Gullwings

This is the first lace weight shawl that I finished last summer. It was a lovely day when we took the photos, we went for a walk down the canal to the South common. 

The pattern is free download from Ravelry, here. The yarn is a one off, dyed by Jonathan from Chroma Yarns, he is local to Lincoln and sells to my old local yarn shop Spins and Needles. I also took a couple of classes with him, and he's lovely :) The yarn is a wonderful colour, a mix of blue and chocolate brown. It's 20% silk too so it catches the light beautifully. My project page is here. 

Ashley x

Ebony's project bag

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post these photos! Ebony's birthday was over 2 months ago! I finished the bag just in time in the end. I thought I'd made good time, until I realised I'd sewn the handles on side-ways! I hadn't read the instructions properly, and just 'assumed' I knew what I was doing. HA! I read all instructions very carefully after that.

And it's completely reversible! I have to admit, in the end I prefer the plain side. But mum tells me that Ebony prefers the patchwork side, so that shows how much I know ;) 

I passed on my copy of Knitty Gritty and my first ever pair of knitting needles too. I had intended to post it with some yarn, but the local craft shop was closed on the day I wanted to post it! I ended up ordering some from Deramores, as I've ordered from them before and trusted that it would be delivered on time for her birthday. I chose some bright pink bamboo/acrylic yarn, and some pale pink/lilac yarn with sparkles in it. Perfect for an 8 year old princess-loving girl :)

She loved it all, but it seems she's still struggling with casting off. So I've promised that the next time I see her, I'll make time to show her :)

The pattern is from The Bag Making Bible, and I thoroughly enjoyed making it. The instructions were very good, so make sure you read them! Don't do what I did and 'assume'! I thought the bag was a nice size for a lots of different uses too.

I've only got the hem to do on my Chantilly dress, I just need to stop procrastinating and do it! 

Woollies and Wellies

Hello! Just a quick post to show off a couple of projects that have been seeing a lot of wear lately. Both patterns are by Ysolda Teague, Ripley (the hat) and Ishbel (the shawl). They're both 100% wool, which is exactly what you need in this weather we're having at the moment. The photo's were taken on Sunday, when we went for a walk. We kept coming across patches of snow in the wood and fields, and the wind was icy cold!

We've been walking further and further each weekend, and managed 6 and a half hours this week. We've got a map and a compass, but there was still about half an hour where what we were seeing didn't seem to match up with the map. Thankfully I recognised a path we had come down earlier, and we soon knew just where we were. The last hour or so walking back home was so tiring, we were certainly glad to be home! We warmed up with a home made mocha and chocolate chip brioche :)

If you'd like more info on the projects, Ripley is here and Ishbel is here. I'll be back with photos of Ebony's bag soon. I'll leave you with a photo of me enjoying my wellies :)

Hats

Hats are another thing that be as easy or as difficult as you want them. I've knit two hats recently, but I think my favourite it the Ishbel beret.

I adore the colour of this one! (As a side note, I dyed a bit of yarn last week using tea bags and got a similar colour!) The pattern is the Ishbel beret by Ysolda Teague. The yarn is Shilasdair Luxury 4ply. It has cashmere, camel, angora and merino in it. Definitely a bit of luxury for your head! :) My project page is here.

This was a stash busting hat. The pattern is a free Ravelry download called Sneaky Snakes, and the yarn is Rico Design Essentials Merino Aran. I'm undecided as to whether I'll keep this one, it came out a bit small. I'll try blocking it bigger, and if that doesn't work a giveaway might be in order :) My project page is here.

Ashley x

Socks

I've also knitted a couple of pairs of socks. I love knitting socks, just as you're getting bored of doing one thing, there's a new thing to do! And they can be as easy or as difficult as you fancy. 

I love this pattern, the swirls are so pretty! It's Vorticity from the book Socktopus. The yarn is Rico Design Superba Bamboo. The bamboo makes the yarn very smooth and soft. And the stripes are so fun to knit. For more info on the yarn and pattern, my project page is here.

Now these socks are hard to photograph. There are cables and lace in there somewhere! The heel is also patterned, so it's the first time I've done a patterned heel :) The pattern is Eunice from the book Sock Innovation. The yarn is a Crazy Zauberball, I love this yarn! For more info, my project page is here.

