Oh so, Oh so

I'm not sure I have felt fear like this - fear of irreparable tangles, knotting, breakage, fear of running out ....the general fear associated with uber expensive yarn....

It is oh so soft......

It is oh so sparkly......

The colour is oh so subtle

I am in LOVE!

Its artyarns beaded silk (149S Silver/Cloud).

I'm keeping the pattern for the scarf very simple. Its a simple lace pattern - the 'One Row Lace Scarf' from Turvid on Ravely. The pattern is simple and I'm finding it oh so SCARY!!

I am not a knitting natural, I am more of a hooker (*sniggers). The fear of a dropped stitch haunts me as I find it so difficult to rectify and find the stitches in knitting. Hooks and mistakes do not pose a problem....knitting needles and stitches are another story.

This scarf was cast on five time...yes...you read that right FIVE nailbiting times....

The dilemma - would I have enough yarn to make a scarf that looked both wide enough and long enough!  In the end I knitted until I had 7cm and measured and weighed the wool that was left in the ball. 7cm with 40 cast on stitches took 10g of precious yarn. I did the maths and worked it out and the scarf would have been too short for comfort.....so it was unravelled and a final cast on of 28 stitches is currently working up a dream.

This scarf if a labour of time, Concentration and minute upon minute of frowning.....(I can only work 10-20 rows a night before I get tired and catch myself before a mistake is made!)There are already 2 mistakes in this work but I am Oh so proud of the result so far.

I hope the special recipient will appreciate the labour and thought which has gone into this creation which for any other acomplished knitter would be a breeze!  I am Half way through.....

Dad Surprise

This weekend saw me travelling to wales to surprise my dad for fathers day. I love visiting home!
We had the perfect weekend, we went up constitution hill and found a lovely sun trap...the weekend was filled with sunshine and ice cream and curry ;-)

 

 Such a Lovely view from Constitution Hill.

There was a lot of crochet happening over the past few weeks culminating in one big Boo Boo (more details later) and a few more unfinished projects started!

Toodle pip for now!

weekend plans

Friday has finally descended. My crafting plans for the weekend are numerous and will hopefully be fitted around a revamp of the front garden.

I have finished another thankyou scarf for my bridesmaids. This one was in a pretty shell stitch and has just finished blocking on the ironing board.

The next focus is knitted scarves for the two mums. I am a relative novice when it comes to knitting so I've chosen a really simple yet effective design for the scarf but it will require a fair bit of concentration to get over the starting hurdle!

Much nothing and not enough ado

So much to do and so little time! Lately my attention has been jumping from project to project so I have many ongoing projects. My long long list includes baby presents, wedding presents, thank you gifts, birthdays and christening and that’s before I build up any stock for my poor neglected MISI shop.

I am now over halfway through my 4th crocheted baby cardigan. This is my first attempt at baby clothes. A pregnant friend was already knitting up a blanket for her baby-to-be and I was reluctant to encroach on her efforts. Can’t think of much worse if a non-knitter is painstakingly constructing a blankie with love and someone comes along and presents them with a blanket they whipped up with ease (purely down to practice!). So I asked what she would like me to make the answer??? A cardigan.

At this point I had only crocheted 2 baby cardigans and I was dissatisfied with both for various reaons:

Baby sweater 1:
This was made for a cousin’s baby boy. It was a simple project and worked up quickly the main reason I wasn’t completely happy with the finished project was the boxy shape it produced...the sleeves  came out at too much of a right angle.....the baby doesn't seem to mind though

Baby sweater 2 :
I chose a new pattern for a friend’s baby (again a boy). This time it was a hoodie. The sleeves came out a bit too cone shaped (for want of a better word).

I had to alter the hood as well as the one generated by the pattern  looked way to small....at this point I realise one of the downsides to making baby
clothes....if you have no little babies hanging around, how one earth do you gauge if the size and shape of what you have made it correct? It’s not like I
can buy a kid and stash it in a cupboard and pull it out for fittings when I demand. So I’m always pleased if a cardigan comes out a bit bigger than what I perceive the little babies to be as at least then they can grow into them!!

A hat and blanket completed the set.

So for the next cardigan and girl to be I embarked on yet another pattern and this one I like (and not because it’s girly colours!).

Baby Sweater 3;
This is a simple cardigan which takes a few evenings to make. It’s crocheted in one piece and then the sleeves are added. It doesn’t look too boxy, it looks simple and pretty and yes – this is one pattern I am happy with.

I’ll add the pattern names in when I have found the various bits of papers which have been filed away in piles around the living room. I’ll definitely attempt the first two cardigans again, if only to see if my crochet skills didn’t do the pattern justice or if they didn’t live up to my expectations.

Edit: Pattern links
first one: Little Princess Cardi by Lion Brand Yarn
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...princess-cardi

hoodie two; Baby Hoodie & Hat by Caron International Yarns
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...by-hoodie--hat

last one: Newborn Layette by Darla J. Fanton
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/newborn-layette