Weekend Inspiration – 01

I take a lot of photos of patterns, colours, shapes and generally anything that inspires me. I thought that it might be a nice idea to start sharing a few of those photos here, and explain what it is that drew me to whatever it was that I photographed. I’ll try to post one or two every weekend. I hope that they can bring some inspiration for you too (not limited to knitting, of course!).

This is a picture that I took in Hamburg last year, while I was there for a conference. It is a  swirl of tiled colour, at the entrance to a restaurant (which also had delicious curries!). I am always drawn to flurries of colour like this, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into my knitting, since there is quite a difference between what I like to look at, and what I like to wear (especially since my hair is already a rather bright orange…). I also love the organic spiral pattern, which contrast nicely with the square tiles it is made of. All around lovely!

New on the Needles

While on my Christmas break back in New Zealand, I bought some Mill End yarn for 3 NZD a ball. Super cheap 100% wool yarn! Mill End yarn is the last production run of discontinued lines, and much like cleanskin or naked labeled wines, you don’t exactly know what you’ve got until you crack it open. Luckily with yarn it is a lot easier to get a feel for what you have before buying it. This one was soft, and a lovely light grey brown colour, so I decided to give it a go. At $3 for 50 grams, it was definitely a good deal!

I was looking around for a pattern for several weeks. I wanted a cardigan, possibly cabled or possibly with a bit of lace. Something with visual interest, but nothing too complicated either. After favouriting many patterns on Ravelry and not feeling the need to immediately cast on for any of them, something popped up on my blog roll, just what I had been searching in vain for! So I’ve cast on for the Jackson Creek Cardi, and am so far loving it.

The cables are simple but interesting, and since I am knitting the back and two sides together rather than in separate pieces as the pattern suggests, there is enough mindless stockingette to be able to zone out and watch some T.V. series with.

Stay tuned! This probably won’t go as quickly as I would like, since I am also supposed to be *ahem* writing my thesis, but who knows, perhaps that will actually make it go faster!

FO: Pasifika Dragonflies

I have actually been wearing this for the last few weeks (almost every day). It is my very very first jersey that I knitted for myself: up until now I had only knitted a baby sized jersey. I enjoyed knitting this pattern so much. I started it before Christmas, and after a quick start while camping, I slowed down a bit when I came back to University in January. 

 

The pattern is the gorgeous Dragonflies, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It is incredibly clear and well written, and made my life so much easier! The jersey is knitted top down, which was new for me, but again made easy through clear instructions. The lace pattern is simple, but engaging enough to not get repetitive over the course of a jersey. The only differences of my jersey with the pattern is that I made the neckband a bit lower/shorter (I don’t like high neck bands), and knitted half an extra repeat of the lace pattern to make the jersey longer (much needed when biking in this frozen spring!). Anyway, I know what you really want to see is some pictures – so here they are!

 

The lace pattern is on the front and the back of the jersey, and it’s slight negative ease makes it great for everyday, but just that little bit glam.

I made the garter stitch neckband a little shorter, it works very well for me.

 

I love the details on this pattern, like the garter stitch “seam” down the side of the seamless construction. Or, not pictured, the single stocking stich running up the back of the garter stitch neckband, so I know which is the back and which is the front!

 

Top down raglan construction

 

Full shot – you can see the nice length with an extra half a repeat of the pattern.

Dragonflies and the Pacific

I have exciting news. I started knitting my very very first jersey [sweater, jumper]. Well, technically this is not true, because I did knit one baby sized jersey, which I never shared on this blog, even though it is super lovely and cute! I can’t quite bear to send it to its recipient…

 

Anyway, let’s revise the preivous statement to ‘I started knitting my very very first full sized sweater’. I have challenged myself in knitting a lot over the past year or two, I learned how to confidently knit lace and cables, I have become so much better at reading and interpreting patterns, and there is not a thing on Ravelry that I wouldn’t at least consider. So, I really have all the skills needed to knit a jersey, I just haven’t yet cast on.

 

For my very very first full sized jersey, I decided on the pattern ‘Dragonflies‘ by Joji Locatelli. You can buy it for 6USD through Ravelry. The pattern itself is so excellent, wondefully clearly written and definitely a win for a first attempt at jersey making. It is top-down, which, for the same reasons as toe-up socks, I enjoy immensely. I absolutely hate casting on dozens of stitches in the round, fighting with them for several rows to avoid unintended mobius socks/jerseys. 

