I’ve Been Bad Part 3 (the final....for now)

 

I have been so bad at casting on new projects before finishing others. My Victoria top by West Yorkshire Spinners has been a victim of this. I had to rip out a few repeats of the pattern which put it on hold. Hundreds of stitches to frog in 2ply. I eventually did and I am at the point where I just need to finish the neck and then I can join them together before working on the sleeves. I needed time to be able to concentrate on that since this was only my second garment. So I worked on other things until I could do that and until I ordered a second stitch holder (since ordered and found other stitch holders). My Christmas knitting has put this on the back burner. Even my sister has commented on it and I’ve been told by her that I need to start working on it again after Christmas.

This zipped cardigan is the work in progress which replaced the Victoria. It’s called Franck by Bergere de France and is a delight to knit. I have been doing lots of other things in between and it’s surprising how fast I have been knitting it up. I even spotted a mistake in the pattern. Just a small one but since I am new to garments I am proud of myself. I am on the second sleeve. Next is the collar and then the sewing. I’m not actually dreading the sewing because I am so excited to see it finished. This will be part of my dad’s Christmas present.

My weekends have become dedicated to sock knitting. I’m sure I have mentioned this before. The Loveliest Yarn Company challenged the group to a sock knitting weekend and I have decided to keep it going. It means I can work on bigger projects during the week and still get to knit my beloved socks. For the most part it has been fine even when working. I have managed to knit quite a few pairs as a result. These cat socks though have proven to be a nightmare. Turns out I can only knit them during the day due to the black yarn. I’ve changed the lightbulbs in my lamps to cool in the hopes that it will help as I want them done for my sister. The second problem has been that when I am not working my sister has been spending quite a bit of her time staying with me (I’m her bubble). Today I might get the chance to work on them a little.

So, that has meant that I have been working on other socks. I knitted socks as part of a gift to my line manager since I would be leaving her. Then I was working on Christmas socks for myself and my sister. I thought it would be fun to do our own version of a Christmas Eve box with matching jammies, socks, snacks and wine. I finished the second pair last night.

Sundays became Study Sunday thanks to an idea from Stephen & Penelope’s Instagram account. I wanted practise on my colour work so bought this hat kit. It will also be a gift for my sister. I just need to attach the Pom Pom which I have yet to find the time to do.

I bought this beautiful set of yarn from For the Love of Yarn. Through Lisa’s instagram account I saw that she was making kits for people taking part in a MacMillan Knit a long. A charity that is close to me I signed up and ordered the yarn. The colours are beautiful and the pattern is lovely too. I’ve just not had the chance to cast it on yet. It looks like it will be a quick project so I am hoping to get it started and finished in time for Christmas. Maybe after I have finished my dad’s zipped jacket.

This scarf by Martin Storey has been the biggest victim. I started this at the start of the year as part of my project of trying new things and challenging myself. It took a back seat to my sock knitting due to lockdown. Then to my knitalong cardigan and then all the other projects I have started since. It’s almost finished too. I WILL get it finished.

2018 - The Year of Colour

This colour circle is based on my instagram photo's from 2017. How can someone who loves colour so much have so much brown? Let's ignore the fact that I seem to take a lot of photo's of my drinks which just happen to be brown on tables that are also brown. It still gave me quite the surprise but again I also think that's been due to the lack of yarn images too. This year I am determined that this circle of colour will look very different. I want it to show lots of bright colours and hopefully with my determination to be more creative this year this will happen. If you are interested to see what your circle of colour will look like head over to Year of Colour. Probably better that you do it through your phone since you need to connect your instagram. I have to say that I am liking the little pops of brights in there the more that I look at it.

This is also the year of WIP. I say this every year and on occasion I have been successful (last year not so much). Thanks to not managing this last year and thanks to starting several new projects and not finishing them I have got quite the challenge this year. I am setting myself what I think is reasonable goals. Each month I work on an old project in between the new. That way I am not just working on WIP and become bored and unmotivated. This month I am working on my For The Love of Yarn blanket club from last year. I don't think I will finish it this month but I do seem to be working through it at a fair pace. Here I had five months of boxes done and I am now almost finished month 8.

