2015 In Knitting - and a Resolution Recap!

It feels like this year has flown by - but looking back, I actually managed to achieve quite a few of my knitting goals - and more besides. You can find my list of resolutions for this year right here.

I finished twenty-five pairs of socks - some of which are pictured above - including handspun ones and hand dyed ones - taking my sock drawer total to thirty-seven pairs - even if I gave three away...

I knit ten items out of my handspun yarn - including two large shawls - Linus (top) and Hitchhiker (above). Speaking of spinning, I also saved up and bought my Dream Wheel - which I couldn't be more happy about!
I participated in Stash Dash - surpassing my goal of 5km by knitting and spinning 7460.5m of yarn. Next year I'm aiming for 10km...

I test knit patterns for two designers. The Olivia Shawl (above) and the Farmers Socks (below).

I knit two cardigans for myself that I'm really, really pleased with. The Pomme de Pin (top) and Old Romance (above). I can't wait to knit more sweaters and cardigans in 2016.
I also knit the closest thing to toys I have ever knit - making lots of Birds of Happiness for little Christmas presents.

Probably the biggest achievement for me this year, was opening Stranded Dyeworks, the etsy shop for my hand dyed yarn. I'd been planning it for over a year and I'm really pleased to see it come to life. I can't wait to see how it develops over the next year - I have big plans!

All in all, it's been a good year for knitting and fibre! I didn't keep to a few of my resolutions - knitting only four of the requisite ten of patterns from books I already own, not steeking anything, or starting a knitting podcast - watch this space for that one though ;) Still - we can't do everything, right?!

I hope you have a wonderful New Year and hears to an equally knitty 2016!

♥

Fibre Friday #44

Guys - I am on a ROLL this week. I have done every fibre related craft that I'm interested in, over the course of this week. Knitting, Dyeing, Crochet, Sewing and I dusted off my spinning wheel!

My sparkly rainbow socks are DONE! I cast them off at knit night on Wednesday. This is pair number twenty five of 2015. Knit out of yarn from a local wool fair, these are wonderfully colourful and sparkly.

...My Pomme de Pin is finished too! I stitched grosgrain ribbon into the button bands to stabilise them - I also decided against adding buttons and buttonholes because I don't wear my cardigans buttoned. It fits just how I hoped it would! It was a little tight pre-blocking, but because the yarn I used - Madeline Tosh Pashmina in the 'Leopard' colourway - is super wash, so it grew just enough to be perfect. Except for the sleeves, which I've pulled up here - they are about 10 inches too long! Luckily they look okay slightly wrinkled up ;) Pomme de Pin is a pattern by Amy Christoffers.

I don't know what came over me this week - I tripped and fell and landed on the hexipuff bandwagon!  Hexipuffs are the name given to the little stuffed hexagons that make up The Beekeeper's Quilt pattern by Tiny Owl Knits. I'm not committing myself to making a blanket - but I thought I'd use my leftover sock yarn to make a seat pad for my spinning chair. I used to scoff at these for being too much work to bother with, but they're actually highly addictive!

I also put a little bit of work into my crochet granny square blanket - and made lots of inner circles in various states of completion! The ones on the right are done, the rest need another round or two. I'm saving up all the inners so I can crochet the edges in one go - as that's my favourite part! I'm using Cascade 220 in too many colours to name to make this project!

I finally got my spinning mojo back! I took the silk I was spinning off the wheel and cracked out the Nunoco mixed merino bags in the 'Fen' colourway I got for my birthday. I got two packs and I'm combining them to make a long gradient yarn that I will probably chain ply and make a shawl out of... I'm on the third colour so far - this will be getting some action while I catch up on The Apprentice later ;)

I've also done some dyeing this week! The batch of skeins pictured above need tidying up and labelling and then they'll go into the shop over the weekend.

I had the day off on Thursday and I decided I should finally get around to sewing the project bags that I cut the fabric out for, months ago! I may keep some of my finished hexies in one and probably a sock project in the other...

I also wanted to share a photograph of the Miss Winkle shawl that my mum has just finished, knit up out of my hand dyed yarn. It looks glorious - the loopy edging is fabulous.

Phew. It's been a busy week! Now, I'm off to get my Christmas on! ;) There is a chance that this might be the last Fibre Friday post of the year - because it's Christmas next Friday, and New Year the week after... I'm thinking of probably switching it up a little in 2016, but we shall see what happens!

