Unravelled

Unraveling...

2013-08-31T08:45:00.002-07:00

My stash is currently compromised of an abundance of Rico Design yarns that I purchased last year when Olly and I had just moved to Somerset, and I was still unemployed. I made a wholesale bulk buy with the intention of keeping some of the lovely stuff for myself and selling some on ebay for a little bit of pocket money. This was not a successful endeavor due to starting full-time work very shortly after, moving house and generally being too lazy to keep the ebay posts updated. Pocket money is no longer an issue, but this stash is. I'm still quids out and knee-deep in unopened packets of yarn, and 18 months later, I'm getting kind of tired of looking at these yarns. I bought entirely too much cotton instead of wool blends, which is just no fun now that we're approaching "knitting season" and the new autumnal colours are coming out. I will say though that the cottons have come in terribly handy for babies.

So many babies. My cousin's wife gave us beautiful baby John Henry this spring. Another cousin delivered the delightful little Sunny this summer. My friend Julie gave us adorable little Lucy. Sarah had her third in a line of what might be many - baby Ava. Our friends in London just greeted a humongous little boy into their lives this week. It's all very exciting, and I owe them all tiny little knits.

I had intended to go to the Glastonbury Wool Festival last Saturday but found myself absolutely paralyzed with "lady pains" and couldn't so much as leave the sofa once I made my way there. So there I sat all day, dreaming at 10AM about the sheep run down Glastonbury High Street, wondering at 2PM about the fashion show, and generally feeling sorry for myself. I was in good company as Olly was in a good deal of man pain after a late night out. So we watched a several hours of Netflix rubbish that afternoon, and I managed to knock out nearly a whole entire baby cardigan.

Rather than dive straight into aforementioned stash and reach for a fresh ball of yarn, I decided to unravel the beginnings of what was probably never going to be a cotton top. That's the picture you see above. It's a lovely open fan stitch from a vintage 80's pattern that I lost interest in almost immediately after starting and was honestly never going to complete. It felt good to get rid of a dead WIP and empty the project bag, freeing up some space in my ever more-stuffed desk drawers. It felt good to rewind the ball of cotton yarn and make something new. It felt good to practically finish the project in one day! More about the FO and the Glastonbury Wool Festival to come...

Report Back: Somerset Fleece Fair 2013

2013-07-19T12:32:00.003-07:00

Last month Olly and I drove down to the Hatch Beauchamp village hall for the annual fleece fair organised by the Somerset Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers. I missed last year's event so was extra excited to go along this summer, and I can't believe how my husband indulges my new fleecy obsession. Now, I'd reckon a guess that I've spent twice as much time spindling that knitting in the last few months, but somehow my fluff stash just keeps growing! I'll admit that I'm saving a 400g bag of merino top that I got for Christmas. It's simply too lovely and fine and abundant to attempt to spin without a wheel, which I don't own!

I knowing that my stash was well past what Annie over at knitsofacto calls SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy), I sort of promised myself that I wouldn't buy any wool products at the fair. It was accessories that I was after. At a recent one-day spinning course that I took in Wells, local teacher Mary Stanbridge recommended looking out for a distaff. For those not in the know (which I wasn't), a distaff is a freely-hanging gizmo worn around the wrist that holds your fiber to keep it from getting caught up in your spinning. I bought the one in the foreground of the photo above, and let me tell you, it's a revelation!

We stopped to chat with a few of the wool suppliers, but it was darn near impossible to ignore the two gargantuan wheels prominently displayed on stage at the far end of the village hall. When curiosity got the better of us, we sauntered over and allowed ourselves to be lured up on stage to have a go at spinning on them. Tracy and Trevor Miles taught us how to turn the great big wheels slowly around while drawing the wool out into lace-fine lengths. Tracy regaled us with the history of the Georgian Great Wheel, the product of her research and her father's fine carpentry skills. Owning one of these great creations is aspirational spinning. When I win the lottery, I'll buy a big fat house and a Georgian Great Wheel to put in it.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Olly is an enthusiast and collector of vintage bicycles. Turns out his fascination with anything that has wheels and bearings translates to crafting devices, which is great for me because I'm sure by Christmas I'll be gently nudging an Ashford catalogue under his nose. But all of this is to say that we talked poor Tracy and Trevor's arms and legs off about their wheels, and we were practically tossed out of the village hall around closing time. But not before I finally caved and bought, not wool, but an alpaca fleece! I haven't done anything with it yet. I'm quite intimidated by owning half of an animal's coat, and I just haven't had a day to think about processing it in the last month, what with Glastonbury festival and then the E5 festival in London. We're off to the Godney gathering tomorrow, but hopefully I can pull out my fluffy treasure on Sunday!

