Monday 12 November 2012

Weasley is our King

That's why Gryffindors all sing; "Weasley is our King!" 



So, I've decided to knit Ron Weasley's blanket, y'know seeing as I'm a sucker for any replicas from the Harry Potter films, even though they piss me off sometimes.

Anyway, so you're going to want the good stuff. The pattern is The Ron Weasley Blanket by Penguineer (Ravelry link).

I figure it's a good idea, seeing as I'm on a quest to knit up my acrylic stash oddments. I love this pattern for the detail it goes into. I mean, I can look through the squares and identify the yarn from other knitting projects in the films. Then there's the Hogwarts House colours, which I think is sweet. I can just picture Molly Weasley finishing one of the Christmas jumpers then knitting a square[s] with the leftovers.

Ugh, I love Molly Weasley.

So, my plan of attack:

I'm using 5mm needles and DK yarns, mostly Robin brand, seeing as when I started knitting I only bought the cheap yarns.

I have written a list of all the recurring colours and how many squares I'll need of them. I'm starting off with the solid block squares seeing as they're simple t.v knitting. I'll go on to the fun stripes last.

If I knit some that are next to each other, I sew them together. Simple. Seeing as sewing up is my least favourite part of knitting and this is the problem I seem to be having with my bee-keeper's quilt.

Single squares are good pallet cleansers too.

I've drawn up a little grid, and can cross off squares as I knit them, so I know which ones I have. I also seem to love cross referencing. Odd.

Other project updates: I have finally finished Craig's Christmas sweater and only have a sleeve left to knit on my nephews.  I've knit a stocking, just need to weave in ends and I've knitted 4 mini sweater ornaments, they're so cute! A bauble. Been working on some socks. Knit my first afterthought heel. Knit hats. Knit gloves.

That's all I can think of for now!

Monday 22 October 2012

FO's, HO's & Updates

Since my last update I've knit a few things and worked on a few more. 

Before I write posts about them, here's a list of them (this will keep me organised too)

So first off, things I've finished:
  • German Market Hat for me
  • German Market Gloves for me
  • German Market Hat for Craig
  • Santa Hat for Craig
  • Wrist warmers for my Nan
  • Sgt. Zingy for Craig
  • Dice bag for Craig
  • Bauble
  • Mini sweater ornament (also my first top down sweater, ha!)
  • Feather & fan scarf
  • Plain beanie hat for charity
  • Cushion cover
  • Toy Owl
I haven't been idle, here's a list of things I've been working on:
  • Test knit for Elle
  • Sweater for Craig
  • Sweater for Bran
  • Mohair shawl
  • Blanket #1
  • Bee Keeper's Quilt
  • Wedding gift
Since being given a ball winder for my birthday I've been winding up my 'messy' balls of yarn, the ones without ball bands mostly. It makes organising them easier and they don't roll around when knitting. It's also fun.

I've bought festive fabric for sewing, as I want to pick it back up.

I've also been teaching Craig how to bake, which he's rather good at. He's been making cupcakes, and decorating them. He took some into the office and was really proud when they didn't believe he'd baked them. It's something fun we can do together. He already helps me cook meals, but this is something he's doing himself.

Tuesday 2 October 2012

My First Knitting

Well not really my first, that's long gone, but this is my first piece of knitting from when I decided I was going to knit as my hobby at the tender age of 18.

It had to be red, didn't it? I remember this being the leftover yarn from my Gryffindor scarf my Mom knit for me.

I came across this last week when I was sorting out my wardrobe. I just thought I'd share it as it's a piece of my history. It's the foundation of my craft and something that defines me.

I do remember my first knitting, a strip of white full with holes and pulled tight.

It's fun to look back, to see how you've grown

Thursday 20 September 2012

It was my Birthday!

I'm sorry for my lack of blogging, my wedding planning is very distracting! To make up for it I'm going to share with you my birthday goodies!

Yes, I celebrated my 22nd year last week (13th, unlucky for some) and my family was generous as ever so I got to purchase some cool things.


I was this on tumblr and just had to get it! I've coveted a lot of Tangerine Designs products, and what better reason to get it than my birthday? I love Doctor Who, Saturdays are now must-watch tv days! Every other day I'm running around with my sonic screwdriver. Now my needles can be gauged in style!


