Susie F Handmade

News! And what I have been up to...

2011-10-21T16:45:00.002+01:00

Yeep! It's been ages since I updated. But in fact I have been ludicrously busy on the craft front and I have two things to mention...

First of all, I am a lil bit excited to announce that I've been doing some handmade soap projects for another craft book that is due to come out soon. I'll post more details once I know the release date, but for now I can say that it is going to be along the lines of a big book of mixed crafts (not dissimilar to Complete Craft)

I have to confess that there have been times in the last couple of months when I've cursed my own hubris for taking on this piece of work alongside a tiny baby. Having to stop constantly to feed, change or entertain a baby means that things that would normally take me a day to accomplish have taken weeks... and some days have been spent in a sort of fug of baby and soap, trying not to get bits of soap into the baby or bits of baby into the soap. BUT - the copy is now written and last week I attended a two-day photo shoot where all of the step-by-steps were shot for the projects. Hooray!

In other news, I am pleased to introduce Microboy's latest hat! I knitted this months ago, but it is only now that it fits and I am entirely delighted with it.

Full details of pattern, yarn and so on are on Ravelry, here.

And now that I am done with the soap, I really must try to post here more often...

Nawwwww!

2011-10-21T12:02:00.002+01:00

I can't believe I am wittering on about what toy to make for Microboy, when there are PENGUINS in need of sweaters!

Courtesy of my FB friend Sarah... I am actually tempted

(More details here - You know you want to knit a sweater for a penguin)

Tassel head strikes again

2011-09-05T09:59:00.000+01:00

So... when I said that an Englishman can never have too many hats, I wasn't kidding. This is just a fly-by to show off Microboy's latest, using the same free pattern that I published last week. I thought he could do with some hot colours this time... and I love the fact that I can have such a thought, and a few hours later the hat is finished. Instant gratification! (The sharp-eyed amongst you might spot that his hat matches the cardie that was made for him by my talented knitty friend Maxine).

Anyway you might think of this as a sort of insurance policy for when he becomes a horrible teenager... lets just say I am building up quite a library of photos. ;-)

(Full details and pattern link here on Ravelry).

New free pattern - Baby Tassels Hat

2011-08-24T18:50:00.003+01:00

I've been meaning to publish the pattern for this simple little baby hat for ages. Well, today is the day that I've finally got round to it!

This hat was the very first thing that I made for my little Microboy while he was still resident in my belly. It was an improvised project to use up some leftover aran weight yarn and to exercise my yen for tassels. But the resulting hat turned out so cute that I decided to write up the pattern in case anybody else fancies having a go.

I used Amy Butler Belle Organic yarn, but you could use any aran/worsted weight yarn in a baby friendly fibre. The pattern can be downloaded as a PDF file here. (I've also added a permanent link on the right hand column of my blog)

Knitting for Microboy

2011-08-15T11:40:00.000+01:00

The other day I woke up in a state of certainty about one thing... this baby needs more hats!

This was fuelled largely by the tragedy of Microboy outgrowing his owl hat (boo hoo!) but also by the realisation that my new lifestyle as full time milkmaid does not leave a lot of room for large-scale hobbying. Thus, in order to get my frustrated creativity out of my system, I predict an influx of teeny-tiny knitwear.

Anyway this little hat was knocked up in a couple of hours in front on the TV.

Iz cute, no?

I made it from Sirdar DK Crofter yarn, using a free pattern found on Ravelry, (As always, full details of the pattern and yarn, etc. are on Ravelry, here.)

9-month craft project

2011-07-01T16:03:00.000+01:00

Well - I thought I would pop in and show off my latest FO...

This one took 9 months to make and is now 11 days old. He's called James, and he is keen to model some of his knitwear, so here goes...

Minutes after being born

Three days old, in his owl hat

Five days old, in his jiffy bag

Jiffy bag for a baby

2011-06-11T18:30:00.001+01:00

A little while ago I blogged about my love for French knitting patterns...

This holds especially true when it comes to patterns for children and babies. I tend to find that French childrenswear combines an element of fun with a great sense of style. It avoids being overly twee without going to the other extreme of trying to look like miniature adult wear and often takes the form of simple blocky shapes, adorned with pom poms, stripes or tassels, in colour palettes that veer between chic neutrals and quirky brights... or to put to another way, you don't see many French babies clad in peach acrylic matinee jackets.

Anyway... now that my own little alien is 4 days days overdue, I am pleased to announce that I have finished my small homage to French babywear in the nick of time. Behold the baby sleep sack... (or, if you like, the glorified jiffy bag!)

This is made using a pattern called Confortable, which originated in a French magazine and has since been translated into English by a brilliant lady on Ravelry, here.

Having taken advice from others, I made this a few inches longer and wider than the pattern recommends, in the hope that it will fit for longer. (For now I've delayed blocking it, until I see how well it fits little master newborn, when he arrives - but I reckon I could probably grow it a fair bit, if need be).

Anyway I would happily recommend both the pattern and the yarn. I used Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a silver grey colour. It has a nice sproingy twist to it that gives it some loft and makes the knitted fabric feel soft and comfortable. Hopefully boy will agree...

Full details of the pattern, yarn and needle size can be found on Ravelry, here

EDIT: Since I wrote this post, baby has been born and he fits into the sack with room to spare... pic here: http://susiefhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/07/9-month-craft-project.html

Look back in angora

2011-06-06T15:42:00.001+01:00

Dear Knitters, this is the story of a near death experience... I could well have entitled it "blockers beware!" However I am pleased to say that it has a happy ending...

Some may recall me blogging overexcitedly back in January about this crazily luxurious Absolu Angora yarn that I had ordered from France...

Well - after a minor dither about what to use it for, I eventually cast on for the Cedar Leaf Shawlette by Alana Dakos. Left to my own devices, I would never have thought of this pattern, but I got the idea from someone else on Ravelry and it turned out to be very well matched indeed. Two balls of the Absolu is *just* enough to complete the project, with the main part of the shawl taking one ball and the lace border using up almost all of the second.

The knitting proved to be rather a delicious sensory experience. Although the yarn did shed a little during knitting, it was not as bad as you'd normally expect from angora - (e.g. it didn't shed as much as the Sublime Angora Merino blend that I've used in the past, or waft constantly up my nose). On the whole it is simply very very soft and as light as air as it slips through your fingers.

I finally bound off the edging a few days ago and spent an hour or so wafting around the house draped in it, pre-blocking, before declaring it to be the softest, finest and most beautiful thing I'd ever made... and then I almost ruined everything with an act of crazy hubris.

Here is the cautionary tale. Because I fancied blocking the lace edging, I decided to risk putting the shawl through the handwash cycle on my washing machine. I've used this cycle many times before on fine yarns, including cashmere, wool and angora blends - effectively it simulates the act of hand washing and has never let me down before. In this case I even double-bagged the shawl inside a pair of lingerie bags for safety. And then I tried to ignore the niggly voice in my head questioning whether I really wanted to press the 'start' switch...

Suffice to say, when it came out of the machine - it felt like a moment of tragedy. I was convinced that I had felted the item to oblivion. The main symptom was that it appeared to have shrunk, and the stitches in the main body of the scarf had melded together into a more tight fabric than before. As for the lace edging... lets just say that it didn't look as lacey as I remembered it. The only glimmer of hope was that the shawl seemed to have retained its softness and mobility, and hadn't become stiffened or thick. So I went into damage limitation mode and blocked it as vigorously as I dared, stretching it as far as possible and trying to open out the lace edging again.

After a night on the boards, I am pleased (or make that delighted) to say that it seems to have survived by the skin of its teeth. It is a pheonix risen from the ashes! Yes - it has shrunk a little bit and is probably now more of a scarf than a shawl. However it still flops and drapes as softly as before - and, best of all, the lace edging is still lace!

As a finished scarf, it remains extremely soft to wear - as light as air and not remotely itchy. In fact I have even discovered a small bonus from the shrinkage... thanks to the closer melding of the stitches, the scarf no longer sheds and can be worn over my black clothing!

So here are a few pics...

More pictures and full project details can be seen on Ravelry, here

If you'd like a moral to the story - then my suggestion to anyone using this yarn is that you might want to refrain from washing it at all - either prior to blocking or afterwards. I suspect a light spritz with cool water would be sufficient for blocking, and then perhaps resort to dry clean only. (Unless you want to felt it, of course... in which case, um, I don't think you'll have to try very hard!)

knitted menagerie - Part 2

2011-05-31T16:01:00.000+01:00

Some of you may be relieved that I'm not going on about soap and candles today... it's time for a return to knitting!

This is just a quickie to share Part 2 of my Knitted Menagerie... or, in other words, three more random knitted creatures that I have been making for the baby that is due next week. I blogged the first three animals here (Frog, Owl and Bunny) and now it is time to introduce Pig, Bear and Caterpillar.

These have mainly been a way to keep my mind and fingers busy in the last couple of weeks, on days when my body has been too achey and inflated to move.

The caterpillar and the bear are adapted from a range of excellent little patterns that I found on Ravelry, by Sarah Gasson, aka Knitables. She has designed a whole range of small animal patterns which are very nicely priced and easy to follow. I made a few adaptations of my own, the main change being to knit everything in the round, and to convert the bear from a finger puppet into a stuffed toy - (e.g. I improvised his lower body and gave him arms and legs adapted from a lion pattern by the same designer).

As with the first three animals, the pig was adapted from this book of knitted egg cosies by Susie Johns. Again I had to improvise the lower body and legs, and also dressed him in a t-shirt, as is my whim.

When I started this gang of six critters, I was planning to turn them into a dangly cot mobile. But I'm now wondering if they may be a little on the large size for a mobile and might actually be nicer as hands-on toys to be played with.

In fact, a couple of friends have already begun to think up adventure stories for Frog and Owl... (and I suspect I might add to the menagerie over time, especially now that I've discovered Sarah Gasson's patterns).

As ever, full project details (yarns, needle sizes, etc) can be found on ravelry, here

Soy candles... another delve into handmade aromatics

2011-05-30T13:52:00.002+01:00

I don't know what happened to the time, but I meant to blog this little project for soy candles weeks ago...

Like a lot of crafty people, I dabbled with candlemaking as a child, but somehow it never really captivated me as a craft. I think the crux of the problem was that I always tended to use those kits involving smelly, flakey paraffin wax that had to be mixed with stearin and then set within unforgiving plastic moulds using lurid artificial colours and fragrances.

It was only recently that I became inspired to give it another go... largely thanks to this post on the iMake blog, which sold me on the idea of beautiful container candles made with soy wax... a vast improvement on paraffin wax. The urge was helped along further by my revival of interest in soapmaking... (lets face it - once I'd got all of my essential oils out of hibernation, scented candles became something of an inevitability.)

So here are my candles - and I have to say I am very pleased with them!

I made a batch of these one Sunday afternoon with a friend and we chose the scent combinations together, as a result of the blending experiments that I discussed here. We decided to scent half of them with a very pleasing combination of Sweet Orange, Ylang Ylang and Cinnamon essential oils and the rest with a fresh, foresty combination of Lavender, Peppermint and Rosemary. The orange-based ones are real crowd-pleasers and do wonders to generate a feel-good scent into the room, whereas the foresty ones have a cleansing, freshening property and would be ideal to burn around the house after a good spring clean.

Overall this project was very quick and easy indeed and barely needs any explanation. So the rest of this post is a series of comments on the ingredients and equipment used - along with some personal thoughts about scenting, in case anyone out there fancies giving it a go.

In terms of equipment, you don't really need a great deal of stuff. First you need some kind of containers - and a great place to find these is charity shops. I managed to find some ideal bits and bobs of glassware, which suited me just fine.

And of course you need some wax. I ordered some lovely organic soy wax from The Soap Kitchen and found it much easier to work with than paraffin wax. It is much softer and less brittle in texture and it melted very easily in a glass jug over warm water. It also washed easily out of the jug, simply using washing up liquid and hot water. (I suspect, for anyone who finds soy wax to be too soft, that it could be tempered by mixing in a few beeswax pellets to add hardness.)

