Happy Second Birthday – Maud Tabron Blog

I have now been writing this blog for 2 years – in a way it seems longer!  I don’t think that I have done enough modular knitting this year – it was interesting to look back and see exactly what I did do.

I knitted several throws – some for Colinette and some my own designs.  My favourite was the poppies throw made from Noro Kureyon.

I was also pleased with the two wraps I knitted.

I usually knit squares or a variation on squares and so I was interested to try some different shapes.  Both of these worked out well and although they look difficult – were actually very easy.

Something that I knitted last year and did not include in the blog – was some sample hats for Colinette.  They turned out well and the finished hat is very attractive.

I knitted 2 different colourways – the kit including the plastic for the brim -  is available from Colinette.

Towards the end of the year I knitted a lot of plain things – which are nice but not exciting.  I am pleased now that I am back working on a modular knitted throw.  I have finished knitting the child’s cardigan but I haven’t sewn it up yet – I wanted to get back to knitting and I hate sewing up!

My Knitting Has Gone Wrong!

Of course - It is not the knitting that has gone wrong – it is the knitter!  I may have said before that in my opinion the most important skill to learn as a knitter is how to fix what you have done wrong.  I think I am quite good at that as I have done most things wrong at some time and so am very experienced at fixing things!

I am now knitting a cardigan for a little girl and I have gone wrong on the front edge. 

The problem is that the pattern tells you to always knit on the edge whether you would naturally purl or not – I must have lost concentration and have purled when I should have knitted.  If it had happened in the middle of a row – I would have taken it out and redone it but I think it will be OK when I have picked up stitches for the button-band – I think I will be able to lose the mistake in the join.  If I can do that – it leads to the question – why was I being asked to knit the edge stitch if it really doesn’t matter (and purl was more natural)?

The next question I should ask myself is – why am I knitting someone else’s pattern and not just doing my own? 

However, I do like this pattern – I think it is fun for a child and it has a patchwork effect which appeals to me.

Rowan Brushed Fleece Cardigan

I have finished my latest Rowan Brushed Fleece Cardigan.   I am pleased with the finished result and I did decide to use the buttons that I bought in St Albans.  The cardigan is such an odd colour that it was unlikely that I would find any that were a better match.

 However, I did have a few problems with this cardigan because some of the balls were faulty.   They looked OK from the outside but when I started using them the yarn suddenly became thin and had lost all its fluff.  I had to keep taking rows out when I realised how thin the yarn had become. 

The other problem was knots – I used 9 balls for the cardigan and about 4 of them had at least 3 knots in them.  This is not good either.  Rowan yarn used to be better than this.  However it is not just Rowan – I bought some Sirdar yarn to knit a child’s cardigan and the first ball I looked at had some paper glued to the yarn – so I had to cut a length out before using it.

When I buy cheap yarn and it has faults – I think – well you get what you pay for – but I expect better of the well-known yarn companies.

Shortening Sleeves

Several years ago I knitted my mother a cardigan.  It was before I realised that her arms are even shorter than mine and so I knitted the sleeve length suggested by the pattern.  Mother has struggled on with it – rolling up the sleeves – but she asked me if I could do anything with them.  If I had knitted them downwards or added a rib afterwards – it would have been easier.  I thought about trying to unravel them, but in the end I took the scissors to them and just cut the bottom off.  Because the cardigan was old and the pattern complicated – this was the simplest method and surprisingly the cut fabric did not ladder.

 When I cut the sleeves – I left enough “fabric” so that I could turn the ragged edge under and then picked up stitches on the fold-line to reknit the cuff.  I unravelled the yarn that I had cut off to use to knit the new cuff. 

I had to use 4 needles and knit in the round - which I am not keen on.  I like knitting to be relaxing and I find fiddling about with 4 needles – stressful.  Also in order to get garter stitch I had to purl one row and then knit one row and repeat these 2 rows until the shortened sleeve was long enough.

Mother is now wearing the cardigan again.

Fashion ‘N’ Fabrics

Last Wednesday I visited the shop Fashion ‘N’ Fabrics in St Albans.  I haven’t been there for a few years.  I particularly like the fact that you never know what you will find because it sells what I would call “old favourites” – yarn that you don’t see in other places.  I remember when I wanted some red denim yarn and they had some.

I didn’t actually buy any yarn this time but I bought these buttons – I may use them for the cardigan that I am knitting.

This shop mainly sells Sirdar yarn but I also saw some King Cole – what I found more interesting was that there was some Richard Poppleton and Emu yarn – both of which you could call “vintage”.  My grandmother used to sell Richard Poppleton yarn and I can see some of hers stored in a box in this room – I will knit it one day!

The name of the shop will tell you that it isn’t really a yarn store – it mainly sells fabric.  There is a lot of beautiful fabric in a small space.

If you are ever in St Albans – it is worth a visit.

Fashion ‘N’ Fabrics,  24 Beech Road, St Albans, Herts, AL3 5AS

Tel: 01727 865 038

www.fashion-n-fabrics.com

A Lovely Horrible Colour!

Another recent purchase at Oxford Yarn Store was 10 balls of Rowan Brushed Fleece in a shade that I would call a lovely horrible colour – it is  sort of mustardy green.

According to the label it is Shade 00255.  This yarn is a mixture of merino wool and baby alpaca.  Each ball has 105m/115 yards.  I am hoping that there will be enough to make myself a cardigan like the one that I made for my mother.

I have made a start on it.

Irregular Striped Scarf Version 4

This week I have knitted some of the yarn that I bought in the sale at Oxford Yarn Store.

I bought 3 odd balls – one of Colinette Art, one of Rowan Fine Art Aran and one of Artesano Aran.  I wanted a scarf to go with a cream hat – so decided on a combination of “cream” and blue for a change.  I don’t knit with blue yarn very often.

I have made the scarf slightly wider than previous versions – I cast on 44 stitches.  I also made the scarf a bit longer by knitting with Yarn B until I had run out of yarn at the end.