I may have said before, but I *love* Deadpool, this year I had a theme for my presents from my wonderful fiancé, can you guess? Yup, the Merc. with a Mouth himself. This yarn is just so Deadpool, the red & black of his costume coupled with the sparklies with I'm saying represent his swords!
I have to thank Lyndsey of Countess Ablaze for the 2nd skein, letting me keep it when it turned up was very kind of you, thank you so much!
My other Deadpool presents were a graphic novel, a custom card and a cake he decorated himself, he also got me a ball winder, squeeee!



I love Vincent Van Gough, he's one of my favourite artists, the colours in his work are so wonderful, I've been coveting these yarns since their release. Sunflowers is my favourite artwork and the yarn is so wonderful, my favourite colours in a ball. I also liked Starry Night, but I chose Cafe because of the yellow in it, my birthday present yarn means my socks.


I wanted this a while ago, it's Loki by Gnome Acres, but I couldn't afford it at that time, but Amanda had a huge update the day after my birthday and there was Loki, I had to snag it! I love the shades as much as I love the character.

I also had gift vouchers for books so I got a few more knitting ones! Which I should be reviewing in the near future!

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Updates!

Alrighty!

I have castonitis! It's so bad. I know how I got it too; obligatory sweater knitting and on-going background projects. So, just so I know what I'm knitting I'm going to list them off and note their status.

In no particular order;
  • Denim rug - I've balled and yarned up as much denim as I have, so I'm going to knit another couple of rows and cast off, this will be panel one. In the future I shall knit other panels and sew then together, but for now the rug is the right size for between my bed and my wardrobe.
  • Craig's Cable Sweater - Front and back has been knit! Just the sleeves and the neckline to do now.
  • Brandon's Chocolate Orange - I finally cast this on Sunday night, I've added stripes to a plain rib jumper pattern. I'm doing 10 row stripes, which will make it easier for me to knit the front and back the same. I may have to purchase another ball of the brown as I'm using up stash and may not have enough leftover from Craig's first sweater. I'm working on the front at the moment, but I'm enjoying this knit more than others.
  • Gryffindor Socks - I have a HO, I'll cast on for the second once I've depleted some other projects, it's not a major project, just a pallet cleanser, but I would like them knit before I do the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
  • Bee Keepers Quilt - I thought I'd have this done by now, ah I was so naive when I started this. I get fed up of sewing them in, but I do have a bag full.
  • Test Knit for Elle - Done ribbing, need to work through the pattern, this is my between sweater project, I plan to take it with me for the weekend.
  • Feather & Fan Scarf - I only seem to work on this when I'm tired and forget how to count, meaning I have to rip back a ways. However I am near the end of the ball.
  • Wedding gift - I have until June 2013 to complete this, but I'm around 40% done.
  • Bedspread - It's heavy and I've barely knit enough to cover feet. Whatever possessed me to knit a bedspread out of DK weight yarn I'll never know. It does look fun though, who doesn't love stripes?
I think that's everything....

I don't know how much knitting I'll get done today as I'm having a tidy up/sort out which will allow me to see exactly what I have in my stash.
I just found a very small black and white tv in the back of my wardrobe, shows how long it's been since I last sorted this out.

I've decided to sell some things on ebay, I have a fair amount of costume jewellery that'll never get worn. It feels rather empowering to be so ruthless with my belongings.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

A stash depletion update

Firstly, I am going to admit that I have bought yarn, I bought a semi-solid sock yarn from TheKnittingGoddess.co.uk for a test knit. I needed it as I didn't have any suitable yarn in my stash.

I am one whole ball down! Haha it doesn't sound like much, but I knit up a baby cardigan and have now knit up a 100g ball and some stash yarn on it. It's knit in James C Brett Magi-knit baby DK and Robin DK. I matched the buttons to the colours in the yarn. It's so cute.


Also used part of a ball to knit a teddy bear to accompany said baby cardigan.


I'm further along on the aran sweater, I'm now knitting the back of the jumper with a stitch pattern change as I really didn't like doing the diamonds, so I've swapped them for columns which I think give the back a nice sturdy structure. It's also knitting up a lot quicker, which means it'll get finished sooner.