As for the rest of the bits - the main thing you need is some wick, which can be got from any online candlemaking supplier. For container candles, the only advice I'd offer is to choose your containers first and then purchase wicks that are of an appropriate gauge (or thickness) for the diameter of your containers. Personally, I went for a very easy option and bought ready-made lengths of stiffened wick, attached to little metal holders at the bottom. I used a tiny blob of special wax glue to attach the wick holder to the bottom of the container (but if that all sounds a bit much, there are plenty of online tutorials for sealing your wick into the bottom of the container simply by bending the end and using a bit of melted wax).

An optional extra which I found very useful was a pair of skewers held together at both ends with rubber bands, which you can lay along the rim of the container and use to trap your wick so that it is held perfectly stiff and upright when you come to pour in the wax. You can see the general idea here, as my candles were setting...

Finally.... depending on your whim, you might want to add some scent and colour. If adding essential oils, you want to do this as late as possible, after the wax has melted but not if it is piping hot. Let it cool as much as possible without re-setting and then bung in your essential oils and get it quickly mixed just before pouring. (This is mainly to prevent the precious scents from evaporating in a mass of aromatic steam).

My personal preference was to keep the colour natural, but to scent the candles thoroughly with essential oils. When I say 'thoroughly', lets just say that I am no stranger to spending crazy money on the sort of beautiful container candles made by brands like Diptyque... so I was looking to emulate this sort of high-quality product for a lot less money. And this is where I bothered to do some research, reading advice from the sort of candlemakers who cater for the upper end of the market.

My main problem with a lot of candle tutorials out there (and the same goes for soapmaking books) is that they so often fail to recommend enough essential oil. They also rarely offer any useful advice about the volatility and fleeting nature of different essential oils - or tips on ways to combat this. As a result, beginners are deluded into thinking that a few drops of sweet orange essential oil will be enough to scent 200g of wax or soap.... and then end up disappointed when their product doesn't smell of anything. This can be quite disheartening and is a wasteful learning process to go through... (I seem to recall it took me a good year of trial and error back in the late 1990s to work out exactly how much essential oil is really needed to create a long-lasting scent in a kilo of handmade soap).

So, for scented candles, I am going to offer my 2ps worth. Others may beg to differ, so take this as my personal opinion...

If you want your candle to smell like a top-end designer candle when you burn it, then be prepared to put in approx 10% of essential oil (e.g. 20ml of essential oil into a 200g candle). Of course, this is a very basic rule of thumb and will vary depending upon your choice of essential oils (some are far more potent than others). So my real advice is to read up a little and find out which essential oils have better staying power than others and which ones can act as 'scent anchors' for the more fleeting oils, by combining them. Often the scents that people are immediately attracted to (such as the citrus oils) tend to be the top notes. Sadly these are also the most fleeting - but you can still use them to achieve a sophisticated and long-lasting scent if you take the time to plan a combination that has the right balance of top notes, middle notes and base notes.

For anyone wanting to get into this, I'd strongly recommend that you spend an idle afternoon playing around with scent blends using the chopstick method that I described here before starting on your candle projects.

As an example - in the case of my orange candle, above - the vast majority of the scent blend is made up of my top note: sweet orange essential oil. The middle-note of ylang ylang adds depth and sophistication to the orange, without overpowering it. Finally a very small % of cinnamon leaf acts as a base note, to 'anchor' the orange scent for longevity. A couple of months on, these candles smell as strong and orangey as the day they were made, and the cinnamon remains a very subtle undertone that is barely-there.

Well... I appear to have rambled on for far longer than I intended , so I shall stop right there. If anyone has bothered to read this far - I hope at least that you found something useful...

Home spa treatments - a simple tutorial using soap offcuts

2011-05-24T17:04:00.000+01:00

As a break from knitting, I'm using this post to share a recipe and tutorial for a really nice home spa scrub/bath soak that I've been playing with, which is very easy to make at home and is a great way to pamper yourself.

Supposing you've made some gorgeous handmade soap and, after trimming the bars, you're left with a pile of beautiful-smelling offcuts... (In my case, these are the sliced-off strips from a batch of my favourite handmade soap that I made about 6 weeks ago, scented with lavender, ylang ylang and patchouli and embedded with calendula petals)

...or perhaps someone has given you a bar of lovely soap, but you have very sensitive skin and you're just not 100% sure about using it on your face or body. This recipe solves either of these problems, by combining the finely grated soap with oatmeal, creating a very mild skincare product that can be customised to your skin type and used in a variety of different ways.

Mixed with honey, the mixture can become a deep cleansing and antibacterial facial scrub. Alternatively, encased in muslin, it can become a very mild skin-softening bath sachet, which doubles up as a face & body wash.

For the sake of brevity I won't attempt to elaborate on the skin softening properties of oatmeal or the antibacterial properties of honey, but if you're curious about these ingredients I'd suggest googling it, as there is a wealth of info available online. I shall simply talk through the steps to make the treatments...

What you need...

Soap offcuts of your choice
Oatmeal (plain and simple, with no additives)
A fine cheese grater
Storage jars (little ones make ideal gifts)

Optional items...
Clear honey (for use as a facial scrub)
Small pieces of muslin and ribbon (for use as bath sachets/body wash)
Essential oils (e.g. if you wish to bolster the aroma or properties)

Method

Step 1 - Using a food processor, grind your oatmeal down to a fine grain. The most economical option is to buy regular rolled oats from the supermarket and blitz them in the processor until they reach a texture similar to wholemeal flour. (Alternatively you can sometimes find oatmeal in finely ground form - e.g it is often sold as 'Colloidal Oatmeal' in health food shops).

Step 2 - Grate your soap cuttings until you have a a pile of fine gratings, at whatever quantity you choose.

Step 3 - now simply blend the grated soap with the oatmeal. Depending on your skin type you can use a proportion that suits you. A ratio of 40% soap to 60% oatmeal is pretty good for most skin types. But if you're after a very mild product, try lowering the soap:oatmeal ratio to 30:70 ...or for a more cleansing product, up it to 50:50. (If in doubt, you could always test out small amounts as a handwash, to find out what works for you.)

At this stage, you may also choose to add some extra drops of essential oil to the mixture... e.g. if you're using unscented soap, or a very low ratio of soap:oatmeal. Given that this is a skincare product, I'd strongly suggest that you avoid artificial fragrances and go for pure essential oils that are known to have beneficial properties for your skin type.

Combine and shake the mixture thoroughly, until you can see that it is perfectly combined, then decant into a jar for storage. At this stage, the mixture is ready for use as a honey facial scrub (see instructions below) or could even be scattered loosely into a bath, if desired, to scent and soften the water.

Step 4 (optional) - If you'd like to package the mixture up as bath sachets or body scrubs... cut out a circle of muslin, approx 7" in diameter, and place a pile of the mixture in the middle. (If you're a true perfectionist you could go so far as to hem the muslin or use pinking shears to avoid fraying). Tie up the muslin tightly with string or ribbon, until you have a securely filled sachet - and voila!

Using the treatments...

To use the powder as a honey facial scrub...
Wet your face with warm water. Now take about a teaspoon of the powder into the palm of your hand and drizzle on just enough runny honey to form a thick paste. Massage the paste into your face, allowing it to exfoliate the skin gently. As long as the oatmeal has been ground thoroughly it will not feel harsh or 'scrubby', but very gentle. If desired, leave the paste on a for a few minutes as a mask (e.g. while soaking in the bath) and then rinse off thoroughly when ready.

To use as a bath sachet...
The next time you take a bath, try dangling the sachet under the taps while the water runs through it, or alternatively drop the sachet into the bath and swish it around for a while. You should notice the soap and oatmeal infusing through the muslin, scenting and softening the bath water without creating any sludgey mess to clean up afterwards.

To use as a face & body wash...
While you're in the bath or shower you can use the sachet as an all-over face and body wash, simply by soaking it in the water and then rubbing it against your skin. This creates a gentle lather through the muslin, with the softening properties of oatmeal, and you'll get several uses out of each sachet before it needs refilling.

Enjoy!

Ritual Baby Humiliation

2011-05-21T13:54:00.000+01:00

Well I promised myself that I'd knock up an owl hat for my soon-to-be baby, and lo and behold it was not an empty threat. The best thing about babies (especially unborn ones) is that they don't really get the option to say "no"...

I wonder what it is with knitters and owls? I've never met a knitter that didn't have a soft spot for these feathered lovelies. I suppose they are the bird equivalent of cats... and knitters do tend to be cat people. In fact, my ever-docile cat, Truffle, does a great owl impersonation when I do this to her ears...

Anyway, back to the hat...

The sharp eyed among you might have noticed that this is not a knitted hat but a crocheted one.

There are many patterns on Ravelry for baby owl hats, both knitted and crocheted, but I chose to use this one by Kristi Simpson partly as an excuse to practice my crochet skills. I crochet so sporadically that it's a good exercise for me to have to read a proper pattern every now and then. (And I can vouch that this one is really very simple and easy to follow).

My main fear now is that the hat might turn out to be too small for a newborn. I think I will block it a bit just to be on the safe side. (Though, frankly, if a newborn's head turns out to be too big for this hat, then I have bigger worries to contend with than a day of wasted crochet.... ulp!)

As always, full details of the pattern, yarns and hook size can be found on ravelry, here

knitted menagerie - Part 1

2011-05-19T09:38:00.002+01:00

Hello, knitty friends. I thought I might pop in and mention that the 'craft project' in my belly is due to complete in 3 weeks' time (eek!)

Since I stopped work I've been hideously busy trying to prepare the house - and myself - for a new baby boy. But I have managed to find a few hours here and there to make the first few pieces for a knitted menagerie that I plan to dangle over baby’s cot as a mobile.

Each animal is around 5-6” tall, including the legs. The patterns are more or less adapted from a book of twenty knitted egg cosies by Susie Johns, which I came across in John Lewis. The heads are knitted as per the patterns but the lower bodies and legs have been improvised and stuffed.

I have to confess I have a special soft spot for the owl...

I made the feet using experimental icord and am quite pleased with them. I'm now thinking of making an owl hat for the poor boy too... (there shall be no escape for babies!)

The frog is also quite a cute pattern... the stripey top is my addition, and again, his legs are simply made from icord.

For the rabbit, I again added a stripey t-shirt and adapted the legs from the arm instructions. You can't see it here, but I also added a pop-pom bunny tail.

I've yet to decide on the animals that will make up the rest of the menagerie... but I suspect it might include a pig and a bear - and maybe an octopus.

I've mainly used cotton DK yarns from Sirdar's Simply Recycled range and Freedom Sincere Organic. (But I've also bolstered with a bit of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino here and there where I had a suitable colour available).

Full project details are on Ravelry here.

Handmade soap-fest!

2011-05-03T18:55:00.008+01:00

Ye gods, my flat smells heavenly. This week I decided to get some serious soaping out of my system before my pregnancy renders me unable to pursue chemical shenanigans and whimsy. So here are four new batches that I have whipped up...

All of these were made with base oils of olive, coconut, palm and palm kernel. They also all contain either goats milk or coconut milk and were made using the 'cool technique' described by Anne L Watson in her truly excellent book, Milk Soapmaking. (Seriously, I've become such an Anne Watson convert that I'm on the verge of throwing away all of my other soap books. Although some of them are great for aesthetic inspiration, none of them come close to the simplicity, clarity and common sense of Anne's methods).

All of these soaps need a few weeks to cure on the rack before they will be ready for use. But for now I've given a bit more on each soap below...

Lavender Soap

This is a goats milk soap that I made using all of the leftover vegetable oils I had at the end of a day's soaping, so it ended up having a higher proportion of coconut oil than the others.

I decided to keep this one simple and scented it with nothing but pure lavender essential oil, which I love. The lavender buds on the top are purely decorative and will come off after a couple of washes. (Lavender unfortunately does not keep its colour if you embed it within the body of the soap itself)

Orange Oatmeal Soap

This is another goats milk soap, made with a crowd-pleasing scent blend of sweet orange, ylang ylang and cinnamon leaf essential oils. I actually discovered this scent blend as part of my essential oil experiments and it was so utterly delightful that I used it for both soap and candles (which I will blog separately).