Knitting in the Sun

2013-07-07T09:39:00.001-07:00

It's been a while friends. I feel the need to apologize for my long absence from the blog. I seem to have disappeared just before Christmas, inevitably when I became too absorbed in finishing gift projects to write about them. The bustle of the season came and went, leaving behind the long cold winter nights that are simply not conducive to taking and posting photos after office hours. Spring refused to show its face here in south west England until at late May. And it felt like it would never again be too hot for woolly knitting.

In the last few months I've taken a spinning workshop, spun at least 200g of top on a drop spindle, visited Barcelona, started a new job with a new organisation, and I'm just about recovered from volunteering at Glastonbury Festival. Perhaps I've just been enjoying life too much to document it on my blog. Perhaps its just that I needed a break.

Today is the hottest day on record so far. At last. And I'm off to the park to sit in the sun... with my knitting.

Stella's Shawl

2012-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today is my mother's birthday, and I wanted to share her gift with you on the blog. This is the very popular Revontuli pattern found as a free Ravelry download. I used one ball of Rico Design Superba Poems in the Denim colourway. The pattern calls for 800 yards, and at 459 yards one ball is far from enough to complete the last 20 or so rows of the pattern. Nonetheless, my finished object is plenty big to wear as a scarf through the mild Texas winter.

I have read a lot of complaints about the unevenness of this yarn, and I can attest that it varies from so thin that you think it might break to almost chunky at times. I lucked out with this ball, which was a pretty consistent fingering weight throughout. It's incredibly soft, and the colours and price point are pretty hard to resist. So if you come across at your local shop, I'd recommend it for any garments other than socks. The unevenness would drive a fussy sock knitter mad.

The Revontuli pattern is super easy to follow and memorize, although it took me at least two hours to knit the first five rows! After that, the whole shawl knit up in a couple of weeks. I had fun showing it off to my coworkers as I knit on my lunch break in the canteen - although I have to concentrate on lace knitting and just make too many mistakes if I try to converse and knit lace at the same time! The result of public display of knitting addiction has led to many wonderful things though. One coworker asked me to teach her to knit, and she's already made two gorgeous chunky scarves and a hat. Another has picked up her needles after 23 years and trumped the rest of us by knocking out a cabled hoodie in three weeks! And one of our cooks asked me to knit her granddaughter an aran cardi for Christmas.

It's so nice to reflect on how knitting has brought me new friends over the years. It also allows me to send a piece of myself across the ocean, all the way to Houston. Each time my mom wraps herself up in her new shawl, she is wrapping herself up in my love. Happy Birthday Mom! xoxo

Sweater Heaven

2012-11-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

Someone once told me that they would never buy me a sweater (say, for an all important holiday that happens to be coming up soon) because they know I could knit something similar or better. I was so saddened by this because while I could probably knit any of these yummy sweaters above, it would take ages and cost a fortune. I find myself thinking the same thing when I'm browsing shops, and the result is that I have maybe three sweaters in my entire collection. I have set down my cabled aran jumper that I'm so hoping will be finished by the holidays to work on a baby cabled cardi for a coworker. And as long I have projects on the go for other people, my sweater knitting need will go unfufilled. So friends, family, dear husband... feel free to buy away!

1. Acorn Intarsia Jumper
2. Proenza Schouler Sweater
3. Komodo Crema Cardigan
4. Marsha Animal Print Jumper
5. Lottie Sweater by A.L.C.

Knitting + Stationery // Two Loves

2012-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

1. Knit Thanks by besty
2. Knit Notes by Papersheep
3. Cable Knit Letterpress Folded Cards by redbirdink

Crochet Peter Pan Collar

2012-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Detachable collars. A thing of the 80's? And the 60's before that? Perhaps. But they're back. And I just made one! I'm not sure how I'll style this yet. Not being a huge fan of crew neck anything, I don't have many of the right tops that could be accessorized with a collar. But now I have something to watch out for in charity shops. The pattern is by Emma Escott and is available as a free Ravelry download. I used some leftover Debbie Bliss DK cotton in a soft champagne colour that I picked up at Loop in London a few years ago. This isn't exactly a stash busting project, but it's a good way to use up about 20 grams or so. And it's quick! Incidently, those the last photo is of the curtains in my bedroom. I wasn't sure about them at first. They were put there by my landlord. But I'm really loving them and their vintage funkiness right now. I find myself staring at them blanking while I daydream and scheme more crafting projects, so they must be calmly inspiring.

