Baby Ravi

This one didn’t take long to knit at all. It’s a fabulous knit. Quick because of all the garter stitch but lots of interesting construction too, making it fun. The pattern is Ravi Junior by Carol Feller. The yarn is Millamia Naturally Soft Merino in Forget-Me-Not. Ravelry Project Page.

The yoke is worked from edge to edge with short rows to give the shape. I used German Short Rows which made the whole process quite mindless – no picking wraps up when working back. It’s a great technique if you haven’t tried it.

There are short rows at the bottom edge too, which makes it a lovely shape for a baby.

The yarn is just perfect for this (and most things really). I’m a big fan of Millamia. The stitch definition in this yarn is beautiful and so lovely and soft too. It blocks really well and I think this soft blue is just gorgeous.

The buttons are from Textile Garden. I thought a contrast worked nicely here and it zings it up a bit.

There’s something very satisfying about applied i-cord against garter stitch. Probably something to do with the clean lines next to each other. It can be a wee bit tedious but more than worth the effort.

I used the recommended yarn for the pattern. The yarn is worked at a looser gauge than is recommended by Millamia. Naturally Soft Merino is a sport weight yarn and normally worked on a 3 / 3.25mm. This is worked at a similar gauge to a standard DK. In garter stitch, this makes a nice draping and soft fabric. The only downside is my knitting looks a little uneven in places… This does mean that you could possibly use a DK yarn if you wanted to.

Stripes

Sirdar’s Heart & Sole sock yarn is really lovely. I’ve made a pair of socks before. They’ve just brought out a new colour palette and the stripes aren’t quite as thick.

I used the Clever Clogs colourway (love the names of the colours – there is also a Pigeon Toes colour! I may just have to knit this just for the name).

I made a Puerperium by Kelly Brooker quite awhile ago from the free DK version. This time I used the Beyond Puerperium pattern, which covers 4 ply, DK and worsted weight and up to 2 years. I made it in 4 ply and size 45cm / 18” chest.

Again I used the mismatched buttons, which I think works wonderfully with striped yarn. It’s a great pattern and I definitely see another one in my future! Ravelry Project Page

I’m doing Woolly Wormhead’s Mystery Hat Knitalong this year. I particularly like this KAL because each clue is in bitesize pieces and doesn’t take up too much knitting time from other things. Anyone else doing it?

I’m using the Deeply Wicked by Easy Knits that I bought at Yarndale.

I’ve done my swatch. I went up to a 3mm and I’m very close to gauge - 30 1/2 sts x 42 1/2 rows. In the introduction, there is a very useful chart provided just in case your gauge is off – to guide you to the correct size.

The other project on my needles – or should I rephrase that “one” of my other projects – is another shawl in Fine Donegal. A friend saw the one I made here and wants two making – so that’s going to keep me busy for awhile. I just love the subtlety of colour in the yarn.

Aren’t those big dumpling balls of Fine Donegal just gorgeous?

Yorkshire

This blog post is a wee bit delayed. I’ve been away on holiday in Yorkshire, which happily coincided with Yarndale, so I dragged Mr along.

The bunting was still up this year but has now been accompanied by lots and lots of mandalas.

It really did look fantastic. It was a lovely day and my purchases were quite restrained (well, for me anyway).

A skein of Deeply Wicked by Easy Knits for the Woolly Wormhead KAL. Anyone else doing it?

A lovely thank you skein of Soliloquy Sock yarn from the Linda at Tall Yarns n’ Tales for the sock pattern in Knitty.

A selection of pretty buttons from Textile Garden and a few needles.

Oh and a crochet kit from Natural Dye Studio, which I wanted to do on holiday. I was sans ball winder, so a very patient Mr helped me wind 5 skeins of yarn into balls.

On the way back, we went to Fountains Abbey in the afternoon and took a few nice pictures.

Woolfest 2014

We tried something a little different this year for Woolfest, mainly because I’d decided I wasn't going to go this year and then changed my mind a bit late in the day, so it was a bit tricky finding anywhere to stay.

