Yes, I've been AWOL

My, how the time has flown! Now that I look back I've been missing in action from here for quite awhile. Nothing serious, just not much to talk about I guess, and I was sick for about three weeks with the dreaded cold that has been going around so I wasn't really feeling up to anything much.

As you can see by my pictures, I've got knitting, or lack of it, to talk about! I'm sad to say I seem to be struggling with my knitting a bit at the moment. Lots of frogging has been taking place which is annoying, but also liberating. Back in March I think it was, I began work on a beautiful Kim Hargreaves cardigan, but as you can see by the first photo here it's now gone. I'd managed to complete the back and almost finished the left front piece, and then I'd made a mistake. To me, mistakes seem to be the signal to stop a project (until recently that is but I'll get to that later). Needless to say this project languished in it's bag for many months until last month when I decided to take another look at it. I looked, then looked again and it just didn't seem to be right, so I measured it, then I measured it again, and I was right, the whole thing was completely the wrong shape and size. Not sure what happened but I think that my tension is totally different when I'm just doing straight garter stitch and not stocking stitch. So the yarn has been bagged up again until I can find the perfect project for it. There's a few ideas floating around so I'll see what happens with those when the need arises.


I did, however, manage to finish my Eyelet Cardigan and it came out quite nicely.....BUT.....it just does not suit me. I'm not sure if it's the colour or the shape or a combination of the two but whenever I tried to put it on I felt like a complete frump, it did not look good at all. So, it's been packaged up, and we'll see if Mum likes it at Christmas time. If not, I guess it will be frogged and the yarn used for something else. You see, my fear of frogging has finally gone!

Other attempts at shawls this past couple of weeks have also fallen by the wayside. Firstly I tried Traveling Woman by Liz Abinante (Rav link). It's a really nice, simple shawl pattern that I thought would be good for a friends birthday present. It went along swimmingly until I got to the last row, I made a tiny mistake which I just left thinking nothing of it. Then, I was silly and did an extra row that wasn't necessary, again I left it thinking it would be ok. After that I did the bind off, hmmmm, this didn't look so good. Tried blocking it, still not good. The bind off was obviously way too tight, the shawl just looked misshapen and wanted to fold itself in half when I tried to stretch it out. It sat, forlorn for a couple of weeks until today when I thought I would try to rescue it. Then I thought, why bother, just start again. So it's been......frogged!!


Next, I tried Miriam L. Felton's Seraphim. I thought I would use the beautiful Malabrigo Sock yarn that I have here in the Turner colourway and it was going very well. I spent a week slogging away on the very large, and boring, stockinette section of the shawl and early this week got to the first chart. Something wasn't right, the second half of the pattern isn't matching up with the first half. I counted my stitches, then I counted again. WEIRD!!! I ended up with seven extra stitches on one half of the shawl. Really don't know how that happened, so I paused and thought, and realised that the colour just wasn't working for me in that shawl. Needless to say, it's now gone and another project has been started with the yarn. I'm not going to mention it yet in the fear that I may jinx myself to another failure!!!

One project that has been successful this past month has been gifted, so I can't even pull it out to remind myself that I have managed to finish something lately! It was Gudrun Johnston's Aestlight Shawl (Rav link). Quite a few of these have been popping up on Ravelry and I can add that it's a fun and interesting knit. The construction is quite different from any other shawls I have made. I'm fairly certain that it is mistake free and it blocked out rather nicely. The fact that my friend put it on straight away and left it on for our entire dinner out made me feel good about the fact that I'd passed it on to her. After all, I can always make another one!!

CastOnItis Strikes Again!

