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!