Alice in Knittingland Archives - Page 7 of 8

A Spring Scarf in Natural Wool

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Alice Neal

OK, so the spring scarf I mentioned last time? It’s finally finished. Here it is, being modelled by… well, me.

The finished article in its rightful place

First things first. The materials used were:

1) a 2.5mm crochet hook, and
2) three different colours of natural, undyed wool.

The palest I bought on eBay many moons ago and no longer remember from whom. But the two darker ones are from The Knitting Gift Shop, which is owned and run by the gentleman who also owns the printing company that does all the printing for our own beard oil company, and his wife. Yes, that’s a bit convoluted. But I’m glad to know them – apart from the wonderful job they do with our printing, their wools are all locally sourced, fabulous quality and reasonably priced. And I loved working with them (and no – I’m not on commission!) 🙂

So, onto the construction.

It started with the Japanese flower.

This is a free pattern and there are many blogs (mine too, now) that tell you how to make it. I saw it, made it, loved it. And then worked out how to join the motifs, and then decided on a scarf.

So this is how it works (UK terms):

Chain 6 and join into a circle with a slip stitch in the first chain.

round1: Chain 3 (counts as one double crochet) and make 11 double crochets into the ring, for 12 in total. Slip stitch into the first ‘chain 3’.

round 2: Chain 5, then into each gap in the circle, make one double crochet followed by a chain 2. You will have 12 loops all the way around. Join with a slip stitch into the first ‘chain 5’.

round 3: chain 3 (counts as one double crochet) and make three more double crochets into the first 2-chain gap. Into all the remaining 2-chain gaps, make four double crochets.

round 4: *chain 5, miss 2 double crochets and make a slip stitch into the third. Slip stitch into the next** repeat from * to ** all the way around. Slip stitch into the previous round. These loops are the beginnings of the petals.

Making the petals – you can see all the loops around the circle, and the first three petals of round 5 complete.

round 5: make 8 double crochets into each of the loops, with a slip stitch into the last round between each petal.

Done!

So, the next task (other than the ever-taxing weaving in of the ends) is to join them. For this, I made the next flower up to the end of the 4th round. Then I made 10 petals. For the 11th and 12th petals, I made the first four double crochets, put my hook behind the fourth or fifth double crochet of a petal on the back of the first flower, drew the yarn through it, and continued on with the next four. I repeated the process on the next petal and we have a join.

You can see the construction of the scarf very clearly in the above picture. They are all joined to at least one flower by two petals, and if you join as you go along (you can use this picture for reference) it makes the whole thing much easier than trying to figure a way to do it all afterwards.

Coming along nicely – don’t be fooled! It’s still a scarf, just folded in this picture.

It’s an incredibly portable project, too, so you can bundle it into a small bag for the car, bus, queue, waiting room… or in this case beach 🙂

Finally, the blocking. I’m not sure how useful this was really since the flowers are intrinsically quite flat and the petals designed to curl up a little. But I’ve just got these blocking mats and pins and, frankly, I still get a bit excited about using them. So I did 🙂

And ta-dah! That’s it!

If you fancy giving it a go, and my explanations are a little too woolly, or assume too much knowledge, or… whatever difficulty you might stumble across, I’m more than happy to attempt a better explanation or answer any questions – just holler 🙂

In other news, I have a bit of a plan for a lot more of these,

but you’ll have to watch this space 😉

Spring Tulips Sleeveless Sweater

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Alice Neal

Or tank top. Or vest. It’s difficult to know what people call them these days, as searching for any of those terms can bring up such a variety of garments, including waistcoats and cardigans…. I thought a vest was a sleeveless t-shirt you wore under your top when the weather turned chilly.

To me, it’s a tank top. Although I do accept that it isn’t a very delicate or romantic term.

Anyway, here’s the story:

I’m a mum. I have five children. I run my own business. I don’t often need to dress particularly formally. But occasionally, just occasionally, I do. I wanted a slipover – there’s another word for it! – an extra layer to go over a shirt when I wear smart trousers.

I chose a beautiful yarn – Drops Lima, which is a wool/alpaca blend – in grey. It may have been dark grey, or charcoal. Here it is:

I didn’t have a pattern. I figured, how hard can it be? *cough* and in my usual rather-too-gungho fashion, I embarked.

On 4mm circular needles, I cast on 176 stitches. Not sure why. I’d like to say it’s because I had worked out my gauge, measured my size and done the calculations, but it isn’t. I suspect it is because a similar jumper in a similar yarn on similar needles required the same number of stitches. And I knitted 5 rows of rib.

Then I rounded the number up to 180 stitches, making four at relatively equidistant intervals around the row.

Then I got knitting.

And knitting.

And, after all the fair isle I’ve been doing lately, I got really bored.

So I googled fair isle patterns and came up with a google image of a flower. And guess what! It had 9 stitches across, which meant I could do exactly 20 repeats without altering anything. So I ordered a couple of balls of the same yarn in contrasting colours – an off-white and an ice blue – and put a fair isle strip in there.

