Fresh Starts

I set up this blog with the intention of keeping track of what I was making and how I was making it. I started off with such great intentions and well, life got in  the way and it sort of fell by the wayside. When 2020 came around I said to myself that this would be the year I put the effort in and kept up with my blog and well, that didn't happen either. So here I am in 2021, not making promises to myself or anyone else but making a fresh start. 

Where to start... 18 months ago we moved house so we were lucky enough to spend all these months of lockdown with so many beautiful places practically on our dooorstep.

 

While the past year has been tough, at least we have been able to go for beautiful walks this whole time. It has definitely made life easier.

At the moment I'm making a shawl using a Cotton Kings Twirl I treated myself to from Hobbii yarns a few years ago. It has sat in my stash since then waiting for the perfect pattern to appear. I have a list of things people I ought to be making but at the moment I need something more repetitive so once I have the hang of the pattern I don't need to think so much. I was searching different tags on instagram and found the Kalinda Shawl on @mycrochetory's page. It's a lovely, not too difficult pattern, free on her blog. She has also designed a wrap and a baby blanket using this stitch pattern both of which I will definitely be making in the future.

It's been so much fun watching this shawl grow and seeing the gradual colour changes taking place. I'm nearly at the final colour change and I will be sorry to finish this. Though it will be a good excuse to invest in some more cake yarn. 

A New Old Hat

A few years ago my cousin sent me a photo of a knitted hat she had bought on eBay. The lady she had bought it from was no longer selling them and my cousin really wanted another one, so she asked me would it be possible to reproduce the hat or something similar from the photo. 

This is what I made:

 Not exactly the same as the original but a similar shape and pattern. But it turns out my cousins and I have completely different shaped heads so the hat was much too big. "Not to worry I'll make a smaller version!" And then life got in the way and I got distracted so finally this weekend I sat down and got started. I dug out the rough notes I'd written which weren't very clear and did a bit of maths to make a smaller size. 

I cast on 66 stitches using 4.0mm needles and chunky wool (I think this is King Cole Value Chunky but I've lost the ball band..). 4 rounds of garter stitch. The next round I changed to 6.0mm needles and at the end of the round I knitted the last 2 stitches together (65stitches). The following rounds were as follows:

Round 1. (Yfwd, slip1 k1 psso, k7, k2 together, yfwd, k2) x 5

Round 2. Knit

Round 3. (K2, yfwd, slip 1 k1 psso, k5, k2 together, yfwd, k2) x5

Round 4. Knit

Round 5. (K3, yfwd, slip 1 k1 psso, k3, k2 together, yfwd, k3) x5

Round 6. Knit

Round 7. (K4, yfwd, slip1 k1 psso, k1, k2 together, yfwd, k4) x5

Round 8. Knit

Round 9. ( K5, yfwd, slip 1 k2 psso, yfwd, k5) x 5

Round 10. Knit

Knit 2 rounds

Repeat lace pattern rounds 1- 10

Knit 1 round

Decrease rounds:

Round 1. (Knit 9 knit2 together) x 5, knit 10

Round 2. Knit

Round 3. (Knit 4 knit 2 together) x 10

Round 4. Knit

Round 5. (Knit 3, knit 2 together) x10

Round 6. Knit

Round 7. (Knit 2, knit 2 together) x10

Round 8. Knit

Round 9. (Knit 1, knit 2 together) x10

Round 10. (Knit 2 together) x10

Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Using a yarn needle thread the yarn through. The remaining 10 stitched and pull tight. (I like to thread the yarn through a few times to make sure it's good and tight. Secure the yarn and weave in any loose ends. Job done!! 🙌

Note: this is designed for a very small head. If you wanted to go a size larger I would recommend adding an extra lace panel and starting off with 78 stitches andleaving out the decrease at the end of the first knit round using 6.0mm needles. To make the hat longer just add extra knit rounds after the lace rounds.

For a finishing touch I'm adding a flower. The pattern I'm using is the "Large Crochet Flower" pattern from Daisy Cottage Designs

it gives a lovely 3-D layered flower which I think finishes the hat off perfectly 😀.

Happy New Year!

So I had a whole long post written out and then I accidentally deleted it as you do. So here we are - Happy New Year! I am hopeful 2020 will be the year I get organised and make all the things I want to make or at least some of them.

