I’ve been dying to get to work knitting a garment in the Wendy Supreme Luxury Cotton Chunky Yarn since it arrived into the shop last month and finally my endless list of ongoing project has reduced (slightly).
The top above is constructed by knitting the back and fronts up to where the lace pattern ends and then joining them with your part knitted sleeves to knit the yoke as one piece. The lace pattern itself is very simple, 4 rows, only one of which forms the lace with yarn overs and working 2 stitches together.
The back lace section
The yarn is lovely to work with, it’s a chunky so hopefully this will be a fairly quick knit. There are a good few patterns available and I was spoilt for choice with the amount of shades as we’re stocking 12 of the 13 available.
The left front so far
My initial choice was the dark cornflower/royal blue but I’ve seen another jumper in this months copy of The Knitter that I rather fancy in that shade.
What was I saying about reducing my ongoing projects?
Here’s a quick snap of the lovely new sock yarn that arrived in yesterday. It’s the Sweet & Spicy range from Opal and there are 8 gorgeous shades all 4ply of course so they can be used as a substitute yarn for other 4ply garments.
Tempted?
These are the adapted Alice Mitts I made yesterday to show the girls at the Children’s Knitting Group this morning as there are a few of them that have asked to make them next.
Happy Knitting!
I used the Colourbrushed Chunky from Tivoli, which is very reasonably priced (€3.95 for 100g), soft and comes in very child friendly colourways. Even better than that I probably have about half the ball left, so it’s 2 pairs for the price of one.
The lovely little chunky Grandad cardigan I was knitting is now all finished except for the sewing – which I hate.
I know I’m not alone in this and i also know it’s only a baby cardigan, but I should probably also get on with some of the other sewing up that’s been waiting before getting on with my next project.
My knitting is running away on me, to be more precise it’s the amount of projects that is getting out of hand.
I did manage to finish the Rico Fashion Summer Print top that I was knitting for Dina.
Dina reluctantly modelling the new top
Then there’s the Abbi Jumper that I’ve finished today, it still needs the ends sewing in and blocking.
Abbi Jumper
Not too bad so far but there’s also my Game of Thrones, Winter is Coming shawlette that I haven’t had time to get on with.
Game of Thrones
Ahem…. and the little chunky Grandads cardigan that I started today for the shop.
Hayfield Baby Chunky Knit
There is also the Moody Blanket but it wouldn’t be fair to include it as I only have to complete 2 rows a day as planned.
My intention this weekend I think you’ll agree should be to concentrate on getting some of my projects completed. We’ll just choose to glaze over the cardigan and waistcoat still waiting to be sewn up since last year. There might also be a scarf lurking somewhere that I’ve started for one of my friends and there’s the jacket that I’ve knitted the back and the sleeve of, etc, etc, etc. If that wasn’t bad enough I’ve deliberately hidden the two hanks of lovely Lornas Laces yarn that arrived for their Ravelry KAL and then there’s the Poolside jumper pattern on Ravelry that I’ve been lusting over since I discovered it this week.
I don’t know about you, but I think I might need some serious, outside help?
Petite Purls is a fantastic online magazine that specialises in knitting patterns for babies, toddlers and older children. Having said that, there are crochet patterns and sewing patterns too, all for little ones.
The magazine is published four times a year in January, April, July and October and is packed full of ideas. All of the patterns are free, for personal use only. Although not available to download as PDFs, it takes no time to copy and paste into a Word document to print off.
The magazine was first published in Summer 2009 and was the result of an online friendship between Allegra Wermuth and Brandy Fortune. Joan Bebe joined the creative duo as Technical Editor and Petite Purls was born.
Petite Purls concentrates on independent pattern designers; they will never publish a pattern from a company or a pattern publisher, although sometimes they may publish from a book. There are such lovely patterns available for free, you’ll be spoiled for choice. One of my favourite sections is the ‘Basics’. Here you’ll discover beautiful, basic patterns, which are great for beginners but also ideal for encouraging your creativity by changing stitches or using colourwork.
Garter Bottom Cardi
The latest addition to this ever-growing section is the Garter Bottom cardigan – it’s a lovely design by Amy Grace and is available in sizes 12 months, 2, 3 and 4 years. It is made in Spud & Chloe’s Sweater yarn, which is an aran weight.
All of the patterns are graded by ability, and under the name of the pattern and the designer there is a scale from young girl to older woman. The younger the lass, the easier the pattern.
Issue 14 is the current edition and as per usual there are several patterns I’ve already queued. Who could resist Belle & Beau by Megan Grewal?
Belle & Beau
It’s knitted in aran weight yarn and has sizes from 3 months to 8 years. Whilst I do adore the tree or the flowers on the bottom cardi, it’s the multicoloured yoke that I love.
Entropy Vest
My other favourite is the Entropy Vest by Anjali M available in sizes 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 years. The little argyle detail is cute and quirky but the tank top would look just as good plain.
When the latest issue is released the patterns do go up on Ravelry so some of them could look familiar. The site also has an archive of its back issues – all worth a look.
As you can see from the pictures the shop is now Stash Dash ready for Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th March. There is sooooo much lovely yarn included that I will have to try to control the urge to buy it all myself.
Of course if we’re going to be honest then I shall have to admit to having selected several balls (slight understatement possibly?) for some of the projects I’ve cued…….. Who could blame me?
Double knit
So will I give you an idea of what to expect when you come in for your 20 minutes?
Spring/Summer is supposed to be coming so it stands to reason that there will be chunky yarns, including –
Shades of Wendy Merino Chunky, Rico Galaxy, Bergere de France Duvetine, Twilley’s Purity & Sirdar Folksong to name but a few. We are also clearing Wendy Celtic Chunky & Wendy Norse.
