A Return to Handspinning

Readers, a much overdue post. Full time work and part time study are taking a toll on my crafting time, and on all thing crafty in my life, like blogging about crafting.

At the start of the year I promised myself I would restrict my crafting to knitting only, until my thesis is done.  Well, I have had a minor slip on that, for a few reasons.

One is that this is a recent purchase:

It's an Ashford Traditional, and I picked it up for a very reasonable price from a local-ish member of the New South Wales Handspinners and Weavers Guild.  Now, I have been "good" in the sense that I haven't got the wheel going, but, partly to keep up my drafting skills, partly because my sister gave me a bag of fibre from her own, and others' animals to spin (I have since taught her to drop spindle, so there may be less of that in the future!), and partly because I had a twingey back for a couple of weeks and was more comfortable standing, I picked up my newest drop spindle and the bag of BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) I bought with it, and started to spin it:

The BFL is only labelled with the colourway (Licorice and Lime), but no maker/grower. I bought it at the Masham Sheep Fair a few years ago, before we left Yorkshire.

Before long I had enough to pop onto a bobbin on the Ashford's Lazy Kate (the orange is the leader yarn):

I had hoped for a finer yarn, but it was still slubby and coming out a heavy sport or light dk. However, I continued. I am sure I will spin finer, and more even, yarn in time.

I plied it on the drop spindle - a first for me, after a bit of Internet and YouTube research. I was surprised how easy it was to do, and it did even out the yarn although made it even thicker (heavy dk to worsted weight), and I lost overall yardage of course.

So what to do with a small amount of BFL? Again, a bit of Internet research came up with the Twinkletete hat by Alex Tinsley from Dull Roar, via a handy Craftsy link on what do with your handspun.

And here it is:

The brim is the 2 ply handspun, and the remainder knitted in some stashed dk with no label...

It took a couple of evenings, and I love it! My back is better now, so I am back to sitting at my desk at the weekends, but this little, and slightly forbidden, foray into spindling and making, was a tonic.

Public Holiday Progress Update

Today is Australia Day, and rather like Thanksgiving in the US it does have some negative connotations for some members if the community.  It iis a national public holiday in Australia, and so I am at home today.  I will be writing my thesis on and off today, interspersed with a bit of light housework and home admin, a walk (in between the heavy rain showers - still waiting for a good enough break!), and, of course, knitting!

The body of the Featherweight (by Hannah Fettig) is complete:

I am using Morris and Sons Australian 2 ply Merino Laceweight, and this is creating a gossamer weight cardigan in the colour French Grey.

Last night, while watching the Australian Open, I knitted a bit on the Spice Trade Shawl by Apple Tree Knits:

This is taking a little patience and concentration, and I have had to rip and go back several times, but I am determined to finish it. The yarn is Yikexin Wool, from Xian, China and so the pattern is perfect, I love the lurid spice colour.

Hermione's socks are languishing in their owl sock project bag:

But....I have had a new year lapse and some lovely yarn is on its way to me right now, from different corners of the globe! One is for a commission (but still fun to receive), the others are just for me - very exciting indeed and a great lift. Expect a post when they all arrive, and in the meantime enjoy your 26th January, wherever you are in the world, and whatever it may mean to you.

Show Success!

Having just arrived back from our UK trip, I realised amid the whirlwind of returning to work that the annual Kiama Show was nearly upon us, and last year I had resolved to enter some of my knitted items. 

It was no easy feat to submit forms and entries for someone who works full time, but with a bit of help from Mr Bromley Knits, who has a bit more flexibility in his work schedule than I do, I managed four entries.

We spent this morning at the show, and I was delighted to find I had won a first prize for my recently completed London Shadows shawl:

And second prize for my One Night Coat:

My other two entries did not win anything - the Kolmarden Gilet, which I entered in the Vest section:

And an experimental arm knitted cowl, which I don't think I ever blogged, but still had, and so I entered it in the Creative section.

But I was super happy with my outcome!

Best in Show was a beautiful Shetland shawl:

And I loved this Highly Commended cushion:

I've already started planning my knits to enter next year (show regulations state that knits are to be completed in the 12 months prior to each show), and had a request to exhibit any blankets I have completed in an upcoming art installation! 

Happy days and lots of knitting mojo. If you've ever considered entering a local fair or show - do it!

New Year, New Knits

Or should I say Finished Knits.  Finishing UFOs is something I really like to do as New Years Eve approaches, and if we stay in, I quite like to knit on the eve itself.    Having just arrived in beautiful Scotland, we were jet lagged so skipped the big Hogmanay celebrations, and I finished up three knits on New Years Day:

Anise, by Sarah Hatton, in Rowan New Shapes. I have the book, but this is available as a free pattern on Ravelry.  This knit is designed for big wool, but I used the heavy worsted/light chunky handspun I picked up at an op shop in Nowra with my sister last February, knitting the medium size on 10mm needles to create a loose gauge in this stiff and course wool yarn.  I had tons of it and also used it for the Pickles' One Night Coat:

So I have two yellow cardigans! One for each location that I spend time in; Anise can stay in Scotland.  I bought some yellow-brown coconut shell buttons from John Lewis in Glasgow earlier this week, but haven't attached them yet.  I wore Anise over a long sleeved white thermal and with navy leggings and boots on New Years Day, and have also been pulling it on as a bed jacket when sitting up drinking tea and surfing the net in bed during the long, dark, and cold northern winter mornings, so already getting a lot of wear.

I started Anise in 2015, but the following knit dates from 2014 at least, and perhaps earlier.  It began life as a poncho, subsequently abandoned.  It then morphed into what I hoped what be a warm hoodie in damp and chilly Yorkshire, using Susan B Anderson's top down raglan KAL recipe.  A yarn shortage meant I couldn't do long sleeves or a hood - abandoned again.  It was shipped to Oz with the rest of our stuff, so I threw it in my bag and flew it back to the UK, where it has become a half sleeved sweater:

I wore this on Jan 2nd with jeans and ankle boots, and it was very cosy.

And finally, I knit the top border on London Shadows, in coordinating black sock yarn as I had run out of the Katia Darling used for the bottom border and body of the shawl. This is awaiting blocking but here is a shot showing off the colours and drape:

London Shadows was a MKAL by Wild Prairie Knits which started on my birthday in 2015.  I participated as a treat for myself during a very busy year, and am very glad I did - I love it and what it represents; self care, time to do things I love and that restore me.  I will create more opportunities for this in 2016.

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.