..or the egg?
We've had chickens since before Easter and have been waiting and waiting for The Egg and it has finally come - it's nestling inside my kidsilk haze and the entire extent of my Birch so far.
The party went well. The Giant came and entertained - he was sadly of average height but did bring a very large hat. The birthday girl enjoyed herself and hopefully a good time was had by all. One of her birthday gifts included a little Bottoms-Up Bucket Hat which, to quote Bonne-Marie "flew off the needles".
It was really fun to knit and I'm pleased with the stripes, next time I'll try it with a slightly thicker cotton.
Now, omelette anyone?
Not a great deal of knitting done here - moving along up the front of the Not-A-V-Neck Top, after completing a VAT return (such a chore!) and stuffing millions of party bags (well it felt like it!).
My littlest girl is five this weekend and we're having a party on Saturday to celebrate. We have a childrens entertainer - a giant no less - and over thirty children attending. It's at our school which takes some of the hassle away. I'm off to buy party food - the unstable nature of our Rayburn makes home-baking a little difficult this year. Wish me luck!
Just to show that I'm not the only one knitting in this household, here's a little butterfly my eight-year old made when she was seven (we just unpacked some boxes and there he was).
It's from a cute kit by the Early Learning Centre - several balls of very bright wool and two pairs of little 4mm needles. Even when we start knitting we're being encouraged to have more than one project on the go...
I've finished the back of the Not-A-V-Neck Top. I'm not entirely happy with the I-cord strap, it's a bit bumpy. More of the I than the cord in the execution, I think. I'll do it again or maybe use some nice, wide ribbon instead.
Have you seen this link over at Mason-Dixon Knitting? I like the look of those squares - not sure I could manage to recreate the massive throw pictured!
I worked with the Giotto a little more last night for my Not-a-V-Neck Top. It really is lovely stuff. I'm using 5.5mm needles as specified in the pattern and I'm getting the right gauge (14sts/ 22rows) - the fabric is pretty dense and heavy. The ball band suggests 8mm needles (11sts/ 16rows) which I imagine gives a much looser fabric. I like the way the smaller needles give great stitch definition - it's a very pleasing result.
I'm up to the armhole shaping on the back and am a tiny bit concerned about the amount of yarn left , I've got a whole front left to do yet - fingers crossed!
I picked up a little bargain recently, a mere 50 pence each:
The label says Cotton Flamme (that 'e' should have an accent) and the initials R.B.C. - I've googled for it but didn't find anything. There's 250g of each (all tightly sealed in plastic), I thought I might squeeze a Bottoms-Up Hat out of each of them. Three girls = three colours, happy coincidence!
I did try a hat over the weekend with my Anchor Magic (third colour down) and got as far as the crown shaping when it occured to me to try it on the intended head - the hat was nearly two feet around! It ripped out a lot quicker than it knit....
I started my little tank using the Giotto last night - such lovely stuff to work with. Emma, you're right - it's a little fiddly but once I'd worked out how easy it is to poke your needle through the yarn and adjusted accordingly, all went well. I'm using both skeins, alternating rows as advised on the ball band as each skein is a little different to the other. The picture shows things a little pinker than reality.
I finished reading (finally!) Isabel Allende's "My Invented Country" which I enjoyed. It's a general account of her memories and experiences centred around her homeland of Chile - interesting stuff. During the book she asks who reads her books "When the North Americans were in Panama and arrested General Noriega, who had fallen from grace, they found two books in his possession: the Bible and The House of the Spirits. You never know for whom you're writing"
True to my word, I finished seaming Tasty on Saturday night and then wore it for some photographs. Here's the finished item:
This is was it looks like on*. It turned out okay - at least as okay as a very quick knit can be (I think you know what I mean..).
Sewing it together was a little tricky. The pattern book suggested using a machine thread to sew it up, but I didn't have any pink so thought I would use the paper yarn itself - shows up less, yes? I struggled with this on two counts - firstly, trying match up those loopy stitches to make a half-decent job of the seam and secondly, trying to attach the yarn to itself to give a fixing for the seam. Suffice to say, I had to resort to methods not usually listed in Montse Stanley's Knitter's Handbook. I won't go into detail - it's too shaming.
Look what came in the post today!
It's Colinette Giotto in the Florentina colourway - isn't it just luscious? I'm not sure whether to knit it or just look at it. I ordered it way back in March and had forgotten all about it. I was planning to make a little tank from the Vogue Knitting Spring/ Summer issue, it's the one in the middle of the 'Topping It Off' section (can't get a direct link to the page). I thought maybe less of a v-neck though.
