my Gap-Tastic Cowl - and I luuuuurve it! I could sing songs about it and rhapsodise about it's cosiness and it's beauty. I could dance elegant ballets in tribute to it's squishiness, but as all those are difficult to convey over the internet, here are some pictures.

Isn't it lovely. It is huuuuuge.

It keeps my head toasty warm too.

I'm very pleased with how this turned out. The yarn, Araucania Azapa, really is divine. Doing a provisional cast on with this project, was definitely the right choice. Being able to have both edges of the cowl matching, with an elastic bind off, really worked well.

As I use Knit Pro Options needles, which are interchangeable, I used the cable from the system to create the provisional cast on, as in the video shown below.

One advantage of this method, is being able to simply start knitting from the cable which is holding the cast on edge stitches. With the Knit Pro Options system, there is a further advantage, you can place stoppers on the ends of the cable, which stops the stitches sliding off while working on the main body of the knitting.

As usual, when I want to do an elastic bind off, I use Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. Once I discovered how elastic this method was, I haven't really used any other technique for when a stretchy bind off is required. It's pretty easy to remember the method, once you have done it a few times.

The bind off edge looks pretty neat, and from the flat surface of the knitted fabric, it disappears into the texture.

The nice stretchy edge, means that you aren't limited in how many times you wind the cowl around, by having an edge that cuts into you. If the fabric is stretchy enough then so is the edging. It enhances the soft, squishy and comfortable nature of this cowl. I highly recommend it!

Two New WIPS

2011-11-23T16:37:00.001Z

Of course, as I have a couple of big projects on the go, I have decided to cast on another two projects! The first one is a favour for a friend. My friend Litlemouse, aka Jennie, is currently working on writing up her first couple of patterns. I volunteered to test one of them, as I already had the appropriate yarn and I wanted to learn how to do a beaded cast on.

I have now learned how to do a beaded cast on!

I got the beads from Debbie Abrahams Beads. Apparently these are the beads that Rowan used to do for knitters, but with some additional colours. I got these 0/6 in Pewter and I have to say, they are lovely! They are perfect for the colourway of yarn. The yarn is Lang Yarns Jawoll Magic Degrade, in the delightfully named 85.0025!

The scarf is currently blocking, so you will see the finished article in Fridays post. I suppose technically I shouldn't have shared these photos but I wanted to show off. I have to send a great big thank you to Leah of Good Enough, because of her recent blog post. She talked about finding out how to set the white balance on her camera. I have been struggling to get the correct colours recently as everything is "blued out" because of our rubbish Autumnal sun. I now know how to set the white balance on my camera. I'd never really known that you could do that on my camera, other than choosing the preset options of "cloudy day" or "beach". I'm so happy that my photos will have true colours even in Winter now! Thank you Leah for explaining that white balance can be changed on even point and shoot cameras like mine!

In other photographic news I have recently purchased Photoshop Elements 10.0, which was half price on Amazon.co.uk on one of their Black Friday lightening deals. I'd been talking to my other half about buying this piece of software, just last week. I thought I'd leave it until after Christmas as it was a bit pricey for right now, then it popped up for half price, and the next thing I knew, it was winging it's way to me. I have installed it, and have just worked out how to do the usual tweaking I used to do on Picasa, hopefully over the coming weeks, I will improve and develop my Photoshopping skills.

Anyway, back to the knitting. My second new project was instigated by an eBay bargain. I do love me a bargain LOL! I purchased three skeins of Aracaunia Azapa.

Isn't it delicious? It is composed of 30% Alpaca, 45% Merino, 15% Silk and 10% Donegal. I have no idea what Donegal is. I'm assuming it is the soft brownish flecks that are in this yarn. If you know what it is, please let me know! I saw this yummy yarn on eBay and then searched Ravelry to see if there was a suitable pattern to show off it's glory in my favourites list. To my delight there was, it was the Gap-Tastic Cowl, by Jen Geigley. So I bought my yarn and it appeared very quickly. Once I had the yarn and had squished it, I had to ball it and cast on straight away! It really is so very soft and squishy, you know!

I have dropped down a needle size to 8mm as I knit so loosely. I also cast on 151 stitches, which is 20 more than recommended. I have 420 yards to use, rather than the 306 yards the pattern suggests. I want to make it a bit longer and hopefully a bit wider, so I can use it a bit like a hood as well as a cowl.

I am alternating the skeins every couple of rows as the yarn is hand dyed and each skein is different. I'm also swapping out one of the skeins every 10 rows or so.

I did a provisional cast on, using a Knit Pro cable with stoppers on. I did this so that I could make the outer edges match, with a stretchy bind off. This is a lovely loose knit and I don't want to spoil it with tight edges.

I am enjoying this project so much. It is pretty mindless and I can knit it without watching. It is perfect knitting for my current obsession of watching The Killing in the original Danish, which was shown recently, on a nightly basis. I recorded it so I could watch it in one chunk and join in with discussing the current obsession in the knitting community, "The Killing Sweater". I watched the US version and LOVED it. I didn't watch the original series as I like to knit while I watch tv and subtitles make that difficult. Now I have the perfect knit to be able to watch subtitled tv with! I am trying to watch the entire first series so I can catch up and watch the second series as it appears on tv.

I thought that I would be bored by watching the same show twice, but the Danish and the US versions are different enough to still be riveting, not to mention the acting in both is equally compelling.

Gosh, this a LOOOONG post. Sorry about my waffle. Please click on the button so see less waffly posts from my companions in WIP!

A Pixie Hat For Me

2011-11-18T10:57:00.001Z

I know I said on Wednesday that I had been only working on a test knit, well that might have been a touch misleading. You see, I had a sudden urge to knit a hat. I LOVE hats. I love wearing them, I love knitting them, and as you can see from pattern list, I love designing them too. This time I didn't want to design a hat, I wanted to just knit a hat, without worring about stitch counts etc. So I turned to my favourite hat designer, WoollyWormhead.

This hat designer is very clever indeed. She thinks up interesting, cute and quirky hat designs and writes the patterns in a vast range of sizes. The hat I chose to knit was from her latest book, Bambeanies. I decided to buy a single pattern, rather than the whole collection, as I haven't finished working through Twisted Woolly Toppers, which I bought last year. I know I should have knit a hat from the book I already had, but this pattern is soooo adorable, I had to knit it NOW. The pattern in question is Quynn.

I have only managed to get one photo, so far of my lovely new hat, because the light is so awful at the moment I can't fit the camera tripod between myself and the light source. So here it is:

I'm sure at some point I will get better photos, but I do love it in all it's pixie, pointy, ear warming cosiness. I ended up knitting this twice, the first time at the suggested gauge, which was a little bit snug. I then actually looked at the size of my head and realised that the largest size on the pattern was for a 20" head and my head is approximately 22"! So I went up a needle size and voila! A hat that fits. The fabric isn't as dense as was intended by the designer, but I like it like this.

The yarn is BabyLongLegs Radiance Aran in the Stingray colourway. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know about my love off all things BabyLongLegs. I am about to share with you two more reasons I LOVE this very talented artist.

This is the gloriousness that is Semi-Precious in "Plump". This divine 4 ply yarn has to be one of my favourite bases of all time, it is 50% Merino, 50% Silk. I knitted both the Precious Correspondent and the Purple Travelling Woman in this yarn. I just love it. When you take this marvellous base yarn and then add this wonderful colour, I am lost! When I saw this yarn on preview I HAD to get it. Then as I was already shopping and there was a teeny discount, I bought some more yarn. Ooops!

This is another sock yarn (or 4 ply) in 100% Merino, this time. The colourway is Yoda, which is a name I adore.

Neither of these photos do the yarns justice. When I showed them to my knitting group yesterday I nearly lost the yarns to their covetousness. I think that shows the beauty of a yarn, when they nearly disappear into a friend's handbag!

To look at better photos of finished projects, I suggest you click on one of the links below. Hopefully some of the posters will live in sunnier climes than I!

Next on My List...

2011-11-16T16:43:00.001Z

I am aware that I haven't been talking about crafting much lately. I have a confession, it's because I'm doing a test knit. I love it so much I am ONLY working on the test knit. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to talk about it or show pictures to you for a while yet. When the designer gives me permission, you can be sure that I will share with you, because it is a great design.

However, as I was really tired, after a poor night's sleep, and in a mood for plain garter stitch I decided that instead of knitting on of my other straight forward patterns, I would start another! I decided that I would cast on the Hansel by Gudrun Johnston, otherwise known as The Shetland Trader. I have wanted to knit a Hap type shawl for a long time, really since I first heard of them. I just love the simple and elegant design. I am interested in looking at more Shetland type of designs, but I never seem to find the time to do the research, so until I do Gudrun will have to keep designing pretty things for me to knit! I have actually knit something of hers before, Aestlight.

One of the things I loved about this pattern was the stretchiness of the top edge and that is done by starting the shawl kind of in the middle, which is how the Hansel also starts. It is a blanket, or it can be used a shawl. The centre part is knit in a square in garter stitch, starting from one corner and increasing at the start of each row by doing a yarn over.

This creates a series of loops at each edge of the square as you knit. These loops mean you can pick up around the edge incredibly easily, and the join will be nice and stretchy.

I only cast this on a few hours ago. It has grown really quickly. I do love the soothing and healing nature of garter stitch.

Ooooh the squishy goodness. This is particularly squishy as it is a lovely soft baby type yarn, Katia Dolce Merino, which is 50% Merino and 50% Acrylic. This almost has the softness of the lovely Malabrigo Sock that I knit the Aestlight in, but it is machine washable. There is something about the combination of merino and garter stitch that just makes me melt.

As you may have guessed, this is a baby knit. I think I will knit this entirely in cream, rather than adding colour on the edging as is suggested in the pattern. I think the cream will be quite sophisticated and neutral so the recipient can either use it as a blanket for the baby, whatever the gender, or as a shawl for herself when she is sitting up in the middle of the night feeding the little one. I think this will be a nice fun knit, that will hopefully be well received.

To look at other folk's knitting and crocheting projects go and take a gander at Tami's blog, by clicking the button below. It's worth a look to see all the lovely things that are around that you will covet!

Photography

2011-11-14T14:36:00.001Z

I have spent a lot of the last week or so thinking about photography. There is a reason for this - it is too dark to take any ACTUAL photographs. Grr I hate the change in seasons for SOOOOO many reasons. I never thought photography would be one of them. But this last year I have fallen hard for my new hobby of photography. I have enjoyed taking part in the Weekly Photo Challenge 2011 so much and I have learnt so much.

I have decided that it is now time to upgrade my camera. At the moment I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS60. It is only 6.0 MP and 3 x optical zoom. However, it does take pretty reasonable photos, now I've learnt how to use it! I had thought I would like to upgrade to a dSLR camera. I even decided to have a go with my brother's dSLR so I could decide how much of a difference it would make.

Week 31 - Small

I spent just half an hour snapping away in his garden. I got the above shot for the photo challenge and loved the shots I got. However, that half hour of photography nearly killed me. A dSLR is simply too heavy for me to manage on a regular basis. One thing I have definitely learnt through the Challenge, is that to get a good photo you need to take lots of photos, and I couldn't do that with a heavy camera. This means no dSLR.

Week 32 - Lines

This next photograph was taken on my regular camera and I just tweaked it in Picasa! I have tried to learn how to use GIMP (free photo editing software) but I don't even know how to start learning how to use it.

Week 33 - Urban

As I am feeling more restricted by my camera, I am finding that I am editing the photograph more and more, to get interesting shots. This shot really disappointed me, but adding a filter and making it black and white, at least added some interest. I feel like I'm coming up against the limits of my camera (as well as my usual physical limitations).

Week 34 - Abstract

The Week 34 - Abstract photograph really pleased me. It is really hard to see what the subject it, because it is reduced to such a small area, there is nothing to use as a reference point. It is a photograph of my wooden chopping board. I want to take more photos like this one, and the next one!

Week 35 - Yellow

This is a close up of a washing up glove! These close up, detail orientated shots are my bread and butter on the blog. I am always taking photographs of the stitch details and the texture of the yarn I'm using. However, I am pleased with the photographs I took on holiday. I took lots of landscapes.

Week 36 - Happiness

Learning how to use my camera meant that I didn't have scenes that were bleached out by the sunlight, in the way I had previously shot my holidays!

Basically, what I have decided is that I need to get a new camera. It needs to be up to the jobs I need it to do, ie blogging, but it also has to capable of me taking more creative shots as well as the basic family type photographs. To this end, I've been doing some research into compact digital cameras and I think I have found a camera that will fit in with all my requirements. I have settled on the Sony DSCHX9VB Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera - Black (16.2MP, 16x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD.

This camera is not cheap, but I think it will allow me to take blogging photos well, even in the Winter months, as well as allowing me to move forward in my photography without killing myself with it's weight! This camera allows me to have more control over aperture, focus and exposure.

I'd love to hear any thoughts or recommendations from anyone who has an opinion. I have very little knowledge in this field and I am basing my decision on reviews and technical comparisons. Any personal opinions and experiences would be VERY welcome indeed.

I am hoping to get contributions towards it's purchase for Christmas, so any family members who are reading this - make your cash donations to my other half!
!
I might have fallen off the Weekly Photograph Challenge wagon of late, but I still think a lot about it and intend to take photos when I am able. I don't think I'll be able to catch up before the end of the year, in the way I had intended, but I am still pretty proud of what I've managed to achieve. I hope next year I will be able to join in again, and get much better shots with an improved camera!

Pages in My Blog

2011-11-06T00:12:00.000Z

I haven't looked at the stats on my blog in ages. This is because over the last few months I have been spending rather more time, than I care for, looking internally, instead of externally. I am starting to come out of my little cave, and thought "I wonder what has happened to my stats whilst my mind has been elsewhere?".

Surprise, surprise, my page views have gone down. I think this is because I haven't been posting as much, so I've had fewer monthly page views. This is all very obvious, but I noticed something that I hadn't seen before. There is a section that shows which of my blog pages is the most popular. I have never seen that before! It's quite interesting.

My Current Page Statistics

Downloads - 1022
Biography - 934
Tutorials - 750
Blogs I Read - 519
Gallery - 298
Weekly Photo Challenge 2011 - 247
My Inspiration - 237
Recommended Books - 215

The top figures were what I expected; Downloads, Biography and Tutorials are all high on the list. The two pages that did surprise me, were Gallery and My Inspiration. As so few of you have clicked on these pages, I decided I would explain a little about what they are, and why they are on my blog.

Gallery, is exactly what it sounds like. It is the page that shows all my completed craft projects. The photos are divided into categories so you can have a look at the areas that interest you. The albums are in date order so you can see my work develop and my photography improve!

I recently updated this page, to improve the quality of the photographs and to include all my most recent work. This new format will mean new projects will be automatically included on this page, as they are finished.

My Inspiration, is actually one of my favourite areas of the blog. This page shows all the new and interesting links I find around the Internet. I share these links on the My Inspiration page, not only because you might find them interesting, but also to record the ideas in a central place, for me to find at a later date. The page sometimes take a little bit of time to load, as it comes from Posterous, which is an external site. All the links are tagged with the subject and you can search using these, or by typing in something more specific.