I used part of a 75g ball of acrylic DK on a glasses case for my Mom, it's a nice little thing, so I may write up a quick pattern. Might.


I've discovered another way to knit hexipuffs; centre outwards and back in again, makes a nice little 'puff with self patterning yarn.






Monday 16 July 2012

Yarn Review: Moonlight Sonata DK

If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me raving about this yarn, raving about it so much that I decided I'd write up a review.

The yarn in question is James C. Brett Moonlight Sonata Double Knitting, how romantic does that name sound?

I picked up this yarn on a whim when I was out buying sock yarn, it just looked pretty and I knew I wanted it. I'm a sucker for doing this, hence my current not-buying-yarn-for-a-while thing I have going on.

I just loved the colours in it, and the way it's balled up reminded me of the sparkly Loop batts I keep seeing on podcasts like Knitabulls (which you should all go watch because Diane is amazing). So for someone who can't spin [yet] I guess this is the next best thing.

Like I said it's a DK weight, so good for scarves, but want to know what blew my mind once I checked the meterage? It's 500m! Roughly 546 yards. In one ball! So there's a nice scarf in one ball.

The ball band says it's 10% Mohair - 10% Wool - 75% Acrylic - 5% Metallic and it's so lovely to work with. I bought shade 'SM7' which is gorgeous jewel shades paired with a gorgeous olive shade, all intertwined with a golden metallic thread. I think one of the reasons why I fell for this yarn is the blues, they remind me of my engagement ring.

I'm not usually a sparkle person, but this yarn is amazing and I love it, and I'm seriously considering getting enough for a cardigan for smarter occasions, though in a different shade.

The only thing I've found I dislike about James C. Brett yarns is how they have codes not shades, that's it really, that's my gripe. The whole range is affordable. Moonlight Sonata costs around £5.20 for 500m for such a beautiful yarn, which would be about £15- £20 for a beautiful cardigan, not bad at all.




The pattern I'm knitting is the Extra-Long Stripy Scarf from Knitting Vintage by Claire Montgomerie. I've loved the whole feather-and-fan patterns for a long time, and I knew this would be the best pattern for the yarn, classic enough. Plus it's a 4 row repeat, so great for mindless knitting.

Friday 13 July 2012

Oooh I could regret this.

I've batted around the idea of a yarn diet much like my fitness plan last year, one whiff of pizza and it went out of the window, but now I'm deeper than balls deep, badum tch, in uhm, balls of yarn. I have so many one colour balls, I honestly thought that starting my bee keeper's quilt would help me solve this, but no. My stash busting efforts have been thwarted by self patterning yarns that would make great hexipuffs.

Then I started buying sweater's worth of yarn, which is great, but I haven't knit them yet and when I do I get oddments.

I have three 30L boxes full, two duvet bags and a whole box of yarn, mostly acrylic, what I'm going to do is, knit it up!

Oooh yes. Less buying, more knitting. This could be tough, just today I read about a new yarn, and it's cotton which I've never knit with and I think would make a nice summer jumper to keep off the chill. See my problem?

Yarn diet.

I want at least 60L knit, that shall free up a fair amount of room. Oh dear cupcakes I forgot about the 400g balls of aran in my wardrobe, see what I mean? That's why I need to do this.

I'm going to need a loophole here. I cannot buy yarn, but this doesn't mean I can't be bought yarn by someone else.

I'm sensing stripes, lots of stripes.







Thursday 12 July 2012

Monster Mash!



As if Lurleen wasn't enough, I knit two more of the little critters over the weekend. Both are the Baldwin monster pattern from The Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger.

The first one I have named 'Spitfire' and he's knit out of some Woolhunter Outback Sock in Red Hot Chilli Mama that I found on ebay. I love it, the colour changes, how warm it is, everything.

The second is Zombeh, a zombie monster for Craig, he saw me knitting Spitfire and just wanted one too. You can probably see that it's knit in the same yarn as Lurleen's head, it's some yarn I dyed up myself with food colouring.

I didn't think much of the yarn in the skein, but once I started knitting it my whole perspective on it changed.

