Birthday Birdies

I made this tote bag for my friend Req's birthday gift a few weeks ago. I used some lovely love bird cotton I picked up last fall and made it per my usual tote formula: muslin lining, a deep box shape -- I'm not sure the proper name of the technique and my Googlefu is failing me, but you can find the corners explained in this tutorial. It basically makes the bag three-dimensional rather than just lying flat, and I find it makes a roomier bag. There is also a little pocket inside, made of the bird fabric.

The cotton is very thin, so I added some fusible interfacing to the straps for strength. I only had the lightest interfacing possible -- bought to practive making appliqués -- but it worked well enough. You can see that I added a double line of stitching to each side of the straps. And of course the finishing touch is the decorative stitch around the top of the bag.

I filled the bag with a lovely, sunny bunch of flowers and it made a nice gift!

Mabel Murple: A Free Hat Pattern

I knit the first version of this hat on New Year's Day, then re-knit it a couple of months later to write up the pattern. I'm happy to share it with you as a free download. Check out Mabel Murple on Ravelry!

The pattern was named after the titular character of one of Sheree Fitch's amazing children's books. I loved her books as a child; her writing really instilled a love of language and reading in me. While knitting this purple hat, I kept thinking "Mabel Murple's house is purple, so is Mabel's hair..." so why not name it for her?

Materials:
- 150 m (160 yards) of your favourite worsted weight yarn (I used Cascade 220)
- 5 mm straight needles
- 4.5 mm double-pointed needles
- 5 mm double-pointed needles
- cable needle of spare DPN
- measuring tape

Click here to access the free PDF! (also available through Ravelry)
Ravelry link


I hope you like the pattern!

FO: Yoga Mat Bag

I was feeling a bit restless last night, so I plugged in my sewing machine and made this bag for my mum's yoga mat. Just a little something to keep the mat from getting dirty while in transit:

(Note to self: no more photos of black fabric in direct sunlight)

The fabric was purchased at JoAnn's on my trip to NY last fall. I thought the black would ensure it doesn't look too dirty, and the flowers and warm colours are right up my mum's figurative alley. I used a bright orange ribbon from my ribbon colection for the drawstring:


I made one of these as part of a birthday gift for my sister a few weeks ago (with awesome BANANA fabric -- sorry, no pics). It's really easy to do:
1. Take a rectangle of fabric (make sure it will wrap around your mat with a few inches of ease)
2. Press and sew the little tube for the drawstring to be fed through
3. Pin the strap in place and sew up the bottom and side of the bag, securing the strap (the strap can be made with the woven stuff you purchase at a fabric store, or simply with a strip of fabric)

(I'm happy to provide a more thorough tutorial if anyone wants, but I'm sure there are a bunch that have already been published on various blogs.)

Did I ever mention my ribbon collection? My husband set up a nice dispensing station:


(And there are still more spools that didn't fit)

FO: Laura's Felted Bowls

My sister was not-so-subtly admiring some felted trinket bowls on Etsy this fall, so I made her a set for Christmas. This was my first dyeing project, and first felting project.


The knitting was very straightforward, and took only a few days to do all four bowls. The dyeing was the most difficult step -- I could not find Kool Aid anywhere in Montreal! I did manage to get some on a little trip to upstate New York, so I was happy about that. I usaed grape, cherry orange, and lemonade. The cherry took the fastest; lemonade had the least effect.

I was planning to felt by hand, so I had an idea to make the job a bit easier. Felting is caused by shocking wool (immersing it in very hot, then very cold water) and applying friction -- so I bought a pair of exfoliating gloves from the dollarstore. They're meant to be used in the shower, but why not use them on the bowls? It did go fairly well, but jeez, hand-felting is tiring! It took two sessions to fully felt the bowls and I worked up a sweat within the first two minutes.

After the two felting sessions, the largest bowl was still a bit floppy, so I sprayed all of the bowls with starch while they were drying. It is still a lottle wobbly, but the three smaller bowls are fine.

Yarn: Garnstudio DROPS Alaska, natural/undyed (3 skeins)
Needles: 6 mm
Pattern: Felted Nesting Bowls by Alice Themla

Overall, I'm very pleased. And my sister loved the bowls!

