FO: Three Purple Garments

Hello. My name is Jenny and I'm addicted to purple. Or I am, at least, firmly in a purple phase...

Since I last wrote regularly, I have been knitting quite a bit - though not, I confess, three garments' worth! I worked on these one after the other over many months, but it just happens that all the finishing, blocking, and button-attaching has happened in the course of the last week.

First up, the Simplicity cardigan by Mary Arranella [rav link] in easyknit's Slink in the colour Viola. This laceweight cardi only took me six weeks and one skein of yarn to knit. I enjoyed knitting it a lot, and it wasn't very complicated. I'm hoping it will be a useful, versatile garment that I can wear to work or just around the house, when I get a little cool. Open or tied together:

Next, Thermal by Laura Chau, from Knitty Winter 2006, in Jarol Wool Rich Heritage 4ply, bought from my new LYS, Wool for Ewe. Also an enjoyable knit, though the finished product has come out a bit long in the sleeves for my liking. I'm thinking about revisiting that button band, because I think the neck is a bit wide/low for me and it just doesn't sit right, but then I need to figure out how to fix the 'sitting right' thing (go down a needle size, cast off more tightly, or something. The whole thing took me a year to knit, so I'm going to have to gear up for a revisit. 

And finally Skelf by Ysolda Teague [rav link], knitted in King Cole Merino Blend Aran in Lavender, bought from the soon-to-close Mill Shop at Texere Yarns. According to ravelry, I cast this on in July 2012, and while there have been some trials and tribulations including a massive rip back when I decided it was just the wrong damn size, I have spent maybe a year trying to find the right buttons. I think these will do, but I have a few options in my button box if I change my mind. Again the sleeves are a little long for me, but giveen that it's a cosy aran-weight jumper I can probably cope with that. Lovely fit and interesting construction, if I wear it enough I might knit a second; I'll just make sure I get the yarn and the buttons together this time ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

FO: Socks x 2

Once again, thing have been  busy around here - and they're not showing signs of stopping, so reader you have been warned: sadly blogging will remain intermittent for the foreseeable future. Partly I've just been too busy to sit back and take stock of things, and partly I've been too busy to knit :( I have managed to get some bits and bobs done in quiet moments though, and so I'll tell you about some socks I finished.

First off, I knew a long time ago I wasn't going to be able to go to any knitting festivals this summer. Firstly, Woolfest fell right in the middle of my midterms so that was out. Secondly, Unwind Brighton was clearly out as it was the day my bridesmaid was getting married herself [and I returned the favour ;) ]. Harrogate Knitting and Stitching is out as it's going to be too hard to get to come November when I'm back living in Scotland and working full-time. Finally, it's not yet certain that I'll be able to make it to Yarndale, because it's the weekend before my new job starts at the other end of the country so the logistics may be tricky. I love these events: the projects, the yarn, the colours and most importantly, the company. Going to them makes me happy.

I needed a plan that was going to reduce how much I missed going to them. This plan has three stages:
1) Knit with yarn I have previously bought at a festival
2) Knit a pattern inspired by a festival
3) Buy yarn from a vendor I'm missing out on visiting

Parts 1 and 2 are accomplished by these socks:

Pattern: Pavilion by Rachel Coopey [rav link]

Yarn: EasyKnits Deeply Wicked in Crystal Blue bought at Woolfest 2013

Pavilion was a mystery knit-a-long (KAL) intended to coincide with Unwind Brighton, with a design inspired by the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. I have loved the look of a lot of Ms. Coopey's designs, but not quite managed to bite the bullet and make any of them yet. I've also never done a mystery KAL. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to decide if I liked the designer's style and the idea of a mystery KAL and the upshot is: LOVE THEM. Also love the yarn, the colour is delicious and they feel like they will be great socks (not yet tested as it's way too warm for woolly socks!). 

