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 & blowing the budget!

For a long time I have mocked knitted toys.   In fact, I have commented to my friend Sarah that she has too much time on her hands if she can think about knitting toys.

It was with great shock that I then found myself head over heels in love with a toy kit a yarn shop in Amsterdam was selling.  The pattern was Joris, and I had seen it in Penelope Craft last year, and thought it was nothing special.  In fact, the pattern still is nothing special in my opinion.  However, the show model Weldraad had was knit using Aade Long.

Both my husband and I decided instantaneously that I would buy the kit, knit the toy and put it on a shelf far from little fingers who don't appreciate hours of work when they see it.

Progress after day 1 is good (3 broken up hours in the afternoon):

Now, as I said at the start of the year when I decided I was going on a yarn diet, there would be a few exceptions, and the trip to Amsterdam was one of them.

The photo coming up is the very definition of blowing the budget.  Luckily it was in foreign money so it doesn't feel like I spent a lot (plus the fact I pre-ordered most of it online before I left....)

I do have plans for most of this, so it's certainly not as bad as it seems at first glance!  It would also appear I have a bit of a thing for red and turquoise.  And white.  And grey.  Not in this photo is a skein of yellow Alpaca which was knit into a hat for my sister who will be in a back brace for 3 months after shattering 2 vertebrae 2 weeks ago.  See! Already using up the stash!!! 

I've been really struggling to find interesting books to read recently.  Interesting might be the wrong word because I have lot's of interesting books I'd love to  read, I just can't get into them.  I read the second book in the All Souls Trilogy recently which was really good.  I am about halfway through The Historian, but neither of those I absolutely must finish straight away, which is the feeling I usually get when I get into a book (it doesn't help that this is a re-reading of The Historian, so I already know the end!).  I think I need to spend an hour in the second hand book shop here and just buy a whole load of random books.

For other WIP Wednesday visit Tamis Amis.  For Yarn Alongs, head to Ginnys.

FO Friday

Finally, a finished object to show!

A few months ago, I was browsing ravelry and came across Stripe Study Shawl, and knew I wanted to knit it.  As with so many patterns, I was at a loss to what yarn I could use.  Then I saw it.  

I bought Kauni 8/2 Effektgarn in EQ, and the solid in undyed (off-white), and in the stash box they sat waiting for the timing to be just right.  A knitalong was started in April, and I knew that time had come.

I was sure it would take me a couple of weeks at least to knit such a large shawl, and one which has very little else going on that knit stitch and some increases.  Oh, and many many short rows.  I'm not the greatest at sticking to boring projects, so it was with great surprise I finished this in a week!  I found myself really getting into the groove and zoning in on the knitting, getting faster and faster, eager to get to the next colour, the next white row.

I don't know how many stitches I had before casting off, but it was a lot.  Not as many as it should have been as I only did 11 colour stripes - I could tell it was going to be big enough, and didn't want it to be too big.

Excuse the leggings, I had just finished crawling round the floor ;)

I won't lie, the border rows were long, however, I kept on knitting just 2 more rows.  I don't know how many time's I said I was done only to keep knitting.  The border was done over the course of a day (an hour during the day, a couple at night), and I cast-off the next evening.  I washed and laid out to dry, no stretching or pinning down required.

Project Page: Stripe Study Shawl
Yarn: Kauni Wool 8/2 Effektgarn EQ and Kauni Wool 8/2 Solid natural.
Needles: 4mm for main section, 5mm for cast-off.

Isn't it glorious?  This is by far the most satisfying knit I've done in a while.  I love the mittens I have done recently, but when I can't wear an FO straight away, I temporarily fall out of love with it.  This pattern has given me a new appreciation for large shawls, and I'm now kicking myself for not buying more than 1 skein of sock yarn at a time.

The Kauni was everything I had read.  The colour changes were so subtle you didn't realise you were in a new colour until you were there!  The yarn was thin and weird looking before washing, but certainly fulled out post-washing when the spinning oils were removed.

As usual, I am joining in with Tamis Amis on FO Friday

Stripe Study Shawl Knitalong - Week 2

Sadly, I shall be bowing out of this knitalong rather earlier than I anticipated.

However, here is a sneak peak for FO Friday.

