Just a quickie 🙂
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Tag: wool
Intrepid Adventures… or … a Leap of Faith
I have long coveted the Sara Lund jumper. Do you know the one? From the hit Danish TV series “The Killing”. It’s gorgeous (though she also has a very trim figure, which showcases the sweater perfectly) and has had knitters and non-knitters alike hankering for it or how to make it. The sweater is made by a company called Gudrun & Gudrun for an inordinate amount of money, and they are closely guarding the pattern, too, but over on Ravelry you can find many different and highly successful versions of it.
First, though, you need to be able to knit a sweater. And with confidence. Oh, and with that Nordic fair isle pattern.
Hmmmm.
Well, as you know from a recent post, I have not long finished my first jumper. It was knitted from the bottom up, joined at the yoke. The Three Movies Sweater. And it was just a fraction too small. I may (horror of horrors) end up frogging it. Too much good yarn to waste and a little too feminine for my boys, sadly.
I have had two projects (oh, of so many) on the go which may help me reach my ultimate Sara Lund goal. The first, as yet unfinished, is a bottom-up sweater in gorgeous Ardalanish wool (a most exciting Christmas present), which is proving to be a bit of a fair isle sampler. I hadn’t tried fair isle before, and I’m LOVING it. I adore the way the pattern emerges, after blood, sweat and tears through stitch counting… 😉
This is as far as it has got:
*beams*
In the meantime, and with the Sarah Lund sweater still firmly in mind, I bought a book. This one, to be precise:
The name of this style of knitting always makes me snigger. I guess my inner twelve-year old is not so inner…
I embarked, using the yarn I had bought with the intention of a larger Three Movies Sweater, on a top-down seamless yoke, hoping against hope that this one would fit.
Two tricks I picked up along the way, one from a friend on my new Instagram account: Transfer the live stitches onto scrap yarn periodically, to reassure yourself it fits (and, if you’re anything like me, to get ridiculously over-excited when it does).
The second I picked up from Pinterest many moons ago and had never tried out. I’ll endeavour to explain. When you come to the end of a yarn ball, and need to introduce the next, loop the two ends around each other and, using a yarn needle, sew each yarn end back into itself. I may try to produce pictures of this at some stage. It’s brilliant. Of course, I may be preaching to the converted, but just in case you hadn’t heard of it – try it!
OK, so without further ado, here, in pictures, is the end result. Given the fact that I often finish things at night and am at work during the day, they are a little on the grainy side. But I’m thrilled. It’s warm, snuggly and I have worn it every day since I made it. Can I get a whoop whoop? 😉
HUZZAH!
I am, obviously, plotting the next. Oh, and of course I have an Ardalanish fair isle to complete… Eek!
Yarn Bowls!
Who knew?!
I have a new Instagram account and through my travels encountered Wendy Fowler, aka yarnbowl987
I was instantly drawn to her beautiful yarn bowls, though having treated myself recently to a dressmaker’s dummy, I was a good girl and simply put it on my wish list.
But she stymied me 😉
I logged in to my account, and there was the prettiest bowl, a ‘slight second’ because it had become slightly misaligned in the kiln, which didn’t affect it’s functionality at all, but its price considerably.
I failed to resist.
But look!
Can you blame me?
A capelet. Or a ponchette?
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!
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}
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 🙂
A few of the ongoing projects
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!
A couple of weeks’ worth of prevarication
Welcome back to my topsy turvy world 🙂
It’s been even more of a rollercoaster than usual lately, and of course we’re nearing the end of term, which is always manic, hectic and this year is a little more emotional than others as number two son prepares to leave primary school tomorrow and start the next educational adventure in September.
But a firm constant has been the crochet. It’s a meditation of sorts, except when I need to concentrate on counting and have at least three of the five saying “Mummy…!” I’ve been plugging away at the granny square waistcoat / vest / jacket / whatever we want to call it, managing to make about a row a week. And I’ve been trying different patterns of square, some of which are quite dramatically more beautiful (in my opinion, anyway).
