August Finishes

It appears August was a good month for finishing projects including a bigger one that had been on the needles for a while. Cape I'm looking at you!

Coffee Cape in Bendigo woollen mills Classic 8 ply Java
(There will be a post dedicated to this project soon)

The baby blanket was nice change of pace - the design is very rhythmic and the colours really were just a lucky dip from the 4 ply cotton stash. I already mentioned that I am ridiculously happy with this one and luckily I don't need to send it out immediately so I am enjoying looking at it draped over the chair while it waits for a bath.

Round ripple afghan in 4 ply cotton with a 3 mm hook

I whipped up this little Mandala while out and about on Friday with leftover cottons from the baby blanket. There is another of these using different colours but it was sent on its way before I thought to get a picture.

I think I'll use this one for a coaster or candle mat.

Pattern from here

Look here - two socks from the same pattern and yarn! I finished the first pair of the Father's socks with a whole week to spare. I will deliver them next Sunday when I venture out to say Happy Father's Day.

I enjoyed both the pattern and the yarn on these. I really like all the colours and have enough yarn left to make some for me, Yay!

Forbidden City socks design by Qianer in Regia Design line - Eggplant 

There were two more pairs of mitts this month, I have to say the portability of these projects makes them perfect for working on while travelling. 

Bendigo woollen mills - Luxury 4 ply - Purple Storm - a new design in the making

These Blue Caracao mitts used up some unlabelled 100% wool yarn and they are thick and warm all ready for next winter.

Baranduin Mitts by Amora Designs

Cables have been the flavour of my knitting this winter - I see that all of the knitting projects here included cables and yet they all have a different look about them.

Maybe Spring will see me change direction or not?

Wishing you a wonderful September.

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.

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 GeneratorMin: Max: Result: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.

Changing things around...

So I pulled these two lovelies out Friday all ready for some sewing action when I got home from socialising,

but I picked up a new book on my way home and spent the journey having a little read.

The book has lots of good ideas for exploring knitted fabrics as well as some really cool patterns specifically for yarns made from fibres other than wool. 

I couldn't be distracted from my needles and yarn so knitting won, besides which it was cold out there and sitting under this growing yarn goodness was very cosy. Cape the third is coming along nicely even with all those stitches to work each row.

The fabric is having a turn today, I've done some of the unstitching already so there should be some quality time at the sewing machine this afternoon.

Thanks Wendy for hosting FNSI, I really do enjoy the creative company via cyberspace and will swing by later and see what some other creative types accomplished.

May your weekend be filled with bright spots.

Cape the Third

Perfect winter days for indulging in some sitting and knitting this week mean that good progress has been made on the latest cape project.

I am really enjoying knitting with Bendigo's Classic as it has been a while since I have used this yarn, while it is not soft to knit like the Luxury which I usually use the resulting fabric is perfect for this project. 

Cape in Bendigo's Classic 8 ply colour Java.

It turns out that the hood is the perfect shape with just the right amount of cables to complement the busyness of the cables on the body of the cape.

While I'm not normally a brown person and probably don't have anything in my wardrobe to go with this colour it is warm and lovely to work with.

You're more than welcome to call me crazy knitting a version of this design for the third time in less than six months but I am enjoying watching it come together again in this colour. I'm a little further on than this now, (without photographic evidence) having just finished the first of the 200g balls on the body of the cape, a lot less ends to weave in on this one than the first one!

Friday is all about socializing during the day but I'll be home in time to put a few stitches into something with the ladies joining in with the FNSI. Will you be sewing along on Friday night?

Hope it's warm in your creating space.

In June - some things got finished

(But a whole lot more got started).

First up there was the cape that didn't quite make it to the finish line in May.

Collared cape in Cascade 220 paints - Caribbean sea

Welcomed into her new home in time for some truly wintery weather.

Three pairs of fingerless mitts made from my first published pattern.

Kallan Mitts in Vintage Patons Totem - Blue

I had two matching balls of mauve wool in the stash so I decided to play with the pattern a little and extended both the cuff and the hand for cold days.

Kallan Mitts in Vintage Cleckheaton Country - Mauve

For a friend who tried her best to appropriate my original mitts, that'll teach me for pulling them out to show off!

Kallan Mitts in Bendigo woollen mills Serenade - Platinum

 A little sewing made it over the finish line too - My new bag even got her buttons on before the end of the month - I only used it for a week before adding the buttons.

