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

FO Friday............Rosebud Socks.

Hello, just a quick post, today, I want to show you my first knitted Finished Object of 2014. I've finally finished my Rosebud Socks, I started these socks at the beginning of December, they seem to have taken me quite a while to finish but I have been working on lots of other projects through December. I used Rowan Fine Art in colour 302 Tawny, I love sock yarn from Indie dyers but for a branded sock yarn, I love this, it knits up beautifully and is very soft.

This pattern is from the book Toe-Up Socks for Every Body by Wendy D. Johnson, it's a great book and I will eventually knit most of the socks in there. I can also recommend Socks from the Toe-Up, also by Wendy D. Johnson which I've knit a few of the patterns from. If you've never knit toe-up before or even if it's your first time knitting any type of socks, I highly recommend these books.

There are different options for casting on the toes and creating the heels, with excellent tutorials. I urge you to try all the different options and eventually you will find your preferred method. I use Judy's Magic Cast-On for the toes and make a gusset heel. There is also a section on different Bind-Offs, which is the next thing I'm going to try. I do regular cast off, the patterns always say bind off loosely but no matter how loose I do it, I always struggle to get them on my feet. I've started using a bigger needle to bind off which is slightly better but I'm going to give Tubular Bind Off a go, on my next pair of socks, which give a stretchy edge.

 Check out Tami's blog, for more FO's, this week. Have a great weekend, whatever you are up to, I'm meeting friends tomorrow for Afternoon Tea, which I'm looking forward to.

Thanks for popping by.
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

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner..............another SLYMI winner.

Hello, did you all have a good weekend? I'm popping in today to let you know, we have another winner for the Swatch Like You Mean It Class. After I let Mel know that I had picked the winner last week, I unexpectedly got an email back telling me to pick one more place. I still had all the names in my teacup, so over the weekend I pulled out another lucky person, who was Denise. I want to say a big thank you to the very generous, kind hearted Mel for donating these prizes to my blog. There are just a few places left, so if you are interested in learning how to make swatching more fun plus two get exclusive patterns, you can find the details, here.

On Saturday, the weather was kind to us and we went to Stratford Upon Avon for the day, the beautiful, historical town, where William Shakespeare was born and laid to rest. It's a 40 minute drive from where we live so I took some knitting to pass the time, I don't like to miss a chance to knit, whenever I can!!!!!

When we arrived, we parked near the river and the first thing I saw was this enormous tree, that had been Yarn Bombed. My jaw dropped when I saw it, I've seen lots of yarn bombing over the last couple of years but not on this scale, it was amazing and look at the gorgeous blue skies, it was a beautiful winter's day.

It's called The Remembering Tree, a place to remember, reflect and celebrate all the colours of life, each square was made by women in South Africa to supplement their income. When it's taken down, it's going to be washed and recycled for blankets for homeless charities in the local area and also Sierra Leone. It was awe inspiring to see and I'm so glad I got the chance.

My friend Gilly, recommended I visit Sew Me Something, next time I was in Stratford, it's a gorgeous little fabric shop but they also sell a small selection of yarn.They have MillaMia in stock, which I have wanted to try for ages, I had some Christmas money left so I bought a couple of balls to use for the SLYMI class.

I also spotted this book in Waterstones, which is a selection of stories written by writers who knit and how knitting has inspired them. I spent the last of my money on this book and I can't wait to start reading it, it also has 5 original patterns by Helen Bingham.

After a lovely day spent wandering around the town and a spot of lunch, we headed back to the car, just as the sun was setting over the river.

One last thing, I would like to share with you. My sister bought me this book for Christmas, it's Topsy-Turvy, Inside-Out by Susan B. Anderson, do you remember the fabric dolls that you turn inside out and it turned into something else. I had Little Red Riding Hood that turned into the Big Bad Wolf, well this book is to knit these toys. There are some really cute projects, one of my favourites, is the dinosaur that pops out of an egg, if anyone is interested, it is only £2.16 for the Kindle Edition, I've also bought this, as I've always have my phone with me which has the Kindle App so if I forget my book, I've always got it on my phone. It's also on offer in the U.S. when I looked this afternoon, it does change day to day though so just check.

Thanks for stopping by and congratulations to the two winners of the SLYMI class.

xxxxDebxxxx

First FO's of 2014..........and I have a winner.

