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.

Truesilk

The Torine scarf that I mentioned last week is finished. The yarn was Rowan Truesilk in the sleep colourway. Ravelry project page.

I love the colour of the yarn. The sheen of the yarn really brings out the colour beautifully – there’s almost a metallic tint to it. It is lovely to knit with as well. The only little hiccup is it’s very easy to catch and it is a chain construction so difficult to pull the snags back in.

It blocked very well. Though I think I spent half an hour threading the blocking wires down the garter stitch ridges but it was worth it. It makes a beautiful and fluid fabric - perfect for a scarf.

The central panel is knitting separately to the borders and then the borders are sewn on. Luckily, I like sewing.

The borders could have been worked at the same time as the body of the scarf but having the sewn seams gives the scarf some stability and helps with any rolling of the borders. Plus the borders are worked on a smaller needle and this does make for neater garter stitch than if it were worked on the same size needle as the scarf.

My weekend was spent working on a Ravi Junior by Carol Feller. Nearly finished but here’s a picture of the yoke in progress as I think it’s just lovely.

The construction is fun and interesting. I’m  really enjoying it.

Works in progress

I’ve got quite a few WIPs at the moment. This is partly due to several mystery knitalongs.

My birthday/Christmas present (and maybe next year’s too!) was a membership to Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket 2015. I want to share pictures of this but I don’t want to ruin any surprises for people. I’ve put photos of the finished squares on my Ravelry project page.

I’ll show you a few sneak peek photos though.

Here is the first batch of materials.

The 2nd lot of patterns have just come through and I spent Sunday morning being super organised. The materials for each square are wound off and in their own zip lock bags.

The other mystery knitalong is Ysolda’s Follow Your Arrow KAL 2. I did it last year and really loved the finished shawl. Can’t really show you but here’s the project page with pictures. This is the yarn I’m using. It’s Solo by sparkleduck.

The other project on the needles is a Torine scarf from the Rowan Truesilk book and I’m working it in Rowan Truesilk (colourway sleep). The yarn is just heaven.

There are a few other bits too including a Christmas present – being very organised!

I’ve just completed another Buzzy Bee outfit for a friend’s dog, though it’s more “Dennis the Menace”esque.

Buzzy Bee

Well, this is something I just have to show you as it's just so darn cute.

This is one of my latest finished objects. The pattern is Man's Bee Friend from Debbie Bliss's Woolly Woofers book and I think it's in the latest issue of the Debbie Bliss magazine too.

The very lovely recipient is Milly from A Good Yarn.

Milly quite likes the cosy jumper but not as thrilled with the antenna hat, which quickly came off.

Then back on again.

 

The yarn is Rico Essential Soft Merino Aran.

Catch Up #4

Think I've finally caught up.

This one is a little stocking filler I made my Mum. It’s a beaded coaster in Rowan Cotton Glace. The pattern is my own design and is part of a placemat / coaster set. The pattern is available as part of a kit from A Good Yarn.

Mum has set it to work as a coaster for a candle, which I think is a fab idea as it makes the beads sparkle.

The other project finished over Christmas was a Bandana Cowl which I have been promising Mr for awhile. It was started and finished on New Years Eve. Ravelry Project Page. The yarn is Adriafil Scozia which really softened up beautifully on blocking.

I managed to persuade a reluctant Mr to model for me.

He's worn it every day since - might have to make him another!

Catch Up #3

This time it’s shawls.

I’ve finished the 3rd Fine Donegal Shawl. I liked knitting with the yarn but 3 shawls meant over 3km of knitting the same thing. I'm glad I can have a bit of variety back in my knitting. I blogged about it last here. Ravelry project page.

The other shawl that I’ve recently finished is one I started last February and didn’t pick up again until December. It’s quite an intensive pattern – lace and twisted stitches on both sides. This make a beautifully intricate texture but not good for talking or watching TV. I think this might be the reason it's not been on the top of my to do list. The pattern is Rendevouz by Lily Go. The yarn was pure heaven - Gretchen Heavy Lace by Posh Yarn.

The only thing that I’d wished I’d done differently was make the next size up so I could have used the yarn up.

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.

Catch Up

Sorry I’ve been a little quiet over the holiday period but been a bit hectic here. Hope you’ve all had a good time.

I’ll try and catch up. There was a lot of knitting going on over the Christmas break; plus I have a few projects I couldn’t show you as they were Christmas presents.

Starting off…. Hats

I initally made a Kernmantle hat for my Mum for Christmas. The pattern is a Woolly Wormhead one. Being a green kind of girl, she got Rowan Creative Focus Worsted in New Fern. Ravelry project page

It worked out perfectly and it suited me so I thought I’d make myself one in the recommended yarn.

Unfortunately, I learnt a lesson about swatching, even if you’re using the same hat pattern and needle size. The Malabrigo Merino Worsted behaved very differently to the Creative Focus. I thought since they both had a good proportion of wool there wouldn’t be much difference. I was wrong.

Upon blocking, the Malabrigo completely relaxed and grew hugely. I’ve added shirring elastic to the inside of the brim, so that it is wearable but it does make the hat far more slouchy than intended. Ravelry Project page.

The third hat off the needles was the Woolly Wormhead Mystery KAL 2014 which I finally got finished. Ravelry project page.

The yarn is Deeply Wicked by easyknits in Cranberry Kiss. I really, really love this yarn. The colour is just so vibrant and just so happens to go well with my Pop Spots shawl. Plus it seems to match nicely with my purple Christmas hair.

I have a fabulous new camera, which is just heaven to use. I can even connect it to my phone and use that as a remote control which helped a lot with this picture.

Well, that’s caught up with the hats. I’ll come back another day for the next instalment.