Sari Silk belt

This week I have been playing around on the Ravelry site a lot. It's taking ages to upload details of all my finished projects from the last couple of years. I am quite enjoying reviewing them, although I have forgotten a lot of the details such as yarn colours and needle sizes. I used some of the Sari Silk yarn that I got at he knit and stitch show to crochet the Sari Silk Belt from Positively Crochet by Mary Jane Hall. I love this pattern it is easy to crochet and the finished belt looks really effective. Ideal for this type of yarn. I have yet to find a decent toggle or button but a temporary toggle is in place for the moment. Mary Jane sent me a mesage on Ravelry when she saw that I was making up this pattern. She is such a friendly and multi talented lady. I am probably going to make the Sari Silk bag to match my belt.

I made the Iris hat and mittens from Colinette Artyfacts a couple of years ago as a Christmas present using some Rowan Chunky Print. They turned out really nice. The recommended yarn, Colinette Prism, is less fluffy than Chunky Print but still turns out really well. Prism is one of my favourite yarns at the moment. This was a skein in the Forest colourway that I purchased at Knit and Stitch 2007. I love the hat and should be able to squeeze a small pair of handwarmers out of the leftovers. I decided to make a matching set with some of the purple Prism in my stash and have completed the mittens so far. I love them. They may get to be a Christmas gift if I can bear to part with them.

A single skein of Colinette Point Five knitted up into the Pansy hat from Artyfacts in jst a couple of hours. All the Colinette patterns seem to be knitted flat then seamed. I hate sewing up really chunky items, so I used circular needles for this. I had about two inches of yarn left at the finish of this one - extremely close ! I just love the colours of Colinette.

I tried out one of Woolly Wormhead's hat patterns with a couple of balls of Debbie Bliss Soho from my stash. She is an ace designer of woolly hats. This is the Urchin Cap. I knitted it up yesterday evening and it is now my new favourite hat. The shape is just great and works really well in Soho. I used 5.5mm circular needles. I like it so much that I've cast on another one using some Wendy Moiselle from my stash. This is slightly chunkier than Soho so I'm going up a needle size and making the smaller hat.

Super Speedy Chunky Jumper !

I managed to knit up this little number in just 2 afternoons and 1 evening - it really did fly off the 15mm needles ! The yarn is Colinette Shimmer Five that I purchased at the Colinette stand at the Knit and Stitch Show 2007. I used the pattern "Sylvie" from the Colinette Shimmer Five booklet that came free with the yarn. It took just over 6 skeins. I am hoping to make a hat out of the leftovers. I really hate sewing up chunky garments as it is so hard to keep things neat. All in all I'm quite pleased with the finished jumper.
Mel's Funky 3-Way Hat is finished and I love it. It really is quite funky despite being incredibly simple and quick to knit. This may be largely due to the wonderful Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe yarn which was a joy to knit with and amazing colours. It is slightly lighter than the recommended yarn for this pattern so I went down a needle size and made the largest hat. It worked out perfect.

There was enough yarn left to whip up the Little Ruff from One Skein Wonders. This would be much better made in a heavier yarn as it turned out a bit floppy. I enjoyed practising short row shaping and would make this again with a more appropriate yarn.

I've had some skeins of Debbie Bliss Maya in my stash for ages that I'd bought on sale. I used two shades of blue to make up Kim's Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I made the version with earflaps in the largest size as it is for a man. I'm really pleased with the hat . I love the way that this pattern can be adapted. I can see myself making up variations of this to use up oddments of yan left over from other projects.

Sadly, Wilhelmina Witch did not get finished in time for Halloween. There is very little left to do but I just can't bring myself to make thise fiddly little trimmings and sew them on. I also don't like the feel of the acrylic yarn , although it is probably ideal for this sort of toy. I do intend to finish it as I've got this far...

I am currently making another Punk's Not Dead Hat from Pretty In Punk. I love this pattern it always turns out spectacularly. I'm using Lambs Pride Bulky in Onyx . I think it will look great in plain black.

