Back In Action

Sorry for the long silence but I'm back now in the knitting and  blogging world. So much had happened in the last 2 months that I am still in a daze.

We bought an apartment in Nov 2012, did some renovations in Dec, went away for holidays in Jan 2013, did more renovations in Jan, started packing and moving to the apartment in Feb, prepared house for rental in Mar - I have never, ever worked this hard in my life and for the 1st time in my knitting life, I did not knit for 3 weeks as I was too tired and I also hurt my hand with all the heavy carrying.

I have moved 12 times in my marriage life of 32 years and this move, the 13th is the hardest of all. Imagine moving 4 people and belongings from a 2-storey house (500 sq m of space) to a 3-bedroom apartment (120 sq m of space). I am not going into the details of this move but I am sure that I will not do this again.

Anyway, we are now happily settled in the apartment and we love it. The apartment is near the city and right next to the river where it's the perfect place for walks. It's also near to the University where my 2 girls are attending, so travel time is greatly reduced. 

This is my favorite place in the apartment .......

...... and I am sitting right there writing this post. 

Now for some knitting content - I started 3 projects while I was on holiday and so far managed to finish 2 .....

...... a pair of socks for my husband. The yarn is Naturally Waikiki which is a mix of wool, alpaca and possum. I made a pair last year with the same yarn and my husband loved them as they are very warm. He asked for another pair in the same wool. This yarn is a little pricey as a 50 gms ball cost $27 and a pair of socks require 2 balls. Well, he is happy and I think 2 pairs will be able to see him through this coming winter.

2nd FO for this year ......

...... Cameo. I am not a fan of knitting stripes as I find color changing too troublesome but somehow this pattern caught my eye. Plus I needed an easy pattern for the holiday and this pattern is all garter stitch which I love. 

I used lace yarn for this shawl as I had lots in my stash. So I just knit with 2 strands together. The darker blue yarn is MadTosh Lace and the lighter blue is Yarn Addict's Silk Merino Lace. These 2 colors went so well together and I love the finished shawl. 

I am now picking up the 3rd project which is the Featherweight Cardigan. I am trying to decide on the stitch pattern for the band, so more of that to come ......

My Winter Wardrobe Is Now Complete

I have mentioned in previous posts of my winter holiday in Seoul and the accessories that I have been knitting. I have just cast off another 2 items .....

..... Lintilla. I decided to knit it really long (70") so that I can wrap it around my neck a couple of times and be warm. I really love Martina's designs and have knitted 3 out of the 4 patterns in the ebook. They are great patterns and all garter stitches which I find so relaxing. In fact, I was sad to cast off this scarf and wished I could knit on and on. 

The last item for my winter wardrobe is ......

.... this cape which I have been working on for the last 2 months. It's a top down cape and I just knitted it like a cardigan except that there are no sleeves. I just keep increasing on the raglans until I reached the size that I want. I think I had more than 500 stitches on the needles and then I just keep knitting to the right length. I used 6 balls of Rowan 4ply Wool Cotton and it's a nice yarn to knit with.

I love the faggot stitch detail that I used on the raglans ......

As the moss stitch bands are knitted on at the same time, there was no picking up and when I cast off, the cape is done. I can't decide if I wanted buttons so I am using a pin at the moment. I am really happy that the cape turned out well and it will be warmer than a shawl.

So now I am all ready for the winter in Seoul and I hope that these knitted items will keep me warm.

I am leaving on Sunday for Singapore, spending a few days there, then leave for Seoul. We will be in Seoul for 8 days and I promised there will be pictures of these knitted accessories in action. After Seoul, we will spend another 2 weeks in Singapore and back home at the end of January.

Wish all of you a Happy, Healthy and Knitty 2013 !

I am still around ......

...... but have not been posting as I am so busy with a renovation project.  More about that later.

But I am still knitting, although not a lot and my latest FO is this .....

.......the Quilted Lattice Mitts. I changed the fingerless version to a full mittens as I wanted them for my trip to Seoul. I used my Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Sock yarn (leftover from my Ravi cardigan) as the main color and the contrasting grey yarn is Socks That Rocks.

I love the pattern as it looks so pretty and it's also a quick knit. When I tried on the mittens, I thought that they may not be warm enough for the winter in Seoul and so decided to add a lining.

