I, err, may have allowed myself to be distracted a bit. First there was Brexit, and I was shocked and scared. Then there was Pokemon Go, which made me go out of the house and walk much further than my body was happy with. Then there was World of Warcraft: Legion, which briefly sucked me in and tried to convince me that I could be a raider again. Turns out that I'm not up to that anymore.
Now I'm mid-flare-up, but so sick of the pile of stuff starting to take over the front room because I can't put it away until it's been photographed, and couldn't update my stash page on Ravelry properly either, that yesterday I just doubled up on the codeine and went for it:
Yes, I do all of my photography while sat cross-legged on my front room floor. There is nowhere else in my house with enough space, and power sockets for the lights. There was a serious case of "Old woman noises" when I finally got up from down there!
So, after all that time, I must have tonnes of stuff to show you, right? Especially since in my last update I was talking about spending the summer finishing off a whole bunch of WiPs...
FOs
Well, maybe I didn't do so well at the whole WiP-down thing, but I did finish some things!
The last of the star cushions for 2 of my godsons. Literally finished in the church during my youngest niece's christening ceremony, stuffed and sewn at the celebration party afterwards, just in time to be given to their new owners before they headed back home. Therefore the photograph was taken using my phone camera, with a fold-out table as the background, and a selection of child and baby accoutrements were hastily shoved mostly out of the shot, apparently I didn't push the baby wipes quite far enough out of the way though.
All of these stars were knit to the Star Pattern by Rachel Murray, using Rico Essentials Merino DK, in the colourways Patina, and Blau. The added sparkles were from a strand of King Cole Cosmos in the colourway Starburst knit double with the merino.
Yes, it's another star cushion.
As I was working on the last of my godsons' stars, my eldest niece volunteered me to knit this one. A friend of hers had found the first one that I made, and loved it. At first, being such a generous soul, my niece had offered to give hers to her friend, then she thought about it and decided that maybe I could knit a new one for her friend instead. So at her baby sisters christening I asked the friend what she'd like her own star to be like, and she said "Purple, and pink, and fluffy, and sparkly!"
Fortunately I already had both pink and purple fluffy yarn in my stash - King Cole Cuddles Chunky in the colourways Violet, and Fucshia, and again, the sparkles came from a strand of King Cole Cosmos, in the colourway Starburst.
Isn't he cute? In Issue 148 of Simply Knitting there was a kit to make your own sheep keyring, or fridge magnet. I don't usually make the little kits that you get with knitting magazines, but this one gave me a reason to learn Loop Stitch.
When we were little, my sister and I always had these brightly coloured bonnets, hand knit by our mam, and they all had contrasting trim in this crazy loop stitch. I spent ages studying my own bonnets trying to work out how it was done (at that age I could knit, but not purl, or anything more complicated!) I'm sure that Dad will have photos of us wearing those bonnets somewhere, I'm sure I remember a picture of me stood on Cullercoats beach in wellies, dufflecoat, and bonnet, the very picture of an English summer in the late 1970s!
Anyway, despite the resurgence of my love of knitting in my 30s, I still hadn't mastered this mysterious stitch, and decided that a little sheep keyring was the perfect opportunity. I was so pleased with the result that I posted the picture on facebook, and ended up having it appear in issue 150!
I call this my Unicorn Fart bag, because that's clearly what the yarn is made of! I'd seen the yarn in my local craft shop many times, but my general opinion of speciality yarns is that they are good for knitting the pattern on the ball-band, and nothing else. They create a spectacular effect, but they're not very versatile, or pleasant to work with.
However, one of the girls who runs the shop was working on a project with some of this, and I was so enamoured of the effect when knitted up that I had to buy some for myself, and cast it on immediately.
This became my "poorly project" for a while. I worked on it while confined to bed by flare-ups, because it's so quick and easy to knit up, I felt like I was making progress even when I only had the strength to knit 2 or 3 rows at a time. It's also super soft and cheerful!
I'm not sure I can really describe this as having a "pattern" exactly. Basically you very loosely cast on 28 stitches in a normal yarn, then continue knitting with the pompom yarn. You use small needles, and only knit the thread between the pompoms (K2, pompom, K2, pompom, etc.) and after a while it settles into these straight fluffy lines. When your work is about 70cm long, or you only have about 120 pompoms left, then you cast off using normal yarn. Sew, or crochet the sides together using normal yarn, and use the last of the pompom yarn to crochet the handles to the cast-on, and cast-off edges. Hey presto, you have a bag made of unicorn farts!
The yarn is Rico PonPon, and although the colourway may have a name, it's only given on the ball-band as "025".
It's a baby blanket. They're really boring to photograph when laid flat, or folded neatly.
