The pig wot knits

mostly hats

2011-12-07T13:22:00.004Z

Hello! Still here, still knitting. This month I have been mostly knitting hats, or at least things to go on heads. And a few other things, but here are the hats:

A cowl for me

OK, not a hat, but headgear. This is Ice Queen from Knitty. The yarn is Manos Lace (and that's where I bought it) and it's as soft and gorgeous and you'd expect for a baby alpaca/cashmere/silk yarn. :) I made this to wear at a wedding last weekend. Didn't actually end up wearing it much, mostly because I was wearing a big flower on my head and putting another layer over the top looked silly. I'm not actually sure how much I'll wear it. Lovely and snuggly as a cowl, but not quite the glamorous snood I wanted it to be. It's a bit more Babushka than old Hollywood, I think. Maybe I should have made it looser?

A beautiful hat

This is Nettie (ravelry link) by Katie White, part of her Sweet Little Somethings collection (9 patterns, released in installments. 5 are out so far). The yarn is Artesano Superwash Merino from The Sheep Shop, the new and exciting LYS in Cambridge (they have lots of lovely things).
I totally love this hat! I've always wanted a proper cloche hat, but I've got a big head, so commercially made felt hats tend not to fit me. This has the right shape and the lines, the ruching and the little (removable) bow, make it just right. My only criticism is that my bow is more floppy than I'd like, but that's possibly my fault for not actually knitting at the right gauge. I didn't swatch, just started with the suggested needles in the largest size. This would have made an enormous hat (I stopped before I finished the brim). So I measured my gauge (18 stitches to 4 inches instead of 22) and decided to stick with the needles (4mm) and make the smallest size, which fits beautifully. Of course, had I made the bow at the proper gauge, it might have been a little stiffer.

A hat in progress

This is a hat to match the mittens in this post (now also competed). The pattern is Anemoi Hat, a free one made to match Eunny Yang's Anemoi mittens which I totally ought to buy because they're beautiful. I semi-followed it, adding in a few things like the braids. I like the lower one, but the upper one sticks out too much when wearing it, so I'm going to rip back and redo it without. Once Christmas knitting is out of the way. :) Yarn is Colinette Jitterbug. I do like Jitterbug's semi-solids for colourwork.

An exciting hat (and socks)

A simple hat and socks for my sister's very soon to be arriving baby. (She's been having twinges all day, so (s)he should be here very soon!)
The yarn is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino DK, I think. Both on 3.5mm needles. 72 stitches diameter hat, made up the pattern as I went along using Fibonacci numbers for the stripes. Improvised socks. :) I hope they fit! We'll find out very soon.

Lots more finished and on the needles to show off, but I think I'll leave it at that for today. What's on your needles?

what I have been knitting

2011-06-07T13:10:00.003+01:00

The Noro sock dilemma is still unresolved. But I have been knitting other socks. I jumped on the Yarn Harlot's bandwagon and made some Edwardian Boating socks.

They are very pretty.

I'm rather in love with the little Vs - like rowers on the river.

Pattern: Edwardian Boating Socks (Rav link) by Emma Haigh.

Yarn: 1.33 skeins of Colinette Jitterbug in Alizarine.

Needles: 3mm circs and dpns.

Modifications: I added stitches to make the circumference 72 stitches instead of 64 by changing the linen stitch panels to 8 rather than 6 stitches. The heel flap, turn, gussets etc were adjusted accordingly.

Thoughts: Pretty pattern, and easy to memorise. Eats yarn though. Combined with the shortish yardage of Jitterbug, that mean one sock took 2/3 of a skein.
As written, the heel turn makes an 11 stitches wide rectangle, rather than the normal widening trapezium shape. I assumed this was a mistake and added in the missing k1/p1 after each ssk/p2tog.
It seems to be impossible to prevent Alizarine from pooling at some point. I like the narrow striping on the leg, less keen on the wider pooling/striping on the foot. The second skein (on the LH of the pic above) is noticeably brighter than the first and seemed to pool more.

So, on the whole I like them. That's one more pair of socks for winter wear and 1.33 fewer skeins of sock wool in my stash. Rob will be pleased. :)

sock dilemma

2011-05-03T13:13:00.003+01:00

I have finished (bar the weaving in ends and blocking) a Noro sock.
It doesn't fit. Well, it does, but it's a squeeze to get it onto my foot. The knitted fabric is also a bit stiff and dense for my liking. I'm wondering if it would have been better on 3mm needles. So do I:

1. Persevere, knitting the second sock to match. Blocking might relax the fabric a bit and make it a little bigger. If not, I give the socks away to someone with slightly smaller feet.

2. Rip and reknit on larger needles. A 64 stitch sock on 3mm needles fits me when I use Colinette Jitterbug. It might work for Noro. (NB, I really should have swatched, shouldn't I? But I tend to treat the toe as a swatch for socks.)

3. Rip and reknit on the same needles, but using 68 or 72 stitches. (72 initially looked too wide, which was why I went down to 64. I wish I'd used 68 instead though).

Thoughts?

What I'm up to

2011-04-23T20:14:00.002+01:00

Noro stripey sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I'm still knitting. I've several things on the go. This is the most frequently knitted on.

It's a toe up sock, in Noro Silk Garden Sock, shade no. 87 (better record it while I can still find the ball band) in four row stripes, alternating opposite ends of the ball. I'm carrying the yarn up the inside, trying to weave it in nicely so the tension's right. I'm also minimising the jog by picking up the stitch below the first stitch on the second round of the new colour and knitting it together with the first stitch. Makes more sense with pictures, I think. This is it.

I love watching the colours change. It makes knitting a plain sock (which I almost never do) that bit more exciting. The red line you can see is where the afterthought heel will go. I want to make a stripey heel, with stripes that go all the way round (like the toe) so an afterthought heel was the way to go.

Also on the needles: a February Lady Cardigan (Ravelry link), mittens (still), a 4 ply Honeycomb Henley (Ravelry link). I think that's it. Oh and a 3 dimensional scarf thing. Must take some pictures of it.

More Christmas knitting

2011-03-06T09:30:00.003Z

I loved knitting this!

Pattern: Ella Funt by Flint Knits

Yarn: The main purple colour is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. The patterns are made of various scraps of DK I had around.

Mods: None. I knitted the 18-24 months size.

As you can see, it's a bit big on Sophia here. She was 14 months then. She's 17 months now. I'm hoping it'll fit for a good long while.

More notes and pics on Ravelry.

knee high stripes

2011-02-21T12:55:00.002Z

As per usual, I've got several projects on the go at the moment: mitten 2 of a pair of stranded colourwork mittens, a cabled cardigan which has sleeves and most of the hem of the body but has got stuck because the pattern's odd, a lightweight probably short sleeved (I'll see how the yarn goes) jumper (sweater) in 4ply which is going very slooooowly and this sock, which is getting most of the knitting love.

I gave up on the cabled cardigan when it got too complicated to knit while watching tv and started a 2x2 ribbed sock instead. As I have 2 100g balls of the yarn (Wendy Happy) in the same colourway (I've got a couple more too), I thought I'd try a pair of knee high socks. I got to the top of the last yesterday and I'm pleased.

The yarn was a gift, one for a birthday, one from Christmas I think. It wouldn't have been my choice for sock yarn - it's bamboo (rayon) with 25% nylon. Obviously designed for socks, the self-striping pattern is probably optimised for 64 stitches, but looks ok on this (which are 72 in the foot and grow to 120 at the calf). It seemed a bit thin and not at all bouncy/stretchy, hence the decision to knit it in rib. Knitted up, it's not bad. It's cooler than wool. I can imagine wearing these in spring/summer with a red or pink cotton skirt. The yarn's a bit splitty, which is a con when knitting in front of the telly (mostly watching Alias with Rob), but it's fun watching the colours change.

Not sure what happened in the middle of the leg - there's suddenly an extra long orange and red bit. It wasn't a break, the yarn was continuous. There were a couple of knots, where I removed a section to make the colours continue as if there hasn't been. Oddly, both of the sections I took out looked like a whole red section. It's like this yarn wants to be red. I prefer the pink/coral/purple sections.

New skills: first time adding calf shaping. I used The Keyboard Biologist's handy calculation tips. Could probably have worked it out myself, but it's nice to have your hand held.
I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off at the top, which does what its name suggests. It's simple to execute and very stretchy. I'm not sure whether I like how it looks, unstretched, but when it's on it looks fine, which is what you want.

On to sock 2. Further notes are on Ravelry.

Christmas knitting

2011-02-18T11:55:00.002Z

Oh dear, I've neglected this blog rather, haven't I?

While I work out what to do with it, here are Christmas knittings.

This cute hat was for the small daughter of anime loving friends.

Pattern: Top-down bonnet with Anime Character by Adrian Bizilia

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

Can't remember the needle size. The features were embroidered on rather than crocheted as a. I couldn't find a suitably sized crochet needle and b. I'm better at embroidery than crochet. Just.

Cute hat and mitten set! I improvised the mittens to match the hat.

Pattern: Scrappy Gems Fairisle Hat (Ravelry link) Modded a bit to make it deeper. The top pattern is made by going from row 37 back to row 16.

Yarn: scraps of DK leftover from other things.

This was almost my first attempt at stranded colourwork. (previously I used it to make little sheep on socks). I enjoyed it so much I decided to try something a little more ambitious.

So, here is my first completed stranded colourwork mitten.

The main pattern is Swirly Mittens. I started with this 2 colour cast on, did the cuff in corrugated rib and then a Latvian braid.

I'm using Colinette Jitterbug on a 3mm circular needle. This mitten clearly needs a good blocking. The first mitten came together pretty quickly in the days after Christmas. (It was a good distraction from excruciating back pain.) Mitten 2 is at the thumb gusset stage and has been for about 6 weeks. I got distracted by other things which are easier to knit while watching TV and haven't gone back to it. It's getting too warm for mittens now anyway, so I suspect I shan't finish it for ages. Mind you, if I ever do finish, I suspect I won't wear them much.

Mitten 2 is also noticeably smaller than mitten 1. I seem to have tightened up as I get better (or more blase) at dealing with two yarns. I'm hoping it won't be too much of a difference and that blocking will sort it. Maybe?

false start

2010-11-12T15:41:00.005Z

soon to be frogged, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is the cuff of a Kingdom glove I started a few days ago, but am about to frog.

There are several reasons for this.

