076knits: Kille

If you've been reading the blog, you might have seen the pictures. I can't get enough of Bubs running around and doing anything but standing still to have his picture taken.

It all started when Bubs had only just joined us. I wanted to knit something for me, instead of the pile of baby knits that had gone before. I had a really (really) nice skein of Ripples Crafts Assynt Storms, a circular needle, and a naptime to gather my sanity before the next round of nursing, nappies and cramps. A new mom needs a bit of pampering, and that hank of yarn was just the trick.

One thing led to another (ever so slowly) and with help from two lovely professionals (hello Dutch Wool Diva and Yarn and Pointy Sticks) I can now present you my first ever pattern, Kille

Kille is a cowl with lots of nice and easy stitches, not a lot of counting and lots of pretty colours if you pick your yarn carefully. The sample shown is a new colourway by Dutch Wool Diva, Strolling through the Woods, and it's perfect for matching the Autumn colours out there right now. The sturdy Sock Star is perfect for sharing the cowl with your little one, especially when they like chewing on your knitwear, and soft enough to be worn against the skin. If you don't have a little one or like to live dangerously, go wild with your yarn choices! Be careful though, changing the gauge means changing your yardage! The pattern is carefully tech edited, but if you find a problem, please let me know!

You can wear Kille inside out and upside down, but not twice around your head.*
You can even try it on your other person, but I would keep it. It's a selfish treat, remember?

You have to knit it first, and you can do so after going right here: buy now (you don't have to be a member)


Love,
J



*definitely not twice around a little head so that pulling on it doesn't pull it tight

Nanowrimo, Nanoswemo, Movember, Wovember, Whateverember you wanna call it

It's all about the challenges, isn't it? Getting things done, without looking back or forwards too much. I sent a thingy to my wonderful tech editor. I'm working on being proud of that. Gimme a minute ;)

In the mean time, I knit a hat! It just needs buttons, and I have those ready to be put on. Just, you know, need to do it. Pattern is Lexie by Woolly Wormhead, Yarn is Warm Hearted Aran by  Helen of Ripplescrafts, colourway Carnations. 

3KCBWDAY1 - Colour Lovers

Hi all, 

Today is the first time I'm participating in a thingymawhattum called... what it says down there in this here banner. 

It's a thing where bloggers all over the world share their thoughts on the same subjects for a week. Now my week is about to be interrupted by a Photographer showing up, so this may or may not be my only entry this year. We'll see. For now, I'll tell you a little something about colour and my craft. The Stash is a good place to start, it's the base of it all I suppose. I tend to pick a yarn or fibre of strong colours. There is a place for pastels and soft tones. I have some in my stash even, but it tends to stay there for longer than most (indefinitely).

There is more enjoyment for me, working with a strong colour. It doesn't need to be a bright, in your face colour, even though I do like those as well. Natural coloured fibre has a certain something to it. The colour is part of its being, not something added later (which doesn't stop me from dyeing my hair, obviously). 

So strong colours do it for me. It may have something to do with the way they brighten up my wardrobe. There nothing like a colourful shawl to lift the black-top-on-jeans-look, is there?

Windward - Heidi Kirrmaier

Tolovana - Marnie Maclean

Jeweled Cowl - Sachiko Uemura

Pea Vines - Anne Hanson

Rock Island - Jared Flood

Damask - Kitman Figueroa

Echo Flower Shawl - Jenny Johnson Johnen

Annis - Suzanna IC

WIP Wednesday-on-Friday: Jump!

I hope you didn't all just jump off your seats, but it seemed like a good way to start a slightly late blog post. You see, I was busy, tired and have very little I can show you, so I felt a little uninspired. Fortunately, no one tells me when to write to you but me, and I gave myself two evenings off to deal with being me (and appointments). Since then, Spring has arrived, and since Spring is Dutch for Jump!.... well, you get my drift*

The reason I can't show you much is that much of what I did last weekend is a big secret. Recipient of said secret is currently 13,5cm (plus another week's worth of growing) in size, so he or she can't actually read this. Since at least half of the expecting parental unit reads this I'm only revealing the picture below.

100% 4-ply BFL, soaking

I had a lot of fun playing with colours, but you'll all have to wait about 6 months to see the result of the dyeing session. A little swatching happened, and I'm a little giddy just touching it. Oh! the softness! the springyness!** the colours! I can't wait to learn to dare to do some steeking.***

Below you will find a few pictures of some bootees that I knit. They were ordered by the happy recipient of some gift bootees late last year. I took some inspiration from the original (hello? multi-colour knit-purl ridges? how cute is that?) and re-imagined and modernized them to make the purl rows look a bit like icing, dripping down from in between layers of cake. 

They are knit from the sole up and in the round, leaving you with nothing more to do than weave in a few ends after finishing. There is also some slipped stitching, and a few short rows to cover the top of the foot.   

A yarnover-k2tog combo creates little holes to pull the string through with which you can secure**** the bootees. As you can see, there is a bit of colourwork going on, carrying the cake or icing colour for about 5 stitches behind the work. I choose to secure them, just so little wandering fingers or toes won't get caught in the float.  

I think the pom poms really finish them off, don't you? I really, really like the Clover Pom Pom Makers I got myself last Christmas. One of these, from start to completely finished (including trimming), takes less than 5 minutes! To boot, you don't have to mess around with cardboard when you use these...

Layered Cake

And finally, proof that Spring has really Sprung.*****

Enjoy it, and whatever you do, don't throw your litter in between the daffodils I pass on my way into work. You're spoiling my mornings, whomever you are. 

*I did just spell it out...
**Yes that is, in fact, a word. Casually insert it into dialogue.
***Technical term. Actually.
****Babies and bootees. There is never a guarantee they will stay on, but the string helps.
*****No seriously, it has. Even if I still have cold feet in my wool socks right this very moment.

WIP Wednesday: Say it with Colour

Maybe I'm tired of winter, or maybe I'm just craving a little colour in general, I don't know, but colour is what I worked on this week! You may also have noticed I picked a new colour scheme for the blog. Much more inviting to the new season, which seems to be on our doorstep now the frost has gone. However, it only rains now, so it might as well be Autumn still.

I spun and since n-plied this bobbin full of wool, I started a third Tomten cardigan for a friend's sister's soon to be born baby*, once more did not read the book club book by Paul Mceuen (Spiral), burnt a few candles. I had a lovely lunch and found a trigger and food for thought, knit some more on the never ending Tanit's Jacket, and listened to some podcasts. 

Celebration

Dutch Wool Diva

Tomten the Third

Elizabeth Zimmerman

Tanit's Jacket

Gudrun Johnston

Colour Swatches

by me

The Photographer celebrated his birthday and promptly soiled his new Kindle by putting a picture of me on it. I (re-)established some priorities. I slowed down. 

Float on the good stuff, or sink.

*follow my project here