The best kind of mail

There is always a bit of a buzz when mail arrives and there is even greater joy when that parcel is a gift or a prize as opposed to the stream of packages that arrive from online shopping. I received such a parcel yesterday and I definitely gave out a squee of delight when I got it.

A couple of weeks ago I won one of the prizes from Bonnie Sennott of Blue Peninsula's selfish KAL. She was giving away a skein of Elemental Affects Cormo; a set of Lavender Hill Knits stitch markers; and a Ravelry “sheep mistake” pouch (A collector’s item! These are sold out - the new ones will have the word “Romeldale” spelled correctly.) I submitted my Sawmill River Hat that I knit in Brooklyn Tweed Loft and by random number generator selection I won the skein of yarn.

The yarn is a 100% Cormo wool fingering weight yarn and the skein is a generous 550 yards. The colour is a lovely mustardy greeny yellow and the long staple of the Cormo fibre gives it a naturally beautiful lustre. The fibre is soft and squishy to touch but still has an essence to it that shows that it hasn't been overly processed. I love how this skein is able to be both a shiny, soft wool while retaining it's rustic woolliness.

I am already dreaming up projects that I can knit with it. Since it is a generous 550 yards I can definitely get a substantial single skein project out of it. I am leaning towards another one of Bonnie's patterns; the Hop Brook scarf, but then I thought maybe I could pair it with one of the single skeins of Ton of Wool Cormo that I purchased when Kylie Gussett was closing out her business. I'm not 100% sure about the pairing of the cooler blue-grey tones of the Ton of Wool skein with the clearly autumnal tones of the Elemental Affects Cormo. Pictured together they are not too bad but I will definitely have to swatch to see how they sit together in knitted fabric.

Please share your suggestions on what to knit, especially if you have worked with Cormo before and have noticed any specific peculiarities of this fibre.

I always want to express my immense gratitude to Bonnie for hosting such a fabulous KAL and for the amazing prized. Thank you!

Finished object file: Campside Shawl | Nunnaba Artisan Yarn Gradient

One of the great knitting moments in life are when you finish a project and it becomes an immediate favourite wardrobe item. My recently finished Campside Shawl designed by Alicia Plummer is one of those items. I have been wearing this shawl a lot and it's just a delight.

The pattern for this shawl was offered as a free pattern on the Pom pom Magazine blog about a year ago and you can access it here. The post also shares Alicia's story of what inspired her in the design for this shawl. Campside is reminiscent of her childhood summers spent at a family cabin. For her the pattern connects with her memories of comfort, warmth and shelter. It is a deeply personal story but one that resonates with all and when I wear my Campside I feel wrapped in soft comforting wool and it warms my heart.

The pattern has a few issues making it challenging to follow but nothing that an experienced knitter can't work out. It only has charts for the eyelet lace pattern and sometimes the lack of written instructions can leave you making some deductive leaps with the knitting. Basically there are some points in the charts where you could deduce that an extra eyelet and decrease is missing but you can also knit it as charted too and it doesn't really affect the overall look of the shawl. I figured at the end of the day, this was offered as a free pattern, I shouldn't get too uppety about errors. 

For this great wardrobe staple I used some deliciously soft high micron merino from White Gum Wool that had been hand dyed by Nunnaba Artisan Yarn into a gradient colourway called 'Blue Jay'. When I ordered this yarn I requested that the gradient colours be spread over the 300g as a long gradient. I didn't want to receive 3 skeins of standard gradient dyed yarn because that would make a bigger project slightly more challenging. 

When a gradient comes in a single skein all the colour transitions are contained in that single length of yarn. This poses the challenge of finding the perfect pattern to match with the yarn; where all colours will be utilized. If you find a small project that requires approximately the same yardage as one skein of the yarn then perfect, you'll get all the colours and no leftovers. However, when you do this you might find yourself limited to small projects like kids garments or hats because you won't have enough yardage to make anything bigger. 

Over time I have figured out a few ways to work larger projects with gradients, so here are my suggestions. One way is to alternate skeins of the gradient and depending of how many skeins you are prepared to juggle you can double, triple, (or even more) your yardage. 

