Halele'a FO.......apart from the buttons.

Happy Friday, my friends. This is going to be a quick post from me today, as we're off to Betws-Y-Coed today for a couple of nights. We drive through this quaint town quite regularly when we go to Llandudno and always say we need to stop and visit, the hubby wanted to get away for a couple of nights so decided to stay there.

As you know I've been taking part in the Halele'a KAL run by the Must Stash Podcast girls, it started on the 26th December and the official finish date is the 7th February, though it is ongoing and the threads on Ravelry will stay up there.

The reason I like joining in with KAL's is that there is a timeline to follow, so each week with the Hallele'a KAL, there was a portion of the cardigan to finish within the week, it kept me on focused on finishing it, rather than casting on lots of new projects. I still need to find some buttons for it but I can still wear it without, so I'm classing it as a finished object. The Halele'a cardigan by Mski Knits, is the first adult garment that I've knit and I love the way it's turned out, the style really suits my 50's style dresses and the Must Stash Helluva skein yarn was a dream to knit with.

One last thing, you know I'm a big fan of the Pom Pom Quarterly magazine and I always knit a few projects from each issue. They have a Ravelry Group, where you can post your finished objects from the magazine, each quarter they randomly pick a winner from the thread and I won!!!!!! My prize arrived yesterday, it was some Dyed in the Wool from Spincyle Yarns, oh my gosh this yarn is so soft and squishy. It's the yarn used for the Tuuli Mitts from the Winter issue, so I will probably knit them with it.

In linking this to FO Friday, check out lots of other FO's, this week, over at Tami's blog. Thank you for stopping by, have a great weekend.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

Yarn Along.............. and Week 6 of the Halele'a KAL

Hello my friends, how was your weekend, my husband and I had a great weekend at Clevedon, very relaxing not doing much. We had a look around the shops in Hill Street, there are some wonderful little gift shops, then at the top of the street we found a gorgeous Bistro called The Cellar which served  Tapas and Champagne, two of my favourite things!!!!!!!!!!! After having a bite to eat, we dropped the bags off at the hotel and walked down to the seafront, it was sunny but cold so my Spate Mitts came in very handy. I love watching and listening to the waves crashing against the rocks, I could have stopped there all afternoon but Hubby was getting a bit restless so we made a move.

Week 5 of the Must Stash Halele'a KAL ended on Sunday and I have finished the Copy Cat stitch, picked up and knit the button band.

Week 6 is all about the sleeves, I've cast on the second sleeve, the stockinette section doesn't take long as it's only a small portion of the sleeve then you pick up and do more of the Copy Cat stitch, I think I'm going to do the 3/4 length but I might change my mind, I'll try it on first and see what it feels like.

I finished The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty, it was definitely a page turner, I'm not going to give too much away but it's quite sad and I didn't expect the ending. I keep thinking, I wonder what I would do if I found out this life changing secret but saying that I wouldn't have opened the letter so the story would have been totally different.

I started a new book, last night called The Railway Man by Eric Lomax, its a true story about Eric Lomax who was forced to work on the Burma-Siam Railway by the Japanese and tortured for making a crude radio. It's been made into a film staring Colin Firth, one of my favourite actors, I always like to read the book before seeing the film, what do you prefer to do? I always find that I enjoy the book more than the film. Check out Ginny's Yarn Along, this week.

I've finished the first sock of the Gansey Diamond By Wendy D. Johnson, it's a nice simple pattern, easy to knit whilst watching TV.

I'll cast on the second sock soon but this morning, I had my three year old niece and she asked if I'd knit her a blue cardigan, how could I say no!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I gave her the book Labour of Love by Vibe Ulrik Sondergaard, full of gorgeous little girl knits and she picked this one, the Zoe Fan Stitch Jacket. She's picked the yarn she wants so I'll cast that on tonight, because every time I see her, she'll ask if it's finished.

 Check out Tami's blog for more WIP's this week.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week.

xxxxDebxxxx

Yarn Along........a new pair of socks on the needles.

Good morning, I'm back to show you this week's progress an all my WIP's. I haven't worked on my Aureus this week so no progress there. I have finished the exterior of my Mrs Jekyll and Little Hyde beanie and have started the inside.

This is a simple stockinette pattern so I knit on this when I'm doing something else and don't need to concentrate too much, I was on Face Time the other day while working on it.

It's going to be super warm for these cold days we're having, the big decision is which side to wear first!!!!!!!!!!!