All four monsters are just chillin', I swear they move around in the night, plotting ways to steal cookies, I don't really blame them for that.

Friday 6 July 2012

Franken-Monster

You know what? I'm really enjoying knitting these Monsters, I've just completed my 2nd one which is a bit of a Franken-Monster.

I chose to knit the Lurleen the Laundry Monster pattern, form the ever popular and amazing; The Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger.

Back in April I finished a pair of Hermione's Every Day socks in some very attractive Regia sock yarn, and I had leftovers. I've just realised that the yarn was based on a childrens book about sock monsters!

So I used up that for the body, some yarn I'd dyed up for the head, and a lovely little 10g ball of Opal sock yarn for the arms/feet. Now I have to find out this colour way, as it is beautiful.

She has now gotten the nickname "Boob-foot", you only have to look at the photos to realise why, just the way the yarn striped.





I knit her up in quick time on 2.75mm DPNs, once I've learnt how to knit in the round with a circular needle I'll have to have a go at using a heavier weight yarn for the monsters.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

My Colour Affection

Or Color Affection if you're American, and I spelt it that way on twitter due to today being the 4th July.





So there it is; my Colour Affection, (rav link) I have loved working on this project, it was so therapeutic, just simple repeats that were memorised in a jiffy.

My only nit picking would be the time it took to knit the last 30 rows, I timed it at 24mins. Yes, I used a stopwatch. When I say 24 mins I mean per row, I'm not such a speedy knitter. Luckily I had Supernatural on play all so I didn't have to keep getting up.

And for the nerds, yes, my Aperture Laboratories vest, I also have a shower curtain, it's probably my favourite game ever now.

Ok, so the yarn I used for this delightful project it;

Stylecraft Life 4ply - Silver Grey (Grey, duh)
Stylecraft Life 4ply - Zest (Yellow)
Stylecraft Life 4ply - Fern (Green)

On my project page for this I have the Zest listed as being yellow-green as in the ball it does look a yellow-y limey shade, but next to the grey it's perfect yellow, I guess that's how different colours interact and affect each other.

I chose to start with the grey because I knew it'd play well with the other shades, but also as I didn't want the  long band to be grey as it'd feel washed out, this is the same reason why yellow was contrast colour 1 instead. I was knitting this for me, and although it's my favourite colour, yellow doesn't suit me, whereas greys do. I also wanted contrast colour 2 to be a darker shade to end on, give it some weight in appearance, hence the choice of green.

In all honesty I should've sketched this out like I usually do, but when I was yarn store browsing, I saw these three shades and knew they'd work well together, then I saw how it looked in my head.

I really loved it, and I have plenty of the yarns left over to knit matching socks! Haha, maybe, or a monster, or something. I certainly used over half the ball of each shade.

For an acrylic yarn (75% acrylic, 25% wool) it's really come out so nicely, and so soft. I don't think I'll be blocking this because I really the the smush factor and how it drapes and hangs.

I can see what everyone said about the edging being tight, but that doesn't really bother me as I'm not blocking it out, if I was I could see how this would be a problem. I also don't think my m1L and m1R are as tight as what most people have been on about, but maybe I'm just loose...

I just know I love it, and everyone should knit this. I'm really tempted to knit one half the size for some reason, as a neck scarf? Who knows, I'll think about it.






Thursday 28 June 2012

Things I knit to

Given that I spend so much time knitting, I really have to fill in the empty voids. Now I've mentioned this before, but I love to watch wrestling.




Every week I look forward to watching Raw, and now it's been given a 3 hour time slot, that leaves me with 3 blissful, uninterrupted hours of knitting time whilst I cheer on my favourite guys, and boo my far-from-favourites, bloody hell I alliterated! Plus a few choice expletives here and there. Then there's Smackdown, NXT and Superstars to watch, so plenty there.

Commentary is always fun, and the storyline segments are really entertaining. Then there's the whole physical aspect, those moves are beautiful! I think they're far more enjoyable to watch than a gymnast.

Hey, I don't judge you guys for watching reality television, and it's the only sport I like.



Music's always a good one too, so I took a screenshot of my itunes player, to give you a general idea. I generally just stick on one of my playlists, depending on my mood.

