2015 - The Knitting Year in Review

After a year of upheaval, change, strangeness and settling in, I finally feel a sense of getting into the groove of my new life in Australia's beautiful east coast.

   

Beautiful as it is, it did take me a while to settle back in to Oz after 19 years in Blighty!  Work has been great but unexpectedly all-absorbing, and I am trying to complete a thesis as well, meaning my crafting time is somewhat rationed...

However, some knitting has happened. 

At first, I struggled to feel like knitting in the humid late summer weather, before we got the a/c installed, and languidly knit on socks - my usual Vogue basic top-down vanilla pattern -although I did LaLa's afterthought heel in the second pair below to change things up a bit.

A few small housey projects came off the needles early in the year too:

Then, as the weather cooled I tried a few winter weight objects:

And attempted a cardigan (the Kolmarden from Knitscene); rather a failure due to gauge issues, yarn shortages and pattern issues, I tried modifying it to a gilet but will rip it in the new year, as it doesn't really work although I wore it a couple of times.

So far, so meh. I really needed to find my knitting mojo in this new place.  And I did - when a large commission of two vintage sweaters came my way, I took it, and the long but satisfying slog through these fired me up to knit for myself.

Immediately after, I knit up the One Night Coat, for some instant gratification.

I joined a MKAL (London Shadows) by Wild Prairie Knits as a birthday treat to myself, and I'm one clue away from completion.

I am knitting socks again - Hermione's Everyday, rather than my over-used Vogue vanilla pattern.

I am working on another mustard yellow cardigan, and another shawl - they will be my holiday season finish-off projects - photos when complete.

And I am close to finishing Gemma's wedding wraps, using the braided hug pattern.

There was a bit of sewing this year, but not much to speak of, and no spinning, although recently I acquired this through a contact:

This, my sewing machine, my beginners weaving kit and new adult colouring book are all going to have to wait until that full draft of the thesis is done - and I am looking forward to that!  It will be my "reward".

Have a wonderful holiday season.

It's A Nice Day For A....

White wedding wrap:

This is a sample on the way to being a kind of capelet - I am copying a photo. I have knitted a little more on it since, trying different cable and rib combinations until I get the closest match. It's a fun process. When it's done, I will use the sample to wear at home on cooler evenings - I much prefer to do "useful" swatching and sampling as I personally dislike doing purposeless knitting (clearly a product knitter at heart!)

I'm using Sirdar Bonus Aran in a tweedy cream, because I had it lying around, but the final product will be in a plain ivory colour in something soft.

In other knitting news, I have progressed the One Night Coat (by Anna and Heidi Pickles), and have just split the arms from the body. I have finished the cuff of one sock, and am a clue behind on the London Shadows MKAL.

Two Vintage Jumpers

Readers, for months I have been slogging through obligation knitting. I am glad to be at the end of it, and am so ready to knit some projects just for me.

Here, however, are the finished objects:

Marion Foale's Classic Jumper in 4 ply Australian Merino (Empire from Morris and Sons):

And Marion Foale's Croquet in 4 ply Pima cotton from Morris and Sons:

I am thrilled with both, and they will be packaged up to make their journey to London on Monday.

Completing these feels great, and has given me great knitting mojo. We are about to be descended upon by overseas guests and they will be sleeping in my knitting room, so today I will be extracting three projects to sustain me over the coming weeks:

My current WIP, London Shadows, by Cindy Garland - part of a Mystery Shawl KAL so I can't post any pics. I am just about to start Clue 3, and am using stashed Katia Darling pure merino sock weight in colour  205 (purples, pinks, slate greys). The London theme sucked me in, as did the release date of the first clue being my birthday. The Katia's gothic colours are perfect. The shawl calls for optional beads but I didn't have any that worked in my bead stash, so might sew them along the edging as an afterthought (and hopefully that's not too much information!)

So that is the shawl on the needles, and I need, cast on so I can pick up and put down easily over the coming weeks, a shawl, a pair of socks, and a sweater.

For socks, I will just pull out some sock yarn from my stash and cast on my usual vanilla pattern, and they will work for commuting, travelling in the car and evenings in front of the TV.

For a sweater, I have my eye on the One Night Coat by Anna and Heidi Pickles. It is now a little unseasonal, but I need some instant gratification after two fine gauge sweaters, and it will be useful next winter. I'll be mixing two stash yarns, a heavy wool and a mohair, in yellow.

And I do have a bit more obligation knitting to do in due course - 3 Aran weight wedding wraps for a winter wedding early next year. 

