A Second Baby Jacket in James C Brett’s Baby Marble

I have now finished knitting a little baby jacket using James C Brett’s Baby Marble double knit yarn – this shade is BM19.  It is white and yellow and seems “spring-like”.  I am looking ahead! 

I used the same pattern as I knitted earlier in the year – from the Peter Pan booklet.  However this is a larger size – for  3-6 months.  I still managed to knit the whole jacket from one 100g ball. 

I am now knitting a third baby jacket in the same yarn.  This time I am using moss stitch because I find that I can get a better tension with this.  I was not completely happy with the stocking stitch of the yellow jacket .   However when I looked at the photograph – I see that the pattern of the model version was not perfect either.

December Knitting Update

Normally at this time of the year I am frantically trying to finish knitting last minute presents.  This year I decided to make things easier for myself and buy presents!  However I still agreed to knit tea cosies for my friend who owns All of the Fun of the Fair.  They are now finished and posted off to her.  You may also remember that I started knitting a Christmas jacket – somehow I think it will be for Christmas next year!

When I was travelling around on Tuesday I found the latest issue of Simply Knitting magazine.  It still includes some last minute Christmas present ideas and some Alan Dart festive toys to knit – but it is largely aimed at projects to start at Christmas or in the New Year.   

There is also a supplement – “How to Knit Lace” – which contains 3 quite attractive patterns.  I am not sure that I am going to knit any of them – but I might.  I have probably said it before – but Simply Knitting magazine is a nice mix of simple, quick patterns and those which will take longer and require more experience.

Before I get onto any new projects – I have 2 more little coats to knit for babies.  Today I bought some yellow yarn to knit for a little girl called Penelope.  It is James C Brett's Baby Marble.

I thought that the yellow suggested Spring – and it will probably be Spring before I finish it!  That was a joke – I will try to cast on later today but I had better knit the 3-6 months size – just in case. 

The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

This week I have finished reading The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood.  It is not a new book – my paperback copy was published in 2008. I have had the book for ages but not read it and then I read a review of it on the Knitting Squirrel blog.

I am not sure what I thought about it really.  It was OK but I prefer a detective story.  It reminded me of the book “How to Make an American Quilt” or the Blossom Street books of Debbie Macomber.  It is about a group of (mainly) women who meet regularly to knit.  They all have problems which are helped by knitting and by talking to the others.   I think the book could be enjoyed by people who have no interest in knitting.  The main character has been overwhelmed by the sudden death of her child and learning to knit is a distraction and meeting new people who do not know about her problems is helpful to her.

I find that knitting can help you deal with problems – it can be soothing but it can also been quite stressful when it is not going right or you have a deadline to meet.

I hope that next week I will be able to write about some knitting that I have done.  I have gone back to the Christmas jacket and would like to get it finished soon.

Christmas Jacket

I have made a start on my Christmas jacket.  Generally I am not keen on Christmas jumpers – but we are encouraged to wear one at work during December – so I thought I would have a go at making one.  Rather than doing something silly – I thought I would knit the Patricia Werner Mola Jacket pattern which I used earlier in the year as inspiration for my English Adventure throws.

These shapes are much smaller than those I used for the throws.  I thought the sparkly yarn was ideal to create a kind of Christmas bauble effect.  I am mainly using Stylecraft Cabaret which is a DK yarn with a plain green for the background colour.  I am using oddments of other sparkly yarns for the linking pieces.

So far I have completed most of the pieces for the back of the jacket.

It may be some days before I get on to the fronts as I have been asked to knit some more tea cosies.

Baby Marble Jacket

I have finished this baby jacket.  It only took just over a week to complete.  It is for a baby called Imogen who was born last weekend.  It is not very small – so it should still fit her!

I like this yarn so much that I have gone out and bought some more for another baby jacket that I have said I would make for a little girl in Australia.  She will be about 4 months old when she receives it – so I have bought 2 balls to make sure I have enough.  I think I will try one of the other patterns in the Peter Pan booklet -  Babies in Cream.