 

The lace and cable pattern on Dragonflies is just gorgeous. It reminds me of tapa cloth patterns, which are very common here in the Pacific. 

 

Image from Te Papa Museum (click for link).

 

Speaking of the Pacific, I have made good headway on Dragonflies, mostly while looking at that very ocean while camping on the East Coast of New Zealand. Here is Dragonflies enjoying the view from the pub at Waihau Bay. 

 

 

 

Now I am back home in Tauranga, and though the view is not as stunning, I do have a cuddly helper… 

 

Travel knitting

What do you usually knit while you are travelling? By travelling in this sense, I don’t mean lying on a sunny beach, or drinking coffee in a foreign cafe. I mean the part where you are on the train to the airport, waiting at departure gates, or in a plane for 12+ hours at a stretch!

I have travelled, in this sense, to a fro from New Zealand/Europe several times over the last year and a half now. I tend to be sleep deprived, so I always prefer something very simple. For non-travel knitting, I like a bit of lace, but in dimmed cabins with sleepy eyes, this is not my favourite things! I want something to keep my hands busy, but not something that I have to think about. I intersperse knitting with a spot of reading (that reminds me, I need to find a good book or two!), and of course, plane movies (the only time I can sit through an entire film or 6).

So far I have usually chosen something like a nice plain sock, but this time I have chosen something a little different to get me through my travelling period of Thursday to Saturday next week! I also like to begin the project before I leave, to get in to the rhythm of it, and besides, who feels like casting on or doing last minute math while waiting in security lines?

So this is what I have so far. This yarn is Drops Alpaca (Ravelry link) in a dark maroony red, and a natural cream. It claims to be sports-weight, but I think it is much closer to a fingering. I am using 3.5 mm needles to knit a flat version of the semi-circular shawl Citron (Ravelry link), in stripes. I was inspired by several shawls that I saw on Ravelry, which are stripy with a lace border. I especially like this one, and this one, both of which are knitted with Citron as a base. I like it because there is no centre stitch as in the triangular shawls, so the stripes just flow and don’t change direction.

I am thinking of using the lace edging in the cream yarn from the Holden Shawlette (Ravelry Link), but I haven’t quite decided on that yet. I have a long way to go until I have to make a decision though, both literally and with the knitting!

Well, I had better get on back to my new favourite yarn store to stock up on more of this Alpaca – what would I do if I ran out in the air, or even in New Zealand?! I want to make this shawl quite large, and DROPS Alpaca is on sale at the moment! I am also considering a matching hat.

What do you knit when you are travelling?

Hearty Mittens – just in time!

Finally, I finished my Strong Heart Mittens (pattern, Ravely). I’ve had this project in my queue since the pattern was released in September. I had been originally planning to make the handwarmer version, but by the time I was knitting them, it definitely got cold enough here in the Netherlands for a pair of mittens!

You might remember that I knitted these from two balls of Baby Alpaca that I bought in Hamburg.

This yarn and colourway are amazing. The photos absolutely do not do the luminous colour justice. It is somehow both dark and bright at once. As for the baby alpaca, it is a dream to knit with. Because of its drape, I have to admit that it is probably not the best suited for a bouncy pair of mittens, but I just couldn’t resist having the buttery softness against my hands.

Once I actually started knitting these, they progressed very quickly. The pattern is amazing, and I give so many thanks to Kiwiyarns Knits for sharing it with everyone! I finished them just in time, because yesterday it started to snow here (as you can see in the pictures – I can never find a good white background for photographing my knitting, but this time Mother Nature pulled one out for me!).

I love mittens and gloves, because you can admire your own work as much as you want. If you knit a scarf or a hat, you always have to wait until a shiny surface to catch a glimpse! Not so with what you wear on your hands. Living in the Netherlands, I of course cycle just about everywhere. What a wonderful opportunity to spend time admiring the lovely cables on these mittens!