Ikat Cushion Cover

2012-11-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

I did a bit of sewing this weekend, as I'm on quest to expand my eclectic collection of homemade cushions. This cushion cover is sewn from a lovely woven ikat fabric that I picked up at John Lewis on Oxford Street a couple of weeks ago. The fabric was originally intended for a cape that I'm dreaming of, but I read the pattern envelope wrong and didn't buy enough yardage. So now it's a pillow! And I added some embroidery for extra eclectic goodness.

I love all of the embroidered pillows at Athropologie and would buy every last one of them were I rich. But I'm also having fun fabricating my own stuff too. I envision my eventual pile of colourful cushions on my eventual distressed leather sofa. Said sofa has not been found or purchased, so I've taken pictures of my latest creation on my bed once again. No one would want to see our existing sofa - the mint brocade monster that was left behind by our landlords' last tenant!

I'm very grateful to this tutorial on how to sew a cushion cover with a zipper featured on Design Sponge. This was my first attempt at putting in a zipper, and it would have come out swimmingly were it not for my ambition to also include a bobbly border! I actually purchased the funky trim several weeks ago at Sew Vintage in Wells. I seriously love that shop and encourage you to visit if you're in the area.

Knitted Sugar Skull

2012-11-02T02:19:00.004-07:00

Halloween came and went with very little excitement this year, but I am looking forward to Dia de los Muertos. More closely related to the Catholic tradition of the All Saints's and All Souls Days than to Halloween, the Day of the Day is a Mexican celebration that "scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl." That is according to Widipedia. Iconogrpahy associated with the holiday has become popular - sugar skulls, dressing up like a calavara (skeleton) for Halloween. And somehow the celebration has spread to Glastonbury, England, where we intend to join the party if my stomach bug will go away! Read more about the holiday and check out the line up of events in Glastonbury here.

There were so many great Halloween competitions this year that I fully intended to enter. Pumpkin carving - we never even got around to carving the pumpkin, much less entering it into a contest. So now I'm gathering recipes for pumpkin muffins, and I might preserve some puree to have on reserve when the shops run out after Christmas. Canned pumpkin seems to be scarce in these parts anyway. Please recommend recipes if you have them!

The month came and went, and I didn't manage to finish my little sugar skull creation until Wednesday night, literally at the 11th hour. She is based on Chauncey, a felted skull pattern that is available on the Tangled Laces blog or as a free Ravelry download. Rather than felting my lady, I knit her up in chunky wool with double pointed US 9 needles. She is stuffed with the innards of a cheap grocery store pillow that I bought when the nearest haberdashery was a 40 minute bus ride away.

Yesterday I blogged about overcoming my fear of following crochet patterns. I enlisted the help of a coworker, who kindly let me borrow her copy of 100 flowers to knit & crochet by Lesley Stanfield. All of the patterns in the book are given in words as well as charts/diagrams. I can only follow words when it comes to crochet! Most of the flowers used for this project came from that book. I just sort of free handed the rest - including the crochet eyes, the knitted nose, and the stitched mouth and tattoos.

She might not get entered into any competitions this year, but my little sugar skull has encouraged me to crochet more - and to start amassing a collection of holiday decorations! When one makes a trans-Atlantic move and then house-shares for as many years as I did, one tends not to collect holiday decorations. So now that Olly and I are more settled in Somerset, I'm going to be holiday crafting up a storm. Watch this space!

Tea and Mollie Makes

2012-11-01T04:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick post today. I'm recovering from a frightful Halloween tummy bug, and thank goodness I have plenty of crafty goodness around to keep me occupied at home. After months of drooling over Mollie Makes at the local shop on my lunch break, I finally treated myself to a copy. Any disposable income we have goes towards bits and pieces for the house, trips to London to support Olly's music habit, and materials to support my crafting habit. So to just read about crafting is luxurious! I believe a subscription has already been added to the Christmas Wishlist.*

This month Mollie Makes featured a crochet coaster pattern and supplied the cotton yarn and a brief introduction to crochet stitches as well. Now, I can crochet in a sort of freehand way as you can see from some of my posted projects. I'm sure I was taught at summer camp or something. I can also follow an American pattern in words. But put one of those diagrams in front of me, and I freeze! I really want to conquer my irrational fear of crochet though. So I was grateful for a chance to practice my skills on these adorable coasters. They made up in minutes, and they gave me the confidence to add some crochet details to the Dia de los Muertos project that I will reveal tomorrow on the blog! Thank you Mollie Makes.

