Norovember - last gasp - Fake Isle hat

Not another hat?
I just made it.
I'm able to show you another finished item for Norovember just before the calendar flips over.
Blocking and human-modelled shots will just have to wait or I'll miss the deadline - we'll have to do with these shots posed over our Gleneagles Crystal Rose Bowl, which may I say, did an excellent job.
As if you didn't know this is the Fake Isle hat from Amy King, as seen over at MagKnits .

Since Rowan Tapestry came out I've been trying to concoct something like this, which takes advantage of the changing tones in the background colour to mimic those complex fair isle which require a gross of yarns of different colours. Well, in the meantime, this will do the trick, this is just the kind of effect I was looking for, and give my ideas a little longer to ferment. Even better, a friend admired it so much he has got himself a Christmas present. Two-and-a-half done, and counting.

The main shade is Noro Kureyon shade 154, left over from the Siesta blanket from earlier in the month, and the contrast is Kilcarra Donegal Tweed. Unfortunately I had a little less of that than I thought, so I had to omit the lovely "stained glass" section at the top. Next time.

If you scroll down you will see a few more photos, including a big stack of Kureyon to keep on working with long after Norovember has gone.

I must admit that the thing I have enjoyed most about the Norovember knitalong is that I have seen so many things knitted up in the different colourways, so I have a much better idea about the colour choices and gradations. Very informative. Now, where's the credit card?

Norovember Flickr Show

As seen from above. I didn't think I had enough of the Donegal Tweed to do the upper fair isle section of the hat, so I just did the decreases with the Kureyon and reintroduced the blue again at the end.

For the detail-obsessed -who knitters?- the inside view.

None-too-sharp detail shot.

Latest ebay purchase. Pack of 10 Noro Kureyon #159, c*o*u*l*d become a waistcoat.

Trip to Port Mary wearing a new hat.

Okay, first the historical bit-In May 1568, after sojourning at Dundrennan , Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots sailed from a natural harbour in the parish of Revwick, thereafter known as PORT MARY over to Cumbria to a landing bay which was known thereafter as MARYPORT. (Not too far from Woolfest, for the non-historically inclined.)
Now fast forward 438 years to when Kathleen and Jonathan went for a lovely, bracing walk there on one of the blusteriest days of the year.

I was nice and cosy however because I was wearing my lovely (IMHO) hat made from Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran . (About as self-explanatory as Port Mary and Maryport.) It was made to the Rambler pattern, from the pattern support book for the yarn, and I used #17, Vintage Red, same as the book. It's the one where the girl is wearing a blue knotty cabled jumper and a cowboy hat. I got the yarn in a newish yarn shop in Dumfries with the weird and wonderful name of Drop in 4 a Yarn when I was down there for the October week. It has been a lovely yarn to work with.

I don't think this hat is a million miles away from the look of Odessa , but it is just based on k3 p3 moving along to the left every right side row, and then some well-thought out decreases to keep the look on the crown.

Here are a few photos to keep you going. As usual, all photos can be enlarged by clicking.

A travelling knit 3 purl 3 pattern in a sumptuous yarn.

I love the swirly decreases, I look like one of those sea urchin things, which is always a good look, I feel.

More success with the kite here at Port Mary than I got last month at Sandgreen! 

Jonathan feeling the bracing air at Port Mary. 

Updating

Still beavering away, updating KEDkrafty Finished Objects , my other blog.

Going Live!

Thank you very much for the lovely comments about my Siesta throw, it certainly seems to have hit the spot.

Now, a while ago I took a notion to start up a blog which just showed my finished objects, with no in-progress shots, stash flashes, pictures of cookies, Scottish Tourism stuff etc. Just the gen on the finished items from January 2006 onwards.

So, KEDkrafty Finished Objects has been born!

It will hopefully be a breeze to maintain when I have cleared the backlog of recent finished objects, but for now I will have to gradually add things I have stored. I have done five posts, which I think is a reasonable time to get you on board, and I will try hard to work my way through all the things I have made this year, as well as giving occasional reference to things I made in my pre-blogging days.

Thank you so much for your kind comments about Siesta. x K

Siesta Throw

I've finished the I-cord edging so now I can show you my lap blanket, or Siesta Throw, as it shall henceforth be known. It had to have a Spanish name because it reminds me of a gaucho poncho (for want of a better picture) and I can see myself snuggling up on the couch with this having a nap, so SIESTA it is.