The links I post on the My Inspiration page are also shared on my Facebook Page. If you "Like" me on Facebook, either by checking out my page and clicking the "Like" button at the top, or by clicking the "Like" button below, or to the right of this blog post, you will receive these links as well as links to all my new blog posts.

I hope that this hasn't felt too much like a sales pitch, but I really hope that more of you will have a look at these two pages, because you might like them!

A Quick Fix

2011-11-04T10:41:00.000Z

As I seem to be knitting lots of big projects at the moment, I felt the need to whip up a quick fix project. You crafters know what I'm talking about. The sort of project that only takes a couple of evenings to complete. It gives you that rush of accomplishment that only a finished project can bring. I miss that rush when I'm working on big projects. I'm not by any means just a "Product" knitter, I enjoy the process greatly, but sometimes I really need to feel that sense of achievement that only a Finished Object can bring.

In this vein, I dug out a skein of left over Noro Silk Garden, and cast on the Calorimetry from Knitty.com. This free pattern uses less than a 50g skein of aran or worsted weight yarn and knits up incredibly fast. It is basically a knitted headband that fastens at the back of the head with a button. It covers the ears and keeps the head snug, without forcing you to wear your hair down.

Isn't it a brilliant idea? This time of year when it is cooler but not cold, I like to have my ears covered, but a hat makes my head too warm. This is an elegant solution, and means I don't have to change my hairstyle if I want to leave the house with warm ears!

This is the shape of the headband. It is made by creating short rows to make the ends thinner than the centre. This means there is no bulk at the back of the head, which would happen with a straight band. The holes made by creating the short rows are used as button holes.

For this project I used a rescued a button from a much loved and battered acrylic cardigan from my teens, that was beyond wearing anymore. I think it works perfectly with this yarn.

I can't recommend the project highly enough. I really enjoyed it, and I'm enjoying the wearing of it. I have another left over skein of Noro Silk Garden, in a different colour, that I think is destined to be another one of these lovely little headpieces

As this is a finished object and it is a fibre based one too, I will be linking up to my usual parties. Have a click and see what everyone else is finishing off today!

WIP Wednesday

2011-11-02T14:54:00.000Z

It is Wednesday, therefore I will share WIPs with you. If you are a new reader, a WIP is a Work in Progress. Whenever I manage to post about WIPs on a Wednesday I hook up to Tami's link party, which you can find by clicking the button at the bottom of this post. Involved in the link up are dozens of great crafters, all sharing their progress. It is really inspiring and I've found lots of great ideas for future projects, by looking at the other posters' blogs.

To start off with, I have managed to finish the body of my Austin Hoodie. I have even managed to block it, as instructed in the pattern.

It always amazes me how much of a difference blocking makes. The next stage is now to join the shoulders together using three needle bind off, and then knit the sleeves in the round. This really is a very interesting pattern and I am enjoying it very much.

I have stalled a little on my hoodie project because I have cast on some of the Kidsilk Haze, I received. I decided to knit the Modern Quilt Wrap by Mags Kandis. I originally fell in love with this pattern a long time ago but knew I could never afford to make this lovely item. It uses 9 different colours of Kidsilk Haze!!!! If you know anything about yarn, then you know how much that would cost to buy. I couldn't justify spending that kind of money for any kind of knit, let alone a wrap.

Recently, Susan Crowe shared her version, which made the project fresh in my mind for when I got my enormous bag of yarn. When I got this generous gift, I knew I wanted to make something really special, rather than lots of smaller projects. I wanted to make something as a kind of tribute to the knitter who had left this yarn behind. I looked at the colours I had, and knew that if I just added a couple of extra colours I could make a really lovely version of this pattern. I bought a couple of extra colours, a lime green and a teal, which meant that I have these 9 colours to use.

They aren't the colours I would have chosen, if starting from scratch, but I think they will work ok.

I cast on this project fairly quickly, after buying the yarn, and I have really enjoyed starting this project. I have decided that weaving in the ends, as I go, is a very good idea. I used this tutorial and it seems to be working ok. I have left the ends trailing so that when I block it, they don't get pulled out. After blocking the wrap, I will cut all the tails off. Until I do cut the ends, they are beginning to look like strands of multicoloured hair, as you can see from the photos!

I have managed to finish the first row of blocks, and have started on the next row.

I apologise for the photos. The light wasn't very good this morning, so the shots have been tweaked to within an inch of their lives, in order to get anything vaguely resembling the actual colours.

The wrap is made up of two types of block, one is large:

and the other is a block made up of four smaller ones:

All the striping in the blocks are different, so the colour changes keep you interested in what could be quite a dull knit. Well, it would be dull if I weren't using such lovely yarn. It feels like a soft cloud of gorgeousness!

This knit will probably be quite a long term project, but it will be nice to pick it up and do a bit of a colour, here and there as a treat.

I've also been chugging away at my Noro Ripple Scarf.

I have now nearly finished the first skein, so I'm halfway there.

I do love how the yarn has unwound and formed really nice stripes. This is another long term project, that I pull out and do a few rows here and there. I think it's nice to have a few long term projects on the go, that have no deadlines on them. Though, I admit, as it gets colder, I will probably be knitting more on both my wrap and my ripple scarf so I can snuggle up in them when I'm out on my scooter.

It always amazes me how much the cooler weather makes me knit so much faster. I think it is the pressing need to be wearing as much wool as possible!

Annual Slippers

2011-10-28T13:15:00.000+01:00

Every year, since I started to knit, I have made my own slippers. I knit, or crochet them and then I felt them. I have tried a couple of patterns, with some success. My first attempt at slippers, was a crochet pattern by Susie Johns. The pattern is called Mulan and was from Let's Knit Magazine, December 2008. I liked these slippers.

In fact, I still have them. The only problem with these slippers is that they are knit with DK weight yarn and they are a little light weight for me. This is probably how they have survived since December 2008!

My next attempt at slippers was the Chilko pattern by Chrissie Day. This pattern was from another Let's Knit Magazine, this time from February 2009. I have given these details because people are always asking me where I got the pattern from, because they want to make these slippers. I have to admit, they are pretty damn fabulous!

Here are my previous attempts:

My favourites were the red ones, in the large picture. They are still being worn, but have a hole in the sole. The other ones have died and gone to that big slipper pile in the sky.

I love these slippers because they are a quick knit, and use less than 100g of aran weight yarn. They fit brilliantly and look like ballet slippers! Here are this year's incarnation:

Look at how they make my big plates of meat a teeny bit more elegant!

I know it's a bit of a stretch to think of my huge feet at elegant, but I'll take any help I can get.

The yarn I used, this time, was Cascade 220 and I LOVE this shade of purple (8886). I actually picked up 3 skeins of this, pretty cheaply, on eBay, but I know it is getting easier to obtain in the UK. I have bought some from Get Knitted before and I've seen it at First 4 Yarns. Both shops have a good range of the Cascade colours to choose from.

This was the first time I had used this yarn for felting, but I will be doing so again. It felts beautifully, and the colours are gorgeous. I did, however, throw a couple of colour catchers into the washing machine, and they came out a very deep purple indeed, so I shall have to remember that for next time I felt with this yarn - it will run!

If you know me, you will probably be aware that I don't like to do a felting wash with only one little pair of slippers in. So you won't be surprised to know that in the next couple of weeks you will be seeing more Finished Objects from this load. They will appear gradually, as I want to add fabric, and other such embellishments, to the other three projects. So until I finish the other projects, just this taster will have to suffice!

It was nice to get felting again. I've not done any in ages, and I'd forgotten how much I love it. If you are in the UK and haven't tried felting because you have a front loading washing machine, look on my Tutorials page for tips. I've been using a front loading washing machine for felting my projects since 2008, and I've been pretty successful with it. Don't be scared, it's easier than you think!

If you want to see more finished objects, then click on the buttons below. I'm sure you will find something pretty to admire!

Totally Exhausted

2011-10-26T10:21:00.004+01:00

Just thought I'd drop a line here on my blog to tell you why I'm not posting at the moment. Basically I'm shattered. But shattered in a good way. I haven't really stopped over the last 2-3 weeks and it has dropped me like a stone.

I am still here. I am still fine. I am still crafting. Unfortunately, I just don't have the energy to blog at the moment.

Sorry

When life becomes more humdrum again, I'll be back - until then - don't worry, I'm fine.

Universal Craft Blog Directory

2011-10-18T10:36:00.000+01:00

One of the bloggers I follow has had an excellent idea. CraftyRie has suggested that we find out how many craft blogs are out there! I think it is a gargantuan task, and a little bit impressive that she has undertaken this. In order to show my support I have listed my blog on her list, and invite you do the same. It won't take long. If you have a craft blog, go and enter your blog details.

But, here is the clever bit, you then invite your blog readers to do the same! See, isn't that smart? This way the directory reaches a wide audience pretty quickly and we all get to see how many crafty blogs are out there, and maybe discover new ones that we have missed in our own meanderings through cyberspace.

So go on, take a couple of minutes to link up and compose a blog post. Let's see how big this directory can get! Click on the button to go to the directory post.

A Most Generous Gift

2011-10-14T10:47:00.003+01:00

My Mum has been visiting me this week. It's always lovely to see her but it ALWAYS wipes me out. Trying to concentrate for long periods of time to have a conversation is very tiring. Not to mention that just sitting a bit more upright and having to use my lungs and diaphragm adds to the fatigue and pain levels. However as well as spending time with my Mum I had the best gift I've received in a long time.

My Mum has a friend. This friend, until very recently, had a daughter who has, unfortunately, passed away. My Mum knew the daughter reasonably well but didn't know that she knitted. My Mum and her friend were discussing the painful subject of clearing the home of someone who is now gone and where her belongings should be dispersed to. As the conversation progressed, my Mum showed her friend a photograph of a recent project of mine and from there the conversation was steered towards whether I would be able to use a bag of yarn that needed a home.

When my Mum told me about the bag of yarn, I was not particularly hopeful, as I assumed that it would be full of odds and ends of varying standards, like most people's yarn collection would be. However, when my Mum arrived, my socks were blown off!

My Mum had warned me that most of the labels were missing, which is why I assumed that most of the yarn would be cheap and cheerful. Then I took the first skein out and whooped with joy. I had some Kidsilk Haze. Then, as I dug some more, there were more skeins of Kidsilk Haze. Some are part of skeins, but after weighing I found that I had acquired the following:

Rowan Kidsilk Haze:

Raspberry - 63g
Pale Blue - 35g
Pale Green - 50g
Deep Purple - 43g
Navy Blue - 64g
Moss Green - 81g
Black - 50g

Rowan Kidsilk Spray:

Mink - 75g

Rowan Kid Classic:

Raspberry - 159g
Pale Blue - 135g

Other Rowan Yarn:

Designer DK Wool - 200g
Handknit Cotton - 145g
Polar - 590g
Big Wool (I guessed at this, but it certainly feels like it) - 100g
Big Wool Fusion (Another guess, but I think a good one) - 227g

Not a duff yarn among them! I still cannot get over the yarn I have received. It is stunning. I am still in shock I think, as these are yarns I've drooled over and never had the money to buy. I feel like this is not only a gift from my Mum's friend, but also from her daughter. I never met her, but I think we would have got on. I think we would have found yarn and knitting the common bond that would have sparked a long and interesting conversation. I hope that I can use her yarn in ways that would have made her happy if she had seen it.

As you can imagine, I haven't had much time for knitting, as I have been chatting to my Mum and cataloging my stash enhancement. As I consider my cataloging to be a Finished Object, and it is certainly fibre related, I will link up to my usual Friday haunts and suggest if you want to see something other than my long list of pretty yarns, you click on the buttons below!

A Little Gift to Myself

2011-10-05T12:16:00.000+01:00

I decided to treat myself this week. I have been knitting lace for the last month or so, and though I love my KnitPro Options, they do snag a little on the cable join, when knitting with laceweight. To help with this tiny inconvenience I decided to treat myself to some Addi Lace needles. I got 3.75mm and 4mm, with a 100cm cable, which seem to be my most needed needles for lace. Then I realised that I was starting to get a few circular needles that weren't KnitPro Options. Storage was becoming an issue. I had been using a cheap CD wallet, but that had started falling apart. So I finally decided to get my first Namaste purchase.

It's the circular needle wallet. This colour is Aubergine, but it is a much deeper colour than this photo shows. I ordered it from Tangled Yarn. It was the first time I'd used the store, but I loved getting my purchase from there. Postage was free on this item and it came wrapped up in tissue paper, with a postcard from the store. The Namaste box was lovely as well. It felt like I was receiving a present.

Now I have all my fixed circulars labelled and stored away safely. Every time I look at my gift to myself, it makes me smile a little.

I didn't get to use them on my shawl pattern as I have finished and blocked it! I will share photos of it on Friday. In the meantime I am trying to finalise the pattern so I can get it tested. The pattern seems to be getting larger and larger every time I look at finishing it. I guess that is the scale differential caused by fear!

Apart from the shawl I've been chugging away on my blanket. I have managed to knit together five rows of blocks. Now all I have to do is knit these rows to each other.

I wasn't sure about the joining method of three needle bind off at first, but I have decided that I like the way the join looks.

It creates as sort of trough between the blocks which makes each block separate from the next, like a quilt, which is the basis for the design.

From the back, the join looks like the i-cord which will be going around the edge! This method also keeps the blocks at more or less their original size.

I am a bit nervous about joining the rows together as they are so vast. The pattern only has three blocks in each row, whereas I have five.

So while there isn't much to report knitting wise, there will be other stuff to look at, if you click the button below. There are some amazing craftspeople taking part in the link up.

Slice of Pi

2011-09-30T16:39:00.001+01:00

I have finally got some decent(ish) photos of my first attempt at designing a lace shawl. I had decided a while ago that I wanted to try and design a lace shawl and assumed that I would start with a shawlette. I was wrong. I ended up designing a semi-circular lace weight shawl. I chose this style after knitting Radience. The shape is great for sitting comfortably on my shoulders.

I loved knitting that shawl, but decided that the colour was not quite right for me. I ended up giving it to my friend Clare. So in order to replace that shawl I bought another skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace.

I decided that I wanted to make something in the same shape, but knew it was too soon to knit the same pattern again. So I decided to make up my own design.

The shawl has three sections of charted lace, with increases carried out between each section of lace.

I have decided that as much as I love this shawl, it is not quite right, so I am tweaking it a little and knitting another version. Which is just as well as this one is going out my door as well! In exchange for modelling the shawl for the pattern I am writing, my friend Jo, is going to get this beauty. Maybe I just need to treat myself to another skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in another colour and see if I get to keep the shawl I knit out of that!

I am hooking up to the Friday link parties I used to hook up to. It's been a while guys, go and check them out, by clicking on the buttons shown below, they are full of cracking projects!

And The Crafting is Back!

