I am trying to adjust myself to the idea of posts without pictures occasionally, so I don't have huge gaps when not taking photos (such as that one right down there). So here is a quick, text-only round-up of my current crafting:
1. I'm still working on the cable socks for my husband. Hopefully they'll be done for his birthday in December.
2. I'm also still working on my second Willowherb sock. This keeps getting put on the back burner as I have things with deadlines to get on with. However, yesterday I had a day off work and in the spirit of such, took the opportunity to work on something that was for me for a change. Not sure when they'll get picked up again.
3. I'm working on a pair of socks for the little one, knitted two-at-a-time on one circular needle, using magic loop. I will do a proper blog post on this at some point, as it's a whole new technique for me and my opinion of it changes every time I pick them up. Not sure when they'll get done, hopefully before he grows out of them.
4. I've just finished a pair of socks (yes, finished. An actual pair!) that are kind of secret. I will blog about them properly when I'm able, but it's quite exciting.
5/6. I'm working on two projects for another swap, on a crime and mystery theme. Again, secret, sorry. Once the swap is over I'll post pictures.
I think that's all. However I am also planning further socks for the husband, fingerless mitts for me and a cross stitched bookmark for my Dad…
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Friday, 13 November 2009
Of swaps and procrastination
Sorry about the delay. I've been crafting but not taking photos and I hate doing posts without pictures so… no posts.
I've been working on a few projects, but don't have pictures of all of them yet, so I'm just going to stick with one topic: a swap. I think they seem pretty confusing to non-crafty people, but they're lots of fun. Essentially, a group is formed (there are lots of groups and forums on Ravelry) and a theme is chosen, then a moderator assigns everyone a partner. You make up a parcel for your partner and send it, and someone else is making a parcel for you. There are questionnaires and things so you can learn about people's likes and dislikes, and a bit of online stalking is encouraged, so you come up with a package they'll really love. The two main requirements in my swap group are that you should include yarn, and something handmade, which doesn't have to be knitting.
I'd been thinking about swaps for a while - a couple of friends do them, and have been really enthusiastic, so when I saw a Buffy swap thread I had to take the plunge. And I loved it! I haven't even had my parcel yet - obviously I'm hoping it will be great but even if it's not, I've still had so much fun it's definitely worth it. And my partner loved what I gave her, which made me very happy.
I'm not going to list everything I put in here, but given that this is a blog of my crafting, I'll show you the bits I made. First, a scarf:
It's the Yarn Harlot's one row handspun scarf, with fringing added to the end, in Wendy Fusion yarn. Easy and fun to knit. Thanks to nelago, my partner, for the photo - I forgot to take one before sending it!
And then there was this. My partner's favourite episode was Hush, especially the projection sequence (Giles was her favourite character), so I couldn't resist the opportunity to play around with charting again.
And it was, in her words, "the MOST AMAZING CROSS-STITCH I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!" Which is nice :-)
I've been working on a few projects, but don't have pictures of all of them yet, so I'm just going to stick with one topic: a swap. I think they seem pretty confusing to non-crafty people, but they're lots of fun. Essentially, a group is formed (there are lots of groups and forums on Ravelry) and a theme is chosen, then a moderator assigns everyone a partner. You make up a parcel for your partner and send it, and someone else is making a parcel for you. There are questionnaires and things so you can learn about people's likes and dislikes, and a bit of online stalking is encouraged, so you come up with a package they'll really love. The two main requirements in my swap group are that you should include yarn, and something handmade, which doesn't have to be knitting.
I'd been thinking about swaps for a while - a couple of friends do them, and have been really enthusiastic, so when I saw a Buffy swap thread I had to take the plunge. And I loved it! I haven't even had my parcel yet - obviously I'm hoping it will be great but even if it's not, I've still had so much fun it's definitely worth it. And my partner loved what I gave her, which made me very happy.
I'm not going to list everything I put in here, but given that this is a blog of my crafting, I'll show you the bits I made. First, a scarf:
It's the Yarn Harlot's one row handspun scarf, with fringing added to the end, in Wendy Fusion yarn. Easy and fun to knit. Thanks to nelago, my partner, for the photo - I forgot to take one before sending it!
And then there was this. My partner's favourite episode was Hush, especially the projection sequence (Giles was her favourite character), so I couldn't resist the opportunity to play around with charting again.