And this is the Jaywalker pattern, a free Ravelry download. The yarn is King Cole Zig Zag, and Dom keeps calling them the dinosaur egg socks because he reckons the white and green look like dinosaur eggs. This pattern is great, very easy to memorise :) I can't wait to finish them.

Ashley x

I killed a dishcloth!!

During the clean up of our flat, I used the only dishcloth that I could find in the mass of boxes:

This picture was taken just after I'd finished it. It's the prettiest dishcloth I've ever made. During the clean up, it was subjected to bleach and much scrubbing. Here's the poor thing now:

The picture makes it look better than it is, it looks much grimier and more sorry for itself in real life. I'm not sure how I managed to make a hole in it, it's starting to unravel. Which is why I'm declaring it dead. Better to lay it to rest now, than when it's a nasty pile of yarn that's annoying to use.
In tribute to this poor sorry dishcloth, I made three more:

I don't think we short on dishcloths for a while, considering what it takes to kill one :)
Ashley x

Echo Flowers

I love this pattern, it's so pretty. I kept seeing shawls all over Ravelry that I loved, and when I went to check the pattern it would the Echo Flower shawl pattern. Eventually I just recognised it on sight! :) You can find my project page here.

It uses Estonian stitches, so lots of 3-into-9 stitches and such. I eventually realised it would be easier on my hands if I made sure to knit these loosely. And nupps!! (Apparently this is pronounced to rhyme with soup) The pattern also calls for you to bind off with the yarn held double. This has given it a nice sturdy but still stretchy edge. It was a very enjoyable pattern :)

Ashley x

p.s. No pictures of me wearing it yet, I have a cold sore and cold sores are icky :( I get cold sores when I'm particularly stressed, so yeah :(

Bumpy Lace

I'm not sure where the three weeks since I last posted have gone. I managed to get three summer dresses finished before the sun disappeared. The first one is a house dress only, a test run I suppose. I love the second and third ones. I haven't gotten round to taking photo's yet, and I was too hot when I actually wore them out to want to have my photo taken. 

So instead, I have a photo of a shawl that I've been working on. This is how it looks pre-blocking:

As you can see, it's very bumpy and lumpy. I've blocked it hard, which has made it flat and smooth :) To make sure I take photo's of my summer dresses soon, I'm going to wear one to take photo's of the blocked shawl.

Anyway, I just thought I'd pop in and say hi :) Oh, and we have a white chocolate and raspberry loaf in the oven so hopefully I'll have some photo's of that to share too. It's just starting to brown and smells amazing!!

Ashley x

After a short break. . .

I had my last ever uni exam yesterday! How weird is that?! So revision was the culprit for the silence on the blog. I think the exam went ok though, so hopefully it will be worth it :)

During my silence, I've worked on my Chantilly dress a little and have finally nearly finished it! I need to finish sewing the yoke lining down, insert the invisible zip and finish that seam, and sew the hem. So close! Also in sewing news, my pre-order of the gorgeous Cambie dress pattern from Sewaholic arrived! I think this will be my next sewing project. Though I've been thinking about sewing up some quick and simple maxi dresses, as I'm seriously lacking summer clothes. 

In knitting news, I've made great progress on my Lauriel cardigan and it fits wonderfully! I've now almost finished the first sleeve, but here's a photo of the body:

Also, if you're wondering why there is no hair on my shoulders, I got it cut! It's been a couple of months now, and I still like it ;) There'll be photo's when I finish Chantilly :)

I've also taken an interest in my nails, and the wonderful world of nail art! I came across a thread on Ravelry where they were showing off their manicures. I discovered dotting tools, and nail stamping and fell in love :) I also discovered quick dry top coats. They work like magic and I haven't smudged my nails since using it! Here's my first attempt at nail stamping :

The shininess of the top coat and the gold I used to stamp with made this quite a challenge for Dom to photograph ;) Click the photo for a closer look. I need to get better at being neat and cleaning up, but I'm still pretty impressed :) If you're interested, here's what I used and how many coats:

Base coat: Sally Hansen Double Duty

Colour: Rimmel Lasting Finish, in double decker red. Two coats.

Topcoat: Sally Hansen Instra-dri anti-chip top coat. The top coat sped up the drying time and made it solid, so the stamping didn't smudge the colour.

Stamping: Stargazer Chrome nail polish, in gold. The nail plate is Konad M73.

Topcoat: same as before, but I did three coats to make it extra strong.

