Simple summer knit - windlass

Hello hello!!! 

I think this might be the first blog post of the year so far. How did that happen? (This is so wrong. Just checked and it's my third post...). I guess like everyone else I have been documenting my general craftiness on Instagram, but also I haven't been working on many personal makes. I have been feeling generally under the weather since Easter (although much better now) and also using any spare moments to work on new designs (yes they are coming) so have not had much to talk about, but I all of a sudden do have some garments I can actually share which is pretty exciting.

Today is a knitted garment as I am very successfully incorporating knitting into my daily life lately. It is making me so happy! I had a real hankering for some summer knits, so set about knitting with a soft and cool cotton/linen/silk blend yarn. It came on a cone (from ebay) and was a natural colour, but I hand dyed it this gorgeous blush pink. The pattern is a heavily modified windlass from Pom Pom mag, which caught my eye. I had intended to knit the lovely stitch pattern on the top of the bodice, but as I was knitting the body I just wanted to continue the plain design.

The length is cropped as per my mods with a level hem and shortened armscye. I also knit in the round as I was nervous about creating a beautiful side seam on such a plain garment.

I totally love it and I was completely happy with it, but then I had an idea which involved gold.

Yep, I printed some gold foil spots onto my hand knit that I spent hours making. Once the idea happened I couldn't not do it. No fear, just eager anticipation ;-) I ordered the foil and adhesive from here and simply painted on the adhesive and heat set the foil.

Ding, ding, ding!!! Over the moon happy!

The perfect earrings became mine (bought from independent maker Freya Alder) and were worn with this top last night. I do not subscribe to a konmari lifestyle, but I believe these things fit the bill nicely. My new top and jewellery fill me with nothing but joy and happiness.

I am now working on a second windlass tank in green which will hopefully be finished soon should the sun ever come back. See you again soon hopefully xxx

Finshing things off!

I have experienced a burst of energy when it comes to attacking and finishing off fairly long standing unfinished objects this week! I put it down to the recent fashion revolution week and that we are currently in me made May. Anyway, what ever the reason it has done nothing but good things to my sewing space.

First up is this jumper/sweater thing!

This is part hand knit and part sewn. I started the jumper front before Christmas with the intention of knitting the whole jumper, but then lost interest. This is probably because I had no real plan and was kind of making it up as I went along. The bottom half (reverse colour work) is a castellation type motif/stripe which I felt was too ordinary and on a whim decided to reverse it so the loops are on the face side and the top half is a contrast pattern with the colour work on the face side. When I posted this on Instagram I definitely sensed some gasps of horror at the idea of reversing a distinctive pattern like that, but I really like the contrast in texture and how the colours work together on the loopy side.

I had started to knit the back (it was all knitted together and continued on from the shoulders), but didn't like where it was going and ripped back. In desperation to not knit any more of it I thought of adding this loop back sweater knit/French terry to make up the un-knitted portions. I cut the back and left it for about 5 months.

It took me so little time to put together last week that I could kick myself for not doing it sooner!

The neon flecked sweater knit was from the cloth house last year and the green ribbing was from Kitschy koo and the third of a metre I bought has served me well so far. It is such nice quality. I highly recommend it if your are looking for t-shirt neck bands in funky colours!

 The ribbing is on the bottom of the jumper back and I kind of like how it totally doesn't match the depth of the front ribbing. Also sneaky detail of the inside pattern!

Next up is this tote and knitting project bag made from some hand printed natural denim. It was an experiment on a scrap of fabric that I wanted to use somehow, but was finally inspired a couple of weeks ago. No pattern for either, but basically just rectangles wrangled into bags. The leather handles and screw in rivets were all from Merchant and Mills.

I just love these items and they were propelled straight into high rotation.

I only had enough of the screws to put one on the base of each strap which means they move around a lot so I stitched them either side with strong thread so they are fixed in position.

Last of all (well, I'm still finishing off 2 garments) is this dress which I was developing into a pattern mid last year. It wasn't doing much for me after a time working on it, but I finished sewing this version last week and am now inspired to get back to it. The overall verdict on Instagram was that it looked like scrubs, but I have seen it in a new light and there are areas that really work. Watch this space to see if this design can be de-scrubbed!

So that has been fun and really helped clear my head. Just need to sew the buttons on a silk crepe Maya dress and rebuild an early Roberts dress. Phew!!!

Knitted - rockhopper shawl

Hi friends! I have recently finished a knitting project. They can be few and far between, but I have been working on this since around Christmas time and have been keen to finish it. It took a recent week away with the family to finally reach the finish line.

This is the rockhopper shawl from the rather charming knitting book 'Penguin A Knit Collection' by the equally charming Anna Maltz. I have not met her, but I hope to one day and from what I can tell she's pretty charming. The book was only released before Christmas and I only discovered Anna just prior to this. As soon as I saw her stuff I was inspired and pre-ordered the book. It's enchanting and full of interesting penguin facts and bright colours. I cherish it!

