Let me start this week's post by saying I am on fire! It's the first week of September and I have finished knitting three Christmas presents. Three. (Aside from one Christmas a few years back, where I knit gifts for everyone, I don't tend to knit presents very often. However I have had a whole host of upheaval this year that's left finances tight, but I do have a healthy stash to dip in to - so knit gifts it is!)
First up is my second handspun Cocoon Hat by La Maison Rililie. Knitted out of yarn spun from Nunoco batts in the 'Oudh' colourway. This is less slouchy than the green version I knit for myself a few weeks back - but I think it's perfect for the recipient I have in mind!
I decided to knit up my grey practise yarn from my Matchless - the second skein, not the horrid curly first attempt - into a Little Fair Isle Hat, which is a free pattern from the Purl Bee blog, combining it with some mystery navajo plied gradient yarn I spun in the 2014 Tour de Fleece. I am really pleased with this little hat - I knit the toddler size, for my 'honorary niece' Robyn - it'll probably be too big, but I hear that kids grow! ;) This and my second Cocoon hat are the sixth and seventh projects knit out of my handspun yarn this year - only three to go until I hit my ten project target!
My eighth handspun project is my Hitchhiker shawl by Martina Behm, that I'm knitting out of my 'Little Owls Play Sweet Music' yarn. I currently have twenty four points knit and I love how the yarn is striping so far. I'm planning to keep going until I run out of yarn, so it could end up being a very long shawl indeed!
I finished my Strie socks from Sock Architecture by Lara Neel. These are knitted out of some yarn I hand dyed and will be a Christmas gift.
After finishing my Strie socks, I needed a new on-the-go project, so I cast on another pattern from Sock Architecture by Lara Neel. The Dyad socks, top down version, out of Malabrigo Sock in the 'Abril' colourway. I have been devouring the TV show Orphan Black on Netflix and if you've watched the show, you'll know that 'Dyad' play a very big part in it. I learnt from Lara's introduction on the pattern, that Dyad means 'sets of two' which makes perfect sense with regards to Orphan Black. Anyway, the pattern is predominantly vanilla, but with a different heel and toe. I also added a tubular cast on - because I love the way it looks.
I put a few rows on my Prickly Thistle Mittens by SpillyJane. I'm still on the first mitten as I haven't really worked on them much recently! (I'm knitting them inside out - hence the above photograph - to help stop the floats becoming too tight and distorting the knit fabric). I'm knitting these out of Eden Cottage Yarns 'Bowland DK' in the 'Steel' colourway and 'Oakworth DK' in the 'Midnight' colourway.
As I seem to be obsessed with hats recently, I've cast on for the Hinagiku Hat which is a free pattern on ravelry by 87knit. This is being knit out of some deep stash Manos Del Uruguay Silk Blend in colourway '7032'. I picked this up from the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally a few years ago, and seeing as this years show is coming up, I thought I should knit something out of it!
I swatched for the Pianissimo scarf from the Autumn 2015 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly, designed by Thien-Kieu Lam. I wouldn't usually swatch for a scarf but I had some Cascade 220 Sport in my stash and I wanted to see if it had a nice handle knit up at the gauge the pattern requires, before ordering some skeins in the Burgundy '2401' colour I was after!
After actually casting on the scarf late last night, I realised I hadn't read the pattern properly and had swatched with the wrong needle size - I'm knitting the larger size of the pattern, which requires a 4mm (US 6) needle - so that's what I've cast on with, and I think it looks okay so far. Incidentally, there are some lovely patterns in this issue of Pom Pom - I recommend picking it up if you get the chance.
Spinning wise, I'm still working on my rainbow braid - which is some Polwarth fibre I handpainted a while back. The first half of the fibre is finished and I'm making progress on the second. I'm being kept company while I spin by the season 3 boxset of Orphan Black, which is making my heart race!
I managed to get a little dyeing done on my day off - two braids of Polwarth - the autumnal oranges and the grey, and one braid of BFL in the blues and purples. These will sit in my fibre stash for a while, as it's looking a little depleted!
Okay. Now I need to go and try and finish a few of the things I keep casting on! Have a lovely weekend everyone. My weekend starts at 4pm tomorrow - so I'll kick back and relax then!
♥
Amy! Moving to the new house has been crazy - three weeks to get internet, can you believe it? Anyway, I've just spent a lovely afternoon catchup up on your blog which I haven't had a chance to read since August. You're a machine! Project after project after project, wow. And I can't wait to see this fancy cardi you're going to be working on :) That stash dash final picture... Wowowowow!! Cracking job :)
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, I think I am going to nick name you 'dynamo chick' :) I thought I had loads going on but it's all in my head and not on my needles. However, just thought you'd like to know that I purchased my first ever drop spindle and bought some Blueface at this year's Yarn In the City pop-up market....so excited to get started and will blame you forever for your inspiration :) :)
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, I think I am going to nick name you 'dynamo chick' :) I thought I had loads going on but it's all in my head and not on my needles. However, just thought you'd like to know that I purchased my first ever drop spindle and bought some Blueface at this year's Yarn In the City pop-up market....so excited to get started and will blame you forever for your inspiration :) :)
ReplyDelete