I picked up stitches from the inside of the cuff and started knitting in the round, left an opening for the thumb and carried on knitting to the top. I used leftover Knitpicks Gloss Lace yarn for the lining so that it's thinner and will fit nicely inside the mitten.

I am happy with the lining and now I have well padded mittens which I hope will be warm enough. It's now -6C in Seoul and by the time we get there on January 4, I am sure it will be colder!

Royal Perth Show

I mentioned in my previous post about the Annual State Show which I have been participating in for the last few years.

Again I was invited to give a demonstration on knitting and I brought along my friend, Lisa .....

.... we were seated with a gentleman who won a few prizes in the crochet section. His crochet skills are amazing as his projects are so intricate & delicate. He had a crochet chess set on the table which caught everyone's attention. I should have taken a picture of his projects.

Anyway, here are my entries .....

..... 1st prize for these knee socks. They are the Vintage Knee Socks from the book, Wendy Knits Lace and knitted in undyed 4ply merino yarn which I purchased from Yarn and Kisses.

This is the first time that I knitted knee socks and there's a lot of knitting especially for the increases on the back to accommodate the cuff. But I love the look on the back of the socks.

Another entry is the lacy fingerless mittens which is my own design and won the 3rd prize ........

The mittens are knitted in lace weight Suri Alpaca which a friend bought from Canada. This was a challenging project as the yarn was so fine and slippery on dpns (even wooden ones). But the end result is so lovely - so light and soft, like cotton wool.

Blocking those mittens was also a challenge and I came up with this solution .....

Another entry is my Banksia Cowl and it won the 1st prize in the Own Design Section ....

I enjoyed participating in this annual event but it can be a challenge and also time consuming to plan and design the projects. Maybe next year, I will take a break .......

Spin and Knit

Remember this post  when I mentioned the 2 skeins of handspun. 

The top skein (darker blue) is BFL fiber from Corgi Hill Farm and the bottom skein (lighter blue) is BFL/Alpaca from Tylacine.  I enjoyed the spinning as the fiber was so smooth to spin with. After plying, the yarn is between a lace weight and a fingering weight. 

I did cast on and knitted a vest.......

I used the lighter blue yarn for the bottom lace band and the edgings around the arms and neck. The body was knitted with the dark blue yarn which stripes nicely. I extend the lace from the band up the 2 sides of the vest so that it shapes nicely without having to knit any shaping.

The vest turned out nicely and I was happy with it, so I entered it in the Perth Royal Show (an annual state show). The vest was awarded the 1st prize in the Handspun Section for an article made with machine prepared fiber.....

This is the 1st time that I entered in the Hand Spinning Section and it was really a great surprise for me to win a prize as I am still quite an amateur in spinning. 

I also entered several items in the Hand Knitting Section which I will share with you next week ......

Cottage Garden Shawl

I am teaching a Lace Shawl Class next week & the pattern that I am using for the class is the Cottage Garden Shawl, my 1st triangle shawl design.

I have knitted this pattern many times but when I started to look for a sample for my class, I could not find one. I had given away all those shawls that I have knitted. I can't believe that I don't have one shawl to show.

So, I had to knit one & I had to do it fast. Went through my stash & found a ball of Jawoll Magic. I love the colors of this yarn .......

I was a little worried when I started knitting that the yarn will be too variegated for lace but it turned out well.

I think this is my 4th Cottage Garden Shawl but I still enjoyed knitting this pattern and it's a simple pattern but with many variations. It will be a great pattern for lace beginners and I hope the 6 ladies who signed up for the class will enjoy knitting this shawl as much as I did.

I also finished a cowl - Cone of the Banksia, for my dear friend, Helen. 

This cowl is knitted with Zen Yarn Garden's Cashsilk Fingering yarn, a gorgeous blend of cashmere & silk. It feels so soft & nice around the neck & I hope the cowl will keep Helen warm.

At Last, A FO !

I managed to finish a shawl which I have been knitting for the last 3 months as I was making it up as I go. My main objective was to try out the yarn - Noro Sekku.

I love the colors of Noro but had an allegric reaction to it many years ago. Recently, I saw a ball of Noro Sekku for sale at my Spinning Guild & decided to give it another try. This time, there was no allergic reaction which was great. But I am really disappointed with the yarn.

Noro Sekku is lace weight & is a mix of cotton, wool & silk so it's soft. The colors are gorgeous but there was a knot in my ball & one of the colors was missing, so that messed up the color repeats. You can see that there is no red at the top of the shawl.

