Clara

April 2014

One of the very few downsides of a website like ravelry is that it exposes you to how the other half live. The UK has some very lovely locally produced yarns, but even so it's impossible not to look at some of the yarns available overseas and feel a little bit jealous. I NEEDED some Dream in Color Smooshy.

Having sweet-talked a friend of mine to spend a small part of his holiday as my yarn-shopping gopher (I let him choose the colour though - I'm good like that), all I then needed to do was find the ideal pattern. Having toyed with Henley Perfected and Hitofude - both of which I'll probably come back to - I settled on this. Not least because I've had it queued since 2011.

But it's one of those patterns which, if ravelry given a true representation, hasn't been knitted up by as many people as it deserves to be. I don't understand why. It's so so pretty, and one of those top-down seamless patterns which anyone with any sense prefers, construction-wise. Plus it's an endlessly wearable summer project, and heaven knows there isn't an endless supply of those.

I think the pattern and yarn combination works very well in this instance, particularly as I happened to hit upon a nice dark stretch when I was doing the finishing on the key-hole back, neckline and sleeves. I love that the variegation in the yarn doesn't drown out the lace or vice versa too, though.

This does feel like a project which is going to need to be washed and cared for VERY carefully, but that's the only reservation I have. I'm sure I can handle it!

Pattern: Clara by Ashley Fey
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy
Colour: It's a Cracker
Amount: 1.75 Skeins
On ravelry: here

Sourpatch

November 2013

This Christmas I'm making presents for a brother and sister for whom I have never knitted before. For him, there is Daniel's pirate mashup, and that turned out far better than I had ever expected. I almost felt like it was an impossible act to follow, but all the same I'm quite pleased which this Sourpatch, for her.

This was designed to be made from cotton, and worn as a summer top, but I think it would be equally useful in the winter with a long sleeved top underneath, and besides, I'm trying to run down the acrylic side of my stash, so that is what I used.

It was a very quick and satisfying project with virtually no finishing, and a freebie pattern, which is always nice. The only modification I made was to omit the increase round after the yoke was finished. The recipient is quite a small girl, and it would have come out much too big otherwise.

Pattern: Sourpatch by Corrina Fergusonrom from Petite Purls, Issue 5 Summer 2010
Yarn: Hayfield Bonus dk, King Cole Big Value dk and Patons Fab dk
Colour: 884 (purple), 11 (green), 2358 Iris (blue), 2305 (yellow) and 2323 (red)
Amount: Less than one skein of each
On ravelry: here

Bunnykins

February 2013

Next project is definitely going to be something for me. Probably. But in the meantime it was Rosa's birthday, and so I HAD TO.

Knitting on the cheap: I didn't have the pattern, so just sort of guessed at the chart and adapted another dk sweater pattern to fit. I'm fairly sure that doesn't tread on any toes, intellectual property wise, and I'm so over buying books of ten patterns of which I only intend to make one.

Anyway, I was rather pleased with the result. The body was knit in the round to armholes, then divided and finished flat. The waist and neck are trimmed in garter stitch, as were the sleeves originally but they looked too long, so I cut the cuffs off, picked up the loose stitches and added ribbing which could be folded back. Something I hadn't tried before, but it worked very well.

As I keep saying, I've got to try steeking soon, but this wasn’t the time. I was using an acrylic yarn and the original pattern and the one I used both had set in sleeves.

I had a brief crisis of confidence when someone thought they were reindeer, but they look like rabbits to me. White rabbits, like in Alice in Wonderland, which is cool.

I had planned to make matching toy bunny wearing purple and white fairisle sweater to match but ran out of time. Maybe for xmas if the sweater goes down well. Got Rosa a learn to count with Peter Rabbit book instead for now.

Pattern: Bunnykins by Martin Storey
Yarn: Hayfield bonus dk
Colourway: White 096 and Purple 884
Size: Smallish 2 year old
On ravelry: here