This is my (first?) contribution to Norovember and it took 4 balls of Noro Kureyon in shade #154 (the bright one), 4 balls of shade #159 (the subdued one) and part of a ball of Kilcarra Donegal Tweed. There are some colours in common between the two Kureyon shades, although one is far more acid than the other. For example, both shades have an identical green and an identical burgundy.
As you can see I did two rows from one ball, two rows from the other. I generally let the yarn do the talking but once or twice I stopped and started using the other end of one of the balls if the colours were continuing to be too close for too long.
I used the Kilcarra Donegal Tweed to make an applied I-cord edging. I shopped the stash for this one and it was ideal because it is very close in texture and spin to the Kureyon. You know the course/ rustic feel to the Kureyon? I got mine in Dublin in 2000, but I see you can get it on the net from Lavender Yarns in Ireland . The Noro was from getknitted (see sidebar).

It was one of those addictive things where you have to keep going even though it's way past your bedtime, just to see how the next two colours will behave with one another.
I originally got the idea for this when I fell in love with a pair of socks I saw over at roxyknits.








I've included this last picture because I have a funny, borderline ecstatic, look on my face as I rushed outside to catch a brief moment of natural sunlight in between the horizontal rain. Some of the other pictures we took gave you a better view of the colours in the throw, but this is the one which captured the bliss, the doo doo doo doo doo , I'm lovin' it!

Noro Kureyon teaser

Here are the ends I've been left with after sewing in the ends of my Noro Kureyon project. I think they look funny and I will try to felt them into little balls for the hell of it. Yes, India, I did weave in the ends as I went along, but I did have to do a bit of tidying and securing.
The project is a lap blanket and will count as my Norovember project.
One long edge of attached I-cord to go, then it goes in for a bath and I'll show you it.
Actually if it's fair weather this weekend I may feel compelled to show you it, bathed or not.







This picture is to highlight that the girls at my work said how well they thought my mitts went with my suit. I hadn't actually thought of that, it's purely coincidental, but now they come to mention it....


Also, I did notice that the shops have loads of fingerless mitts, wrist warmers and loooong fingerless gloves in them this winter so for once I may briefly be in fashion, you never know.

Autumn leaves

Hi, recently I was involved in the Charity Mitt Knit over at K1 Yarns. I had never really fancied making fingerless gloves until I made those Olive Kid Classic ones, which now belong to my pal Mhairi, the generous gal she is. While I was knitting them I started to fancy the notion so I've just finished a pair of my own. These were made in Rowan Felted Tweed in #142 Melody and #145 Phantom. Thanks to my other pal Karen for giving me the idea of putting bows on them as an embellishment. Here they are in their autumn leaf glory. I'm now in the mood to make a beret to go with them; that yarn has great yardage, but that might be pushing it a bit.


I had never seen myself making/using fingerless mitts. I had never seen myself making/ using lacy shawls. And I had certainly never seen myself making a knitted lap blanket. Well, this is all changing, as part of Norovember I am making myself a small blanket in Noro Kureyon #154 and #159. Doing very well with it too, on the last lap, 75.43 miles of applied I-cord. L-o-v-i-n-g i-t! (The blanket, not so much the I-cord.)



This is a massive orange and pecan cookie from Cookies Galore. Don't ask me why so massive, I thought I had diligently followed the instructions. Turned out very yummy as biscuits, but also great dessert wafer garnishes. Mmmm.

Day of the Dead

Hiya. Interesting you should ask Carol if we teach about Hispanic festivals in our classes. Well, the truth is, we touch on them. We are very driven by the formal curriculum, and unfortunately don't have anywhere near the amount of time I would like to spend on the culture and lifestyle of the countries we are learning about. (There is no great distinction between Spain Spain and the rest of the Hispanic world, we are indiscriminately rushed!) I'm hearing great things about how this is going to change soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
Even within the context of the current race towards assessments, I do make a point of bringing out some of the highlights, even if I do have to shoe-horn it in briefly while the pupils are packing up at the end of the lesson etc.
My first years (11, 12 yrs.) did manage to do some work on the Day of the Dead, and they enjoyed learning about the offerings on the shrines for the deceased, but their favourite concept about it was the idea of confronting death, and taking the sting out of it by treating images of death irreverently. As such I thought you might like to see some folk art in the naive style which a couple of my budding artists produced at home...hope you like them...thanks very much for the insight into what happens in your area Carol, I'll use that next year, hee hee. x K

A skeleton in a fancy but shabby suit. 

One pupil's clownish skeleton. Facing up to death by ridiculing it.