Phellogen Finished

Phellogen by Glenna C. in Regia 4ply.

All those twisted travelling stitches were made much easier because I was using the ChiaoGoo Red Lace needles that came heavily recommended on the Tour de Sock Ravelry group for magic loop. They are a dream.

Tour De Sock

I am currently taking part in the Tour De Sock race over on Ravelry. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try some different sock yarns and some challenging techniques. I've already added magic loop and toe-up to my repertoire thanks to TDS - and the patterns are fab!

I present Calable:

And Phellogen:

2nd sock still to come!

How Much Stocking Stitch....

... can you see in this picture?

When your head is stuffed full of so many things that there is no room left for yarnovers . . .

. . . and a little bit of ribbing, a little bit of shaping, is all the headspace you can muster . . .

. . . it's good to know that your old friend stocking stitch is always there waiting for days like these.

And when you end up with scrummy socks to keep your toes warm on cold spring mornings, who could ever call it boring?

Congratulations everybody on a wonderful Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. My feedreader is about to spill over with all the lovely new blogs I have found.

I got quite a haul this week from a sale at a nearby fabric shop. All of this, including the two Moda charm packs, for under £25.

The black and green fabric are Michael Miller FQs and there are a few other random fat quarters and offcuts.

This should keep me busy for a while!

The Wee Woodland charm pack has already sprung into life:

I've been wanting to try this sort of applique for a while. I already had the sewing machine foot from doing some free-motion quilting, but this seemed altogether more intimidating! In fact, it was quite fun once I got back into the swing of how to move the fabric through the machine. To do this sort of free-motion embroidery, you need a darning foot for your machine (this was £13 for my Janome) and to lower the feed dogs so you can feed the fabric through in any direction.

This particular project is a cushion slightly modified from a quilted wall-hanging in the book 'Little Birds'.

My control is still a little all over the place, but I don't think it matters too much. Luckily, my herky-jerky movements fit quite well with the style!

The light background is plain old muslin. I used to turn my nose up at using this, but I've actually grown quite fond of the rough texture and I see myself using a lot more of it.

The Persistence Jumper. . .

. . . is done!

I have been working on the Huggable Hoodie since September and it is finally done. I've made a good few notes about this on my Ravelry page. Honeycomb cable is very slow, even when cabling without a needle, so this was a good exercise in stick-to-it-iveness.

I'm giving it a light blocking to see if I can stop the ribbing from rolling up, and I still have to get some buttons. The buttonholes are made using a simple yarnover followed by a k2tog and seem quite small.

I was wearing my Central Park Hoodie that I finished last October while taking these photos. Since I didn't get around to taking photos at the time, here you go now!

I wear this all the time. Seriously, as soon as it's through the washer and dried I sling it back on. The cotton blend yarn is heavy and slippery so it's always falling off one shoulder or the other and the weight of the hood pulls it back when I have it buttoned up, but I can live with that. It's so easy to wear and the cables are adorable. I thought this yarn was going to be a disaster with the pattern, but I think it really works! Although I could do without the ends popping out all over the place. I guess that's the nature of slippery yarn.

I will definitely make another CPH. Or perhaps even two.

Speaking of cotton, has anyone else found their minds idly drifting away to spring and summer knitting? I blame the crocuses braving the weather in my garden. Is there anything more able to lift the spirits than those little delicate spring flowers in all their bright colours?

One Month Before Heartbreak

Since Friday I have been trying to find the time and energy to write a post to contribute to the blogswarm event One Month Before Heartbreak. I doubt, at this stage, my writing will be anything ground-breaking, but I could not let this event go by without drawing attention to it.

I am not disabled, however I have plenty of first-hand experience to tell you that any of the blog posts you may read as part of this event are not unusual.

I had planned to write about the worrying trend I see in the public attitude to disability here in the UK. I have plenty to say about the increasing boldness of our media and politicians to talk about those claiming disability benefits as a burden on the public purse. I would probably have veered into the territory of writing about the misinformation that is out there about the nature of disability benefits and the dreadful language that is so casually used. And if I’d got started on the charity model of disability benefit provision that is increasingly talked of, or how the ‘most vulnerable’ will be protected, or the expectation that disabled people should be grateful and humble about any help they receive . . .well, I might never have stopped.

But it’s been a tough old week. I’ve been helping a loved one get through a current dignity-stripping DLA nightmare and it has taken its toll on me too. If the blogswarm had happened at another time perhaps you would have had more eloquence from me. I have already read enough posts tonight to know that anything I was going to write has already been covered wonderfully by others.

These events are unbelievably valuable. The ‘Blogging Against Disablism’ days have raised my consciousness an enormous amount. If you can find the time, please click on a few links in the Master List http://onemonthbeforeheartbreak.blogspot.com/p/master-links-list.html and hear some of the voices that we so rarely get to hear.

There are many, many posts worth reading from the personal to the factual; from the angry to the sad.

I will draw attention to this one http://onemonthbeforeheartbreak.blogspot.com/2011/01/welfare-cuts-and-callous-coalition.html as a good factual, journalistic piece.

