FO Friday

 Peerie Flooers Hat 
I knit the mittens a few months ago now, and the yarn was sitting, waiting patiently to be turned into a hat. I am happy with it - tension a bit off in some places, but it felt good to get it done with!

 Joris
I bought this as a kit while I was in Amsterdam - I fell in love with the display model they had and had to have it.  It is the first, and probably last toy I will ever knit.  It resides on a shelf far away from grubby little fingers and will eventually be moved onto a craft table (whenever I get one...).  I love the back of his head, so colourful!

 I have also been doing some sewing!  I've not used my machine for months, but when the urge to sew hit, I went a bit crazy.  I have so far sewed 5 box bags, and 4 zip pouches.  I am wanting to do more, but need to get more interfacing first!

 I am very pleased with them, and I can now sew in a straight line!  I made up the pattern for the zip pouch, though I did read a few different ones first but none of them were easy or quick, whereas it takes me 15 minutes to do one, from ironing fabric to closing the zip.

I cannot remember the pattern I used for the box bag, but I stuck pretty rigidly to it and went from taking 2.5 hours to sew one, to just under an hour!

That's it for today, to read more FO Fridays go to Tamis Amis.

WIP Wednesday {} Yarn Along

This week I have something amazingly pretty to show you!  I have lusted after these since Kate Davies first posted them on her blog - I am a huge fan of her patterns and to be fair, there aren't many I don't lust after!  I had hoped to start these last month, but got sidetracked, and now the weather has perked up I probably won't be able to use them until this winter!

Peerie Flooers Mittens by Kate Davies
Yarn as recommended, a variety of colours of Rowan Fine Tweed.
Needles 3.25mm for cuff, 2.5mm for body.
I have modified these to fit my alarmingly small hands - I missed 2 pattern repeats before decreasing, and while my fingers do touch the very end, to have knit an extra repeat would have made them much too big.

 I love the line between the decreasing point - I guess it's there to carry the yarn round but it also looks so amazingly  beautiful.  You wouldn't see it if you weren't looking for it!

The thumb gusset isn't perfect, the floats are pulled a bit tight and as such the thumb is a little tight, but I'll know  for sure later today when I finish this mitten!

On my kindle I am still ploughing my way through the Outlander series -  I am on book 5, The Fiery Cross, and it still holds my attention and distracts me from everything else.  What an amazing book series, and would heartily recommend it to anyone!  It still causes me to come out with random Scots words I no longer use, and has also brought some Gaelic back to me (not much though!!!).  I cannot wait to see where this series goes.

As usual I am joining in with WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along, so have a swatch if you can!

WIP Wednesday {} Yarn Along

This weeks WIP in a bit of a challenge for me.  Those of you who have been reading for a while may remember my post about DPNs.  Have a quick glance at it before reading further, it will enlighten you as to why this project is a challenge.

I hate DPNs.  Well, maybe hate is too harsh a word.  I respect DPNs and their worth in the knitting world - they have been around a long time and wouldn't have survived without being useful!

Despite my not liking DPNs, I have always wanted to be able to knit using them.  Magic loop has always been my preferred method of working small circumferences, and it has done me well the last few years, but I always felt like an unworthy knitter because I couldn't use them with the same ease as seen on other knitters.

I've wanted to knit these mittens for a long time, so I decided it was time to overcome this.  I could have done it with socks, I know, but I also need to work on colour work for the next few projects in preparation for starting my Wild Apple hat!  I am terrified of this hat.  It is so stunning I am very afraid of making a huge mess of it because it's to be knit on 2.25mm needles, and because of how many colours and floats and length of floats there are.

Swedish Fish
Garnstudio Drops Alpaca in white, Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi in a bright rainbow colourway.
2mm, 2.5mm needles.

I'm doing OK with it.  I have no fear of the needles snapping as I have heard they are prone to doing.  My problem right now is carrying the floats between needles; I am making them too long.  That will get better as the mittens progress.

The progress of these mittens has been severely hampered by my starting an amazing book series - Outlander.

I started the first book, Cross Stitch as it was titled in the UK, a few days ago, and was hooked.  I got the recommendation from another blogger who posts of Yarn Along, but I can't remember who.  If it was you, THANK YOU!  I am in love with the characters, and the period setting.  I am on the second book, Dragonfly in Amber, now (second of seven, 8th to be published this summer - already on pre-order!) and I still can't put it down.  I made a deal with myself that for every pattern repeat completed in the evening, I can read a chapter.  Thankfully they are all available on the kindle so I can read at any time of day without disturbing Jitterbug.  I've been reading right up until the point I get tired, generally around 3.30/4am at the moment.  I've been going to bed very early so I can read plenty before the tiredness hits!

If I can tear myself away from my kindle this afternoon, I'll be reading some more Yarn Alongs and WIP Wednesdays.  I may have to make a deal for every 20 blogs read I read a chapter :D