Finishing

I've been in a finishing things mood recently, it's so satisfying. I noticed a couple of the people I follow on Instagram had been finishing long-term WIPs and it set me off. I'm not at all as relaxed as the two I mentioned (both are fairly chilled out about their cast-ons), so in reality I only had maybe 6 or 7 projects on the go, still, that's a lot! It's especially a lot when I have only one 3.75mm circular needle (and always need it).

I have a diary on the go, I write diary-type entries and track what I'm currently knitting and what I'm desperate to cast on. It's been really interesting, I finish a lot more than I give myself credit for, also the desire for some garments really is a flash in the pan sort of thing. I'm currently at 5 WIPs, the gorgeous Eunice cardigan by Mary Henderson, Sage dress by Marie Wallin, a Christmas dress, my Granny's paperweight blanket and a re-knit of the top of my Betty Mouat dress which I had stopped wearing due to a poor fit (bust shrinkage post-breastfeeding).

The Betty re-knit is going well, sleeves to do and I'm knitting little ones so that won't take too long. The other two dresses can wait till Eunice is done and I may cast on a Summer cardi (I bought the yarn for it already...).

Here is this week's finished object, a dressing gown knit to Hedgehog Fibres' Feather Weather pattern with a couple of modifications (different decreases/increases, crocheted edging, slightly different yarn weight). Blogger doesn't want to let me upload any other photos, perhaps Google overheard me talking about them the other day.

Deer-ly Cardigan

I can't believe I forgot to write a blog post about this cardi! I was all muddled and cold and didn't know what I wanted to knit when I cast this one on. I need to re-knit the button-bands as I knit them using Rowan Kid Classic which is FAR too floppy for button-bands... It needs a good stiff sheepy yarn for those. Anyway! The pattern is by KismetKnits, it's written in a different method to what I'm used to, the charts in particular which are all chopped up into little pieces. I copied them out as I prefer a big block chart for colourwork, then I just whizzed through the knitting!

I used yarn given to me as a birthday present last year for the main colour, had to hold it quadrupled as it was super skinny lace-weight, lovely sheepy stuff though. The counter colour is a Crazy Zauberball all chopped up and held double as the pattern calls for a good DK weight. As you can see above, it would make a lovely jumper. I've bought yarn to knit a jumper version which I'll cast on later this year.

The Little Hedgehog

I love crochet toy patterns by Son's Popkes. I think I previously wrote that I'd found her Realistic Hedgehog design and had decided to crochet it for James's birthday. I did it! Funnily enough, when I was searching for the photos below I found a lovely picture of James holding Flims (last year's crocheted hedgehog toy) right next to them. James loves Flims.
I don't tend to put photos of the boys on my blog or Instagram now they're not babies, I didn't mind so much then as all babies are much of a muchness (to me anyway...). I think the British school system can be hard enough as it is, imagine being a teenager and your friends/enemies having access to your family photos. There was a lad in my year group who could be a bit snarky and a friend of mine really hated him for his often cutting remarks (year 10/11), anyway, I remember another friend had been to his house and stolen a photo of him with chicken pox from a family album. Why? I don't know, teenagers are weird... Long story short, last day of school started very early as angry friend and I laughingly sellotaped photocopies of this photo to lampposts all the way to school and then all around school. Yes, my moral character was exceptionally underdeveloped age 16. My point here is that this type of private and entirely innocent (but cute to parents) photo, for some children anyway, is easily accessible and can be put to malicious use. 
Also, I have no idea why my text has changed font!!! 

