A Very Late Christmas Gift

I finally finished a gift for my sister which was supposed to be for her Christmas. Both hat and scarf come from Kim Hargreaves book “Still”. The patterns in the book look fairly simple and I thought I would manage to knit them up in no time. I was wrong. The yarn for the scarf is no longer available. Which is a shame as I would have loved the colour way storm for my sister. I think she would have liked it. Thankfully it was just a striping version of Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze and so easy to replace. I picked out anthracite as I liked the greys and I was sure my sister would. I forget that knitting with a lace weight yarn takes far longer though. I saw on ravelry that a few people knitted it up with half the suggested amount of yarn. I wanted the full length scarf though. While the fabric knitted is cosy it is also light and needs a few wraps to keep someone warm. I also had some leftover black from the hat which I added into the centre of the scarf. Not sure it really adds much to it but my sister liked the touch and I was happy for not wasting any yarn.

The hat combines Rowan’s kidsilk haze and Rowan kid classic. You knit them both together. I had some trouble with that as they are both sticky yarns and I found myself in knots a few times. My sister actually inadvertently picked the hat when she pointed out she liked it while looking through the book. It’s knitted in a fisherman’s rib and like the scarf is an easy knit. Unlike the scarf it also knits up quickly. The hat is super soft and squishy. Plus it makes my sister’s pink hair really stand out. No photo’s sadly as she refuses to wear it over to mine after she saw what the cat did to my hat.

This is my first time knitting with mohair. I quite liked the effect that it had when combining it with a second yarn. It gives a soft fuzzy layer which is so warm. I remember my mum knit me a mohair jumper when I was little because I loved hers and I couldn’t wear it because it was too itchy. I don’t see that being a problem with this as it’s so soft. Lorraine hasn’t complained so far anyway. I have to confess that I had planned to knit the scarf in black too. However, I knit the hat first and quickly remembered why I hated knitting with black. It felt like I was more prone top making mistakes and finding it harder to see. I also found it harder to see where I was in the pattern. I was lucky it was an easy knit. I probably wouldn't have had that problem with the scarf since the fabric it creates is not as dense. At least I did get some black in there though and the grey was such a nice shade.

Last Make of the Year

I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas. Ours was quiet spend with family and the cat (who loved the day but not the journey). No crafting gifts but I was thoroughly spoiled with lots of other goodies. Self care will be very easy at the start of this year anyway. I’ve also got a lovely cookbook to try which happens to be healthy. Looking forward to that. My dad also got me some loose Rose tea which I have been dying to try and all the tools needed to make it. I can now highly recommend Whittard’s English Rose tea. 

I have finished the last make of the year. In fact I managed to finish it before Christmas which is good since it’s a Christmas present. I once again used my zig-zag lace pattern. I promise this is the last time you will see it before I put the official pattern out. I wanted to see how it would look in a variegated yarn. To be honest I’m not a fan. While the yarn doesn’t drown out the pattern I don’t think the pattern does the yarn any favours. This would look so much prettier on a plain sock. I’m not sure if the same would be true if I picked out a sock with a longer striping effect. It would be interesting to see. These socks are for a friend in work. I just hope she likes them better than I do.

I love the yarn itself. It is a sparkle sock yarn by Orange Jellyfish Dream. i am sure I have mentioned this hand dyer before. The dolour way is called Lightening Strike. It’s beautiful in the skein and I am sorry that I didn’t give it a chance to shine. The yarn is a merino/nylon blend and has a lovely texture to it. I loved knitting with it. Orange Jellyfish Dream is an American based Indie Dyer. The last time (which was a long time ago) I ordered yarn I was charged a fortune when I went to collect it from the post office. No fault of the dyer but I haven’t ordered any more since and I am trying to buy more locally with my yarns. It’s a shame though as it is a lovely yarn.

I do have a few other projects on the pins. I am working on my secret gift for my sister. Yes, I have missed the deadline. I am over halfway but it is taking me a lot longer than I thought. I don’t see how I will get it finished before the New Year. I am also working on a hat for myself. This is purely a project to work on when my sister is over. It’s a lovely pattern and yarn and I can’t wait to show it.

My nest post I plan to show off some of the things I have done this year as an overview. My first post of 2020 will be about my plans for the new Year. I may be a bit adventurous there but OI’m optimistic that I will manage some of what I plan if not all.

In the meantime please tell me I wasn’t the only one who has a gift unfinished.

Christmas Stocking 2019 - Arne & Carlos

I am so excited to have finished this stocking. It’s a few firsts for me. It’s my first completed time using colour work. It’s also the first time I did an afterthought heel. It’s the first time I did a swatch. Plus it’s the first stocking I have actually finished. 

I have been a long admirer of Arne & Carlos. For those who don’t know Arne and Carlos are a pair of Norwegian designers famous for their Scandinavian designs. They are particularly well known for their colour work designs much like this stocking. Their patterns are beautiful and I have a soft spot for them because they also happen to be sock knitters. They even have their own sock yarn range thanks to Regia.

The stocking starts with the toe and it is cast on using the magic cast on method that I mentioned in my last post. The pattern links to tutorials on this done by Arne & Carlos themselves which is very helpful. At the time I hadn’t planned my archives post on my zig zag sock. While I knew I had done this cast on before I couldn’t remember when and I also needed to watch the tutorial to remember the how. Once the toe is knitted up and you have all your stitches you then begin the pattern which is done in a lovely chart. If I have bought a pattern as a PDF I don’t normally print it out. I did in this case though as I thought I might need a highlighter in order to ensure that I followed it correctly. As it turns out I didn’t need to do that but I did have to concentrate.

This is because colour work is new to me. I had a class on fair isle knitting years ago but I have never actually used it in a project. For this reason I did my first swatch and I was very proud of it. I did it on the round with my DPNs as I would with the stocking. Once I felt comfortable with what I was doing I cast off and tied off all the ends and gave it to the cat to play with. I hoped it would prove to be an alternative to trying to attack my knitting. She did actually play with it for a while.

My colour work was actually neater on my swatch than it was on the stocking. However, I followed the instructions and steamed it once complete and it actually made a huge difference. I still need more practise but I am happier with the end result. I also loved doing the afterthought heel. So much easier than I thought it would be and I can again thank the tutorial link on the pattern. I’m not sure I see the benefit of an afterthought heel on a normal pair of socks but with this it meant that you didn’t have to pause in the colour work to do the heel. Probably has a huge impact on tension.

The yarn is by Rowan and it is a worsted weight. It’s called Pure Wool Superwash. I went by the colours used in the original pattern which were Rich Red, Soft Cream and Granite. The yarn is beautiful to knit with and it knits quickly because it’s so chunky. I love Rowan yarn and I am glad I went with the recommended yarn. The only problem I had with it is that I have noticed that the red has begun to bleed into the white and that was before I had steamed it.

If you are looking for good tutorials you should head over the Arne & Carlos YouTube page. Or if you are looking for a fun knit this Christmas I recommend this. I just need to decide now who gets it.