It’s still snowing today, which I hear is quite rare in the Netherlands for this time of year. Usually if it snows, it will do so after Christmas. So, you can see that I am very much enjoying these lovely mittens! By next week, however, I will be back in New Zealand for Christmas, and won’t need them at all. That’s OK, there is still the European February when I get back here…

Ravelry links: pattern, project

Souvenir Yarns

I am still here, I promise! The last few months have been totally hectic for me, and it won’t slow down any time soon. I’ve moved from Germany to spend a month in London, and subsequently to the Netherlands for the next 2 semesters… Although, I also have tickets booked home to my lovely New Zealand for Christmas. In all of these places, I have managed to pick up some “souvenir” stash, most of which I am currently knitting up. I was putting of starting too many projects, but somehow in the last two weeks, I have cast on two more projects. Whatever! Variety is the spice of life. Here are my stash favourites at the moment:

This lovely number is Juno Fibre Arts Alice Lace, which I bought in London at the wonderful wonderful yarn shop Loop. If you ever get to London, definitely go and visit this yarn shop – and don’t miss the fact that they have two stories! The yarn is a gorgeous blend of alpaca, silk and cashmere, and just feels like butter through my fingers. It is becoming another version of the Echo Flower Shawl (Ravelry). This is a gorgeous and free (!) pattern, which I have already knitted once for my Mum. I am not usually one to knit a pattern more than once, but there is something strangely calming knitting this one, with its distinctive stitch pattern (3 into 9s!), in a different place, in a different season, in a different yarn…

These balls of Baby Alpaca, from a large craft shop in Hamburg are becoming a pair of soft silky (alpacary?) Strong Heart Mittens (Ravelry). I wasn’t originally going to buy this yarn, but it was so gorgeous that I kept going back to it over and over in the shop! The colour is a deep turquoise, quite a dark colour, but somehow it just glows. I knitted one mitten within two days, and I loooooove it. I keep putting it on and looking at it. I will knit the next one in the coming days and take some pictures. It was very very cold the other day here in the Netherlands, but it has inexplicably warmed up again. However with all this bike riding, even relatively warm temperatures feel chilly on my little hands, so I am so looking forward to having these mittens on them! I’m so thankful to talented people who share their creations!

Last but not least, because one should always have a pair of socks on the needles, these balls of Regia Sock Yarn are very very slowly becoming Starlock Socks (Ravelry). I actually started these socks 3 or 4 times, a combination of changing my mind about the pattern (originally I started to knit the Elementary Watson sock pattern, but I didn’t like the purled flying geese). It also took a while to get going because I am knitting them from the toe up rather than top down like the pattern. Nothing like a bit of a challenge, huh?

So, that’s what’s going on with my needles. Lots of knitting, not much finishing!

Not Knitted, but Braided Scarf

Hello there!

As you may have noticed I’ve been into a bit more than knitting and cooking lately – I’m still definitely being crafty though!  I made a dress, and now I’ve made a *gasp* not knitted scarf!

I found the idea (and tutorial) right here, at a lovely sewing blog called Nette.  It’s super simple – it won’t take you weeks and months like a knitted scarf!

How’s that dappled light?  The fabric I used was some leftovers from another project.  It was originally white, but I dyed it purple (along with a second hand cardi, which I subsequently shrunk in the wash – darn!).

It’s basically just two plaits, and a plain strip, all joined together to make one big loop.  I think anyone could make it – even my dad knows how to plait, he used to be a baker and plait the bread.  I remember when I was a kid he would complain that he couldn’t plait my hair because he only knew how to plait bread…

The place where you join the ends to themselves and to each other is pretty rough looking, so you do need to do a bit of sewing to cover it up with something pretty.  You could just use a strip of your fabric, but I used a bit of old doily which I found at the second-hand shop.

It’s been so lovely and sunny here the last week.   On Saturday, my mum and me went beach-glass hunting and found two pieces which looked like Mount Maunganui.  The week before had been really stormy, so there was so much washed up on the beach – sadly quite a bit of plastic, but also heaps of interesting shells, and of course some beach glass too!

A Summery Dress

I have been “sew” busy the past few days, making myself a lovely summery dress.  Yes, I know that it is the middle of winter, but I found this fabric at the Sallies, and it needed, NEEDED to be made into a floaty summery dress.

