Bellsknits

Sunshine Socks

Posted on February 12, 2012 | 17 Comments

I set out to knit a pair of socks that fit me as well as I could manage. They’re not perfect, but I paid attention to detail more so than usual and I think it helped. Here are my Sunshine Socks.

I set out to knit them at a much tighter gauge than I normally do.

I worked on 2.25mm needles and I’m a tight knitter so it was pretty firm. I’d even go down to 2mm I think, just for fun.

I did the leg in rib. 2×2 rib to be precise.

And I continued ribbing on the heel flap – sort of. Six knit stitches broken up by some purl stitches to give the effect of the ribbing continuing.

Instinctively I’d decided to knit these on 68 stitches, rather than the 64 I normally do on slightly larger needles. I think it was a good move, accounting for the tighter gauge. But if I were to go down to even smaller needles, I don’t think I’d need to increase the stitch count. I find socks tend to relax so much with wear. I can afford to not increase stitches.

The yarn is Yarntini ‘Sunshine Stripe’ – which came to me via RoseRed and her membership in the Yarntini sock club, which I’m going to have to get on board with if there’s another one. For plain, go everywhere knitting I think you can’t beat a good fun self striping yarn. Who needs fancy stitches with yarn this sunny and vibrant? Let the colours do the work!

I asked my chickens what they thought and they were in firm agreement throughout the photo shoot.

And I like how I even got them to match! They didn’t have to. I didn’t try too hard. It just worked out that way, for once.

Hey while I think of it – if you’ve got a recommendation for a good sock yarn club where I’ll be sent instalments of pretty, colourful sock yarn, leave a comment. I’m going to do this!

Bells

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Posted in Chickens, FO2012, Knitting

Olearia

Posted on February 6, 2012 | 15 Comments

This project wasn’t supposed to happen. Initially when I set out to make something from a skein of Cascade Ultra Pima, it was going to be a Dolphin Bay top for Alice. The less said about the frustrations I experienced with that piece the better, although ripping it out late on a Friday night when I was tired and had half a bottle of wine in me was probably ill-judged. I should make those sorts of decisions in daylight with a clearer head. Anyway, moving on.

When I ripped it out and cast on another Tikki pattern for Alice, I breathed a sigh of relief. That woman knows how to write a pattern. This time I chose Olearia, which can be knit as a cardigan or a shrug. I wasn’t sure about yardage issues so I chose a shrug. A week later, it was done. I had enough to knit a full cardigan but am infinitely happier at this point with a little cropped piece. It’s perfect for this not so warm summer.

She wore it all day Saturday, to the markets, at morning tea with friends and then to the roller derby in the evening and it I decided that shrugs are very practical.

Jeans, t-shirt, shrug in cotton for a little weather protection – it’s all perfect. Now if I could just make her hair stay up instead of slipping out of whatever clips or bands I put around it, I’d be happier. That fringe drives us all crazy but while it’s growing out, it’s really hard to manage.

It’s a great fit all over, as you can see from this photo from the back. It sits well no matter what she’s doing. I’m eyeing off my cotton collection wondering how long until I start a new one!

The inevitable chocolate face shot!

And then come winter I may well make the full cardigan version because, as I’ve said before in one way or another, toddler knits are like chips. You can’t stop at one and they’re great bite sized projects.

Better still was that after a day of getting chocolate and jam all over it, being cotton I threw it in the wash and hung it in the sun and it was dry and ready to wear again the next day. I love the wool or alpaca knits I’ve done for her, but I do love that the cotton ones are so easy care.

Having said I’m itching to cast on a new one for her, in truth I’m focusing on knits for me for a little while before some gifts have to be done. I think it’s time I had a new cardigan!

Bells

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Posted in Family, FO2012, Knitting

It’s raining, it’s pouring

Posted on February 3, 2012 | 16 Comments

We’re setting into a period of steady rain here, and for summer it’s oddly cold (I am wearing a knitted cardigan today, in February. Amazing!). All i want to be doing right now is sitting at home, rain outside, working on finishing a little shrug I’m making for Alice so that I can start swatching for something new for me.