2011-09-28T18:00:00.000+01:00

I have actually taken some photos today. It helped that the sun was shining. At the moment the temperatures are 10°C higher than the average for the time of year. That's quite a significant amount. All of my partner's colleagues are thanking him for bringing back the sunshine from Cyprus. Thinking about it, the same thing happened when we went to Turkey last year. Maybe he should have a whip round at work to send us away more often, so we can bring the sunshine back with us more often!

Anyway, back to the crafting. As this is a Wednesday, I've got to share my WIPs. I shall start with the crocheting I did on the plane journeys. It wasn't very much.

Yup, that's it for two flights of four and a half hours each. My only excuse is that I ended up reading a lot. Oh and I was suffering from a nasty cold on the way back. (If you know anyone who was on the flight from Paphos to East Midlands Airport on Saturday 24th September, tell them I'm sorry for the germs). The pattern is a simple ripple, and is on Ravelry here. I've never rippled before so I am enjoying it. It will make great knit club project, or when we have company round. I like to have projects like this on the go, as you know, so I'm sure it will get finished eventually. It is being knit in Noro Kureyon Sock, and I am enjoying the colours as they emerge.

I am currently storing my crochet in this little beauty.

It was waiting for me when I got home. Take a look at the lining.

Sorry the photo isn't better, it's hard to get the zipper open enough to show it properly. This box pouch is really well put together. I'd been meaning to make one for ages, as it is a perfect style of project back. But I didn't need to make it, because it was a prize from the lovely Jocelyn of Handmade By Knotty Gal. It was surprise what I was going to win as there were around 5 different prizes and to enter we had to say which one we liked the best. I gave a couple of options and I'm so pleased this is the one I got. It is lovely fabric and really well made. It's also not fabric I would buy myself, which means this is is a real treat. I don't really buy pink, but I do secretly quite enjoy it in small vibrant doses! So thanks Knotty Gal, I love my prize!

Anyway, back to my crafting. I have made decent progress on the Austin Hoodie. I am nearly up to the woven bands.

I do love the false seam, they look so smart. I haven't really touched this since I got back off holiday though, because I have been obsessed with this:

It doesn't look much does it? Well I believe it is going to be gorgeous. It is my second version of my shawl design. I finished the first version before I went on holiday and I've finally got a couple of photos of it, but I won't share those now. I will share on Friday! I am knitting this version in Rowan Fine Lace, which is their new lace weight yarn. It is 70% Suri Alpaca and 30% Merino. It is a beautifully soft and warm yarn. There is also a very slight halo. I think this shawl will be light and warm and versatile. I can't see myself parting with it. Hopefully as I finish this version, I will be able to finalise the pattern I've written sufficiently to get it test knitted. Fingers crossed it will be done in a few weeks. I am really proud of this pattern and I can't wait to show you the finished version.

I am also making progress on the Mitred Crosses Blanket for Japan. I have finished knitting all the blocks and I have joined the top row together, using the three needle bind off method suggested by the pattern. I haven't taken a photo of this, but maybe next week if I get any more put together, I will remember to get the camera out for an update.

So there we are, an update on most of my WIPs. To see other projects in progress, click on the button below.

Back from Holiday

2011-09-26T14:03:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I am back safe and sound from the most wonderful trip to Cyprus. I have to say I fell in love with the place. I don't normally want to revisit holiday locations because there are so many more to see, but Cyprus is definitely on my "must see more of" list.

I won't bore you with a massive list of what we got up to or millions of photos, but if you are interested in how pretty it all was, I have uploaded the photos to an album on Flickr. I've embedded it below. I hoped this way if you are interested you can have a look, if not, you can just ignore them! I have given fairly full description on each of the photo, which summarises pretty much everything we did.

I will be back with more crafting soon, as my holiday has recharged my mental batteries, even if the physical ones are drained. Hopefully I'll be back in balance soon!

If you want to see the photos individually or read the notes I made, you can do so by clicking here. That will take you to the Flickr set I created. I'm so glad I wrote this up while my memories were still vivid. Hopefully it will remind me in years to come of this wonderful trip.

Please leave a message after the tone......

2011-09-14T13:41:00.001+01:00

I feel a bit like this blog is on answerphone mode. I don't seem to be able to get myself together to blog recently. I don't know why. I have lots to blog about. I have made lots of new and fabulous things, but I just don't seem able to put the projects and the camera together at the same time.

Part of the problem is that I am focusing my attention away from the internet. Don't get me wrong, I'm still reading and commenting on other people's blogs and still getting lots from them, but I don't seem to be able to put the same effort into my own writing. Actually I think it is the photographing that is slowing things up. I hate to blog without photos.

I think because I have been crafting so hard, I have not had the energy to actually do the photography bit. Normally I have a couple of projects to talk about at a time, which means that I have a nice crafting/photographing/blogging balance. Everything ticks along nicely. You increase one element of that and the other elements automatically decrease.

I'm also trying to prepare for my holiday in a few weeks. I have discovered that crochet hooks are acceptable on airlines even though knitting needles aren't. I want to pick the brains of all you lovely crochet divas out there. Come on don't be shy, you can admit your skillz. I need a simple project that I can take on the plane that doesn't use tonnes of yarn, so maybe something in Double Knit or 4 ply. It does need to be relatively simple as I am not a confident crocheter, I'm ok once I get going, but it does take a while to get back into the swing of things.

So step up people and please recommend something for me to try, maybe a scarf or some such thing.

All suggestions are gratefully received!

Festival of Quilts 2011

2011-09-05T12:29:00.001+01:00

I have been very lax in not sharing my photos from the Festival of Quilts, held at the NEC in Birmingham, this year. This is my second year of attending, and THIS time I remembered not only my camera, but spare batteries AND a memory card - WOOOHOOOOO! I was also well prepared because I bought the catalogue this year, so when I took a photo of a quilt, I also took a photo of the number of the quilt - well call me clever! I actually know what each quilt I photographed this year is called. (I'd just like to state that last year I took a camera without a memory card, took about 3 photos and my batteries died, I also had no clue what the quilts were that I photographed - so no one can say I don't learn my lessons the hard way).

So now we have a looong post full of photos that are, at the very least credited. I apologise that the photographs are not great, but it is really hard to take photographs of large quilts when people stand in front of them and you also can't get far enough back. To be honest I'm amazed I have as many in focus as I have!

Winner of Art Quilts 101 - First Amateur Award
Octopussy, by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga, Kollumerzwaag, The Netherlands

444 - Highly Commended
Homage to Henri by Liz Howlett, Lewes, UK

423
La Grande Perspective by Susan Short, Fleet, UK

358
Interference 1 by Leah Higgins, Eccles, UK

365
Enchanted Forest by Helen Howes, Ravingham, UK

777 - Winner Pictoral Quilts - Judges Choice
Hot Africa, Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga, Kollumerzwaag, The Netherlands

901
Enchanted Divocean by Margaret Taylor, Durham, UK

These sea horses were a good metre high and were suspended away from the wall. They were just so engaging and endearing, I had to get a snap.

953
Velvet Cushion by Ruth Singer, Leicester, UK

I knew this cushion was by Ruth the minute I saw it. For those of you who haven't heard of her, she wrote Sew It Up and the pattern for this is in the current issue of Stitch Magazine (It's a US based mag I'm afraid, but it is well worth looking at).

924 - 3rd Prize Quilt Creations
Secret Garden in the Starry Night, by Rami Kim, Rocklin, USA

Ostrava Quilting Bee Pieced Together 178 Blocks from All Over Czech Republic

Stitch Your Soul did an in depth post about this quilt, which gives all the information that I couldn't find!

Marina Mamanova

These works were part of a display by one artist and they were stunning.

708
Inside Noah's Ark-All Safe Aboard by Louise Jessup, Ashford, UK

I loved this quilt. Apparently it is from a drawing in a child's book. We stood in front of it for ages, looking for the different animals hidden in plain view.

711 - Highly Commended - Judges Choice
Dassehra by Bente Kultorp Andresen, Hafslundsøy, Norway

This quilt has been so widely discussed in blogland, I'm not going to bother going in to great details. Needless to say, it was breath taking and looked more like a painting that textile art.

662 - Highly Commended
Hexagons & Stars by Lucie Summers & Jenny Spencer, Worlington, UK

Despite my many selections of quilts with bright colours, I still love a clean looking and muted quilt now and again. I just loved the embroidery and quilting on this one.

665
L'Arcobaleno Sul Mare (Rainbow on the Sea) by Rossana Ramani & Graziella Cini, S Dorugo Della Valle, Italy

668 - Highly Commended
Connected by Linzi Upton & Mo Fettes (Longarm), Banchory, UK,

I cannot convey how much more appealing this quilt was in real life. My photos do not do it justice. In the album there is a close up of the quilting. I just love the artistry.

673 - 2nd Prize - Two Person Quilt
Mexican Sunset by Margit Schommers & Claudio Pfeil (Longarm) Erfstadt, Germany

7
Festival, by Yvonne Kervinen, Osthammar, Sweden

I did take more photos, but these are the ones that really appealed to me and were mostly in focus. If you want to look at some of the other stuff I took, you can see the Picasa Album below.

2011 Festival of Quilts

I hope that the length of these post explains why it has taken me so long to put it together. Maybe next year I'll get even better photos, and I'll be able to report much quicker!

WIP Wednesday

2011-08-31T11:08:00.000+01:00

I realise that I have not been updating you with grand crafting progress of late. That is because there hasn't really been any. I don't know what has got me stuck. I think it rediscovering the love of reading and the World of Warcraft subscription that I reactivated. Anyway I decided that as it was Wednesday and all I would join in this week with Tami's linky thing WIP Wednesday. If you click on the button, it will take you to other people's blogs, who probably update their progress more often than I do.

You may be wondering what marvellous things I have to show you - well, firstly I think we will start with my Mitred Crosses Blanket for Japan. If you look at the pattern on Ravelry you can see that there aren't many squares in this blanket. I however, decided that I was going to make a massive blanket of 25 squares. I now have 21 finished squares, 1 square needed the ends to be sewn in and a quarter of another square knitted. It feels like I'm very close to the end.

Have you any idea how hard it is to take a photo of 22 squares that are 12 and a half inches square? Its very hard I can tell you. When I get this beauty all blocked and joined together it may cause difficulties when I'm trying to take a good shot of it.

Difficult photos aside, I could knit these squares forever. They are so pleasingly squishy. The tight garter stitch gives real bounce to the knitted fabric, which means my plans for it as a picnic blanket are bound to work out fine.

Now on to my Mariposa Shawl, that I introduced you to a while ago.

This shawl is in a bit of a time out at the moment. It isn't the fault of the shawl, it is my fault for not using life lines. I did one more repeat of the pattern than I should have done and knew I wouldn't have enough yarn to finish the border. I decided to rip out the last repeat. I should have known better. As this is knitted lace, it is really hard to find the row I need.

I have just picked up the stitches I can and I have thrust it in a box, while I sulk about my own error of judgement. I will need a day of a clear head and good light to sort my mess out. In the mean time I cast on something else to divert me.

I have cast on an Austin Hoodie by Connie Chang Chinchio. I have coveted this hoodie since the first time I stumbled across it on Ravelry, which was apparently in September 2010!

It looks lovely on so many people, and it is exactly the sort of garment I would buy. To top it off, it is knit in a fingering (4ply) weight yarn. It is also knit at a loose gauge. This means the garment should be light weight and adaptable. As I spend a lot of time in my nice warm home, I don't wear big chunky sweaters very often, but I do wear light weight layering cardigans.

In April, I managed to pick up some cheap Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply, which is a lovely merino yarn. It is unusual to see it for sale, so I grabbed it when I saw it, knowing that I would use it for this pattern. I am now finally getting round to making it.

After reading Little Red in The City by Ysolda Teague, I actually blocked my swatch and then hung it up for a few hours with clothes pegs attached, before measuring my gauge. I hope it works! I also decided to carefully check all the dimensions and measurements of myself compared to my pattern. I think the measurements are fine, but the proportions of where the increases are could be changed. The decreases on the hips and the waist will remain the same but when it comes to doing increases I will remove the increases on the darts at the back of the garment, and add them to the front to double the increases there. I hope this will help reduce the pulling out of shape that most of my garments suffer from. The bust measurement is fine, its just that most of that measurement is at the front rather than spread out evenly around my whole torso, unlike the pattern. I'll let you know how my adjustments go.

That is pretty much it for now. I told you there hadn't been much crafting. Hopefully I will begin to get my mojo back soon.

New Handbag

2011-08-22T15:38:00.000+01:00

Well, I seem to have disappeared off the face of the earth again. I don't know what keeps happening to my blogging schedule - oh yes I do, it's called having a life and trying to recover from it!

I actually took the photos for this post when I took the photographs for my last post about 10 days ago. It's taken me this long to get round to writing about the photos, but I am pretty proud of this project.

The project is my new Summer handbag. I know it's nearly the end of the Summer, but I started planning for it as the beginning. The bag is made using some black denim I picked up in the remnants bin at Fenwicks and some great fabric I picked up at Poppy Patch. This trip to Northamptonshire with my friend Rach, was fun, even if the shop was tiny, and it was made totally worthwhile with my purchase of the accent and lining fabrics for this bag.

Isn't this fabulous? It's not my usual taste at all, but there is something about it that makes me smile. I think all that mid-century modern stuff all over the internet has seeped into my brain and altered my tastes slightly! The fabric is produced by David Textiles and is from the Victoria and Albert Collection - The Grand Tour. This particular fabric is called Birds/Green.

The lining is from Makower UK, and is from the Woof Collection, called 347, Abstract Squares. I think this is discontinued, so I will try to pick it up whenever I see it, as it is very versatile with the different tiny specks of colour. I was happy to find a version at Poppy Patch that went with the accent fabric.

What you can't see from this photo is the glints of metallic gold that hide in amongst the coloured squares. What you can see from this photo is the zippered pocket that I installed. Installing a zippered pocket was probably the most useful techniques I learned from Lisa Lam's Tutorials and book. I love having a zippered pocket inside a bag to hold my keys and my tablets, so I don't have to go fishing around in the bottom of my bag.

This bag is a similar shape and style to the Oversized Fashionista's Hand Bag from The Bag Making Bible by Lisa. I actually drew the pattern pieces myself, which I was quite proud of.

The bag flap was made separately from the body of the bag and then stitched on to emphasise the accent fabric. I used darts to give depth and emphasise shape.

I'm quite proud of my increased ability to actually match up my darts. This has only just started happening!

This bag was designed to be a much more manageable size than the Oversized Fashionista, which had a large volume that tempted me to over stuff it, until the stitching gave way. This is narrower, but still has a decent height to it.

As you can see in the above photo there is another use for the accent fabric. This is my cunning plan that I had been plotting for some time. I use my iPod Touch, when I go out on my scooter. When I get to the shops I have to take the earbuds out to hear the person on the checkout. When I do this I nearly always end up dropping them and they hit the floor. My brainwave solves that problem! I made a zippered casing up the front of the bag strap.

The zipper is open ended so I can open up the casing to slide the wire inside. I can then zip it up to hide the wire. This helps stop it from catching on things too.

When the wire is zipped up inside the casing, the earbuds can hang free without fear of them smashing or getting lost.

