I didn’t mean to become such a poor blogger over the holidays but the weeks just passed by without me noticing. We went to Florida for a few weeks to visit my husband’s family and the heat was lovely. What was less lovely was everyone getting sick. By now all six of us have been sick since a week before Christmas with everyone except one better by now. I hope you are all having a cold/flu free New Year.
On a positive note, I brought a bag of Debbie Bliss ‘Prima’ on holiday with me and I finished knitting a summer top. I love the way it turned out, I can’t share the photos with you yet as it will be published in a few months but hopefully you’ll like it too.
My ‘Pick ‘n Mix’ hat pattern that was almost finished before the holidays was put on hold with traveling and colds but I should have it up for sale tomorrow.

Hat A

Over the last few months I’ve been busy knitting hats for Christmas.  I’m finding it almost addictive.  I bought a couple of balls of Garnstudio ‘Eskimo’ a few months ago and think it is the best yarn for winter hats.  It is supersoft with no tickle and reasonably priced.  I think it would not be durable enough for a larger piece like a jumper but for hats it’s just right.  If you have any super bulky yarn that knits up to the same gauge you can easily substitute it also.

I started playing around with hats a little bit – all my hats for the last few months have been top down.  It’s a a fun way of doing it as you can decide on the size as you go and can try it on before you put the edging on to make sure it is the right size for you.  I used slip stitch colour patterns rather than fair isle knitting as they are so quick to do (and they can be used by even a beginner knitter without too much difficulty).

Hat B

I have put the hats together as a pattern, although it is really more of a booklet and called it Pick ‘n Mix.

The way it is laid out is as follows:

1. Choose your increase method

This hat is knitted form the top down so you must first decide on the type of increase that you want to use. Here are a few different examples that you can try to see which you like best – or if you have your own favorite by all means use it!

2. Choose your slip stitch pattern

Slip stitch patterns can give you the apparent complexity of intricate color work but with almost the same speed as knitting in plain stockinette st. Pick your pattern from the four below (Note: All slipped sts are slipped purl-wise and when knitting in the round the yarn is held at the back of work when stitches are slipped.)

3. Choose your hat edging

Details of the different edging methods are given in the pattern.

A: Ruffle edging

Nice and feminine.

B: Straight edging

Works well for male and female.

C: No edging

Creates a ‘pillbox’ hat effect.

Hat C

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Slip st pattern A : 18 [20, 22, 24] inches diameter

Slip st pattern B : 19.5 [21.75, 24, 26] inches diameter

Slip st pattern C and D: 18.6 [20, 22.6, 24] inches diameter

Yarn and Needles:

[MC] Garnstudio Eskimo [100% wool; 54 yd/50 m per 50g skein]; color: Light blue (shade 12); 1 [2, 2, 3] skeins

[CC] Garnstudio Eskimo [100% wool; 54 yd/50 m per 50g skein]; color: Light blue (shade 12); 1 [1, 1, 2] skeins

1 set US 13/9 mm double-pointed needles
16-inch/41 cm US 13/9 mm circular needle

Hat Tops

I haven’t been using my knitting machine over the summer but over the past few weeks I’ve put it into action again.  I have just finished a simple fitted cardigan for my mother made from Berroco ‘Memoirs’. 

This yarn feels so light but due to the mohair it is really warm.  My mother feels the cold so a good combination for layering!  However I’m not sure this is the best yarn for machine knitting – it is made from two strands together and even though I kept the tension fairly loose it has quite a tendancy to snag.  In fact I managed to twist on of the needles in the process and had to change it.

Even though the knitting itself was simple with just some waist shaping, I added a large shawl collar at the end by hand in a 1×1 ribbing.  I love shawl collars, I really need to knit a cardigan for myself now with  one!

With this cardigan I tried out a tubular cast on for the first time.  It seemed a bit fiddly starting out but I like the finished effect.  From the knitting book I got the description there was a suggestion for a non-elastic yarn like cotton to pull some elastic through when you are pulling out the provisional cast one by tying it to the end.  I would like to see how that worked – must find a project that it would be good for!

I’m so happyt to have found a project for this yarn.  I bought it on sale and haven’t been able to figure out for over a year what I wanted to do with it!  I think simple works best, between the color changes and the mohair any amount of detail would just have been lost!

I’ve recently developed a great love of buttons.  I find myself in local shops buying up buttons – sometimes to finish a project, other times because I think they might find inspiration. So now I own a box of buttons, plastic, wood, shell, bone (the boys think this one is great!), metal – but don’t have any glass.  I even now own a few diamante ones (for when you feel like that little bit of extra bling).

I was trying to be good about buying new yarn but couldn’t resist a few to try from Garnstudio.   I got few balls of Ice to make a lacey summer shrug (I am finding these so useful, some gorgeous rust coloured Paris (don’t know what this will be yet) and a ball each of Eskimo and Silk Alpaca.  I have a feeling I’ll be getting more of these.  This yarn seems really reasonable for the materials uses….may be seeing more of it!

Even though you wouldn’t know it from my blog I’ve been busy knitting – however as most of it has been for submissions I haven’t been able to blog about it!

I finished the project with the top down short row sleeve caps.  I’m very pleased with how it has turned out, I think it is an easier way of doing sleeve caps than trying to sew them in.  I also love to knit sleeves top down as you know that they will be just the right length.  Hopefully I can publish the pattern here or elsewhere in the next few months.

