* Drumroll please *
Aphrodite has a new jumper.
All will be revealed once I’ve taken some rather more glamorous shots of her somewhere a bit prettier, so watch this space…
But for now, have a picture of Aphrodite in Paintbox Wool-Mix Chunky, in Seville Orange (you’ll need 2 – 3 balls, if you’re thinking of buying in anticipation of the pattern release 😉 )
The rather larger, lanky-leg friendly version of the Juno Jumper is just around the corner <3
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:
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:
Also, gasp in wonder at how wonderfully well they match my kitchen table. 😉
Of course, they still look awesome with my Duckfeet boots
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
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).
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:
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.
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…
Happy February knitting, lovelies <3
And Teddy walked to school in his mittens. Delighted. But probably mostly because of the snow.
… 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.
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.
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
Much knitting, many yarns, not enough time #knitting #handmade #36hourday
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:
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.
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.
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! 😉
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
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.
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:
And, as ever, if you fancy a crack at them yourself, you can find the pattern here.
(Oh, and because he’s a Wool-Widower and such an obliging sock model, I let him keep them early 🙂 )
Happy knitting! <3
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.
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?”
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:
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!
Well… it seemed only fair.
I still haven’t finished his crochet blanket.
I still haven’t finished his Christmas jumper.
So isn’t it time I started and finished something for him?!
After the gazillionth pair of Beauteous Boot Socks:
and using the same yarns (Drops Nepal in White and Drops Big Delight in Marina), my beloved partner-in-crime at last has his own pair: the Beauteous Gents’ Socks
If you are interested in the patterns, you can click on the links above the pictures, OR, you can find them both together here: the His and Hers Beauteous Socks.
Happy Knitting and may your toes be ever toasty, and your heels ever cushioned.
<3