I Knitted A Jumper

This post comes under the category of Posts I Never Thought I'd Write, including "I sewed a wearable item of clothing", "I successfully made macarons" and "I finally baked that sourdough loaf". My knitted jumper dreams are mainly centred around Sarah Lund style Faroese patterns and complicated Fair Isle colour work - beautiful but incredibly complicated and time consuming - but what do you know, I actually knitted a jumper, and just in time for a heat wave too! I try for seasonal crafting, I really do, but I'm a bit slow with the old needles. 

The pattern is the Dreaming Jumper by Wool and the Gang (you know I'm a big fan of them) which was very kindly - and patiently - gifted to me last November. I didn't really get going on it until the end of the year and then have been working on it off and on for about four months. I know, that's slow. Quicker or more experienced knitters would be able to knit this in a week or two, easily, as it's just four large garter stitch squares sewn together. 

And that's the beauty of it: it is the ultimate beginner's pattern for a knitted sweater. No increases or decreases, no purls, just cast on, knit, cast off. You might say dull. I say relaxing. Wool and the Gang kits are fab and come with everything you need including pattern, yarn, needles, darning needle and even a cute label to sew in, a nice touch.

The yarn is very soft, very chunky and a delight to knit with. It glides over the needles and has great stitch definition while still being a little fluffy. The kit came with six balls of my chosen colour Rocky Grey, but paranoid as I am about jumpers and coats never being long enough in the sleeve for me (I'm 5'11") I bought myself another ball of yarn in Bronzed Olive to edge the cuffs with. I love this block of colour at the end of each sleeve, and they are really, really long now.

The jumper is cloud-like. If I was ever to take it on holiday I would either have to wear it or give it it's own separate bag, as it is voluminous. Folding it is almost impossible.

It's a dream to wear, although perhaps not the most slimming item of clothing in my wardrobe, but if you're cosy who cares.

Angus, who was a little under the weather over the weekend, kept wearing it. He wants a blanket knitted in the same yarn as it it so soft and warm. I would also quite like to knit a blanket in this yarn, I just need to seriously save my pennies first. (Actually, the thought of a one colour blanket in this kind of yarn, with the emphasis on texture more than colour or pattern, is very appealing indeed. Very calming.)

Knitting this jumper has definitely brought back some of my knitting mojo, but also my desire to make more things to wear. I've crocheted and sewn so much for the house, and I will always want to do that, but it's fun to make things to wear too. I want to try my hand at a crochet cotton summer sweater next. 

But overall, a success. I knitted a jumper and I like it a lot. I just need winter to come back now so that I can wear it. 

A Project To Distract You From A Gale Force Wind

Wow, did you hear that wind last night? Incredible. We were all sitting at the table, eating dinner at about 6 pm and suddenly we heard a big thump up on the roof. A tile had blown off and landed on the extension roof (which is single storey), smashing a tile there on it's way down. It missed the glass roof light by a few inches! Lucky. I never knew a falling tile made so much noise - it sounded like someone had thrown a full suitcase out of one of the upstairs windows. This morning we discovered quite a few had blown off in the night. A very kind roofer fit us in on what must be the busiest day he's had this year, and patched the roof so it's doesn't leak. He's coming back tomorrow to fix it properly. Our roof isn't in great condition and a new roof has been on the cards for some time...maybe a little sooner than later now.

But with the awful howling gale and creaking windows and general windiness of it all, I just couldn't relax last night. John was pacing, on falling tile alert, convinced the next one would go through the car windscreen. So we ended up watching a no-brainer action film and I rummaged in my yarn basket, looking for the perfect project. Something non-taxing, no pattern, no decisions, low concentration. I dug out my blanket and got going and it was just what I needed, calming and soothing, hooking and darning. I've made 75 squares now. I reckon I need 225 altogether (15 x 15 squares) and this morning, I laid them all out and felt quite excited. I can start to imagine how it will all look when it comes together and feel spurred on to complete this blanket.

I have about thirty squares waiting for their final white round too, ready in the bag by the sofa for when I have a moment.

