Monday, November 16, 2015

Got a head? Get a hat!


Ok so it seems I have a little hat bug. It started with this cute little dear hat. E was bought it as a present several years ago and she never got around to making it .The yarn and pattern having been kicking about in various bags and on bedroom floors so I decided on a whim to make it up. I have to say that I was pretty pleased with the results as it knits up super fast on 6.5mm. E decided she was too sophisticated for the end results,but O likes it and I for one think it suits her. 
I added a little kid silk haze that I had in stash to the inner ear for extra fluffiness and whilst I was rummaging through the odd balls I got inspired to make a few more hats. 

Next came Snawheid by Kate Davis.
The dark grey was Excelana that I bought ,a few years back, to make M's tank top and then abandoned as it just didn't show up enough. It worked well as a hat though, I really like this yarn it has good stitch definition.and makes a warm cosy fabric so coupled with a great pattern makes for a satisfying project. E has wanted one of these for a couple of years so this one was for her. It seems that other people like it too as she has been complimented on it a couple of times on her commute to Uni.


After that came this little cutie
inspired by one that is very popular on ravelry at the moment it again was super quick and easy, the slowest part was charting it out.
It is made from some odd balls of Shetland that I had . O got this one too for the days when she doesn't want antlers :)

I still have yarn left in Excelana  from M's tank top and the blue and the orange were a perfect match for this in Rachel Coops book Toasty  2, so last week I put this lovely knit onto the needles.
This is my favourite! It is for  my DS I although both of the girls have given it their seal of a approval. I just love it! Such a cheerful,fun,pattern. 
I have immediately cast on another by Miss Coops, still in leftovers,this doesn't have a home yet and I haven't got far enough to start the pattern but I think it won't be my last hat as there are still more odd balls in stash and my hat obsession seems to be growing. 
 Do you have a favourite hat of the ones I have made? Or do you have suggestions of ones I should make?
let me know A xx

Sunday, November 08, 2015

I Found My Mojo In A Bag Of Sock Yarn

Hello did you miss me? I missed you!
I think seven months is the longest I have ever been away from my little blog but it turned out that I had nothing to say. After I knit my Snowflower sweater, way back in March, I was full of enthusiasm and ideas and then all of a sudden I wasn't. Nothing on Ravelry or in blog land inspired me. I cast on a Cardigan in June but after the ribbing it just languished in a corner I came home empty handed from both Woolfest and Yarndale. I was actually considering sending my stash to the local charity shop (I know right? Definitely odd behaviour).

Anyway towards the end of September my mum decided she was having a clear out. When she retired a couple of years back she had thought about learning to knit, it never happened ( it turns out she is too busy to ever sit down and learn). So she came and dumped all of her yarn on me. There were lots of random bits and pieces but down at the bottom of the bag was a very basic sock book and a ball of Patons North American Classic Wool Worsted. I think I might of bought them for her on a trip to Canada but I can't be certain.

They were quick! Really quick! A sock a day, so much fun, lovely cosy socks. I raided her oddments and created another pair using up every scrap of the ball.


They are not my usual colour choice, but I will gift them back to my mum as a little something for her Christmas stocking. With every stitch my mojo returned.



I have sorted all of my yarn; cast off my cardigan and begun a journey into the world of hats. All stories for another day so till then

enjoy your crafting


A x


Sunday, March 08, 2015

SnowFlowers or something for me.

Hello,
Well here is it is, my version of Snowflowers or Snowflowers on a shoestring as I was too tight to buy the pattern. I have to confess this has been done quite a while but as soon as it was finished I started wearing it and I have worn it a lot!!

I had kind of hoped for snowy pictures ( well snowflowers and all ) which is why it has taken until now to get organised with the camera. It is warm and cosy and goes with pretty much anything.



I have worn it to work and I have worn it to do house work in anyway it occurred to me earlier as I was wearing it whilst splashing bleach around I had better get a couple of pics before it is worn out.