Knitting Needle Storage

I used to keep my knitting needles in a beautiful vase... But one day it was knocked over and it shattered. No big deal, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later since I am such a klutz; somehow, I am not to blame for its breakage though. Now I keep my needles in a big stainless steel holder, but wanted a better way to organize them. So I made this today:


I did not use a tutorial, but just made a little mock-up out of paper, and then started cutting the fabric. I made sure to make it tall enough that I could fold down the top flap to keep the needles secure:


I picked up the blue and purple fabric last week, and the yellow butterfly print is a vintage bedsheet that I've had for a couple of years. I bought it thinking that it would make a lovely summer dress, but never got around to it (I don't look good in yellow!). I used the hem of the sheet in such a way that I could avoid hemming the tops of the pockets.


I didn't have any pretty ribbon, so it is being held closed with a couple of hair elastics for now. It is quite hefty when it is all rolled up and could substitute as a nice head-whacker in a pinch. THOWK!

I am very happy with this project.

Braided Cable Arm Warmers

The weekend after I knit my wooly owl mittens, I spent an afternoon playing around with cables. I didn't have a pattern, but was just experimenting with different patterns and widths. I felt counterproductive after so much knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping, so I settled on a nice braided cable and made some arm warmers:


Pattern: My own
Yarn: Jojoland 100% wool in Hawaiian Blue (1.5ish skeins)
Needles: 4.5 and 5mm
New skill: Braided cables

I made these with Spring in mind -- it's bicycle riding season! I don't like to wear mittens when I bike because I find they are too slippery on thr brake handles. And given that I lost one of my nice leather gloves after only a few weeks, I figured I'd make some fingerless mitts. I wanted to make sure they covered my some of fingers and a bit of my thumbs to keep me warm -- it is still pretty chilly in Montreal.

In addition to the extended finger covering, I also made sure to knit extra-long arms on them. I want to make sure no cold air sneaks up my sleeves! The pattern is reversible, so I made two copies of the same mitt.

My favourite detail is the way that the ribbing feeds into the cables. Here is the WIP picture I posted whe they were actually in progress:


Overall, this was a great weekend project and I'm very happy with them. I kept detailed notes and have a few tweaks in mind if I ever knit them again.

Twit, Twit, Twoo

As I often mention, I am trying to learn a new skill with each project. Well, I got really excited about cables a few weeks ago, and found the perfect small project to do so:


Pattern: Give a Hoot by Kelbourne Woolens
Yarn: Garnstudio Drops Alaska (100% wool)
Needles: 4mm and 5mm
New skill: CABLES!



I'm not yet ready to knit the owl sweater, so these mittens were just enough to satiate me.

The pattern is very well-written. It does produce a rather small mitten, but this can be easily fixed. Since I have long, slim hands, I just needed to lengthen mine by knitting an extra round of knit stitches before the gusset increases, and a few extra repeats of rows 14 and 28. I also made long cuffs that can be tucked into my sleeves. The yarn was alright. It made a nice and sturdy pair of mittens, but I wouldn't use it for a garment (except outerwear).

I went to RixRax to get the teeny tiny buttons for the eyes. I always love that store -- so many possibilities! -- but I don't think I will be going there again. The store is wonderful, but the service is severly lacking; it's the kind of store where you feel like you're not wanted. So I will spend my money elsewhere!

After wearing those mitts for a few cozy weeks, Spring is in the air, so they will be retired shortly. Don't worry, I've already knit some armwarmers!

Oh yeah, and cables? Easy peasy. The directions in this pattern make it absolutely clear and terror-free. I used a DPN for them, but my sis has since sent me some cable needles.

A February Sweater for a Lady

This was my first cardigan, first adult-sized garment, and it was a wonderful project. I really enjoyed it: the pattern, the yarn, the sense of accomplishment! I found that once I got through the yoke and worked a few repeats of the lace pattern, I didn’t go back to the pattern at all. It was very easy to figure out the next step, and the seagull lace was easily memorised. (Though I have to say, I think that “seagull lace” is a misnomer. Can’t decide what I would have named it, but my mother suggested “flying geese.”)

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Yarn: Sirdar Click DK with Wool
Needles: 5mm, 4.5mm, 3.75mm
New skills: full-sized garment! Modified to fit just me! Reversible, 1-row buttonholes!

I had some early frustration: I knit the entire yoke and then ripped it out… four times. THE ENTIRE YOKE. As my gauge and yarn weight were slightly different from the pattern, I knew from the beginning that I would have to modify the number of CO sts. I also knew that I would omit the eyelet row, as my bosom isn’t exactly busting out of my tops. However, I had some difficulties with numbers: the lace pattern is over 7sts, so I had to work it so that front pieces, sleeves, and the back section each had a number of stitches divisible by 7. I realised this a little late, as I would have preferred to work it all out before casting on. Well, live and learn. So, I made an Excel spreadsheet. Seriously. I am not mathematically inclined, and was getting really frustrated as I kept knitting and frogging, knitting and frogging… the spreadsheet really made everything so clear!