The oatmeal is finely ground and has two purposes - firstly it adds a gentle scrubbiness to the soap; secondly, along with the cinnamon, it will help to anchor the sweet orange scent which is notoriously fugitive and prone to fading over time. (Suffice to say I also used a LOT of essential oil in this batch, to help counteract the risk of fading, which created rather a nice pale orange hue).

Earthy Blend soap

This is a repeat of my all-time favourite soap, made with lavender, ylang ylang and patchouli. I made this batch mainly to counteract the number of bars that I have given away from the last batch! This scent is beautifully earthy and, to my mind, greater than the sum of its parts.

The addition of calendula flowers adds a bit of rich colour to the bars, which are made with coconut milk rather than goats milk.

Minty fresh soap

The scent of this soap is so fresh and zingy it practically jumps up and down to be used. This batch is made with goats milk and scented with peppermint and spearmint essential oils. The speckles are the contents of a peppermint tea bag, which tend to turn rust-coloured when you add it to soap.

The subtle greenish hue is due to the addition of a couple of teaspoons of French green clay, which adds extra cleansing properties and will also make the lather somewhat creamy. This is a particularly nice soap for men - or anyone who appreciates help waking up in the morning.

Finally - I thought I might show off a pair of glass jars that I use for displaying handmade soaps in my bathroom... (I bagged these bargainous items about 6 years ago at a bric-a-brac stall in a village fete).

Scented afternoon

2011-04-02T18:14:00.006+01:00

Whoo... as part of my inspiration for making some more soaps, I rummaged out my neglected essential oil collection this afternoon and had a bit of a blending session.

Mainly, this consisted of me playing with a range of scent combinations using the cocktail stick method. This is an efficient way to experiment with scent combinations that simply involves dipping a cocktail stick into a particular essential oil and putting it into a ziplock bag along with other dipped sticks - and allowing it all to fulminate for a bit.

So, for example, if I wanted to blend 3 parts Bergamot with 2 parts Rosewood and 1 part Ylang Ylang, I could place 6 cocktail sticks together into the bag, 3 dipped in Bergamot, 2 in Rosewood and 1 in Ylang Ylang. (The only crucial thing is to write on the bag what I put in there!)

Anyway - lovely as this activity is, all of that hard core sniffing made me feel quite giddy, so I gave it an hour and then called time out and flopped for a bit of blogging. Tomorrow, once my nose has had a bit of a rest, I'll give each of my experimental scent bags a sniff to see what I think of them. If I like any of them, they might become candidates for future soap batches - or possibly scented candles.

The longer I keep the bags, the more I will learn about how the blend matures over time... e.g. which of the top notes stood the test of time and which didn't. If a blend turns out to be disappointing or faded, then it is a lesson learned. But quite often I come across blends that smell completely different - and far more lovely - once they've had a bit of time to fester.

All good fun!

Feeling Soapy!

2011-03-27T13:55:00.009+01:00

Happy weekend, dear readers! And now for something completely different....

Behold my first batch of handmade soap for 5 years!

As a diversion from knitting, I've started to have a little reversion to the past and thrown myself back into cold process soap making. This used to be one of my major crafty obsessions from the late 1990s - just one of the many building blocks in my crafty journey through life. At some point oil painting took over as my number one obsession, not to menton knitting, and my love affair with soap was put on the back burner...

But recently a series of things have conspired to reignite my soapy urges. First of all, I used up the last of my lovely handmade bars and was filled with regret at having to revert to shop-bought soap. Then a few weeks ago I listened to the soapy episode of the iMake podcast and recalled how much fun I used to have with this, bringing evocative memories of a time when my house smelled like a fragrant pharmacy.

Finally, I discovered my intact (and delightfully anal) soaping spreadsheet, which contains my recipe calculator and detailed notes about all of my previous batches. (Sadly I was not a blogger back in my soapy days, but the spreadsheet meant that I still had a full set of records to refer to - hoorah!) This time around, I intend to supplement my spreadsheet notes for each new batch with a blog post and photos... so watch this space.

These bars are currently 'curing' to firm up a litttle and will be ready to use in a couple of weeks. They're made from a combination of olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil - mixed with sodium hydroxide and coconut milk. The yellowish colour is a result of combining olive oil with the warmed coconut milk and the deep hue of one of the essential oils. When the soap became ready for moulding, I added calendula petals for decorative effect and scented the batch with my personal favourite blend of Lavender, Ylang Ylang and Patchouli essential oils. Scent blends are a very personal thing, but all I can say is that this one makes my heart sing. Each of the oils is changed in nature by combining it with the others and, as it matures, this blend becomes reminiscent of light rain on a summer evening.

This week I've been testing the curing of this batch by using offcuts like these to wash my hands.

I've noticed that the lather is geting fluffier by the day and the soap milder. Once these offcuts are fully dried out, I'm going to try something new, by grinding them to a powder and combining with finely ground oatmeal to make a softening skin scrub... (will blog the results of that later!)

For now - if any of you are interested in giving cold process soaping a go, I'd recommend a copy of Smart Soapmaking by Anne Watson - it's a great beginners' guide that demystifies the process beautifully.

Fast and chunky

2011-03-19T10:38:00.006Z

I spent last week bimbling around the heavenly lanes of Venice, with yarn far from my mind.... until I happened to pass a shop whose window display was a veritable shrine to the colour grey. (Those who know me well are aware that showing me grey yarn is like offering me crack... in fact I probably own enough grey yarn of varying fibres to knit myself a pack of life-sized huskies.)

So - even the presence of a belligerent, tourist-hating shop owner having a fag outside the shop and doing all in her power to block my entrance was not enough to hold me back from the grey fondley goodness. (And in fact she cheered up considerably once she spotted me breezing past the 'fun fibres' and heading straight for the cashmere).

But I was very good and managed to be quite restrained, coming out with nothing other than with two balls of Casma yarn - an Italian branded baby alpaca that is gloriously soft and, in this case, marled in lovely shades of grey.

It was just the thing I needed to make a birthday gift for an old friend of mine and, once I returned home, I found an excellent free pattern on ravelry to complete the project. It's called "simple braided cable scarf", by Madeleine Berrevoets.

The scarf knits quickly on 8mm needles and uses a simple cable pattern to result in an undulating shape. It's ideal for people who like a long, narrow scarf that can be wrapped around the neck several times or one that can be worn long, in the style of a lariat.

Click here for full ravelry details.

And here are a few more pics...

My new favourite podcast

2011-03-01T21:47:00.006Z

This week I'm pleased to report that I have discovered a new crafty podcast called iMake.

Having listened to the first ten episodes, it has become a favourite for various reasons. For one thing, it makes a nice change to listen to something that is about general crafts - as opposed to just knitting. It keeps making me want to try out new things, or rediscover crafts that I used to do and have forgotten about. For another, it's just rather lovely to put my headphones on during my hectic daily commute and listen to a gentle, enthusiastic voice wittering on about soothing crafty things.

The presenter is very easy to listen to, being a softly spoken Guernsey lass. So far she has talked about jewellery making, precious-metal-clay, papercrafting, sewing and knitting (and I can see that later episodes will be covering soap making and other crafts).

If you'd like to listen to her 30-second promo for the podcast, click here

To visit her craft blog and subscribe to the podcast, click here

Skinny Scarf for Sis

2011-01-30T17:10:00.004Z

My second FO of the weekend is this skinny scarf for big sis. This was an informal little project to use up some leftover alpaca from the Flapper Hat I made for her last month.

To get a skinny scarf, I cast on 16 stitches and knit loosely in stocking stitch, striping every second row with a double strand of Kidsilk Haze & Kidsilk Night. The gradual colour effects were achieved by changing the two colours being held at any one time - starting with two strands of magenta, then magenta + purple, then Purple + blue, then two strands of blue.

Things I like about this include the thick & thin effect cause dby varied yarn weight and the natural, tubular curling-in of the sticking stitch. I also quite like the look of it with the ends tied in knots.

Hope sis likes it...

Full details of the yarns, needles etc. are on ravelry here

Knitting for closet goths

2011-01-30T16:59:00.004Z

I've been a completatron this weekend! My first little project to share is a fun knit for my friend Morticia, who loves all things skull-related.

This reversible pot-holder is made from Amy Butler Belle Organic yarn. The pattern is called Deathflake and can be found as a free chart on Ravelry, for use with any sort of colour work or double-knitting.

Following my hogwarts bookscarf, I was in the mood for another double-knitting project, so I went with that option and edged the resulting pot-holder with bias binding. I like the fact that, on first glance, this looks rather twee and Cath Kidston-like, with the skull only becoming aparent on closer examination. (Its' perfect for Morticia, who is a member of her local subversive 'Buns 'n' Roses' WI group!)

Full details of yarn, pattern and needles on ravelry here

Just a girl who can't say no

2011-01-28T21:07:00.006Z

Oh, help me, knitty fiends! No sooner do I have a big, organised de-stash, than I spot something I just can't refuse. This was yarn-lust at first sight...

I've treated myself to two balls of Absolu angora from France. It was hopeless really... not only do I have a weakness for angora, but the idea of yarn that comes in a box was too much for me!

This is 100% angora in a natural grey. (According to the PR material for the yarn, these balls are a limited edition due to the rarity of the bunnies). The weight is DK and, by god, it is as light as air and fondle-worthy beyond description. I’ve also heard on the grapevine that it doesn’t shed as badly as you’d expect from angora. (I guess time will tell on that)

So... what to make?

Ideally I’d like it to become something special for myself - something to caress the neck and maybe a little bit lacey. But I’m entirely open to ideas and have plenty of time to ponder before I’ll have time to knit it. (I have approx 350 yards)

Any suggestions v. welcome…

In case any of you are curious to know more, the yarn is by Anny Blatt and if you're in the UK it can be purchased online from this French supplier. I believe a limited amount is also available in the US from Yarnmarket.

Knitted silk wedding garter

2011-01-23T13:45:00.003Z

This is a tiny little project that I forgot to blog about a few months ago, so I shall put it here for the record...

At the time I had half a skein of sumptuous, pure silk DK yarn to use up and, following a search on ravelry, I found a nice little knitty pattern for a silk wedding garter, threaded with ribbon.

The pattern is designed for lace weight silk, but I think it also works very nicely in a heavier yarn. More details and link to free pattern are on ravelry here

In praise of French knitting design

2011-01-16T21:54:00.005Z

Sometimes, when I'm clicking idly through pages and pages of patterns on ravelry in an almost trance-like state, my eyes will fall upon one that suddenly makes my pupils dilate.

Recently I've begun to notice that the ones that do this for me are very often French patterns, such as this beautiful buttoned scarf/wrap/hybrid thingumy from La Droguerie.

(Unfortunately La Droguerie's designs are a devil to get hold of outside France and are fast turning into a shopping list for my next trip to Paris!)

Clearly I won't be the first or last to complement the French on their sense of style, but I do think that this shines through very strongly in the world of knitting design. French patterns seem to me to to excel at simplicity and elegance of design, letting the knitting and yarn speak for themselves.

Here are a few of my recent ravelry "faves"...

Coeurs et Flocons

Confortable

Etole la Droguerie

Bonnet et cape Kalea

Cardigan/Brassière Caresse Point mousse

Of course, once I have faved the patterns, there is the issue of translation. Personally, I am not quite confident enough in my French skills to translate patterns to the level of accuracy and exactitude that knitting requires. But I'm delighted to report that I have discovered the Excuse Me group on Ravelry, which is populated by brilliant, bilingual people willing to translate patterns to and from a whole range of languages. Thanks to this group, I now have a translation ready for Confortable, which I hope to make very soon.

Seamless baby hippo

2011-01-15T18:11:00.002Z

The more toys that I knit, the more I appreciate designers who go for a seamless construction.

My first experience of this was making Elijah by Ysolda Teague. At the time I found it quite fiddly to pick up stitches for limbs on an already-stuffed body, but the end result was wonderfully neat and professional-looking. On the converse side, the Polly Dolly I made a year or two later was frustratingly seam-heavy, and I think it does affect the eventual look of the toy to have seams up the back of arms and legs.

Today I've just finished making a cute little hippo, designed by Bobbi Padgett, for a baby boy due in April. Like Elijah, this is an excellent pattern for people who are comfortable knitting on DPNs and hate sewing up seams. For example, the arms and legs are placed on a holding needle until it is time to integrate them with the body, the yarns change-overs are simply done by picking up stitches and the head has an interesting use of short-row shaping.