But, as often happens with such a big project, I have become a little bored of the same old same old, and my mind has wandered a bit. And then I had a birthday and my fabulous fella gave me some crochet books, one of which is entirely dedicated to trims. You can find it here: The Finer Edge
I dug out the beautiful (if rather pricey) yarn I’d just bought and started playing:
I wanted to trim the sleeves and hem of a dress I’d been given for my birthday, but it’s linen and this yarn is not machine washable, so I tried another:
But this was a little too fuzzy-looking for my liking, so I attempted it again with cotton:
But this was a bit thick and heavy… *Harumph*
However… it did give me an idea…
At auction a couple of years ago, I bought a couple of boxes of sewing paraphernalia – the genuine article; in old tobacco tins with sellotaped “Pins”, “Buttons” etc and it contained loads and loads of mother-of-pearl buttons. On the strength of this one, a few friends ordered their own in various colours and with various decorations – these followed swiftly:
And another lovely friend stretched me a little further by sending me a picture she’d found on Pinterest and asking if I could do anything like it. I loved it, took up the challenge, and here it is:
These are my own personal two that I am now living in:
Then, I found a bag of beads I’ve had for years:
And here is a sample from the collection:
I don’t think this enthusiasm is going to wear out any time soon 🙂
But the real story of the past week is that I threw myself into something I’d promised aeons ago. Back in January, a few friends and I on Facebook became involved in a ‘Pay it Forward’ – the idea being that the first five friends to comment would receive something from you over the past year. Could be anything, but most likely, I think, is personal creations. One of these friends had her third beautiful daughter not so very long ago, and I decided to test my skill and knit her a jacket. My number five son – a little feral to say the least – pulled it off its needles once too often and I abandoned it. Then, I decided a granny-square hoodie was the way forward, but could only find a pattern for an adult and lost confidence in my ability to create…
Then, I found this pattern on Etsy from monpetitviolon: Little Crochet Cardigan
I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made. I highly recommend the author of the pattern, as it was incredibly easy to follow, and included pictures for reference, to check you hadn’t gone horribly wrong.
In times of stress, I throw myself wholeheartedly into projects like this and neglect all other areas of my life (except my children!) and I managed to make this in about two days.
I have a new passion! I have plans to attempt a long-sleeved shrug for myself loosely based on this pattern and using the yarn from the very first trim I attempted, but I’m going to make a summer version of the little cardigan first, similar to picture 2, for our lovely niece Laura’s adorable daughter Faith next. At least I know it’s quick and she won’t have grown out of it before it’s done!
See you soon, and happy hooking 😉
An extended leave of absence…
I’ve been away a while.
Things in our house have been a little crazy. My baby boy (okay, he’s nearly three, but he’s my baby of five boys) is in the process of being diagnosed with autism. This in itself has rather shaken our world, but on top of this he has a new diet which is outrageously restrictive and restricted, but which has produced incredible results in terms of how he is connecting with his family. So, the long and the short of it is that I’m rather chained to him and the kitchen and struggling to find time for my (other) passion – wool.
However, as the shock dies down and the diet becomes a little easier to get my head round, the crochet is creeping back in…
So, for now, this is where my crochet cardigan has got to. It is about half the length I hope it will be eventually, is entirely organic and evolving as I go, ideas popping into my head in the small hours when sleep is eluding me. I started with a pattern and discarded it after about the fourth granny square. I have totted them up and now have, I think, 81 squares so far.
Here’s a reminder of where it began:
And here it is now:
I inserted two triangles at the back of the hip, in the yellow, green and orange row, which has given it a fuller ‘skirt’ and taken each row from 11 to 13 squares.
The next row is coming on in this colourway and pattern:
So, my sanity-saver has returned. And I am determined to finish it before the autumn. Earlier if I can.
I have a couple of other WIPs, some of which are old and will stay covered for a while, and some of which are new and smaller, to give me a sense of satisfaction when I finally complete them 😉
Before I disappeared, Fiona nominated me for the Liebster award. Fiona, if you see this, thank you. I’ll reconnect when I’m back in full swing 🙂
In other news, our Beard Oil business is launching officially this week and is taking up every second of ‘spare’ time we can find. If you’re involved with a bearded man, check it out. I promise you won’t regret it!
See you soon!
An Easter break from the norm…
Well, whaddayaknow…? It was a snake! Remember that French knitting my lovely boy was doing? Here’s what it became:
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:
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…!