1. The yarn (Colinette Jitterbug in Purple Tan) is just too busy for the intricate cables. It's too varied in colour to be a true-semi solid, but it's not highly variegated, so I thought it might work. However, having knitted a bit, you just can't see the cables properly. And if you're going to put in all the work to make tiny intricate cables, you want to be able to see them.

2. Jitterbug is just too dense at this gauge. I haven't actually measured my gauge (naughty!) but I'm knitting it on 2mm needles. I usually knit socks in Jitterbug on 3mm needles, where it's much happier. It might be OK on 2.5mm, but on 2mm it's just too stiff. I suspect this contributes to...

3. It's hurting my arms to knit it. All those tiny little cables are just too much for my wrists and elbows. Probably compounded by the fact that I've not felt very well this week (a cold making me feel woozy) and concentrating on knitting cables is hard work when your brain is fuzzy.

So, time to frog and move on. Lovely pattern, gorgeous yarn, just not the right combination.

On the plus side, I've been looking for a cable pattern that turns a right angle and this pattern has one on the cuff. It's not quite what I want for the project I have in mine (a hooded cardigan with a cabled edging that runs along the bottom, turns a corner to go up the fronts and then edges the hood) but it gives me some idea of how one might work.

Birthday cardigan

2010-10-11T16:30:00.005+01:00

My little niece, Sophia, aka Tiny, was 1 year old last week. I made her a birthday cardigan and yesterday Rob and I went down to my parents' for lunch and got to hand it over in person. This is what happened.

Ooh look, a present.

Mummy had better help open it.

I think she likes it. :)

Pretty posing.

The details:

Started: 8 September

Finished 30 September

Pattern: Maggie's Flower Tunic by Nancy Barrett with the addition of sleeves.

Mods: The sleeves and an i-cord bind off in the contrast colour on hem and sleeves.

Yarn: Adriafil New Zealand Multicolour. Under half a ball of the purple colourway and just over a ball of the rainbow pastel colourway. The yarn was a lovely gift from friends when I was in hospital.

Needles: 4.5 mm circulars

Buttons came from Sew Creative. I wish I'd made it bigger. It's sized for an 18months child, but Sophia, like the rest of our family, is on the large side for a one year old. In future I need to take this into consideration! It fits now, though the sleeves are a little short, but I suspect it won't for long.

Ravelled here

I'm working on a hat to semi-match.

The pig wot got married - the dress

2010-07-13T14:49:00.007+01:00

I'd always thought I'd make my own wedding dress. I knew it would test my sewing skills, but I like a challenge. However, the experience of making 4 bridesmaids's dresses for my sister's wedding made me rethink the idea. Even a simple dress takes lots of work to make it look good, the materials alone cost a lot and I decided I didn't really need the extra stress. So, a complete DIY was out of the question.

Then there was the matter of what sort of dress I wanted. I toyed for a long time with the idea of knitting myself an off-white Elfin Bride with beads, and wearing it over a corset and swishy skirt. I still want to knit Elfin Bride someday, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't have enough time to knit it in secret and I wasn't sure about getting it to fit as I wanted. My weight's fluctuated a lot over the last couple of years and I wasn't sure, even with a corset, I could get the tight fitting look I wanted without it being too tight.

Enter Wedding Bee. Where I came across beautiful lace dresses. Of course I now can't find the ones I fell in love with, but they were all lace, long and sleek in silhouette, often with a deep v neckline, no ruching or weird pick ups, just yards and yards of lace skirt and trains. I was in love. I also had no idea how I was going to find such a dress in a bridal shop, let alone afford one. I didn't want to spend hundreds and thousands on a dress, but I did want to feel like a bride.

Thus, I arrived at eBay. One night, having had a brief chat with some friends about looking for wedding dresses, I decided to have a search on eBay. I was vaguely looking at lace and/or vintage style dresses, wondering what I could find. There were very few all lace dresses, in fact I think I only found one. It looked good, the right necklace and a gorgeous waterfall train of lace ruffles - just enough ruffles to make the back gorgeous, but not enough to overwhelm the overall shape. I bid, not really expecting to get it, but reasoning that if by some chance I did, if it didn't work, I'd resell it. A few days later, I won, and not even at my maximum bid.

A few days later, she arrived, folded up in a box, all ruffly and lacey and ivory and beautiful. I tried her on at once and was instantly in love. This was my dress, for sure! She didn't quite fit, in fact getting the dress to go over my hips was impossible, but I figured I'd lose some weight with 6 months or so to go. This was wishful thinking!

Over the next few months, I kept looking at wedding dresses. Not totally seriously, but wondering if I should have a back up plan in case my slimming into the dress plan failed. But my dress was still there, waiting in her box. I knew, however much I looked, I wouldn't find anything I loved as much. A month or so before the wedding, it was obvious I wasn't going to fit into my dress as she currently was. A drastic plan was needed. While looking up how to make a bustle, I found advice on how to let out dresses, including the advice to create a lace up back. Lightbulb! At that point, my dress had a zip with little buttons alongside it. Easy to do up, in theory, but less forgiving of a variation in size. A post on an OBB forum gave me exactly the information I needed to make a lace-up back happen.

With less than a month to go, I went home to my parents' for a few days, where my dress was being stored, shopped in John Lewis and my new favourite haberdashery MacCulloch and Wallis and set about making my dress fit. I took out the side seams, almost all the way down and let them out as far as I could, removed the zip and created lacing loops along the centre back seam. I was pretty desperate and not at all sure it was going to work, until the moment when my mum laced me into the newly altered dress for the first time and suddenly, it all came together. It wasn't a perfect fit, but was it good enough and way better than it had been at first.

When it came to the time to put on my dress for real, I felt gorgeous! The dress hugged my curves in all the right places, swished at the bottom and trailed behind me beautifully. At my mum's insistence I added some tulle to the front neckline, making it a little less decollete. On the day, I felt beautiful and I felt like myself. What more could you want?

In lots of ways, I struck lucky. I didn't venture into a bridal shop, apart from a brief look at Oxfam's bridal shop in Cambridge, so hadn't even thought about the shapes that suited me. I was shopping based on fabric, rather than shape per se, and didn't really realised how fitted my dress was until I got it. In the event, I think the mermaid/fishtail/trumpet shape suits me well. The style is Begonia by Marylise. The few photos I've seen online really don't do it justice. I'm so happy I had the confidence to do the alterations that needed to be done. The overall cost was much less than the fairly modest amount I'd budgeted for it and there's no way I could have made something similar from scratch for that price. I've not seen a dress like it in the weddings I've been to recently, which makes me quietly happy. So, even if I didn't make it myself, I ended up with a dress that was unique, beautiful and very me.

Photos by Dave Routledge.

The pig wot got married - wedding shawl

2010-06-22T15:41:00.002+01:00

I was going to post about this at a point when it fitted into the story of our wedding day as told on my other blog, but a couple of people asked and I can't resist showing off. Here is my wedding shawl, in one of my favourite photos from our wedding day, taken on the portico of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

The pattern is Aeolian by Elizabeth Freeman, which seems to be a popular patten for wedding shawls, judging by Ravelry.

The yarn is a 4 ply silk I bought several years ago from Fyberspates. It's gorgeously soft and shiny, blocks beautifully and was the perfect colour to complement my ivory dress, purple shoes and purple and pink flowers. I didn't have quite enough to cast off, as the pattern uses a double strand, so I went stash-diving again and came up with a small quantity of aran silk from HipKnits, left over from this scarf. The weight of the aran is a little heavier than 2 strands of 4ply, but not much. The colours are similar to the body of the shawl, but darker, giving an extra pop of colour to the wavy edge.

In this photo (ignore my windswept hair and veil), you can see the beads better. They're creamy pearly beads, size 6, I think. Looks like I neglected to record where exactly I bought them. This was my first time knitting with beads and it wasn't as hard as I'd feared. I don't think I'd like to tackle the sort of project where you have to start by threading all your beads onto your yarn, but placing each one on the right stitch with a thin crochet hook was not too fiddly and very satisfying.

I'm very very pleased with the result. The shawl actually didn't get much wear on the day. I didn't put it on until after the group photos when we went off on our own for some more pictures and, once we got to the reception, I didn't need it for warmth. But it will always be my wedding shawl and when I wear it again (which I will, unlike the dress) I'll remember our wedding day and smile.

Photos by Dave Routledge.

too tired to KIP

2010-06-12T16:39:00.002+01:00

It's World Wide Knit in Public day. Well, strictly speaking it's the beginning of the WWKIP season, which runs from 12th to 20th June. I planned to join my fellow Cambridge KToggers on Parkers Piece at 1pm this afternoon. But I was so tired, I slept most of the morning and didn't get dressed until 2pm. So I shall be KIP-ing at some other time and place this week, probably whenever I think of it.

Where are you KIP-ing?

well, that's one way to de-stash

2010-06-04T19:11:00.002+01:00

Ever since the weather got warmer, we've been finding moths around our flat. They're little brown ones which look like scraps of brown paper. When I was away last weekend, Rob went on a determined hunt and killed all the moths he could find. For a few days, we were moth-free, but I knew it wouldn't last. They must be breeding in the flat somewhere. Killing off all the adults we could find wasn't getting to the source of the problem.

Today I found it. I was searching for an elusive 3.5mm circular needle to swatch with. I wasn't having much luck, so I took all my wool bags and baskets off the top shelf and started to rootle them. Imagine my horror on finding my baskets of oddments full of little grey-ish specks and papery cocoons. I squished one of the cocoons and found it full of sliminess - a definitely active clothes moth larva. :( Many of my odd balls were full of cocoons and eggs and some were chewed into short lengths.

Three wicker baskets full of oddments have now gone straight off to the bins (which are outside and a distance from the building). I've had a look through the other bags of wool that were up there and they look ok, but I don't think I want to risk it. I've put some precious whole skeins in the freezer (including my gorgeous honeymoon yarn), but I suspect that I shall just ditch much of the rest. It's mostly oddments, odd balls and partial skeins, although there's a large-ish amount of Rowan 4ply soft I'm hoping to make into a short sleeved jumper that I don't want to bin.

Fortunately, my stash isn't enormous. I've got maybe half a dozen balls/skeins of sock wool, my honeymoon laceweight, the Rowan, a couple of things I've got 4 or 5 balls of (left over from jumpers) and then oddments, which I doubt I''ll miss. I hope this will teach me to keep my stash small, and to keep it in sealed plastic bags, not open wicker baskets.

