Tweedy Pi

Pattern: Pi Blanket from Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Needle size: 5mm

Yarn: Rowanspun DK

This shawl was lovely and simple, mostly just plain knitting. You start at the middle and knit, then you increase, knit some more, increase again, and each time the knitting takes longer before you reach the next set of increases. This made it an ideal project to knit at work. I followed the plain pattern throwing in a YO K2tog round when I hit the knit 96 rounds section to break things up a bit. As I had 5 balls of yarn for this project I decided that when I reached half way through my 4th ball I would prepare for casting off. I knit a YO K2tog round followed by 2 plain knit rounds 3 times. Then I did the knitted cast off that EZ recommends. The 3 rounds of YO K2tog's gave me a bit of interest at the edge as the cast off is plain garter stitch. I love this pattern and think that I will be knitting another Pi in the future, with some patterning this time. The yarn was good to work with and I think the tweedy flecks give a bit of interest to what otherwise would have been a bit of a plain knit. Unfortunately this yarn was gifted to me a few years ago and has now been discontinued.

I cast on for this on a set of 5mm bamboo DPN's. Once the first couple of increase rounds were out of the way I moved onto an Addi premium circular needle. I've seen these recommended on various blogs and decided to treat myself as I knew this project would be on the needles for a while. I have to say that they didn't disappoint. The joins between tip and cable were nice and smooth so I wasn't having to ease hundreds of stitches over snaggy joins. The tips were also comfortable to hold and sharp enough to make knitting easy (but not so sharp that I was accidentally splitting stitches all over the place).

All in all this was a good project and is currently in use keeping my knees warm in a draughty prompt corner.

Mr Vanilla

Pattern: Simple sock by Sue Morgan

Needle size: 2.5mm DPN

Yarn: Regia Canyon Color 2804

Cast on: July 2009

Cast off: September 2009

These are my seventh pair of socks knit from this pattern, with the usual modifications.

I chose the yarn after seeing Jane Brocket's Liquorice Allsorts socks. Unfortunately, they were on her old blog which has now been taken down and so I can't link to the clever pictures of her finished pair.

Whilst Mr Vanilla may be finished I have enough of this yarn for another pair. These will be going to my brother who expressed interest in these socks (and took the photos for me)

Unfortunately for him I was too far into this pair to alter the shaping to fit his big feet so he'll just have to wait for his own pair - Mademoiselle Vanille.

Alone. Not lonely.

My life is a solitary sort of life. I work away from home and live in peoples spare rooms and this seems to worry people. My landladies worry that I spend too much time alone in my room. My dad worries that I go to the cinema on my own. Luckily I don't mind, I'm happy with my own company. I've found that I'm more likely to have a bout of loneliness when I'm with a group of casual acquaintances, people I've been thrown together with through work, than when I'm on my own. I find that I'm more observant when I'm out on my own. I took myself off to Llandudno for the weekend recently and had a happy couple of hours wandering on the beach taking pictures. I was on my hands and knees taking pictures of worm casts, pebbles and snails. The kinds of things that I would have walked right past had I been chattering away to a friend.


I'm less likely to go into a coffee shop when I'm on my own, but I'm working on that. On being braver about going to the theatre or cinema or out to eat on my own. As I'm not planning on changing my career any time soon I'll have plenty of time to practice. So if you're out and about and spot a slightly pink in the face knitter having a coffee, it might be me.

Bandwagon Scarf

Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf by Jared Flood
Needle size: 4.5mm
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden 2 balls each of 272 and 245

I started this in the spring and after spurts of work on it over the summer have finally finished it in time for the colder weather.

Apart from 1 shade of brown I love the two colourways of this yarn and the way that the colours have fallen together.

The yarn was lovely to knit and the 1x1 rib has given a nice dense fabric which will keep my neck toasty warm in the winter.

The finished project is a little scratchy but hopefully a wash will sort that out.

The only issue that I had was that the first two balls of yarn were of differing lengths. I don't know whether this was due to a small ball or a large ball as I had no way of telling without ripping back and weighing them. Life is definitely too short for that. It did leave me with a little fudge at the end as I was determined not to waste any!

I just have to wait for the cold weather now so that I show off my flash new scarf.

The One with all the Knitting

Amongst all of the sewing I've got some knitting and finishing done. Thanks to the Scrubs box set. I stuck a disk on every morning and started working through the projects in my knitting basket.

