Sand and Shells

Just finished Yumiko Alexander's "Sand and Shells" and really love it.
I used a cone of Yeoman Yarns' Cotton Club No. 8 Linen which was a total bargain at just £10 including postage. The cotton /linen mix is lovely but not the softest. The slubby yarn gives it a natural rustic look, which is what I wanted.  The garment shape is very unusual being a cross between a jumper and a poncho.
I have started an easy shawl which is ideal to crochet whilst watching subtitled foreign dramas on the telly. I have 2 balls of Autumn wind from lotus Yarns to use up.  It is a cotton and cashmere blend and is beautifully soft.

The Victory Wrap

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I just finished this little shawl yesterday and am quite pleased with it. It is maybe a little more crescent shaped than I had expected but is otherwise rather sweet.  The pattern is from Ravelry of course and is The Victory Wrap by Erika Flory. The pattern suggests worsted weight yarn but I used a dk. 2 balls of Wendy Merino dk for the body of the shawl and a single ball of the same in cream for the lace edging. I could perhaps have blocked the points a little more sharply but was very keen to wear it and cut a few corners.

Back to blog

A few months ago I managed to shut myself out of my blog and try as I might it seemed that I would never be able to post here again.  However , my clever husband has just managed to sort it all out for me.  I am really happy to be back in my blog!
Since I last posted there has been a whole lot of crochet and knitting going on.  It would take ages to update on everything I have made so I am just going to concentrate on some recent favourites for now.
At Christmas I made an army of gingerbread men for my workmates. They were a lot of fun to make and I was very pleased with them. I used mainly acrylic yarns as I wanted to make quite a few and wasn't sure whether or not people would want to keep them after the festive season. Everyone seemed to really like the little guys and wore them around the shop for several days. Customers kept asking where we got them - I was quite pleased.

I promised the husband a jumper ages ago and even got as far as purchasing the yarn - some gorgeous soft Alpaca Boucle from Drops Yarns. A friend suggested that I might feel more inclined to finish the jumper quickly if I doubled up the yarn and knit it on big needles. Good idea! I managed to knit up a superchunky v-necked pullover in less than a week. It is a plain design but is very warm and has been worn quite a few times.

Lately I have gone headband crazy.  A friend asked me to make one inspired by a design that her daughter had seen in a shop.  I ended up making about a dozen.  These little projects are ideal for trying out new yarns, stitch patterns and techniques and can easily be finished in an evening. I used up odd balls of yarn that I had in my stash from acrylic to silk. I followed patterns for some and improvised the design for others. This is a few of them...

Alpaca headband

King Cole Galaxy - sequinned yarn

Rowan Wool Cotton

Super cheap sequinned chunky yarn from Tiger

Knitted turban style headband in James Brett Marble Chunky

Poundland acrylic

More Poundland acrylic

Yet more Poundland acrylic!

Louisa Harding Grace - silk and wool

After the success of the gingerbread brooches at Christmas, I decided that it would be fun to make hearts for Valentines day.  I enjoyed making the little stuffed brooches and decorating them with cute flowers.  Over a week I managed to produce a large jar of hearts...

This is now becoming something of a tradition. What can I make for Easter?

Oh My Bear!

Haven't posted for a while, but I have certainly been knitting and crocheting. Today I finished sewing up the "Oh My Bear" hoodie  by Tiny Owl Knits. It is currently being blocked and I think it may take a while as it soaked up a lot of water.

I have been wanting to make this for ages.  When I found the exact yarn needed at half price on Black Sheep Wools website, it seemed like the ideal time to start the project. The pattern is really easy and took about a week to knit up.  I haven't done any intarsia for ages and really enjoyed the challenge.  The hoodie took seven skeins of Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Chunky and scraps from my stash for the bear design. I can't wait to wear it - modelled shots next post! This jumper is really on trend and was great fun to make. Don't be put off by the bear design, it was much easier to do than it looks.

The Maraschino Shawl is another lovely pattern found on Ravelry.  I used  3 balls of Drops Cotton Viscose for this and am very pleased with the end result.  The yarn drapes well and has a nice shiny appearance. The border is a picot and leaf design that I found in a Japanese craft book.  I think it finishes the shawl off perfectly. I will make this design again using a finer yarn at some point.

Next up is this beautiful crochet shawl made from a German pattern that was again spotted on Ravelry. There were many fabulous examples of the shawl using Crazy Zauberball yarn and it just had to be my choice. I love the colours and the way that they show off the stitch design so well. It was a quick and easy project but so very effective.  I've already worn this one quite a few times.
Also worn a lot...

A lovely, snuggly, soft cardi with a shawl collar.  I got the Sirdar Babouska supercheap from Kemps Wools and knitted this up in a few days. It is really comfortable and cosy.  I have some more of this  yarn in my stash and look forward to some more very wearable garments for the Winter.

Earlier in the Summer I made this cute hat for my gorgeous great niece, little Lolli, to keep the sun off her precious head. She wears hats well and looks like a little star. Love her to bits!
There are several works in progress at the moment.  Nearly finished are the fingerless mitts that I am knitting from a single ball of Crofter. They are basically 2 rectangles sewn together with thumb holes at the top. I like the way Crofter looks when it is knitted up -  quite fancy for such a simple knit.