And it was, in her words, "the MOST AMAZING CROSS-STITCH I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!" Which is nice :-)
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Woodland wonderings
You may have remembered I mentioned a shawl, way back some time ago. (and I look back and laugh at how I hoped to wear it to my friend's wedding in June). I started the Woodland Shawl in gorgeous Woodland Violet Yaffle yarn (no link sorry, it's sold out). Here was my first WIP pic, that I should have posted a couple of months ago:
(I know, I need to figure out a better way to do my photos than the gravel path)
I'm having fun with the lace, but there are a few things I'm not convinced about. Firstly, the size. According to the pattern, it should be fine with a single skein of sock yarn, which is what I have. But after I started I read some knitalongs for the project, and a lot of people say they ended up with a really short shawl if they only used one skein. This may not be an issue for me as I seem to knit with air – my last two pairs of socks had over 40g of yarn left, and they were perfectly reasonable sizes – but it made me think. Also, I went up a needle size to account for my tight knitting, and I'm not convinced that was the right decision. It's difficult to tell with lace as so much is achieved in the blocking, but I think the knitting should be tighter.
All this leads me to consider ripping back and starting again, making it more of a scarf sort of width and using smaller needles. There's no hurry to make a decision - socks are dominating my knitting at the moment, and I have the beginnings of a plan to knit a vest for Small Child, but I'd like to have an idea of what I'm doing. It makes me feel tidier.
(I know, I need to figure out a better way to do my photos than the gravel path)
I'm having fun with the lace, but there are a few things I'm not convinced about. Firstly, the size. According to the pattern, it should be fine with a single skein of sock yarn, which is what I have. But after I started I read some knitalongs for the project, and a lot of people say they ended up with a really short shawl if they only used one skein. This may not be an issue for me as I seem to knit with air – my last two pairs of socks had over 40g of yarn left, and they were perfectly reasonable sizes – but it made me think. Also, I went up a needle size to account for my tight knitting, and I'm not convinced that was the right decision. It's difficult to tell with lace as so much is achieved in the blocking, but I think the knitting should be tighter.
All this leads me to consider ripping back and starting again, making it more of a scarf sort of width and using smaller needles. There's no hurry to make a decision - socks are dominating my knitting at the moment, and I have the beginnings of a plan to knit a vest for Small Child, but I'd like to have an idea of what I'm doing. It makes me feel tidier.
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Fame at last
Not for me. For these two poor, unappreciated socks:
Not that they're going to be much appreciated now, given the bright flash and the fact that they're actually very similar in colour to the carpet. Anyway, I finished them many moons ago now, and this was actually about my fourth time of wearing them, so I thought I ought to show them off. My first pair for myself, very comfortable, very much loved. Thanks to Miss Elle and James FiveMilesHigh for the yarn.
Not that they're going to be much appreciated now, given the bright flash and the fact that they're actually very similar in colour to the carpet. Anyway, I finished them many moons ago now, and this was actually about my fourth time of wearing them, so I thought I ought to show them off. My first pair for myself, very comfortable, very much loved. Thanks to Miss Elle and James FiveMilesHigh for the yarn.
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Lawn on grass
Look! A picture!
Catch it before it tries to escape!
This is my Spring Cable sock, in Laughing Yaffle Camomile Lawn. I was hoping to have a pair done for my wedding anniversary this Thursday (they're for my husband, I didn't just want new socks for the day) but it's not going to happen. I'm enjoying them though – a few minor niggles, such as the heel flap hiccup detailed below, and the fact that the cables always end up in the most awkward position relative to the needle changes, but still, yummy to knit.
Ooh, and they're my first attempt at cables as well! Seem to be working so far…
Catch it before it tries to escape!
This is my Spring Cable sock, in Laughing Yaffle Camomile Lawn. I was hoping to have a pair done for my wedding anniversary this Thursday (they're for my husband, I didn't just want new socks for the day) but it's not going to happen. I'm enjoying them though – a few minor niggles, such as the heel flap hiccup detailed below, and the fact that the cables always end up in the most awkward position relative to the needle changes, but still, yummy to knit.
Ooh, and they're my first attempt at cables as well! Seem to be working so far…
Friday, 14 August 2009
Rippit, rippit
Said the frog to the yarn.
It hasn't been a good few days, knitting-wise. I managed to miss a yarnover on the second Spring Forward sock, and didn't realise it until I'd knitted another three rounds of stocking stitch. Tinked it back, stitch by stitch.
