Potpourri [Started 4th April]

After more than 10 years I managed to find some more RYC Natural Silk Aran [73% Viscose / 15% Silk / 12% Linen; 50g=65m]. I bought a pack at Ally Pally and found it was nothing like enough to make anything sensible; lucky for me a fellow Raveller had done the same thing (exactly the same thing - down to the dye lot!) and was willing to let her pack go. So now in truly retro mode I am making a slipover from Martin Storey's RYC book Summer Delights circa 2008.

Zorzal Shawl [Started 28th March]

A collection of colours purchased at Unravel from The Knitting Shed, and perfect for this wrap by Lisa Hannes, which I have chosed to make in 3 colours rather than two: A&P Merino & Silk Single [70% Superwash Merino / 30% Silk; 100g=400 m] in Bark and Natural, and A&P Merino & Kid Mohair Single 4 Ply [56% Superwash Merino / 44% Kid Mohair; 100g=400 m] in Fools's Gold.

Time Trades Wrap [Started 24th February: :Completed 12th March]

I am firmly into wrap and shawl mode. In fact I first saw this pattern at Ally Pally last year as a beautiful sample made up by Telling Yarns. I would have bought it then but they had run out of kits. Anyway - every cloud.... I have finally decided it's perfect for a gradient set [Miss Babs 2-Ply toes in colour Pleiades - 100% merino] given to me some time ago - so I have purchased two more variegated skeins in Frisky colour Iris Fleck [100% Merino Wool : 100g=365m], and Mighty Frisky in colour Nightfall [80% Merino / 20% Nylon: 100g=365m] from Debonnaire, which are high-twist yarns as similar as I could find to the Miss Babs, albeit rather thinner.

Frisky Crescent Shawl [Started 17th February: :Completed 27th March]

Smitten as I was by a shawl seen on the Debonnaire stand at Unravel, I purchased the yarn and pattern on the spot, and have started knitting immediately (after seeing off the last of the bonus sock yarns - actually I also purchased additional sock yarn at Unravel, but more of that another time!).
The yarn is Frisky in colours Charcoal Fleck and Jet [100% Merino Wool : 100g=365m], and the pattern is the Frisky Crescent Shawl.

A Very Jolly Colour... (socks again) [Started 30th January: :Completed 7th February and 15th February]

Again, my sister-in-law's unwanted sock yarn - this one without a ball band for identification. I am combining it with some WYS Signature 4 Ply,in Blue Raspberry 333, [75% Wool / 25% Nylon: 100g=400m], that I used for my Peacock socks, and now - as then - I am making 2 pairs of socks with it - using every last inch - one pair for her and one for me.

Mannish Socks [Started 16th January: :Completed 23rd January]

Well, they are grey(ish). The wool is again from my sister-in-law's now unwanted sock wool stash balls - these will be for her husband. This one is Sport & Strumpfgarn from Altenburger Handarbeiten [60% Wool/25% acrylic/15% Nylon: 100g=409 m] in a grey/mauve colour mix,69.

Girly Socks [Started 10th January: :Completed 29th January]

My sister-in-law went through a phase of thinking she wanted to knit socks. Now I have been given the resulting stash balls of wool and which I intend to give back to her in sock form. This one is Drops Fabel [75% Wool / 25% Nylon: 50g=205 m] in a very pretty pink colour mix, 161 "Pink Dream". There was a slight delay after Sock 1 (as I needed a fitting) during which time I made the "Mannish Socks" above.

Long Hat [Started 5th January: :Completed 14th January]

This hat is in Knitting from Fair Isle: 15 contemporary designs inspired by tradition by Mati Ventrillon, given to me for Christmas, and so inspirational that the wool was ordered the same day! It's made in Jamieson's Spindrift [100% Shetland wool; 25g=105m] in colours: Admiral, Clyde Blue, Blue Danube, Natural White, Amber, and Rust.
It has turned out beautifully and knitted up very easily in the round.

Flamingo [Started 8th August]

I was seduced by an email from Laughing Hens exhorting me to buy the booklet Rico Ricorumi It Must Be Love. It's full of cute crochet sweet nothings based on the theme of "luuurve".
However the one that I love is the flamingo. She's knitted in Rico Ricorumi cotton yarn supplied in small reasonably priced balls, making it practical to make these small items using a number of different colours, [100% cotton; 25g=57m (62yds)].

