knit365

Stardust Cardigan by Jenny Watson

A simple baby cardigan , perfect for a new born.

Started: 21st June 2020

Finished: 28th June 2020

Pattern Link: https://www.wyspinners.com/Bo%20Peep%20-%20Story%20Book

Yarn Used:

West Yorkshire Spinners – Bo Peep (Double Knit weight)

147 yards

Colourway:

Tooth Fairy – 98 yards

Tin Man – 47 yards

Tools Used:

4mm needle

A mini-blog

I wanted a quick knit so used this pattern as a schematic, but didn’t do the bobbles or follow the purl design.

Knit as plain stocking stich I made the 2nd size which is for a newborn.

Knitted Chevron blanket by Jacinta Bowie

Super squishy baby blanket in soft farmlands wool, perfect for a new born!

Started: 13th April 2020

Finished: 28th June 2020

Pattern Link: www.wyspinners.com/Bo%20Peep%20Knitted%20Zig%20Zag%20Baby%20Blanket%20Kit

Yarn Used:

West Yorkshire Spinners – Bo Peep (Double Knit weight)

735 yards / 672 metres

Colourway:

Sea Horse – 352 yards / 322 metres

Tin Man – 235 yards / 215 metres

Tooth Fairy – 147 yards / 134 metres

Tools Used:

4mm needle

A mini-blog

I’m a big fan of West Yorkshire Spinners and their Bo Peep range is perfect for baby knits, combining squishy wool which is also machine washable – no new parent wants to be thinking about hand washing as well as looking after a baby!

I made this for our very good friends Johnnie and Andreea, it’s part of a package of baby gifts made before their new arrival.

Caitlin the Giraffe

Caitlin the Giraffe by Toft

The cutest little giraffe!

Started: 21st June 2020

Finished: 28th June 2020

Pattern Link: https://www.toftuk.com/

Yarn Used:

Toft Aran

314 yards / 287 metres

Colourway:

Oatmeal – 208 yards / 190 metres

Camel – 105 yards / 96 metres

Tools Used:

6mm hook

A mini-blog

This is my second Caitlin and made the perfect addition for a friends new nursery.

Caitlin is made in an Aran weight in the really squishy Toft wool.

The patches are made by changing colour at random and I love how they turned out.

I used just under three balls of yarn in total, it’s a very speedy project made up on a 6mm hook.

The last photo below shows the comparison between his Caitlin made in Aran wool, compared to one I made in 2019 in DK weight.

Sandrine Shawl #1

Sandrine #1

My first foray into crocheted garments!

Started: 3rd April 2020

Finished: 10th June 2020

Pattern Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crochetwithgaelle/?ref=share

Yarn Used:

Sirdar Eco Wool (Double Knit weight) and Juniper Moon Farm Herriot

523 yards / 479 metres

Colourway:

Eco Wool – Dark Grey – 306 yards / 280 metres

Juniper Moon – 218 yards / 199 metres

Tools Used:

4.5mm hook

A mini-blog

This was part of a crochet CAL hosted by Gaelle in Wales.

I used a 4.5mm hook and in total across both yarns used approx. 524 yards which is about 240g in weight of DK.

This was my first crochet garment and I learned loads throughout the process. I think I can finally tick ‘crochet in a straight line’ off my crochet skill list!

This is a great stash buster that I’d recommend to any enthusiastic beginnners.

Toft Inflexsions Shawl

Inflexions Shawl

My first attempt at Mosaic knitting

Started: 24th May 2020

Finished: 7th June 2020

Pattern Link: https://www.toftuk.com/PD.aspx?product=Knit_Kits/Shawl_Kits/-Inflexions_Shawl

Yarn Used:

Toft DK wool

Just under two balls – 1 of each colour

Colourway:

172 yards cream

192 yards oatmeal

Tools Used:

4mm needle on 24” cable

A mini blog

I picked up a copy of the Spring 2018 Toft Quarterly at a yarn festival many years ago and Mark had been drawn to this shawl, it was one that was added to the knitting queue but one that never got near the top.