*Note to self: Email all blog posts to husband in December.

October Wishlist

2012-10-30T02:15:00.000-07:00

1. Estrid by marias garn. I wish this pattern was available in English!
2. The Hedgehog Illustration by Majali Design & Illustration on etsy
3. Stripey Socks by fair trade company People Tree

An Autumnal Blog Makeover

2012-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

I spent the better part of Sunday updating my blog's header, no easy feat on a netbook with no mouse! But my little netbook is my best friend on a drizzly, cold Sunday morning when I just can't seem to roll out of bed. In place of photoshop, I used pixlr to make my Autumnal collage. I found all of the images on the web from royalty free sites. My favourite, and by far the most abundant in vintage images, is Graphics Fairy. I'm not sure if updating my header will become a seasonal exercise, but I'm really glad to have learned a few new skills. I might be making a few more tweaks throughout the week, and expect to see an About Me page soon!

Report Back: The Knitting and Stitching Show

2012-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

A week ago I blogged about the tragedy of loosing my knitting bag on Oxford Street in London. Such a tragedy was difficult to face in that big ole hectic city, but I managed to soothe away my grief (and replace my needles) at The Knitting and Stitching Show. How on earth I managed to live in London as a knitter for more than 4 years and not attend this show before is truly beyond me. And I'm so glad I made the effort this year, despite now living 150 miles away.

Now, we usually stay with my brother-in-law when we visit London, which means coordinating coming and going and juggling only one set of keys between a scatter-brained knitter and a band of five boys. So naturally I left my camera locked in the house as I made my way to Alexandra Palace. Damn. But the truth is that a knitting show needs to be experienced first hand. The colours of fabric and textures of tapestries and laughter of friends and the occasional waft of lanolin just won't come out in pictures. Still, I managed to capture a few snaps of the knitted village with my camera phone. And I think it's really sweet!

It's difficult to sum up a whole day at a convention, but there were many personal highlights. I came across a stall by The Village Haberdashery and actually squealed with delight out loud. I've been following Annie Barker's blog for most of the year, and I felt a little star struck! Her online shop is full of the most beautiful and up-to-date quilting fabrics, and I've already requested this Anna Maria needle point cushion kit for Christmas. My poor husband!

The swooning didn't stop there. I picked up 200 grams of tweed sliver (rhymes with diver) from the Bronte Glen Craft Collection. My attempt to learn to spin is coming along slowly and definitely isn't deserving of their 100% cashmere fluff. Maybe next year. Speaking of luxury fiber though, I was really impressed with Cashmered, a labour of love that supplies 3-ply cashmere milled in Italy to make up vintage patterns that require this yarn weight.

I spent a good piece of time browsing the books at St Cyr Vintage, stockists of old crafting and sewing patterns. I would definitely love to visit them in the Camden Stables on my next London trip. I picked up a leaftlet for Knit for Peace and bought a set of sweet Christmas gift tags that feature a knitted Christmas pudding! Of all the stalls holders, I spent the most time talking with the WI. I'm tempted. So tempted. Are there any of you WIers out there who want to tempt me more?

After a lovely 30 minute workshop on the art of batik, I set out to find knitting for the long bus ride home. A major mission was to replace my Knit Pro interchangeable needles in 5mm and cable, which I fortunately found at the Knitting4fun stall. As I mentioned last week, I selected a skein of Black Hills New Zealand wool, grown by Penny Cole, which I used to knit up a bubbly hat. It's not quite cold enough to enjoy the fruits of labour yet, but I suspect we'll be pumpkin carving in hats and scarves this frosty weekend!

One Weekend Fingerless Mitts

2012-10-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, our building at work started to get really, really chilly! I can't concentrate when my wrists are cold, and typing in gloves is pretty much impossible. On a particularly nasty Friday afternoon, I found a solution in Susie's Reading Mitts. The free Ravelry download is really quick to knit up and required only one 50g ball of Rico Design Essentials Merino DK. The mitts are ever so slightly large - perhaps because I just have tiny hands or perhaps because I used the magic loop method rather than double-pointed needles. Maybe my gauge was off - I rarely swatch. Still, I'm very happy with the results. And the heat was turned on in the office the following Monday!

When your knitting goes missing... And the Bubble Hat!

