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Tag: knitting

  • Matt’s Random Striped Scarf

    Matt's ScarfRemember back in June when I launched my site redesign? Well, in exchange for making my awesome header, I agreed to knit Matt a custom scarf. He liked the look of Kelley Deal’s recycled scarves, so that’s where the inspiration came from. I used sixteen different colours of 8 and 10ply wool on a 4.5mm circular needle (knitted as a tube). Each colour was assigned a number and put on a bit of paper in an envelope. In another envelope I had a selection of bits of paper with 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 written on them (Fibonacci stripes). I’d pick a slip from each envelope and then knit the specified colour in the specified number of stripes. After all the slips were gone, I put them back in and mixed them up again. This assured that the stripes were random, but not too random. (I wanted a relatively even distribution of the colours.) I think it turned out really well! It’s about six inches wide when flattened, and about five feet long. (Another view.) Matt didn’t want fringe, so I sewed the ends shut. It’s now blocked and on its way to him. Thanks again, Matt! There are a couple other pics on Ravelry…

    And isn’t the Snook a natural male model?

  • Food for the Future Fair

    The Food for the Future Fair is in full swing, and the Knitters Guild stall is being mobbed by kids who want to knit. Here are the unsuspecting knitters right before the onslaught:

    Food for the Future Fair - Guild Stall

    And here’s what it looked like after the kids found us. Eeek!

    Knitters Guild stall

    The Snook and I got to watch Lord Mayor Clover Moore open the new food co-op (while wearing a 350.org T-shirt); I sampled some macaroons from Sweetness the Patisserie, and I finally got to meet fellow Chippendale blogger Steven Noble. Pretty fun! Now I’m off to run some errands, but I’ll be back at the knitting stall from 2pm-4pm.

  • Food for the Future Fair

    Just a reminder that the 2009 Chippendale Food for the Future Fair will be held this Saturday, October 24th, from 10am-4pm. The Inner City group of the Knitters Guild (of which I am Convenor) will be giving free knitting lessons there all day long. It’s going to be a great day! If you’re in Inner Sydney and you’re interested in art, food, gardening, sustainability, and culture, you should come along. (Me, I just want to pat a chook.)

  • M&S Sale

    Morris and Sons are having their occasional-but-increasingly-annual October Sale right now. This is kind of a weird one for me. It’s their first sale in five years that I haven’t been involved with in some capacity. All I did was send through instructions for updating the website. On one hand I guess it’s good that the system I set up works well and the training I’ve given them over the years has paid off. They can run it all themselves. On the other hand… they don’t need me anymore! It’s a little sad. But the sale looks good, so you should totally go.

  • The Wonder of Wool

    “The wonder of wool… or how knitting is once again helping us through the hard times.” Interesting that the UK is reporting increased sales. I have to wonder if it’s really wool though. In my experience, newbies tend to go for the cheap acrylic (especially if they’re looking for a price-conscious hobby). And whatever Ginger Spice is knitting there is mostly definitely NOT wool. I do have to laugh at the idea that Kimberley Stewart would rather stay in and knit than go out and party. Sure, riiiiiiiiiight. (Link courtesy of Alysha‘s twitter feed.)

  • Knitters Guild Camp

    Knitting Camp 2009This weekend was the bi-yearly Knitters Guild NSW Camp at the Kurri Kurri Conference Centre. I left work early Friday afternoon to catch the 5.15pm train from Central Station to Maitland with Fiona and Alison. It was a three hour trip, so we had a picnic dinner on the train and entertained ourself with – what else? – knitting. We finally got to the venue and settled into our rooms before breaking open the wine. I was happy to see that I had Optus internet access, albeit patchy at times, so I was able to twitter and keep in touch with the Snook. Saturday Fiona and I went for a run and saw lots of kangaroos! All day Saturday I taught my “Socks on Two Circulars” class, with Fiona ably assisting. Nearly everybody managed to finish their two sample socks. I even found time to cast on some new socks for myself! Afterwards I went to Alison’s excellent yoga session, which really helped to work out some of the kinks. Saturday night I set up the new Guild projector and helped Phyll with her presentation on the Guild Archives. Sunday I slept in before heading to my Knit One Below class. It was a challenging technique at first, but I soon got the hang of it. I made a couple samples. I suppose it’s good to know, but I don’t really see myself using it anytime soon. (The bulky textured fabric just isn’t for me.) I did another yoga class Sunday night, and then after dinner we had Show & Tell. Fee showed off her fabulous wedding dress to much acclamation. Then it was time for my “Welcome to the Knitternet” presentation. It went really well! We had quite a big crowd, and many of them chimed in with their own experiences. Fiona then did her “Colour and Knitting” presentation, which was well-received and even got some nods from special guest Prudence Mapstone! We finished the weekend with another run on Monday morning before catching an early train back to Sydney. I had a nice time, made some new friends, and hopefully even taught a few people a thing or two…