I've given a link to the pattern and more details of my yarn (and small modifications) on Ravelry, here.

For now, here are some pics!

De-stash update

2011-01-08T17:19:00.001Z

Just a quickie to let you know that I have posted off all of the yarn today (phew!)

I used second class postage for the UK parcels, so hopefully they will reach you before next weekend.

De-Stash Giveaway Results

2011-01-05T19:46:00.003Z

Wow, thanks to everyone who expressed an interest in my random act of de-stash. The closing date for yarn requests has now passed and I had a lot more takers than I was expecting, with some of the yarns proving very popular indeed.

So... as promised, I have resorted to pulling random names out of hats.

Congratulations to those of you who will shortly be on the receiving end of yarn! I'm sorry I could not send a ball to everyone who commented (but never mind - I may well have a book destash sometime in future!)

The lucky yarn recipients are as follows:

Yogic Knitter will receive 4 balls of Jaeger Natural Fleece

Trinitystar will receive 8 balls of Sublime Kid Mohair

blottedcopybook will receive 3 balls of undyed Lopi

Lintilla, Fifelass and Darth_Tigger will each receive a ball of Patons Divine in Oatmeal

Bitbat, Miguida and Champy will each receive a ball of Patons Divine in Grey

Warboyswitch will receive the two matching skeins of sari silk

Atropinesulfate will receive the other skein of sari silk

Sarah will receive three balls of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk

Katie Will receive 3 skeins of cream natural mohair

Vicki will receive the mixed bag of mohair oddments

Scusi - I am pretty sure I have a few oddments in grey and black that I can send you for your donkeys :-)

Sushidog - I also have something extra to send you., which I failed to list as part of my destash post. (This is partly because I will NEVER say no to home-made crunchies!)

Happy knitting all,
Susie F

De-stash giveaway / RAK

2011-01-03T17:01:00.010Z

Good evening fellow crafters, would any of you interested in being on the receiving end of a yarn-related freebie?

For those of you who do not already know, I am due to produce a small human being in June 2o11. And now that Christmas is over... I am starting to look at my small residence and wonder how on earth I will fit in a baby and all of its paraphernalia, amid a sea of yarn, sticks and other crafty clutter.

So, inspired by the trend for random acts of kindness, I've decided to de-clutter and offer some of the excess yarn out to you lovely readers on the interwebs, where I am sure it will be appreciated. If you'd like any of the yarns listed below, please leave a comment, specifying which yarn(s) you are interested in and leaving a contact email address.

For the sake of fairness, I will set a closing date of 6pm Wednesday, GMT. If I get multiple requests for the same yarn, I will select names randomly from a hat. If you are selected, I will contact you privately for your address and then post the yarn to you completely free of charge. (Please note - although I am willing to post overseas, you may get charged by customs!)

OK - here are the yarns...

4 balls of Jaeger Natural Flece in Granite This is a super-chunky pure wool yarn that would knit up into a nice chunky wrap or scarves. Ravelry info here: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/jaeger-natural-fleece

8 balls of Sublime Kid Mohair Blend in Black This is a soft, non-itchy mohair in DK weight. Ravelry info here: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/sublime-yarns-kid-mohair-blend

3 balls of chunky wool lopi (undyed) This was sold as unbranded yarn, so there is no ball band or Ravelry info. The vendor described it as pure wool lopi. I think it would knit up very chunky and would probably felt, if desired.

3 balls of Patons Divine in Oatmeal This is a very soft, super-chunky acrylic mohair. It feels nice against the skin with no itch factor whatsoever and a single ball will make a large, chunky neckwarmer. (If there are multiple takers, I will be willing to let these go as single balls). Ravelry info here: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/patons-divine

3 balls of Patons Divine in Charcoal Grey As above, this is a very soft, super-chunky acrylic mohair. It feels nice against the skin with no itch factor whatsoever and a single ball will make a large, chunky neckwarmer. (If there are multiple takers, I will be willing to let these go as single balls). Ravelry info here: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/patons-divine

3 skeins of sari silk (mixed) This is made from recycled Indian saris. It's a little rougher than silk yarn, so I think it is ideal for bags and purses. I can't remember where I got it, but here is a link to Ravelry info about a similar yarn: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/hipknits-recycled-sari-silk

3 balls of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (2 cream, one black) This is a supremely soft yarn in aran weight, that would feel lovely against the skin. Ravelry info here: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/debbie-bliss-alpaca-silk-aran

Mixed stash of mohair yarns (various colours) This mixed lot includes 3 full skeins of natural mohair in cream, a couple of vintage balls in silver/grey, some soft hand-spun in black, and a range of other oddments including some acrylics in bright colours. In honesty, I'd say a lot of these are going to be too itchy to wear against the skin but they'd be ideal for doll's clothes, knitted corsages, toys or other small projects.

I hope you find something to take your fancy!

Wreath of Roses

2010-12-12T10:51:00.004Z

A double post in one day? Well I suppose it makes up for leaving it 4 months between posts!

This time I thought I would post some details of a fresh wreath-making class I attended yesterday in Chiswick. The class was given by a new company called I Made It Myself, that runs crafty classes in West London and was held in a lovely airy venue just off Chiswick High Rd.

I went with my friend Alice, and we were each given a choice of red or white roses. (We both chose white, because of the colours of our front doors, but the red ones were equally beautiful).

When we arrived, we were each given a wreath frame filled with pre-soaked oasis. From there on, we had great fun learning how to cut and arrange the foliage into the frame before embellishing with our choice of roses and other decorations. We also learned about watering the wreath to keep it fresh until the New Year.

Those who chose red roses were given dark glossy foliage to play with, while the people using white roses were given beautifully-scented eucalyptus. There were also loads of embellishments available, including berries, ribbons, sparkly accents and even some robins and doves. But because of the simplicity of the white roses, Alice and I both chose natural accents of blue thistle and ivy berries. (For one time only, I think I may have embraced the concept of "less is more"!)

We both came out with beautiful wreaths, and mine is now hanging on my front door...

Here are a few pics taken during the class... and a pic of my final wreath hanging on my front door!

Flapper hat and iPhone Mitts

2010-12-12T10:17:00.004Z

Hello knitty fiends, I thought I would pop in and show a couple of small FOs that I completed recently.

The first is a hat for my sister. Given the cold, snowy spell we've had, she asked if I could make her a winter hat. She wanted a 20s-ish beanie with a flower, and stipulated that it must not be too tight (a note for British people: she specifically asked not to look like Benny from Crossroads). In terms of colour, she was keen on dark grey, with a dark pink flower.

After searching ravelry for a bit, I decided on a free pattern by Marnie MacLean called Fun Flapper Hat. It is a quick knit in chunky yarn. I used Rowan Alpaca Cotton, which has a soft, fuzzy halo but turned out to be lovely and non-itchy, thanks to the cotton.

Because I am a "more is more" sort of girl, I added not one, but three flowers, using varying shades of Rowan Kidsilk Haze held together and a little bit of Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk. The rim of the hat is crocheted with several strands of yarn held together.

My ravelry bud Kittycrochet kindly agreed to model the hat for me before I posted it off to sis in Brighton. I think she did a great job of her photoshoot. (More details on ravelry)

The second FO is a pair of mitts for me. Much as I love my beautiful elbow-length leather gloves, every time I want to use my iPHone on the go I it causes hand freeze to have to pull them off completely. So wanted some gloves or mitts that would allow me to free up one or more fingers without the rest of the hand getting cold. (In truth I also wanted an excuse to use another ball of the Sirdar Crofter that I had in my stash, as it does such a lovely job of fake-isle.)

I found a great pattern on ravelry for Mobile Mittens that pretty much hit the spot. (I did make a few minor modifications, and have given full details on ravelry.) But here are a couple of pics...

Men Who Knit

2010-08-05T22:36:00.003+01:00

I've noticed recently that a lot of people are still - even in this day and age - flabbergasted by the idea that there are men who knit.

This reaction always seems funny to me because, in my little world, male knitters and designers are an entirely mainstream concept ...and have been for years. Apart from the fact that my last two posts were little other than me fangirling all over Jared Flood, I also love Martin Storey's designs, not to mention Franklin who writes the amusing blog The Panopticon. (And hell, what about Lord Kitchener...? And the fact that British knitting forums are always well attended by men?)

So- y'know. Mainstream.

Anyway I'm only going on about this because it's an excuse to link to an amusing little blog post that I just read on Slip Slip Knit about men who love knitting.

The post included this fabulous picture from the 1940s. (If you click on the pic, it will take you to directly to the slip slip knit blog post from whence it came...)

Posh yarn and Tactile knitting

2010-08-01T17:13:00.006+01:00

Last week my universe converged in an unexpected way when Knit Nation turned up at my work... in my very own office building. A place usually overrun with students and academics was suddenly awash with knitters. (For me it was a dream to watch the ground floor of my building get converted into a giant yarn store!) I also spent a few pleasant lunchtimes sitting outside with my newfound knitting homies.

So... the universe clearly wanted me to purchase yarn, and who am I to argue?

Especially when luxury yarn such as this is pushed under my nose...

This is Knitwitch "Seriously Gorgeous" cashmere and silk, in 4ply weight. It pains me that I cannot post a touch-screen version of this photo, because the yarn really has to be felt to be believed. It is SOFT!

The lighter shade is called Silver Seas, and is a pale, silver-grey with occasional streaks of aquamarine. The darker one is called Winter Sky, and is primarily a slate grey, with occasional streaks of deep red.

Since I bought these I have spent quite a lot of time rummaging through books (and almost every 4ply pattern on ravelry) for a suitable pattern. I was seriously considering a lace pattern for one or both of these, until it came to me that the beauty of this yarn really lies in how it feels. I think it wants to be something simple.

Then the fact that the two colours complement each other made me think about stripes. So with that I abandoned my pattern search and cast on 38 stitches.... and started striping.

I am calling this my "Seriously Soft" scarf and I think it is going to be my favourite thing, come Autumn. Until then I hope it will make a good, mindless, project to work on while watching TV. A few rows in, I like the way that the stocking stitch curls in at the edges. I think this is the sort of thing I would wear at a weekend, when it is just beginning to get chilly, wrapped several times around my neck.

Moving on... those of you who like to knit socks may be familiar with the German yarn phenomenen that is Wollmeise. Not being especially into socks, I was introduced to this phenomen at Knit Nation, when I saw 1000 crazed knitters go into scrum-mode at the Wollmeise stall.

I think the craze is due to the amazing colours, and when I finally got near the stall, I could see why. We're talking about every colour of the rainbow, pure and bright... in 100% merino 4ply and lace weight. Very nice indeed... so I bought two skeins (Lavenden and Fuchia). No idea yet what I will do with it.

Well that's all from me... will report back later when I've done something.

Unseasonal Berries

2010-07-29T21:55:00.003+01:00

Dear knitters, if you're anything like my other half, you may well question the sanity of making a winter hat in the middle of July.... will it suffice to say that I was gripped by Jared fever? I blame him entirely... and after I'd blogged about his gorgeous pattern I just had to follow through by making it.

It is indeed a piece of hatty gorgeousness.

I amended the pattern slightly to make it fit me better - (have given full details on Ravelry here)

The yarn is Sublime Baby Cashmere, Merino Silk, which feels DIVINE against the skin. No itch factor, just silky, silky softness. Unfortunately it does pill a bit though... (I suppose you can't have everything)

Anyway 'tis done. Now I shall sit and wait for autumn to roll along...

Hat lust

2010-06-24T20:25:00.003+01:00

Whoo hoo! I know it's too hot to be talking about hats, but I've just spotted that Laurel by Jared Flood has become available as a PDF on ravelry.

I've been wanting to make this gorgeous hat for ages. I think it has the nicest use of cables and bobbles on any hat I've seen, but until now it was hard to get hold of the pattern in the UK.

Just a few months of patience and it will be the onset of autumn, and Laurel will be mine, in a nice tweedy yarn.

