WIP Wednesday 27th July 2011

It is a woeful WIP Wednesday!!!  I posted on Sunday about my Genevieve sweater and the possibility of being short of yarn well now I have completed the hood and I am easily a skein short :-(  So cross that the yarn requirements in the pattern are not accurate.  The are several projects on Ravelry that have been listed since I started mine and they have all used far more than the 850yrds given.  I've been in contact with pixie knits who dyed the wool for me and have sent a sample of the yarn off for her to try and match.  I will frog the hood and use that wool for the remainder of the skirt and sleeve.  The new skein can then be used for the hood as if it isnt quite a colour match then it wont matter as much for the hood.  Still gutted though.

Whilst I wait for the couldron to hopefully make another skein for me I've gone back to my rainbow heart doilies.  Only indigo and violet left.  Has anyone starched their work before?  I presume I use a starch spray that you find in the laundry aisle of the supermarket.  I'd like to frame these to go as a picture on the wall.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone elses blogs over at Tami's Amis.

A year of projects - week 4

Its Sunday again!!  Here is this weeks round up of my Year of Projects.

I've made good progress on Josie's Genevieve sweater over the last couple of days.  I'm panicking though about whether I will have enough yarn :-(  I brought more than was required for the pattern but it seems to be disappearing quickly so rather than carry on with the skirt part I thought I better get the sleeves and hood done so that any remaining yarn can be used to increase the skirt length.  The skirt is supposed to be 11.5 inches long but it will be well short of that.  Not enjoying this project at all with all the stockinette stitches and also the yarn quality is very poor with lots of splits, joins, fluffy unplied bits and thin bits.  I've cut out a lot but some has been knitted in just hoping that it doesnt create too many weak spots.

The gorgeous wool was a a custom dye from Pixie Knits - its a superwash BFL aran

It's been a good project for showing off the versatility of Knitpro - I've used various sized cables, used the cables as stitch holders and had a go at magic loop for the first time.  Not sure why I've avoided magic loop for so long as it got the sleeve finished in no time.

We went away for a midweek break this week and I was delighted to find a craft / yarn shop close to where we were staying but look at the hideous way the wool was displayed.  The shop had a wonderful range for everyones taste yet it was impossible to enjoy browsing through mountains of plastic bags!!  You dont go into a clothes shop and find that all the clothes are still in their packaging and bunged together on shelves so why do yarn stores insist on still doing this!  I asked if they sold online but was told 'No, customers like to look and feel the wool.  There isn't the market for online wool shopping'.  Really?????

Whilst away I started a new project (always like a new project on holiday).  Stupidly it isnt in my original YOP list but should have been as I already had the yarn and pattern sat waiting.  Its a King Cole crochet pattern published in a Lets Knit supplement.  I'm using King Cole baby alpaca and its a dream to work with.  This is the first crochet project where I have worried about tension as all previous crochet projects havent mattered whether my tension is off so I was very pleased to find my tension was spot on for the recommended needle size.

So that is my work for the week I'm off to have a look at what everyone else in the YoP group has been up to.  Thank you for all your comments last week they are very much appreciated and all hints and tips are taken on board xx

A year of projects - week 3

Its YoP sunday update!!  I've finished my 2nd project :-)  Love the YoP as I've been motivated all week to try and get this finished for today - its been off my needles half an hour now, soaked and is now blocking on my bed.  Hopefully it will be dry before bed!

Fresh off the needles

Introducing my 2nd Summer Mystery Shawlette.  Knitted using Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply in cherry colourway.

Now to decide which project to move on to next.  Something for Josie I think.

My Year of Project list

Quilting WiP Wednesday 13th July 2011

 

Another week and time to link to this fantastic blog and enjoy all the inspiring work out there.  

This week has been a lesson in when to pick the most appropriate time to try and quilt!  This morning for instance I dropped my youngest off at playgroup and thought 'get the washing up done, having a cuppa and then quilt'.  Well I managed to sew pieces back to front, redo them, the bobbin ran out, the phone rang..... and then it was time to get Erin from playgroup and I was nowhere further forward!  In future I shall leave quilting until I have at least 2 hours guaranteed quiet time!  

The patterned section of my disappearing 9 patch is finished though :-)  Annoyingly despite carefully laying all the pieces out so that no matching fabrics were touching and carefully bringing ordered piles of blocks to the sewing table I still managed to get 2 pieces together and I didnt notice until pressing the seams.  Can I live with it or should I go and rip back???

Arghhhhh whilst uploading the photos I've noticed another couple of misplaced pieces!!!  Its so frustrating and I'm not sure how they managed to sneak in the wrong place!  I might leave it a few days before looking at it again and then decided whether to rip it back :-(

WIP Wednesday 13th July 2011

Well it is the last day of term.  Looking forward to a change in routine and not being dictated to by the school runs but it is a long holiday this time - 7 and half weeks!!!!  Hopefully the sun will shine and the kids on the estate will be preparing a float for the carnival at the end of August.  Anyway back to my WIP's.  My afghan that must have been boring you all senseless over the last few wednesdays is finally a FO and I posted all about it on my year of projects update.  Whilst on a roll a with finishing off old projects I decided to carry on with my 2nd mystery summer KAL rather than starting something new.  I'm enjoying doing a bit of knitting again after a lengthy spell of crochet.