Ravelry !!! and more hats...

My invitation to join Ravelry came through and I have been playing around with the site for the last week. It's brilliant. It will take ages to load up details of all my finished projects but it will be worth it. It's really easy to see what other knitters have done with a pattern. Still lots of knitting going on ...

The Aspen Hat from Twinkle's Big City Knits knitted up in about an hour on the largest circular needles that I've ever used - 15mm. I found the buttons in my old button tin and they look great on it. I think I would prefer it in a solid colour and may try it again. I also finally finished the short sleeve ribbed cardi from Fitted Knits. Prism may not have been the perfect yarn for this project but I still very much like the finished garment. Again, I think that it would have been better in a solid colour to show up the detail.I used the ball of Silk Garden that I got at Ally Pally to make Ela's Favorite Hat from One Skein Wonders which is my favourite pattern book of the moment. There wasn't quite enough yarn to make the tassels on top but I still like it a lot.Also from One Skein Wonders and using Noro Iro from Ally Pally is the Short and Sassy Shawl. I did manage to get this out of one skein. It is a great scarf/shawl and the colours are wonderful. It makes me want to buy a ton of Noro yarn !I bought some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in a lovely shade of green to make the Twirly-Top Toque - also from One Skein Wonders. I like the shape of this hat and it was enjoyable to knit. The lace is easy to remember. It only took a day to finish. I cast on for Mel's 3-Way Funky Hat as soon as I'd finished the toque. The Koigu Kersti That I bought at String in NY is only a sport weight yarn so I used a smaller needle and made the large size. It 's almost finished and is looking very funky indeed. What next...

You can never have too many hats...

Two more neck warmers have been added to my collection , just because I love knitting them. I've memorised the pattern and it is a nice project to carry in my bag - small but interesting.

I found a really simple pattern for these arm warmers on the knitting stall in Watford Market a few weeks ago. They are knit flat and then sewn up. This is always a dilemma for me. I may knit them quick but they are likely wait a long, long time for the sewing up. My pile of UFO's really doesn't need adding to, so I forced myself to complete them and am lad I did. They are really cosy. I had picked up another very simple hand warmer pattern at the same time . These are also knitted flat and then sewn up. They are a great stash buster - I got 2 pairs out of one 50 g ball of Sirdar Click DK. They look cute on , so I may try some more in a nicer yarn.A beret and curly scarf were next. These were crocheted from a couple of balls of Rowan Soft Lux that I picked up last year in the John Lewis sale. I love this yarn . The pattern for the beret was free - it is called Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat. The scarf is one that I've made many times now in a variety of yarns.

I enjoy making this scarf and whipped up another from a fun ball of yarn that I picked up for 49p in a charity shop - what a bargain! It is a cheap acrylic, but the colours are great and it has a sparkle thread running through it.The Knit and Stitch show at Ally Pally was fabulous as usual. I must admit to a few additions to my stash. The Natural Dye Studio had a great stall and I purchased a kit for a fun pixie hat. I knitted it up in a couple of hours when I got home. The yarn is a fabulous hand dyed boucle, very soft and warm.

This crochet beanie is from Vogue On The Go Crochet Hats. I love it. It was a bit fiddly as you have to make the little squares separately and join them together later. It was well worth the effort. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino dk which comes in such lovely colours. It takes 5 different colours, so there is enough left to make another hat or perhaps a matching scarf.
I am about half way through making Wilhelmina Witch from Simply Knitting for Miss Millie. I am using the reccommended yarn which is a cheap acrylic. I don't particularly enjoy knitting with this stuff but it's a nice pattern. This has to be finished by Halloween !

