53 posts tagged “knitting”

I mentioned last month that I was signed up for another hat swap - this time it was a "slouchy hat" to be swapped.

Well, my partner and I have now exchanged our hats (in fact, they both arrived today). The pattern I used for Lisa's hat was the Slouchy Star Crossed Beret - a cabled beret pattern by Natalie Larson.

I used almost one full skein of Naturally Sensation - a semi-felted single yarn, merino and angora blend, in a lovely mauve/lavender shade! You can see it here before and after washing/blocking. 

I followed the pattern as written, except for some needle changes - I started with 5mm needles for the brim, and gradually increased to 8mm around the point of the increase row, and then back to 5mm for the final decreases at the crown. It worked really well, I think.

I'm not sure what pattern Lisa used for my hat, but it is knit in an Elsebeth Lavold yarn (Chunky AL - wool and alpaca) - and by some fluke, the burgundy shade is a near perfect match for one of my favourite winter scarves! 

So, that's my hat swapping over for a while (I'm a bit hatted out with all the beanies I've been knitting). Next up is the tea cosy swap - got my partner assignment today. :-)

As I mentioned in m previous post, I'm knitting beanies for KidsCan, and want to see how many I can knit up until the end of the Big Night In telethon - a big knit in? 

I'm shooting for one a day, so I should have at least 23 by the 9th of August. That's one for every hour of the telethon - many more than if I restricted myself to just knitting nonstop on the night/day (and I'm sure my knitting will be better than if I were sleep deprived)! So far, I'm on track!

If you have some spare yarn and time, do join in! I've put out the word on Ravelry, and to my spinning group and a Creative Fibre mailing list, as well as a few friends. It's early days, but a few lovely people have already indicated they will be able to knit some beanies as well - not necessarily 23 each, but even another one is another warm head. :-)

If you are going to join in, let me know - post a comment here (you'll have to register for Vox, but it's free and easy), PM me on Ravelry or contact me on Facebook - my username is 'shessassy' in both places (on Twitter, too, though you'll need to send a request to follow me there). Otherwise, you can email me at sarah@this-chick.com . 

While it's certainly not the only project I am actively working on, the One Button Cabled Jacket I'm knitting in Patons Inca is the defintely the one I've made the most progress on in the shortest period of time. I cast on on Saturday, and am now about half done. Not too bad!

I will admit to buying the yarn on an impulse - nothing unsual about that, I suppose. Inca is a blend of wool, alpaca and acrylic, warm and thick, but not too heavy. I did have in mind a cabled jumper, but after rifling through pattern books, came across this Sirdar pattern which just about exactly matches the amount of yarn I have.

I am slightly worried that I might be knitting slightly too small a size, but I have my fingers crossed - other things I've knitted with this yarn have been quite stretchy. We shall see soon enough!

Another new project is a repeat of one from last year - little baby booties for Middlemore's neonatal unit. Last year I made twelve pairs, and I hope to at least equal that before the end of winter - so far, I have one bootie...

If you're interested in contributing baby items to Kidz First as well, you can find some patterns and more info on the Creative Fibre Auckland area website who have made knitting for Kidz First a project for this year. Creative Fibre is a national organisation for spinners/weavers and other fibre arts, in case you were wondering. The more the merrier, I am sure. Don't worry if you're not a member of Creative Fibre like me - you don't need to belong to get in on the project (last year I simply posted my donation directly to the hospital). But, if you're looking for a crafty group of people to join, do check them out - I love the "old ladies" (some of the funniest, most hardworking and generous people I know) who go to my spinning group.

It had been a while since I had participated in a swap on Ravelry - the last one was a bag swap, I think. So, when I spotted a new group for swapping hats, with a quick turnaround (we had a month), I jumped on in! (There are a lot of Ravelry bound links in this post - if you don't belong yet, join! It's free, and a wonderful resource for any knitter or crocheter.)

To the right is the hat I made for my swap partner, Kathleen (IrishKPF on Ravelry). The pattern I used is Kaura Hat, by Mari Muinonen. I'd bought the pattern (and one for matching mitts) a while ago and had them queued up for a future project. When Kathleen mentioned she liked cables, I thought immediately of this pattern.

It was a really enoyable knit, with something interesting on every row, between the cables and bobbles and the alternating panels. The decreases in the pattern (which is charted) are very clever, worked in to the cables and the other panels. I absolutely intend to make another one for myself very soon!

The yarn is Treliske Organic Merino 8ply in the natural cream - I think it's nice to send something uniquely NZ overseas. The merino wool is lovely to knit with, and the hat took  less than one and a half balls (I did do one less repeat as as not to have a slouchy hat). I included in the package a skein of Naturally Yarns Angora/Merino in a deep purple, and would have included a cute little kniting sheep NZ souviner magnet (they made me take it out of the package at the post office - who know you can't post magnets?)!

Cables featured in the hat Kathleen made for me, too. The pattern she used in the Irish Moss Toque, which she knit in Rowan Pure Wool DK. The different cables and moss stitch panels are fab, and the colour is perfect! She included in her package a skein of handdyed yarn in soft teals and purples which I'm sure will become something lovely.

I've signed up for another swap in the same group - this time it will be a slouchy hat I exchange. I don't have my partner assignment yet, but already I'm looking through my patterns and stash wondering at the possibilities.