2012-10-18T04:11:00.001-07:00

The more you read my blog, dear readers, you will become familiar with my love/hate relationship with London. I lived there for four and half years, only popping back home to Austin, Texas once in a while to pick up a new visa and gather up some strength to face the big city once more. My husband had lived there for eight years when we finally decided that we could either spend our entire lives dreaming of a simpler life and wait until we were retired to make a move, or we could escape to the country now. And we've done it! Except... that his band is London-based. And the more in-demand they get, they more we find ourselves climbing aboard the Berry's coach early on Saturday morning with mixed emotions - from excitement to see our friends (or attend a knitting show!) to dread of the crowds and unseen forces that bog down your day.

Last weekend I was particularly looking forward to a day out alone on Oxford Street to top up my wardrobe with some wintery goodness. I spent a lovely few hours drooling over the haberdashery and Winter Shop in Liberty before buckling down and picking out some affordable basics in H&M. New clothes in hand, I crossed the street to John Lewis in search of a sewing pattern for a cape. As I paid for my successful find, only then did I realise that at least whole hour earlier... in the H&M fitting room.... I had left behind.... my knitting bag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That horrible simultaneous hot and cold feeling flushed over my skin. I paid as quickly as I could and made a mad dash for H&M, where the staff were surprisingly lovely and helpful for Central London staff. They tried not to laugh at me when explained that it was knitting I was so desperate to recoop. They did a quick search of the store and took my details and then very gently, in hushed voices, just explained that lost items in London should really just be considered stolen, gone forever. But who would steal knitting?!?! I can only hope it was some opportunistic soul in desperate need of a blood-pressure calming project to occupy their hands on the tube ride home.

That's one of the reasons I started knitting so ferociously when I lived in the city - to calm my poor nerves. I love that tote bag that says "I knit so I don't kill." I think that might be true in my case. Not that I'm a natural born killer, but a bad day in London can drive me to be a nasty person. And I don't like being that.

You might be asking how on earth I managed to recover from this horrible incident. Well, with no spare needles or wool in my handbag, I just hopped over to The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace the next afternoon and indulged in some woolly retail therapy! The results of which you see on the post today. I'll write a proper report back from the show later, but today I'd like to share what I started on my bus ride home to Somerset.

This is The Bubble Hat, a free pattern on Ravelry by Vridd Vrang. It's knitted on 5mm needles that I picked up at the show on lovely aran weight wool. I managed to knit up the most of the hat during the Great British Bakeoff final - so it's a quick one. I used a twisted single rib as I prefer the look of it to a regular rib. The bubble pattern is a cinch once you've got the hang of it, and the rest is all stockinette. I hope my family member like this pattern because I think everyone should expect it for Christmas!

Brighton Beret

2012-10-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's not quite woolly hat weather yet, but winter is beating on my door by way of a relentless Autumnal rainstorm and it seems like a good time to refresh my winter wardrobe. In between showers one miserable day last week, my husband was kind enough to snap a few shots of my Brighton Beret. Here is yet another knitting project that I made a few years ago yet never got around to adding to Ravelry. There are so many!

I call this hat the Brighton Beret because my friend (and husband's cousin) Ruth gave me the wool for Christmas in 2008. She was living in Brighton at the time. I was stranded in England, unable to travel home to Texas due to a student visa constraint. Ruth graciously invited me to stay with her family in Brighton and spend the Christmas holiday with them - no small offer during what is usually a stressful time for most people!

I was so grateful for the prospect of a family Christmas (I had spent the holidays alone before, and it's beyond not so fun) that the last thing I expected was a gift! But knowing I was a keen knitter, Santa filled my stocking with cable needles, a row counter, stitch holders, some Rowan 4-ply, and other bits and bobs. I made the Brighton Beret out of that Rowan wool, which I supplemented with some acrylic stuff in my stash.

This was my very first attempt at Fair Isle, and I was pleased with how easy it was. I followed a pattern featured in the book you see pictured above, The Traditional Sweater Book by Madeline Weston. Originally published in 1986, some of the sweaters are pretty retro in their shape. But Weston's histories of the Fair Isle and Guernsey and Aran patterns are a delight to read, and the colourways would be no less popular to knit up today than 26 years ago.

The beret pattern calls for a few inches of black single ribbing before the Fair Isle pattern starts. This is meant to be rolled or folded up, but after a few years of the extra material just making the hat look downright dowdy, I sewed it up into the hat all together. It makes the opening of the beret tighter, which is good because I have a small head. The beret has now had a hand wash and re-block (a few days drying wrapped around a dinner plate), and I think it's ready for several more years of wear. And to be uploaded on Ravelry at last!

