COMING UP BLANK: knit

Showing posts with label knit. Show all posts

Showing posts with label knit. Show all posts

Friday, August 10, 2007

Knitting FO: FLORA from Knitty

Gosh, it seems like ages since I blogged about knitting. There haven't been many FOs to blog about since I finished Backyard Leaves for ISE4 a few months back! That's not to say that I don't have anything on the needles at the moment.... I do. But I seem to be spending a lot of time starting new projects and then frogging them. I guess that's what I deserve for being an impulsive crafter. Maybe if I spent a little time thinking projects through, I would stand a hope in hell of finishing them. Hopefully this knitting indecisiveness will soon pass!

Back to FLORA from Knitty. This is a sweet litle scarf(ette) which I knit up in a few short hours last weekend. It's an instant gratification project (we like those) and ideal for those days in the autumn when the weather starts to turn and you need a little extra coverage.

I used about 1.5 balls of Patons Washed Haze - which is a cotton/acrylic combo. It's very soft against the skin and not at all difficult to knit with.

The scarf is basically a simple stocking stitch pattern with a seedstitch border, separated with a row of eyelets. The flower is knit in sections with each petal worked individually in the seed stitch pattern. The stamens are clever little cords which are twisted in situ and I could probably have done with adding a few more.

The flower is detachable: one large button secures the scarf, while two smaller buttons on the back of the flower hold it on the scarf (use two of the eyelets as buttonholes). I'm not entirely pleased with my choice of button but it was the best I could do at the time. Looking at it now, I think a natural looking or wooden button would look better.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Isn't this the most adorable little tea set in the world! Well it is in my opinion. I know quite a few little girls (& mums) who would love to play with this little set.

I was looking for something like this towards the end of last year to make for a Christmas present and could only find crochet sets. I'm glad I found this one. I love Annie Modesitt!

Saturday, April 28, 2007

ISE4 - progress on Backyard Leaves Scarf

This is one and a half repeats of the first half of 'Backyard Leaves' by Annie Modesitt. I ain't got much to say except OMG! This pattern is a real challenge! But look.. you can just about make out the leaf detail on the scarf. See how it 'pops'!! Although the scarf will be blocked when finished, I think the leaves look great standing proud!

I think the most difficult part of this chart is visualising which way the stitches will lie when knit. I've been trying to work it out in my head and I'm at the point where I can now recognise at least half of the stitch symbols. Maybe at this rate I'll be able to knit the scarf blindfolded by the time I get onto the 2nd half!!!

I am going to have to make time to make me one of these scarves for the winter. It's going to become one of my favourites, right up there with the 'Liesel' scarf.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

ISE4 - New yarn, new pattern

I was going to write some intelligent post questioning why buying yarn is so darn easy yet choosing what it's meant to be is just sooooo difficult. And why with the best willpower I can deny my 10 yr old sweets and the like as I know they're bad for her, but I can't deny my urge to buy yarn to start yet another scarf for ISE!

Instead I'm just going to keep it short and sweet. I bought this lovely olive green Merino DK from Jannette's Rare Yarns on Ebay and I am going to attempt the Backyard Leaves scarf for my pal.

Backyard Leaves is one scarf I had thought to make right from the start. But then I saw the laceweight yarn, fell in love with it and got distracted! Perhaps my pal would like some of it to make some socks or something for herself???

And there you have it. Loads to say but there's knitting to be done with them there needles!

Saturday, April 21, 2007

ISE4 - Decisions, decisions....

Things aren't exactly working out as I had planned. It's not my fault though!!! This yarn doesn't seem to like any of the patterns I've chosen so far. I mean, it's bad enough having a hormonal moody little 10 yr old to contend with every day, but to get attitude from my yarn was not something I expected!

I'm actually considering putting it on the naughty step in the hallway for a Time Out - "RIGHT NEXT TO WHERE THE SPIDERS LIVE", - I hope it heard me!

I've got to decide what to do next. In the meantime, here's a list of the scarves I've cast on (and frogged) so far:

Little Leaf Lace Scarf by Sivia Harding

Lace Leaf Scarf from Nora at BlackDogKnits

Old Shale stitch scarf (I doubled up the the yarn to make a DK weight but it felt like I was wasting the yarn and not using it to its full potential. Does that sound wierd?)

