FO: Bon Temps Marina

I am so glad to have this finished in time for summer, I started it almost two years ago intending to wear it during that summer, and I can finally wear it, yellow like the summer sun, while soaking in the rays :)

Pattern: Bon Temps Marina

Pattern Name: Marina by Kate Blackburn

Yarn Used: Fresh From the Cauldron Super Wash Sock in Sookie Stackhouse 
Needle Size: 2.5mm circular
Problems: Another one where a small needle made it difficult to knit in the heat, and much easier to finish in winter. 
Modifications: Knit an extra repeat of chart 2, and modified edging to suit lack of remaining yarn to rows 1, 2, 11 and 12 of the edging chart followed by a standard bind off.
Skills Learnt: The first time I had knit continuous lace in this way, and became confident in reading charts.
Knit Again?: Probably not as it is quite detailed and therefore difficult.
Score: 9/10 I am really looking forward to wearing this!!

FO: A (not so) Quick Ripley for Me

Unfortunately I left this to languish in my knitting basket for months and months, and so it didn't get a huge amount of use over the winter. It is fab for keeping my ears warm though!

Pattern Name: Ripley by Ysolda Teague
Yarn Used: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Needle Size: Can't remember :(
Problems: I left this in the basket with just the join on the crochet band left to finish, but forgot how to join it together! So it is a little rough I think, still wearable though.
Modifications: Knit to pattern.
Skills Learnt: That even when i intend something to be a quick little knit, it can take over a year to finish.
Knit Again?: This is the second time I have knit this pattern, and I do love it so who knows, maybe I will do it in a different colour for myself.
Score: 6/10

FO: Marian Chunky Cowl

Some actual knitting content!
You can expect to see a few of these over the next few weeks as I have finally taken pictures for all my finished objects, I was holding out for pictures with me wearing them, but for now these will have to do I'm afraid. Maybe when I have an available photographer I will add some more :)

FO Report:
Name: Marian by Jane Richmond
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool in 42
Needle Size: 15mm circulars
Problems: I didn't really have any, though the cast off was a little tight.
Modifications: I doubled the size by using two skeins of yarn, and I didn't knit the twist into the pattern.
Skills Learnt: None
Knit Again?: I really like this, and it has been my go to scarf for the cold winter, so I would probably knit again in a grey colourway.
Score: 8/10, practical and simple!

FO: Ice Queen

So my final knit for the year 2010.

I finished at twenty minutes to 11 so I was cutting it fine, and this was actually supposed to be finished for Christmas so it was already late.
I knit it for my mum after a bit of a fiasco with some Rowan Big Wool. I was aiming to knit something which resembled the headscarf that Judy Garland wears at the end of Meet Me In St. Louis when she sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. My Mum told me when she was little she had always wanted one just like it, so I set about to knit something similar with the Big Wool and some Kidsilk Haze I had in my stash. I knew exactly how I was going to do it, and I knew it would work (I wont say more because I will re-attempt this for the future) however the yarn was far too heavy for it to work and so on the 23rd of December I ripped it out and started Ice Queen.
This has taught me several new techniques, which I will list later, but the best has been knitting with beads. I actually made a little video of me knitting a couple of beads which I might post at some point, but I learnt to hook them on with a tiny crochet hook, and it is so cool! The effect is great!

FO Report:
Name: Ice Queen by Rosemary Hill
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in cream
Needle Size: 5mm and 3.75mm 16in. circulars
Problems: I love the feel of Kidsilk haze, but I hate to knit with it, it is so fiddly! Other then that this was actually a pretty speedy knit once I got down to it. I also hate picot cast offs, so much work for each stitch!
Modifications: No modifications, I knit the chart A version of this in stocking stitch.
Skills Learnt: Knitting with beads, picot cast off, knitting with crazy mohair silk blends (yes that is a skill)
Knit Again?: Yes I think I would, it really is very pretty, I think I would add more beads though.
Score: 8/10 because it is so pretty.

For Warmer Ears...

...just add Baby Llama.

 

...and some needles

 

and be snug for winter in an Autumn Leaves Calorimetry :)

 

FO Report:

Pattern Name: Calorimetry by Kathryn Schoendorf

Yarn: Mirasol Miski in Coral

Needle Size: 4mm

Problems: Although my gague appeared to be right, the finish item is a bit big, despite going down needle sizes. Next time I would definitely knit smaller!

