Poppies Throw

I have finished my poppies throw.  It took a little longer than I had thought (things always do).  I did manage to finish the other 3 strips by the weekend, but then I took ages fiddling about with the edges.  The problem is that stocking stitch curls up easily.   I looked at the Noro Hearts throw pattern and another Debbie Bliss pattern that I have got for a similar throw – in both cases they only have a narrow edge and both suggest you pick up a lot of stitches.  I decided to pick up less stitches so that the edges would be not curl so much and in the case of the top and bottom – I used smaller needles.

I am pleased with the result – it looks like the idea I had in my head.  In case you are interested in knitting one – I am including the pattern below.  I haven’t filled in the black part at the centre of the poppy because otherwise the lines don’t show up.  Basically at it widest point the centre is 9sts across. 

Poppies Throw Pattern

Yarn: Noro Kureyon  - 2 background shades.  I used 332 for the green squares (approximately 6 balls) and 263 for the brown squares (I used 8 balls of this because I used the orange parts of the balls for the poppies).

Poppy yarns – I used about 8 balls but I used up oddments and in some cases I only used half a ball.  My throw includes the following shades: 124, 204, 319, 277, 326, 272 and 263.

Black centres – again I used lots of odd bits of yarn left over from other projects. 

5mm needles
5mm circular needle
4mm circular needle

I knitted 6 strips of 7 squares.

Using a background shade and 5mm needles cast on 33sts and follow the chart shown below joining colours as necessary.  I used separate balls – so in the middle of the poppy, I was knitting with 5 separate balls.

When I had completed 6 strips I sewed them together using mattress stitch.

Right Side Edging

Using a 5mm circular needle and a background colour, pick up 25-26sts from the side of each square (approximately 176sts) and then work 3 rows in garter stitch.  Cast off. (Repeat for Left Side Edging).

Top Edging

Using a 4mm circular needle pick up and a background colour, pick up 3sts from the top of the side edging and 28sts from the top of each square, and then 3sts from the other side edging.  (approximately 174sts).  Work 5 rows in garter stitch.  Cast off.

Repeat for Bottom Edging picking up stitches from the bottom!

Sew in any ends.

Knitting on the Train

If I am not too cramped, I like to knit on the train.  Obviously I like knitting, but I also find it helps me to stay awake.  I like reading too, but I don’t get through many pages before my eyes start to close.

Although I have been away from home for the last week – I have been working on my poppies throw.  I have decided to knit the squares in strips and so far I have knitted 2 full strips.  It was the third strip that I was knitting on the train yesterday.

Now that I am home again I have laid out all the yarn that I have got so that I can easily decide which colour to use next.

I have also laid out the 2 strips that I have done so far.  Although I have said that I am knitting my third strip – this may end up as my fifth as I am not completely happy with the order of the colours.

As I am still on holiday this coming week – I am hoping to spend more time knitting, but I may have to spend time catching up on other things that have been neglected.  I was thinking - as the throw consists of 6 strips and I have almost finished 3 of them, by this time next week I ought to have almost finished this throw – with just the edging and the darning of ends to do.  It will be interesting to see if that is the case or if I have been distracted by something else.

Some More Noro Kureyon

I have finally finished the jacket I have been making.  I am not sure that the collar is exactly how Debbie Bliss intended it to be but I am happy with it.  I find that knitted garments fall into 2 categories – either I finish them and wear them immediately or I put them in a drawer and never wear them at all.  I finished the jacket on Tuesday morning and then wore it immediately.  

I went to Oxford to visit Oxford Yarn Store, and owner - Karen Draisey took a photo of me wearing it. 

Karen’s shop was full of beautiful yarn and it was lucky that I knew what I wanted (more Kureyon) so I just tried hard to concentrate on that.  It would have been very easy to buy something else as well that I hadn’t intended!

You may have seen the “Hearts” throw that was in Issue 5 of the Noro Magazine (Fall/Winter 2014) –when I saw it I liked it but instead of knitting hearts - I have decided to have a go at knitting poppies.  I have done a little chart on graph paper which I have altered several times.  My first sample is shown below.

I think I am going to take it out and make it a bit narrower.  I originally intended the squares to have more background and less poppy – but I quite like a fairly large poppy.  It is odd that this square looks much smaller than the garter stitch squares I was knitting last week but in fact they are a very similar size.