Lady Eleanor Entrelac Shawl (Actually, now that I look back over this list, I realise that the yarn quite suited the entrelac pattern. I wonder if I'll have time to make a scaled down version of Lady Eleanor??? hmmm...)

Honestly. If any of my family and friends (none of whom are knitty nutters) see this, they'll think I'm bonkers. How can it be sooo difficult to find something it wants to be made into.

So, having spent the best part of the day (and night, yawn!) on the internet, trawling through blogland, studying opinions on working with variegated yarn, I found these two patterns which might just be the answers to my prayers: Candle Flame Scarf from Knit Picks and Gypsy Rose Scarf from Cherry Tree Hill.

I'm going to give the 'Candle Flame' a whirl and see how it goes. But after seeing the yarn knit up in Nora's Lace Leaf Scarf I'm beginning to doubt myself. I've got a few weeks to go so I haven't started to panic just yet. If neither of these two patterns work out though, I'm going to go with the Entrelac scarf.

Or maybe I should just dump the other two ideas and stick with the Engrelac scarf and.... Oh crap! My mind is buzzing. God I'd kill for a glass of wine. L@@k, it's driving me to drink!!! Help me!

Friday, December 01, 2006

Knitting: Voodoo Wristers

I've decided to knit up the Voodoo wristers to start with (sorry Kimberly!). I made very good progress last night. It only took a couple of hours to knit 6" of the first one.

The K2 P2 rib is knitting up faster than expected. I wonder how many pairs I can get in before Christmas??? Bets anyone? Hehehe :)

As you can see I'm using 'KwikKnit' by King Cole and I'm surprisingly happy with this yarn:- the colours and stripes are working up a dream!

And although this is an Acrylic/Wool mix yarn, it's not nasty at all. You know how some acrylics can be scratchy and catch on your skin, well it's not like this. Considering this ball of wool only cost about £2.50 it's a bargain!

I would love to try these wristers in the new Wendy Fusion. Have any of you seen it yet? The colours work up similar to Noro but at about 1/2 the price of a ball of Noro, I'm really looking forward to getting me some!

Off to make breakkie. Have a nice day!

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Tapestry Yarn by King Cole - swatched

I knit up a swatch of the Tapestry Yarn that I purchased last week. Knitting with tape yarn isn't as wierd as I thought it would be. Here's the knit side...

...and here is the purl side. This side reminds me of poodle hair! It's lovely and soft. The yarn is made up of 16%Mohair, 16%Wool, 20%Acrylic and 48%Polamide. The gauge is 10stx15r on size 8mm needles (11 US). As I knit loosely, I went down to 7mm size needles.

Oh, and while I'm at it. Here's my expensive (not!) tape yarn dispenser - it stops the yarn from twisting.

In addition to the Oatmeal colour above, I went back to the LYS and purchased the colour below which is Magna. I love the colours in this. If I have any left over, I'll pass it on to my neighbour's daughter. She knit a fun fur scarf last year from a kit I bought her for Christmas but I don't think she has bought any yarn since.

I'm not entirely sure what I am going to make with the yarn just yet - maybe a poncho or a drop stitch scarf. Hmmmm....

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Chemo caps

A few weeks ago I was talking about National Knitting Week and CSV 'Knit your community together' day, and the possibility of making baby blankets for the baby unit at the hospital here on the Isle of Man.

Someone I met on a UK knitting forum was taking care of the baby blanket side of things, so I decided it would be worthwhile investigating other areas or departments in the hospital that might need or appreciated some knit/crochet garments.

It turns out there's a need for chemo caps for ladies. At the moment, they are limited to velour or turban style caps which aren't necessarily that appealing to some women. So, I'm going to organise a few samples and send them to the hospital.

I don't yet know how many will be needed, whether it will be an ongoing project or a one off and whether it will become a group effort rather than an individual simply making a handful of caps. Whatever happens, it should be a positive experience for everyone involved!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Grandma Purl's Blanket - Katie's Square

Look at my little angel working hard on her knitting machine. Aw!