Someday Knitting

2012-10-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have a huge project on my needles right now. I'm about half way through my very first cabled jumper, and I'm trying to be disciplined about not casting on something else before I have the jumper done. We'll see how that goes over the weekend, when I get to attend the Knit and Stitch Show in London! Meanwhile, here are a few beautiful knits that I'm dreaming about....

Moving to London Hat

2012-10-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

My Ravelry updating continues. I have finally pulled out all of my winter gear, and now I'm trying to make a concerted effort to update my Ravelry profile with knitting and crochet projects that I have made over the years. I'm forced to reflect on why I haven't shared many of my projects on Ravelry, and here's what I conclude:

1. I'm a perfectionist. If I don't like a project, or if I want to make changes to a project, it doesn't get posted.
2. I start projects and then don't finish them for years... Surely we're all guilty of this!
3. There are so many beautiful blogs and glossy websites out there, that I'm afraid my snapshots just don't do justice to the projects that I spent so many hours making. I'm borrowing an SLR from the college where my husband works for most of my blogging. Otherwise, I've got two broken digital cameras in the drawer - a serious stumbling block when it comes to sharing photos!

I'm sharing with you today the very first hat that I ever knitted. I genuinely can't remember if I made this hat in 2007 or 2008. I think it must have been 2007, and I remember making it on the plane from Texas to London on one of many trips back and forth over the years. I purchased the wool and pattern at Hill Country Weavers in Austin, Texas knowing that I faced a long haul and a cold winter. The lady who helped me pick out the pattern was so patient to help me pick out an appropriate yarn and needles. I can still remember being nervous about getting it all right - and apparently I was afraid to pick out a color that was different that the one used for the original pattern. Not that that would have made a difference to the gauge!

Using a ggh pattern, the hat is made with either a Malabrigo Worsted or Chunky in a kettled-dyed colorway. It's incredibly soft yet durable, and it is still beautiful after years of hard wear and abuse. It's been dropped on many a pub floor, crammed into my handbag, and worn under a bike helmet around dingy ole London. I wear this hat so much that I'm completely sick of it come spring. And then, come Autumn, I pull it out again like I did tonight! I finally got around to tacking the sides of the flower down to the hat, as it was really floppy and kinda crazy cat lady. I'm hoping now it just looks a little bit romantic and vintage. I'm still pleased with this project after so long.

Baby Sweater Greeting Card Pattern

2012-10-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Following on from yesterday's post featuring my Baby Sweater Greeting Card, here is the pattern to knit a miniature sweater for your own 2D projects.

Supplies

a sheet of heavy paper, cut and folded to your desired dimensions
DK weight yarn in any fiber (I used cheap acrylic yarn from the post office!)
thread in a similar color to your yarn
a sewing needle
a darning needle
straight knitting needles in size US 1 or 2
an iron (optional)

Pattern

With your knitting needles and yarn, cast on 10 stitches.

Rows 1,3,5,7: Knit all stitches.

Rows 2,4,6,8: Purl all stitches.

Row 9: Cast on 3 stitches. Knit all stitches (13 sts).

Row 10: Cast on 3 stitches. Purl all stitches (16 sts).

Row 11: Knit all stitches.

Row 12: Purl all stitches.

Row 13: K8, (pass 2nd to last stitch over last stitch, K1) 4 times, K remaining 5 stitches.

Row 14: Bind off 6 stitches purlwise, leaving enough of a tail to sew into your work. Reattach your yarn and bind off the remaining 6 stitches purlwise, again leaving a long tail.

Using the darning needle, sew in all 4 tails to the back of your sweater.

You can add a decorative ribbon, bow, or button to the sweater. I found that quickly pressing it with a hot iron helped to shape the sweater and make it flatter.

Using your sewing needle and thread, sew the sweater onto your card using triple knots at the beginning and end of your work for security. You could opt to glue a piece of paper to the inside of your card so as to cover up your stitches.

I have only been writing knitting and sewing patterns for a few months, so please feel free to leave a comment below or message me on Ravelry if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement. Thanks!

Baby Sweater Greeting Card

2012-10-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I shared my Knitted Newborn Hat with you and that post was an internet success - probably thanks to several dozen Google searches for a commonly knitted project. Well, I'm happy to report that one of several new expected additions to my extended family was born last week, and I've sent off one of many newborn hats that I whipped up with my stash after writing that post.

Today I'd like to share the sweet little card that I made to send with the hat. I'm not usually a greeting card maker, but this idea sprung into my head after coming across a few miniature sweater Christmas ornaments that I knitted last year. I've adapted the mini-sweater to a 2D version so that it would lie flat on a card, which I made out of acrylic paper. Please note that the paper itself is not made of acrylic, but rather it is used for acrylic paints! Any heavy-weight paper would do the trick, such as card stock or watercolor paper.

