Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The weekend





So I found out that I get train sick on Pendalino trains which meant I couldn't launch into my knitathon. In fact I got very little knitting done! But I did get some new bowls from Ray which are amazing and graceful as usual. They are going to go really well with my white knitted blanket!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Cabling Progress





I must be getting better, or it must just be the rewards of big wool, but I feel like I am storming along. I had two scary moments where I had lost the cable and had to take the whole lot off the needle and pull it out until I got back to where I thought I'd gone wrong. Going back is what I really need to perfect. I found that putting the stitches back onto thinner needles made it easier to knit the first row back and work out which were twisted stitches. The whole thing feels a lot smaller than it looks in the picture though. Part of me wants to make a matching strip for it to make it twice as wide! I am not sure if I could hack that though, we'll see. I have a four hour train journey this weekend so I am expecting a lot of progress!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Ravelry



So I finally had a proper look at Ravelry today and put up some projects. It seems like a great way to document knitting projects and specify patterns, needles and wool etc... You can see my notebook here I am going to spend a long time trawling through and favouriting projects!

Monday, February 08, 2010

Big Cable Stole



I think it's the snow outside, or else it's because Sam has started knitting. All I know is that I am inspired to keep knitting! Here is my knitting inspiration... behold the blanket that Ray knitted me! A wonder! I LOVE it. Well I'd love it more if either it was bigger or I was smaller.



About a year a go I bought some lovely Blue Sky Bulky Natural wool from Loop. It's pretty pricey which is probably why I put it away until the shock wore off. I never bought quite enough, thinking that I would go back the following month and buy the remainder... Well a year later I happened to be passing. I happened to be into cabling... and voila! I just went in and bought the rest!

The pattern I am just starting isn't the same as Ray's but it was the inspiration behind it. We saw in the shop and the idea was born. You can find it here or on Revelry if you're a member. I'm not really planning to wear it, I just want to make it into another blanket.



I bought some wool in the great Cucumberpatch sale which was £2.50 a ball! What a bargain! I might have to make it twice! I mean you can never have too many blankets in this constantly cold weather now can you?



I also splashed out and invested in some nicer wooden needles as mine our plastic. Although these are heavier, they're just nicer to play with and they make a much softer sound as they clash together. I am all set now never to go out again. I am just going to be a kitting machine! I have had to copy the pattern out though as I can't get with this 'row 5, repeat rows 8-11' stuff. I just need to know what one row is after another so I don't have to think too much. I'm going to Manchester next weekend and I plan to knit all the way there and ALL the way back!

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Knitted Cowl





So I finally finished my neck cowl last night. I made loads of mistakes on it but by the end I felt like I could start again and I would do it right. I agree with the other people I know who have made it though that it's easier to wear the other way up from the pattern. I might make a proper chunky one like the original when I next find myself in front of some Rowan Big Wool, but it would cost 20 odd quid to make with that whereas as my thinner Robin chunky cost a fiver to make.