“Ares hates those…”

“…who hesitate.”

I’ve finished knitting my usual “welcome to the world tiny baby” outfit of a cardigan and hat for my nephew due in April. I’m worried his parents will think it’s a little girly, but hopefully they won’t. It’s one of those things that should matter, but it does to some people and it’s difficult to tell who.

The jumper is Hundreds, by Kelly van Niekerk (Ravelry link here), and the hat is Child’s Ear Hat, by Good Knit (Ravelry link here). Both patterns were free (we love free patterns) and used up a good ol’ chunk of stash wool. The green is Hayfield DK and is surprising soft for a cheap acrylic. Would buy again.

Both patterns were well written and I like the end result. Would definitely knit both again.

Not much else to say. Badda bing badda boom.

*Quote from Euripides.

“End, begin, all the same…”

“…Big change. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.”

Okay. I’ve finished. I have completed CB’s Navigate jumper.

In summary? 

I would not knit this again. Not without a lot of deviations from the pattern.

The low down? 

I hate a lot of the finishes.

I hate the stupid cast on and how it’s made the cuffs look all stretched out. I hate that I didn’t use the fancy bind off (because I hated the cast on) and that now looks a bit severe.

I hate that the neckline is too wide, even though I knitted it narrower than the pattern specified.

I hate that it’s a bit see-through (though that’s down to my choice of wool and desire for a thin jumper for a warm-blooded man).

I hate that I’m convinced on the first day he tries to wear it, it’ll snag on something or a seam will unravel.

BUT I love some things about it too though.

I love that it fits him like a glove.

I love that the sleeves are the perfect length.

I love the cable detailing on the front and back.

I love how soft it is.

I love how much CB loves it.

I love that I knitted a man-sized jumper in fingering-weight wool as a testament to how much I love this man.

*Quote from The Dark Crystal.

“A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early…”

“…He arrives precisely when he means to.”

I have to be honest, the main reason I decided to knit these mitten is the pattern name.

I mean. Wizard Warmers. Is there anything better than that?

The pattern is by Maire Martin who has generously made it available for free on Ravelry (link here)

I blogged previously about my disastrous first attempt where the needles snapped, so although I had to wait for new needles to arrive, I think it was worth it. CB certainly thinks so!

You can also wear them to cover your fingers in cold weather:

They can also be worn on either hand and (thanks to some only marginally messed up finishing) can be worn either side out as well!

I still struggle to knit with DPNs without creating ladders – only small ones, it’s true, but ladders nonetheless. I do not understand how other people do it. Or how I’ve done it in the past. I pull my stiches really tight when I move from one needle to another but I’m still left with an extra few mms of wool each time. SIGH.

*Quote from Peter Jackson

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves..."

"...and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."

Finally finished my Viktoria cardigan!

This pattern (Ravelry Link here) is by MillaMia Sweden and it was a really quick and fun project.
I particularly liked that you knit the borders of the front while you knit the main panels, so it reduces the number of stiches you have to go back and pick up. The neck band was a little tricky, but if you read it carefully and think about it, it does make sense.

I did run out of the cream wool I was using though. I could have bought more, but as the whoel point of doing this was to use up stash wool I really didn't want to ultimately be in the same position I was when I started.

Instead I used another ball of creamy wool I had lying around. MISTAKE.

The new wool is horrid. Very plasticky feeling and an odd drape. I also had a clear delineation between the two. Now, for the record, I know I should have just ripped it out, bought more of the original wool, and re-knit. But I didn't. Instead, I knitted a little pocket to disguise the mis-match. I mean...it's a jumper for a newborn.It will be outgrown in the blink of an eye.

The pocket looks quite sweet I think. It takes attention away from the yarn change, which is what I wanted it to do. It was more work than just buying new wool though and if I could do it all again, I'd probably just buy more wool. But at the same time I have no regrets.

Anyway... to go along with this bad boy I swiftly crafted a little hat to go with it:

This pattern is called Sea Monkey Baby Hat (Ravelry link here) by Kelly McClure and I think it's adorable. I knitted it flat, then grafted the top so it would be seamless, though I seamed the back (it lays pretty flat though).

I think I gave it too much height, or maybe I didn't make the ears big enough? Either way, again I remind myself that baby will outgrow this faster than the time it took to knit it. And it was a very quick knit!

*Quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry

"I would rather dance as a ballerina, though faultily..."

"...than as a flawless clown."