Another idea is to add on skeins of the trim colour. The trim when a dyer offers a semi solid colourway that is the same as the outside colour of the gradient skein. When knitting, you get to the end of the gradient but need more yardage you can continue knitting in the trim colour so that the colour transition is not interrupted. 

If the trim option is not available you can just use the gradient as a feature and then finish off the pattern with a neutral colour. For example Kelly Brooker's Conscious pattern is designed with gradients in mind. The yoke can be knit out of a gradient and then the rest of the pullover is finished off with something else.

Then lastly, there is what I did with my Campside project; specifically ordering a long gradient so that the colours were spread across the whole 300g of yarn. It made knitting this shawl so much easier because I had one large cake of yarn to knit through that needed no alternating or changing of colours. 

There is so much to love about this shawl and I must say the result is exactly what I wanted. What I have achieved here has helped me be less afraid of working with gradients and given me many ideas for how to tackle similar projects in the future.

What experience do you have with knitting with gradient yarns? Have you tackled the challenges differently? Do share your thoughts and tips.

Finished object file: Sawmill River Hat | Brooklyn Tweed Loft

I finished this hat about a week ago but with the busyness of kids at home on summer holidays I haven't had much time to think about blogging.

This Sawmill River Hat by Bonnie Sennott was a spot of selfish knitting that gave me the opportunity to have a play with Brooklyn Tweed's Loft (fingering weight) yarn. Just before Christmas, Yarn + Co., a LYS in Melbourne got in a shipment of BT and to my knowledge they are the only Australian stockists of this much sought after yarn. I was quite beside myself with excitement and didn't hesitate to pick up a few skeins as a Christmas present for myself.

When it came to picking a pattern for this gorgeous yarn I wanted a single skein project and something with cables. Bonnie Sennott's hat pattern fit the bill exactly I even went with the sample colour, Hayloft.

When swatching with the loft the yarn broken as I was casting on with the long tail method. I had read that this yarn due to it's woollen spun nature was very delicate and this break just confirmed that. So my first few rows were knit quite gingerly for fear of breaking the yarn again. Once I got going I was more confident and familiar with the feel of the yarn in my hand so that nervousness disappated.

In my hand the yarn felt rustic but not itchy. It is a lovely tweedy yarn spun from  American grown Targhee-Columbia wool. I don't know much about this breed but I must say the wool is a delight to wear against the skin. At first touch it may not feel very appealing especially to knitters who are mostly merino users. It does not have that same squishiness of merino wool but when you look closely at the strand it is clear that it is undoubtedly soft, lofty and delicate. 

Shortly after I cast on this project I was browsing around Bonnie's Ravelry group page and noticed that she was hosting a 'Selfish knitting KAL'. My project met the requirements of the KAL; being a new project cast on in the new year, it was one of Bonnie's patterns and I was knitting it for myself. I joined in the chatter and was quite excited that I was ticking off my goal of attempting more KALs this year. I finished well ahead of the cut off date and I just enjoy watching and commenting on my fellow knitters' progress now. There is also a pretty good prize on offer but I don't think my chances of winning it are pretty high.

Such well defined cables from the BT Loft.

I did make a few modifications to the pattern and you can read my project notes from my Ravelry page here.

I liked knitting with the BT Loft and I really enjoyed the cables of the pattern. I am happy that I have another soft and snuggly hat ready for me in the winter and now that I've experienced this highly talked about yarn, I'm dreaming of more projects that I can make with it.

2016, another year of making

New projects in the new year. I cast on a Sawmill River Hat with some yummy Brooklyn Tweed Loft that I have been so keen to try for so long.

Now that we have flipped over to the new year I wanted to share my making goals for 2016. I'm not going to be as specific as last year's post that listed what I aimed to make each month over the course of the year. I do have similar goals this year based on when the birthdays of family members fall but I think there's no need to write them out again.

My general making goals for 2016 are:

• To stash less and to knit my stash.
• To continue to try new things especially more colourwork. 
• To continue to build my handmade wardrobe and the kids' wardrobes.
• To participate in more KALs and even try a MKAL*.
• To always have a pair of socks in progress because socks make good travel knitting.