Part 3 of the plan was achieved by some late-night yarn shopping which ended in me getting the yarn to make these guys:

Yarn: Easyknits' Cherish in Hockney.
Pattern: Nutkin by Beth LaPensse [rav link]

Also love these socks. The yarn has a little bit of cashmere in so it feels delicious. It's also bright-flippin'-yellow, there's no two ways about it, and I would challenge anyone to feel less happy after looking at that colour. The pattern is easy enough when you get the hang of it, and has a new-to-me short-row heel plus a toe that involves the (also new-to-me) three needle bind off. While I'm probably never going to do another three-needle bind-off, I'm glad to have had a stab at it. They've gone to a well-deserved home back in Yorkshire where I hope they're well loved :)

Thanks for stopping by x

FO: Martin's Gloves

First up, I have finally finished these gloves for my other half. According to ravelry, I cast these on in January but the stripes drove me dotty (he chose them - next time he's getting plain). Plus, his hands are not shaped like those in the pattern, so I had to do a lot of ripping back fingers and making them bigger. Oh and I nearly ran out of yarn, which meant I also put off knitting them. However, the pattern is brilliant, straightforward, and free to download off Ravelry; any problems I had were definitely my (or his!) fault. The yarn is Artesano Superwash Merino, so matches the hat I made him.

He's only indulged me in one photo:

He does love them, but they took forever - still under the one-year mark though, hoorah!

FO: Bandana Cowl

I tried to find the time for a quick photoshoot with my poor partner, so I could get some great photos of this. Despite the Christmas holidays, I never managed it. So apologies, but you're going to have to put up with selfies and poor lighting.

The Bandana Cowl was a pattern I clocked yonks ago - probably when it was originally on the Purl Soho blog. I'd been thinking about cowls and scarves; cowls are convenient as they don't have long ends that dangle in things, but with the sort of coats I wear, cowls leave a gap around my clavicle that gets chilly. I was thinking that it couldn't be too hard to make a cowl that covered me up. Then one day on my blog roll: voila! Someone figured it out before me!

The structure is clever, though easy to understand. Cast on at the bottom, work the border in the round, before moving on to some short-row shaping and then work in the round again and do some decreases before the top border. This means it is deeper at the front than at the back, so it fills that gap.

An easy pattern, knitted in the round and it goes very quickly. I made this one in Hayfield Bonus Chunky, which is best described as 'budget', so it was a quick, cheap project. I love the result and use it all.the.time.; in the frozen north where I am now living, it is a useful member of the knitwear family, as I strive to become a knitwear ninja (where you're totally covered in handknits or wool clothing, except your eyes). I'm tempted to make another little cowl to go inside, to be extra snuggly, but maybe I should just knit a second in something that has some actual wool in it.

Great one, would definitely recommend!

FOs: Three Pairs of Gloves

Another post in the Finished Object parade - it's all helping me to Knit My Queue. As we rolled into autumn, I became aware that I needed to crack on with the challenge I had set myself, and knitting gloves means that the number of projects reduces, without needing a massive increase in knitting time. And I've really enjoyed knitting these three.

First up are my Waterhouse Mitts [rav link], a p/hop pattern. I loved the pattern, though I tweaked it to use it with DK yarn I think I almost certainly made it worse. The yarn [Debbie Bliss Cashmerino] was great, and it's the first time I've used it and I cannot wait to use it again. I really enjoyed doing colourwork for what feels like the first time in ages! Fair isle might feel fiddly but it gave these mitts just the right amount of interest, but the pattern was intuitive and I found it very morish. The mitts are also really cosy for the tough, Aberdonian mornings I now regularly face - as a city, it does seem to have perfected the combination of wind and cold so that they both permeate straight through to my skin while I innocently wait at the bus stop.

Secondly, these cabled mitts, a well-written free pattern [rav link] if somewhat unimaginatively named the One-Cable Mitts. If I were knitting for Christmas, I would almost certainly knit them again; making them in Aran weight yarn meant they flew off the needles in a single evening. I went down a needle size as they seemed a bit big, and I had to forget the ribbing at the top of the hand as I ran out of yarn. I like the result so on balance, I really enjoyed this project!