♥

Non-Yarn Gift Ideas For Knitters

I was putting a couple of knitting gift treasuries together on etsy and I thought I'd share some of my favourite items here - in case you were looking for gift ideas for the knitter in your life, or you wanted to get yourself a Christmas gift ;)

Top row, L-R: 

Piggy Yarn Bowl by MuddyHeart - I've never really wanted a yarn bowl before, but this one is ADORABLE. It's so cute and even if I don't use it as an actual yarn bowl, I think it would look fabulous on my desk with pretty yarn displayed in it. There's a large possibility that I might treat myself to this after Christmas...

Heart Ring Stitch Markers by Fripperiesnbibelots - These stitch markers are such a lovely design - clean, simple and snag-free. They have other shapes in their shop too and I think they'd be perfect for a complex lace project.

Knitters Gonna Knit Ceramic Mug by DEEZDutch - I'm not a tea drinker, but this time of year I drink a lot of hot chocolate and although I already have one knitting mug, courtesy of the girls I used to work with, you can never have too many knitting mugs, right!?

Bottom row, L-R:

Happiness Is Handmade Brooch by CarolLucasStudio - I don't wear that many brooches, but I think this handmade ball of yarn brooch by Carol Lucas would be the perfect addition to a project bag.

Knitting Is Kinda My Thing Tote Bag by KellyConnorDesigns - I keep all of my big projects in tote bags, some from yarn stores, but there's always room for another!

Love To Knit Necklace by WinterberryJewelry - This is the only piece of knitting related jewellery that I've seen and liked. Silver on a delicate chain, it's dainty and perfect.

If you're still looking for ideas you can find more in my etsy treasuries here & here.

Have you finished your Christmas / Holiday shopping? I have a few more things to buy and a LOT of things to wrap...

♥

Fibre Friday #43

The thing I like best about writing this blog - is that when I feel like I haven't achieved much, writing Fibre Friday every week puts things into perspective - and we all need a little perspective now and again.

I finished my Bonfire Night Socks! This is my 24th finished pair of socks this year! These are toe up vanilla socks with a sixty percent short row heel, that I knit using my Paradise MCN fingering weight yarn in the 'Bonfire Night' colourway. I love how this colour looks knitted up - I'm planning a sweater in the same colour...

I have also knit a couple more Birds of Happiness - from a lovely free pattern by Sara Elizabeth Kellner. The top one is knit out of some leftover hand spun yarn by LimeGreenJelly, the blue bird is leftover Eden Cottage Yarns 'Oakworth DK' in the 'Midnight' colourway. Below is a bird knit out of some Sirdar Crofter DK from deep stash - it's waiting for some catnip to arrive so I can make some toys for the kitty cats for Christmas.

I've put a couple of inches on my second sparkly rainbow sock - out of locally dyed yarn. This is the last sock of my 25 pairs in 2015! I'm excited to be done - I'm not overly enjoying this sock, but it's perfect take along knitting.

 

I swatched for my Insouciant tee! Insouciant is a pattern by Julie Hoover. I knit Julie's Docklight sweater last year and her patterns are very well written. I'm using the suggested yarn - Habu Textiles Tsumugi Silk in the '03 Charcoal' colourway. I don't usually make projects in the yarns suggested, but Habu Textiles don't make standard blends so they're not as easy to switch out. I wanted to get the same drape and tweedy texture, so I stuck to the suggested 100% silk blend. The yarn is held double and knit at a loose gauge. Knitting with double strands is not my favourite - you have to make sure you pick up both strands each stitch - but I think it'll be worth it when it's done!

I cast on with the 5mm (US 8) needles recommended and knit a few rows of the rib. I was planning to save it until the beginning of 2016 and The Year Of Sweaters, but hey, I make the rules. If I finish it in 2016, it still counts!

My Pomme de Pin is finished! No glamour shots because it's blocking, but I just need to sew in the grosgrain ribbon to stabilise the button bands, so it should be done by next week. Pomme de Pin is a pattern by Amy Christoffers that I've knit with Madeline Tosh Pashmina in the 'Leopard' colourway.

I also did a little bit of accidental stash enhancement - I stopped into the local yarn and fabric store to get some calico for a project (I don't usually shop there, they don't really sell wool, just acrylic yarns and lots of sewing stuff) and I saw this roving tucked away under a bench of fabric bolts. It's described as Felting Wool, in the colourway 'Strawberries and Cream' - I'm not sure how well it'll spin up, but it's 100% Merino and I liked the colour. It was only £3 per 50g so I bought all three! We shall see. I need to take the silk I have on the wheel off, so I can actually start spinning again!

All in all, not a bad week! I have a couple of days off coming up - so I'm hoping to get some more dyeing done and mail out some Christmas packages! I hope you have a lovely weekend.