Modifications: I ran out of yarn so I had to stop a couple of rows short of the suggested amount in the pattern.

Skills Learnt: Not learnt but refreshed my short tow knowledge. I also got a great iPhone app for counting stitches!

Knit Again?: Yes, requests for Christmas have already been asked.

Score: 7/10

Georgie ♥'s Hats

Oh yes I do! I finally finished this earlier just in time for horrible wintery weather and I do so love it. It looks great in my own humble opinion (though please ignore the shine on that pic). I think I shall wear it to Uni tomorrow :)

FO report: 

Pattern Name: Hermione Hearts Ron by Christy Aylesworth

Yarn Used: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in 009 - Grey

Needle Size: 2.75mm and 3.25mm 16" circ's and 3.25mm DPN's

Problems: I had to frog and reknit once because I dropped a load of stitches but other then that it was ok.

Modifications: No mods.

Skills Learnt: No new skills learnt, except for where I tried to learn to knit continental and then had to frog it because it went wrong :S

Knit again: Possibly, if I did I would change the way the decreases work because I didn't much like that.

Score: 8/10

Some WIP's, FO's, and a little bit of pure genius.

I have gone and done it again! So many things have happened over the past week and I haven't gotten round to posting about them yet, so this will be split into two parts, Knitting and purchases!

First up, I finished my Hermione Everyday Socks!

Terrible Picture, taken quickly for the HPKCHC.

I am really happy with them because they are much better fitting then the other pairs of socks I have knit, previously, I can actually wear these to work or something, which I did the other day!

Pattern Name: Hermione's Everyday Socks
Yarn Used: Dublin Dye Company Merino Sock
Needle Size: 2.25mm
Problems: The small needles caused some problems with heat rash and every time it came to the heel flap I got a little confused because it is so fancy but I figured it out!
Modifications: I only knit 12 repeats on the leg instead of 18 because I didn't think I would have had enough yarn but I have 38g left so could have gone to 16 repeats, I do prefer a shorter length though.
Skills Learnt: Eye of partridge heel.
Knit Again?: Possibly, but maybe with larger needles and less stitches, to reduce the likelihood of irritation.
Score: 8/10

Now, speaking of progress made on WIP's, I have managed to get to my 4th repeat of chart 2 on my Bon Temps Marina Shawl.

Isn't it looking pretty?! I have a close up of the pattern too because it is so difficult to tell what it is actually looking like and I love to check it every so often.

I adore how the colours are coming out on it too, It will look great when it is finished and blocked.

Now, as much as I love this pattern, I have been having some problems, not with the pattern itself but with my own lack of chart reading skills. I have used charted patterns before but not a lot, and I find keeping track of where I am is just as difficult as reading the written patterns. I contemplating dropping £15 on a Knit Pro Chart keeper, and then got an Idea.

This tray is definitely not just for baking! 

I had some old magnets from Ikea which were too large for me to use on my whiteboard and so I took the magnetic strips off the back, cut them in half lengthways and hot glued some ribbon to the back to make them pretty. Add in a baking tray I had in the garage from university and BAM! My very own chart holder with magnets that I can move up a row as I go! 

I felt very clever when I did this, and rather proud of my genius :)

Finally FO: Damson

Here it is, fresh from the blocking you saw yesterday is my now completed Damson shawl.

I have to say before I go on that I really do love this item, it is the first time I have knit a shawl and it has gotten me wanting to knit more, I have been wearing it all day today to show it off and am really proud of how it looks. Especially because of the mistakes and fixings i had to do!

Damson near Damsons (or plums at least, albeit green ones at the mo.)

First off, after the good blocking I gave it yesterday my Damson measures 53" from point to point across the top and is 14.5" from the top to the bottom of the curve. This is slightly larger then the pattern states because I really wanted to open up the garter stitch a bit more, I like to be able to see the gaps between the rows of bumps. 

Now for the problems I had, I have mentioned already that I had to rip out a few rows a few times when my stitch counts wouldn't add up, well I had to do some more ripping at the end too.