As a first attempt, I think it went pretty well :) It's very pretty and very subtle. Stamping is very fun to do, and I'm slowly building up a decent nail polish collection. I also bought a Bundle Monster 25 piece set of nail plates which is a great starting point, as well as a few Konad plates that caught my eye. So lots to choose from :)

Have you ever tried nail stamping? I've never heard of it before now, so thought I'd share in case you haven't either :)

Ashley x

Socks and Narwhals

I love narwhals and I love toasty warm mittens. These mitts are both! They are lined with another plain knitted mitten. I forgot to take a picture, but it make them amazingly warm :) For yarn and pattern details my Ravelry project page is here. 

And I finally got to knit up a Zauberball! It's a Crazy Zauberball. The pinks are much brighter in real life. They are so cosy and warm :) This is the first pair of 4 ply that I've finished for myself that fit. Lovely :) My Ravelry project page is here for yarn and pattern details. 

And finally, do you remember that I had a cardigan on the go? Probably not, as it's so long since I've mentioned it. I split the sleeve stitches off so I had arm holes, and knitted about an inch more and then put it away. The more I looked at it, the more I didn't like the yarn. I bought it online as it was cheapish. I'm not keen on the colour and it doesn't feel too great. Plus, I wasn't sure on the fit. 

So. I bought some yarn that I love. It's Rico Essentials Merino Aran. The pattern calls for DK weight yarn, and although it says it's an aran, it doesn't look like it to me. I got perfect gauge and I like the fabric that it makes :) I've also gone down a size, as the 38 was a bit loose around the neck. I also took the advice of the pattern and increased at the front after the leaf collar to accommodate my bust. I'm much more confident in the fit of this one already. And the more I look at the yarn, the more I love it! :)

I had gotten about halfway through the raglan increases when I realised the armholes were wonky! On one side, there were six leaves before the arm and on the other there were seven! Argh! So I had to frog back to the leaves and start over from there. I'm almost back to where I was before.

The colour of the yarn actually has life to it. Does that make sense? It's not just a flat colour, it has subtle lighter and darker bits when you look at it closely. I like it a lot. The original yarn will get knitted into a scrap blanket instead :) 

Now I'm off to make some pizza dough. We're having pizza tonight! We took a look at a restaurant menu to come up with ideas for toppings. It's a great way to try new toppings that you wouldn't normally try. We're having olives, capers, red onion, roasted pine nuts, and sultanas on our pizza. I'd never have thought to put those things together on a pizza, but it's delicious! :)

Ashley x

Dishcloths and washcloths

I have a 3000 word essay to start and finish by Sunday night so I'll keep this brief - Look, dishcloths and washcloths!! We needed them, so I made them! If you'd like details on yarn or patterns, you can find them here on my Ravelry page. I've been doing them a row at a time while working on other essays. 

Also, thank you for the lovely comments on my last couple of posts, I'll reply to them when this essay is done and handed in :) But for now, thanks!

Ashley x

Fiddler's Mitts

Blocking really helped smooth out the stitches and colour work on these mitts! (There's a before blocking photo in this post) The pattern is Fiddler's mitts by Ysolda Teague. It's part of the book 'My Grandmother's knitting'. There are some lovely patterns in this book :) The yarn is Excelana 4ply. It's lovely to work with and softened quite a bit with some Soak wool wash. 

I've been working on finishing the Narwhal mittens (they're for Dom, so I feel bad that he didn't get to wear them this winter), and I'm now tired of colour work! I'm onto the lining now so at least there is no colour work left to do :)

Ashley x

Socks, gloves and a shawl

I didn't intentionally take a break from blogging, it just sort of happened! I've been working on finishing up some knitting projects, as having 6 (plus 2 long term) projects on the go wasn't fun. So I'm now down to 3! The long term ones don't properly count ;) So here are the projects I've managed to finish:

This is an Ishbel shawl by Ysolda Teague, made in Botany Lace by Araucania. I'm not sure how to wear it. I like it a lot more than I thought I would before I blocked it. Here it is before blocking:

It was all rumpled and bumpy. And it grew a lot!! Before blocking it was 39 by 13 inches. After blocking (and a little shrinkage) it is 57 by 16 inches! It's a nice size for wearing around my neck like a scarf, but it doesn't show off the lace as much as I'd like.

I also finally finished Dom's socks. He's was very happy to put them on today, as it's very windy and rainy.

