Author: Alice Neal

A Spring Poncho

Posted on by Alice Neal

… in cotton and linen.

Ooh, I love how this knitted up.

I wanted to try something other than wool. I’m a bit of a yarn snob and only really like using natural fibres, but since Mother’s Day and my mum’s birthday fall in the same week this year, and my troublesome Mum is allergic to wool (aaaaaaagghh!!) I thought I’d better have a play with something else.

So I bought myself some Drops Bomull-Lin – a 47% / 53% blend of linen and cotton. It calls for 5.5mm needles, but I wanted something rather more drapey, so I used 6mm circulars. And drapey it jolly well is.

Humble beginnings:

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(and do forgive my stitch markers – in spite of having half a million of the pesky things, I invariably end up using knotted scraps of waste yarn)

Hiding away:

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I’m totally addicted to House just now. On Season 2. It’s the perfect knitting companion 🙂

Beginning the border:

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I chose a ridged eyelet lace for this one.

See? It progresses:

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Et voila! C’est fini…

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If you fancy having a crack at it yourself, you can find the modestly priced pattern over here.

This is not, however, for my mum. I have something else in store for her, so no surprises spoiled, you’ll be enormously relieved to hear 😉

Fat and Sassy Valentine

Posted on by Alice Neal

 

Loveknitting.com sent me this gorgeous, squishy bundle of delight that is Tjockt Fat & Sassy Merino and asked me to try it out, so I’m delighted to offer you a tutorial for this squidgy, tactile, chunky scatter cushion. It’s blissfully quick and easy to make.
And it is also a simple introduction to intarsia. This stuff is HUGE, requiring the biggest needles I’ve ever used, at 25mm, which makes it both very speedy and really fun to use.

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The cushion measures 30cm x 24cm

You will need:

250g Tjockt Fat & Sassy Merino in Cloud
100g Tjockt Fat & Sassy Merino in Raspberry
25mm knitting needles
Stuffing

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Step 1: Cast on 11 stitches and knit 2 rows of stocking stitch.

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(Knit 1 row, and purl the next – this cushion is knitted entirely in stocking stitch).
Then we follow the chart:

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The first pink stitch is introduced in the middle of the next purl row:

Turn the work and it will look like this:

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Now you are ready to knit row 4 of the chart. When you reach the first of the three pink stitches, wrap the pink yarn around the grey behind the work before making the stitch. This will avoid any gaping holes on the right side of the work between the heart motif and the rest of the cushion. Repeat this process each time you change colour.

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At the end of this row, the back of your work will look very like this:

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Turn your work and purl row 5, remembering to wrap the yarn around the contrasting colour at the back. It is also worth, once you are knitting a contrasting colour of more than 3 stitches, wrapping it around the original colour again before 4th (and so on, in multiples of 2 or 3 stitches depending on the number you are knitting).

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You can see in the following picture that the yarn was wrapped again after 3rd stitch:

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Continuing working through the chart, remembering to wrap the yarn with each colour change and in multiples of 2 or 3 stitches behind the work.

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The back:

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And continue working the chart:

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When you have reached the end of the chart and have 11 rows, bind off.

Your work will look like this:

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And now you need to make another exactly the same, and leave the last length of grey yarn trailing – you will use it to ‘sew’ the front to the back.

Construction:
Since the yarn is so beautifully chunky, no tapestry needle is needed to put it together. You can push the yarn through the stitches with your fingers.
Taking the tail from the second piece and with wrong sides together, right sides facing outwards, push the yarn through the stitch on the corresponding corner of the first piece.
You are now going to ‘sew’ with your fingers, pushing the tail under the outside loop of the one stitch and into the outside loop of the corresponding side. I have illustrated how the yarn travels using a crochet hook in this next image (and you can actually see the previous stitch, too):

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Employ the same technique around the sides:

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When you reach the fourth side, stuff your cushion to the firmness you like. Don’t be tempted to overstuff as the stuffing will be visible through the large stitches. But one advantage of this gorgeous yarn is that it is almost a cushion when sewn together without any stuffing at all!