I used the recommended yarn for this project, Malabrigo Sock, and my gauge seemed fine when I tested it, but I must have been slightly off because I ran out of yarn 2/3 of the way through my bind off. I ripped back to bind off in a different yarn and it looked awful, so I ripped back to before the looped edging and was going to bind off there with a straight edge but I found that looked too plain, and then I started to use my head, I only needed a few more yards of yarn, and the last row of increases adds about 1/3 more stitches (off the top of my head) so instead of double yarn overs with knit 1, purl 1 into each yarn over, I instead did a single yarn over and knit 1 purl 1 into that single yarn over, reducing my stitches without losing the style. This is the finished result, and I think it has worked out very well. Unless you compared it with a perfect one you wouldn't really tell that there was a difference.

I actually really enjoyed this learning exercise because I like puzzles, and knitting puzzles are the most fun. I may have gotten sick to death of tinking (and learning how to insert lifelines after the fact) but it was an experience anyhow!

Pattern Name: Damson by Ysolda Teague

Yarn Used: Malabrigo Sock in Cote D'Azure

Needle Size: 4mm circular's with an 80cm cable

Problems: Lost track of stitches a few times, ran out of yarn at the end.

Modifications: Changed edging to *yo, sl1 k2tog psso*. Then next row *k1, p1 into yo, k1* 

Skills Learnt: Triangular shawl construction. Blocking lace.

Knit again: Probably but not for a while!

Score: 8/10

P.S. In case you are wondering, those number play mats in the previous post are from Tesco Extra, they were £4.97, but I just got another set (because one was only just enough for the shawl and I might want to work on bigger things) from Sainsbury's, reduced for only £3 something, I would get them now if you are thinking of it as it seems they aren't available past the summer, I was looking last october and couldn't get any from anywhere! If you can't find any though, Silvia from over here suggested underlay squares for parquet flooring, so give that a go.

P.P.S. Anyone else think it's weird that Toys 'R' Us don't sell these?! At all?!

Sneak Preview

Just a little teaser for a post which should hopefully be up tomorrow.

Weather permitting :)

Buzz Buzz Buzz

I have been a very busy bee!

First I have a knitting update and then I have some printing progress to delight you all with.

First things first, because they are first, I have finally finished my Berry Socks!! *Screaming applause* It took me long enough. I started these way back in October of last year and after a while I simply stopped knitting on them, but I ploughed through and finally finished them about 2 weeks ago and have been wearing them as sleeping socks.

I am really picky about my socks not having a cuff that comes too far up the leg (I have very large calves from walking everywhere and they always seem to be too tight) so I made these with a shorter 30 row cuff as opposed to the 60-odd rows it was supposed to be. One good thing about doing this is that I always seem to have some wool left over! I actually have nearly half the skein left on these so I could knit up some more with a smaller needle size for some tighter socks.

So FO report:

Pattern Name: Regia Bamboo Sock Knit Kit/Made up in my own head.

Yarn Used: Yarn Addict Yarns Angel Sock Yarn - 0.51 of a skein

Needle Size: 3mm DPN's and Circular using magic loop

Problems: I turned the second heel slightly differently then the first because I couldn't remember which way I had done the first one!

Modifications: I CO 60 sts, Knit 1 row to join, knit a K1P1 rib for 5 rows and then knit in sockinette for 27 rows, the heel hight is 25 rows, with slipped stitches at the ends. The numbers for most of this came out of my own head, not following the pattern.

Skills Learnt: My first sock and my first turned heel!

Knit again: Probably not in the same size.

Score: 6/10

Next up I have an update on my Hermione Everyday Socks, I am about 4 pattern repeats from knitting the heel flap on these (I am only doing 12 repeats, not 18), I will possibly sit and do that later while catching up on some Supernatural that I have on DVD, knitting and Dean Winchester, the perfect night's entertainment!

And I just have one more knitting project to show you, when I completed the Berry Socks I felt I should have another project on the needles so I started this lovely Anisette Shawl.

I am using Kidsilk Haze in Cream for this one, and I am making it to the wrap size dimensions instead of the scarf. this is strictly for when I want to concentrate though what with the yarn being so thin and the wrong sides not just being straight purl I have to actually think about what I am doing.

I love the yarn though (I knew I would) It's like knitting a cloud.

On the printing for the shop front I have been creating lino cuts along certain themes lately, the first being Alice in Wonderland.

I have made a bow which will be blue, some 'Drink Me' bottles and the White Rabbit's Pocket watch. I spent some time last night printing the drink me bottles and I do have to perfect how much ink I need on the lino before I stamp it, and I have found that a heavy candle works better as a roller then my rolling pin!

