one can never have too many cowls

I wanted something straightforward to work on during Unwind - so started on this cowl. I have made this before - it is The Cosy Neck Warmer by Lucy of 'attic24'. She has written up a great tutorial for this. The yarn I used this time was Lion Brand Cotton Ease - left over from the baby blanket I made last year.

More Unwind things

If I was a better person I would have remembered to take some photos of the general event - but there you go - I forgot.
My friend Ngaire has a trader stall where she sells great screen-printed Tshirts - with a knit theme. She made a wee space for me and I sewed some boxy shaped Project Bags.

 The one below was a 'work in progress' - it was a great fabric - a toile look but the images were actually 'Day of the Dead' figures. It proved the most popular.

Unwind Design

Well now I can introduce you to The Koru Cowl.
This was my design for our Knit Retreat last weekend - Unwind, 2014.
It can be made using Double Knit or Fingering-weight yarn.
My lovely friend, Seta, modelled it and it really improved the quality of the photos.

The pattern for The Koru Cowl can be found on Ravelry.

I received lots of lovely comments on my design and, best of all, it won the competition - by popular vote! Happy days.

More mitts

I am mostly working on the prototypes for my Unwind design - hence my lack of posts this month.
But I have also made a pair of Bonnie Jean mitts for a birthday gift.

Something old

This is Viajante which I made late last year for my sister who was going to the UK over Christmas.
It took a while to make but the lace weight is just right as it isn't too bulky. I used Vintage Purls lace yarn.

Now there are two

 So I finished the Hodge booties.

Also I finally got around to decorating an old pair of white Converse sneakers - plastic lace and fabric paint. I'm really happy with the transformation

Another FO

For the last month or so I've been working on slanted-sleeven using a Vintage Purls sock yarn in a lovely silvery grey shade. It is to go with a dress as I always find it is not usually warm enough in the evening to do without. The pattern had me flummoxed at the start; I think because it is written in the European style. Anyway after a bit of intensive reading I worked it out and have to say it was very precise and quite easy to work from once I had figured it out. The cardigan is a top down, seamless construction - I am always in awe of anyone that thinks these up - they are a lot of work. I kept the length quite short to go with the cinched-in waist of the dress. I finished it off with some little silver buttons - $1 from Shop on Carroll (our local upmarket op shop that has lots of great buttons).

I am also working on the larger size of the Hodge booties - they are irresistible. And I love the colour which is a mix of an orangey red and pink - another Vintage Purls sock yarn.

But wait … there's more

 I forgot to show my two other Christmas cowl presents - this is Quoits a Vintage Purls Sock Club pattern and both made using Vintage Purls sock yarn.

 And then there was the Teeny Tiny things for Baby F - born 10 weeks prem - so the
booties should fit as they are very small

 The Tiny Nordic mitts and...

 The booties are Hodge; a Stella Lange design. The top part is folded over a rib pattern underneath - which means they are supposed to stay on. I've used Vintage Purls sock yarn for them.

Now I'm working on a design for Unwind so can't show that until it goes public in mid March.

Christmas Knitting

At last I can reveal what I was busy with in the lead up to Christmas.

 This is the Purl Ridge Scarf by Stephen West. I made 2 of these using Vintage Purls Max - and they were beautifully squishy. Of course it is summer here so they may not get worn for a while yet.

Then there was this:

Cosy Neck Warmer by Lucy of attic24. I'd made some more colourful ones earlier but this one was requested in dark grey and black. I used an Alpaca/Merino yarn from our local Mill Shop.

And lastly I went a bit ballistic with Zuzu's Petals making 6 of them using the Zauberball - very happy with the result.

So pretty much everyone got a cowl for Christmas. What better since I had declared it my Year of the Cowl.

Secret Squirrel Knitting

 The Baby Blanket is finished. It looked a lot better with blocking.

 The other projects I am working on  are Christmas things so all I am going to show is the yarn.

 The finished items will have to wait. And I have to get busy….

Latest projects

I finished these lovely Ngaire's  for my friend Lee. I used a Touch Yarn sock yarn that contained bamboo, silk, nylon and merino wool. It is very soft though I worry it may pill or rub.

And I am currently working on a Baby THrow - it is a Lion Brand pattern and I'm using the Lion Brand Cotton Ease suggested in the pattern. It is half cotton, half acrylic - worsted weight. Not the easiest to crochet but I'm loving the colours and affect as it grows. Also it is assembled as it is made - so no arduous finishing.

A wee break

Oops - have been a bit distracted/busy lately. But always time to knit so here's what I've been up to.

I finished 2 of these baby singlets using Vintage Purls laceweight yarn. They are so soft and squishy that any baby should be happy and cosy. Apparently they can be worn next to the skin as a traditional type of singlet or over a onesie as a kind of vest.

And I finished the Central Park Hoodie. This has been on my want list for a few years and I've even been sitting on the yarn for months - so good to see it take shape. And I like it.

 I decided to get some sort of toggle buttons - found these at Touch Yarns in Clyde.

Blanket is finally finished and something different from Knit Camp

Gee - at last the Rainbow Blanket is complete - have a look!

 I'm pretty pleased with it. I added a one row border as well.
I'm planning for this to last into my dotage.

And last weekend we had our annual Knit Camp - and did a non-knitting project - bookmaking and book binding. It's pretty cool. The part I enjoy the most is choosing paper and binding for the covers.
And Karen brought some of her stamps so we could add those.

 The pink paper is from Korea

 The blue is from Japan

 The map paper is Italian. It was good to find a way to use some of my stash paper.

And I embellished the last one with a stamp that seemed to suit it.