The bunting is complete, too!
I had to lighten this photo so much to make it reasonable. The original shot was very, very dark regardless of the fact all the lights were on. I’ll be hanging this bunting out over the jubilee weekend. What I’ll do with it after that, I’m not quite sure. It’s not in my normal range of colours I choose!
Tags: Bunting
Here’s one finished item. This dinosaur has been completed! The pattern came in an insert with Making magazine, although I didn’t use the yarn specified. This yarn choice was based on what was in the bargain acrylics bin outside the local yarn shop. The buttons were ones I had in my jar.
Unfortunately, the movie of choice for my children for the last week or two has been Coraline. When I mentioned that I had buttons for the eyes, my four year old plaintively said ‘I don’t want buttons for eyes!’ Luckily, once they were sewn on, I had no more complaints.
Quite unexpectedly, this dinosaur can stand up by itself. Not very steadily, and it takes more careful placement than a four year old can manage, but I am really pleased that I managed to get a photo to prove it!
There is a reason I am knitting such simple socks in May.
Apart from the fact I am hoping to get two pairs of socks from this gloriously gorgeous wool (The first complete sock weighs 24g, the remaining wool weighs 74g according to my scales, so I should manage it), May is to be my month of finishing things. I have too many things in progress, and I need to clear the decks a bit.
There is my dinosaur,
a cardigan for an eight year old,
my red, white and blue bunting,
and a shawl I am knitting from all the left over sock wool.
This is all stuff I have started within the last couple of months. Also still on the go is my crochet hook holder. I bought the fabric, but haven’t taken the scissors to it yet. From the still more distant past is a medieval tapestry (5 years) and a purple dress (7 years). The dress I am so close to finishing (and have been for a couple of years) that I am determined to get that completed this year. The tapestry is different. There is still a huge amount of work needed on that. Perhaps that should be my 2013 challenge!
So for May, I shall complete socks, dinosaur, cardigan and bunting. Hopefully I’ll make good progress on the shawl, too. In June I aim to finish the shawl, crochet hook holder, the dress and, of course a pair of socks. I really do need a tea cosy, though…
Tags: Bunting, Cardigan, Dinosaur, Finishing, May, Shawl, Socks
These were a real joy to make.
This is a pattern I have made before. See Fancy Silk Sock and Fancy Socks, Complete! I have run out of patterns in Knitting Vintage Socks that fit my feet, so I’m back repeating things. This time I knitted them in Jawoll Magic, which gives a lovely finish. I’m much happier with this pair, and they knitted up so quickly this time.
Now I just need to find a new book of sock patterns, but not straight away! My May socks are going to be very plain and simple, and if I can knit them very efficiently and use less than 50g for the pair, my June socks will be identical. Then I will have to have a new book of patterns and I will hunt out the most fiendishly difficult pattern ever. I do like a good challenge.
Tags: April, Fancy Silk Sock, Jawoll, Knitting Vintage Socks, Socks
I’ve been busy!
I’m a very cold blooded person, so I have quite a range of jumpers and cardigans, many of which get very frequent wear all year round. Not long ago I acquired a booklet of Rowan patterns, and in there was Solange. I could do with a cardigan like that, I thought.
The booklet was called Rowan from Kids to Teens. Now, thankfully, I am not a teen. Whilst I am happy in almost every way to no longer be anywhere near my teenage years, it does mean I can’t get away without altering the knitting pattern! The largest size published was 14-16. I’m not hugely bigger than I was as a teenager, so I just worked out the difference between each size, and created a ‘one size up’ pattern. It was simple really – just two extra stitches per row in the back, and one extra on each side of the front.
Once I had decided that, I went on the internet and lucked onto an eBay auction, an unopened pack of 10 balls of Rowan Felted Tweed Chunky (colour: sand), with no bids and ten minutes to run. It’s not often that happens to me! The wool arrived and it was gorgeous. Soft and lovely. The only problem was that it was slightly musty. It had obviously been stored for a while. I put it away for a month or two as I was busy with other things. Utterly unthinkingly I put it away in the box I had also stored my lavender in. When a pulled it out last week, it smelt wonderful. Serendipity again!
Here’s the finished item:
You can see in this picture another alteration I made. Once I had finished the first pattern repeat I decided to make the cardigan longer than the pattern said. It’s much more ‘me’. I did four pattern repeats instead of three.
This was a very dangerous strategy. I was literally counting stitches to make sure I would have enough wool to finish. It was a really close thing. The sleeve caps were supposed to have a little sleeve of four rows of rib attached. I just picked up the stitches and cast them off again, missing out the four rows. Even then, I had to cast off the last three stitches using the end cut off after sewing up the shoulder seams. There were enough odd ends to complete the making up, including sewing on the button. Just enough. The button is only held on with two loops of wool, because there wasn’t a long enough end to do a third stitch. It was that close. I think it must be the most efficient thing I’ve ever made!
Tags: Felted Tweed Chunky, Knitting, Rowan, Solange
I apologise for the bad photo. It’s been dark and dismal here recently. Not good photography weather!
My four year old has been watching me make things his whole life. He recently asked for something for himself. A pair of socks in red and yellow and pink and green… (I stopped him before he could finish the song). Finding a good variegated wool was quite easy. It was in a basket outside the local yarn shop. I didn’t see a price at first. It turned out to be £8.50 a ball. ouch. He will be getting at least three pairs of socks from it! It is Opal Fairies and Elves 5526. Lovely but pricey.
Finding a pattern proved to be a bit more difficult. I had a hunt around on the internet and found lots of baby sock patterns, and lots of bigger kid patterns, but not much in between. A lot of what I did find needed the wrong size yarn. Eventually I stumbled on the Violet Green Customized Sock Pattern Generator. What a great idea! put in the shoe size, generate a pattern. It is an absolutely simple pattern, exactly what I needed.
I shortened the leg slightly to make them ankle socks, and I made the rest of the pattern exactly as specified. The only thing I would change in the instructions is the part following the heel gusset. I like to arrange the stitches so the front of the sock is on needle 2, and the back is evenly spread over needles 1 and 3, starting and finishing each row at the centre of the back. That way you don’t need stitch markers to show where the decreases need to be, and if you are patterning down the front, the pattern is all on one needle.
One thing I should have done was check how it was measuring up against his foot. The next two pairs I will probably make about four rows longer in the foot! This pair fits – just – but it would be better a bit larger so I’ll be onto it again soon. My list of future projects is still getting longer!
Tags: Fairies and Elves, Knitting, Opal, Socks, Violet Green Sock Pattern Generator
I’ve discovered the best sock pattern so far! This one is also from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. It is the Child’s French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting. Of course, as with all the patterns in this book, the child size has been scaled up to adult size by using larger needles and thicker yarn. Here is the finished article:
I have loved making these socks. The pattern is ideal. It is a simple enough design to accompany TV watching, with no need to refer to the pattern frequently. It has enough variation in each row to maintain interest. The pattern repeat is six rows, which I found just right to encourage me to knit to the end of a pattern repeat, making me get on with it faster, and the pattern also meant that there was no tedious counting of rows to make sure I had each sock at the right length.
I also really like the fact that the toes were Kitchenered,
the heel is a French heel, so has a lovely curve instead of the straight heels I’ve had on the last couple of pairs I’ve made,
and I just love the overall look.
Perfect. I am just so, so pleased with this pair of socks. I was a bit disappointed with the ones I made last month, so I’m thrilled to have now found the best pattern so far.
Tags: Child's French Sock, Citron Pattern, Diaper Knitting, Knitting, Knitting Vintage Socks, Nancy Bush
