September 22, 2019 · 2:40 pm

Hansel Hap Finished

Hansel Hap Finished

I finished my hap! This felt like quite a marathon at the end.

Blocking made a difference all of the pointy lace bits look pointy.

I learnt a few things while doing this

  1. Don’t change to a new ball half-way through a row – you can’t see it in the image above, but there is a join in the grey section.
  2. Lots of stitch markers make it easy to keep track of the lace pattern.
  3. Super-wash wool was not the right wool for this project (possibly any project)
  4. Although I insist on making these lace shawls I don’t actually wear them!

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September 2, 2019 · 2:44 pm

Another Project Bag

Blustery Tree Project Bag

I finished another project bag – this one took a long time. I did the embroidery way back in May.

It is a bit bigger than my previous project bags – should comfortably fit a jumper under construction.

I have embroidery on both sides and I have quilted the bag.

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August 7, 2019 · 3:52 pm

My Lady’s Quaker Finished

My Lady’s Quaker is Finished!

I finished! This project languished because I struggled to see the stitchers clearly. I got new glasses and while that helped it didn’t solve the problem. However, I bought this magnifier and it has made a huge difference.

The pattern is My Lady’s Quaker from Jardin Prive. I did it on a 32 count Belfast linen (from Zweigart). The black is standard DMC 310 and the red is a variegated DMC 115.

I started it in February 2018, so 18 months to finish it (although it’s about the process).

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July 29, 2019 · 3:30 pm

June and July Socks

Left foot – July Sock. Right Foot – June Sock

I finished one sock for June and one sock for July. I went away for a week (to here) and I wanted to see if I could complete a pair of socks, so I started the July pair (I had already finished the June sock). Clearly, I can’t get a pair of socks finished in a week.

The yarn for the June sock (right sock) is King Cole Zig Zag and the lace pattern is from the Knitting Vintage Socks book. It is the lace pattern from the Evening Stockings for a Young Lady Pattern. I just used the lace pattern and did the sock in my usual way.

The yarn for the July sock (left sock) is Old Roses by The Yarnkeeper and it is a plain vanilla sock (with such beautiful yarn why spoil it with a pattern?)

I have started the second sock of both and will probably focus on finishing the July sock first.

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June 18, 2019 · 2:10 pm

Cat Blanket

Progress

The Cat Haven (where we got our cat) has requested knitted blankets for the cats, so I thought ‘that’s something I can do’ and ‘it won’t take long’. I popped off to Spotlight and bought three 50g balls of Cleakheaton Country 8ply. Knitted one ball and realised I had totally under-estimated the amount of yarn and time needed to knit this blanket. I am currently about halfway through and I have used 4.5 balls.

It is a very easy knit and I have been watching Call the Midwife season 8 while working on it. This does mean my socks have taken a back seat (and the Hansel Wrap).

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June 3, 2019 · 3:33 pm

June Sock Project

June Sock Progress

This is my second attempt at my June Sock. I started with a K3P1 rib, but I didn’t really like how it looked. I have unravelled and now I am doing a K2P2 rib.

I don’t really like the way the colours work in this yarn, but it is in the stash and I want to use it.

I am using 2.75mm needles as well (which is unusal, but I couldn’t find my 2.25mm needles).

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May 27, 2019 · 1:21 pm

June Sock Project

Swatch for my June Sock

I finished my may sock early, which means I can try something a bit more adventurous for June.

Above is my swatch, which is a bit disappointing. The ball looks like

King Cole Zig Zag Colour Magic

which is quite pretty, but the swatch has large colour blocks (pooling) that I am not so keen on. So I have decided this probably isn’t the yarn for a special project, but is the yarn to practise a special project.

I want to make something historical and have decided on these socks from Knitting Vintage Socks

Evening Stockings for a young lady

The lace pattern requires a multiple of 6 plus 1, so I have decided to cast on 60 and make one in the round before starting the lace – the ribbing is K2P1, so a multiple of 3. It’s not possible to have a multiple of 6 plus 1 and have it be a multiple of 3.

This is different to the pattern, but I think I should be able to use the same heel (Dutch heel) and toe (round) as the pattern.

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May 25, 2019 · 2:35 pm

Hansel Hap

Image of my hansel hap. A garter stitch shawk. Visible are a lace (feather and fan) in coloured stripes (dk grey, mustard, light grey, light blue and dark blue)
Hansel Hap

I finished my may socks (kinda magic socks) early, so I have been concentrating on my hap.

This is a lovely design to work. The lace is only knit on the right side and there is only one complicated row every five rows, so it is suitable ‘drinking’ knitting.

I love it – the gauge is a bit lose (intentionally) and it is squishy and soft. I can’t wait to wear it. The yarn is some type of super wash wool (merino) in 8 ply that I bought from Spot Light.

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May 13, 2019 · 1:57 pm

Kinda Magic Socks (Wool and the Gang)

Image of Wool and the Gang's Kinda Magic socks - socks with a light pink ground with blue and darker print leopard spots and darker pink toes and heels
Kinda Magic Socks by Wool and the Gang

I bought 5 balls of Wool and the Gang sock yarn. It meant postage was free. It came with a pattern and three sets of double pointed needles (2.25mm, 2.5mm and 2.75mm).

For this first pair I followed the pattern exactly (and I must say it was an easy to follow pattern), but for the next pair I will make a few alterations – the foot is too long and that is because I made the toe too big (next time I will just do my normal toe). Also, I have become a magic loop convert and will knit the next pair the magic loop way.

I do like the after-thought heel – although I did get a hole at the corner where the foot meets the leg (I closed it up with spare yarn so you can’t see it in the photo). I will do some research to see how that can be avoided for the next pair.

These are my May socks, so I am ahead of schedule. I am going to work on my Hansel shawl and when I need something easy I will knit wash cloths.

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May 2, 2019 · 1:10 pm

Another Project Bag

Blustery Tree from Urban Threads

As I have a lot of projects on the go, I need a lot of bags to keep them in! So I am making another project bag. The embroidery design is from Urban Threads (Blustery Winter Tree).

I will quilt it like I did my ‘Field of Flowers‘ and put in a zip. It is slightly bigger than ‘The Field of Flowers’ bag because that one is a bit over-full with my Hansel knitting project.

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