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Use the same ‘sewing’ method to fasten the last side and weave in the end.

 

Enjoy your sumptuous new cushion!

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You can find more of my patterns on loveknitting.com – search Alice Neal
and in my Etsy shop.

Have a gorgeous weekend <3

Chunky FTW! (a free pattern)

Posted on by Alice Neal

I have made (it’s official) the chunkiest hat in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

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I wanted to make a hat for my Beloved. He feels the cold a bit more than he used to, and of all the hats I have made, none is quite right.

I have a micro-stash of the chunkiest wool on the planet. Well…. it’s not. But it’s very chunky and it’s in my possession, and frankly, anything that needs knitting up on 15mm needles is pretty goshdarned chunky in my humble.

I’ve uploaded quite a few patterns for sale recently, so I thought I’d give the readers of my blog this piece of squishiness as a token of my appreciation.

Here’s what you need.
(Click the name at the top for a printable download)

The Chunk

2 x 100g balls Drops Polaris
15mm circular needles
A tapestry needle for weaving in ends
A large pompom maker (it’s so much less fiddly than all that faffing around with cardboard doughnuts!)

Method:
(This makes an adult-sized hat, which fits my 15 year old son rather too well. I may have to hide it).

Cast on 36 stitches and place marker for the beginning of the round.

Knit 1 Purl 1 rib for 14 rows. This gives a really chunky squishy turn-up around the base of your hat.

Knit 5 rows.

Make your decreases as follows:

[Knit 5, K2tog] around. (36 remaining)

[Knit 4, K2tog] around. (30)

[Knit 3, K2tog] around. (24)

[Knit 2, K2tog] around. (18)

[Knit1, K2tog] around. (12)

K2tog around. (6)

K2tog around. (3)

Cut the tail long enough to thread through the last 3 stitches, pull tight and weave in.

Make a large pompom, leaving the ends long enough to thread through the top of the hat and tie in a tight double knot underneath, inside the top of the hat.

Weave in all ends.

Ta-dah!

Enjoy keeping warm <3

In the meantime, if you’re looking for other patterns, you can now find these ones both in my Etsy shop and on the loveknitting.com website:

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The Ponchette pattern can be found here.
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The Juno Jumper pattern can be found here.
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The Ssssidney Snake pattern can be found here.
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The Snuggly Slippers pattern can be found here.
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The Simon Cowell Yorkie Christmas Jumper pattern can be found here.

 

PS I have always wanted a really chunky hat. Apparently, this one is a bit ‘too girly’ for my beloved. Imagine my chagrin… 😉

A Fairisle Frenzy

Posted on by Alice Neal

Can’t stay away from it.

So, top down, in the round, circular yoke experiment #1

I am, suffice to say, chuffed to bits.

Knitted on 4mm circular needles, except for the last half of the bottom ribbing where I switched to 3.5mm for a snugger fit. In Drops Nepal for the body and Karisma for the sleeves, and using some of the beautiful stash of Finnish Riihivilla hand-dyed wool given to me last Christmas by my rather clever husband.

Here it is, in picture story form:

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This is the absolutely delicious Finnish wool I used for the motifs.

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This is the swatch I knitted to ascertain whether the Drops would provide the right match with the Riihivilla.

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And thus it began.

Confession: I didn’t really leave enough of a margin before starting the first motif – the little owls. So, when it came to finishing off, I had to find a way to deal with the neck. In the end, I folded it back on itself and sewed the top down, creating a funnel neck, rather than the little roll I had originally intended. I’m very relieved it turned out ok!

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A little one for Ted next, I think 🙂

A little pouch

Posted on by Alice Neal

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So I made a little bag.

I had a vague plan as I embarked on it, but it has turned out more beautiful than I had hoped. *whoop*! 🙂

It is, essentially, a pouch bag in a chunky yarn with a loop handle and top in lemon cashmere merino silk (by Sublime), and a drawstring fastening in contrasting vintage rose silk merino (also Sublime).

