Test Pattern

Knitting weather has returned, so here are some sneak peaks at current projects I'm plugging away on. 

These little nubbins are a new sock pattern, being test knitted for the lovely Emma of Loumms. It's got gorgeous winding cables and a rather amazing heel. I'm still a notice at sock construction, so the first sock had a few mistakes, but the second one seems to be coming along rather nicely. And yes, I'm knitting them in two different yarns, because that's how I roll.

And I've also started working on a turban! The pattern comes from the V & A's knitting patterns archive, and seems a little scary at first because what you're knitting looks NOTHING like what's shown in the photo. But now that it's nearly half done, I think I have a vague idea how it's going to work out. I'm also very tempted to knit up some of the jumper patterns in that archive, but I have a sad, not-even-half-done vest stashed away in a cupboard, crying out for me to finish it. I'll post pictures if it ever gets finished. 

Of Cabbages And Kings

More markets are coming up this weekend - I'll be spending Saturday and Sunday at the Of Cabbages and Kings monthly markets. They'll be held at Abney Hall, smack in the middle of Stoke Newington. It'll be my first time with them, and I've heard good things about it, so, fingers crossed it'll all go well. 

Miwa and I will be sharing a stall again this weekend. It's turning out to be a pretty good partnership so far - we shared both our stalls last weekend and made a bundle! Plus, sharing means we don't have to pay as much for a single stall, so more profit all round! The Little London Fields Festival last Saturday had a huge turnout, and I'm so glad the sun came out for a few hours too. I was really dreading having to set up in a muddy field.

Anyway, if you're thinking of getting a stall of your own at a market or fair, but are hesitant about the costs involved, I highly recommend looking for a likeminded someone and doing the sharing thing. Plus, you get someone else to talk to during quiet periods, and you can bitch about unpleasant customers to each other!

These headbands (as well as some others) will also be up for sale tomorrow. I'm keen to take orders for custom sizes, especially for the turban-style headbands (first photo), so get in touch by email or in person if you'd like one. I reckon they're great for winter...keep your ears warm and all.

Alright, I'm off to sew up more bloomers. They were a bit of a surprise hit last weekend, and I sold out of nearly all of them!

Crowns

I've just added these little crown-y headbands to the Etsy shop. They can been worn as hairbands too, and I've added a lining behind the wool so it feels more comfy. You should be able to go straight to the listing just by clicking on the photos. I've been having quite a bit of fun cabling and beading recently, so expect to see a few more of these pop up in the shop soon. These two were obviously made to fit my head, but I do except custom orders for them, so if you've got a HUGE head, or a tiny noggin, let me know your measurements and I'll make one to fit.

In other Etsy news, I've discounted lots of older items in the shop, as I have a whole new bunch of stock waiting to be added. I'd like to clear the shop a little first though, so it doesn't look too messy. If you're interested in some aprons, now's the time to grab one as they've all been discounted. 

Swatches

Here are the results from the solar dying experiments I did last week. I left these in a jar for about 5 days, then rinsed them out and dried them.

Mercerised cotton thread soaked in (from left): strawberry, raspberry and loganberry tea infusion, forsythia flowers, and dandelion flowers.

I was pleasantly surprised at how vivid the yellow turned out to be from the forsythia pot, the colour looked fairly weak when it was soaking. 

From left: polycotton in strawberry, raspberry and loganberry infusion, linen in same, polycotton in dandelion flowers brew, and linen in forsythia brew.

The first two pieces of fabric on the left don't seem to have absorbed any of the dye at all, and the other piece of polycotton has been dyed a very faint yellow hue, although it just looks dirty here. And again, the linen soaked in forsythia came out in a fairly strong shade of yellow. I wish they were still flowering so I could gather them up and try and obtain a stronger shade of yellow, but sadly, all the bushes around here seem to have shed most of their flowers.

But I have got four other pots on the windowsill right now, and I will post results when I rinse and dry out the swatches. 

Entertainment!

Or - What I Did When My Computer Wasn't Feeling Well.

Made a mountain of cream cheese biscuits, topped with citrus peel and berry jam. Soft and fluffy, like an edible pillow.

Made a dent in the mountain of acrylic yarn I seem to have collected, by starting a colourful granny-square blanket. It's the blanket that warms you twice - once when you're making it, once when you're snuggling under it. 

Befriended a couple of lovely ladybirds in contrasting colours. Things have been going rather badly this month, so I took the fact that I saw two of them within two days as a sign of upcoming good fortune.