♥

2016 Knitting Resolutions... or The Year Of Sweaters

As the end of the year is approaching, I thought it was time to think about resolutions for the new year. I had a handful of knitting resolutions for 2015, but for 2016 I only really have one - and it's more of a theme than a resolution. I realised this year that despite spending every spare minute of my time with knitting needles in my hands - I barely have any sweaters! So, 2016 is going to be the Year Of Sweaters.

Ideally, I'd like to knit twelve. One a month. But I'm not sure that's going to happen - because sweaters won't be the only projects on my needles - they're not practical take-along projects. They don't all have to be full sleeved sweaters - tee shirts and cardigans definitely count. The above is the Lena Tee by Carrie Bostick Hoge.
I'd like to make at least two of them out of my hand dyed yarn and I think the Mira sweater by Justyna Lorkowska (pictured above) would be perfect for a more variegated colourway. Maybe Bonfire Night...

Suvi Simola's Light Trails has been in my queue for a while - I adore fingering weight sweaters, they have such lovely drape.
 
Twelve fingering weight sweaters would probably take me about twelve years, rather than twelve months - so a few heavier weight ones, like Hawser by Jared Flood should hopefully speed it along a little.

I already have the yarn for my Insouciant tee by Julie Hoover - Habu Tsumugi Lace that I picked up at the Knitting & Stitching Show in October. This is likely to be the first sweater I cast on for - primarily because I doubt I'll have the money for sweater quantities of yarn straight after Christmas!

Hannah Fettig's Rosemont Cardigan looks perfect for keeping cozy on a cold afternoon, I'm tempted to knit this out of a medium grey... Let's see just how many of next years sweaters end up being grey, shall we?! I'm betting on at least half.

Now I just need to finish my Pomme de Pin before the year is over - I'm only a button band and a block away, so it shouldn't take me too long... famous last words!

♥

Fibre Friday #42

It's December. How has this happened?! This year has flown by. Okay, so now I've got that off my chest - I shall push my disorganisation regarding Christmas shopping and the holidays to one side so I can talk about my knitting...

Starting with a little stash enhancement to mix it up a little this week - primarily because I wanted to show off the carnations that a customer at work bought me! (She collapsed outside the shop I work in, I called 999 and sat with her until the paramedic arrived - the flowers were a very thoughtful thank you - not everything about retail work is horrid!)  I got my first ever skeins of Knit Picks Felici in the post this week! There's a long winded story behind this - Knit Picks just started shipping to the UK - which I was very excited about - because it's always nice to have access to affordable things and I think their Caspian needles are very pretty. Anyway. I saw Felici in the 'Time Traveller / Traveler' colourway and fell in love - and put it on my Christmas wishlist. But I neglected to tell my mum that it's sold in 50g balls and thus I would need two - by the time I realised this the colourway was sold out, and she'd ordered me one ball - not enough for a pair of socks for my size 8 (US 10 - I think...) feet. I found two balls in the same colourway for sale on eBay in the US and paid $30 / £20 for it. So even though Knit Picks now ships to the UK for £6.99 - I still ended up buying yarn from America. I give up!

Knitting-wise - my first sparkly rainbow sock is finished! I bound it off on the train last weekend and I've cast on for the toe of the second sock. These are toe up vanilla socks with a short row heel, knit out of some locally dyed yarn I picked up at a wool fair in the summer.

Continuing with sock knitting - I cast on and knit a whole sock since last week's post - on the train to and from Milton Keynes. I wanted to work on another sample out of my yarn - so I chose 'Bonfire Night' on the Paradise MCN sock base - and knit another toe up vanilla sock. I love love LOVE how this colour has knit up. I'm so pleased with it, it's autumnal and perfect. There may be a sweater knit up in this colourway in my future... I've also cast on and knit the toe of the second sock. So I have two plain socks as takealong knitting for the next couple of weeks!

(In case you're interested - I am now two single socks away from completing my goal of 25 pairs of socks in 2015! Easily achievable I think...)

I have also made two more Birds of Happiness (from this pattern by Sara Elizabeth Kellner) that will be little Christmas gifts for friends. The top one is some Manos Del Uruguay that's been in my stash for YEARS and the one below is out of some handspun.

I have made significant progress on my Pomme de Pin cardigan by Amy Christoffers. The first sleeve is finished, I've eased it in, and I've eased in the back of the neck to the collar part. It's starting to look like a cardigan at last! I'm knitting it out of Madeline Tosh Pashmina in the 'Leopard' colourway - this yarn is such a dream to work with and I will wear it to death when it's finished!