One day I’d finished work and discovered Mark had been riffling through my stash (rude!) and he’d pulled out some lovely Toft wool in oatmeal and cream and immediately asked that I start this project!

Who was I to say no?

I’d never done any mosaic knitting before and after an emergency email to the Toft customer services team to clarify something in the pattern (they were amazing and speedy as always!) I cast on.

The pattern was pretty self explanatory once it clicked and I liked that you really only need to pay attention every other row, with mosaic knitting the purl/wrong side row is always the same as the knit/right side so it made for good TV knitting.

This was the first time I used the Toft wool to knit with and it’s so squishy, the 100% wool has a lovely feel to it and it’s amazing how different it feels when knit up compared to crochet.

There’s another mosaic shawl in the same pattern book that Mark has asked for, although I don’t have enough in my stash for that – he’s going to need to go wool shopping if he wants that one!

Marled Mania Sweater

West Knits Marled Mania Sweater

A super colourful West Knits sweater!

Started: 9th May 2020

Finished: 31st May 2020

Pattern Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/marled-mania-sweater (please note, Ravelry only link)

Yarn Used:

Colourful Creativity Smooth Sock yarn – main colours c. 1000 yards

Filcolana Arwetta Classic – contrast colours I c. 900 yards, II c. 460 yards

Colourway:

Colourful Creativity Neon Fade set

Filcolana Arwetta I Medium Grey, and II Black

Tools Used:

4.5mm needle on 24” cable

5mm needle on 24” cable

A mini blog

What a project!

Mark saw this jumper a few years before I finally got round to making it and we stalled because we couldn’t find the right coloured yarn. Mark wanted similar colours to those in Stephen West’s pattern pictures.

But sadly, I don’t have the back catalogue of yarn that Mr West has so I needed to buy yarn for the occasion, rather than use off cuts from stash!

One Saturday I was at the Yarn n Yarns knit club and got chatting to the owner, Angela, about this project and how I was forever looking for the perfect yarn. Angela said “I might have something out the back…” and then voila – she produced this perfect fade set from Dutch dyer Carolein of Colourful Creativity.

Carolein’s yarn was neon colours which were so bright, and as it had been dyed as a fade set it meant I was able to get a gradient of colour throughout the jumper without multiple offcuts of yarns.

I split the yarn up into smaller balls which meant I had each colour allocated for the body and then each sleeve so that I could continue the fade all the way down the jumper consistently.

The pattern is knit with a marled effect which is obtained by holding a colour yarn double with the black or grey. The ribbed collar is a combination of black and grey, the black is then dropped and swapped out for the coloured yarn for the sleeves and body.

Once I’d gotten started it really didn’t take very long to work on as I was pretty addicted.

There is an option in the pattern to extend the sleeves to include thumb holes which Mark has me to do and it gave a really unusual finish to the jumper that really sets it off!

This was one of the first projects that I started filming my progress to share on my YouTube channel, if you’re interesting in hearing more about this project check out this link https://youtu.be/lKjw4LAaaNg

Courteeners Cushion

Courteeners cushion

A personalised birthday present for a Courteeners fan!

Started: 4th May 2020

Finished: 10th May 2020

Pattern Link: This was a self-designed pattern

Yarn Used:

Drops Nepal

181 yards in total

Colourway:

Cream, Black and Red

Tools Used:

5mm needle

Mini blog

My brother made a throw away comment a few weeks ago that I couldn’t make him a Courteeners inspired cushion… challenge accepted!

So I saved a copy of the album cover and added a grid over the top. A couple of tweaks to sort out some edges and it’s finished. I used the intarsia method for the colour work and I think it looks good.

Sewn up using mattress stitch and then stuffed with 100% eco wool stuffing, rather than using a cushion inner!

I made a small swatch to wash and block to make sure the red didn’t bleed (it didn’t!)

Isolation Project #1

As we approach the end of week 4 of the lockdown in the UK I’ve found myself turning more and more to knitting and crochet.