Played around with some of the treasures I picked up about a month ago. I made little baskets out of them (they're about an inch tall, and less than that in width) and crocheted little chains for them, topped with a button. They make excellent holders for little treasures like bottle caps, little nutmen, and  erm, other stuff. 

Made more zipper purses, to be posted on Etsy soon. These are from a pair of old linen shorts (they've been washed!) and some scrap floral fabric.

Experiments With Purple

Made a fruit loaf using this recipe, but substituted frozen cherries, smoked prunes and a spoonful of blueberry jam in place of the bananas. I also used some vanilla soy milk and a tiny splash of ginger wine, instead of the coffee I used in the earlier recipe. The insides of the loaf were a lovely shade of purple, and it was great toasted, with some Nutella on top.

Red cabbage casserole, with grated cheese on top. Yes, it really was that violent shade of purple. May not be the prettiest dish around, but it was hella tasty.

Used a couple of leaves from the red cabbage to dye some white crochet cotton, and it came out this lovely shade of pale blue. My earlier experiments using vegetable matter to dye stuff can be seen here. I always get a little surprised when picking them out of the dye bath, as the colours are never really what I expect them to be.

Crocheted Collar

According to my Ravelry account, I started crocheting this collar sometime in May. Which means it's taken me about half a year to finish up less than 6 centimetres of crocheting. And I haven't even blocked it yet, nor I am likely to. Because I'm lazy, that's why.

I also like the ruffliness that the collar has now, and I'm not sure if I'll lose that after blocking. Which is how I persuade myself that it really doesn't need it.

Oh, and that blue beret I'm wearing? Found it in the op-shop for £1, although if anyone asks, I might lie and say I made it.

Young Bill

Aren't these photos just excellent? I love how forced the boys' smiles are - almost like the photographer threathened to take away their ice creams if they didn't smile for the camera.

This photo makes me a little uncomfortable though. The 'snow' looks so obviously fake, and the way it falls reminds me of dandruff. Great big balls of dandruff. No wonder he looks so uncomfortable.

But I'm a brave little girl, so I gritted my teeth and made myself a balaclava using that very pattern as a base. It's actually not so much a balaclava, more of a hood. The thing wouldn't come in very useful should I decide to rob some banks or a jewellery store.

Since I can never leave well enough alone, I ended up modding the pattern. Instead of seaming up the neckband, I decided to add a button tab by adding 10 extra stitches which were bound off before I started on the hood section. Because I LURVE buttons.

The button tab also makes it a lot easier to get the thing on and off your head without messing up your make-up.

The other modification I made to the pattern was to do the hood section in a lacy wave stitch instead of the recommended stockinette stitch. I found knitting straight stockinette terribly yawn-inducing, and since I'm going through a major lace phase right now, I'm taking this opportunity to lace up as much as I can get my filthy mitts on.

It's not quite winter now, but I'm thinking this be great to wear while cycling during the colder months. And it's such an easy pattern that I'm already itching to knit up several more - in different colourways and lace designs - in preparation for when the cold hits.. I'd also like to make the button tab a little longer. More buttons, more fun!

Monogamy

Confession time.

I've been unfaithful.

I've tried so hard to stay true to this relationship, to commit to my one and only. But maybe what they say is true, and that familiarity really does breed contempt. But you're so lovely, though, and it's not like I don't ever want to see you ever again. I just need a break, something new and exciting. Just for now. It's my fault for straying, and now there's not just one, but two others. Who knows what'll happen in the future? I may return to you, if you'll have me back...

Anyone else have this problem? You're working on something, and you promise yourself that you'll finish it this time - no interruptions, no getting bored and shoving it in a corner, no two or three other projects all competing for attention.

Then, halfway through (more or less), you pick up a different skein of yarn, or a yard of exciting new fabric, and you just have to start working with it. RIGHT. NOW.

So you drop the other project, and start fooling around with your new fling...

Then along comes another fancy-pants project that catches your eye, and suddenly, you've got two other little bits on the side that demand your time and attention.

So yes, I do have three items on the needles right now. With a fourth one that I just finished blocking. All these in the last three days. And my fingers are already itching to start making a new apron. What a slut! I should be ashamed.