Stripe Study Shawl Knitalong - Week 1

First off, I must apologise for the blog silence!  I won't give excuses, but I hope I can post more often than I have been recently (I should also really update on my yarn diet fail!).

I started this knitalong 2 days ago, and I am loving my yarn choices!  For the Stripe Study Shawl, I chose to use Kauni EQ and undyed for the main colour.

I am not usually a fan of such glaring use of colour, and I actually chose the project before I bought the yarn having fallen in love with similar projects on ravelry!  Since then, it has been sitting in my yarn box waiting for the perfect moment to start, and what better moment than now?

As you can see, I'm on the 5th CC row.  The colour changes are so indistinct that they really do sneak up on you!  I cannot wait to see how this turns out!  It's already looking quite big, and I probably could have gone down a needle size as it's looking quite lacy, but from what I've read Kauni really fulls out when it's been washed.

Misadventures in Craft has a Mr Linky, so if you want to see some more Stripe Study Shawls being made head over to her blog.

A Purling update!

A while back I posted about my knitting style.  It made knitting fun again, the only thing missing was purl.

Until a few weeks ago, I continued to do my purls in my usual made up fashion, which was fine for long stretches of purling, but ribbing and seed stitch were horrible.

I am pleased to report I learned Eastern European purl stitch!

I'm not totally sure why it took me a while to learn it, possibly fear of learning something when I had only just managed to get my head round Eastern European increases and decreases.

For the curious amongst you, this is Eastern European knitting style, doing rib stitch.  Please note the way the right needle enters the stitch through the 'back loop' (which is really the front loop, just mounted differently), and the direction the yarn is wrapped around the needle.

I no longer mind doing ribbing.  For long stretches of purling I use  my old technique as it is quicker, but for short runs of purling I can honestly say this has changed my life!

FO Friday

It's been a while since I joined in on FO Friday, but this post should make up for it!

I think I mentioned in December that I was knitting a cardigan for my sisters friends little boy?  Well, I finished it, and I can honestly say never again.  I really liked the pattern, but it felt like it took years to finish and drained me of all love fr knitting while I was doing it.  However, I am pleased with the results.

Garter Stitch Baby Kimono in Araucania Ranco Solid

I embroidered the front to break up the expanse of blue, giving me a chance to brush up on my very very rusty embroidery skills.

My next finished objects came on a knitting spree while I was at my parents.  I had taken some yarn with me so my sister and I could do some knitting and crocheting.  However, the knitting didn't work out because my needles were the wrong length for what she wanted, and she gave up crocheting after 2 hours.  That meant I had lot's of yarn and lot's of time to waste!

Gehry in Drops Alaska

Crochet Turban in New Lanark Aran

Excuse the bad mobile photo

Kami Hat in Lionbrand Vannas Choice

Most accurate colour

Bubble Hat in Lionbrand Vannas Choice

Excuse the photo

Hurricane in Lionbrand Woolease

Altounyan in Cascade 220

My favourites are Gehry and Altounyan, though I do adore Bubble Hat!  Kami Hat and Hurricane were gifted to 2 of my siblings, while the Crochet Turban may be going to live with my other sister.  I regret blocking Altounyan as it did something weird to the foldy bits, flattened them, so I may try rewashing and fixing it.

I have another hat I started for my brother to finish, then a hat for Jitterbug and my dad (I make silly promises sometimes!) then I'm making a start on this beauty.

I fell in love with the Wild Apple Sweater a long long time ago when I saw it on the Rainey Sisters blog (and Bohus in particular from Yarn Harlot a few months prior), despite the fact I don't much like green.  For the last year since my knitting mojo was returned to me it has been a source of obsession, and I would look at photos every so often and dream.  Then I found out you could buy the hat kits, and my birthday present was decided!  I was always quite wary of buying the sweater kit, as it is ALOT of money to spend on something I might not even finish, but this way I get to do the coloured part and see if I love it enough to do the sweater!  

I need to swatch.  God knows I am not knitting a hat that cost £60 only to find it doesn't fit!  I may also need to buy new needles, as the smallest I have are 2.25mm, but my knitting tightens up when doing colourwork so I might be OK.

This weekend should be an enlightening one for me - I am getting every single skein and ball of yarn I own and laying it out.  I really want photographic evidence of how my stash reduces this year, and I also don't think I really fully appreciate just how much I actually own, so I'm going to write a few posts in the coming months about my favourites yarns, their history and why the hell I haven't used them yet!