Ravelry link here

Little Flower Necklace

2010-06-20T10:14:00.009+01:00

Yesterday I found a lovely pattern on ravelry for a crocheted necklace that only requires a tiny amount of stash yarn and can be made in a lightening flash. I have a real soft spot for lariat style necklaces, which I think are very flattering.

This pattern was doubly helpful to me because, having learned to crochet a few months ago, I've done little to cement the skills in my memory. I had to find some online instructions as a reminder for one of the stitches.

I made mine in 4ply milk cotton, and the resulting necklace is so lightweight that it is barely there, You could wear it on a hot, summer's day without feeling as though there is anything uncomfortable loitering around your neck.

I've put more details, plus a link to the free pattern, on ravelry, here.

Cheesy poofs, anyone?

2010-06-02T22:05:00.003+01:00

Knitty bods, have you ever freaked yourself out with one of your FOs?

Last weekend I made a floppy doll as a gift for a little girl. Once she was all sewn up I added the face and left her lolling around in the nude for a while, awaiting some clothes. Except I kept finding myself looking at her askance, wondering who she was reminding me of. I had a nagging feeling it was someone a bit dodgy. There was something familiar about the placid, vacant stare and the pursed lips...

And then it came to me. Um, allow me to introduce my friend, Mrs Cartman. (Or to quote a friend, "NAKED Mrs Cartman! Bom-chicka-wow-wow!")

Tempting as it was to leave her like this, I fiddled around and added a couple of extra stitches to de-Cartmanify her. Given my limited embroidery skills, this was no mean feat. But now I think she now looks quite cute, once she's all dressed up.

The pattern is from a book called Knitted Toy Tales by Laura Long and I found it well-written and worth knitting. However if I ever make this again I will definitely knit the whole thing in the round - I can't see any reason not to, it would be very easy to convert. While I was sewing up the endless seams, I developed a newfound appreciation for the little touches of quality that Ysolda Teague puts into her designs.

For example, compared with this doll, Elijah's neat limbs and lack of seams look far more professional.

I had some fun knitting the clothing and will probably make her some extra outfits before the month is out. (Fickle knitters, let me tell you that doll outfits = instant gratification!) The basic dress pattern is easy to knit in the round, and can be adapted to suit your whimsy, such as my obsession with stripes. I might do a fair isle version next.

I ended up having to enlarge the shoe pattern to cater for my doll's big feet. It was easy enough to do and the resulting shoes are still snug enough not to keep falling off. I also made her some improvised knickers to make her look a bit better and improve the angle of her dangling legs.

More details are on Ravelry, here

Fear not the frog!

2010-05-08T17:23:00.011+01:00

Dear Knitty people, do you ever feel as though your UFOs have become a burden?

Right now I have simply too many projects on the go, in various states of success. Some of them are "going to be gorgeous when finished" ...if I could only remember where the hell I got to in the pattern. Others niggle at me because there is something slightly wrong with them that I don't want to face up to. (Then there are the ones that I have forgotten all about).

The sad fact is that knitting has begun to feel a bit like like my in-tray at work. It has become a horrid "to do list", none of which excite me any more because I want to move on to shiny new things.

So, dear knitters, I have decided that drastic action is needed. I am having a Frogathon!

Casualty #1: Selbu Modern.
This reached about 70% completion. I still adore the pattern. I even still love the yarn (Louisa Harding Willow Tweed)... however this project has failed on many levels.

First of all, my chosen colour combination, while pretty, lacks sufficient contrast to show off the fair isle pattern. It is too muted by far. Secondly, the needles have been utterly horrible to work on. (Never again will I buy cheap, rubbishy, 2.25mm bamboo circs from Chinese ebay). Thirdly, I made an error of judgement and overcompensated for my slightly thicker yarn by removing a pattern repeat. Suffice to say this hat was turning out child-sized.

Let the frog commence...

Such liberation.... this is the start of things to come.

I shall be recording all of my frogged projects here in Rav: Frogathon

So far 8 Projects frogged in a day!

Becoming Hooked

2010-03-27T19:48:00.003Z

I've been meaning to learn crochet for a long time.... and have finally got around to it, hoorah! It's all thanks to Mrs Moon, my LYS in Twickenham, which has begun to offer Saturday classes.

I think I am a little bit in love with Mrs Moon... every time I go in they have even more gorgeous stuff. I really could just sit in there all day stroking yarn and fondling their sample knits.

Anyway... being a creature of extreme hubris, I decided to do two classes in one day. Both were given by designer and teacher Joanna Clark, who showed us some of her gorgeous knitting and crochet designs. The morning session was dedicated to learning the basic crochet stitches. (I learned about foundation chains and how to crochet into the first row, how to turn corners, how to do double and treble crochet, and then half-treble.)

Here is my play swatch...

The afternoon session was for intermediate skills and how to read crochet patterns. It was a little less structured and we were able to play with patterns of our choice. So I pulled out this free crochet pattern that I had found on ravelry.

I have been making knitted flowers for quite some time, but had a niggling feeling that crochet might be a little better suited to the craft, if only because it allows one to be a little more freeform. So in the afternoon session I was keen to have a go at a crocheted rose.

Thanks to Joanna's guidance I learned how to read the crochet chart. As I was making the flower, I was struck by how incredibly pretty it looked in its un-coiled state. I think this would make a REALLY pretty scarf...

I'm quite pleased with the result and think that I will play around a little with crochet flowers and see how they measure up against knitted flowers.

I'm also feeling inspired to make a curly crocheted scarf after seeing a beautiful one in Mrs Moon made from Rowan Kidsilk Haze.

Above all, it was a fun day... and so very, very soothing to my stressed brain. I would seriously recommend a spot of crochet to anyone who is considering therapy. I have not felt so 'zen' in a long time.

Hogwartian Magic

2010-03-27T18:15:00.005Z

Hello knit fiends... I thought I would pop in and share my little experiment with the technique of Double Knitting.

For anyone not already aware, this is a two-colour technique that produces a reversible item, where each side is a negative image of the other. I'd been wanting to try my hand at this for ages, having seen some truly outstanding examples on Ravelry.

So after christmas I decided to do a little training project, using Anne Kingstone's excellent free pattern for Hogwarts 'bookscarves'. Somehow the Hogwartian theme seemed fitting for something as fiendish as double knitting.

Here are the results...

A few things to note...

About colours - I've discovered that King Cole yarns make a good UK source for Hogwarts colours. The 4ply Merino Blend yarns certainly include shades that closely match up for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

About Double Knitting... suffice to say this is not instantly easy! At first I just couldn't get my head around it. My brain was having trouble understanding why there were so many stitches on the needle. I also ended up frogging my first few rows because my cast-on was too loose. (Apparently looseness is a bit of a 'thing' with double knitting - hence it tends to be done on much smaller needles than usual.)

So at first I was unimpressed and decided that whoever invented this technique was sent from hell to try us... but then it suddenly clicked and became great fun! There is a real sense of magic when you first start to see your reversible pattern emerging.

I think it would be a challenge to knit an entire scarf in double knitting, but could definitely see me making this bookscarf again... perhaps in the other house colours.

My full project details, including a link to the pattern, can be found here:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/hogwarts-double-knitted-bookscarves

A little light Wippery

2010-01-30T14:55:00.011Z

It has occurred to me that the main reason my posts on this blog are so sporadic is because I usually wait until I have an FO ready before blogging about it. I rarely pop in to talk about the shameful, obscene number of UFOs that have on the go at any one time... many of which are languishing forgotten for months or even years.

So today I thought I would break that convention by mentioning a couple of UFOs that I have on the go, as well as some inspiration on my 'to do' list.

This weekend, my active UFO is Snowball - a knitted kitten based on a vintage pattern that I bought from this etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lostcraftpatterns

I bought the pattern last weekend on a whim, mainly thanks to the deranged look on the kitten's face. It's designed for angora but I decided to give ita whirl using some Sublime kid mohair from my stash.

One thing I found quite interesting about this pattern is the way it can be dated simply by the styling of the kitten's body and facal features.

As soon as I'd knitted the first set of leg pieces, I noticed that the body has the cutesy realism of a Disney drawing from the 50s or 60s... quite unlike today's fashion for more naive or exaggerated styling in knitted toys.

(For example, compare it with this otherwise similar pattern on ravelry... http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-kitten)

Anyway... here's hoping I actually manage to turn Snowball into an FO without making a total mess of it. I shall report back when she is finished.

Also on my needles, BEGGING to be finished, is a gorgeous tweedy Ishbel. I started this project in a blatant homage to this beautiful creation by notknottylottie. I'm even using the same yarn - a soft 4ply lambswool by Rennie and copying the approach of knitting the larger size of lace edging. However I've left it for so long that I'm now slightly fearful I've forgotten where I was in the lace pattern... fingers crossed I wil be able to work it out!

There are many other UFOs that I am choosing not to think about... partly because this gets in the way of starting lovely shiny new things!

Something that has been on my 'to do' list for ages is the unutterably gorgeous Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon Osborne.

I'm thinking of casting on for this pretty soon, if only in the hope of getting some wear out of it before the weather turns warm. I've been dithering over what yarn to use, but I might give it a go with some cashmere I have from Colourmart...

There is also a wee sproglet for whom I quite fancy making a knitted doll. I might give this pattern a try, from Knitted Toy Tales by Laura Long...

Ohhh, and I still want to make a tweedy tank top using some aran weight donegal tweed that I bought ages ago. And a billion other things...

I suppose I should go and get on with Snowball before I slip into WIP malaise.

But as a parting gesture, I will share a few pics of some vintage aluminium needles that arrived for me this week from ebay.

I already had a few sets like this and am really enjoying knitting with this style of needles Much as I love my rosewoods, I find I knit a little faster on these aluminium ones thanks to their smooth, slippery texture. Also they're much more lightweight than a lot of the needles that are sold these days. But above all it's the colours that I love. It's just so pleasing on the eye compared with the yawnsome matt grey offerings that can be found in John Lewis et al.

A hat and a scarf ...and a little bit of Fair Isle

2010-01-23T20:25:00.005Z

This hat and scarf is going to be a gift for a very sweet 6-year old called Georgia... both made from bulky yarn.

The hat is based on a nice, simple fair isle pattern by Wendi Durlap that I found on ravelry. The scarf was made simply by casting on 20 and striping each alternate row.

Full details of both projects are on ravelry here... http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/madisons-hat

So this is just a postette to show some pics. Suffice to say I am slightly mad on embellishments at the moment, hence the pom poms and flowers!

It's Chriiiiiiiiiiistmaaaaaas!

2009-12-20T14:12:00.005Z

Hello festive knitty people! Once you've forgiven me for song-virusing you with the tones of Noddy Holder, I hope you will also forgive me for being such an errant blogger.

The thing is I've not been feeling very knitty recently... not sure why. My "gorgeous-if-only-it-could-be-finished" grey tweedy Ishbel has been festering on the needles for so long that I'm afraid I may have forgotten where I was in the pattern... and heaven help the other 200 UFOs.

But never mind. This weekend I went into christmas overload and finally decorated the house. Among other things, christmas has inspired me to knit, so this is just me popping in to show you my mini xmas stockings...

These are from a free pattern (see rav link below). It's a lovely quick knit, and very enjoyable. The socks are made on straight needles and sewn up at the end. It's also a great way to try your hand at some fair isle patterns on a microscopic project.

Rav link: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/mini-christmas-stocking-ornaments

Anyway that's all from me. I wish happy holidays to you all... may the gluh wein flow freely!
xx

Pre-washing colourmart cashmere

2009-10-04T17:17:00.007+01:00

A few years ago I went on a mad spree at Colourmart and purchased various cones of cashmere in different weights. For anyone not in the know, this cashmere is sold as remainders from industrial production batches, which means that it comes on cones and is slightly oiled for
machine knitting. It also means you get cashmere at a bargain price!

My resulting stash looked a bit like this...

There have been various discussions on the Colourmart Yahoo forum about whether it is better to wash the yarn before using it for hand knitting. The answer is that it is really a matter of personal preference.

You can certainly use it 'as is' for handknitting. Some knitters prefer to because it means that their finished stitches meld
together more tightly after blooming, making for a stronger fabric. It doesn't feel quite as nice as cashmere bought on the ball would, and it often has a slight smell of machine oil. But when you wash the finished item, it blooms like a butterfly and becomes a thing of gorgeous, plush softness. It also tends to shrink a little in length (and sometimes grows in width) which has to be factored in by the knitter. The golden rule when doing this is to wash a swatch before starting.