I've gone and done it again, cast on another new project! After yesterdays unhappy attempt at knitting lace I thought I'd try something else with some yarn I'm more comfortable with, a nice lovely 4ply!! When I say lovely 4ply I mean it, Malabrigo Sock yarn is lovely to work with and is fast becoming a favourite along with the Handmaiden Casbah Sock I've used a couple of times.
This time I'm trying Gudrun Johnston's Aestlight Shawl, which has rather a different construction. You start with just one stitch and add to it at the beginning of each row by looping the yarn over the right needle, it produces the open stitches on the edges so that they can be easily picked up for the border to be worked. So far I'm about 60 or so stitches in to a cast on of 154, not too bad for an hour or two's work for me.
This is the easy part, the proof of how successful I'll be in sticking with this project will be when I get to the trickier border and edging sections. But then again there are over 500 projects on Ravelry so it can't be too hard, I hope!

Laceweight.

Since I started knitting lace earlier this year with Ishbel and the Adamas Shawl I've been getting closer and closer to trying knitting lace in actual laceweight yarn. It hasn't happened yet, but I am using the laceweight for the Featherweight cardigan at the moment and really, it's not that scary.

Seeing as Bells is talking of doing the Summer of Lace again this year I thought I would join in and have been trying to decide which pattern I'm going to do. I think I've worked it out and am considering using some beautiful cashmere that's waiting in the stash to make Miriam L Felton's Hidcote Garden Shawl (Ravelry link).

Then again, I could end up making something completely different, we'll have to wait and see what I come up with, sometimes I surprise myself!

Clothilde

Yay, another shawl is done, that makes seven finished since June! There's also a looooong list of more to do yet, at the moment I'm trying to decide which one to try, there are so many beautiful patterns to choose from.

This pattern, Clothilde, took me a week to do (again I was very good with my monogamous knitting) and I thoroughly enjoyed it, there's enough happening in the pattern to keep your interest going without it being too taxing. I think this is a first for me in not having any mistakes in it either, none that I know of any way!
I think I mentioned before that the yarn is Fifty Fifty by Knitabulous and it was really lovely to work with, beautifully soft with great stitch definition and drape. The only pity is that the colours don't show up well in the photography. I know I had my reservations about it when I first started, and although it's not usually a colour I would go for, I found myself seeing something different in it every time I picked it up.

In hindsight I think I could have made it a little larger, again I have ended up with at least 15 grams of yarn left over, and my bind off mustn't have been stretchy enough as I didn't get the points with the spearhead lace, I didn't try it too hard but it did seem a bit resistant.
All in all I'm happy with the outcome (it helps that the designer Kristen Hanley Cardozo and Ailsa Daily from Knitabulous have both faved my project on Ravelry!!) and I would definitely recommend it as a lovely shawl to make. Go on, you know you want to!

The Stash!

Most knitters know that an important aspect of the craft is building "The Stash". Some people don't store much yarn in theirs, but I must say that I am rather guilty of accumulating more than a few skeins, although I am not as bad as some. Yet again Ravelry has helped me to see that there is always going to be more people out there that have way more than me so I don't feel so bad, there are even threads in the forums where people show off photos of their stash and how they store it, believe me it's worth checking out!


Another aspect of "The Stash" that Ravelry has developed for me is the photography of yarn. I would never have imagined that I would put time and thought into taking photos of balls of yarn, but I have, and I think I'm improving! There's another group on the site which is devoted to photographing their knitting projects and yarn which I have been stalking and considering joining, some of the photography is amazing and has really inspired me to try a few different things.


When I think about "The Stash" I know that in my case the majority of it has been bought with a purpose, with a particular project in mind. It doesn't always end up as what was originally intended but there is some thought put into it, much research on my knitting bible (Ravelry of course) and then it comes down to what I feel like casting on at the time. There's a lot more I could probably say here to try and explain myself a little better but I think I'll leave it for now. Maybe I'll get another post out of it if I'm struggling again for something to talk about here! It all goes to show though how much knitting has become a big part of my life, as something that I enjoy and benefit from. Got to love that!

New Discovery

Just recently I've noticed that a lot of advertising on television is using a new technique that seems to convert actual footage to make it look like it's made of miniatures or models. Each time I see these ads I wonder how they do it as it looks amazing. So yesterday, when I was having a bit of a look around various blogs again you could imagine my interest when I saw someone had a photo that uses the same technique, and that she linked to the site where you can try it out for yourself!!