I like this type of yarn – it does not form a pattern and you have to make some decisions about how to use it.  For example I wanted to fronts to be completely different.  If you are not careful  - the fronts can not quite match and it can look as if you have made a mistake.

I am still knitting a scarf as an easy portable project but I have just started another modular knitted garment.  This time it is intended to be a Jacket to wear at work for Christmas – so I had better get on with it.

Another Baby’s Jacket

I have just started knitting another baby’s jacket.  It is urgent because the baby is due this week.

The yarn is James C Brett’s Baby Marble double knit which is 100% acrylic – in shade BM24.  It is mainly pink and yellow but it has a little bit of blue as well.  I chose it to make the knitting more interesting.

The same applies to the pattern which is from a Peter Pan booklet called Babies in Cream.  This booklet contains lots of little jackets, jumpers and hats for babies and children up to age 7. 

I chose this particular design because I liked the “rib” pattern. 

Hallowe’en Lantern Tea Cosy

I have recently been knitting some Hallowe’en Lantern tea cosies for All the Fun of the Fair.  I had to fit them in before they became “out-of-date”.

If you would like to knit one – the pattern can be obtained from All the Fun of the Fair.  Originally I knitted 2 designs – one was a simple pumpkin and the other had the face on it.  I really preferred the plain one.  It would make a lovely everyday tea cosy if it was knitted in other colours.

I am not feeling very satisfied with my knitting at the moment.  I have several partly finished items – and there are a couple of babies’ coats that are needed soon for imminent arrivals.  I would like to knit something exciting – but I had better concentrate on finishing things first.

I have been travelling about a lot on trains – and I intend to knit – but often I just seem to read the newspaper.  The other day I saw a lady knitting a complicated fair-isle pattern on the train.  I couldn’t – I would just make mistakes.  I will be back on the train again tomorrow – and I will try to knit one side of another tea cosy.  I ought to be able to manage that without going wrong.

A Family Heirloom

Knitting can bring people together – even people who don’t get on very well.  My mother had a younger sister who I did not get on with  - but for a few weeks in the late 1970s we sat together and knitted pieces for a patchwork blanket. 

Previously my grandmother had made me a knitted blanket from rectangles of blue, white and grey yarn – leftovers from various projects.  I am ashamed to say – I don’t know what happened to it.  Grandma thought she ought to knit my sister a blanket as well but she had lost her enthusiasm and run out of yarn – she knitted a few blue and grey squares and then stopped.

My aunt was a very good knitter and she took over the project – knitting colourful striped shapes.  I was just learning to knit properly and I knitted a few multi-coloured oblongs.  My mother also contributed some pieces – hers are in stocking stitch – I am not sure why – but they are distinctive in the final blanket.

This week I have not done much knitting but I have stayed in my mother’s house – and while I was there – I looked at and remembered the time I spent with my aunt knitting shapes for this blanket.

I definitely will have to knit another throw from odd balls which mean something to me.  For example I have some yarn left over from a cardigan that my mother knitted for me when I was a child, and I have odd balls left over from various projects that bring back happy memories – and would make a lovely throw.

A Summer Cardigan!

I have finally finished something instead of constantly starting things and then moving on to something else.  Earlier in the year – in early summer – I knitted a cotton cardigan in 2 shades of Noro Kibou – it has been mostly finished for a couple of months but I hadn’t sewn on the buttons nor the pockets. 

This year I spent some of my birthday money on a decorative mannequin.  “She” is modelling the finished cardigan.

I am still knitting several other things but at least one is finished.  I probably won’t get to wear it until next summer.

My friend who owns the quirky gift business All the Fun of the Fair wants me to knit her some more tea cosies so I will be starting them before finishing anything else. 

Tedious Knitting!

I have been away visiting my mother and have not done much knitting.   I have been doing terrible things like “gardening”!  I know a lot of people don’t knit so much in the summer because they spend time on gardening but I am not one of them.  However my mother needed some help with her garden so I had to stop knitting and attack the plants.  Given free rein to cut down anything – I can cope with gardening – it is if I have to decide whether a plant is wanted that there is a problem.  I know a lot about yarn and knitting but practically nothing about plants and gardening.

