Varsity Socks

The 'new' term is no longer that new.  School is in full swing and parking there is increasingly difficult because of it's proximity to the University.  However, the weather has been largely good allowing plenty of walking to and from school and I love the hustle bustle of my local area, especially as Autumn deepens.

The above socks were made as a gift for my friend's daughter who has just started University in Bristol.  Moving away at 18 is such a big step - I remember being so desperately homesick for the whole of my first term at University.  There is nothing better at such a time as surrounding oneself with a few home comforts and what better comfort than a pair of hand knitted socks!

The pattern is the basic Regia 4-ply sock pattern and the wool is Fortissima Socka stars and stripes.  I've had it in my stash for a while but it was perfect for a new student who is a lover of all things American.  It really is the time of year for sock knitting!

Summer's End

The new school term is upon me and I am not quite sure where the holidays went. We have glorious weather today but despite the blue sky, there is a cool breeze and the sunshine is that odd sort that indicates that Summer in waning and Autumn is around the corner.
For me, this is no bad thing because Autumn is my favourite season, but this year the end of Summer signifies a milestone in family life as my Boy started half-day school yesterday. I know he is going to love it and will thrive there, just as my eldest daughter has, but the days this week have been tinged with a little bit of sadness none the less!

Many knitting projects have been worked on over the school holidays, some even completed. Wherever I went my knitting went too - although even I thought taking it to a spa day was a step too far but I'd be lying if I didn't say I considered it!

An exciting development here at home has been the opening of Swansea Bay Yarns quite literally in my stomping ground. It is a fantastic shop, owned by the lovely Morgan and it has a beautiful selection of yarns. It it there I purchased a ball of CashmeRed - a glorious 3-ply 100% cashmere yarn which is just divine and as a bonus you get to chose a free pattern when you buy a ball! This is what I made with mine ...

... a very cute bag hat :-). It is knitted in one piece on 3mm needles and not only knits up beautifully but it luxuriously soft. Perfect for baby gifts - as long as the baby has trustworthy parents who will hand wash cashmere! This hat was made for baby Arianna who is three months old. I couldn't resist trying it on my little munchkin before gifting it though ;-)

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Preparation

We're going away next week - a few days with grandparents, a few with the cousins in Leeds and a few exploring Yorkshire as a family.  The latter will hopefully involve a visit to Baa Ram Ewe - my favourite yarn shop.  I've ordered online many times and made some purchases at their 'Wonderwool' stall back in April but I have never been to the shop in the 'flesh'.  Well, shopS actually - one in Leeds and one in Harrogate - but my husband doesn't  understand my need to visit both branches of the same shop .....

Time away necessitates some knitting projects so I've been sorting through patterns and yarn in preparation as well as finishing up some bits and bobs.  Above is the last piece of knitting for a friend's not so new baby which is now very nearly sewn up and ready to give.

I've been trialling a pattern for Christmas gifts as well - something quick and useful that I can make a start on over the school holidays.  It sounds a bit crazy organised but if I don't make a start now Christmas will be on top of me.  The trial has proved challenging though as a certain small person likes my knitting a lot!

Who needs a cat when you have a baby girl!

Weekend Baking

I've been in a cooking rut of late.  Ordinarily I love cooking and menu planning but recently I've really struggled with finding the inspiration to do either.  I still get healthy and wholesome food on the table but it's not very interesting.  Over the weekend the husband was on call which means we are largely installed at home as he is back and forth to the hospital throughout the day and given the rainy weather I thought I would potter in the kitchen.

I managed to make pancakes/pikelets for breakfast - some with added sprinkles as an experiment (next time I need to add waaaaay more sprinkles!!) - also rhubarb and blackberry custard pie (in a homemade sweet pastry!) and finally some homemade granola :-).    I also made a delicious lasagna  for Sunday and yesterday made Bara Brith.  I may yet photograph the latter as there is some left in existence!!

I may have the groove back.

A Yorkshire Hat

I'm knitting a hat.  I know it's July but I like to be prepared :-).  Also, despite being the British Summer, nights at the beach can be chilly and come the start of the rugby season in September, a late evening kick off also can necessitate a hat.  I think it will have much use before Winter is upon us.