Here he is, called 'Spics', after James's wildly inaccurate spelling of the word spikes which he used once to describe his favourite animal (the hedgehog). Every morning I come into the living room to find James settled in his Lego corner with Flims and Spics watching on. Flims and Spics turn up in all sorts of places, generally wherever James has settled for a time during the day, sometimes he builds a den, sometimes he prefers to sit and build his machines. Flims is small enough to fit in a pocket and often ends up out and about with us, something which brings James a lot of happiness. I remember my Nana and Gramps sometimes took us out and about and would let us bring a special toy along, I vividly remember riding a miniature steam train holding Bobo (my special toy), probably the reason I'm more easy-going about letting the boys bring a cuddly toy out with us. I do worry about losing them though! Oliver once left Ginger, his toy cat, in the post office and we only noticed at bedtime - he was distraught. Rich found her in the end after I swore he'd not brought Ginger along earlier. We never do trust my memory (as a family), I always forget things!

Anyway, the pattern was a good one, they always are. Lots of diagrams and clear instructions meant that despite the loop stitch which was tricky at first, I was able to get through the making in time for James's birthday.

Shawl for an Art Lover

I have finished a real shawl, a real lace shawl! I'm very pleased with myself... But honestly, after I tried knitting the Sabbatical cardigan a few years ago (and failed), I felt so put off lace projects. I received a few tips on Instagram, the main one being stitch markers between pattern repeats. This was a complete lifesaver for me, I could easily figure out where I'd gone wrong and began to be able to read the lace a little (a little!). So I cracked on and worked my way through the charts, setting little targets so I could get through the final chart without losing steam and putting the knitting to one side. I have so many projects I'd like to cast on at the moment, it's been hard to control that urge, writing things down helps me though. Mum bought me a lovely bound notebook for college and it was so nice that I started using it to plan my knitting alongside my college work (and painting).

This shawl is wonderful, I love the size, the shape and the pattern. The design is by Karie Westermann who knit the original in white Kidsilk Haze for her wedding. I knit mine in Hedgehog Fibres Blue Faced Lace, a yarn I've had in my stash for ages, I've been greedily hoarding it! Held it double with some Drops Kid-Silk. I do like HHF's speckling but kind of went off their yarns due to the sodding fluorescent yellow which seemed to be hidden in most of the speckled skeins I bought from them. I used to love HHF but I definitely prefer dyers like Yellow Door Yarn Company, Riverknits, Hedgerow Yarns and LITLG these days. And nothing beats a good single-coloured garment knit using Shetland yarn, nothing!

Here are some skeins I bought recently from Yellow Door Yarn Company, a super Manchester-based dyer who you may find at a yarn show in the UK - I met her at Wool@J13 last year and absolutely love her yarn!! The little sleeve you can see alongside the yarn is my Asbury cardigan, a design by Martin Storey. Pictured prior to its 4th re-knit, I changed the heart motifs to the background off-white colour.

My current projects-in-progress list is quite long, I have my Christmas dress, a Betty Mouat re-knit (I'm re-knitting the top due to bust shrinkage), a Son's Popkes crocheted hedgehog toy for James's birthday, Marie Wallin's Sage dress, a crocheted basket, Granny's paperweight blanket, the Asbury cardigan & a dressing gown (not the massive one from Romantic Style). So 8 in total, not too bad but really not how I like things, I always say I hate having too many projects on the go, it makes me a little stressed.

Out of the list above, three are definite quick finishes. First is the hedgehog toy (above, not mine!), I'm crocheting Realistic Hedgehog this year after crocheting Flims the Hedgehog last year (both patterns by the wonderful Son's Popkes). James is very appreciative of handmade things, he told me last year after unwrapping Flims that it was such a special present because there was love in every stitch. I haven't got any toy stuffing left but realised I could probably collect fleece while we're in the Lake District on holiday, each year there are little bundles of dropped fleece everywhere, they have a name but I can't remember what it is...Give it a good soak and wash and it should be OK!

The other quick finishes are the dressing gown, which is based on Hedgehog Fibres' Feather Weather pattern, just with modifications so it will work as a decent cover-up which buttons across the bust. Then there's my Asbury cardigan, a pattern I'm excited to be working on as it uses yarn generously given to me by a lovely knitty friend (B) as well as being a gorgeous pattern I will get a lot of wear out of.

The above sleeve was one of my early colour combinations, I thought the blue/hand-dyed pink was a bit too garish so I ripped it all out and started again keeping it more neutral using a truly beautiful golden singles yarn.

