Once Upon a Time... A Journey to the North of England

Keep Calm, Craft On

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

WIP Wednesday Project Update

I've joined another CAL.

Yes, I know, I have enough to do as it is, and I'm not even mentioning the 2 (!) partially finished crochet blankets that I am currently working on, but this CAL was just too tempting to pass up.

It's called the Spice of Life CAL and yes, it is another blanket.

What I like about it is that it will work in lines, but with a variety of colours and stitches, so it should be a good stash buster for the selection of acrylic yarns that I bought for the Weekender blanket. The Weekender isn't finished, but because of the amount of colours I doubt that I will use up any of the big 100g and 200g balls that I bought for it and well, I'm unlikely to use acrylic for anything other than hard-wearing family blankets that need to withstand frequent washes.

Why do I need another blanket, you might ask...

Well, I happen to think that you can never have too many crochet blankets in your life! Seriously, though, our blankets are in constant use. The boys, like us, are blanket fans, and whenever they curl up on the sofa to watch TV or to just sit with us, they will curl up under a cozy blanket. These blankets see a lot of use - they are dragged around the house, they are snuggled up in wherever the boys happen to be, and they even become walls, ceilings and bedding for an infinite number of elaborate dens.

So yes, I do think we can do with yet another blanket! ;)

In other news, I've been steadly working on all projects. A few more rows have been added to Black Acer, but not enough to warrant a photograph.

Similarly, I've been knitting away on the Boneyard Shawl, but you can't really tell, so again, I'm not going to bore you with a WIP shot.

I've also re-started work on the Weekender blanket. I've had this on the go for some time, but to be honest, that was always the idea. It's an easy and satisfying project, and one that allows me to take a ball of yarn along with me when I go to the doctor, or take the boys swimming. A little hexie is quickly finished, and once I've collected a few I pull out the blanket and sew them on. It's a long way from finished, but it's reached that critical point when a scrap becomes a blanket, and I've noticed that the boys have started using it as such. ;)

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Wednesday, September 09, 2015

WIP Wednesday - Frog Frog Frogging...

... a-frogging we go!

This is not your typical WIP blog post I guess, but un-knitting is also knitting, right?

I've been meaning to do this for ages, but it's always kind of heart-breaking to frog something that you've spent time and effort making.

Bye Bye Cowl!

Cowl was one of my earliest large knitting project - not the first, but early nonetheless, and because of that alone there is a certain amount of nostalgia attached to it. Add to that that I actually really like the shape and look of this jumper, and you may ask why I wanted to frog it at all.

Unfortunately this jumper is almost unwearable and in fact I haven't worn it for years. It's not the fit per se - it fits fine - but the fact that it's entirely knitted in garter stitch.

Have you ever tried wearing a garment made entirely in garter stitch?

Well, if you have you'll know that garter stitch fabric stretches almost into infinity.

This might be great for certain kinds of project that you want to be stretchy and bouncy, but it's not so great for a jumper in an already quite soft wool yarn. As soon as you pull this jumper over your head it starts to follow gravity and extend in length. The body stretches down and the sleeves get longer and longer until you need to push them up to do anything.

Before you know it you are wearing a fluffy and shapeless bag.

Not a great look.

It's such a shame, because if it wasn't garter stitch the pattern would be great. The body of the jumper has subtle shaping, and the cowl is lovely. I gave the sleeves a subtle flare effect that also works well.

Perhaps I should reknit the whole thing in stockinette?

Alternatively I am considering Idlewood:

What do you think?

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Stitch Along Wednesday

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

WIP Wednesday

Nothing major to report this week...

I've been knitting a bit on my Boneyard Shawl, mainly in the car, while out on daytrips with the kids, but progress is really too minor to bother you (and myself) with a picture.

I've also been adding a few rows here and there to Ripple. It doesn't look much, but since the last picture I took the blanket has actually doubled in size! There is a long way to go of course, but if I only knit one or two rows every few days I should have it done in a year, which is good enough for me!!

