Seeking closure

Firstly, thank-you for your kind comments about the Stoney vest and the Twilley's cardigan.

I've made this wee corsage as a closure for the blue cardigan. I knitted a square in the main yarn then felted it by distressing the bahoochie (sp?) out of it by alternating between boiling and very cold water. Did the trick very quickly, but you will observe the colour change which happened in the process. Not just lighter shades of the main colours, but the nature of the colours is altered. I kinda like it. Sort of rustic or naive or something. It's an homage to something I once saw in a shop.

Of course, if I had knitted a swatch, ha ha ha I could've felted it. It has a brooch pin from Get Knitted on the back.


Happy Knitting. x K

Breezy and Bunchy

That wind would blaw the buckles aff yer shin!

(shoes)

Here are some shots of my latest finished object.

Sirdar Jacket 8750, supposed to be done in Country Style DK, in fact done in Twilley's Freedom Spirit , colourway 506, eight balls.

It has been on the go for some time because I was not feeling the love for it anymore. It started when I didn't like the way the variegated yarn was pooling and striping. I mean, I know you can expect a degree of that but I didn't like THE WAY it was pooling and striping, not the fact.

I persevered through this and got ready to knit up all the rib stitches round the back, fronts and neck. I didn't have the pattern with me (you can see where this is going, can't you?) so I didn't pick up the appropriate amount of stitches. If any of you are writing a knitting book, call on me and I'll give you some pictures of how not picking up enough stitches causes bunching, pleating, puckering, the lot. Don't waste your money on getting a photographer in.

If I wanted the cardigan for something special I would've ripped and rectified, but I just made do. I know the thought of that makes some of you readers' flesh creep, but I can live with it. Maybe some day I'll feel enough distance to go back and fix it, but it's quite a big job.

In the meantime I am needing something nice to close it with. I haven't seen anything in the shops which ticks the boxes so I'm endeavouring to make my own with some leafy and flowery shapes I've cut out from the swatch, felted. If it turns out well, I'll show you in a couple of days' time.

Happy Bank Holiday wishes from a very breezy Galloway district! x K

Manly Ribbed Scarf

I've been tagged by TangledFrog and I'll need some time to think it over.
In the meantime I can show you some photos of a scarf I finished for J in January.
It has been finished for a couple of weeks but the weather has been a bit too wild to try to photograph it in the daylight. Even in these shots you can see it has been anchored down by some pretty hefty stones.
This was a nice easy knit and the colour-changes made it just interesting enough. 20 rows Twilleys Freedom Spirit, 18 Sirdar Peru, 16 Twilleys etc.
The whole middle third was done in the Twilleys 513 which is a variegated turquoise colour.
I don't think I'll be rushing to use the Sirdar Peru again, but I've continued to enjoy the Twilleys on this project.


In other news, I've been trying to do a major clear-out and tidy up. I've got lots of lovely things at home and I want to be able to reach them to enjoy them, so if I don't know it to be useful or believe it to be beautiful (includes sentimental appeal) it has to go. Five bin bags to charity this weekend and still plenty ahead to tackle.

Happy Knitting. x K

Learning curve

This is the result of me trying my arm at crochet.

Let's ignore the fact it's not exactly the weather for wool scarves, a photo opportunity is a photo opportunity after all.

I didn't tell the full story in the first line - this is the result of me trying my arm at crochet without reading the pattern thoroughly.

This is a version of the One Skein scarf in the Stitch 'n' Bitch Happy Hooker book. I admired one made by blogless (to my knowledge) Ella, who goes to Glasgow Knit 'n' Stitch and had a brief look at her pattern and decided to give it a bash in a very gung-ho manner, and of course, let's lengthen it, and of course let's sub a different yarn of a totally different weight. Let's not worry about the fact you're not very crochet-savvy.

Well, it came back to bite me in the bum! The foundation row, or cast on as I will call it, was far too tight in comparison to the body of the scarf, meaning it curves in a rather astonishing manner! It seems that the Happy Hooker would have you use a hook 2mm larger for your initial row, which makes perfect sense now that I read it after the event.

Anyway, it IS wearable, as a sort of collar pic #1 at the neck of your coat to keep the wind out.

Pic #2 shows you the nice colour of the Twilley's Freedom Spirit (2 1/2 balls) in "Bliss" shade 508and my Swarowski love heart brooch.

Pic #3 shows you how much it wants to curve curve curve.

Enjoyed making it, and I will wear it and LEARNED A LOT about crochet. x K





Pic #4 is Lindsay the Llama who finally came up to the fence at Balcary Bay.