Ooh, speaking of neutral, look at these beautiful skeins! They are all naturally hand-dyed by Lisa, aka ErickaEckles, another lovely knitter and sewing lady who makes the most beautiful needle cases out of recycled fabrics. She's a whizz at finding great stuff in charity shops and has a lovely lively Instagram account filled with wool, Bernard (her cat) and snapshots of Norwich and nature and wool, of course! We had been chatting about wool and Lisa offered to post me a sample of Norfolk Horn yarn for me to try (I worry about scratchiness), when the parcel arrived I immediately thought I'd impulse-bought more super-soft hand-dyed and felt a moment of buyer's remorse! Then I opened it and wow, I'm so happy! I'm very inspired to try natural dyeing again this summer, aren't the colours beautiful!?

Dathan Pully

Last year there was a call for test knitters in the Kate Davies group on Ravelry which I greedily added my name to because I love her work. It was a really interesting process, part of a block of striped knits from the Knitting Season club, the test knitting to show variations on the stripe idea with the constraints set (no colour to be used for more than 3-4 rounds).
So, the process went: add name, wait, got chosen (lucky), pack of beautiful jewel-toned Milarrochy Tweed arrives, pattern + images/instructions made available, cast on. The deadline was a little tricky for me, something I need to remember if I ever offer to do test knitting again, I'm awful with knitting deadlines.

I spent ages fannying about with the colours, it was fun to see how they worked alongside each other, finding pairings and deciding on my favourite shades. I LOVE Cranachan, Hare and the pale blue which I believe is called Smirr. I'd love to see a Moder dy knit using Milarrochy Tweed, probably on 4mm needles, so it'd come out smaller but still be a good usable size. My Moder dy is in constant use, it's the best thing I've ever made (apart from the second one I made for James).

So what happened next? Like anyone would ever ask that! Well, I knit and I knit, stitch by stitch till I realised I'd not read the instructions thoroughly... Story of my life, that is.

Above, this was not what the instructions wanted me to do! This was a week's work and was ripped out (much to my dismay). But see below, ooh! Much better (photo of the inside of the jumper).

The rows got longer and longer, I beavered away and the deadline loomed, other people's finished jumpers began appearing in the communal Dropbox. Meanwhile I was stewing over essays, work experience and my university interview, as well as the Dathan pullover. I liked having my Dathan WIP with me while all this was going on, knitting is such a comfort, a reminder of home and an instant 'happy maker'.

Dathan blowing in the breeze. And me wearing it, action shots of the jumper, well, maybe not action shots! I'm really coming round to this cropped style of pully.

HAPPY LADY.

FOs and rambling text

Ooh, it's been ages since I last posted! I've been busy writing essays (and REALLY enjoying the process), coming back to learning has been the best decision I've made in ages. Conversely, I see a lot of even more mature students than I, retired folk who are doing art courses, they make me feel very happy, I love that people can go back to education, perhaps pursuing something they weren't encouraged to when they were younger.

 I've finished a few things since I last posted. My sparkly skirt (above), a cushion for Oliver (which was supposed to be a blanket) and Peerie Clews! Peerie Clews is an absolute delight, I'm wearing the cardigan a lot. But first, the skirt, Skjort Pa Vranga (which won't copy/paste here for some reason), is a pattern by Strikkelisa, part of Ninapetrina's Knitting with Gradients collection. The skirt is supposed to be fuller, longer and knit with gradient yarn. I would like to knit a second one, charcoal gradient with sparkle again, the sparkle yarn is King Cole Cosmos, lovely stuff! Finished the skirt just in time for a brief spell of cold weather here in the UK which included a horrible drive home, culminating in a line of stranded cars on the hill. I got towed back to Biddulph Moor by a nice bloke in a Hyundai and noted while I was stuck that the only vehicles which made it easily up the hill were Hyundais and 4x4s - Audis fared worst. I know everyone laughs at the Brits because of how the country grinds to a halt when it's snowy, but when you're not used to it and your car suddenly doesn't grip the road it is scary. Also, it's fun to poke fun at us, silly EU-leaving British people with our Boaty McBoatface. Incidentally, Boaty McBoatface is the reason I always give when I say the British public should not be given important things to vote for!

