Odd Ball Throw – First Strip

I have completed the first strip of my new odd ball throw.

It was very easy to knit.  I didn’t really notice I was doing it whilst I was watching TV.

In looking for some more shades of purple – I found lots of yarn that I didn’t know I had got.  I looked in a drawer that I haven’t opened for a couple of years!  I found some ribbon yarn which I think I will donate to charity.  I like what it looks like in the ball -  but I don’t like knitting with it.

Using Odd Balls

I am still thinking about de-cluttering and looking for things to throw out.  I have found a few very odd balls of yarn to donate to charity.  I have had them for years and not done anything with them.

This afternoon I have sorted through 2 large plastic boxes of yarn and grouped together all the very small balls. I am not going to throw them out – I am going to knit another throw (which I will probably donate to Oxfam for them to sell at a festival).

I have knitted a sample square.

This is knitted in 6 shades of blue.  I intend to knit other squares in 6 shades of green, 6 shades of yellow etc – using up all the odd balls that I have left over from other projects. 

I am hoping to use this as a background project that I can pick up and put down again while I am doing other things.  Unfortunately it won’t be very portable because I intend to knit it together as I go along rather than doing any sewing at all.

Knitting Poppies

I was asked if I would have time to knit some poppies for the local British Legion.  I was provided with the pattern, the yarn and the needles!

I have knitted the whole ball of red yarn (100g) and it made 17 poppies – 16 of which are shown below!  I have still got the leaves to make and a bit of finishing off to do – I hope to finish them today if I don’t spend too long on the computer.

Seeing them laid out like this reminds me of that wonderful installation at the Tower of London last year.  I do love poppies despite their sad connotations.  I remember when I was a child  - I was always pleased to see one when it appeared in the garden.

Spring Cleaning and De-cluttering

This week I have been thinking about spring cleaning and de-cluttering - but have not actually done any of either yet.  The photos below show the current state of my office.  It could seem organised but I have no idea what is in some of those plastic boxes.

I have been reading James Wallman’s book called Stuffocation which discusses whether having  experiences is more fulfilling than acquiring possessions.  I have got too much stuff but I find it hard to get rid of  - particularly yarn. I remember reading an article in Slipknot – the Knitting and Crochet Guild magazine – about someone who carefully stored her yarn and even had a box labelled something like “yarn that is too short to do anything with!”  I am not that bad – I do throw away odd bits of yarn – but I suppose they could be used for stuffing!!

At the moment I am consoling myself with the fact that so far this year I haven’t bought any yarn.  This state of affairs will not continue for much longer as I am in the process of planning another project which will require new yarn. 

I will try to use up some of my yarn stash this year – but I agree with what the knitwear designer, Sally Melville said about using up odd balls – the first thing you need to do is go out and buy some new yarn to pull the design together!

Happy Birthday Maud Tabron Blog!

This blog is one year old today.  I have decided to celebrate this fact by looking back at some of the items that I have knitted since February 2014.  I often think that I haven’t done much knitting - but the photos below show some of the items I am particularly pleased with.

Last year I knitted 5 Arizona Dreams throws for Colinette – 1 in the Mojave design. 1 Denali, 2 Sonoran and 1 Yosemite.  I keep changing my mind about which is my favourite.

Arizona Dreams - Mojave Design

Arizona Dreams - Denali Design

Arizona Dreams - Sonoran Design

Arizona Dreams - Yosemite Design

I also knitted a throw for myself from my own design which I think is beautiful.

As for garments and accessories - I knitted a cardigan, 3 jumpers, 2 baby coats, a sunglasses case and 3 scarves – and my favourite thing of all – my latest knitted bag.

Last summer I knitted about fifty tea cosies mostly for All the Fun of the Fair, but also a couple to try out ideas!  It can be good to knit tea cosies in the summer because they are small and you don’t spend hot days with a lap full of yarn.

Looking ahead – I hope I get the chance to knit some more throws for Colinette.  I also want to knit 2 or 3 for myself (I have lots of ideas to try out).  What I am most looking forward to (I wonder if I will manage to do it) is knitting another bag – I have an idea in my head which arrived there when I was finishing the last one – and I said to myself – “next year!”

Modular Knitted Cardigan – Progress Report

I haven’t done much knitting this week – I have been spending my spare time on my second love – family history.  I have spent quite a lot of time thinking about knitting and what to do next and have spread the cardigan out on the floor so that I can see what I have done so far.

I have now done the majority of the back and some of both fronts – and I am now working on the sleeves so that I can share out the yarn between the different pieces.

As you will have gathered from this – I have still not decided on the final design – it may be determined by how much yarn I have got!

Back of Modular Knitted Cardigan

This week I have been steadily working on my modular knitted cardigan.  I have knitted 5 columns of arrowheads – 3 for the back and 2 for the fronts.

This photo shows a section of the back - 2 columns of arrowheads joined together by diamond shapes.

 

I decided to do a different decrease on the diamonds – I am purling 3 stitches together on the back of each shape whereas the arrowheads have the decrease on the front.  This may seem a bit odd but I decided that after I had picked up the stitches for the diamond I needed to decrease on the first row or the shapes would be too bulky.  I intend to finish each column with a triangle shape to level it off.

I am not sure what the front is going to look like yet!