This is also the year that I want to try to de-stash and the new projects will help with this. Last year I signed myself up for quite a few mystery knit alongs. Only a few of them were started but I have all the yarn for them. As you know I also have been building up quite a collection of yarn from my monthly subscriptions which is grown exponentially thanks to my little crafting. This year I have some projects in mind which will help me de-stash. I have a few ways of tracking it too and I hope to share you some of my knitting/crochet bullet journal trackers with you. This also means I am on a yarn ban. I may even cut down some of my monthly subscriptions. Do any of you have any de-stash ideas?

This is also the year of self care. I am sure most of you have heard this bandied about over the last year. I personally think it's a good one, especially after last year. It's about learning to not feel guilty about finding time for yourself. I like it because it is individual to everyone. So this is my year of self care and I plan to post more on that later.

Lastly this is also the year of the cat. My sister and I got a at in December there. Her name is Molly and she lives with me with my sister caring for her while I'm at work. She is very cute, lots of fun and a big bit mischievous. Most people who know me know that I am not a cat person. I have never been a cat person but that has changed with Molly. This flat would be a very dull place without her. While I don't plan to bore you all with constant stories and photo's of her you should still expect her to pop up every now and then. If you are interested she has her own twitter account (she's very bright for a 5month old kitten) and you can follow her there @MollySime.

December WIP

This months WIP is a sockfest. While I haven't been blogging I have been crafting away. In November's What's New post I mentioned that I had two yarny advent calendars. Both from indie dyers and both sock yarn based. The one from Bluebell yarn I decided to use the yarn to knit up some socks. This is out of my comfort zone as I have no control of how the colours create the sock. My sister believes this exercise will be good for me. Initially I planned to work on one sock at a time but the stripes were too large so I decided to make the socks match. I knitted both socks alongside each other and counted used 15 rounds per stripe. The result is the socks above and I have photographed it with the yarn that will be the toe. By the time you read this my socks will be finished and all the ends sewn in. Today's yarn will start a pair for my sister. I worked out that I will have enough for her since she has much smaller feet.

I also made a start on December's socks. I haven't had as much time to spend on them and I am hoping that I will not fail my monthly sock project at the last hurdle. This yarn is so lovely to knit with and the pattern is fairly simple and addictive. If it wasn't for my other projects I am sure I would be almost finished by now. Although I will be doing a new heal (new for me) and I am slightly worried about managing it.

 

For my third and final pair of socks I am working on my sisters birthday socks. I designed the pattern myself and had to do a bit of tweaking and started again a couple of times. I have one sock down and I am a good way into the second. Lorraine's birthday is in two days and she has been spending a lot of time over at mine so I'm not sure I will meet the deadline. Thankfully I have my sisters small feet and the fact that they are ankle socks on my side.

Lastly, I thought I would show you what I am doing with the second advent calendar. Another activity which takes me out of my comfort zone. This one is from Lisa of For the Love of Yarn. Lisa sent a pattern for a shawl along with her calendar. I had planned on using it but struggled to follow it. My excuse was that I had little time between work and studying and so I went for another option. I decided to use each mini skein as they came to create a granny square lap blanket. I'm really not used to not planning out my colours but I'm enjoying it. This is the blanket up to date. Today's colour is a red which I will look forward to adding. I don't think the yarn will make the blanket as big as I would like which is okay. I have plenty of mini skeins in my collection which I can use to add to it. Think I will have to put them into a bag and use pot luck to pick them out so that I continue with the random colour theme.

November WIP

It has been quite a while since I did a work in progress post. Mainly due to the fact that recently I've been doing the sensible thing and working on only one thing at a time. I'm back to multiple projects now that I am able to manage my time. This might seem like a boring image to start with but I love it. I love the crisp cleanness of it. This is the Heritage Cascade sock yarn I showed you in my last post. As I mentioned then it is being used for the final images for my birthday diamonds pattern. I love how it is knitting up. I very rarely knit with white on it's on but it's lovely to work with. This is the cuff completed and I am about to start on the pattern.