Other than that I've been busy with my testknit. I was nearly done with the colourwork, but then spotted a mistake that meant that I had to rip a few rows out. I'm nearly done with the section, though, and after that it should be a breeze. I quite like the way it looks, although you really don't want to see the back of it - suffice to say that it has been a loooong time since I've done any colourwork, and it shows. It took me a while (and quite a few wrong decisions) to remember and figure it out. It's definitely improving now and for the past few rows I've been almost happy with the back, but I just don't have the heart to rip and start again, lol.

What have I been reading? Mainly books on pottery. I've started doing pottery again after nearly 10 years and I might just have become a teensy bit obsessed... I'll tell you more about it another time.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

A Year of Projects update... must be Wednesday!

Yep, it's Wednesday again, and Wednesday means that I take stock of what I've been working on this week.

The Boneyard shawl didn't get much of a look in this week, so I didn't bother to take a picture of my minuscule progress - you wouln't even be able to tell!

I have cast on for two new projects, though.

The first one is a test knit for Ruth, so I can't tell you much about it. Here is a sneak peak at it though:

The second is a beanie for myself. I had a few comments on my FO post that highlighted the absence of a beanie for the knitter and to be honest, boy #1 in particular had also been quite vocal about the absence of a 'Mummy Beanie' and had been quizzing me about colour combinations.

I cast on with the same yarn that I'd been using for my previous testknit for Ruth, the now released Cosan Cowl pattern. I had a blast knitting it, and I think there might just be enough yarn left for a little beanie to go with the cowl.

As for reading, I'm re-reading Life of Pi. We have a long-standing tradition of me reading to him in the evening, and although I'd previously read Life of Pi we decided to re-read it together. It's a wonderful, wonderful book, but I can't really tell you much about it without spoiling it I think. :)

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Wednesday, August 19, 2015

WIP Wednesday

It's been a long time since I've last done a WIP Wednesday / Year of Projects update, with the holiday and the work madness there just hasn't been time!

I have been knitting, but since we've come back from holiday progress has been slow. Every so often I pull my knitting out and knit a few rows, but with all three boys at home quite a lot things have been more focussed on keeping them entertained than on sneaking in knitting time. I do miss it, though, much as I am also enjoying spending some fun time with the kids.

My most recent project, and the one that is currently the only one to get a look in, is the Boneyard Shawl. When we were on holiday I discovered a tiny little but very well stocked yarn shop. I tell you, I could have spent our entire holiday budget there! Thankfully D was with me, or we wouldn't even have had money left to buy ice creams at the beach...

As it was I didn't buy much, although I did spend a good long time admiring and petting yarn. Fortunately the shop owner was very understanding and kept on bringing more yarn to stroke and cuddle. :)

I finally walked away with two balls of Regia sock yarn in bright red - I'd been wanting to buy some solid colour sock yarn for ages, and the red looked so very tempting!

I also bought two skeins of fawn-coloured Seidenstrasse, which is a dk weight 65% Merino, 35% silk yarn and so soft that I just couldn't resist. I immediately knew that this yarn wanted to be a shawl and on the journey back from Borkum I cast on for the Boneyard shawl.

Progress might be slow, but it's a fun project with an easy-to-memorise pattern that is kept intersting by the continuous shaping. I do have a long way to go though!

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Wednesday, June 03, 2015

WIP Wednesday

Is it really Wednesday again?

Already?

This week really has raced by. It seems like yesterday that I posted my last Wednesday WIP update.

Progress this week exists, but is a bit unspectacular.

I’ve been watching Orange is the New Black (so good!!) and while I was doing that I was mainly working on the Eyelet Yoke, which is at that mindless stage of sleeves knitting. Oh, how I hate sleeves. I should really only knit short-sleeved garments, because I get so bored with sleeves and when I get bored I start procrastinating and progress stalls…

I’ve at least managed to get past the elbow, so I guess I’m on the home-straight with this sleeve at least.