We are going away next Monday so it would be nice to get this one finished so I can take something new on holiday.

For this weeks other creations head over to Tami's Amis blog

A year of projects - week 2

A reminder of Year of Projects list

This is my first Sunday update post and I am already loving the Year of Projects. My brain has been ticking away all week 'will I finish the list, will I finish the list too soon, should I have added more / less..... and I really should have added the Babette blanket!!!!'   So, I have decided that if I do finish my list then I will make the a celebratory Babette blanket :-)  The project has been in my queue since 2008 and I spend many happy hours looking through all the gorgeous blankets people have created.  Until now I've never been able to decide what colours to use but Erin brought a painting home from playgroup this week and the first thing I thought when I saw the paint splodges was 'Babette colour palette'.  Over the next few months I shall be hunting out the colours to match the painting

A vibrant splash of electric blue and green, a shimmer of gold and a background of rich autumnal colours.

Apologies back to the actual list!!!!  I have completed a project - my Moroccan Tile Afghan  This has been a 9 year WIP and I am over the moon to finally get my act together for that last push.  Feel cross with myself that it has been stored away for the last few years and its only now that we can enjoy it.

My next project is to finish my summer KAL shawlette and make a start on a party dress.

Quilting WiP Wednesday 6th July 2011

I have just discovered this amazing quilting blog full of beautiful inspirations so I thought I would add my current quilting project.  I'm making a disappearing 9 patch quilt for each of my girls for Christmas - a single bed and cotbed sized quilt.  My eldest requested light pinks, light blues and light purples despite me trying to swing her towards more vibrant colours lol.  So I have gone with these fabrics:

Sold some old clothes on ebay and have saved enough money to buy myself a large cutting mat and 24x6 quilting ruler :-)  They have made life so much easier than struggling with a steel rule and A3 mat!!  My first 3 nine patches are now sewn and cut.  The single sized quilt will have the the centre pink fabric for all of its small squares and I've used a blue polka dot for the centre pieces on the cot bed quilt.

Do you ever get bored of cutting and creating these amazing blocks?










Enjoying playing with patterns.  Looking forward to getting all the patches sewn and cut so I can play with the final design.  Thankfully my other half has a good eye for these things so I might leave that job to him.


Pop over to Freshly Pieced to admire some quilting and needlework beauties

WIP Wednesday 6th July 2011

Welcome July!!!  These WIP Wednesdays certainly make the week fly by.  Its another sunny but breezy Wednesday after a hot and muggy few days.  Progress really is slow when the weather is too sticky.  Had a lovely day at the beach on Sunday though with a roast beef picnic followed by scones, strawberries and clotted cream yum :-)

I love little feet :-)






Anyway onto my WIP.  My blanket is nearly a FO - finally sewn all the ends in and whipstitched it together just the border to do now.  I'm still wondering what sort of border to add as I don't really like the scalloped edge one from the pattern.  Hoping that it will be finished either for FO Friday or for my first Year of Projects update on Sunday.  Not really sure where the blanket is going to live.  I started it 9 years ago to cover a very old and shabby navy sofa that we had, since then we've had 3 other shabby sofas and the one we are on to now doesn't really show off the blanket.  It was laid out as a rug on the front room floor last night and feels lovely to walk over in bare feet - those double treble crochet stitches are very textured!!!

on our current sofa - it doesn't do it justice

I hope this wednesday finds you well.  Pop over to Tami's Amis blog to see what everyone else is up to this week :-)

A year of projects - come blog a long (week 1)

I posted earlier in the week about 'A Year of Projects' and have now decided upon my list.  It is a mixture of WIP's and some projects from my ravelry queue.  The new projects will be made using my current yarn stash. 

The WIP's:

Josie's Genevieve Sweater
The bodice is complete and I am half way through the skirt.  Needing lots of encouragement to finish this one otherwise she'll be too big for it!

Rainbow Heart Doilies
I have 5 of these completed now and would like to finish the set to frame.

Summer Mystery KAL
Only chart 3 and finishing left on this one.  Without the momentum of the KAL group its hard to keep motivated.

Moroccan Tile Square Afghan
Only 5 squares left to sew in the ends and then whipstitch to the final piece.  Still deciding on the border.

Cable Knit Bag
I started this a long time ago and its over half finished.  Its not my thing (not sure why I ever started it!!!) and its horrible to knit.  Havent picked it up in about 6 years but it seems a shame not to finish it.  We'll see what happens!




The new in the ravelry queue projects:

Vintage Pansy Doily
I have this planned as a birthday present

Bebop Cardi
This is a stash buster project.  One for each of the girls hopefully

Attic 24 jar jacket
Inspired by my poor sweet peas in an undressed jar!!!  Jars are being saved ready for their jackets.

In threes cardi
Another stash buster for the girls

Attic 24 star decorations
So cute!

Ermeline coat
This is supposed to be a quick crochet project and I love it.  Would like to size it up to fit me :-)

Traveling Woman
I seem to have picked lots of crochet projects so evening it out with a more complicated knitting project.

Granny no square bag
From the Happy Hooker.  Always admired this pattern in the book.









WOW thats a list and a half :-) but hopefully the crochet projects will be quick ones so I can spend longer on the knitting projects.  Every sunday there will be an update as to how each project is progressing through the year.  Follow me and the other blog alongers on ravelry