The spinning of the yarn is very irregular so there were sections of thick & thin as well as many sections of unspun yarn. This really created a problem as the yarn tangles a lot & sometimes even felt together. I had to stop very often to untangle the yarn & it also made knitting hard as I had to pull big chunks of wool through each stitch making the knitting uneven.

As the yarn was so colorful, I kept the knitting simple. The shawl is shaped as a semi-circle, with increases at the sides & the 2 spines. I use a faggot stitch on the spines just to keep the knitting interesting. 

I used a plain yarn for the border as a contrast. In fact, I like the border best.

So I have tried Noro but I did not enjoy knitting with this yarn. The colors are nice but I don't think I will be wearing such a colorful shawl, my girls called it the Rainbow Shawl. 

I have also been spinning & have finished 2 skeins of yarn for a vest. 

I love the colors ! The darker blue (BFL) is for the body of the vest & the lighter blue (alpaca) is for the bands. I will be designing the vest & now working on the swatch.

Cone of a Banksia

The Western Australian knitters recently had their annual retreat and I was asked to design a project for a KAL during the retreat.

I came up with a cowl which will be a quick project and I wanted it to be light and soft, so I chose lace weight to knit with.

When I showed a friend the stitch pattern that I decided on, she said that it reminded her of the cones of a banksia.

Banksia is an Australian wildflower, with flower spikes and a fruiting cone. The follicles on aged Banksia cones resemble “eyes”. The elongated eyelets combine with a moss stitch pattern on the cowl resembles the "eyes" on a Banksia cone. In addition, the retreat is held in Toodyay, a country town where Banksia trees are widely grown and so I named the cowl, Cone of a Banksia. 

I love the look and the lightness of the cowl ......

...... and knitting it with Knitpicks lace weight is a dream. This pattern is now available on ravelry.

I also knitted a 2nd one in Rowan Fine Lace and it's just as lovely .....

...... this cowl is about 4" longer as I added another 20 stitches.

I was not able to attend the retreat but I heard it went well and I hope everyone had fun knitting the cowl.

I Must Be So(ck) Crazy !

In the last 2 weeks, I have cast on 3 sock projects! This is the 1st time, for a long while, that I have spent so much time knitting socks. I sort of lost my sock mojo & only managed to knit 4 pairs in 2 years.

Suddenly I had this urge to knit socks & since January, I finished off 2 pairs that were half completed & I got my mojo back. So I cast on ......

.... Vintage Kneesocks. I have always wanted to knit a pair of knee socks & I love Wendy's designs as they are all toe-ups. As they are vintage socks, I decided to use undyed sock yarn which I bought from a friend.

I have started the increases for the calf & the sock is knitting up fast. The lace pattern is easy but I still need to refer to the pattern as I can't remember the 30 row pattern. I love the look of the lace ....

The markers are there to mark each repeat of the pattern. These are my favorite markers & I don't think I can knit without them. I don't use a row counter anymore as these markers are my counters.

Last weekend, I cast on my 2nd sock project as I wanted an easy project to knit on while we drive 3 hours to the wine region, Margaret River. As it's nearing winter & my husband needs more socks, I decided to knit him a pair.

It's a plain sock with a ribbed leg. I finished one sock during the 6 hours drive (to & back) & just turned the heel of the 2nd sock. I think he should have a pair by this weekend. I used the stitch pattern for the Skyp Socks on the leg as it's a 6x2 rib pattern.

While I was in Margaret River, I visited a local yarn shop & met up with the owner. I have heard that she is looking for someone to teach a sock class. We got talking & she gave me a ball of Zig Zag sock yarn to knit with as she wanted feedback on the yarn. 

So when I got home, I cast on my 3rd sock project .....

..... I am using a stitch called Bamboo Stitch which I found in one of my books. It was hard looking for a stitch pattern for this yarn as it's so variegated. I think this stitch pattern works well with the colors & reminds me of the scales on a koi fish.

Well, I know I will be busy for a while with these 3 projects plus 2 other projects that I have been working on, so better get back to knitting !

Just A Wash Cloth

I always enjoy knitting wash cloths as they are so quick & easy but I have not knitted one for a while until this week.

I will be teaching a Beginner's Knitting Class next month & the project that we will be working on is a wash cloth or a scarf. So I came up with this ......