After fold and trimming my greeting card to my desired dimensions, I simply sewed the knitted sweater onto the card with a sewing needle and closely matching thread. I didn't bother covering up the sewn stitches on the card, but it would look more professional if you were to glue a thin sheet of paper just on the inside of the card so as to hide your handiwork.

Tune in tomorrow for the knitting pattern for this teeny weeny 2D sweater!

Introducing Letterfest

2012-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Carrying on from Tuesday's post after our anniversary trip to the Brecon Beacons, I'd like to share with you my anniversary gift to my husband - and who are we kidding, to myself! I found this lovely company sometime last year when I registered for wedding gift at Not On The Highstreet. Letterfest is a small company based in nearby Devon, and their website has a range of beautiful products.

I clocked their personalised illustrations as being the perfect first anniversary gift since, traditionally, the couple is supposed to give each other a gift of paper. All these months later, I couldn't get them out of my mind. I just had to have one! Or two!

We didn't have a professional photographer at our wedding as our budget wouldn't really allow for one, and it is truly one of my biggest regrets. Consequently, there aren't many nice photographs of our wedding and reception venues. So when I came across the highly stylised Letterfest illustrations, I thought this would be a great way to capture our venues.

We were married at the beautiful Guildhall in Bath, and our reception was held in a small village south of Bath at a Tudor pub called The George Inn. The most brilliant thing about the Letterfest illustrations is that I sent them two very different photos that I found of the venues on the internet. And now they are drawn in the same style, are matted and framed, and will be hanging together in our home forever in a very special way.

I would definitely recommend this sweet company to anyone looking for a personalised gift. Their customer service was great, and the turnaround time was outstanding. Thank you Letterfest!

For Love and Fiber

2012-10-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Ah.... It's always nice to get back home from a holiday, but our little visit to the Brecon Beacons in Wales this weekend was just way too short. Olly and I tackled a 9 mile ridge walk along the peaks of Pen Y Fan (the highest point in South Wales) and several other mountains on Saturday afternoon. Unusually and fortunately, the sun shone all day.

We treated ourselves to an absolutely beautiful B&B called Whitehall, located just outside Crickhowell. I would highly recommend this fledgling business if you're in the area. Sue and Glyn only opened their doors in August, and they are magnificent hosts. Their Grade II listed Georgian house is elegant, casual, and perfectly appointed.

On Sunday we braved the more Autumnal elements to visit Raglan Castle on our way home, and boy was I grateful for my cosy upcycled aran cardigan! As brief as it was, the weekend was a perfect way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

Featured above is my little gift from Olly, which he brought back to me from a recent trip to Barnsley for a festival gig with his band. He felt bad for travelling on our actual anniversary weekend, and I benefited with this sweet gift of fleece from the Wingham Wool Work, a bottle of Mitchell's luxury hand soap, a wooden drop spindle, and The Wheel magazine. He knows I'm a sucker for nice hand soap. I'm always trying to slip the fancy stuff in our shopping cart!

I can't think of a more romantic souvenir if work must take my husband away, and now I can't wait to watch the spindling class I paid for on Craftsy several weeks ago. Tune in to the blog again this week to see my gift to Olly!

Aran Jumper Upcycled

2012-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

I love a good rummage through charity shops. In Texas we call them thrift stores, and there they tend to be gargantuan. Goodwill and Savers move into former grocery store sites, and it takes the endurance of a cowboy to sift through all the aisles. English charity shops are more like boutiques, and here in my town we have no fewer than eight on the high street!

Over the years I have collected a few treasures at absolute bargain prices from charity shops. I found a brand new pair of Minnetonka moccasins in Houston a couple of years ago for only three dollars. I've picked up sets of Galway and Waterford crystal glasses for just a few pounds. Young people don't need crystal - no one does for that matter, but if they cost the same as a pint glass, why not? My vintage Pendleton wool coat was my winter pride and joy until it tragically got eaten alive by moths in storage last year. I only spent eight dollars on it, and wore it for as many years.

This month's bargain buy was a hand-knitted, aran cabled jumper from the local Red Cross shop. I've been eyeing these trendy jumpers and cardis on Brick Lane in East London, where market stall holders ask at least fifteen pounds (that's about $25!) for them. I bought mine for four quid. And the money went to charity. After wearing it for a while, I'm pretty sure it's 100% wool because it smells like a sheep after riding around on my bike in the rain. Now, before I get too smug about this bargain, let me just say that I had some super ugly buttons to contend with - and replace.