I cast this on for 4 reasons: 1) I needed something brainless to work on in between complicated beaded shawls; 2) At times this summer it became too hot to work with wool. For fear of felting my beautiful merino, I needed cotton or acrylic alternatives; 3) I'm trying to teach myself continental style knitting in order to give my hands a rest by alternating which of them is working hardest, and learning a new way of doing something that you can do in your sleep the old way is REALLY difficult! So nice easy pattern for practicing; 4) My friend Heather is making a blanket using this pattern, and I thought it looked lovely, so wanted to make my own.
This particular blanket is to be donated to charity, along with several more that my step-mam has beautifully crocheted.
The pattern is Simple Lines by Heather Tucker, and the yarn is Rico Baby So Soft Prints in colourway 007.
Meet R2Tea2! He was a birthday present from Stephen :)
I can't drink a whole pot full of tea before it goes cold though, so I made this to keep him warm when in use :)
I didn't use a pattern, just measured the pot, worked out how many stitches I'd need, and went for it with classic cables. The handle on top of the lid already sticks up quite a lot, so I decided against the usual big pompom on the top, and went with the i-cord bow and little pompoms instead. Really pleased with the result, and glad to report that it performs it's job admirably well.
The yarn for this is pretty special, because it's dyed right here in Sheffield by one of the Shefknit girls, Katie Collins, and her mum. They run Homespun Wonders, and have only recently added their own hand-dyed yarn to the site. So this is Yorkshire Dales Yarns Merino DK, and the colourway is Caulder Water.
You might recognise the yarn in this bowl, but it's only there for demonstration purposes. The Finished Object is actually the bowl.
This was a birthday present for my friend Heather, who is definitely a friend worthy of hand-made gifts. She has recently become and avid knitter too, and loves the colour purple, so this year I made her a purple yarn bowl. What's especially pleasing to me about it is that with the exception of the glue, the decopatch decoration papers, and the weights in the base to keep it steady, the whole thing is made from recycled junk mail, time, and love :)
I'm really rather proud of it. I hope Heather likes it too!
This dreamcatcher was a kit with the September issue of Love to Knit and Crochet. I know I said I don't usually make the things in the kits you get free with magazines, yet this is the second such thing in the same post. However, this was an opportunity to practice my crochet skills. I can crochet, but I have very little control over my tension, and therefore very little control over the size of the finished object.
This project was small, and unimportant, but required sufficient control over tension to ensure that the finished mandala would fit neatly inside the ring of the dreamcatcher, which I managed to achieve! Go me!
Give me another couple of years of practice and I might even feel prepared to attempt those Panza Tank Slippers for Stephen!
Stephen has very recently become an Uncle. He is spectacularly unconcerned with babies, and will almost certainly have little real interest in his nephew until he develops communications skills more advanced than crying and farting. Still, he cares enough that we provided the appropriate tribute shortly after the birth.
The penguin is mine, and is only present for modelling purposes! Although the particular hat he is modelling is the smallest of the 3 that I made, and probably is already too small.
Again, I used no particular pattern, just basic hat knitting skills, and sizing from experience. One plain stockinette hat, one cabled pattern, and one simple lace pattern. The yarn is Sublime yarns Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK.
The Shefknit girls did a very loosely organised summer Knit-a-long of simple shawls. Most of us made a version of Hitchhiker by Martina Behm.
The name comes from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and the answer to the Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything being 42. If knit with the suggested 150g of 4-ply, then this shawl should have 42 points.
Unfortunately, my version was knit with a 100g sock blank, and therefore has only 36 points. It's still lovely, and wraps all the way around my neck and shoulders perfectly well, so I'm not complaining.
The yarn I used is Countess Ablaze Viscount of Spark sock blank, in an OOAK colourway.
Finally, the only finished object from this summer that was actually on my WiP-down list!
This is 18g, 37 yards, of chain plied, roughly DK weight merino in a colour that I call "ASBO Pink". The fibre was bought from Shunklies, and spun on a fairly heavy drop spindle that my dad made for me.
I started spinning this as a demonstration piece during a gathering of crafty types wishing to learn more about each others favourite crafts while sat in the park 2 summers ago. I chose the fibre because it was bright and easy for people to see what I was doing. But bright pink isn't really my colour, so after that session it was put away and steadfastly ignored. But at some point I had to either finish it or throw it away, because fleece and tops don't remain fit for spinning forever, and it was taking up a precious spindle that I could be using for other projects.
Stash Acquisition
I'm only going to do 2 of the regular sections today I think. Partly because this is getting pretty long, and I'm sure there's some rule about keeping blog posts short so that people don't get bored and wander off, but also because I'm hungry, I really want a cup of tea, and to sit down with some actual knitting instead of just writing about it all day!
So, with 4 months in which to acquire all manner of yarny goodness, you'd imagine this section would be enormous, but actually it's pretty slim in comparison to previous updates. A little bit of the reason for that will be explained with the last items on the list...
