Tag: Alice in Knittingland

A Socking Success

Posted on by Alice Neal

Could it really be my third (is it third, or is it fourth??) post on the same pattern? I guess it could. But the thing is, you see, once you’ve designed it, knitted it, written it up… then the pressure’s off and you get to play.

So, as you saw in my last post, I’ve been playing with some bold and striking combos. This grey-black gradient, with the red-orange-brown has produced something I think is rather spectacular…

You saw the first sock, last time:

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but before I post the next picture, check out the colours on those balls of wool – the point I’d got to before casting on the next.

What I think is rather spectacularly beautiful is that as striking as the first sock is, the second looks like its long-lost brother – left on a windowsill for a decade until its rediscovering has reunited it with its counterpart, still as fresh as a daisy. Whilst our windowsill sock looks like a sepia photograph of the original.

So, now that I’m done with the waxing lyrical, take a peek:

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Also, gasp in wonder at how wonderfully well they match my kitchen table. 😉

Of course, they still look awesome with my Duckfeet boots

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So… which are your favourites? I have to confess, I’m pretty hard-pushed to decide:

And, as always, if you fancy a pop at them yourself, the pattern is here.

And the yarn is here. I used colours 5 and 68 for mine.

Happy knitting! <3

More Bobble Socks

Posted on by Alice Neal

So I really can’t call these Lilac and Lime, can I??

These ones, if you recall, from a week or two ago? (Click for pattern).

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Well, here’s how this story goes: I have a dress. It’s one of my favourites. Covered in owls, in autumn tones. And I always wear it with boots.

Here it is:

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I bought it in Norwich, back when I lived in Norfolk around 7 years ago. A spontaneous, impulse buy that paid off as I’ve worn it to death over the years and love it still.

And I fancied a pair of bobble socks in the right kind of colours to match it. I also fancied trying these ones with two balls of Lang Merino + Color rather than a different kind of aran wool, as I then plan to reverse the colours for another pair. See? There’s method to my apparent madness 😉

Well, I’m REALLY pleased with how the first one has turned out and am, as we speak, casting on the second.

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Can’t wait to finish and wear them with my owls. (The colours, for those interested in this colourway, are 68 and 5).

It’s OK, winter, you don’t have to go yet…

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Happy February knitting, lovelies <3

The Husband Jumper

Posted on by Alice Neal

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… it needs a better name. The Polar Bear Jumper…? Nah. Although (don’t tell him), he is a bit of a bear, and the older he gets, the more polar he looks 😉

The name question stays on the drawing board for now.

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What I realised was that this was (shamefully) a WIP for oh-so-very-much-too-long. Inexplicably, I had actually got it to the point where there was only half a sleeve left to knit, put it down, and not picked it back up for about TWO YEARS?!? I mean, I know I’m a bit of a project magpie (ooh, the shiny new yarn! ooh, let’s have a crack at THIS! ooh, I neeeeeed to make THIS, right NOW!) you get the point, but this was pushing prevarication to its very limits.

And then I never actually shared with you the fact that I had finally finished. One picture on Instagram passed by with barely a nod.

But I DID finish. And it fits him beautifully, and he has actually WORN it this winter. Quite a lot. Which, as far as I’m concerned, is the mark of something he actually likes. 😉

So without further ado, or too much of a flourish, here he is, posing beautifully outside my perfectly blue house.

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I did write it all down as I designed and knitted it (I’m a make-it-up-as-I-go-along sort of designer. Intuitive rather than mathematical, if that makes sense) but I haven’t written it all up formally yet. It’s rather a job, and I’ve got all my charts to map up etc. I will though, as I’ve had quite a few enquiries about it. Just let me catch my breath 😉

Anyway. Another WIP turned to FO and a sigh of relief, a big smile and a large gin.

Hope you like!

<3

 

In the Pink

Posted on by Alice Neal

There are one or two advantages to not having a long, hot summer (though I’m a bit sensitive about the amount of rain we’ve had Oop North just lately, so do try not to bait me… 😉 ), the main one being longer months of wool-wearing.

Which, when you’ve just finished pretty much your favourite jumper yet, is some small consolation to offset the bloody RAIN.