I love to stick on a season [or two] of one of my favourite shows, Doctor Who is always good or Heroes or Sherlock or Supernatural,  I have to think whilst watching Lost, even though it's concluded so that's a no go for me.

Or a long movie, now I don't mean one that seems to drag, but a long one, or a series of movies, such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Batman or the Marvel movies.

Last night I worked on my colour affection whilst watching Jane Eyre, oh Michael Fassbender, how I admire thee.


I'm ending this post now, less typing means more knitting, right?

Laters!

Monday 25 June 2012

Squares and Affection

Squares




I have a chair in my room which I love to sit in, put my feet up and knit. As this chair is cream of all colours, I have a throw on it. This throw is now getting a little threadbare, but I love this it!

I bought it from IKEA a couple of years ago, from the bargain corner, so it had a hole in it already. I didn't care, think I paid about £3 for it. All I did was knit a ribbed square and sew it on over the hole.

Fast forward to now, and I'm at the height of my yarn collecting. I'm knitting things all over the shop and I have odd balls of yarn. I figure, why not use them up and save something I love? I can practice different square knitting methods, learn something new, it's fun!

As you can see I have kept the squares to a natural-ish pallet, using 5.5mm needles for aran weights and 4.5mm needles for the bulky. This keeps the squares at the same sizes


Affection




And by affection I mean the ever popular Colour [Color] Affection. 

I've chosen grey, yellow and green as my colour scheme, ooh they look so tasty together, don't you think? Craig bought me the yarn, it's Stylecraft Life 4ply in Silver Grey, Zest and Fern.

Everyone appears to love knitting this, so I'll give it a go. I'm going to start with the grey.

Best get started then! I'm off to watch Revenge, laters!

Thursday 21 June 2012

Are we insulting our athletes?

Well I'm certainly not the first person to post about this, and after a little rant on Twitter I felt that I should compose myself and write this post, to highlight issues that I've seen and perhaps use my sparkling wit to raise a smile.

Other effective posts on the subject have been written by KnitPurlGurl, Joyuna and Bromiskelly (a volunteer for the London Olympics this year).

The offending article can be read here, and I suggest you do read it before I start de-constructing it and adding my own opinions.

Forewarning, I am likely to swear. I am certainly likely to use internet memes. I'm also likely to copy and paste my tweets, so if you follow me on Twitter, you're likely to be reading points again. Ok? Let's go.

For anyone who doesn't know, Ravelry is a social networking site for knitters and crocheters, here you will find 2million+ members who have formed friendships and been united because of their love of the craft, as well as an extensive pattern library.

To coincide with past Olympics, users of Ravelry participated in the Ravlympics, games in which you could partake in whilst you watch the Olympic games on the television. Just a bit of fun, to connect Rav. members from all across the globe.

Being a younger knitter I have felt some scorn at my chosen craft, people have actually laughed in my face, so I did not miss the condescending of the article I have linked you to.
"knitting social network Ravelry—yes, this exists and is surprisingly popular—"

Just one of the quips I had picked up on in the article itself.

Unlike the National Olympic Committees of many other countries, the USOC does not rely on federal funding to support all of its efforts. Therefore, in order to fulfill our responsibilities without the need for federal funding, Congress granted the USOC the exclusive right to use and control the commercial use of the word OLYMPIC a and any simulation or combination thereof in the United States, as well as the OLYMPIC SYMBOL.
United States? Wait, am I in the right country? Rain, the M6, the highstreet. No, I'm still in England. Interesting though,  "commercial use of the word OLYMPIC". I can only gather that this means they want  money.
The USOC primarily relies on legitimate sponsorship fees and licensing revenues to support U.S. Olympic athletes and finance this country's participation in the Olympic Games. Other companies, like Nike and Ralph Lauren, have paid substantial sums for the right to use Olympic-related marks, and through their sponsorships support the U.S. Olympic Team. 
 "Support the U.S. Olympic Team"  is all I'm seeing there. Not all members of Rav. would be supporting the USA in these games. There's been no anguish on the parts of any other Olympic committee.

Nike and Ralph Lauren may have paid to advertise using your "marks" but only for their own advantage;
This brand supports the Olympics? Oh, I'll so buy their product.