  • Baby Cardigan and Tasman Summer Tunic

    Baby CardiganBaby Cardigan and Tasman Summer Tunic
    I finally finished off a couple lingering kids’ projects that I was working on. The first is a cardigan for my friend Venks’s new baby. The boy is named Vivaan and he was born about two weeks ago. The wool is Wired for Fibre’s “Elizabeth” sock wool in colour Serenity. The pattern is free and is knitted sideways (cuff-to-cuff). I got some adorable teddy bear buttons from the button shop in the Rocks last Saturday to finish it. I can’t wait to see it on Vivaan!

    Tasman Summer TunicNext is the Tasman Summer Tunic for my niece Indie. The pattern is by Just Jussi and is available as a free Ravelry download. I knitted the smallest size and used three balls of Morris Paddington (80% bamboo, 20% merino) in colour #611 “Dover”. I left off the beads at the hem, but other than that I didn’t change anything. The ribbon at the front is very cute, and I found a pretty star button to use as the closure at the back. I hope it fits her!

  • Child’s French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper Knitting

    Child's French Sock in Citron Pattern and Diaper KnittingLong name… for a fairly unsatisfying pair of socks. I dunno. I’m just not loving these. It’s mostly the colour, I think. The yarn is Wired for Fibre “Rita” merino sock in the colour “Opulent”. In the hank it looked like more of a semi-solid, so I thought it would be a good choice for this fairly busy pattern. Unfortunately when I started knitting it, the pink stripes really stood out and started to compete with the stitches. Not good.

    Anyway, the pattern is from Knitting Vintage Socks. I knitted both socks at the same time on 2.75mm circulars. Despite looking complicated, the pattern was actually very easy to memorise. I’m still not happy with my lace knitting though. (My yarnovers between two knit stitches are way smaller than my YOs between a knit and a purl. I fear this would be problematic in a larger piece.) I do like the way the diaper knitting continues down on the heel flap. I was finishing the socks at Morris & Sons on Sunday when Mrs Morris came by and admired them. “You like ’em?” I said. “They’re yours. Happy birthday!” At least they’ll go to someone who really likes them. (More pics on Flickr and details on Ravelry.)

  • Cranford Mitts

    Cranford MittsCranford Mitts
    I saw Lyn’s Cranford Mitts last week and realised they were the perfect project to use up the Noro left over from my ribbed socks. The pattern is available for free (but just watch out because there’s a missing YO on row 8). I cast on last week and had most of the first mitt knitted on Saturday, but when I tried it on I could barely get it over my hand! My tiny hands! My legendary tight tension strikes again. (And that’s with going up to a 2.75mm needle.) So I frogged it all back and started over with 60 stitches instead of 50, which meant I had a whole extra pattern repeat. That works much better for me. I lengthened the pattern a fair bit, adding in extra repeats before and after the thumb. I finished the pair of them in just five days. When I tried them on last night, I noticed that the opening around my knuckles gaped a bit so I had the bright idea to sew the sides together between my 3rd and 4th fingers. That made them fit much closer to my hand and feel a lot warmer. (Well, as warm as lacy fingerless mitts can feel!) I think they look pretty cool though, and they match my Clapotis. Yay for crafty accessories! (Ravelry details are here.)

  • Brycie’s Outfit and Noro Ribbed Socks

    Brycie’s Outfit and Noro Ribbed Socks
    Brycie's OutfitA couple finished objects to report! First up is an outfit for Andrew and Kathleen‘s new son, Bryson Burton. The whole set is knitted from two balls of the new Morris Empire 4ply in “Plumage”. Details for the vest, hat, and socks are all up on Ravelry. The vest was the trickiest, in that I was adapting a Sirdar pattern for 8ply. I ended up just knitting a bigger size and hoping for the best. It worked pretty well! I delivered the set (still a bit damp from the final blocking) to the happy parents on Sunday, and hopefully they’ll be able to post a piccie of him in it soon.

    Ribbed Noro SocksI also finished the Noro socks I started when I taught the Morris and Sons sock workshop last month. The pattern is Wise Hilda’s Basic Ribbed Sock, which I knitted out of Noro Kureyon Sock on two 2.75mm circular needles. (Rav details) I’m really pleased that I got the colour gradients to match up so nicely. (I wasn’t actually really trying.) I finished these off yesterday morning before work and put them straight on my feet. Man, there is nothing better than wool socks in winter. I feel my sock mojo starting to come back…