waning Summer

Oh my poor neglected blog!  I've been so wrapped up in other things that time has yet again slipped away and it's been weeks in-between visits.  A lot has been happening, so here's a quick recount...

I finished my Farmer McGregor's socks, and I love them so much.

I spoke a little about the yarn (WYS Signature) last post, and nothing's changed my opinon.  It's a great yarn to that has blocked exceptionally well, and I'll definitely be ordering more.

The pattern is the most delicious texture too.  I really love twisted stitch patterns, especially when they are all waffley like this one.

I taught a lovely Beginner's Knitting class at the Handmaker's Factory last weekend.  We had loads of fun working on some sweet little mug cosies and eating cupcakes!

I've got a couple more workshops coming up, so if you're interested head over to Handmaker's website and take a peak.  There's workshops for Toe-up socks, Textured knitting, and Flattering Fit, just to name a few.

My little KAL - The Summer of the Single Skein - is winding up. As we draw close to Easter, the weather here has remained warm and pleasant but you can feel the change in the breeze and I'm definitely ready to start thinking about bigger projects and winter woollies.

My final project for the KAL is Exploration Station, a large shawl by Stephen West.  It was his mystery KAL for 2014, and watching all the progress photos pop up on Instagram, I knew I wanted to make one.  I missed the original KAL, but no big deal.  I actually preferred seeing how the pattern played out because I think colour choices were key to the success or fail of this shawl.  Having the information in advance, I chose this group.

from top left, clockwise: Skein Top Draw Sock "Fig"; Colinette Jitterbug "Oyster Blush"; Waikiwi "Stone"; Cascade Heritage " Plum"

The shawl combines sections of short-row garter wedges to start, then finishes with sections of different stitch patterns.  I've just finished the brioche section which combines Colour B (Skein "Fig") and Colour C (Waikiwi "Stone"), and I'm quite torn...the top photo is the right side, and the variegated Skein is sitting "on top" which is very subtle.  

You can see in the second photo that the solid Waikiwi is on top on the wrong side, and stands out quite a bit more.

I'm not sure whether to rip back and reverse the two?  I do like the obviousness of the cream columns, but I'm also thinking the subtlety of the variegated is nice too?  The next section is slipped stitches in the Waikiwi and Jitterbug , so there will be some dominant cream there - maybe it would be too much to have both?

Oh, I don't know!!  I can't make up my mind to save myself on this one.  What do you think? I tend to over-analyse these things, so any input is welcome!

Finally, I'm on holidays now until after Easter.  My girl and I are heading off to camp by the ocean for the next few days, and I can't tell you how much we need it.  

I'm looking forward to falling asleep to the sound of the waves, and smelling the salt air as I wake up each morning.  I'm also looking forward to just taking time out together.  We'll be switching off for the time away (the teenager thinks it's a travestity being inflicted upon her by a cruel and unloving mother, most definitely but there's nothing new!) so I will see you all when we get back - hopefully renewed and full of energy.

Colourwork in a flash

I've spent some time this passed week getting to know my knitting machine, and having a bit of a play around with punch cards.

Colourwork is incredibly quick on a machine.  Well, when I say quick, I should clarify.  

Once I get passed the 2 days of frustration and bewilderment as to exactly why it's not working; the numerous cast-ons only to realise I've forgotten to flick a switch to position B, or I've threaded it wrong, or the tension is too tight/loose, or as I pass the carriage over for the seemingly simple row, half a dozen $*&#% stitches jump off the hooks and run aalllllll the way down - then, after all this, it's incredibly quick.

I was determined to pass on at least some small thing to the very friend that I got this sweet machine off, before she sets off on her adventure to live in Scotland.  It seemed only fitting that small thing be a piece of machine knitted colourwork.  It tied in a good deal of things I've been lucky to learn from her since meeting up in 2013, and I felt very proud to hand these over to her last week at lunch.  I did not, however, manage to get a photo of them completed!

Once I found my stride, I went in search of more yarn and came across two balls of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette.  I think this yarn has now been discontinued?  It's a lovely alpaca blend in sportweight and I'd picked up these two contrasting colours in a sale. Two balls of sportweight isn't quite enough with which to do much, though.  I settled on a small cowl, buttoned for ease of getting on/off.

