FO Friday, My Fragile Heart Shawl

Well as promised, here are the photos of my first ever lace work! Firstly this is it blocking, excuse the baby, she wanted to help take the photos!





Some close ups of it whilst blocking, you can see the pattern more clearly here




There were a couple of places as I knitted where I made a small mistake and missed a yarn over so I had to fiddle around with the decreases and bodge it a little so it would still line up properly. I had stitch markers separating every lace repeat so it was easy to spot quickly when I had messed up a stitch





I made the picots slightly smaller than called for in the pattern (cast on 2, cast off 4 rather than cast on 3, cast off 5)




Now for some shots of it in action, I was feeling a bit camera shy so I got my pretty big girl to model it for
me instead :-)




She was swinging round some helium balloons we had left over from the birthday party. She's such a poser lol




I like how subtle the beads are. I was hoping for a sparkly silver colour but couldn't find any in the size I wanted but actually these work quite well instead. I can always get some silver ones next time...




As you can see I did garter stitch for the top of the shawl. I think the stockinette stitch would perhaps have looked nicer but the texture is interesting




I really love how the beads accentuate the design, I definitely want to knit more patterns by this designer (rav link here)




So all in all I'm really pleased with this. I've had a fear of lace for a while now and I'm glad I finally challenged myself and gave it a go. I'm looking forward to knitting something like this again :-) Huge thanks goes to Crafty Clare for once again virtually holding my hand and encouraging me. I can't wait to see her finished shawl too :-)

Sunny Thursday

It feels rather typical really that I'm knitting a long, warm, dark coloured cardigan and yet now the sun has decided to come back in earnest! I'm still working away on it though because my plan is to wear it on holiday in August. We're going camping in Cornwall this year and having a nice warm cardigan for the evenings is always a good idea when you're camping. I've also decided what I want to knit on holiday so I need to get the Romantika finished first so that I can cast on the new project (more about that in a bit).

So this is where I currently am with my Romantika:




As you can see I have started on the cables for the skirt part. It's hard to tell in this photo but I am only cabling every other column, the same way I did for the Lavanda. Having cables on all of them feels a little too...twisty, for my tastes. Plus it's slightly quicker to knit lol.

One thing I did find out is that I have a longer than average torso! I'm fairly tall, 5ft 7-8ish, so I thought I would try it on for size when I got to the point where the skirt cables started. The pattern said that 4 inches from the underarm should be about 1.5 inches above my waist, which it wasn't. I ended up knitting another 1.5 inches before starting the cables and it looks much better now when I wear it. I guess this is one of the attractions of creating your own garments, you can make sure they fit you properly!


Now I mentioned I've decided what I want to knit on holiday. I wanted something fairly simple but not so mindless it's boring to knit. Perhaps some simple detailing. Maybe something for me... And then I saw this pattern mentioned on Crafts from the Cwtch, it's called Framlingham and it is just what I was looking for. It's by Joanne Scrace and looks absolutely perfect for some holiday knitting. The cable detailing is done without a cable needle which is always good and the whole thing is knitting in the round from the top down in dk yarn so it will grow reasonably quickly too. Fab!

Naturally I needed some yarn for this pattern and thanks for a 10% discount code via ravelry and Deramores I got a lovely squishy parcel in the post this morning. Anyone who knows me will not be at all surprised at the colour I've chosen...





Oh I do love purple! :-) The yarn is Wendy Merino in the Mulberry colourway (isn't that a lovely word..mulberry...mmm...!)

Unfortunately my order total was _just_ under the amount needed for free postage. What a shame right? Yeah you can guess where this is going, I also ordered 2 balls of James C Brett Twinkle which is an acrylic but rather soft and also purple!





I thought it would make a nice dress or cardigan for one of my girls! I'd better get knitting!

FO Little Hoodlum

Sorry I couldn't post photos of this earlier. I didn't want the Birthday Boy to see it properly before his special day. It's turned out rather nicely I think



Here's a closer shot



Now I need to explain something about the modelling photos. These were taken the day after his party and he was still pretty tired out and over sensitive. I have no idea what caused the grumpy faces but when he gets in a mood it is impossible to get him out of it until he is ready. Since he was a baby he has been like this, I'm not kidding! Several different teachers/childcare professionals have commented on his stubbornness!