Other knitters (and I have decided that I am one of these) prefer to pre-wash the yarn before knitting. This way you get to knit with the unoiled version of the yarn, which feels lovely and soft while knitting. Also you get a more predictable result, with less shrinkage and blooming in the finished product.

So... having hidden the above stash in a cupboard for eons, I decided it was high time to do a big batch of pre-washing. This post is simply to share my method and results with any Colourmart fans out there who have not yet given it a go.

So here goes...

1. Step 1 - Wind the yarn into skeins

I used my swift to do this, because (as the name implies) I find it much quicker than using a niddy noddy. Once they were wound, I tied them in at least 4 places to keep the threads nice and straight.

2. Step 2 - pre-soak the skeins

Here is where you might gasp in horror... I like to pre-soak the yarn in none other than Fairy liquid, diluted in lukewarm water.
Whatever you may think about cashmere, it is actually quite a hardy fibre and copes with this very well. Fairy liquid does a
lovely job of removing the machine oil in a first pass and leaves the skeins remarkably soft. I soaked the skeins for 5 mins
before wringing out gently.

Step 3 - mashine wash the skeins

My washing machine has a wool cycle, which is an ideal way to wash the skeins and get out any remaining traces of machine oil. First of all, I placed the skeins inside some zip-up washing bags (the sort used to wash delicate underwear). Then I added a good amount of wool-friendly washing detergent and a dose of fabric conditioner. (My cycle washes at 40 degrees C, takes 50 mins and has a spin speed of 800).

When the skeins came out, they were extremely plumped up and soft. A couple of them came out a little puckered, like the one shown below, but a good stretch was all it took to revert them to a taut, flat state.

Step 4 - dry the skeins

The skeins seem to dry pretty quickly over a radiator or even a well aired banister. I like to turn them every couple of hours to help them dry evenly. I also removed the ties to avoid getting kinks in the fibre.

Step 5 - admire!

The finished skeins are lovely and soft and considerably plumper than the oiled thread that I had when I started. They can now
be wound into balls, and will be a pleasure to knit with. I just need to decide what to use them for...

Here are a few pics of the dried skeins

Vintage buttons, fab needle gauge and other random tat

2009-10-03T14:56:00.005+01:00

Last weekend I visited a little town in Devon called Topsham, which happens to be home to a 3-story antiques warehouse.... (or more accurately, 3 floors of random vintage household tat of the sort that makes my eyes light up!)

About 20 seconds after entry, I zoned in on a little corner with boxes of old buttons and vintage knitting needles... hoorah! (My weary companions made a resigned exit at this point and decided to leave me to it.)

So after a good rummage, I came out with the following little stash enhancers...

Buttons of various sizes...

Knitting Needles (several sets of long DPNs plus two straights)...

Next up are some ceramic buttons that I bought at the V&A last week while out browsing with notknottylottie. Not sure yet what I will do with them...

And finally, I want to pass on a great tip that I read on this blog... (http://techknitting.blogspot.com/). Last week, I read a fab little article that recommended a visit to your local DIY store to find a nifty and hard-wearing needle gauge....

Behold - the drill gauge!

I bought mine from someone called 'handyman' on ebay, and it arrived the next day. Result!

Back from iKnit Weekender...

2009-09-13T18:50:00.004+01:00

On Friday I spent the day at the iKnit weekender along with two of my fellow knutters, Mel and Lottie (of www.notknottylottie.blogspot.com).

The quick version is to say quite simply that I was in yarn HEAVEN! (Aisles upon aisles of yarn... and buttons... and knitting-related nick-nacks. Mmmmm.) As a day out shopping, it was supreme.

Just look at these silks that were on sale...

(if only the man running the stall had not been such a horrific pushy salesman, we would all have bought some. Seriously... the guy chased away pretty much every customer who came near!)

But in addition to the stalls, there was a curriculum of classes and presentations where you could learn all manner of advanced and off-the-wall techniques. So here is a little run down of my day...

First of all, I attended a talk by Debbie New. (Little Lixie has actually blogged this talk very well, so I will point you to her blog for more details... http://lixieknitsit.blogspot.com/2009/09/in-codeine-we-trust.html ) But suffice to say Debbie New is a fiendish genius who blew my mind. She does crazy inventive things with knitting, especially with the construction of garments I confess some of it went over my head, but it was very interesting.

Next, I shopped for yarn. Given that my stash is already obscene, I didn't go overboard, but a few little goodies did sneak in... so here's a quick show and tell:

2 balls of Rennie 4 ply shetland tweed.
This stuff is gorgeous and destined to become an Ishbel (I am shamelessly copying Lottie who made a beautiful one in exactly the same same yarn, but purple.)

8 balls of 2 ply lace weight lambswool.
The colour of this is so beautiful, somewhere between red, purple and magenta. I'm not sure my camera has quite capured it. Again, this is destined to be a tweedy winter shawl... (maybe another Ishbel, unless I get taken with something else.)

4 balls of Norwegian 4 ply baby alpaca with silk.
Ye gods! this yarn is soft. Soft like nothing on earth. Unlike the tweedy yarns above, this one is meant to have your face buried in it... I am not sure yet what it is going to become. Suggestions welcome. The colour is a deep ruby, with perhaps a very slight hint of brownish maroon sneaking in.

Loads of buttons!

Next I was back with Debbie New for a 3-hour practical class called Cellular Automata. This was fantastic and really gave me food for thought.

Essentially Debbie shows you that you can knit and design amazing stitch patterns without needing a chart or pattern, simply by deciding on a set of rules that you will apply to each stitch and following them religiously. Furthermore, if you choose your rule wisely, you stand a good chance of knitting a fractal pattern which is self-replicating and beautiful. It works really well with stranded colour work like fair isle. But rather than try to explain the idea in two lines here, I will blog more about this later on, giving more detail and an example or two.

After my class, I went and bought a copy of Whimsical Little Knits and had it signed by Ysolda Teague...

I also took a photo of Ysolda with Lottie, who was wearing her purple Ishbel. (I have sent the pic to Lottie so that she can blog it herself if she wishes.)

At this point I suddenly discovered that there was a whole nother aisle that I had missed earlier, hiding behind the iKnit stand.

So I made a beeline for that and became immediately overexcited upon finding a vintage stall! Vintage craft supplies may just be my favourite thing ever. I had an enjoyable chat with the lady running the stall, who turned out to be an enthusiastic collector, just starting out in sharing some of her stock. And I purchased the following bits...

A seriously cool thing: a sock knitting set in a slimline metal case...

And a few pairs of vintage Sears knitting needles in shiny metallic colours...

The day ended with a fashion show presented by Amy Lamé...

...and then finally there was wine and partying to do. The three of us did not stay long for the party because we were pooped. But all in all we'd had a fantastic day. (Tomorrow I look forward to hearing all about Modular Knitting and Oruborus from Mel and Lottie.)

I will defintely go again next year.

Dr Horrible Sing-a-long Wristers

2009-09-12T22:57:00.005+01:00

Just a quickie to post my latest FO... a pair of luxurious cashmere wrist warmers. These are based on a free pattern on ravelry, which was itself inspired by the pair that Penny wears in Dr Horrible's sing-a-long blog. (Incidentally, if you haven't already watched this and are a fan of Joss Whedon... may I urge you to do so immediately?)

My ravelry link is here.... http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/dr-horribles-sing-a-long-wristers

I used RYC cashmere tweed in aran weight and some vintage bakelite buttons that I *adore*. The gloves were knit flat on straight needles and come together via the buttonholes. (You could easily knit them in the round if preferred and make the buttons purely decorative.)

Anyway I love them. Now I just need it to get cold...

Blocking my Raspberry Beret

2009-08-31T15:59:00.007+01:00

Just popping in to share some pics of my latest beret and - more specifically - to mention the blocking technique that I used for this.

The beret and flower were made from one skein of Sublime Kid Mohair, using a free pattern by Susan Power called Baroness Beret (Ravelry link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baroness-beret).

I will definitely use this pattern again. As for the yarn, I find it soft and light and almost barely there when wearing the hat. I'm totally in love with the colour. It's such a luscious shade of red... bright like raspberry coulis and a little pinker than pillarbox. The flower was not part of the pattern, but I think it works well, edged with a fine chain of kidsilk haze in black.

My ravelry page for this project is here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/baroness-beret

Anyway, onto blocking techniques...

Having made a whole load of lace berets recently, I've got into the habit of blocking them over a dinner plate, which works very nicely for giving that proper beret shape, and really opens out the lace. However I think that this beret has the best blocking result of all - and I think that it is due to having taken an extra bit of care over the ribbing. I've posted a few explanatory pics below...

The first pic shows the beret before blocking.
The second pic shows the beret stretched over a dinner plate
The third pic shows something new - this time I basted the ribbing to pull it into shape over the plate. This made a difference and resulted in a snug, unstretched ribbing
The final pic shows how I like to leave the beret to dry overnight.

Angora + Lace = Pretty

2009-08-16T16:51:00.007+01:00

Just a little update to share my latest FO... a lighter than air lace 'scarflette' made from a divinely soft angora/merino blend.

This is a planned christmas present and a fun knit using a pattern from 'Little Luxury Knits' by Louisa Harding. (The pattern is also available for free on Ravelry via the link below.)

The scarflette only uses one skein of DK yarn, including the flower and takes a fairly vigorous blocking to get the length required and to open up the lace. If you wanted a full length scarf, you could easily do it with two skeins. I amended the flower pattern slightly as I wanted more petals (and also crocheted round the edges with kidsilk haze).

For interest, here are my 'before and after' blocking pics...

More details and a link to the free pattern can be found on Ravelry here:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/juliet-scarf

Kool and the Gang... Part 2

2009-08-15T13:44:00.012+01:00

In my last post I showed the results of my first Kool Aid experiments (using five skeins of superwash sock yarn). I promised to elaborate on a couple of things, so here we go...

Firstly, I want to show the before and after pics for the overdying that I did on the deeper red...

You may recall that this skein was initially dyed using 1 part Grape to 2 parts Cherry. The result was a pretty shade, but patchy coverage, with several undyed sections that did not look good.

So I overdyed it the following day using a madcap mixture of cherry, black cherry tropical punch and grape.

As it turns out, that was far more dye than I needed, and the skein did not soak it all up - but I did get a lovely rich red at the end of it - and all of the bare patches soaked up the red beautifully...

So moving on from sock yarn, I'd like to show what happened when I progressed to two beautiful 100g skeins of lace weight merino/silk (80% merino / 20% silk). Each skein has about 1200 yards - easily enough for a shawl, so I was looking for shawl-friendly colours.... or something less psychedelic than my sock yarns anyway.

When these raw skeins arrived through the post, I was so taken with the beautful, silky texture of their undyed state that I was tempted not to risk dyeing them at all. But then.... you only live once, right?

So having become comfortable with Knitty's recommended microwave technique, I decided to go straight ahead with the first batch of laceweight. So I mixed up one part each of Black Cherry and Tropical Punch - with a little Grape thrown in also and bunged it in the microwave for 2 mins.

When I took it back out, I started to feel a little nervous. It occurred to me that the water and glass bowl felt far hotter than the max wash temperature would be for this yarn. So to minimise damage, I took the yarn straight out of the water and left it in the sink to cool, then rinsed it and hung it up to dry. At this point I was already noticing that the texture of the yarn had changed... it no longer seemed silky - more like "felty" (argh!) and the strands were sticking together somewhat.

As it dried it started to look like this... still a little on the felty side for my liking.

After several days, it was fully dry and the colour was a sort of matte, pinkish red. I'm not sure how exactly to describe this colour - but it calls to mind the sort of dusky hue that you would find in a heritage range of wall paint, aimed at traditional dining rooms. It's really very pretty.

The really good news is that when I came to wind the ball, it was not felted after all - hoorah! It had simply changed texture slightly - effectively it had 'bloomed' and is still very soft.