I am very proud of my invention! I had intended to add a pocket at the end of the bag for the iPod to slip into, just below the zipper, but the bag wasn't deep enough. If I was to try this concept again, I would make a gusseted bag which would be deep enough to fit an extra pocket on. As the flap of the bag has gaps at the edges, the wire fits quite comfortably through the opening, from inside the bag, which holds the iPod Touch.

The actual bag strap is adjustable and I am still in awe that my sewing machine can actually stitch through several layers of denim and fusible fleece.

I made the strap the wrong width because my basic maths skills flew out of my brain. Once again I blame the drugs. I was once good with maths, I got an A at GCSE you know! Basically I forgot that when you are making a binding style strap you need to quadruple the width required to calculate the amount of fabric to cut. I only tripled it - doh! To stop it being too ridiculously skinny, I just folded the outer edges in by about a quarter of an inch and then folded the fabric in half lengthways. It wasn't perfect, as it the sliders are too big and the strap isn't as cushioned as it could be, but it seems to be doing the job so far.

The other thing I would do differently with this bag is to make the wire casings wider so they could be attached to the back of the strap, and then folded round to the front to be held in place by the zipper. With this bag I simply stitched them in place on top of the strap. Changing it would hide the stitching on the reverse of the strap, which is bright green on this bag! It doesn't bother me enough to rip it out and start again, but I would change it next time.

Other than that, I'm pretty pleased with this bag and I would make the basic shape again as a quick bag, but without the wire casing. Like I said, I want to try that idea with a gusseted bag next time! There's no such thing as a perfect handbag, but I'm going to keep trying to find it.

A Finished Object!

2011-08-12T17:23:00.043+01:00

It is Friday, and I have a fibrous finished object woohoo, three birds - one stone! At the bottom of page are three buttons that will take you to the relevant FO and fibre related parties that I sometimes take part in.

I have at last taken some photos to share with you, of my Hitchhiker Shawl that I first talked about, what seems like eons ago. I have finally found a great photo taking spot in my tiny entrance hall. It is painted white and has good light first thing in the morning. Now I have a proper tripod I can actually take photos of myself in there without behaving like a contortionist. So with no further ado, I present one finished Hitchhiker.

One of the advantages of the yarn I used, is that it has so many colours in it, that is bound to work with something!

I used my lovely iKnit blocking wires to get the sharp and pointy teeth that you can see below.

Oh, and here is a shot that shows my new tripod, as I realised that I hadn't actually shown it to you yet, just it's effects.

I think this shawl will be mainly used a scarf in Winter, due to it's high wool content.

Essentially this was a nice, fun and mindless knit. It was easy to grasp hold of the concept of how it was constructed, and then after a couple of points I no longer needed the pattern.

I'm pretty sure I will knit this pattern again at some point as it is great knit club knitting. Maybe next time I'll try a semi-solid yarn.

Busy, Busy, Busy, Just not With Crafting

2011-08-10T16:54:00.000+01:00

I realised recently that the last few entries I've made have been a little rushed, and before that, I mentioned that I was feeling rubbish. I just want to state for the record, physically I am doing better than I have since the surgery and mentally I'm starting to pull myself together. It's just that I have been really busy lately and I only have so much energy left after dealing with pain, which means that the crafting and/or blogging has to be sacrificed to get through the week. The crazy social whirl I have been experiencing is due to continue through until next week, so hopefully after it calms down a bit, normal service will resume.

As my crafting has suffered somewhat I have only two WIPs to share with you today. The first is my Mitered Crosses for Japan Blanket. As this is not a project where it is very exciting to show progress I will only inflict one picture on you.

Exciting, hmm? That is a stack of 15 blocks. I am currently sewing the ends in on another block and then I only have another 9 to go! Not bad progress since my last update. I shall be quite sorry when this project is done as it is a no brainer that grows quite quickly. It is perfect social knitting as it requires so little concentration and each block is small enough to take out and about.

My shawl of my own design has hit a bit of brick wall. I have come to a section that requires more design work and maths, which means I've not progressed at all recently. This shawl has been put to one side until I have a couple of days of uninterrupted pain free thought. This may not happen for a while. Until I get that design work done, I have got another lace project to keep me busy.

This shawl is designed by Marleen van der Vorst, otherwise known as Dutch Knitting Design. You may recognise the name from the dim distant mists of time, from when I test knit a poncho for her. I really like Marleen's designs, usually before I realise they are hers. When I saw this beautifully draping shawl, I knew I wanted to knit it. The pattern is called Mariposa and it was in Issue 33 of The Knitter.

The shawl is knit in sock weight yarn and is in garter stitch throughout with the lace knit on both sides of the pattern. This is the first time I think I have done true knitted lace, which has increases, decreases and yarn overs done on every row. It's more of a challenge than I anticipated, and is probably made more challenging by the garter stitch background, which makes it harder to see the pattern shown on the charts, in the knitted work.

For this project, I decided to use the Black Bunny Fibers yarn I won from Go Knit In Your Hat back in June. It even seems to be the perfect colour match!

Like I said, it is hard to see the lace pattern at the moment. This next photo is a little clearer, but not much.

I know I haven't got far, but like I said, I've been busy with stuff other than crafting, which is probably why my blanket blocks have increased so much and the complex stuff hasn't!

At least I've managed to post some WIPs on a Wednesday, so I can join in the fun on Tami's blog with the link up party. Click on the button to see other projects that might inspire you. I don't know when I'll be back with another post, but don't worry, I'm not any more sick than usual, I'm just busy!

Little Red in The City Review

2011-08-03T18:19:00.001+01:00

A while ago, I promised you a more in depth review of Ysolda Teague's latest book, Little Red in The City.

Before I go any further there are a couple of different purchase options that need to be pointed out. The first method of purchase is to buy the book directly from Ysolda's website for £20.00. This was the method I chose. Included in this purchase are the PDFs of the book. This includes the patterns as well as the techniques part of the book.

You can order the book as a digital version from Ysolda's website and that costs £17.00. You can also buy the book from Amazon, where it is priced at £17.00. What I am not sure about is whether you get the digital version included with the purchase via Amazon.

When I bought my book I got the digital version uploaded to my library on Ravelry. This is particularly useful as I do tend to scribble on my patterns. In the case of these patterns it is very useful indeed, as you have to enter the stitch counts yourself from the tables provided. This do-it-yourself approach is incredibly clever as it lets the pattern be read in the most simple manner and you can add your own variations based on any amendments you might make after learning how to fit your pattern to your body. It also means that the the author can create patterns with 15-17 sizes that are actually legible.

Now on to the actual review, which I have posted, in part, on Amazon.

This book is a work of art. It is beautiful to look at and Ysolda's trademark whimsical stamp is on every page. I love at least three of the seven patterns and quite like another couple, but these patterns are not the main reason to buy this book. This book is a wonderful resource for knitters who have got a reasonable grasp of knitting other people's patterns, but are sick of them not looking quite right. Every page of the front half of the book is dedicated to giving tips and tricks to improve technique, and adjust fitting of knitting patterns in a way that flatters. The techniques involve such varied subjects as how to choose the right yarn to working out where to put waist shaping. It also covers short row shaping, darts, and the importance of swatching properly. I have learned several new and clever tricks to help with knitting that will improve all of my knitting and not just how my garments fit.

To help explain the techniques described, each of the patterns at the rear of the book is broken down into sections where you can insert your own measurements and calculations. You are given hints on where to make changes to the pattern if you want to change the fit to one of the many sizes covered, which range from 28" - 60" busts. Each design is shown on two quite different sized women who are NOT models, but the author and her friend. There are many worked calculations so that you can follow the step by step instructions without being very good at maths.

I plan to knit Melia, the hooded cape, which I already have the yarn for. I plan to use some chocolate brown Fez. However, it is too warm to think of these sorts of knits right now. I'll start it when it cools down a bit.

I also have ordered some yarn to make Laika, which is the lace patterned cardigan. I've ordered the 4ply merino yarn already, but it is on back order, so I may have to wait a while. I was told it would be some time in August, so while I have to wait, this will probably be my first knit of the book.

My favourite pattern, though, has to be Cria. I wish the yarn was easy to replace, as the recommended yarns are either expensive or have to bought overseas! I may have to save up some before I get to this one, anyone know of a cheap sport weight yarn with some silk content?

I know that this review has a very large absence of photographs, but if you want to have a look at the pictures from the book you can see them on Ysolda's Flickr PhotoStream, or on Ravelry.

I do recommend this book very highly, but I wouldn't recommend it for people who haven't knit at least a couple of garments before, as I think you would have information overload. If you understand how a garment is put together you shouldn't have any problems.

Hopefully when I get my Laika yarn, I'll share my thoughts on the pattern writing too.

More WPC 2011 Photos

2011-07-27T22:19:00.000+01:00

As I am trying to keep on track with the Weekly Photo Challenge, now that I'm back in the swing of things, I have been taking photos without thinking about my crafting. I have been forgetting to photo my knitting for weekly blog posts and though crafting is going on, I have no record of progress to show you. I have, however, got the photos from last week and this week to share with you.

Last week, Week 29, had Orange as it's theme. This actually turned out to be a pretty straight forward theme for me as we have some orange lilies in our garden. I waited until the right moment and took my tripod out to take my shot. It only took 4 or 5 shots to get one I liked and I'm pretty pleased with that. I envisaged the photo in my head and then I waited until I had the right weather conditions and took the photo. I'm so glad I didn't have to go further than the garden to get it though!

I really wanted to get the flower after the rain, with some drops of water on the curved petals, but have it bathed in sunlight to get the rich pop of colour. This photo is one of the first ones I have ever taken that turned out the way I expected.

This week's theme was Texture. This theme left me a little more stumped. I didn't really have anything in mind except to wander around the garden (again) snapping random objects that had interesting textures. Because I didn't have anything specific in mind I ended up with 4 photos that I found interesting.

This is our chiminea that has rusted beautifully, as we don't have a cover for it. I love the battered nature of this object and the curve of the lid highlighted by the green grass blurred behind it makes it interesting. I love this shot, but it doesn't sing "texture" to me.

The next three shots were all of the same wooden table. This rickety table, which is actually three slabs of wood nailed together, was left by the house's previous owners. We keep it because it is useful for barbeques and it doesn't really get in the way, but we don't take care of it either. This has left it with exposed and battered areas that were perfect for this subject.

I find this photo interesting, but it is less about texture and more about splinters!

I think this photo is more visually interesting that the one above, even though it is of exactly the same part of the table. I find it a little unsettling, as though I am about to tip over. It is an interesting photo and I considered long and hard before choosing the next photo for my submission.

This photo kept pulling me back and so I chose it. It shows the pits and the cracks that have become a part of the wood over the years. This photograph shows exactly how the surface feels when you run your hand across it. The surface is not uniform, but it still isn't rough to the touch. This photograph is about nothing more than the texture of the wooden surface of the table, and that is why I chose it.

Next week's theme is Small. Hmmm, we have lots of ants in our garden at the moment.....

More Shawls

2011-07-20T17:42:00.000+01:00

This week I've been mainly knitting shawls. No surprise there, is there? I confess I am now officially an addict. The mounting woolly pile is getting quite scary so I did give away my Radiance Shawl to my friend. She looks so much better in it than I do, so at least I get the pleasure of looking at her in it!

To replace my lovely sunshine yellow shawl, I am now knitting an equally vivid shawlette/scarf type thingy. I am knitting it in Zauberball.

The colourway is Fishe Fishe. I think the literal translation would be Fish, Fish. I have loved this yarn, from afar, for a long time. I think it looks great in socks, but I know I would be unlikely to wear them in such bright hues. I'd maybe wear socks in the more sedate colours of the range, but that defeats the object of having such glorious colour changes. I picked up this skein cheaply, when P2Tog changed hands, and then debated what to do with it. This week, I finally worked out what it was destined to become. It is to become, a Hitchhiker!

This pattern by Martina Behm, is actually very straight forward. I used to object to paying for patterns that I could work out myself, if I could be bothered. Now I don't. I have worked out that I didn't have the design idea that the designer had, and if they went to the trouble of writing the pattern, testing it, getting photos taken and publishing it, then they deserve some recompense. Especially if it is only €2.50, as that really isn't a lot of money.

This pattern has become quite popular and it was only once I saw a completed Hitchhiker in person that I understood why. It is a great showcase for yarn. Any yarn that is not solid in colour will have the variations shown up beautifully through the graduation of the garter stitch. The unusual construction of the pattern means the rows of the yarn are at a different angle to what you would expect. It really is a clever and surprisingly simple design. I'm really enjoying knitting it, and it is perfect knit club knitting.

I've actually got further than the above image shows, as I took the photo on Monday, when there was some actual daylight. I've got stripes of red and yellow now too.

Ah garter stitch, how I love thee, let me count the ways. I just can't seem to get away from the fact that garter stitch is amazing. When I started knitting I didn't like it. I thought it looked unpolished, unlike stocking stitch. Now that I knit more neatly and uniformly I can see the beauty of the little ridges. I can also appreciate garter stitch for it's squishy qualities and the way colour changes are blurred into a softer blend. I also like how it sits flat with not a curl in sight!

This Hitchhiker project is my mindless knitting whilst I work on a semi-circular shawl pattern. I have actually started and ripped it a couple of times now, but I finally have the first and second sections worked out. I'm pretty pleased with the way it is going and hopefully in a week or so I'll be ready to get something test knit before releasing the pattern. I'm not going to show you anything except the yarn I'm using!

Yummy, yummy Fyberspates. I love Scrumptious yarn and it seems to be holding up well to any ripping back I'm having to do, which is always a bonus. This colourway of Midnight, doesn't seem to be available on the Fyberspates website, but I got it from iKnit, so maybe it is a discontinued shade now. It is a glorious shade, but I don't recommend knitting it at night with KnitPro Symfonie needles, as it is very hard to keep track of the strands of yarn as you work!

I'm stepping back a bit from the regular link up parties at the moment. If you are interested, this will probably explain why. Basically I can't really commit to doing ANYTHING at the moment, so I'm not going to put any pressure on myself to take part in a self imposed commitment, as I will just feel rubbish if I don't hit my targets. However, this does appear to be a post about a WIP on a Wednesday! Maybe I'll just link up today.

Pretty in Pink (and grey)

2011-07-17T15:27:00.002+01:00

I finished the new Daybreak Shawl on Thursday. I should have taken photos on Friday and done a FO Friday post. However, there was a slight problem with that. I went to my knitting group on Thursday afternoon. I sat in the sun for all of 20-30 mins and got a very very pink face. I could have taken shots of the shawl without it being worn, but then that wouldn't have given any idea of scale. Plus, I did that with the last Daybreak I knit. I felt I owed it to my project pages to show this shawl being modelled. As a result, I had to wait until today to get photos of my face without having to pixelate it out! So, without further ado, I present the pink and grey Daybreak Shawl.

I don't think I will every tire of this particular pattern. It is so simple to knit but it has enough interest to keep you captivated. I may, one day, even knit it in solid yarns to see whether that draws me on as much as the long colour changes do.

