knitting Archives - Page 10 of 11 - Alice in Knittingland

A capelet. Or a ponchette?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Alice Neal

Whatever you want to call it, I made it! I am disproportionately thrilled with this one because it came out of my head.

A learning experience with (to me at least) glaring imperfections, I know just how to get it right now and, after wearing it for merely a day – I only take it off at night at the moment! 😉 – I have two commissions already, so plenty of opportunity to perfect it.

I especially love the trim: a yarn called ‘Duchessa’ by Laines du Nord, which I knitted around the top and crocheted around the bottom.

When I’ve perfected the pattern, I’ll write it up, but for now, here it is in the making:

My very first adult jumper!

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Alice Neal

On my travels around the interweb, I discovered the challengingly entitled Three Movies Sweater, written in Swedish and English. I loved the style, and the premise, so I took the bait and ordered the wool. Drops Eskimo, for the uninitiated, is a chunky (9mm needle) 100% wool for a very reasonable £1.70 for 50g. This pattern took around 12 x 50g balls to make.

Although I was thrilled by the outcome, especially for a first-timer, my jumper came out considerably smaller than the one in the blog, unless she’s teeny, and I bigger than I thought 😉

Also, I found there were a few omissions / confusing points in the pattern where I just had to wing it.

In short, I’ve ordered the wool for my next one and it’ll be better!

One thing I was REALLY pleased with, though, was a bit of an innovation – a risk that paid off. The ribbing at the bottom was too narrow for me, and curled up a lot. I searched the Net for tips on how to pick up and continue in rib, but found none. So I winged it again, and it worked. The join is visible, but not unsightly, and I have a new knitting fix in my arsenal 🙂 I tried to photograph it, as you will see below.

So… A picture story of its creation:

A Rather Rustic Shrug. {pattern}

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Alice Neal

I posted this picture on my Tumblr blog earlier today, and it has received a lot of attention, including requests for the pattern.

It was a weekend project, cooked up in my head and produced in a frankly slapdash fashion which, to my surprise and delight, paid off. Knitted ‘sideways’, it really is astoundingly simple – basically a long rectangle with slits for arms – and, once you’ve got it, could be tweaked and customised endlessly. Smaller needles, lighter weight yarn and more stitches for something less bulky and more drapey, for example… Or you could make one front section longer, so you can throw it over the opposite shoulder…

I have never written a pattern before, so bear with me, and if you do decide to give this a go and find glaring faults or have any questions, please just holler.

So here goes.

You will need:
Super chunky yarn. I used James C Brett Rustic, Mega Chunky, I think around 5 x 100g balls (that may be an overestimate)
12mm, long knitting needles
9mm or 10mm crochet hook
Darning needle
Chopstick or toggle or fastening of choice

Using 12mm needles, cast on 45 stitches. This is the length of your shrug, so if you want it shorter, cast on fewer, or longer, cast on more. I am 5 feet 9 and a size 12, and have given the number of rows mine took. It’s an easy pattern to play with and adjust for your size.

1) Knit in stocking stitch: one row plain, one row purl, until the work covers your front across your chest. (About 35 rows in my case) ending with a wrong side (purl) row.
Next (right side) row: knit 10, cast off 15, knit 15
Next (wrong side) row: purl 15, cast on 15, purl 10.
You have created the first armhole.
2) Continue in stocking stitch until the work after the armhole comfortably covers your back. (About 45 rows on mine)
Create the next armhole in exactly the same way.
3) Continue in stocking stitch until it covers your front again. (About 35 again). Cast off.

Attach yarn to a corner and double crochet UK (sc US) all the way around.
I did an extra line of treble UK (double US) around the bottom of mine, for a more obvious border. But of course your border could be anything you like. Or nothing if you prefer the curling up look of the plain stocking stitch… Weave in tails.

