Hi folks, I'm back with my knitting round up. I managed to blog two knitting projects last year, my Blaster cardigan and first pair of socks, but here are the rest. Enjoy!
Steven Seagull
Haha, see what I did there? I knitted this little fella for my Mum's birthday last year for a bit of fun. He was a bit fiddly to make but worth the effort as he has loads of character. Mum has him "flying" from the ceiling on thread. He looks a bit lonely though, so perhaps I should knit another to keep him company!
Sweary mitts
This was my summer knitting project (what can I say, I was being prepared!) I initially followed the pattern for Drunk Girl Designs'"How Cold Is It?" mittens but ended up throwing it to the back of a drawer as the pattern didn't work for me. However I still loved the sweary concept so I created my own chart and followed the pattern for my first mitts as a rough template. In hindsight I wish I'd made them a bit bigger as I'm not convinced with how the lettering stretches across my hands, but I still love them. They're pretty yet subtlely offensive which I find highly entertaining. I'm aware that not everybody shares my enjoyment for foul language so I'm only sharing a photograph with the naughty word obscured. If you want to see them in full sweary glory then feel free to check out my Ravelry project page.
Slouchy moss stitch hat and matching cowl
Ahhh, the slouchy moss stitch hat of dreams. It's so big and squishy! I can even fit my little pony tail inside this hat and that's impressive considering I have a sizeable head and a lot of hair. However this hat has almost grown too big since I made it in October (the perils of acrylic mix yarn I guess) as it keeps falling down my face unless I have my hair up in pony tail. I might run some elastic through the ribbing to give it a bit more grip if it really starts bothering me.
Oh the glorious cowl, I've worn this loads since I finished it! I've wanted a moss stitch cowl for ages so I'm happy I finally knitted one. It's so cosy and the perfect length for comfortably wrapping twice round my neck. I also love the combination of the textured stitch with the flecked yarn. It's so pretty.
Subtle festive socks
My second pair of socks! I started off following the "favourite socks" pattern by Voolenvine but ended up abandoning the pattern after the heel turn in favour of a different one as I was struggling with the somewhat vague instructions. The pattern is likely fine to follow if you're familiar with sock knitting, but as a person with little sock knitting experience, having never knitted a heel flap before, it's not the clearest to follow.
I really love the fit of these socks so I'm definitely a heel flap girl. They have been fantastic to wear over ordinary socks or tights for extra cosiness inside my winter boots.
Hand-dyed socks for Mum
My Mum took to sock knitting in a big way last year (it snowballed from my birthday socks) as she spent most of November and December knitting socks for family Christmas presents. However she never got around to knitting a pair for herself so I sneakily knit a pair for her Christmas.
I also used this as an opportunity to try my hand at dyeing wool after discovering the world of independent wool dyers through YouTube vlogs (Amy of Stranded Podcast being my favourite.) It's hard not to feel excited and inspired by all the beautiful colour blends and effects that can be achieved through hand dyeing.
After watching a *lot* of tutorials on YouTube, I settled on Jacquard Acid Dyes as it's easily available within the UK (thanks, Amazon!) and the stove top method for heat setting the dyes. Top tip for others interested in dyeing: raid the charity shops for equipment. I imagine a lot of people could be put off dyeing by the thought of having to buy new equipment (as you can't use pots/utensils you plan to cook with/eat from due to the dye pigments) but it doesn't have to be expensive. I picked up stainless steel pots for next to nothing!
For my wool I went with my favourite, Jamiesons of Shetland, in their bare wool called "natural white". I was aiming for a variegated effect of soft sea-green/ sand tones and although it didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned it still looks effective. I've dyed more skeins since then and it is so much fun! I'm looking forward to knitting them up.
The only downside to my yarn choice is that 100% wool isn't the most durable for sock knitting. A little bit of nylon content would make a much harder wearing pair of socks. Although I've worn my wool socks loads and not worn through them, my Mum managed to wear a hole through one of her socks within a month. Looks like I need to learn how to darn!
The only downside to my yarn choice is that 100% wool isn't the most durable for sock knitting. A little bit of nylon content would make a much harder wearing pair of socks. Although I've worn my wool socks loads and not worn through them, my Mum managed to wear a hole through one of her socks within a month. Looks like I need to learn how to darn!
And that's it! A cardigan, a seagull, a pair of sweary mitts, 3 pairs of socks and a matching hat and cowl. So far this year I've mostly been knitting presents (birthday and new baby) although I've just returned to working on a pair of socks for myself which I started at Christmas. I'm using a fun, speckled skein from Hedgehog Fibres (my first skein of indi dyed wool) which I bought as an early Christmas present to myself in Edinburgh in December. I also purchased a stunning variegated skein of Malabrigo yarn which is earmarked for a shawl/scarf. I'll likely start that after I finish the socks.
What are other fellow knitters working on at the moment?