She got this for Christmas a couple of years ago but it's only been out a handful of times. With many failed attempts to make anything with the godforsaken thing behind us, she's decided to make squares that can be sewn together for doll blankets

Here she is working on her contribution to Grandmother Purl's Blanket - she wanted to do a square for this after seeing my square yesterday. Now Little Miss CB isn't a knitter by any stretch of the imagination. She's a crocheter (is that a word?). In fact she can crochet quite well considering she's only 9 and has only been crocheting for a few short months. So we may still see a crochet square yet.

As it's half term I thought it would be fun to dig out the knitter and give it one last shot at being useful and fun.

As well as knitting tubes, the machine can knit flat panels which work out about 4" wide. It was easy to knit two rectangular panels of 4" wide and 8" long and stitch them togther.

I handed madam my bag of Merino wool (sob sob), she chose these colours and came up with this lovely square.

Normally she gets a ball of the ~~cheapest~~ most affordable acrylic I can find but as this is for a good cause, and natural fibres were preferred, I couldn't deny her my Merino wool (sob), could I?

Isn't it purddey!

Grandma Purl's Blanket

I came across this a while back and thought it would be fun to take part. So, here's my 8x8" square for Grandma Purl's Blanket. The deadline for the squares to be received is November 10th so I'll be sending this off in a day or so.

I knit the first thing that came into my head - a shamrock motif. It's really hard to capture on camera but you can just about make it out. Why is it sooooo hard to photograph reddish colours?

Anywho, I'm going to attempt to make one today with the Three Legs of Mann on it. Then there will be two hand knit squares reflecting my Irish heritage and my husband's Manx heritage somewhere on one of Grandma Purl's Blankets in America! How fun is that!

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Knitting: Lace Leaf Scarf

Recognise this? It's the Lace Leaf Scarf from Nora at Black Dog Knits. Nora kindly sent me a copy of the pattern in the summer but I wasn't brave enough to try it out til now.

I am using Debbie Bliss Cathay, from the 'lacy wrap' that I started last week. I really like this pattern. It's straightforward and easy to follow. I like it so much so, that I've started to frog the wrap and use the yarn for this project. I'm about 1/2 way there so progress is good. Would definitely recommend it for a first lace project.

My only concern is grafting the two pieces together once they are knit, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Knitting: Katie's Socks

Here's the progress on the first of Katie's socks. After a few false starts I'm pretty happy with the measurements, style and fit now.

The first few attempts yielded a very sloppy loose fitting sock which I remedied by reducing the number of stitches cast on and using smaller sized DPNs. I also settled on a deep K2P2 rib cuff which seems to fit her better.

I don't have any sock patterns at home and couldn't really find that many kids patterns on the web so I jumped right in and used Hipknitism's 'Sock Calculation Chart' to work out the exact measurements for madam.

I would like to end up with a pair of socks with matching (or near matching) stripes. It doesn't look too difficult to find the pattern repeats on this yarn. I've already explained to Little Miss CB that they may not be identical because that's the beauty of hand knit socks. She seemed fine with it. Funnily enough.

The yarn is Opal Petticoat with the colours blue, turquoise, cream and pink running through it. I am using bamboo DPNs size 2.75mm and 3.25mm. I'm getting used to the feel of the wooden needles: initially I found them difficult to use because of how they griped the yarn. But that seems to be slowly improving.

Knit on!

Friday, October 13, 2006

Knitting: DPNs + Yarn = Sock

I was going to wait until after Christmas before I even attempted making my first sock but I was so inspired by all the great sock knitters out there that I simply couldn't wait anymore.

Anyway, I remembered that September's Quick & Crafty magazine had a feature on knitting with DPNs as well as a pattern for baby socks from Debbie Bliss' book 'Simply Baby'.

So, here it is. My first sock. Well, the first few inches of my first sock. I'm loving DPNs.

I've stayed away from them until now and managed to use circs whenever DPNs were called for. But I'm pleased to say that using 4 DPNs is not too difficult. In fact, I will say that it's pretty darn easy and enjoyable. I may have to review this once I hit the heel but giving that it's knit using the short row technique, which I'm quite good at (oh the humility), I'm feeling quietly confident.

Now I just need to get my hands on some real sock yarn and away I go. Yippee!!!