Stash less

I have been thinking about this goal a lot and I have come up with a plan to help me stash less. My aim is to select the yarn that I wish to work with and to cast on the project that I had set it aside for. I have usually been a person who finds a pattern and then tries to match yarn for it and often I feel like the yarn in my stash is not suitable because I have either already intended it for something else or I don't think it is the right yarn for the project. Then I start looking for some new yarn and of course we know how the story goes. Therefore, by committing myself to knit the beautiful fibres that I already own I get to not only stash bust but also to make those patterns that I have been queueing for so long.

New techniques

As a maker there are always new things to learn and I am still such a newbie at knitting and sewing. Everything that I attempt with the sewing is new for me so in this area I won't find it hard to broaded my skill set. With knitting I want to try more colourwork, especially stranded colourwork techniques and possibly attempt a fair isle styled project. I will also hopefully develop more confidence with pairing colours together to make pleasing and attractive garments.

Handmade wardrobe

This will involve attempting to make those jumpers that I have been dreaming of, not only for myself but also for my children and husband. I have also been building a bit of a fabric stash so I really need to get onto the sewing machine and smash out some tops, dresses and shorts for myself and the kids. The new machine that my darling Hubs gave me for Christmas will definitely help with achieving this goal. Such gifts show me that I am truly blessed to be known and loved.

KALs and MKALs

There is such a buzz when you are making something socially. There is the joy of chatting about pattern and yarn selection and the kudos you get when you actually finish the object and post it in the forums. I'd like to try a mystery knit too because it sounds like a fun and interesting challenge to take on.

Socks

I have already cast on a pair of toe up socks and I'm knitting two at a time on magic loop. There are surprisingly so many aspects to sock knitting and so many different techniques and styles. Just working on socks will be helping me to learn new things and they make great projects to take along everywhere.

I predict that throughout the year I will be making for my family and friends as usual but I hope that there will also be a fair bit more 'me' knitting in the months to come.

What are your goals for the year? Wishing you all a happy new year and I look forward to seeing your making in the year to come.

*MKAL = Mystery Knit a long.

2015 in review

Some of my handmade Christmas gifts: Honey Cowl for my mum, stockings for the kinder teachers, Purl Soho skirt for my neice.

It's the last day of the year and as the year draws to a close I inevitably begin reflecting upon the days that had passed. This year has been a big year for me as a maker. I learnt many new things and achieved some of my goals but also failed at things too because some things are a bit beyond me for the stage of life I'm currently in.

Looking at the post I wrote back at the beginning of January where I set out my goals and making list for 2015 I feel pretty happy with what I managed to tick off in the months that followed that post. You can read the full details of the post, or just for a recap here is what I aimed to achieve in 2015:

2015 Making List

Some general aims I have for this year are:

1) To stash less* and knit from my existing stash as much as possible.

2) To knit up those patterns that I have queued.

3) To finish those few projects that I hibernated a long time ago.

4) To give handmade = knitted gifts.

5) To keep trying new things and learning new skills.

6) and under the influence of ex-physio husband; to take care of myself physically as a knitter - stretching and resting the hands, shoulders and neck muscles regularly etc.

Jan

Finish Rye socks for Ba

High water for Sir S

Bonnet for Baby Cheng

Feb-Mar

Baby cardigan for A’s baby no.2

Livie for Miss L (birthday present)

beanie for Sir S (birthday present)

Apr

Mitini mitts for SIL** (birthday present)

Windschief for Bro  (birthday present)

Softie for Niece L (birthday present); needs to be sent to USA so I've got to work on it early.

May-Jun

Neon ski bonnet for me; in preparation for our snow trip.

Hat for hubby (anniversary present)

Neon ski bonnet for Miss L; because I want to make a matching hat for my little girl.

Jul-Aug

Finish Salander leggies for M; which is an overdue present from last year's birthday.

Bella Shawl or Span for me; I think either of these might be a good knit to travel with, but might turn out to be too ambitious.