Fasten with chopstick, in whatever style takes your fancy, or leave open and draped, like a large scarf 🙂

Wildflower Fairy Crown

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Alice Neal

I was fortunate enough to receive this book for Christmas…

Full of fanciful whimsy, I chose the simplest bit of pretty I could find, to start with.

Here it is, blow by blow.

I love it, and hopefully it’s teeny recipient will too…

A few of the ongoing projects

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Alice Neal

I haven’t had much time to blog lately, but I’ve been beavering away when I can.

For now, a few pictures, and when life allows 😉 I’ll be back in more detail…

Thanks for your interest!

An Easter break from the norm…

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Alice Neal

Well, whaddayaknow…? It was a snake! Remember that French knitting my lovely boy was doing? Here’s what it became:

Arthur's finger-knitted snake — Arthur’s finger-knitted snake

It’s been a bit slow on the creation front lately, what with having five children at home for the holidays. Actually, we had 8 as my oldest friend in the world came to stay with her brood. And we had lots of adventures, including taking them for their very first trip to Hadrian’s Wall. I am very happy to report that the-longest-winter-ever chose that particular day to cede at last to spring. It was nothing short of glorious:

Some of the brood at Hadrian's Wall — Some of the brood at Hadrian’s Wall

It was chilly enough when we set off, however, for some woolly knitwear and my dear friend’s littl’uns chose from my ever-expanding bag of home-made winter woollies – and very fetching they were, too <3

We were inundated with boys so we girls snuck off for a bit of learning to Finger Knit. We found a tutorial on YouTube, in which the now immortal words “Always start with the pinkie!”, once uttered have now become the mantra 🙂

And, when we had said our fond farewells, my snake charmer decided to learn, too, and has taken finger knitting to an extreme sport level:

I’ve been plugging away at little Alice’s jacket, beginning to panic slightly that her mother’s reports suggest she may be too big for it by the time it’s finished… Eek! Unfortunately, my youngest has removed the needles from the stitches more times than I can remember. When this little thing is finished, I’ll be most relieved!

And finally, at a time when inspiration is somewhat lacking, I received a surprise present in the post from my lovely mother-in-law.

Must. Finish. Some. Before. Starting. More…!

Home from the wilds

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Alice Neal

I have just spent a glorious week, along with my lovely man and our little Ted, in the wilds of Norfolk, which was bracing but for the most part rather lovely and sunny. We even managed to sit outside for an afternoon of photographing my mother-in-law’s gorgeous knitwear collection. (Go and have a look at what she’s up to over here).

She spoilt us thoroughly and we came home with considerably less give in our clothes than when we left.

I didn’t get much knitting or crocheting done, though I did learn a new skill or two, as I shall explain.

First of all, this is my (rather slow) progress with the beautiful crocheted cowl. I’m really happy with it, but a little anxious that my initial stitches are too tight and the shape may be a little off as a result.

But what Susan did teach me is one of the simplest things in the world, if you know how… knitted rope. She taught me the double pointed needle method. 6 stitches only, and a beautiful result (which reminds me – I’ve run off with her needles… Better get them in the post!)

A while ago, I made Teddy a jacket. Outside one of the charity shops in our nearest town, I found a ladies’ cardigan for £2.99 and I bought it, largely because it was 100% wool, and you can’t buy a ball of yarn for that price, let alone a whole cardigan! I put it through the wash twice to get it properly shrunk and felted, appliqued a tree and leaves on the back, and found a tutorial on line to learn how to make and attach a hood, which I fashioned out of the same fleece as the tree.

I was really pleased with it. Apart from one small, but very irritating thing. It flared out in a sort of misshapen way around the bottom and along the button line. I might have known fabulous Susan would have a solution. And a classy one at that! She kindly donated a few strips of the most beautiful William Morris fabric, and showed me how to attach it to the inside of the jacket. We began by removing the buttons and poppers, stitching a line of wool, the same colour as the cardi, along the flared parts to pull them into a straight line. Then we ironed the fabric to those perimeters using Bondaweb, and I hand-stitched them along the outer edges to prevent any peeling away. Just look how beautifully it turned out:

Willam Morris - nothing but the best for Ted! — Willam Morris – nothing but the best for Ted!