I am going to make myself another project bag with this fabric which is just for me, I also hope to start running some bags off for putting in a shop during this week as I got some cover yourself buttons in the post the other day and I am printing them like this:

Cute huh? Looks like a button, and is a button, I crack myself up!

P.S. I got some great yarn the other week from 3AM Enchantments over here on etsy, The skein is wonderful and I am waiting for some better light so that I can show it to you, but go check them out!

Mmm..

Toasty hands!

That is what this little guy is leaving me with:

This is the cup cuddler that I mentioned I was going to knit in my last post, isn't it cute? It is currently wrapped around a glass jar, and originally I only put it there for taking the photo but I have had a bit of an idea and think that a few of them around jars with little tea lights in them or mini votive candles would make lovely little decorations, especially if I made one with a more lace based pattern.

This one was made from this pattern, with 2 strands of my Katia Merino held together, which I have now completely used up! I do like to destash, and it got me some HPKCHC points too.

I shall have a larger update of the socky variety later today, be warned there will be venting!!

Another knit finished!

I am feeling quite productive at the moment, I managed to get my pair of Susie's Reading Mitts finished yesterday.

They are nice and cosy for when the house is a bit chilly or for running to the garage to go to the tumble drier or the freezer, very handy to have around.

I do have a couple of bits of the yarn left over which is annoying as I was trying to banish it from my stash, I am going to knit a few mug warmers that I downloaded from this Etsy shop a couple of weeks ago. I got the Lace rib and the twisted rib versions which should keep my hands warm but not burnt when getting my Starbucks!

I do declare...

it is time for an update!

Firstly the projects i have completed and am currently working on.

Remember how all the way back here I may have mentioned working on something? Well they were finished a few weeks ago now but here they are, my first ever completed pair of socks!

They are the Bellatrix socks by Monkey Toes and I love them. They are part of a triplet of sock patterns each representing a character from the Harry Potter series. I knit them up using my Socks that Rock yarn that I think resembled candy floss while in it's wrapper and they are definitely sweet on my feet, they keep them nice and toasty!

I originally knit them to be my Charms homework for the HPKCHC in January and I think I could have finished them if I hadn't left the first one to the side for a couple of weeks with just the kitchnering of the toe to complete. The second one knit up really quickly after I had mastered that technique.

Anyways the class project was to make the teacher laugh, and below is the image I had planned in order to do just that, something tells me that Ms. Lestrange would not like her black socks suddenly being pastel coloured!

Next up is the only project I managed to finish for February (I had some technical problems during the month, my village seemed to be denied proper internet access for a while there, but it is a project I am proud of because I had to do actual maths and things, no just following a pattern here oh no!

These are a wrist length version of Ysolda Teague's Farinelli opera gloves.

I had been drooling over these since I saw them on Ysolda's blog and had bought the pattern intending to make the full length one's when I had a reason to. Well I decided to get a little creative and use some of the yellow Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK that I had sitting in my stash to make a smart formal pair of gloves to match my Haven scarf and my lovely pale yellow handbag.

The pattern actually calls for fingering weight yarn so I had to actually knit a gauge swatch for the first time, in like, the whole time I have been knitting, I normally just don't bother, and I had to go down from 2.75mm needles to 2mm needles to accommodate. If I am honest the swatching was quite fun because I got to use my Karatstix knitters rule for the first time since I got it a few weeks ago (to see it click the link under knitters rule, I don't want to make this too photo heavy).

After sorting that out I had to figure out the whole where to start in the pattern, well I started with the final sleeve pattern repeat (rounds 145+) except I made sure that the pattern end came to a point like it does on the top of the hand by reversing the final two rows of the hand pattern before starting the repeat and after adding a very straight forward but attractive edging pattern.

I think they have come out really well and they fit really snugly and look smart with my handbag. They were a pain however because the reason I knit them for the class was because the project was to knit something you hate, and I hate knitting thumbs and fingers on mittens and gloves, I can never seem to get the casting on of extra stitches and picking up new ones right and it drives me nuts. I am however rather pleased with the outcome of this one.

Definitely an 8/10, and I will be knitting the full length ones in future!

My next finished object is my first attempt at making a beret style hat, and I am not happy with it.

I made this Grace Lace Beret out of the Ethical Twist Alpaca and Wool blend that I got from Tricot to try out. The wool is quite nice but I am not sure that I would buy it again, I think if I did I would get the Baby Alpaca option instead as that seemed a little softer and had more of a fluffy texture then a coarse one.