Sep

Start Christmas projects; I know it sounds crazy but some of these presents need to be sent overseas so I better get onto them early.

Socks for BIL

Hat for SIL

Quaintly for Niece L

Oct

Scarf for SIL

Socks for Bro

Socks for Ba

Nov

Kinder teachers’ presents

cowl for Ma

Dec

Christmas stockings for the family

I remember beginning quite strongly in January and managing to tick off the items that I had listed and added a few too. Everything was following the list pretty swimmingly until about March when I got a bit too overconfident and started casting on an extra project here and there when I felt a bit bored with the existing WIPs. It was around this time that I took on a comissioned project for a friend. I found the experience of knitting for "work" challenging, but it was mostly because I accepted the project while I was already trying to knock out a couple of birthday presents for family members.

When little Miss L got really sick around Easter and I was majorly sleep deprived the only thing I (and she) found some joy in was a trip to the LYS and the purchase of a sweater lot of yarn. I haven't made anything with that lot of Shilasdair luxury DK yet but it kind of opened the floodgates to the idea that yes, I can be a sweater knitter. 

That leads me to talk about how I went with stashing less and knitting my stash. I failed miserably at stashing less. I probably went the other way than stashing less and actually began acquiring sweater lots of yarn throughout the year with big dreams of knitting so many cosy jumpers to build my handmade wardrobe. In reality I only managed one adult jumper, a tee, a shrug and a half and an assortment of accessories. The handmade wardrobe is slowly building, hence it being "slow fashion", but the stash is not getting any less. There has just been so many yarns calling out to me this year and you know there is always next year to try better at stashing less.

In terms of some of my other goals, I did manage to make most of the gifts that I gave this year. Even when I was feeling completely time poor and overwhelmed with the prospect of knitting another baby gift I felt even more overwhelmed with the thought of taking two children to the shops. So I pushed myself and made lots of baby hats and even a couple of cowls for girls who had invited Sir S to their birthday parties.

Happy Homemade: Sew Chic Kids have easy shorts that even a sewing newbie like me can manage.

I do believe I kept trying new techniques. I learnt to knit cables without a cable needle, I did a circular yoke for the first time, I knit socks cuff down and toe up, I did some test knitting, I did a couple of KALs and I started sewing. I also made it to The Craft Sessions and had a go at dyeing and weaving and in general had a fabulous time meeting lots of very talented crafty people.

As you can imagine with all these new things that I was trying lots of different projects were being cast on and I did kind of lose track of my making list. Everything kind of fell apart towards Christmas as I found myself becoming a bit of a selfish knitter and all my WIPs were 'me' projects. I decided I wasn't going to be able to knit all my Christmas gifting this year so I commandeered my mother's sewing machine and found the simplest and quickest sewing projects that a newbie like me could handle.

I made this apron for my brother and I got the 'pattern' from Purl Soho.

I guess it's no surprise that this year I made more than I have ever made before. I'm still determing what goals I will set for 2016 but I'm pretty sure it'll be another big year for little ol' me. 

Thanks for reading this little blogging adventure of mine. It's been a pleasure to put my thoughts out there this year and also such a delight to know that there are a few readers following my ramblings. I hope you've had a productive year too and look forward to continuing this journey together next year.

Have a happy new year everyone.

Yarn review: Skein Meadow

Recently I knit with Skein's new base, Meadow to make my Sibella pullover. I finished the pullover last week and got the chance to wear it this week when the cool change swept in to break the first burst of summer heat in Melbourne. As this is a new base for Skein I wanted to put some thoughts out there about the yarn.

When Kristen, owner and dyer of Skein yarns announced on her FB page that she was trying out a new sport weight non-superwash merino base I jumped onto her shop straightaway and snapped up four skeins of the Meadow dyed in 'Ice on the Windowpane'.

When the yarn arrived I was in love. My first impressions were that it was soft and squishy and the yarn had a nice twist in it so I expected it to be sturdy and suitable for a sweater project. I also noticed that the colour was a softer more muted variation of the colourway and concluded that the rawness of the fibre (having not been subjected to the superwash process) meant that it wouldn't take on as much dye in the dyeing process. I was not disappointed by this fact because the muted colourway is still just as beautiful.