The whole thing looks so much more finished now, as Ted is happily demonstrating here (though I may just applique a couple of leaves on the little front pockets, and perhaps fasten the cuffs back rather than just folding them…):

Susan also kindly donated her purpose-made french knitting dollies – made from old wooden cotton reels and nails – to continue the knitted rope experiment. My second biggest boy snaffled the largest before I had a chance to try it:

Apparently, he’s making a snake… 🙂

First, though, I showed him the presents she sent back with me for him – the products of one of her regular morning walks with her dogs:

Granny's grisly finds — Granny’s grisly finds

She knows the way to a boy’s heart 🙂

Frustrations and Playing

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Alice Neal

To continue where I left off yesterday, whilst my fabulous man was preparing a scrumptious chicken chasseur last night, and with all my littlies tucked up in bed or otherwise occupied, I decided to try my hand at spinning.

I settled down with my spindle, bag of fleece and YouTube and I believe I made two fatal errors, both of which result from my usual modus operandi of going off half-cocked, full of enthusiasm and without the requisite knowledge: 1) I assumed that the fleece I had bought had already been carded. And 2) I didn’t realise you could get more than one standard spindle size.

So, 1) It hadn’t, and was a pig to try to spin, and 2) You can, and mine, it turns out after just a few minutes’ research on YouTube, is too small. That is, it is made of pine and barely 3″ diameter, when, it would seem, at least 4″ and hardwood gives you the weight you need to keep it spinning. To add insult to injury, the carders I acquired with my spinning wheel have not been used in a very long time and are consequently a little rusty / dirty with the result that they turn my once white fleecy wool a less fetching russet. Harumph. If anybody reading this has first-hand experience of such things and feels like sharing their wisdom, you’ll find a most grateful recipient!

In not too very long, I hope, I shall be receiving the wool from the black sheep, which will mean I can card it without any real change in colour, and I will order a larger spindle. Incidentally, whilst perusing eBay for said larger spindle, I found a listing for some Roman spindle whorls, carved from black rock. Now wouldn’t that be a thing of beauty – dated around 100-200 BC… Food for thought…

I gave up on the spinning and sat twiddling my thumbs for a moment, wondering which of my many WIPs to pick up. None of them enthused me, and I didn’t fancy starting the crocodile just before supper. Then I stumbled across one of the first neckwarmers I ever knitted. I never wear it because I made it too narrow. And since I first knitted it, I have begun to crochet, and seen half a million totally inspiring fusions of the two methods, so I decided to pick a few chunky yarns I had lying around and play a little. Below, you can see what happened, and you can make out, I think, the original chunky rib knitted in a heavy multi-coloured (flecked) yarn:

Knit / Crochet fusion neckwarmer — Knit / crochet fusion neckwarmer

I haven’t taken it off since, except to bathe and sleep 🙂 It has also inspired me to look into knitting or crocheting a sweater with a neck similar to this one (I love my polo necks and this winter seems to have gone on forever. It is snowing as I type and nearly Easter!) I’ve seen a few patterns which are knitted from the neck down, which I find quite an intriguing and challenging idea, since I’ve only ever tried garments using the ‘make-this-bit-and-add-it-to-this-bit’ method. I’d love to hear from anybody who’s tried it, or feels like sharing any links to patterns. 🙂

As I mentioned, the snow has not stopped, and I am grateful to have a large drawstring bag stuffed with hats and neckwarmers I’ve knitted the past few winters. Here is my number 4, complete with infectious toothy grin (that one at the front is about to fall out) and a hat I began by knitting for myself, gave to my youngest, who refused to wear it, and that has now been appropriated by this one:

But most of today has been taken up with Norfolk Beard Oil – packing and posting new orders. We’ve just released sample bottles, which are proving rather popular. “Try before you buy”… If you have a hairy man in your life, you might just want to take a look 🙂

I guess I have to hope for more crafting tomorrow, if the laundry permits…

Progress and Experimentation

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Alice Neal

I had the chance to catch up a bit with weaving ends and attaching squares to my granny square waistcoat this weekend. This is what it looks like now:

As you can see, I have made two ‘granny triangles’ to shape the top of the front a bit and it now meets around me, though I’m going to crochet a border around the whole thing when it’s finished, so meeting at the front isn’t too necessary.