The hat pattern is called 'Northallerton' by Rachel Coopey from her book 'Toasty'.  I've been a big fan  since I bought her sock book at last year's 'Wonderwool' so acquired "Toasty' as soon as I could.  I bought the wool at this year's Wonderwool - 'Titus' by Baa Ram Ewe which is my current favourite yarn from my current favourite yarn shop.  Here is my progress:

A knitting surge over the last two days has resulted in me finishing the large yellow colour work section as well as the second duck egg blue repeat so I am nearly done.  Incidentally the colours I've used are called 'Coal' (black/charcoal), Bramley Baths (duck egg) and Filey (yellow).  The Titus  colour palate and their names are evocative of Yorkshire where the yarn is spun and dyed.  The fabulous Baa Ram Ewe where it is sold, has shops in Leeds and Harrogate.  We will be visiting my sister-in-law and family up in Leeds in a couple of weeks so i am hoping to visit at least one of the shops!

It is quite appropriate that while I have been knitting 'Northallerton' with Yorkshire yarn while the Tour de France has been on - Leeds being the location of the 'Grand Depart'.  Shame we are going to Yorkshire two weeks too late!

My brother-in-law sent us this photo though:

They were in Otley - three hours of waiting and then over in a flash!

Socks

Life is busy, busy, busy hence my relative silence in the blogosphere.  I have been exerting creativity on an almost daily basis but I find my efforts slow growing because of Everything Else that needs to be done!

Do you remember this label that I teased you with in my last post?

Well I made some socks with it!  This is absolutely lovely glorious yarn!  I cannot express in words quite how wonderful it is.  Posh Yarns is a little Welsh yarn company based in Pembrokeshire.  They hand dye, on a weekly basis, a finite amount of yarn which is available from their website.  The shop update goes live every Sunday evening and once it's gone, it's gone!  I was lucky enough to buy two skeins about a month or so ago.  One is lying dormant at the moment but the other has been utilised in sock form:

The yarn 'Martha Sport' and the colour way is (wait for it....) Please Whisper It In My Ear.  I kid you not - all the colour ways have fantastic names!  These socks are an end of term gift for my Big Girl's teacher, Miss Williams.  She has been an amazing teacher, going above and beyond in my opinion, especially given all the work she put in for all the Eisteddfod competitions recently.

The original pattern for the socks is in Debbie Bliss' book 'Simple Living' which I adapted to what I wanted.  The original pattern had two cables per sock and the instep was constructed in a way I wasn't familiar with so resorted to the instep method I know best.  I also used slightly smaller needles at 3.25mm. I love the end result.  As the wool is a sport weight yarn it is thicker than conventional sock yarn which makes them cosy and cwtchy.  I hope Miss Williams likes them!

Eisteddfota

Eisteddfota is to partake in the activity of attending Eisteddfodau (singular=Eisteddfod) - a common pass time in Welsh-speaking Wales.  Last week we were at Eisteddfod yr Urdd near Bala in North Wales where my Big Girl was performing with her school in a variety of competitions.  For those who are unaware Eisteddfod yr Urdd is the biggest youth cultural festival in Europe.  Children (both Welsh speaking and Welsh learners) attend from all over Wales representing various schools and areas in a celebration of music, song, poetry and culture.  I was raised in the 'traddodiad' (tradition) but it was all a bit overwhelming for my English husband.

Contrary to popular belief he is not using Google translate as some friends have suggested!

It was very, very muddy ....

We stayed outside Dolgellau in a fabulous cottage which was quiet and secluded with the most fabulous scenery around us....

It was blissful - no phones, no TV, no interruptions and lots and lots of knitting :-)

Classic Cardigan

 I made ANOTHER baby cardigan.  This has been finished for quite a few weeks - I managed to upload the details to Ravelry but had not found the time to blog!

I was trying to destash a few weeks ago and found a couple of balls of Rowan Pure Wool Aran  in the collection.  Usually when a new baby is born I try and find a pattern I like and then buy more wool to knit it - this time I tried reversing this trend by finding a pattern for the wool I already have.  The pattern is 'Classic Cardigan' found in 'The Baby Knits Book" by Debbie Bliss.  Fabulous, simple pattern which looks lovely when done.  It's a quick knit with the aran wool on 4.5mm needles.  I found the buttons at Wonderwool :-)

We're heading to North Wales tomorrow for a few days so I'm spending this afternoon not only packing but choosing specific holiday knitting!  Our cottage is literally in the middle of nowhere so I'm considering making an item from start to finish while we're there.