When I swatched with the yarn I saw that the yarn had good stitch definition - crisp and consistent stitches in both stockinette and garter stitches. Then I blocked the swatch and even with some squishing of the swatch I noticed that small sections of it remained that dry look. This meant that the yarn was still a bit water repellant, possibly due to some traces of lanolin still being in the fibre. I was falling more and more in love with this yarn with each step and I couldn't wait to actually start knitting a project with it.

When I was knitting my Sibella pullover I decided to alternate the skeins to ensure there would be no colour pooling. Kristen recently wrote a very clear blog post about why it is important to alternate skeins when knitting with hand dyed yarns. She also made an easy to follow video tutorial for alternating skeins when knitting in the round. You can find both post and video here.

Now that I have been wearing the pullover for a couple of days I have noticed a bit of pilling in the underarm area, but that is to be expected with woollen fibre that has not been superwashed. It just means that it will need an occassional brush with my lilly brush or some other depilling device. I am by no means disappointed with the yarn because it is the type of wool that deserves a little bit more TLC.

Meadow is a base that suits knitters who prefer soft merino in it's true form. It will need handwashing and the occassional depill. It will also dye up into softer tones of the luscious Skein palette. It is definitely one of my new favourite yarns.

Blocking, what is it and why do we do it?

Pinning the lace yoke of my newly finished Sibella pullover will open up the lace a little more.

Mats and strong pins are the basic blocking essentials.

Blocking is another one of those things that knitters talk about and nobody else knows what it is. It is also one of those things like gauge swatching that often get skipped and you can be a knitter for many many years and not actually know what blocking (or swatching) is.

Basically blocking is what you do when you wet a piece of knitting and then you lay it out to dry. Sometimes the piece of knitting will require a bit of shaping and pinning in order to pull it into the shape and size that the pattern has indicated that it should be. 

There is a saying that "blocking fixes all problems", while this is not entirely true it does fix some things. One of the benefits of blocking is that by gently manipulating the wet knitting you can even out any tension discrepancies and help the stitches look more consistent. It is also essential with lace work to block the piece afterwards in order to open up the lace so that it will show properly.

Some yarns will not show it's full nature until it has been wet blocked. Some fibres will bloom after they have been wet and that simply means that the yarn will kind of puff a bit after it has dried from being wet. This blooming can affect the gauge of the knitted work and also the crispness of the pattern design particularly when colour is involved.

There are many different blocking techniques and each piece will require a slightly different treatment. However, here is a description of my standard blocking process. I will fill a bucket with water and put a little bit of wool washing detergent in it. I will let the knitting soak for at least 30 minutes to allow all the fibre to properly absorb the water and be saturated. After soaking I will gently squeeze the water out of the knitting; never treat handknits roughly for the risk of felting. Then I will roll the knitting up in a towel to remove excess water.

Lace blocking wires are especially useful when trying to achieve a straight edge on your knitting.

T Pins and wires.

Then I will pin the piece out on a foam mat; either a camping mat or a yoga mat. Sometimes I will also use lace blocking wires to obtain a really straight edge or to pull the lace open with a consistent tension. The pins I use are strudy 'T' shaped craft pins and the lace blocking wires are a set that I bought from my LYS, Sunspun.

I will leave the wet knitting pinned out to dry in a warm spot in the house or outside in a shaded spot. I make sure that the knitting is bone dry before I will remove the pins and wires otherwise the knitting will not maintain the shape or size that you pinned it out to. However, even this does not mean that the sizing and shaping is permanent. I have noticed in particular that no matter how meticulously I blocked my shawls that gradually they kind of scrunch up again. In fact, everything will need to be re-blocked each time it is washed, so I guess when those shawls are scrunching up it is just time for a quick wash and reblock.

I hope that gives you all a basic understanding of what blocking involves and why we do it. Now you can keep me accountable and avoid lazy knitter behaviours by asking me if I've blocked my finished projects before wearing them adoringly.