Week Ninety Seven

This is Haven, knit in Rowan Cocoon (colour Quarry Tile) gifted for a friend. I have a picture to show because I photographed this quite a long time ago but couldn't show it until it had been received.

It was a reasonably quick knit using all of the four balls of yarn. I love it so much, if it was for anyone other than the recipient I might have struggled to give it away. 

I will definitely be knitting one for myself in the New Year.

I have lots more crafting news.

I am knitting the sleeves down on the Incan Gold cardigan. I am very happy with how it is coming together. I hope it will be finished soon. That and the pink "crown" sweater for my daughter.

The cross stitch cushion from a few weeks back has come back with its upholstery finishing. It looks beautiful in my daughter's bedroom.

I've started a baby cardigan. Actually I have two baby cardigans on the needles. One is committed and one was because I found myself without knitting one afternoon. 

When my camera and I return to the city I will update all this with photographs.

This is the last week of school term and the long summer holidays are due. I am looking forward to lots of crafting. I will be dusting off the sewing machine.

Week Ninety Six

No photographs this week.
I am still knitting on the Incan Gold cardigan. I am almost finished the body and by next week I hope to have at least one sleeve complete.

I would be further along but three days of non-knitting have set me back. I also have a quick baby gift to finish as well.

All this to show next week! And school holidays are approaching - less than two weeks!

Week Ninety Five

I have knit only on one project this week. I have challenged myself to knit this fingering gauge cardigan  by the end of this month. 

I have seven days progress to show and thirteen more days to finish. 

(I'm hoping that this on the dress form is at least 30% progress.)

I showed the yarn in skein form last week. It is Sundara Fingering Silky Merino in the limited edition colour Incan Gold. The buttons are the vintage glass also shown last week. I'm still very happy with how they look with this yarn.

In the coming week I'm hoping to finish the body and pick up the sleeves. Then the final week to complete two 3/4 length sleeves.

Week Ninety Four

I have been knitting a sweater for my young daughter.

Its in Rowan All Seasons Cotton, a simple raglan seamed construction knitted in the round from the bottom up. The main colour is Framboise, the contrast Scarlet.

I was inspired to apply a charted motif I saw in a recent magazine (Ravelry link). My version is modified for a larger gauge (the original is for a baby onesie, knit in laceweight gauge).

The crown was probably big enough not to be lost on the front of the sweater but i thought better located on a single pocket.

Four buttons from stash added extra decoration. I have since sewn them on with gold thread.

I considered two options, the alternative was to make the pocket entirely in the contrast colour.

I have knit two sleeves the back and almost the front all to the underarm. Very soon I will be joining them together for the decreasing yoke rounds. I hope to have this finished for next week.

I wound some yarn in preparation for a cardigan. This is Sundara Fingering Silky Merino in the colour released two months ago 'Incan Gold'. 

I'm planning a very simple top down cardigan with seed stitch edges. I have these pretty vintage glass buttons in stash. Unfortunately only seven but I think a wider spacing won't be an issue as this little cardigan (like my Starry cardigan completed in week eighty) will be worn unbuttoned.

Here's a close up of the buttons.

Week Ninety Three

This weeks crafting has been a little bit here and a little bit there. I haven't made visible progress on any of my major projects.

I have made one tiny knit, a little sweater for my daughter's 18" doll.

It was only an afternoons knit. I cast on some stitches for the front and knit up, the little motif is from a free Ravelry download. Then I cast on the back, adding a few more stitches as my front piece looked a little small. I also split the back at the underarm and cast on three additional stitches to make an overlap which I could fasten with a press stud. 

I did a three needle bindoff for the shoulders, collected all the saved stitches and ran three rounds of 1x1 rib for the neckline.

I picked up the armhole sleeve stitches and short-rowed (by eye) to get a sleeve cap. It was at this point that I realised I was running short on yarn so I did a single stripe and finished with the contrast colour.

The cuff has a k2tog decrease to give a slight puff to the sleeve and a 1x1 rib.

The yarns are all leftovers from previous projects.

- MC is Madelinetosh Vintage in Grapefruit.

- Tulip leaves are in Madelinetosh DK in Thyme.

- Tulip flower is Madelinetosh Vintage in Lepidotera.

I have a few in-progress photographs on my Ravelry page.

Week Ninety Two

Twigs and Willows cardigan is finished!

Knitted in Sundara Aran Silky Merino in the colour Green Tea. 

I alternated the skeins, there is a little bit of variation through the cardigan. One of the skeins had some golden green flashes. There are more photographs (including a modelled shot) on my Ravelry project page.

I'm very happy with the fit and lengths and even happier now that I see the buttons on. 

I was a bit worried that they might be a bit distracting with their black and green leaf design. 

Just as a reminder, here are the buttons (I didn't make a separate photo today)

Week Ninety One

I am well on the way to finishing Twigs and Willows. One front is now knitted and seamed to the back and the sleeve set in. 


















I am working on the second front and hope to have it finished this week.

After that its just button bands and buttons.

Floral Cross Stitch

I also finished the floral cross stitch. This will be sent for upholstering into a cushion this week. It is for my daughters bedroom.

Hair Clip projects.

I was prompted by a Ravelry discussion on the Sundara forum of how to use up the very small remnants of yarn. And I was thinking about gifts for small girls.

Flower with multiple yarns.

I used three yarns. Skein Merino Silk Worsted in the colour Geisha for the base flower. Madelinetosh Vintage in Grapefruit and Noro Silk Garden Light. (I wouldn't use this again as it looks a little 'messy' when crocheted next to the smoother yarns)

Th first round is a single crochet, then a combination of single and double (treble?) stitches to make a scalloped round.

The second layer was made with Madelinetosh Vintage in Grapefruit. I used my crochet hook to 'dig in' pick up stitches and 'cast off'. (Rather like the knitting technique.) I kept this round very loose.

The final round is a very small single crochet ring in the Noro.

It's a little overblown with three layers but I was quite happy with it for a first attempt.

Simple and quick little flowers

I made two clips in my second experiment. These flowers were so quick to make. Just a few minutes each.

(1) Make a slip knot. Not too tightly because I have to go back into this stitch for each ‘petal’ 

(2) Chain 6 

(3) Slip stitch back into that first slip knot to make a chain loop.

(4) Make four more petals the same way by chain 6, and slip stitch back into the first stitch. (Total five 'petals'.)

(5) Tie off and use yarn tail to sew to clip and fix bead in centre.

Button flower

This has a pink shell button as a base, then a crocheted flower (with Sundara Aran Silky Merino and using the technique above).

Finished with a button and the whole lot is sewn down to a hair clip.

Leaf hairclip

Botanical Knits has a pattern for little leaves (also a free Ravelry download.)

I made one with my Sundara cardigan yarn. 

I was looking through the button box for an accompaniment. But I settled on a gold button.