An English Adventure – Day 14

I am still making slow but steady progress with this throw.

I haven’t managed to do as much as I intended this last week. 

I think it will take a least another 3 weeks to finish it – if I don’t take bits out too often! 

An English Adventure – Day 7

I haven’t done much so far today – I hope to get more done this evening.

I think I have decided on the width of the throw – it is 3 sections wide.  I have added the part shapes at the bottom and the sides.

I will probably leave the edge wavy.

An English Adventure – Day 4

So far this throw is going better than I had expected – I hope I am not “speaking” too soon!

I am not saying that I haven’t taken some of it out – and I haven’t decided what the finished version will look like exactly - but I am happy with what I have done so far.

While I was knitting I thought – I have mentioned Horst Schulz but I haven’t acknowledged the influence of Patricia Werner on this design.  If you have seen her Mola jackets – you will recognise her influence on this pattern. 

If you like modular knitting - you should have a look at the book:  Dazzling Knits by Patricia Werner

This is a very colourful book.  It provides step-by-step instructions and lots of ideas and advice about choosing colours.  I read it a few years ago and the one thing that stayed with me is the advice to not let the yarn dictate to you.  I remember knitting a pull-over in a multi-coloured yarn that was mainly blue and dark red – but occasionally there was some yellow as well – and I wasn’t very keen on that – so every time I got to it – I cut that bit out.  It could seem a bit wasteful – but I can use the odd bits of yellow in something else.

Apparently including yellow can give a piece of knitting more “life”- but I am not that keen on it unless I am making daffodils!  Having said that – I think a bit may appear in my throw.

I have a large collection of knitting books and like to look through them for inspiration.  I can’t help thinking about my next project when I haven’t finished the one (or three) I am working on.  I have hardly started knitting the English Adventure throw – when I thought – perhaps I could knit one of Patricia Werner’s Mola jackets!

An English Adventure – Day 1

I managed to finish the wrap before I started making my version of Horst Schulz’s African Adventure.

Yesterday was the first day of the World Snooker Tournament and the first day of my new knitting adventure.  I sorted out the Kureyon on the floor in front of the TV and then made a start.

I have decided to make much larger modules than in the African Adventure and I am using 6.5mm needles so that the throw won’t be too heavy. 

The first shape is shown below:

 This is the second shape:

Then they were knitted together:

I then picked up stitches and knitted modules on the sides:

This completes one section – I have decided to do it like this rather than use egg-timer shapes.   I am now knitting the second section separately – and will join them together with the third section.  I intend to do as little sewing as possible.  And I am not going to leave my ends until last – I am weaving them in when I complete a section.

Dreaming of Knitting an African Adventure

I haven’t quite finished the wrap I have been knitting – I still have a million ends to sew in.  However for the last few weeks I have been thinking about knitting my version of the Horst Schulz design known as an African Adventure.  I had intended to use my Noro Kureyon mountain of odd balls to make a fairly plain throw but now I have decided to use it to knit an African Adventure throw.

I have a lot of odd balls and so needed a plain colour to hold them together – so yesterday I went to Oxford Yarn Store.  I had intended to buy some plain yarn by Rowan or Debbie Bliss, but James suggested another Noro yarn called Tokonatsu.  I particularly liked to green shade and thought it will help create the “garden” adventure that I have in mind.

This yarn is aran weight and is 40% cotton, 30% silk and 30% viscose.  It is quite light-weight.  Normally I am not keen on cotton yarn as it can be very heavy and difficult to knit with – but although I haven’tried it yet – I think this yarn will be OK.  It also seems to go well with the various balls and scraps of Kureyon that I have. 

I bought 17 balls of the Tokonatsu (so “no” this is not going to be a cheap project!) – I am not sure whether this is too much or not enough.  If it is too much - I expect I can find something else to do with it – and if not enough – I can buy some more!

Now all I have got to do is knit it!  The World Snooker tournament is coming up at the weekend - 17 days of coverage – I usually like to have something to knit whilst I watch it – so I can convince myself that I am not just sitting in front of the TV wasting time.

Purdey’s Knitted Wrap

In 1976 a bought a magazine about The New Avengers.  It was all the rage at the time.  I loved it.  The magazine contained the photo below of Joanna Lumley wearing a lovely wrap.

At the time I wanted one – but there is no information about where it came from or who knitted it.  There is no pattern.  I decided that I wanted to knit a similar wrap and I would have to make up a pattern.  I have thought about doing it many times over the years but I have not got around to it.

In January I bought some yarn from Oxford Yarn Store and have been thinking about how to knit the wrap whilst I have been knitting other things.

I had thought about doing another mitred triangle shawl similar to the one I have just knitted but starting with more stitches, but I like the fact that from what I can see of the original it was partly straight.  So my second thought was to knit 2 rectangles and join them but I think that will be too bulky. 

My third thought was to knit a triangle and a square to make a kind of L-shape.  In the end I have decided to keep it simple and just knit a long piece of knitting changing colours every 2 rows.  I will add some ribbing afterwards.