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noel
[Started
30th December]
I really like these softer coloured letters in lower case
- again by Debbie Bliss but this time from the book "The
Knitter's Year". I thought I would make some
for my sister and perhaps a set for myself (for next Christmas!).
I am using vintage Hayfield Grampian 4ply equivalent [45%
acrylic/45%nylon/15% wool] in a soft green, and and Patons
Beehive knits as 4ply [50% acrylic/25%nylon/25% wool] in buttermilk.
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Charity
III
[Started 7th November: :Completed
19th November]
I also bought the cut-price Sirdar
Big Softie from Black Sheep Wools in the colour Egg to
try it out for a different big project - however they ran
out of the colour before I made any decision to buy in bulk
- so I decided to use what I have to knit another of these
delightful shoulder capes from an old Kim Hargreaves book
- Amber,
A Winter Gathering. I think it may work out a little smaller
than the intended "Big Wool" but the cape has turned
out well.
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Coddle
[Started
25th October: :Completed 7th
November]
This delightful Rowan pattern for a warm and cuddly tube hood,
is free
on their site. Supposed to be knitted in Big Wool, I was tempted
into starting it after Black Sheep yarns newsletter offered
some cut-price Sirdar
Big Softie. I have looked at this previously as a Big
Wool substitute but was put off by the pasty colours (and
it's not pure wool of course); however - this is a wonderful
Damson colour - though seemingly discontinued!. It's working
out well - beautifully soft (clue's in the name) - and I may
go on to some more Big Wool projects while the Big Softie
sale continues - I did calculate that I needed 14 balls for
this based on yardage but I have more than 2 balls left over.
[This pattern has had me knitting in a way I have never done
before, which cannot be said to happen very often ... cast
on and knit 8 rows then twist the entire work to create a
kind of plaited effect].
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Gaudy
Capelet
[Started 11th October: :Completed
20th October]
I bought two lots of dyed fibre at Lewes Guild open day, which
I started spinning in August - completing this skein on August
31st. It was tough going - beautiful colours but a fairly
matted mix of silk and merino so lots of teasing required.
I made a 3ply yarn of variable quality (thick and thin) and
I used it to make this small scarf - originally started in
September but had to frog and rethink the design.
I gave it to my friend Fliss - unsure in truth if she likes my knitted offerings - but this one seems to have appealed as she wore it to perform in one of her concerts.
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Kaffe
Fassett's Mystery Afghan KAL
[Started 1st October: :Completed
30th December]
Rowan have started another
knitalong - again made in Rowan
Pure Wool Worsted. Because it's Kaffe I really want to
take part but not sure I want to commit to another whole blanket.
However this time - I am guessing learning from previous experience
- they have both colourway and project options; so I have
decided to start with a cushion. If it's lovely I may go with
the throw - but will have to splash out on the yarn as my
attic is pretty devoid of yarn in interesting colours now
- though sadly not actually so much devoid of yarn.
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Surprise
Socks
[Started 19th September: :Completed
28th September]
I saw this
pattern on Ravelry and after my success in using leftovers
for the Martin Storey KAL, I was immediately inspired to make
a pair of scrap socks. I am not too poor to buy sock yarn
but I hate having all these odd bits of wool left over. Luckily
George went along with the idea - without saying stuff like
"but they don't match" or "the colours are
a bit weird" etc. I think they turned out pretty well.
The only possible down side is I will have no spare yarn for
darning - which I am called upon to do quite often - but I
hate it anyway so no loss there....
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Purple
Socks
[Started 18th September: :Completed
9th October]
I got to the decreasing bit in Alma and need some plain
knitting to get me through subtitled Scandinavian detective
stories. This is more yarn - Regia
Hand-Dye Effect Sock Yarn [70% wool / 25% polyamide /
5% acrylic: 100g=420m] - from the Sandown show in January
that I had in mind to knit for Deborah, (it's purple - colour
6553, Amethyst). As it's not my usual "Man's Sock"
I thought I'd try a different pattern altogether: toe-up Cool
Socks by Lang Yarns from
Summer Socks - a publication free with Knitting
issue 91 - a magazine from July 2011.
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Alma
[Started 19th August]
This pattern is Alma from Rowan
Knitting & Crochet Magazine 55, (this summer) and
uses a mixture of Summer Tweed, Revive, and Fine Lace (the
latter I am substituting with something I already have). In
an adventurous mood I seem to have chosen something by a newer
designer Carlo
Volpi who graduated from the RCA in 2012.
