Preparing for a break with a Friday finish.

I finally got it together and delivered 3 quilt tops to Sue Phillips of School House Quilting. I finished Isobel's bear paw top and then realized I did not have enough of my chosen fabric for the backing so I made a detour to Newent to buy what was left of the bolt, another 1¾ metres. I spent a frantic hour working out the best way to piece the back.

The other quilts were the Japanese +X quilt top which was finished ages ago and my English Country Garden appliqué quilt. I have asked Sue to baste the appliqué quilt and I will be quilting it with perle cottons.

So on to my Friday finish. Ta dah!!!!!

This is the Vintage smock frock coat for the new baby that Jenny is expecting In September. This is the 0-6 months size knitted in Drops baby alpaca/silk in the Powder colourway. It reminded me of ballet pink tights.

This is meant to be a sport weight yarn but I found it more like a 4ply (fingering) weight. The pattern is by Sublime yarns and was written for a 4ply yarn. I did knit a tension square at the start for once and the Drops was just right as a substitute. There were a few comments on Ravelry about the yarn. I noticed I had a similar problem to other knitters in that my stitches looked uneven- or should I say more uneven than usual! The short soak and blocking seems to be sorting that though. I soaked it for a short time with Eucalan in off-cold water. The label said 30° but I wanted to err on the safe side. I gave it a gentle swish and blotted the excess moisture on an a fluffy towel. The coat is exactly the right measurements without any pulling or pushing for once. I must say I love it.

I am taking a short break next week as we head to the beach at Walberswick in Suffolk for an old-fashioned English beach holiday with Sam and Lexie. I am looking forward to enjoying my grandchildren's company, paddling, catching the crabs by the bridge over the stream, eating fish and chips and ice-cream, going on Southwold Pier and all those things that make a proper holiday. I am praying that the sun shines for a few days.

Still collecting our fruit from the garden. I have been trying to get a few pounds of raspberries into the freezer before we go.

There should be another two or three trays tomorrow and then I suppose the squirrel will eat the rest while we are away.

I am linking up to Freshly Finished Friday and Wool on Sundays with the baby coat.
Also to On the Needles with Patchwork Times.
 Links in the right hand column.

Have a restful weekend and a great start to the school holidays here in the UK.

Catherine.

Where did June go?

I seem to have got into the habit of a flurry of posts early in the month then nothing. The weather was too good for a while to spend inside with any crafting. However it is Wimbledon and so I am in front of the TV with my knitting.
I promised to knit a bunny girl for my oldest granddaughter Alexandra. She is 5 now and I thought she may be a bit old. However when she saw Isobel's blue bunny girl she asked if she could have one too. Her colour preference was for silver and gold! I searched high and low for the silver yarn, I can tell you. However the bargain bin at Hobbycraft came up trumps with this variegated grey and silver thread yarn. It is Rico Creative Reflection print. Full details on my Ravelry project page 
The Bunny has been left half finished in the bottom of my knitting bag for ages but we are travelling to Wiltshire tomorrow to stay the night so I cracked on this morning and she is finished.
All the bunnies I have made seem to have a different character. I suppose it depends on the shaping of the face. So tah dah..... here she is,

Here are the girls, all together.

Full details of the pattern are on my Ravelry page.

I'm making progress with my green cardigan too and have started a baby coat for Jenny's bump. More on these later in the week.

I'm hoping I am not too late to link up with Wool on Sundays (even if it is Tuesday!)

Catherine

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

Entangled Vines update- hate the yarn!

Do you ever start knitting with a yarn and really liking the feel and texture of it and then change your mind? I'm using Bergere Magic+ for my Entangled Vines. I loved the slightly soft feel and the colour when I started. As I have progressed with the sleeves, which are knitted on DPNS, I have had problems with splitting and pulling of the fibres with the ends of the needles. The whole cardi is knitted top down on a long circular needle so that there is a lot of weight and the yarn is probably handled more than if it were knitted in separate pieces. The photo with the book is taken with flash and this has made the stitches look neater but if you compare it to the photo below which was taken without flash you can see how uneven and slightly felted it looks. It may help to enlarge the photo on your browser. I'm seriously falling out of love with it and only hope that trying to even the stitches out with blocking will help.

I'll have to finish it now as it has cost me too much but I hate the lack of stitch definition. On the up side; as it is knit in one piece there will be no seaming and I have been able to try it on. It fits!