New York and neckwarmers

Firstly, I have to say that the trip to New York was brilliant. I think it is an awesome city. It was also a very relaxing and much needed break. I love the city...
and the way you can stumble across the most interesting things. We came across this amazing farmers' market just off 51st Street and were stunned by the beautiful produce . Just had to take a picture of these beautiful squashes, you don't see stuff like this at home. Of course, we went looking for a yarn shop. String. It was wonderful and run by a totally charming woman. We also found a delightful store called Tinsel Trading which was run by a very lovely lady called Terry. She was totally inspiring and really took the time to chat and show us around the store. She had been working on some altered books which she showed us and explained the techniques she had used. Karen is now keen to have a go at this. I made this silk flower when I got home after seeing some really stunning examples in the shop. Since returning , I have made no less than three versions of Urchin from the latest edition of Knitty. The first is my favourite, knitted from a ball of Jaeger Natural Fleece that I got in a sale last year. This one probably fits me best. Having enjoyed this pattern so much I immediately cast on again with some Colinette yarn that I have had in my stash for years. I had been wondering what to do with a single skein and this was the perfect pattern.

Having memorised the pattern I couldn't resist making another one with a skein of my handspun which was slightly thicker . The hat turned out very big and looks rather stupid on me - even allowing for the fact that oversized knitted berets are very "in" this year. I need to find someone with a very big head or some serious hair to give it to. This week , I have made another 5 Luxe Neckwarmers and am working on a sixth. I just love this pattern and they make great gifts and are fun to wear. I forgot to take a pic of the green and pink Sirdar Click ones but here are the two made from Denim Ultra, and the orange one knitted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran doubled up.

Errata and hats

Just a quick update as I'm of to New York tomorrow ! Yes, New York ! It's just for 5 days but I can't wait. I was trying to finish the Short Sleeved Cardigan with Ribbing from Fitted Knits to take with me. Unfortunately, I encountered an error on the sleeves and haven't time to fix it. I have searched the web to see if anyone else came up with this but it certainly isn't on the official Errata list for this book. I had started the Spicy Tee jumper from Fitted Knits and came across an error there too so started again with the Short Sleeved Cardigan. Very annoying. No time to fix it until I get back from New York. The Colinette Prism is looking quite good so I will probably persevere with the pattern.I am also half way through the Morehouse Merino Dragon Scarf.

I've wanted to make this for some time and finally sent for the kit. It is a fun knit. The spikes look great.

Another hat from Get Your Crochet On ! Since taking this picture I decided that it looked better without the brim and frogged back to the beret. It took a couple of balls of Rowan Calmer and a 5 mm hook.

The Shrug is finished

I finally got around to frogging back the ribbing on the shrug and rectifying the small , but very noticeable, mistake that I made with the increase row. This sort of thing usually lies around for ever waiting to get done , but I really needed to finish this as I had promised Karen that she would have it before our impending trip to New York. The finished shrug is excellent - I may well make one for myself. The Cotton Fleece is a nice yarn to work with .I am really liking Stephanie Japel's patterns at the moment and am going to try something else from Fitted Knits. The Spicy Fitted V-neck Tee is looking like a good candidate at the moment. If I can get gauge with the Colinette Prism, this should work up pretty quickly.

I whipped up a little neck warmer from a single ball of novelty yarn at work last week. I want to attach a big button and a loop fastening somehow but haven't quite worked out how yet. I am thinking of doing a row of single crochet around it. It is really soft and fluffy.Speaking of soft and fluffy, I finished the LaLa Scarf from Greetings From Knit Cafe. It is smaller than I imagined it would be. I don't know why, I guess that I just didn't take in the measurements when I read them. It would be easy to knit it bigger and there is plenty of Kidsilk Haze left. It is a lovely little neck wrap though.Here is my final FO of the week. Another hat from Get Your Crochet On ! It is big and really meant for someone with huge hair but I love it and am definitely going to wear it . This one was made out of a really cheap acrylic yarn that I purchased from Hobbycraft. It is a dk used double. The finished result feels surprisingly good. It comes in some great colours and is ideal for these fun hats. Karen surprised me with this plastic head to model my hats. She got it from someone who had been on a hairdressing course. I think it's great - the DH thinks it's creepy ! OK it needs a slight makeover, but it will make it a breeze to get good shots of my hats.