Mid-Winter Swap

Last night was the BIG night for our Thursday group's mid-winter swap party. And what a night!

The participants write down some details of their likes and dislikes and then we draw them out of a hat. And it all remains a secret until the BIG night.

I drew Stella, of knitknitfrog, and read that she liked blues, blue-greys and greys with touches of burnt red and orange. So that lead me to the Little squares scarf by Vanessa of doyoumindifiknit. (Vanessa has a great tutorial for making and joining the squares on the left side of the page on her blog).

  

I went and bought some plain alpaca yarn from Flagstaff Alpacas and proceeded to dye some and crochet a few squares every day. Slowly the pile grew and then I had to decide on the final arrangement - probably the hardest part of the assignment. Lastly I sewed up a few rows every day - and finished it just in time. It's pretty cool.

Stella also collects fountain pens so I couldn't resist when I saw this fabric. I found the pattern/tutorial on the net  (mini zippered bag tutorial) and it went so well that I made second one for Morag, our hostess with the mostest.

Seeing all the gifts that people had made was amazing. The things people think of and the work that they go to.

My gift was INCREDIBLE. Ana had seen that I liked Islamic geometric

 patterns and made me these mitts - and they came with the book!!!

 The pattern is Ruba'iyat Mittens by Heather Desserud

 Ana had modified the design on the thumbs and added a Latvian braid on the cuff - all beautifully done. And what made them so, so special are the colours she chose - my favourite gold/orange and then added the turquoise/blue that is so reminiscent of Iranian mosque tile work.
They are truly a work of art - I feel I need to frame them.

It was also about to be Stella's birthday and she had casually mentioned at our Knit Camp in May that she had always fancied a swimming pool cake. The idea of the pool hooked me and so I then launched into my first ever decorated cake.  It's a bit 'clunky' but it was fun.

All in all the Mid Winter Dinner and Secret Swap was a great success and we will all be looking forward to next year's.

Another shawl and something completely different

Firstly - another Wildflower Shawl - this is for my niece, Laura. She chose the colour (I had 3 possible choices) and it is lovely and will really suit her.

 Next is the project of last weekend. I went to see my cousin in Christchurch and we both had a go.
It was decoupaging with fabric - as per the pdf below
Fabric Decoupage pdf

 I did the stool and cousin Beth did the chair. The chair proved to be a lot trickier but we managed. It was 1am by the time we finished all the glueing. They still need a few coats of polyurethane to finish them. Aren't they cheerful?

The latest 'stuff'

 Well I finally finished the Murex socks - these were from the 2012 Summer Sock Club - meaning they were well overdue for completion.

 And another Wildflower Shawl - an easy knit and a great gift - I can't seem to stop making them

And now the first of the 2012 Winter Sock Club projects - except it is a blacker blue than the photo. I'll show more of the pattern as I go along.

Honey Cowl

 A couple of knitters in my Thursday Group have made this cowl. I like it - it is a free pattern, can be varied as a short or long version and it is a fairly easy knit when you don't want to concentrate too much. I made the longer version using  a Joy of Yarn hand-dyed wool that I bought from the James at Unwind earlier this year. It is a lovely mix of colours

First snow

With snow sprinkled on the hills this morning it seems a good time to have this finished and passed on to the recipient.
I am enjoying making these Wildflower shawls - not too difficult, a fairly quick knit and super cosy and cute.

Happy Birthday Queen

Well we've just had a log weekend to celebrate the Queen's birthday and I've been finishing off some projects.

Firstly - the Rainbow Kauni Cardigan.  I also got a mix of buttons - it seemed to match the style.

 Secondly - made another pair of Sanquhar mitts for one of my knit group buddies.

 Thirdly - made a beret/hat for another friend - it's out of a possum/wool mix and will be perfect for winter warmth. And they are forecasting snow for tomorrow so I need to get them to her pronto

And I'm now 3/4 through the latest Windflower Shawl - so soon I can start something new....yay!

Recycled swatch

You may remember this - from the Unwind Knitting Retreat in March. It was my swatch from the Persian Poppies class. My mother always said 'waste not, want not' and so I was wondering what to do with it.

It was pretty much the shape of a hottie (hot water bottle) and also looks very cheerful and sunny so I then decided to make the other side in a /dark/night/moonlight style

 and there you have it - the Kath and Kel Hottie Cover. I have named it after that lovely couple from the Australian TV show Kath and Kim - Kel Knight and Kath Day-Knight.

