FO - Olive sweater

You know the relief when you finally get an interminable, never-ending will-this-ever-be-done project off your needles? In my case this was Olive.

This sweater, knitted from the Super Birthday Sweater pattern, was starting to be some kind of nemesis. Honestly, I think I started this last September? And it's not by any definition a challenging project - it's a top-down raglan in quite heavy aran or even bulky, on fat needles. It should have taken weeks, not months, to finish, even without putting much effort into it. 

But perhaps that was the problem. It was just not a very interesting project. Not even the yarn was interesting. I was using a non-descript single-ply yarn that I got off ebay about a decade ago. It's OK, but it's a bit over-twisted and it's a little scratchy. I do like the colour, though, and I thought it might work well for a simple raglan.

I finished this jumper on Sunday, during a Eurovision marathon (recorded the night before so the boys could watch it). When I tried it on I realised that I had somehow totally messed up the waist. Obviously, as bored as I was with this project, I had never bothered to try it on. It looked loose and baggy and it was pretty clear that I wouldn't be able to wear it as it was. 

Needless to say, there was zero chance of me unravelling this to re-knit the entire body of the sweater. 

No. Way.

I decided to take the plunge and try my first ever darts. A couple of days ago the jumper was for the chop - I marked the areas to be cut by roughly sewing them together with bright yarn and sewed the sides together about 500 times on my sewing machine. Then I took the scissors to the surplus knit and then zigzag-ed the loose ends together once more.

The result, on the inside, isn't pretty, but on the outside it actually looks OK, even though I still feel that it's a bit over-generous in places...

I'm still a bit paranoid about the cut edges though, so may do some more sewing...

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FOs and WIPs and such... A Year of Projects...

... Well, in my case more like half a year of projects. Not that I have that much to show for.

I have, however, steadily been working on and I do in fact have one FO. It's been a FO for some time now, but I never got round to posting about it. It's the Scheepjes CAL Dancing in the Rain blanket. I joined the CAL on Facebook and, apart from a few lapses, kept up with the pattern pieces pretty well. Some were tricky, others were not favourites in the making, but mostly they were fun to make, and always challenged my crocheting skills. It's been good to make this blanket, yes, and it's very rewarding to see it used by the boys every day. They really do love their blankets. The first thing they said when we got to our flat when we went on holiday a few weeks ago was 'but there are no blankets on the sofa!!'. I think my enduring love of blankets may be to blame. Clearly it's rubbed off on them...

Anyway, here we go - 'Dancing in the Rain', all complete and such:

The yarn is acrylic, which, considering the near-constant use this blanket is receiving, is probably an excellent thing, and after some initial teething problems I actually got on with it very well. There was a significantly more expensive Merino option for the kit, but I'm glad I stuck with the acrylic - it's soft, and light, and the blanket feels very snuggly.

I'm also slowly making progress on two projects that I've had on the needles for ages - Black Acer, and the Boneyard Shawl. 

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WIP update - on a Thursday!

I normally try to update on a Wednesday, but this week is kind of getting away from me. I don't really quite know why, but I feel frazzled and tired and sort of drained. Perhaps I'm coming down with something? Or is it the colder weather that's getting me down? 

On the upside, I do have some progress to report on. I'm still crocheting the Spice of Life, but the fifth pattern piece is a bit of a monster, because it's basically a repeat of all the previous pattern pieces in order to add length to the blanket. Well then... this may take me a while! I'm plodding on with it, but in the meantime I've also been dividing my time between this project and my Christmas present plans, so I've made a pair of fingerless mitts (I'll introduce those tomorrow) and have already cast on for another pair of mitts, this time not fingerless. I am using aran yarn, which makes these projects satisfyingly quick and I'm hoping to crank out this other pair by the end of the week. I'm planning on knitting another pair after that, but I'll stick with these first so I can add them to the 'done' pile and feel good about my progress. :)

The pattern I'm using for these is 'Maize'.

I've also got a whole lot of glazed pottery back this week. Honestly, I had forgotten how much of it there was. I was pleased to see that a lot of it came out looking OK, despite the fact that I'm learning something about myself - I don't enjoy glazing. I find the process kind of tedious but nerve-wrecking at the same time, because you can ruin a perfectly good pot by applying glaze haphazardly. Overall I think I might be more interested in shape than in colour... 