The dingy white buttons on an ivory coloured wool made this cardigan look like an over-sized baby outfit. So I snipped them off right away and wore a kilt pin with it. It took a couple of weeks to decide on the button replacements. Whoever painstakingly knit this treasure included no less than 9 button holes down the front! To buy that many buttons could easily double the cost of the sweater. So in the end, I found these classic wooden toggles at 30 pence a piece, and I'm completely pleased with them. I think they look really fishermanly! It's not bound for the coast though. Olly and I are hitting the road after work today to celebrating our First Anniversary walking in the Brecon Beacons in Wales! Or, if it's too rainy and cold, we'll find a nice pub and drink hot chocolate by a fire all weekend. See you next week!

Handmade Dishcloth

2012-09-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday's Saturday Stitch Session featured a pattern for Upright Rectangles made from a ball of Rico Design cotton aran in a natural colour. Now, I've been using up bits and pieces of my stash to make relatively small swatches for my ever-growing stitch library, but this week I decided to make a small dishcloth - something useful for the kitchen!

Here's the complete recipe for this quick and easy project.

Notions

A darning needle
Knitting needles in US size 8

Crochet hook in US size F5

Yarn

1 ball of Rico Design Cotton Aran
Abbreviations

K-knit, P-purl, Ch- chain, SC - single crochet.

Pattern

Using your knitting needles, cast on 37 stitches.

Row 1: *P1, k3, (p1,k1) twice, repeat from * to the last 5 stitches, p1, k3, p1.
Row 2: K1, p3, k1, *k1, p1, k2, p3, k1, repeat from * to the end.
Rows 3 - 10: Repeat rows 1and 2 four times.

Row 11: *P1, (k1, p1) twice, k3, repeat from * to the last 5 stitches, (p1, k1) twice, p1.
Row 12: K2, p1, k2, *p3, k2, p1, k2, repeat from * to end.
Row 13 - 20: Repeat rows 11 and 12 four times.

Row 21: *P1, k3, (p1,k1) twice, repeat from * to the last 5 stitches, p1, k3, p1.
Row 22: K1, p3, k1, *k1, p1, k2, p3, k1, repeat from * to the end.
Rows 23 - 30: Repeat rows 1and 2 four times.

Row 31: *P1, (k1, p1) twice, k3, repeat from * to the last 5 stitches, (p1, k1) twice, p1.
Row 32: K2, p1, k2, *p3, k2, p1, k2, repeat from * to end.
Row 33 - 40: Repeat rows 11 and 12 four times.

Cast off all but last stitch.

Sew in your cast on tail with the darning needle.

Switch to your crochet hook, and continue to do a single crochet all the way around your cloth, making approximately 36 stitches on each side. There is a good video tutorial showing the single crochet edge and an alternative edging pattern here.

Now that you have single crocheted all the way around your cloth, chain 5 stitches and single crochet into the third stitch along. Continue with this pattern all the way around your cloth (ch 5, sc into the third stitch).

Bind off at the last corner, and sew in your end pieces with the darning needle. Alternatively, use your end piece and a few extra lengths of yarn to create a loop from which to hang your cloth to dry.

Wild Blackberry Jam

2012-09-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Olly and I offered to help my mother-in-law erect some electric fencing around her horse paddocks the other day. But almost as soon we started, the power drill lost its power. Rather than press on with the job and try to screw in fence fixtures by hand, we totally gave up and turned our idle hands to berry picking! The whole field is surrounded by brambles, and the last of the summer fruit is finally ripe. We dined that night on blackberry crumble (made by my lovely husband), and I whipped up a jar of blackberry jam.

Here is a recipe based on one that I found in a vintage Reader's Digest homesteading book. It has been adapted for a small batch.

Ingredients
1 pound of ripe blackberries
1 pound of white sugar
1 tsp of lemon juice
2 Tablespoons of water

Hull the blackberries and pick out any sticks, stones, bugs, or branches. Rinse and drain the berries. Place them in a pan with the water and lemon juice, and simmer until the berries are soft. I helped berries along with my vintage masher, but that's optional. Add the sugar until it is dissolved, and then allow the mixture to boil rapidly until just before the setting point. Remember that your jam will set firmer when it cools, so be careful not to overcook it. If you choose to strain out the seeds to make a clear jelly, do this before the boiling step. This recipe will fill a 300g jam jar when the seeds are strained and will yield more if you leave the seeds in. Enjoy!