Homely Habitat hat

I finished this project yesterday evening tried it on and it fits beautifully. Washed it an dried it flat, not much, ok, any blocking done really.  It didn’t shrink or grow hurrah!  Maybe my mojo has returned.

Ravelry link Sorry for the mirror shot but I had no other option, at least I took my mirror outside to get some natural light because the light inside my house is shocking today due to the lovely rain we’re having, also I did well getting 10 minutes when it wasn’t raining.

I can honestly say that there is nothing that I don’t love about this project, the yarn is just everything I love about a yarn, woolly, textured, beautiful colour.  Due to being woollen spun the stitch definition is slightly fuzzy but the cables still pop.  The pattern is intuitive and well written, the cables are just gorgeous and it fits and flatters too!  What’s not to love? It was also a speedy knit, extra bonus points!  With this in mind I will be buying more Shelter to knit up the other Jared Flood and Wool People patterns in my queue.  Talking of Wool People, I think it’s an absolutely perfect name for the look book, also there is a cabled beanie in there called St. Leger.  You may recall in my Yorkshire day post I wrote about the St. Leger races, ah ha!

Well I shall be off to start my new project.

ttfn Melanie x

 

 

Knits for the men

I’ve been busy knitting knits for my men. They all have something new and warm and woolly now.

The first beanie was too big for hubby so eldest son happily claimed it…
So the next day I set about knitting another beanie which would hopefully fit hubby.  Again another Wooly Wormhead pattern but this time in Icelandic Lopi mmmm, snuggly warm.

It fits, huzzah!

Youngest son then decided he would quite like a scarf and as it was his birthday last weekend I couldn’t refuse.  I didn’t have any black aran weight yarn in my stash so I ordered 5 balls of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in coal from the Woolbaa that night and sent hubby to collect it the next day as he works near there.  I decided to use Stephanie Pearl McPhee’s one-row handspun scarf pattern because it’s reversible and I really like it.

He gets the “moon tan” from me, I tried several times to take photo’s in different areas and they all had that, I’m a stranger to daylight look.  Any tips Damian?  The scarf was completed 2 days after his birthday and he’s very happy with it because it’s not itchy.  The grass looks that vivid because it’s just rained.

I’m now occupied with secret gift knitting and will be for a few weeks so there will be no sneaky peeks until they are with the recipients.  However, on Friday I’m going with some of the Richmond Knitters to Bendigo wool and sheep fayre so I hall have heaps to show and tell after that.  It will be my first time and I am giddy beyond belief.  There will be sheep and fibre and yarn and all manner of woolly stuff, I believe camelids too but… meh!  The men are a tad worried that I might come back with a sheep or three but as vivid as the grass looks after rain I think perhaps it is insufficient to sustain even one sheep.  Perhaps we could move before next year’s Bendigo though.

Productivity's high

Well hello!

I haven’t posted for a while, but that’s because I’ve been really busy with work and everything.  I have completed a crazy, difficult practical assessment and the penultimate assignment. OMG, how excited am I that I only have one more assignment to go.

But it’s not been all work and no play, I have completed a few knitting projects, which is what you want to hear about, isn’t it?

First to be completed was the moss stitch scarf for my eldest’s 16th birthday, he chose the yarn and stitch pattern and he loves it and wears it constantly with his new coat, but as we are moving into Spring he may have less occasion to wear it.

The yarn is Jo Sharp’s Alpaca Silk Georgette, which is probably my favourite of her yarns.  I felt as though I was knitting this forever but I love the finished article, so worth it.

The next to be finished was my “Hermione Hearts Ron” beanie by Christy Aylesworth. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry and beautifully written.  It took no time at all to knit and I love the way the decreases make a snowflake at the crown.  Again this was knitted in Alpaca Silk Georgette, colour Pearl.  Here I am wearing it to admire the blossom on our young crab apple tree.  Spring is here!

I forgot to mention that it is a replica of the beanie Hermione wears in the latest Harry Potter film, but fans of the film will know that anyway.

The most recent finished project is the Waffle scarf by Sarah Florent, again a free pattern from Ravelry a gift for DH. This was knitted in Zara Plus by Filatura DiCrosa, which is an absolutely yummy, squishy, soft merino 10ply and my new favourite yarn.

New project is a Mohair blankie for eldest son.  It’s funny but I distinctly recall a year ago when none of my men would entertain a hand knitted present.  Now I have to squeeze projects for me in between their requests.  The brainwashing and forced petting of yarn has obviously worked.

First Socks

I finished my first pair of socks, been knitting frantically all weekend, so no housework or study done.  They are not identical as I didn’t quite work out how it went with the self patterning yarn and the finishing on the toes is different, I finally ‘got’ Kitchener stitch on the second pair, the first pair I did three needle bind off. But I am really happy as I learnt all the principles of turning the heel, Kitchener etc from the Yarn Harlot’s book “Knitting Rules”.

My next pair will be toe up but till then I have cast on 500 stitches for eldest son’s 16th birthday scarf, a length-ways knit moss stitch scarf in pale grey and charcoal grey.  He chose the colours and the pattern so I’m not spoiling any surprise.  My portable project will be my Hermione Hearts Ron beanie, a replica of the cute grey cable and eyelet beanie Hermione wears in the latest Harry Potter film.