Honestly, look at that face! Bless'im :-S



Here's what it looks like with the hood down

*sigh*

I found the pattern a bit frustrating at times as in the format I bought it as there were three patterns combined into one and there were lots of pages to keep switching between and it was taking more effort than I thought it should as it's actually a very straight forward and well written pattern. However whilst I was knitting the designer updated the pattern so you get separate PDF's for each pattern which is much more user friendly. I will definitely be using them again. I especially fancy making one with the cabled raglan increases :-)

All in all it's a great pattern, wide range of sizes and very beginner friendly with enough extras like the Watermellish embellishment charts, various options for customising the style of hoody, pockets and a pattern for a cute teddy-sized jumper!Very good value in my opinion. Ravelry link here

Oh and finally here is a quick shot I got of him later that morning when the grumps had worn off. See, he does know how to smile! Kind of!

Erk!

It's never a good thing when your circular needle cable breaks. Especially when you have over 200 stitches on it :-S Fingers crossed Mr Soaring Sheep's superglue can sort it out. Luckily I was getting close to needing to go up to the cable length anyway but what a pain!

Silent Sunday

Fluffy post

I mentioned yesterday that I have decided on my next project and that it's going to be something for me. Well the yarn arrived this morning from Get Knitted, it is Cascade 220 in the Gris colourway (9473)




Now originally I had ordered a navy yarn but they didn't have enough instock in the quantity I wanted. Now that this beautiful grey has arrived I think I actually prefer it to my previous choice!

So, the moment of reveal, what is this yarn destined to become? It's going to be.... Romantika. I am rather excited! I love the Lavanda I knitted for my daughter so much so it was only a matter of time before I cast on one for me. Elena, the designer, has recently released an ebook of her adult patterns which are sized up versions of some of her other beautiful designs. I'm very tempted by all of them to be honest so I predict a few more cardigans in my future! I'll just have to be careful not to wear them at the same time as my daughter!


In other news, I've finished the Little Hoodlum and it's soaking at the moment before I block it. My Fragile Heart shawl is getting closer to being finished (I'm on row 20 out of 24 now) and I'm about to cast on my gauge swatch with my new yarn. This will be my first adult garment, scary! :-)


Oh and Ava is now walking *sob*

Fragile Heart Progress Pic

I think I'm up to row 15 of the lace border now. There are 23 rows in total followed by a picot cast off, that's going to take a while :-S





The safety pin is so I know roughly which point is halfway. Originally it was so I knew which was the right side but it's easy to tell now I'm no longer doing garter stitch. I've made a couple of errors where I've missed a yarn over but I think I've managed to bodge it so you can't tell where. Well, perhaps if you were examining it in detail you could but I just won't let any knitters get that close to me :-p


I have almost finished the Little Hoodlum, just got a couple of inches on the last sleeve to do and then it's weaving in ends and blocking. Should be finished in the next day or so and ready for him to wear at his birthday party at the weekend.


My next project is going to be something for me. I've ordered the yarn and bought the pattern. I'll do a gauge swatch before I cast on though, it doesn't matter if my gauge is off for the children because they'll grow into it eventually but the project I'm planning involves a lot of knitting so I want it to fit properly! More details later in the week :-)

Silent Sunday

Plodding along

I'm enjoying my time sans Facebook. I miss it in a kind of habitual way but I don't really want to go back to it right now. It was taking up more of my time and energy than I liked.

I've not really got much knitting done lately. Well I did have to frog back three inches of the Hoodlum hood because I misread the instructions. Well not misread exactly, I assumed that the stitch count began after the moss stitch edging but those stitches were actually including. Bit of a pain in the bum but hey ho. I'm too much of a perfectionist to leave the decreases off centre so I had to frog back and redo them. They are now done and the hood has been grafted into shape.




Please excuse my socks and the not too neat photo. I'll block it out properly when it's finished and hopefully stop that front flap at the bottom from going up. As you can see I've just started knitting the left sleeve. I used a new skein of yarn so that I could match the colours up. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the second one :-S



My Fragile Heart shawl is coming along too. I've successfully done the first lace section, beads and all. Fab! And for now at least I've got over my fear of lace. I have replaced my lifeline though for starting the next section, I'd rather be cautious lol!




