Knitting Adventures: How Cold Is It? Mittens

These mittens were a Christmas present for a friend, knitted using this pattern from Drunk Girl Designs on Ravelry. Emma hates the cold, and loves this particular curse word, so it was a perfect pattern for her - and she seemed to like them!

They're knitted with secondhand machine coned yarn and took me a lot longer to make than they should've done! I'm blaming schoolwork for that ;) 

I added a crochet foundation chain to join the mittens - so they can be threaded through jacket sleeves (like you do with toddler's mittens!) so they don't get lost!

A ♥

If you don't like curse words, I apologise, but hey it's pretty snazzy colourwork, no? ;) 

Knitting Adventures: Katniss Cowl

I'm a big Hunger Games fan - the first thing I noticed about the Catching Fire movie was Katniss' amazing one-armed cowl and I instantly knew I wanted to make one similar. I used this pattern combined with a couple of modifications found on Ravelry. Try and excuse my windswept hair ;)

The neck is woven - like that of the actual garment in the film, but the rest is knitted in Herringbone Stitch - it was the first time I've used the stitch and I love it, it's really simple yet looks effective. 

It's far too big - apart from the armhole, which is pretty snug, but it's great for wearing over jumpers, like this amazing secondhand one given to me for Christmas, both on the beach at my parents' or in my own freezing cold flat!

If you're interested in more details about this project - have a look at my Ravelry page - I've started using Ravelry properly in the last six months or so and it's so useful!

This is one of two projects I've finished over the Christmas break so far - yes, I have an essay to write, and a Christmas project to do, but a girl must prioritise! I'll share the other, a Christmas present for a friend, later this week.

A ♥

Knitting Adventures: Oh My Bear!

Finally getting around to sharing photos of my magical finished bearface jumper. Otherwise known as the jumper I knitted in a week, which I consider to be a pretty sizeable achievement! Have a look at the work-in-progress photos here.

Made using the Oh My Bear pattern from Tiny Owl Knits - it was pretty straightforward to knit - even though I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to intarsia colourwork. More importantly, it's unbelievably cosy, as only 100% wool jumpers are! 

I'm looking forward to wearing it all Winter!

A ♥

ps. yep, my hair is every shade of brown right now.

My Second Ever Crochet Rag Rug

I finally finished up my crochet rag rug a few weeks back - I'm not sure why I only just got around to photographing it! Possibly because it's been on my living room floor in it's work-in-progress state, for the past few months - so I've taken it's presence for granted!

I made my first crochet rug last summer - it lives on my bedroom floor - this one took longer, mainly because I kept running out of fabric in appropriate colours, but unlike the first one, this time it is actually a circle shape (the last was meant to be a circle but for reasons unbeknownst to me, wound up as a rectangle). Made from metres of fabric yarn - sheets, pillow cases, tablecloths salvaged from car boot sales - this rug has pride of place in my living room.

If you're planning on making your own rug - you'll need a lot more fabric than you might think!

When I've amassed some more fabric I think I might attempt to crochet a rag-rug carpet runner for my hallway… or maybe some doormats… The list is never ending!
A ♥

Knitting Adventures: Kool Aid Mittens

Remember this yarn that I dyed? Well, I've been saving it up for the right project - something small as I only had 100g of DK weight yarn - too thick for socks, not enough for a large scale project, so I decided on mittens*. 

I knitted a couple of pairs of mittens for Christmas presents last year, making up the pattern as I went along, but after knitting my basket weave socks, I thought I'd incorporate a little of that into the mix, and although the colours overpower it a little, I'm really pleased with how they worked out. 

Here are a couple of work-in-progress pictures - it was really fun to watch the colours change as I knitted it up...

I love Kool Aid Dyeing and that's a fact! A ♥

* you might think it's a little out of season for mittens, but you can't be too prepared for English weather, 'summer' or not!

Knitting Adventures: My First Jumper.

Last month I shared some work in progress photos of a jumper I was working on and now... It's finished! It took five weeks of knitting, but my very first jumper is finished.

It was quite a simple pattern, but that doesn't make me any less proud to wear it. I can't wait to go out into the woods and take some proper photographs of it, but I couldn't wait any longer to share the finished garment!

A ♥

ps. yep, there's about seven different shades of brown in my hair at the moment, I'm having a hair-dye amnesty, it's been four months since I last coloured it, it doesn't really feel like progress, but it must be doing it some good.

Knitting Adventures: Basketweave Socks

These are my first ever patterned (ie. not just stocking stitch) socks and I am pretty darn proud of them! They're knitted with Noro yarn - it's a favourite of mine, I like to chase the colours as I knit, it helps combat second-sock-syndrome! ;)

Just trying them out for size! ;)

This is the first pair of socks I've knitted on needles smaller than 3.25mm, these were knitted using 2.5mm's, and it's an instant favourite! I like working on tiny needles with ultra fine wool, it's so much fun!

I'm so glad to finish these up - they're really warm and cozy, perfect for chilly evenings. 

Now I need to decide what to make next! I'm not happy unless I've got a knitting project on the go! I've found a nice cardigan pattern with lace panels, so I might try that out - if this month's budget can stretch to the yarn costs! Knitting = an expensive habit to feed! A ♥

Knitting Adventures - Giving handmade

Now it's January, it's safe to share some of the things I made for people this Christmas (or last Christmas?)... I thought it'd be a good idea to knit everyone something, and I started off being really organised - I made the first pair of socks back in August, while I was cat-sitting for my friend, and watching the London Riots on the telly. 

Unfortunately it went downhill rather fast, as work and life started to get in the way. I can knit a sock in a day, if that's all I do that day, but it's rare to find empty days perfect for knitting when you're working night shifts, or applying to art school or just living life! It took a long time, and I was knitting right up until December 22nd, but I finished them! These are photos of socks I knitted, all with pretty, variegated yarns...

In total, I knitted:

- four pairs of socks

- a pair of Christmas stockings

- two scarves

- two pairs of mittens

- and a hat.

It doesn't sound like a lot when it's written down, but it certainly felt like a lot at the time! 

I'm pretty proud of them, and I think they were well received, but I don't think I'll be doing it again this year! I'm looking forward to knitting some things for myself now! Haha :)