...... a wash cloth with a few different stitch patterns - there is a section with garter stitch, another with stocking stitch & then one with basket weave stitch. With all these variations, the class will be have enough practise on using the knit & purl stitches. 

I knitted this wash cloth with organic cotton & it was an enjoyable knit but my fingers hurt as I was not quite used to using bigger needles (4.5mm).

Now I am working on the scarf for the class - I think a ribbed scarf in variegated colors will be nice.

Lattice Fence

Before I start explaining why I am writing about lattice fence, I would like to thank all of you for your invaluable comments on my previous post - you have convinced me to carry on with the pen & paper option & I am more than happy to go back to my notebooks especially when I am working on my designs. I will still carry on making notes on patterns on my iPad (by the way, I am using Goodreader app & it's a great).

Now back to the lattice fence - I have always wanted a lattice fence (like the ones below) in my garden ........

.......but unfortunately, the fence around the house was already installed when we bought the house. When I planted grape vines on my patio, I asked my husband to built a lattice fence for the vines. But my husband is not very good with carpentry & all he did was to put in a few stakes & wires.

So when I was looking for a pattern for my handspun polworth .....

...... I thought of my lattice fence. Since I can't have one in my garden, then I will knit one - not a fence but a shawl with a lattice stitch pattern. I came up with this design ......

..... it's just a simple 4 row pattern - 1st row - skp, yo & 3rd row - yo, skp. I insert this 4 row pattern randomly & in some sections, I do 2 or 3 repeats of the pattern. 

I use the same pattern for the edging but added beads on alternate skp just to add a little bling to the shawl.

I love the look of the shawl especially the faggot lace stitch (my current favorite stitch) on the center spine .....

I took me just a week to knit this shawl & I enjoyed every bit of it & was sad when I had to cast off.

Charity Knitting

Last year, my knitting groups in the libraries decided to spend some time knitting for charity. We decided to make hats for pre-matured babies.

I came up with a pattern so that the hats can be knitted in one piece without seams & we ended up with these....

.... more than 40 hats !

Some are knitted.

Some are crocheted.

I then contacted the local maternity hospital & made an appointment to meet the lady in charge. I went to the hospital & found this nice elderly lady in a little room sorting bags & bags of knit wear.

Unfortunately I was told that crocheted hats are not suitable for preemies as they are too rough. She told me that they are in need of cardigans as they give away more than 500 every year to babies in Special Care. She gave me a pattern & I took a quick look. It was a pattern for a v-neck raglan cardigan knitted in many pieces - fronts, back, sleeves & even the button bands are knitted & seamed.

I knew that I will not be using this pattern & asked if it's alright to knit the cardigan from the top-down & in one piece. She said that she was not familiar with seamless knitting but would be happy to see one knitted up. One of the problems that they had with the cardigans are the bulky seams which are not comfortable for the new borns.

I told her that I will convert the pattern & knit up a sample. So during the holidays, I have been working on this little cardigan & came up with 2 versions .....

.... the little blue cardigan (using Bendigo's baby wool) is for preemies & all in one piece, even the bands are knitted at the same time. The only problem is the neckline which is not v-neck. I am not sure if the crew neck will be an issue.

.... the variegated blue/purple cardigan (using leftover sock yarn) is for new borns & also in one piece and the bands are picked up & knitted all round the front & the v-neck.

Both cardigans are knitted from the top down & the sleeves are also knitted in the round with dpns. I am happy with the results & now I will have to buy some buttons & write out the patterns.

Dpns or Circulars

I have heard & read a lot about this debate. It's an issue that I am also debating about every time I cast on a project - should I use magic loop with the circular needle or should I just go with my dpns ?

I even taught a few classes on the magic loop & every one who attended the class love it & think that it's the greatest invention. Even 1st time sock knitters love it & would not even attempt using dpns. In my knitting groups, the scenario is the same - there are more knitters magic looping & less using dpns. WHY ?

As I cast on this pair of mittens for my niece, I was reminded again of this great debate. I just don't understand the love affair that everyone is having with magic loop. I have tried it many times & always ended up changing to my dpns as I just can't carry on pulling & pushing the cord. It's was an agony for me to finish a pair of socks & a pair of mittens for my class. I can't imagine using the magic loop for the rest of my life.

I have just cast off the mittens & enjoyed knitting every stitch with my dpns !