PS I was perusing a few online shops today and couldn't get over the amount of sock yarn there is out there. And the colours. OMG. I think the hardest part of making socks is going to be chosing the yarn! I like the self-striping sock yarns so perhaps I should keep it simple and save patterned socks for a while yet.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

ISE III - Reality Check

OMG - I've just re-read the rules, and scarves are supposed to be RECEIVED by 1st November. EEEK! No panic. No panic. It'll be ready in a few short days.

A couple of things I've learned while taking part in this exchange:

1) Trust your instincts & pay attention to your first impression:

I've gone back to the first scarf I chose for my pal. I've simply swapped the cotton/angora yarn for some merino yarn as the angora was killing me. Not sure why I felt the need to find a new pattern etc every 5 mins.... Strange. No doubt there's some subconscious reason for it.

2) Be confident in your choices:

Even though I chose a scarf that I think my pal will like based on her questionnaire and what I read on her blog, I still doubted my choice(s).

3) Admire other participants' work - but from a distance:

I felt like a kid in a sweet shop when looking at all the lovely scarves being made. I started to question my own abilities as a knitter/crochet(er) and whether I should even be taking part. It's not intimidation. But the choices and variety were sometimes so overwhelming.

4) Have fun!

Yes, have fun! I was having fun. Until I got stressed about whether or not the scarf would be acceptable or appropriate or nice enough or blah blah blah. I walked away from it all yesterday and approached it with a clear head this morning. Now I'm having fun again.

5) Recognise your achievements.

I've learned some new knitting / crocheting techniques & stitches and I've worked with yarns I wouldn't have normally worked with. I have created (almost) something beautiful.

6) Customise! Customise! Customise!

I spent so many many hours trawling the web for scarf patterns and surprisingly, of all the free patterns out there I didn't find one that grabbed my attention for my pal. Especially as she is such an experienced and talented knitter/crafter AND has taken part in many exchanges in the past. I won't be afraid to customise existing patterns or experiment with something of my own next time. If I can't find what I want, I'll have to come up with it myself!

7) Plan.

I will definitely set realistic goals for the next exchange. I didn't appreciate how much time I would spend on this one. I am amazed at how many exchanges and swaps some people take part in. Stunned actually. Not sure how they manage it all.

8) Chill out.

It's just a scarf exchange. What's the worst that can happen?

Conclusion:

I'll definitely be taking part in more exchanges. It's nice to make something that will hopefully be appreciated by somebody other than myself, as I generally tend to knit just for me me ME! There were a few familiar faces taking part in the exchange and it was nice to 'bump' into people somewhere different.

Friday, October 06, 2006

ISE III - Sabine update

I really like this scarf. But now that I've started it, I'm not sure if it's for my pal. It looks great and I've gotten to grips with the pattern. Guess I'm not one for giving up! The colours look a bit yeuck in this lighting but it's definitely pink, sage green and dark green.

It was a bit touch and go there for a while. Once I figured out the pattenr and hit the first horizontal stripe, I realised that the scarf was going to be too stiff - there's so much yarn at the back of the work. So, I've started again and gone up a needle size. This seems to have done the trick. I'm also not wrapping/twisting my colour changes around each other, but simply carrying them along the back of the work.

I'm using 100% merino wool so I'm hoping that once it's finished and washed, it will 'relax' a bit more. At least that's the plan. As far as making a decision goes, I guess I'll have to just finish off as many of the scarves I can by the end of next week and then decide which to send to my pal.

Then there's the additional question of what treats to include in the packet. I've never done an exchange before, and although I can't afford to send any skeins of extravagant yarn, I would still like to send something. One of the things I wanted to include is one of these cute little 'egg' cosy sweaters. Isn't it adorable!

I was also considering a crochet/knit belt or cuff with any left over yarn. That's all I've come up with so far. Any suggestions would be greatly received....

=^.^=

That's me for this evening (apart from the 'freaky' self portrait I'm about to post in a few minutes).

Friday, September 29, 2006

WIP or UFO

When does a project cross over from a WIP to a UFO?

I was doing my weekly(ish) tidy of my wool trolley and found the following projects either on the needles/hook, or waiting to be finished off:

1) Little Coco Bag (knit, felted): I-cord needed;

2) Lionbrand Self-Lined bag (knit, handle done): button & embellishments pending;

3) KraemerYarns Roundabout bag (knit, felted): strap to be knit & felted;

4) Brenda's Blankie by Berroco: 6 squares knit, 6 to go!