 

I love the unusual combination of colours – pinky-purple and rusty orange flowers, with blue and white and green leaves!   I took a pattern from another dress I have, that is my absolute favourite.  It has a button up bodice, with some darts for shaping, and slightly gathered sleeveless-style sleeves.  Here I am modeling it in the wintry sunshine.  It’s been a freeeezing day, but parts of it have been beautiful and sunny.

I had soooooo much fabric – about 4 metres, so I thought what better to do with it than make a swinging circular skirt for my summery dress!  In the end, the skirt ended up being a 3/4 of a circle, which is still PLENTY, as you can see:

At the back, if you can see in the picture, it has a wide ribbon for tying a big bow.  Waist ties are just about the best way to cheat on sizing…

The buttons are from my Mum’s extensive button collection (which has now been overtaken by an even more extensive beach glass collection).  They are little pink shell buttons, which glow green and blue and orange when they hit the colours of the flowers.

It’s going to a while until I get to wear it properly as a summer dress, as I’m moving to Germany/Finland in August, and will have two winters in a row!  But I am a non-believer in seasonal clothing – with a merino and some boots this will go perfectly for autumn or winter.  Though perhaps not winter in Finland…

Thanks to my mum for measuring the hem up from the ground for me, what a perfectly straight hemline it is!  Also thanks to my mum for taking time out from her assignment to take photos of me and my summery dress in the wintry sunshine.

$1.50 For Craft Work

No, not a situation vacant…

 

I had an exciting day yesterday.  I went to buy a new pair of shoes, partly because they would show off my new socks nicely, and found them to be almost half price!  Then I went to the Bernina sewing store to see about buying a new sewing machine.  It’s something that my Mum and I have been discussing, our old machine is heavy and never seems to be able to co-ordinate the tension between the bobbing and the top, constantly gets jammed up and breaks threads etc.  So we are the proud new owners of a Bernette 56 machine.  I have been making something, which I will show you when I’m finished, and the machine sews very nicely indeed!

 

After that, I went to the Saint Vincent De Paul second hand shop (it was on the way home, I swear!).  As you might have guessed from previous posts about my new-old teapot (Waipuna Hospice), and my crocheted blanket (Sallies), I do like a bit of second-hand shopping.  OK a lot.  And moving recently from Wellington to Tauranga, I’ve definitely been able to indulge in it.  Sometimes I plan my trips so that I can hop off one bus, pop into the Sallies, and then hop back on the next bus!

 

Anyway, yesterday at the Vinnies, I came across these three plastic bags, marked “$1.50, for craft work”:

 

Are you excited already?  I was!  I couldn’t choose which one I wanted, so I got all of them…  I felt a bit cheeky though!  I was so excited to get them home and open them up so I could see what treasures were inside!  This is what I found:

Various crocheted doilies.   Most of them have been cut, or are missing a circle or something.  I always want to cut up doilies for crafty things, and always feel too guilty to do so!  Not the case when the job has already been started for you!  The one with the big pointy flowers/stars on it at the top there is hardly damaged at all though, so I might have a go at mending the little unravelling bit and just using it for its intended purpose…

Some bits and pieces of white fabric, including some gorgeous delicate fabric with embroidery on it (machine done, not by hand though..).  It looks like it used to be a table runner, and someone has chopped it in half.  One half was in one bag, and the other in another!

A little pink fabric envelope with a lovely little scene of a garden and a bird house stitched on to it, edged in pink lace.

I think this one might be my favourite – an embroidered cloth with crocheted edging.  The colours are so pretty, light pink, blue and yellow, with some brighter red/pink highlights.  It’s only got a tiny bit of damage, you might be able to see it there in the lower left, to the right of the embroidery..

Some applique flowers – it looks like someone has done these by hand, although I’m not sure because they are so perfect and delicate!  They are on a white cloth, which isn’t edged or finished.

And finally, hiding in the middle of one of the packages, this lovely embroidered cloth with a crochet edge.  It’s more damaged than the other pieces (as you can see!) but I’ll have to figure out some way of using hose lovely flowers – red, purple and blue!

So anyway, that was my day yesterday!  How exciting!  Now, I’m going to get back to my sewing… I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even cast on for my new projects, and haven’t yet finished my secret project for a special someone, and the deadline is Saturday!!  Luckily, it’s a project of flexible length, so I can always just “finish” it if I run out of time before I run out of wool!