Then, I was faced with the shaping. I found a wonderful resource on YouTube. She is far more organised, methodical and scientific than I, and I watched her like a good little student and then forgot it all and did it my way, incorporating some of the lessons she had managed to make stick in my memory. You can find her here with her lesson on shoulder shaping. I also watched her v-neck shaping videos, did my own rather slapdash workings out, and got cracking. One of the most useful things I picked up was the tip to knit both sides at once, using two separate balls of wool. Genius! Then you can’t go wrong 🙂 (in theory…)

Amazing - it looks like a v neck tank top!! — Amazing – it looks like a v neck tank top!!

When I had done front and back keeping all the stitches live on waste yarn, knitted my short rows (for the very first time!) to shape the shoulders, and front and back had reached the same height, I turned the top inside out and fused them using the three needle bind-off.

I hadn’t made the v neck quite deep enough for my liking, so ribbing the neck was going to be a problem. I decided on a row of crochet in the grey followed by a row in the contrasting off-white which rather neatly echoed the edges of the colour join I had chosen before the tulips.

Same around the armholes and ta-dah! We have a v neck. Blocking (on my new Knitpro blocking squares which I love):

And the finished result.

I am wearing it as we speak 🙂

In other news, I have picked up an old WIP and am determined to finish it. My stashbuster crochet blanket:

And finally, I’ve been given a rather fabulous camera, so the very first finished object I ever made – a crochet camera strap – has had new life breathed into it:

And look – it takes lovely pictures!

Cherry blossom — The ornamental cherry in our garden

A Spring Scarf

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Alice Neal

The sun is shining and my mood is appropriately springy.

Yes, it’s in the air! At last! Emerging from the cold and snowy wardrobe, blinking into the light. Hurrah!

And to celebrate, here is a scarf I’ve oh-so-nearly finished. I suspect it may be the start of something as my head is whirring with ideas and I don’t feel I’m anywhere near the end of this particular new obsession 😉 It is worked with Louisa Harding ‘Ianthe’ which is 50% cotton and 50% merino wool, beautifully soft but also wonderfully sturdy.

So, without further ado, here it is in pictures:

Humble beginnings - an evening lapful of busyness — Humble beginnings – an evening lapful of busyness

A little variety of size, colour and beginning to attach them... — A little variety of size, colour and beginning to attach them…

Ok ok, it's *still* not quite finished, but this is what it's going to look like. — Ok ok, it’s *still* not quite finished, but this is what it’s going to look like.

But I’d better get on with one of the other 105 projects I have on the go 😉

A Second Success (I’m still bouncing)

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Alice Neal

I’m really excited to have my shop up and running, and will be popping little bits and pieces in there as and when I can tear myself away from making jumpers for myself 😉 because I’ve just finished my second one (that fits!) To say that I’m over the moon would be to understate it completely. I have not removed it since sewing in the ends and am now praying that the sun, which has made its first truly warm appearance of the year so far today, is just a blip and the cold will come back for a while.

OK, I don’t really mean that, but I’m a bit gutted I’ll have to put it away till next year, and fairly soon, too. So I’m starting to look at some cotton tunic options, since this jumper is made with the oh-so-soft-and-snuggly Drops Andes, which is 65% wool and 35% alpaca. It is light, soft, warm… Oh, heck! It’s perfect.

I’ve told the story here in picture form. Since a lot of my knitting takes place in the evenings, when the day-job is over 😉 , the light is not fabulous, but the photographs are clear enough, if not aesthetically perfect!

Andes 1 — Casting the ribbed funnel neck stitches onto 9mm circular needles

Andes 2 — Funnel neck complete, the pattern begins

Andes 3 — I love this part – the emergent pattern

Andes 4 — In daylight, the seamless yoke taking shape.

Andes 5 — The stitches for the sleeves have been transferred onto waste yarn

And here I should add, there are many sensible things you’re supposed to do as a knitter – tension squares etc etc – that I’m a bit too slapdash to do religiously, but I cannot stress enough how useful the waste yarn tip was (thank you my Instagram friend Laura!) This jumper, and its sleeves, are the perfect length thanks to the slightly fiddly but worth every non-knitting moment of transferring live stitches on to waste yarn and trying it on! 🙂

Andes 6 — Yards of jumper in front of ‘The Killing’ – seriously, if you haven’t seen the series, it’s *brilliant*

Andes 7 — Bedtime. Time to put the knitting away, but too impatient to wait for a daylight shot to show it complete without sleeves.

Andes 8 — A bit of a flourish around the bottom of the jumper and then the moment of truth – binding off the hem.

Andes 9 — Complete but for 2/3 of a sleeve.

Andes 11 — Can’t wipe away the smile. It’s DONE! It FITS!

Andes 12 — Dancing with Baby Baggins.
The Finished Jumper Dance of Joy.