I was too impatient to cast on the baby blanket, and didn't even stop to photograph the yarn I'd bought that day!
This is the Rico PonPon, and Rico Baby so soft prints that I used to make the Unicorn Fart bag, and the Simple Lines baby blanket. Both bought from my LYS, Craftastic.
This was my birthday present to myself. 2 skeins of smooshy merino DK from Yorkshire Dales Yarns. Caulder Water you've already seen knitted up into a teacosy. The other colourway is Roseberry Topping.
All of the colours of Yorkshire Dales Yarns seem to be inspired by the beautiful Yorkshire and Derbyshire scenery.
Just as an indication of how lovely Katie and her mum are, there was a discount code that I could have used when I placed this order, but I forgot to apply it, so they sent me the beautiful project bag, and gorgeous wooden buttons for free!
Yes, more Yorkshire Dales Yarns! The variegated colourway is a special edition just for autumn called "Autumn Berries", and it matches beautifully with the solid colourway called "Crowberry". I love deep, dark reds, but there aren't many variegated colourways that are based on red for some reason, so I waited patiently for Autumn and the release of this colourway, then snapped it right up. I chose the 4-ply merino for these, because that's the most versatile weight of yarn, and there are several shawl patterns that would work beautifully in this combination.
I love the little touches with the packages from Homespun Wonders. The way everything is tied up in a pretty bow, and wrapped in organza bags. The sweet little heart-shaped keyrings! Even the yarn sample is wound onto a wooden peg dolly!
On the 15th of September I went to Nottingham to visit my ex-boss, fellow knitter, and very good friend Rachel. Of course, I couldn't go all the way to Nottingham, visit another knitter, and not go to Knit Nottingham! For one thing I hadn't been to visit since the new shop had opened.
So we spent a very pleasant afternoon with Eleanor, raging about all the injustices of the world, and how people can be extraordinarily stupid, knitting, and buying yarn.
Here we have 1 skein of King Cole Shine, in the colourway "Nightlife", 1 skein of Cygnet Boho Spirit in the colourway "Festival", both of which are intended to be part of the giant crochet memory blanket.
Then there are 2 skeins of Juniper Moon Farm Findley lace, in the colourways "Graphite", and "Renaissance", which will be used together to become some sort of epic lacy shawl at some point.
Finally, 3 tiny 10g balls of Opal sock wool, mostly just because I have an inexplicable fetish for teensy balls of sock wool. One day I might turn them into a mitred square blanket. Or I might just leave them in their basket, looking pretty instead.
Oh, and the sock-spot thing is to save Stephens life. Because apparently old ladies die all the time when people knit them slippers, and they slip on wooden floors. So if I ever get around to making Stephen those Panza tank slippers I should really put some of this stuff on the soles, then it will set into a non-slip rubbery thing like on the bottom of Totes Toasties. Except that Stephen specifically wants to be able to slide around on his wooden floors pretending to be a pair of tanks at full speed.
Officially the most expensive yarn I've ever bought, and therefore possibly my last ever yarn purchase from America.
When impulse buying at 3am one would do well to remember that the British public, in their infinite wisdom, recently buggered the Great British Pound.
If I'd bought something similar from the UK I'd have expected to be paying around £50 for these 2. I was willing to pay slightly over the odds for these, especially the black/turquoise speckled skein, as that is not only a stunning colourway, it's also a cashmere and merino yarn base, so I figured I'd just deal with the cost of shipping from overseas. But by the time the shipping costs, the exchange rate, and customs charges had all been applied, these cost me over £90. Plus, I had to wait nearly 2 months for them to get here. I can't afford to be throwing away £40, not even on my "permitted luxury for the sake of my sanity".
I shall make sure that I fully appreciate knitting with that lovely cashmere when I get around to it!
Anyway, these are both from Lucky Violet Color Co. The one at the back is a standard sock yarn base that they call "Lily", and the colourway is "Lumpy Space". The one at the front is a luxury 4-ply base that they call "Betty", and the colourway is "Nebula".
Penguins?
No, penguins next time. Hopefully in just a few days.
PENGUINS!!!
OK, one penguin!
I discovered that Amazon Prime Now is a thing, and they can deliver a range of items to my door within 2 hours of ordering. Items such as gin, prosecco, icecream, and yes, a cuddly penguin. I might not have given in to such decadence, but we really wanted to watch Deadpool one night, and it isn't available on Netflix yet, but it had just come out on DVD. I ordered the DVD, then discovered that there is a minimum order value of £20. What a shame, I had to buy the penguin in order to ensure swift delivery of our evenings entertainment!
Also, hey! You cheated! There was already a penguin up there modelling baby hats!
*smirk*
Right, no more for now. WiPs and more penguins in a few days when I have time and energy for more writing.
Laters my lovelies!