Boat Necked Jumper

This is a Debbie Bliss pattern that I've made a couple of times, for this version I substituted Cashmerino Astrakhan for the Cashmerino Aran that the pattern calls for. I've used the Astrakhan for a couple of things and it looks really cute for baby clothes.




This one just needed seaming as I finished all of the knitting last year. I was a little worried that after a years hiatus this little jumper and the jacket below would be too small for their intended recipients. I delivered them this weekend and thankfully they both fit. I usually plan projects the next size up from the child's age at the birthday/Christmas that I intend to gift a project. This gives me a chance to get finished before they are too big as I have a habit of getting so far and stalling, usually on the seaming. I will spend weeks knitting only to let the pieces sit in my knitting basket for the sake of a couple of afternoons sat seaming! Daft I know.

Ribbon Tied Hoodie

This is another Debbie Bliss pattern that I've made a few times and is written for the Astrakhan. I made a few mods to this version, I only knit the first 5 rows of the hood before knitting a row and casting off in the contract colour. Instead of a ribbon tie at the neck I opted for 3 buttons with crocheted button holes to give it more of a feeling of a little jacket.




This knitting on this was complete last year, but has been hibernating as the first version of the collar sucked. It rolled back on itself and I was too frustrated with it to pull it out and work out an alternative. Once I started on it again it came together pretty quickly. I like the mods I've made to this and am planning a couple more. The knitting is pretty quick and now I've got the mods sorted that won't slow me down. I've had to do a bit of searching to find the yarn though as it seems to have been discontinued. However, between Ebay, Ravelry and Jimmy Beans Wool I've got my sticky mitts on enough yarn to make 3 more of these so that all the little girls I know will have one.

Pi Shawl

I was introduced to Elizabeth Zimmerman through Brooklyntweed's blog. It was the February Baby Sweater that first caught my eye, quickly followed by the Baby Suprise Jacket. As a result I purchased Knitters Almanac and Knitters Workshop, the books that featured the two patterns. It was only then that I realised that EZ writes guides more than patterns and at that time it was beyond my skills to pick out the instructions from the text. Fast forward a while and I was sorting my stash out and came across some hanks of Rowanspun DK that I'd been given by a friend a few years ago. It's been lurking in the stash as I didn't have a clue what to use it for. I had a thumb through EZ looking for some inspiration and came across the instructions for Pi. Brooklyntweed had made a blanket version and his pictures help to inspire and push me over the edge into action. I swatched in a couple of needle sizes to see what it would look like, I like how my swatches have come out and think that I would use a shawl in this tweedy grey colour. It will be great over my shoulders in a draughty prompt corner.



I swatched in 3 needle sizes 5mm, 5.5mm and 6mm. I like the look of the swatch below. However, I'm going to have to swatch again as I didn't mark the 3 swatches and can't tell for certain which size it is that I like! I think it is the 5mm as the plain stockinette section is the tightest but if I'm going to put that amount of knitting hours into something I'd rather knit a second set of swatches and double check. It would be a bummer if I fudge it and get it wrong.



Mr Vanilla

The knitting on Mr Vanilla has been ticking along nicely. I've finished the first sock, I just need to graft the toe and weave in the ends, and have just started the heel flap on the second sock.

Pomatomus

Pomatomus has also had a bit of time spent on it. It hasn't progressed very much though. Some how I managed to loose 2 stitches in one of my pattern sections and didn't realise for about 20 rows. As it is lots yarn overs and K2togs and twisted stitches I had to unknit the offending rows and work out my mistake before continuing. I'm back on track now thankfully but still haven't made it to the first heel yet.

The one with all the sewing

I've been having a productive couple of weeks around here. The end of my holiday is getting ever closer and I've finally found my focus. Knitting has been finished, swatching has been done and the sewing machine has had a good work out. More about the knitting later this post is all about the cloth.

Needle Roll #1


I wanted to get my needles organised as they get into a big mess in my knitting bag and take ages to sort through when I need to find a pair! This is made from two Asda tea towels and a piece of scrap fabric from a work project.

One tea towel and the scrap fabric were cut into a rectangle. The second tea towel was cut into three strips, each seamed along one of the long edges . The fabric was then arranged with the right sides together, stitched around and bagged out. Then a quick press before sewing the hole closed and stitching channels for the needles to live in. The last job was to sew on a piece of cotton webbing to tie the roll closed with.



