Knit the Sky Scarf Update

Each day of this year so far I have been adding 2 rows of garter stitch to my “Knit the Sky” scarf.

It is a bit grey at the moment but there have been a couple of brighter days.  I am trying to record the colour of the sky around the time I have my lunch (whenever that is).  Today I think It will be off-white.  The test for this project will come next week when I am travelling around a lot – will I forget to notice the sky?

Last Saturday I managed to get to Oxford.  I wanted to take some yarn, needles etc to Oxford Yarn Store.  They are collecting yarn to be sent to Northern Greece for the refugees to use.  I remembered that I had read an article in which Horst Schulz said that he had learned to knit in a refugee camp and how good it was to have something to do and a way of making money – by knitting things to sell or swop for essentials.

When I entered Oxford Yarn Store heavily laden with bags – I said – I want to leave with less wool than I arrived with!  I did buy some more yarn – but I was applying the Sally Melville principle of how to use up your stash – you buy a main colour to bring odd balls together.  So I bought 5 skeins of Rowan Fine Art Aran which were in the Sale.

It is a dark purple shade – although I know it looks black in the photo.  I wanted something dark as a background colour to make the bright colours of Noro Kureyon stand out.  I have a project in mind and would like to start it but I think I ought to finish a few more things first!

Knit the Sky Scarf

I managed to remember to start knitting a “Knit the Sky” scarf on 1 January.  I found the yarn that I had hidden away in the wardrobe and looked at the grey sky and decided to cast on with a combination of grey and off-white.   

I am using 3¾mm needles and a variety of thin yarns.  I had originally intended to use more than 5 shades but I have now decided to follow the pattern which suggests – white, light grey, dark grey, light blue and bright blue.

The idea is that I will knit 2 rows each day choosing a colour combination that best reflects the colour of the sky on that day.  I am going to use garter stitch.  I had thought about using something else such as some kind of basket weave stitch – but I have decided to keep things simple. 

I had also thought about choosing a particular time of day and knitting the colour of the sky at that time – but that is too difficult.  The only time of day that I might manage to see the sky is mid-day – but then sometimes I am still working then - somewhere that I can’t see the sky – so I will look at the sky a few times during the day when I remember.  Today I have chosen grey and off-white again, but this morning the sky was light blue and for a time a bit later on it was a grey/blue, but generally today the sky has been light grey and cloudy.

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.