Finished at last!

selfie with cardigan

 Well, this isn't the best photo in the world but it does prove that I've finished my fair-isle cardigan project.

close up of pattern on sleeve

It appears that I've spent nearly a whole year knitting this! Hunting through the blog for previous posts about it, I found the first reference last January - OK it was only in the planning stage then but I can't believe it's taken me so long. It was a bit slow to get started , ran into problems along the way and my usual running out of yarn difficulties Still, it's finished now and I'm hoping my next project doesn't take the same length of time.

Spot the difference

I've taken a long while over knitting this cardigan - because of the patterning and colour changes I've not been picking it up so much while watching TV. It is at last starting to get somewhere - front and back are finished (on the right) and one sleeve (left of pic). As so often when trying to use up my leftovers, I've run into problems over the amount of wool I have left - so mush so that I've had to really cut back the amount of darker green used in the sleeves. Hopefully, as the colours changed with each pattern repeat, this isn't too noticeable.

A little 'oops' moment.....

....well, actually two.

pattern - sort of

I settled down in front of the TV on Sunday to watch a very young Tom Cruise in Legend and got out my knitting as I do. Then realised I'd lost the 'pattern'. Now it's not an easy-to-find thing when instead of a book or even a proper leaflet, the pattern is just scribbled notes on the back of a sheet of A4 paper - possibly an old school letter. Because I'm mixing up two patterns for this project - one for the sizing and shaping, one for the colour chart - I have notes about shaping, stitch numbers and colour changes on this. Without it, I'd have been lost!
Fortunately, after a bit of a search, it re-surfaced among other notes - though I'd lost nearly 20 minutes of Legend!

 So then I settled in to my knitting and film watching - so settled that I forgot to join in the pocket!

I'd got beyond the point it's now back to and had everything to take back.

I'm now hoping to progress with less drama.

Knitting - another 'use-up-the-bits' project

I'm having a bit of a slow start to this project based on a Rowan design but knitted in finer yarn. I only seem to pick it up while I'm watching TV and if the programme's plot is too gripping I leave the knitting! Still it is starting to grow slowly - now reached armhole shaping - but at the same time I'm starting to worry if I've enough yarn in each of the colours.

Knitting - finished project and plans for next.

 First the finished project - a long scarf knitted in 'ostrich' yarn, so nice and fluffy but maybe not too warm. Being plain stocking stitch, it didn't take long to make but would have taken less if I hadn't decided it was long enough, cast off and then changed my mind. Undoing the casting off and picking up the stitches seemed to take forever because of the nature of the yarn.
Anyway, it's now finished so on to the next thing...

.....this necessitated a day or two immersed in pattern books with yarn spread out everywhere.

 I wanted something lightweight and fitted, suitable for wearing indoors, rather then out, in the current cold weather. I have a huge stash of 4ply Jaeger washable wool - but only 5 balls at most of any one colour, so I was looking for striped or fair isle.

 I've settled on re-working this Rowan pattern from Magazine 28, using 4ply instead of double-knit, 5 colours instead of 4 and making a cardigan instead of a jumper! The swatch looks good I think but I may also alternate the colours round to use them up evenly.

Gloves from sleeve off cuts.

Remember I had a cardigan with sleeves that were too long and had to be chopped off?

Well, this is the end of one chopped-off sleeve - now worn the wrong way - that I decided was too lovely  to waste.

It isn't quite the right shape for gloves but I think will work.

So I found out some oddments of matching yarn and picked up the stitches.

It's slightly baggy round the wrist so I may add either a cord or some coloured elastic.

A bit of shortening

I made this fair-isle cardigan quite a while ago and although I've worn it a lot the sleeves have always been too long - I'm not stretching the sleeve in this photo, it really comes to my fingertips! I've decided that it's now time to shorten them, pulling a thread out just above the pale pink hearts on the left of the photo.  

I'm also trying to think of uses for the chopped-off bits of sleeve - gloves maybe?

Finished!

 My odds and ends fair isle slipover is now

finished and drying after a quick rinse to 'settle' the knitting.

I just need some cooler weather now, so I can wear it.

(maybe not, Summer is nice now it's arrived)

Knitting- continued...

Just an update on my current odds and ends knitting project  It's progressing fairly well - it speeds along on evenings when I watch TV or DVDs then slackens if I spend the time reading.
I've now reached the arm-hole and V-neck shaping so things should proceed quickly.
I'm running into the 'help will I have enough to finish' stage but so far, so good. the main snag is holding back yarn for the neck and sleeve edgings.

Odds and Ends - and Knitting

I have huge stashes of wool around the house - but  on close inspection, so many bags turn out to just hold odds and ends. I hoard too many little bits in the hope that one day they'll be useful for something. Some of them are only a metre or two in length!

 Anyway, I thought it was time to clear some of them out and hopefully make something nice in the process. 

I gathered up all of the blue-y yarns, with neutral beiges and creams and small amounts of lilac and pink for contrast - and started knitting.

The first bit didn't work well, so I undid it and tried again - it's better this time, I think.

 Because some of the yarns are in very short supply and some of the colours are difficult to tell apart by artificial light, I'm knitting both sides at the same time. It makes a mess on the floor though with so many bits of wool in use at any time!

Autumn makes #1 - New Hat

Don't think I knocked this up after posting about Autumn plans - it's actually a re-make of my daughter's hat. It's no longer her style of thing and the ribbing was cracked, but it seemed such a pity to throw it away.

I didn't have any of the original red wool for the ribbing so it's been re-done in blue - and slightly larger to fit my head!
Seeing it on, daughter actually said "It doesn't look too bad" - high praise!

What is that?

So, I've finished my latest knitting project, with which I'm pleased.

I've used up lots of those irritating odds and ends of wool left from other things, have a short-sleeved jumper ready for cold weather on its way and a little bit of space in the storage cupboard. It was intended to be a slip over but as I had some brown yarn left, it grew sleeves.

Showed it to the teenager who said "What is that?", "Why didn't you ask me before you made it?" and " You're not going to wear it are you?".
Well, I have worn it and I STILL like it!

using up the odds and ends

actually getting somewhere with using up all those bits of wool!

knitting - my favourite fair isle hat

this is one really was a bit-user. some of the yarns are only used for 2 or 3 rows. it's the kind of thing I love to make - something brilliant (even if no one else agrees) made out of bits left lying around.

knitting - children's fair isle hats

hats have to be my favourite way of using up all those leftover bits of wool. you don't need a lot even if the hat is single- coloured (it's less effort to knit a surplus ball and a half into a hat than to take the one un-started ball back to the shop and try for a refund). but once you start knitting stripes or fair isle patterns, almost any short lengths of yarn can be used up.















because a hat is basically a rectangle of material, shaped at the top and joined up the back, there are none of the matching problems that occur with, for example, sweaters -even with a stripy sweater the back and front generally match, so while knitting one half you need to be sure there is enough yarn left to make the second. with a hat, you just start at the bottom and knit whatever you feel like - if it looks dreadfully wrong, it will always unwind.
Give it a try - find a simple hat pattern with straight sides and all the shaping on the crown - and see what you can create.