They’re done. They’re finally finished. They need to be blocked, but I’m counting them as done.
And they’re beautiful. There is a slight hole where the neckline joins the neckband, but I think blocking will smooth that, and it’s really not noticeable unless you’re me.

I feel such relief getting these done. It was quite a stressful build up. I have other things to finish/start and finish before Christmas comes, but I feel as though the lion’s share is done now. My mountain has been climbed. My fingers can regrow the skin around the knuckle without fear of being immediately rubbed away again.

I love how the cables meet at the joins, and although you’d never notice it, I love how the increases on the sleeves look running along the bottom of the arms.

I take my hat off to knitting designers. A lot of time and effort go into designing these little details and you wonder if half of them go without being noticed. Plus it would be very easy for me to go wrong and mess it up, either in the knitting or in the joining.

I really enjoyed making these (other than the deadline stress). I like the pattern and I like the wool. The pattern is interesting enough to keep you going, but simple enough that you can commit it to memory and knit away happily. The finished jumpers are lovely and soft, but they have some heft and mass to them. Lovely cuddly squidgy things.

I would definitely knit more of these in the future – depending on how these two wear. I’ve heard that they can stretch quite a lot sideways so we’ll see.

*Quote from Margaret Atwood.

"You can catch more flies with a drop of honey..."

"...than with a barrel of vinegar."

I don't think I ever posted about the Honey Cowl I was knitting for CB (blogged about here).

Well I did finish on time, casting off literally minutes before going to meet him from the station after work, before we flew to America the next day.

As you can see, it turned out really well. I have messed up a few lines so the pattern sort of flips on itself, but honestly you don't notice it unless you really look up close and hunt for it you can see it in the picture below actually). And even then it doesn't look bad, just a design feature.

The texture is really nice too:

As is the drape of the resulting fabric. I did run out of the Rowan Summerlite DK I was using (colour is Ocean if you're interested) when I was casting off, so we do have a darker wool right at the very end. This is hidden, however, as the edges curl in on themselves. Can you tell how smug I am for getting away with this?

It was a nice little pattern and the wool is lovely to work with. And as CB has worn it every day to work since flying back from the States, I call this a success!

*Quote from an old proverb.

“Oh, Edmund... can it be true? That I hold here, in my mortal hand…”

“…a nugget of purest Green?”

Slightly paralysed from too much choice, I spent some quality time with my stash. I keep it in a cardboard box full of multiple mesh bags which separates my wool by type/weight/arbitrary reasons and I upended this on the living room floor and sat and stared at it. I weighed bits of balls, re-bagged a few, and did a lot of wool-squishing........Aaaaand I was no closer to choosing. Then I had a bit of tantrum.

When I came to, I had cast on Gidday Baby (Ravelry link here) in two shades of Hayfield Bonus DK, which I have since completed:

It has used up all the dark green – yay! It was only a semi-successful game of yarn chicken though, I didn’t have enough for the final row of the left sleeve, a frustratingly teeny amount but thankfully not noticeable unless you were trying to find it.

It was a good knit, really quick as you do the garter edging as you go along. As ever I hate knitting sleeves (and I have a couple of ladders if you’re looking for ‘em) but at least on such a small jumper they go quickly.

If I knitted this again I would pick up stitches for the increases rather than using yarn overs. The holes just don’t look deliberate or like they are a design feature. They add a little intrigue perhaps, but not enough to counteract the “did you mean to have these holes here?” factor.

Well anyway, I’ve made inroads into the stash - huzzah! 

This is a good start and all, but it’s the Sirdar Snuggly collection I’m frozen by. I think I want to knit Viktoria (Ravelry link here) but with which colours??

One bag of several.

I don’t know why I get so wound up by decisions like this. I know ultimately it doesn’t really matter – ultimately Baby will outgrow whatever I knit in a matter of months!

*Quote from Blackadder

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies…”

“I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

So I have finished Saco Stripes:

I really enjoyed knitting this. The wool felt nice, the pattern was simple enough that I could watch TV whilst knitting (yet another re-watch of Gilmore Girls) but interesting enough to keep me from getting bored.

The problem reared its ugly head at the end…

I wanted to knit a baggy vest top, but I didn’t appreciate that the ease is written into the pattern, so I’ve knitted one exactly my size. Instead of a few inches of positive ease, I’ve probably done it with a couple of inches negative ease.

*Facepalm*

Not the end of the world. It still fits, it still looks nice, I can still wear it as I planned, plus I’m sure it will stretch a bit after a few wears. Plus it gives me an excuse to knit another one at some point!
The other issue I have with it are the edges. Once I had joined my two pieces my edges were a bit uneven. No problem, I thought, I’ve yet to do the edging. That will neaten things right up!