Thus, Ravelry.com's unauthorized use of the mark OLYMPIC or derivations thereof, such as RAVELYMPICS, may constitute trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution of our famous trademarks.

This interested me most. Surely the way in which USOC markets the Olympics would be dilution of it's very origin? Where in Ancient Greece, athletes would compete for the favour of their God Zeus, who lived upon Mt. Olympus. Ancient Greece doesn't sound very American to me.



The USOC would like to settle this matter on an amicable basis. However, we must request the following actions be taken.
1. Changing the name of the event, the "Ravelympics."

This is a fair request in my eyes, it is what follows that has pissed off the knitting community.
We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.

Firstly I would like to point out that the majority of the 'afghan marathons' I have seen on Rav. have been for charity, not profit, charity. Charity towards fellow man, in what way is this a black mark on the Olympics or the athletes?

And to quote myself here; "Who has made special cushions for the Olympic Village? Knitters." 

I am of course talking about the Woolsack project, in which cushions are knitted and given as welcome gifts to the Olympic and Paralympic athletes due to take part.

I do not see how knitters are being disrespectful here. It's about sharing the spirit of the games, joining in the competition, commemorating the event.

Imagine, in years to come, an acquaintance inquiring about your scarf, in which you can look down at it and say; "I knitted this during the Olympics". Or the athletes who didn't win a medal, but can look at their hand knit cushion and say; "I was there and this is my memento."

The name Ravelympics is clearly derived from the terms "Ravelry" (the name of your website) and OLYMPICS, making RAVELYMPICS


Oh my, clearly a true linguistic detective. 


1. Removal of Olympic Symbols in patterns, projects, etc. As stated before, the USOC receives no funding from the government to support this country's Olympic athletes. The USOC relies upon official licensing and sponsorship fees to raise the funds necessary to fulfill its mission

These are non-profit patterns, they're free. Free publicity for your event. Free publicity so you can draw in 'the big guns'. They show support for your athletes, perhaps if your merchandise was a higher calibre, we wouldn't resort to creating our own.

I can only assume that certain colour combinations are also a no go area.

I honestly think this is pathetic, there was no need to insult a world wide community in such a manner, they should have just stuck to the asking nicely, because in the end, we're knitters, we're good, kind people and we'd comply.

In the end you insulted many people who use pointy sticks, and possibly your own family members, given that 1 in 3 Americans knit.

I hadn't planned to watch anyway, and due to my nature I feel even more compelled not to.




Tuesday 12 June 2012

My Little Jubilee Monster

We all know that The Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger has been so popular in the knitting community, since it's release, and I have coveted this book ever since then.

I have said many times that I have an amazing Fiancé, and him buying me this book, after knowing how long I've wanted it, just proves my point.

Plus he'd bought me the Jubilee colour-way of King Cole Zigzag 4ply, which was released for our Queen's Diamond Jubilee, which I think is my favourite Royal memorabilia ever.

So I decided, that instead of buying one of those somewhat tacky commemorative mugs that seem to be everywhere, I would knit one of the monsters from my lovely new knitting book in my lovely Jubilee yarn to mark the occasion.

Thus, the concept for Jubilee was born.

I chose to knit the Geet the Garage Monster pattern, and given the thin yarn I used 2.75mm DPNs as I don't know how to do the magic loop method yet.

The only reason the project took a week was due to me waiting for the safety eyes to be delivered because of the Bank Holiday postal delay.

Such a fun little knit. I shall certainly be knitting up more monsters in the future, they're just too much fun.




Thursday 7 June 2012

Guess who's featured?

*points at the blog title* Go on people, guess!

ME! Muahahahaha!


Well, I say "me", I mean my socks. My socks have been featured on the pattern page and I feel so bloody proud. See them at the bottom of the printscreen?  My lovely little red and green sockies. Oh little Sockies, I am so proud of you.


Lace-Panel Socks by Ali Green knit with King Cole Zig Zag 4ply in Rustic.

Thursday 31 May 2012

Miss Elle's Rhapsody

I've done my first test knit! Yipee!

Anyone who listens to my podcast, which I haven't written up show-notes for even though the last episode was almost a month ago, they'll go up asap and perhaps a new episode, will know that I was doing a test knit even if I didn't really go into detail when I mentioned it.