I love the way it looks, the pattern really has shown up well, but the problem is that in order to do that I had to lightly block it, I dampened it with water like I have all my other forays into the art of blocking and it grew in size, the main body of the hat would be fine in the large size but the ribbing has lost all its elasticity. If anyone knows how I can fix this then let me know, if not I will just have to find a large headed friend to gift it to.

The hat was for another HPKCHC class, this one Care of magical creatures for this month, and it is representative of an Acromantula web (giant man eating spider). I am quite chuffed with it as representation of the subject, I just wish I could wear it. Maybe my next one will be more successful.

Now last but not least for this post, the project I am currently working on is the Susie's Reading Mitts pattern.

This picture is actually from Wednesday and I have since completed the above mitt and am over half way on the second one. I am using up the Katia merino DK that I bought to make a hat to accompany my Pink Bella's Scarf as I had gone off the idea of a matching hat and this is a perfect way to bust some of the stash I have (which was the project for the HPKCHC class, banishing some stash) in order to make way for a couple of things that have come in over the past couple of days.

It is a really quick simple knit and I have been wearing my completed one already, It is the perfect length for when I am typing etc and keeps my hands nice and warm. I have bad circulation in my hands and wrists so the extra length on the wrist is also great. I am hoping that the second one will be finished by tomorrow!

Coming up, random things I have been up to and some of the recent additions to my knitting corner!

Aaaaand...

I'm back!!

A month away in which I have done much job searching and reading and getting frustrated at my broken internet and little knitting, I am finally able to return, my Internet provider has finally bestowed upon my village adequate broadband speeds to be able to load Google (yes for a while there it was so slow it took 20 minutes to load Google, insane ja?) I blame the new housing developments in my village, we have 3 new housing area's, 3!! And obviously they hadn't upgraded the exchange enough to manage these.

Now, unfortunately, I mean what I said, I haven't done a huge amount of knitting, I have finished 2 projects and am just over half way on another, so without further ado, prepare for the update!

The Hurricane Mittens:

Pattern Name: Swirly Hurricane Mitts

Yarn Used: Malabrigo Worsted in Ravelry Red and Blue Graphite

Needle Size: 4mm and 5mm Circ's in Magic Loop

Problems: I had a little trouble when incorporating the thumb when it came to the swirlies, I had to do some quick thinking and guesswork, it worked out fine though!

Modifications: I have incorporated a whole thumb and when I get round to it I will make them into flip tops. I have also added a longer cuff.

Skills Learnt:To make the smaller size first

Score: 6/10 as they aren't quite finished yet.

Comments: I did indeed rip out my first mitten on these and reknit it in the smaller size, and I am so glad that I did, they are nice and snug on my hand and when I am not feeling so lazy will hopefully keep my finger tips nice and cozy too.

A project I hadn't even started last time I blogged is up next,

The Mum slippers:

Pattern Name: French Press Felted Slippers

Yarn Used: Cascade 220 in Chocolate

Needle Size: 10mm

Problems: My washing machine is front loading and I decided that the locking mechanism combined with the lack of control with being able to get the slippers out when I needed to meant I should hand-felt these. These are the first time I have felted and were a challenge but came out fine.

Modifications: They don't have any buttons yet because I haven't found any I like.

Skills learnt: Felting!! I hand felted them by soaking in boiling water in the sink and then rubbing them against a cooling rack as well as rubbing with my hands and with a potato masher for more accuracy. Then i would dunk them in ice water to get them to shrink a bit. They were still a bit big after fully felting so I then dunked them in boiling water again and put them in the pre-heated tumble drier on hot for bouts of about 15 minutes until they were the right size for my Mum, this meant they were a little late for her birthday but she still loves them.

Score: 8/10

Comments: I am rather tempted to make some of these for myself, my Mum loves them and the sock stop which I got from p2tog to make them non-slip is great, and I have plenty of it so I think slippers will be a good present for people!

I have one more thing that I am working on, but I haven't had a chance to take any pictures yet, but hopefully I will soon!!

Happy New Year!

(there is knitting stuff further down if you'd like to miss out the new years stuff :))

A couple of days late, but better then never!