In other yarn related news, I unraveled my knitted alpaca cowl, the one with the huge error. I thought about pulling it back to where it went wrong but was worried I wouldn't be able to pick the stitches up correctly. And there were so many dropped stitches and tension issues beyond that point, it didn't really seem worth salvaging. 

And do you know, pulling it back, unraveling those hours and hours of knitting - it wasn't that bad. I thought it would be more painful than that but weirdly it felt satisfying.

Also, my mother in law gave me this cowl for Christmas. It's exactly the same as the one I was knitting (she copied out the pattern I was using when I wasn't looking!) and, as you can see, it's perfect. I think her choice of yarn shows off the pattern better actually, it's less fluffy.

She made mittens too, aren't they gorgeous? She is a very talented knitter. 

So now I have two 50 gram balls of alpaca yarn and I'm wondering what to knit with them. I want to knit them, rather than crochet as I have a lot of crochet on the go at them moment. I'm thinking maybe a hat or mitts? Something easy. Not a cowl! The knitted alpaca cowl is cursed. 

I finished Angus's scarf, at last. Oh I was sick of those colours! But then someone on Instagram said how they reminded her of blue skies, yellow sun and fluffy white clouds and that made me like the colours a little more.

Angus likes his scarf a lot, but I think that's more to do with the fact that it's like Daddy's, and of course dog has a matching one too, rather than any love of Leeds United Football Club.

I hope you've not been too adversely affected by this crazy weather. I know our falling tiles gave us some mid-week drama but we are thankful everyday that we're not flooded or without power. It could be a lot worse.

On The Creative Front

Hello! I promised you an update on recent creative activities, and here we are. First, I wanted to show you two Christmas gifts I made back in December which I couldn't post about before. My mum has recently discovered crochet and I think it's safe to say she's found it as addictive, rewarding and enjoyable as I have. She asked me to make her a tool roll in which to store her crochet hooks and we chose the fabric together when she came to stay back in the autumn. I followed a very good pattern written by Jooles of Sew Sweet Violet, published in Mollie Makes issue 28. The pattern is really for a brush roll, but can easily be used for other implements. Anyway, it's really a very good pattern, and my mum was very happy with her gift, and I was even happier to be able to give it to her. Apologies for the electric light photos - I didn't remember to photograph it until we were about to leave and return to Leeds.

The other item was my Christmas present to John, a scarf. I finished this at about ten pm on Christmas Eve while sat next to him on the sofa, so it was not exactly a surprise for him. But I wrapped it and put it under the tree all the same and he looked happy when he unwrapped it and tried it on. The colours are his choice and he was VERY specific about them. Oh my goodness. No deviation was allowed as, you see, John is a Leeds United fan and wanted the colours to be club colours - they had to be just so. He hasn't been to a live match in about ten years, he isn't a season ticket holder, but that man loves his football, and his local football club in particular. He insisted on nice yarn (I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino) and he didn't want it too wide...on and on he went. But he loves it and wears it every day, and the blue and white suit his colouring so I suppose it could be worse. 

Angus noticed John's scarf and John, not one to miss an opportunity to encourage a passion for Leeds United in his otherwise football-indifferent son, suggested I make one for Angus too, which I've started but not got very far with. And then of course the dog had to have one and it's all getting a bit out of hand and I am sick to death of the sight of that bright yellow and blue. Have you had to create any particular woolen items for sports mad family members? 

Here are some much prettier photos.

I spent a happy Sunday afternoon on the sewing machine a few weeks ago making some more clothes for Bella's rabbit. 

She already had the dress, boots and cape she came with and we added a green scarf to her winter outfit. 

In addition, she now has a short sleeved dress for spring with matching pink boots...

...and a nightdress in some floral print fabric with a lace trim. I used the patterns that came with the dress and adapted them slightly. I noticed that Rosie Rabbit is starting to look a tiny bit bobbly, slightly less smooth than she was before. But since this is the result of much playing, changing of outfits and cuddling, I am not complaining.

.