I brought the cardigan with me on my family's Christmas trip to Cuba. (As soon as I found out that the tickets had been booked, I confirmed that I could bring my knitting needles on the plane. While it was much too cramped to actually knit when we were in the air, it was great to have them with me for the hours spent waiting at the gate.) My goal was to finish knitting the body when I was there -- and I would have, but I ran out of yarn with only a few rows left on the hem. Should have brought that second ball of yarn! The picture at right was snapped on Christmas Day.

I modified this quite heavily to suit me:

Needles: As you can tell from the picture, I made my sweater a little more fitted than the pattern called for. The yoke was knit on 5mm needles; about half-way down the body I switched to 4.5mm needles. I did this because I noticed that several sweaters on Ravelry seemed to sag in the back. I am quite slim, so I wanted it to be more fitted. As I wanted fitted sleeves, I picked up the sleeve stitches with 5mm needles and worked one round, then switched to 4.5mm to continue the sleeves. The cuffs were done with on 3.75mms, as I found the garter st was too loose at 4mm.

Yoke: CO 83sts; increased to 231 before starting lace pattern. (If you’re following the math, this meant one final row of raglan increases that was different from all the others.) Omitted eyelet row.

Buttons and Buttonholes: 4 buttonholes worked for 4sts and spaced over 12 rows. I chose quality metal buttons with shanks, and sewed small plastic buttons on the reverse. This is the best way that I know to sew buttons to knits!

Sleeves: I was thinking of making this long-sleeved, but I had no clue how to work decreases into the lace pattern (so that the sleeve would remain fitted – I’m not a fan of the baggy sleeves seen on the Ravelry project pages). Once I knit the first sleeve and tried it on, I decided it was great as-is, and scrapped the idea of figuring out the decreases. The cuffs (as well as the hem at the bottom of the body) were knit to match the width of the garter stitch edging.

Yarn: Sirdar Click is a lovely, springy DK blend of 30Wool/70Acrylic. I usually shun acrylic, but this is just such a nice yarn. It is soft, lustrous, a beautiful teal colour, and a real pleasure to knit with. I picked it up from Knit Knackers in Ottawa, where it cost $4.99/ball last autumn. With 150m per ball, what a steal! I didn’t keep track of the number of balls I used – I am 98% sure it was four-and-a-bit, but I’d say five-and-a-bit to be safe.

All in all, this was a well-written pattern knit up with lovely yarn. I'm very happy with the finished product, and highly recommend it as a "first garment" project.

Preliminary pictures

Well, it's February, which meant that I had to finish my February Lady Sweater. This has been done for a few days, and now that I've found buttons, I figured I'd post a few pictures:

Buttons! Had a really difficult time getting buttons, which is what really delayed this project over the last couple of weeks. My usual buttons stores were closed, so I ended up grabbing these from the fabric store. (Sorry the picture is not too clear, but I assure you that they are lovely.)

I was really, really careful as I knit this. I wanted it to be as amazing as I could possibly make it. I am not a perfectionist and often just move on when I notice errors, but this time, I went back and fixed them – unless they were noticed several inches later, in which case I decided SCREW IT!

Learning curveballs:
- modifying the yoke... ouf, math is not one of my strong suits
- accidentally knit a stitch marker into the fabric – not worth frogging all that lace, so I sacrificed the stitch marker, though I was sad to see it go. It was from a set I received in the Montreal Knits swap.
- overzealousness on a WS row meant that I purled the last 7 sts, instead of knitting to make garter st – again, not worth frogging all that lace so I used a crochet hook and a tail of yarn to make it less noticeable
- somehow have a few rows where the columns of lace are off – not worth frogging (do you see a pattern here?)

Anyway, I'm happy with the project, despite the snags. It was a great pattern, and I'm so excited to wear my first finished garment. It is just about done blocking, but I'm going to leave it overnight -- and probably all day tomorrow, since I don't have much time before heading to work in the morning. Tomorrow evening, I will sew on the buttons (while my banana bread is baking) and it will finally be complete. I am excited to try on the finished project! Many more details to come...

First FO of 2009

I was itching to knit with this yarn. It was in my possession for one week, but it was calling to me, the tiny hairs were whispering, it was wrapping itself around my fingers as I slept..