As you can see I like a bamboo needle!


Baby Bag


This little bag is for Missy who is three. Like her mum she had a bag to carry all the things her baby needs. It had a bottle, a nappy, a dummy, a toy, some baby wipes and sun lotion. Unlike her mum's it was an old gift bag and so got a little soggy this summer. We watched her push her baby across the lawn in her stroller leaving a trail of belongings behind as the paper bag finally gave up the ghost! So this little bag is a replacement. I made it out of some left over furnishing fabric. It is reversible and has 2 pockets on each side, ideal for tucking your baby's bottle in. I hope she likes it.

Needle Roll #2

When I first started knitting in earnest it was with chunky Rowan yarns like Big Wool and Biggy Print. I made hats and scarves, a couple of jumpers and a poncho. I moved on to finer yarns when my knitting speed picked up and when I realised that a chunky jumper on a chunky frame really isn't very flattering!

I made this second needle case from the scraps left over from the baby bag, I've made it differently to the first one for this reason. It is as wide as my scraps allowed and there wasn't enough fabric to make a flap at the top to hold the needles in so I put a band across instead. Again I used a piece of webbing as the tie.

TV Cover

The last piece of sewing was a cover for the flat screen in the kitchen. I used a piece of plasticised fabric and some flannel to create a sleeve to slide over the TV. The plastic fabric stops the screen getting splashed and the flannel stops any scratches. Now Dad is happy that his TV is protected from haphazard washer uppers and I only have to worry about not splashing the window!

That's it for the sewing round up, next time it will be the turn of the sticks and string.

Fastnet

At 1pm today my little brother will be setting off on a jolly big adventure. He is competing in the Fastnet race aboard Jaguar Logic. They will leave Cowes today, sail around the Fastnet Rock and head to the finish line in Plymouth, a total of around 600 miles. This should take between 3 and 5 days depending upon the conditions. I'll be keeping an eye on their progress here. He has competed in a number of races this season to prepare for this and is quite understandably excited. So fingers crossed Mr, I hope you have a great time and have some good sailing weather. See you for Dark and Stormies and some sea stories when you get back!

Decorating

Things have been topsy-turvey here for a while as my bedroom has been decorated. I was just about trusted to choose the colour for the walls and carpet which are very pale to try and give the room a light and airy feel. There were a few 'discussions' over the curtains and in the end I just bought them. I think they're a nice splash of colour, I don't think Grumps is convinced though! I had to shorten the curtains a little and used the off cut to make a runner for the chest of drawers. I decided to make a little quilted runner and pulled some of my hand dyes that work with the deep purple.

I then pieced them and came up with this.

This is the back of the runner, the curtain fabric will normally be on top, I think this many colours in one place would be a step too far for Grumps!

I now have a lovely bright room and with this old armchair I have a place that I can sit to knit or read in peace and quiet. Lovely.

Infidelity

I always have a number of projects on the needles. Different techniques and yarns so that I have a nice variety to work through and combat the ennui a long stretch of garter or stocking stitch can cause. However, I only ever have 1 pair of socks on the needles. Until now that is.

This is Pomatomus my first pair of patterned socks and I'm enjoying knitting them. The pattern is easy to read, I love the way the colour is spiralling around the sock and the curves of the pattern itself. I do have to concentrate to knit them though. With a twisted rib, K2tog and yarn overs on every row I can cope with watching TV or travelling, but I need to keep a close eye on my hands so reading is out. This is a big problem.

I got stuck into this, just couldn't put it down. That meant no Pomatomus. So I cheated on it, cast on Mr Vanilla - this plain knit sock in this lovely stripy colourway.

As you can see I've been doing a lot of reading - I'm at the gusset already!

With this lot on the 'knitting' pile I'm going to be hanging with Mr Vanilla for a while yet. Having said that I'm off to the Isle of Wight with Pomatomus for a dirty weekend. I'm travelling by train so we'll have a few hours alone together.

In a pickle

I had a busy day this week chopping and boiling and pouring to turn my pile of bargain fruit from the market in jars of yummy jam and chutney. I had a bit of help from this fantastic book - Sensational Preserves.