As I can’t show any current projects I thought I’d dig out a few ones that I worked on last year but never put the photos up.

I made this Urchin for my sister last Christmas from Jaeger Natural Fleece.  This yarn was wonderful for the project and I loved this colour.  However I also used this yarn in navy to make a jumper for my husband.  This in itself wasn’t a great idea as he never wears jumpers but it ended up so heavy that it has been renamed his ‘horse-blanket’.  However I think I may borrow it for really, really cold days!

Speaking of the weather, the summer has finally arrived here.  We went to Jamesfort in Kinsale over our long holiday weekend and it was so perfect.

I finished my son’s hoodie yesterday.  He was just delighted with himself!  He likes the Shine yarn so much that he just keeps telling me how soft it is…now hopefully it’ll stay that way.

This was mostly done on the knitting machine but all the edging and the hoodie edging was done by hand.  I have to tell you with this many colour changes I had about 3 hours worth of solid work just to weave the ends of the yarn in.  If he wasn’t standing over me waiting to wear it I probably would have chickened out and left it for weeks.

I am currently working on a piece made from Araucania Patagonia Nature Cotton.  I got a skein from This is Knit several months ago and have been wondering what it will become.  I swatched it a few weeks ago and came up with some lovely results so now you will have to wait for the surprise outcome…I must figure out what to do with the resulting pattern.

I have been a very bad blogger for the last few weeks.  Life became very busy and writing (or actually even thinking) about knitting just didn’t seem to happen.  While knitting itself is the most wonderfully relaxing of activities designing and blogging definately take more brain activity!  I’ve been trying to dredge up some interesting project ideas for new summer tops and I think I’ve got a few that may work.  Now I just need to get them written and knitted!

But I do at least have a finished project that has come out nicely.. My Clapotis in Rowan Tapestry is going to be a very useful addition to my wardrobe.

and for a closer look…

I’ve also started with my version of Monkey in Araucania Ranco Multi sock yarn.  As soon as I get the hang of our new camera I will take a photo of it.  When I wound the skein first of all I though the colours were too muted looking but as I’m working with it they are growing on me!  I am finding the yarn beautiful to knit with, soft but solid feeling and the needle rarely snags it.  I think I’ll be using this yarn again – maybe I’ll go for a brighter yarn next time.

I am also working on a couple of projects on my knitting machine (I got a  Silver Reed LK150 for my birthday a few months ago).  I find it just great for large areas of stocking stitch, that you would use for a children’s jumper (sweater) but it is way to fiddly to use for any detail or ribbing.  I have perfected doing the edging by hand – hook it onto the machine to knit the stocking stitch and then put it back on the needles for the finishing around the neckline.  Unfortuately though my boys really like coloured stripes so I end up with an unimaginable amount of weaving in when I finish!  I’ll post the work in progress later this week.

I’ve been knitting very slowly for the last few weeks.  I have enjoyed and really want the items I’m knitting to be finished but I haven’t been so excited by them that I have been in a crazy rush to finish them.  Life seems so busy right now that knitting is playing a very small role.  However I’m sure that won’t last for too long!

I have finished Wisp for my mother’s birthday next week.  Unfortunately it is not perfect – it took me quite a while to stop dropping stitches at the start and a lace mohair pattern is not too forgiving of that!  They are very carefully concealed for the photo but hopefully she will turn a blind eye….

And I’ve finally settled on what to use my Rowan Tapestry for …. a Clapotis

This was my progress as of last week before my camera died – I have actually just now finished the straight rows so I should be finished but the end of the week.  I am so in love with this – I love the colour, the feel of the yarn and how soft it is.  It will be perfect for the freezing cold spring we are having.  What are the chances though that by the end of the week we will have sun splitting the rocks??

I think that it is knitting so slowly as it isn’t very involved knitting.  Great for in front of the tv!  I think I need to get my teeth into a cable or lace project.

I’ve been playing with a few more knitting designs some summer tops and cardigans, I’ve got a few skiens of Araucania Patagonia that I think that could make a really good summer cardigan for our Irish summer.  Must get thinking and swatching.

I am so pleased that I have eventually finished this sock. I know it’s not much of a birthday present, but surely one sock is better than none! The finished product feels very substantial but not sure I’ll be choosing Lana Grossa again. I need to psych myself up to get started on the second one now. Please send words of encouragement my way.

As a slight diversion I have started on another pair of socks – this time for my 2 year old ds. There was some of a ball of Opal yarn left from last years socks for my mother and I have been meaning to make him a pair since then. I just love working with this yarn, it knits up so effortlessly. Maybe by the time I have the second one finished it will give me the courage to get started back on making the mate for the above sock.

I think that this sock is the slowest item I have ever knit. I got the Lana Grossa Mega Boot stretch yarn last year and 12 months later I am still not finished with the first sock. They are for my husband who would like just a plain simple sock and as they are knitting up they look like the will be very comfortable to wear. Unfortunately there really isn’t much interest in knitting a plain stockinette sock! Also, the yarn is two strands twisted together which keeps on snagging. This means that even though it is a simple stitch you have to keep watching what you are doing. Hopefully I’ll have the first one finished this weekend!

I am knitting there using my lovely Addi circular needles using the magic loop. I find it very hard to go back to dpn after using circular needles!