That's it for Feb

Well February is over and what have I done?

Nothing. Well nothing I planned to do. The pattern for my mohair bolero was in Melbourne while the project was in Hobart so that didn't happen.

The summer tops are still progressing, nothing completed there either.

I finished the 3rd ball on the garter stitch wrap so that is still going to plan (finished by 31/12/2009)

I ripped out a jumper I started 12 months ago. It was a Jo Sharp pattern and very boxy. I hadn't got far with it; it was left in a box most of the year. It is now going to be boatneck bluebell from Fitted Knits although it is in a dark multicoloured merino, colourway is Aubergine and an 8ply. So I am modifying the pattern to fit.

The 3 skeins are all different shades as it is handdyed so I have to use all 3 all the way through.

The photo of the knitting was taken under flash; it isn't that bright in daylight.

As mentioned previously I did finish the bushland scarf and I made cowl with the leftovers.

So the plan for March. Take the pattern back to Hobart and finally finish the bolero. Continue working on the other stuff and try to get at least 2 things finished.

Where is the time going...

Not much to report really.

In the past couple of weeks I haven't done much knitting. A few rows on my sheer poncho (finished the shoulder shaping), garter stitch wrap (almost 3 balls down out of 20) and Tantric puzzle top (25% done). That's about it.

Stash additions: 1 ball of Jo Sharp Silk road Aran that I picked up half price.

Hopefully things will pick up again now that the fires are getting under control and I'm not so worried about friends family and my house.

Using up the scraps to keep warm

No project uses an exact number of balls so there is always half a ball or less left over. I have started making small scarflets and smidges out of these leftovers. Smidges cowls and neckwarmers are great when wearing a coat they add warmth to the neck without adding the bulk of a scarf.

Triangular smidge.

Yarn: About 20g of 12 ply mohair.

Using an 8mm needle

Cast on 1
Kfb
K1 yo k1
k1 yo knit yo k1 on every row
cast off loosely.






Lace stripe cowl

Yarn:
About 10g of Touch yarns Alpine brushed mohair (A)
About 5g of Anny Blatt Fine Kid (B)

Needles: 8mm

Pattern:

Cast on 31 stitches with yarn A
*knit 4 rows
change to yarn B
knit 1 row
next 6 rows: k1 (yo k2tog) 15 times
knit one row
change to yarn A

repeat from * 4 times.

knit 4 row
cast off loosely.


Sew in all ends.
Sew cast on and cast off ends together.

These patterns can be adapted to any yarns; just have fun and play with shapes!

Another scarf done

The bushland scarf is now finished.

I mentioned when I bought the wools for this that I had a scarf I never wore.

The photo to the right is the original scarf, it was too pale and too, well, yellow for me.

When combined with dark green 12ply mohair and and Anny Blatt Fine kid (colourway Foret) this is the result:

It is thick and squishy and the boys love it.

A week of worry

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. The wind was high as I drove home from a friend's house where I had stayed on Friday night. Around lunchtime checking the CFA site for incident reports was not enough and we started streaming the local Government radio station to keep up with the news. This station suspends normal broadcasting to become emergency services radio whenever there is a high risk fire day.

We were away from the fires and they were moving South West, the closest fire was not that far away but not moving in our direction so it was ok.

We live in the hills outside Melbourne, it is a beautiful place to live. The risk of living in the bush doesn't come home to you until a day like saturday where walking out the front door was as hot as walking into a sauna. You are at the mercy of the elements, will the wind change? Will the fire then move towards you?

We left on Saturday just as the wind changed. As we drove into Melbourne the reports said that electricity had been cut in our area. As we drove the sky had a yellow tinge and the whole valley was covered with a thin veil of smoke. The wind had moved to the south and the temperature had dropped more than 10 degrees. This is the time when fighting fires is the most dangerous.

We were on our way to Tasmania for my work. We had to leave the house so the fight or flee choice was not ours to make.

The fires that are closest to our house are still burning. They are now moving North into the Yarra Valley. Friends in the next town 3km closer to the fire have noticed their neighbours leaving, everyone is worried and won't even go to the shops without the dogs just in case.