Weaving: Overshot Scarf [Started 9th November 2021]

Hoping to improve on my last effort in class, I am making a scarf this time using laceweght merino and silk. The warp is a space dyed yarn (merino I think - no label)I bought at Ally Pally some years ago (very expensive, and intended for a "peacock" shawl but on viewing the pattern I went off the idea). The overshot weft is Fyberspates Gleem Lace Sea Green colour 706 [55% Wool/45% Silk, 100g=800m (875yds) ].
The pattern and overshot instructions are taken from Next Steps in Weaving, by Pattie Graver.

Oddments Blanket for (good causes) [Started 2nd November]

I have started a background project to make another blanket from acrylic oddments (I have many) using the Domino construction technique. You'd think a dynamic random design would be easy enough, but as usual, after the first few squares, making a truly random whilst also pleasing combination gets more and more difficult!

Toria's Aran [Started 21st February 2021]

I've committed myself to a project for a friend. It has all proved a little problematic obtaining good quality yarn at a reasonable price - and finding a company with enough stock of reasonable colour. Anyway I finally chose Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed, on special offer from Love Crafts, in Oatmeal [100% Wool 50g=88m / 96yds] - which I have to say as been a great disappointment in that it is clearly a DK weight not an Aran - in fact, this is even apparent in the gauge and yardage given in the specification. This now gives me a problem as to which pattern to use - I may end up having to devise a layout of my own superimposed on a commercial set of instructions, but it's never going to have the heft of an Aran jumper. My favourite pattern is always this one of course - My First Aran, knitted in Patons Capstan oiled wool.

Hooked Sheep [Started 2nd January 2021]

Fleetwith sweater and cowl [Started 6th January 2020]

I thought of Lyn when I saw this pattern in Rowan's British Made by Lisa Richardson as it is the "sort of thing she really likes", and I considered buying Valley Tweed even though it would be pretty costly, despite the excellent yardage. However I have an ever-expanding collection of some very good vintage fingering yarns, so I felt bound to consider them. In the end, I chose a lovely cherry red Hermit pure wool crepe 4ply (yardage unknown - also a problem) which I think will suit the pattern.
Having completed back and front, it becomes clear that even with adaptations, I will run out oof yarn. Thus there has been a long hiatus and a great dilemma. I have bought some Valley Tweed now in order to have another go - so - to frog or no to frog?
.

Weaving: Woodland Scarf [Started 30th July 2019]

This is "Blewit" - almost the colours that inspired Janet Phillips as featured in her book Designing Woven Fabrics. This time using a limited edition skein from A Verb for Keeping Warm which I bought at SOAR in 2012 [100% wool; 100g=361m/395yds]. The weft is Erika Knight British Wool ..... Blue Faced Leicester and Masham purchased at Fibre East - too coarse and fluffy really but I went with the colour.. ... I have wound a 2m warp - enough for a scarf length plus fringe. The sett is 16 - doubling up in my 8 dent reed.

Weaving: Cotton Towels [Started 23rd March 2019]

I was inspired to try this project by the newsletters from Gist Yarn and Fiber. I would have bought their cotton but the shipping cost from the US meant I needed to be more cost-conscious for a simple rigid heddle project to do in the evenings. I settled on a real budget option which was impossibly low cost and astonishingly fast delivery despite shipping from Hobii in Copenhagen.

Little Bottles Quilt [Restarted 9th February 2019]

This is a patchwork quilt I started to make in about 2003 and in truth had done most of the hard work in appliqué. I was undecided as to what technique to use for the striped "curtains" - but have set off now with renewed vigour and decisiveness.
The design is Little Bottles by Kaffe Fassett from the fourth Westminster Quilting book (usually available from eBay).

Bella Blouse [Started 9th June 2011]

This is the Bella Blouse by Norah Gaughan from the Knitting Daily Pattern Library. I am using a few balls of Rowan Damask - a yarn I love but now discontinued - for the contrast and I found an ecru cotton blend (Patons Washed Haze) which tones with it quite well for the main shade. As my supply of Damask is limited I am omitting the contrast band at the bottom of the sweater.

Two [Started 22nd August 2010]

This is Two - not another cardigan! But it is, like Puzzle, from Queen of Hearts - in fact, the cover design. The yarn is Patons Misty [25g; 150m], 70% mohair, 30% polyamide. It knits to a double knitting tension of about 22sts to 4 inches, but I am knitting it much looser on 6mm needles. I chose this yarn also at Ally Pally in 2009; being a dress I thought it would take for ever but it seems to be knitting up very quickly so I have every expectation of finishing it soon...