Man am I glad that 2009 is over, I have had some good times this year, I taught myself to knit and found a whole new world with lots of new people for me to talk to. I graduated from University. I left a job I had been in for 5 years, one which I had been miserable in for those 5 years and was liberated.There were bad times also and I am going to put those behind me, every year as the clock counts down to zero and I am alone with no-one to kiss I tell myself that this year I will make sure that I will put myself first, that I will vet men for any traces of being too selfish or too immature to be able to handle a real relationship, and for lacking the backbone to stand up and tell me the truth. This year this is even more important to me then the last, after being careful about who I gave my heart to this year I found that the man embodied all of those traits.

This year I have decided will truly be about me. If I happen to meet a man along the way, then he can come along for the ride, but I will still make sure that I leave enough room in my life for me to be happy. I am tired of waking up in the morning and not feeling happy with my lot, and really, although I am unemployed and heartbroken, I have my family and my health and my knitting :)

So with that in mind, a couple of resolutions:

I will learn to do some new knitting things, just now I have ordered yarn for my first jumper, I have also done my first piece of colourwork today (more later). So this year is for teaching myself new things. I would really like to be able to write a knitting pattern that I can put up for sale too.

I will try and be more healthy, already I am eating more fruit and vegetables, I don't drink very much fizzy drinks so that isn't much of a problem but I do love puddings, so I am hoping to off set those a little.

I hope to be able to read all the books on the list on my wall, it is around 60 books but I think I can do it.

I would like to be happy. My current situation leaves me without many of the things that have made me unhappy in the past, like the pressures of studies and working, bills and rent and paying for food, I hope I can use this time without as many stresses to be calm and happy, and not get wound up about so many things.

Those are just a few things, and there are more, but I am waffling so I am going to head on over to the knitting content.

First, my first piece of colourwork ever!

It is the Hurricane Hat, and I have used my two different shades of Malabrigo merino worsted to knit it up (the dark colour looks black here but it is the blue I have shown before) and so should go nicely with my coat. My first finished object of 2010! It is nice that it is something for me for a change. I knit it as a project for the HPKCHC in Arithmancy, it had to be a pattern with spirals on it.

The pattern is actually just knit in one colour, but I chose to make it a bit more interesting by adding the extra colour, when the pattern called for purl stitches to make up the swirl I simply knit that stitch in the red. I used the intarsia method so that i didn't have to carry the yarn across and impede the stretchiness of the fabric.

Pattern name: Hurricane Hat

Yarn used: Malabrigo worsted in Blue Graphite and Ravelry Red, I used a tiny amount of red and I am guessing less then half the blue!

Needle size: I went up to a 5mm circ.

Problems: None, the pattern repeat was really easy!

Modifications: Colour and needle size.

Skills learnt: Intarsia, I am also going to convert it into some mittens.

Knit again?: yes it is a really nice hat, hopefully have a pic of it on later in the week.

Score: 8/10, If i did it again the colourwork would be neater.

I am still waiting on some of the yarns and needles that I ordered (and have just ordered 2 types more, some more Rowan Kidsilk Aura for Kim Hargreaves' Calm and some Malabrigo Sock for Ysolda's Damson) but I got a couple through the post today!

YarnAddict Yarns Exotic Sock in emerald.

YarnAddict yarn Silky merino lace in silver.

These were a couple of reduced yarns, the green sock to commemorate my HPKCHC sorting which i think i will knit into the Nagini socks and the silver to attempt a shawl.

My mum also got me a knitting magazine which I forgot to photograph but it is great! It is called Verena Knitting and has over 50 patterns in it and only cost about £4!! I usually pay £6 for the knitter and get no where near that many!

Round up

Hello!

It feels like it has been ages since I blogged about any knitting content, when really it has only been a week, strange! I think it is because it has been a very busy week for me, and I have only managed a couple of little posts about the holidays. Well it is time for knitting content.

First up! The Bella's Mitten's for my sister's christmas present were finally finished today. I finished the main body yesterday evening but couldn't bring myself to fiddle with the DPN's for the thumb until this afternoon. My sister doesn't like modeling things for me so I only managed to take a picture of one what with holding the camera with my other hand, but here it is:

I really like them I have to say, if she doesn't wear them I might just steal them back, they are really smooshy and warm because I held two strands of the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino together. I like the colour too, purple is my favorite colour but it doesn't really suit me, it is just the right colour for my sister though so I hope she enjoys co-ordinating them with her outfits.