Except…it hasn’t really. It looks different, but not massively neater.

Again, not the end of the world as it’s just a casual holiday vest top, but I am disappointed. I made the extra effort to finish it and it feels like a bit of a waste really.

Actually those pictures don’t look too bad. Maybe blocking has helped more than I thought!

*Quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well...”

“…I'll most likely kill you in the morning.” 

As expected, here is the other half of my special commission:

I think I forgot to mention in my last post - this pattern is Wedding Mice by Amanda Berry (Ravelry link here). Although I hate making fiddly little things Amanda Berry's patterns are very comprehensive - they walk you through line by line and include lots of pictures for reference. Unfortunately even with the best pattern I still have to rely on my wobbly finishing skills...

I still can’t look at either of them without seeing a million bits I dislike, but I have to bear in mind that people at the wedding will just look and go “aww isn’t that cute!” and then help themselves to food. No one will be looking as critically at these critters as I will.

Another annoying thing is that I’m pretty sure the real, human groom is wearing a blue suit and a green tie on the day, but I don’t have any wool that will work and I refuse to buy two new balls for such a tiny project which will be in use for just a few hours.

I love my friend, but I don’t love this project!

*Quote from William Goldman

“Inconceivable!"

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” 

I mentioned a little while ago that I had been tasked with a very special commission. Well, I’m now half-way through that project and thought I’d let you in on the secret:

My beautiful friend is getting married soon and asked if I could make her some knitted mice to top a cheese cake being served (not the main wedding cake! Do not fear Philly-fans!).

Now we know I am not the best at the finishing touches on projects (remember Griff?) and you may have noticed that this is ALL ABOUT the tiny fiddly details and finishing touches.

But I think she looks okay!

Now on to the Groom…

*Quote from William Goldman

"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.”

“…Don't let the bastards grind you down."

I finally finished my Peloponnese cardigan.

The pattern is by Sandi Rosner (Ravelry link here).

The wool I used is Paintbox Yarns Baby DK. I wouldn’t recommend it for a project like this as it’s not got great definition, but it’s blocked up nice and soft so I have fewer complaints than I thought I would.

I picked up more stitches for the edging than the pattern directed (as I normally end up with puckering if I stick to what the pattern says) but that has meant I have a slight ruffling effect. Not great but I don’t think you notice when you’re wearing it.

I also didn’t put buttons on it. I bought buttons, lovely tiny shiny ones, but I couldn’t face trying to line them all up on the riffly-ruffly bands. Plus I knew I would never button it up while wearing it. If it does stretch enough that I’d want to button it, I can always add them on later as the button holes are there.

One point of sadness – the first day I wore it out, no one mentioned it. I know that’s very immature of me – if I want to talk about it I should just raise the subject myself – but I can’t help it. I promise I’m not fishing for compliments, it’s just I only work with a small team who see me wear the same things over and over and who know I knit.

I think I just have a bit of a chip on my shoulder about my place here. I don’t feel like I fit in or that I’m ‘one of the team’ in the same way everyone else is, and the fact that no one notices or cares about me wearing what is obviously a handknit jumper…well it just confirms the apathy with which they view me!

Luckily I have got a new job (as has CB) so it will only be for a few months more. Then Peloponnese and I will show off to a whole other office (who will hopefully giver her the recognition she deserves!).

*Quote from Margaret Atwood

“No colours any more…”

“…I want them to turn black.”

Mikael is done! 7 weeks before the due date as well, which is nice.

Also nice is that I have a whole ball of the black MillaMia merino leftover, and a little bit of the Putty Grey. No idea what I’ll make, but that’s beside the point.

As ever, I struggled with the joining. For some reason I am incapable of getting a professional looking finish when I join the different bits together. Still, practice makes perfect, right?

I took two attempts to make the front band. Originally I picked up the number of stitches as stated in the pattern, but it pulled at the fabric and made it bulge. I assume I didn’t meet the gauge, at least on row height, and had more rows than expected. In any case, I had a bit of a tantrum, ripped it out, and came back calmer the next day and just picked up every stitch. Much longer process (it was about double the amount of stitches it should have been!) but the result looks far better.

It did mean I had to wing the placement of the buttonholes. I think they went alright, could have been better on the top button, but nothing I’ll lose sleep over.

As this baby is being born to some Very Cool People (seriously) I added a couple of cute quirks – an odd top button, and some geography-teacher-chic elbow patches.