My book this week was lent to me by my friend Celia. It is The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow. Celia knows all about my quilting and thought this might suit me. It is about a woman who finds a quilt in her mother's attic and sets out to discover the secrets behind it. Asylums, royalty and love. If only my quilts had such a back story!An easy read and maybe not the best written book by a long way but enjoyable all the same. 

I will be linking up with Yarn along and Wool on Sundays, the links are in the right hand side bar.

Miscellany

Lots of bits and bobs to talk about today.

As you probably know, my love for yarn, like fabric, knows no bounds.

I have started a new cardi for myself and I'm taking part in a KAL (that is a knit-a-long for the non knitters amongst you)- the Alana-along KAL on the 2 Knit-chicks Podcast discussion board on Ravelry. The KAL is based on the patterns designed by Alana Dakos. I chose "Entangled Vines" from her book Botanical Knits. The KAL is running from Feb 1st -April 1st 2015. It is great fun posting photos of our progress so there is still plenty of time to join the group and cast on. I had finished the hat too quickly (Oak Trail featured here) and love her patterns so much I wanted to do something else. She is the designer of the Playful Stripes and Wee Wildflower cards I knitted for my grandchildren too.

So, progress so far.

Sleeve and shoulder detail

The wool is Bergere de France Magic+, a 80% wool/acrylic mix in the "Fonte" colour. It is a grayish brown and if I were to take a guess I would call it Nutmeg. Whatever, it is a useful color that will go with lots of tops/dresses until the weather warms up. In all honesty I did go to my LYS looking for something more Spring-like. 

 I am knitting on 24cm Chiaogoo fixed double point needles (4.5). The yarn is easy to use, does not split and I think will be pretty hard wearing. The design is knit from the neck down which I have done once before in a child's cardigan. It needed quite a bit of concentration to start with to follow the twisted cables and motifs on the sleeves but the chart and written instructions were very detailed.  I have now divided at the underarms and the rest of the body is in stocking stitch so ideal for watching TV and knitting. The sleeves will be picked up and knit on DPNS.

I'm so keen to knit this cardi quickly that I took it to the hairdressers, so......
just for a laugh....

I have been trying to catch up with my English Country Garden BOM and have now almost made 9 of the 10 patterns released. Here are the latest blocks.

The pansy is cut out and prepared for some hand sewing on Tuesday 17th. My lovely Honey Bees are coming to lunch and I will be able to host the day more easily if I stick to the hand sewing. There may be 6 or 7 of us so I'm hoping the large Victorian boardroom table in the conservatory plus the kitchen island and table will be enough room for sewing machines and cutting boards.

Now for a photo of a stocking-filler present that my husband bought for me at Christmas.

It is a vintage thimble case made of cockle shells. The stripes are a pretty greenish colour.  I am not sure if this has been added or is natural. Mike thinks it may be Victorian. The thimble which was included is nothing special but does fit me. I think it is so sweet.

This week I'm linking to Wool on Sundays, Needle and Thread Thursday and Yarn-along. All links in the right side column.

Have a fun week.

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.

Indian Summer

Autumn does not get much better than this year, does it? I love that feeling of crisper mornings. I was in the garden yesterday morning (sorting out the recycling, if you must know) and passed the woodshed which Mike has now filled with logs for the wood stove. I found I was looking forward to colder weather and lighting the stove. Every season has something to offer. The shorter days will mean I don't feel so bad about doing my projects during the day.

I am working on a number of projects at the moment but have no finishes to show you.

W.I.Ps.

1. Summer Breeze quilt for our bedroom (on hold)
2. English Country Garden BOM appliqué quilt. (I need to do the September block next)
3. Patchwork cutting mat bag (fortnightly class at Busy Bees)
4. Coast Ripple blanket. (on hold while I finish the cardigans)
5. Isobel's Playful stripes Cardigan (just needs buttons so a grand reveal next week))
6. Isobel's Wee Wildflower cardigan.

This week I have been working on the 11 stars which will the flowers on the cutting mat bag. I had a mammoth sew-in yesterday and finished them.

These are 6.5"blocks using a Philip Jacobs print for Rowan.The background is a Renee Nanneman fabric. The fabrics above the top blocks are Benartex Essential Gradations which are for there Maple Leaf blocks.