Tinking doesn't take a ridiculous length of time, but it does take longer than the original knitting. It's also very disheartening. The alternative is pulling out the needles and picking up the stitches, but I wasn't up for doing that with 66 stitches in the round over three needles. I did give it a go (for the first time) on the Spring Cable socks though. There was a mistake in the pattern for the heel turn, so I hit the edge on one side with four stitches still to go on the other. It looked fairly amusing – I meant to take a picture for the blog before frogging, but didn't have a chance.
So, off I went, the heart-stopping moment of picking up my knitting and pulling out my needles. The last time I did that was the Dublin Bay sock, when I was frogging right back to the beginning. This time I had to be careful to stop in the right place, and pick up all the stitches. This was surprisingly easy – I didn't try to get them the right way round on the needle, just made sure they were all there and in the right order. Once I'd done that, I slipped them across to a new needle stitch by stitch, and with the help of my tiny crochet hook flipped them all the right way round. With the aid of a nearby post-it I figured out the mistake in the pattern, and I now have a shiny new heel turn. Go me.
I'll try and have some pictures next time, promise.
It hasn't been a good few days, knitting-wise. I managed to miss a yarnover on the second Spring Forward sock, and didn't realise it until I'd knitted another three rounds of stocking stitch. Tinked it back, stitch by stitch.
Tinking doesn't take a ridiculous length of time, but it does take longer than the original knitting. It's also very disheartening. The alternative is pulling out the needles and picking up the stitches, but I wasn't up for doing that with 66 stitches in the round over three needles. I did give it a go (for the first time) on the Spring Cable socks though. There was a mistake in the pattern for the heel turn, so I hit the edge on one side with four stitches still to go on the other. It looked fairly amusing – I meant to take a picture for the blog before frogging, but didn't have a chance.
So, off I went, the heart-stopping moment of picking up my knitting and pulling out my needles. The last time I did that was the Dublin Bay sock, when I was frogging right back to the beginning. This time I had to be careful to stop in the right place, and pick up all the stitches. This was surprisingly easy – I didn't try to get them the right way round on the needle, just made sure they were all there and in the right order. Once I'd done that, I slipped them across to a new needle stitch by stitch, and with the help of my tiny crochet hook flipped them all the right way round. With the aid of a nearby post-it I figured out the mistake in the pattern, and I now have a shiny new heel turn. Go me.
I'll try and have some pictures next time, promise.
Friday, 31 July 2009
Halfway there
Apologies for the gaps in the blog. I have so many updates to do – the finished blue ribbed pair of socks (which I've already worn and washed twice), the Woodland lace shawl (which I'm thinking of ripping back and making narrower, and on smaller needles. If you're lucky you may get a picture of what I've done so far before it goes though) and oh, so much more…
But for now, you're just going to have to make do with a single, solitary sock. But a scrummy sock, I feel.
(Sorry for the toys in the background)
It's my first Spring Forward sock, in Willowherb Yaffle yarn. Took me about two weeks, which seems about average to me. I'm loving it a lot, but have one problem – the cast on is tiny! It's really fiddly trying to get it over my ankle, but when it's on it's fine. It has been suggested that I break it and redo it, by casting off in some fancy manner, but that seems far beyond my abilities. It's for me, so I can cope with spending a bit of extra time getting dressed in the morning (best to save it for weekends, when I have someone to help with the tiny attention-seeker that shares our room). I'm going to learn my lesson for the next one, though, and cast on over two needles.
When that next one might materialise on my needles, though, is another matter. I've been snowed under with magazine stitching, and had a sudden realisation that my wedding anniversary is three weeks away, and since I normally take a month to knit a pair of socks, and I've never cabled before, I should really make a start on these.
But for now, you're just going to have to make do with a single, solitary sock. But a scrummy sock, I feel.
(Sorry for the toys in the background)
It's my first Spring Forward sock, in Willowherb Yaffle yarn. Took me about two weeks, which seems about average to me. I'm loving it a lot, but have one problem – the cast on is tiny! It's really fiddly trying to get it over my ankle, but when it's on it's fine. It has been suggested that I break it and redo it, by casting off in some fancy manner, but that seems far beyond my abilities. It's for me, so I can cope with spending a bit of extra time getting dressed in the morning (best to save it for weekends, when I have someone to help with the tiny attention-seeker that shares our room). I'm going to learn my lesson for the next one, though, and cast on over two needles.
When that next one might materialise on my needles, though, is another matter. I've been snowed under with magazine stitching, and had a sudden realisation that my wedding anniversary is three weeks away, and since I normally take a month to knit a pair of socks, and I've never cabled before, I should really make a start on these.
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