Okay, that is a bit much. But you know that yarn that as soon as you see it, you need to knit it -- but only the most perfect project will do? Yeah, that's this yarn. My husband put two skeins of beautiful Louet Bonnie yarn in my Christmas stocking, which was a lovely surprise when I returned from my trip to Cuba. This wool-silk blend (94 and 6%, respectively) is so soft and absolutely gorgeous that I knew I had to knit a little something pour moi with that yarn. A lot of knitters use gifted yarns to make things for other people, but Jack got the yarn for me and so it remains for me.

At first, I didn't think that "Forest Floor" was an appropriate name for this colourway, but after unwinding the skein knitting row upon row of gorgeous, subtle colour changes, Forest Floor seems just right. There is just over one full colour repeat in each 80m skein.

I whipped up this little neckwarmer yesterday evening, using just less than a skein. There are only a few meters left, to hopefully balance out any mismatched colour in the second project I intend to use this for..

Pattern: Cowl'd and Frosty Morning, by Kelly Herdrich

Yarn: Louet Bonnie, colour 03 Forest Floor
Needles: 6mm (5.5 would have sufficed)

New skills: err.. Okay, I broke my own rule with this one. No new skill with this project.

Modifications: 1 extra repeat of pattern

I plan to use the other skein for the stripes on a matching pair of mittens. I just need to find a solid-colour yarn that deserves to be knit alongside this one. Bonnie is a bit lightweight for a bulky, so hopefully something appropriate will turn up.


This pictures don't quite do the yarn justice. It is gorgeous. Gorgeous.

(If you're wondering about my recent post on the proliferation of cowls and my subsequent knitting of a cowl, let me tell you this: I do not have a problem with cowls. They're quick knits, instant gratification, and I imagine they are much more comfortable for knitters in warmer climates who may long for scarves, but are too sensible to knit something they'll get no use of. Hey, I live in chilly Montreal and I made one! It's just that so many of these patterns seem to be turning up and they are, let's face it, remarkably similar. You know, like the dozens of garter stitch or 1x1 rib or mistake rib scarves you find on Ravelry. It's great that the internet allows so many people to become self-published designers, don't get me wrong, but how many freaking garter stitch scarf "patterns" are really needed?)

Choke: A FO

Having reviewed the posts on the first page of my blog, I am pretty embarrassed at my seeming lack of productivity! But you know, in the last month and a half, I finished a joint honours degree, started a new job, and have been promoted. So, I've been busy -- but I have also been knitting. I am in this weird stage of life where I come home from work, and there's nothing to do. Sure, there are always more dishes to be washed and more laundry to be sorted, but this is the first time in my adult life where I have not come home and had to go straight to schoolwork or a contract. I have always, since my second last year of high school, been working. The only summer where I did not take summer classes at University, I worked two jobs. Every other summer, I have worked and taken a load of summer classes. So now, when I get home from work, the only balancing act is: Should I knit? Should I read -- for pleasure? Should I do housework?

It is beautiful.

On to knitting! Here is a FO I finished over the summer: a dragonskin scarf for my mother.



Project: Choke, by Ailsa Daly
Made for: Mum's 50th birthday
Yarn: Tanis Fibre Arts fingering weight in Royal Flush

I really liked the pattern (so cool! Dragon scales!) and have gushed about this yarn before.. Both are highly recommended! I intend to make this scarf again, but not with a hand-painted yarn -- as beautiful as it is, I felt like it hid the stitch definition. And, I stand by my earlier assertion: So cool! Dragon scales!!!!!!!


Ooh, look at how beautiful the yarn is!!!!!! The yarn is from the same fibre artist as the yarn I used to knit Jenny's Scarf -- I vowed to never again knit a scarf with sock yarn, but holy moly, it is so beautiful and irresistible! One day, I'll knit socks.. Maybe.

FO: Shoulder Warmer (with mods)

Finally, she posts a FO!

I have been very busy lately and haven't had time to knit (sob!) BUT I just had the last class of my undergraduate career.. Only one last exam! It has been fun and I love being in school (still trying to figure out how to be a professional student), but I am ready for some real world action. Anyway, on to the knitting!!


Project: Shoulder Warmer
Pattern Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet, by Julia Allen
New Skills: Err.. "Knitting a garment in 2 days" is a skill, yeah?



I obviously was in the middle of talking to someone in the above picture, so excuse the funny face!

The English editor inside me feels the need to say that this is not a caplet, but the misnomer can be traced back to Anthropologie, so don't give me any flack!