It's week 5 of the Must Stash Yarn Halele'a KAL and this week we are working on the bottom of the cardigan. I've seamed the sides and shoulders and have picked up the stitches and I'm now working on the Copy Cat stitch. I'm not going to give too much away as it's a paid for pattern but I would highly recommend you casting on this pattern.
The pattern is called Halele'a by Mel Ski, it is knit in a 4 ply yarn so great for layering or for a light weight Spring cardigan. It is quick to knit, I'm sticking to the KAL schedule as I'm knitting other projects in between, but if I was just knitting on this, I think I would have had it finished by now. It is keeping me interested with all the little details and I always look forward to picking it up again.

As you all probably know by now, I love knitting socks and always have a pair on my needles, this week I've cast on another pair.The sock pattern is the Diamond Gansey Socks from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. Ganseys are fishermen's jumpers that were popular in the 19th and early 20th centuary, each fishing village would have their own pattern. These socks are inspired by the textured patterns of these jumpers, it is a very easy pattern to follow as it's only knit and purl stitches so they are knitting up very quickly.

I'm half way through The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty, she opened the letter and oh my gosh, it was a life changing secret!!!!!!!!!!! I'm also reading through a bookazine called Fabulous Knits, that I bought from the newsagents yesterday. I have cut down on buying magazines but when I picked this up and looked through, I loved all the patterns and would knit at least 50% of them. I'm linking this post to Ginny's Yarn Along, check out all the other knits and reads, this week.

This is just a small selection of the patterns I want to cast on, there are 40 patterns all together, from babies to men, home to accessories, so there's something for everyone.

See what other WIP's are going on this week over on Tami's blog. Enjoy the rest of your week, hopefully I will be back on Friday with a FO.

Happy Knitting

xxxxDebxxxx

WIP Wednesday..........Week 4 of the Halele'a KAL

Hello there, I'm back to show you my WIP's on the needles, this week, I'm still working on my two big projects and I've cast on a new one. My Rosebud Socks are off the needles, and a new project on, I've cast on the Mrs Jekyll and Little Hyde beanie.

As soon as I saw this beanie pattern, I knew I wanted to knit it, it's no ordinary hat, it's reversible!!!!!! The construction is very clever, you knit the lace pattern first in your main colour, then knit the stripy interior using your two colours, giving you a reversible hat.

I've made good progress on my Aureus cardigan and have got to the armhole shaping, I love the Rowan Felted Tweed, that I'm using and like how the cable and lace pattern that runs up the middle of the back, it keeps it a bit more interesting rather just plain Stockinette.

I've just started a new book called The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty. I've heard really good things about this book, I downloaded it onto my Kindle as it's only £2.00, nearly half the price of the paperback. I'm not very far into it but I've been drawn in very quickly, after Cecilia accidentally comes across an envelope, that says "only to be opened in the event of my death", written in her husbands handwriting. I'm only read a few chapters, but I really want to know what this secret is and finding it hard to put down, would you open the letter?

I'm linking this to Ginny's, Yarn Along, check out this fabulous blog full of knitting, reading and family life.

Last but not least, it's week four of the Must Stash Podcast Halele'a KAL and this week we are working on the left front. I cast on, Monday and I seem to have whizzed through it, I finished it last night. I just need to seam the sides and pick up the stitches for the patterned bottom half, which I love.

I'm also linking this post to Tami's, WIP Wednesday.

One last thing before I go, I had a lovely surprise yesterday morning. I heard my husband open the front door which is very unusual, he doesn't normally get home from work until 7pm. He shouted upstairs and said, I've left you some flowers in the kitchen and promptly left!!!!! They are beautiful and  I feel very loved.

Have a great week.
xxxxDebxxxx

My 10 Crafty Goals for 2014..........and WIP's.

Good morning, I'm back today with my Work in Progress for this week and also some crafting goals for 2014. First up, I will show you what I'm working on this week. I've got three projects on the go, which I'm rotating each time I pick up my knitting, so if I've worked on my Halele'a, next time I will do some more on my Rosebud Socks then my Aureus will get some love.

Week 2 is over on the Must Stash Podcast Group, who is running the Halele'a KAL and I've finished and blocked the back, this Helluva Skein by Must Stash Yarn is so soft once blocked.

We are into week 3, this week is "Frontal Attack" and I'm working on the Right Front, it's coming along nicely and so far I'm keeping up with the KAL, even though I'm working on other projects, this does get more of my time.