The rest of my crafting time has been taken up with knitting. I have made good progress on Wee Wildflower, which I am knitting in size 2 years. It is knitted on circular needles from the bottom up. The pattern for the pockets demanded concentration but it has been a pleasure to knit so far. I have finished the body and one sleeve and I am well on with the second sleeve. The instructions on the pattern was to block the pieces separately before joining so I did that yesterday before starting the last sleeve. The loopy edge will look fab when it is blocked.

The yarn I am using is Jenny Watson Babysoft DK that I had in my stash. It is much cheaper than the Debbie Bliss 100% merino yarn I used for Playful Stripes but it feels soft and is machine washable too. I hope to finish this before next week.

Mike and I went to Oxford to a attend a garden party at Magdalen College. Mike was there in 1960 and we met up with some of his old friends for afternoon tea on the lawn. The day was slightly overcast and the photos were hopeless. On the way home we called in at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. The trees were just beginning to turn and this autumn's display will be fantastic in a couple of weeks.

Lastly, some of you may know I am interested in family history. I subscribe to a few internet sites and came across this excerpt from an 1846 newspaper. 

Carlisle Journal, 09 May 1846 - Knitter / Accident / Body Found
Saturday 09 May 1846   (p. 3, col. 1)
A VENERABLE KNITTER.-There is now residing in Cockermouth a venerable female, named Jane OWENS, who is in the 94th year of her age, and who, last week, in the course of a few hours, footed a pair of men's yarn stockings in an excellent style of workmanship. This antiquated dame is a stout good-looking woman for her age, and has little of the appearance of having looked upon the world for
nearly a century. Her health is even robust, and she is in full possession of both her mental and bodily faculties, the latter of which are often tolerably well tested by her journeys to the village of Greysouthen and back again to Cockermouth, a distance of twelve miles, which she is able to perform with but very little fatigue! 

I always knew knitting was good for you!

Catherine

Linking up to 

I'm back!

I've just checked and it is 3 weeks since I last posted. Manic time with childcare and putting the house on the market added to the mix. Now I've had a few days to recover and feeling myself again.

I decided to really push and try to finish the two quilt tops I was working on so……

Firstly, it's the Hummingbird quilt for my grand-daughter's bed.

This was a free pattern from Rita of Red Pepper Quilts and I am super pleased with how it has turned out. Lexie likes pink but I decided against a pale baby pink and used a tone which is nearer to the Pantone Radiant Orchid so very on trend but there is also lilac, green, orange, beige and red. A real riot of colour. The backing will be one of the prints from the fat quarter bundle of fabrics I bought; Nel Whatmore's Secret Garden, Hedgerow in Linen. It's super bright!

I am having the quilt professionally quilted so I will take some better photos when it is finally finished.
I'm linking this to Quiet Play's Paper Piecing Party

I've also been working very hard on my Medallion Sampler quilt and all I need now is to add the border. I added the sashing today but started to make a few mistakes so I have left the border for class next week. I have also redone a couple of blocks to make the colour balance better.

Finally, I have finished and wet blocked the waistcoat I am making for my Mum for Mothering Sunday (March 30th). I'm linking up with Wool on Sundays with this. 

There was a bit of sunshine this afternoon when I took this so I apologise for the shadows. The waistcoat is an edge to edge design from Sirdar and knitted in Sirdar Softspun. This yarn is now discontinued and to be honest I did not enjoy knitting with it, However, the finished garment feels soft and looks good after blocking. I hope she will be pleased.

My new crochet project is another  shawl for summer evenings. This time it's the Ricicles shawl I found on Cherry Heart

I'm using the Rico baby cotton soft yarn which is a 50/50 cotton/acrylic mix. Lovely soft colours too!

I think that's about it! Supper is cooking and delicious smells of a lamb tagine wafting through the house. Time to go….. have a good weekend,

Catherine

Knitting WIPS

Hi everyone,

I'm dashing around instead of having a restful Sunday morning. I got back yesterday from my Cascading Logs class and was too tired after a full days sewing to put everything away. This afternoon I'm driving up to my daughter's house in Birmingham to look after my grandchildren one of whom has chickenpox so there's no nursery for them and Grandma to the rescue. I remember having calamine lotion put on my itchy spots as a child but I think treatments have now improved since those days.

This is just a quick post to link up with Wool on Sundays and an almost finish for me, at last!