Fun At The Fete

Eeek! I've been horribly slow at posting lately (no thanks to visitors from overseas, and some 'top secret' work work). All I really want to do today is hide in a dark corner, but I thought I should post a quick update on how the Urban Village Fair last Saturday turned out anyway. My digital camera got commandeered by my tourists for the day, so I didn't manage to get many pictures of the other stalls at the fair.

I've got this rather pathetic photo of the other stalls beside my table, and it was taken so late in the day that about half of the others had already packed up and left. If you squint, you'll be able to see quite a few umbrellas out there. Despite the horrid weather, the day actually turned out be be a success!

The fair was my first one this year, and had heaps of fun! I made enough to cover the cost of the stall (a first! I usually do so badly that I was considering applying for non-profit charity status), met some very lovely crafters, and ate an awesome brownie!

The brownie came by way of the wonderful Cake Collective crew, who also had cute little chocolate hedgehogs, a yummy looking blueberry bundt cake, and some glittery little cupcakes. I had to limit myself to only buying one brownie so I wouldn't - quite literally - eat into my takings for the day.

Cake Collective (left) and loumms (right)

Jo from Kitschcraft also came up for a chat. She makes the sweetest little dollies, and also had lots of brooches and rings with vintage buttons. Lou and Emm from loumms had their stall directly across from mine, and they are two of the sweetest ladies I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Be sure to check out their Etsy shop for gorgeous convertible aprons and Grow Your Own Soup seed packs.

Urban Village Fete

I've been busy over the last fortnight making up heaps of items that will go on sale at the Urban Village Fete this Saturday. It's happening in Peckham (see flyer above for details) and will start from 2pm onwards.

This is going to be the first time I'm doing a stall this year, so I'm pretty excited about it! So excited, in fact, that I've got a huge box filled with stuff ready to go!

I've made up heart buntings, lots of cute little notecards and greeting cards (blank on the inside so you can fill in your own messages), quite a few tardigrade brooches, and I'm spending today making up lots of brooches using scrap yarn and some of my vintage buttons.

If you're in the area this Saturday, do stop by and say 'hi'.

Club Tropicana

Just finished these two pairs of gloves last week - one for my Mummy and one for my younger sister Tiffany. I thought I'd show them off because these are the first gloves I've knit up, and I'm pretty damned pleased with the result.

The pattern came from an old Patons booklet that I found in one of the op-shops down on Walworth Road. They asked for fingerless gloves, so I adapted the pattern by doing only four rows of k1p1 ribbing on the fingers, then casting off.

Ladies back in the day must've had tiny hands, though. I didn't have the right size needles (the pattern asked for size 14 needles - 2mm) so I used a pair of size 12s instead (2.75mm), and they still came out pretty tight. It's not like I have huge hands anyway, mine are ridiculously child-sized! I can't imagine how tiny these would've turned if I'd used the right sized needles. It's a good thing they both have small hands as well, or I'd have to frog them and knit them up again.

This one's just called 'Lace Design' in the booklet, it's basically a meshy, all-over lace design with quite a bit of stretch.

And this is the 'Diamond Lace' pattern, with 4 lace diamonds spread over the front.

I used King Cole Zig Zag sock yarn for them, and I've got about half a skein left, which I guess means I'll be able to knit up another 2 pairs of gloves?

I bought a 100gm ball of King Cole Zig Zag sock yarn and only used about half the ball for both pairs of gloves. So I guess that means I'll be able to make myself another 2 pairs of gloves from the leftovers? I really like the feel of this yarn, it's soft and springy and not too heavy at all, which is great for gloves. I might get more in another colourway, as I'm really itching to try out Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts pattern. We'll see...

In the meantime, more photos of the gloves can be found on my Flickr.

Tiny Gnome Hat

Or, the litte hat that tried hard but didn't fit because I didn't look at the pattern AT ALL! Complacency is the downfall of the lazy knitter...

When Ari had sent me the pile of yarn about a month ago, she had requested a regular beanie that she could wear everyday, as well as a hat with her boy's footie team colours and a pair of armwarmers for her cold limbs.

'A beanie? That's easy, I've made heaps of them, I could whip one up with my eyes closed and one arm tied behind my back!' So complacent...so foolish.

I looked around for a simple pattern that I hadn't tried before and stumbled upon the Republic Hat by Nicole Reeves. Everyone on Ravelry was doing it, there were loads of photos, and it seemed soooo easy. Garter and stockinette stitch, sew seams, add a button and you're done! Could've knitted it with my feet!