Next, a grand search of the rest of the flat. Starting with the laundry basket which has several dirty woollen items which have been waiting a while to be washed. I fear the worst. :S

The pig wot got married - bridesmaids

2010-06-02T17:54:00.002+01:00

I'm posting about my wedding on my other blog. I thought I'd post here about the things I made and bought in terms of clothes and decorations. Let's start with my lovely bridesmaids.

Here's Liz, in red, with Hannah (pink) and Debs (purple) just about visible behind her. They're all wearing the same dress, which is by Teatro and no longer seems to be online anywhere. All their dresses were bought on eBay. I wanted my bridesmaids to be dressed similarly, but not the same. I liked the idea of having many shades of pink, red and purple as my colour scheme. I didn't want to be stressing about finding exact colour matches for everything. If it was pink, red or purple, it was great! Having said that, within the BMs' outfits, there was a bit of colour matching to do, although some of it came about serendipitously.

The fascinators were the first thing I matched. I love fascinators, they're so much fun to wear. These ones came from Debenhams in the January sales. I think I paid full price for one, but the others were marked down by about 70%. They're all different and all (except the purple one) match the dresses perfectly.

The girls wore their own necklaces and shoes. The only stipulation I made about shoes was that Liz (who is shorter than me) could wear heels but Debs and Hannah couldn't. :) Debs wore some purple flats she already owned and Liz found some bargainous red LK Bennett heels for £5 in a charity shop.

The last thing I realised was that I needed to keep my bridesmaids warm. As I was knitting myself a shawl, I liked the idea of all of us wearing Bekki-knitted wraps or shawls, but I didn't really have the time to knit three more. A rummage through my wardrode produced two Clapotis - one in purple which perfectly matched Debs' dress and a second in purple and pink, which while not a perfect match, went well with Hannah's pink. The solution was obvious - knit a third Clapotis in red for Liz.

In the end, I don't think they wore them very much. These seem to be the only photographs in which all three bridesmaids are wearing their wraps. But it was pleasing to have us all wearing eBay-ed dresses and hand-knitted shawls.

Baby Fimble cardigan

2010-04-29T10:29:00.002+01:00

FO: aka Fimble cardigan, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

It's been a while! I have wedding knitting to share, but first, let's catch up on pre-wedding FOs.

This is one of several baby cardigans I made at some point between November and February. Two were this colourway for baby girls and one was red and yellow for a bump of unknown gender who turned out to be a boy. I picked these colours first of all for my niece, because they looked so scrummy together. It was only when I was well into the body that I realised they matched Baby Pom from the Fimbles. Unintentional, but still pretty.

Yarn: Rico Design Baby Classic DK (Just under one ball of each colour per cardigan)

Needles: 3.5mm (ribbing) and 4mm (stocking stitch) circulars

Pattern: Top down raglan, made up by me. Fuller pattern on Ravelry.

Buttons came from Sew Creative. In terms of knitting time, it didn't take very long. I think the first one was knitting in 2 or 3 days. Quick and cute.

woolly bride

2010-03-01T09:45:00.002Z

woolly bride, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

What do you do at a hen party* for a knitter? You dress her up in a wedding outfit made up of many many knitted items. :)

This was the end result of a game in which my friends all brought knitted items to the party which were gradually pinned on to make me a woolly wedding outfit. I had to guess the answers given by Rob to questions about our relationship. If I got the question right, I got to choose and pin on an item. If I got it wrong, the person reading out the question did. The final ensemble was very colourful and very warm. Note the awesome bouquet made out of bobble hats and gloves. (And Bendy Bob, who escaped from 'The Big Taboo'). Maybe if it's freezing cold in 19 days' time, I'll wish I was wearing something like this?

*US: Bachelorette party.

Not dead - busy

2010-02-08T11:34:00.001Z

Hello there. I am still alive, and still knitting. Most of my knitting projects are wedding related, though there's a batch of baby cardigans and some socks I could show off.

My wedding shawl is finished, but not blocked, but I'm not going to show if off until after the wedding, I think. Will try to post a few FOs this week, but after that, I think I'm going to be in wedding-prep land. :)

Roll on 20th March! (40 days to go).

wedding shawl beginnings

2009-10-29T16:08:00.002Z

Wedding shawl swatches, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

It's time to do some knitting for me! I originally planned to make my own wedding dress, but having made bridesmaids' dresses over the summer, I decided I could do without the stress. So instead I bought one from eBay, which may need some adjustments (and I need to lose weight to get into it), but it is beautiful and I couldn't possibly make something like that myself. So instead, I will knit myself a wedding shawl. I'm getting married in March, it's bound to be a little chilly and a beautiful shawl is the perfect way to keep warm.

Some searching on Ravelry and posting on the Cambridge Ktog board lead me to Aeolian. Now I need to decide on a yarn. I originally thought I'd make something cream/offwhite, but talking to people made me think about colour. Then I found this silk 4ply yarn in my stash. It's softly variegated in shades of lilac and pink - perfect for my colour scheme and the romantic lace of my dress.

I love the colour and the feel of it. The only problem with it is that so far, I havent found beads which fit onto the yarn. I've got sime size 9s and size 8s, both are too small. If I found some beads which fitted, went with the colours (I'm thinking either a pearly bead or a metallic/pearly lilac), I'd go with this yarn.

There's also a laceweight option.

This is some hand-painted laceweight I acquired at the most recent stash swap. I think it came from Jackie and was painted by Heather? I should probably message them to check. If so, I could ask Heather to dye me some in similar soft colours to the silk. The beads on it are (L-R) pearly lilac, pearly cream and a metallic darker purple.

Of course, neither of these swatches have been near my dress yet. I'm going to my parents' house where my dress is hiding this weekend, so I shall take my swatches, see what goes and go from there. So, what do you think? Which yarn? Which beads? Decisions, decisions.

tiny February baby jacket

2009-10-20T10:07:00.003+01:00

February baby jacket, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is my favourite thing I've knitted so far for Tiny. I started it in January, before I knew my sister was pregnant. The yarn was a freebie from Yarn Forward magazine and it just seemed to fit with the pattern. Then when Debs found she was pregnant, it had to be for her baby. And here she is, finally and it fits.

Yarn: Merino wool, reward for renewing my subscription to Yarn Forward magazine. (Looking at my ravelry notes, it's called Sensation. 100g, 300m).

Needles: 3.25mm circulars

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby sweater on two needles (Ravelry link), with gull lace as she suggests.

I followed the directions, which mostly made sense to me. I think I had to redo the button holes near the top when I realised what she meant - button holes every 7 garter ridges, I think. It's such a beautiful pattern! I can see why so many people knit them. Purple buttons came from John Lewis. I love the contrast between yellow and purple, it makes both colours pop. More baby clothes should be in bright colour combinations!

tiny kimono

2009-10-20T09:58:00.002+01:00

tiny kimono, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

More baby knitting!

Tiny was beginning to get a little grumpy here. This was the second garment I'd tried on her.

Yarn: More hand-dyed sock wool from Hay on Wye. Now identified by Anne as being from Wool and Willow and dyed by Jenny Cook.

Needles: 3.5mm (I think)

Pattern: Clementine's Baby Kimono by Diana Jones

Mods: None in the knitting. I finished it with three purple buttons (one inside) and sewn button loops instead of ribbons.

I like the construction of the kimono, though the ribbing will need blocking each time it's washed. It looks pretty cute, I think. Ribbons would probably make it more adjustable, they just seemed a bit fiddly.

tiny socks

2009-10-19T11:30:00.003+01:00

tiny socks, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I have been knitting. Mostly for my little niece, blogname Tiny, who was born on 7th October. This was taken on her first evening at home. She has enormous feet, so I don't think these socks will fit for long. :)

Yarn: Hand-dyed sock yarn bought in Hay on Wye. I've now lost the ball band, so can't tell you the name of the dyer.

Needles: 2mm circs

Pattern: Better than Booties Baby Socks by Anne Budd. (Ruffle rib version)

Started and finished: sometime in September 09

The blanket you can just see was made for me when I was a baby by some relative or other (not quite sure who. There are various knitters in my family. Even my dad has been known to knit). It's lovely to see it being used for the first of the next generation.

wedding cake

2009-08-25T11:43:00.002+01:00

wedding cake, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This was a joint effort. The bottom tier is fruit cake made (in a bucket) by my mum and Hannah's now husband Steve. The upper tiers are chocolate (made to this recipe) made by me and my mum (the top layer was gluten-free for my dad and grandma). We covered the cakes with ready made icing and added lime green polka dots and brown ribbon.

The finished cake was very heavy and tricky to transport, but we did it. (Well, my mum and dad did). It looked good and tasted pretty good too.

bridesmaids' dresses

2009-08-19T15:42:00.003+01:00

bridesmaid, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Rather a lot of the past 6 weeks has been spent making bridesmaids' dresses. With a chocolate brown and lime green theme, it was the easiest way to get four dresses which (semi) matched. This is mine, which I spent most of the day hoiking up. Oops. Not as well fitted on the bust as it could have been.

The pattern is Vogue 7848. The fabric is (scarily expensive, but rather lovely) silk satin from Borovick's. I don't have pictures of all four of us, but here's Anna, along with my gorgeous sister Hannah.

My other sister Debs is 33 weeks pregnant, so she needed a different style of dress. This isn't the best angle, but you can see the empire line and straps of her dress (Burda 7630).

The silk was a little intimidating to cut and sew, but with some patience, fine pins and lots of tissue paper, I got the hang of it. It felt gorgeous to wear and looks pretty good in the photos I've seen. Debs felt a bit too hot, but I think she'd have been too hot whatever she wore. The silk sashes tended to slip very easily, of course. I'm pleased with my work, though it has put me off the idea of making bridesmaids' dresses for my own wedding. I want to make my own dress and I think I'm going to have enough on my plate without adding 4 more. Though maybe I'll make a dress for the smallest bridesmaid...

What I've been up to

2009-08-16T22:07:00.004+01:00

pom poms!, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

For the last few months, I have been mostly making these. My sister got married yesterday in a lime green and brown pom pom strewn wedding. We made a few hundred pom poms in different sizes to be used as decorations and thrown as confetti.

The inspiration came from this wedding blog - How engaging! - and this gorgeous post in particular. Way back when HP got engaged and started thinking about wedding colour schemes, she liked the idea of using chocolate brown and maybe lime green, but wasn't totally sure. I think showing her that blog helped her decide that it could work and was definitely a big influence on the final scheme. I'm going to blog some of the other things we made for the wedding, but if you can't wait, click through for some tasters on flickr.

Rob's socks are done

2009-05-09T11:49:00.002+01:00

Finished socks!, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

And he likes them.

Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Mardi Gras

Needles: 3mm circs

Pattern: toe up, 60 stitches, spirals made by slipping every 6th stitch every other round, flap heel, 1x1 rib.

Started: 9? April 2009

Finished: 5 May 2009

me in my dress

2009-04-28T13:07:00.002+01:00

me in my dress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is the finished result of my dress-making exercise. As you can see, the final dress is in a different fabric from my original. I decided the sheet I was using was far too thin, so turned it into the lining and used some bold flower fabric bought from Walthamstow market.

I'm very pleased with the result. It's the first time I've used boning and once I'd got over my fear, it was easy to use. I also used my machine's blind hem stitch for the first time. It's OK, though a bit of a fiddle. I'd use it again if I didn't have enough time for a hand-stitched hem or had yards and yards of hemming to do all at once.

Looking at this picture, I can see that the lining is showing a bit. I made it about 5mm shorter than the outer layer, but I think it needed more. Or some more careful adjustment of lengths. I was running out of time when I got to the hems and just wanted them finished. If I had had more time or patience, I would have tacked the hems, tried the dress on and got someone to help me with getting the length right, rather than judging it on my own with the dress on a hanger.

Overall, this project did what I wanted it to do - gave me some sewing practice, got me familiar with this pattern and how to make it fit and provided a finished dress I could wear to some friends' wedding. I now feel more confident that I can make the bridesmaids' dresses I offered to make and that they'll look good.

socks in progress

2009-04-15T16:10:00.003+01:00

socks in progress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've been knitting again. I stopped for a while thanks to tennis elbow, but I'm back, thanks to a visit to the Colinette mill shop on the way to North Wales.

The rainbow coloured socks are the result of that trip - bright coloured socks for my beloved.

The purple socks have been around for a while. I bought the yarn last summer (also at the Colinette shop). I decided to make socks with contrast heels and toes (and probably cuffs) to make the most of the yarn.

The lilac twisted flower socks have been causing me pain. The combination of dpns and little tiny cables does my wrist and forearm no good at all. If I find some 2.75mm circs, I'd far rather finish on them.

Further notes on flickr.

a change of craft

2009-03-18T09:02:00.002Z

All pinned on, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I haven't done any dressmaking for ages, but when HP asked me to be her bridesmaid in August, I jumped at the chance to make my own bridesmaid's dress. I'm using Vogue 7848 (as used by Jen). It's a simple style and similar to a dress I already have which suits me. I think it will suit the other bridesmaids too, and be simple to alter, if needed.

I'm trying it out with an old sheet and if this one goes well, I might wear it to a friend's wedding in April.

Of course, the trouble with old sheets is that some parts are significantly more worn than others. I cut the front centre panel out of the middle of the sheet since it's cut on the fold and I wasn't really thinking about it. This means that it is much paler and thinner than the panels surrounding it. If I weren't hoping to wear this dress, that wouldn't bother me too much. But I like it so far. I don't think there's enough fabric left over to cut another front panel, so I might just have to live with it.

Steve's socks

2009-03-11T16:46:00.002Z

Steve's socks, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I should have posted about these ages ago. They were a Christmas present for Steve (HP's fiance).

Pattern: Top down, 68 stitches, flap heel.

Needles: 2.5mm circs

Look at the little sheep! They're from the Looking Glass Knits Sheep Yoke cardigan.

This was my first serious attempt at stranded knitting. I'm pleased with it. The white portions were done as two colour stranded knitting and the black bits were added with duplicate stitch.

And most importantly, they fit and Steve likes them!

I made another hat

2009-02-21T14:31:00.002Z

Rob!, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Tee hee!

Pattern: Jayne Cobb's Family Hat by Carlynn Field

Needles: 6.5mm circs.

Yarn: Yellow: Biggan Design DK merino, Orange: Rowan Pure Wool DK, Pumpkin: Pure Wool by Stylecraft. All used double.

Started: 7 February 2009

Finished: 11 February 2009

It's a shame you can't see the fabulous pom pom the top of this hat! There are a few more pictures on Ravelry.

what the yarn became

2009-01-29T12:09:00.002Z

what the yarn became, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This was a very quick knit! I started it Tuesday night and finished yesterday.

Pattern: Cecile from Yarn Forward Issue 10.

Needles: 4mm and 4.5mm circs.

Yarn: Hand-dyed Aran from Liz.

Started: 27 January 2009

Finished: 28 January 2009

Notes: Knitted the 24" size as written, except for a tubular cast-on. The pattern as printed has errors. I didn't check the errata before starting, but noticed there was something wrong at the beginning of the patterned section. I was going to fudge it, but remembered to check and found the corrected cable chart. The pattern tells you to start with the smaller needles, but never tells you to change to the larger needles. The logical place to do this is after the ribbing, so that's what I did.

Love it!

Ooh look! Thank you Liz!

2009-01-27T11:49:00.003Z

from Liz - outside, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I entered Liz's end of year competition on her blog and I won a prize!

Mouseover to see what's inside!

And look closely at the label on the yarn.

Thank you Liz!

ouch!

2009-01-14T09:17:00.001Z

I think I may be not knitting for a bit. I've got a painful elbow, which I think is displaying all the symptoms of tennis elbow. Knitting seems to make it worse, so I think I'd better stay away from the needles for a bit. :-(

Grrrr.

Christmas knitting - HP's shawl

2009-01-08T09:51:00.002Z

HP's shawl - wing tips, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Christmas knitting has almost all now reached its recipients, so I can show you what I made.

This is a shawl for my little sister HP. It's actually been in my head for a while. The yarn was a subscription renewal gift from Yarn Forward magazine about a year ago. It's a cobweb weight cashmere/silk blend in lime green. HP likes lime green, so it had to be something for her. Then I found the Laminaria pattern in Knitty's Spring 2008 issue. Perfect marriage of yarn and pattern!

I started knitting at some point in the summer. I can't really remember when. I know it was beyond my powers of concentration for a bit when I was proper ill. I finished it in early December, just before I was going away for the weekend so could use my bed as a blocking surface.

I'm really pleased with the result. It's my first proper lace project (the previous ones have used 4-ply or thicker). There's one big mistake in the star stitch section which I couldn't work out how to fix, but it's not terribly obvious at first glance. I wanted to give it a proper photoshoot, but I forgot, and had to settle for a few snatched snaps, complete with lensflare. More on flickr.

oops, there went December

2008-12-23T20:44:00.005Z

Now despite the fact that I do now have a camera, I've still been a very bad knit blogger. In my defense, the things I've been knitting lately have mostly been Christmas gifts. I'll take pictures and post them after Christmas.

In the meantime, have a lovely Christmas, whatever you're doing, and I'll be back in the new year.

wisteria finished

2008-12-01T22:33:00.005Z

wisteria finished, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

My mummy wanted proof.

I'll post a better pic when I've taken one.

winter jumper

2008-11-10T10:12:00.002Z

winter jumper, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Here's what I'm mostly knitting now - a jumper (sweater/pullover) for me. The pattern is Wisteria by Kate Gilbert from Twist Collective. The yarn is gorgeous. It's Airedale Aran, a soft 3-ply Bluefaced Leicester yarn from Texere in a pinky-purpley colour called Berry. The yoke zipped along, all those beautiful cables and now I'm into the relatively boring body section, which makes good DVD watching or talking to friends knitting. I've got vague thoughts of trying to do NaKniSweMo and finish it by the end of November. Maybe. There are various bits of Christmas kntting which should probably be a higher priority though.

last month I was mostly knitting...

2008-11-01T10:56:00.002Z

small knitted boy, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

...this little guy.

He's a small boy who looks after a camel in a story book. He's to go in a 'truth sack' at church - sacks with a story book and some characters from the story. I followed a pattern for the body and hair and then made up the clothes. I think he's a pretty good likeness to his original in the story book. Click through to flickr to see if you agree.

cardigan sleeves

2008-10-16T08:30:00.002+01:00

ridiculously bright cardigan sleeves, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

As promised, photographic proof of progress. I think I need to work on my technique a bit, the colours are a little washed out. Still, the hand-dyed cardigan has sleeves.

newsflash!

2008-10-15T15:49:00.003+01:00

It's time to get this blog working again. The main thing preventing me blogging has been lack of digital camera. You can do a bit with a webcam and a phone, but it's not the same. Today I took delivery of a shiny Canon Ixus and soon, promise, there will be photos and posts once more in this somewhat dusty corner of the knitblogosphere.

Huzzah!

fake fox finished

2008-10-07T17:13:00.004+01:00

fake fox finished, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Done!

Pattern: Vegan Fox

Needles: 10mm circs, 6.5mm straights, 5.5mm dpns

Yarns: Duttons Yarn Ltd Fancy that (fringe), Patons Studio Mohair DK (soft plain bits), Stylecraft Eskimo (eyelash).

Notes: Simple, but effective. I think there's a line missing in the pattern. I added a row of knits between rows 2 and 3 of the body section. (Otherwise you would switch which side of the stocking stitch is the right side). I was surprised by how fast it knit up, but that is what happens when you use 10mm needles. Goggly eyes are stuck on with glue.

fake fox in progress

2008-10-07T12:17:00.002+01:00

fake fox in progress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've wanted an excuse to knit one of these for ages.

It's the Vegan Fox from Knitty.

hand-dyed cardigan in progress

2008-09-25T10:11:00.002+01:00

hand-dyed cardigan fronts, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is what the little strip of knitting in the last post has grown into. Onto the back next.

a pile of hand-dyed yarn

2008-09-22T09:25:00.002+01:00

a pile of hand-dyed yarn, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Terrible photo cos all I've got is PhotoBooth on my Mac (anyone want to buy me a digital camera for my birthday?). But here is the yarn I dyed with Rosie last weekend.

I'm turning it into a cardigan, or more likely the body of a cardigan in stripes of the different yarns. The narrow vertical stripe is to make the most of the short colour sections in the rainbow coloured yarn I dyed. I didn't like the mixture of colours when I wound it into a ball, but when they line up they're gorgeous. So, this is my first garment sized intarsia project (does it count as intarsia if it's all in one stripe?). I tried out my technique on a little hat last week. The bottom has a knitted in hem to keep it neat (first time I've done that on a large garment too, though I've done it on socks). I think I've got enough yarn to make 2 fronts and a back, with some left over to do little stripes on the sleeves. I'm not sure what the sleeves will be made from yet. Something plain, maybe more off-white aran, though I've not got many balls that match, or maybe something else. I'm basing the pattern on the Go-Everywhere, go with everything cardigan (Ravelry link) but since I've already deviated from that by changing the gauge, adding stripes and a hem, and will probably add a little waist shaping, it's really only a guide.

little tiny hats

2008-09-15T21:43:00.002+01:00

little tiny hats, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've been knitting tiny little hats for smoothie bottles.
They're for Innocent's Big Knit campaign.