I have had Isobel's cardigan on the needles for ages and all I had to do was graft the underarms with Kitchener stitch. The problem is that I hate grafting and kept putting it off. I found a video on Youtube showing how to do Kitchener stitch by knitting and not sewing. It's the same technique but with a third knitting needle and not a tapestry needle. The end result is an (almost) invisible graft between the two pieces. I think I'll need to practice again but I was satisfied with the result and finally sewed on some lovely pottery buttons that were made in South Africa. The cardi is now washed and blocked and drying in the airing cupboard to speed up the process. All ready for Isobel's first birthday on Wednesday. I must just remember to take it with me.

Ta Da!!!!

(Please excuse the photo, the light was quite poor)

I have not had much time for Peppa Pig so I am going to hunt out the toy stuffing and some black and white wool to finish off the project before Wednesday. I bought Isobel a scooter for her birthday so she can start to use it in the summer but I want to finish Peppa for Wednesday too so I'll try to finish her in the evenings when the children are in bed. The red is a bit bright but I am hoping that will add to her appeal!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's projects on Wool on Sundays. Enjoy what is left of your Sunday.

Oh, nearly forgot. I thought I'd post some photos of our trip last week with my oldest grandson and his sister to Boscombe Down Aviation Collection at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. If you have children to amuse during the holidays its a great way to pass a few hours. My grandson really enjoyed clambering into the cockpits to 'fly' the planes. I loved seeing the biplane as my dear Grandfather George had joined the Royal Flying Corps (the predecessor of the RAF) in 1917 at the age of 18 and worked a mechanic on these very planes.

A rat's nest of WIPs

I'm linking up today with Janine of Rainbow Hare Quilts with an update on my yarn projects.

I've finished the jumper for Isobel and it's looking good. That left me with time on my hands yesterday to dig to the bottom of my knitting bag and see what else was lurking there.

The card in the middle is Playful Stripes by Alana Dakos. The link is to her Ravelry page. I have knitted this before in a larger size for Alexandra and once the garment is washed and blocked it looks gorgeous. Only thing is that there are so many ends to tidy up!

Playful stripes for Alexandra

The bottom photo is the unfinished lacy card for Isobel. The pattern had been started in 2012 for Alexandra then stayed at the bottom of the bag until last October. I pulled it out and continued knitting it, this time for Isobel, but I started the knitting in a different size. I only realised last Thursday and so 'frogged' the lot! Now I'm off again but this time in the right size, age 1-2 years. The yarn is Sirdar Snuggly baby Bamboo. It's 80% bamboo, 20% wool and lovely to knit with. The card has short sleeves and will be lovely over summer dresses.

Last and not least, (can you hear the trumpet fanfare?)… my crochet homework. Please don't laugh at my 2 granny squares….

I'm still working on getting my Ravelry link going in the side bar but this works in the meantime. I only wish I had discovered Ravelry sooner. So many projects not recorded.


Right, well that's it for my Wool on Sundays link, I'm off to cut out the block for my machine piecing class on Thursday and maybe some more Hummingbird blocks.

Sunday morning with hints of Spring and an almost finish.

What a beautiful start to the day. Not a breath of wind and in the sun it feels quite mild. I decided to take a few photos in the garden to remind me that Spring is not too far ahead.

View at 9am from back garden

Daphne buhloa in bloom

I've decided to link up with Wool on Sundays at Rainbow Hare Quilts this morning. I spent all yesterday hand quilting until my finger tips would stand no more so I decided to see what knitting projects I had forgotten about at the bottom of my basket. I came across this jumper I started knitting for Isobel who is now nearly 11 months.

I had picked up 4 balls of Rowan Cashsoft baby dk in a sale last year and started knitting this in late October. The pattern is a Lace Edged Round neck sweater taken from Baby Bamboo too (346 code B).

I'm not sure why it wasn't finished but it could have had something to do with Christmas. Anyway, all it needed was the neckband and sewing up. I just have to graft the last sleeve on now and block this afternoon.

We live in Vale of Glamorgan but only live 10 minutes from Cardiff city centre. We get the best of both worlds. Beautiful situation and all the amenities of the city too. One of the many attractions of life in Cardiff is the Riverside Farmer's Market held every Sunday morning from 10am to 1pm. Fresh vegetables, meat, cheeses, preserves and the most amazing bread- what more could you ask for? It's an absolute foodie heaven.

Choosing some venison for a pie

The Millenium Stadium

Despite the fact that it feels so mild this morning it is still only 4°. Time to go home and eat the Welsh Cakes with some coffee.

Enjoy your weekend

Catherine