*My husband took this picture - I told him to wait until I had pulled in my tummy and pushed my boobs out - he waited a beat and said "Have you done it yet?" What's a girl gonna do?!
Despite the last entry's not-so-good vibe for Tasty, I am continuing - one sleeve completed, halfway through the second, then it's on to the seaming. I intend to wear it before the end of the weekend (weather permitting - it's so hot!).
I played around with my pink Kidsilk Haze last night - casting on for Birch, doing the first line of pattern, ripping it out. All 299 stitches. I did some reading around the web and several people suggest doing a couple of rows of stocking stitch before starting the pattern. I guess this might help - that and pointier needles. I used circular needles - not sure of the make, nothing special - and I found it very hard to manipulate the stitches. Time to shop around for something better - I wonder what make has very pointy ends?
So, after struggling through that, Tasty's sleeves were an absolute walk in the park!
Do you like my weather pixie? I love knowing all the weather statistics. Of course, I chose the pixie that most closely resembled me - apart from her eyes, mine are green (and a few other details, but let's not go into that...). If you click on her, you can choose your own.
PS. My seven-year old went to a 'Giant Workshop' with her school this week. As the children were going into class, a big brother shouted after his little brother "Enjoy the giants - remember they're not really real!" Guess someone had been having sleepless nights...
Just for the record, this is the completed front of Tasty:
I have to be honest and say that I'm strongly tempted to just seam it and make it into a tank. However, my feeling is that the fabric might be a bit too hot for a tank which won't get worn, so I've cast on for a three-quarters sleeve.
I like finishing a project quickly but, for me, finishing is not the best thing about my knitting. The challenge for me with this project comes in the form of the chart. No written instruction, just a chart which caused me some grief. It must be using a different part of my brain - either that or I was so tuned in to big, mindless stitches I forgot to engage gear (I blame it on the heat - it's very warm here!).
I'm itching to get back to my tiny needles to work on Flighty but the pink thing might not see the light of day again if I stop.
On another note, we had our first barbecue of the summer yesterday at a friend's house. There was a paddling pool for the children and they had such fun, especially my little four-year old. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Happy days!
Finished the back of Tasty - here's a picture:
I'm going with the purl as the right side at the moment - I think the final thing is going to be a combination of Tasty and Flush. Tasty requires some tucks to be made in the fabric which I'm not sure about. The fabric is quite stretchy and I think it might ruck up with wear. It's 62cm long as specified in the pattern, which is quite long, but I'll have to see how it wears.
Here's a progress shot of the 'Paper' knitting. Fast and fun.
Did somebody lose their ski-poles??
In a recent household poll, 4 out of 5 family members preferred the look of the purl side to the knit side - hmm - which way to go?
Flighty's front has been finished:
I like the way the stripes echo the shaping, cute, no? (In case you were wondering, those eyelet holes are just to the left and right of where I don't want them to be...)
Some thoughts about the new magazine and yarn: I'm enjoying working with the 'Paper' yarn. I've worked about twenty five rows of the back and I'm already at the waist. In some ways, it's reminiscent of working with the Rowan Big Wool (big needles, fast progress) but the fabric that I'm creating has a much more interesting quality to it. The purl side is more interesting than the knit side, I feel, especially in this pink shade. The yarn is ribbon-like but fairly stiff - very contemporary. Can't get a decent photograph of it though - will try again tomorrow.
The R2 magazine itself is interesting - all done in the style of its website, very hip with lots of handwritten pieces, pseudo-paper-clipped additions and grainy photography. Each piece refers to its pattern as a recipe with 'ingredients' instead of yarn/ needle requirements. There's some basic instruction at the beginning of each then it's down to the a few basic visual patterns in a pullout-type section. Again, instruction is kept to a minimum which I guess is either liberating or perhaps sketchy for a beginner. I suppose it's good to try and de-mystify a topic and there's certainly little in the way of alternative techniques which a more experienced knitter might employ.
The R2 yarn range is presented in a cardboard unit within the LYS - three choices of yarn type all in a fairly muted colour range - the antique pink, a soft sage green and a pale blue. The yardage of the rag and print yarns is quite economical (only about 25m) whereas the Paper yarn offers about 135m - price is reasonable - a garment could be put together for under £20, which isn't bad. The Rag Print is reminiscent of ticking whereas the Rag seems like recycled scraps from clothing - both are 100% cotton.
I look forward to seeing what people come up with.