The Cimarron Shawl is working up quickly as it is such a pleasure to see the design growing. I hope to finish it over the weekend.

Adventure Time!

 This little guy was made by special request of Millie to take on her school trip.  You may recognise him as Finn the human from the cartoon "Adventure Time." He is knitted in Stylecraft Special Aran and is a very splendid fellow.  There is loads of yarn left over from this project which needs to be made into something.  it was important to use exactly these colours so I couldn't raid my stash and had to buy some more. Here he is having an adventure in our garden...

 
 My socks  on two needles have at last got finished and sewn up - just in time for the heatwave! I am quite pleased with them. The seams are hardly noticeable and the knitting is much quicker on two needles. I used about a ball and a quarter of very cheap sock yarn purchased at "Tiger".  Considering it was only £1 a ball it is pretty nice.

 I love this pretty top in Rowan Savannah.  It was very simple to knit and only took two evenings on size 8mm needles. The crochet trim round the neck is the perfect finishing touch.  I plan to make another of these  and will add a few inches to the length - it is really a bit short for me.

I have mostly been working on my crochet blanket this week - it's looking beautiful and I can't wait to finish it.

Scarves and Sunhats

Still no sign of Summer arriving, although we are promised hotter, sunnier weather in the next few days.  I am ready with a crochet sunhat...

The Ewa hat is one of my favourite hat patterns of all time.  It is simple but turns out a beautifully shaped hat every time. The simple design is also crying out to be embellished with some sort of amazing crochet flower. For the hat, I used RYC Cotton Silk and for the flower Katia Degrade. I have made this design many times now and it never fails me.

I recently took part in the Summer Song Shawl Knitalong hosted by Tinyknitter on Ravelry.  I chose Rico Creative Designs Reflection for my shawl and used 4mm needles.  For the smallest size shawl, I used about one and a quarter balls. I do love the finished shawlette but if I made another would use larger needles for greater drape and stronger coloured beads for greater contrasted. The beads were added as I went along using a very tiny crochet hook. It only took a few days knitting to finish this one and it is lovely to see the other versions that are now appearing on Ravelry.

I had to block the shawl well to open out the lace and get the lovely pointed edges.  The blocking also increased the size of the shawl quite a bit - I was worried it was going to be too small when I was knitting it. Turned out really pretty.

Here's a scarf that I started ages ago.

 

It is the "Just A Whisper" scarf  that I previously made in a bright green sequined mohair from Ice Yarn. At last, the lovely ball of Kidsilk Haze Stripe has been knitted up into something very wearable. Using extra large needles makes one 50g ball go a very long way and still produces a soft , fluffy, warm fabric. I had quite a bit left over - maybe as much as a third of the ball.
Happy knitting!

Snuggly Socks For A Cold Summer!

It has been ages since my last post, but I can assure you that there has been plenty of knitting going on. I had never really taken to knitting socks in the past, but I have recently discovered how fun it is. The yarns are just amazing and it is a chance to try out new techniques and stitch patterns in a small project. This lovely red pair were knitted from the toe up out of some Regia sock yarn that I picked up in a sale recently for £1 a ball. Bargain! I was so encouraged by the way they turned out that I cast on another pair immediately they were finished. More bargain yarn, two at a time toe up socks.

There are more socks on my needles at the moment  but I am trying a pair on straight needles.  These will need to be carefully seamed up the side when finished.  I prefer knitting on straight needles and find it much quicker and more comfortable on my hands. Hopefully there will be more about these in my nex post.
Shawls continue to be a favourite knit of mine, and  I have two on the go at the moment.  Firstly, I have started Knitty's "Citron" in some gorgeous soft Malabrigo lace yarn.  The colour and the feel and wonderful.

I also started a lace pattern shawl  in some Rico Reflections - loving the sparkliness of this yarn!

I finished my entrelac headband a while ago.  Another great pattern from Knitty called Gray Gardens. I am super proud of this  as it is the first time I have done entrelac. The colours of the Noro yarn work really well for this project . It was great fun to knit and I am planning a larger project in Noro Silk Garden soon.

I have also been enjoying crochet very much lately.  Previous attempts at making blankets have usually been abandoned when i have about enough squares to make a small bag or cushion.  This time, I am determined to finish this amazing crochet blanket that I have been admiring on the Drops website for years. I have seen many lovely versions of this blanket on Ravelry and hope to be adding a photo of mine soon.  I have decided to make it bigger than the pattern states as that seems to give a smallish throw. I want mine to be magnificent!  I already have almost enough squares and will start joining them over the next few days. I am using various colours of Drops Delight.  This is a wonderful yarn with beautiful colours.  It was also on sale when I purchased it, which makes this an incredibly affordable project.

Also crocheted recently, but not yet worn, is this lovely ripple scarf.  I used 2 balls of Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. Noro has always been my favourite yarn producer.  It doesn't matter what you make as it always looks beautiful in these amazing colourways.  This was another sale yarn - Noro is normally far too expensive!

 This little knitted scarf with crochet edging was finished a while ago but I forgot to blog about it. The pattern and yarn were a kit from Mrs Moon, which is a lovely yarn store in London.  I really like the simple, elegant design and will probably make this scarf again for presents.

Bye for now! Well it is Wimbledon week...