Mystery Hat A

I can finally post pics of my finished hat!
The pattern has been officially released now so if you like the look of it i can recommend you go buy it now ;o)

I used three different colours in Yarn Yard Hug as i didn't have enough of any one colour to complete it. It's a shame as i don't think the thick woolly hug is really suited to this pattern but it's produced such a lovely warm and pretty hat that i am going to keep it as it is.

I alternated the lighter colour with the main colour for the crown decreases which has produced a lovely effect, and i am sure it will look even lovelier once i actually get around to blocking it!
(I have two blocking projects awaiting a damn good pinning out at the moment. This hat and my orange Aurantium Blossom Shawl which i found neatly folded up in a project bag! It's been there for a year, it's about time it got shown some sunlight!)

Shame it doesn't suit me!!
;o)

Quickie cowl

Yarn: Wendy Fusion
Pattern: Cowl'd and frosty morning
Mods: None

Cast on 61sts as per instructions but it could have done with just a few more really to give it a bit of looseness, but i am really pleased with how the colours came out and it goes perfectly with my new dark grey winter coat :o)

Haruni is finished!

And i am so happy with how it's come out :oD

Such a beautiful lace edging, i am sure i will be knitting this pattern again!

I love the "V" shape, it sits so snuggly round my neck as i tend to wear shawls with the point at the front anyway, so it means there's not a huge amount of bulk under my chin :oD

Pattern: Haruni by Emily Ross
Yarn: Posh Emily in "Misty"
Sirdar Snuggly in green (oops, can't remember the details!)

Bamboo Granny Ripple

This was a fairly quick make, although not as quick as the chunky one lol

I have now used up nearly every last scrap of the Baby Bamboo that i got from Lisa!
I really love doing this pattern, it is very easy going and i can slip into a good rhythm with it, very zen!

Happy hooking

I finished the little Granny Ripple blankie :o)

It's only about 22" square but it should be just the right size for a comfort blanket, i hope!

Yarn: Sirdar and Stylecraft bonus chunky
Hook: 6mm
I can definitely see more in my future, i really enjoyed making this little one!

BSJ #4

From this blob of knitted fabric...

To this rather handsome cardigan :oD


It's like magic i tells ya!

Yarn: Rico sock
Needle: 3.5mm circular
Mods: None!

Crochet Lace fingerless Mitts

I made these for my Secret Santa Swap partner Janice after i found the pattern in her Ravelry queue.
I altered it a little bit due to the fact that i took the project out with me but forgot to take the pattern so the thumbhole is probably wrong but they work so that's the main thing ;o)

I edged the thumbhole with crab stitch to give it a bit of stability ;o)

I had tried several edgings (i still didn't have the pattern with me) and finally tried crab stitch which i thought looked great! It was only when i got home and looked at the pattern that i discovered that that was what i was meant to do anyway :oD
I think it goves a lovely edging and will definitely be using it for more projects in future :o)

Pattern: Crochet Lace Fingerless Mitts
Yarn: Yarn Yard Bonny in shade Delicate
Mods: I knitted the cuff first and then did a round of dc in the live stitches

Summer hat

When i was much younger i used to wear a lovely little white cotton skully and last week i found a photo at Mum's which reminded me how much i loved it, so yesterday i had a hunt through the hat collection and only flippin' found it!
Unfortunately it seems to have shrunk and it's rather tight so i thought i'd make myself a new skully for the summer :oD
I had a good hunt on Ravelry and found a lace cap pattern that i liked and then yesteray i spent the afternoon crocheting.
Unfortunately due to a difference in gauge it took me about four attempts to get it right but i did it!

I love it!! :oD

Pattern: Lace cap
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Rope
Mods: LOTS!

instead of 3ch sp i did 2 chsp
as pattern up to round 5 then…
rnd6: 3hdc in each ch2 space and hdc in 5
rnd7: 3hdc in ch2 sp and hdc in 6
rnd8: 2hdc in ch2sp and hdc in 6
rnd9: 2hdc in ch2sp and hdc in 6
rnd10: 2hdc in ch2sp and hdc in 6
rnd11: 2hdc in ch2sp, hdc in 4, dec on last hdc before sp
rnd12: 2sc in 2 chsp and sc in 5
rnd13, 14, 15: sc round
finish off

Ooooh lala!!

