Casting on

     
I'm giving my sewing machine a rest after a busy week and getting on with my new project, a Wildflower Cardigan. The pattern is by my favourite designer at the moment, Alana Dakos. You may remember that I made the child sized version, the Wee Wildflower,  for Vivi last September. The link is to my photos and projects page on Ravelry.

I had to think long and hard about the sport weight yarn for this cardigan as I have been a bit disappointed with the Debbie Bliss brand I used for the Gnarled Oak cardi and the Bergere de France for the Entangled Vines. Both pilled badly although the Debbie Bliss looks OK if I use one of those velcro type brushes that remove lint. I don't think I should have to do that though when the yarn is so expensive.

I needed a harder wearing yarn that was not quite as soft. I searched the forums on Ravelry and found that an American yarn called Chickadee from Quince & Co was really popular. It is only stocked at one shop in London, Loop,  and they did not have quite enough yarn in the colour I wanted so I decided to take the plunge and order it from the US. There is a good selection of subtle colours but I liked this slightly sludgy green called Bosc. There was a notable difference in the price in America and the price here but this was all due to import tax and shipping costs. In the end there was only a couple of pounds in it. Why is yarn so cheap over there? I must say that the staff at Loop took my name and called me back a couple of weeks later when they had more in stock. I would definitely order from them next time as they have a beautiful selection of yarns and seem to have great customer service too.

So, how is it knitting up? I cast on for the back and have managed about 5" so far. The yarn is slightly harder but has excellent stitch definition and no sign of going fluffy. I would love to hear your recommendations for other DK or sport weight yarns. I really would like to support British yarns more. I would like more subtle tones and better value.

The other project on my needles is Lexie's silver and gold bunny girl. The link is to a pink and cream dressed version I did a few years back. I went into Hobbycraft in Cardiff for some odds and ends and found the ideal sparkly silver yarn in the reduced bin. It is Rico Creative Reflective print. This is a 4ply silver grey with a silver metallic thread running through it. Not my usual kind of yarn but ideal for the project. I "interpreted" the gold as a strong yellow. Hopefully she will be finished for the end of the month when Lexie and Sam are coming to stay for a few days.

Finally I need advice about storing fixed circular needles. Mine are like a rat's nest of tangled spagetti in this bag. There must be a better way.

I'm linking up to Janine's Wool on Sundays on her website Rainbow Hare Quilts. The regulars to the party are a lovely bunch and there is always some new project on the go. The button on the right takes you to the current Wool on Sundays.

Next week is going to be really busy with visits to Malvern for the quilt show and to Althorp for a tour of the house with Mike. I may not get much time to post anything but I'll be taking lots of photos while I am out and about for when I do.

Catherine

The future is bright, the future is Orange (with apologies!)

April has flown in and not a post written but I could not wait to write about my weekend away for a retreat with my Honeybee group.
We decided last year that we would book a retreat and I found Come2Quilt which seemed to have everything we needed; an experienced quilting host, delicious food cooked by her husband and a comfortable space for our small group. Kate and David Ranson have been running retreats from their home in Somerset for some years. The walls are adorned with examples of Kate's work and it seemed that we were still discovering things we had not noticed at the end of the stay.

Kate's Orange Peel wall hanging

Our task for this retreat was to conquer the fear of curves and with this in mind Kate had designed an orange peel wall hanging in two contrasting fabrics. The templates and instructions were at our workstations and we settled down quickly to cut the three shapes we needed. Although this stage was tedious it passed quickly enough as we chatted.
I had originally planned to use a Japanese fabric I had bought on impulse. I'm not sure what had come over me as gold highlights are not my thing at all and as the time for the retreat came closer I fell right out of love with the colour and design. I pulled two fabrics from my stash instead. One was a muted orange and the other a modern restrained design in pale grey with a touch of the same orange tone. Orange seems to be my "go to" colour this year (it was purple in 2014).

Gilly and Liz with Kate in the background.

Jane hard at work. She is the industrious one!

With Kate to guide us we took our first tentative steps in sewing curves. Those of you who are more experienced may have forgotten how difficult it is at the start. Eventually we mastered got the knack of easing the fabric and sewing at the same time. Curves were clipped and pressed and our blocks started to take shape. The real difficulty was in trying to get points matched when we joined the rows together. This is where my skill with a seam ripper really helped!
It had been hoped that the quilt top would be finished by the end of the weekend but this was not to be. The combination of great company, food and wine with a "new to us" skill foiled our attempt. Jane had decided to use her blocks to make a bucket shaped tote bag. Her design was modified to include a curved bottom and a flap. Her bold fabric choice was a real success and I cannot wait to see the finished bag. Gilly decided that the only way to go was to do a table centre. Her Brandon Mably spotted fabric was accentuated with larger circles and will look super in her modern home. Liz and I are going with the original design idea and hope to have wall hangings to show soon.