Also to this one http://diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.com/2011/01/you-will-never-take-away-my-shoes.html as one that made me both smile and cry a little with recognition.

WIP Wednesday

Believe it or not, I only have one knitting WIP on the needles at the moment. I have promised myself I can cast on for a new pair of socks when I have finished the front of my Huggable Hoodie.

This is from the book 'Knits to Fit and Flatter' and I've been working on this since September. The whole thing is knitted in honeycomb cable, which is slow-going. I am cabling without a needle and have been getting faster the more I work on the project.

I'm using Sirdar Click, an acrylic/wool blend in the colour Spruce which was 89p a ball from the lovely Kemps. The colour is a dark green with a red 'halo' that doesn't come across well in any of the photos I've seen of it. I've used this yarn before in charcoal grey to make mitts for my husband and brother-in-law and I like the way it knits up. The honeycomb cable may be slow, but it makes the fabric double-thickness and it is wonderfully squishy!

As for the Welcome Quilt WIP, here is my first pinwheel block.

I am a total sucker for green and pink together.

A New Year Welcome WIP

Hello again all. I hope everyone had a lovely, restful Christmas and that you are enjoying a refreshing start to the new year.

I've been sewing for a few years now, but only by hand until 2009 when I got my sewing machine. I even pieced and quilted an entire lap quilt by hand over the course of a year - I promise to show you that one day.

I still feel as though I am getting used to the machine, and learning to think like a machine sewist rather than transferring hand-sewing techniques. So it seems a rather fitting time of year to have started my newest WIP - the Welcome Quilt from Quilt Yourself Gorgeous by Mandy Shaw.

I especially liked the idea behind this opening project in the book, a sampler quilt which aims to teach you lots of techniques. A perfect start to a new year!

Mandy Shaw suggests using a bundle of Fat Eighths. I was impatient to start so I raided the scrap drawer instead:

I completed the central panel today. In this small piece - a little more than a foot square - I have done traditional patchwork piecing, folded flying geese, prairie points, curved appliqué using sew-in interfacing and foundation piecing. The hearts above are from another part of the sampler which uses fusible webbing. I'm now foundation piecing a row of pieced flying geese.

Phew! That's a lot of techniques, and there are more to come - Pinwheel and Bow Tie Blocks among them!

This is like a crash course in piecing techniques. I'm struggling a little to line up my foundation piecing fabric perfectly, but I'm not stressing too much - it will come in time. I wasn't too sure about the dotty blue fabric as the background at first but now it's all together it looks like the school is in the middle of a snowstorm, don't you think?

How cute? :)

Christmas Scarf and Mitts

Another Christmas present here, this time for my mam. I fell in love with Rowan Cashsoft while in Hobbycraft - it is so soft and smooshy. This is probably the nicest yarn I have used so far.

I made her a Falling Water scarf using 2 skeins, shown here blocking:

And to go with it, a pair of Nalu Mitts in the same shade. I used pretty much an entire skein for these.

Here's the Ravelry page for this pattern, since this is the type of pattern you instantly fall in love with and I want you to be able to find it as soon as possible :) . I could hardly bear to give them away! I think I am going to have to make a pair for myself.

I hope they will help to keep my mam warm in the Scottish Highlands. Well, they will add another layer, at least!

Bliss WIP

I don't know if it was because of my knitcroblo post in April that reminded me of my previous obsession with cross-stitching, or whether it has been watching Kirstie's Homemade Home, or seeing Mooncalf make lots of cute little cross-stitch pieces. Whatever it was, when I saw a display of cross-stitching books at a local charity shop I stopped for a closer look.

Someone had had a clearout! Clearouts are wonderful for a thrifty-minded crafter, whether on eBay, a Ravelry destash page or a car boot sale. I picked up this lovely little gem for 50p:

Yes, it's a desk calendar from 2007, but each page has a cross-stitch chart, and they are so adorable:

How cute? I just love these patterns. It has taken me a while, but I am slowly falling in love with the Shabby Chic style of decorating, and some of these would just fit right in to a shabby chic kitchen, don't you think?

Giveaway Day

It's not me who is hosting a giveaway, but if you like handcrafting supplies or pretty handmade items (who doesn't?) get yourself over to the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway day lists.

Sewing and Knitting Supplies list

Handcrafted Items and Supplies

Handcrafted Items list

The giveaways have been running since Monday, but they don't close until tomorrow so you still have time to enter and hopefully win some lovely goodies!

Of course, lovely goodies are not the only benefit of giveaway day. It also gives you the chance to discover some new blogs. Here are some that I have added to my RSS feed so far. Check them out!

A Day in the life of Val

Cluck Cluck Sew

Katie's Korner

EmmmyLizzzy

Amy's Creative Side

Quilt Taffy

Stolen Moments

Handmade by Alissa

Quilting Barbie

wishes, true and kind

I also came across this website and haven't been able to drag myself away. I've since added a lumber conversion chart to my bookmarks and checked prices for lumber and workbenches. I've thought seriously about replacing the dodgy 99p spirit level in the toolkit with something that actually measures straight(!). I've mentally decorated my house with The 5 Shelf, The Easy, Three Cube Bench, The Easiest Rustic Modern Console Ever, The Tryde Side Table and Coffee Table and The Simple Spa Bench! And these are all in the first-time-never-built-anything-before category.