This shawl is larger than the last one I knit. I think my knitting has become looser, this meant that instead of the purely grey edging, I had to use pink yarn for the last repeat of the border pattern. I think it looks fine.

I used my new tripod for taking these photos and it makes a massive difference to the stability of the shots. I feel much less hassled, because I know the tripod won't fall over when I press the button to start the timer. As this is a full sized tripod I can position it anywhere in the garden rather than just standing by the table by the Summer house. This gives me greater flexibility on the time of day I can take photographs outdoors. My Gorillapod is great for taking out and about, but this big tripod is going to be so useful at home.

Going back to my knitting, I feel unadventurous using the same brand of yarn for both versions of this shawl. After having such a great result with the first shawl, I knew I wanted to keep using this lovely soft and light material. I knew I wouldn't be bored with two shawls in the same yarn, as there is such variety in each colourway, it is impossible to get bored. It is also a great weight to have as a shawl. Lang Jawoll Magic is a 3-ply or light fingering weight, which keeps it light enough to wear on a sunny day, but warm enough to stop shivering on a cooler evening.

Having one shawl in warm tones and one is cooler tones will hopefully mean I can wear one version of this shawl, on most occasions. I really do love the semi-circular shape so much.

I mean, what's not to like?

Crafty Cogitating

2011-07-13T17:38:00.001+01:00

This last week has been more about thinking about craft than actually crafting. The shawl I am in the process of designing is waiting one last push before I can cast on. That push is awaiting the postal services. After many months of trying to score a reasonably priced Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G Walker, I have succeeded. It's quite hard to locate this book and not have to pay over the odds in the UK, but I have heard it is the book that designers seem to like the most for the detailed lace patterns that are included. I decided that I really wanted this book as the lace dictionaries I have are quite limited in scope, and seem to duplicate each other. I finally found this book at iKnit London for the princely sum of £21.99. While I was at the site I had a peek at the yarn. And I found Fyberspates Scrumptious Laceweight in a delicious colour called Midnight. I had to buy it, as you know how much I enjoyed knitting with this yarn, and I wanted my newly designed shawl to be knit in the nicest laceweight yarn I have yet knit with. As I was waiting for the book before planning the final section of the shawl, I thought there would be no harm in waiting for the yarn either!

While I wait for my new yarn and book to arrive I have left the design to dance around in my subconscious. I think it has been seeping through as I have cast on another shawl! It's a very different shawl, thought, and it is one I've knit before. It is a Daybreak, by Stephen West. You may remember my previous attempt at this shawl. I love it so much, and it gets worn an awful lot. The yarn is slightly finer than a 4ply or fingering weight, so it is nice and light. It sits perfectly on my elbow crease and just provides the perfect amount of warmth on a Summer evening. As I love it so much I bought the yarn for another version, in different colours.

I wanted this shawl to be from a completely different colour group to the other one, so I can wear it with different outfits.

I've actually got quite a long way with it. I have knit the large size and got to the 5th border repeat, when I ran out of grey yarn. This happened with the last one, but not until the end of the 6th repeat. I think my gauge must have been looser. I have switched to the pink for the last repeats. I don't know if I'll do all 7 border repeats, I'll have to judge how it looks. At the moment it is a pile of pink and grey.

As well as cogitating on my shawl, I am reading my new book. Little Red in the City, by Ysolda Teague. I'm not an out and out Ysolda fan, but I do like her style. I wasn't going to buy the book as it only has 7 patterns, but when she posted exerts on her blog, I was sold. I love the artwork and the clear graphics and really like that if you buy the book you also get the book in a digital format. I am so glad that I bought this book, a beautiful piece of art, which stands alone, separate from the contents. The contents are wonderful though! I'll talk about it more in a future post.

In other news, I have purchased a proper grown up sized camera tripod. Taking the photo above was much easier than normal as I had no camera shake. I also took the current Weekly Photo Challenge 2011 photo with it. The subject was Surprise.

Nothing says suprise like a party blower! I have recently discovered Scenes on my camera - thanks CountryFile, I never thought I would get such helpful information while you discussed your annual calendar contest! I first used the Scenes setting last week, for the subject Nighttime.

I used the same "scene" which was Night Landscapes for both of the above photos. Last week's photo is what prompted me to buy the tripod. I took the Nighttime photo by leaning against the window, but it's hard to keep the camera steady while the aperture stays open for 8 seconds. The Surprise photo was much easier with a tripod.

With this new method of using my point and click camera, I'm learning how to manipulate it to give me the effect I am reaching for. Maybe one day I'll work out how to translate that to other cameras.

My Longest Project Ever is Finished (sort of)

2011-07-08T12:53:00.000+01:00

My first blog post about this project was on 19th December 2008! This has been a marathon project out of all proportion with the actual finished project. There are 17 blog posts linked to this project on Ravelry (well with this one there will be 18). I am of course referring to the monster that is the KAL Blanket. I started this project as part of the group A Year in A Blanket on Ravelry. The group is still there, but there seems to be very little activity on the discussion board, which is hardly surprising, as it was started around the time I started my blanket. I had very grand plans for this blanket, which gradually grew smaller and smaller as the project dragged on and on. I finally got a blanket sized thing and sewed a backing on it and declared it finished. So here we go, the big unveil - ta-day!

I finally got the gorgeous flannel from The Bramble Patch attached to the blanket, though it isn't very straight.

But I don't care. It is a great blanket and I am keeping it for myself and therefore I declare it fit for purpose. It is the perfect size to cover me whilst I lie on the sofa and feel cold or ill. It has a lovely weight to it, so it stays put on my legs as I move around. I don't get hot and sweaty as it has a large cotton content. The yarn is Elle Elite and is comprised of 50% wool and 50% cotton and I really love it. (In fact, I have a large quantity of this yarn left and intend to make myself something nice to wear in it). The flannel is 100% cotton and gets softer every time I touch it.

I can cope with the wonkiness and the mismatched squares because it keeps me warm, without being hot, and I can run my fingers of the centre panel and it's bobbly cabled texture.

I can see my history of knitting in this project. In each block you can see improvement.

I love this blanket and all its frustrations and annoyances and it makes me nostalgic for the knitter I was when I started this project. I was so ambition and created a complicated design showing off all the skills I had learnt, cables, bobbles, intarsia, swiss darning, etc. I wouldn't begin to knit something like this now. I would consider it too fussy and disconnected. I would create something more tied together. This blanket stands as a testament to my learning curve.

I whipstitched the flannel on to the blanket using the same brown yarn that I used on the knitted block and edging panels. It disappears into the front and forms a feature on the back.

At some point I intend to sew the flannel to the blanket using quilting cotton and stitching in the ditch on the inside edge of the brown knitted panels and blocks. I think this will help keep the blanket together and straighten up the edges a bit more. I don't know when I'll get round to doing that, as I said, it is already fit for purpose and it isn't going anywhere. Maybe when it is cold and unpleasant in the Winter, I will be more inclined to add this final touch. But until then - I declare this blanket DONE!

To see more DONE projects, click on the button below.

Blanket Progress

2011-07-06T10:52:00.000+01:00

I have been concentrating on my version of Mitred Crosses Blanket for Japan over the last few weeks. My project monogamy is because instead of swatching for any of the projects I really want to make, in time to wear before the end of the Summer, I am designing a shawl. I know there are lots of lovely shawls out there, but I intended to write a shawl pattern a while ago and never got around to it. Now instead of the small shawlette I originally intended, I'm designing a whopping great big half-pi shawl in lace weight. I have no idea what possessed me to start down this path but now I've started I can't stop. So until I finish the design process, all my knitting brain is otherwise occupied and I will be doing nice mitred blocks.

I have 9 in total now. I have sewn the ends in all but one of them. The only reason I have one without ends sewn is, because I am half way through it. The sewing in of ends on this project is a pain. If I don't do them as I go, I know I will NEVER put this blanket together because of the huge job it would be at the end. So I sew as I go. I feel so virtuous.

I love the squares within squares that this pattern creates. I am enjoying this project so much and it is perfect for leaving my brain free to conjure up fancy lace patterns.

I'm sure there are many more exciting projects to be seen on Tami's blog. Click on the button to have a look.

Greeny Goodness

2011-07-01T12:07:00.001+01:00

I am so excited, I got my fabulous new scarf off the blocking boards this morning, and it is gorgeous!

The yarn has a delicious sheen, but then Semi-Precious always does, because of the silk, don'cha know! Ooo dear I just went looking for a link to the yarn and I just fell in love with a new colourway - Stingray - go look, I dare you.

This is the third time I have used this yarn, and it never gets old.

I also can't tell you how much I love this pattern. I was getting a little bored by the end, as I used up all my yarn, but it was worth it. This scarf is just what I was looking for.

I apologise for the miserable expression on my face in the above and the next photo, but I'm quite sore today and finding it hard to be cheerful, despite my lovely new scarf.

Normally I would wait to take the photos until I was feeling like faking a "happy" face, but I wanted to show you how lovely this scarf it - have I mentioned how lovely it is ;-)

I even like the reverse side of the scarf. It has a nice bouncy texture to it.

Having a pretty reverse means I will be quite happy about showing either side of the scarf as I wrap it round my neck. This scarf is so long that it will be either hugely loopy, or hang down a loooong way, even when folded in half and having the ends threaded through the fold, like the second photo that I'm in.

I'm now really conflicted about what to knit next. I have three delicious yarns that I want to play with, and I can't decide what to knit first. My Little Red in the City book arrived just now as well, and I want to read that, as it looks so pretty and interesting - oooo I'm so confused, what first???? Maybe I'll just go and knit some more blocks from my Mitred Crosses Blanket for Japan, while I decide (I have six now)!

Please check out other finished projects by clicking on the buttons. There are some very pretty ones this week, and I am being further tempted.

Another New WIP

2011-06-29T10:53:00.000+01:00

I seem to have a bad case of startitis at the moment. I think it is because of how much I loved my shawl. I itched to make something silky and lacy again. I had been mentally reserving some lovely BabyLongLegs Semi-Precious for my first attempt at writing a shawl pattern, but I after pulling the yarn out of storage I wanted to knit with it NOW!

Well look at it! Wouldn't you want to knit with it straight away? I had a look for another lacy scarf pattern, because I really am enjoying wearing my glamorous silk scarf at the moment, and I found a great free pattern. It is the Foreign Correspondent's Scarf by Lexy Lu. I cast on at the weekend and I now seem to have knit nothing else. I am enjoying it so much. I really like lace patterns that are easily readable and easy to memorise.

This is a great pattern for a semi-solid yarn. The combination of stitch and yarn gives a lovely mottled effect, which creates additional texture.

I'm about 2/3rds of the way through and I just want to get it finished so I can wear it. It is the perfect Summer colour!

Before I started my scarf I knit another 3 and half blocks for the Mitred Cross Blanket. I didn't bother taking photos as they look pretty much the same as the ones in the post I linked to above. However, the pile of blocks is growing, which I find very satisfying.

I haven't made any progress on the top I swatched for, as I am now conflicted. I have found a pattern in the current KNIT magazine, Issue 39. If you don't have access to Ravelry, you can see samples here. The pattern is for a tunic and the sample is done in Sirdar Flirt, which is a double knit yarn, the same as the Adriafil Sol Levante I swatched. It was also knit in an oatmeal colour, which made me think again of my swatch. The tunic is constructed in an usual way and I really want to knit it. I have some Sirdar Flirt in my stash, but not enough, but this Adriafil yarn would look great knit up as this tunic. Like I say, I'm conflicted. I may just keep thinking while I finish my scarf.

Until I can reach a decision, why don't you look at other people's work in progress by clicking on the button below.

My Shawl is Finished

2011-06-24T13:03:00.000+01:00

I love my shawl. It is the best shawl I have. I adore it, but I contemplated giving it away yesterday. I have a sound reason for my seeming generosity, I want to knit another one! I didn't offer it though, as I hadn't taken any photos yet. I may offer it some time next week instead. Here is the beauteous shawl in question. I present my Radiance!

I just had to take a washing line shot. It shows the drape brilliantly. Plus, we had some lovely sunshine this morning. Me and my cat prowled around the garden taking photos.

I have definitely fallen in love with the semi-circular shape, for a Summer shawl. In Winter I want a low back to keep me warm while sitting down, but when the weather is warmer, I just need my arms covering, and this shape does that fantastically well.

Please excuse the strange way the dress is riding up, in a way that implies I have a towel wrapped around my waist under the dress. It is purely down rush to get posed in time for the timer.

This is such a simple and elegant pattern, that I am itching to make it again. I even love the picot cast off (which took forever).

How can you not love something that looks this good? When blocking this shawl I used wires along the top edge and along the bottom of the last garter stitch panel, which left the last lace panel ,with the picot edging, to hang loosely. I think this left the bottom edge nice and dense, so it hangs better. The rest of the lace panels are nice and open.

I do like the open nature of this lace panel, which contrasts so well with the more dense lace panel that goes in the opposite direction.

All in all, I am ecstatic about how this project turned out. I even have a decent amount of yarn left, which I am going to make into knitted jewellery (when I have time). I highly recommend this pattern and the yarn, all of which is detailed in this post.

Here is just one last gratuitous shawl shot.

To have a look at other pretty projects, click on one of the buttons below. There are some fantastic bloggers joining in with these parties.

New WIPs

2011-06-22T12:25:00.000+01:00

It might seem like I have abandoned this blog of late, for which I am sorry. I have been crafting, but I've not been taking photos as I have been hard at work on a new blog. I have been a bit ranty of late, so I decided to tuck it away in a nice quiet corner of the internet. I decided that in order to keep Stitched Together a nice crafty place, with a minimum of whinging, I better set up a new place in which spout forth on the difficulties of living with a chronic health condition.

My new blog is called Scars Inside (a reference to my adhesions) and is taking up more of my time than I expected. I have been working on one post for the last couple of days. In order to rant properly you need facts, and these facts are hard to dig up. I feel like I've gone back to college! So this is why it has been quiet on this blog of late. If you would like to visit me there, I would love to see you, as I feel I am currently shouting into the abyss. I think I have set it up to tweet on my ST1TCHEDTOG account when I post on the new blog, but we shall see.

Now - back to my crafting, after all that is why you are here! As I have finished my lovely shawl, which I will leave that for the reveal on Friday, I wanted to start a new project. I have some lovely Summer yarn that I bought at a reasonable price, and don't have a pattern that I like for it (there's a surprise!). I have decided that I will make my own pattern so I have swatched my yarn thoroughly. I knit a large swatch, in the round, as that is how I plan on knitting my pattern, and I have washed and blocked it.

I don't want to repeat the mistakes of the Recovery Sweater, which turned out huge, because I didn't block my swatch. I blocked this swatch quite hard, as I want the fabric to be loose and flowing, though of course I could have used bigger needles.

I love this yarn, Adriafil Sol Lavente, which is a DK weight yarn and is composed of 47% silk, 45% cotton and 8% linen. I have worked out the basic shape of this top and now I have the gauge I can start doing my maths (which could take some time). This is definitely going to be my "thinking" project.