Not exciting, but for the sake of documentation, here it is:

I’ve also taken delivery of a huge (and I mean HUGE – I kind of underestimated how much toy stuffing 1kg was!!) bag of polyester toy stuffing, so I was able to finish Roly’s body. I quite like this project – it’s fussy, but with all the short rows and the counting, and the Kitchener stitch and the 3 needle bind-offs it’s never dull, and it’s the perfect project to become more at ease with the fiddlier aspects of knitting technique.

Picture of the kitchener stitch seam on the belly:

I’m also finished knitting the horns and am now on to knitting 14 (!) little insect legs. Once that’s done and all those tiny legs are sewn onto the body I’ll only have to embroider some eyes on and it’s done!!

I’m also slowly continuing to knit on Black Acer. Even though this continues to be slow, considering that for a few months the project stalled almost entirely this is actually really good progress. As I’m settling into the pattern more it is becoming less confounding as well, which is great, because I’m now not continuously glued to the pattern print-out and can actually enjoy the knit.

Here, have a black blob, so you can admire my work this week (isn’t black impossible to photograph?!):

Last but not least, I've been a bad girl and have bought yarn. This was prompted by boy #2's wish for a hat and scarf for next winter, but really, we all know that this is a feeble excuse - I could easily have found something to use in my stash...

Look at it though, isn't this gorgeous?

This is Manos del Uruguay, Silk Blend, which is a 70% wool, 30% silk yarn, approximately dk / aran weight. I bought it through Ravelry.

The other day it occurred to me that this Year of Projects is drawing to a close. I can’t believe it’s been one year already.

With that in mind I went back to my original project list to see what I’d achieved. At times I’ve ventured quite far from that original list, so not everything is relevant anymore and I’ve knitted and crocheted things that I didn’t even know existed when I first drew up that list, but again, for the sake of recapping the year, here is the original list:

The Garter Yoke Cardi - DONE

Ink Flare - DONE

Ink Flare 2 - DONE

Socks for boys - DONE, DONE and DONE

Bulky Moebius Cowl - DONE

Shalom cardi

Ubernatural - SWAPPED FOR LIESL (DONE)

Dietrich

Socks for me - DONE

Sideways Grande Cloche

Easy Raglan V-Neck - DONE

Granny Square Blanket - DONE

I think I've done pretty well with that original list - and of course I've achieved so much more!!

Projects that I've completed (or at least started) that were not part of the original plan were:

Roly the Roly Poly Pill Bug

The Eyelet Yoke Sweater

Black Acer

The Weekender blanket

Ripples

The Crochet Cushion cover

Boy #3's Handspun Hat

Owls

The Mystery Crochet Blanket

Totoro

I think all in all it’s been a productive year, and despite the fact that I’ve been super busy with work. I guess it’s nearly time to start thinking about next years’ Year of Projects – I’ll better get planning!!

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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

WIP Wednesday...

You know, when teaching finished a couple of weeks ago I really REALLY thought that things were going to be a bit more calm and less frantic and chaotic.

Well, um...

This hasn't really happened. Yes, I am less busy at work at the moment, but that is only because I am MORE busy at home. Not only is it half term this week (and since I am for once not teaching I am taking some time to spend with the boys) but the boys have picked up some virus. First it was boy #2. He's not often ill, so we were surprised how this illness threw him. He was off school for a whole week, which just never happens to him (he's the kind of kid who will get a badge at the end of term for 100% attendance). It was an odd sort of bug - at times he was almost OK, but he got several temperature spikes throughout the day that we controlled through meds. When he was finally over the bug I worried that the other boys would get it. When over a week passed and nothing happened I started to relax.

Well, they've got it now. Boy #3 isn't too bad, although he did run a bit of a fever and now has a nasty cough, but boy #1 has got it really badly. The poor child has been lying on the sofa for 4 days now. Initially it was just the fever, but now he has the cough from hell. I'll take him to the doctor's tomorrow so someone can listen to his chest...

So not only do I have all three boys at home at the moment, two of them are also ill, requiring special attention, plus, boy #2, currently not ill, is bored out of his mind because he'd like to go places. ;)

All this is conspiring against both knitting time and in particular computer time, meaning that updates have been few and far between. That said, here is an update. :)

I've finished the shell of Roly the Pill Bug.