A life of a photographoe has a beautiful looking blog, with some wonderful pictures that she's taken. I originally came across her blog through Ravelry and only periodically check in to see what she's come up with, so yesterday I thought I'd have a bit more of a look around at some of her older posts, hence the discovery....the Tilt Shift Maker. You upload your photo and can edit it in such a way that it turns out looking like a miniature world.

Here's my first experiment;

The picture is of the Painted Ladies in San Francisco when Rob and I were there on our honeymoon and while I like the effect I think it could use a little more tweaking to make it look really good. I've also got a couple of ideas stored up in my little head to try a few other things so you never know, you may see some more tilt shift work from me!

PS You can also click on the picture to get a look at it bigger if you like!

Herbivore

About a week ago I finished Stephen West's Herbivore pattern, which I really enjoyed. I've made two of his patterns now and have a couple more in mind to try in the future. It's so refreshing to find such young, male designers of knitwear. I think the clean lines and simple design is what appeals the most, a lot of people on Ravelry are saying how they like the architectural nature of his work and I'm inclined to agree. This pattern in particular is made up of some interesting angles which add to the shawls great versatility when it comes to how you wear it (I'm even wearing it now seeing as it's been such a cold, wet day here).

This was my first time using Malabrigo Sock yarn too and I must say it is VERY nice, luckily there are a few more skeins of it sitting in my stash and I dare say I'll be using them sooner rather than later. I wasn't sure how I'd go with the yardage, but in the end I could have made it an inch or two wider as I've ended up with a spare 15 grams.

I'm on a bit of a roll with some knitting monogamy at the moment so hopefully I'll have a finished cardigan to show you before the end of next week too. Yay!

First Knittaversary!!

On this day, one year ago, I finished my first knitted object. It was a stripy scarf from a Patons Learning to Knit book and I was quite pleased with myself when it was finished. The Handsome Husband, otherwise known as Rob, liked it and he's been using it quite a bit since for his commute to work on the train. Since that day, my knitting (or should I say my new obsession) has come along in leaps and bounds. I'm still climbing the learning curve though, and am enjoying every minute of it. Who would have thought I would immerse myself in something so thoroughly that within a year, if I don't do at least a tiny bit of knitting every day, I don't feel right!!! I never thought I would that's for sure.

I've been trying lots of different things, as we all know that scarves can get a little boring. I do like to make them though and there has been more than six completed in the last twelve months. Of course there has also been some bandwagon knitting attempted, the first being the infamous Clapotis which I tried in Noro Silk Garden. It's a nice big woolly thing (that I for some reason made over the summer) which has come in quite handy as a bit of a lap blanket on chilly evenings sitting on the couch.

Gift knitting has become huge with me as well, most people have been taking it well, so I think my gifts have been appreciated. No one has told me other wise yet, so they'll keep getting hand made items from me for awhile yet I think.

Sometimes though, my gift knitting gets a little behind, like the cute little baby cardigan pictured here. I started making this for a friend's baby that was born last September, I just finished it this month! Mainly because of my fear of seaming and finishing off items but I'm starting to overcome that. I'm learning that without giving it a try it's never going to get done, and if it's no good, it can always be done again!

For my second year as a knitter, I'm hoping to keep adding to my skills, to try and finish more objects (without them having to sit in a bag for four months waiting to be sewn together) and to build on the wonderful friendships I've been making. I really didn't expect, when I started out last year, that I would meet such a kind and generous group of people. Through taking a class, reading people's blogs and Ravelry, I'm finding like minded people that are inspiring me to find something fulfilling in myself........you can't get much better than that from a hobby/obsession now can you??

More finished knits.