So, i finished off Lisa's beret on Wednesday :o)

I just needed to come down a needle size for the remainder of the brim to make it a little tighter...
et voila!
It took about 8 hours to knit in total and i could have made the body a little bigger as i have a few yards of wool left over!
I will know for next time ;o)

Ooooooh la la!

You may remember a recent expedition to the Sandown Creative Stitchcrafts show where i bought this rather lovely duo of yarns...


Well, after i finished the Skew socks yesterday i thought it might be nice to give my hands a rest from tiny needles and knit something in a heavier weight and keep a promise into the bargain ;o)

I started with Emily Ocker's circular cast-on which was a lot easier than i had expected...

and it grew really quickly!
These two photos were taken about an hour and 15 minutes apart!

By the time i put it away last night i had increased up to 18 stitches between the markers and started decreasing back down again and this afternoon i have decided to put it to one side with ten rounds of ribbing until i see it's new owner, just in case it needs to be adjusted in any way ;o)

I'm a little bit in love with it to be honest, the colour is just gorgeous.

Fortunately for Lisa i shan't be keeping it as my eyes are quite itchy now so goodness knows what it'd be like if i were to wear it for any length of time!! heheheee

The contrasting ribbing is one of my favourite things about it!

All a-skew!

I have proved to myself yet again that if i put my mind to something i can achieve more than i think i can!!
I started the second sock on Tuesday last week and cast it off last night (Monday)!!


The only problem i have discovered is that i knit the second sock a LOT looser which wouldn't normally be a problem but because they are "footed" socks the right one is the looser knit one and it's my left foot that is bigger :o(

Ah well, they are very pretty and toasty warm :oD

And isn't that heel a pretty thing in it's own right!

Pattern: Skew from Knitty
Yarn: Trekking XXL in shade #1000
Needles: 2x 2.25mm Hiya Hiya circs
Mods: None!!

I finally finished something!

After what seems an incredibly long time i have actually knit something to completion!!

They were to be for me but owing to something not being right with my gauge or the numbers i put into the pattern "generator" they fit Bloke instead!! It's not too big a deal, he now has his first pair of handknitted socks and i have actually finished soemthing!

The pattern is from Cat Bordhi's book "New Pathways for Sock Knitters" and although i have enjoyed learning a new technique for "shaping" a sock - it doesn't have gusset increases in the usual places ;o) i do find her literature rather hard going to say the least!

The socks are knit from bargain Kemps stash: Regia Galaxy in the Jupiter colourway.

Quickie cowl

So, we went sledging on Saturday and i was well wrapped up with hat, scarf, mittens etc... but during the course of the day my scarf kept coming loose and then there'd be gaps and with gaps came draughts! Do not want draughts thankyouverymuch!

An hour spent browsing the library on Ravelry turned up some lovely patterns and then all i had to do was decide what wool i was going to use...
Not an easy decision i can tell you!
Then i remembered this skein of mystery Silkwood 4-strand wool that i had bought a couple of years ago with the intention of it going off to a new home via a swap parcel, it didn't for one reason or another though - mostly due to the fact that i loved the colours and knew it had potential ;o)

So, once the wool was decided upon all i had to do was narrow down the patterns which wasn't too difficult since i was using a superchunky wool and only had about 64 yards of it!


The unwound skein... i wonder how much i have?

Ahah! one full wrap equals one yard ;o)

64 yards of superchunky wound into a mahooooooooosive ball :oD

Ta-da! 3 hours later i have a thick and warm cowl to keep my chin warm without all the bulk and unwindiness of a scarf :oD

Pattern: Speedy cabled cowl
Wool: Silkwood superchunky
Needles: 8mm KnitPro Spectra
Time to knit: Approx 3 hours
Mods: Knit in round instead of flat, did 3 cable twists instead of 2, didn't decrease for the bottom ribbing so it has a nice flare that sits on my shoulders better :o)
I really enjoyed making this and can't wait to go sledging again so i can test it out! :oD