I note 2 things - I am unable to distort the colours quite
a much in my photos as Rowan appear to have done in their
magazine shots... and ... despite this being a current season
pattern (I think it is still this summer despite the
cool weather!), John Lewis tell me that Revive and Summer
Tweed are discontinued, (the latter being in their reduced
bucket at only £1.60 a ball but not in the right colours!
- I resorted to eBay).
I
have to say the resulting top is..... pretty horrid? (sorry
Carlo - maybe it needs a younger model...).
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Stellaria
- third outing
[Started spinning 5th July:
:Completed knitting 18th August]
I bought some mixed merino and silk fibre at Woolfest (150g)
with the intention of spinning it into a fingering 2 ply to
make a small shoulder shawl for Deborah. The colours are purple
and black in swirls, and spins to a pleasing marled purple.
I have spun some similar skeins in black and in pink in the
past, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will
be sufficient yardage to make Stellaria.
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Martin
Storey's Mystery Afghan KAL
[Started 21st April: :Completed
19th July]
For some reason this Rowan
knitalong appeals to me so I shall be trying to follow
it as each "clue" (clue?) is revealed. No
1 came out last Thursday and No 2 is due on April 28th.
The blanket should be made in Rowan
Pure Wool Worsted - which would be nicer than my choice
which is to try and use "oddments" from my attic.
This is not a cost cutting exercise but an attempt to make
good use of yarn that I seem to keep to no realistic good
purpose. However the problem with oddments is that you never
have enough or the right shades; so I spent all morning wading
through yarn and trying to compromise. All will be revealed
in 15 weeks time (I guess).
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More
Self-Striping Socks
[Started 11th March: :Completed
31st March]
and
[Started 31st March: :Completed
16th April] and
[Started 16th April: :Completed
29th July]
I bought several balls of sock yarn at the Sandown show in
January, but not the usual suspects. They were all bargains
and these are Drops
Fabel [75% wool / 25% polyamide: 50g=205m/225yds], "Print"
in colours 547, green-grey and 672, bourgogne, and "Long Print"
in colour 650, Forest.
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Lang
Waistcoat
[Started 26th February: :Completed
16th March]
This is a Fiona
Morris pattern constructed using her special techniques;
you can get the pattern direct from Fiona or via Ravelry.
I bought some wonderful (discontinued) Noro Kogarashi
[51% silk / 49% wool] and thought this kind if pattern is
perfect for it being suited to the typical random striping
in Noro yarns. The yarn is chunky and this colourway is a
muted mix of greens tan and grey.
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Autumn
Socks
[Started 6th January: :Completed
24th February]
This is a bargain ball of yarn that I bought - no doubt -
at a show, but can't remember where - possibly as recently
as our trip to the Lewes Guild Open Day. So despite my new
year resolution ("no new projects") I have started
another pair of socks as they are easy to knit on the go.
Not sure who will be the lucky giftee yet but George likes
his socks knitted in a similar yarn, so maybe for him - if
I can prize from his grip some of the worn-out socks he clings
on to ("they just need darning" - and in my defence
they have been darned - too many times!).
Regia
Hand-Dye Effect Sock Yarn [70% wool / 25% polyamide /
5% acrylic: 100g=420m] which knits to a tension of 30 sts
x 42 rows to 10 cm. Not very keen on this colour (6557, Aragonit)
but lots of people have admired it during the knitting.
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Striped
Study Shawl
[Started 16th December 2013:
:Completed 20th January]
Attracted by the special offer of luxury Debbie
Bliss Andes [65% baby alpaca/35% mulberry silk; 50g=100m]
from Black
Sheep Wools I decided to make the striped study shawl
at last. I love the colours on offer (Coral 7, and Mahogany
4) and thought they would make a lovely combination - but
I am less satisfied with the result as it's coming along.
I am not good at choosing colour combinations so maybe it's
just my lack of confidence causing me to doubt. But however
it turns out - the yarn feels simply wonderful to knit with
and hopefully to wear.
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Mohair
Revival
[Started 11th December 2013:
:Completed 9th February]
This little project is passed to me from Ava. My mission is
to complete it. Started from a kit in the 1980s, the back
and one sleeve are complete, plus half the front. The tricky
part has been trying to match the tension - I have already
had a few false starts and gone up a needle size. The yarn
is Patons Focus on Cotton [30% Cotton / 30% Mohair / 30% Acrylic
/ 10% Nylon.] probably in shade Shade 2091, a cream colour
with touches of peach.