My Ravelry page tells me I’ve got about 10 projects on the go at the moment, but none of them were jumping out to me to get finished, and the bigger projects on the needles are definitely weeks away from being done.

So what to do… cast-on a new project of course!

We’ve been setting up a home office over the last few months (little did we know how handy that would come in!) so I thought a cushion for the chair would be a nice woolly edition. I found a pattern from Rowan Yarns which was designed by Martin Storey and I ordered some super chunky wool from Ammonite Yarns in a dark grey (Filanda Again). With the lockdown there are so many businesses who will be impacted so it’s great to be able to support as many as we can at this time. Ammonite Yarns’ physical bricks and mortar shop is closed, but the online shop is open and parcels are being sent out for as long as the Post Office remains open.

Worked up on 10mm needles I really enjoyed seeing the way the cables and bubbles emerged and I managed to finish the front in just two days!

The back is simple stocking stitch which worked up equally as quickly, but if I’m honest I’m not really a fan of big needles it turns out… I think it’s quicker to knit on smaller needles even if the fabric doesn’t grow as quick!

The longest part of this project was waiting for the cushion inner to arrive so I could sew it up, but I made use of that time to block it to get those crisp edges! To finish the project I used mattress stitch to sew three of the edges together and then close the final seam when the cushion was in place.

I’m really pleased with the finished object and I’m sure there will be a few other finished projects during the lockdown.

What are you working on while you’re safe at home?

Until next time, happy crafting.

All the bubbles…

My last post was in January… where has the time gone?

It’s April 2020 and like most of the World we’re in lockdown. Not only is this the best way to stay safe it also means I’m getting lots of extra hours of crafting done – more on that in future blogs.

Today’s post is all about the bubbles (as the title suggests!) and my first big project completed this year was my Bubble Cowl by Stephen West. Those that have been reading for a while know of my love for a West Knits pattern, so moving on from the Bubble Sweater I made last year I added this straight to my queue when it was released.

The pattern is the same as for the jumper, elongated stitches every seven rows create the bubbles, the only difference was this was the entire cowl rather than just the top of a colour work jumper – a mammoth effort and one I’ll admit to tiring of towards the end.

Mark chose the colours which match a hat and glove set he brought from Burberry a few years ago. The cowl is double thickness as it was knit in the round and then seamed together at the end. I used Cascade 220 100% wool which means it is super snug and warming, perfect for a Nordic winter (and hopefully a cold UK one too!). The other perfect thing about this project for a knitter is it’s just a big tube – so no need to sew I many ends, just tie them securely and leave them! (The inside is almost as pretty as the outside I think!)

I finished this in March just in time for a trip to Kraków with great friends, the last time we really went out before the lockdown.

This was one of my ‘9 for 2020‘ projects so a great start to the year!

Until next time, happy crafting.

Honeycomb crochet blanket

Honeycomb blanket

My first crochet blanket!

Started: 3rd August 2019

Finished: 10th April 2020

Pattern Link: https://www.stylecraft-yarns.co.uk/Bellissima+DK+Pattern+9614+Honeycomb+Blanket+and+Cushion/0_CAFA103/PRND167.htm

Yarn Used:

Special Stylecraft Aran

3,130 metres in total (16 skeins)

Colourway:

Graphite, Silver and Spice

Tools Used:

5mm crochet hook

Mini blog

My local yarn shop, Ammonite Yarns were selling this as a kit. Since learning to crochet I really wanted to make a blanket and this was the perfect opportunity. This blanket is created by making individual honeycombs and then crocheting them together.

In order to make the blanket more suitable for our bedroom I made this pattern using Stylecraft Special Aran rather than Stylecraft Belissima (DK).

The blanket will be a lot bigger in Aran than specified DK but will be perfect for a UK winter. My chosen colours match our bedroom, again a change to personalise it for me rather than the recommended honeycomb style colours.

Each honeycombe is joined with a double crochet stitch and then a final border added. The border is finished with a crab stitch which gave a lovely edge effect.