skein

Knitting revisited - Marvels of the Sunless Sea

On one of the ravelry groups I belong to they have an Epic Project KAL. epic being self determined, whether it's time consuming, difficult, big, challenging, whatever.  I have several epic-to-me projects and today's knitting revisited is one of them, Marvels of the Sunless Sea by Hazel Carter, available from Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill.  Love this store, they have lots of pattterns and kits, from mittens and hats to shawls. 

The reason this is epic? Not just because of the serious knitting time but because it was a new to me pattern, with different stories within the lace.  It meant that I had something to look forward to as I finished each lace section.  The yarn also (Thistledown) is also not a type I'd usually knit with, a cobweb singles.  I would say it wasn't as thin as the Shetland cobweb I've (tried to) knit with, and after washing it blocked out very well.

Knitted in halves and then a sideways border, it amounts to a very large shawl.  I have several more of her patterns (love the names!) which I will one day knit up.

Ravelry here, blog here. 

A new (quick) toddler pattern

Over the Bank Holiday weekend I planned to do a May knitting goals catch-up.

I had four things on my May list:

1) Finish Audrey - ends darned in, buttons sewn on and a wash/

2) Start my next adult garment.

3) Start something under the label 'home'.

4) Make headway on C's socks - my May goal was to finish this pair, and I still had one sock to knit. 

Weeellll

Not quite to plan.

Audry has been washed but the buttons havent't arrived.  Circumstances beyond my control.

I couldn't start a new garment, either, as my new needles didn't arrive! (I do have plenty of needles, but wanted to use my new favourites!)

I did start C's second sock, but have only done about 2", it'a a bit boring.

I didn't fancy starting a 'home' thingy either.

So nothing on my list was done.

But Olearia is coming along. I'm pretty fed up with it now. It weighs so much, must be those gathered sections. And I'm not keen on LH Kashmir DK either.

Yesterday it was put on hold when I found a couple of balls of DB Baby Cashmerino in the stash. Pretty pink.  I have found the ideal pattern too, by the same designer of Pepper.

It's a little shrug, worked top down in one piece with a great way of knitting as you go the set in gathered sleeves. It's called Summer Days, and I love it. This is sized for 18months, but I can see this looking as cute on 6m Sonya as well as 4yo Evie!

Here's a close up of the body and sleeve, love the little textured body and plain sleeve.

 

Knitting revisited

As usual time has ran away this week, and I haven't given much thought to how I will do this weekly knitting revisited.  Complicated, time consuming, most favourited on ravelry (=prettiest), year, type - all out fo the window.  

Instead, today at least, I went onto my phone app, Ravulous, and quickly scrolled though project photos.

I've chosen an easy to knit cardigan.  Because it evokes fond memories of my times at Stash in Putney on a Saturday afternoon, and has had a lot of wear, now consigned to winter wear at home as it's a bit ragged now!  A simple project, nothing complicated, but a well worn one.

December 2006. The new Mission Falls booklet had just arrived at Stash. Both Jill and I fancied one of the designs, a striped cardigan.  We dived into the Mission Falls 1824 selection and filled our baskets with lots of yarn.  We had a little help from Nic the Colour Queen!  I chose to add some cream to my selection, which meant our cardigans had a very different look when completed.

Stripes mean millions of ends, if you're knitting in pieces, so I wrote my own version of the pattern, knitted in one piece up to the armholes, knitting sleeves and joining for raglan shoulders. plus a pattern for Jill to do the same in a smaller size. 

Funny how some things stick in your memory. I can still picture the scene and feel the excitement of buying yarn for a New Project!

Ravelry here and blog link here,

 

Mid week catch-up

I finished the knitting on Audrey in Unst over the weekend.  I need to darn in the ends, and give it a good blocking. It seems quite small!  I know it's meant to be fitted, but still...  I've ordered 12 buttons today, so this will be done very soon. I just forgot to take a photo.