The snow was so pretty though, I love snow. 

Here's Peerie Clews, the best cardigan I've ever knitted. Pattern from the Vintage Shetland Project, yarn is quite unsuitable for the most part, well, it's a lot of merino singles which I held double with various lace-weight BFL anf kidsilk to ensure the colourwork had 'grip', I don't like colourwork stitches sliding around and not forming a cohesive fabric... I love it so much I'm planning on knitting a Bowland cardigan following the same gauge/mix of patterns.

So, for Peerie Clews I mainly followed the chart and used the stitch counts from another vintage pattern and Kate Davies's Ursula cardigan. I have a KD project to share as well but I'll put that in a separate post.

Since finishing these two garments I've cast on a few more items including Andrea Mowry's lovely Shifty sweater, Marie Wallin's lovely Sage Tunic and a second House Dressing with a different hem pattern (for Christmas 2019 - lovely!). Tonight I have also cast on Karie Westermann's Shawl for an Art Lover, a ridiculously beautiful shawl that I'm nervous about knitting as it's lace and lace is hard (for me). It's encouraging to see Ravelry friends push themselves and their knitting, makes me feel I can do so too!

Speaking of Ravelry friends, it's been impossible to miss the sweeping change in the knitting community, a 'simple' acknowledgement of the whiteness of much of it as well as some truly appalling things fellow knitters have experienced in terms of discrimination. 

I worked through Layla F. Saad's Me and White Supremacy book and found many an "oh..." extremely mortifying sort of moment. Things I would brush off as being 'harmless' turn out to be much less so, I really do recommend it - here.

The absolute worst thing for me was reading how excluded and sad people have been feeling. This feeling of not fitting in, on the fringe of groups, never properly a part of them, certainly not feeling represented. Knitting has always been such a friendly welcoming hobby for me, I always go on about the community but I just slot right in, I've no experience of the other side, so to read others' experiences to the contrary has been pretty deflating (in a good way I think). Good because ignorance doesn't change anything.

PC & Otter Ferry

31st December

I like this time of the year, it whizzes round so quickly! I've been pottering about at home with the boys, knitting, stewing in bed (with the lurgy), watching the birds. I'm also trying to write a nutrition and digestion assignment up which has proven to be deceptively mind-bogging, who knew the liver had so many functions? Well, I certainly didn't. It's all quite incredible really.

I was given a few books for Christmas including Alan Garner's wonderful memoir of childhood - this comes highly recommended by me. I love Garner's writing so much, he's a true wordsmith, you know how some people are extra specially talented at writing? Works for me in any case, I'm very much enjoying the book. Another book I received was Kate Davies's super curated collection of hat patterns, Milarrochy Heids (along with Handywoman, finally). I'm not much of a hat knitter but couldn't resist, there are some absolute gems in the collection! I cast on Otter Ferry first, it's just my sort of hat, a little unusual and with simple details. It reminds me of a long pixie hat I had when I was an art student, I love it.

Another thing I've been doing recently is re-watching the series about Fred Dibnah (the Fred Dibnah Story), a bittersweet sort of a series about his life and work, which sadly involved demolishing a lot of old chimneys as factories closed and were either renovated into, as Fred calls them, 'yuppie flats', or simply demolished.

Peerie Clews is still in progress! I'm aiming for an end of January finish as that's when the KAL ends over in the Susan Crawford group on Ravelry.

It's ended up being a bit of a slog this one has, not sure why, I think especially as it's been in progress for such a long time. I like to finish things and move on and every time I've picked this one up I've decided I need to make something else right now, and so I put it to one side again...

Lotta Dress

I can't believe I didn't write a blog post about this dress. Busy summer sitting in the garden that is!