Here’s the shrug in progress. It should be finished, washed and drying by tomorrow morning which is handy because Alice is spending the weekend with us.

Like RoseRed and others I’m stockpiling yarn and ideas for the cardigans I want to knit for winter. I’m itching to get stuck in. Hours have been devoted in recent weeks to matching yarn and patterns. There are cardigans’ worth of yarn I’ve had set aside for some time and I’m going to use them, instead of buying anything new. Revolutionary idea, right?

My top five patterns at the moment, receiving heavy consideration are Seamair by Amy Herzog, Blair by Thaya Preece, Driven by Veera Välimäki, Iced by Carol Feller and Estelle by Linden Down. In a way I think I have to stop looking for Winter 2012 patterns and just pick one and start because I keep finding new ideas and it’s quite paralyising.

However, just because it’s cold and wet this week, doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way and I’m sure there’s some summer left to be had, so I’ve got some time to think.

I’ll leave you with something that’s thrilling me in my garden at the moment. My sunflowers. Their big, happy faces (which are under constant threat by the cockatoos that sit over head waiting for them to be ripe) are such a wonderful addition to my garden. I think, like daffodils in spring, I must always have sunflowers in summer.

Almost the end of the week. It can’t come soon enough.

Bells

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Posted in Family, Garden, Knitting, Uncategorized

Black and bling

Posted on January 31, 2012 | 13 Comments

It’s been a while since I knitted black lace. I in fact didn’t think I’d do it again since the last one, which I made in 2009, took me so long. If you were around you might remember my Myrtle Leaf shawl from Victorian Lace Today. A long time in the making, it was lovely and worth it, but I said it’d be a long time before I did black lace again, even though the results are fabulous (yes I was trying to emulate the photos from Victorian Lace Today!)

Well not only am I doing black lace again. I’m doing black lace with bling. Or beads. I present the beginning of Billie Holiday, an elegant black, beaded shawl which I’m completely loving.

I have a friend who finds patterns on Ravelry that I’ve never seen before. She sends me links to patterns that are sometimes outside the popular range. They are often patterns that very few people have made, patterns that are a bit different. They often come just when I’m looking for something different and remind me that we can all get into ruts with how we use search engines.

Billie Holiday is a semi circular shawl, in a shape I’ve not made before. If you follow the link you’ll see what I mean.

Here’s how mine looks so far.

I’m even using yarn and beads that my friend gave me, leftover from hers. Lotus Yarns ‘Miya’ which is part mink. Mink! I know! It’s lovely. I did some reading on modern mink yarn production and it’s safe to say no minks died in the production of this yarn.

Unlike many other shawls I’ve knit, this one starts from the long edge, casting on 341 stitches. Let me just say that was not fun or easy and I two or three rows in I mucked it up and started over, but it was worth it and we’re getting along just fine now.

So really I just wanted to show it off, to show you what I’m knitting and to tell you that black lace and beads are fun and thrilling, if you’re into that sort of thrill, which I am.

I can’t wait to have it finished. Which reminds me – I must stop casting on new fun stuff. I really want to have something finished!

Bells

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Posted in Knitting, Uncategorized

Sunshine Dress

Posted on January 22, 2012 | 23 Comments

You might remember a couple of weeks ago I made two matching pinny style dresses – one for Alice and one for the daughter of a friend.

Here’s how they were just after I finished them.

I’m told the Queensland based recipient of one of them has started calling it her Sunshine Dress and so the name stuck.

Here’s Alice in hers, taken yesterday morning in front of my zucchini patch.

Blondes in yellow! Such a great combination. I love it! The dress is reversible but this is the side she chose to wear on our outings yesterday.

Once again, it’s the same pattern I’ve used about half a dozen times for Alice – the Lizzy Pinny. Always a winner. I’ve been making them for about 18 months now so for fun, here’s Alice in the first one I made for her in September 2010, back when I was a total newbie.

Such a cutie. So little. I’m totally ready to move on to slightly more complex dress patterns, but this one is just such a winner with its simplicity as a sun dress. She gets so much wear out of them and I love choosing which fabrics work for a reversible pattern. I don’t think this will be my last!