As always, I'm joining in with FO Friday at Tamis blog, so I'm off to read some blogs!

The Change

No, I am not talking about The Change, unless everyone is thinking about the knitting change, in which case you are spot on!

A while back I mentioned something about my knitting.  It started with YO's being really small, and it turned out I was twisting them.  This got me thinking about how I knit, as my 'natural' way of putting the yarn over the needle, and then my 'natural' way of knitting that stitch messed it up, so who was to say I wasn't doing anything else wrong?

So, I watched videos, read forum posts.  I spent a couple of evenings reading and watching.  On the third day, I put what I learned into practice.  You see,my style of knitting didn't fit quite with the continental knitting style - I did my purls differently.  I practised and practised, and slowly but surely I was able to knit a full row of knitting knitting and purling using my fingers only.

Then I noticed it.  It took me a few rows to properly see it, but something was really really wrong.  All my stitches were being twisted.  So I watched and re-watched, and then I watched a slow-motion video and saw that she was wrapping the yarn over the needles in a different direction to me.

You see, as I have discovered, when you see pictures and watch videos of knitting, it is very important to pay attention to that small seemingly insignificant detail.

I happened to come across this post on ravelry purely by accident.  The problem I was having was most videos assume your knitting is mounted with the right-leg of the stitch in front.  It's a fair assumption to make, as most people when they learn to knit will learn this way.  Instead, when I learned to knit, I went with what was comfortable, and this ultimately resulted in my knitting being a little bit weird.

Bottom is the old, top is the new.

The leg at the front on my knitting is the left-leg, which meant every time I knit into it as shown on videos, I was twisting it.  When I was purling, my way of wrapping the yarn over the needle seemed to compensate for this a bit, and gave me stitches that looked like knit stitches until you looked closely.

When it's stretched, it is very obvious!

I have looked at, and felt hundreds of knitted items over the years.  Not once was it glaringly obvious to me that my stitches were twisted!  My knitting always looked a bit different, but I put that down to knitting styles as most people I know knit English style.

I have since learned that I knit Eastern European style.  I have had to make changes to how I interpret patterns, as K2tog and SSK would obviously not work as written (well, they would decrease, but the direction would be off), but compared to learning how to hold yarn years after holding it a certain way that was nothing!  The solution was insanely simple - just knit or purl through the back loop!

The best part is my knitting speed has increased.  I love how my 'new' stitches look.  I love the fact my hands don't hurt any more from gripping the needles while trying to knit into the front stitch which is leaning the wrong way!

WIP Wednesday

Just a quick catch up from me today!  I've not had much knitting time over the last few days, between being ill, organising birthday presents and sorting through the general accumulation of childrens toys by the end of the night I am too tired to concentrate.

I have one new WIP this week, Twisted Ankles by Leethal.

I am knitting these in Garnstudio Drops Alaska held double.  I have yet to cast on the second one, but will do so tonight.  I love the satisfaction that comes from cables.  This is the first project I have done where cables intersect and change direction at different rates, and it definitely keeps me on my toes!

Next up is Shapeshifter, which I started a couple of weeks ago.  I am about halfway through it right now (going by pattern), but may add a few extra inches to make a bigger hood.

The yarn is Araucania Nature Wool Multy, sadly I don't remember the colourway but it is gorgeous!  Really lovely warm Autumn/Winter tones.  This is also the project I figured out how to knit properly!  Turns out I knit in Eastern European style, but was trying to apply continental knitting to it.  Now I have it figured out, though it does mean having to adjust techniques for increases and decreases.  I am finding it much faster now I know what to do!

Finally, is Lizard Ridge.  The block I started many moons ago is still in progress (I can hear the cackling from certain people.... shoosht!), but I am aiming to have this one done by Christmas!

It is the same problem I had before - mind numbing boredom.  I need to get this done so have plans to only work on this in December.  Plans change, so don't hold me to that!

I promised a peek at my latest yarn purchases, so here they are

Not so much a purchase, as was foisted upon me.

That's it yarn wise for a few months now.  I feel completely overwhelmed, but do have plans for a large part of it and I am still working through old stash, so I think by the time Unravel comes around next February, I'll be in a good position to buy some more ;)  

To see some infinitely more interesting WIPs, head over to Tamis.