Along with the hat it’s a pretty dapper outfit, suitable for a boy or a girl I think.

*Quote from The Rolling Stones

“I am no bird…”

“…and no net ensnares me”

I have finally done it. I have completed my socks.

The toe is even (technically) correct on this one, though it still looks a bit unnatural.
So euphoric I was at completing this sock, I actually cast on another project:

This is Egwene, my Easter Chick. I used Janice Anderson's "Esther, Ernie & Enid Easter Chickens" pattern (Ravelry link here) and some Snuggly Sirdar DK in shade Eeyore that I had lying around. I think she looks spiffy.

I was planning on making three, like the pattern example, but I think instead I shall make one chick each year and let my fowl family flourish gradually (couldn't think of another alliterative word).

Now I eagerly await my needle set to start bashing out the sleeves for my Peloponnese cardigan…


*Quote from Charlotte Bronte

"The city mouse lives in a house..."

"...The garden mouse lives in a bower"

This mouse doesn't live in either, but he is rather cute!

He was supposed to be a pirate mouse, but I didn't have any spare black wool so he's a bit tame. He's been doing his best to take on any cats he comes across!

Photo credit H.Burke

This is my friend's kitten, Bob, and I think he and his sister Bella might be the cutest kittens I have ever seen!

Photo credit H.Burke

I used a free pattern I found online here - Captain Cat-Battler was designed specially for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

"The notorious Captain Cat-Battler is a veteran of cat vs mouse conflict. Since the dawn of time, rodents and their feline foe have pitted their wits against one another. Captain Cat-Battler is a handmade hero of mousekind, keeping the cats of the world on their furry toes with his cunning and his defiant squeak."

Sounds about right!


*Quote from Christina Rossetti

“It does not do to dwell on dreams…”

“…and forget to live.”

I am a very lucky woman. I love going on long, interesting holidays, starting in one city and travelling across the country to others, really getting a taste of wherever it is that I am. On the other hand, however, I hate researching, organising and booking such holidays.

So why am I lucky? Because I have an amazing husband who does it for me!

This weekend, after a few hypothetical conversations, CB bought a couple of guidebooks and started researching a holiday in California/Southwest America for us. Very exciting.

It did mean, however, that he was busy reading and researching all weekend instead of paying attention to me. Having just finished an unsatisfactory sock, I’m in no hurry to start another, but I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I’ve also done far too much reading recently so didn’t want to lose my weekend to yet another book-eating marathon.

So instead of going stir crazy and distracting him, I took myself off and was productive. I cleaned the house, I baked a carrot cake, I changed the bedsheets, I put the laundry on. After exhausting the normal weekend tasks, I was still at a bit of a loose end.

Now I do have a bit of leave coming up. I’m not doing anything, I just had leave I had to take before I lost it, but I have been writing myself a To Do list for it. I have already dipped into this list, darning my socks before schedule (such an exciting life I lead) so I thought I would dip in again and get a longstanding project ticked off.

So I made this little beauty of a cushion:

It’s an old t-shirt of CB’s which we liked too much to throw away, but was worn through in a couple of places so really had to be retired from his wardrobe. I’ve been planning to make a cushion with it for absolute yonks, maybe a year or more? But I thought as I was ankle-deep in free time I might as well get a wriggle on with it.

It was trickier than I was anticipating, trying to line up the design on both sides (though I probably made things more difficult than they needed to be), and it turned out slightly bigger than I was planning (though CB fixed that by just stuffing in a second cushion insert – hence the bulbous look!), but I’m really pleased with it. And really pleased to finally be able to tick it off my to do list. And really pleased with the productive use of my free time. And really pleased that CB could focus on planning us a fantastic holiday.

And really pleased I actually have something to write about this week.


*Quote from J. K. Rowling

"It's like, how much more black could this be?"

 "...and the answer is none. None more black."

This was actually completed right at the very end of last year so has already been included in 2017's wrap up, but it's a bit early to be able to flaunt 2018's FOs.

This is a Tegan Baby Hat (Ravelry link here) by Julie Taylor.

This was really difficult to photograph, but the stitches are lovely and defined in real life I promise!

The wool is MilliaMia Merino wool in black and is super soft and drape-y.

It's for my friend's baby due in June. She asked for any baby things to be black, white or grey (gender neutral as well as chic) and as I had the wool I thought I'd whip this out.

You might think it looks a bit big for a newborn baby, and you'd be right. I thought no baby will want to wear a BLACK hat in JUNE, so I've knitted a 3-6 months size to be worn when autumn/winter kicks in 3-6 months later.