What I have since discovered is that Anna is a fun knitter and this was huge fun to knit! Yes it's a plain garter stitch shawl, but the construction of the colour work is so clean and intriguing. I won't spoil how it's done (although you may be better at figuring it out than I), but I enjoyed knitting this from start to finish.

Now here are some awkward poses with my shawl in the sun, but I expect this will come into it's own next winter when it will be surgically attached to me.

Check out Anna's blog for more info on the other patterns in the book here. I have a jumper to finish up and then I plan to start on the Humboldt, which is knitted using Anna's marlisle colourwork technique. Oh I love this book!

new hat and mittens set

Still knit, knit, knitting!!!

This time I have knitted a complete knitted hat and mittens set, which have been mainly improvised. I say mainly because the amount of stitches I cast on for the hat was taken from The craft sessions, very timely, recent publication of some pattern notes for a simple hat. After the ribbing however I went completely awol and made it up as I went along. I'll publish my pattern notes on Ravelry at some point!

Obviously I have recently finished a hat and some mittens, but I have since gifted them to a better home. I love knitting colourwork and I really enjoyed the mix of yarns in the mittens, but they are not really me. What I want to wear and what I like to knit are two different things sometimes and after some deep analysis I realised all I really wanted was a plain set in my favourite colour. As far as the style of hat is concerned the epistrophied is just too long in the body. I can't figure out slouchy hats and feel I have to poke and tweak my hair to make it look and feel ok. I don't like hats that require this amount of effort and my thick hair does require some kind of prodding to feel comfy in a hat. This one I have just finished is short in the body and close fitting to my head and just kind of plonks on and looks ok with no tweaks!

Plus it looks better with glasses which is something else I seem to struggle with.

I don't think I'll be needing to knit accessories again for a while, but I shall detail everything I need to know for next time on ravelry as it would be good to just have a go to basic pattern for aran weight yarn (which is what I've used). The mittens are actually not any different really than my recent bobble mitts other than the amount of stitches and rows is a lot less due to the bulkier weight.

Anyway, I hope you like my new wooly things and it's been a great excuse to take some better pics of my sew over it vintage shirt dress as the ones I published at Christmas were pretty lame. Love this dress!

I shall leave you with this shot of the back of my head to show the nice decreases and hope you are all staying warm! Happy Sunday! xxx

Bobble mittens

They are the same size despite the wonky picture...

I knitted some nice warm mittens. If you follow me on Instagram then you have probably already seen these, but I thought I would have a stab at sharing my pattern or at least an explanation of how I made them. I really like knitting mittens from scratch and if you are going to attempt writing your own knitting pattern for anything then these are a great place to start in my opinion. If you look at a basic mitten (like I have knitted) then it is essentially a tube with a closed end and a thumb. Open out that tube and it's a rectangle and what's more simple than working out a rectangle???

I have in the past been drawn to knitting colour work mittens, so this is my first single colour pair believe it or not and they were a real pleasure to knit!

I thought I would share my pattern notes on the construction of these in an informal way as I have no experience at writing knitting patterns and nor do I assume that I construct my  knitting in the most logical manner, so here goes!

BOBBLE MITTENS SIZE M/L

These were knit in the round and I used a DK yarn and 3.25mm dpns for a dense warm fabric. I knitted on 4 needles, but you may prefer to use 5.

Stitch count is 12 stitches and 17 rows to a 5cm square.

How to make the bobbles (charted as black squares) - knit 1, purl 1, knit 1 into a single stitch. Purl across these 3 stitches. Knit these 3 stitches together.

Cast on 44 stitches and distribute evenly across the dpns. Insert a stitch marker at the beginning of the first round and knit 2 x 2 rib for 12 rounds.

Main hand is to be knit referring to the below instructions as well as the chart.

• Rounds 1-5 - knit plain stockinette
• Round 6 - plain stockinette with bobbles (black squares)
• Rounds 7-11 - knit plain stockinette
• Round 12 - plain stockinette with bobbles (black squares)

continue following the chart as above until round 30.

• Round 30 - plain stockinette with bobbles for first 22 stitches and place next 8 stitches onto a holding needle (safety pin), cast on 8 stitches and knit remaining 14 stitches to end of round. *For left hand knit first 22 stitches as stated above, knit 14 stitches and then hold the remaining 8 stitches for thumb and cast on 8 stitches.

An alternative thumb placement method I came across is the after thought thumb. I haven't tried it, but it looks really good and means you don't need to hold or cast on stitches for the thumb opening. Check out this tutorial and if you want to give it a go. 

Continue following chart until round 60.

• Round 60 - knit 1 slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 16, knit 2 together, knit 2, slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 16, knit 2 together, knit 1.
• Round 61 - knit 1 slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 14, knit 2 together, knit 2, slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 14, knit 2 together, knit 1.
• Round 62 - knit 1 slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 2, slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 1.
• Round 63 - knit 1 slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 2, slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 1.
• Round 64 - knit 1 slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 8, knit 2 together, knit 2, slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 8, knit 2 together, knit 1.
• Round 65 - knit 1 slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 6, knit 2 together, knit 2, slip next stitch onto right hand needle, knit 1 and pass slipped stich over. Knit 6, knit 2 together, knit 1.

cast off remaining 20 stitches, turn inside out and stitch bottom edge closed.