The yarn went through the machine beautifully, and the high contrast swan white and charcoal have worked together in such a perfect way.  I handknit the ribbed bands because although I know you can simulate rib, and create buttonholes on a knitting machine, my skill are not there yet.  I personally also like the blend of machine and hand.

Buttons gleaned from my recently felted (sob) cardigan were a perfect match, and the cowl was quickly snaffled up by Lily with her now-patented trick of "Oh! Did you make that for me?!".  I might secretly decide that we'll share it though.

There was even more colourwork experimentation, but I might save that for the next post.  It involves a Very Special Skein, and I think this one deserves it's own day in the sun.

I did a quick progress shot of my Summer of the Single Skein progress yesterday and I'm happy so far.  Depending on your interpretation of when Summer "ends", I feel like we are at the halfway mark?  March seems like as good a time as any to wind things up and start thinking about Autumn, don't you think?

How are all your special skein plans working out?  Are you planning or winging it?  I'm doing a little of column A, a little of column B.  Don't forget to tag your projects with #summerofthesingleskein on Instagram, or do a bit of show-and-tell over on the Ravelry group - we've got over 100 members to date, and lots of inspirational posts, chat and encouragement.

All about the marle

The Summer of the Single Skein is rocking along nicely, thanks to everyone who's jumped on board!  There's an enthusiastic lot of discussions going on over in the Ravelry group with people posting their plans, WIP's and FO's.  It's always so exciting to see not only what others are making but also their gusto as they embrace a new project or concept.  Feel free to come and join the discussion!

I'm really enjoying getting some things on (and off) the needles, and finally using up some of my special skeins.  It's funny too - what's "special" to me.  It might not look like anything out of the ordinary to others, but to me there is something about that yarn that has kept it in the must-find-perfect-project section of the stash.

This fortnight, I've really gravitated towards my collection of marled skeins which, again, have been too precious to use for some time now.

Within this group, I had two balls of Zara Chine which is your fairly standard 8ply merino I guess, so what makes it special?  This particular shade reminded me of composition notebooks from the minute I saw it, and I had big plans to make chunky slouchy socks with it but could never bring myself to cast on.  Truth be told, I'm not really a great fan of DK weight socks and I didn't want to waste my precious skeins. 

In the end, I made a squishy ribbed beanie in the style of Sons of Anarchy's Opie (oh how I miss that tall drink of water).  

It was a good decision.  I absolutely loved the way the wool knitted up into a subtle marle fabric, and the resulting beanie is exactly the type I like to wear.

The pattern was a freebie found here.  For a simple beanie, it was well written with a nice variation on the crown shaping and a good amount of slouch.  It's one size only and I'd say it's a men's but I have a head on the larger side of women's standard sizing so combined with the 2x2 ribbing, it fits me really well. 

Adding to the marled knits this week was some more socks, using Lang Jawoll that I specially ordered last year from England.  Then promptly put into the Precious Stash Section.

The colourway is Baker's Twine and I fell in love with it from the get go.  It's one of those perfect blends of blue and white that makes me think of vast oceans and coastal skies.  

As a sock yarn, this one is on the lightweight side (think Opal) which does make them good for Summer, however I think if I use the other skeins I have of it for more socks, I will most likely go up in stitch count and down in needle size though.  The fabric is almost too loosely knit as I have done it, and I do worry about how they might stand up to wear?

Because I was keen to let the the marle stand on it's own, I decided to use my standard 60sts/2.5mm pattern base in a 3x1 rib.  To avoid too much purling, I knit the leg cuff 3 knit, 1 purl then when I got to the heel flap I flipped it inside out so the previously purl stitches became knit stitch spines.  Once I hit the foot, there were only the top stitches to purl so it really wasn't any more painful than knitting any other stitch pattern on socks.

Again, I really like the marled fabric this wool created.  It makes me so happy to see those flecky stitches coming together, and got me thinking about all the other skeins in my stash that I could probably combine to create the same effect.  Possibilities abound.

It's one of my favourite parts of the creative process, those moments when one thought or experiment begets another and so on and so on.  I need to remember to look for it more often and take notice when it unexpectedly pops up, one of my goals for 2015.

What's exciting you this week, and getting your creative flow going?