For the second skein, I wanted a pale apple green, and managed to get exactly what I was after by using just one sachet of Lemon & Lime Kool Aid for the whole batch. This time I only gave the yarn one minute in the microwave, and I think it has retained more of the silky sheen than the other skein did. It has a slightly variegated finish, which is subtle enough to be very pleasing to me :-)

Right now it is being wound via my swift and trusty nostepinne.

So, finally.... I thought I would finish up with gratuitous yarn shots.

The kool aid's so bright I gotta wear shades

2009-08-07T13:22:00.008+01:00

Gentle yarn fetishists, I have something to show you...

However, before we start, you may wish to turn down the colour settings on your computer. Lets just say that Subtlety, your name is not Kool Aid...

As you may have guessed, I have been hand dying yarn, using nothing other than Kool Aid (which I ordered off the interwebs), a glass bowl and a microwave. Instructions for this are available on Knitty.com.

The resulting colours are, ahem, zingy. Ideal if you want to knit for Oompa Loompas and just can't get that psychedelic hit from your LYS.

So are you ready?

Ok... here we go...

I have to confess I did not keep a perfect track of what I used... but it was more or less as follows:

Skein 1 dyed using 1 part Lemon & Lime to 2 parts Berry Blue

Skein 2 dyed using 2 parts Lemon & Lime

Skein 3 dyed using 2 parts Orange

Skein 4 dyed using 3 parts Cherry

Skein 5 dyed twice (the first batch using 1 part Grape to 2 parts Cherry - then overdyed using a crazy mixture of cherry, black cherry tropical punch and grape)

Things I learned about Dying...

The first skein I dyed was the Lemon & Lime and it took me several seconds to dip the second half of the skein into the dye ...this has resulted in a variegated finish - where half of the skein is a brighter green than the other half. So if you prefer a regular coverage, I think it is better to try and dip the whole skein in at once.

After its first dying, I noticed that the deep red skein had a few irregular patches where the dye had not taken, and it did not look good. So I overdyed the skein, this time using loads of koolaid. The interesting bit its that it didn't really take up that much dye the second time around. I think there may be a limit to how much dye a single skein can realistically absorb. The already dyed parts went a slighty deeper red, while the irregular patches took up a full soaking of dye to blend in with the rest.

All of the above skeins are superwash sock yarn, and the microwave method worked beautifully. So much so that I got a little carried away and progressed immediately to two skeins of lace weight Merino/silk. I am not sure these skeins reacted very well to the microwave (will blog the results of that later).

UPDATE... I have posted some follow-on ramblings about kool aid dyeing here: http://susiefhandmade.blogspot.com/2009/08/kool-and-gang-part-2.html

Debbie Bliss and Silk slippers

2009-07-25T17:20:00.010+01:00

Have you ever asked yourself "what on earth am I going to do with that single skein of Debbie Bliss pure silk yarn that I purchased on a whim?"

Well.... for those of you who (like me) could not resist the allure of the odd skein, the answer is shoes for miniature people!

I first discovered this pattern for baby mary janes about a year ago and immediately made three pairs for an expected baby girl. I found that they work well in cotton, but are truly exceptional when made in silk.

You can also have fun personalising them with decorations (such as rosebuds and pretty buttons.)

I think these make a fabulous gift for a newborn baby girl. I've given more details on my ravelry projects page, here... http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl

Anyway I plan to make many more of these using my little stash of Debbie Bliss silks, below... (yes, this is gratuitous yarn porn.)

Addicted to angora!

2009-07-25T16:10:00.006+01:00

Well, my dear knitfiends, given that it is a summer of rain, drizzle and 20 degree moderation, I feel strangely unembarrassed to share my little obsession of the month... namely a cache of lovely angora/merino yarn from Sublime and a particular beret pattern on ravelry.

I discovered this pattern a few weeks when I had some leftover angora blend yarn, and was very pleased with the result and the speed. It is designed by Kathleen Dames and is called 'EZ as Pi Lace Beret' (after Elizabeth Zimmerman). A link is here...

Since then I have banged out a few more. In each case I have modified the pattern slightly. (For anyone interested, I have given details of my modifications on the ravelry project pages, so click the rav links to see more....)

A few notes about the yarns used...

Sublime Angora Merino Blend - On the plus side, this yarn is just outstandingly soft! The finished beret feels gorgeous against the skin. On the con side, it sheds like crazy while you are knitting and sends fluff wafting up your nose. (The shedding does seem to die down though once it has been washed and blocked.)

Sublime Kid Mohair - On the good side, this is a very soft, non-itchy mohair that feels lovely against the skin. On the con side, it really is lighter than air, so probably wouldn't keep your head particularly warm if you went for a day trip in the arctic...

A note about blocking... I have found a great technique for blocking a lacy beret. Take a dinner plate and invert it on top of a wine glass... now take your damp, handwashed beret and stretch it over the diner plate, so that the brim dangles below. Pull it to shape so that the beret pulls in on itself a little under the plate, then leave overnight to dry... so far I am finding that this gives a perfect beret shape to the hat. (I may post a pic of the next one mid-block)

Ravelry Links

Angora / Merino Beret in Chilli (red)
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/ez-as-pi-lace-beret-2

Angora / Merino Beret in blue
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/ez-as-pi-lace-beret-3

Kid Mohair Beret in Fig (dusky lilac)
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/ez-as-pi-lace-beret-4

Summer knitting.... (er, ok, not!)

2009-07-05T18:49:00.006+01:00

I am making up for lost time with a 3-in-a-day postathon!

This one is just a quickie to share a fast little project that kept me happy yesterday afternoon.

I know what you're thinking... what kind of lunatic knits a beret on the hottest week of the year? Hmmm, I cannot really explain myself. It was just that I found a leftover ball of super-soft angora blend yarn in my stash. It was already 1/4 used up... and I was taken by the challenge of turning the remainder into something!

So I found a super-quick beret pattern on ravelry and 3 1/2 hours later it was done, not including the flowers. (Rav link here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/ez-as-pi-lace-beret)

Knitterly Trinkets

2009-07-05T17:35:00.007+01:00

Sometime last year, when I first had the idea of an Etsy shop, I purchased all of the bits necessary to make some luxury stitch markers. I was full of ideas and wanted to create something so pretty that it would be jewellery for needles, to make knitters' hearts flutter every time they passed a counter. I went ahead immediately and bought a load of sterling silver findings, silver wire, gemstone beads and other bits. In short, I was aflame with enthusiasm.

And then... somehow, 6 months or more slipped by without me making a SINGLE stitch marker. What can I say? I guess I was just too busy. And even when my friend notkottylottie posted her lovely stitch markers on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6833722), I felt all inspired and guilty, but still didn't get around to it.

Until finally, a couple of weeks ago, I rummaged out my jewellery pliers, set aside a weekend and spent an immersive couple of days producing.

Below are the first eight sets to emerge.... all of these are made from sterling silver with a variety of glass beads and gemstones (rose quartz, turquoise, moonstone, amethyst, topaz, agate).

Who knows... maybe in another 6 months I will make some more!

Corsagery

2009-07-05T17:11:00.006+01:00

It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I should pop in and show what I've been up to over the last few weeks...

Today it is all about the corsages. Yes, more of them! It seems I am addicted to knitted flowers (I like 'em in my hair... on my hats... on bags... and frankly anywhere else they can feasibly go).

Another motivating factor for the flowers is that I have finally pulled my finger out and created an Etsy shop (http://www.susief.com/).

Don't ask me why I am now on Etsy... I keep asking msyelf the same question and really have no idea. I guess it's just because it is there... like mount Everest. Anyway I've decided to start small by just listing flowers and stitch markers, especially during the summer months when knitted items are not exactly in heavy demand. (Will post later about the stitch markers...)

Most of the corsages below are for sale in the shop and are made from either Rowan Kidsilk Haze or heavy mohair, with vintage beads and butttons in the centre. All of them are attached to a brooch pin.

Experiment with intarsia design

2009-06-20T22:09:00.004+01:00

A few blogs back I mentioned that I had had a 'Road to Damascus' moment when it suddenly hit me that designing charts for knitting (especially intarsia) ought to be no different to designing a tapestry... or even to working with pixels.

This is an idea that I have been interested in for years, having experimented with paintings that mimic the effect of enlarged pixels. So this really caught my interest... but I digress.

This post is simply to share my first stab at kntting up my very first intarsia design. I have completed a test knit for my bare trees chart... pics of the chart and the test knit are below.

I should mention that the sample did not turn out 100% as I intended, but I do quite like it and will probably turn it into a bag, once I can muster the inclination to knit the rest of it...

The sharp eyed among you may notice that my knitted tree points a different way than the chart... this is a schoolgirl error! I made the mistake of casting on in the same direction that I planned to knit my first row. (I should either have cast on from the opposite end or started with a purl row in order to get my tree to point the right way... doh!)

The chart itself was designed using my faithful old friend, Excel. I simply created a grid of squares and coloured them in, in stages... essentially just like drawing.

A good lesson learned from this test is that my test gauge did not perfectly match the size of my squares. The next time I do this, I will first of all plan the yarn and knit a gauge swatch, then size the Excel squares exactly according to my knitted swatch... this way I can ensure, while drawing, that the design proportions I am seeing on screen are exactly as they will look when knitted in the proposed yarn.

Anyway this experiment has got my creative juices flowing and I can see lots of potential for designing charts, either for intarsia or just regular stitch patterns...

knitting-related silliness...

2009-06-20T13:03:00.003+01:00

A daft caption competition using vintage knitting patterns...
http://the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com/37166.html

(anonymous entries welcome from non-Livejournal bods)

Utter knutters (and cats)

2009-06-14T20:52:00.009+01:00

Yesterday, along with my friends, Charlotte and Melanie, I participarted in the iKnit London Treasure Hunt.

This event was organised by iKnit London and essentially involved bombing around London trying to find sheep, while carrying out competitive knitting. The 'treasure' included getting pics of yourselves knitting at famous landmarks, and, if possible, knitting beside policemen, celebrities and naked people. (As well as being Worldwide Knit In Public Day, yesterday was world naked cyclist day) Each team also had to try and knit the longest scarf in the time allotted. (our team was The Imperial Kninjas).

Sadly we didn't win the treasure hunt, but we did give ourselves blisters and created a truly hideous combined scarf out of some radioactive acrylic!

A few pics below...

First of all, a random cat pic!

The first thing we did was find a cafe and plan our attack.... until we suddenly noticed that there was a cat under our table, making sweet, sweet love to Melanie's handbag. This handbag just happened to contain cat mint.... ad balls of string. The cat clearly thought it was its birthday and proceeded to get fully coked up before chewing the ends off the yarn.

Knitting in a stinky phone box!

Charlotte chasing a pigeon...

Charlotte and Melanie knitting by the Elgin Marbles

Charlotte teaching a statue to knit...

Mel and Charlotte by the London Eye

Charlotte and me modelling the hideous scarf!

What happened the minute I got home with the catmint in my bag...

Fabric Porn...

2009-06-07T18:55:00.006+01:00

Every once in a while my sewing mojo starts to creep back unexpectedly. This time it is linked to some ideas that I am playing with for handmade bags (knitted, felted or sewn).

I particularly love bags with fancy linings, and with that in mind I spent some time scouring ebay sellers in the far east for exotic brocades. If you don't mind waiting for postage, buying direct from sellers in China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and India can prove to be a very economical way to buy fabric.

Here are the lovely spoils...

The pink and the red are from China, and will make lovely bag linings, I think.

The peacock fabric is from Hong Kong, and OMG - it is just so gorgeous and luxurious in the flesh that I think it would be sacrilege to turn it into a lining! This one might just have to become a bag all by itself.

More pics below...

Inspiration...

2009-06-06T00:39:00.004+01:00

Just wanted to share an utterly stunning Aeolian Shawl made by a lady called Diane... http://users.livejournal.com/_diane/365147.html

So beautiful! (And in case Lottie is reading, this is using yarn that has been overdyed with kool aid!)

Socky goodness!

2009-06-04T19:49:00.003+01:00

So while everyone else is busy blogging about who they're voting for in the European elections, I shall be blogging in an overexcited manner about my finished socks...

Behold the faux fair isle magic! (Was this yarn invented at Hogwarts?)