I'm so happy with how the Noro Silk Garden is working out for this project. The colour changes couldn't be more perfect if I'd deliberately chosen them to come out in that way. And that weird set of mushroom-y colours that, in a garment, always looked like something I'd never wear? Perfect for a bug as it turns out! ;)

Progress on this has now stalled, because I got to the point when I need to stuff the body and then kitchener stitch the belly up and I needed to order some fiberfill because I don't think the sewing cut-offs that I stuffed Totoro with would work for this one because it needs to stay subtle and soft enough to curl up.

On the plus side, with Roly on hold I've been making a bit of headway with Black Acer. Progress is still slow, but I've started the cable pattern. I'm a little confused because the order of the different pattern repeats is not all that clear, but I think I've got it right... Or so I hope, but once I've done the first set of repeats and can see the pattern better it should be more obvious if I have it right or not.

I tried hard to get a good shot of Acer, but not only is black really quite tricky to photograph but boy #3 insisted on photobombing every single time I lined everything up. :)

He even got his Spiderman to participate...

I suppose Spiderman is quite photogenic...

There is some minor progress on the Eyelet Yoke and on the Weekender, but I've not had time to photograph either of them. Got to aim to be a bit more disciplined again about taking pictures.

So there you go, that is my update for the week.

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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

WIP Wednesday - more new beginnings...

Handspun Liesl is progressing nicely.

It's fun, knitting with yarn that you've spun yourself, and it's been a long time since I've last done a big project with handspun. I don't often get the time for spinning now, so even though I have two fleeces currently waiting to be processed and spun, it could be a long time before I get around to it and before I have spun enough yarn for another big garment. Because of this it's a particular pleasure that I have finally found the right project for this yarn.

Because I'm not already up to my eyeballs in work, and because the house is clearly not nearly chaotic and untidy enough, and because I can still see the washing machine over the pile of laundry waiting to be processed... I've cast on for yet another project.

It's the Eyelet Yoke Sweater.

I've fancied the look of this sweater ever since I spotted it on Ravelry, and yesterday evening, while catching up on House of Cards on Netflix, I cast on with some sage Rowan Calmer that I still had lying around. I got gauge on the first try, with the suggested needle size, so I'm taking this as a good omen. ;)

The instructions for this sweater are somewhat vague - there are instructions only for the smallest size, which wouldn't fit me, and because of the lack of detailed information about sizing the pattern is indicated as for 'experienced knitters'. I'm not sure I'd class myself as 'experienced', but with my typical 'oh, I'm sure it'll work out' attitude I've cast on anyway. The gauge is 4 stitches / 5 rows for 1 inch, so I've cast on 8 more stitches to add another 2 inches to the bust and waist. Hopefully this will work, otherwise I have some frogging to do!!

I've not done any more work on my black Acer, which is such a shame, as the weather is getting warm enough that I would probably wear this a lot. Apparently I really REALLY don't like knitting with black. I suppose that's something to remember...

I'll try to make some time this week to progress with this cardi because much as I don't want to knit it, I do want to wear it! ;)

And what am I reading this week?

Well, I've not had much time for reading, so my book hasn't changed. BUT I treated myself to an ebay purchase the other day: it's a back copy of Sew, with a little dress pattern that I'm hoping to make, so that's what I'm hoping to look through tonight. :)

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Wednesday, April 08, 2015

WIP Wednesday - Meet Totoro!

After last week's big project update with the woven rug, this week's update is quite a bit smaller, because the Easter weekend didn't leave a lot of time for knitting, or crafting, or doing much of anything other than having fun with the family.

But oh, what fun we've had!

I'll try to do an update about all the things we got up to in the next few days, but for today I want to introduce you to the newest member of our family...

Meet Totoro!

Isn't he cute?

He's actually absolutely huge. I don't quite know if it was the yarn (actually, it probably was - I think it was supposed to be DK but I used aran...), but he's LARGE.