5) Ohhh,Bag Me KAL Intarsia bag (crochet, felted): strap to be attached;

6) Granny's No Square crochet bag (SnB): 6 more squares to crochet & put together;

7) Fat Bottom crochet bag (SnB): 2/3 way done;

8) ISE III crochet scarf (SnB): 1/3 way done;

I must add some of those WIP bars to my blog. I really didn't realise I had this many projects on the go. Then there's the list of things I want to make.

But me still wants more yarn! Aargh! Oh sorry, national 'talk like a pirate day' as last month....

See, I still knit...

... just!

I'm making a blankie for not-so-little Miss CB. I found a bunch of balls of Paton's Splash on sale in the LYS. This yarn is lovely and soft and light - a cotton/nylon blend with little threads and slubs woven in.

Miss CB chose 6 balls of the blues and 6 balls of the reds. At the moment I'm getting 2 squares from each ball working on size 10UK needles.

I've never made a blankie before and I'm facinated with how it's put together. I'm using the Brenda Blanket pattern by Berroco. The squares are mitred and each square is knit directly on to the previous one. Should be nice to snuggle up in when watching Saturday morning tv!

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Extreme Knitting with giant knitting needles

Look at the size of these puppies! I would love to play with them.

I've read articles about Extreme Knitting where people actually knit rugs with these enormous sticks but I can't get my head around the amount of yarn that would be required to do it. Let alone the fitness training regime you would probably have to undertake before even lifting them.

It would be fun to have a go though.... I wonder if there are any Extreme Knitters on the Isle of Man? How difficult do you think it would be to make a 'pair'? Might be fun to do something during National Knitting Week. Ouch. I feel an idea coming on. Could be exciting. And expensive!

Edit: if you're on the Isle of Man or if you know a knitter on the Isle of Man perhaps you could point them in this direction. We're having a discussion the Angel Yarns Knitting Forum about possible ideas for things to do on the Isle of Man during National Knitting week.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

September Bag KAL: Finished!

Here are some pictures of the finished crochet bag from the September Bag KAL. Although the challenge was to knit a bag with some colourwork and felt it, I decided to crochet mine using 'Tapestry Crochet'. As I've mentioned a lot lately, this is a technique I learned from Debbie Stoller's SnB Happy Hooker book.

The bag is simply two crochet squares with a basic flower chart worked in.

I really enjoyed the colour work and wouldn't mind doing more again in either a knitting or a crochet project! It did take me a long time to chart out properly but once that side was done, the rest was easy.

I was surprised how differently the crochet bag felted compared to the knit bags I have made. It seemed to lose more width than height, which I have found is the norm when I felt my knit bags. Must be something to do with the way the stitches are constructed. The bag started out as 9.5 square and lost about 2" from the height and 3" from the width. The strap was 59" before felting and 50" after.

I didn't have anybody in mind when making the bag but I made it in Miss CB's favourite colours in case she fancied it when it was finished. And she likes it. She was all 'oooh' and 'wow' when she saw the flower pattern appear.

The strap is long enough for her to carry the bag across her body, keeping her hands free for the things that 9 year old girls need to do. Hope you all like it.

Enjoy! X Bernie X

Monday, September 04, 2006

Lion Brand: Self-lined bag

See! I really have been knitting in the wings. Here's my version of the Striped Self-lined Bag by Lion Brand. I used just under four 50g balls of Rowan All Seasons Cotton in shade 164.

I was originally going to knit this bag with the Ohhh, Bag Me KAL but never got round to it. The finished dimensions of my bag are 12" x 8", slightly bigger than the pattern specified. However, as I knit the bag in cotton rather than Lion Brand ~~suede~~ cashmere (thanks Laura!) there was bound to be a difference.

I crochet the handles for this bag instead of knitting I-cords, as I usually do. The bag is a bit soft and floppy, and I'm wondering if the suede yarn would have made a firmer bag? Hmmm!

Anyway, here it is modelled by the hand of the lovely Little Miss CB (while eating cheese)!

EDIT 05/09: Oops... forgot to put on the button. Doh!

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