*Harumph*

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It’s outrageously pink, but striped enough not to be candy floss, and I chose a different solid colour for the sleeves and the main body to shake things up a bit.

The neck is wonderfully wide, and is left to furl slightly, as are the sleeves. 2-stitch raglan seams (my favourites) and a K2P2 rib at the hem are the final little details.

I made it with Drops Nepal and Drops Big Delight, which I had LOADS of kicking around, given my total obsession with knitting Beauteous Boot Socks 😉 but any Aran weight yarn giving you a gauge of around 16 stitches per 10cm would do nicely.

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If you fancy having a crack at it, you can find the pattern here. And if you do have a go, do please think about tagging me. I totally love seeing the interpretations of others (we all know it’s impossible not to tweak a pattern, right?)

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The pattern is in one size (pictured) and shown here on me – 5’9″ and a UK size 12 – though the bust is a generous 42″ and there are notes in the pattern about making it bigger.

So… happy knitting! <3

Ted’s stripes

Posted on by Alice Neal

Having made a gazillion pairs of beauteous boot socks, I had a mega-tonne (well, not quite, but it certainly looked that way in the sitting room cupboard) of Drops Nepal and Drops Big Delight left, and it was as I was knitting the leg of a sock that it struck me… that would make an awesome sleeve. This is the one I was working on:

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So I found the cream and the blues and my measuring tape and set about measuring Ted.

He’s 6 – he’ll be 7 in August – and long and lean.

I decided that this one would be a bottom-up jumper, so: knitting from the bottom up to the underarm, then knitting the sleeves to that point, and joining them all on a circular needle to begin the raglan decreases up to the neck.

I worked out the gauge at 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch and jotted down everything I could think of that I’d need.

Around his tummy: 24″
Around his chest: 26″
From the nape of his neck to his bottom: 17″
From underarm to wrist: 13″
From shoulder to wrist: 18″
From underarm to bottom: 12″ and
Around his upper arm: 9″

I used 4mm circulars (80cm) for the 2×2 rib and switched to 5mm circulars for the rest of the piece.

Taking his widest point (his chest), I cast on 130 stitches (26″ x 5 sts per inch). With hindsight, I might have added another 5 for ease, though it does fit perfectly as you’ll see.

I knitted 6 rows of 2×2 rib on 4mm needles in Drops Nepal in cream and then switched to Big Delight and 5mm needles. The stripe pattern is 4 rows of Big Delight and then 2 rows of Nepal which 6-row repeat, most handily, is an inch.

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I repeated this until I got to 14″ (13 x 6-row stripes and the rib) and then put it aside (on stitch holders or waste yarn, or even on the needles if you have enough pairs) to knit the sleeves.

Again, using Nepal and 4mm needles, I cast on 44 stitches (9″ x 5 stitches per inch, then minus 1 to keep the 2×2 rib simple) and knitted 6 rows of 2×2 rib, switching then to 5mm needles and Big Delight. Since sleeves are always longer, I knitted 14 x 6-row stripes per sleeve.

So, to join the sleeves to the body:

First, I *put 10 stitches of the body stitches on waste yarn (this will be the underarm, which you will join to the sleeve with Kitchener stitch at the very end) and put 10 sleeve stitches on waste yarn. Then slip the remaining 34 sleeve stitches onto the main needles,  then slipped 55 stitches from the body** and repeated from * to **  I then had 178 stitches on the needles and placed a marker for the beginning of the round.

Using Nepal, I knitted two rounds.

Then I knitted around once in Big Delight and on the next round, to divide for the raglan decreases, I placed markers before the last stitch of the last round and after the first stitch of the next, knitted 53, placed a marker, knitted 2, placed a marker, knitted 32, placed a marker, knitted 2, placed a marker, knitted 53, placed a marker, knitted 2, placed a marker, knitted 32 and arrived back at the first marker.

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For the 3rd row of Big Delight, I began the decreases (you can see them underway above), very simply: knit 2 together before and after the 2-stitch raglan (between the two markers either side of the sleeves)

For the 4th row of Big Delight, knit around making sure to slip the markers.