Finally, I have knitted one Christmas present. These are for a long-time friend of the family, after she admired my fingerless mittens when we were on a walk in the Dales. Apologies for the low-quality phone photo; there was not a lot of time to snap these! The pattern is the Nalu Mittens [rav link], which I modified to remove the tiny amount of seed stitch. The yarn is Artesano Superwash Merino in Teal (5167), which a Google Image Search shows (certainly better than the photo!) is a sort of deep aquamarine - deeply fabulous, too! It seemed like it would be lovely and cost but not itchy, fingers crossed that comes true!

FO: One Mystery Shawl

I'm going to come straight out with it: I knitted my wedding shawl. That needs clarification: I knitted one of my wedding shawls. Call me crazy, but I knew I wanted to make a super-special shawl with this yarn, because I love it - the fibre, the colour, the saturation,... - plus it came to me via some people who are very special to me (hi guys!). However, I'm not dead set on having such a striking colour wrapped around my shoulders when the other colour I'm wearing is more-or-less white:

One trip to Yarndale with former housemate and first-class enabler Hannah meant I also have some beautiful laceweight, that is more of a traditional colour for a wedding shawl. I plan to knit that into something too (pattern yet to be determined!) and then make a decision nearer the big day. Either way, I'm not particularly happy showing the projects off in such a public arena, so I will leave you with a photo of my leftover yarn from the shawl I've just finished, to whet your appetite.

Yarn: Wollmeise "Pure" 100% Merino Superwash [rav link] 150g/575yds. Colourway: Der letzte Versuch = 'the last attempt'. I can only guess how that day of yarn dying was going!
Pattern: Tornved by Karina Westermann [rav link]. Loved it, well-written and easy to modify - I did five repeats of the main chart, instead of the three recommended, as I had lots of yarn. Though as you can tell from the above, that did cut it rather fine on the yarn front!

FOs: Two hats

Oh dear, blogging fell off the end of my to-do list this week! It has been a helluva week - travelling the length and breadth of the country on top of the usual thesis writing. All that travelling did mean I saw lots of lovely people though :)

Anyway, back to catching up on my FOs. I finished a couple of hats that were part of my knitting the queue 2013 plans. Actually, since I last blogged regularly, I started them too - though the yarn featured in an earlier post. It was going to become a hat, but we were fighting about the pattern. Fortunately, we found the ideal solution...

I am really happy with this project - it fits really well and the garter border is really snuggly, and covers my ears which is always a plus. It could probably be a bit more beret-style too, I just prefer my hats further back on my head.

Pattern: Mayrose by Woolly Wormhead, queen of hats [rav link]. Not the first WW pattern I've knitted, and like the others, well written, well laid out and easy to follow.
Yarn: Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK, from the sale bin at Wool for Ewe.

Now, Hat The Second:

A good, solid hat - possibly a little big on me so I might see if anyone would like it for Christmas.

Pattern: Cafe au Lait Tam by Kathryn C [rav link]. A well-written pattern, easy to pick up and quick to knit.
Yarn: King Cole Merino Blend DK in Petrol (Blue/Teal). Bought at baa ram ewe in Harrogate, just because the shop and staff were so lovely.

FO: Dunkerton Sweet and Vorticity

Despite my absence, worry not: I have been knitting. It has been quite a productive month in terms of knit the queue - first off, I have finished four socks. So I don't overwhelm you all, that's all you're going to hear about today.

Pattern: Dunkerton Sweet by Jen Arnall-Culliford [rav link]. Really well-written pattern; I found the lace logical and pretty easy to learn, and the nearly-new thing to me was that they had 'footedness' - I've only done that once before and frankly, I was worrying about other things with that project. 

Yarn: Skein Queen Entwist in Beauty Berry (cranberryish red), the last of the three skeins of sock yarn I got at Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show 2012. Delicious stuff to knit with, high twist and beautifully semisolid, perfect for socks.

If I had my time again, I might make the leg longer as I had plenty of yarn left - but it would only be by half a pattern repeat and, as they're top-down, that would mean I'd have to think about it. Generally loved the whole project though :)

And here's the second pair...