I have also made a start on this months socks. The yarn is from For the Love of Yarn. It's a complete change in colourway for me and I love it. I thought it would be very autumnal but it's actually brightening up my mood as we move into winter. I am also using my favourite pattern New England from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. It's knitting up fast.

Just to prove I am not just knitting or just working on socks. This is the stylecraft yarn I showed you in the last post. As mentioned then I am using it to work on a blanket for my living room. I went with the African flower pattern as it's been one that I have been wanting to try for a long time. I'm also joining as I go which will save one big headache later.

July WIP

With most of my things still at my dad's I feel that I am limited on what I can work on just now. As a result I have been spending very little time crafting even though there are things that I can be working on. Instead I have been spending most of my free time with my nose in a book. I changed that the last few days and picked up my mushroom cross stitch. This came with me in the initial move but it hasn't been touched until now. I now want to get it finished although that might prove a problem as I don't have my sewing machine with me. However, I can get the actual cross stitch finished and I have just two mushrooms (although large ones) to go. I'm going to be sad when this is finished as I have enjoyed stitching them. Might have to make another.

July's socks are also on the pins and I went for a mosaic pattern this time. I am almost at the heel but put it aside when I wasn't feeling to well last week. Think I will have to get back on them tonight if I want them finished on time. They will also need blocked when done.

I am also working on August's socks. I'm not cheating. The yarn isn't on the pins yet. In fact I just got it today and it's special. It's the pattern that I am working on. I'll reveal more on that in August.

So that's it. I have sock yarn that I have been meaning to wind. I plan on knitting a basic pair of my sister. However, if I wind it I will cast it on. If I cast it on I will start knitting and then goodbye July socks.

Anyone working on something exciting? Inspire me.

May WIP

Last month came and went without a WIP post. Although lets face it, it also came and went with only four posts in total. The last few weeks my crafting productivity has increased a fraction and I actually have something to show you. This months socks is the first of the list. As I mentioned before I am doing just a basic sock this time. I am loving it because I am enjoying the yarn and the little flashes of rainbow. I don't want to say too much on it as I will post about it when finished. However, I can say that I am taking my time with them and just enjoying it. It helps that this is my favourite colour.

Speaking of favourite colour, I have also picked up the needle. This is a little project I have promised myself for a while. I love little mushrooms and I especially love the fact that they are teal. This is a project that I got from Cross Stitcher magazine. I've made a few changes to it though and for that you'll have to wait.

I am also working on a little (or not so little) project for my new home. I decided to try my hand at some Sashiko. Something I haven't done since I first attempted it during a class hosted by my old knitting group (if you want a reminder of that you can see it here). I am having fun with it and I can see myself trying different patterns. I actually have some plans for more posts on Sashiko so watch this space.

Oh and the garden may finally be about to display some colour!

I have some more plans for the blog too. So I guess you could list that as a WIP too. Coming up I have another mini Skein related post which was inspired through chat with the lovely Lisa. I also have  more plans but you will see what they are in my next What's New post. Until then I hope you are all enjoying your projects too.

March WIP

The shawl is back out. I finally went back and fixed the mistake. I contemplated not doing it. It was only half a row but I would see it in the pattern. Not worth the irritation. I then finished the last few rows of the pattern and started picking up stitches for the border. I was so excited. Then I realised I was going to be short of stitches. Back to the instructions I went to discover I had another whole repeat of the pattern and then another repeat less three rows. To say that I was annoyed at myself is putting it mildly. Thankfully you don't break the yarn before starting the pick up for the border. It was just a case of taking out those stitches and going back to knitting the pattern. Which I did and I am half way through that first repeat. I will get this finished yet!

I took a break from the shawl to get a start on my sister's Easter presents. This year she is only getting two pairs of socks. I was planning on finishing her hexie cushion too but since Easter is this Sunday that ship has sailed. Two pairs of socks and a bag of chocolate and goodies. I'm sure she will still be delighted. Her second pair of socks is the Jaywalker pattern and I used For the love of Yarn sock yarn. Very fitting with Spring. I will give more details and link everything when I finish them.