To balance my thinking project I always have at least one easy pattern to take to knit clubs and to knit while chatting to friends. Until recently this has been my lovely spiral blanket, but it is now too big and hot to sit under, so it has been stowed away until the cooler weather starts again (probably about 10 days knowing British Weather!).

I decided to look at my queue and I found a pattern I bought a while ago, which I had the yarn for. The pattern is the Mitred Crosses Blanket for Japan, by Kay Gardiner of Mason-Dixon fame. The proceeds from the sale of this pattern are going to Mercy Corps, to help the Japanese relief effort.

When I bought the pattern a couple of months ago, I knew I wasn't going to make it straight away. I did, however, want to source the yarn. Instead of the very lovely, but oh so expensive, Noro Silk Garden, that the pattern specifies, I wanted to use different and cheaper yarn.

I decided that this was going to be a blanket for throwing on the lawn to laze around on, or to take camping to huddle under at night. I wanted my blanket to be robust and, more importantly, machine washable. I found the perfect alternative, to the suggested yarn, in Tivoli Ocean, which also knits as an aran weight.

As you can see, it also has the same long colour variations that Noro yarns have. It is composed of 30% wool and 70% dralon. It is soft and is very loosely plied, which gives it a very slight halo. To contrast with the Ocean, I wanted a plain yarn for the background. I wanted the variations to be the star of the blanket. The background yarn I found was Stylecraft Special Aran, which I got for the amazingly cheap price, of £1.25 for 100g, at Country Crafts. I had never felt or seen this yarn in person. But at this incredible price, I thought it was worth a punt.

And do you know what, I really like it. It is cheap and machine washable, with a lovely springy stitch definition. It feels soft and I know I will buy more in the future if I need something cheap and robust. It would be perfect for children and babies. I found this yarn because the DK version has been used and recommended by Lucy from Attic 24 for her Granny Stripe Blanket, and in fact Country Crafts do an Attic24 selection pack.

Once I had the yarn, this potential project sat around for a bit waiting for me to get around to the pattern. Then when I was getting hot and bothered by my spiral blanket I decided it was time to go modular!

I have managed 3 blocks so far.

I think this blanket could just work out very nicely indeed. Look at that stitch definition.

It's so plump and squidgey. I love that these blocks are knit on smaller than normal needles. It gives the blocks heft and density. They are supposed to be blocked to around an inch bigger in both directions, but I don't know if I'll do this, as I like how they look and feel now.

The colour variations are working nicely as I only used one of the Ocean skeins to make these three blocks and it looks like more were used to get the variation of colours.

The pattern only uses 10 blocks, but I would like a big square blanket, so I might try and track down some more yarn. I'm enjoying the knitting so much, my little pile will grow really quickly during Wimbledon fortnight!

There may be little else to show you next week, except a bigger pile. To check out other works in progress, click on the button below and see some very talented bloggers as they share their processes.

Tired Girl

2011-06-17T09:48:00.000+01:00

I am totally exhausted at the moment. I don't know why. I think it might be a virus, but I have no other symptoms. One night this week, I couldn't even knit because the project felt too heavy! As a result I haven't taken photos yet of my lovely new shawl. Oh it is gorgeous, but you will have to wait until next week when I will hopefully be able to stand upright long enough to capture it's glory in digital representation.

As I have no new photos I thought I would share some older photos with you. I never did show you the finished Daybreak Shawl because Knit and Crochet Blog Week got in the way. There was one photo as part of a collage, but not a full on "ta dah" type post. So here, in all it's belated gorgeousness is my Daybreak Shawl.

It is really hard to capture how fluffy, light and warm this shawl is. The Lang Jawoll Magic sock yarn is fantastic and I'm so glad I bought another skein, as I think I might do another version of this one day.

I ran out of the contrast colour and had to use the main colour for the last row and cast off. I think it actually looks better, having that flash of colour on the edge of the shawl.

This shawl is a really good size, and hugs your shoulders when worn. I have it by the sofa for when I get a bit chilly in the evenings as it keeps me just warm enough without causing me to overheat. I love the simplicity of the of the design and how effective it looks, in yarns that have long colour changes in them. This would be a totally different shawl in two solid colour yarns. I always think that Stephen West designs should be easy to work out how to do yourself, but, no else did. He is the man with the vision, and as such I do not begrudge paying the pattern fee.

Moving away from knitting, I realise I didn't share the jewellery I made for my sister in law's wedding. I made a matching set of earrings, bracelet and necklace with pendant. I chose black and red colours to go with both of my outfits over the weekend, the black and white polka dot dress, and the red frock I wore for the evening celebrations.

I'm sorry this photo is not as clear as it could be, but you get the general idea. To hang the glass drop beads, I attached them with three links of fine chain. This was the first time I had used this particular type of design and I'm pretty pleased with it.

The bracelet and the necklace use the same type of chain, which I find really elegant and interesting. I made the bracelet very simple, with just a leaf and vine ornamented bar and loop closure.

I love how simple this bracelet is. I contemplated adding other beads and decoration to it, but I knew that would ruin it.

The necklace is also quite straightforward with the same chain as the bracelet and a single drop pendant.

The pendant uses a large heart shape glass bead, and black glass beads that I also used in the earrings.

I am so happy about this set, and it reminded me how much I enjoy playing with pliers and wire. I ought to do it more often, but yarn tends to get in the way a bit!

To take a look at some more recent finished objects, click on the button below, I'm sure you will enjoy what you find!

What? Is it Friday Already??

2011-06-10T13:00:00.000+01:00

Well apparently this week sped up significantly towards the end of it. I'm sure it is only Tuesday or something. Must be the drugs....now why am I here? Oh yes, crafting!!

I have a finished knitted object to share, and I'll let you into a little secret - I rather like it. Do you remember last year when I knitted this:

It was a Christmas present for my mother in law. It was hard to give it up because I loved it so much, but the look on her face made my separation anxiety disappear. Then I went back to visit Artist's Palette, where I got the original yarn and they had this yarn in the sale section, just in a slightly different shade. The yarn is discontinued and is called Gleam Lite.

The top yarn was used for the original shawl. The bottom yarn was the yarn I got for myself. I simply duplicated everything about the first project, casting on 68 stitches and using a 3.5mm needle. As before, I used the Wakefield Scarf pattern, which is free from Interweave.

The only thing I would recommend with this pattern is keeping track of which line of the 12 row lace repeat you are on. The pattern is so simple it is easy to get lost, as the only differences are at the beginning and ends of the rows.

The results of this repeated endeavour are as wonderful as the original.

The drape of this gorgeous pure silk yarn is just fabulous. I think my gauge has changed since the first one, or maybe I just blocked the shawl harder this time.

I think that the shawl is wider and the pattern more visible. I think it must have been just a harder block.

Because this is larger, this shawl will be useful to take on holiday as it will fold up small but offer some form of warmth on a cooler evening. It will also be useful as a scarf on occasions in the Winter when I want to dress up a bit.

I am really happy to have my own version of this scarf. I can imagine knitting it again in the future, but with different yarn next time!

I am hooking up to my usual Friday linky parties. Please click on at least one of the buttons listed below and check out some different crafters and bloggers. They are really worth a look.

Warning - Political Content

2011-06-09T12:12:00.000+01:00

This is not a political blog. It is a crafting blog where I talk about lovely fluffy things. It is here to help keep me sane as I live with a horribly painful condition. However, there are realities to living with a chronic health issue and one of them is how you survive financially.

In the UK we are currently undergoing a period of discussing Welfare Reform. It is scaring me stupid. I am in the very fortunate position of having a partner who has a good job. When this welfare reform comes in, I will lose my benefits and I won't starve. The new Bill will mean that if you are ill and can't work you won't get unconditional financial support after 12 months, your household income will be assessed to determine if you require additional funding. This all sounds very reasonable until you hear the actual figure at which financial support is withdrawn.

£7,500 pa - to support at least the person earning it and the sick person. Then you have to take into account that there might be children involved. How the hell is a family supposed to survive on £625 per month?

Scottish Power, the first of the main power suppliers in the UK to inform us of changes, has just increased it's rates by a whopping 19% pushing their average household bill from £1,150 pa to £1,320 pa. They aren't the only ones increasing their rates this year. So just heating an average home will cost £110 per month and sick people, who are indoors a big part of the time and feel the cold, will probably have a much greater need for heat and power than this "average" amount will account for.

I won't go into any more details about the cost of living but I think you get the picture. Essentially the current Government is slashing the support you can expect if you are sick or disabled, at a time when the costs of living are increasing massively.

I applaud the sentiment that is behind the part of the Act that they will give aid to sick and disabled people to help find work, but I think they are ignoring a massive part of that group who really can't work, no matter how much they may want to.

Taking myself as a case study. I am 38 years old and during the last ten years I have had 6 sets of abdominal surgery. Each time I have surgery I have to spend a few months recovering, and that recovery involves lying flat on my back and counting the days until I can start to move around again, without whimpering in pain. It is likely that during the course of my life I will continue to require surgery.

I take 4 different types of medication to control my pain. One of those drugs is a heavy duty opiate that leaves my brain foggy and makes it hard to verbally articulate ideas and causes me to lose concentration. Another of the drugs is a tricyclic antidepressant which is used in small dosage to aid sleep and manage pain. One of the side effects is drowsiness. The next of the drugs I take is for the neuropathic pain caused by damage to my nerves, and it causes dizziness and drowsiness. It is unlikely that my chronic pain will ever go away. I'm probably going to be taking these drugs in some measure or another for life. I live with the side effects because without the drugs I would be a screaming ball of pain.

The combination of these drugs makes it hard for me to contemplate working for someone. In order to manage the pain enough, to sit up at my computer and blog three times a week in a reasonably coherent form, I have to take these drugs. When I say "sitting up at my computer" what I actually mean is reclining back on a sofa with the keyboard on my lap. If I can only manage this kind of mental activity a few times a week, then how would I manage if I had to leave the house to work? Leaving the house increases my pain levels dramatically.

I leave the house around 3-4 times a week and at least 2 of those times is just a short trip on my mobility scooter to the corner shop to buy a loaf of bread or similar. My one or two social activities a week never last more than 3 hours at a time, because by then the endorphins levels that are increased by seeing people I care about and having fun, are not sufficient to control my pain. I go home whimpering in pain, but cheered from escaping the house for a few hours. I then spend a day or so recovering.

How many employers want to take on someone who;

can't manage any physical tasks
will a require special comfortable workstation
can only perform tasks that use little brain power
won't mind if a drift off in the middle of a phone call to a client
won't mind if I add up things wrong, or misfile documents because of a lapse in concentration
can only work for around 4-6 hours a week
won't be able to work the same hours every week because they can't predict when the "bad days" are going to be?

Do you know any who would take on this kind of employee? If you do, let me know and I'll apply for a job there.

This Government thinks that everyone should be able to work. It may be right, but in our current system of employment there are no jobs that will allow the flexibility that a sick or disabled person would require to work. When you consider that the Government wants people to find employment within our current limited system, within 12 months, it makes you wonder if they care. If you read the notes of the meeting held on 3 May 2011 by the Welfare Reform Committee, you would probably gain the same impression that I did, that the current Government really doesn't care. They just want to get the cost of Welfare down. They don't care how they do it, and who pays the price.

My reality is I am unable to work. I am not alone. There are an awful lot of people out there who have very similar stories. They are invisible because they can't get out the house. They use every last ounce of their energy helping raise their children or trying to support their partner. They have no voice because they are too tired to shout.

There are a small group of sick and disabled people who are sacrificing every ounce of their energy and enduring massive levels of pain to try and speak for the invisible ones. The ones who will suffer the most when these welfare reforms come in. One voice is The Diary of a Benefit Scrounger. This blog has alerted me to the horrible changes that are being contemplated. If you live in the UK and do nothing else about my post, please just read ONE entry on that blog and then tell me your blood isn't boiling.

I don't think I will like living in a country that cuts off financial support to a person, who is suffering from cancer, because they don't get better in under 12 months, and their partner happens to earn £8,000 pa.

The only way that these reforms will go through is if the electorate make it possible. If we ignore what is going on, we will end up with the system we allowed to happen. This isn't just tweaking the existing system, it is throwing it out completely and replacing it with something wholly inadequate. The poorest, sickest and most vulnerable people will suffer even more than they already do. Is that the country you want to live in?

If you care, talk about it, blog about it, tweet it, and write to your MP. If enough people cry out maybe the Government will reconsider, the way they did with NHS reforms. On our own, sick and disabled people feel very isolated and voiceless, but if other people join in with their cries, just maybe we will all be heard over the bellowing of DEFICIT in the House of Commons.

WIP Wednesday and a Prize

2011-06-08T10:58:00.000+01:00

I am so happy today. I got a prize in the post and it is glorious! I won a prize in the Sew Mama, Sew Giveaway Day bonanza. I won it from Go Knit In Your Hat, which is the blog written by the dyer behind the Black Bunny Fibers brand, Carol J. Sulcoski. As this was an indie-dyer from the USA, I hadn't come across this brand before, but oh how I wish I had. This prize comprised of some sock yarn and a pattern. Here is the sock yarn.

The yarn base is Superwash Merino Classic and the colourway is Delft. It is so hard to convey quite how deep this blue is. The photographs don't quite capture it. The photo below is probably the closest I was able to get.

The yarn is super squishy and my fingers are itching to knit something with it. The yarn came with a printed pattern, on lovely thick paper. In fact, the paper was so thick it was almost card weight. The pattern was the Emmett Sock pattern by Carol J. Sulcoski. You can see a picture of the pattern on this post from Carol's blog. As this is a superwash I am tempted to knit the sock pattern in this yarn, as the socks would look beautiful. But I also think that I want that blue up round my face. It's a tough choice.

Oh, I also got some chocolates that we don't really get here.

Nom! Thank you Carol for your lovely prizes, I adore all of them.

Now, back to our scheduled programme! I have two WIPs to share this week. I do have other WIPs but I haven't touched them, so there is no point in sharing. The first is my lovely spiral blanket.

I've added a good couple of extra rounds on this baby since the last time I showed you. I took it away with me at the weekend and it has also been my knit club knitting. I don't know how long I'll be able to carry on with this blanket as it is starting to get rather warm under it. It may have to go on a holiday for a couple of months, during the warm weather. I now have 5 skeins of this yarn and I have used one and half of them, so I think it will be a reasonable sized lap blanket, which is what I want it for.

The second project is a new one. I have had this project in my queue for a few months. I loved the pattern when I first saw it and kept coming back to it, time and time again. I was reminded of it when MinnieMoll knit her version of it, The Radiance Shawl by Helen Stewart.

I loved everything about this shawl, the colour, the drape, the shape and the simple, but effective, lace stitches. Sometimes I think simple is more effective than complicated. The shawl is a semi-circle, which is a shape I like.

Because I fell in love with the colour, when I saw this skein of yarn I bought it.

Yesterday I finally made the step of winding this Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace yarn into a little cake. (Go and have a look at that link and tell me you don't want to own that lovely stuff!)