Pattern: Vorticity by Alice Yu [rav link]. I will admit, it did stretch my brainpower in places, but once I'd got my head around it, not too bad. Delighted with the result.
Yarn: High Twist BFL/Nylon by Wharfedale Woolworks. The inimitable Steph had it custom dyed for me in a colourway called 'A Typical British Summer's Day', so of course it is the colour of the sky just before a thunderstorm kicks off. Fabulous stuff to knit with; I heartily recommend it.

These are a bit of a geeky project, given my love of the weather, particularly storms and wind. Vorticity is a quantity that measures how much 'spinniness' something has - if you can imagine a tornado, it has a lot of vorticity! There is quite a lot of it knocking about in thunderstorms and the sort of things I work on. It seemed like a perfect match.

Both great patterns, both great yarns, and how I have more cosy socks! Hope you stop by again soon to hear more of my knitting exploits.

FO: Lauriel

Finally! I'm sure you've been looking forward to this as much as I have. The ups and downs of this project have been fairly well documented, and there were several given that I officially cast on 1st August 2011 and officially finished 1st September 2013.

The sleeves were too long and had to be ripped back. The button band didn't sit right and needed reinforcing (which took me at least a year to get around to). I'm sure there were dozens of tiny setbacks, and I'm sure I've learned from them all.

The main thing I've learned that I'm not great when it comes to finishing big things, because that involves carrying a lot of stuff around and concentrating for more than 20 minutes, so isn't great on a train or at knit night. The details are great fun, and do carried me through this project sufficiently that it wasn't just a mountain of stockinette, and I knitted the body up pretty quickly. It was the very end stages where I floundered. Blocking took a while (especially as the sleeves were partly reknitted). Ends were not tucked in for ages. Sewing things is especially bad, as shown by the amount of time it took me to do the button band reinforcing.

At the moment I love it; it's not quite the weather to wear wool to work yet, but I'm sure I will. I also had a fairly useless pale blue skirt and an even more useless pale blue handbag, and I've dyed both navy so I have a complete outfit. Result!

The reinforcing [done using this Knitmore Girls video] has improved things but I'm still not mega-happy with the button band. I suspect that over the last two years I have just gained enough weight that, if I were to start now, I might contemplate a larger size.

But screw it, I'm leaving it as it is - and intend to enjoy wearing it just as soon as I get home!

The Kindness of Strangers

Another week, another finished object. I cast these guys on back in February, knowing that they were going to be a slow-burning project. This is just down to the fact that the pattern involves a lot of cabling; one in every 4 rows is cabling every single stitch. Not something to do in half-light or when half-asleep.

I knitted away, finishing the first sock back in April. I carried on and then disaster struck: I ran out of yarn, at possible the worst point. I was so invested I couldn't rip back and knit another pattern, but not so far that I could get away with just minor adjustments to the pattern I was using. The socks got sent to the naughty corner, and we had a cooling off period.

Mid-August comes and I start to have an assess of  what was lying around and what was going to be easy to finish (though I was a bit slack in blogging and only confessed how bad things had got on the 28th). Dig out the socks, and decide that the only real solution is to get more yarn. In the hopes of not having to buy a whole new skein, I get on ravelry and do a little stash-searching, trying to find someone local who had a little bit to spare. Enter, hawthorn. She is the kind stranger that the title refers to. She's made a beautiful Baby Surprise Jacket in this yarn. This left her with had a little bit of yarn to spare, which she was willing to send to me.

Hoorah! It was enough!! It's not the same dyelot but it doesn't bother me. Six months is too long to have any pair of socks on the needles. I wanted them away. Needless to say, I am very happy with the result. It's a great combination of pattern and yarn, and has made some really cosy socks.

FO: Hopeless Wanderer

I was doing so well with knitting from my queue this year. I was really proud of all my progress.

But then, something just snapped in me, and I had such a strong impulse to cast on something not on the plan; something beautiful, in new yarn and a new pattern. Not usually one to colour outside the lines, I squashed it and ignored it. And then I heard the wise words of Mumford and Sons:

'So when you hope's on fire
But you know your desire
Don't hold a glass over the flame
Don't let your heart grow cold...'

This instantly validated the impulse. After all, I don't want to fall out of love with knitting! Cold heart, no thanks! Before I knew it, I'd bought the yarn, cast on and was halfway through the plain section of this little beauty.