You knit little hats, send them to Innocent, they put them on bottles and 50p goes to Age Concern for every be-hatted bottle sold. I meant to knit hats last year and the year before and never got round to it. This year, I've got nothing else to do (apart from looking for a job) so I'm doing something useful with my spare time and woolly leftovers.

(pic is reversed cos it's taken using Photo Booth)

hello there

2008-09-02T17:26:00.002+01:00

Daddy's hat - front, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Long time no knit! Sorry. Life got busy and I'm camera-less. Apart from the web-cam on my new (ish) Mac.

I have been knitting. There are various things in progress. And here's one I've just finished. It's a hat for my Daddy. I say finished, I've haven't woven in the ends in yet and he hasn't tried it on yet. But it looks like a finished object, so I thought I'd blog it.

Pattern: Greenery Hat by Lilith Parker

Needles: 4mm circs

Yarn: 2.5 balls of random off-white aran wool or wool blend from my grandma's stash.

Modifications: Increased to 120 stitches (one extra cable repeat round). 30 rows of ribbing for a big turn-up.

Notes: The pattern's well written, although I wish it had charts. Could always have made my own, I suppose. Once you get into it, the cable pattern becomes logical and I didn't really need to refer to the directions, except when it came to decreasing. All the decreases are written as k2tog. I switched some to ssk because I thought it looked neater. It's an easy pattern to tinker with, e.g. deciding on the amount of ribbing, adding or decreasing the number of cables horizontally or vertically to change the size. I'm toying with the idea of knitting a baby-sized one in 4-ply, or maybe the Calmer I've still got left over from Shedir.

Hannah hat for Hannah

2008-06-11T17:25:00.003+01:00

Hannah hat - back, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I'd forgotten this one.

This is my sister Hannah. She often wears hats and often wears her hair in a ponytail, so when I found a hat pattern which literally had her name on, I had to make her one.

Pattern: Hannah, from Magknits, December 2007. Now available as a Ravelry download.

Needles: 6mm circs.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Maya, leftover from the purple jacket.

Started and finished in April 2008.

Modifications. Yes. I didn't write down exactly what I did, but I know I added height to the crown.

Check out the funky green triangle buttons. More pics on flickr or ravelry.

my eleanoras

2008-06-05T20:35:00.002+01:00

my eleanoras, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I started them in October 2007 and I can't remember when I finished them. I was still knitting them in December 2007, I remember that. Anyway, they're done now.

Pattern: Eleanora by Miriam Felton

Needles: 2.25mm and 2.5mm circs

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Berry. A Christmas present in 2006 from Debs and HP.

Notes: Knitted exactly as written, on needles 0.25mm bigger than those suggested in the pattern, these come out exactly the right size for me. Which is very pleasing. I love the charting of the toe, it makes the patterning continue all the way to the end, decreasing gradually and logically. Which is also very pleasing. The only change I made was an eye of partridge heel rather than the straight slipped stitch heel specified. Just because I like it and it matches the texture of the not-stripy panels.

not dead; meme

2008-06-04T10:41:00.003+01:00

Still alive, still knitting, just about. There were a couple of horrible weeks when I couldn't even knit, but I seem to be past the worst now. Currently on the needles are the yoke of a Cobblestone, another Diamond Fantasy Shawl (actually I still can't concentrate enough to knit that) and some DNA spiral illusion knitting socks. Pics might appear if I can work out how.

Liz tagged me for a meme, so here you go.

The Rules
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago?
Sitting my A-levels, knitting on my Dr Who scarf in between revising and exams (it's a very long scarf in random bright colours rather than an accurate replica. I wore it almost constantly through my next three years at university.) Having lots of rehearsals at school to prepare for our music tour to Barcelona.

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today? (not in any particular order)
Go with Debs to collect her possessions from her dead car.
Empty the bins
Watch a performance by ARU drama students
Find the floor in my room
Do some back exercises

3. Snacks I enjoy
Dark chocolate
Brazil nuts
Hummous topped with olive oil and paprika

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire
Buy a pretty house in the country with a stable full of beautiful horses
Ride horses and read all over the world
Fund my PhD and set up a funding body to support other quirky little cross disciplinary ideas
Learn to sail little boats on beautiful lakes
Buy many many many books
Go on holiday with all my friends and family

5. Places I have lived
London
Oxford
Bath
Cambridge

I tag you, you and YOU! (if you want to)

cushion for H

2008-03-17T22:06:00.002Z

cushion front, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Now that it's reached its intended recipient I can show you this.

The tree are from Leaves in Relief. I've loved this pattern ever since I saw it, but didn't think it would really suit me as a jumper. The tree pattern makes a beautiful cushion.

This is for my friend H. It's backed in green to match her colour scheme.

Started: 10 March 2008. (Strictly speaking it was started on 7 March, but the first attempt came to a halt when I ran out of wool in that particular shade of off white. That's the trouble with going stash diving in a bag of various balls of unidentified off-white aran.)

Finished: 13 March 2008. (and that includes the sewing. I took it to work on Wednesday to work on in my breaks and then spent most of Thursday finishing it.)

Needles: 3.5mm circs.

It's more or less square. I left off the top leaves to make it a bit more square and then blocked it even squarer. A wet block would have done the job better, but I only had time to steam block. The edging is applied i-cord.

If I made this again I would swatch more thoroughly to make the panel properly square and calculate the right ratio for picking up stitches for the applied i-cord on the sides. Having said that, I'm really pleased with how this turned out and H likes it, so I'm happy. :-)

purple jacket finished

2008-03-06T11:24:00.003Z

purple jacket - cuffs up, collar down, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This one was pretty quick, really. Started some time in February, finished last night.

Pattern: Drops jacket 103-1 mostly, although the cuffs are adapted from Brompton by Alice Bell.

Yarn: 800g of Debbie Bliss Maya, colour 12.

Needles: 6mm straight and circs. (I started on straight because that was what I had, but it was far too heavy and uncomfortable so I bought some circs, which were much better.)

Notes: My gauge wasn't quite right, so I knitted the M size directions (of the finer gauge set of directions), but ended up with the L size. The cuffs were a last minute inspiration, but they suit the adaptable collar well. The buttons came from John Lewis. I think they're rather lovely.

The wool's a little bit itchy, so I suspect I'll wear the collar down more than up. I'm pleased with how glam this jacket looks. Sort of Russian or Elizabethan. More pictures on flickr or ravelry.

ETA: I knitted the body as written, but the sleeves were knitted circularly from the top down by picking up stitches round the armhole and using short rows to make the sleeve cap. I first saw this technique on a blog which now doesn't exist. Jenna Wilson's knitty article on sleeve caps has some pointers. I got to something I liked by trial and improvement.

This jacket's quite heavy, so (thanks to the Yarn Harlot's timely advice) I stabilised the shoulder and neck seams with crochet.

Ivy finished

2008-02-29T13:54:00.002Z

Ivy finished, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I got fed with the knitting blog being out of action, so I borrowed and camera and I've got lots to show you. Lots of FOs, mostly.

This is Ivy from Knitty. No idea what the looking down my nose facial expression is about. It was the best of the self-timer bunch.

Started: Er, sometime in 2007. Around the summer?

Finished: December 2007, I think.

Pattern: Ivy

Size: M (40"), I think.

Yarn: Yummy soft Jaeger Lambswool-Cashmere from my Grandma's stash. This was the third attempt at knitting it into a garment. It doesn't take kindly to being ripped and reknit, being quite soft.

Needles: 3.5mm circs

Modifications: Added some length to the body, which meant rejigging the deacreases on the fronts. Didn't make both ties as long as the pattern suggests as I decided I didn't want them to go all the way round.

I love this! I does what I wanted to do with the yarn - make something that felt special to wear. The navy is a little dark to see the twisted ribbing properly, but I think it's OK. If I made this pattern again I would alter the shoulders so that they're wider. Knitting and sewing on the neckband was a real fiddle. I don't think there's any way of getting round that. The yarn pills, being rather soft, but it does feel lovely.

wanting new stuff

2007-11-26T15:27:00.000Z

Sometimes I think the whole online knitting community is all about making you want stuff. New things to knit, new yarns to knit with or fondle, new techniques to try out. Perhaps.

Whatever your views on knitting as a consumer activity, it is true that I do want to knit something new. I have several projects on the needles in various stages of done-ness. Ivy needs half a tie and a neckband (and probably a good blocking). One Eleanora sock is halfway along the foot. One entrelac sock (inspired by domesticat's version, but in sock yarn oddments, so even more colourful. Possibly too colourful.) is nearly at the heel. One Bottoms-up top awaits sleeves and a yoke. I am in need of jumpers because it is cold. Once today's presentation (which is supposed to be consuming all my energies today) is out of the way, I will finish Ivy and then either do the maths and start on sleeves, or unravel an old and enormous jumper made from Colinette Point 5 and see how quickly I can turn it into a top-down raglan v-neck.

argh

2007-10-21T19:22:00.001+01:00

I have been knitting. I finished a pair of socks (Roza's socks, toe-up version) and the Bulky mini cardigan from Fitted Knits. I restarted Ivy in the beautiful navy cashmere yarn I've been trying to find a pattern to suit for ages and started a pair of Eleanora's socks for me.

And I haven't blogged about any of it because I am camera-less. A solution must be found.

come and find me

2007-09-18T10:42:00.000+01:00

I'm on Ravelry, as of yesterday.
I'm pigwotknits. Not much of my stuff on there yet, but there will be.

