Category Archives: Knitting

February 23, 2018 · 4:18 pm

Quaker Lady

Cross Stitch Progress

I have been working (slowly) on my Live Simply sampler and I have started work on my My Lady’s Quaker from here – it is big (for me) 160 stitches by 160 and so I shall be working on it for a long time.

I have continued on my sock and hope to have it finished by the end of the month – my aim is a pair of socks a month. There is a lot going on in the next month, so I might not get there, but then I am going to knit Winter Rose Socks – I have this yarn in mind – in colour 2170.

There is not enough time to stitch and knit all of the things… I suspect this is a nice problem to have.

 

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February 15, 2018 · 11:20 am

Multi-Project Update

Project Bags and a Sock

I have been rotating through my various crafting activities; knitting, sewing/quilting and embroidery.

I decided I needed to make project bags for my various projects – the image top right is my first attempt. It is great – my Live Simply cross stitch fits inside with the chart and my box of floss. However, my A4 pages (in a plastic slip) don’t fit easily inside, so I decided the next one needs to be 2.5cm bigger in both length and width. I have started another one (top left image). Check out the fabric, it’s sheep knitting! The front and the back are quilted and it is fully lined (no raw edges).

I finished one of my after thought heel socks – this is not my favourite technique and I will revert back to normal heels for my next sock (which is going to be Winter Rose Socks – I have joined the hand made sock society and they are going to send me a new pattern bimonthly.)

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January 31, 2018 · 11:55 am

More Socks!

First Sock

I wanted a project I could easily do on the plane and I also wanted something that I hadn’t started so if my needles were confiscated it wouldn’t be a problem.

I decided on socks – plain vanilla socks – although I am going to attempt an afterthought heel. I bought this colour because it is the colour of my girls’ netball team, so either I will wear them when I coach or one of the girls will wear them (probably Miss P).

I am using my Addi Crasy Trio needles – the needles are 2.25mm -, the yarn is Fortissima Mexiko Cotton Stretch  (Shade 59). It is quite rough so we will see what it is like as a sock.

The toe is a wedge toe and I used Kate Atherley’s 3/2/1/0 recipe – you can find more information on Knitty.

I have Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting without Tears, which discusses how to make an afterthought heel (essentially she knits another toe – and it is a basic toe a decrease round followed by a plain round until 20 stitches are left and then she grafts it).

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January 20, 2018 · 5:14 pm

Finished Christmas Socks!

Finished christmas socks

I finished my christmas socks – I think one of them is inside out in the image above.

So now I am going to start knitting a pair of Smooth Operator socks using Fortissima Mexiko Cotton Stretch (in colour 59).

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January 13, 2018 · 5:48 pm

Live Simply

Live Simply – Cross Stitch Progress

I have continued to work may way through my Craftsy class – I now know how to do the pin stitch on linen (brilliant – why didn’t I know that?)

Once I get going, I find this quite easy. I am thinking 32 count Belfast Linen might be my thing. I tried to buy more at Spotlight today, but I had to buy the whole 10m role – that’s $880 – so I said ‘no thanks’ to that and I will buy more from the Crewel Gobelin.

Second Christmas Sock

I am still knitting the second sock – I have reached the toe decreases.

I did a much better job on the gusset this time. I found this article on avoiding holes and it was fabulous (no holes!).

The yarn and the needles have both been great – yarn from passionedflower (on Etsy) and the needles are the new Addi ones.

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January 3, 2018 · 1:40 pm

A New Year

Christmas Sock and Live Simply Cross Stitch Progress

It’s a new year! Happy New Year everyone. I don’t have any resolutions for this year (I never stick to them anyway), nor do I have any crafting goals (they don’t happen either), but I do have a word/theme – Simplify. I hope to finish a few things and not buy anything more (because I am finding my collection of yarn, fabric, embroidery supplies and books over-whelming and anxiety inducing).

I wanted to make a Christmas sock – I didn’t get the idea until a week before Christmas, so it was quite hard to find yarn (or yarn that had some chance of getting to me in time). I bought peppermint pie from passioned flower on Etsy. Great service and the yarn is beautiful – I will definitely be purchasing more for next Christmas (maybe in October?). I am just knitting a plain-vanilla sock – I contemplated attempting an after thought heel, but I wanted something easy that I could knit while sitting by the pool, watching TV etc.

You might notice in the above image that I am using Addi Crasy Trio needles – they’re fabulous. I don’t really like magic loop and when I use dpns I get ladders at the jump between needles, but these are brilliant.

I have also been working on my Live Simply cross stitch. This is the project from the Craftsy class. This is the first time I have used linen (32 count Belfast) and I love it. I prefer the way this looks to Aida. One thing I am struggling with is stitching path – I want to have as few jumps as possible (and I am not even that keen on weaving through the back of other threads to get to the next spot). It is a bit like the network Travelling Salesman Problem. Is there any technique or method I could use?

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November 20, 2017 · 3:31 pm

Continental Knitting

My first attempt at continental knitting

My hand is still broken – although now I get to take my splint off from time to time and in two weeks it’s off for good!

I went to my knitting class the other day – here and my lovely teacher taught me how to knit continental. So good – now I do everything with my left hand. I need to practise more, but I feel so much better now I can knit again.

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November 6, 2017 · 10:17 am

Injury

My Injured Right Hand

I broke a metacarpal playing netball – on my right hand. As I am right handed, this means I am severely limited in what I can do. No knitting, embroidery, sewing, etc.

I can loom knit, but that is proving to be quite frustrating. I am making a square possibly a scarf if I get enthusiastic. I have started several times at first it was too dense and then it was too narrow. I am prepared to just stick with what I have now and look at it as a project for my mind rather than for a finished product.

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October 5, 2017 · 5:57 pm

Sock Yarn Blanket

Blanket Progress

This is a fabulous project for when you want to knit, but don’t want to knit anything that requires too much focus – watching TV, etc. All I have to remember is to K2Tog either side of the marker on the right side rows. And I get to use all of the fabulous sock yarn I’ve bought over the years – it is my one weakness (as Dorcas Lane says in Larkrise to Candleford). I am just randomly selecting a ball and then knitting a square. Once I have made 13 squares (I have 13 balls), I will start again. My plan is to make a 16 by 16 blanket, so I have a long way to go.

I did just buy a set of Addi Sock Wonders, so I might have to make at least one more pair of socks – perhaps the Antirrhinum Socks from A Year of Techniques.

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September 7, 2017 · 2:59 pm

Update

Blackwork Triangles

I have been trying to rotate through my various projects – to get the ones that were languishing on the go again.

Above is the piece I am working on at my embroidery class I only seem to have time to work on it there – I never make it back to it in my rotation. I should finish it this week and then I am going to need a new project. Various different ideas are floating around in my head, but I haven’t settled on anything yet.

I am also knitting Miss A these mitts

Meow Mitts (image from Ravelry – tinyowlknits)

this is proving to be trickier than I expected – 30 minutes yesterday to knit one row! There’s balls of yarn everywhere and I needed to learn how to capture the floats in purl. I am hoping to achieve more next time.

And then finally I am back onto this quilt

 

Block for my Sampler Quilt

I have gotten a bit more savvy about this quilt – I’ve cut the fabric, backing and batting for 12 blocks and I am just quilting them when I have time. I would love to get this finished because it has been going for a long time.

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