Sock knitting is progressing slowly,  Who knew it took so long to knit a plain sock>  These are for Mr.C>, but I think he may be disappointed in the lack of brightness.  Just a splash of yellow, one of his favourite colours.

And I've started a garment!  Not one for me, but one for an 18 month old little girl.  I'm knitting at a slightly tighter tension, so I've gone up to a 2 year old size.  Probably more useful for the late summer, in a larger size. I'm thinking of just knitting elbow length sleeves too, so she can wear it for longer.  You can't really see much from this photo, but it's a top down cardigan with ruffled sections, a bit like the Tea Leaves cardigan. I'm using some stashed Louisa Harding Kashmir, in a red-pink colour. Very easy knitting.

And i've swatched for my next adult garment. I'm pretty sure that I can get tension in Kauni for my sleeveless top, but the other one, a yellow summer cardigan, was hopelessly out in tension. I've washed it and will measure it to see if it's grown 50% in row tension!

Kujeillen Mitts

Pattern: Kujeillen Mitts, part of the ravelry FGF group May KAL

Start/finish: 6-11 May

Needles: 2.5mm

Yarn:  Yarn Yard;s SSS2 yarn.  I'm falling behind, this is the February yarn!

A quick, easy knit. I completely messed up the narrow pattern panel though!  The amoujtn of time I spent dropping and reknitting stitches, and still managed to have a loose stitch sticking out when I'd finished!  I had to go back in and try to catch it and somehow secure it. Bah!  Good job these are mine!

This is the yarn from last month's frogged Mystery cowl, much better uese of it with these mitts. 

 

Not much knitting done at all this week

I've not accomplished much at all this week.  Last night I was fuming at the lack of wifi and how frustrating it is trying to call helplines, or grapple with a mountain of twisted leads. 

I have a sock in progress though. Just a plain ribbed, top down sock for Mr C.   That's yellow, not orange by the way!

Audrey's second sleeve is nearly done. Just 12 more cuff rows to go. This weekend I'll tackle the borders.  Dare I hope that I'll finish the knitting this weekend???

I quite fancy casting on another gament but can't make up my mind whether to opt for a yellowy summery cardigan or a woolly one.  I plan, at some stage this year, to knit a So Not Me garment.  The style isn't one I would normally choose (sleeveless) and the colours are certainly Not Me - creams and mustard!  But I really liked the pattern photo, in that colour, so went and bought the the samel colours.  I really ought to be knitting from stash..

A few weeks ago I was on ravelry searching for a project I'd knitted a few years ago, and have decided to do a weekly post on projects revisited. Not necessarily those which are much-loved, or difficult, or time consuming, but whatever takes my fancy. I've been a member of ravelry since 2007, so have lots of projects there, and possibly more elsewhere, It seems a shame to knit then blog and then forget about them all.  Some I can't even remember knitting!  So I'll be thinking of that over the next week, see what happens and how I'll sift through the ravelry projects. I just hope I have tagged things! 

Audrey in Unst progess

I've had a pretty productive weekend.   I finished the mitts I was working on, and tried to take some photos yesterday, but they were out of focus and looked a bit big on my hands. I think that's down to wearing them when they were still wet!  Stretchy wool!  I'll try to get some more this week, when they're dry!  Meanwhile we have a photo of the first mitt off the needles as a teaser.

Yesterday I had more Audrey progress.  I've finished the first sleeve and started the second. They're narrow and shortish, so they don't take much time once I get on with it.   Hopinv to finish the second sleeve this week, ready for just the bands at the weekend. Getting there...

I tried it on last night and it's a bit worrying, it seems to be all the wrong shape and was ridign up at the back. I hope it's down to no bands!  Still resisting the urge to cast on the next cardigan.

Apart from Audrey I have only plain socks on the go!  Time to scout around for a baby cardigna for a quick mid year gift to someone.

 

 

 

Audrey progress (or lack of!)

I had plans. Which would have meant comfortably finishing Audrey in May.

Plans involved using the weekends, when there was natural light, for the bits of knitting which involved picking up stitches.