And I continued the decreases every other row whilst sticking to the 6-row pattern (4 rows of Big Delight, 2 rows of Nepal) until I had only 1 stitch left in the sleeve sections (between the two markers).

Then I switched to 4mm needles and Nepal for 6 rows of 2×2 rib and finished with a super-stretchy bind-off. There’s little worse than putting all that effort in and being unable to get the blasted thing over yer head! 😉

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Maddeningly, Teddy was at school when it was finished (so inconsiderate!) so I had to wait until I was home from work and he home from school to take him back to the studio to get some pictures.

I think you’ll agree a) it’s very fetching and b) I may have overdone the pictures… Well – knitting and Teddy – two of my favourite things <3

Luscious LongSocks

Posted on by Alice Neal

You might be forgiven for confusing these with the Beauteous Boot Socks for they are, in fact, enormously similar…

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However, the BBS are rather too thick to continue to wear through the Spring – early Summer and the late Summer – early Autumn seasons.

So!

The Luscious LongSocks are born.

Knitted with Cascade 220 for the solid colour and Lang Yarns Tosca Light for the graded colour, they are soft, light and still snuggly for chillier days under boots or with shoes, or chilly weekend mornings with your jammies 😉

If you fancy a go at them, you can find the pattern here.

Tabby Cattercushion (a free tutorial)

Posted on by Alice Neal

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So I made a HUGE cattercushion.

Do you see what I did there? 😉

You can, of course make a gazillion of these (s)cattercushions so they can live up to their name, in a narrower gauge yarn, or chunkier, in all sizes and colours…

For this one, I used Schachenmayr Boston and Rico Creative Melange Chunky, 7mm circular needles and some enormous mother-of-pearl buttons. You’ll also need a cushion pad and some toy stuffing.

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If you fancy having a go at it, there is a free blow by blow tutorial over on the loveknitting blog. Just click here to be taken to it.

Here’s a picture of him with my Wilfy, for scale:

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You can download the tutorial by clicking on the link below.
Happy  knitting and enjoy the snuggles!

 

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My Other Half

Posted on by Alice Neal

I got two beautiful skeins of The Yarn Collective’s Pembroke Worsted in Smoky Quartz and Copper Agate.

It’s gorgeous stuff. I mean gorgeous. Beautiful shifting colour, delightfully squishy, and lovely to knit with.

So, what to make with it?

A pair of Valentine’s boot socks for my husband. And, since Valentine’s Day was fast approaching, they needed LOTS of hearts.

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Oh, and in the spirit of different but similar halves of a whole, I thought they’d be rather beautiful mirroring each other: mismatched but matching.

So here they are in all their glory:

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And, as ever, if you fancy a crack at them yourself, you can find the pattern here.

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(Oh, and because he’s a Wool-Widower and such an obliging sock model, I let him keep them early 🙂 )

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Happy knitting! <3

Stripes and Swirls

Posted on by Alice Neal

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I’m a sucker for a sale.

Well, actually, let’s rephrase that. I’m a sucker for a YARN sale.

And I’ve been bombarded with emails telling me how much cheaper it all is since Christmas, so when this stuff – Sublime Luxurious Aran Tweed, 40% wool, 40% cotton, 20% llama –  was about half price, it was obviously irresistible.

Even though… erm… I didn’t exactly have a plan.

But I’ve been completely bonkers about stripes lately. So, obviously, there had to be stripes.

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And nothing is complete these days without a bit of a motif… When I told my beloved husband my plan to mix ’em up he looked, let’s say, a little skeptical. But he did have the good grace to follow the look with “But what do I know?”

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One of the most positive side-effects of this journey through my woollen world is this: for many years, an expression of doubt or uncertainty would have put me off continuing along my trajectory but at this grand old age and with the experiences I have under my belt (which I hesitate to label ‘good’ or ‘bad’ since they all led me here, after all) I don’t care. I have the courage of my conviction, and I’m going to do it anyway. Sometimes, of course, it doesn’t work.

This time, I’m relieved to report, I believe it did.

So, the Stripes and Swirls Sweater was born and I love it:

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If you fancy a crack at it, you can find the pattern here.

And beloved husband?

“I think it’s your best yet.”

See?

Happy knitting!

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