Baby Ripple

I'm wondering if it is allowed to refer to this particular project as a 'commission'?  My good friend Debbie asked me if I would consider knitting or crocheting a blanket for her imminent arrival not so long ago, and of course I was very happy to oblige.  She chose the yarn and said she fancied a ripple type blanket but I had free reign with the colour arrangement.

I tried rippling the colours one after but it didn't look quite right.  After trawling Pinterest I found a couple of blankets where the most abundant colour was neutral so I tried sandwiching each colour with the oatmeal colour Debbie had bought.  We both loved the result!

The wool Debbie chose was 'Myboshi Crochet Yarn' which is available in a rainbow of colours, some of which are quite florescent!  It is sold at our local Hobbycraft store where it is almost always on offer :-).  The yarn is a merino/acrylic blend which I think is perfect for a baby - soft to touch but will wash well, especially important if you have a sick baby!

The pattern is the 'neat ripple pattern' found on the fabulous Attic 24 blog!

Seamless Cardigan

I made another seamless baby cardigan!  I love knitting for small people as the garments knit up so quickly and there is no time to lose interest.   The seamless method, of which I am a major fan,  also offers a better finish - there was no sewing at all involved in this one.  This pattern is a very popular free Ravelry download and best of all it was a stash buster using less than two balls of Rowan Pure Wool 4 ply I already had in my collection.  I thought that adding two different colours of buttons would make it a bit different and again I chose spotty dotty buttons - i love spots!  I'm trying very hard at the moment to sort through my stash and find designated projects for my accumulated wool - this is because the weekend after Easter I'm headed to 'Wonderwool' to replenish!

Pattern details here

A Finish!!

My knitting needles and crochet hooks have been working hard theses last few weeks and I've finished or very nearly finished some projects!  I've decided to stagger the unveiling of these projects over the next few days rather than do it in one go!

This is a baby cardigan I started sometime before Christmas for the then imminent arrival.

The pattern is Mini Manu by Kate Davies.  I love her designs - many of them inspired by traditional Shetland style knitwear involving fair isle and colour work.  This is a scaled down version of her pattern 'Manu'.  I absolutely loved knitting this, although it was an education.  The cardigan was worked seamlessly, a technique I've been introduced to over the last year or so.  I think it has made a big difference to my finished articles as there is no seaming or piecing involved thus gaining a better end result.  What I particularly love about Kate Davies' patterns is that they often include techniques that I've either not heard of, or never tried before.  'Mini Manu' has taught me how to do an i-cord bind off (something I'd never tried) and short row shaping (something I'd never heard of) as well as knitting pleats.  An education indeed!

The yarn I used is the recommended yarn - Orkney angora DK.  Oh my, this yarn is luxurious and divine - so soft and lovely and quite perfect for a little baby.  Kate Davies often uses British made wool in her designs and since I've been following her blog and browsing her patterns on Ravelry I've been introduced to British yarns I never knew existed, including my current favourite yarn (more of that another time!).

If you fancy knitting up your own version, I highly recommend blocking at the end.  I was concerned about how the cardi would look when finished - I learned a lot of techniques on the job and wondered if I would have a substandard finish because I wasn't initially confident with them.  Blocking truly evens out a multitude of sins!  I wasn't sure what sort of buttons would finish off this cardigan - I seriously think buttons can make or break a garment.  I'd scoured some of my favourite online haberdashery stores for appropriate buttons with no results.  Imagine my surprise when on an unscheduled visit to Hobbycraft for something completely unconnected I found some spotty dotty buttons in the most perfect colour!

Foxy Cushions

My twin niece and nephew turned one at the start of February.  I cannot get over how quickly the time has flown.  As part of their birthday gift I made them a cushion each.  I LOVE making cushions as they give fast results and are great for trying to make a dent in my fabric stash!

As they are still very little people, I made little cushions for them - 12" square with an envelope back.  One in a fox print - very apt for my nephew named Fox!

And one in a toadstool and fairy print for my niece Bronwyn:

The cushion backs were made in complimentary fabrics:

I confess here and now that the strawberry print has been in my stash for about 7 years!  I couldn't bear to cut into it before now and you've gotta love the giant strawberries!  They definitely bring a smile to the face!