Yarn: Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply, bought from baa ram ewe, Headingley. Ran out
Pattern: Kirkja Shawl by Karina Westermann, originally in Knit Now magazine, December 2012. I bought it as a standalone pattern when it was on sale for Andy Murray's Wimbledon victory, July 2013.

I really enjoyed knitting this: a well-written pattern, some beautiful easy-to-work with yarn, and perfection together. I think my deviation from The Plan was totally worthwhile.

'Hold me fast
Hold me fast
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer'

Le Weekend avec le Barf de Unicorn.

Reading over my last post, it sounds a bit like I'm heading into some kind of Knitting Dark Place - sorry about that (though thanks for the lovely comment, it did help me gain a little perspective). I read it a few times after posting and decided that what I needed was to assuage my guilt.

I could not find a pattern good enough for this yarn. There were several false starts. I tried socks with different patterns, but they looked way too chaotic no matter what. I was not happy, stamped, stomped, shouted at the yarn a bit (particularly 'too much entropy!' and 'stupid unicorn barf!'). I then shoved it to the bottom of my knitting in tray and tried to forget about it.

Then I started to get guilty about everything under the sun, including that I'd not managed to find a project to do justice to this beautiful yarn. At some point, I was moaning about this to my lovely housemate, who is both a knitter and one of life's 'doers'. So she did the leg work, found me a fabulous pattern* and I just had to cast on.
*actually, she found me half a dozen patterns, but we decided that this one was the best.

Pattern: Le Weekend [rav link]
Yarn: Toddy in colourway Spectrum, by The Yarn Yard.
Needles: KnitPro interchangeables in 4.5mm (5.5mm for cast on and cast off). 

I knitted all the way up to Aberdeen and all the way back, and basically finished the whole thing then - but then I spent a week thinking about how I could possibly use up the rest of the yarn and then deciding, with the beautiful shape and all the short-row shaping I'd just done, that it would be best just as it is. SuperHousemate has solved this one too, and suggested I knit a few sets of baby booties out of what's left - after all, they don't care how crazy the colours are!

Addicted to Socks

Well, I may not have got back in with the jumpers, but I have actually finished some things. And yes, they're all socks.

Last year I set myself the challenge of knitting twelve pairs of socks in the year, and I did it. This year, I look like I'm pretty much on the same track. And despite my opening thoughts for knitting the queue's ten pairs, I never thought I would end up at the one pair a month rate again.

Socks fill a gap in my life. Twice a month I go see my OH in Aberdeen, which is a six-hour train ride each way. I try to do this on minimal luggage because it's train that goes a long way, which means there isn't a lot of available suitcase space, so I take a bag that can go on the rack above my head or under the seat in front. In short, there ain't space to do the journey with a half-knitted bulky jumper in tow.

Also, you can do a lot of knitting in twelve hours (there and back). A few years ago, I took a single DK hat project for fourteen hours' worth of train ride. Turns out that isn't enough knitting.

For me, socks provide the most potential knitting time for the smallest volume. This is compounded by the fact I have a knack for spotting patterns that become highly addictive, in that 'just one more row' way that I'm sure all knitters are familiar with. A cable or lace pattern that follows logic, easily learnt and not too fiddly, makes me want to get another repeat done - or half done, or two-thirds, or any tiny landmark you could possibly conjure up.

For that reason, sock knitting goes particularly well with train rides too. At this time of year, most of the ride is in the daylight so I can watch the world slide by the window, measuring my progress in miles and rows.

(1) Purple socks [project link].
Pattern: Shurtugal from Socktopus by Alice Yu
Yarn: Sparkleduck Socka in Double Trouble, from Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show 2012

(2) Socks for Grandma [project link]
Pattern: Anastasia Socks by MintyFresh
Yarn: Kind Cole Zig Zag in Aqua, from Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show 2011

(3) Magenta Socks [project link]
Pattern: 2luvcrew, also from Socktopus
Yarn: from The Yarn Yard
Actually knitted in February for a friend's birthday, but now that has passed I can show them to you.