So much FUN!

I've been enjoying muself immensely with all this lovely wool to spin and this merino top was scrumptious! I spun up two bobbins so I could ply the resulting singles into a 2ply yarn that was about fingering weight. When I washed it a HEAP of dye came out but I think I got rid of most of it. It looks so nice!!! I can't wait to find something worthy of it to knit :)

But what I am most proud of is I finally finished my Buttercup Top. I used recycled yarn from an unravelled cotton blend jumper and knit Large although I could have gotten away with Medium I suppose. But I like the slightly oversize look. I serves very well as a smock to layer over other clothes. I'm really pleased with it and I wore it today even though it's not blocked or anything.

I LOVE it!

Happy Knitting :)

Finally, some lace!

I've had a bit of a blitz on the yarns I spin and then tend to hoard, mortally terrified that if I use them somehow I'll commit them to a project beneath their ability to shine. I think I've proved sufficiently to myself now that is not true!

I've had this Tussah silk and Wool blend for ages and couldn't think of anything to use it for that would do the lovely soft yarn justice. Then I found the perfect pattern! It's the Wasabi Hat that I got off Ravelry. I've wanted to have a go at knitting lace for a while but I needed a small enough project that wouldn't seem overwhelming. This was absolutely perfect for all these requirements.



Isn't it gorgeous?
Strangely enough I can't see the pattern as clearly as the camera can so it's gratifying to see how well it worked out. I love it already and it feels so beautiful on!
Second project noteworthy for the swiftness of completion. I visited a craft store in Denmark and they had handdyed rovings! I love these since they are so easy to spin and you get such individual colour schemes. So I bought about three bags of different colours and different fibres. But as soon as I got home that night I sat down and started spinning this rainbowy coloured alpaca roving.



By the end of the night I'd spun up the singles and then navajo-plied the singles and then wound it on the niddy noddy and went to bed. It was about midnight by then! Next morning I gave it a gentle wash, slapped the water out of it against a verandah pole and hung it out to dry. While I waited for that, I began exploring for just the right pattern. The finished ball, once dry and balled up was just a single ball of about 8ply weight.



I wanted to do a pair of socks but I knew I wouldn't have a lot of yardage to play with and I eventually found just the pattern on Ravelry. The Double-Take Anklets. As soon as I'd finished the beret, damped it and stretched it out onto a plate to dry I cast on for these socks. It took me less than a day to knit them up and they are so cool!!



They fit fine, I used up every scrap of the yarn and they feel great as well. Very proud of myself and I've had so much fun!! I love having lovely yarn to work with :)
Happy Knitting :)

I think I might have too many projects going...

I've been busy knitting since the felted slippers and the owl. Just lots of mindless knitting. I'm beginning to think I've got a few too many projects on the go at the moment though.

I made up this lovely Tassel Hat with a ball of Moda Vera Cardellino. Very quick knit and feels lovely. It's almost like having yarn plaits on either side of your face :)



I finally finished the October Nursing Shawl that I tried before but the yarns I used I could bear on my neck. The ones I used this time were from my dying experiment and they feel lovely! I stuck with the plain garter edge though instead of the ruffle because I don't really like it.



And I also finally tried the Skew Sock pattern from Ravelry. SO different! And so good! It fits so well and looks impressive too.

But while I've been doing these I've been slogging along with a seafoam scarf in a lovely varigated colouring which requires a bit of concentration. I'll get a better picture of it soon since I've managed to use up one ball of the Moda Vera Bouvardia and am onto the last ball. It'll make a nice sized scarf when I'm done.



But the thing that's been holding me up most is the Ribbed Lace Shrug. The lace pattern's not difficult, just fiddly with two yarn overs and I ended up having to put stitch markers all the way across even though the stitch pattern's only 4 stitches long! But it's one great big rectangle that seems to go on forever!!! I've got to get it to at least 18 inches long before I can start doing the rib pattern to finish it but I'm at 13 inches and that's only because I made myself sit and knit through Bones and Castle! (Good episodes though) I don't even care anymore if it fits or even if it'll look good on me. I'm knitting it now just to finish it and get rid of some of this fluffy acrylic! Totally over it unless when I finish it I find it actually looks nice. Who knows?

