I'm Ready, Are You?

It's been an interesting few days.  My husband and I had a lovely two nights away in Oswestry, but since we got back, I have not been well for a day or two - achy and shivery and no energy.  It sounds like a bug to me but my husband reckons it could be an allergic reaction to the countryside!  Today I'm starting feeling more normal again - the bounce is slowly coming back.

Oswestry was a fairly last minute decision.  And it worked out so well.  The weather was gorgeously hot and sunny.  We had picnics in the park, a walk around Oswestry, we visited Chirk Castle, lots of pubs and ate far too much.  On the way home we stopped off in Rhuddlan and visited the castle - you can't beat a Welsh castle.

Chirk Castle

Embroidery Exhibition at Chirk Castle

The Fox Inn, Oswestry

Rhuddlan Castle

Today, I am taking it easy, watching the cricket (third test match against Sri Lanka), watching some cycling (Criterium de Dauphine) and catching up with my knitting.  You know you're ill when you don't even feel like knitting!

I've been knitting an aran cardigan (in this heat!) to use up some yarn that Grace had leftover from a hat she made.  I started it on the 1st June and by the end of the 2nd I had completed the back and two fronts.  I was fairly optimistic that I would get it finished within five days, but sadly I had to eat and sleep, so not quite possible.  I didn't take it to Oswestry with me, so I have only just picked it back up today.  I just have the sleeve head on the last sleeve to do - not sure I have any suitable buttons, but apart from that it will be finished this afternoon.

For my car journey to Oswestry knitting, I frogged a shawl I made a while ago and started knitting up a scarf with the yarn.  The yarn is Sirdar Crofter in lovely pinks, purples, cream and grey, so in theory some of my favourite colours.  Sadly every time I knit it up, I'm never happy with the finished article.  Prior to being a shawl, this yarn was a sweater - it has been multi- frogged.  This is its last chance to please me.

Scarf is knit on the bias

In our house, we are all ready and waiting for the football tomorrow.  The European Championships kick off tomorrow evening and then after that there'll be at least two matches a day for a considerable time.  There will of course be lots of other sport that we will need to fit in, the US Open golf championship is on next week, there's a Formula 1 Grand Prix race this weekend and the Tour de France cycling race starts at the beginning of July - whew, that's a lot of knitting time!

For the duration of the Euorpean Championship, I have decided to knit socks - I'm hoping for a minimum of five pairs.  I have three unused quantities of sock yarn, plus I would like to use some older leftovers.  Each pair will involve a technique that I haven't tried yet - can't wait to cast on and get started.

I'm not going to just knit socks though.  I would also like to start a new cardigan - Fair Isle - yes please.  Look at those pretty colours.

So that's the plan for the next month or so.  Will you be watching the football?  Who will you be supporting?  I will be cheering on Wales (Land of my fathers!).

For the Third Time

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have just completed a new cardigan.  I say "new" but I have knitted this pattern twice before and the yarn was frogged from an older cardigan.  

Here it is.

The pattern is called Peace and it's by Kim Hargreaves.  I love this pattern.

It has a great fit, it looks flattering and it's amazingly quick to knit.  I actually only took a week and a half to knit it, and that was not full time.

Here are my previous versions.

Made in 2010

Made in 2012

The yarn was frogged from this cardigan.  I wore it so much when it was new, but over the years, I've worn it less and less.  The yarn was still excellent, no bobbling, so it made sense to reknit it.  It feels like something for free when you re-use frogged yarn.  So I'm glad I can get plenty more wear from this yarn in its new form.

You can see full details of this project over on Ravelry, here.  

The heatwave seems to have ended here, it's heavy rain outside as I type this, perfect cardigan weather!

Just Perfect!

Many of you may remember that earlier this year I was having a cardigan knitting crisis.  I seemed to have lost confidence in everything I knit.  I eventually finished the Que Sera cardigan and at the time I was reasonably happy with the results.  Time has moved on and I haven't worn that cardigan very much.  In fact I'm already thinking of frogging it and knitting up the yarn in a new pattern!

