Little Flower Necklace

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?

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!