Apart from gardening I have also been reading the Nathan Dylan Goodwin book shown below.

It is the fourth in a crime series about Morton Farrier, forensic genealogist and if you like family history and crime stories – you will enjoy it.  The reason I mention it is because the main character Elsie Finch complains about her married life in the 1940s was “ghastly routine” and mentions “dreadful knitting patterns given to her by her mother … Baking, tidying, washing, cleaning, knitting. Endlessly.”  Thankfully things have changed since the 1940s and knitting is much more exciting.  However a lot less people knit – in the 1940s everyone did it – now I meet lots of people who have never tried it.

I have done some knitting during the last week – in fact – I have just checked and I have just completed row 401.

I am not going to say much about this as it is a birthday present for a friend – who may be reading this and I want it to be a surprise.  However it is quite hard for me to knit – it is just row after row of stocking stitch – which I will admit can be a bit tedious!

Multi-coloured Knitting Samples

This week I have been continuing my latest attempt to reduce the amount of stuff that I have accummuated.  I haven’t looked at my wool.  I know I have got a lot of it – but I will knit it one day!

I looked under the bed (I have got one of those beds with drawers at the bottom and the sides) and found a few things that I knitted about 10 years ago (and then put under the bed).  I don’t actually remember knitting any of them.

I know that when I knitted this jacket – I was trying out a blending technique involving knitting with 2 yarns at the same time.

The following photo shows a little Fair-isle jacket that I knitted as a sample.

And this is a little jumper I knitted using a two-colour technique – I suppose it is Fair-isle as well – but it may have another name.

I have sent the first 2 to charity – but I have kept the last one for the moment.  I love this technique – many years ago I knitted a black and white jacket that was like this.   It was much admired and I would like to make another one.  It will go on the list!

Double Knitting

Yesterday I went to Oxford for the latest meeting of the Oxford branch of the Knitting & Crochet Guild.  This month’s topic was the technique of “double knitting”.

I have admired designs produced using double knitting – such as those by Australian fibre artist Annette Fitton.  I would like to knit one of her designs – but I think I will have to do a lot more practising first.

Several members of other branches came to Oxford to try double knitting – which is easier to learn with a teacher rather than from videos or from a book.   This is my sample piece.

Some of it is OK.  I got the idea of knitting both sides at the same time  –  but when I changed colours in the middle – I went wrong.  For instance -  I can see that  I have got my yarn at the back when it should have been at the front.   I have done something different wrong on the other side I have a white stitch that should be black.  I think you need a lot of patience!  I will have another go at trying to get it right.  Perhaps I will be able to change colours if I concentrate more.  I think I was talking when I should have been paying attention!

Everyone else did better than I did and a couple of people are intending to have a go at larger projects.  I think I will get back to a bit of easy stocking stitch.

English Adventure – Poppy Throw Progress Report 3

It is finished.  On Tuesday I took the throw to Oxford Yarn Store and Karen Draisey took some photos of it – which are far better than mine.

If you want to knit one – the pattern is the same as the English Adventure throw I knitted in Kureyon  only this time I used odd balls of lots of different aran weight yarns.

I haven’t done much knitting this week as I am decorating.  For some reason I decided to use a red and green colour scheme – I think I have been looking at poppies for too long.  The real reason is that I love poppies and decided to use them as a feature.  My walls have been a beige colour which is tasteful but boring.  I decided they looked a bit dirty as well as dull and so I have chosen a light green wall paint which is much more exciting then beige and will contrast well with poppy throws and red curtains and cushions. 

I bought a lot more yarn on Tuesday – I would love to knit another throw and several more scarves/shawls – with the amount of yarn I bought – I may finish them by January!  I know it has been said before but it is so true – “so much yarn, so little time”!  Perhaps I should knit a sign that says that!

English Adventure – Poppy Throw Progress Report 2

This week I have got back to the poppy version of the English Adventure throw.  There isn’t that much to do.  I have just got to knit the last few shapes to complete the 7^th row, add the 2 part shapes to complete the top, and finish the edging.