Now on to something for me: my lovely knitted cowl, made from a pattern and some gorgeous alpaca yarn which were purchased at Yarndale back in September last year. Oh my goodness, this cowl. I was on the last row and realised (duh) that I'd knitted the final third of the cowl completely back to front. I kept thinking to myself "It looks different" but put it down to changing the ball of yarn (maybe it was fluffier!) but no, it was my extreme incompetence. You can see the change clear as day where the arrow is. It was already full of dropped stitiches and you can see where my tension changed when I swapped needles (brands, not sizes) and also it's all bunched in the middle from spending two months squashed in the bottom of my craft basket. But still. All those hours. I will have to unravel it because I'll never cast it off, let alone wear it, in it's current state. 

What I'll do with the yarn remains to be seen. I'm not sure whether I can face re-knitting the same pattern again, I might look for something else. 

And finally, some crochet. I've shown you the colours already but these circles will become squares, and will end up in a cushion. It's working up quite quickly and I hope to finish it this week.

So there we have it, this is what I do during the dark January evenings while watching television. Unless it's The Bridge or Borgen, where I need to read the subtitles, of course. 

2013: A Creative Year

Happy New Year! We are home from our travels again, surrounded by washing and half unpacked bags, catching up with emails and errands. We spent the new year with John's family in Durham - it was really nice, very relaxed. However, I am looking forward to a return to normality next week. This Christmas holiday has been fun but I am ready for routine, order and a lighter, less indulgent approach to life.

Ok, I absolutely promise that this is the last retrospective blog post. But I wanted to review and celebrate last year's creativity before I move on to this year's challenges and projects.

January, February and March:

We have a shoebox bedroom for a mouse (I need to make another of these!), a warm and cosy chunky knitted cowl, some pretty and decorative fabric leaves, a crochet baby blanket for my god-daughter, crocheted coasters, a Valentine's card, a striped cashmerino scarf for Bella, a bag and a bright, geometric cushion.

* * * * * * *

April, May and June:

A quieter few months, as time was taken up with a lot of decorating and gardening, and a large crochet throw. There was another baby blanket, a crocheted snake for Angus, new cushions for Bella's bedroom, fun with spray paint to refresh some picture frames and plant pots and a cotton granny square throw for the sofa. 

* * * * * * *

July, August and September:

The childrens' playhouse got a makeover, there was bunting for Yarndale, picnic napkins for teachers, felt animals, holiday activity bags, felt ice lollies, a floral crochet garland, a crochet scarf for my niece, and a square crochet garland.

* * * * * * *

October, November and December:

My favourite quarter. I made a cushion  from a vintage sheet, an autumnal embroidery (I very much want to make more for spring, summer and winter and hang them together), a knitted washcloth for me, a pile of crocheted washcloths for gifts, two dolls for my nieces, a pile of Christmas and birthday cards, a beautiful rabbit, a little dog and another doll.

* * * * * * *

Phew. I love making things, I do.

A great deal of those were gifts, either for the children or for friends and wider family. Most were sewn or crocheted, a few were knitted. Almost all were done in my spare time, in the evenings usually. I am very glad I made every single one of them. I feel like 2013 was the year I got to grips with my sewing machine; I still can't do zips, but I can make a doll or four. It was also the year I branched out of my granny square comfort zone with crochet, and that was fun and rewarding too. And knitting...ah yes, me and knitting. I was on the last row of an alpaca cowl last night, a project I've been working on for months, a project that was actually for me, for a change, and I spotted a huge mistake right in the middle. So tomorrow I will pull back the entire thing and start again, because what's the point of finishing it now? I'll never wear it, it will feel like a failure. I want all those hours of knitting to mean something, I want it to be right, and it will be, eventually. 

When I look around me at the skills and achievements of others I know that I am, essentially, a beginner in most of these areas. Well, maybe more like intermediate in my crochet skills, and embroidery and hand sewing I think I have a knack for, but when it comes to knitting and proper machine sewing I know that I still have a long way to go. But it would be dull to be good at everything, what would there be to discover, to learn? Like living on a budget, I think I have a talent for spinning out what skills and materials I do have to make something attractive and meaningful, to make life more jolly and colourful. It's a good skill to have, I think.

Snapshots

Here is a flavour of the last few days, as my camera and I potter around the house, snapping here and there. 