So, knitting my latest cardigan (from wool frogged from yet another cardigan that didn't quite hit the mark) you can imagine the doubts I was having.  Should I retire from cardigan knitting and put all my efforts into socks?  Thankfully, that will not be the case.  My latest knitting project has turned out perfectly.

It's just what I want from a cardigan, good fit, easy to wear and the right amount of warmth. For this cardigan I have returned to an old favourite.

It's my Olivia pattern and every time I knit it I'm amazed at how quickly it works up.  I've knit this pattern twice before and I know I will wear it a lot.

It's knitted in the classic way, bottom up, knitted flat, in pieces and seamed together at the end.   There's a delicate crochet border to add a special touch.  The all over lacy pattern gives it a very feminine look.  The sleeves are ribbed right up to near the armholes, for a slim fit.  You can see details of the project on my Ravelry project page, here.

I think my problem is, I have very definite ideas about the style and shape of the cardigans I wear, and I do love to wear them, I wear one EVERY day.  So when I try a new pattern, if it doesn't fit in with my idea of a wearable cardigan, I just can't feel comfortable with it.

Am I becoming an old stick-in-the-mud?  I hope not.  I may end up with ten versions of this cardigan in a range of colours.  Are you the same?  Do you find yourself going back to the same formula time and again?

At least I know this cardigan will be worn a lot, so why not make a few more?  Maybe grey or dark blue next time!

Cambridge and some Knitting

Yesterday, we had one of our regular drives down to Cambridge, to take Eve back for her final term.  My, how time flies.

This was the last time we would be doing the journey there and back in one day - thank goodness.  We're planning to visit Eve sometime in May and stay a few days.  Then our final trip down will be at the end of June when we all go down for her graduation.

My husband and I share the driving, but I have to admit, he is very good and actually does the greater part.  This is wonderful for me as I can get some knitting done on the journey.

I'm currently working on another cardigan.

This cardigan is one of my patterns, Olivia.  I originally knitted this in a mohair yarn, but it shed so much it was unbearable.  I reknit it  in a pretty pink wool / acrylic mix DK yarn and it was perfect.

It is so easy to wear, I love it.  It's also amazingly quick to knit.  I've been meaning to make another one for ages but something else always took priority.  Finally I've made a start and I'm enjoying knitting it as much as the previous times.

I'm using yarn I've frogged from a previous knit that is now unloved.  The yarn is the discontinued Sirdar Balmoral, a wool, alpaca and silk mix.  I love this yarn as it doesn't seem to go bitty.  The yarn was originally knit up as Patsy, a pattern by Kim Hargreaves.  A lovely cardigan but I didn't wear it as much as I would have liked.

It's good to reuse yarn in this way, and I must admit that I enjoy frogging and reknitting more than I suspect I should.

Anyway, I've finished the back, left front and I'm almost done with the right front.  Should be finished shortly - I still can't believe how quick the knitting is.  And of course it's in my favourite colourway - a lovely berry colour.

Whilst in Cambridge yesterday, we had a walk around St John's College.  I leave you with some pictures I took.

As Eve said, when we arrived yesterday, Cambridge is so pretty.

Que Sera Sera

Having had such a great weekend in Sheffield with Grace, knitting away to our hearts content, I came away with plenty more patterns I want to make.  So being keen to get started but also applying the discipline of finish first, start second, I picked up the needles on my Miette cardigan again.

I spent a productive evening on the sleeves, feeling that I was making excellent progress.

Then, the next day, I tried on what I had knitted so far and I knew, I just knew, I was never going to love the Miette cardigan.

I tried so hard to love it, I've been wanting to knit this for so long.  I've really appreciated all the encouraging comments you have posted.  I'd especially like to thank Caz for her one woman cheerleading.  But sadly,  I have to be honest with myself, there is no point in persevering with the project because it'll never be right.