ETA: Of course, my invite arrived just as I've left work (well almost, my official last day is Thursday) and given back the digital camera I've been borrowing. I'm a bit stuck for pictures until I buy or borrow another one, or convince my phone to talk to this computer.

one for me, one for Piglet

2007-09-12T21:23:00.001+01:00

ribbed jumper for me, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've been knitting Bottoms Up from issue 1 of Yarn Forward for a while, it's 4ply so it's going rather slowly. I like it and it fits well, but I'm using Rowan 4ply soft which is Merino and rather warm, so I'm thinking that rather than following the pattern, I'm going to do my own thing and make it a long-sleeved v-neck jumper. I think I'd wear that more often than a short-sleeved top in very warm wool. My plan is to knit the arms next (using the same ribbing pattern) and then put it all on a longer circular needle and knit the yoke, with decreases up the front to make a v-neck. I want the vertical ribs to narrow towards the neck but I also want the front 2 central ribs to divide and continue all the way along the side of the V. Makes sense to me anyway. I thought I'd try it out on a Piglet-sized jumper first, so here he is.

ribbed jumper for piglet, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Started: 7 September 2007 Finished:9 September 2007

Pattern: Made it up

Yarn: Oddments of purple 4ply left over from Arisaig

Needles: 2.5mm circs

I must admit it doesn't fit very well, but it helped me work out what I wanted to do.

back to school vest FO

2007-09-03T11:00:00.001+01:00

back to school vest, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Started: July 2007

Finished: 2 September 2007

Pattern: Back to School U-neck vest from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel

Yarn: 300g Troon Tweed from Texere in Purple multi fleck. This is an oiled yarn, so needed a good wash once it was done. It still smells a little oily, so I might give it another wash.

Needles: 4.5mm and 4mm circs.

Modifications: Made the ribbing longer, made the neck line a little lower, added a couple of inches before the arm holes begin, put a little shaping at the shoulders and did a 3-needle cast-off instead of a seam.

I love the fit. It's a little warm to wear at the moment, but I think once it gets colder, I'll wear it a lot. Lots of the knitting was done on holiday in Cornwall, so there are some good memories knitted in. Plus I am going 'back to school' in a sense this month. I'm going to be a student again, doing an MA course in English. Hooray!

back to school vest closeup, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

update needed

2007-08-28T11:32:00.001+01:00

Hello there! I've been away on holiday. Looking around here, there's some updating needed. My list of work in progress is hopelessly out of date, the FO list needs some updating too. I've got one almost FO and a WiP at the point of deciding what it's going to be (short sleeve top as written or long sleeve top which would involve buying more yarn and making up the pattern, but which would probably be more useful), neither of which have really been blogged so far.

Pics and thoughts soon. Perhaps.

socks done!

2007-08-10T09:56:00.000+01:00

The sockapalooza socks are finished and currently drying off after a wash. I'll try to post a picture before I send them on their way and then take myself off on holiday for a couple of weeks.

ETA: Photographic evidence.

See ya!

sockapalooza arrival

2007-08-06T14:52:00.001+01:00

sockapalooza, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

My sockapalooza socks arrived. Thank you Carol!
Here you can see pretty pretty socks in gorgeous pinky purpley merino wool, yummy jelly beans, a beautiful card which matches everything perfectly and a sock monkey sock project bag (which is currently home to the sockpal socks I'm still working on).

Thank you Carol, they're beautiful socks and sooo soft and squishy.

Right, must get a move on and finish mine.

ETA: I'll do a modelled photo when it's not too hot to wear wool socks.

sockapalooza oh dear

2007-07-31T20:51:00.001+01:00

sockapalooza sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This was the state of my sockapalooza socks this morning. I knew I was cutting it fine, but I think I overestimated how much knitting I could get done while running around managing a conference.

Sorry sockpal, they're going to be late.

The yarn is Foxglove from Fyberspates, the pattern is based on Adrian's Cable Twist socks but with different sized twisting columns (3, 4 and 5 stitches rather than all 5s) and alternating directions. I like how they look. I'm a little worried that the stitch pattern is eating yarn and I'll run out, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The conference finishes tomorrow and then I'll knit as fast as I can so I get these posted off before I go on holiday.

ready, steady, socks!

2007-07-19T16:29:00.001+01:00

foxglove yarn, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

My sockapalooza yarn is here at last. The first skein I ordered from Fyberspates seems to have been eaten by the Post Office, so I emailed the lovely Jeni and she sent me a new one which arrived next day.

I wound it into a centre pull ball almost immediately and began a Marigold. It's pooling a bit and I haven't got far enough to decide whether it's pooling in a way I like or not. But I've begun, at least.

one roza

2007-07-10T09:42:00.001+01:00

one roza, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Proving that slow and steady gets there eventually.

Cast on date: 9 May 2007
Cast off date: 9 July 2007

I wonder how long the second one will take me?

And then there's the continued non-appearance of my yarn for sockapalooza. I wanted to have the socks done by 20 July since I will be busy at a work conference from then until the beginning of August. No yarn so far, not much time to knit and an essay to write, also by 20 July. Hmm. Sock pal, I think your socks may be a little late arriving.

slow sock

2007-06-26T11:57:00.001+01:00

slow sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I'm still knitting, a bit. This is still my first Roza's sock, which is growing slowly, but steadily.

I really must start my sockapalooza socks soon. I've got a pattern in mind, I just need the yarn to arrive.

purple stuff

2007-06-09T21:55:00.000+01:00

aka startitis or things I meant to blog about but never did.

I think it's obvious what my favourite colour is, don't you? Here we have various projects. From the top centre, a swatch for the Back to School U-neck vest from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel (recent acquisition, love it!), going clockwise, a small amount of sleeve for a cardigan based on the Treeline striped cardigan from Purl bee, a feather and fan comfort shawl in various oddments, and quite a bit of Bottoms Up, a top from the first issue of Yarn Forward. The last of these is what I'm knitting on most at the moment. It's in 4ply, Rowan 4 ply soft to be precise, and so is a slow grower. I'm not letting myself start the vest until at least one of these is finished.

I'm not sure whether I like the cardigan or not. I like the design and these colours, a dark purple and a lighter lilac, but the yarn is rather scrunchy superwash wool. Still, the first ever cardigan I made was in very squeaky acrylic in day-glo muppet colours and I wore that quite a lot. Still would if it wasn't now ridiculously loose. I expect I'll persevere, cardigans are useful. Plus there's loads of both those yarns sitting in a plastic bag under my desk and it's a good way to use them up.

I do like the top. I think it might be autumn before it's the right sort of temperature to wear it, though with the random weather we've been having lately, who knows. Cotton would be the obvious choice, but I had 4 balls of 4ply soft sitting around (an eBay aquisition), so bought 2 more to go with them and began (different dye-lot of course, so I'm alternating old and new).

This pic makes the shawl look like a big purple mess. It's nicer in person, honest. I seem to have got a bit obsessed with shawls. This is my third this year.

What else am I up to? The Shetland shawl needs an FO post. My first Roza's sock is still slow. I need to start my sockapalooza socks, once I've decided what I'm making.

I was supposed to be knitting less this year. So far, I'm not convinced I am. Ah well.

Shetland triangle 2 blocking

2007-06-01T14:16:00.001+01:00

Shetland triangle 2 blocking - detail, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

She's blocking, at last.

kimono

2007-06-01T12:26:00.001+01:00

kimono, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This was what I spent most of last Saturday making. I wanted a summer dressing gown and this fits the bill perfectly.

The fabric is a cheap (4m for £4.40) poly-cotton (probably) from the Textile Centre on Walthamstow market. I used a kosode/kimono pattern I came across online. You can't really tell, but the sleeves are sewn together under the armhole for those classic dangly sleeves. I did French seams everywhere, which took ages, but was worth it for a neat finish. The belt's just a long skinny rectangle. This was a fun pattern, because you just start with a series of rectangles, sew them together, do a little folding and cutting and there you go. Sort of. It took about 6 hours. Anyway, I like the result.

Roza's sock in progress

2007-05-29T16:52:00.001+01:00

Roza's sock in progress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

To prove I'm still knitting, here's progress. I'm 2/3 up the heel flap on my toe-up Roza. So far, it fits perfectly. Look at that line of increases. I was reading somewhere about putting guesset increases or decreases in places other than all in a line beside the instep stitches, so thought I'd give it a go. I wonder if makes much difference to the fit? Probably not since it doesn't alter the direction the stitches are lying in. This has become my at work lunchtime knitting, so it's going to be slow.

The Shetland shawl from the last post is finished and awaits blocking. I was going to block it on Sunday night, except we were supposed to be having some small visitors coming for breakfast on Monday (the children of friends of my housemate) so pinning things to the living room floor didn't seem a very sensible idea. In the end, my housemate was ill and small visitors came there none. Still didn't get round to blocking. Maybe tomorrow night.

sock and triangle

2007-05-15T10:35:00.001+01:00

sort of Roza's sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

See, proper content.

This is my take on Roza's socks from Interweave Knits Spring 06 (by the infamous Grumperina). I switched it to toe-up, just because and increased the stitch count to fit my large feet. It'll probably have a flap heel. I've never tried Brioche stitch before, I rather like it.

another Shetland triangle, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is another Shetland Triangle, rather smaller than the last one. It's in the small ball (40g) of 4-ply hand-dyed Shetland wool I bought from Shilasdair on Skye last summer. I think I'll have to find something to go with it to make it a decent size. We'll see. It's going pretty quickly so far. I began on Saturday afternoon, knitted through Eurovision and then did a couple more repeats on Sunday afternoon. Lace knitting in the warm, when it's pouring with rain outside. Bliss!

what have you knit?

2007-05-14T12:30:00.000+01:00

I have knitting to show, but I haven't taken any photos of it yet, so here's a meme to amuse you. Found here and here and probably all over the place.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket (baby)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO (i've been knitting for years and I STILL don't know how to do this.)
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

um?

2007-05-14T11:56:00.000+01:00

Does anyone know why the months on my blog archive are now appearing in Spanish (I think, it's not a language I speak, whatever it is)? I'm not averse to multi-lingual blogging, but I didn't do it on purpose and having checked all my settings, I can't work out why it's happening or change it back. Perhaps it'll disappear as mysteriously as it appeared.

ETA: Yep, it disppeared as soon as I posted this. Most odd.

bayerische cuff

2007-05-10T13:46:00.001+01:00

bayerische cuff, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is far as it got. The colour's completely off (it's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in 'Berry' and it's a darker purple). I like the pattern, but it's not big enough to get over my ankle. Going up another needle size might fix it, might not. I'm not completely sure about the colour. The cables would probably pop better in something lighter. I've ripped it out and the yarn is waiting for me to decide what to do. I might try Cookie A's Twisted Flower socks.

In the meantime I've started Rosa's socks from Interweave Knits Spring 07. Except they're toe-up and over more stitches. Funny, the Bayerische socks were actually a rare case of my following the pattern as written. Nothing wrong with the pattern, in that case, just the size of my feet.

spring socks done

2007-04-30T10:17:00.001+01:00

spring socks done, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Finished and enjoying the spring sunshine.