The fabulous Miss Elle has designed another wonderful pair of socks and even allowed me to test knit them!

Well, I was amazed by how the pattern read and soon decided that my stash sock yarns just wouldn't do, so I bought my first Zauberball to knit these beauties with. I purchased the colour way Summer Meadow, mostly because it reminded me of Slytherin, which is Elle's House, obligatory "boo hiss" from a Gryffindor here.

I really enjoyed the lace pattern, and it was a first for me as I'd never followed a chart before, but it was so simple, and there's written instructions too if you prefer that way. The twists in the lace remind me of a serpent, so even more reason for me to think of these as Slytherin socks.




Thursday 24 May 2012

Hexipuffs, and a little update.

I haven't been a frequent flyer, have I?

I do still knit everyday, but I'm working on the same old things which can be a little repetitive, but also generally not in the greatest of moods to blog.

I need to motivate myself more.

So this is what I've been working on mostly the past week, my bee keeper's quilt.

The 'frame' is sewn and I'm slowly filling it in, but this just means I need to knit more, even using the ends to knit some really interesting little 'puffs. I love my DK 'puffs.





I won a ball of Three Ewes Shepherd DK yarn in Student Knits podcast Statistic Sock Knit Along, and it's gorgeous! I love the colours in it. I think it may have to be a hat.



Lately I've been on a sock knitting kick, so I'm knitting some fun vanilla socks with a ball of Crazy Zauberball in Little Fox that Craig bought me.



Speaking of Craig, I've promised him a hat, you see, he had really long hair and had it cut shorter, I told him if he did that then I would knit him any hat he likes AND he can stash dive and have a hat in any colour I have, I'm such a good partner.
I have knit an Age of Brass and Steam, and I plan to knit another one in the future.
I completed a test knit for Miss Elle at the start of the month, no pictures because I don't know how secret she wants it to be.

That's all I can think of right now, but I shall be frequenting ze blog experience.





Tuesday 8 May 2012

A Year in the Making

Well, almost a year anyway.

Here I present to you Phil 'n' Lil!

No, I haven't given birth to twins, and what kind of person would name their children after characters in Rugrats? No, I have better namesakes for my future children thank you very much, like Grissom.

Phil 'n' Lil are socks!

Started in May/June 2011 whilst on holiday in Paignton, using the following yarns;

  • Stylecraft Life 4ply in Clover (Pink)
  • Stylecraft Special 4ply in Aspen (Green)
Basically I cast on 64 stitches onto 2.75mm needles, ribbed for a while then started the 5 rounds stripe pattern, worked the heel flap, turned the heel, picked up stitches and started back into the stripe pattern.

The first sock finished was 'Phil', the green featured one. This was the first 4ply sock I had knit, ever. Then I didn't cast on the second sock, until recently when I decided I should as I'd knit a few other pairs and felt I had a good technique going.

I can see the different in my stitches in 'Lil', it's rather obvious in the gusset, I think, as there isn't a hole like there is in 'Phil'.


They're comfy and snuggly, and I've always liked the idea of wearing odd socks, that also match! I love the colours together too, they just work so well together.

Thursday 26 April 2012

Day 4 - Seasons 3KCBWDAY4

No matter the weather I'll knit.
In summer when I'm in shorts and a vest I've been knitting a jumper.

Though I prefer winter, as you can be kept warm whilst knitting instead of over heating.


Just thought I'd share this photo from February, it snowed whilst we were in the art gallery, perfect knitting conditions.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Day 3: Your knitting or crochet hero 3KCBWDay3

Hold on folks, this could be long winded....

I don't have just one crafting hero as there are a fair few people who've inspired me along the way, and no doubt there shall be more as my life goes on.

First off, well obviously my Mom and my Nan's who taught me to knit/solve dropped stitches etc. when I was little.
My Mom taught me embroidery one day when there was a bomb scare in the town centre, this wasn't long after a bomb scare/thing up the road from my house in the 90's. You don't think of Walsall as a prime bombing location, given that there aren't many people who could point to it on a map, though in relation to this post, Walsall is a town known for leather work and it's art/history.
Though thinking back to my earliest memories I have of these three women, there's always a craft element involved. Actually, thinking about it now, the women in my life have always been crafty to some degree, though the arty/crafty-ness is predominantly on my Mother's side as even her brother is arty, this aspect seems to reside in the women on my Dad's side, though the men can, they just don't use these abilities for fun, only when they have to.
That last sentence sounds like crafting is a super-ability.... though isn't it? Given how most people are shocked and awed by crafting skill, doesn't that make us Crafty Superheroes?

My sister and brother are both 'good at art', my brother also paints miniatures and my sister does leather stitching. My brother married a crocheter, and we pass books back and forth.

My Mom is brilliant at anything she puts her mind to, decorating/knitting/stitching/upholstery/painting (restoring) Victorian doll faces, the woman can do it. So it's no surprise she's a hero of mine.

Nan B (Mom's Mom) showed me how to knit, even though I knit as a lefty (I'm right handed)... I don't know what defines this but my knits look like knits so I'm happy. I inherited her a couple of her sewing/craft books and knitting patterns, if I can remember where I put them, drives me frickin' mad.

Nan R (Dad's Mom) who can no longer knit due to arthritis, gave me her needles, she amazes me with her knitting stories, telling me how she knit an aran sweater in less than a week! Mind blown.

So these are my crafting heroes since birth, let's get recent.

Starting my art course is probably the best thing I've done, this lead me to meet two amazing women who I admire to this day; Sam and Gill.

Sam (Sam Made) was a student tutor on my course, and it's her love of colour and vibrancy which you can see in her artwork as well as her vivid hair. I never thought that she'd be someone I'd have so much in common with, especially the love of Harry Potter.

Gill is the person who lead me to realise that knitting didn't have to be tired old baby clothes when she started to appear at college with fun pattern books such as Knitted Icons. She knit me my Sackboy and taught me to purl. If Gill hadn't been knitting at college, I probably wouldn't have picked up my needles again.
Gill and Sam, those beautiful, arty, crafty friends of mine.

Though these aren't the only people who've inspired me/are my heroes. In the past 6months - a year, I've discovered the online knitting community. The knitters who write comics like Brent (Skein n Bones) to the podcasters who inspired me to start my own, predominantly Elle (Miss Elle Knits), who although I've never met in person, I certainly admire, even though she's a Slytherin.

Finally, my fiancé, Craig, who learnt to finger knit for me, so we could do it together and who tried to knit with needles but wasn't for him, I'll always knit for him anyway.

So those are my heroes for now, who knows how many I'll have in a couple of years?

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Day 2: Photography Challenge 3KCBWDay2

I'm not much of a photographer, yes I did it at college, but it was a quick course. I prefer to draw, line art at that.

I've never done a proper photo shoot for my knitting, though I did devise one, when I was trying to come up with a banner for my podcast, even if I didn't use it, I still love the photos.

There are instances when I'll spot an opportune moment for a snap, but that's just luck.

Charismatic softies make photos so much more fun
My mother's décor makes for pretty pictures

Monday 23 April 2012

Day One: Colour Lovers 3KCBWDAY1

Colour is one of our greatest expressions of ourselves when we choose to knit or crochet, so how do you choose what colours you buy and crochet or knit with. Have a look through your stash and see if there is a predominance of one colour. Do the same with your finished projects - do they match? Do you love a rainbow of bright hues, or more subdued tones. How much attention do you pay to the original colour that a garment is knit in when you see a pattern? Tell readers about your love or confusion over colour.
Yarns that became hexipuffs

I love love love colour! Which I think is rather funny considering a couple of years ago you'd only find me in black. A goth? I guess so. A greebo? Yeah.

But now? Colour, colour, colour! On my nails, feet, torso....hair..... I love colour!

My bee keeper's quilt is going to be colourful, so is the log cabin blanket I'm knitting.

I find it far easier to knit colourful accessories or softies rather than actual clothes. But I love colour change yarns, if it's rainbow or gradient. I find it fascinating how colours interact together, how they affect your mood and how they suggest mood.

                                                              Although not my fave. colour, I love a good gradient. 

I'm comforted by the fact that when I feel low I can grab a ball of colour changing/gradient yarn and my needles and knit magic.