Of course it has no shaping for the neck of the hottie because I couldn't be bothered - and it works just fine. And unexpectedly, I have discovered that it makes for a very warm hottie all night

Finishing

I've got lots of projects I want to start but, in an effort to not get totally out of control, I've decided I need to finish some of my wips (works in progress) first.

 So - I've completed the second Wildflower Shawl...

...and am now working on the neck band of my Rainbow Kauni Cardigan

I'm Back

Well I arrived back home a week ago but then got hit by a flu and laid very low so that I could recover in time for Knit Camp - and I just made it. Knit Camp was soooo lovely - held at Waikouaiti it is a quick drive. Lorna does a massive job of organising both the class and the food.

Here we are beavering away on our lace knitting.

Everyone's was different due to pattern and yarn selection - some were a lot finer!
We were actually making a doily-style edging but mine seemed to bend the wrong way so I stopped after a few repeats because I had decided to make it into a wristlet. Now I just need some lovely pearl buttons.
I managed to finish the wildflower shawl while away - but I didn't do any public knitting!

I think of it more as a kerchief/scarf. It is lovely and soft and warm and I am now working on a second one.
My rainbow Kauni cardigan now has two sleeves and next to to do the neck and front bands.
I have also started on my Secret Swap project - which means you won't be seeing it until July - when it is officially swapped.

Mitts

 Well - this is my second pair of mitts using the Sanquhar designs. I'm planning to write up the pattern and put it on Ravelry as a freebie (my way of giving something back for all the free patterns I have accessed) but the process of writing the pattern is a lot slower and more cumbersome than it is to knit them. I'm getting someone to test knit and someone to check the pattern and then I think I will have a major attempt to edit it into something manageable...... but I am away for a few weeks so don't hold your breath.

 I'm also plodding along on my first Sock Club sock and have now got myself one arm of the Rainbow cardigan. This was my first go at steeking - so far so good.

I'm not much of a public knitter but I plan to take my knitting along on the upcoming trip - partly to see what reactions I get - I'll let you know

One plus one

OK - I now have 2 mitts knitted

There have been a few variations - it might help if I had a photo of them being worn - will try to get one. I am going to show them to my knit group and see what comments I get - and then attempt to write up the pattern. That may be a lot more difficult than actually knitting them!

And I have started on  my 2nd Sock Club project - the wool is a very vivid purple that my camera does no justice to...

The pattern on the top side is quite radical - like a shell. Still a wee way to go tho'

A Long Weekend of Knitting

Well I have just had a lovely long weekend attending Unwind - a knitting 'retreat' here in Dunedin.
It started on Friday and finished today - although I didn't go today as it was a trip to Flagstaff Alpacas and the Mill Shop - more for the out-of-town people - and I have ENOUGH wool now to last me for a bit....
Friday was a lazy day of people arriving, sitting around knitting and being tempted by the Trader Stalls selling delicious yarns. I helped out on the Registration desk - there were around 60 people attending - one even from Australia.
On Saturday there were classes - I went to one on steeking - the noble art of cutting one's knitting.
We started with this: a knitted tube

 then stitched it and cut it and practised various edges.

My Sunday class was on making a 'magic ball' and using it to knit Kaffe Fasset's Persian Poppies pattern.
We all took in spare wool and put it in the middle of the table. After choosing a background colour we then picked another 7 colours that were fairly close to each other, tonally, and proceeded to cut small lengths and knot them together and then wind it into a ball. Then it was knit time....

 It is great to see all the different colours people chose

And the  cheerful sample below is mine. 

I've even had an idea of something to make with it....

A lot of time was spent sitting around knitting so I've also made some progress on my Rainbow cardigan - which is also going to be my first proper steeking project

Something radical (for me)

At a recent Knit Study day we learnt about a lovelyScottish colour work pattern called Sanquhar - with the plan being to make some fingerless mitts.
I wanted to make a few adjustments so came home and trawled through my other mitt patterns and then devised a new one - using bits of all.
It's radical because I am usually a strict pattern follower and never deviate.
I've finished the first and will seek some feedback before doing the second. I think it needs a little tweaking - but basically it's great as the colour work makes it a double thickness - so warmer.

 There are two different patterns on the outer part, as well as the reverse of each

 And on the palm I used the Fleur de Lis

 Taking a photo left-handed has its limits and my colours always seem a bit off. It should be a dark green and sky blue. I am using Vintage Purls Sock Yarn.

If it works out OK I'll try and write up the pattern - that will be a real test of my intelligence - or lack of.