This was a great pattern, and knit up quite quickly. The yarn was also quite nice; I love the colour and it is so squishy!! It was a bit itchy when I first tried it on, but it feels great after washing and blocking. All in all, this was a quick and satisfying knit. I kept track of my notes, in case anyone else plans to knit this with worsted-weight yarn. I hope that someone finds this helpful:


Size: Small
Yarn: 5 balls of Jojoland worsted-weight wool (100m/110y per ball). I finished the body with four balls, but needed to use a fifth to BO the body and hem the sleeves.
Needles: 6.5mm
Gauge: approx. 7 sts over 2”

NOTE: You will have quite a few stitches on your needles if you use straights; it might be easier to work this back and forth on circs.


Holding yarn double-standed, CO 56sts on 6.5mm needles.
Work seven rows seed stitch.

Begin raglan (I placed my stitch markers as follows-- Row 1, RS: [2st seed border], K7, yo, pm, K1, pm, yo, K8, yo, pm, K1, pm, yo, K18, yo, pm, K1, pm, yo, K8, yo, pm, K1, pm, yo, K7, [2st seed border])

You will knit rows 2&3 a total of 13-14x, until each sleeve has 34 or 36sts.

Separate sleeve stitches and place on waste yarn. Continue stockingette body for another 3.5", then do 2 rows seed st and BO.

Finish sleeves with 2 rows seed st and BO.

Need to get these thoughts out of my head; the knitting is taking precedence over the homework!

I wore my shoulder warmer to a friend's vernissage last night. Here is an action shot that was snapped when I wasn't paying attention:


Yes, I really am that lanky. My friends absolutely loved it and couldn't believe that I had made it myself. They were quite impressed, which of course was a huge compliment to me! I had a few nice pictures taken as well, and am waiting to for my friend to send them my way. Also got an actual shot of the bf and I, which is quite rare and therefore exciting. The vernissage was at the bar I used to bartend at -- don't think I've been back since last summer. I got pretty pissed off when I found out that I was supposed to be payed by the bar every night -- after working 5 or 6 months in which I was told the only money I made were my tips. "It's not retroactive," the owner laughed, when I told him that I hadn't been paid at all. Anyway, they have fixed it up quite nicely and my friend's photos looked wonderful.

In other news, I made myself a big yarn shopping list (and an appropriately named document, saved right in the middle of my desktop for easy access!). There are quite a few projects that I am eager to get started on.. My next visit to Ottawa (should be in a week or two) will involve going to a lovely little store that is crammed full of all sorts of yarn priced ridiculously low: odd balls, discontinued colours, et cetera. So I have a made list of which yarn is required for which projects, and I will shop for as many as I can. I want to make (in general order):
-- pair of felted Christmas stockings for the bf and I
-- the diamond rib lace shrug
-- a little cape for myself, though that will be a frivolous treat
-- the February Lady Sweater -- though I really should finish the Mrs. Darcy cardigan first!

I should be thinking in terms of Christmas knitting.. A sweater for bf (he has asked for Mr. Stripey, in black-grey-brown though I'm dreading another double-knit.. takes so long!). Decide on a scarf for the skein of Malabrigo intended for my grandmother. Find yarn for a scarf or shawl for Jack's mum -- have never met her, so I will just choose something gorgeous and hope for the best.

I am also taking part in my first swap (!!), through the local Ravelry group. I am pretty excited and have some need ideas for my swap partner. Hope she likes everything!

Maddy's Jacket

Wow, it has been a while since I've posted here! I've had a FO to share, but it was waiting to be gifted so it was a bit hush hush. Here it is:


Project: Maddy's Jacket
Made for: baby Lawrence
Pattern: Peach Blossom Baby Jacket by Looking Glass Knits
New Skills: Raglan, first jacket, DPNs

You may notice that the sleeves looks a little off: the jacket is actually knit in twisted stockingette, whereas the sleeves are regular stockingette. It wasn't done on purpose -- this project helped me realize that I've been wrapping the yarn the wrong way on the purl sts, so it has been twisting. I knew something was up! Some fellow self-taught leftie knitters on lj helped me figure out what I was doing wrong. I still think it looks cute, but wish the sleeves matched!


The pattern said that this could all be done on straights, but there was no way I could pick up the sleeve stitches -- so it forced me to learn how to use DPNs a little sooner than I'd planned to.

Otherwise, the pattern was excellent and I really love the finished product. I wanted something that was not too cutesy or traditional to match the parents' personalities.