I do have a finish this week on the knitting front. I have been following the KAL on Ravelry run by 2 Knit Lit Chicks, Barb and Tracie. Their podcast is always worth a listen for trends, tips and good reads. This KAL was an Alana Along using the designs of Alana Dakos. Remember my Entangled Vines? This is the link for the finish off thread with some beautiful knits. I just about managed to finish another cardi for myself which I have on Ravelry with all the details of yarn etc. It is my Gnarled Oak cardigan designed by Alana and I just love it- everything is just right and it fits so well. The KAL finished tomorrow and I have my fingers crossed.

I told you I liked orange.

Post-script. I finished the third row of the orange peels yesterday afternoon and decided to finish at that point. I have squared it up, chosen a thinnish cotton batting and I aim to hand quilt it. No photos as yet.

So I'm back home and sorting things out for a visit by Jenny and her family next weekend. She and her husband are celebrating their wedding anniversary by staying in a 5* hotel on Friday night and we will have Isobel and Jacob to ourselves. Bliss (I think).

Have a wonderful week. The promised downturn in the weather has not happened yet in South Wales and it is another sunny, if cool, day.

Catherine

I'm late but linking to Wool on Sundays and tomorrow to Yarn along with Ginny of Small Things. Also linking to Celtic Thistle Stitche's New to Me, button on the sidebar, with my new curvy technique.

A knitting finish

Thank you to everyone who sent messages or posted comments after my last post. It has been a stressful time for the family and all your thoughts and prayers helped a lot. Dad had an angiogram and 2 stents inserted yesterday and has been discharged to my Mum and brother's care at home. Thank goodness for the NHS. Wonderful care and treatment from dedicated staff. I could not speak more highly of the unit my father was treated in.

I managed to finish my Entangled Vines cardigan as well. I am pleased with the result now and it is certainly cosy. Next time though I would knit the size down. There is quite a bit of positive ease and I think maybe slightly too long.

Never one to sit idle, I have cast on another of Alana Dakos' designs. This time it is the Gnarled Oak cardigan.

I'm using Debbie Bliss Rialto (DK) in coral.

I'll be linking up on Sunday to Wool on Sundays.

Right now I am getting down to cooking for the weekend at my parents house. I've made a Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup and will also be baking Mary Berry's Orange layer cake. I thought I would take a lasagne for the freezer and roast a chicken too. Busy busy!!!!

Catherine

All the fun of the fair.

The beautiful weather continues so Mike and I went to the Malvern Autumn Show on Sunday to see all the produce, floral displays and country crafts. There were exhibitions of giant vegetables, Shire horses, dog training events, food tastings and cookery demonstrations. The show ground was so huge that frequent stops were required for refuelling with pasties and craft beers. Children enjoyed the funfair while parents looked at vintage cars.

I had the great pleasure of catching up with a fellow blogger who had a stall in the Vintage tent. Tracey has a super crafting/family blog, A Patchwork Life, which I have been following for some time. When I saw that she was going to be exhibiting and selling some of her super stuffed toys and Christmas ornaments I knew I would love to meet her in person. She is just as nice as she is in her blog. I bought the cutest knitted mouse in 60's inspired dress. I gave this later in the day to my 4 year old granddaughter Lexie and it was a great hit.

I have knitted frantically this last two weeks and I have not one, but two finishes to show. I had knitted the Playful Stripes cardigan before which helped but the Wee Wildflower cardigan was a new pattern for me. It won't be the last time I knit it though.

I love the bobble flower pattern on the pockets and the loopy edge. Next time though I will knit it in a softer wool yarn. I used Jenny Watson Babysoft, an acrylic/polyamide blend. The feel is not quite as nice as the yarn I used for Playful Stripes but it should be hardwearing and it is machine washable. It was also very reasonably priced at less than half the price of the Debbie Bliss Rialto DK I used for Playful Stripes.
Pattern: Wee Wildflower by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting.
Size: 23.5" chest

This is my absolute favourite cardi to knit. It is a joy to knit with the Debbie Bliss yarn; it is so soft and luxurious and machine washable too! If only it was cheaper. I bought the spotty buttons online from Kirsty at Love Paper Fish.com
Pattern: Playful Stripes Cardigan
Size: age 2 years

I've really got the knitting bug back and have cast on another cardigan which I will show you at the end of the week. Not much progress on my Coastal Ripple crochet blanket though. Tomorrow I'm off to my
patchwork class. So much to do and so little time.

I've decided that since I am linking to Yarn along that I will start posting about the latest book I am reading. I have always loved books and still buy lots but increasingly I use my Kindle. It is so easy to travel with and download new stuff too. BUT you cannot beat the real thing, especially in hardback.
My latest read is The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton. I'm only about 25% in and it is almost unputdownable. Set in 17th c. Amsterdam it tells of the strange marriage between a shy young woman and a merchant. The detail of the society they live in and their household makes for an extremely good read. I've linked to the review on goodreads.com as the précis is so good.

Have a wonderful week (and let me know what you are doing too)

Catherine

I'm linking up to Wool on Sundays, Anything goes Mondays and later in the week (Wednesday) to Yarn along.


I've also got more details of the knits on my Ravelry pages.