These hats are quite addictive to make. All you need is one 100g ball of chunky and a faux fur pompom. I cast on 74 stitches using a 6mm circular needle and join in the round. Knit 36 rounds of Knit 1 Purl 1 rib. On the 37th round fold the brim in half and knit (or purl because we're keeping in pattern!) each stitch with the corresponding stitch from the cast on round. This is the trickiest round and you do have to concentrate but after this it's plain sailing. Another 29 rounds of knit 1 purl 1 rib and then we come to the decrease rounds. This next round knit 2 together the whole round (37stitches). Knit 1 round (37 sts). Knit 2 together to last stitch of round, knit the last stitch (19sts). Knit 2 together to last stitch of round, knit the last stitch (10sts). Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Using a yarn needle thread the yarn tail through the remaining 10 stitches and pull tight. I like to thread it through a few times to make sure it's really secure. Weave in ends and add faux fur pompom. Ta-Dah!! job done

June already

It's been a few weeks since I last posted. I've been busy doing a lot of nothing really. I did however finish my Baby Cakes blanket number 3. 

I also made a bag but I think that might deserve a blog post all of it's own.

A while ago I knitted a rainbow Cardigan for my niece who's due any day now. I used half a ball of Cygnet's kiddie couture in Lolly and the Jack & Jill cardigan pattern from mariannaslazydaisydays.blogspot.com.

The thing about knitting with a long colour changing yarn is that the colours don't always come together in the order they are in the ball and there were a couple of places where the rainbow colours came together with no cream inbetween. And I just loved the way they looked which got me thinking what a nice moss stitch blanket they would make.

So I had a good root through my stash and found the colours I thought would match best. ( I have to mention here there are better matches out there but I was trying to make use of what I have). I had half balls of Stylecraft Special DK fondant, sunshine, lavender and fuchsia and Cygnet DK in kiwi and clementine. I started a moss stitch blanket but the fondant for some reason seemed to be thicker than the other colours. And as that was the colour I'd used to start my stripes it was really really obvious. I was already on the fourth stripe when I decided finally to pull it all out and start again. So I decided it was time for something completely different. So I give you my sunburst granny square blanket (pattern by Priscilla Hewitt).

Baby Cakes Blankets

As I may have mentioned before I don't like sewing especially not sewing in ends and while I have always fancied trying Fair Isle and stranded knitting the idea of making a whole blanket using those techniques was  a bit daunting, so when I saw a post on Instagram last year featuring the baby cakes blanket-in-ball from Cygnet yarns I was very, very tempted. I kept thinking of all the blankets I could make with this yarn and how I'd make them and what patterns I could come up with. It was only when I spent an entire mindfulness class meditating about them that I decided to just go ahead and get some.

When they first arrived I have to admit I was slightly disappointed, the colours seemed a bit more muted than they had on the internet and I had an image in my head of the blanket I wanted but no idea how to go about it. Eventually I settled on the Chevron Baby Blanket from Espace Tricot on Ravelry for the Blueberry Muffin colourway. And the more I knitted the more I loved this yarn again. It's acrylic but it feels kind of velvety, lovely and snuggly for a small baby.  

 

 I decided I wanted something a bit more lacy for the Battenburg colourway so I just used the free pattern on the ball band of the yarn. Again to start with I wasn't sure about the colours but the more I knitted the better they looked. And now that it's finished I'm really really happy with it. I think the colours and the lacy chevron effect work perfectly together.

 I've just started a third blanket using the Angel Cake colourway. I decided to use the Chevron Baby Blanket pattern from Espace Tricot but with a few variations. I cast on 149 stitches to give an extra chevron plus 2 extra stitches at the start and end of each row. I knit the first 6 rows in garter stitch and the first and last 3 stitches of each row are always knit. I've been purling the yarn overs on the wrong side rows as normal instead of through the back loop to give a more lacy effect.

 But, having finished 2 blankets and started a 3rd, I have just realised I still haven't made the one I had in mind this time last year. I know I wanted something plain and simple with a squared effect so I will keep thinking and pondering and maybe sometime soonish I will have the blanket of my imagination to share with you..

I

A walk in the sunshine