Bells

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Posted in Family, Garden, Sewing

A Tea Wallet

Posted on January 17, 2012 | 21 Comments

What’s a tea wallet? Is that what you’re asking? Yeah I did too the first time I saw one last year. Cute, I thought. Nice idea, i mused. But I wasn’t sure I needed one. When would I need to take tea bags anywhere with me? If I’m in a cafe, I order leaf tea. If I’m at someone’s house, I have whatever they’re offering. I don’t take flasks of hot water on the road with tea bags. So where’s the need? I filed tea wallets away as cute but not for me.

Then something happened. I found out that I can no longer consume dairy. A series of tests, followed by a diagnosis of no more dairy, at least not for a long time was for this milk addict a life changing moment. No dairy? No cheese! No milk! No butter! No products that contain hidden milk solids. You’d be amazed how many products that rules out. It’s been a learning process. Three weeks in and I feel markedly better. I didn’t believe it would happen but it did.

So now I’m drinking soy milk in tea. That’s an adjustment and not one I’ve made well yet. I may yet switch to black tea but I’m not ready to do that. So if I’m at someone’s house and they don’t have any herbal tea on offer, now I don’t have to go without. I can take my tea with me!

At least, the need for a tea wallet was immediately obvious to me. Today I made one because really, who wants to carry a zip lock bag around in their handbag? Not me.

I even found some cute tea pot fabric in my stash.

It’s tiny. That surprised me. For some reason I thought it would be bigger, but it’s perfect for me! Fits in my hand nicely.

Open it up and look inside.

Ta da!

I totally think this is a bit of a twee little thing, but there’s a place for twee, right? It’s cute, it’s functional, it’s not entirely necessary but as I said, who wants to carry a zip log bag around? This is so much nicer.

The pattern is from here. One of the most commonly made tea wallets you can find on the net. And it took about 45 mins. Very satisfying.

Bells

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Posted in FO2012, Sewing, Uncategorized

Creative January

Posted on January 15, 2012 | 17 Comments

January is cold so far. This is an odd sentence. In this part of the world, it’s meant to be hot, scorchingly so. But it’s not. While this is brilliant for knitting and quilting, it’s not so great for the garden. Growth is slow, ripening almost non-existent.

I’m consoling myself, both on the weather front and the fact that I’m back at work, with knitting and sewing. How comforting it is to even write that sentence. There are so many circumstances in life where that’s a fitting sentence.

Anyway, life goes on and in the absence of any finished knitting to show you, I thought I’d share some recent photos. You’ve probably seen most of them if you’re on facebook or instagram. For those of you who aren’t, here’s a tour of all things creative in my world right now.

I made two little matching reversible pinny dresses for Alice and another little girl I know. Alice hasn’t received hers yet but will have it by the end of the week.

I needed to make these to restore my faith in my sewing skills, which have suffered a bit lately. This worked.

I’ve discovered the marvel that is Cascade Ultra Pima. It’s lush and highly addictive cotton and I can’t get enough of it. This is becoming something for Alice (big surprise there).

I’m in the grip of a cast-on frenzy at the moment (well, relatively speaking. I’ve not started too many new things, but there are a few). This gorgeous yarn (spun by 1FunkyKnitWit Margarita) is becoming a Hitchhiker scarf. It’s a match made in heaven.

See? It’s gorgeous.

I’ve nurtured my first artichoke bloom. I have grown them for the first time and rather than eating them, decided I wanted to see how they flowered, because I knew it’d be spectacular. Look!

And I’m hand quilting Alice’s ~~Christmas~~ birthday quilt.

I still can’t believe I’m hand quilting. This came as a shock. Like I’ve said before, never say never. I’d like to finish this soon because there’s a new quilt in the pipeline and my mum is making it too. She’ll leave me far behind if I don’t get a wriggle on.

So that’s January. As always, never enough hours in the day for it all. I hope you’re feeling busy and productive in your creative life too.

Bells

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Posted in Family, Garden, Knitting, Quilting, Sewing