Tag: design

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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One Hat Two Ways

Posted on by Alice Neal

I thought you might like this…

See, in the spirit of waste not, want not, and not having loads of scrappy bits of yarn left over that you can’t bear to throw away but won’t quite make something else…

The Owl and the Pussycat, remember?

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So, I had one ball of Lang Merino Color+ yarns in colour 9 and one ball of Debbie Bliss Falkland Aran in Camel

The Debbie Bliss provided the base colour for the hat, while the Lang Merino produced a beautifully undulating colour up to the crown.

Well!! I had quite a lot left, so I thought “Why the heck not?” and I reversed the colour scheme.

I completely love the result. What do you think?

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Here they are together:

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I should probably stop knitting these now, but I’ve seriously loved them so don’t be surprised if one or two more sneak in…

(You can find the pattern here if you want some owls and pussycats yourself)

A dog is for Christmas 

Posted on by Alice Neal

….

No. Wait. Life.

A dog is for life.

But since Christmas is nearly upon us, how about she gets to join in with the festivities?

Juno, our  little Jack Russell princess, remember? The one who pokes her nose out of the door as a barometer? Then swivels on her heel (so to speak) and hides behind the sofa if conditions are less than perfect?

Well, in an effort to drag her from her grump and into the great outdoors…

… she has a new Christmas jumper.

If you have a petite pooch of your own, who feels the cold and needs some festive cheer, you can find the pattern on the Loveknitting.com blog over here (and it’s free till 18th December)

Now… back to the Christmas knitting !

(And yes, I gave her the biscuit 😂)

Tunisian Crochet rules…

Posted on by Alice Neal

Remember these from my last post:

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You can find the method and pattern by clicking here

Well, I confess, I went a bit crazy with them, as you can see, and they are now available in my shop if you fancy one but don’t have the time / inclination to make one yourself.

brown1 grey2 pinkbrown1multiThen, the most wonderful thing happened. The post arrived. I may, in my impatience, have ordered several different sets of these from several different places. But look!

hooksThey’re like a fabulous cross between a knitting needle and a crochet hook, since the Tunisian method requires going from one to many stitches on a hook at a time, and the noggin on the end stops them all falling off thus averting your subsequent three-day flip-out (or is that just me?)

So, of course, I had to try them out.

And I managed to sit through an entire action film without the necessity of following the plot last night (Denzel Washington was involved, though, so it wasn’t a total wash-out) to design this, to which I put the finishing touches today:

2bag1 2bag3 2bag4 2bag6 2bag7It is quite a simple construction of two rectangles joined by a single strap that starts on the right on the front of the bag and finishes on the left on the back, with a button-down flap to keep it closed while in use.

And I have to say, I’m rather pleased with it.

Off to play some more – toodle-pip! <3