Yesterday, while I was knitting, I thought about how this design could be adapted for a scarf.  I could have a go at one to use up the left-over red and green yarn.  It could be used as a small sample project for those who would like to try the technique without the cost and effort of making a throw.

As the weather is still quite warm I decided it was an ideal time to wash the poppy throw that I knitted last year.  I used Noro Kureyon which becomes softer when it is washed.  I decided to be brave or reckless and put it in the washing machine on a cold wool wash.  It is OK.  It is also dry now.  Unfortunately while it was stretched out to dry – I thought: “Isn’t it lovely – I could make another one using different colours!”  I will add it to the list. 

I remember writing a list of things to knit at the beginning of the year – I think the only things I have finished - or even started – are those which were really works in progress rather than unfinished or new projects.  Nearly all of the new projects I have completed this year weren’t on the list!

A Portable Knitting Project

Now it is August - it seems more like summer at last and I have been travelling about.  I needed something portable to knit.  I am still knitting my latest throw when I am at home, but I needed something that is light to carry about and only uses one ball at a time. 

At this time of the year I usually start thinking about decluttering – and taking bags of unwanted items to work to pass on to the Cancer Research charity.  I found a scarf I knitted years ago and thought – that could go.

It is knitted from 3 mitred strips of multi-coloured yarn and is an ideal portable project.  I thought – I will go to Banbury Sewing Centre and buy 3 balls of suitable yarn to knit another one.  (Did you notice that instead of getting rid of a scarf – I have now acquired 3 more balls of yarn?)  They were in the sale!

They are Rico Creative Reflection which is 46% wool, 46% acrylic and 8% polyester.  The shade (003) is quite subtle, but will go well with black. 

I have knitted most of one strip of the scarf so far – I expect it will be finished later in the month.  I will type up the pattern then for any of you that would like to knit one.  I can’t seem to get a good photo of it yet.  At the moment it looks like a knitted snake!

Knit the Sky

Knit the Sky is a wonderful title for a book.  It is written by Lea Redmond and has the sub-title: Cultivate Your Creativity with a Playful Way of Knitting.  It is an excellent book.  It is about thinking about knitting in a different way – incorporating it into your life and taking inspiration from your neighbourhood rather than sitting indoors and knitting.   It does contain patterns – but it is really a book of ideas – of things to try.

The title comes from using the colours in the sky to make a scarf.  It is odd that since I read about this idea – I have spent more time looking at the colour of the sky – something I haven’t done since I was a child.  I used to lay on the ground and look up at the sky fascinated by the patterns of the clouds – I expect all children have done this but you grow out of it – which is a shame.  I will start collecting the yarn to knit one of these scarves.  Perhaps this would be a good new year project.  I wonder how many other people will be starting a scarf on 1 January 2017.  Lots – if they have come across this book.

Despite reading this book – I haven’t done much creative knitting this week.  I have been knitting more tea cosies and have only done a little bit more of my latest throw. 

Poppy Throw – Progress Report

I had thought that if I started knitting another throw the weather would improve.  Today is very hot and not at all suitable for knitting throws – but I may do some more later this evening.  I have had a bit of a break from the throw and have started knitting a few tea cosies for my friend who is trying to re-establish her business - All the Fun of the Fair.

This is how far I have got with the throw.  It would be very wrong to complain about the discomfort of knitting it - when it was inspired by the sacrifice of the soldiers in the trenches,

In the photo some of the reds look very similar when in reality they are all very different.  I have included some variegated yarns to add a bit of interest – and because I had some to use up.  I bought a few extra yarns from the online seller – Laughing Hens – including some Louisa Harding yarn called Esquel  - which is a mixture of wool, llama and silk and some yarn from Juniper Moon Farm called Moonshine which is a mixture of wool, alpaca and silk.

Another Knitted Throw

I was intending to start making another throw in Noro Kureyon.  I have knitted a few samples but my heart was not in it.  I will knit it - but now is not the time.