Good morning, at last, I've opened the curtains and it's not raining!!!!!! It's a beautiful, frosty, sunny morning, my favourite kind of winter weather. I've got three FO's to show you this week, the first of 2014.

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My first one is my second Fair Isle Style Crochet Cardigan, this was for a little girl's birthday so I needed it to finish by the 4th January. It is quite a quick project, compared to knitting, anyway. I used a 6mm hook with Drops Nepal yarn which is probably why it works up so quickly. I didn't start it until the 17th December but finished in plenty time. I love this pattern, it is by Ball, Hank and Skein and I'm sure I will end up making another one.

Technically, this is off my hook, not on but I was making this as part of Chrissie and Marrianne's,  Bloomin' Crochet Along, so I thought I would share it with them.

My second FO is my Henslowe Shawl and I love it!!!!! I think this is my favourite shawl to date, I'm not sure whether it is the yarn I've used or the beautiful lace pattern. I used Skein Queen Tickled Mink and it is as light as a feather and so very soft but is actually really warm on these cold winter days.

One last project that I forgot to show you, I finished my Lace Beret, back in the middle of December, using Malibrigo Sock in Ravelry Red, I love this colour. Sorry about the cheesy photo, hehe, it was a "selfie".

I blocked it, using a dinner plate but it is a little bit too big on me now, so I will try and re-block it using a smaller plate.

Check out more FO's over on Tami's blog, my Ravelry queue always gets longer when I've seen everybody's gorgeous projects.

Now to announce the winner of the Swatch Like You Mean It giveway, generously donated by Mel of Single Handed Knits. I did it a very technical way by writing everybody's name on a piece of paper, who wanted to enter and picked one out of a teacup.

Drum roll...............................the winner is Linda Tytko. Congratulations Linda, can you get in touch with me, please, so I can pass your details onto Mel.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend. I'm hoping the weather will stay dry and we'll have a trip over to the beautiful town of Stratford Upon Avon.

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

Swatch Like You Mean It Giveaway.......

Do you swatch before starting a new project? As you saw on my previous post, this was my very first swatch, which was included in the pattern of Mel's Halele'a Cardigan. I've never felt the need or wanted to swatch before even after I've had to frog hours of work because the size was wrong, I never learnt my lesson. Does this sound familiar?

Not only did I get to check my gauge on this swatch, I got to practise new stitches, picking up stitches, making buttonholes and getting the feel for the yarn. I can also take my swatch out with me when I go button shopping and get the perfect buttons for my cardigan.

If only I'd spent a couple of hours of swatching, soaking and blocking my other projects, I would have saved hours of time on knitting and ripping out. Thanks to my wonderful friend Mel, I've discovered I love the process of knitting not just the end product and swatching is part of that knitting process.

Now for the exciting part of this post, Mel the Guru of Swatching is doing a 7 week online course called............

Swatch Like You Mean It.

you will get weekly audio/video of key techniques, informative PDF's to download, two patterns, exclusively designed for class. Also there will be support, encouragement and interaction with other knitters plus other little surprises along the way. 

Mel has kindly offered me one free spot to give away to one of my lovely readers, so if you would like to be part of this fantastic course, just leave me a comment, telling me why you would like a place. I will close the comments on the 8th January and pick one winner using the Random Number Generator, don't forget to tell me why you would like a spot.

Don't worry if you don't win but would really like a place, registration is open until the 24th January, you can register here. Also, check out the PDF with all the Swatch Like You Mean It information.

Since learning the joys of swatching, I've been putting it into practise. I've wanted to cast on the Aureus cardigan for some time, I just needed the yarn. I  purchased some Rowan Felted Tweed and Rowan Pure Wool in the John Lewis Christmas sale, both were suitable, I just couldn't decide which one to use.

This is how I decided, I swatched both of them in the cable and lace pattern, to see which I preferred once knitted. I was originally drawn to the mustard colour but once I'd swatched, even though the stitch definition was better using the Pure Wool DK , I loved how the purple, Felted Tweed was so tactile. It just seemed to suit the cardigan, very soft and pretty with a nice drape and a gorgeous vintage look, so that's the one I went with. So, as well as making my decision, I killed two birds with one stone and got gauge and practised tubular cast on for the first time. As you can probably tell, Mel has converted me and I have just signed up to Swatch Like You Mean It to learn even more. I can't wait for it to start on the 1st February, anything Mel does, she makes it so much fun!!!!!!!!!! I hope to see you there, too.

Good luck to everyone who enters!!!!!!

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