Sunday, August 27, 2006

Vintage Knits Stripy Jumper # 2


Afore ye go...

I almost forgot, this is the 2nd Vintage Knits TV jumper I knitted. Sorry it's a bit crushed. I only bought one Kidsilk Haze pink ball of wool, having learned from the purple and green one I made (the blue and pink combo was my effort to knit something that wasn't purple and green - quite successful if I say so myself). The blue is Jaegar 4-ply again.

My third TV jumper that I'm currently knitting is apple green, I think it might be RYC 4-ply, absolutely gorgeous, and I'm using a strand of pink and a strand of green Kidsilk Haze together, left over from the two previous jumpers, which gives it a hazy, muted effect.

Okay, I really should go and do something else. Adios. x x x

Vintage Knits Beaded Jumper (without the beads)


This jumper should have beads on it (Vintage Knits again) but I hadn't learnt the fun of beading then so knitted it straight in muted PURPLE with Kidsilk Haze edging and rosebud on front.

It's become my home, comfort jumper that I pad around the house in with my pyjama bottoms (and moss stitch slippers).

I'm not sure if the beading would have given it better tension but it's knitted in Jaegar 4-ply and just sits on the shoulders. It's nowhere near being indecent but perhaps that's why I mostly wear it around the home.

Well, that's all for now, folks. Will photograph more stuff in better light another time.

Ciao.

Moss Stitch Slippers


I don't remember which book I got this pattern out of. I often get knitting books out of the library, particularly ones out of print (or not easy to find) or books that only have one or two patterns I want to make. This pattern also has baby sizes.

I wasn't sure about these slippers when I first made them about a month ago but now I absolutely love them. They took about four evenings to make and are made in Rowan Denim. I think what put me off initially was the colour (I find knitting black has the same effect). I wanted to knit them in (what else?) purple. The recipe said I could use Denim or Hand Knit Cotton DK but my local John Lewis didn't have Hand Knit DK in purple. I added the little roses to make them more interesting.

The Rowan Denim label said I should wash all the pieces before sewing them together but I never take notice of boring advice like that. I've since washed them several times and they're great.

I also never block and iron anything I knit and can't believe how many people do from the knitting blogs I've read.

Megsterino - The Jelly Cat


Just have to quickly upload this photo of my adopted cat Meg. She first appeared on my shed roof last Autumn and ever-so-gradually moved in. She's absolutely gorgeous, SO affectionate and sometimes very grumpy. She most likes it when my husband works from home and they both settle down to watch an afternoon matinee.

She likes the house to be quiet, warm and semi-dark.

We tried to move her onto dry food but ended up having to hide it under a big load of jelly. She's a jelly-fiend and often leaves the lumps of meat in her dish and just sucks off all the jelly.

Her main point of entry into the house is over the roof and through the upstairs landing window. To wake us up in the morning she goes out of the landing window, walks along the roof to our (slanting) bedroom window and jumps on it. She has access to the house and food in her bowl and all she wants is a cuddle.

WE LOVE HER.

Vintage Knits Vest


I'M ON A ROLL!!

Ahem, another awful photo (might have to buy new digi camera) but this is the vest, again from Vintage Knits. It was the first thing I knitted when I bought the book (Vintage Knits is still my all-time favourite knitting book). This was when I was still in my purple and green phase. Knitted in Cotton Glace. I loved knitting it, loved the easy little holes that add loads to the design and liked knitting the long straps. HOWEVER, I found the ribbon very fiddly and still have trouble flattening the picot edging (lots of steam ironing), which means I rarely wear it. Also the straps were FAR too long so I have the excess hanging inside down my back. And I knitted a medium whereas I should probably have knitted a small. The bust area is a bit baggy so I pulled the ribbon tighter to compensate. Still looks lovely though.

Vintage Knits Stripy Jumper # 1


Okay, this photo looks awful, but the jumper is lovely. It's from Sarah Dallas's Vintage Knits (the TV jumper I refered to in my previous entry). I used Jaegar 4-ply violet-purple, with Rowan Kidsilk Haze green. I like the Jaegar 4-ply because it's relatively cheap (£3 a ball) and feels cosy and washes well and has a certain elasticity about it. One thing I didn't like about the recipe (pattern) was that it said the jumper required two balls of Kidsilk Haze, and as I'm sure all of you Kidsilk Haze lovers will know this pushes the price up considerably at £6 a ball. More for convenience than anything else I dug out the inside 'end' and used two ends from the same ball of wool quite happily (I had bought two balls) and still had some Kidsilk left over from the first ball when I finished the jumper! Very naughty Sarah. I wish recipe-writers would add little tips like this.

Okay, I might take my second TV jumper outside and try a more successful photograph. DON'T GO AWAY!

2 year old's jumper


This is a Debbie Bliss jumper I knitted for a 2 year old friend, Nathan, for his birthday. I went to Edinburgh for last year's book festival and stayed with him and his parents. It's Rowan Hand Knit Cotton DK, lovely to knit with and it looked great when it was finished (colours not quite so garish as in the photo). I started it about a year before, thinking I'd have loads of time to finish it and ended up sewing till about one in the morning before his birthday! I only had the neckband and sewing up to do but it took ages. He seemed to like it and specially chose to wear it next time I visited.

I had meant to photograph all my knitwear to date and post them but haven't got round to it. Housework being the main reason.

Maybe tomorrow...

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

It's Me!


This is me in one of my favourite cafes in Norwich. I actually went looking through my files to see if I could find a photo of the purple vest I knitted from Vintage Knits but I don't know where it's gone.

Anyway, this is what I look like. I'm planning to take photos of everything I've knitted (that I haven't given away) and posting those first, then will do the usual current projects, etc.

I have three projects on the go at the moment. A pair of mittens (purple and blue) from a Danish pattern a friend gave me; what my friend Anna and I call our "TV jumper", it's the kidsilk haze stripy jumper from the Vintage Knits book again. We call it the TV jumper because it's easy to watch TV whilst knitting, i.e. no concentration required (this is my third); and Gemma from last winter's Rowan magazine, which has been a year in the making (so far), I'm knitting it in purple with red loops.

Most of my knitwear is purple. I was fixed on purple and green for a while, then I made myself move on to purple and another colour. My winter wear (mittens, hat, scarf) is all purple and blue, all from different yarns as I like trying new things and I don't want stuff to TOTALLY match.

Okay, will stop here and do photos on the weekend. P x x x

Saturday, August 12, 2006

New Knit Blogger

This is just a test post to see how it looks. I'll be posting my knitting diary very soon. Very exciting :) I've been inspired by the xtreme knitting website. Polly x x x