Knitting, and a bit of sewing

So I have been working on the Classic Jumper by Marion Foale (a vintage knit) for JF in London. After we had an email conversation about it, she ordered some lovely 4 ply merino from Morris and Sons Sydney in the colourway Glass and had it posted out to me here on the NSW south coast.  Picking it up from the post office was a challenge, but eventually I managed it and am nearly done on the back and front, above.

It has lovely design features, like fully fashioned increases and decreases, a three needle bind off at the shoulder seams and the inset sleeves worked down from the armhole. These make it a pleasure to knit although there is a LOT of stocking stitch!  Luckily this suits my current lifestyle and knitting time (evenings, after work, commutes).

Knitting for someone else has got me sewing - today I pinned and basted the 30 Minute Coat (free online instructions from Threads magazine) and plan to complete it tomorrow.  I used a large rectangle of woven wool fabric in stash I had always planned as a jacket.

I have just planned what to do with the rest of the fabric stash I brought from the UK - more PJ pants, another A-line skirt, and the Schoolhouse Tunic.  

Knitting in Kiama

Well, the end result of a year of intense planning and travelling, and of general planning for some years before that, is now achieved and we have relocated (again) to the beautiful seaside town of Kiama on the NSW coast.

Within two weeks of arriving, I had started a demanding (although enjoyable) full time job a commute away in Sydney.

The summer months were hot, sticky and busy, and its only now, post Easter, that I feel some semblance of routine and settled-ness. The weather has grown cooler, and I am knitting properly again, rather than little bitty projects which give me instant gratification but don't soothe my soul in the same way.

My main project this weekend is the Kolmarden Jacket, from Knitscene Winter 14/15, to which I have made pretty major modifications and have toyed with ripping out completely. In the end I have persevered and should have a completed pic for the next blog post. The mods have partly been about my yarn shortage, and partly due to pattern errors which made me not want to trust continuing as written.  Here is an early progress photo.

I picked up my Susan B Anderson raglan KAL hoodie as well. I have a similar yarn shortage with this one so am thinking short sleeves, slipover style, with hood - probably more suited to the climate anyway as it is knit from Harris and Donegal Tweed.

A couple of shorter projects have come off the needles too - a shawl and a cravat are "a block away" as the Knitmore Girls say.

Some recent photo highlights:

The curvy squares tee gets worn.

The sea foam shawl from One Skein Wonders in Debbie Bliss Angel Prints.

Chair socks from the Toronto Knit Cafe pattern protect my (already scratched) wooden floors.

La La's top down afterthought heel socks in Knitglobal, colour Ocean.

Autumn comes to Australia - time to pick up the needles and get stuck in!

Knits for the home, and a spot of sewing for me

As 2015 beds in, life is once again becoming more settled for me and this has meant more knitting, and a return to sewing at last.

Mostly, I've been knitting for the home - quick projects that serve a purpose:

Peg bag, from a free pattern on Rav and made from a scratchy and heavyweight cotton bought in Cambodia (the lovely Cambodia Knits in Phnom Penh).

Coasters, using the same yarn, from the useful One Skein Knits book.

And, on my long commute, socks:

These are the basic top down recipe from Vogue Knitting which I have been using for years.  The yarn is Knitglobal (apparently made in Bradford) in the colourway Dale; I have another pair OTK in the colourway Ocean - but doing those top down with an afterthought heel to spice things up a bit.

This morning, I gave my new-to-me handcrank a whirl and kicked off a 2015 sewing challenge - there will be something sewn every month.  Here is the handcrank:

I picked it up for £6 on eBay and it works like a dream.

January's challenge was a skirt. I cheated a bit on this one, as this skirt is a refashion not a sew-from-scratch, and I did most of it late last year! But it needed some finishing, so it does kind of qualify for January:

This was an ill fitting sample dress I picked up for a song in Hoi An, Vietnam. Using nail scissors and a hotel sewing kit I cut the bodice off, and hemmed the waistband roughly. I subsequently wore it on our travels a lot, either with a loose white shirt or black tee/vest over the waistband.  My January project was to neaten up and even out the waistband so I could achieve a fitted look.  My goal is to wear it to work this week.  Here is a closer shot:

I also made a start on February's challenge this weekend - a short sleeved top:

This picture shows the top only cut and sewn together - I have to finish the edges yet, and made it with a printed viscose I had in stash (bought from Oxfam I think). I used Simplicity 9078, a vintage 80s sewing pattern which I have used twice before - this Christmas top is another, longer example of the same pattern:

Here is the pattern leaflet, with great 80s styling (although I have styled it similarly in the photo above!)

So it's great to be in a settled place to craft again. I have a busy year ahead as I'll be working full time with a long commute and writing up a thesis, and although this made me hesitant about committing to the sewing challenge I think I'll actually need the r and r some weekends!