Knit the thumb

Place the 8 stitches from the holding needle (safety pin) onto a dpn and pick up the 8 cast on stitches as well as 2 stitches either side of the thumb opening. You should have 20 stitches in total. Distribute stitches evenly across your dpns.

Rounds 1-22 - knit plain stockinette stitch
Round 23 - (knit 2 together, knit 3) repeat to end
Round 24 - (knit 2 together, knit 2) repeat to end
Round 25 - (knit 2 together, knit 1) repeat to end
Round 26 - (knit 2 together) repeat to end

Break off yarn and thread through remaining 4 stitches to cast off. Pull thread tight and pull through to inside the thumb with a crochet hook or needle and tie off.

Weave in any ends and block if desired!

 Ok, so a major caveat is that this pattern is my own personal pattern and completely untested!!! KNIT AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!! I did not knit from this as I was just making it up as I went along and then copied the first to knit the second (no notes). I hope that this all makes sense and if nothing else the charts are pretty useful!

The ribbing does not go down to the natural wrist joint, but if you would like the ribbing to extend down further then substitute some of the main hand for ribbed rows.

Anyway, I hope you like them and if you do give them a go then give me a shout! If you don't want bobbles then this formula would also work with just plain stockinette or some fancy colour work...

Kate Davies Epistropheid hat

My winter hat!

I wanted to knit myself a hat this year, as I have to walk a lot and wanted the option for head warmth (even though it's really mild here in the UK actually). I really like colour work and looked for a pattern based on that! I headed straight over to Kate Davies ravelry store actually as I love her designs and bought this pattern.

The pattern calls for DK yarn and I was ordering yarn for a jumper, so tagged some onto that. It is Drops Lima from Wool warehouse, which is so lovely to work with, really soft and available in loads of colours. The pom pom is made from some uber expensive yarn that I bought from a little knitting shop in Edinburgh a while ago. I went on an amazing week of wild camping with my husband and friends some years ago which finished up with a night in a hotel in Edinburgh where I bought this. It was £15 I think (the most expensive yarn I've ever bought) and I have been terrified to use it! It is a fluffy wool and angora mix I think and breaks easily as well as being really clingy and hard to unravel. It was a bad choice, but too beautiful to never use, so I turned it into the most luxurious pom pom there ever was.

I actually planned to knit a red and grey hat, but once I started working on my jumper I liked the yellow so much I stole some of my jumper yarn for the hat. Speaking of my jumper, here is a peek at what I'm working on. It's all a bit random and I'm building the design as I go, but it's so  much fun!

Other than that I have been working my way through some selfless sewing. My daughter had her second birthday last week, which mixed in with my Christmas crafting has been keeping me nice and busy. I am really enjoying it though. It's strangely soothing to be sewing for other people.

I hope you're all looking forward to Christmas this year! Lots of love xxxx

Guatemalan inspired cardigan

Hold onto your hats for some awkward posing! I still can't get used to this blog photo thing, but I can't deny that it's better for showing clothes so I do it anyway!

 

Here's my newest make and labour of love a hand knitted cardi! Why Guatemalan? Well the colourwork is inspired by some Guatemalan clothes I have inherited from my mum. I love central American textiles, but don't have many pieces and when ever I have been to Belize have found good stuff hard to come by, so naturally I knit some!

 

Why am I standing like I have a hunchback? Honestly, some photos are just cringe city...

I started this piece last winter in my keenness to design and knit. I made a couple of jumpers from scratch, pretty much writing the pattern as I went and I found the whole process quite therapeutic and fun. The knitting bug did not last past February however, so this was left in a box waiting for me to pick it up again. Next time I do that I really need to make a note of needles sizes, as I transferred my unfinished knitting onto a stitch holder at some point and made no reference of needles anywhere.

It is a simple drop shoulder v-font cardigan with colour work on front and back, patch pockets and cropped sleeves (I don't get on with full length sleeves).

I am really happy with the shape and despite the colour work this is a really simple pattern to work out.

There is a lot to love about this project. It really is everything I wanted it to be and was a real joy to make. It was also a great learning project and there are things I want to take onto my next one.

 

 

The good - I love the front and back and also the 1x1 rib neck band. I find this type of neck band the easiest to fit and the neatest finish.

 The bad - I did not plan the flow of the garment very well in terms of the relationship of the front and back and I'm not sure that as a whole it is very pleasing in design terms. I think that the back design should have run seamlessly from front to back or maybe eliminated completely with just the patch pockets as an overall detail and the castellation border just going round the bottom hems of the cardi or sleeves. These are not things that are bad enough to make me love it less, but definitely something to improve upon.

 

I already have wool for a new cardi or jumper and am currently swatching for stitches and patterns. So exciting! I'm looking forward to incorporating some lace stitches as they can be nice to knit. I do normally lean towards cables, but I'm learning that I don't enjoy wearing them so much as they can be bulky so have to seek new knitting highs ;-)