Well, another month has passed and I've managed to do a fair amount of knitting. When I sat down today though to make the list to see what I've done I discovered that out of the five things finished only one of them was for me, and that's something that I'm not very satisfied with, but I'll get onto that later. First the details;


Number one is the Alhambra scarf (Ravelry link) by Anne Hanson. Quite a few of these have been made by people on Ravelry and there were a couple in particular that really caught my eye, and as luck would have it I had some of the very same yarn in my stash. Jo Sharp's Alpaca Silk Georgette was the choice in a shade of green called Sprig which is a bit out of the ordinary for me and as soon as I started knitting with it I decided I probably wouldn't make much use of it so a gift it has become for my Mum.


The second item was slated to be Mum's mother's day present from the beginning. It was finished a little late and although it was finished on 17 May I've only just managed to get it ready to be put in the post tomorrow. Luckily I have a very patient and understanding Mum! The Stolen Moments Wrap is a fairly simple pattern, very easy to memorise, and yet still possible to make mistakes, many of which I am afraid to say I have made and left in the finished piece. I got lazy and didn't try and fix what I think are plainly visible but I think that to anyone who looks at it in passing, they're not going to notice anything (at least I hope not). I've given Mum instructions to return it to me if she thinks that the mistakes are noticable and I'll frog it and start again. I used Rowan Cocoon, which is a very nice lush yarn I'm looking forward to using again in the near future.

Number three and four projects were much more successful. The Blackberry Cowl is a cute pattern, very quick to complete, and Kim Hargreave's Robin hat is also very cute. I talked about them in my previous post so I won't say any more about them here.


Finally, the other project I finished in May was Ysolda Teague's Grown-up booties (Ravelry link again). Again, these were very quick and easy to make but I'm not all that satisfied with the outcome. Due to my lack of experience in seaming (I'm still a fairly new knitter I have to keep reminding myself) I couldn't get the nice rounded look to the toes like Ysolda does, hence a very boxy, square looking pair of slippers. On top of that the light grey colour ended up being a bit boring so I headed off to the shops to try and find some interesting buttons (no easy task let me tell you!). I managed to find something big and chunky to fit the bill and so I have myself some cosy slippers.

So there it is, five more finished pieces for the year. Needless to say there has been other knitting in the works during May and hopefully they will feature in the June round up, with much happier and satisfying outcomes!! Until then, happy knitting to all!!

Gift knitting

You've got to love it when your gift knitting is appreciated!
This past week I've been busily knitting a neck warmer and beret for a family member's 30th birthday. Seeing as she lives in Melbourne I thought a couple of hand knitted items would come in handy, and was pleased when she said how lovely they were and that all of her friends would be jealous as they all try to be cutting edge when it comes to fashion!! I'll take that as a massive compliment thank you very much ;)



The Blackberry Cowl is a nice easy knit which works up pretty quickly and the finished product looks quite impressive. I chose to use some Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Parisian, a great looking purple. Once blocked this yarn softened up considerably and felt beautiful to the touch, it won't be a problem against a bare neck that's for sure.

I also made Kim Hargreave's Robin, a cute beret that was rather time consuming due to using a 4ply yarn and tiny needles, as well as the fact that there is a tonne of purl stitches in there. This pattern would be much more suited to being knit in the round and if I ever feel the need to make it again I will be attempting to convert the pattern to knit that way. That being said it still came up looking lovely and I did manage to complete it in record time for me. I left off the pom pom as I thought that would be a bit of over kill and I like it better without, a much simpler and cleaner finished product.


So overall I've had a satisfying knitting week. I just need to go and finish a few of the other projects that have been languishing in project bags, and also try and finish something for myself!

(Of course there are more details on my Ravelry page if you care to look there.)

A month of finishing

Now that April is finished I can do some show and tell of what has been happening knitting wise this past month. I've managed to finish a few projects and have had a few more cast on and worked on as well.

Firstly my BIG project that took me months to do, mostly because I was too chicken to try and work out how to seem the thing up, is finished, totally finished. Finally I took a deep breath and dove in. Once I got going it wasn't too bad, took me ages though and I still have a lot to learn but I now have a wearable cardigan that I made myself (very proud).
It's Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed and the pattern is from her Knit Issue 2. I have all my details in Ravelry of course.