I realised as I was winding this skein that 1000m is a whole kilometer of yarn!! I've never thought about it that way before. It seems a real bargain when you think of it like that. £15.99 for a yarn that is 55% Merino and 45% silk. The sheen is incredible and the yarn is the nicest laceweight I've ever knit with. It is nice and crisp and doesn't split. It also sails through your hands without snagging on every rough patch of skin, like some fine yarns do. I adore it and I'm already loving this project. I only cast on last night and I have this:

Not bad for a couple of hour's effort. The pattern comes with three different layouts that you can print off. The normal full version, the printer friendly version with no pictures and the checklist version. The checklist version is the one I'm using. It makes it so easy to see how far you have come and has numbers of stitches listed and percentage completed in various columns. Its a great way of laying out a pattern like this.

I really like how the sections of garter stitch give contrast to the stocking stitch sections. The shawl is already looking beautiful, which is hard to achieve before blocking.

I like the spiralling ridges created by the very simple eyelet pattern. I think I'm going to enjoy every minute of this project. In fact don't be surprised if this is all you see for a few weeks!

As usual I'm hooked up to Tami's WIP Wednesday linky party, which has some lovely bloggers taking part. I highly recommend a visit, by clicking the button below.

WPC 2011 Catch Up

2011-06-06T11:22:00.000+01:00

Do you remember when I used to add photographs to the album on the Weekly Photo Challenge page? Yes, it was some time ago. I have only just started to get my head into the photographing place again after the surgery and the pain build up felt before. I feel like I am finally getting to a place where I can think of something other than my regular craft blogging and step outside the front door again, with my camera in hand.

I always stated that I would try and catch up with the missed weeks. That is probably going to be an additional challenge in itself. I'm not necessarily going to force myself to keep to the order the photographs were listed in. I am going to try and do at least one additional photograph a week on top of the current week's subject.

This weekend I was lucky enough to attend a lovely wedding in Dorset. It was glorious weather and I was inspired to get snapping once more. As this was such a beautiful location I was inspired to take several photographs on top of the current subject. Here they are, in the order they were listed.

Week 15 - Movement

This subject was one that scared me. I had never tried to actually capture a blurring and moving photograph, on purpose before. Shutterboo, recommended,

"Slow down your shutter speed. Try a darker setting. Pull out your tripod. Experiment with panning. Shoot from above. Shoot from below. Just push yourself – you’ll be more satisfied in the end."

So I finally found the darker setting and decided to take the photo in the car as we twisted and turned our way down the byways of Dorset and Somerset. I liked this photograph the best, as I think your eyes are pulled forward to where the light from the headlights fades away. I also like how the sky is still slightly lit up on this Summer evening, that didn't have a cloud in the sky. I really want to try again now I have worked out the camera settings to use for movement. It could be fun!

Week 17 - Rural

Capturing the Rural photograph was quite tricky for me, as I have to rely on others to take me to the countryside. For the last few months I wasn't keen on getting a car for any length of time, even to get to the green parts of the country. This weekend in rural Dorset and Somerset gave me ample opportunities to snap the countryside. This photograph, for me, was the most pleasing and it also captured what I wanted it to. Everyone has this chocolate box image, in their heads, of what rural England looks like. It's full of green rolling fields with blue skies and the odd fluffy sheep. While this is a stereotypical image, it has become a stereotype for a reason, these parts of the country exist. However, rural England is mainly working farmland. There are ugly cow sheds, brown fields, where they are laying fallow, and tatty hedgerows. Trees are few and far between because when they take up space in fields, the combine harvesters have to circle round them and space is wasted.

I like how this picture shows the green fields, the blue sky and fluffy clouds, as well as the ugly cowsheds and the encroaching suburban gardens. This is the reality of rural England.

Week 22 - Brown

Brown really wasn't a very inspiring subject. Even the word sounds boring. Then I saw this shed at my in-laws. I loved how the brown paint had started to fade to an almost grey finish. The peeling paint emphasised the grain of the wood beneath.

I really like the perspective on this shot, with the grey and brown gravel beneath the shed and the flash of green in the background to lift the eye as it follows the planks of wood.

Week 23 - Open

This is the shot I took for this week's subject. I'm so happy to be back on the correct week of the challenge. This photo, like the Rural photo, was taken at Sherborne Castle. This was the location for the wedding photographs and the champagne and cream scones that we consumed on picnic blankets (so English at this goth wedding!).

I loved the colour of the golden stones at this location. When sunlight hits the stone it glows. But this photo looks from the dark side of the wall through the open archway to the brightly lit courtyard. The arch frames the lovely Lila, who ran around with trays and drinks looking after everyone. This young woman certainly deserved her quiet moment in the sunshine.

I hope to catch up more of the WPC 2011 photos over the next couple of months. The ones I have left to capture are:

Week 14 - Circle
Week 16 - Simple
Week 18 - Red
Week 19 - Artificial
Week 20 - Tracks
Week 21 - Anger

That leaves 6 weeks to catch up. That isn't too bad, is it?

My Wrapigan is Done!!

2011-06-03T09:00:00.001+01:00

I am so incredibly happy that I have finally got this garment off the blocking boards and on to my back. I love it so much. It worked exactly as I had pictured it in my head woo-hoo!

Here it is, in all it's drapey glory. Didn't it block out beautifully? I'm so pleased with how it folds at the front, and the fronts are long enough to wrap around myself comfortably. The obvious way of keeping the front closed is to use a shawl pin.

I do look terribly serious in all these photos, for which I apologise, it's because I'm running around like a loon, using the timer on the camera which is balanced precariously on top of two coffee tables, a stack of books and a tiny tripod. I'm having to concentrate very hard indeed. I also think I'm standing in a very strange manner in this photo, but you get the idea.

I'm really pleased that I shaped the neckline. I measured the neckline graduation from the shop bought version of this garment that I used as a sort of template. The applied i-cord gives the top edge a really defined look.

Having worn the garment for about a week I can confirm that the applied i-cord was a very good idea, especially round the back of the neck. It is helping prevent stretching. Even though this is only 4ply (or fingering) weight yarn there is quite a lot of fabric being held up by the back of the neck.

After seeing other projects of this type of garment on Ravelry, I decided to try wearing it with a belt.

I think it gives it great shape. I particularly like it when I fold back both edges.

I like the v-neck shape and the contrast between the right side and the wrong side of the fabric. I have to confess, I really love the wrong side of this fabric.

It blends beautifully together. The above photo shows the reverse of the sewn hem, where it meets with the applied i-cord. It worked out so neatly.

I was stunned at how invisible the hem is after blocking. I also love how the fabric looks after blocking. This yarn really is lovely once it has been washed. It softens and almost gleams because of the vibrant colours. I really do love Araucania Ranco, it is a fabulous yarn.

Oh, I haven't shown you the back of the garment yet.

I like that it just covers my backside. I love it when I knit from the top down! The creases in the back are because I had just taken the belt off.

And once again, standing like the poorly person I am. I can't help it sometimes. I just stand weird because of the pain, that and being close to the wall.

But apart from the weird postures, I love how the garment looks from all sides. I love that it fits so snugly at the arms and shoulders and then is flowing and loose further down. I also love that it can be made to look fitted if I want it to.

Basically I'm really proud of this garment and I know I will get lots of wear out of it. Several people have asked if I will write up the pattern, but I'm not going to. I didn't take very comprehensive notes and those that I did relate to how this garment fits ME. There are also several really great patterns out there that are almost exactly the same as mine. I just decided that I wanted to fit this garment exactly to me, as I'm not really a standard shape.

Here are a few links to patterns that are nearly like mine, just in case you fancy a try yourself. I can't make any comment on the quality or ease of the pattern, I'm just linking them up so you can have a go if you fancy it, and to show I'm telling the truth about there not being a gap in the market wide enough for me to spend weeks on writing up a pattern that three people download. Sorry!

Waterfall Type Patterns on Ravelry

Perla and Ecuador by Joji Locatelli
Vitamin D byHeidi Kirrmaier
Top Down Gilet by Naganasu
Hestia by Jacquelyn Ridzy
Yoga Wrap by Adrienne Vittadini
Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Adrift by Carole Feller
Long jacket with short sleeves knitted from side to side in ”Alpaca” and ”Vivaldi” by DROPS Design
Waterfall by Sarah Hatton

And if you don't like any of them, then I recommend Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits. I got the maths for how to do the raglan shaping from her generic pattern at the back of the book. Then I kept increasing at the neckline until I had the width of panels that I wanted. The rest was just stocking stitch until I hit the hem. I knit the sleeves in the round decreasing to keep it fitting closely to my arm measurements. I then did applied i-cord everywhere there wasn't a hem!

I really do recommend this book as it gives you the confidence to try making garments to fit you, using very simple basic patterns. This is aimed at beginners who haven't done any designing before, and encourages you to try altering patterns by just a bit, to make it fit you better. It is also one of the books I turn to time and time again. It was worth every penny.

I am posting this automatically on Friday, but I won't be able to look at your comments, and approve them, until after the weekend as I will be out celebrating a family wedding. And yes it does go on for two days! So enjoy your weekend and maybe have a look at some other finished projects at Tami's Amis.

PS I'm guessing at the link via the button. If it doesn't work, click on the Tami's Amis link above to get to the front page of the blog.

Pretty Flower in My Hair

2011-06-01T21:34:00.000+01:00

I'm not joining in with WIP Wednesday this week, because I want to share my latest sewing project. I'm quite proud of it too. Here it is, do you like it?

It is a pretty flower. I made it using this tutorial from over at Sew Ritzy Titzy. If you "Like" me on Facebook you may have already seen this tutorial pop up in my feed, as I have a Posterous account which I have hooked up to Facebook. I post a few links during the week of tutorials I have come across that interest me and I might one day want to make. I also have my Posterous page embedded in this blog on the My Inspiration page. Essentially this account enables me to find tutorials I liked from last year when I want them, and also to share these goodies with you lovely people, if you are so interested.

Anyway back to the flower.

Do you recognise those fabrics? Yes they are the ones I used for my clutch purse that I put together for the wedding I'm going to at the weekend.

I have had such fun putting together outfits and accessories for this wedding. I spent all of today making jewellery too, which I'll take photos of next week for you to see. I don't normally wear much red so it has been fun making things to match what I'm wearing over the wedding weekend. I shall feel very well put together (for a change).

The tutorial suggests using a button for the centre of the flower, and I think that would have looked better than my circle of fabric with stuffing in the centre, but I didn't have a suitable button in my stash. The stuffed fabric looks ok, but if next time I go to a haberdashery I see a suitable button I will replace the centre, as it will make it flatter.

I'm quite proud of how I made these petals. I ironed each one so that the seams were pressed open and all other creases were removed, so they were made into little cones. The petal tips pull forwards because the seam allowance on one side of the cone makes it shorter than the other. When I matched up the bottom of each side of the cone to make the running stitch along the bottom, this pulled the un-seamed side of the petal upwards. I love how this works, but it has made me think again about making a tailor's ham, as that would have made ironing tiny cones much easier.

I sewed a couple of hair clips on the back of the flower to hold it in place on my hair. I haven't decided what style I will go for, probably just all hanging down, but I think the flower will pretty things up whatever style I go for.

I have been knitting this week, as well as all this accessory making, but you will have to wait until next week to see my progress in that field.

Blogs I Read

2011-05-29T18:57:00.000+01:00

This is a technical website/blogging type post. If you are here for crafts and pretty pictures, I recommend you move along...... ok only the blogging geeks left? Then I shall continue....

This last week I've been scouring the internet for help. I have wanted to tweak my blog for a little while. I wanted to use the lovely blogroll gadget that Blogger has, on a separate page from the main front page. You would think it would be easy, but it isn't.

The great thing about the Blogger Blogroll gadget is that it shows snippets of the most recent blog posts that your favourite bloggers have written. I like how it changes who comes at the top of the list, depending on who has posted most recently. It seems a fair way of managing who gets pride of place on your page. I would have put it on the front page in one of the side panels but they were all full up of things I wanted to have on my front page. I don't really have room for anything else, especially a gadget that would use up quite a lot of space. This is why I wanted the gadget to be on a separate page.

I looked into whether Blogger would let me put a gadget on a separate page, and apparently they won't let you (waves fist in the air shouting "damn you Blogger"). That would have been the easiest way for me to get a current list on my site.

Then I found out that Google Reader (my feedreader of choice) lets you post a selected blogroll on a Blogger page. If you are interested, I found out how to do this here. However, this solution wasn't quite what I had in mind, but at least it would update automatically if I made changes to my Google Reader selections. It was however only a simple list of links to the various blogs I read. There was no information beyond the name of the blog.

What I really wanted from my blogroll, was there to be an automatic element. I wanted a way of embedding the content from an RSS feed into an html page. It's not as straight forward as you might think! There are various services that help you embed the information from an RSS feed into your html page. RSSInclude, is such a service. It looked very promising and allowed me to do this:

The problem with RSSInclude is, that I wanted to have more than one RSS feed on my page. I wanted a blogroll. If I wanted multiple feeds embedded, I would have pay cash money, which I'm always loathe to do. After abandoning this service I looked some more and found an RSS/RDF Converter. This technique involved inputting feeds one at a time to produce this:

I quite like this layout, but there are no images and each feed would have to be input individually. It would also have no movement, so the same blogs would always be at the top of the page, even if the most recent post was 6 months ago. There seem to be quite a few websites that provide this service, but none, that I could find, provided me with what I wanted.

In the end I made a cobbled together fix, which I have to say I am quite proud of. I created another blog using Blogger, and using a very simple layout, I deleted everything I could think of, and made sure there were no side panels. I then added the Blogroll gadget to the middle of the layout, at the top of the page. The gadget let me use the Google Reader folder I created for my first Blog List attempt, which I had made using these instructions and I tinkered with the layout so it matched my main blog. I then embedded this new blog into the "Blogs I Read" page using an iFrame. I typed the following code onto the page:

If you were to use this technique you would replace the text http://stitchedtogethersblogs.blogspot.com with the relevant page you wanted to embed. This is exactly the same technique I used to embed my Posterous page under "My Inspiration". I feel that this still isn't the perfect solution to my quest, but it is as close as I can get without having a tame website designer. Unfortunately, though my lovely man is a professional code monkey, he doesn't work in html (booooo!!!!!).

So please go and have a look at my new page, and tell me if you know of any better way to have an updating blogroll page, in Blogger. I really am all ears, as this quest has basically turned me doolally!

Hopefully my next post will actually have some crafts in it, but I thought others may find my research of interest and possible use.

My Recovery Sweater is Finished....

2011-05-27T11:40:00.000+01:00

.... and sadly it is very very big indeed! I am sad, and stupid.

I am stupid because although I swatched, I didn't wash and block the swatch. This was a very silly omission indeed because Rowan Lenpur apparently stretches a bit, quite a considerable bit actually.

Do you see how I'm standing all hunched up in the above picture? That is pretty much the only position I can stand in that keeps this tunic actually on both shoulders at the same time. As soon as I move, I'm halfway out of it.

I have worn it out and about a couple of times and pretty much everyone agrees that this tunic is far too big, probably in the realms of 4 sizes too big. This is a shame, because I like this tunic a lot. The yarn is gorgeous and soft and I really really want to wear it.