I'm glad to be safe in another state but at the same time I wonder whether it would be better to be home and know what is going on. In this case it is definitely a matter of no news is good news.

We are very lucky we are all safe and our area hasn't been hit, the worry certainly does take its toll though.

WIP update

I have just updated Ravelry and decided it was time for another WIP update.

Lacy wool scarf

This is my "waiting scarf" it tends to live in the car and get picked up when I am waiting for anything. The wool is handspun and hand dyed 5ply. I got it from the Sustainable living market at Gembrook.

The pattern is from a Jo Sharp pattern for a wide cotton scarf , I reduced the width of it so I would get a good length.

I started this in November 2007 and I have completed about 2/3 of it. I haven't touched this for a while as it has spent most of last year at Tullamarine airport long term carpark.





Entrelac Scarf

This scarf is another that has been in progress for a long time. I bought the Rowan Tapestry to make Clapotis and ended up having twice as much as I needed. As this wool soy blend is self striping I have a striped shawl so I wanted something different with the rest. I love the way the entrelac works with self striping wool, each square is a slightly different colour to the one before.




Blueberry capelet

I had this 12ply Stokesay mohair in my stash for about a year before deciding what to do with it. I previously made the top down capelet from Wrap Style in Autumn colours and I really love it however I made the middle size and the finished garment is quite wide.

This time I decided to make the small size to get a closer fit. I didn't count on picking up the wrong needle however and accidently started this on a 7mm when I thought I was using an 8mm. After a few inches I measured my tension and found I was knitting at 14 st/10cm instead of 12 st/10cm that I thought I should be getting.
As a result I needed to add a couple more increases to get a good fit around the body. The result is a high close fitting neck and a capelet that fits nicely and will be very warm for the coming winter.

I have knitted 2 of the 4 balls I have for this capelet.

Don't walk into a wool shop unless you intend to buy...

I went to a local wool shop today with the intention of getting a couple of knit picks cables. Nothing else. My resolve was strong. The knitpicks order hadn't come in so she didn't have what I wanted. I had a quick look around and walked out empty handed.

However I wanted to get the cables before going to Tasmania on the weekend so we got in the car and drove down to Sunspun. They had what I wanted which was good. They also stock some of my favourite brands, Rowan, Colinette, Jo Sharp, Noro.

I was doing well, I only picked up one skein of Colinette Parisienne, but then Eno said 'Get 2 that way you can make a wrap thingy'. I then noticed a feather and fan wrap. The lady serving told me it was Colinette and it came as a kit with the pattern. In the meantime Eno had walked to the front of the shop and picked up a skein of sockwool he called me over to look at the colour. It was the same colourway as the shawl kit that I was looking at.

So the outcome of my trip to get 2 60cm cables:
2 knitpicks 60cm cables - Yay I got what I went for.
2 skeins of Parisienne in Jay - no pattern in mind as yet.
1 skein Giotto, 1 Mohair and 1 Taglietelli in October Afternoon with pattern.
1 pair of 10cm Options tips (to knit the wrap)

Simple stitch markers to make

I have found that using a bit of wool as a stitch marker can be frustrating as it can get caught up in the stitches. I got some metal ones free with a magazine and I found these really good. I have 4 of these blue stars but with lots of WIPS and the majority either in the round or shawls I found I needed more.




Today I decided to see what I could make. I have a friend who had made some from jewellery supplies at Lincraft. I went to Art and Craft Riot to see what was available.

I got some 2"brass eye pins and some beads,





threaded the beads onto the pins



Bent the pin around a 7mm metal knitting needle (you can do this by hand no tools required).



and hey presto stitch markers.

These markers are useful for any needle up to a 6.5mm. When I need bigger ones I will just use a bigger knitting needle to bend the pin.

My inheritance from Gran

Gran was born in 1857 and died in 1956. I recently received her crochet hooks from my father when he was cleaning things out. She had sizes 6 1/2 - 1. (Note: I don't know the accuracy of this site, it appears to be from the US and Gran's needles are from the UK but it gives you an idea of how small they are.

I love having these hooks, I doubt I will ever use them but worth keeping.
Notice the engraving in the handle in the photo on the left.

The thread in the corner of the photo below is Kid Silk Haze.