Feedback

It’s always great to receive feedback on my projects, especially when they have been made for a friend, partner, or member of the family.  I recently knitted a hat and baby all-in-one sleeping outfit for a good friend’s daughter, who turned 1 year old a couple of weeks ago (can’t believe how time flies!).  Her mother Evette sent me the following photo of the gorgeous baby Charlotte wearing the hat:

Baby Charlotte and the beret

The hat should have been a beret, and I followed the pattern for a 1 year old baby, but I think its a little small for Charlotte as it doesn’t look particularly beret-like!

Charlotte was the first recipient of one of my handmade items – a baby blanket I made when I first learned to crochet towards the end of 2010.  Since then she has received a number of handmade items from me, some of which haven’t held together too well, but hopefully my finishing has improved since receiving that particular piece of feedback!

I got the pattern for both items I made for Charlotte out of the following book:

Wacky Baby Knits, by Alison Jenkins

This book was bought for me by Mr Farr-Jones, and it is such a great book to look through, as well as work from.  There are many wacky outfits for your baby, many of which your son or daughter can only get away with when they are babies!

The all-in-one sleeping outfit was called ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and was my first attempt at using circular needles for the hood.

Tags: baby, baby knits, circular needles, hat, knitting, outfit

A Crap Advert

Reblogged from sitemanagergal:

So the Be Clear on Cancer campaign is out there – it’s on the radio, the television and in the papers/magazines. People are finally talking about it.  I’ve read the odd comment here and there about how it is “gross” and “inappropriate” – especially when they’re eating their evening meal… …be grateful you can eat your evening meal and the only thing upsetting you is an advert.  An advert that lasts seconds and probably won’t leave you scarred for life, mentally and physically.  It could save your …

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All craft readers, be aware of Britain’s second biggest cancer killer. I know it’s miles away from knitting and crochet, but everyone needs to be aware. It can happen to anyone (and unfortunately has in my family).

You get what you pay for

I’m talking about yarn on eBay.  There are bargains to be found, but you have to be careful and ask enough questions to know exactly what you are getting.  I’ve had yarn arrive that is a completely different colour to the photo on the eBay listing, I’ve opened bags of yarn that suddenly hit you with the powerful sent of cigarette smoke, and even some yarn that was clearly picked up from the John Lewis sale’s bargain box (the John Lewis sale sticker and rather well-handled yarn gave it away).

However, I was quite excited to receive some Rowan Kid Classic yarn from eBay this week.  Someone had some left over from a project, and I received around 3 and a half balls in total.  I’m excited because I think I got the yarn for a good price, and also because I’ve not used this sort of yarn before (it’s made from lambswool and kid mohair).

Being such a small quantity, it took me a while to work out what I wanted to do with it.  In the end I decided to knit a scarf with it, and I’m following a pattern I found here.

It’s a great yarn to work with, and a reasonably simple pattern to follow.  I’ve managed to do this much so far:

Apologies for the rubbish mobile photo.  I’m hoping it will look better as I go further along, and will take a better quality photo once it’s complete.

This project will keep me occupied while I try and figure out what to do with my 20 balls of smoky merino yarn.

Tags: ebay, knitting, scarf, yarn

Wonky Socks

Here is my first completed pair of socks, as mentioned in my blog post DPNs are not my friend (thanks to Mr Farr-Jones for modelling them!):

I have to say that making these was not an enjoyable experience.  They took what felt like forever to make (probably due to my earlier mistakes) and unfortunately my tension between the first and the second pair seems to have changed as one is baggier than the other.

I’m quite disappointed, but at least I can say I’ve made some.  I may wait a while before I attempt to make another pair.  The next time I may try and follow the method described in the following book:

2 At-a-time Socks

One of the worst parts of knitting socks was having to start the second sock once I completed the first.  I think knitting both at the same time may also reduce the chance of them turning out in two different sizes!

Now that I’ve completed the socks, I’m looking for my next project.  I think I’ll wait for a while before I tackle my next New Year Resolution.  I fancy crocheting something, which I haven’t done since before Christmas.  I just need to decide what I want to make.

Tags: dpns, knitting, knitting socks

DPNs are not my friend

Socks.  They’ve been around since the Ancient Greeks, and knitted by hand for centuries.  They are very practical, and lovely hand made socks make great gifts for your nearest and dearest.  But I’m starting to wish I’d never started my sock journey.

Last weekend I went to Hobbycraft to buy some double pointed needles and some sock yarn, and then sat down and got to work.

