knitfun

Matching garter stitch

Ok, so it's no longer February but the Lady Sweater is still in progress... I may be the only one at knitting group today but standards musn't slip... I subconciously must know this as F.L.S's yarn colour matches my dress :)

Magnolia finished; but trouble with 'keeping rib correct'

Finished, but I cocked up the ribbed collar.

Think it must be my misunderstanding the instructions, as no-one else seems to had the same problem from what I can see.

What do other people understand by ‘keeping rib correct’?

My increases came in the middle of a knit bit of rib, so I made the increased stitch a knit stitch too ie; pp k(k increase)k pp…

Anyhow, not so fussed that I’d re-knit it, and love the jumper anyhow; v soft and perfect size - all slouchy and cuddly :)

Catherine André in The Knitter magazine

I don’t even know if she does knitting patterns, but… On pg 20 of this issue there are some gorgeous knit pieces by Catherine André… They were just part of the the Martin Storey ‘mood board’ thing about fairisle, and I think I was supposed to be paying more attention to The Knitter patterns as part of it, but I got so distracted by Catherine’s colours and patterns :)

Does anyone know anything / heard about her? I'd like to wear virtually every single item on the page in the above link! I wonder if she just designs knitwear, or if you she does patterns too [crosses fingers]

All done with your Christmas knitting? Knit for charity on the Southbank instead!

If you have miraculously finished knitting, purling, blocking and sewing up your Christmas gifts, why not head down to the Southbank in London, to join Knit for Peace in the gallery@oxo. They've set up until 24th December so you can go in and knit things to be sent to children in Afghanistan... If you don't have time to knit, you can always donate your de-stashed yarn or needles! Thanks Ysolda for flagging this up :)

More info:
Knit for Peace is an initiative of the Charities Advisory Trust that encourages women (+men) from different, often historically hostile communities to come together informally to knit (or sew or crochet). With a shared common goal, differences in race, religion or caste are irrelevant, and individuals come together to knit peacefully.

Favourite jumper shrunk? repurpose its sleeves!

Loved, loved this Noa Noa jumper given to me by a far away flatmate. It was constructed by two jumpers, one inside the other. Made of quite fine, but toasty warm mohair.

But!

Mohair felts, however gently you (hand) wash it, and eventually the two layers pretty much became one; plus it shrank quite a bit. I thought I could re-use the sleeves as handwarmers, just blanket stitching the cuffs over and a titchy couple of running stitches to separate fingers from thumb.

Took all of about 15 mins, and I get to keep (a remnant!) of the fab yarn, construction and colours

The joy of knitting top-down!

After some initial colour doubts that meant it languished for almost a yeear and half (!) at collar stage, this jumper was a breeze to knit; so much quicker and more satisfying trying on as you go - and no seaming!.

I have a feeling that I may never need to buy another jumper pattern; just do this in different colours with varying length sleeves! It was also my fist jumper with bust / waist shaping so it's pretty snug!

This photo is the jumper hot off the needles. after a day's wear - I'll let you know if the shape changes after its first wash :)

wicked

dunno why I look so glum - I'm v happy knitting things in the round, and top down... sooooo much more satisfying to try on as you go :)

Ostrich Plume Lace Bonnet

Aww this came out at a minute size, but he wore it well :)

Norah Gaughan

Somehow I wasn't aware of her before now (although had loved her Target Wave mittens in Interweave). Just saw that 3 of her booklets will be available at Loop soon, and so want to cast on *new* projects... argh! Plus there are a ton of cool free patterns on the Berrocco site itself, including Britannia which, although I haven't cast on, I downloaded, you know, just in case!

Recycled cardi hottie

Finally got around to recycling a fave cardi (has beautiful glitterly bits in it - never found yarn like it...). It had felted a little too much, moths had got at it, and the arms had gone too long. And yet I couldn't sling it. The British summer was forgotten this weekend, so whilst it was raining outside, I was sewing inside :)