In super chunky were clearing Sirdar Denim Ultra & Big Bamboo, shades of Sirdar Big Softie and there’s a few packs of Rico Super Chunky Tweed there too.
In aran weight there’s Wendy Traditional Aran, Rico Country Aran, shades of Sirdar Supersoft Aran and several lovely cottons from Araucania.
More dk
As you might expect there’s loads to tempt you in double knit yarns – shades of Sirdar Baby Crofter & Snuggly dk, we’re clearing King Cole Riot, Shades, Moods, Moods Duet, Baby Alpaca & Haze. Sorrento from Wendy is also included to clear as is Tiny Tots from Sirdar. There are also shades of Wendy Merino Dk, King Cole’s Splash, Rico’s Cotton dk and Sublime’s Egyptian Cotton.
4ply & scarf
In 4ply and lace there is Sirdar Countrystyle to clear and Rico’s Romance, there’s also sock yarn, shades of Comfort 4ply and loads of odd balls and hanks.
There’s also scarf yarns from Sirdar, Rico & Tivoli, shades of Reflection from Rico, Snowdrops from Sirdar and loads more yarn in lots of lovely colours, too many to mention.
I’m looking forward to having another look myself and hope everyone that’s coming finds something they like.
Basically, we cover up all the shelves and lay out as many tables as we can fit into the shop; on top of these we put all the yarn we’re discontinuing. There could be whole ranges of yarn, shades of yarn and some you might not have seen before. There will be odd balls, several balls and packs of balls, no matter what, all balls are €3 each.
There are things to consider: you have to book your slot, you only have 20 minutes (you’re timed), you have to prepare, dig out the patterns, check your favourites on Ravelry, make sure you know how much double knit/aran/chunky you need. Have a look at the post linked above if you’re not sure and make sure you book your place quickly before they all go.
This is what you should be expecting.
Stash for the DashLaceweight, 4Ply & more DkSuper Chunky & Novelty
As most of you are already aware we are constantly encouraging everyone to knit or crochet for charity. At least once a week I hear the words ‘I use to knit all the time, but my kids/grandchildren won’t wear knitted jumpers anymore’. Hopefully, this is becoming less the case as all things woolly have become quite fashionable of late and some of the coolest people are donning Aran jumpers or oversize sloppy hats, and there’s no denying the current trend for super chunky cowls.
So knitting is the rage once again but if you remain unconvinced perhaps you could be persuaded to pick up the needles or your hook again and get to work on creating some much needed winter woolies for our current charity – The Kyl Assylum in Belarus. If you want to know more have a read through my previous post here http://knitmidleton.com/2012/11/15/our-latest-charity-collection-is/
The lovely scarf above is a beautiful 4ply, yes I did say 4ply, number knitted by Edwina.
Sinead’s Mum made these
This lovely trio of hats were knitted up by Sinead’s mum, they also dropped off a bar of soap to add to the toiletries collection to send out to Belarus too.
In addition to the knitted items, Mary also grabbed a bargain batch of gloves and hats to include and whilst some of them are for children they will still be passed on to needy smallies via the charity.
Teresa O’Flynn has sent in some more baby raglan jumpers and cardis.
Lastly there’s these lovely hats that a lady dropped in to us to forward on. Unfortunately, she didn’t leave her name so if anyone know who she is let me know and we can credit her beautiful work.
So if you’ve the time…….. all donations will be sent to worthy, reputable causes and will be very much appreciated by those in receipt of them.
I thought it was time to update you all on how my Moody Blanket is progressing.
The first thing I should point out is that it’s definitely taking longer to complete the two rows than it was when I first began. I think it’s largely to do with the increasing size of the blanket, which means there’s more fabric to move along the needles. I’m finding I need to allow at least half an hour to complete the two rows now and I expect the time to increase as the blanket does.
Unfortunately I had to use the flash on my camera to take these photos and it’s made the colours much starker than in reality. The colour changes are (I think) far less noticeable and seem to flow into each other rather nicely. By using the cream Sirdar Bonus Tweed Aran continuously and only changing the one strand there is a continuity of colour that adds to the blanket’s charm.
One of the best things about knitting the blanket is that it’s warm, even at the size it is now – all 13.5inches of it. However I guess that might not be so appealing in June, or at least we hope so.
I am really enjoying being able to look over the diary of the last few weeks and am pleased to report that so far I have had :-
2 Tough days
18 OK days
13 Good days
6 Really good days
Not bad considering it’s been dark dismal January.
Having managed to persuade my usual model to pose for a picture, you can no doubt see how she feels about it.
Mistake rib is a great stitch pattern to use for scarves/cowls as it gives you a double sided fabric rather than one with a definite front and back (like stocking stitch). The easiest way to remember the pattern is to cast on an odd number of stitches, in this instance I used 17. With an odd number of stitches every row of your scarf will be the same.
We managed to wrap the cowl around Dina 3 times, but the friend it was made for is very tall and tends to wear it wrapped round her neck twice. if you want to make it wider and a little shorter cast on 2 extra stitches (the pattern remains the same).
Cowl Dimensions
Length 180cm/70″
Width 23cm/9″
Materials
5 Balls Sirdar Big Bamboo
10mm Needles
Darning Needle
Abbreviations
k – knit
p – purl
st(s) – stitch(es)
Pattern
Using thumb method cast on 17 stitches.
Work every row as follows – knit 2 stitches, purl 2 stitches repeat these 4 stitches to last st, K1
Work until almost all of your yarn has gone ensuring you save enough to cast off loosely (approximately 3 times the width of your knitting).
Sew cast on edge to cast off edge in order to make a large ring and sew in ends.
Tip – When joining in a new ball of yarn try to do this somewhere along the row rather than at the beginning of a row as usual. This will help to keep the edges of the cowl tidy and means your ends can be better hidden.
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 