I like the idea of a trading a hat - it's not a huge time commitment, or expenisve in terms of materials and postage, but there are so many possibilities. And for me, it's the perfect time of year to be getting hats (there is a summer swap going on too, but not for me)!

In the same vein, I've also signed up for a tea cosy swap, which is bound to be fun! Between these swaps and the travelling scarf group, and my other projects, I'm a busy knitter!

Looking for something to do on a Tuesday night in downtown Auckland? For a while now, we Knit Rangers (see our group on Ravelry) have been having an irregular winos session (so named for the it's random scheduling and location, and beverage consumption). While KIPing at the World Wide Knit In Public Day event at the museum on May 13 , some of us decided to make it a more regular occurrence, and share the love. So, if you want to come knit/crochet at the Northern Steamship (or at the very least, hang out with some knitters/crocheters), come along!

Auckland Central SnB (or regular irregular winos!!) will meet 1st Tuesday of each month at the Northern Steamship pub on Quay Street from 5.30pm - 7.30pm. Anyone is welcome (sticks, hooks or fingers!)

Hopefully Tues is an easy time for more people, the NSS is central and close to all public transport so everyone can knit, yarn, drink or eat. And we've set a time so people don't feel kinky about going home to feed the family, put the cat to bed or watch good reality TV!

2009 Dates: July 7th, August 4th, September 1st, Oct 6th, November 3rd, Dec 1st

So, if you're in the city and want to meet up with some fellow crafters, why not come along to the next session? We had people from a couple of regular knitting groups at the first, and it'd  be great to meet some more new people.

Of course, if you're a random weirdo, be warned that these chicks will be armed with pointy sticks...

It has been ages since I really blogged my knitting (or any other aspect of my life), but that doesn't mean I've been unproductive (even if I haven't brough This Chick back to life). Amongst work, two knitting groups, spinning, movies, reading, a cat who is licking his way to bald, family issues, a good friend moving away, and watching my vege garden grow, I've managed to produce quite a few projects and yarns. Most of the details are already in my Ravelry projects, so there's no need to repeat them here, but here are some pretty pictures (and no, this is not everything you've missed if you haven't been checking me out on Ravelry)!

I've been working on this cardigan for a couple of months now (after buying the pattern as soon as it was released in October! It's not quite done - I need to find some buttons, but it's close enough to call!

It was a bit of a mission to get through the stocking stitch, and on to the interesting smocking section. And that seemed to take me forever! All the details can be found in my Ravelry project.

After a relatively long break from crafting, I'm back into it. Well, kind of. I've been spinning again, plodding away on a few knitted and crocheted works-in-progress, and have gotten back into the swing of attending my spinning and knitting groups. It feels good. I'm not necessary being productive, but I"m taking the time.

Another craft-related activity filling my time has been reading. In amongst crime novels (J.A. Jance's J.P. Beaumont series at the moment), and smart romance (Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson), I've been checking out the library system's stash of knitting books. And requesting that they purchase more!

Anyway, two of the newest books I've checked out are Shibori Knits and Alterknits Felt. There are some really interesting projects in these books, and I'm sure that I'll be inspired to try my hand at felting some more. I'm definitely impressed with the AlterKnits Felt book; much more inspiring than the original AlterKnits book, I think. I spotted the book on Ravelry, after coming across the Pleated Cloche pattern it contains. I definitely want to try that one out!

I had this feeling it had been months since I'd updated my knitting projects here, but looking back I see it has been just over a month since the last substantive update. Why did I think it had been so long? Quite frankly, because I've finished so many things!

That's two pairs of bed socks (pattern from Mel Clark's blog Slip Slip Knit), two Leisl cardigans and a boucle Urchin (patterns by Ysolda), one handspun (mine and my Mum's) draught stopper (requested by a sister), a pink cardigan (made for me, but gifted to Mum as a better fit), one cotton baby hat from LMKG) and a tiny cotton bunny (for my latest great-niece), a handspun potholder (an exercise in stash reduction), and most recently a grey cap-sleeved cardi (from Drops Design), and a cabled hood (adapted from a "harf" pattern in Intertwined).

There's plenty more detail on all of these projects in my Ravelry Notebook, if you're curious! And if you're not a member of Ravelry (and you care at all about kntitting, crochet, etc.), why the heck not?!

Right now I'm waiting for some paint to dry, and it's actually a little exciting. I've painted some giant iceblock sticks - from the craft shop - to serve as hangers for a mobile I'm making. With little knitted cotton hearts in two shades of pink, this is another gift for my newest family member, Emily Jasmine. Just some sewing, stuffing and asssembly, and it'll be ready to send off to Perth.

Next on the agenda are a cardigan for Dad, a couple of cardigans for me, and a bag for a swap. I hope to make some progress on those before August 8! Not because that's my birthday (it is), but because with the kick off for the Olympics, I'm beginning an event in the Ravelympics, a KAL (that's a knit-a-long for the uninitiated) wherein I shall attempt to complete a challenging project in 17 days. I'm pretty sure the longline sweater dress I've chosen to knit in mohair will be a challenge, and so will require a lot of focus...

For now though, I'm off to swatch for my Dad's cardigan. It's a horrible day (there are weather warnings and alerts all over the place) and so inside knitting is the place to be. And should the power go out, I can always knit by candlelight.

Maddy and I are so over this dreary, rainy, windy and generally horrible weather. But knitting, and knitted things, do help!