I'm afraid there is only one thing for it, this Recovery Sweater, will have to become a Do-over Sweater.

In other news, I have posted out the Giveaway Winners' Packages to Irina and Sarah. I am sad to see my lovely goodies go, but comforting me during my separation anxiety, I was contacted to say I'd won one of the giveaways I had entered. I won the prize from Go Knit In Your Hat. I won a skein of lovely looking yarn and a sock pattern.

This is a lovely prize for me, as I rarely get yarn from outside Europe because of the costs involved (customs I'm looking at you here!). I will share my booty with you as soon as it arrives. In the meantime in the absence of any cheerful news in my Finished Objects post, please click on one of the buttons below to see what else has been finished this week!

Giveaway Winners

2011-05-26T10:30:00.000+01:00

Well I have played with the True Number Generator and chosen first and second place for my giveaways. I had 244 entries!!!! I can't quite believe that I had so many people visit my site, yesterday alone I had 645 people visit.

The winner, who get's first choice is:

Number 152. As you can see she got first dibs on the yarn. Then I did a second drawing using the generator and the runner up, and the winner of the fabric is:

Number 8. I have emailed both winners and as soon as I have addresses, they will have their booty posted to them.

I shall be sorry to see my lovely yarn and fabric go, as they've been keeping me company on the sofa all this week. But they are to be set free from my stash and will be winging their way across the world very soon.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to say welcome to the new followers, who decided to stay after their brief visit. I hope you keep coming back. I look forward to getting to know you!

Wrapigan Work In Progress

2011-05-25T10:34:00.000+01:00

If you are here to check out my giveaway, as part of Sew Mama, Sew Giveaway day, the relevant post is here.

I am quite astounded at the number of comments that have been made on the above post. The giveaway will stop at 4am UK time and Midnight EDT. Any comments left after that time will not be included in the draw. I did, however, wish I'd left off changing the name of this blog from something that began with C to something that began with S. I would have been much higher up the page before.

Anyway back to normal activities. As it is Wednesday I feel I need to post a Work In Progress update. The trouble is, it's not very exciting. I've been working all week on two things. My Recovery Sweater and my Wrapigan. But I've finished my Recovery Sweater so I need to post about that in a whole other type of post.

I only have my Wrapigan update to share and it is very dull. I finished both sleeves and decided I had enough yarn left to add applied i-cord to all the un-hemmed edges. Here is a cuff. Neat isn't it?

And here I am applying the i-cord to the really really long edge starting at the bottom left hand front. This then runs all the way up the front, round the neck and back down the other side. It is taking quite some time, after all this is 4 ply!

However, the end is in sight and I am on the home straight now. I may actually get this edging finished tonight. Then on to the blocking boards it goes. I can't wait to get this cardigan blocked, as you can't tell how it is going to hang until it is blocked, and this garment is all about the drape-age!

So sorry this is such a dull post, perhaps some of the other peeps with WIPs to share have more exciting photos to show than I do. Click on the button below to take a gander at what else is going on.

At least you know that this time next week I will have a different project to share, even if it is one you have seen before. I WILL finish all my pre-surgery cast-ons eventually, and get cracking on something a little more challenging.

Two Pretty Purses

2011-05-24T12:30:00.000+01:00

If you are here for the Sew Mama, Sew competition, you need to go to this post.

If you've already commented on my last post to win the booty I have put up for grabs, stay a while!

For the last 10 days, when I've not been worrying about the giveaway, I've been obsessing about what to wear for my boyfriend's sister's wedding, in a few weeks. The wedding is split over two days. The first day involves the wedding followed by a meal in a pub. The next evening is when the night-time party is held. This means I definitely need two outfits. This realisation panicked me somewhat, as I am currently (very slowly) trying to lose the weight that I gained after changing tablets a couple of years ago. I really didn't want to splash out on two smart outfits that I may never wear again - as I don't get out much. I have lots of lovely dresses in the next size down from where I am at now and it seemed wasteful to buy two new dresses for one event.

My wonderful friend Rachael stepped in to help. Rach is the same size as I am and she goes out to posh functions quite often as part of her job. She also loves frocks, so she opened her wardrobe to me and I had a trying on session. I found the perfect day-time dress in black and white, but the other dress I fell in love with was sadly far too smart for the second night. It was more like a ball gown, but I adored it. Rach said I should hold it in reserve, just in case I couldn't find anything else, but at least I had a lovely dress for part of the weekend.

Now that I had the first dress to think about, I started to think about accessories. I have some wonderful red wedge sandals that would go perfectly with the borrowed dress and I decided to match my shoes with a new clutch purse. I knew I had the perfect fabric in my stash. I had bought it on a whim last year and it matched absolutely nothing in my fabric stash, even though I loved it. This wedding had given me the perfect occasion to use it.

Using my Easy Peasy Purse Pattern from Lisa Lam of U-Handbag, and a purse frame I had already bought from her shop I made this little beauty.

Isn't the fabric great? The other side of the purse shows a different aspect of the fabric.

I was really surprised to find that the fabric I used for the Amish Puzzle Ball last week, actually matched the yellow on this fabric perfectly, so I used that for the lining.

It was when I was showing this purse to my friends at knitting group that I remembered an old red dress I had. It was from the last time I was my current size. I loved so much I could not bear to give it away and it hung at the back of a wardrobe in the spare room. I had forgotten I still had it, but I dug it out and tried it on, and it was as lovely as I remembered! The problem of the second dress was solved! And the new purse would match this dress too!

I also remembered while putting this post together that I had made another one of these purses in March and hadn't shared it with you! In fact, it was made for Rachael's birthday! (My memory really is appalling these days. Drugs really take their toll you know!)

As I don't have the same materials, that came with the original kit that I bought, I now use different materials. I apply a medium weight fusible interfacing on the exterior fabric and then add a layer of medium weight fusible fleece interfacing, also from U-Handbag. It makes the exterior more sturdy.

Having a more structured exterior means that the purse can stand upright, even without being stuffed with contents. It also means that it will be more robust when being used, so it will hopefully last longer.

I love the spotty interior of this purse. I chose these fabrics as Rachael had always loved them, but never got round to buying them and making them into something. I thought giving her the purse would at least let her accessorise with them! (Just in case you're interested, I got the little personal labels to sew in the purses from Cash's. I can recommend the service and the quality.)

I am so happy that I now have my outfits planned for this wedding. It means I can relax and think about other (crafty) things. I'm also pleased that I saved all the money that a new dress would have cost, and I can now spend it on other (crafty) things!

Sew Mama, Sew Giveaway Day

2011-05-23T08:31:00.001+01:00

For those not in the know, today is the world famous Sew Mama, Sew Giveaway Day. Today is the day that creative blogs and online shops give stuff away and it is all listed on the Sew Mama, Sew pages. Every year this giveaway gets bigger and better. Some of the prizes are amazing - from handmade beauties to the raw materials to make them. It is also a great way to find new and interesting blogs and shops - I have have found several over the last couple of years, through these contests.

This year for the first time, I have actually decided to join in the giveaway madness and throw some materials into the ring. I couldn't decide whether I should give some of my precious fabric away or some of my delicious yarn, so I decided to do BOTH!!! Here are the two packs that I am planning on giving away, one pack to each of two winners:

Yarn Pack:

1 Skein of GEM Starsock - 4 ply yarn comprised of bamboo silk and wool in the Powder Puff Plant colourway. This is a gorgeous and silky sock yarn, which measures 360 yards and weighs 100g. This is produced by Green Eyed Monster and I love it, I think you will too. I'm afraid I've lost the tag, but I imagine you should wash by hand in order to preserve the gorgeous and vibrant colours.

1 Skein of Lang Mille Fiame - Super Bulky Yarn comprised of 50% wool and 50% acrylic. This soft and bouncy yarn is 98 yards and weighs 100g. This skein should be enough to create a lovely scarf. The colours are gorgeous and a really unusual combination.

1 Skein of Colourmart Merino Lace Weight - 2 ply Lace Weight yarn made of 100% merino. This delicate and soft yarn is 50g and 800 yards in length.

I think these three yarns should provide something for everybody, and increase and enhance any stash. Here are all three together for you to drool over!

Fabric Pack:

This pack is comprised of 4 fat quarters in co-ordinating fabrics. They are batik dyed.

Here is a collage that shows the fabrics a little more clearly.

These fabrics have all been washed, ready for use.

The colours of the fabric and the yarn are as close as I can make them to real life (on my monitor) but as with anything, different technologies can create variables.

Giveaway Rules

So, how do you get your sticky mitts on my lovely loot? As I said, I am giving these prizes away as "packs". So there will be two winners. If you leave a comment stating which pack you want - Yarn, Fabric or Either, I will then choose two people at random. The first person chosen will get first choice of which pack they prefer. Wouldn't it be lovely if the two people wanted different packs? I bet that doesn't happen!

Please make sure you leave a way for me to get in touch. My commenting system Disqus does leave space for you to put your email address on, so please ensure that you do, so I can get in touch with you if you are a winner. If you do not leave a way to contact you, you won't win. Don't worry if you don't see your comment appearing straight away. I have to approve a comment before it appears on my blog, and I will be doing it at various points through the day, so it may be several hours before it appears. Remember that I am in the UK and may be asleep while you are posting your comment!

I WILL POST INTERNATIONALLY.

The contest will close on 25th May, at midnight EST as this the time zone that Sew Mama, Sew uses. I will make the draw using the True Random Generator on 26th May and will notify the winners as soon as possible to obtain addresses and confirm prize choices.

My lovely regulars know I nearly always talk back to you on the comments, but I won't be this time. I'm not ignoring you it's so I don't have to count commenters when it comes time to plug the numbers in to the generator! Forgive me just this once?

I hope that you like my offerings and look forward to, potentially, seeing some new names on my blog. But I still hope that my usual readers still enter, remember your chance of winning is equal to that of a new reader!

Oh and if you haven't heard of this Giveaway Day before, I really recommend you go and have a look at the contest lists.

Good Luck

Something I Stitched

2011-05-20T09:43:00.001+01:00

I had hoped to have two things to share with you today, but unfortunately my Recovery Sweater, is still drying on the blocking boards. Who knew that viscose held so much water?? So instead of two "ta dahs" I only have one, so here it is.

Ta Dah!!!!!!

Yes it is another Amish Puzzle Ball. I think this is third one I've made now, so I can pretty much do it on auto pilot. The first ball I made used all cotton fabric pieces and was very squishy. The second one I made, used some fleece for the inner fabric pieces which made it more sturdy, so I followed the same design principles for this version.

This was actually a requested item. A friend from one of my knitting groups is pregnant and she asked me to make a puzzle ball for her. I told her as I was planning on making a gift anyway she didn't have to pay me for this. Her request saved me having to chose a present! I suppose as she knits herself, she doesn't need any baby jackets making! I asked what colours she wanted and she chose yellow. I hope she will be happy with these fabric choices.

I love the contrast between smooth cotton and fuzzy fleece. I always try to put the rough side out on these balls, as I understand babies like different textures.

This ball seems to be slightly smaller than the last one I made, despite using exactly the same template. Here is a picture with my hand to show scale.

Maybe I stuffed it more firmly this time, or the fleece is more dense, or maybe, my memory is playing tricks!

I am pretty pleased with this gift, and I hope that my friend likes it. It was a perfect project to get me back at the sewing machine. I could do most of the cutting out on the sofa, and then after the rugby balls were sewn together at the machine, all the stuffing and sewing together of the pieces was, again, done on the sofa by hand. So even though the project took most of the day, only 1 hour was spent on the sewing machine.

I think my next project will be another purse, as they are small, quick and easy. I think the yellow fabric I bought for this ball will look lovely as a purse lining and I have the perfect contrast fabric for the outside. Watch this space!

I am very happy to be able to join in, once again, with my usual three linky parties. I would be very grateful if you could click on at least one of the buttons below, and look at one or two links. There are some very talented people joining in, and you never know, you might find the perfect new blog to subscribe to.

Oh and remember to come back on Monday, if you aren't a subscriber, for the giveaway of fabric and yarn, as part of Sew Mama, Sew Giveaway Day.

Preparing to share my loot

2011-05-19T11:42:00.000+01:00

Today I have been rooting around in cupboards, under beds and in boxes. I have been busy taking photos and writing a blog post. I now feel I am ready for when the Sew Mama, Sew Giveaway Day takes place on 23rd May.

I am giving away some fabric and some yarn as part of this day of generosity. You still have time if you want to join in giving away either handmade items or craft materials. Details are available here. I have entered lots of contests in previous years, so this time I thought it was time to join in, and return the love.

Please come back on Monday 23rd May, at 9:00 am for the full details of the booty I'm giving away, from my very own precious stash!

Slow Progress

2011-05-18T10:38:00.000+01:00

I almost feel embarrassed to share my work in progress this Wednesday, but I'm going to anyway. The reason there seems to be very little progress to show you, is that I spent one day sewing - woohoo! I actually finished something which I'll share with you on Friday. I also spent the weekend with the most annoying and lingering headache I've had in years. It hung around for 4 days and that is really unusual for me. It happens like that if I have a migraine, but usually I go to bed with a headache and wake up the next day fine. Anyway, it appears to have disappeared so I'm grateful for that! So now I've got my "dog ate my homework" type excuses out the way, on to the WIPs.

Firstly, I will share the seemingly tiny amount of progress I have made on my sunny socks.

It looks like nothing, but if you compare it to last week's photo, you can see that I've knitted several inches. I've also made, what I think, are the last set of increases I'll need to cater to my enormous calves. I can't decide if I'll make any decreases after my calf, or not. I'll probably work it out as I go, as that seems to have worked so far!

The socks have been taking up most of my non-headache, non-sewing time. I'm quite pleased, now I've looked at last week's photo, to see how much I've achieved this week. I think without a record, it isn't easy to gauge how far you've come in a week. After working on my socks, I decided, that even though the lovely weather we had in April has disappeared, I really should finish my great Recovery Sweater. I haven't touched it in weeks. I think I got so close to finishing that I was scared to finish it in case I didn't like it!

After whizzing through the "sleeves" otherwise knows as 12 rows of knitting - total, I have turned to the cast on edge. I haven't blocked the tunic but I was really concerned about the cast on edge falling forward, like in this photo.

I decided that adding a round of double crochet (UK version) using a 3mm hook, the top edge would be neater, tighter and pull the top edge back towards the body. If you are in the US, this stitch is called single crochet. I do wish there were an International standard for crochet stitches, it makes it very confusing!

As far as I can tell, it seems to be working. Hopefully I will have another finished object to show you on Friday and then you can judge!

So there you have it, very little progress on the knitting front, but I am so pleased that I have been able to sit at a sewing machine, even if it was only for an hour, and I'm still kind of paying for it two days later. It was a start, and I'm happy with that, because I have missed sewing so much. I'm definitely going to have to work up to bigger projects, so I'll have to find some small items to keep me going until I can tolerate longer spells sitting at the machine.

If you want to see more exciting progress, I recommend clicking the button and visiting Tami, to see what lots of other lovely bloggers have been up to this week. Go on, you know you want to!