Does planting count as an WIP? I did some planting last week. I have little seedlings on the kitchen window ledge and I will be able to plant them in the garden next month. I actually have a monthly update on my mum's garden so I won't say much more than that for now.

Since yesterday was the first day of Spring I will leave you with this image of an open crocus. There was a bee in there but it disappeared by the time I got my camera out.

Willow Square Blanket

 I am so excited about showing this off.  I started this well over a year ago. Probably two years ago but I took a year out from it. I picked it back up again three weeks ago and it is now finished. The longest part being the border.

These are the colours I plan for my bedroom when I get my new home and this blanket is in preparation for that. I can't wait to see it on my new bed. I have actually used it already, briefly. Couldn't help myself but it's now safely stowed away until it gets a new home.

I used the Willow Square from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks. I reviewed this book previously. It's a pretty square and it's versatile. I have seen it done in just one colour or several colour combinations. It looks good each time and it looks different each time. If you are experienced at crochet it's not that difficult to do. Having said that, when I went back to it three weeks ago I had great difficulty with one of the rounds. Couldn't get it to work out at all. I had to go to my blanket and look at how I had done the squares before and use that rather than the book. After joining together a line of squares and starting to join it to the main blanket I realised I had missed out a round on all these new square. It just meant I had to undo the joining and then add the missing round. I didn't have that problem the first time. This is what I get for setting it aside so long.

I don't have an image of the yarn. I didn't think to do that when I first started this. The yarn is a 4ply by the Women's Institute which is exclusive to Hobbycraft. Even though it's an acrylic based yarn it has a silky smoothness to it and a slight shimmer. It's lovely to work with although a little bit splitty like cotton. Otherwise it's lovely to work with and worth it for those colours. I used a 4mm hook and the squares came out a decent size. The blanket is 12 by 12 squares. I probably could have gotten away with 10 by 10 but I like the size and when it comes to blankets I usually err on the side of caution.

When I worked on this initially I had a vague idea that I wanted a fairly simple border. Not my usual fan border. Possible just a few rounds of dc stitches. In that time I had picked up a book on borders. Given that I had a lot of yarn leftover it was never going to be simple and so I picked out this bobble border. It's not too lacey and so I think it highlights the willow square rather than take the attention away. I also think that it fits in with the bold colours of the blanket. The border was easy to do but it ate yarn and I worried that I would have to buy more. Turned out I just had enough. The book is called Around The Corner: Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman. I plan to do a review on it at some point so I won't say too much there.

So that's my blanket and another one of my WIP list. If you are on Instagram I highly recommend you search Willow Square to see all the different images. Or even google it.

February WIP

Unlike January, I am only going to show you what I've actually been working on. First on the list is a pair of socks I am knitting for my sister. These are for her Easter. As you probably know we have a 'make a gift' policy for Easter. The yarn is by For the Love of Yarn and the pattern is by Stephonia. I'm not going to say too much about it as I will do that when I have finished the socks.

I have the deposit for my flat and I am having a gut out before I go ahead and start hunting. I do need to get back on Project Home though. Therefore this blanket is back out. I just have one more stripe and the border to do. I plan to do that when I my sister and I have our movie nights. It's easy to transport small squares and I won't be giving surprises away.

I have also worked quite a bit on my shawl. You might notice a bit of a difference from January's image. All I have left to do is a few rows and then the border. I made a mistake with the current row and I need to frog it back otherwise I would have finished it by now. But then I probably wouldn't have got January's socks done.

Would love to see what you are working on this month.

Camper Van Cross Stitch - with hoop backing tutorial.

I finished another WIP. I have been slow with these but at least I have another one finished.  The design is by Jane Prutton (same designer as the Folksy Fowl). It was in an issue of Cross Stitcher but sadly it doesn't tell me which issue it originated or which issue the booklet came free with. I can't imagine it would be too difficult to track down should you wish to stitch it yourself. As for the crochet frame. I did this as part of my bucket list from 2 years ago. It's been waiting that long to be used.