I've probably jumped the gun with this a bit and done it all too soon, but I was a bit excited (and I was still awaiting my delivery of new wool).

*Quote from This Is Spinal Tap.

“‘If you’re not in Gryffindor, we’ll disinherit you,’ said Ron,”

“But no pressure.”

When I haven’t been knitting mittens, I have managed to find time to knit other things. And other mittens. Ahem.

So my studious Ravenclaw friend will get these snuggly blue mittens:

Yes it’s an owl rather than a raven, but I honestly don’t care.

And my adventurous Gryffindor friend will get this:

It’s a bookmark. It is a bit thick, as I used Aran wool and because I knit it flat and seamed (as I really hate magic loop and DPNs) but I figure that’s okay as Gryffindors aren’t known for their copious reading!

Hahahahaha!

I can say that as I’m a Ravenclaw.


Ravenclaws rule.



*Quote from J.K. Rowling

“Even damnation…”

“…is poisoned with rainbows”

You might be aware that it’s Christmas very soon. You will have planned who you want to buy presents for, how much you want to spend, and thought about what you might get them. Actually, by this point you’ve undoubtedly bought the presents and wrapped them.

Some of you may have remained blissfully unaware of the slow approach of Christmas and left all your gift planning, buying and wrapping to the last minute. This was unwise.

Wherever you are on the Christmas planning spectrum, please heed my advice – don’t decide to give several friends knitted items only a week before you see them. You will not want to knit the same pair of mittens again and again, every day for two weeks. You will not like feeling unable to take day off from knitting knowing the deadline is looming over you in an ominously jolly way.

It was rather worth it though:

The worst part is that you’ll like the mittens so much you will want a pair of your own, but won’t be able to facing YET ANOTHER pair!


*Quote from Leonard Cohen

“So comes snow after fire…”

“…and even dragons have their endings.” 

I mean he’s no Smaug, but my dragon is finished:

This is Griff the Dragon (Ravelry link to pattern here) by Amanda Berry. Admittedly her version looks cuter and less…creepy than mine, but at least he is recognisably a dragon.

I’m not sure why mine looks so dodgy. I (mostly) used the recommended yarn (Hayfield Bonus DK) in the recommended shades (Green and Light Green – very imaginative names). I did deviate with the white as you need so little of it and I have a couple of balls of cheap acrylic lying around. But that can’t be the only reason. I guess I’m not great at the finessing and finishing, but honestly I tried really hard on this!

At least he’s not a weird little worm anymore:

I really like Amanda Berry’s patterns. She writes them out line by line, which makes for a really long pack of instructions, but is pretty foolproof. I was sensible enough to read them through before beginning this time, and as her short rows are different to those of my Carnaby skirt (blogged about here) as you don’t wrap and turn, you just turn. The short rows are on the toes and fingers, and you sew up the other side anyway so I guess it doesn’t need to be wrapped.

I’m not sure what to do with him now. There are a few babies in my life he could go to, but I don’t know if he’s nice enough to be a present. Poor thing. But I really don’t need another toy in my home. I never could bring myself to give Parsnip away so he’s still with us!

If anyone knows of anyone who needs a creepy yet well-meaning dragon, please let me know.

*Quote from J.R.R. Tolkien

“A good speech should be like a woman's skirt…”

“…long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”

Another finished object to show off – my second Carnaby skirt!

My first one, in black, gets a lot of wear. It’s in my regular work rotation, so probably gets worn two or three times a month. So I thought it would definitely be worth making another in a different colour.

I used to wear a white skirt to work quite often, but that one (a shop bought one) had started to come apart a bit, it had lots of threads sticking out all over, so it had been formally retired. This lovely new Carnaby can replace it.

I’m also pleased that I already had some suitable buttons in my collection:

I inherited these and I wonder if they have some sister-buttons out there on another garment…
Even though I’ve knit the pattern before, it’s still quite fun to do. It’s simple enough that you can get into a bit of a rhythm, but interesting enough that your brain doesn’t glaze over. I used the same type of wool (Cascade 220) and the same sized needle (4.5mm circular) and to be honest if I needed more skirts I would happily have more of these.

I’ve yet to buy grosgrain ribbon to reinforce the waist band, but I will do. It would be a shame for them to stretch, and I don’t want to risk my skirt falling down at work!

Yeah, maybe I’ll buy that ribbon sooner rather than later…

*Quote by Winston Churchill