I have a bee in my bonnet. Don't be surprised if you start seeing pictures of drills, jigsaws and sawdust here in the next few months.

Good luck in the giveaways!

WIP Wednesday the first

Look at these mouth-watering jewel colours:

This is Rico Superba yarn. I am currently working on a pair of Flutter-by socks with this. The pattern is very cute and works particularly well with variegated yarns. I think this yarn might be a bit too variegated though, so I'm leaving the foot section in plain stocking stitch. I can't wait until these are done!

Christmas Socks

I have been knitting for just over a year, so I felt it was perhaps a little soon to start knitting Christmas gifts. However, I bit the bullet and knitted simple items for a few people in my family.

For my dad, who always has cold feet:

Socks, of course. These are made from Rico Safari and I followed Silver's Sock Class as always! I modified this to a 3x1 rib, which looks a bit more 'manly' to me, and increased the stitch count to 68.

In the absence of sock blockers, I pinned these out instead and misted them with water. It worked very well and they were nice and flat and neat for me to wrap up and send. They are currently working their way through the clogged up Royal Mail system, which is very backlogged by the recent snow - and they say there is more to come!

I like these socks so much I am knitting another pair exactly the same for Mr. Jelliebeans. He has been wearing his space socks as often as they are available during the chilly spell and he is begging me for another pair. He has been well and truly bitten by the hand-knitted sock bug.

Did you spy my blocking boards in the first picture? They were a nice little charity shop find:

 More Christmas knitting to come!

The Trouble With Not Blogging . . .

 . . . is that eventually you have to try and catch up.

Thank you for the responses to my post about my charity shop finds. Some of my 'yarn cakes' have been turned into a Tempest.
This is now finished but for the buttons. Since I have yet to take a proper picture, here is a teaser:

At first I wasn't sure I would ever wear it, because it's a bit on the 'rough and ready' side because of the different yarn textures. With the right outfit it looks punky/emo, though, and the colours are scrummy together.


A totally different look is my crocheted 'Fat Bottomed Bag' from the Happy Hooker. I made this with leftover Patons Sorbet. Very summery and quick to make up!

A probable lapse-of-judgement project is the 'Zip and Zing' hoodie from Simply Knitting magazine 68. There's nothing wrong with the pattern (Susan40james is working on a lovely version using the recommended yarn) and I learned a lot doing it. Maybe the most important lesson is this - if a yarn isn't working with any project because it looks cheap, it probably isn't worth spending the time knitting a adult-sized hoodie with it just because you bought 10 balls of it and you want to turn it into something.

Oh, and I also forgot what size I usually wear and made it too big.

But - pockets! A zip! Picked up stitches! Not wasted, but not really wearable either. Other knitters must have these projects lurking in the back of a wardrobe somewhere, right?

I have some new cute socks for me:

 and some xmas socks currently on the needles.

This is my first time using Rico sock yarn. This is a bit rougher than the Regia I've been using so far - thinner too - but I like it, and I love the way the colour is working up.

That's not all, but it's all for now!

Early optimism

Soon after my last post, my laptop screen fizzled out. £70 and a new LCD screen later, I am back in business (I hope!).

I have much knitting to show, a bit of new stash to flash, lots of blogs to catch up on, and perhaps a bit of puppy news to share.

Charity Shop Rummaging

I love charity shops more than is good for me - if I don't restrain myself my home would end up looking like one. I especially like looking for craft materials, partly because I'm a bit of a hippy, eco sort at heart, but mostly because I'm on a tight budget. I am very envious of those bloggers I see who can look at a fugly skirt and imagine what glorious thing it could become.

I have dipped my toe in the water recently by purchasing knitwear for the specific purpose of reclaiming the yarn. The first two were probably a mistake. I'm still a newbie and I guessed that two jumpers were made of DK weight yarn - alas, they were much thinner and unravelling them is a major undertaking. The colours are a lovely bright green and lavender blue so I'm sure I will use them eventually.

I had more luck on my second attempt with this poncho which was on the children's rack.

The yarn is an alpaca/wool/acrylic blend, which is very soft and drapy. It has fabulous heavy buttons. Unfortunately, the buttons and the fabric aren't a good combination - the buttonholes had all ripped, which I didn't realise until I got home.

This is now becoming a Ribbed Lace Bolero, perfect for the time of year!

Another find was this 'grab bag' of yarn. The going rate around here is 50p for a skein or partial skein of yarn. Since the yarn was in a bit of a tangle in the carrier bag, I offered £5 for the whole bag rather than spending ages untangling the ones that I wanted.

I didn't have any ideas what I would do with it, but I loved the bright colours. The WPI tells me that this is DK weight or slightly lighter. My thoughts while in the shop were along the lines of a granny square blanket or socks (lots!), but there is enough of the blue and green above to possibly get a couple of summer tops out of.

Some of my favourites:

One thing I found interesting is the way the skeins are wound. It looks to me like these have been wound by hand, or at least at home. Can anyone shed any light on this? How do you wind yarn to look like this?