Mr and I stayed in a camping pod for a night. We were lucky and had nice weather, so we had a campfire roaring all night, with the obligatory marshmallows.

Our neighbours were some very nice sheep and lambs, which were unintentionally smoked by our campfire.

The camping pod was super and we were positioned under an old oak tree. It was a very relaxing evening.

My purchases were a little more restrained this year.

Some extra cables for my Chiagoo needle set and 7.5mm tips as I don’t own any in that size. The latest pompom magazine, which has quite a few patterns in that I’d like to make.

I stocked up with lots of buttons from Textile Garden. They really do have the most wonderful selection.

And my only yarn purchase of the day was some Cumulus from Fyberspates. It was very reasonably priced and feels like a fine mohair yarn but is actually a combination of brushed alpaca and silk. I bought 3 similar shades with the idea of an ombre cowl or shawl.

Puerperium and spots

I've done plenty of knitting lately but for one reason or another they are secret projects, so I've not been able to share them.

I have completed one little project which is a Puerperium Cardigan by Kelly Brooker. I bought some gorgeous Adriafil Duo Plus yarn in the "End of Season Sale" at A Good Yarn - plus lots of other yarn too, which I'm not going to talk about because I think I have a stash addiction and I'm going to ignore the problem and hope no-one will notice.

The yarn in question is absolutely gorgeous, stunningly soft and in beautiful muted colours. So even though there are lots of other projects I should be doing, I had to make a little Puerperium ( which is a welcome to the world gift for a friend's grandchild due in a few weeks ).

I decided on making all the buttons different and trying to match the colours in the yarn, not a perfect match but I quite like the effect.

The other project that I can share is currently languishing on my needles, normally I'm pretty good at starting and finishing but I got a little frustrated. The pattern is Pop Spots and is a relatively simple project (most of it is either stocking stitch or garter stitch).

I originally used the orange hand dyed yarn below for the lace edge, originally thinking it would work well with the brighter spots. I'd done half of the lace edge before eventually deciding it was far too zingy to work with the other colours. 

So I went and bought another ball of the lace that I'd used for the body. The body is done in a strand of Rialto Lace and a strand of Kidsilk Haze. So for the edge I'm using 2 strands of the Rialto Lace and it's working so far but it just seems to be sitting on my needles at the moment. As you can see I've hardly done any at all, maybe putting it on here will push me into finishing it

Buttons!

This arrived in the post.... A mini haul of buttons which I bought from Textile Garden.

The metal stag's heads on the left are for Moorhouse, the dark floral wooden ones are for my Hudson and the others are for a little friend of mine who loves butterflies - so a few cardigans to be made in her future!

Woolfest Haul 2011

Just got back from a wonderful weekend away in the Lakes. I went to Woolfest and spent far too much money but brought back with me enough goodies to keep me going for some time.

• I got 3 rovings from FeltStudioUK; 2 were bfl/silk mix (the pink/red and yellow one and the purple and green one) and 1 Falkland (which is the bright multicoloured one)
• Two 100g pastel dyed shetland rovings and a soft green BFL and teal Shetland from Wheeldale. Planning on making a big scarf from the shetland ones and some fair isle mitts with the other two
• Two more Kromski bobbins for my Sonata from Wingham Woolworks
• Some wooden sock blockers from Laal Bear, the sock on the blockers is a work in progress. Wanida by Cookie A.
• The skein of wool is sock wool from Freyalyn Fibers and is Khaki and Grey and called Merlin which I thought would be ideal for Hubby
• A cake of striped sock wool from Sparkleduck in purple and green
• A gorgeous kilt pin and stag's head buttons from Textile Garden

• And finally my more indulgent purchase of a Turkish Drop Spindle from ITS Crafts as I couldn't stand to look at that fibre all weekend without my spinning wheel so I got a bit of spinning done while away. Plus it's such a lovely spindle too. I got one made from Bog Oak and it's a slightly more unusual way of spinning compared to the way I've done it before and really love it.