Although it may not look like it there actually wasn't much left to stitch in this. The bulk of the camper van had been done. Just the bunting, flowers and back stitch really. The back stitch is of course the irritating part but it's definitely not one of those designs that can go without it.

I also made a cover for the back of the hoop so that it hid the back of the design. I have seen a few tutorials on this when I first looked at using hoops as frames but I can't remember where. So instead I will just tell you what I did.  First of all you will need a hoop, card, fabric and a glue gun (oh and scissors). Use the inner hoop as a template. draw round the inside onto the card and then cut out.

Get your fabric and this time use your card as a template. Cut the fabric so that there is an inch to spare round the card. It would probably help if you iron your fabric first. Don't be lazy like me. Then use your glue gun to secure the fabric onto the card by folding the fabric round the card. Make sure it is nice and taught but not so much that you warp the card.

This is roughly how it should look when finished (ignore the pointed edge I managed to create on mine). 

I then trimmed the aida of the design I planned to frame. Not too much though. I secured the excess by using the glue gun and folding it down over the edges of the hoop (glue the hoop and not the design).

Lastly place your fabric covered card inside the hoop and thus the back of your stitching is now covered. Remember to ensure that the design of you fabric is right way up. I chose one where that didn't really matter but you can bet it is something I wouldn't think about at the time. I then attached some ribbon to the top of the hoop for hanging. You don't have to do that though as most hooks will hold it without the ribbon. I just like ribbon. Most tutorials I have seen use padding but I didn't feel that was necessary.

Folksy Fowl

There is nothing like seeing a photo enlarged to make you realise you should have taken  the photo after you hoovered. Lesson learned, well, maybe. This blue bird cross stitch was finished at the end of 2014 and has been waiting to be framed ever since. When hunting out WIP's last week I found it patiently waiting in the confines of a folder. Since this is the month of finishes I decided it was time that I framed it.

The pattern is from an issue of Cross Stitcher from early 2013. It's part of a series of birds (entitled Folksy Fowls) by Jan Prutton. I remember when I saw it that I instantly thought of my sister. Not because she is particularly fond of fowls but because of the colours. The matched her living room perfectly and I thought the pattern was kind of cute. Over a year later I actually started working on it.

That was in 2014 and this image was the first and last that was seen of it here (I may have shown updates on instagram).  It was actually very easy to stitch thanks to the large blocks of solid colour. It stitched up quickly. You would think I would like a challenge of lots of colour changes and I don't shy from those types of patterns. However, I do like to see a pattern develop despite the use of few colours (or in this case shades of blue and green). It also involved no back stitch. In my view any pattern that doesn't require backstitch is pretty much perfect. I used evenweave fabric rather than aida. I love working with evenweave. It's a softer material and the stitches flow much more smoothly.

I wish I had thought of photographing this before I framed it as the frame softens it a little thanks to the glare of the light. My sister was delighted with it. It helps that she was unaware that she was waiting on it. I may have told her I was working on something for her but I spend a lot of my time working on something for her so she would have been none the wiser. She has already picked out a space to hang it.

If you are wanting to try a large cross stitch project for a beginner then I recommend it. You can find the pattern in issue 263 March 2013 of Cross Stitcher. You might be able to get it direct from the publisher.

Acer Shawl CAL #2

So, I actually started this shawl a few months back and it featured in October's WIP post.  To be honest I actually finished it a few months ago. Yesterday though I decided to finally have it blocking overnight while I was on night shift and today I sewed in the ends. Does it count as a first finish if that was all I had to do with it. If that was the case it should probably have been shown in Monday's post. Not sure I can count it as a first finish. Feels a little like cheating.

Anyway, it is now completely finished. If you remember the Acer shawl was part of a crochet along hosted by Love Crochet. The pattern was designed by Joanne Scarce who made herself available for questions while the CAL was on. The pattern was a little difficult at first. That was purely due to my own inexperience. And of course self doubt since I just assumed I was doing it wrong. Once I got into the swing of the pattern it became quite easy as it repeated over a couple of rows. It got to the stage I didn't need the pattern and it became quite addictive.