Afternoon Tea Bag design by Ann Francene Dimmer from Handmade Vol 24 No9 

I made this pattern a couple of years ago in different fabrics and use it for my work bag. Interesting how the fabric choices give it a very different feel.

The scrappy squares I was playing with became a new knitting home.

Extra large triangle pouch perfect for hiding knitting projects.

Last week I received a special request for a beanie similar to the one I made here but as the yarn has been discontinued I needed to be creative and added stripes in two colours of brown that complimented the original yarn, of which I had a little left over. 

I think I like the second beanie better. I duplicate stitched the kangaroos, which makes them stand out more.

Hopefully the recipient will be pleased with their new beanie.

Thanks to Peg and Kris for hosting OPAM again this year, there are always lots of lovelies to see around blogland at the end of the month.

Happy July. 

In under the wire!

One more finish for May - mitts to match my cape and use the last of the yarn.
A new crochet project using the Bendigo wool/bamboo mix I got with my voucher.
The cape is so close - I only need to attach the collar once it dries, my friend will add her own buttons.
Happy creating.

Making in May

Lots of fun with soft fluffy yarn - new slippers just in time for the chilly nights of winter.

 A fun hat complete with a little colour experiment,

a lonely Kangaroo hopping past.

These two used up some of the yarn that has been languishing in the back of a cupboard for a few years, not quite as many as the fabric I used to make a skirt last week, which is already in its teens! 

This week has been all about finishing the next cape, a pair of socks and new fingerless mitts.

Cape in Cascade 220, lovely greens and purples, and socks in Araucania Ranco Multi, the next photo is a better representation of those colours.

While the socks are done, I'm not sure whether the others will make it to the finish list this month or next.

You'd be right if you're thinking I didn't do anything else with May.

I have started on a new adventure which is both exciting and a bit scary. 

More on that another time.

Wishing all who come this way a colourful weekend in your creative space.

Ready for winter

I finished knitting all of the 1000+ rows of the border on Tuesday night and gave my cape a relaxing bath on Wednesday morning, seems the timing may have been right. The temperature has taken a turn south and this may be a useful item for the Winter wardrobe.

The best pictures I could get today between the showers - hanging on the fence -

The Front, currently sporting a shawl pin as I can't decide on buttons, and The Back.

Unlike the green yarn which is neverending this blue yarn has been very cooperative and there is less than 50g left out of the 700+g that I started with meaning this is will be like a wearable blanket. 

Knitting this made a space in my stash for more yarn and I may have recently acquired some to take its place!

The yarn is Cleckheaton Country Naturals in the Navy colourway, in real life it is darker than the pictures would have you believe. The cape is my own creation starting with the cable pattern of this pattern and then making the rest up as I went.

Wishing you a cosy winter.

So close

I have successfully reknit a lot of this navy yarn which was reclaimed from the Reversible Wrap which never did what I would have liked it to do.

And the blue cables are nearing their end, but I haven't decided on an appropriate finish for the edging. I can see a little experimenting in my near future.

I couldn't resist starting a new sock, which also has cable detail, not that you can see that in the picture.

These are in response to the father's request for more after recently being forced to wear commercial socks for the first time in some months and experiencing cold feet. (There was a small issue of overwear causing holes in one of the handmade pairs causing the shortfall.)

Elementary Watson in Moda Vera Noir - the coffee colourway.

Joining the Yarn along this week, I've been listening while knitting so no book pictures but recently finished Dark Heart by Tony Park, fiction based on fact, set in Africa with a focus around the peace keeping experience in Rwanda post 1995. Both interesting and intriguing.

Currently listening to The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian an historical novel, from the cover - "Parallel stories of a woman who falls in love with an Armenian soldier during the Armenian Genocide and a modern-day New Yorker prompted to rediscover her Armenian past"  So far this too is very interesting and engaging, perfect for knitting time.

Still using the Library computer and short on time.

Hope you are all having a great week.

PS: while I have been reading blogs for some reason I am unable to currently comment.

I have enjoyed seeing what everyone is up to, hopefully the technology issues will be sorted soon!

An experiment

Navy Cleckheaton Country Naturals

I helped a friend out by knitting the cable design on her vest and I really liked the result but not the garment. I turned the graph upside down and started playing with this recycled yarn from the 'never gonna fit' reversible wrap I finished last year. I sure hope this one works as I'm not confident the yarn will take any more incarnations.

Here are the socks that refused to show up last time! 

Blossom lace pattern by Qianer. 

 Wishing you all a sunny week.

ETA links 

Library computer to the rescue