Monday, August 25, 2014

Changing perspective

I am ridiculously pleased with the way the coloured star blanket has worked out.
Just by using all the colours, well not quite all as some of the colours had insufficient yardage to complete even one round, I think the blanket is perfect for a little person.  

4 ply cotton in all the colours - Rainbow ripple pattern
After finishing the blanket on Saturday, I had the urge to cast on something new.
Too many stitches on a little circular needle mean you can't see the pretty lace pattern but I am confident that it will look fine when done. I am having another try at using the Rowan wool/silk which failed so dismally at being mitts earlier this year. While this yarn is lovely to work with it has a rather unusual texture and knits into a thick fabric for a 4 ply. I'll finish this one off anyway.

Happy Monday to all.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Clicking needles

The needles have been clicking, but it appears I forgot to get pictures!

Pretty purple, (blurred) lovely to knit in the sun when it shines.

The father's socks were not finished by the deadline after I encountered a severe tangle last week, the yarn is lovely but likes to stick to itself so untangling proved quite a challenge.


I did win this time and managed to get this one off the needles so he could try it on for size when I visited for his birthday. Now I need to spend some time on the second one so he can have two that match, instead of two singles.


Wishing you a weekend with sunshine.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Spring is coming

This week was a lot about being out and about...
An excursion to the wool museum at Geelong with friends for the scarf exhibition.
Lots of loveliness to admire there.

On a grey day I visited with the Old people and noticed all the colours in their neighbourhood, as while I live near the beach they live in the hills and the colours are very different there. There is an amazing array of greens in their neighbourhood at present, oh and the wattle is brightening the world too.


The hook has been busy with all the colours making this gorgeous pattern in cotton.
Playing with the special camera effects creating all kinds of fun patterns and getting ideas for future projects.
I made a dent in the basket of colours but now I have small left overs, there may just be more colour play.
I learnt in this project that all the 4 ply cotton yarns are not created the same but they worked together nicely. 
Oh, and the mother generously donated another bag of cotton yarns to the cause! Best get the hook moving faster.

Wishing you all the colours of spring.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Making progress

The blanket is growing nicely with all the pretty colours.
Such a fun relaxing project. 

The brown blob in the centre is the Father's next sock. It's true I only finished one of the last pair but I sent that home with the Mother a couple of weeks ago for a fitting and while I got confirmation that it is the right size I didn't keep good enough notes to make another one to match without having the first one to refer to!
The Father is having a birthday next week so I decided it was time for a personal challenge. I intend to finish a pair before the day. This is the leg section of the first sock, instead of moving immediately onto the foot I have cast on the second sock and will work on the leg of that one while I am out and about this afternoon.
He will get a much anticipated pair of socks - eventually.
Lucky I work well with a deadline.

Anybody else out there leave things until the last minute?

Hope the sun is shining in your corner today.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Using all the colours

After finishing some of the things that were on my needles over the weekend, I decided to start a new thing to use all the colours.
I gathered together this collection of cotton for a pretty blanket.
Lots of fun to be had with this basket of goodies

Look - I even made a start. 4 ply cotton yarns in all the colours and my 3mm hook.
So the colours are not showing very well here but you get the idea.
Yes, that is the brown cape under the new round blanket beginnings, I am all done with the knitting on this project.
The finishing may just have to wait until there is a day with a some sunshine and warmth as it really needs to be washed and blocked right after I weave in the stray tails. I used almost all of my 600g of wool so there is not even any leftovers to deal with.
I finished the pair for the blue mitts also, but haven't got a photo to share yet.

Hope your weekend was a productive one and your week is colourful.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Turning corners

Weekend socialising included a little knitting and now I really am on the home straight of the cape.
This is the bottom edge, just a few hundred rows of the braid to go! Nice short rows which add up quickly, especially while I waited for the workman to come and do his thing today.

Kallan Cape in Bendigo classic 8 ply, Java a cool medium brown colour.
Mixing things up a little I finished this mitt, which is a test for a fellow raveller, seems others like cables as much as I do. These are thick and toasty warm in this simple but effective design.
Chunky yarn and needles mean this grows quickly.
One down, one to go! (apparently people like two warm hands?)

A little grey in a light weight yarn for taking out and about. The most delightful yarn to work with in this pretty textured pattern.

Hope the sun was shining in your happy place today.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Brightening my days

While the sun was shining on Thursday I spent some quality time at the sewing machine and made progress on my pretty daisy project. The happy colours in this fabric kept me smiling long after the weather changed back to cold. Almost done.


In the cool of the evening I got cosy on the couch with some warm knitting. 
The cape is at the point now where it functions just fine as a blanket while I am working on it or even when I take a break and do a few rows on a smaller project.

The blue is another fingerless mitt from some unlabeled worsted wool yarn from the stash. I really like the texture of the yarn, which is quite different from the Classic I am using for the cape, these will be warm mitts for sure.

Thanks to those ladies who took the time to answer my questions regarding hand size it really does seem that my wrist/hand proportions are a little unusual from this small sample. 

I called in Mr Random to help me decide who would receive a pair of my handknit mitts.

True Random Number Generator  4Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Lucky number 4 is Fiona, I'll be in contact shortly to get some preferences.
Warmest wishes for a cosy weekend.