Super Easy Baby Blanket

This is not a figment of your imagination - I am indeed posting a blog entry!  It's been a hectic month or so at home but things are settling into some sort of routine, albeit a sleep deprived one!  Life is good and I'm even managing some knitting :-)

I made this blanket in the weeks leading up to the baby's arrival - it's a super easy pattern by Purl Soho.  It's an ideal project if you are a new knitter looking to move beyond scarf making as it is all made in garter stitch.    

Knitting endless rows of garter stitch can be quite tedious but the colour changes helps keep the interest and it is perfect TV knitting - my blanket was largely knitted while watching the full first season of 'House of Cards'.

The blanket is knitted in one of my favourite Rowan yarns - Creative Focus Worsted.  It sheds a bit but it is lovely and soft and comes in a wide range of colours.  I chose seven colours for the blanket in various shades of pink and purple - I included one band of cream to break up the colour a little.

The whole project was knitted on 4.5mm circular needle to save my wrists and there are 22 garter ridges per colour block (44 rows).  This was a mistake on my part as the original pattern calls for only 20 garter ridges.

It's very warm and snugly - perfect on the pram in this continuing awful weather!

Smallest Haden

The Smallest Haden arrived safely nearly 3 weeks ago on January 22nd at 10.42am, weighing 7lb 5oz.  Life is good but hecitc as I now have more children than hands!

Puerperium

No, I have not yet delivered in case anyone was wondering and thus not yet in the puerperal period - I have (technically) 6 days left, but given that my other two were 8 days and 13 days late respectively I may be waiting a while longer!  Medically speaking 'puerperieum' refers to the initial 6 week period post-birth, but in this instance it refers to a lovely little cardigan designed by Kelly Brooker specifically for this time.

It is a lovely knit - all in the round - with the choice of short sleeves or long sleeves.  Just the thing for a newborn to wear over a sleep suit.  After much research on Ravelry I was very much inspired by the versions made by alternating a solid colour with a self striping yarn.  I used Debbie Bliss Rialto DK in purple as my solid and Noro Kureyon shade 329 ( I think!!), alternating every two rows.  I'm not sure if I should have made the button band in just the solid colour in retrospect and it has turned out slightly larger than I expected but it may just fit a little beyond the puerperal period!

I'm wondering if I have time to knit a solid colour variety while I wait.

Happy New Year

I've been a bit lazy with posting over the festive period hence the quick, slightly fussy pictures uploaded from my iphone!  Christmas was lovely but very busy.  Just before the Big Day I posted a picture of some of my festive knitting projects so thought I should perhaps elaborate a little.

I've been a Mollie Makes subscriber for a wee while now, I can't claim I've made a lot of the projects featured each month, but the pre-Christmas issue captured my imagination.  The featured knitting pattern was 'Catching Snowflakes' - fingerless gloves/wrist warmers designed by Tiny Owl Knits.

So I made a pair for my friend Helen using some Jamieson and Smith Jumper Weight yarn I had left over from my Hansel baby blanket project.

They were a lovely, quick knit and I loved the snowflake stitch pattern.  I did, however, decide to omit the fine crocheted snowflakes though.

I then made a pair in plain old stockinette using Rowan Fine Felted Tweed.  I'd never used this version of the yarn before and it was not only perfect for the project but was also very cost effective - £3.50 for a 25g ball which made a pair!

As you can see I didn't add the ribbed border to the top of the gloves this time - I added a few extra rows of stocking stitch before casting off with a flexible bind off.

Finally I made two pairs of 'Toast':

This is a free pattern by Leslie Friend which is very popular on Ravelry - I am not surprised as it is a fabulous pattern with quick results.  The original pattern uses an aran weight wool but I decided to do some stash busting and use the Rowan Felted Tweed DK I was hoarding so downsized my needle size to a 3.5mm accordingly and cast on 40 stitches rather than the 34 in the original pattern.

You may have noticed that I don't post pictures of my children very often but I can't resist sharing this one (which is an appalling quality phone pic) of my Busy Boy wearing his Christmas Pudding jumper - made by myself using a pattern from the 2012 Simply Knitting Christmas Supplement: