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More
Holly Berry Socks
[Started 24th December]
Starting (but not finishing) my final project of the year.....
I bought 2 balls of WYS
Signature 4 Ply [75% Wool / 25% Nylon: 100g=400m] in this
limited edition Christmas colour and the pattern barely used
half a ball, so I am using one ball to make George some socks
- he said he like the colour but now he thinks it's "a
bit too bright".
[It isn't....].
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Mallard
("Pheasant"?) Socks
[Started 12th December: :Completed
18th December]
This is one of the other balls of WYS
Signature 4 Ply [75% Wool / 25% Nylon: 100g=400m] I bought
(see below). It is very similar to the Holly Berry colour
and easily confused in artificial light - but is distinctly
different so I think it covers both the festive season and
bird watching (!).
What it actually reminds me of is old school ties - with those
lovely muted red, blue, green, and gold house colours.
[Looking at this again in 2019 while I am knitting another
pair of "mallard" I am now thinking this colour is actually
pheasant - so I can only conclude a mix up in the ball bands.
Mallard seems quite different from this with fewer solid colours
in the stripes].
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Leftover
Socks
[Started 6th December: :Completed
8th December]
While rummaging for sock yarn to make Holly leaves (as one does),
I found this very old leftover self striping. I had 2 balls
of it used for a pair of socks and fingerless gloves (which
George still uses) - but not enough left for more socks. Waste
not, want not: I decided to make socks for myself based on the
pattern for Holly Berry (since it uses so little of the yarn)
teamed with some navy blue Sirdar Town and Country that I recently
acquired. The result is very pleasing - I had to readjust the
length of the socks (they are toe up and I find them hard to
judge while knitting), and they are a bit tight (I used No 14
needles as all my 13s are in use on other socks at this time
of year!). |
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Holly
Berry Christmas Socks
[Started 1st December: :Completed
6th December]
I was smitten by these socks and bought the yarn on impulse
from Black Sheep - after getting the free
pattern from West Yorkshire Spinners - here we are. The
yarn quality is lovely: WYS
Signature 4 Ply [ 75% Wool / 25% Nylon: 100g=400m].
I bought 4 balls of the WYS yarn including 2 in the colourway
for these socks and irritatingly failed to realise that you
need 2 colours for these socks as the toes are in a plain colour
(!). However, I have to say I am not wild about the other colourways
I have chosen when seeing them in the flesh; still one cannot
judge these self striping yarns until they are knitted up so
I am hoping they will grow on me as I knit. |
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Hap
Blanket
[Started 23rd November]
While digging out the Ishbel pattern I found another Ysolda
offering from the same era which I would like to make.
I am again using up some acrylic but in truth it will not
be "lovely" (although it will be very "practical"!).
I'm using DK and trying with double the number of stitches
but I may start again and double the yarn to get the bulky
effect. However the original is squishy and luxurious - an
effect I do not think I can quite achieve with my synthetic
yarn.
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Ishbel
Scarf
[Started July:2009 and picked up November
18th: :Completed 28th November]
This is silk yarn [colour "stormy skies" 100g skein;
600m], that I purchased from Knit Witches at Woolfest
in 2009 (who I discover to my dismay have just shut up shop
for good this October - I will miss them a lot).. I made the
Ishbel scarf in 2009 and there was enough yarn for 2 of
them so I started a second but it hibernated half way through.
Wendy admired my Ishbel so much that I decided to complete
this one for her.
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Striped
cardigan for a little person
[Started 24th August]
Cardigan based on a shape from the Rowan book "Winter
Kids". I wanted to use some of the bright colours
I acquired in Stylecraft (and other) acrylic yarns. I tried
out a "syncopated" pattern of stripes - the principle
for which I learned in my weaving course - and after a couple
of trial runs I quite like the result - a bit reminiscent
of a liquorice allsort.
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Hidden
Gusset Mittens (for me)
[Started 9th October: :Completed
12th October]
I like the Hidden
Gusset Mittens so much I found some handspun
- from which I knitted a Stellaria
for Deborah in the distant past - and kicked off a set for
myself.
Knitting little fingers (even only half) is a bit tedious
- but I'm so worth it!
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Christmas
Gift Socks
[Started 1st October: :Completed
11th December]
From my latest 5 balls of Austermann Step from Love
Knitting [100g=420m; 75% wool/25% nylon with Aloe Vera
and Jojoba oil] - one down 4 to go - best sock yarn in the
known Universe. This one is Nordcap 46 - a blue/black marl
with white and a touch of natural stone.
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Lace
Fisher Jersey for a little person
[Started 27th September: :Completed
6th November]
Fishing smock from the vintage Debbie Bliss book "Nautical
Knits for Kids" . Designed for Rowan Denim (which
I have to say I have never been a fan of - why make something
intended to shrink? it's just adds another degree of uncertainty
for no purpose). I'm using some vintage Sirdar Tropicana "cotton
effect" 4 ply [100% acrylic; 100g=454yds/415m] shade
711 Cream - which is of course not actually cotton and much
finer than Denim but the original pattern is large and intended
for 4-6 year olds and I want it to be smaller.
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Pretty-in-Pink
(and purple) Mittens (for Deborah)
[Started 27th September: :Completed
9th October]
There was some of this mystery yarn (below) left over so......
here are Hidden
Gusset Mittens (deeply unappealing name for such nice
mittens) from Knitty.com 2014. They are really lovely - may
have to make another pair for myself!
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Pretty-in-Pink
(and purple) Socks (for Deborah)
[Started 7th September: :Completed
13th September]
I have no idea what this yarn is (bulk purchase) but it seemed
fairly clearly to be a self-striping sock yarn. The colours
are girly and I thought Deborah might like them. In honour
of her I redrafted my patented plain (men's) sock pattern
for a smaller foot. Absolutely no excuse now not to get it
on Pattern of the Month in two sizes eh?
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Guernsey
style cardigan for a little person
[Started 24th August: :Completed
24th September]
Cardigan from the vintage Debbie Bliss book "Classic
Knits for Kids" . Designed for Rowan DK Cotton
but I'm using up some vintage Patons Diploma Gold DK in red,
colour 6151 [55% wool/25% acrylic/20% nylon; 50g=131yds/120m].
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Stellaria
V
[Started 2nd July: :Completed
13th July]
I was given some Posh Yarn Diana
[100g=800yards; 20% silk/80% merino] in the colour "Palm
Beach" and decided to make a Stellaria
shawl for the giver - it's lovely yarn and very suited to
the pattern - but I think I still have enough left to make
a second one!. [And I did - second one duly completed].
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Terry's
Summer Socks
[Started 12th June: :Completed
21st June]
I succumbed to another 5 balls of Austermann Step from Love
Knitting [100g=420m; 75% wool/25% nylon with Aloe Vera
and Jojoba oil] - truly the best sock yarn in the known Universe.
This one is Cashel 228 - a lovely soft colour palette but
chosen for the silliest of reasons [I read a Fidelma of
Cashel novel....].
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Swallowtail
[Started 24th May: :Completed
26th June]
This
is a Ravelry pattern by Evelyn Clark, which Alison gave
me with the yarn a few years ago. We agreed to knit it as
a Knitalong
but never got round to it. It turns out to be tricky but I
need a black capelet so I am optimistic I will complete it.
The yarn is Misti
Alpaca lace [100% alpaca; 100g=874yds/800m] .
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Laura's
Vest
[Started 3rd May: :Completed
19th July 2016 and 16th May 2018]
This
is a Ravelry pattern by Trudy Moss, which I identified
to use some discontinued Noro Kogarashi, colour 1, [51% Silk
/ 49% Wool; 100g=165yds/150m] that I bought some time ago.
The yarn is lovely but the colours are a bit dire (or the
ones I bought are!). I may need an extra ball to complete
the vest and I'm not sure if its "good money after bad"
- but I think the pattern looks good and is highly wearable.
I completed a second vest in rather more muted colours which
I was a bit slow in completing "just that last little bit".
I had to omit the pockets (not enough yarn) on both vests
which I think was a shame as they are a nice detail.
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Acrylic
Blankets - brown
[Started 15th April: :Completed
9th June]
I have now begun the third of my own Kaffe blanket project
- the brown colourway which I used for my original
cushion (2 years ago!).
This one is in crochet - and I have now moved so far away
from the Kaffe original that only his colour combinations
remain - which I have tried to stick to - using 4 colours
per square and his choice of adjacent colours. These will
have to be sewn up at the end (or possibly crocheted together
but I'm holding fire on that decision; a crocheted join creates
a "window pane" quilt with a lattice of one of the
colours - which may dominate the design, and could be good
or bad). So I will experiment with the final layout once the
squares are done.