...I'm glad I spent it with wooool... Slight plagiarism there but it really was a good day. Feeling in need of a little inspiration I took a trip to the not-so-LYS to see what was in store - it yielded a few goodies:
The new R2 magazine and enough 'Paper Tape' yarn to make 'Tasty' in this antique-y shade of pink. I just had to cast-on to see what it looked like - size 10 needles and it grows like lightning. The texture is unusual, the only comparison that springs to mind is a J-cloth (label says it will wash at 30 degrees). The R2 magazine pretty much stands knitting on its head - the LYS lady told me to imagine I'd never knit before and just do it....the 'patterns' largely exist for guidance. Well done to Rowan for trying this out.
Next up - 3 balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze in bright pink (Candy Girl) to make a Birch shawl - I've hankered after this for ages.
Two new Debbie Bliss books:
I love her designs and have a pretty comprehensive library of her previous books - haven't had time to look through these properly. The Cotton Angora yarn was interesting - not as fluffy as I thought it might have been - cotton with an especially soft handle.
The new Rowan 'Denim People'
book - some good designs - I like 'Picot' and 'Thelma'.
Final item this to make a Bottoms UP hat as per Bonne Marie's pattern. Bit of an experiment this one - let's just see what happens!
What a lot of new things and ideas - I feel quite giddy! Back to the dishcloth, oops, I mean Tasty.
(I'm still thinking about the cashmere from yesterday's entry. Thanks, Emma for the Vintage Knits suggestion, that's the exactly the direction I was heading in.)
So I've given myself a sore wrist by working on Flighty but she's growing and the fabric is soft and drapey which is good. I'm almost at the top of the front piece - broadly speaking halfway - which is where we start to think about the next project (isn't it??!).
This is what I'm thinking about at the moment
I've had it in my stash for a while now (years in fact - how does that happen?). It's 100% Scottish Cashmere that I bought from Jilly Knitwear. It's 3-ply so it is looking for something on 3mm needles (hmm - just like Flighty) and I've got eight 50g skeins of it. The yarn is unbelievably soft and gorgeous and it feels a bit of a crime to have it just sitting in a box but what to do with it? I thought of a shawl something like Birch. which I think is lovely but I really wanted one in candy girl although this would feel luxurious as a shawl. Perhaps some kind of light summer top would be in order - better go hunt through the knitting books...
On another note, I picked up this in a second hand store recently:
It's called Grace by Jaeger and knits up to 26 rows/ 16 stitches on 4.5mm needles. I've got 8 x 50g of the stuff but no pattern - I've googled for it but nothing comes up. It has a loopy texture made up of pretty small loops around a central core. I'm really not sure what to do with this either but it only cost me £4 for the lot so I couldn't not buy it, now could I?
(Yes, that is one of our window frames in the background of that picture - what can I say? We're a work in progress...)
...soon turned out had a heart of glass"*
Ever start something and just not be able to finish it? I honestly can't remember when I cast on for this project. I so loved knitting with the beads - the front positively flew along, and the cushion flap with its little heart detail, gorgeous knitting. The design is a framework of moss stitch hearts on a stocking stitch background interspersed with hearts made up with knitted-in glass beads - it doesn't photograph very well.
But then the back.... I love Debbie Abrahams'
designs and cannot stress strongly enough that the ennui is all of my own making. I knit and knit and knit and it just doesn't get any longer...I can't even show a picture of it because it's just ribbed cream Rowan denim and it won't show up with my camera. So here it is, in its partial glory...only another 75 rows to go...sing with me "Once I had a love and it was a gas, soon turned out to be a pain in the a**"*
(*Blondie - Heart of Glass)
Flighty is moving along nicely - I think I'm going to repeat the stripe pattern three times in total, making it about a half as long again than the original - I do dislike a cold tummy! Here's a progress picture:
I finished reading The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger last week. If you like a jolly good read, then try it. I read that the film rights have been bought by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, so I guess that probably means them in the title roles - definitely not what I had in mind when I read the book! I generally prefer my books as books not films - wonder what they'll make of all the jumping around in time?
...vacuum cleaner..I saw at curlsandpurlsNYC that it was Poem in Your Pocket Day in New York on Friday. That seemed a good opportunity (albeit a few days late) to share this poem by John Cooper Clarke. It was read at the wedding of two good friends a few years ago - I like a modern poem about love!
Flighty continues to grow - the pattern is well established and, luckily, is easy to memorise so I was able to look at Johnny Depp throughout Sleepy Hollow which was on the television last night! Here's a picture - it's a little difficult to get the fabric to lie flat as the top edge is the same zig-zag shape as the bottom edge:
I didn't think that I would enjoy knitting with 4-ply cotton as much as this!