I stuffed a ball of wool in it for some pictures:

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And I am off to make another, writing up the pattern and taking pictures for a tutorial as I go.

So… more anon!

In the meantime, though, I have finally written up the pattern for these gorgeous snuggly-but-oh-so-stylish slippers:

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And you can find it here. Happy crocheting! <3

Project Caravan

Posted on by Alice Neal

This little beauty, a little long in the tooth but perfectly fit for purpose, has recently come into our possession:

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And while she is very comfortable, her age makes her one of the less well insulated, and she gets very chilly at night. We have countered that with a little oil-filled heater, but… you know… really there ought to be some wool in there, right? 😉

So, Project Caravan has begun! So far we have a cushion made in simple stocking stitch in Drops Polaris (dark grey) on 15mm needles, and what began as a stashbuster blanket crocheted in triple crochet (UK) in as many colours and as randomly as I fancy. It’s probably a little over halfway there.

So, ladies and gents, I give you: Project Caravan: The Beginning.

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After School Knitting Club

Posted on by Alice Neal

Oh, I’m loving it.

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I tootle in on a Tuesday afternoon, laden with baskets full of needles and wool, and I’m greeted with such enthusiastic little people. Granted, we’ve lost a couple along the way, but of the original fourteen, twelve stalwarts remain, and of them only two have still not quite ‘clicked’. But they’re determined. I love that.

I bit the bullet between the last session and this, and bought a bundle of chunky bamboo needles – 9mm – as the 4mm they were using were proving just a little too fiddly for their little as yet untrained fingers. And I grabbed a few balls of chunky wool I had, ahem, lying around (let’s not talk about my wool mountain).

They were cock-a-hoop and we have got more done in one session today than in both of the others together.

We now have some little ‘squares’ and the beginnings of some big ones.  We have some with ‘extra’ stitches, some with unexplained holes, some with interesting ‘loops’. We have some advanced little bodies who even mastered casting off today!

We have all agreed that when we have joined all these squares together, we are going to be left with a cushion cover that is quite unique. 😉

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I am ever impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication with which they manage to greet me every week, in spite of just having finished a day at school.

Oh, and quite apart from the knitting, the conversation of 8-10 year-olds is absolutely killing…

“You’re Jazzy Jack. I’m Jumping Jessica.”
“I’m Dancing Daisy!”

One little girl approaches me shyly.

“Alice…? I’ve got a name for you, too.”

(A little nervously) “You have?”

“Adventuring Alice.”

“Jessica, I like that!”

A Jack Russell, a Tunic and an Adventure.

Posted on by Alice Neal

Oh, I know, I know. I’m rubbish.

Life hurtles along at breakneck speed and before you know it months have flown past and now… SPRING! And hallelujah, because frankly winter can jolly well do one. There have been enough bugs under this roof to sink a small fleet of battleships and this family is emerging, battle-scarred but undefeated, blinking into the sunlight.

But I have been busy. Honest.

First of all I have this to share with you:

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I mean loooooooook! And before people get all stuffy and snippy about dogs already having coats, take it from me that the harsh blooming winters up here do not agree with our dear teeny skinny Juno’s demeanour. Admittedly, pure wool may be treating her rather more as a Princess than warranted 😉  but she is most grateful for an extra layer.

If you fancy making something similar, have a little look over here, where you can download the pattern for free.

In other news, I have completed a granny square tunic, which will be on the backburner till autumn:

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And I have just embarked upon a little after-school adventure with 14 of the children from our village primary.

This afternoon, armed with a great mountain of goodies from loveknitting.com (bless their hearts), I headed off into the unknown:

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The hour flew by in a flurry of

“Miss, I can’t do this! Miss, is this right? Miss, what’s happened to this?”

(I know… “Miss” >.< It cracks me up)

But they were little troopers and are coming back next week for more punishment, and I am proud to report that we have a few already managing garter stitch, along with a valiant few who have yet to ‘click’, but we’ll do it!

And here are the fruits of the first session’s labours:

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I will be very happy to report on our continued progress next week 🙂