That said, here are a few examples that I felt had turned out well:

And last but not least, the bowls that the boys made and told me to glaze according to their instructions were finished too - they are absolutely thrilled with them. :)

If I continue at this rate I'll run out of room soon, even if I give gifts to family and friends, so my plan is to set up a folksy shop to sell some pieces. 

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Is it Wednesday already?

Time for another Year of Projects update!

I'm lagging behind a bit with my Spice of Life blanket. Not desperately so, but yesterday a new pattern piece was released and I haven't quite finished the previous one yet... It's not too dramatic, though, I 'm only about 6 rows behind and I'm hoping to catch up tonight.

Autumn always seems to fly by around here. It might have something to do with the three (!) kids birthdays, and Halloween, and Nicholas Day and then of course there is Christmas too. We are hosting it this year, and since we are an English/German household this might well mean not one but two celebrations - one on Christmas Eve, as is the German tradition, and another one on Christmas Day. The boys obviously think it's fantastic...

With Christmas in mind I've turned my attention more firmly to Christmas presents. I'd like to give quite a few handmade gifts this year, in particular for my step sisters, because we have agreed to not get into the habit of spending lots on each other. In previous years this has translated into little gift sets of cupcake forms and recipe book, or mug and hot chocolate mix, but once you've done that you can't really gift the same again, can you? 

This year I decided that instead it's going to be pottery and knitting. I've already introduced the chunky hat that I'm hoping to give to one of my stepsisters, and I've also completed my niece's little flower hat:



Boy #1 thinks it's a 'granny hat'. I'm choosing to take no notice...

Yesterday, while binge-watching the work of a director I'm working on (I love my job...) I managed to get a little production line going and made a number of little houses for tea lights or incense cones:

Cute, aren't they? D thinks they look industrial, like old Victorian factory buildings. I quite like the idea. By glazing them in different colours you could achieve a very different look - black or grey for a slightly sinister Halloween look (Haunted House!), or white, for a more Christmassy feel. I think I'll go with white, since they are supposed to be Christmas gifts.

I'm also contemplating a Tunesian Crochet scarf for my step mom. When I opened my email this morning I found an email from Purl Soho with a free pattern for this scarf:

Isn't it lovely? I'm not sure I'll get away without ordering some yarn, since most of the wool yarn that I have left is a bit too scratchy for a scarf, but you never know... 

My dad will also get a handmade gift this year. About 10 years ago, when I last took part in a pottery class, I made a platter which he liked and he asked me if I could make him a bowl that was large enough for his big dining table. I agreed, and then promptly had three babies and went to pottery class no more. ;)  Since I've now taken it up again I thought I was running out of excuses, so I made this bowl:

I wanted to recreate the ripple effect you get when water drops into a still pool. I'm hoping to glaze it a simple matt white and have already ordered some glaze for it. Unfortunately, when I rang Potclays this morning to enquire why they hadn't sent the glaze yet, they informed me that it's out of stock and only expected back in on 21st October, but since right now the bowl is not even fired yet, this shouldn't hold me up too much. Hopefully it will be ready for Christmas!

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Pottery mania

I've not posted much about it in recent weeks, but suffice to say that my pottery obsession continues unabated. The only reason I've not posted much about it is that I've been too busy making pottery to take pictures of it. I want to try to be a bit more disciplined about it from now on, because I do like to keep a record of what I am making and when I was making it, and what better place than the blog to do that, after all! I may have to pick a day of the week to share some pottery - the rigidity of having a specific day for a task seems to keep me on track!

I'm quite fascinated by how, as you are pursuing a craft, you quickly, and almost unthinkingly, gravitate towards something that speaks to you. Clay, as such an organic material to work with, seems to encourage that more than other crafts I've worked with, even, and sometimes it feels as if I can start with only a  vague idea in mind of what I'm trying to do, only to find that my hands find a way to form something quite different, something much more specific. 

Of course it doesn't work without technique, so at times I need to stop to think about how I might achieve a certain effect I am after, and I also spend some time making quite utilitarian things that I just think we could do with around the house. So this week I spent some time making a succulents planter for the mantlepiece. 