Here's a final couple of photos of the ill fated cardigan before it is frogged.

It was tempting to put the wool to one side and do something entirely different, but I can't work like that.  I so want to make a cardigan with this wool, and sooner rather than later.

So, the good news is, I've found another pattern and I'm loving knitting it up and it's growing nicely.

Here's the pattern picture.

The pattern is called, rather appropriately, Que Sera, and it's by Kirsten Kapur.

Here's what I've knitted so far.

The textured pattern makes it lovely and squidgy.  This cardigan will be a looser fit than the Miette would have been.  It's also a much longer length.

So, in future I'm making sure I feel totally happy with my projects rather than putting myself under pressure to try something new.  I'm off now to do some happy knitting.  Be back soon.

Frogging

I love buying new yarn, but I also love re-using old yarn.  I have a pile of cardigans I've knitted over the years but never fell totally in love with.  They're all waiting to be ripped out and re-knitted.  There is almost as much recycled yarn waiting to be re-knitted as there is new yarn.

The latest candidate for frogging was this very red scarf.

The pattern is lovely, an intricate lace panel.

I knitted it back in April 2004, but I've hardly worn it.  The problem is I wear a lot of pink and that red, is just a bit too red to co-ordinate with anything I've got.  Don't ask me why I chose to buy that colour.

So this is what the scarf has become.

The yarn is still very, very red but I might be able to work it into a Fair Isle pattern and tone down the redness.  Whatever it becomes, it's a good feeling giving new life to something that was unloved and unused.

Take a Deep Breath and Move Away from the Knitting...

So I'm tootling away, knitting up my skirt, it's growing quite quickly, waistband done....

...but hey, hang on a minute, it looks enormous!  I followed the advice for sizing the pattern but there's no way my hips are that big!

So, nothing else for it, rip it out and start again!!!

That means starting everything, including the provisional cast on.

How frustrating and bothersome.  I find the best thing to do in these situations is to get it started, so that it's up and running again, but then to put it down, put it to one side and distract yourself with something new.

I gathered together all the oddments of aran weight yarn I could find in my stash.  I don't knit that often with the heavier weight yarns but I seem to have acquired a substantial collection of bits and pieces.

And I'm now crocheting a huge, warm, cosy, wrap-around, shawl - using as much of this yarn as I can.

I'm following a pattern called Lagniappe Shawl, it's free on Ravelry.

I'm loving it already.  There's plenty of variety in the stitches and I may add some variations of my own.

So, now I'm feeling a lot less frustrated and bothered.  I'm no longer angry with the skirt - it's not the skirt's fault.  I can happily return to knitting it, knowing I have my crochet shawl to look forward to working on.  Once again, I'm at peace with my knitting and crocheting!

Grrrrr.....

So, I'm crocheting away, enjoying making my rectangular/square table cloth/doily...

It's coming along nicely....

I'm enjoying recreating the pattern.

Half way through and it's obvious the 100g ball of cotton 4 ply will not be enough to complete the project.  %@£$@&!!!!

So I've ripped it out and started again on a smaller scale - they say patience is a virtue and I'm feeling very, very, virtuous at the moment!

Sleeves - Again!

I seem to have an obsession with sleeves at the moment.

This time I turned my attention to a cardigan I made back in March 2010.  The pattern was Oaksike by Louisa Harding.

See the original post, here

I do love this cardigan - the yarn still looks as good as new, the colour is incredibly versatile for my wardrobe, the cardigan is an excellent fit - apart from the sleeves...

I find that the sleeves are too loose.  There is no shaping to the sleeves so the cuffs tend to be a bit floppy.

Three years on from the making, I want this cardigan to be the best and so the sleeves have now had a reknit.

I cast on 20 less stitches than the pattern calls for and increased gradually up the arm.  I now have a wonderfully fitted cuff and a shapely sleeve.

I can now declare the cardigan perfect!

Time now, I think, to move on from this obsession with sleeves.