These were made for my miniscule elf feet out of Sirdar Crofter DK in 'Bracken', which means that they were a lovely fast knit. As far as knitting goes, it is as close as you can usually get to instant gratification.

And they're so plush... it feels like wearing slippers!

I might just be catching the sock bug... (rav details here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/crofters-fair-isle-sock)

If you're going to San Francisco...

2009-06-03T21:45:00.007+01:00

A while ago I began a mini love affair with knitted corsages. Having started with one or two little experiments using remnants of yarn, it fast progressed onto a full blown fad-of-the-month.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/assorted-knitted-flower-corsages

This is a really great way to use up odds and ends of yarn, and there is no limit to what yarn you can use (I have experimented with lace weight silk, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, baby bamboo, Debbie Bliss chunky cashmerino and various weights of mohair and tweed).

Once you have your flowers, you can sew brooch pins onto the back or attach them to garments or hair clips.

Most of the corsages pictured here are the results of freeform knitting experiments, with an occasional use of crochet around the edges. Some are straightforward rosettes, achieved by steadily increasing on every row. On others I played around with methods to achieve different flower shapes with petals. The centres have mainly been adorned with vintage beads from my collection.

Writing frightening verse to a bucktoothed girl in luxembourg

2009-06-02T00:24:00.000+01:00

It's one of those miraculous bank holiday weekends where you feel positively guilty if you're not doing outdoor activities... I believe it's technically the LAW to expose one's sorry, pale, English skin tones to the sunshine. So... I guess I might pop out for a bit later, if I must. (I'd go for a bike ride if only my bike tyres had air.)

The thing is, right now I'm feeling very happy and peaceful all alone at home. Just me and the cat, my ever-faithful companion. We have all of the windows open and there is a soft breeze blowing over my embryonic new projects which are spread out around me. I'm all zingy with creative juices - I love it!

First of all, I completed yet another set of stripey armwarmers... this time for a gorgeous 11 year old with a 'thing' for Tim Burton. I hope she still likes them by the time it's cold enough to wear them... http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/dr-seussesque-stripey-wrist-warmers-3

Secondly, I want to make a felted bag. Preferably a big, oversized bag that can accommodate all of the junk that I insist on carrying around with me daily. I have got as far as purchasing yarn and felting a swatch.

But here's the thing... A while ago I bought this pattern... which is, to my mind, unadulteratedly gorgeous and MUST be made:

But then... another part of my brain is wanting to design my own bag, and I started thinking about how this could be an excuse to learn intarsia (aka 'picture knitting'). It occurred to me that designing picture knitting must surely be no different to designing a tapestry... e.g. if I made up a chart out of little squares, where each square represents a stich, then surely the world is my oyster... no? As far as I can work out, the only thing I will need to take into account in the design is that felting shrinks the length of the knitting more than the width.

So... as always, I have launched straight into a design based on bare trees, which I consider to be the most beautiful forms that nature has to offer. So here is my embryonic chart design... I have no idea whether this will really work, but could be worth a try?

In addition to the above, I cast on stitches for two new projects... yes, I really am getting carried away.

Firstly, a lace shawl, using the unvelievably beautiful kidsilk yarn in 'ripe cherries' that I was winding on my nostepinne a couple of weeks ago. This is going to be a project that takes for EVER to complete and only gets worked on in a silent room with no disturbance. (I suspect it is going to challenge me, so I may just see how it goes.... the combination of this yarn and Addi Turbo lace needles has potential to be a slippery-dropped-stitch-hell waiting to happen!)

Secondly, a pair of fair-isle socks, using cheat's yarn that does the fair-isle pattern all by itself. Its like total magic - just wait and see! This will be a mindless project for when I am on the tube or watching TV - and hopefully quite quick.

Elijah #2

2009-06-02T00:21:00.000+01:00

I am pleased to announce that Elijah #2 is *finally* finished and all ready to be packaged up for ms_siobhan's mum. He's virtually indistinguishable from Elijah #1 (except he has a slightly longer trunk and had to have various body parts ripped out and re-knitted from scratch, due to me not paying proper attention!)

For yarn geeks...

2009-06-02T00:08:00.000+01:00

T'is Saturday - hoorah! What are you all doing on this fine day off work? If you have hangovers, shame on ye.

As for me, BE AFRAID. I have a nostepinne ...and I don't know how to use it.

Well thanks to the lovely interweb and the power of youtube, I have worked it out.

I should start by saying that a nostepinne is nothing more than a tapered stick with grooves in it, which is used to hand-wind centre-pull balls of yarn from skeins. Normally, my hand-wound balls of yarn turn out like perfect, solid spheres, where the yarn is used from around the outside. A nostepinne, theoretically, gives you balls that are shaped a bit more like 'cakes' where the yarn is pulled out from the hollow centre...

Anyway I am trialling it out on 600-odd yards of divine laceweight kid silk. The colour is called 'Ripe Cherries' and makes me drool. It will hopefully one day become a lacy stole of some form.

The skein was sold to me like this...

Skeins need to be wound into balls before you can knit with them, so I am using my lovely spinny swift to hold the skein while I wind...

And this is how far I have got so far with the winding (it's a nice job to do while watching tV)...

You have to start by building up a basic foundation pile of yarn at 90 degrees to the swift, and then you switch to winding at a 45 degree angle, turning the nostepinne every few seconds, which causes something clever to happen all by itself and creates a 'proper' ball. This youtube vid explains all... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xuc11P4Wi4

Of course there are electronic ball winders that will to do this task for you... but I have discovered that I really enjoy the mundane task of yarn winding - it is such a a stress reliever and the the different tactile sensations that you get from tweed Vs silk Vs cashmere is all part of the pleasure... 'tis nice.

Elephants and silly emo gloves

2009-06-01T23:49:00.000+01:00

Hello fiends, how are you all doing? I've been hiding for a while and as a result have found the time to make an elephant. He's called Elijah, and will soon be trampling his litle feet all the way to W9, to move in with a friend's new baby. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/elijah

When he was finished he looked strangely naked until I made him a scarf...

I thought I would also share some silly emo gloves I made last month. Given that I could not look less emo in real life, I think I can get away with them... just. (Like every other sad 30-something, I like to pretend that I am still an 80s teenybopper every now and then.) They're from the same pattern as the psychedelic Seussesque ones I made last year.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/dr-seussesque-stripey-wrist-warmers-2

Burning Eyes and Busy Fingers #3

2009-06-01T23:46:00.001+01:00

Finally, I started work on a hideously complicated pair of socks. I'm really only doing these because they are stupidly difficult and I wanted a challenge.

(Also I fell in love with a gorgeous finished pair by Elin... http://byelin.com/?p=261 ).

But unfortunately the tiny, weeny little needles hurt my fingers, so I suspect I may never finish. These are Cookie A's Twisted Flower socks.

Burning Eyes and Busy Fingers #2

2009-06-01T23:42:00.001+01:00

This week I also banged out a quick lil jumper for baby Helena. It won't fit her for ages though... and I am not sure about the shoulders, it looks too slopey.

Ach well. I love the colour combo anyway.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/buddy-sweaters-includes-3-variations

Burning Eyes and Busy Fingers #1

2009-06-01T23:19:00.000+01:00

Back to work next week. Bummer. But it's probably for the best... my post-Xmas lifestyle would probably destroy my mental health and increasingly alarming waistline if I kept it up any longer.

But apart from killing my brain cells with trashy TV, I have also been moderately creative...

First - behold the gorgeousness of Noro Silk Garden.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/noro-striped-scarf

I really love this scarf, though it is the heavenly yarn that does all the work. Personally I think it looks great on a man (G kindly modelled it for me, despite being unable to tolerate the feel of anything around his neck).

Heil Helga!

2009-06-01T23:16:00.002+01:00

I have a new friend... welcome Helga, the cheapest clothes horse I could find on ebay.

I got a bit of a shock when I opened the box, cos she was disconcertingly large... apparently I have inadvertently purchased the 'long' model (yes, yes, I Know!) When we first put her together, the smallest she would go was about 6'4" (she looked comical enough standing next to G, but I would have had to stand on a chair to photograph her). So after much violent squishing G managed to force the metal pole through her internal organs and bring her down by a foot.

The Devil Makes work for Pointy Sticks

2009-06-01T22:40:00.000+01:00

The up side of my internetless weekend is that I was forced to find some other futile, life-wasting activity to stop my cold turkey hands from shaking. So while the weather did its worst outside, I wrapped up, watched back-to-back movies and finished off a couple of UFOs while sorting through my obscene yarn stash...

Number one - a lace concoction
www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/branching-out

This was meant to be a gift for my mum on Mothers Day 2007, but sadly she died before I finished it and it has been hidden away unfinished ever since. This weekend I decided to finish it once and for all, and I'm really rather pleased with it. It's made from my beloved Rowan Kidsilk Haze and is as light as a feather, yet strangely warm. In real life the colour is a cooler purple (the artificial light in these pics has turned it cerise)

Number two - a frilly concoction

www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/lace-spiral-scarf

This turned out to be a bit more "froufrou" than I was expecting... but it was a quick little knit made from 100% cashmere gorgeousness. I'm talking seriously soft. Faces were made to be buried in this. I do declare everyone should knit with cashmere!

What's Next?

In rebellion against such ludicrously girly fripperousness, I now have something a lil more sober and grown up on the needles, but promising nonetheless to be totally and unadulteratedly gorgeous. It is a blatant copy of what this stylish, tweedy chap from Brooklyn made: brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/2007/04/noro-scarf.html (Noro Silk Garden... I fear it is about to become the new yarny addiction of my life).

Recent movies watched while knitting:

How to Marry a Millionaire (enjoyable vintage fun)
Once Upon a Time in America (4 hours of thoroughly engaging piffle)
The Cat's Meow (watchable enough, but didn't rock my world)
The Aviator (ok, if you like that sort of thing... Matt and Leo - separated at birth? It's no wonder one of them had to be beardy in The Departed)
Lucky Number Slevin (not as dreadful as I was expecting)
No Country for Old Men (brilliant, tense, edge-of-seat stuff with a truly menacing baddie.)

Apparently this evening has a bottle of Moet with my name on it. Not to mention being fed - how nice!

Thumb Gussets!

2009-06-01T22:32:00.001+01:00

Believe it or not, this is a technical term for the bit on a glove where it branches off for the thumb, as I discovered in the making of these Dr Seussesque wrist warmers.

I suspect this colour combo is technically hideous and best avoided by right thinking people. But for me they are the glove equivalent of Haribo Tangfastics (i.e. delicious and fizzy).

For any interested bods, I've written up the pattern and shared it on Ravelry and Scribd, see below...

What I knat (warning - this post contains hazardous levels of cuteness)

2009-06-01T22:15:00.001+01:00

So... this has been a knitty week for me, and I thought I would share the fruits of my labour. Viva the Mary Janes!

All made from the same free pattern - home.howstuffworks.com/free-baby-bootie-knitting-patterns2.htm - but with yarns of varying weight and deliciousness.

The finished bootees are very soft and stretchy. All three pairs were knitted on 3.25 mm needles and each used less than a single ball of yarn. (I'm not the world's speediest knitter, but I could knit a pair of these in an evening, so they're ideal as a last minute gift for any baby girls out there.)

These itty bitty lil green ones are newborn size and made from extremely soft Rowan Fine Milk Cotton (4ply) in 'Apple Pips'

Pair number two are seriously special, made from RYC pure silk DK in 'Pumice'. This yarn is so soft you have to feel it to believe. Heaven to knit... and presumably heaven to wear - I want a pair for myself! Because it is Dk, they are a little larger than the newborn size.

Pair number three are larger again and made with Rowan Handknit cotton in pure white. This yarn is also described as DK, but is thicker than the silk. I decided to keep these ones plain but could not resist the Beatix Potter buttons.

If you fancy making these, here are a few tips...

As with all baby clothes, buttons and decorations need to be sewn on *very* tightly to avoid any choking hazard
cast off as loosely as you can, to make sure the ankle strap has some give in it.
After making the green ones, I decided to make the ankle strap one stitch longer in the next two pairs - it works better (i.e. cast on 13 stitches instead of 12 when you get to that bit)