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Acrylic
Blankets - blue
[Started 28th January: :Completed
20th April]
I have now begun the second of my own Kaffe blanket project
- blue colourway. Again it misses the design elements that
Kaffe intended - this one I am constructing in true domino
style ie with a one way orientation and no sewing up. I am
still piecing it using the layout in his instructions but
has little relevance to the pattern - however, for Domino
you do have to have the layout defined at the start because
you join the pieces as you go. This has been the most enjoyable
construction technique attempted to date, and consequently
I completed it (9 x 7 with an edging) slightly before the
red one.
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Coatigan
[Started
23rd October 2015: :Completed
10th January 2016]
There is a lot of 70s style knitwear about at the moment -
and admiring one such I decided to make up my own version
of a blanket coat - soon to be featured in
Pattern of the Month for January 2016. The original pattern
is written for a man in a worsted/aran weight all in garter
stitch stripes - it has its own charm but I am trying to emulate
a woven look as the commercial coat that I saw, and also use
vintage yarn. So I am working in chunky Sirdar Peru - colours
Llama and Tailor, (yes I have an endless supply of it) on
smaller needles using a stitch pattern borrowed from an early
1960s pattern book to give a more tweedy look.
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Acrylic
Blankets - red
[Started 22nd October 2015: :Completed
23rd April 2016]
As I said below - the Kaffe blankets project did not begin
well. I do not enjoy working the stripes on the machine any
better than by hand. So I began revamping the other 3 colourways
in my head. [Giving up not an option - I am awash with acrylic
yarn]. Somehow I got the idea of making them as domino squares
- I always liked the technique - so I have kicked off the
red colourway like that - and it is lovely both to knit and
to look at. Of course it misses one of the design elements
that Kaffe intended - even though I am piecing it using the
orientations in his instructions (so not quite domino) - but
it keeps the major design element: COLOUR. So successful that
now I plan the blue colourway in "true" domino and
perhaps the brown one in crochet.
Using this technique and layout means that the pieces are
joined in blocks of 4 - so I have added an extra row of squares
on 2 of the sides to make an 8x10 blanket, and have dispensed
with any form of edging (the cast on edge is quite neat).
I still have not achieved the level of perfection in the sewing
up that I would have liked.
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Aran
Chair Cover
[Started 23rd May 2015]
I am knitting this Erika
Knight classic in Robin Chunky [100% acrylic; 100g=153yds/140m].-
pistachio, 079. You need a lot of yarn and I could not contemplate
spending a great deal on a whim. I am expecting it to turn
out perfectly practical and soft - and it's a lovely colour
to go with my work room colour scheme.
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Acrylic
Blankets - pastel
[Started 15th May 2015]
I have finally begun my striped Kaffe blankets project. I
am working on the knitting machine and I have to say it has
not begun well. I have already had to change the method in
the same way as I did for the hand knitting - that is starting
each diamond in the middle and decreasing to a point, as this
is the only way I can get a neat edge. It is easier to effect
this on the machine though, so I am steaming - very slowly
- ahead... I plan to make all 4 colour schemes and think they
will end up as charity blankets - but it's just something
I want to do.
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Lisa
Richardson's Crochet Along
[Started 7th April 2015:
:completed 31st December 2016]
Well I couldn't resist could I? Rowan have started a
crochetalong - this time in a summer yarn Rowan
Summerlite 4ply [100% cotton]. Again they have a choice
of projects but I am doing the (baby) blanket. Needless to
say the yarn I am using is not Rowan but a mixture of Katia
Saigon (100% acrylic) - which as others on the web say
is excellent for crochet but thicker than a 4ply - and vintage
Sirdar Soft Cotton 4ply (100% cotton) - which is a nightmare
to crochet - and Phildar
Partner Baby (25% wool; 25% acrylic; 50% nylon) - which
is a 3ply.
An interesting mix.... all quite different thicknesses and
constituent materials.
I the end the mix of thicknesses did not matter a jot; the
hexagons were totally different sizes - by which I mean even
the ones made of the thinner yarns managed to be larger then
others depending on the pattern. I am amazed they fitted together.
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Alma
[Started 19th August 2014: :Completed
14th July 2016]
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 - it needs a younger model...).
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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. >>This
is finally going into the frogged category. It is lovely yarn
but I have not the faintest idea what I want t make with it
- pretty certainly not a scarf it seems.
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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: :Completed
20th July 2016]
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!
Finally ! completed and given for Christmas - and he seems
to love it. [Though Id trouble getting a pose for the final
photo.] And despite my executing a mashup of 2 patterns it
has really worked out well.
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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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