All I have to do now is finish the scarf. I decided to stop doing the scarf so that I could use what was left after knitting the mittens at the end of the scarf and get a bit of extra length out of it. Well it turns out there is quite a bit left so I should get a fair few repeats extra and I am rather glad that I wont have little bits left in my stash.

So:

Pattern Name: Bella's Mittens

Yarn Used: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in 013, around 3.5 balls, maybe a little less.

Needle Size: 5 mm, 100 cm circular, magic looped.

Problems: The yarn became a bit splitty when I was doing the decreases, I think this was a combo of juggling two strands and my knitting getting a bit tight, the needles just kept going through.

Modifications: I chose to do the moss stitch palm pattern again as that is how the originals are Tonia likes things to be correct.

Skills Learnt: I magic looped this, and this is the first project I have done that on, I did a trial swatch a while ago but haven't used the technique throughout a project yet, it was much more enjoyable than managing the DPN's. I had also never held two strands together before and although it wasn't particularly enjoyable it was torturous either.

Knit Again? If you look back through the blog I am actually half way through a pair for myself!

Score: 7/10 I liked these but the little things that frustrated me made me bring the score down.

Now for a few things I have acquired. As presents I got a couple of knitterly things. Two more Harmony stitch dictionaries (I only need the edging one now, which is on order) so that I can start getting creative with colourwork, which is something I haven't done yet, and try out some more cables.

I also got the Cath Kidston 'Sew!' book which has some great things to make in it and even comes with the fabric to make a little shoulder bag.

I only got this one skein of wool for christmas, though I did get money to spend on more. I had been wanting to try out Noro but it's price and my lack of creativity had always stopped me from getting some, Mum jumped in though so now I can see if I can find something that will make the colours knit up nicely, I am thinking maybe the Noro Hat or maybe a shawlette so that I can really show off the colours. It is the sock weight Kureyon and a lot of shawl patterns seem to work with a skein of sock yarn so I shall hunt. I have a couple of other sock yarns at the moment too (and two more to come in the post, stay tuned) so I wont be detracting from my sock knitting abilities by doing this and I want to make this into something more then socks as it was a christmas present, and is therefore special.

I have recently signed up for something on Ravelry called the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup, basically you sign up for a term, get sorted into houses and then take classes, each class has a requirement for homework and your homework is a project which you propose and then finish within the time frame for points. Points obviously win your house points. I am a big harry potter fan and so I am looking forward to this, I literally can't wait to be sorted. I am hoping that this will be something to keep me from losing my mind now I am job hunting again too. Hopefully I will be able to make my skein of Noro into one of my class projects.

A couple of other things that arrived via the postie are these lovely balls of yarniness:

These came from Loop, that fab shop in Islington which I rave on about quite a lot, on top is a skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Ravelry Red to go with the Blue Graphite colourway I already have which I am going to use in my first ever colourwork project. I am planning on making these Herringbone Mittens only without the pom-poms (I am not fond of pom-poms, see Koolhaas hat for why, a crime against knitting my Dad made me commit there, he did like his hat on Christmas Day though!)

A couple of weeks ago I managed to get a Blue Duffle Coat with red toggles and red tartan lining. I have been after a blue duffle coat for a very long time, I have Paddington bear calendars and always wanted one. I have also always wanted red wellies and this year Santa brought me some red Hunter wellies for christmas, well a red and blue outfit requires red and blue mittens, so I finally decided what I would do with the blue Malabrigo I had bought. The colours match my coat perfectly, a really dark navy and a really bright red. I am waiting to cast on though to see if it will fit into my HPKCHC projects!

This next yarn is some very nice Cascade 220 in Chocolate. Another yarn I have never used before and one lots of people talk about so I am looking forward to using it.

A couple of weeks ago I said I was going to knit these French Press Slippers for my Mum's birthday, well this is the yarn for them, It will be my first felting project so I have been reading up on hand felting as I don't trust my washing machine. The needles I need are on order and now it is just a matter of waiting until the post gets back to normal after the holidays.

Hopefully I will have a Bella's scarf FO post soon, I am looking forward to getting back to not present knitting, and an update on recently ordered things next week, especially something winging its way over from the U. S. of A. which I am a little excited about!

Let it...

Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snowww.