So I grabbed a pair of 6mm needles, cast on 56 stitches, knit in garter stitch for just over an inch, bound off 6 stitches and continued the rest in stockinette, then seamed it and put it onto my head. Or rather, tried to put it onto my head - the thing was too small and would only sit on the back of my head for a couple of seconds before popping off.

Gahddammit! I was supposed to send the package off the Ari tomorrow! ARGHHGGSHHH! There was another one and a half balls of that yarn left so I grabbed some 8mm needles, cast on and knit as furiously as I could. While watching Norwegian gore.

The good thing about 8mm needles is that your project knits up pretty quickly, so beanie version 2.0 was finished before the Nazi zombies were done tearing up the pretty Norwegian ski bunnies.

I'm keeping version 1.0 for myself. It makes me feel like a little garden gnome. All I have to do is steal the Man-creature's pipe and grow myself a fancy beard.

Ari The Aviator

If you've been following this blog for at least the last month, you'll remember that my friend Ari asked me to knit her a bunch of items. Besides the Dragonforce gauntlets, Ari also requested two beanies - one for casual everyday wear and one for when she has to cheer on her boy's footie team. Luckily, that team's colours are red and black (Melbourne AFL fans, you probably know what team I'm talking about), quite stylish as far as team colours go. Then again, it could be the repressed teenage emo-goth in me...red and black is pretty much my favourite colour combination ever. Next to purple and pink.

Anyway, she asked me for one that wasn't 'completely bogan', and I tried to oblige. The Amelia Earhart aviator cap pattern was something that I'd been itching to try ever since I joined Ravelry, so after glancing briefly at the pattern, I decided that this was the best pattern for Ari's footie hat. Of course, the pattern states that 'Knitting this cap with a plain yarn of one color shows the knitting pattern best.' A line that I had completely missed/skimmed over/ignored when starting the project. It was only after I'd done about 5 inches that I started getting worried...the stripes were going sideways instead of up, like I assumed they would.


AND I HAD ALREADY DONE 5 INCHES! ARGGHHAHGAHHH!

Way to stubborn to frog it, I decided to complete the whole thing instead and see how the stripes turned out. So I finished it, sewed up the seams, and...well, I reckon it looks pretty awesome! The stripes add some flair to the pattern and make it look like a racing helmet. It's way more stylin' than your typical bogan footie beanie. I added a single crochet row at the front to keep all the knots in place, and also added one black plaited tie/tassel on the right, and a red one on the left, so Ari can secure the hat to her head on windy M-town days.


What do you reckon?

Powermetal Gauntlets

...are the secret name for the pair of armwarmers I just finished for Ari. Why? Because I was listening to these guys -


over and over again, while knitting the armwarmers/gauntlets. (I can't be sure, but it looks like the dude on the end has fake blood on his keytar?)

I think power metal may just be the most effective music for knitting...well, for me at least. It just makes me knit so much faster. I'm a knitting machine when Dragonforce are playing. Sweatshop owners should play them constantly to ensure higher productivity.

Oh, for those interesting in the actual knitting deets - the pattern is based on a wave stitch that I modified occasionally*.

Wave stitch goes like this: Cast on multiples of 12 plus 1
Row 1 - *k1, (k2tog) twice, (yfwd, k1) three times, yfwd, (slip 1, k1, psso) twice, rep from * to last stitch, k1

Row 2 - p

Row 3 - k

Row 4 - p

The way I did it on my armwarmers - start with an inch of 2x2 ribbing, and then *follow the whole pattern once through, then do four repeats of rows 1 and 2 alternately (cutting out rows 3 and 4 - the knit and purl rows), then do another repeat of all four rows after that.

Do that till you're at your desired length (I ended by doing 2 repeats of rows 1 -4) then cast on an extra 6 stitches and finished with an inch of garter stitch. The extra 6 stitches form a tab so you can add a button and close it.

If you like, you can do the whole thing on double-points or just omit the extra 6 stitches altogether. I did it because I like buttons. And dpns make me nervous so I knit it flat then seamed it to just under the garter stitch edge.

Oh, these ones are made to be fitted on the arm - I started with 3mm needles, did a third of the thing, then swapped to 4mm needles, did another third, then finished off the rest with 5mm needles. You can always make them on different sized needles for a bagger/tighter fit, or even just use one size of needles for the whole thing.

I might do another pair on dpns just to get over my fear of them. While listening to Dragonforce, of course. Or maybe even Manowar.

\m/