Last Saturday I was in Oxford for the Guild meeting and went to visit Oxford Yarn Store.  Before I set off - I thought about what yarn I wanted to buy to go with yarn I already have.  I want to knit a Christmas jacket in glittery yarn and needed a main colour to pull it all together and I have been thinking of knitting another version of my English Adventure throw using shades of red.  I have enough of the green main colour - leftover from before and I am sure I have oddments for the joining pieces – so I just needed some more shades of red.  I already have some, but I bought a few more.  On my way home I bought another  one on the stall on Gloucester Green market.

Several ladies in Oxford Yarn Store wanted me to tell them about how I knitted the English Adventure throw that is currently in the window.  The more I talked about it – the more I wanted to knit another one – so that is what I am going to do next.

I thought the “We are here.” Art project that took place on 1 July was brilliant and it made me start making a list of all the soldiers that I lost in the First World War – I now have 19 names – I know I will find more when I do more research.  I have mentioned before that I am descended from someone (Thomas Wade) who was killed in action in 1917.  Over the next 2 years – I expect I will use the war as inspiration. 

I have made a start on the throw while I have been watching the tennis on TV.  I expect I will get a bit more done this weekend.

A Knitted Penguin

I finished the penguin that I was knitting.  It is for a little girl’s birthday next week.

 

It is not the sort of thing I normally knit.  I haven’t got enough patience for toys.  It is an Alan Dart pattern that was published in Simply Knitting magazine a few years ago.  His patterns are excellent – very precise and accurate.  It is just not my sort of knitting – I like to learn a pattern quickly and then carry on knitting without having to keep referring to instructions.  I don’t find that relaxing or enjoyable – it is stressful!

I am now going to knit something that I have just got to knit – I can’t get it out of my head.

Dalmatian Baby Coat

I am hoping to start knitting another Noro Kureyon throw tomorrow when the Wimbledon tennis tournament starts and so I have been trying to finish off some of the other things that I have been knitting.

A friend of a work colleague is having a baby this summer.  She is very keen on Dalmatian dogs and so I said I would knit her a little coat for the baby.  I have been knitting it on and off for the last 2 weeks.  It is expected to be a boy – so I decided to knit it using blue yarn. 

 

As far as I know this is an original idea.  After hearing about the recent court case about whether the some of the music in the song Stairway to Heaven had been copied from another song – I began to wonder – have I seen this idea somewhere and remembered it?  I don’t think so – but where do ideas come from?  I think I have seen an animal print knitted cushion – the basic idea may have come from there.

I am now off to finish knitting a penguin!

Commit to Knit

I have been told that knitters are being encouraged to knit for charity during the month of June.  When I was last in Reading, I was given a pattern for a Twiddle Muff to knit for patients suffering from dementia.  As I was away last weekend, I missed the last meeting of the Reading Branch of the Knitting & Crochet Guild at which they were going to knit these muffs -  but I thought I would give it a go.

 

The muff was easy to knit as the pattern is simple and I have a lot of odd balls of yarn but I found it difficult to decorate.  The instructions tell you to sew it up and then decorate it – this seems very odd to me – so I ignored that and decorated it first.

 

It could be better – for example – my stripes could all line up  -  but I think it is OK.   I still have several other unfinished items but at least something is finished. 

More Noro

On Saturday I went to Oxford for the latest Knitting and Crochet Guild branch meeting.  I went early so that I could take my English Adventure throw to Oxford Yarn Store.  It is now having a holiday at the Store – so if you would like to see it in the flesh wool – that is where it is at the moment.  It is a good excuse to show you some of Karen Draisey’s photos of it – which are much better than mine.

Karen advised me to wash it and block it – as Kureyon becomes much softer when it has been washed.  She was absolutely right – I knew she was – but it was hard to wash and block in the small flat where I live. 

At last the next issue of the Noro magazine is on sale.  I found it last Friday.  I didn’t even open it – I took it straight up to the counter to pay.

It contains lots of lovely shawl patterns.  There are 2 that I plan to make one day.  What I haven’t mentioned so far is the Noro yarn I bought in the Oxford Yarn Store and the Noro yarn I bought on the stall on Gloucester Green market.  I can’t knit either of them yet as I have a cardigan to finish and then a baby’s coat and twiddle muff to knit.  However,  I have roughed out a pattern for a new throw – more about that in a week or so.