I like cacti, I always have, really. Their quiet stubbornness appeals to me, clinging on to life where most other plants would give up, and ever since I can remember I've kept cacti on my windowsill. As a little girl I had a wooden shelving unit to perch on the sill, given to me by my grandma, just for that purpose. Later on, as I went to university, a lot of the cacti got neglected because I couldn't take them with me and especially after my mum got ill my dad didn't really spend a lot of time looking after my plants. I don't blame him, he would just always prefer a plastic plant over the real thing, haha. 

In recent years I've come back to my cacti love, and the boys seem to take after me and often ask if they can bring home a cactus if we are dropping in at a garden centre. The thing is, though, all those little pots can be a little unsightly, and with the top-heavy cacti they are prone to falling over too! With that in mind I've decided to repot some of them together into a planter with a matching saucer so they can be displayed in style. 

This is obviously not fired yet, but I think you can get the idea, no? I quite like a non-fussy look, so the squareness appealed to me.

I'm planning a few more of these pots.

Other things I've been making are less functional and more ornamental, and I am finding that with these in particular I seem to gravitate towards organic but also quite simple shapes; curves, folded,  origami shapes, forms that suggest crumpled up paper or fabric. Pods and forms that are inspired by nature, such as this seed pod shape, or the slab-built shapes below:

I have other ideas too, that I can't wait to explore. I'll keep you posted. For now it's all packed to take to the studio tonight for firing.  :) 

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WIP Wednesday - all the blankets...

There you go - it's official, I've started on the Spice of Life CAL.

So far I'm really enjoying it, and that I'm making it (mainly) from stash is just an added bonus, because what is more satisfying than seeing your stash slowly, slowly shrink, thereby making more room for new yarn purchases?

I'm also enjoying the unapologetic bright colourful nature of this project. Truly anything goes with a crochet blanket. It's not dissimilar to socks in that regard, isn't it? All those colours that you just wouldn't dare use in a jumper or cardigan just sit cheerfully together and have a big ol'party. 

Yesterday the next pattern piece came out, so I'm busy adding the next part to the blanket.

I do have to admit, though, that my blanket love at the moment is ever so slightly over the top. D wisely refrains from commenting, and the boys are only delighted to see more blankets in the making, but really, if I am perfectly honest I have to admit that it's a bit crazy to have three (!!) big blankets on the go at the same time. Together with the Weekender, and Ripple, the Spice of Life is going to keep me busy for some time. 

And that's not my only WIP either. 

There is Black Acer, once again sadly neglected.

There is the Boneyard Shawl, which also hasn't got a look in for well over a week now.

And there is a pair of socks that I started while on holiday, which I haven't even blogged about yet, because I haven't really worked on it ever since we came home from Borkum.

When, you might rightly ask, am I going to start all those Christmas projects that I was planning on making this year? That would be a good question indeed.

In order to battle my guilt about not working on any presents I cast on for a hat this morning. I'm using an ancient HipKnits super-bulky slubby yarn for this that I've had lying around for years, so it's a stash-busting project too, which can never be a bad thing...

As you can no doubt imagine, this is a very quick knit. I'm not even sure what needle size I am using, but I am adding on average 1 inch every two rows. The pattern I'm using is the Holbrook Hat, and it couldn't be simpler:

Cast on 42 stitches

knit in a k1 p1 pattern until you get to 11 inches

k2tog until you can't do so comfortably with a 16' circular needle

bind off

I'm currently at 7 inches and the ball of yarn is getting smaller... I'm hoping I'll get to 11 inches. The bind-off shouldn't take too much yarn I hope.

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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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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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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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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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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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Wake Up Wednesday

Introducing Roly, and A Year of Projects - the list to end all lists...

Two things on the agenda today. 

First I would like to introduce the newest addition to the family...

Meet Roly, the pill bug, or, as we would say in the UK, the woodlouse. 

He is already quite at home here, and he likes to crawl up the back of the sofa when it is least expected, scaring and tickling unsuspecting family members and visitors alike.

He took a good long time to finish, but that wasn't his fault - I got side-tracked by various other projects, and because he consists mainly of short rows (oh, all the short rows, I will never forget how to do those now) he wasn't a very good project to pick up for a few distracted minutes with busy family life going on around me.

That said, this was a fun pattern to knit, and the constant shaping, together with the gradual colour changes of the Noro, kept it interesting throughout. I really like how Roly has turned out, and I'm so glad that I held on to that Noro afterall or I wouldn't have had such an fantastic yarn to use for this. Everything about this Noro Silk Garden was ideal - the weird mushroom-y, 'buggy' colours, the texture of the silk, the way the colours seemed to change at just the right moments...