Next up is my Aureus cardigan, the pattern is in the Winter 2013 Pom Pom Quarterly magazine, I'm working on the back and love this cable and lace pattern. I'm using Rowan Felted Tweed which is a mix of wool/alpaca/viscose, this photo doesn't do the yarn justice, the little flecks are so pretty against this rich purple

Finally, I'm working on the second Rosebud Sock, I knit on this when I want to work on a smaller project, hopefully I should have these finished by next week.

I'm reading Merry Christmas Alex Cross by James Patterson, which my sister lent me, it's been a couple of years since I've read an Alex Cross thriller. I do enjoy these books, though the stories are all very similar, I also love the films, especially the new one called Alex Cross. I'm linking this to Ginny's Yarn Along.

I'm also linking to Tami's Work in Progress Wednesday.

Now for my 10 Crafty Goals for 2014............

1: Use up the yarn in my stash, I'm not buying any new yarn unless it's souvenir yarn, I always like to buy a nice skein of yarn, preferably local, if we are away for the weekend.

2: Teach myself Magic Loop

3: Get more into sewing.

4: Learn how to make a Patchwork quilt.

5: Finish my first adult size sweater.

6: Learn how to do a Fish Lip heel and Afterthought heel on my socks.

7: Spring clean my craft room.

8: Finish 12 pairs of socks!!!!! Not sure whether that will happen but will aim for that.

9: Make Christmas gifts throughout the year instead of last minute.

10: Design a very simple sock or cowl pattern, mmmmmmm, here's hoping, in my had I know what I want to do but lets see if I can actually put it onto paper.

Do you have any crafty goals, I'd love to hear about them, whether it's papercraft, sewing, knitting or any other craft.

Don't forget you still have a few hours left to enter my Swatch Like You Mean It Giveaway, you can find the post, here.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week.

xxxxDebxxxx

Halele'a Knit Along................and the first Yarn Along post of the year.

"Brown paper packages tied up with string,

these are a few of my favourite things"

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas and here's to a Happy, Healthy 2014. I received this package just before Christmas, all the way from the U.S.A., it was a little Christmas gift to myself. 

What's inside you are wondering, well two of my favourite Podcasters, joined forces. Mel from Single Handed Knits and Stacie, one half of the Must Stash Podcast. Mel wrote a beautiful pattern called Halele'a, a sweet little cardigan, partly knitted in pieces then picking up stitches and knitting the bottom half in one piece using Stacie's gorgeous, hand-dyed yarn. How could I resisit!!!!!!

Before I even opened my package I was excited, seeing it wrapped in brown paper, tied with twine with a tag and palm tree stitch marker, there was also a hand written "Aloha" postcard. 

When I opened it up, there were two huge skeins of squishy, soft yarn, 1500 yards of Superwash Merino in the colour Kau Pua. Can you see a theme running through here? Yes, it's all about the beautiful Hawaii, where Mel has recently moved from, so this pattern was inspired by her beloved Islands. Stacie custom dyed her Helluva Skeins in six gorgeous colours, all with inspiration from Hawaii.

The Halele'a KAL, officially started on the 26th December on the Must Stash Podcast Group over on Ravelry. This was the day we started swatching for our cardigan, Mel is big on swatching but more about that on another post coming soon. The first part of the pattern is all about the swatch!!!!!

This is my swatch, as you can see it's not your typical 4"x 4" swatch, I've never really swatched before but I've got to say, I really enjoyed this part of the pattern. It teaches you a lot about the pattern and the yarn you are using. The yarn was gorgeous before soaking and blocking but once it dried it came into it's own, the drape and the softness is amazing.

Week 1 was a short week and we are now on Week 2 where we will all start knitting the back. The joy of a KAL is all the help and encouragement you get along the way, if you are stuck on one part or just need advice, there will be somebody who will be able to sort you out. I've been writing down lots of notes for the upcoming year, hopefully I will be more organised.

 Hopefully, I should finish the back by the end of the week, ready for Week 3, but even if I don't, it doesn't matter. This KAL is very laid back and you go at your own pace, it's just nice to knit along with a group of friendly people, all knitting the same thing. It's not to late to join in, you don't have to use Stacie's yarn to be part of the group, you can find the pattern here. 

 I've started a new book called The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver, on my Kindle. I'm only a couple of chapters in but so far, so good, it's turning into an enjoyable read. I'm joining in with the first Yarn Along of the year, check out Ginny's beautiful blog.

Thanks for reading my first post of 2014, I'll be back in a couple of days about the joys of swatching, yes, Mel has converted me.

xxxxDebxxxx