Beauteous Boot Socks
I can’t help myself…
This, of course, is what they are going to look like eventually:
It’s just that there are a GAZILLION colourways out there, and while there are…. well….
I’ve just got to keep knitting.
Tag: stripes
Stripes and Swirls
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!
His & Hers Stripes
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
A passionate affair
Once again, please forgive the knees 😉
But look…
I mean, LOOK.
Stripes, pure wool, bursting with colour…
What’s not to love?
And once again, they are just perfect with my old faves, the Duckfeet.
And just in case you were worried…. there are more on the needles. I am too in love to stop just yet.
Drops Big Delight provides those beautiful undulating colours, and Drops Nepal provides the striped relief.
Bliss
And the next ones….? Expect greens…. pinks…. browns…. *wistful sigh*
If you fancy a pop at knitting them, the pattern is here 💜
Cozy Toes
And snuggly calves.
And knobbly knees.
It’s all a bit frantic around here just now, with Christmas wool coming out of my ears…
But I took about 120g of Drops Big Delight, a pair of 5.5mm circulars and a few hours out over the last few days and made myself a long yearned for pair of boot socks.
Forgive the knees and marvel at the beautiful self-striping magic…
See you on the Yule flip-side (and may it be merry and bright) 💜
To bare or not to bare…
… *snigger*
I have two patterns for you.
That’s rather the point.
One, I hinted at at the end of my last post and I cannot tell you how thrilled I was with the way it turned out.
Knitted in stunning Louisa Harding Amitola, with its shiny silken sheen and delicately changing colours, and Millamia naturally soft merino which holds a stitch like no yarn I’ve used before, the stripes kept me hooked throughout the working of this piece. I was forever impatient as to how the next colour would look blended into the rest.
Here, you can see what I mean:
For the body, I used Millamia naturally soft merino in Putty Grey and Louisa Harding Amitola in Dark Rose.
The ribbing on the cuffs, neck and button band are in the same Millamia wool, in the shade Storm.
It is knitted in the round, top down, with a circular yoke and I blooming LOVE it. It’s light enough to grab as you run out of the door, and warm enough for a snuggly extra layer. I used mother of pearl buttons BUT whilst I think they look beautiful, I have already had to replace 3 broken ones. They are terribly fragile 🙁
Anyway, here it is, in all its glory:
If you fancy having a crack at it yourself, you can find the pattern here.
The second piece…
…is all together more risqué. But it was equally fun to create.
Knitted and crocheted in Cascade Yarns Ultrapima 100% cotton in sand and taupe, which look to me like a dull gold and silver, it produces a really lovely, airy but sturdy fabric. Perfect for super-hot days / evenings. I would recommend a little dress tape, though – no running after the kids in this one! 😉
So, you’ll need basic knitting and crochet skills for this one and you can find the pattern over here if you fancy giving it a go.
In other news...
This King Cole Galaxy with integral silver sequins became another piece of knitting / crochet fusion which I may well get around to writing up. It’s light and airy and perfect either on its own or as an off-the-shoulder top layer.
And, this jumper in Drops Karisma will be written into a pattern soon, too.
And this cardi, knitted in Drops Karisma and a beautiful hand-dyed yarn all the way from The Flying Kettle in the ol’ U S of A (look her up on Instagram, her stuff is gorgeous!)
Oh, oh, AND, this sweater:
I have an AWFUL LOT of pattern writing to do 🙂
By the way, do you like my t-shirt?
Right, I’d best get on and start writing, then! TTFN <3
Project Caravan
This little beauty, a little long in the tooth but perfectly fit for purpose, has recently come into our possession:
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.
The Sweater of Many Random Stripes
Ooh, I’ve had fun with this one!
Having done a couple of top-down, seamless yoke jumpers and been thrilled with the results, I was in danger of creating an entire wardrobe of very similar jumpers for myself – I tend to knit for myself until I have mastered it, at which point I feel more comfortable about giving things away or selling them.
So I embarked on a bottom-up jumper instead.
I used Drops Andes in a beige and a brown. It is the same as I used for this jumper, which until now was my stand-out favourite. And, clearly, I massively over-ordered on the yarn (*blush* “Hello, my name’s Alice. I am a yarn-addict”) I believe this jumper took around 6 x 100g balls.
100 sts on 8mm circular needles.
Random stripes begun
I cast on 100 stitches to an 8mm circular needle and knitted stripes willy-nilly until I reached a length long enough to reach my armpit from mid-hip. I purposely didn’t knit rib around the bottom as I had a vague notion to crochet a border around the bottom and cuffs.
I then embarked on the sleeves: 26sts on double pointed needles, increasing gradually to 34 by the time I reached the armpit. For example, I made a stitch at rows 11 and 13, then a couple more at around elbow level, and four more gradually on the way up to the top. I kept a note of where I increased so that I could recreate it for the second sleeve. I made the sleeve around 14 rows longer than the jumper body: I have long arms and hate when my wrists are bare in the winter!
I then put 6 sts at each side of the jumper body onto waste yarn, and 6 stitches of each sleeve onto waste yarn, too. They will be knitted together using the 3 needle bind-off at the end.
Then comes knitting across the body to the waste yarn, (place a marker), knitting the live stitches from the first sleeve onto the circular needle up to the sleeve’s waste yarn, (place a marker) knitting across the back of the jumper and repeating with the second sleeve. At the end of the second sleeve, you have your new row beginning.
I then knitted two rows before beginning the raglan decreases which, when you have the hang of them, are really quite simple. Two things to remember: Every other row is just a knit around, and use markers!
Every decrease row involves slipping the two stitches before the marker onto the right needle and knitting through them with the left needle. Then, after the marker, knit two together. So much easier in practice than it sounds!!
Then, basically, knit till you have the size neck you require. You can stop decreasing and switch to rib for a big chunky roll neck, or end up with something more boat-neck like mine.
Once finished, and all ends woven in, I crocheted three rows around the bottom, using a *single crochet, chain 1* pattern, crocheting into the spaces on subsequent rounds, and just a single row of the same around the cuffs. And ta-dah! No curling!!
I haven’t taken it off yet:
I must now attend to my severely neglected works in progress children 😉
These two, amongst others, are still on the needles:
Until the next time.
And if anybody fancies attempting the jumper, and I can help at all, please shout! <3