Mohair

Lovely, fluffy mohair.

Quarantine Knit 30

Two Birds.

Quarantine Knits

  

Arne & Carlos released three more blocks in the Quarantine Knit Along.  They haven't returned to podcasting yet, still in recovery mode.  I knit two of the blocks yesterday, 28 The Bee, and 29 Three Tulips.

Learning Something New

I cast on a new project and I needed a stretchy cast on.  So out with the book Cast On Bind Off by Leslie Ann Bestor.  I looked at the Old Norwegian Cast On and did a bit of a what?  Went to YouTube and Leslie Ann had a video of the cast on, brilliant, I could see exactly what she meant.  I'll get more practice because I had to rip the project out and start again, it was knitting too small.

Sock Knitting

 

I finished the yellow sock, it's a nice sock, but it doesn't fit properly.  It goes on my foot, but a little tight.  When I read in what to do when making a sock I did see that it may take a few goes at finding the right needles and stitch numbers to get your perfect fit.  I'm a little worried I will end up with a large pile of single socks.  They look nice though.  I learned a new technique, Fish Lips Kiss Heel, silly name but does make a nice heel.

More Yarn

  

Little Yellow Cat had a couple of skeins of yarn for sale on Instagram.  They were one-offs, playing around with dye.  Looked lovely, so I bought them and they arrived yesterday.  Wound them into balls and cast on for a pair of socks.  A couple of mini contrasting skeins were included.  I was going to knit contrasting toes and heels, but then thought, no, just finished a pair of socks, plain socks, no complications, just finish my first pair.  I have a commission to work on and I am keeping myself busy until the yarn arrives for that.

Cowl Knitting

Been working on the Stephen West cowl I restarted. It's coming along.

Finished Hat

  

Finished the second August Hat last night.  I have been struggling to concentrate on anything the last few days, so it's an accomplishment that the hat is done.  This one fits too, unlike the grey one.  The pattern is by Sarah Solomon for Kelbourne Woolens.  The yarn is from Fibresmith, he won hand dyed rang, Aran weight, White Marble and Deep Plum.  The pom pom isn't properly attached at the moment, trying to decide pom pom, or no pom pom.

Project Bag

  

  

There was no knitting done yesterday, housework and some sewing.  I have been watching a lot of knitting podcasts lately and one of the ladies was also a weaver and had used a piece to make a project bag (my apologies can't remember the name of the podcast, too many blur together).  I did a weaving project in December 2018 and didn't know what to do with it.  The piece wasn't big enough to be a bag on it's own, so it is a decorative panel on a larger bag.  I used fabric from the stash.  The green is not photographing very well, it is a nicer green with similar hues in the weaving, and it is a heavy cotton with a bit of texture.  It has a zip and is quite roomy, very useful.

Hat Knitting

The hat is coming along nicely, first section done.

New Cast On

I don't really like having too many projects on the go at once.  Likely they will sit and not be finished.  Yet, I cast on another project yesterday, another hat like the grey one finished last week.  The yarn is from Fibresmith, her own hand dyed.  I also ripped back the cowl I was making and restarted.  The third contrasting colour wasn't quite right.

Quarantine Knit Along

I finished all the blocks on this second round of Quarantine Knits.  Yesterday I managed to knit five blocks.  23. Pimpernel, 24. Two Roses, 25. Alone Together, 26. The Strawberry, and 27. Everything Is Going To Be Alright.  So the strawberry was supposed to have darker pips embroidered, which I did and didn't like, so too them out.  The last one is supposed to be a rainbow, but I am using a mix of five colours and cream for all the blocks.  If I introduced all the colours for the rainbow, it would be too different from the others.  So I have a Gradient Curve block.  Actually it kind of looks like receding mountains. I have a plan for all the blocks, but there may be more.  Arne & Carlos are having a well deserved break at the moment and will be back soon podcasting and maybe more blocks, so I will wait and see.

3 Quarantine Knits

Knitted three blocks yesterday.  Trellis, Home Sweet Home and The Early Bird.  Quite a productive day, I did other things, but can't share those at the moment.

Cowl Knitting

I didn't knit a Quarantine Knit block yesterday, just worked on the Stephen West cowl I started.  It's the pattern called Tungatta.  I really like how the purl 2 in the yellow on the rib looks quite different to usual and a little bit gnarly.

Two Blocks and a Cast On

The bear block is number 18 in the Quarantine Knit Along.  So the Tulips are number 18, one of the new blocks.  I also cast on for a Stephen West cowl.  There are 340 stitches in the round, so its slow going.

Happy Mothers Day

Have a wonderful day.

Sock, Block and Deliveries

  

Yesterday was a good day.  Finished my first sock, knitted number 18 in the Quarantine Knit Along, and the postie dropped off two parcels.  The sock fits well.  I wanted a shorter sock, but I made it too short, the next pair will be longer.  And I don't have a sock blocker, except my foot.
One parcel was from Fibresmith, more yarn to make another hat like the grey one, and purple yarn for another different hat, or I may swap the purple and green.  The other parcel was from Skein Sisters, my new favourite brand of knitting needles, ChiaoGoo, added some sizes to my collection.  And you can't just buy needles, so some Brooklyn Tween Loft, lots of people are knitting with it in the podcasts I have been watching, so give it a knit.

Pile of Blocks

Yesterday's block was number 16 in my repeat of Arne & Carlos' Quarantine Knit Along.  The sock is up to turning the heel.

More Sock and a Block

The sock got it's restart and is coming along nicely.  When blocking the Quarantine Knit block I realised I made a mistake, four mistakes actually.  Weirdly they are symmetrical.  I was going to fix them with duplicate stitch, but I don't think it matters, so I left the block the way it is.

Sock and a Block

Struggling to settle on what to make next.  I've downloaded lots of patterns, made a start on quite a few things and then pulled them out again.  Even this toe up sock got pulled out because I forgot one of the increases.  Good practice as I am new to the cast on.  The only completed object is the Quarantine Knit block.

Finished Hat

I didn't work on any Quarantine Knitting blocks yesterday, I concentrated on the hat and it's finished. The pattern is the August Hat by Sarah Solomon, part of Kelbourne Woolens Year of Hats. I saw it on @knitting_posse and just wanted to knit it. I used yarns from the stash: cream Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran, and the grey are two yarns held together - Nua by Carol Fletcher, colour Kitten Fluff, and a hand dyed yarn from Fibresmith (which didn't have it's label, but I'm quite sure it was Leslie's yarn). Ignore the microwave tub, it seemed the best thing to block it on. Unfortunately it doesn't fit, too small. I didn't do a swatch, but I'm not far off. Might have to knit another.

A Block and a Hat

Finished one of the Quarantine Knit blocks and the hat hasn't gotten much further.  The hat has had several restarts.  I must really like the hat, or find it a good challenge at the moment because restarting so many time would usually have me stopping and do something else.

Yesterday's Knitting

Two Quarantine blocks and the beginnings of a hat.

Three More Blocks

Now that is ten blocks finished in my repeat of Arne & Carlos' Quarantine Knit Along.  I didn't do the Hug Me Later block last time.  Since I was knitting double blocks lettering was difficult to do.