I like to think of myself as someone who can get to grips with most things, and people who know me know that I don’t particularly like losing.  But I’ve been losing every step of the way with these double pointed sticks of evil.

First was casting on.  I got quite excited as I learned a brand new cast on method for this called a reinforced thumb cast-on (also known as double thumb cast-on – there’s a great YouTube video demonstrating this here).  This was by far the easiest part of the whole experience.

Next came the actual knitting.  The first few rows are by far the most difficult as all of the needles get in the way.  I persevered, and eventually got past the cuff and then the leg.  Not without dropping stitches, rescuing them with a crochet hook (another new skill I’ve had to learn!), and having some small ladders appear between each needle (which shouldn’t be there).  Then I started to get my head around the heel, which took a very long time.

What is interesting about knitting in the round is that to do stocking stitch, you don’t need to do a purl stitch.  This is because in normal knitting, you turn your work backward and forward over and over, but with the round you never turn.  When the pattern said to do the heel in stocking stitch, this is when you have to adjust your brain back to knit and purl, because you leave the stitches on needles 2 and 3 to the side while you continue to work stitches on needles 1 and 4 back and forth.

I managed to start off the heel after a number of false starts, and then noticed quite quickly that something wasn’t quite right.  Why was my stocking stitch on the leg facing inward, but my heel’s stitch facing outward?  Further reading on the internet and in the books I bought quickly highlighted that I was in fact going the wrong way – anti-clockwise instead of clockwise.  If I had just spent more time reading about it before jumping right in, I wouldn’t have missed this important rule!

Frustrated, I pulled the needles out from their stitches and spend the next few minutes pulling days of hard work apart.

And so I’ve started again.  I’m focusing on these key rules this time:

1. Go clockwise!
2. Pull the first stitch very tight once you’ve changed to the next needle (to avoid the ladders!)
3. Read the instructions fully before starting something new (this will especially be true for the rest of the heel, and up to the toe)

I hate having to start things again but I refuse to be beaten by this new found nemesis.  I want to make at least one pair of socks on DPNs before I give them up (perhaps for good), and then I’ll try another method which involves circular needles and making two socks at a time – this somehow seems far more efficient, which really appeals.

(Photo source: knitting-naturally.com)

Tags: double pointed needles, dpns, knitting, socks

Busy Busy

First of all, apologies for neglecting my blog these last few weeks.  I finished a couple of knitting projects a couple of weeks ago but as they are a gift for a good friend’s daughter who turns 1 year old at the end of the month, I won’t post anything about it until then (although I am quite excited about them, as I completed something I’ve never done before!).

I’ve been busy looking into things to start work on my New Year Resolutions.  I’m now the proud owner of two sock knitting books, and several sets of double pointed needles.  So far I have only managed to knit the cuff of the sock (I’m finding DPNs a bit fiddly), but I’m going to persevere and hopefully I’ll have a nice pair of wooly socks to keep Mr Farr-Jones’s feet warm when I’m finished.

I’ve found a lovely adult mens cardigan pattern to knit, but so far I’m struggling to find some yarn to use that will maintain the look of the item without breaking the bank.  The pattern uses Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK, but because it needs 19 50g balls, it’s going to cost me around £70 to make, which is a big investment for something I’ve never attempted to make before!

The cardigan pattern comes from the book ‘Classic Knits for Men’, by Martin Storey and Wendy Baker:

Classic Knits for Men

I’m also very excited as I bought the first issue of The Art of Quilting.  It has given me all I need to make my first square!  I was going to subscribe to the magazine (in just 90 issues you have all you need to make a quilt), but realised once I had done the maths that it would be significantly cheaper to buy a book and my own materials.  The idea of using old clothes and other fabrics and recycling them in this way really appeals to me.  I’ll let you know how I get on.

Tags: double pointed needles, dpns, knitting, quilting, socks

New Year Resolutions

I’ve been thinking long and hard about what to do during 2012.  I’m not going to set myself a year long challenge, because quite frankly I don’t have the will power to carry it through to the end.  So I’ve decided to learn some specific new skills.  In 2012 I want to:

1. Learn how to cable knit
2. Knit a jumper for an adult
3. Knit a pair of socks using double-pointed needles
4. Learn to quilt (only if I have the time)

I think thats fairly achievable in 366 days, and I will of course share how I get on.

Happy New Year everyone.

Tags: cable knitting, double pointed needles, dpns, knitting, quilting, socks

The tartan blanket (I wish I never started!)