I stuffed him with everything I had available. I had a tiny bit of toy stuffing left over, and that went in first. You couldn't even tell. Next went in some shredded left-over batting from my last quilt. Totoro absorbed all of that too, without looking the least bit chubby. Seriously, by that point I thought I must have accidentally constructed a Tardis (bigger on the inside, and all that...).

I then went through my basket with sewing leftovers and I am so glad that I'm such a pathological hoarder, because I found a whole bunch of off-cuts that anyone in their right mind would have thrown out because they were too small to even make the tiniest of quilting patches, but which I'd kept on the off-chance that I'd need them to stuff something. Like a huge Totoro shell for example.

I crammed a whole lot of sewing off-cuts into the main body and finally the chubby Totoro shape started to emerge. Little bits of fabric also went into the arms, ears and tail, and then I assembled it all and stitched his little face on. Tadah!

The boys LOVE him.

(I also sewed the sofa cover - that was a little project that DID get done. There are two chair-beds under there and they kept sliding apart. It drove me insane! The cover isn't quite finished yet, though - I have to hem the bottom edge all around)

It's quite funny to see for me, because they are not normally the stuffed toy type and even when they were little didn't pay much attention to Teddy Bears and other soft toys at all. Clearly it makes a difference if it's something made for them and they were able to observe the whole process, start to finish.

I had meant to make this one for boy#3 but it looks like boy#1 has claimed it instead. Orders have been received for more Totoros. I may be crocheting Totoros for the foreseeable future...

Also, for Yarn Along - I'm currently reading The Long Song, by Andrea Levy, which is a harrowing but also utterly riveting read. This is what it says on the inside cover:

"You do not know me yet, but I am the narrator of this work. My son Thomas, who is printing this book, tells me it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.

July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831 and she was present when slavery was declared no more. My son says I must convey how the story tells also of July's mama Kitty, of the negroes that worked the plantation land, of Caroline Mortimer the white woman who owned the plantation and many more persons besides - far too many for me to list here. But what befalls them all is carefully chronicled upon these pages for you to peruse.

Perhaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves."

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Wednesday, April 01, 2015

WIP Wednesday update

Things have been a bit slow this week. I was exhausted at the end of last week - some bad nights, busy days, plus an all-day conference with a 5 am start and a late conference dinner on Friday meant that by Saturday morning I was feeling ill with exhaustion. As if the boys sensed that I desperately needed some rest, when we got back from their swimming lessons around lunchtime they all went upstairs and played happily for about an hour while I rested on the sofa. I even had a little nap! When I got up I felt marginally better and was able to admire the beautiful den they built together. :)

Still, being so busy all week and so exhausted at the weekend meant that I didn't get a lot done this week. There has been some gentle crocheting on the weekender blanket and I've made some progress on Totoro. Boy #3 was delighted when he realised what I was making and all three of them wanted to watch My Neighbour Totoro again on Sunday. I'm quite looking forward to finishing the little fella myself now!

I do have an almost-FO to show for though - the pegloom rug is off the loom! It's not quite finished because I have a bit of sewing in to do and I need to tidy up its overall appearance a bit. There are quite a few bits of fabric sticking out, plus all those loose threads, and I also need to trim the tassles, but otherwise it's all done. It weighs a ton!

As you can see, it's already been put to good use!

I've braided the ends to keep them neat, but it makes the fabric strips 'bulge' a bit in-between. I may sew them in to make the ends neater.

The boys really want to keep it in the living room, but I'm not sure yet. They like to sit there and play or watch TV and have a snack or they carry drinks through when I'm not looking, and unless they change their habits I really don't think they are ready for a rug - the last one we had was trashed after about a year!! Of course this one should be washeable, but that doesn't mean that it would easily wash. It's too big to fit into a washing machine, so I would have to bring it to the drycleaners.

I'm still pretty busy this week, but it's the Easter break now so there won't be any teaching, which is already a relief - just to have the chance to catch up a bit and work ahead to get things sorted for the remaining teaching weeks after the Easter break makes me feel a bit better. Still, it's been a hard term, this one...