Cotton next 🙂

Intrepid Adventures… or … a Leap of Faith

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Alice Neal

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:

Ardalanish fair isle sampler jumper *beams* — Ardalanish fair isle sampler jumper
*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? 😉

From ribbed polo into the first part of the pattern on the seamless yoke

Pattern complete, the sleeve stitches have just been separated from the body and are on stitch holders / scrap yarn

My second jumper. HUZZAH! — My second jumper.
HUZZAH!

I am, obviously, plotting the next. Oh, and of course I have an Ardalanish fair isle to complete… Eek!

A couple of weeks’ worth of prevarication

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Alice Neal

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…

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Alice Neal

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…

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Alice Neal

Well, whaddayaknow…? It was a snake! Remember that French knitting my lovely boy was doing? Here’s what it became:

Arthur's finger-knitted snake — Arthur’s finger-knitted snake

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:

Some of the brood at Hadrian's Wall — Some of the brood at Hadrian’s Wall

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…!

Home from the wilds

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Alice Neal

I have just spent a glorious week, along with my lovely man and our little Ted, in the wilds of Norfolk, which was bracing but for the most part rather lovely and sunny. We even managed to sit outside for an afternoon of photographing my mother-in-law’s gorgeous knitwear collection. (Go and have a look at what she’s up to over here).

She spoilt us thoroughly and we came home with considerably less give in our clothes than when we left.

I didn’t get much knitting or crocheting done, though I did learn a new skill or two, as I shall explain.

First of all, this is my (rather slow) progress with the beautiful crocheted cowl. I’m really happy with it, but a little anxious that my initial stitches are too tight and the shape may be a little off as a result.

But what Susan did teach me is one of the simplest things in the world, if you know how… knitted rope. She taught me the double pointed needle method. 6 stitches only, and a beautiful result (which reminds me – I’ve run off with her needles… Better get them in the post!)

A while ago, I made Teddy a jacket. Outside one of the charity shops in our nearest town, I found a ladies’ cardigan for £2.99 and I bought it, largely because it was 100% wool, and you can’t buy a ball of yarn for that price, let alone a whole cardigan! I put it through the wash twice to get it properly shrunk and felted, appliqued a tree and leaves on the back, and found a tutorial on line to learn how to make and attach a hood, which I fashioned out of the same fleece as the tree.

I was really pleased with it. Apart from one small, but very irritating thing. It flared out in a sort of misshapen way around the bottom and along the button line. I might have known fabulous Susan would have a solution. And a classy one at that! She kindly donated a few strips of the most beautiful William Morris fabric, and showed me how to attach it to the inside of the jacket. We began by removing the buttons and poppers, stitching a line of wool, the same colour as the cardi, along the flared parts to pull them into a straight line. Then we ironed the fabric to those perimeters using Bondaweb, and I hand-stitched them along the outer edges to prevent any peeling away. Just look how beautifully it turned out:

Willam Morris - nothing but the best for Ted! — Willam Morris – nothing but the best for Ted!

The whole thing looks so much more finished now, as Ted is happily demonstrating here (though I may just applique a couple of leaves on the little front pockets, and perhaps fasten the cuffs back rather than just folding them…):

Susan also kindly donated her purpose-made french knitting dollies – made from old wooden cotton reels and nails – to continue the knitted rope experiment. My second biggest boy snaffled the largest before I had a chance to try it:

Apparently, he’s making a snake… 🙂

First, though, I showed him the presents she sent back with me for him – the products of one of her regular morning walks with her dogs:

Granny's grisly finds — Granny’s grisly finds

She knows the way to a boy’s heart 🙂

A new skill… almost

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Alice Neal

Well, Easter is upon us and it’s time to get together with family. Fortunately for me, that means spending time with my fabulous mother-in-law, whose yarn skills leave me in awe. Since I’m off to stay with her and don’t want to fill the entire car with my works in progress, I have started something new. (Don’t tell Bertie, because it’s not the crocodile… that’s next – promise) I spent much of my free time yesterday looking at broomstick lace crochet, found a tutorial and tried to follow it, worked out too late that it was written for left-handed people, and gave up. That’s for another day.

But on my travels I came across somebody called Luz, who has a facebook page, blog and Etsy shop. I splashed out on her pattern – this one here. It makes this beautiful cowl. (Go and check her out – she has some truly beautiful things).

I have some yarn for it already, and thought I could give it a go whilst staying in the rural wilds of Norfolk.

Thing is, my youngest decided to throw himself at the wall earlier on – he is a terribly fearless and intrepid two year old, the like of which none of his four older brothers has been – and is sporting an egg on his forehead bigger than any I have ever seen in my 13 years as a mother. So he couldn’t be left alone. So I kept him company and picked up the crochet.

This is where I’ve got to.

I’m clearly going wrong somewhere, and it probably has something to do with the acronyms bpsc and fpsc, which I guessed at rather than looking up and have therefore not got anything like the definition she has. I’ll look them up for my next attempt, but I’ve come too far to go back now! 😉

And I love it. It’s more complicated and beautiful than anything I’ve attempted in crochet so far, so I’m really looking forward to the finished product and incorporating the pattern into something else, too.

Right. See you the other side of Easter. Have a lovely week wherever you are… 🙂

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