Today while I was pottering away in the kitchen I looked out of the window and saw the above, a blizzard had appeared out of nowhere. Unfortunately it was a bit off and on and didn't really settle very much, there are supposed to be heavier snow storms tomorrow though, typical as I wont get my red wellies until Christmas Day! I hope it snows after Christmas too (I am not holding out for snow actually on Christmas day, but that would be cool Mother Nature if your reading)

So what was I doing in the kitchen when this blizzard appeared? I was making these:
Red Velvet cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. They are yummy.

This is actually my second attempt in as many days, the ones I did yesterday didn't go right at all, somewhere in the mixture I added way more liquid then necessary and the mixture was like batter. I think these look very festive with their Christmas trees though!

If you have never had Red Velvet cake before you are missing out, it is bright red obviously and has a subtle chocolate taste, and the cream cheese frosting is great. One of the things I miss about London is not being able to go and pick up one of these cupcakes from one of the Hummingbird Bakeries dotted across the capital (or one of the other fab cake places I know). After a long day of shopping treating myself to a cake was a nice luxury.

On a knitting note I finished my Grandma's Ripley hat, here is my Mum modeling it for you!

I think it looks great and it only used up just under 1 ball of the DB Cashmerino Aran I got, so I may have to make one for myself, or maybe I will use Malabrigo for mine.

The ends are all weaved in now, all I have to do is add sequins, I am not really sure whether to add any because my Mum thinks my Grandma might not wear it, but I really want it to be a special spangly hat and so I think if I add any at all they will just be dotted around the edge.

(So forgot this bit)

Pattern Name: Ripley in size small.

Yarn Used: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in 009

Problems: None, just my own confusion about the pleats, couldn't understand where they were on the picture it at first!

Modifications: None, possibly some sequins.

Skills Learnt: Pleats, picking up and knitting stitches.

Knit it again?: Yes, for me!

Score: 8/10

In other Ysolda news I also got my copies of Whimsical Little Knits and Whimsical Little Knits 2 today in the post! I did the Ravelry download option in order to get the Ripley pattern and then decided to do the print add on option so that they are always safe in my Ravelry library and in my library at home, having the print option is also nice because they are such cute little booklets!

With this finished I only have one present left to complete, it is a big one however, my Sister's Bella's Scarf and Mitten set, I haven't even started the mittens but the scarf is not far off, and if the mittens don't get finished they can be for her birthday which is in late January.

Speaking of birthdays, my Mum the lovely head model there has her birthday only 3 days before my sister (who refused to model the hat for me, such a spoilsport) and I am going to make her a pair of these. They are the french press Felted Slippers and I came across them on Yarn Harlot's blog, she says they can be made in 90 minutes, my knitting skills are obviously no where near as good as hers so mine will take a lot longer, and I have never felted before so this will be my first go, but Mum really liked the pattern so it will be worth it. I got a bottle of Sock Stop to make them non slip so they should be ok for everyday wear around the house for resting her hard working feet. Now I just need to decide which colour to make them, Mum isn't being very helpful about this, so I shall just assume she will like whatever colour I choose!

Just a parting shot to explain why I have gone from no Christmas feeling to lots of Christmas feeling, we put up our decorations last night, FINALLY!

Finished Hat!

Yes a finished object :) these don't come along very often in my knitting world, though I am trying to finish more things at the moment so I can tackle some of the other things I would like to knit. This one was delayed by almost a week because I forgot Harry Potter was out on DVD monday, and so my allotted time slot for finishing this was reassigned to watching that with a box of tissues and this had to be squeezed into gaps in my days since.

So, here I am wearing my Dad's hat as it looked about an hour ago, (the picture isn't properly focussed because I had to put it in no flash mode and I am not clever enough to figure out my sister's camera properly :P)

Of course it doesn't look like that right now, because my dad decided it needed one of these:

Apparently, a woolen hat is not a true woolen hat without a bobble, so he has a Koolhaas with a bobble!

So the factual roundup, Using a little thingy I am going to use from now on (and prob edit into existing FO's)

Pattern name: Koolhaas

Yarn Used: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 2 balls.

Problems: Because I am apt to confusing myself I got a bit panicked about decrease round number 2, I soon figured out how silly I had been though.

Modifications: I did the 5 pattern repeat version, and of course, the infamous Pom-Pom.

Skills learnt: Twisted knit stitches, knitting from a chart. I didn't get around to cabling without a needle.

Knit it again?: Possibly.

Score: 8/10, I feel very proud of this item, it makes me feel like I have graduated from beginners knitting.