Started: 6 April 2007

Finished: 26 April 2007

Pattern: Elfine's Socks by Anna Bell

Yarn: Curious Yarns sock yarn in Sprung

Needles: 2.5mm circs. I used magic loop for most of it and 2 circulars for the heel.

Modifications: After making my first pair of Elfines for my sock pal last year, I decided I'd need to make them bigger to fit me. I increased the number of stitches to 68, leaving the lace pattern unchanged, but adding an extra knit stitch. On the legs, this means the purl column at either side becomes purl, knit, purl. I also did an toe-up flap heel. They're actually a little baggy at the heel now, so perhaps just one of those changes would have been enough.

spring sock

2007-04-13T11:43:00.001+01:00

spring sock group portrait, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Elfine's socks* by Anna Bell, Curious Yarns sock yarn in Sprung. Perfect for seaonal socks. Funny how some socks take forever and others just fly off the needles. I started this one a week ago and finished it on Wednesday night. Sock 2 is already growing.

I was going to give this sock an outdoor photoshoot in the garden, but yesterday's sunshine has disappeared, to be replaced with grey mist. Instead, here are a snake, a horse and a sheep from a string of animals representing the Chinese calendar.

*I wonder what socks Elfine would wear after Flora Post takes her in hand and transforms her from a wild marshticket to an elegant maiden? Fine silk stockings perhaps, with a secret border of leaves and sukebind.

tangle

2007-04-11T14:06:00.001+01:00

tangle, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've got myself into a lovely tangle winding this skein of laceweight silk. It's pretty big, about 2000m and it's taking a long time to wind by hand. I don't have a swift, so I started with the skein round my knees and then moved it onto a chair. I'm winding onto a kitchen roll tube and my first attempt (you can just see it down in the right hand corner) was a bit loose, so now I'm winding from the other end. It's going to take a while, but it's getting there.

reorganisation and joining in

2007-04-11T12:49:00.000+01:00

I've been reorganising my blogs. They still look a bit cluttered, but there's more space to write in. Let me know if there's anything that looks odd.

The sign-ups are open for
They have been for a while, so if you haven't signed up yet, go now!

FYI Walthamstow knitters

2007-04-07T14:53:00.000+01:00

The Scope shop on Walthamstow High Street has lots of knitting needles for £1.50 a set, including lots of dpns in various sizes (Inox and Addi) and some Addi Turbos (a few, mostly 50cm).

finished lovemeknots

2007-04-05T15:28:00.001+01:00

finished lovemeknots - hearts, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

At last!

Started: 10 August 2006

Finished: 4 April 2007

Yarn: Cygnet wool-rich 4 ply. Most of 1 ball of black, 2/3 ball cream

Needles: 2.5mm circs (magic loop) and dpns (for heel)

Notes: I had a serious case of second sock syndrome with these socks. I love the result, but I don't like the process of shadow knitting. I think it's the ratio between having to pay attention (rows with knits and purls) and just plodding on (plain knit rows). There's not quite enough of either. Anyway, they're done and I'm wearing them today and amusing myself by wiggling my feet to make the hearts appear and disappear. Nice pattern Alice!

Ooh, go and look at Alice's cat socks from her winning entry to the Purlescence story competition.

felted Bible case

2007-04-03T10:24:00.001+01:00

felted, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Finished, except for a closure.

Started: 19 March 2007

Finished: 25 March/1 April (knitting/felting)

Yarn: Hand-dyed Shetland X merino blended with mohair, bought in Ardvasar on the isle of Skye on holiday last year.

Needles: 4mm circulars

Pattern: make a swatch, felt it, measure it, calculate numbers to fit, knit, felt.

Notes: The yarn doesn't felt (OK, full, technically) as completely as some others, you can still see some stitch definition. But the fabric it makes is firm enough for my purposes and the mohair fluffs up nicely. At some point I'll add a button, or poppers, or a ribbon to keep it closed.

prefelting

2007-04-02T16:55:00.001+01:00

prefelting, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Work in progress. I sent this through the washing machine last night and it's currently drying. Here's a prefelting pic so you can see how it shrinks.

Ester

2007-03-20T11:26:00.001Z

ester front, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I finished Ester.

Started: 8 March 2007

Finished: 18 March 2007, (just in time for Mansfield Park on ITV).

Pattern: Ester by Alice.

Yarn: 5 or 6 balls (I lost count) of cream coloured aran wool, unlabelled.

Needles: 4.5mm circulars

A very quick knit, simple shape, the cable pattern keeps it interesting.

Edited to add: I made the M size and blocked it to the schematic measurements. I'm actually in between the M and L sizes, so it looks a little small on me. If you're knitting this, decide whether you want to be able to fasten in front as in the pattern photo, in which case you might want to add some ease. The bust sizes given seem to be the size of the finished garment, rather than the size of the wearer.

Here's a back view.

swatching

2007-03-14T10:41:00.001Z

swatching, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is what I've been doing with banana yarn and cotton. The swatch on the right is just banana yarn. I started with plain stocking stitch and then tried out some seed stitch and some bobbles. It's nice and shiny and gets softer when washed, but I'm not too sure what to do with it on its own and I've only got 200g. My first idea was a bag, specifically Coco from Magknits, but trying out the lattice pattern made it clear the yarn's just not smooth enough for the cables to show clearly.

Then I remembered the purple cotton I used last year to make a spring/summer cardigan (not worn much and now too loose since I've lost weight). So I experimented with putting the two yarns together. Holding them together gives just a little bit of shiny silk sparkle and adds weight. The bobbles were done with just the banana yarn. I like the effect, it would make a good sleeve border. Possibly not round the bottom of a cardigan though. I also tried some split stitch, as used in Revolution, although I hadn't quite thought about the maths and ended up with more stitches than I started with. I like the effect, when I get it just right, but getting it right is a fiddle.

I'm still not sure what this is going to be. A cardigan would be useful.

train knitting

2007-03-12T14:08:00.001Z

loveme knot in progress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've had a lovely weekend in Exeter and as, I thought, got lots of knitting done on the train. On the way into London, the small girl sitting next to me was fascinated by the hearts on my lovemeknot socks. She played with the finished one for a bit, making the hearts appear and disappear and made me show her how you make stitches and how you knit round in circles.

I like the way knitting is a conversation starter. On the way home I was knitting the heel (short rowed) and the man sitting next to me was interested in why I was knitting with only 2 needles when he thought socks needed 3.

Ester detail, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Also growing is Ester. I've done the back and I'm one repeat into the front. It's an easy pattern to memorise, so this will be my tv knitting for a bit.

new knitty, new knitting

2007-03-09T10:14:00.000Z

I did cast on the second lovemeknot sock and I've started on Ester, which you'll notice are both by Alice. There's something friendly about knitting objects designed by someone you've met and she writes such intriguing patterns. Ester is simple, but a clever shape. I'm about 2/3 up the back already, using some of the huge bag of creamy aran wool I got my Grandma's stash.

Other things I'd like to knit:

Carolyn. It's a cute cardigan, I like the stripiness. I'm thinking of charcoal grey and lilac stripes.

Isabella. Such a pretty spring top. Lilac or a pretty pink mercerised cotton.

Queen of Cups, Clessidra: I love a good sock pattern. I've never knit knee-high socks, but the pretty cables up the back of Clessidra would be fun to try.

So many things I'd like to make! Progress pics on Monday, after lots of train knitting time.

no knitty no knitting

2007-03-07T15:44:00.000Z

I have nothing on the needles at present (with the exception of the long-running garter stitch shawl). I'm not going to start anything new until I've knitted that long-awaited second lovemeknot sock. I'm going away for the weekend, so I've got a couple of long train journeys in which to knit, so I should make a good start on it.

I've been playing around with banana yarn and cotton. The Time Traveller cardigan I made last year is now too big, so I'm thinking of ripping it out and making something new. Hopefully the soft cotton won't fall apart too much. I'm thinking either another cardigan, or a v-neck sleeveless jumper, using the banana yarn to make interesting edgings.

It's nearly new Knitty time, which is always fun, but there's no sign of it yet. Ho hum. Patience.

Edited to add: It's up! Hoorah!

another Clapotis

2007-03-05T10:58:00.001Z

another Clapotis, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

And another FO. I wasn't feeling well over the weekend, so spent lots of time knitting.

Started: 2 February 2007

Finished: 4 March 2007

Pattern: The ubiquitous Clapotis

Yarn: 300g of Scrumptious from Fyberspates

Needles: 5mm bamboo straights

Modifications: Twisting the stitches on purl and knit sides. (The stitches you knit through the back loop on the right side get purled through the back loop on the wrong side). This makes the edge next to the ladders even neater. I didn't bother with stitch markers since it was easy to see which stitch was which.

Clapotis is boring to knit: even dropping stitches becomes less exciting by the end, but the result is worth it.

I'm not wearing a hat, that's my dressing gown. Must remember to think about the background I'm standing against.

monkey monkey

2007-03-05T10:07:00.001Z

monkey monkey, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Another Monday, another finished knit.

Started: 20 January 2007

Finished: 2 March 2007

Pattern: Monkey from Knitty

Yarn: Sloe from Curious Yarns who are still offline.

Needles: 2.5mm circulars and dpns

Modifications: Modified the stitch pattern to be 18 stitches wide over 13 rows. Eye of Partridge heel.

Notes: A fun knit, went quite quickly once I'd got the sizing right. The gusset decreases are very messy, I think I forgot how to count. There are 5 pattern repeats on the leg, 6 on the foot. If I knit these again I'd make the leg at least one repeat longer. The colour is brighter and more purple in real life.

since you asked so nicely

2007-02-28T13:21:00.001Z

shetland triangle in action, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Thank you for all the lovely comments. By request, here's the shetland triangle in action. From a weird angle. Must invest in a tripod, methinks.

As a bonus, here's a close-up of the brooch I'm wearing to keep the shawl closed. It belonged to my Grandma. At Christmas she decided she wanted to give away her jewellery to her granddaughters (there are 6 of us) while she's still alive to appreciate the giving. This was one of my picks from her box.

shetland triangle finished

2007-02-26T10:21:00.001Z

shetland triangle blocking, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

She's done and she's gorgeous, so there's a Shetland Triangle photoset on Flickr.

Started: 21 January 2007

Finished: 23/25 February 2007 (knitting/blocking)

Pattern: Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style

Yarn: Handspun kid mohair from Teo's Handspun, bought on holiday on Skye last summer.

Needles: 5mm circulars

Modifications: 11 repeats, bigger needles.

