Once more into the fray

I have resumed knitting my leaf sweater. I began this over two years ago when I first started going to Lake Macquarie knitters at the yacht club. After doing the front I got bored with all the stocking stitch and abandoned it for other projects. Now I am having another go a not adding to stash (haven't bought anything this year) and as a result have returned to long neglected WIPs. After a couple of weeks I am well into the back. Here it is:

Where did all the time go?

So I haven't kept up-to-date and it's now August. How did that happen? I have of course continued to knit and have completed a number of projects. One of them demonstrates the best use of my time and will be written up as a pattern in the (hopefully) not too distant future.

I think it's kinda cute and it only took a night to knit. The letters and heart were swiss darned on afterwards so it's an easy knit. It now hangs in my study/craft room. I think I might do variations as gifts.

Baby blue

Another project complete and it isn't purple! Erika Knight's lacy top from Glamour Knits. I made it in Spotlight's cheap copy of kidsilk haze (kidmohair blend) and again regret that this was a one season yarn  (and that I didn't buy a whole lot more colours). It was an easy lace pattern and could easily pass as a vintage design. The original had shorter sleeves and a picot edging on the bottom edge as well as the neck but since I had used a cable cast on I thought picking up the stutches would be difficult and I liked the look of the edge as it was.

Purple Prose

I am sensing a theme building up in my projects. Purple (or related colours) is taking over. Have a look at my two latest projects: Another Frilly Scarf and Among the Blooming Heather.

Another frilly scarf

Among the blooming heather



Of course my crocheted vest was in this colour spectrum too and even my previous project, the make up purse, had purple in among the 'multi'. Of course it is my favourite colour so it's no real surprise but it might be a good idea to broaden my range. I know, I'll make a present for my nephew, I won't be using purple for that!

The beauty of a stash

Sometimes I think it's not so bad to have a huge stash. Any time you need a gift you are sure to find something to turn to the occasion. In the last week I have made a pair of slippers for my granddaughter and a makeup purse for my daughter-in-law. Neither required the purchase of any yarn. The slippers came about because it is Easter Sunday today and I needed an Easter gift which wasn't chocolate (not a good idea to post even in Autumn). Bunny slippers seemed a good idea and the resultant pair have been named Fluffy and Squishy (although I don't know which is which!)

The makeup purse used a ball of novelty yarn which I had been going to use as stripes in a scarf. I think it makes a cheerful and feminine gift.

Even better, both gifts are my own designs and so completely unique (I love that the slippers used leftovers from a jumper I made for my son to create something for his daughter). Knitting is fantastic.

Cool Cotton

I have 'stashed down' a bit, completing a top with cotton I bought in the 90s. I originally bought Patons Stonewash Cotton to make a cabled top to replace a bought top I had worn to death, but I never completed it because at the time I began I didn't like knitting with the cotton and although I was going to finally finish the pattern I decide that cabled 8ply would probably be too hot for an Australian summer anyway. I saw a Sian Brown pattern for a nautically inspired top in Knit Today and I loved the simple shaping. I only had navy cotton but I swapped a ball of kid mohair for a ball of white so I've ended up with a top which is very like the original pattern which is very unusual for me. Here's the result:

It's too darn hot

We've had a run of hot weather. It's been over 30 degrees for over a week. On Thursday it was the school swimming carnival. I was judging which meant standing at the end of the pool in the sun for all of my duty on a day which was over 40 degrees. But I am still knitting...and crocheting. I have taken up the hook for the first time to make a garment for over twenty years. In the mean time crochet has become more attractive (although some of the patterns I am itching to make are from back in the dim dark ages when I last crocheted to make something as opposed to teaching my daughter to crochet for her Textiles Major Project last year).

I have finished the funky baby blanket and I'm now working on a cotton top (knitted), a lacy coverup (crocheted) and a shawl (knitted). A top in a viscose/linen mix is taking a long time to decide on - thought I had the stitch sorted but after most of a ball's knitting it's back to the drawing board again. I'm desperate to get into something to finish quickly (I want something for me: NOW!). I think the knitted top or the crochet are the likeliest candidates.

Blanket Progress

Funky baby blanket

Today is Australia Day. It is very hot and predicted to get up to 38 degrees Celsius. What am I doing? Knitting a blanket of course! It's over 34 degrees already outside but I am cowering out of the heat in the airconditioning and trying to complete my sock yarn baby blanket before the end of the holidays (one day to go). I have two squares to go and then the edge. I am writing the pattern up as I go and it will be available from here when I'm done. I will be ready for the challenge of a more complicated pattern when it's over that's for sure.

Please look after this bear.

Paddington is finally complete. He has his official red wellies and his suitcase is complete. I embroidered his eyes because I didn't like Alan Dart's bulbous balls. And I'm quite pleased. Here he is.

Paddington

I have finished knitting Paddington but not all of his gear. Since a fruitless search for wellies indicated I wouldn't have him ready for Christmas mail (and the accompanying books were too heavy to post) I am waiting until Eve is in the east to give him to her. I added black ears because the pattern left out his ears and I am still uncertain about the yellow hat (but that's the colour yarn I have). Here he is so far.