He says that they're very comfy :) The pattern is Manly Aran socks from the Toe up socks for everybody book. The yarn is Superba 100 Klassik 4-fadig by Rico Design. It's a very good sock yarn, and relatively cheap too. Lucky for me, Dom doesn't like his socks super long so once I was past the heel there wasn't much further to go :) Oh and the background is some fabric I bought last week for a summer dress when it was lovely and warm. I think I jinxed it! 

And lastly, the gloves. These are the Fiddler's mitts by Ysolda Teague from the book My Grandmother's knitting. I used Excelana 4ply yarn, and I really like it :) The photo shows them before blocking, and you can see where the colour work isn't as smooth as it could be. They're currently drying, I just soaked them for a bit and smoothed them flat to dry. They look much better, so I should hopefully have some blocked photos soon :)

I hope they're dry by tomorrow so I can wear them into town to meet a friend. They should keep me warm enough :) I'm also getting my hair cut tomorrow and I'm planning on a shorter cut. I'm still not entirely certain about it, but we'll see :)
Ashley x

Damson

This is the shop sample that I mentioned yesterday :) The pattern is Damson by Ysolda Teague, and the yarn is Malabrigo Sock in the colourway Alcaucil. The yarn is so gorgeous, I can see why it's so popular. I love the very subtle variation in colour, I'm a huge fan of tonals/semi-solids. I may have bought another hank today. Sshhh!
Ashley x

Stockholm scarf - Finished!

I can't believe it's taken over a month for me to remember to get a photo of it! I've been wearing it pretty much every day since I finished it and I love it :) The pattern is a free one from Ravelry and can be found here. I used just over four and a half skeins of British Breeds Blue Faced Leicester DK. It's soft enough without needing to be washed which is great. It's stretched out a little as I've worn it and gotten more drapey. And I think it looks great with my coat! 

My Project page is here if you want more details :)

Ashley x

p.s. Dom took and edited the photo. I love what he did with it!

Socks and Swallows

Pretty stitch markers that mum got me for Christmas :)

This yarn has caused me no end of trouble! It's a lace weight mohair/silk mix. (Angel by Debbie Bliss if you're interested). It was the first 'designer' yarn I ever bought, and this is the third pattern I've tried in it. The first was too boring. The second pattern I chose seemed to be going well, I didn't work on it for months. I picked it up again at the weekend and did a row. I had an extra stitch. Hmm. I tried to fix but it was so hard to see where I'd gone wrong in this yarn. Anyway, I've settled on the Swallowtail Shawl (link goes to Ravelry page). When I chose the second pattern, I passed over the Swallowtail as I thought it would be too hard. However, I've made a shawl or two since then and I'm pretty sure I can do it now :) Of course, it's all going to go wrong now I've said that ;)

I've also been working on a pair of socks for Dom. They're the Manly Aran socks from Toe up socks for everybody. I've finished one so far and I'm currently having a little break before starting on the second one. Here's a sneak preview:

It's a great pattern and I've learnt to do cables without a cable needle! It's pretty scary at first but I think I've got the hang of it now :) They fit him really well and he keeps asking when they'll be be finished.

My fabric order from Croft Mill was dispatched yesterday, but my pattern order from Sewbox is still processing. Hmm, might have to work on something else while I wait!

Ashley x

Rose Gold and an Icing Swirl

I finally got round to blocking it. The top photo shows the detail better, but the second photo shows the colour better :) I love this hat, and I can't wait to wear it! My Ravelry project page is here, all the details are there is you want them :)

I'm not sure where the last two weeks has gone! I've been around on twitter, but nothing has been blog worthy. We've just been taking it easy, and Dom got the new xbox game Skyrim so I've been watching him play that and following along with the story. I'm enjoying it so far, it's got dragons in it so what's not to like? ;) And if you think it's weird that I like to watch him play a game, then this proves I'm not the only one! I was so surprised by this post, but I feel exactly the same way :)

I started and finished another hat on Friday too! It's the Icing Swirl hat by Ysolda and it's knitted from Melange Chunky on 6.5mm needles which is why it only took me a day to knit :) My project page is here. Here's a couple of photo's of it blocking on a balloon:

Because of how thick the yarn is, it should be really warm :) It's suddenly got really cold the past couple of days, so I can't wait for these hats to dry properly. It's so frosty in the mornings, it looks like a thin layer of snow!

Hopefully it won't be another two weeks before I post again this time :)

Ashley x