Enjoying poached eggs on sourdough for breakfast, or lunch, or any meal really.

Admiring the cable-knit scarf my mother-in-law knitted for Bella ("It's just a little pattern I made up, it's nothing fancy").

Feeling excited (SO excited) to have won Jooles' wonderful giveaway from her shop Sew Sweet Violet. Such beautiful wrapping. Violet coloured, of course. I love details like that.

Unwrapping the advent calender bunting and hanging it in various rooms. It's stunning. Jooles, thank you so much. Allowing myself to feel the first flutters of excitement for Christmas. Panicking a very little bit about the homemade gifts still be, well, made.

Embracing a vintage vibe with my sepia-toned hydrangeas next to the postcard of Virginia Woolf.

Enjoying the sun.

Enjoying the rain, when I'm warm inside looking out at it.

Collecting leaves in every colour.

Knitting, still knitting, with that naughty, splitty, expensive but unbelievably soft alpaca yarn. I am doing respite crochet in between rows.

Seeking bargains in the charity shops and being rewarded with these pillow cases. 

Teaching Angus that real men wear aprons when they make apple crumble.

Savouring every mouthful of John's spinach and ricotta stuffed cannelloni. 

So, that's the last few days. Welcoming my parents, walking in woodland, knitting, trips to IKEA, housework, cooking, eating. A lot of eating. We were going to find a local fireworks display tonight but it's cold, raining and very windy, so we're hiding at home instead. I've got a cup of tea and some apple crumble with custard right here and I'm happy.

A Knitted Washcloth

I think today calls for a little celebration, and for two reasons. The first is for completing my Mollie Makes challenge. Oh yes! More on that tomorrow. And the second is for the fact that I picked up my needles (I had to watch a Youtube video to remember how to cast on, it had been that long) started a knitted project, spotted the mistake in the pattern, proceeded with the project, corrected my errors, did not drop any stitches and casted off. I know, I know, champagne all round!

The pattern is in issue 25 and had been tempting me for a while as it looked like a fairly quick project with enough variation to be interesting and to improve my skills without having a knitting meltdown, plus it was very useful too. I chose Debbie Bliss Eco Baby cotton yarn as it came if some really lovely, muted colours and I liked the way it isn't mercerised which I think can give the cotton a plasticky look. 

About ten rows in I started to get cross and confused. There was no right or wrong side to the knitting, it kept flipping from one to the other. I frogged it twice thinking I must have knitted or purled on the wrong row. Just trust the pattern, I thought, it will make sense if you persevere. But no, still wrong. Hmm, it's like it's missing a row, I thought to myself. I googled "error in knitting pattern mollie makes 21" and what do you know, there was indeed a missing row. I can't tell you how much this boosted my (pretty weak) knitting confidence.

I finally finished it and gave it a quick steam iron...

...then I admired it in the bathroom.

It is divine. I wash my face with it every night and it's very soft but exfoliates my skin beautifully. The yarn feels robust and washes well and holds it's shape. I bought a couple more balls in some dusky pink and cream shades and I fear my loved ones may be receiving knitted (or possibly crocheted) washcloths for Christmas.

I really don't know why I have such a problem with knitting but I need to get over it. People say it's easy, there are only two stitches - plain and purl - to learn, and I understand the logic of that. But to me, it's terrifying! Those stitches slip-slide off the needle when they shouldn't and get twisted the wrong way round, and I'm so painfully slow at knitting. I can't have any distractions, or movement (so no knitting in the car) while I sit hunched over my project. It would probably help if I didn't leave it so long between knitting projects.

But the thing it, I really like the look of knitted items. And while I love crochet (and I really do love it) I am more often drawn to knitted patterns for clothing, in particular accessories like hats and scarves. Nothing beats a nice bit of cable knitting in the colder months. One day I will learn! My mother-in-law (who is a knitter-extraordinaire) tells me it's much easier than I'd think. We'll be staying with my in-laws in the half term holidays at the end of the month so I will go armed with yarn and needles and my gorgeous new pattern for a cowl which I bought at Yarndale, and get this knitting thing cracked!

Or at least make a start on my cowl.