Old FO - my Casual Orange Jumper

I actually finished this jumper a little while ago but then never got round to blogging about it. 

It was one of my stash-busting projects and I pretty much used up every tiny scrap of this yarn to finish it. Originally I'd hoped that this would be a cowl, but cowls take a lot of yarn and I had only three skeins of Jaeger Shetland to work with. 

This is knitted bottom-up and when I got towards the neck I made a quick decision, scrapped the cowl, and went with a simple scooped raglan neckline instead. I had kept a bit of yarn aside for the sleeves and I basically knitted them bit by bit, together, so I could figure out how far the yarn would go. 

I'm actually pretty happy with this project - I've not worn it much yet because I finished it in July and it's been so hot since, but I'm anticipating getting quite a  bit of wear out of it this autumn and possibly even in winter if I layer it with a long-sleeved top. 

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A Year of Projects
Happiness is Homemade

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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A Year of Projects

Craft On

That muddy-brown raglan: An 'Ugly Duckling' kind of a tale...

I've got another FO to show you! It's the Easy Raglan V-Neck by Stefanie Japel, knitted in my not-so-loved brown GGH Savanna.

I didn't have particularly high hopes for this project, mainly because I didn't love the yarn. It seemed drab and, with its mottled brown colour, kind of ... messy-looking? Since it is a soft yarn, though, I thought that perhaps with the adorable Stefanie Japel v-neck pattern it might make a good home / allotment jumper that would keep me warm and cozy, even if it was never going to look very stylish. 

Half-way through I started to panic that I wouldn't have enough yarn, so I decided to add some orange half-sleeves to make sure I didn't run out. To create a more coherent overall look I added the stripes at the bottom of the body and reversed them at the bottom of the sleeves. I initially just added a thin crochet border to the v-neck edge, but because my gauge had been slightly off the neck came out a bit large and the thin orange band didn't look right so I ripped it out and added a ribbed edge.

You know, I'm actually really really pleased with how this jumper has turned out:

In fact, I think I kind of love it!

It fits so well, and it's so very comfy and you know what - I think, if you squint a bit, it's downright stylish! Who knew the drab brown GGH Savanna had such untapped potential!

Since I said I would, and also because it's so snuggly and warm and it was a cold day, I did wear it to the allotment last weekend, and I have also been wearing it quite a bit at home because it keeps me warm when I'm working in my office, but I'm planning to wear this jumper A LOT, and I'm so happy with how it's turned out, I don't think I'll have any qualms about wearing it 'in public'. 

My photographer, as has been so often the case recently, is boy#1 (aka The Bean). He's actually started to direct me on where he wants me to stand and how he wants me to pose and look. Clearly he is taking his new job very seriously! ;)

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Fiber Arts Friday
Creative Friday
Freshly Finished Friday

A Year of Projects - update for 10-16th August

I think it's time that I review my project list for this year. Some things were finished this month, others changed...

For example, I was going to knit either Conwy or Whitby socks for myself from my sock yarn stash - I've since realised that they are both book patterns, and one of my resolutions for this year is that I won't buy much (ideally I won't by anything yarn related at all, but we'll see how that goes...). I've therefore changed my mind somewhat and I'll instead knit:

1 pair of Lombard Street Socks, using the Patons Kroy Sock yarn that I have in my stash. It's a very pretty mottled grey/brown in colour and I'm realising more and more that I'm definitely a solid colours kind of a gal. I do like stripes, but again, it's the solid blocks of colour that appeal. Much as I like variegated yarns on the skein, knitted up they are often not quite my thing (although of course there are exceptions).

I'm also thinking about some quick DK socks. Perhaps a pair of Skyp Socks and a pair of Breaking Waves socks? Not sure about the yarn yet, but I have any number of DK yarns that might work.

So otherwise, where are we, regarding my projects list:

The Garter Yoke Cardi
Yarn - natural wool/cashmere yarn from stash
I've now started this:

Ink Flare
Yarn: that unruly purple yarn that never gets the correct gauge
Complete:

 Ink Flare
Yarn: the huge hank of green Fleece Artist hand-dyed mohair that I've had for I don't know how long.
This is still something I want to knit - the yarn in question is this one:

Socks for boys
knit one pair of socks for each of the boys. They've chosen their yarn already, so:
Yarn: Regia Crazy Color self-striping 4-ply.
Yep, those are done!

Bulky Moebius Cowl
Yarn: Berry Handspun (by me)
I may knit another one with the 1-Hour-Herringbone pattern.

I love this yarn - I received the fibre in some swap years ago and I'm pretty sure it's a wool/silk mix. Sadly as is often the case with fleece candy, there isn't very much of it, so I spun it deliberately slubby, with a scarf or hat in mind as a potential project. It should work well as a cowl - I hope...

Shalom cardi
Yarn: Olive wool/cashmere blend
Yes, this is still part of the list! I have a shed-load of this yarn, and it refused to be the Garter Yoke cardi, because although it's supposed to be aran weight it was just too thick to get the correct gauge. I think it might work for the Shalom cardi.

Ubernatural
Yarn: orange and yellow handspun
I'm unsure about this one, not because I don't like the pattern, but because I'm not sure I have enough yarn for it. This is what I have - enough? Do I need to omit sleeves?  The alternative would be Liesl. What do you think?

Dietrich
Yarn: sock-weight feltable yarn from stash
Yes, still part of the list!

Sideways Grande Cloche
Yarn: Single skein purple Cascade
Yep, same.

Easy Raglan V-Neck
Yarn: GGH Savanna
This is such an awkward project for me. I actually cast on for it ages ago, but I'm really not fond of the yarn. I don't like the mottled brown of it, and from the way it handles just when knitting with it I get the feeling it's going to wear really badly. On the other hand I can't imagine that anyone would want it, after it's been handled so much (I ripped another project, so it's been handled A LOT).

Granny Square Blanket
Yarn: all the left-overs and the single balls and skeins that I have lying around in dk and aran.
Yes, this is still happening. I'm slowly making progress, although it may take me a while. But then, since this is a left-overs kind of project it doesn't really matter if it takes me another 6 months, does it?

So what is new?

I decided that I fancy some Mermaid gloves. No yarn allocated yet, but I have enough single skeins lying around that it shouldn't be much of a problem.

I also want to knit a simple raglan sweater, using the beige cashmere blend yarn that didn't want to be a Garter Yoke Cardi. I'm thinking the Spring Forward Fall Back Raglan pattern might work because it asks for a heavy aran yarn.

I do want to add some more crochet, because I find the projects so nice and portable without all those needles! On the list are:

The Flat Circle Pillow looks really cute.

I also fancy the Attic 24 Mandalas. Would be pretty on the dining table with a jug of flowers on top...

Plus, I really want to crochet some pot holders.

One problem I have with the crochet projects is that I would like to use cotton for them (a bit of a necessity with the pot holders anyway!). I don't own any (!) cotton yarn apart from maybe a tiny ball of something somewhere. The closest I come is some cotton mix, but that's it!

I have a plan, though - rather than go out and buy some yarn I'll try to swap/trade it for some of my own stash of unwanted wool. I found some groups on Ravelry that look promising: The Completey Pointless and Arbitrary Swap Group looks good, and so does the Yarn Swap and Sell Community and the ISO and Destash of Yarn Community.

I'm now off to photograph all my unwanted stash...