There is Garlic Chutney, Coconut Relish, Spiced Pineapple Chutney and Cherry and Blueberry Jam. All I need now is some labels and they'll be ready to go out as Christmas presents. I hope everyone likes jam!

Amish Diamond

In the autumn last year I took part in a block swap with my dye group, using the Amish Diamond block.

I made these blocks. A set for each of ladies taking part.

And in return I received these.

We are currently running another swap with the same block. I should end up with enough for a quilt. This time around I intended to dye 4 new colours and make matching blocks like before. However, when I looked for fabric I discovered that I didn't have enough. As a result I pulled fabric that had been dyed for other things. Some were from last years swap and some left over from other swaps, I even over dyed a few pieces.

These are the blocks that I've made for this swap. I can get them packaged and sent off to the hostess tomorrow. Then I just have to wait for the return package to see what the other ladies made.

Socks, socks, socks

I've finished the panto socks. They were cast on in January and finished in May when I was in Cardiff with my last show. I was a little dissapionted with the yarn. All was well on sock 1, but whilst knitting sock 2 I had to cut out several sections where the yarn was damaged. Other than that I am happy with these, the new cast on I used is nice and stretchy, I like the k2p1 rib, and I'm happy with the mod's I've made as they give a good fit.

As soon as I'd finished the panto socks I wound the yarn and cast on for another pair. Plain vanilla socks again, but this time for one of the girls that I was working with.

I love, love, love this yarn. It wound off the hank with no problems, it was nice to knit with and the colour is lovely, just perfect for T. The yarn was a purchase that I made from Geminiknits on etsy back in February and I'm very happy that I have a hank for me! I used the new cast on and the k2p1 rib again and as T has smaller feet than me I took a couple of rows out of the foot. These came away with me and between playgroups and car journeys and just sitting in the sun drinking tea I managed to get them done in 2 weeks.

I have cast on now for my first patterned socks Cookie A's Pomatomus in the Cherry Tree Hill yarn Tropical Storm.

I got off to a bit of a rubbish start as I kept dropping stitches on the cuff! I'm halfway through the first pattern repeat now and am liking both the yarn and pattern. They are going to be a lot slower going than the last pair though as they are heavily patterned.

Summer Holidays

I'm taking some time off this summer. Having worked back to back contracts for a while I realised that I'd only had about 5 weeks off in the last 3 years. So I decided not to worry that I've got a big gap before my next job but to enjoy it instead. To catch up on the things that I love doing, dyeing and sewing and baking and knitting and being with the people that I love. So this will be a summer of crafting and visiting and taking time out (until someone rings and offers me a job!) to enjoy life.

I finished my last job on Monday and hit the road for my first visit. I travelled down to Somerset to hang out with my best friend from college and her two little girls. We had a great time, going to play groups and swimming and just enjoying each others company. With two girls under three it was more chaotic than relaxing, but great fun none the less and a great start to the summer.

I'm off again on Tuesday, to relatives on the Isle of Wight. Here's hoping the good weather we've had today is here to stay.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

I've wanted to make one of these scarves for a while. I'd seen a few on Ravelry and in the blog-o-sphere that I really liked. However, having spent a number of hours looking at the yarn on the internet I just couldn't commit to buying without seeing it in person.

I don't think the colour variations within each ball can be fully appreciated upon a screen. I needed to touch the yarn and compare colourways in the flesh, so to speak.

I've been working in North Wales since Christmas and so Stash in Chester is nice and local. I've bought from them online in the past but hadn't been to their store. I had to wait until my show was up and running though as they are, unfortunately, only open during the week.

I cast on and knit this during shows as the 1x1 rib is nice and simple. The stripes lined up really well to begin with but soon ended up too similar in tone. Pale blue and dark blue would be okay together but pale grey and pale blue just ended up looking like big blocks of colour. I decided to rip back and find a point to take out a colour from 1 ball and carry on. In the end I just ended up ripping right back and reballing the yarn. (Sorry I didn't get a picture for contrast before I ripped) I then started working 1 ball from the opposite end to before. Much better this time.

The colour bands fit together much better this way round. I had to put it down again when I went into rehearsals for this current show as my spare time just evapourated. I've spent my days this week cracking on with this project again. The constant colour changes make me want to keep knitting just to see what comes next.

I should have this finished just in time for the better weather!