Notes: Love it! I wanted to get the biggest shawl I could out of the yarn I had. I have a smallish ball left over, not enough for another repeat. I did go for a wet block in the end, despite my trepidation and I'm glad I did. There was a variation in colour between the three skeins of yarn. It's not noticable between the first and second skeins, but the last skein was much lighter, giving it a lighter border. Unplanned, but I like the effect. The finished size is 72" tip to tip, 32" neck to back point. It feels like the perfect size, big enough to wrap around but not so it's trailing miles down my back. Being mohair, it's very warm, it would be perfect for an outdoor evening event. All I need now is an excuse to wear it!

breaking radio silence

2007-02-23T13:04:00.000Z

Wow, it's been a while. No pictures to show you, just the promise of them. The Shetland Triangle is 2 rows and a good blocking from completion. Clapotis chugs along slowly, as does the second monkey sock.

It's been a very busy week. Tonight is my first night off - I don't have to be anywhere, I don't have to write an essay, I can just relax. I plan to spend the evening on the settee with my knitting and Pride and Prejudice. Lovely!

acquisitions and beginnings

2007-02-15T10:06:00.000Z

Look what arrived in the post yesterday! Lovely yarn from the HipKnits sale. The purple stuff is banana yarn. It's a bit like silk, but heavier and scrunchier. I love the shine on it. I think this might end up being a small bag. The pink is laceweight silk. I've never had any proper laceweight to play with before! I think there's 2000m in that skein. I'll have to think what to make. Probably a shawl, something butterfly-ish. Any suggestions?

Hmm, it's pretty obvious today what my favourite colours are. This is the beginning of another Clapotis in Scrumptious from Fyberspates. Love this yarn! It's a wool/silk blend and really lives up to its name. It's squishy and soft with just enough springiness for the sculptural qualities of the pattern to come out. I've just started the straight sections on this, so it'll be a while. But I want to finish it while it's still cold enough to need it, so I'd better get cracking.

fluffy sheep ate my hands

2007-02-07T09:59:00.001Z

I made wrist warmers. It's COLD here in Cambridge and I've been thinking for a while I need something to fill the gap between my gloves and my coat. Yesterday was very cold and I happened to come across the right pattern and remember I had some yarn that would suit it. Then I knit these in bed last night. (I did make 2, but you try taking a picture of both your own hands.)

Started: 11pm 6 February 2007

Finished: 12.30am 7 February 2007

Pattern: Chance by Pixeldiva from Magknits

Yarn: 2 balls of Rowan Big Wool Tuft I acquired in a stash swap a while ago and hadn't a clue what to do with.

Needles: 15mm circulars

Notes: Dead easy and very quick. The pattern's more of a recipe, which suits me. They do look rather like I've got sheep wrapped round my hands, but they do the job of keeping my wrists warm. I turned them purl side out so that the fluffy bits stick out. They might be even warmer knit side out, with all the fluffy bits on the inside like thrummed mittens.

Handy tip: I couldn't find a big enough bodkin to sew the ends in with, so I improvised with a hair slide.

A silent poetry reading

2007-02-02T11:11:00.000Z

I found this on Mary's blog.

WHAT: A Bloggers' (Silent) Poetry Reading
WHEN: Anytime February 2, 2007
WHERE: Your blog
WHY: To celebrate the Feast of Bridgid, aka Groundhog Day
HOW: Select a poem you like - by a favorite poet or one of your own - to post February 2nd.
RSVP: If you plan to publish, feel free to leave a comment and link on this post. Last year Reya put out the call and there was more poetry in cyberspace than she could keep track of. So, link to whomever you hear about this from and a mighty web of poetry will be spun.

The Loch Ness Monster's Song by Edwin Morgan

Sssnnnwhuffffll?
Hnwhuffl hhnnwfl hnfl hfl?
Gdroblboblhobngbl gbl gl g g g g glbgl.
Drublhaflablhaflubhafgabhaflhafl fl fl -
gm grawwwww grf grawf awfgm graw gm.
Hovoplodok - doplodovok - plovodokot - doplodokosh?
Splgraw fok fok splgrafhatchgabrlgabrl fok splfok!
Zgra kra gka fok!
Grof grawff gahf?
Gombl mbl bl -
blm plm,
blm plm,
blm plm,
blp

There's a poem on pigwotflies too.

monkeys and mountains

2007-01-29T10:59:00.000Z

Morning. I present, one finished monkey sock. I'm quite pleased with it. It's gone quickly, with the help of a long evening's worth of knitting on Saturday night. Modifying the stitch pattern worked well. It's possibly a little short, but I think with blocking and a little wear, it'll be fine.

And here are the mountains.

That's the wrong side of the shetland triangle, forming pleasing little corrugations, like an egg box or very neat mountains. I've done 5 or 6 repeats, (I've lost track, but I'm just going to make it as big as I can, so I'm not too worried) and I've not reached the end of my first hank yet. Sometimes I worry it's still too dense, but stretched out, it looks OK. How should I block it? The yarn's not very tightly spun and mohair's weaker when wet, so I'm thinking I'll pin and spray rather than wet block. Any tips?

finished forecast

2007-01-24T10:14:00.000Z

It's been defying photography, but it's done. Complete with 294 bobbles and 196 cable crosses. And I love it!

Started: 20 April 2006

Finished: 19 January 2007

Pattern: Forecast

Yarn: 6 and a bit 100g balls of Rowanspun aran in Heath from Cucumberpatch.

Needles: 5mm and 4.5mm circulars.

Modifications: Not that many really. I did 5 stitch bobbles and the short cuffs as written. I missed out some of the raglan increases on the sleeve side to make the arms less enormous and then decreased again from 64 to 40 stitches before doing the cuffs. I extended the ribbing at the bottom. I did try adding short rows to the bust, but soon ripped it out again because it looked silly and wasn't needed because the garter stitch part is stretchy enough.

Cross-posted on the Forecast knitalong.

beginnings and false starts

2007-01-22T10:28:00.000Z

Forecast is finished and lovely and I've been wearing it all weekend, but haven't yet got a decent photo. I'll have another go. Instead, here's the monkey sock I started on Saturday.

I made good progress at the knit together on Saturday, it was looking good, the stitch pattern's gorgeous, I love the colours of the yarn (Sloe from Curious Yarns, who are still offline, I hope they're not gone forever). But, it doesn't fit. It took me this far to admit that actually I can't get my foot into it. So, bye bye sock. I'm going to start it again, over 72 stitches with a modified stitch pattern. (There are two obvious places to add stitches to turn the lace pattern into a 18 stitch, 13 row repeat.) But rather than go straight onto that, I started this.

It's the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style (thanks to Lyndsey-Jane) in luscious but apparently unphotographable handpsun kid mohair. The yarn is very variable, laceweight thin in some spots, thick dk in others. I played around with a couple of needle sizes. 5mm seems to be big enough so that the details don't get lost, but not so big that the yarnovers become enormous. Of course, right now it just looks like a big purple lump, but I'm confident blocking will open it up.

itchy fingers

2007-01-19T16:26:00.000Z

I've almost finished Forecast. Knitting was finished on Wednesday, she just needs buttons. I want to get her finished to wear to the Cambridge knit-together tomorrow. FO pictures on Monday.

So for once, I've got nothing on the needles and I'm itching to start something new. That something should probably be the mate for my poor neglected single lovemeknot sock.

Except last night I wound some other sock wool into a ball ready for knitting. And earlier this week I ordered some gorgeous yarn to make another Clapotis. And...and...and..you get the picture.

Let's see what the weekend brings.

what to knit when you're shrinking

2007-01-15T14:22:00.000Z

You won't have noticed yet, but I'm losing weight. Inspired by my incredible shrinking sister, I'm going on a diet.

So, what shall I knit? There doesn't seem much point in knitting something that may not fit me in a few months time, but I don't know how my body's going to change so there's not much point in trying to guess and knit something in a smaller size. The next few things I'd mentally lined up to knit were the Sunrise Circle Jacket and a v-neck jumper (long running saga of the navy lambswool-cashmere) but now, I think they're going on the back burner.

The solution, I suspect, is socks and shawls. I shall finish Forecast (which is designed to fit very snuggly, so shouldn't look silly if I get smaller) and then think lace projects. The first thing I'd like to make is something with this gorgeous mohair from Skye. It's not laceweight, it's more like a light dk (worsted) weight, with thinner and thicker bits. But I'd like it to be something airy, lacey, a pattern with movement to it, more organic than geometrical. Any ideas where to look for inspiration? I've been looking at the 1st and 2nd Books of Modern Lace Knitting (another acquisition from my Grandma. The patterns are mostly square (table cloths) or circular (doilys and circular table cloths) but there might be something I could adapt to a triangular shawl. Yarn Harlot Stephanie did. I think that's the shape I'd like. Although I'm not totally against the idea of a stole-type wrap. Your thoughts?

first FO of 2007

2007-01-15T10:00:00.000Z

I've got a new hat. Hoorah!

Started: 3 January 2007

Finished: 14 January 2007

Pattern: Shedir from the Knitty Breast Cancer special edition. (pdf from here)

Yarn: 1 and a bit balls of Rowan Calmer in a gorgeous purple colour that seems to be new, since I can't find it online anywhere.

Needles: 3.25mm circulars (UK size 10s, a new acquisition from my Grandma's knitting treasure trove. I must show you all the things she gave me.)

Modifications: 2 extra repeats of the straight section so it keeps my ears warm. Actually it's a little bit too deep and tends to poke up above my head as you can see here. But I'd rather that than cold ears.

I think of this as my SeaChange hat since most of it was knitted in front of the tv watching SeaChange with my housemates. (It's an Australian drama series about a small coastal town. We're borrowing it on video from a friend.)

last Christmas FO

2007-01-08T10:25:00.000Z

I think these are my favourite of this bunch. My mum's name is Eleanor, so she had to have some of these.

Started: November 2006

Finished: December 2006

Pattern: Eleanora Socks by Miriam Felton

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Cranberry

Needles: 2.5mm dpns and circulars

Modifications: I substituted an eye-of-partridge heel because I thought it complemented the leg pattern.

Notes: I loved knitting these. The pattern is very well-written, with very clear charts. The yarn is gorgeous, smooth and silky, just enough variation in colour to make it interesting without detracting from the stitch pattern (colour not quite right in either photo. Probably nearest in the bottom one, but a bit washed out). I love the diamonds at the top, and the way the toe decreases are written to maintain the pattern. (see below) I loved knitting something with a historical connection. I think I might knit another pair for myself sometime.