Another Odd-ball Throw

I am supposed to have finished my Kureyon jacket and I have bought the new yarn for a shawl, but instead of finishing the jacket or starting the shawl, I have started knitting another odd-ball throw. The first square of which is shown below.

I had the idea and I wanted to try it.  I intend to knit 54 squares using 2 colours for each square, trying to avoid having any 2 squares the same.  The yarn is all double knitting and I am using 5mm needles and garter stitch.  I have cast on 71sts for each square, 35 + 1+ 35.

You can see how stressed I have been this week because instead of doing knitting that required any kind of thinking – I have just been knitting garter stitch squares!

Even while I have been knitting these squares, I have been thinking of other designs that will help me use up all the odd bits of yarn in my stash.  When I have finished this throw I will give it to charity.

I still hope to finish off the jacket off this week when I get to a shop to buy some buttons  but I had better keep my eyes shut as I pass all the new yarns!

Going out to buy Buttons

On Tuesday I decided to go out to buy some buttons for my jacket.  I have almost finished it.  I have knitted the button-band and was just about to start the button-hole band and then all that is left is sort out the length of the sleeves.  I have short arms so I usually need to make them shorter than the pattern suggests.  It is odd but most pattern writers seem to think that your arms get longer, the larger the size you are – but this is not the case – if you are large – you may need wider sleeves, but not necessarily longer ones.  After knitting for my mother and sister, I have found out that short arms is a family characteristic.

I normally buy buttons from Banbury Sewing Centre – and I went in there, but I got distracted by the new yarns that they have got in.  I did eventually get to the buttons at the back of the shop – but I couldn’t decide what to buy – I think I will have to finish the jacket first and then take it in and place various buttons on it to see which ones look right.

I didn’t manage to leave without buying some more yarn!

I particularly like the Stylecraft Cabaret.  I think I have seen it advertised in one of the magazines.  I want to make a triangular shawl out of one large module – and so I decided to choose some yarns for this project.  The Sirdar Divine that I used for my wrap was particularly lovely – so I have chosen 2 more shades of that to try – a red and a green. 

Wasn’t I supposed to be finishing those jackets on my spare bed?!

Noro Kureyon Jacket – Progress Report

I am still knitting the Noro Kureyon jacket that I started last week.  I have knitted the back and the 2 fronts and I am now working on the sleeves.

I decided to knit both sleeves at the same time so that I can make sure that they end up similar.  I was going to say “the same” – but that is very difficult to achieve with this yarn – I just want to make sure that each sleeve has a similar number of stripes and that the colour changes on approximately the same row.

With Noro yarn you can either try to achieve a match or you can go completely the other way and make sure the sleeves and fronts of a jacket are not similar at all.

I am glad that I had so much yarn because I have found that several balls have knots in them.  This wouldn’t matter so much if the ball then continued with the same colour but it doesn’t.  I can understand that the yarn might break in production but I don’t understand why it isn’t knotted at that point instead of attaching a completely different colour.

I want to try to finish this jacket before I get bored and start something else.  I still have 3 partly-finished jackets on the bed in my spare room – I don’t want this to be another one.

I read in the latest issue of Simply Knitting magazine that designer Rita Taylor likes to knit while listening to sport on the radio.  This week I have been doing the same.  If the sport is on the radio – it is being described to you and so you can concentrate on your knitting without having to look at the screen!

Noro Kureyon Jacket

About 3 years ago I bought 22 balls of Noro Kureyon in Shade 242 – which is black, grey, red, green and brown.

I intended to use the yarn for a coat using a Sally Melville pattern.  However, I didn’t start it and now I think I probably wouldn’t wear it – so I have found another pattern for a jacket instead.  It is a Debbie Bliss pattern from her book called Home.  I was surprised to find garments in this book – as the title suggests cushions and throws etc.  It does have those as well, but it has a few clothes.

I have started the back.  It is double moss stitch and I may take it out yet, but at the moment I am happy with it.  I was a bit worried about the sizes – I was going to do the middle size of 3, but I have decided to make it a couple of inches smaller – and so I am now doing a size which is larger than the smallest size, but not so large as the middle size!  This means I will have to alter the fronts correspondingly.  I am terrible – I can’t leave a pattern alone.