~ * ~

The other 'little' thing  I have been working on is that pesky Year of Projects list, and oh, there are so many projects I'd like to get round to this year! I've decided to post two lists - an ideal list of projects, and a list of essentials. 

Needless to say, my 'ideal' list is pretty monumental (well, at least for me, I'm not *that* prolific!):

IDEAL LIST

• Hitofude - carried over from last year I have a ton of ivory sock yarn that is earmarked for this. 
• Dietrich hat  - this has been brought over from last year's list. Really hoping to get it done this year!
• Marian - I really fancy a big bad cowl to keep me warm. I may knit another one as a Christmas present...
• Audrey in Unst - I really like my cardigans slightly retro and fitted, because I wear them with dresses and skirts. I love the red version of this. I am planning on frogging an unloved sweater, so perhaps the wool could be repurposed for this.
• Sideways Grande Cloche - I love the construction of this.
• Campus Jacket - I was planning on knitting this anyway, and a friendly Ravelry member sent me a copy of the pattern for my birthday. Isn't that lovely?
• Color Affection - I am hoping to knit a few more wraps and shawls this year and this elegant pattern has been on my list for some time.
• Prolix Mitts - so cool!
• Bellflower - Klokkeblomst
• Lady February - so cute, and I love that style in a cardigan
• Balls Up! - Christmas baubles
• Little Red Riding Hood Hooded Scarf - so cute!
• Quay - cardigan
• Honey Cardigan - so pretty!
• Idlewood - I really like this one. It was on my list towards the end of last year so perhaps it will actually get done this time round. 
• Chandail - cable cardi
• Boneyard Shawl - lovely simple pattern. 
• Raw Honey - fingerless mitts. I want to knit these with some leftover aran yarn. If I get on OK with the pattern I may knit a few as Christmas presents.
• Stripey Tube Hat - probably for boy #2. He wants a stripey hat in green and red (he was very specific about the colours...).
• Moriarty: Two Colour Crochet Beanie - this one might be fore me. :) 
• Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief 
• Kids' Stripey Beanie - perhaps as a newborn gift for my new niece or nephew (due in December)
• Lori Shawl - I like the simplicity of this one...
• Kuni Shawl - again, a simple but effective pattern. 
• Mohair Cowl Pullover - I still have a huge hank of blue handdyed Mountain Fleece mohair lying around. This pattern seems perfect for it!
• Classic Cowl - potential Christmas Present?
• Hitchhiker - a popular pattern and I can see why. Possible Christmas knitting?
• Little Cable Knee Highs - these look so cool! I'd love some knee-high socks. 

In addition I'm planning a few mystery sock KALs to reduce my sock yarn stash, and of course there are all those projects that tend to sneak onto the list later on...

There are also a few ongoing projects:

• Ripple - there is no rush for this one, it's an ongoing project that I occasionally pick up.
• The Weekender Blanket - same for this one. It's a good one to add to whenever I fancy crocheting a few hexies. 
• The Sock Experiment - I'm sort of making this one up as I go along...
• Experimental Hat - knitting this one with a ball of what I assume is Noro. I lost the label years ago so can't be sure, though. Again I'm sort of making this one up.
• Black Acer - still ongoing. It's coming on holiday with me, so hopefully there will be some more progress soon.

A friend and work colleague has also asked me if I could be persuaded to knit her a fox stole. She has no pattern for it but showed me a picture. I quite fancy trying this!

THE 'ESSENTIAL' LIST

• Hitofude 
• Dietrich
• Audrey in Unst
• Campus Jacket 
• Prolix Mitts 
• Idlewood 
• Chandail or Honey Cardigan
• Boneyard Shawl 
• Raw Honey 
• Stripey Tube Hat
• Moriarty: Two Colour Crochet Beanie
• Kids' Stripey Beanie 
• Mohair Cowl Pullover 
• Classic Cowl or Marian
• Hitchhiker

Is this achievable, do you think? I'd really REALLY like to get all these done, but then again, with the sneaky queue-jumpers that I tend to get throughout the year it's really not a certainty!

So there you go! My bags are packed, my knitting projects are chosen, and I'm now ready to go on holiday!

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