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Marin
[Started
1st September 2013: :Completed
27th July 2014]
This is an Ysolda
pattern, Marin, that I purchased from Ravelry after seeing
it at A
Verb for Keeping Warm stand at SOAR last year. The yarn
is the perfect navy I was looking for (a gift from Alison)
in Cascade
Heritage Sock in colour 9825 [75% Merino/25% nylon; 100g
= 400m/437yds]. It's a well defined pattern that needs a plain
colour - preferably paler as Ysolda models it - though beige
is not a good colour for me; however it's progressing so nicely
I expect to make more than one example,
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Rowan
Kidsilk Haze Striped Scarf
[Started 6th July 2013]
Second time around for Arty Fibre Scarf - I started
to knit Artfibers Vertical
Drop Stitch Scarf again in my Rowan subscription free
gift this year (the first one I have been tempted to make
anything with I have to say) - but pattern does not lend itself
to the yarn which is Rowan
Kidsilk Haze Stripe in colour Circus 205 [70% super
kid silk mohair/30% silk; 50g = 425m/465 yards]. So I am now
making it a ribbed scarf without the dropped stitches.
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Estes
Vest for me
[Started 9th February 2013: :Completed
4th January]
This is my "allotment" vest (yes I need special
designer knitwear to go digging - you have a problem with
that?)
The
pattern is from Interweave Knits and was designed by Hana
Jason for the magazine in 2008. I am using Rowan Felted Tweed
Chunky in colour 289 Wode [50% wool / 25% Alpaca / 25% Viscose
: 50g=55 yards], which is now discontinued - but currently
available from Janettes
Rare Yarns on the web. I have used a zip closure which
I saw someone had done on Ravelry, and I may also follow her
further and line it as well.
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Orkney
Cardigan
[Started 22nd November 2012:
:Completed 23rd February]
I saw this cardigan displayed on the Rowan stand at Ally Pally
this year - and, though the photo in the mag is appealing,
it looks so much more wonderful in the flesh. So my old knitting
machine is having another outing with this project - so far
the back is complete and looks wonderful. The pattern is from
Rowan
Knitting & Crochet Magazine 52, and uses felted tweed
DK in quite a lot of colours - but only one ball of each.
I was confused by two things (zero points for initial observation):
sleeve pattern - and in one case colour - totally different
from body - plus - one of the pattern sequences involves 3
colours in one row (contravening "rules" of fair-isle??).
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Stockport
- all over again
[Started 30th September 2012:
:Completed 12th January]
I seem to have caught the disease from George's Mother and
accidentally felted my lovely Rowan
over-sweater. G was somewhat less than sympathetic (after
he had heard about it for the umpteenth time) saying "get
over it, you can knit another" - so I am.
Knitted as before in Rowan
Cocoon,
colour 812 Bilberry, [80% merino, 20% kid mohair: 115m/126yds
per 100g].
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Snowflake
cardigan
[Started 29th December 2011]
This is another of the Fair-Isle designs from Debbie
Bliss Magazine 7. I am using Amy
Butler Organic Aran in colour Slate [50% cotton, 50% wool;
50g:90m/98yds] as it was on sale - and also as my intended
victim is Rob who is slightly allergic to wool and I think
the wool cotton blend might suit. I think both Rob and George
were slightly dubious about the Sherpa hats - so maybe Rob
needs a fashionable Fair Isle cardi as well as George.
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Bella
Blouse
[Started 9th June 2011]
This is the Bella Blouse by Norah Gaughan from the Knitting
Daily Pattern Library. I am using a few balls of Rowan Damask
- a yarn I love but now discontinued - for the contrast and
I found an ecru cotton blend (Patons Washed Haze) which tones
with it quite well for the main shade. As my supply of Damask
is limited I am omitting the contrast band at the bottom of
the sweater.
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Rowan
Man's Aran Cardigan
[Started 14th October 2010]
Stash wool from when I overbought some Rowan Magpie Aran Tweed
for a cardigan for my brother-in-law some years ago (I know
- not like me - large administrative error in translating
2oz balls to 100g balls). I am adapting a cardigan pattern
from the Mens Book which is designed for chunky yarn; I have
not yet made a satisfactory start - every time I knit the
welt it looks too small!
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Two
[Started
22nd August 2010]
This is Two
- not another cardigan! But it is, like Puzzle, from
Queen
of Hearts - in fact, the cover design. The yarn is Patons
Misty
[25g; 150m], 70% mohair, 30% polyamide. It knits to a
double knitting tension of about 22sts to 4 inches, but I
am knitting it much looser on 6mm needles. I chose this yarn
also at Ally Pally in 2009; being a dress I thought it would
take for ever but it seems to be knitting up very quickly
so I have every expectation of finishing it soon...
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