Lotta is a pattern from Laine magazine, a lovely fancy mag along the lines of Pompom, you know, a more upmarket sort of publication. I've been pretty low on funds the last year and bought my copy and then re-sold it on ebay once I'd finished with it. Had to do the same with the Vintage Shetland Project! Anyway, I spotted this dress when I was browsing Ravelry's Hot Right Now section and HAD to get a copy of the magazine immediately... Ysolda had it in stock and it arrived the very next day. The yarn was inspired by a cardi I knit in 2016, a Kate Davies pattern from her book Inspired by Islay (pictured below). The cardi was knit using a plain wool yarn held double with a subtly speckled Hedgehog Fibres merino laceweight, an effect I really liked!

I didn't take any photos of my dress when it was a WIP, didn't take many when it was a FO either! It was an easy one to make, I think I knit mine up in a few weeks. Once you're on to the skirt it's good mindless knitting.

I know the moment I try on a finished project if I love it or not and this one wasn't quite right, I'm not entirely sure why but it just wasn't. I don't always write on my Ravelry pages how many of my projects I frog, I just checked and I frogged or gave away 6/17 projects in 2017 and 7/21 projects in 2018. People can be a little funny about me frogging stuff, especially if they perceive what I've made (from my photos) to be a perfect fit, nothing wrong with it. I've had so many messages about my frogging, negative ones I mean, that I no longer tell the whole truth on my project pages. The thing is, I don't want to be hanging on to things I've knit just because, I'd rather unravel them and put the yarn to use elsewhere :-)

Christmas dress

It's been a busy, busy couple of months, possibly the most stressful months I've had in ages. I had two exams, an interview for university, double work experience and two assignments to do.
I decided to try to channel all my nervous energy into my knitting, in particular, a Christmas dress to wear when it was all done.

Here it is..

The pattern is a Drops one I have wanted to make for ages (Winter Fantasy), the yarn is J&S jumper weight and was a DELIGHT to knit with. I have enough left over from my cone to whip up another dress! ErickaEckles sent me a copy of a vintage dress pattern I'd like to have a go at at some point. For now I'm working on Peerie Clews and have some fun plans for a very colourwork-y 2019! Also a skirt, and some hats as I got the Millarochy Heids book for Christmas.

Frosty Doocot

Kate Davies recently published a super duper top-down jumper pattern called Doocot. I downloaded it immediately and cast on the same evening. The pattern calls for dk yarn and I had some but it's earmarked for another project and I'd bought this Kid-Silk yarn (and sparkle thread), but changed my mind about knitting it into a cardigan. I thought I'd try it out and see if it would work.
3.75mm didn't work, it looked a bit yuck actually! After a little unravelling I got out my favourite size needle, 5mm, and cracked on. The fabric is LOVELY on 5mm needles, all fluffy and drapey. Time will tell if it's going to sag and pill, hopefully not, I find mohair's a good tough fibre.

This oversized trend is something I wasn't at all sure about at first, also the cropping! Turns out they're fab for layering and are generally very nice garments to wear - I definitely like a lighter weight cropped jumper rather than a heavy weight one.
It's strange knitting with such fine yarn at first, but as the fabric develops it becomes such an enjoyable experience (I spent a lot of time squishing the fabric...). The thread was a pain to knit with, it needs tensioning else it supercoils (I've been learning about DNA!). Really, it just twists itself up and can knot really easily.

What else? Oh! The construction. So, I always disliked top-down after a few bad experiences with patterns involving a lot of counting, stitch markers and general faffery which really put me off (contiguous!). This one couldn't be simpler, the back neck is raised with knitting back and forth, no nasty short rows (I also hate those), the sleeve increases were logical and easily memorable.
I did lots of knitting on this one at college and then over half term. Finished it in time to wear to my genetics exam for luck, fuzzy sparkly luck. The exam was a bit of a stiff one, managed to answer all the questions but know I mucked a couple up. Onwards though!