But while I'm ploughing on with that I'm also starting a Buttercup Top. It seems to go so much faster because there are sections of instructions to go through so I don't get too bored. But theres so much to do and so much yarn I can make into cool stuff. I don't think I'll ever get bored with knitting. Sigh :)

Happy Knitting :)

Return of the Felting Foray

Just to give myself a change from threading beads (Sooo over that!) and knitting large projects like jumpers I decided to give smaller projects a burl. But, since that would be far too simple, I thought I'd add felting to the mix. You know because finishing a project in a day just isn't fun unless you have to wait until the washing machines finished with it to see whether it's been a success or not!
So since I was still desperately seeking a slipper pattern that I really like that stays on my foot without me having to adjust it after felting I downloaded a pattern off Ravelry called "Duffer". With a name like that, how could I resist? Very quick knit, easy directions and quite pleasing appearance even before felting.

But after felting and drying on a pair of shoe airers it's superiority to every slipper pattern I have thus far tried became evident.
They stay on my foot without ANY adjustment!!
What more need I say?



But while trawling around on Ravelry I found this lovely chart for a barn owl and a few elements came together in my mind. Darling Daughter and The Boy kind of collect owlish things, (The beginning of this particular theme has become hopelessly obscure and includes some line he keeps repeating at times which is simply "Hoot Hoot.") and I have some pieces of various naturally coloured spun wool not to mention a ball of beautiful mohair that I spun myself but have been unable to use since if it touches any part of my skin besides my palms it makes me itchy! So, with no preparation or forethought I dragged out the wool and cast on. It only took me about 3 hours to finish but by then it was past midnight so I sewed up the sides and made myself go to bed without putting it into the washing machine yet.

But first thing in the morning in the machine it went! And after it came out I nearly made myself late for work by sewing it onto a cutting board to block it and putting it outside to dry. Was very pleased with the finished result and it feels like heaven when you run your hand over it! The mohair and wool are so lovely, silky and warm it's like having a small rectangular pet on your lap! I attached two felted loops and two large wooden buttons and Behold! a bag!

Yes! A bag! For holding all those important things like...a waterbottle?
A slightly large but not too large book?
A Netbook maybe?
Okay, it's a kind of strange size, 23cm wide and 27cms long, not really big enough to be a useful bag but not small enough to be a purse. But it is gorgeous!!
I don't care, I'm proud and I'm sure Daughter will love it being that she's in Canberra, the chilblain capital of Australia!
Keep on Knitting :)

AHa!! Success!!!

Aha!! I seem to have gotten past the annoyance of yesterdays inability to add photos and now can show off my finally finished commission piece.

I had another jumper I knit, much bigger than this one and another lady liked the yarn and wondered if I could make her up one. She's a tiny lady about a foot shorter than me so I was really concerned I might make it too big or small, even though I took measurements but I'm awfully mathmatically challenged. But she tried it on today and it fits! I'd have prefered the sleeves a little longer but she said they were fine. She's going to pick it up next week and I get $60 for my effort! It was a simple seamless construction because I HATE seaming! But I'm very pleased with myself. Aren't the colour variations pretty?
Happy Knitting :)

Ooops, I am Very Lax

Very lax indeed! It's been almost a month since I've looked at this. Shame, shame, shame. And it's not like I've been doing anything!
I have knit my youngest son another pair of HTML mitts since his hands have gotten HUGE! (and also he can't find where he's put the other ones!). Also a HTML pouch...since the first prototype of the mitts was even too big for him but did covert very nicely to a useful pouch!

Also I got possessed by beaded knitting again and made a really sweet beaded amulet purse that you can wear as a necklace and I used rod-binding cord I got from the op-shop (didn't even realise what it was when I got it. I just got it because it was a pretty colour)to knit it up in. It's so pretty! I think I might make a bunch of these! The worst part is getting the beads onto the thread!!

So, that's what I've been up to...plus a jumper I'm knitting on commission but I haven't finished it yet OR got any photos. But hopefull it'll be finished!!
Happy Knitting

New Wool to Love :)

I found this gorgeous wool at Spotlight called Isla. It's soft, lightly spun and slightly thick and thin. 50% virgin wool and 50% Polyacrylic. I'd hoped it would felt but obviously the wool has been treated because it didn't shrink a bit when I tested it! But I found the perfect pattern for it's wonderful colours, especially as the temperature begins it's seasonal plummet!
This is the pattern from Ravelry - Fast and Fearless Mitts
And these are my attempts :)

Aren't they pretty? I love them all!
Happy Knitting :)