Big Knits

After looking at Yokoo's great Etsy shop, I fell in love with her grey and yellow cowl.

If there wasn't a credit crunch it would be mine. Maybe for my birthday it still can be. But in the meantime I thought I would have a go. So off I went and bought the largest needles John Lewis had.



They're so huge they feel like comedy needles! I could barely hold them. Giant knits seem to be all the rage on the catwalk and I have been seeing some jolly mice giant knit scarfs on the streets of Hoxton. So I embarked on a test mission. It's so rewarding as even the slowest knitter in the world like me can create something like this in an evening! Ace.



After completing this test, I am now ready for attempt number two! I think I might accentuate my rib by doing my tea cosy design and maybe using some slightly smaller needles this time. Then I might try one with a fancy cable.

I still plan to put some buttons on my existing one but it still seems to be stretching out everytime I wear it. It is very warm though.

Baby Quilt

I finally finished my latest baby quilt inspired by the Amy Butler material I bought at the Birmingham quilt show.



First I drew out a pattern. I wanted it to seem quite random with no strong pattern running through it like the last one so I based it on a simple 16 block design.



I taped all the layers down to the work surface and tacked it all together.



I didn't buy a pattern for the quilting so I cobbled this one together on the computer based on one I saw in The Quilt Room catalogue. The stencils are really great, they save loads of time but I was working against the clock this time. It all worked out really well in the end though.





And there is the finished item I completed over Christmas.



Here's the backing.



And the final boxed item ready to go to baby Nell. Done. Maybe it's time for a few monkeys now.

Christmas Wrapping

So a recap over 2005, 2006, 2007 and now onto 2008. This year it was a golden boroque theme with huge bows made from a selection of theatrical material from SoHo. Broadwick Silks for a little bit of dupion, Borovicks for the rest, plus some Paperchase ribbons and some giant golden acorn bells I found in a bargain bucket the first day I went xmas shopping.

Presents

Hello. I am back from a sejourn. Here is one of my Christmas presents. I have a lot of things to put up which I'll do over the next day or so as I am not planning to get out of my pyjamas over the Christmas season. I am very excited about making a giant strawberry cushion and the spotty bags. I might get some thick furnishing fabric from Liberties in the sale for my first one.

Birthday Mice

Finally, with only a few days to spare before the first birthday, I have finished the latest baby quilt. I made this for the birth... but I'm running a little late as usual. I had a mouse stencil for the borders but nothing for the white snowball squares so I designed a mouse with a big circular tail. Now time for baby quilt number 2. I only have a month, but I am determined this time. Here goes…

Some Cards

I made a few cards, I have always collected round stickers of all sizes and colours. I am not sure why, but I have done so since childhood. I quite like making home made sticker cards because they are so simple. You have to work with circles and just think about composition and sticking. It never gets messy, it's quick and it's a pleasure. Sometimes I sit there for ages thinking where to put my spots.I am sure all my friends will get tired of these cards one day, but I could just go on and on forever.

Bank Holiday Bits

I often feel guilty that I have so many half-finished quilts stuffed in bags. Usually I reach some point where I need something I don't have and I just put it away and forget about it for a while. So I decided to try and finish off a few loose ends before I embark on a totally new project.

I finally put some borders on the Broken Dishes quilt I made a while a go, but stopped when I ran out of material for the borders. I looked in a Patchwork book of my mum's and learned how to piece a few bits together and it worked perfectly. In fact it looks better than it would have if it had been one whole piece. Of course now I realise I have no backing material for it so off it goes back in the cupboard.

Quilt Show

So Rachel and I decided last Saturday to pay a visit to the impressively titled: 'Festival of Quilts' in Birmingham. I don't know how we plucked up the courage really, but suddenly we were in the car eating bacon McMuffins and on our way. It wasn't quite the squash I was expecting. I thought it would be more like The Business Design centre in Islington, but no! More than one loo per 1000 people, air con, lots of wide walkways and benches and cafes everywhere! Every bum had a seat!



There were mass classes going on with sewing machines going for England. I liked the little flags they all had. It made it seem like the Grand Prix of stitching! You go team!



There were loads of stalls to buy stuff from. Loads of quilts on display AND Amy Butler was there! Oh it's too much sewing madness to take in.



So I woke up on Sunday and it was pouring with rain. look! There is my view in front of my old desk where I used to do my homework and study for all my exams. Not a day to be doing much outside you'll agree. But there was the oldstyle Science work book Rachel had given me the day before... just sitting there.



