On the Needles

Mini Camera Bag [Completed 26th November]
I used left-over wool from the Fliss scarf (Kid classic) - not sure if it would felt successfully or not, as it's not pure wool.
I knitted a 4x4 swatch and popped it in the washing machine. What came out was a tiny ball of fur - from which I deduce it will work. I carefully prized the ball apart and measured it; it seems to have lost the standard 25% in length and about 15% in width.
To my relief the resulting pouch seems a good fit on the camera (yes I did risk quickly trying it while the bag is still damp - I am so wild sometimes).

Beaded Purse [Completed 18th November]
I attended a workshop run by Fiona Morris focussed on knitted with beads.
All kinds of methods were taught, including knitting jewellery by using beads and invisible thread.
My project was a small knitted purse. This shows what I did: threading the beads to start.

Opera Scarf [Completed 14th November]
I wanted to knit George a scarf - not a long and skinny or massive and wooley, but something more like a cravat.
This is a 1920s Opera Scarf from Jane Waller's (out of print) Man's Book. I used some very old Rowan wool/cotton in a lovely sage colour; the original no doubt meant to be made in fine cream silk.

Ruffle Scarf [Completed 14th November]
I've knitted Ruffle by Nikki Ryan from Rowan Magazine 40 as a Christmas gift for Fliss.
In the book, the scarf is made up in an unappealing (no doubt fashionable) grey, and I did not really notice it; however, I saw it knitted up in John Lewis and then bought the wool in their more adventurous colours. I had some trouble in deciphering the pattern and had to go back and check the item in JL to see that I was crocheting it properly and as instructed!

Father George's Slipper Socks [Completed 14th November]
A pair of bedsocks, knitted using woollen leftovers, (Patons Clansman, and Forsell double knitting). The vintage pattern was supplied by George's Mother (she knows my weaknesses) and was designed for leftovers in 3 colours.
Last Christmas I knitted some in shades of brown for George's Father, (as a bit of a joke), since I know he wears socks in bed, (especially when visiting our house!) This year G's Mother requested another pair; it seems they are so popular he wears them all the time. Pattern available at Pattern of the Month December 2006.

Action Men [Completed 31st October]
I've been having a great time using oddments of yarn to knit Action Man outfits as gifts for Alison's boys. (As they are destined for the USA I guess they are in fact outfits for GI Joe...)
As well as sweaters, I made little cricketer's outfits (defintely not for GI Joe) and supplied them along with two vintage dolls and a vintage cricket set - I think Nigel was so smitten he set them up in his office and the kids never saw them...

Furrow [Started 28th October]
A Marie Wallin design from Rowan book 40; knitted in a mixture of Tapestry, (50g hanks; 120m/131 yards). Kid Classic, (50g hanks; 140m/151 yards). and Wool Cotton, (50g hanks; 113m/122 yards). I liked Dotty so much that I thought this would also be fun to knit, being made of Tapestry, Kid classic, and Wool-cotton. I thought the pattern was stripey rows made interesting by the self colouring wool and some purl stitching giving additional texture. Turns out, it is some mad pattern involving slipping blocks of stitches on alternate pairs of rows, and stranding the yarn across the back of the work. The effect is quite pleasing but complex to knit.

Dotty [Completed 11th October]
I knitted this for George's birthday and it narrowly avoided being a slight disaster .["I'm not wearing a tank top; I won't, I won't!"... etc] - anyway - when it came to it he obligingly did wear it. It is a Kaffe Fassett design from Rowan Magazine 40 and is knitted in Felted Tweed and Tapestry. It was a joy to knit - relatively simple, and it feels wonderful.
In the book it's illustrated in shades of brown, which I would have gone with, had there been any of the colours in the shop - but as I was time constrained I went with navy (always lovely!) but it has altered the look - made it a bit more dramatic.

Warrior: [Completed 24th September]
Rob chose this design by Brandon Mably from Rowan magazine 39. The yarn is Rowan Calmer [75% cotton / 25% acrylic; 50g=160m/175yds] - which is soft and light weight, and so very suitable for him as he is allergic to rough wools.
Here, he is modelling the sweater while opening his other birthday presents.
[I'm glad he decided to forego the furry head-dress...]

Quilted Circular Needle Holder [Completed August 28th]
Time out for a little quilting project. I wanted to try out some "Grandmother's Fan" patches, and used some nostalgic floral fabrics (mainly "Sentimental Journey" by Robyn Pandolph). I designed a circular needle holder, which opens like a concertina booklet with pockets - if I were going into production, it needs a little refinement, but I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Rosa with Ribbons and Beads Corsage [Completed August 28th]
The craze for in Kid Silk Haze [70% mohair / 30% silk; 25g=209m/229yds] continues unabated. Rosa by Lois Daykin appears in Rowan magazine 40; I have altered the design a little, as I didn't want the long attached scarf effect (in fact probably its USP design feature but I just went with a more conventional lace collar).
The neckline was also a bit too revealing for me so I added the Rbbons and Beads Corsage from Rowan magazine 39 by Sarah Hatton.

Deep [Completed 29th July]
This is a design by Carol Meldrum from Rowan magazine 39 using Summer Tweed [70% silk / 30% cotton; 50g=120m/131yds], which knits up as a fairly chunky aran weight. In contrast to below, I am quite keen on this yarn - it has such a lot of interest in of itself with the texture and flecks of colour that I omitted the striped pattern. Despite that I do not really like the design - a bit too shrug-like.
[Note here that I later reknitted the yarn into "Blithe" in 2010 - and again still wearing the cardigan 15 years later.]

Lucy [Completed 29th July]
This is a design by Lois Daykin from Rowan magazine 37 which uses Rowan Cotton Tape [100% cotton; 50g=65m/71yds]. This is my second project with this yarn and I'm not sure why I chose to repeat the experience as it's really not very nice to work with and stretches out of shape at the drop of a hat. Having completed it in the first instance, I found it was much too big so I reknitted everything but the sleeves in a much smaller size - and it's really still too big!
[Note here that I am still wearing the cardigan 20 years later though...]

Carolina [Completed 28th June]
Another design by Sharon Miller and knitted in Kid Silk Haze [70% mohair / 30% silk; 25g=209m/229yds]. The pattern appears in Rowan magazine 39 where it is photographed made up in two shades of cream colour, and looks like a rather sophisticated if a little over-fussy summery cape/cardigan. However I chose to make it in a flattering pale blue colour which I now feel was a bit of a mistake as its bedjackety heritage is all too obvious.

River [Completed 1st May and 8th May]
This has been a very popular pattern from Rowan magazine 38 designed by Sharon Miller and knitted in the ever popular Kid Silk Haze [70% mohair / 30% silk; 25g=209m/229yds]. KSH is an expensive yarn but as it's nominally a lace weight, it has an amazingly good yardage and knits up on larger needles more like a double knitting weight.
River is a not-too-complicated lace pattern, which I was finally able to memorise while I knitted several of them (making good use of my time on the 6 hour ferry journeys to France) - including one for Diane and one for my sister who both have birthdays in May.

Elspeth [Completed 4th February]
This is another version of the ubiquitous shrug where designers are falling back to vintage designs for their inspiration. I've tried to knit it in a less romantic vein - using a striking red colour, and then styling it worn over a tee rather than as a little cardi or bolero.
Elspeth by Laura Long appears in Rowan magazine 37; it uses Rowan Calmer [75% cotton / 25% acrylic; 50g=160m/175yds] - which is a yarn I have really taken to - a soft cotton-like yarn with a slight stretchy quality, knitting to a kind of aran/worsted weight.