This was an interim knit, made in April while deciding which jumper to knit this winter. And what better interim knit than a hat? I’ve made plenty of berets, cloches and caps before (see my Hats tag or Ravelry projects page for more), but my hat wardrobe was conspicuously lacking in beanies. So I turned to Kelbourne Woolens’ free hat pattern, the February Hat.
You’d be right in thinking I spent most of this summer knitting hats. I tend to knit all year round, and hats are so much easier to manage when a full jumper swelters in your lap and even the thought of wearing wool makes you feel overheated.
Continue reading “Ljós Hat, and woollen vs worsted spun yarns”
One thing I love about the knitting community is how its members unabashedly embrace pop culture. Ravelry forum groups, designs and challenges revolve around Harry Potter, Star Trek and Totoro. And of course, there are a pleasing number of designs in tribute to my favourite TV show, Doctor Who.
I’ve finished my first Fair Isle project, Saudade! In my last post, I mentioned I’d been struggling to achieve consistent tension as a beginner to stranded colourwork. You guys assured me I was on the right track with my technique of spreading and holding in place the stitches on the right needle before knitting on the left with a new colour, and that any imperfections would come out in the wash.
I gave you a sneak peek of my Solas hat in my Indie Pattern Month post – now here is the full review. Solas is an unusual design and one that didn’t catch my eye when it was first published for Ysolda Teague’s Knitworthy 3. But as I was in need of beanies this winter and wanted to experiment with different styles, I figured I’d get my money’s worth from my Knitworthy purchase and give it a go.
The title says it all really! After participating in and thoroughly enjoying The Monthly Stitch Indie Pattern Month’s “New to Me” and “Hack It” challenges, I figured I could make use of the “Indie Royalty” theme, in which you create an entire outfit from indie patterns, to knock a few garments out of my queue and sew up some stash. Of course, it wasn’t until I was part way through sewing for the challenge when I realised that the fabrics I thought I had stashed deep in my wardrobe were pretty much non-existent.
Thanks to a few quick trips to Spotlight, I completed the challenge, and had a lot of fun doing so! The patterns I used were: Named Esme Maxi Cardigan, Named Helmi Tunic Dress (are you noticing a theme?), So Sew Easy Custom-Fit Leggings, and because I’m a smarmy overachiever, I even knitted my hat (Ysolda’s Solas in The Fibre Co. Arranmore – I’ll review that another time). Continue reading “The “What Have I Got Myself Into” Outfit – Indie Pattern Month 2017, Indie Royalty”
Knitting colourwork has never been my strong suit. Besides my complete inability to choose cohesive colour schemes, the technical skills involved in stranded knitting and intarsia always seemed beyond me. Recently, I’ve decided to challenge myself and take on a colourwork project to broaden my skill set.
The pattern that tempted me was Ysolda’s Saudade. With a traditional Fair Isle pattern and the colours already selected for me in a kit in her shop, it seemed the perfect way to dip my feet in.
One of my go-tos when I’m stuck between knitting projects is a hat. They take very little time and yarn to knit, and I can usually squeeze one out from leftover yarn from a cardi or jumper. The yarn in this particular project (Heirloom Easy Care 8ply) was leftover from my Pumpkin Vianne cardigan, and because I’m an unimaginative clod, it’s called Pumpkin Chevrons.
OK, so I know I promised you more Christmas presents, but I haven’t managed to get adequate photos of them yet. So instead, I wore a wool hat and scarf in 35C+ degree heat to take photos of this project. It’s a hard-knock life, guys.
This winter, I knit a pleasingly large number of accessories. Most were from stash yarn, meaning I spent basically no money and received hours of fun and some fab hats and scarves. What I knit (click through to the Rav project page for more, you can follow along at shibz):
Continue reading “Winter knitting and what’s on the needles”
Chronically Siobhan 