A shaft of light fell on it and I thought 'hey! I could be like those super-quilter women who carried folders of swatches around with them!'. So I got the glue out and decided that now was a good time as any to start recording bits of what I buy so I can be thinking about stuff. well maybe I won't think about it, maybe I'll just glue away as I am a Virgo and we dig that shit.



My first page finished. Everything I bought catalogued. Ahhh... it feels goood.

Totoro!

Hoi Ling made me a cushion! There was a lot of begging involved, but finally I am the proud owner of Totoro. ACE.

Olympic Monkey

So in honour of the Olympics I am going to make my grand olympic monkey out of some football socks I bought in Nike Town. There's a mini Making Things night in the local Reggae pub across the road and I for one plan to make a monkey. I am making some matching badges for my socks. Here are some rough ideas.

Knitting in the Dark

So reading Annie's blog made me decide to brave town today. It rained which kept most people away. I went and indulged myself in Liberties and bought some new stuff for a new project. Check out my new TV needles! I only got them so I could feel like Tron. Hopefully now I won't need the really bright, hot spot light on when the TV's on as it annoys the Pony. Oh what domestic bliss.

I also bought this great pack of flower buttons from The Button Company. Liberty's had a huge glass sweet jar full of them; a treasure trove! I like this
slate button, but it does look a bit lethal. So now I am already for project knit no. 3, just as soon as I get on with no. 2. So it's off to lie in bd listening to the rain, watching cheap TV... ROCKIN

It's So Hot

So I thought I'd catch up. It's been so hot lately that I have been listless. Sometimes I find the only way to shake myself out of it is to go and buy something else that I don't need. Here is my second attempt at knitting the scarf, the right way this time. I took it to work thinking I would sit in the sun at lunchtime and do it, but there were so many people in the park that I felt like a bit of a knob. In the end it has sat in my drawer all week, but I AM doing it right at least.

As Pippa so rightly pointed out, it wasn't that the last one was wrong so to speak, it just wasn't following the pattern. I hadn't done alternate rows so it came out ribbed and it just keeps curling inwards. This new effort is the right stitch and on smaller needles which is better, but it still doesn't have the same quality as the original pattern, probably because the knit is tighter now.

I just need to get back to it.

Done!

We had a great day knitting. But what a comedy of errors mine turned out to be. I really need to knit more often. Everytime I come back to it I have to relearn everything. I started off trying to crochet it by accident as I just got the two things mixed up in my mind. Hence the beginning resembles a loose doily. After the first 10 rows I realised that I kept forgetting to alternate each row so it was coming out in ribs. Then I cunningly decided to keep with the rib so it looked like I had done it on purpose, at which point I totally got the rib wrong and changed lanes. I am so awful at this pattern remembering stuff. I can't remember one stitch from the next! I also ended up with a few random holes in the middle. I almost didn't want to use my shiny blue button by the end but then I stopped being so hard on my poor scarf. I just promised myself I would start number 2 tomorrow and improve.

Scarfest

So tomorrow is the grand day we've alllll been waiting for: Scarf knit day. I have my bagged all packed:

Two sizes of needle
Two balls of wool
A million buttons

I am so excited. Someone is going to have to teach me how to cast on again, that's how useless I am.

Scarf Buttons

Today I happened across an antique jewelery stall at Spitalfields market nestled amongst all the great unique fashion stalls which turn up every Friday. The owner said that every week she puts out her antique buttons and they never sell until today when apparently I was one of many purchasers. I chose all my new buttons with my scarfs in mind. You see how I have changed to the plural. Why make one scarf when you can make 5 all different! to match with any outfit!

Knitting Preparation

Today Ray and I hung out at New Designers, showing at the Business Design Centre. Although, Ray was exhibiting, we managed to have a good nosey round all the inspirational textiles and ceramics work. No pictures I'm afraid as I sort of think that's a bit rude when it's budding students all hoping they get commissioned not ripped off or gawped at by people like me who just wants all the beautiful work to soak into their brain and infuse them with ideas so they can run off and make stuff. Which is exactly what we did.

Without further a do we tripped off to Loop; possibly the coolest wool shop in the world; to buy wool for our new project next Saturday where we plan to sit in the garden whilst her studio is open to the public, knitting scarves.

The wool is:
Misti Alpaca Chunky
Colour: 403 Charcoal &
Colour: VR3317 Aquamarine

The pattern is here, but Say Llama did a different knit which I can't work which one I prefer as both are so lovely... probably whichever Ray tells me is easier. All I know is that I would like mine to have blue ends.

Here is also a picture of the impossibly large button we both bought which I am sure will form the foundation of some future knitting experiment.