I’ve had a couple of flashes of potential inspiration, too. Around the bottom of this completed part, I’m going to crochet the little squares you can see in the top picture, along with some the same size in a different colourway. This will form a sort of empire line belt. Then, below that ‘belt’, I’m going to add some squares I’ve already made in said different colourway, along with a couple of triangles at strategic points at the back, to make the ‘skirt’ of the waistcoat a little fuller. Does that make sense? It makes perfect sense in my head, but is quite possibly gobbledigook in the explaining… 😉

The baby jacket is coming on, too. I have just finished the front right, and am onto the hood on that side.

I have long hankered after those cute little stitch markers and finally got around to ordering some. As you can see, I used the old ‘tie a bit of old yarn around the stitch’ on the back of the jacket, but by the time I had started the right front, the markers had arrived. They are just the cutest little things – like teeny tiny nappy pins – and have brought me disproportionate pleasure 🙂

And we’ve been painting eggs for a school competition. That is, I haven’t painted them at all, but three of my boys have. With… ahem… interesting and varied results 😉

The one on the right, as you may well be able to tell, is a robot. The one on the left, I am reliably informed, is a Ninja… You can see it, can’t you? Go on… squint a bit… a bit more… and a leeeeeeeeeeetle bit more… see it now?

No. Thought not. 🙂

Spindles and Looking Glasses

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Alice Neal

So I’ve picked up my spinning wheel. It is a thing of beauty!

I haven’t a clue how it works, as I have mentioned before, nor even if it has all its requisite parts. So this morning, before dragging my bones out of bed to cook brunch for a million small people (and two big ones), I looked on YouTube to see if I could shed any light on the situation.

I didn’t get further than this (a fabulous lady who goes by the name of Biddypunk on Tumblr too, and who I follow for her fibre adventures):

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zfPKLpL0TQ]

from which I learned that I didn’t need the spinning wheel at all!

So, I’ve bought one of these on eBay:

Now, instead of picturing a rather haggard mother-of-five trudging her way steadily forwards on the treadmill of packed lunches, homework, nappies, laundry, cooking and trying to remember if she brushed her hair this morning, I can imagine myself like this:

I promptly bought myself a kilo of black sheep wool (which tickles me… the Black Sheep part, for reasons I’d better not share 😉 ) and am waiting for spindle and fleece to arrive so that I can get cracking with it.

There are also videos a-plenty on YouTube for advice on how to wash fleece without turning it into a great big lump of felt. Felting is all well and good, but better when it was intended – I speak from experience (though I have always made good use of his shrunken jumpers afterwards… shhhh!)

This morning, the postman’s knock at the door bore my copy of Alice in Wonderland for turning into an English Patient-type journal. At first, I was concerned it was too big – there had been no dimensions in the listing and it is a large copy. But as my lovely other half pointed out, we are not world travellers, so lugging it around isn’t going to be too much of an issue. And the really really good news is that it is just beautiful.

So I am champing at the bit to get started on that, too.

This afternoon, though, I have finally completed the crocheting together of the top of my granny square waistcoat. Which will probably be more of a long, sleeveless coat, but let’s not fret about names 🙂

I took some photos in the mirror, as I always think these things look more real when they’re on a body, rather than lying on a table or floor, but… I’ll try to upload them tomorrow, and get better pictures when it’s nearing completion. Don’t watch this space. And certainly don’t hold your breath – you’ll turn blue! This is a lengthy process.

Off to cook supper.

Toodle-pip

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