I started knitting this before the gender of the baby was known and used some blue acrylic* I've had for a while, and picked up some lovely soft yellow to compliment it. I think it would look sweet on either gender, but baby ended up being a girl so I picked up some yellow buttons to finish it off. She definitely won't fit into it for a little while, but I'm excited to see how it looks on her

It's not perfect, but I think it is pretty adorable for my first sweater.



*NOTE baby clothes and blankets generally should not be knit with acrylic. They are traditionally knit with wool because it burns very reluctantly, and is self-extinguishing (the flame will go out when taken away from the source of fire). Acrylic, on the other hand, could melt into a baby's skin. Of course, you hope your baby won't be surrounded by flames, but remember that he/she has no way to move away from them. I only used acrylic because this is a jacket, not sleep wear, so she won't be unattended while wearing it. I also let the parents know, and they were glad to hear that it is machine-washable!

Feather & Fan Scarf

I wanted to knit a light, lovely scarf for my Great Aunt Jenny who is dying of cancer. She lives in England and I can't go visit, but I wanted to send her a tangible expression of love, comfort, and well wishes.


Project: Jenny's Scarf
Pattern: Easy Lace Scarf by Knitters Review
Made for: Aunt Jenny
New skill: Lace knitting, beaded fringe

I had a moment of panic while knitting -- what if wool is irritable to cancer patients? Would a lace scarf be appropriate for springtime on the southern English coast? I was reassured, and finished knitting it a few days later. I used some lovely sock yarn that was hand-dyed by a local fiber artist. I highly recommend the yarn -- the colours are gorgeous, the price is right, AND this 80% wool -- 20% nylon blend is machine washable and dryable. Check out Tanis Fiber Arts on Etsy.

After blocking, the scarf measured 6' (before blocking, it was as long as my desk at work, I'll have to measure that on Monday!).

I decided it could use some embellishment, so I headed over to the neighbourhood bead shop and picked up some pretty gold beads, figured out how to wrangle them onto the yarn, et voila.

I wrapped up the scarf with a nice bar of Verbena-scented soap and mailed it off on Wednesday.

Nintendo DS Lite Cover

Project: DS cover
Pattern: Seamless Nintendo DS Lite Sock by Kathryn Ivy
Made for: Me
New skill: Seamless double-knit pouch

I'm not the type to knit cozies for items just for the sake of having cozies. I did, however, want my (ok, the bf's) DS Lite protected from scratches.

I was going to knit this using the leftover skein from Jack's mosaic scarf. He always carries his PSP in a case, so I thought he'd like one for the DS as well. Good thing I told him before knitting it -- he told me he wouldn't use a case for the DS so I should save my yarn; he has one for PSP only because the screen is exposed. I always have a ton of crap in my purse and didn't want the DS to get too badly scratched, so I made one anyway. Just in purple instead.

This yarn is leftover from the calorimetry that I made my sister for her birthday. It is absolutely lovely, I recommend it: Queensland Collection Rustic Wool in colour 09.


And yes, that's an Ice Blue DS. Isn't it lovely? It has been loaded it up with Tetris, Sudoku, and old school Mario Bros for me to play, along with a ton of other games I just haven't tried!

Matilda

I started this blog with the intention of showcasing my creations, but phew, I am so tired lately. I will use this post to show off a project I finished in November:



Project: Mosaic scarf
Pattern: Matilda by Silke Hupka
Made for: Jack
New skill: Double knit, slip stitch, working with two colours

This scarf is amazing, I am so happy with it! It was my first serious, wanna-make-it-perfect project. I made it as part of Jack's Christmas present and put a lot of time and effort into it. The doubleknit took exceedingly long (I worked on this DAILY for over a month) but makes it so cosy. I chose the brown-grey Kureyon because it looks great with a variety of his jackets.

Yarn: Noro Kureyon, 100% wool, colour 149 (2 skeins); Inca Gold Marra, 70% merino 30% baby alpaca, black (3 skeins). The Kureyon pissed me off, I probably won’t use it anymore: BOTH skeins had that issue where it wasn’t one consistent string of yarn but had been tied to another. This happened in TWO places in the second skein which was spun terribly uneven to the point of near-breakage! Bah. The other yarn was lovely though.

One of the first people to compliment Jack on the scarf were two old ladies who coludn't believe his girlfriend had knit it for him. They told him it was well done and a beautiful pattern -- I think it was good to hear that from someone other than me!

Hand-wash only.