Have you ever started a project that you just wished would go away and somehow miraculously complete itself? Normally I really enjoy everything I try to make, but for some reason I saw a project I worked on on the lead-up to Christmas as more of a chore.

I’ve only been able to post about this project now, as it was a gift for my grandmother and I didn’t want to risk ruining the surprise before Christmas. Being Scottish, I thought I would make a tartan blanket following a pattern in one of my favourite books:

Crocheted Throws & Wraps by Melody Griffiths

It looked great in the book, and also deceptively large. In reality, it is nothing more than a lap blanket, which in some ways I’m a little disappointed about, but in others am rather grateful otherwise it would have taken me a lot longer to do.

I have to say I am glad I persevered with it because a) I wouldn’t have had anything to give my grandmother and b) I think it does look really quite lovely:

I’ve made quite a few blankets out of this book over the last year for various friends birthdays. I’ve enjoyed making them all and can thoroughly recommend purchasing it. My absolute favourite was a green flower squares blanket, which I gave to my friend Opi.

Making blankets for people this last year has made me realise how much forward-planning you need to put into it. On average every blanket I’ve made took me at least a month and a half to complete, and as I was ordering yarn off the internet, had to add an additional lead time on top of that. With this tartan blanket, I never considered the boredom factor. I found any excuse to delay and delay the thing.

I told my grandmother this would be a one-of-a-kind, and I wasn’t joking – I certainly won’t ever attempt to make another one! I think she liked it.

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Tags: blankets, crochet, throws

Resolutions

As the New Year approaches, I find myself thinking about New Year resolutions. I tend to set ridiculously easy ones, but also generally tend to fail to achieve them by year end. However, for 2011 I set myself two goals – the first was to get my finances in order, and the second was to get a new job. These life goals were quite important to me, with 2009/10 being a rather bumpy ride, and 2011 being my 30th year on the planet. And I’m happy to say I achieved both.

I’m struggling with what to do for 2012. I’ve been inspired by a lot of the blogs I have been reading through recently to set myself a craft-based goal. The very impressive knitayear project, this crochet life’s Handmade Monday, and even the film Julie & Julia have got me thinking about year-long projects I could commit to. But I don’t want to seem like I’m just copying people – I want to achieve something that is fairly unique, and that is achievable while still holding down a full-time job.

So I’m kind of stuck. Frighteningly, there are only 8 days left of 2011. I have a 7 hour train journey to look forward to on Christmas eve, and no work to worry about until the 3rd of January, so I do have some time to get my thinking cap on. What do I do if I can’t think of something by December 31st – if I make a New Year resolution after the New Year, does it still count?

This will be my last blog post until after Christmas. I’ve been busy working on a present for someone, which I’ve almost completed and will post about after the 25th, so I don’t run the risk of spoiling the surprise. Merry Christmas everyone.

Tags: resolutions

How I’m using my leftovers

Anyone who knits or crochets knows that quite quickly you’ll end up with a large supply of leftover yarn.  If you’re like me, it not only consists of the leftovers from previous projects, but also whole bags of it from projects you never ended up starting, never quite finished, or gifts you don’t really know what to do with.

It was getting to the point where I had 3 boxes full of left over yarn.  A lot of it was just ugly horrible stuff –really nasty plastic-feeling acrylic stuff that was the colour of khaki, and stuff that was so cheap it varied in width.

Mr Farr-Jones knows I’m a bit of a skinflint when it comes to the winter months – I’d rather put more layers on than burn expensive gas to heat some hot water in our radiators.  A no-more-yarn rule was also imposed on me recently until I cleared out what I currently have.  So I thought, why not make a massive blanket to use on the bed to keep the heat in at night, killing two birds with one stone.  And so began the biggest project I have ever chosen to undertake!

It started with a very long chain – unfortunately I misjudged and it appears to be bit too wide for a double bed…

You may recognise it from the main graphic banner of my blog.  It is far from being the prettiest blanket ever, but I hope that it will at least be practical.  It took me over a month to get it to the size you now see it in the photographs, and as you can also see, I got bored and decided to change the pattern part-way through.

I started off with alternating double and treble crochet lines.  Then, once I got bored, I did a ‘granny in a row’ pattern, creating clusters of 3 treble crochets.

Unfortunately it’s so large it has been taking a long time to get through.  It is a project that has been put on hold for over a month now (there are only so many treble crochets I can do over and over again!).  I plan to pick it up again in the new year and hopefully it will grow to be about the size of the whole bed (yes, that’s how much yarn I have!) – perhaps in time for winter 2012!

Tags: crochet