I'm still feeling very tired, but hopefully I'll get round to some more crafting this week. I'm looking forward to it. For now, have some Easter craft to admire:

Boy #2 made this card at school:

I've found a few minutes here and there to bring a bit of Easter spirit into the house too:

Some twigs from the garden - hopefully the flower buds will open. I have no idea what that shrub is called (we didn't plant it) but it has beautiful yellow blooms around Easter time). The picture of the flower (with written descriptions of the individual parts) was done by boy #1 at school.

Some Easter chicks - they don't look half as nice as in the magazine where I saw them, but I didn't have any round safety eyes to complete the look. Still, they are cute enough I suppose...

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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

WIP Wednesday - general crafting update

Life got busy again and I've not been able to update. It's funny how that works, because I still manage to knit, but somehow when it gets that busy I just don't feel like dragging the camera out to photograph anything that I'm working on. Knitting, and crochet, and weaving... well, that happens in the little spaces in-between the busy periods, but somehow photography and blog writing requires more brain space and more dedicated time, and hence get pushed to the side.

In any case, I am back (for now) and since I'm now in the much-needed and awaited teaching-free period around Easter updating should become much more regular again.

I haven't really done a proper update for ages, so I've spent some time in the past few days trying to find the right light to photograph what I've been up to.

First of all, there is the peg-loom rug:

After the initial mad dash I slowed down quite a bit, but the project is now truly approaching completion. I anticipate another two or three lots to thread on, and then I'll call it finished. Tidying up, of course, may take a while longer, because there are loose ends to weave in, little bits of fabric and thread sticking up, etc., and I've also not quite decided if I want tassels or if a clean edge might be preferable, in which case I need to thread the warp through to hide it.

Doesn't it look fabulous, though? It's HUGE!

Next on the list - the Weekender blanket.

This is progressing quite nicely. I only work on it when I'm sitting down in the living room because adding pieces as you go along makes this a pretty non-portable project, not only because of the bulkiness of the blanket as it grows, but also because of all those balls of yarn.

Talking about balls of yarn... we have a problem:

There have been complaints (from D), and the boys have been playing football with the yarn, which led to more complaints (from me).

I also have a confession to make... That's not all stash yarn... I've been buying yarn. Yes, I hang my head in shame, but it was unavoidable (or so I tell myself...).

I initially wanted to make the blanket completely from stash, but quickly realised that unlike with the granny square blanket, where I was able to mix yarns from sock-weight to aran quite freely, with hexies you can't really do that. This means that I don't have enough yarn with the same or similar weight to complete an entire blanket. I am still using bits of stash, and I intend to use up as much of the mountain of cheap acrylic that I've acquired as I can, but I tell myself that since it will be a big family blanket and the acrylic was very very cheap it wasn't too bad a purchase, even if I broke my own rules about stash enhancement...

It's funny about the acrylic, though. I really used to loath the stuff, and even now I don't think I'd want to knit any garment from it, but for blankets it's great, because it wears and washes well and it's not scratchy or tickly. Plus, it's so cheap. I bought most of those huge 200g balls for £1,20 each!

Anyway, enough self-justification, moving on to the next project - the Acer cardi.

This is very slow-going. I really think I'm going to love the finished cardi, and I love how the yarn knits up, but I don't love knitting with it. It's splitty and it's black, making it almost impossible to knit in the evening or when I can't give it my full attention. In our household that means almost never! Then my old (and cheap) cable needle broke and I had to go out to get a new one.

I splashed out a bit on that one, but they didn't have the cable length I wanted in any of the cheaper versions so I ended up with an interchangeable cable needle. Oh well, at least I can add to it whenever I need another cable needle and it does look quite pretty!

Last but not least, I've started a little Amigurumi pattern. Do any of you know the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro? It's a Japanese anime film and the boys love it (and so do I), and this little fellow is Totoro, who is a kind of forest spirit. I think boy#2 and boy #3 in particular will like this one. :)

I am truly crocheting this one from stash - the blue/grey is a bunch of Rowan All-Seasons Cotton that i still had lying around from a project years ago, and I have some off-white recycled yarn that I am using as the accent colour.

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