So, last weekend went well.  I picked up the stitches for the sleeve and started the short rowing sleeve cap shaping (which is dead easy).  I intended to knit this first sleeve during the week, ready to pick up stitches for the second sleeve this weekend.

I've done hardly any sleeve knitting though!

Actually, at this stage I have another 29 rows of stocking stitch, and 36 rows of twisted ribbing to go (if my row tension is ok). 

However, at midnight last night I took a good look at the knitting and made one of those middle of the night decisions. I wasn't taken by the fake seam purl stitch on the sleeve. Before frogging back to the start of the sleeve I thought I'd try dropping the stitch down and crocheting the stitch as a knit stitch. A tiny trial showed it looked better than the purl stitch (especially when stretched out) and I'm sure after a few washes it will even out.  So I dropped the stitch,  Not just down the sleeve, but continued down the fake side seams too!

 

In hindsight I could have done a ptbl, which would have been tighter than a purl,, but I'm not going to do that now!

Let's see how much I can knit tonight! I won't start another cardigan until it's done!

The Troubadour's Gauntlets

I've had a bad weekend.  I awoke on Thursday feeling grotty, then went and fell down (on a hill, so I fell and slithered) on the way to work. Skinned knee and hand, but the ribs!  Having a cold and sore ribs is NOT FUN.  Sneezing is the worst. Who knew how quickly  your lungs have to fill  efore you let out a sneeze! There were even a few times when the instinct to sneeze disappeared as the ribs hurt too much!  And I've not had a cold in years, just the odd start of one. This one lasted four days!  It meant no knitting until Saturday.  Cold is pretty much gone now and the ribs are still hurting but not as much.

I did a big knit on Saturday, and finished the second gauntlet by Sunday.  I haven't blocked them yet but wanted to get photos whilst we had fairer weather. 

Pattern: The Troubadour's Gauntlets

Yarn: Renaissance Dyeing Organic Poll Dorset, in a kit. 

Needles: 2.50 and 2.25mm, smaller than in the pattern, but I knit looser.  

Mods: Started off with 4 sts less and only ended up with the correct stitch count when I reached a pattern not divisible by four.  Used the smaller needles on all the 2x2 ribbing. 

A fun, easy knit!

 

April knitting and May knitting goals

A fairly successful April knitting, though I didn't finish everything and had a frogged ((but goal met!) project.  

Blog:

1) Groovyghan  Done!

2) Chivalry Mitts Done!

3) Present Cowl Done!

4) Trekking socks Done!

Start and finish:

5) Ravelry KAL #4.  Not sure yet which one to do, nothing is grabbing me. I think it may possibly be a Mystery kal!  Done!  But sadly in the frog corner. Too wide and too short.

6) Socks for me. I pulled out some Lorna's Laces sock yarn in Envy at the b eginning of the year, and it's still untouched.  Done!

7) Troubadour gauntlets. Fail! But started.. 

Start 

8) Start some socks for Mr C. Done!  No photos yes as I really haven't done much knitting on these. 

9) A biggie, this one. Start a garment. Done!  Body finished, just sleeves and border to go. 

 

So overall very pleased.  Not so great on the stash front though!
In 1819 yards (oops), out 436 yards, balance for the year is a whopping out 49yards!

 

Now for May goals.

Starting with the three wips on the needels,

Finish:

1) Audrey in Unst cardigan. Two sleeves and a border,

2) The Troubadour's gauntlets.

3) Mr C's socks. He ha PLENTY of socks, but still wears his favourites and therefore they are wearing thin. One pair wore out (at the side of the heel) last week,

Start:

4) Garment #2. Not sure what it will be, but I have this Butter cotton wool 4ply....

5) A baby cardigan for a one year old. Think it will be a summery, lightweight cardigan.

6) More mitts for the Christmas list. I think I may use the frogged Mystery cowl yarn.

7) Something from my sigma13 list for the home - probably a dishcloth! Should be able to finish one of those, surely!