Catch Up #2

Ok, so the second instalment. Hands and feet this time.

The gloves have been on the go for awhile – on and off.

The pattern is Bobbie by Julia Mueller. When I started them, they were a paid for pattern (well worth every penny). I find it very sad that the new EU laws on VAT have forced her to make the decision to stop operating as a business. This means that all her patterns are now free.

The yarn is Toddy by Yarn Yard in a very zingy orange colour. They were a Christmas present for a good friend. Ravelry Project page.

The next ones were another Christmas present for my Mum. The pattern is Rumours by Lee Meredith, which I have to say is a genius pattern. It works for any weight of yarn and it’s all explained very well.

I did have one small issue in that I had only 1 skein of Quince and Co. Chickadee and had to squeeze the mitts into that. The first mitt I made came in a 27g and the skein is only 50g, so it got frogged and I made the hand portion shorter. It worked out perfectly after that. They didn’t take me long to whizz up at all, even though I made 3 mitts in the end. Ravelry Project Page.

I finished my long-time on the needles “travelling” socks. I wasn’t very happy with these. I have small feet but a very high instep. This was the first time I’d used the fish lips heel for myself and it didn’t work well. The socks were way too tight around the instep. There are recommendations in the pattern leaflet on how to work a heel for a high instep, so I ended up cutting out the heel and redoing it, then grafting it back into the sock. This made the instep fit better but the foot was then too long, so I ended up cutting that and removing an inch and a bit and grafting that back together. Frankensocks…

The photo was before all the sock surgery. They look fine now and fit well. Ravelry Project Page.

Nachtfalter

Ok, so if you hadn’t noticed, my pattern was published in the latest issue of Knitty.

I decided to make Nachtfalter, which is also in this issue. I love garter stitch and it’s a quick and easy project.

I used King Cole Baby Alpaca DK in meadow.

It was a really quick knit and the finished mitts are lovely and squishy.

One to add to the Christmas gift pile.

Secret Santa

I can finally reveal the knitted projects that were made for Christmas gifts.

The first is a Neat Ripple Cushion made for my Mum. It's the Neat Ripple Pattern by Lucy of Attic24. I made an 18" cushion. 

The yarn is Rico Design Essentials Cotton DK and there is such a lovely array of colours to choice from. It lends itself well to crochet and I used it in my African Flower Bucket Bag

I crocheted one piece 18" by about 42" then folded over and crocheted together on the edges and a few tiny buttons to close it.

Also, Mum got a pair of fingerless mitts that are my own design. I used Rowan Pima Cotton DK, which is beautiful yarn and made a lovely soft fabric but it was a little tricky to work with in fair isle.

It has lots of different elements, broken ribbing, vikkel braids, fair isle, corrugated ribbing and an I-cord bind off.

FO: Watercolour Mitts

I had a lovely little thank you present the other week. It was a set of 4 mini skeins from Skein Queen, which in my excitement to knit with them, I forgot to photograph. I pondered a bit on what to do with them and thought they were too special to use as part of another project so I designed a little fingerless mitt pattern which I hope shows them off to their best.

I split each skein in half so I could use up as much of the yarn as possible. 3 of the colours were of a similar type and I've marked where the colour changes are on the photograph. 

The stitch pattern was just purling when I got to a darker bit of the pattern and a turned hem for the start, moss stitch cast off on the hand part and linen stitch on the thumb. There's a whole mix and match of stitch patterns going on but think it adds to the whole arty feel of the mitts. 

Just need some cool wintry weather to try them out, now!