As I mentioned earlier this is my second Acer shawl and you can see my first one here. The yarn in the first one is not only brighter but is more delicate. For the second shawl I used Sublime luxurious tweed DK. It's a bulkier yarn and feels stiffer. It also made for a larger shawl which was what I wanted. What I like about this yarn is actually the colour. It changes depending on the lighting. It has subtle hints of other colours in there.

Oh, and thanks to this CAL, not only do I have two new shawls but I have a new blog to follow and instagram account as the designer has both. You can see her makes on her blog Not So Granny.

January WIP

January's WIP post will be a little larger than previous months. Usually I will only post the projects that I have spent time on that month. Which might seem like I'm kidding myself. That's part of it but also I didn't want to re-post the same images each month since there were no changes to the projects.

January is different. January will be a WIP only month as I mentioned in my first post of the year.  It's part of my getting organised theme. It seemed fitting that I used that as an opportunity to actually get organised. So here they all are in all their glory. Well, most of them. I am sure there are more squirrelled away and completely forgotten.

First up we have the Halligarth shawl which featured in August's WIP post. This is a shawl featured by Brooklyn Tweed and designed by Gudrun Johnston. When I first saw it I instantly fell in love with the pattern. I loved knitting it. So much so I didn't mind having to start over after not tracking the pattern. Despite that it hasn't been touched since that last post. However, I did track the pattern this time. I have spent a good part of today working on it. I have fallen in love again. I am now past the small size (9 repeats of the pattern) and I am going to finish on the large (12 repeats). I have plenty of the yarn so I might as well keep going (even if there are so many stitches it takes 5 minutes to knit 1 row).

This sock was also featured in August.  A pattern I spotted on pinterest by Kirsten Hall called, Far Into the Forest. I actually picked this up first thinking that it could be this months socks for operation sock drawer. I remember that I had finished at the start of the heel and I had kept a note of where I was. I had put it down because it would need more concentration than I could give it at the time. Sadly, when I read the heel in the pattern it made no sense to me whatsoever. I blame night shift brain. I'll need to read the pattern over a couple of times I think.

Yet another project that last showed up in August. It's the Lucidity Shawl by Beata Jezek. The yarn is a lace weight by my friend Lisa. Thankfully, I have tracked this one too so fingers crossed I will be able to ease back into it.

This is my favourite. My blanket for my new flat. I love the willow squares and I am loving the orange and teal together. I only have two more strips and then the border and this is finished. Not long at all. AND all the ends were stitched in as I went. I might have to pick this up after the Halligarth is finished. I actually started this in 2014 and I think it was this time last year that I last touched it. I stopped to work on a baby shower gift and never went back to it.

Thankfully this blanket has been changing. It was last shown in November. If you remember this was for my gran but is now going to be donated instead. Over Christmas I finished all of the cream squares and last week I moved onto the border. I'll talk more on all of that when it's finished. What I will say is that I was a little overzealous with my choice of border and joining. As a result it has used up all of the yarn and I am going to have to order more. Oops!

Another project from 2014. I don't think it has even featured here on the blog, although the crochet border has.  This is a camper van design from Cross stitcher. There is absolutely no reason, that I can think of, why I put it down. I've been in the mood to get some stitching done. This is definitely at the top of my list to finish. Especially since it already has a frame.

Another cross stitcher design. This clock I also started last year. I am sure it was put down because of the same baby shower project as my blanket. Like my blanket, this was also part of my project new home. At the time I liked the idea of making my own clock. I've still to get the hands for it and of course the frame.

There was another cross stitch pattern which featured here too. It's almost finished which is why I haven't posted an image. All it needs is a frame. This one is for my sister and I stitched it because it was both pretty and matched my sister's living room. I will get it framed this month and get an image of it posted.

Last but not least we have my hexies. Also featured in November but not touched since. Which is a shame because I really don't have many to go. I should get the cushion finished and give it to my sister along with her finished cross stitch.

So that's my plan for the month. I'm not unrealistic. I am very aware that I won't get it all finished. I'm going to make a good attempt though. Anyone else got a WIP list they want to share?