FO: Colour Affection

In April I finished one of my longest running projects- Veera Välimäki's Color Affection, which I started while travelling to Ukraine back in July 2012. It's made from Artesano 100% Alpaca 4Ply, which despite being billed as a 4-ply knitted up to the gauge of the laceweight version, contributing to the lengthy project time.

Don't mind me neighbours, just hanging a shawl from a tree.

I'm not going to lie, I basically hated knitting this project. The rows seemed impossibly long by the time I had got about halfway through the two colour section. I don't know how people on Ravelry managed to finish it in a few weeks, but maybe not always having 4 projects on the go at once would have helped.

When I finally cast off, I was so disappointed by the end result- the shawl was long but thin, and seriously scrunched up along the selvedge. After all the time the project had taken I was gutted!

Pardon my selfie.

When will I learn to have faith in the  magic of blocking? After being pinned out the shawl is much longer, and the selvedge has went from a scrunched mess to a gentle curve. So after the trial of knitting it I'm really pleased with the outcome.

Actually wearing it is a bit of a problem though! I'm not one of those cool people who can pull off a shawl, so only feel comfortable wearing it scrunched around my neck like a scarf. This does look good, but it doesn't show off the cool structure and I can't help but think that it would have been quicker to just knit a scarf in the first place!

A note on the yarn. The artesano was fairly average to knit with. A bit rough to knit with, shed a moderate amount, and is slightly scratchy to wear around the neck. The colours are great though. Overall not a bad yarn, but I won't be in a rush to use it again. I think maybe I'm just not a big fan of alpaca. (Gasp! Controversial knitter opinion!)

So, overall colour affection was a b*tch to knit but a lovely finished object. In terms of time scale and size it's quite a big achievement for me. Now I just need to start wearing it...

Finally a cowl for me!

First project of 2014 in the bag!

I've made a fair few cowls in my knitting life, but the ones I've really liked have been made as gifts. This is probably because I tend to knit exciting, challenging designs for myself, but at the end of the day all I want in a cowl is some moss stitch squishiness.

So now I have a cowl in moss stitch. And oh yes, it's squishy!

The yarn is Rowan Purelife Boucle, a gift from my lovely Grandma who takes me to run wild in the John Lewis sale every Christmas break. I found this a really interesting yarn- perhaps mistakenly I've always associated boucle with the novelty end of the fibre spectrum, but this is quality stuff! It's soft but pleasingly rustic in texture, a lovely undyed colour, and smells like sheep. Sheep smell good! The different colours come from different sheep breeds, with my light brown being Masham.

I'm not sure if the finished cowl is super cute or super ugly, but I do know that I love it! I'm going to be rare and cosy for the rest of the never-ending British winter.

Happy New Year: Crafts in Review

Happy New Year everyone! I hope any nippy heads are recovered and you're all looking forward to the year ahead. Like many (or all) crafty bloggers I've been thinking about my year of crafting, and planning the next one!


13 in 2013


It's safe to say that I met this goal with flying colours- 20 woolly projects completed in a year! These consisted of:

• Three pairs of socks
• Two cowls
• Three jumpers (one baby, two grown-up)
• One pair of gloves
• Four hats
• One hedgehog
• One crocheted collar
• And five Christmas Stockings. Fa la la la la la la la!

My favourite project of the year is definitely my Blank Canvas. It fits perfectly, is super soft, and have become a major wardrobe staple.

I'm also very happy with the hats I made this year, all designed by the wonderful Alexandra Tinsley.

Three Bespeckled and one Pétoncle

Sewing

Since learning to sew in the spring I've completed three skirts. Two of these I rarely wear, due to the rookie error of using cheap quilting cotton. The third is a red Burda 8155 and I absolutely love it!

As you might guess from the sunshine and lack of jumper and tights, I finished that skirt back in the summer. Since then I just haven't been able to get back into the sewing groove, but am hoping to do so in 2014!


Looking Forward: Goals for the New Year

I'm generally not a fan of new year's resolutions, but I enjoy focusing myself with crafty goals.

• Queue-bust: I intend to work through those patterns that I've had queued on Ravelry for quite some time. I've already started on this goal by beginning the beautiful Pomegranate sweater.
• Design harder: I've spent a lot of the last year working on some knitting designs of my own. I'm hoping to have a couple of these written up and released by the end of the year.
• Sew more: I don't want to set too ambitious a sewing aim, since I often find it difficult to make time to sew. I have the materials for four skirts at the moment. If I make these by the end of the year I'll count anything else as a bonus!

What  are your plans for the coming year? (Crafty or otherwise!)