Obviously it's not been blocked yet so it's hard to fully see the design but it's there and not looking too bad. I've actually been enjoying the beading. I thought they were a bit of a faff and didn't really add much at first but now I'm seeing them in the pattern I quite like them. They're like little accents to the design.

The next section is the really impressive looking lace bit in the pattern which has lots of holes and beads and things. I'm looking forward to it although I'm not going to start until this evening when the Gruesome Foursome are asleep.

Shawl WIP

IMAG0450
Originally uploaded by evel_lin

I've got to the end of the garter stitch section. I'm going to put a life line in and leave it here for tonight. I will do the lace section tomorrow either when the youngest 2 children have an afternoon nap or in the evening when they are all in bed. Wish me luck!

Sad Sunday

So, I was knitting the lace shawl and I made a mistake. Stupid me hadn't bothered to put a life line in, what an amateur... I frogged it back but the yarn broke so I've got a little ball of yarn that I'm not sure what to do with! How irritating.

Irritated at myself as well. One brief lapse of concentration on the purl row, so not even the lace bit with the different yarn overs and decreases. I felt very silly.

As it's a bank holiday weekend I'm going to cast it back on tonight and hopefully get back to where I was by the end of tomorrow.


I've temporarily (probably) deleted my facebook account. I'm in a bit of a negative spiral at the moment and wasting time on the internet isn't very good for that. I may not be posting much for a while, sometimes it's good to hide away for a bit. I'm still reading people's comments/emails/blogs, I just don't feel able to say much right now.


I'm feeling a bit better today than I did yesterday. I went for a long walk with the baby in the sling and ended up sat on a bench by a lake watching some House Martins swooping over the water catching insects in the evening sun. I don't know how long I sat there for but it helped me find a bit of tranquility and peace...


I'll be back soon, hopefully with a finished lace shawl!

Bye for now,

E.

FO Friday

Just a quick post from me today as I'm rather busy on Fridays. Here is my Iris shawl, a lovely knit and very straight forward and easy to customise. I think you'd enjoy this one Lisa!


I'll take some better photos when the sunshine comes back. Maybe some time in June *sigh*


I really enjoyed knitting it and I'm definitely keen to make another one, maybe in some brighter more Summer-y colours :-) I've cast on my lace shawl now and my seed beads arrived this morning. Scary!

WIP Wednesday

I've left this a bit late but after the lovely Lisa at Everyday Randomness mentioned me I figured I should probably get my act together! Incidentally, Lisa, I love your cushion WIP!

So, what have I been working on? Well my Second Born turns 5 years old in a couple of weeks and as the Little Momo jumper didn't fit him I said I'd make him a hoody instead. I'm using the Little Hoodlum pattern. I'm finding the actual pattern a bit irritating to work through as there are three patterns combined into one and a variety of sizes for each as well. Once I've worked out which bit I'm supposed to be following though it's been a very easy and well written knit.


As you can see, I've done the main section of the hoody and I'm now doing the hood. Some nice mindless knitting for in front of the tv or whilst supervising the children when they are crafting/playing/splashing in the bath etc. I'm using the Ice Magic yarn I bought off ebay and I've got a 4-6 years body out of just one skein, fab :-D

I've got another WIP planned which will be my evening knitting, i.e. when the children are asleep and I can sit quietly and concentrate on what I'm doing. I'm doing another KAL with Crafty Clare and this time we're going to knit a lace shawl. I have never knitted lace weight yarn before and the idea of doing a whole shawl in it is really daunting! Clare has also persuaded me that I can do the beading the pattern asks for as well so seed beads and a teeny crochet hook have been ordered. Eep!

So what pattern are we going to be knitting? It's going to be Fragile Heart. Isn't it beautiful? I do hope I can do it justice!

Do you have any irrational fears when it comes to knitting, or indeed any crafting? If this pattern was in aran weight I'd be absolutely fine with it, silly aren't I!

Flash!

It's a wet and miserable day, I don't feel like doing housework so instead I decided to Flash My Stash!




Tee hee!!

Actually I'm surprised it isn't bigger to be honest :-S It's a bit too big for my tastes, there are some beautiful yarns in there that I want to knit up. I'd rather do that than add to them. At least for a little while :-)



edit: *gulp* it's 9.42 miles! However I knitted approximately 1.16 miles last month so that means I've got just over 8 months worth of knitting there. That not actually too bad :-S