The other projects finished this past month are all smaller items including another Jo Sharp pattern, a beanie for my brother's birthday made with Silkroad Ultra.



A nice plain garter stitch scarf made with some lovely Noro Silk Garden was also made. I started this one once I'd finished my clapotis with the left over yarn and I had to keep going as the colours were looking so nice.
Another couple of hats were finished this month too. Firstly my beginners attempt at knitting in the round with circular needles, changing to dpn's at the end. Very fiddly but I got there and am quite happy with the final product, it's Purl Beret from The Purl Bee.
I also finished a reversible hat for my nephew who's having his first birthday in a couple of weeks, it's made from the beautifully soft Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I'm hoping it fits him ok.


This month I've learnt that I can definitely get things finished if I put my mind to it and just slowly sit and work it all out. I have had a little help from friends, but that's what they're for isn't it?
I'm looking forward to finishing a few more things this month now, some more adventures to be had, yippee!

It can't be....can it?

How time flies, yet again it's been over a month since my last post. Can't say I haven't been thinking about it but have been a bit lazy and have the excuse of not having taken any good photos lately. Weak I know but I promise to try and be a bit better at this.

What have I been up to you ask? Just the usual, lots of playing with the Lukester, lots of knitting and spending time at home. Time spent sitting on the computer playing on Ravelry and reading lots of blogs, trying to get ideas. There are just so many creative people out there , I'm in awe of what everyone gets up to. In an attempt to start the creative juices flowing I've been making a list of possible blog posts and am starting to get a better feel for our new(ish) camera so I can put some pretty pictures up here.

In the mean time, here's a picture I took at Christmas time that I was quite chuffed with! See you soon...

Clapotis

I succumbed, the lure of the Clapotis was too strong. After looking at so many on Ravelry I decided it was about time that I tried one for myself. I bought some beautiful Noro Silk Garden and off I went. This is truly compulsive knitting, there I was sitting on the couch in 30plus degrees celcius with this thick, heavy wrap resting in my lap....and I loved every minute of it. I think I'll be making another of these beauties, maybe in a 4ply, maybe as a scarf, maybe in a solid colour, maybe in a nice variegated yarn......the possibilities are endless. That makes me happy!

Exer-Stash!!

Part of my New Year's resolution was to exercise more, spend less on yarn and generally get healthy and knit more from the stash. I know myself too well though and knew that I would need some more motivation than just telling myself I have to do all these things. That's when I came across a fantastic idea on Ravelry , a group has been started where we've all come up with a reward system for our exercise. My Handsome Husband has agreed to pay me $2 for every kilometer I exercise, whether it's walking, on the exercise bike or following a walking DVD that I have. So far I'm managing to clock up a few kms every couple of days or so and am currently trying to build that up a bit more so that it becomes a regular part of my day. Hopefully I can manage to get to a point where it starts making a difference with my health and outlook and then I can do all the guilt free stash building I want - yippee!!!

This Is...what I do with a spare 10 minutes

Hmmm, this one's a tricky one, there are so many things I try to do with a spare 10 minutes. These days I try and squeeze in some knitting, or I peruse knitting pattern books, or a cooking magazine, or any other magazine, or a few blog spots, or visit Ravelry, or......
As you can see the list can go on. I guess I'm pretty lucky really, being a stay at home mum to master 20 months I can try and squeeze as many 10minute breaks as I dare, usually at the expense of cleaning the bathroom, or ironing or the many other household things I should be doing. I figure that if I'm happy my little boy will be happy and therefore the rest of the household will be happy, that's my excuse any way.

PS I forgot to mention that a few squares of chocolate usually also feature in my spare time breaks, a bad habit that I'm trying to break.

Thanks to Hoppo Bumpo for this week's thought provoker, and to Handmaiden for hosting This Is while Three Buttons is enjoying a holiday.