Bauble bling

Copper sparkle

Used a Spotlight leaflet to make some baubles for a Knitting secret santa gift. I used Moda Vera Tinka in green and Filati Bertagna Cometa in copper to make plain round baubles. The pattern was too loose and if I do it again I will adjust it.

Green sparkle

Present Projects

washcloths made from cotton, and bamboo/wool blend

Mercerized cotton bookmarks

I have finished three washcloths for my staff and half a dozen bookmarks for my book group. Paddington Bear is knitted but not sewn up or stuffed (and I still have to do his clothes) so I have done some of my Christmas knitting but whether it's all going to be completed in time is another story. So much for working my stash down though most of the stuff I have been working on I have had to go out and buy yarn specially. Only the bookmarks marked some knitting down and at just over 100m it was hardly significant!

Crocheted and knitted bookmarks

To Dye For (not knitting!)

Just had a brilliant weekend at Main Creek near Dungog. It was a quilting weekend with some teachers from school and others I didn't know. I am not a quilter but it sounded like fun: a weekend away to concentrate on craft, good food, beautiful surroundings and pleasant company. The plan was to dye fabric on the Saturday and make a bag on the Sunday. I did the dyeing but I wasn't convinced about the bag so ended up with an array of coloured material and knitted all Sunday, finishing one little Christmas project and making a bit of an impact on my Paddington Bear project. I'm thinking of knitting the dyed fabric after cutting it into strips. Watch this space on that one.

Finished!

Yay! I have finished Paul's cardigan. Knitted in Sean Sheep Prairie 100% wool in windchime colourway it's got a nice brushed wool finish (it's sold as suitable for felting). Of course yesterday Paul Bevan on ABC radio was having a go at cardigans particularly grey ones as being weatherman wear. And Paul was listening too. But he's still going to wear the cardigan (I think) but it'll be next year because it's too late in the year for it now.

Christmas knitting

Paul's cardigan is so almost finished. Just a little bit of buttonband to go and the rest of it is already sewn up. In the mean time I have started on my Christmas knitting. I have a $5 secret santa gift to do. I spent $4.18 on string and made a string bag. I now have an 82 cent budget to put something in the bag. I have a free Delicious magazine which came with another magazine, I am looking forward to the 82 cent challenge. My next projects will be bookmarks.

Word Clouds

Someone on Ravelry suggested making a word cloud from the words in one's blog. So I had a go at a couple of sites - Wordle and Tagxedo. These are the results:

Made with Tagxedo

Made with Wordle

Vintage yarn knits

Fair Isle Beret by Fiona McTague

Way back when Grace Brothers had a yarn department I bought wool to make a fair isle jumper. It was a jumper for Paul so I bought heaps (this was before yardages were printed on ball bands). Needless to say I have been hauling it around the state since. I have finally used some of it knitting Dad's knee rug and a beret for me. The colours look fantastic if I do say so myself and I am very pleased with the way both projects have turned out.

Princess squares blanket by Pam Allen

Stash busting...no really!

Ros was really pleased with the stole - it even co-ordinated with the dress she was wearing when I gave it to her so she wore it straightaway. One successful present. Then she put in an order for the shrug I was wearing (the frilly lilac one) for Christmas so I'm on a winner with the knitting presents idea as far as she is concerned.

I am now working on a rug for Dad which is a huge stashbuster, using up yarn I bought to make Paul a fair isle jumper back in the 90s some time. It is the Princess squares rug from Designer Knitting and I think it's looking pretty fabulous already (this picture is how it looks after 5 days knitting).

It is proving to be a very quick knit all in garter stitch and a little a time as it's modular. The really horrible thing will be the ends at the end (won't think about that). The original pattern calls for 6 contrast colours but I had 8 so that's what I'm using so I used my own schematic and I'll have to do more rows I think to make it suitable for a knee rug. I'm planning to add a border with Dad's name in it so it's obvious for the nursing home.

Lace

Have completed a stole for my sister for her birthday. I chose a stitch from my stitch dictionary that looked pretty similar from both directions so I could knit it one way and didn't have to graft to get a symmetrical look. It's knit in Spotlight's kid mohair blend (not for the first time I wish that they hadn't discontinued this yarn this year, the beautiful colours were what largely inspired my wholesale return to knitting and foray into lace shawls). I did think to dye it a more vivid pink but Mum persuaded me that the original pale pink made it more versatile as it is more neutral (it's also in keeping with the 'nude' or 'blush' colours which are supposed to be in this season).

The Bos Comes to Call

This is what I put into the box

This is what I took out of the box

The month of September was marked by the arrival of the travelling tea and yarn box from the "anyone for tea" group on Ravelry. It was an impressive array of exotic tea and yarns which was so tightly crammed in the box it was daunting to get the stuff out to look knowing that one had to get it back in. I was too sick at the time to enjoy tasting the teas (couldn't taste anything) so I took a few to try later and it was very difficult to choose which yarns to keep. Watching over everything was the mascot: Rooibos nicknamed the Bos. I showed him Lake Macquarie, managed to get everything into the box, and posted it all on to its  next destination.

The Bos checking out the garden