Keen eyed people will be able to tell two things from these photographs; one is that the right sleeve is missing - it's still on the needles. Two - unless I knit a button band that's a foot wide, it's not going to do up. Actually, this is a deceiving photo and it probably will do up when it's blocked flat, but I never wear my cardigans buttoned because I think it looks a little weird, so although I will add a button band, I'm not going to be adding any buttons.

(The theme behind the above photos is called 'Goodness me I need a haircut' - I like to think I've committed to the look wholeheartedly! My hair is my least favourite thing. It drives me mad when I wear it loose and I look like a headmistress when I tie it back.) 

A pretty productive week I think - I'm aiming to have my cardigan finished by next weekend - but this might be a little ambitious - it depends if I block it before adding the button band... I'd also like to get one of those second socks done... Go big or go home! Haha.

♥

Fibre Friday #41

I've had the week off work this week - and I've been enjoying it immensely - I must get out of retail! ;) I've achieved a fair amount on the fibre front this week - without further ado...

I finished my Skinner hat by Melissa LaBarre! This is knit out of my handdyed yarn - Stranded Dyeworks Oasis, in the 'Shiner' colourway (which I listed in my shop this week)! I love how the colour has knit up, the lace was enjoyable to knit and the finished hat is very pretty. BUT. It's too close fitting for me - I like my hats to have a certain amount of slouch, otherwise I worry that I look like I'm wearing a swimming cap! Not a good look. But this is a sample for my shop and not for me to wear out and about - although I would've done if it looked better on me - so it's not the end of the world! If I was going to knit it again, I'd consider increasing after the ribbing, to fit another pattern repeat into the stitch count widthwise and possibly add another repeat in length...

I have also knit another Bird of Happiness! This is knit out of leftovers from my Prickly Thistle Mittens - the 'Steel' colourway on Bowland DK by Eden Cottage Yarns. The pattern is Bluebird of Happiness by Sara Elizabeth Kellner. This is the first I've knit out of something other than my handspun - and I really like it! I'm going to be knitting a few more of these as Christmas gifts I think.

I've put some work into the first sleeve of my Pomme de Pin cardigan by Amy Christoffers - after avoiding it for weeks in  favour of the dreaded Divine cardigan... I'm knitting it out of Madeline Tosh Pashmina in the 'Leopard' Colourway. The sleeves are driving me a little crazy if I'm honest. I looked back over past FF posts, but I haven't talked about it before - despite having cast on for the sleeve about a month ago. There are no increases on the sleeve, you cast on with the full amount of stitches, knit the ribbed cuff and then knit the pattern until the length desired. Now, I have seen a few podcasters knit this cardigan - Laura of The Dyer's Notebook and Kristen of Yarngasm - and I don't think either of them mentioned this, but they are both slim ladies so perhaps this wouldn't have been an issue. However, I am more upholstered person, and my wrists and my upper arms are not the same width! The first time I cast on for the cuff, I knit the recommended amount of stitches for the third size and it was huge! Like a wizard's sleeve... Haha. So I'm knitting the smallest size and increasing up twice at the end of each pattern repeat - until I reach the stitch count of the size I'm knitting! These are mods written by Meljay on ravelry. I have a stockinette panel going up the centre of the inner arm - which I'm not thrilled about, but who's going to see the inside of my arms, right?! I just want it done now!

My Duotone cowl has seen a bit of work, I'm at 11 stripes - with 4 more to go until I switch the colours. However, it's not anywhere near as long as it's supposed to be - I didn't swatch, because who swatches for cowls?! And my row gauge is way off. So this will be frogged and restarted with bigger needles... The Duotone cowl is a pattern by Orange Flower Yarn that I'm knitting out of Fyberspates Vivacious DK in 'Slate' and '80805'. I may switch out the green for another colour, because it's just a bit too Slytherin for me and while I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd, I don't think I want a house coloured cowl.

The sparkly rainbow socks have progressed - I've passed the heel and I'm working my way up the leg of sock number one. I'll be pleased to get these off my needles to be honest, there are too many colours for me to cope with! These are being knit out of some yarn I picked up at a local wool fair in the summer.

My Sunburst granny square afghan is progressing! I have 19 squares finished and another 7 inner circles to edge. I'm making it out of Cascade 220 in a variety of colours, using a 3.5mm hook - I'm a really loose crocheter...

Dyeing-wise, I've been working on some tonal solids this week - and I'm pretty happy with the results - although today's dye session was a bit hit and miss, but I guess it goes like that sometimes.

I'm heading to Milton Keynes for a dress fitting this weekend - one of my good friends is getting married next Spring and I'm a bridesmaid - which is exciting - so there's a lot of hours of train journeys ahead of me, so hopefully plenty of knitting time! I haven't decided what project I'm going to take with me yet - probably socks... Anyway. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

♥