I was a little bit worried that the low neck might annoy me but it is actually really nice as you can wear a scarf with it or a polo neck without feeling like you are being strangled. I am also a fan of the fact that it is a bit roomy, ok it might add the illusion of an extra couple of lbs but I have full arm movement which I am really enjoying in comparison to all the fitted sweaters I have made over the last couple of years.

I still have yarn from the reindeer sweaters so am planning something else similar for later in the year.


Anyway until next time Happy Knitting

A x

Monday, March 02, 2015

Up cycling


There has been quite a lot of sewing going on recently. During the week I whipped up another skirt for E again in fabric picked up at Oxfam.
 That also turned out really well and was really fast as I knew exactly what I was doing and I really wanted one for me! I do still have some Oxfam fabric left but I figured it probably wouldn't be that cool if we had matching skirts. I am on a yarn and fabric diet so I thought it would have to wait. Then I had a bit of an idea, a few years back I made this a cloth kits skirt. I loved it when I saw it on the cloth kits stall at Harrogate; I loved it when I finished it, but I have never worn it so and it has languished in the drawer ever since....
 Upcycling !!!
 I didn't quite have enough fabric so I had to be a bit inventive and it has different fabric for the facings .
also couldn't get of quite the right grey for the bias binding so decided to put a contrast with it. Azrael was super helpful with this
He was pretty good at this point but I ended up throwing him out of the room so he was such a pain . I am pretty pleased with how they have both turned out.
Especially as for the price of a couple of zips and some bias binding my wardrobe has been updated.
I shall be looking for other up cycling projects!  Till next time happy crafting A x

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Sophie, we have a problem!

Hello,

I thought I would give you a little crochet up date on my Sophie's Universe Cal. Well first off it is not going quite as expected. I completed parts one to three without any problems and I thought it was looking pretty good.



Then I did the first couple of rounds of part four and decided I hated it.



So I rushed out and bought a few more colours, y'know just to make it a bit more interesting as the 15 I had didn't seem quite right. I started thinking that maybe everything that I had done up until that point might not be right. So maybe I should start again...so I did. After a day I decided that I really did still like the first version and I now really liked the second.





Pretty hey? They have mostly the same colours with a couple of differences and yet they look completely different ( well to my eyes anyway) the second seems to glow.




So I guess I am now making two! Part 7 starts tomorrow and whilst others industriously work on that I will start Part 5. I probably won't ever catch up as I am fairly slow. But I am really enjoying the journey are you making your own little universe? How is it going?

Till next time
Ax

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Oh Steek! Or it worked and he loves it!


Hello,
first a bit of a warning....this post is very photo heavy, but I just couldn't help it.I have something rather special to show you ( well I think so at any rate). M's tank top is finished.

The pattern is Susan Crawford's Wartime vintage sleeveless pullover

obviously the colours are completely different to the ones she suggested and mine is made in a combination of her yarns and jamiesons.

The pattern was written so you worked it in the round up until the armholes and then you worked the front separately. I nearly followed the pattern, but I really wanted to try steeking again. The last time was for Ursula and it was not really a success( read this a stressful, blood, curdling, nightmare). This time, however, hurray it all worked perfectly!

I set up quite a large steek area and was prepared to use the sewing machine on it as well but the yarn was perfectly well behaved and the crochet sufficed.

I love how it looks and I love how happy M is with it. Of course he has had a few people who have told him he looks like a grand-dad in it but he says that it is lovely and warm and he has worn it every day this week so I think that is a very good sign. I have loved all the fairisle colour changes and patterns. The stars are just twinkly enough without being glaringly obvious. I have ended up with a lot of extra yarn so I am looking around to see what patterns I can find for future projects.

Till next time

A x

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Love Sewing


Hello,
well as promised a post on sewing. I am getting more sewing done at the moment and I have several little projects that I have made in the last few weeks and I was going to show you. Then last Sunday as we were wandering around the local supermarket I spotted a new sewing magazine, Love Sewing. Now I have pretty much stopped buying magazines, however I decided that I could justify it with the free pattern that it had attached. It was all sealed but I hurriedly opened it and started reading it in the car on the way home ( no I wasn't driving).
There are lots of good ideas for projects but also lots of fabric inspirations which is always nice to be pointed in the right direction of nice fabrics.
One of the patterns inside was a little tartan skirt, it really caught my eye as I have lots of fabric in stash that would make gorgeous little skirts, I would only need a zip and some bias binding, I stocked up in the week.

The fabric that first came to mind was a herringbone that I picked up in our local Oxfam Shop about 12 years ago for £2.50. I know, right, a bargain! I actually have enough for a couple of skirts but the first one was for E. She got back from uni last night and I confirmed she liked it. It being the pattern and the fabric. Would she wear it? Yes, on the proviso that it was made shorter.



Of course you can't do anything in this house without Cat help. Molly and Percy thought it was all fascinating. Within a couple of minutes Percy had stuck his teeth through the pattern.



They had both had a little sleep on the fabric whilst I re-traced the bottom skirt panel onto greaseproof paper I took about 3 inches off of the bottom.





and then with the help of Percy and Molly I and cut it all out.





Molly gave up at this point, but Percy helped me until the end.



The pattern was super easy to follow and I love the tip about using bias binding on the hem, it certainly made it easier than the usual bias hem.



I think the whole thing took me less than 5 hours, so not bad for an evening's work ( of course I would probably have been a lot slower without my helpers).



The skirt's yoke and hem is hand-sewn as are the buttons onto the faux pockets. and the rest is done on the machine. The buttons came from Mamie's button box so I am fairly certain the whole thing cost less than a tenner. Which let's face it is a bargain!


Both E and I are pretty chuffed at how it turned out although I think the patterns sizing is pretty generous which means that an inch off all the way around would definitely have made for a more fitted skirt.But I think this one will get lots of wear and I am already planning the next ones.



So that is me for now.

Happy Crafting
A xx




Thursday, January 22, 2015

Fickle


Hello,
how has your January been so far? Mine has been a bit odd on some fronts but I am hopeful it is all going to settle down now. On the craft front, I have been busy! Busy, but a little bit fickle judging by all that I have to show you I can't seem to really settle to anyone thing. I have been knitting and sewing planning and plotting but I decided to just show you the yarn based activities in this post.

On Monday on Ravelry 20 weeks CAL. I bought a Lucy Pack of style craft when I was at Yarndale earlier in the year. I always go a bit crazy at the shows and come home with stuff I will probably never use. I pretty much never use acrylic my only exception being the Red Heart Soft that I have picked up in Canada which feels soft and not unlike the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. The Stylecraft is a different story I have to say I don't really like the yarn. It has the dreaded squeak and it feels rough to work with however it does redeem itself by having pretty colours and being cheap! This is clue one and two which were released together.



M's tank top is still on the needles. I was faithful to it all through December but I am definitely starting to lose momentum. I reached the armholes last night and up until today had thought I would steek it but honestly I don't think I can face the extra stitches. Lazy huh? M keeps asking why it is taking so long but I think considering the size of it it is not too badly paced.




Whether I will stay motivated for another 19 weeks remains to be seen, but I am looking forward to doing the next bit on Sunday.


I got this little bracelet as a kit for a Christmas pressie from my friend Monica. I have been burying it in piles since then, thinking yes I will get around to that at some point. Yesterday as I was about to move it again I thought why not cast on. I was a bit apprehensive at the idea of getting the beads placed correctly but it turns out that wherever you put them, they look good.

Then as I wandered around Ravelry I found a beautiful sweater called Snowflowers I love it and I kept going back to it. It is not often that I really love something but there is a problem. I decided for my New Years Resolution not to make anything straight from a knitting pattern. Which left me in a bit of a dilemma with regards to Snowflowers. So I decided to chart out the flowers and make the sweater up from the pictures of other peoples' projects. I have only done a couple of rows but I am pleased with it so far. I really do love working with the Drops Nepal it is so cosy and warm. I am hoping it will work otherwise I will just have to weaken and buy the pattern.

Till next time

A x

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