2010

Wishing everyone a very happy and peaceful 2010. I have my first FO of the year, the Maximus cowl by ChicKnits. Inspired partly by the very cold and snowy weather we are currently experiencing in the UK, and partly because I got some lovely Rowan Big Wool in the now legendary Kemps Rowan bargain packs, just before Christmas.



Last year I took part in the 24 in 2009 challenge i.e. knit 24 items/projects in one year. I'm pleased to say my final total was 27, the last two being a Sock Yarn Slouch hat in Yarn Yard Hug organic merino, and the Charlotte capelet from Rowan 38 in Big Wool (bargain packs again):





I also started using the Knitmeter last year to keep track of how much yarn I knitted up. In total I knitted 6.92 miles of yarn (12180 yards). It will be interesting to compare this year's output with that total. I'm not aiming at 24 in 2010, just aiming to knit up some of my stash! My current garment-size project is the Elfin cardigan from Rowan 34. It's the first time I've knit with Felted Tweed and I love the fabric it creates. I was also lucky enough to score 500g-worth of mixed shades in KSH in the Kemps £5-a-bag Rowan bonanza, and happily there is some dark brown that I can use for the ruffled edgings and cuffs on this cardigan. It should tone nicely with the light-ish brown "Cocoa" in the Felted Tweed. I also plan to knit another Felicity hat, for myself this time, in some brown Lamb's Pride. Hopefully it should tone in nicely with the cowl.

Overall I don't have too many specific "objectives" for knitting in 2010. I'm looking forward to working on whatever takes my fancy, in the main. I'd like to buy less yarn, but am not enforcing any kind of "diet" - rather am continuing with my policy of thinking about things for a while before purchase. It has worked quite well so far, compared to past yarn-buying habits. I think I will try to keep count of yardage "in" as well as yardage knit, which will be enlightening if nothing else!

I also intend to learn crochet this year, and have already made quite a reasonable start. I bought the introductory copy of The Art of Crochet, and worked through the getting started instructions with some success. Given that in the past I have struggled to manipulate hook and yarn, I can now hold hook and yarn and "pick" the yarn with the hook to make stitches. I won't be continuing with the partwork but it has certainly helped me over some hurdles.

Basil

I finished this sweater a couple of weeks ago and forgot to blog it. The pattern is Basil from the Rowan Summer Tweed Collection by Kim Hargreaves, knit in Summer Tweed shade "Shark". The colours are not that good in the photo as it was taken in poor light - it's a darker grey base with flecks of blue-grey and black.

I love how this turned out, it's a wonderful fit and very soft and comfortable. I found the Summer Tweed fine to knit with, it didn't cause me any problems at all. The main mods to this sweater were (1) adding 4 extra rows after switching to the larger needles front and back, before the waist decreases, and (2) convering the shoulders to short row shoulder shaping. This is a method I will most definitely use in future, it significantly improves the look of the shoulders. A three-needle bind-off is used to seam the shoulders and again this gives a very neat finish.

I've just finished the last body piece for the Hoodie Vest, so my next job is joining the shoulders (three-needle bind-off again, but there's no shoulder shaping in this design) then blocking the body out to size. As well as knitting, I've been making chutney and marmalade! First off was Green Tomato Chutney (Delia Smith recipe), using our homegrown cherry tomatoes. We had to make sure we went out and picked all the greens off the plants just for this recipe, as they were all ripening up so well! Next was Mango Chutney, using a recipe by Marguerite Patten. We opted for the version without apples and hence using more mango. It turned out beautifully and tastes fabulous, although it's currently maturing for a month before we use any.

Last up was Grapefruit Marmalade (another Marguerite recipe), as I have great difficulty finding this in the shops, and tend to avoid oranges. We used pink grapefruit, and soaked the pith etc. for 24 hours before use. As it turned out this was a good thing to do, according to the collected wisdom on t'internet. I'd never made marmalade before (or mango chutney), so I was rather winging it on things like setting point - especially without a jam thermometer. Again it turned out really well, I was a bit worried it might never set but it has made a lovely thick marmalade. I have a partial jar in the fridge at the moment with the rest stored and it tastes wonderful. We have since invested in a proper preserving pan and thermometer, rather than the stock pot we've used this time. I will definitely be making my own marmalade and mango chutney again! I don't have any photos as my husband very helpfully put all the jars back into the boxes they originally came in, and they are sitting on top of the kitchen cupboards! They do need to mature though, especially the green tomato, that needs to be left for three months.

Melinda cardigan

Pattern: Melinda from Colinette "Wayfarer"
Size made: 36
Yarn: Colinette Prism shade "Monet"
Yardage: a little under 6 skeins
Needles: 6mm + 5mm for edgings

I'm very pleased with this cardigan, it fits a treat. I went down a size after checking the schematic and am glad I did so. I added 3/4" to the overall length though. Skeins were alternated every 2 rows, which seems to have given a pretty even distribution of colour. Three of the skeins were from the mill shop sale room and were mis-dyes as far as I could tell, but they seem to have blended in very well with the others.

I've now taken the plunge and cast on for Tender in Kidsilk Haze. Previous encounters with this yarn have not ended happily. This time, I'm using metal needles as recommended by various people on Ravelry. Top notch advice, as the yarn moves freely on them. The cardigan is basically plain stockinette too, which seems a sensible approach given previous problems with lace. I'm now a few rows in to the back piece and am finding the actual knitting surprisingly speedy. This after the rather tortuous cast-on of 316 stitches (I used stitch markers every 20 to keep count) then the next row decreasing by half.

This week I also joined Twitter, which seems fun, especially the tweetings of Sir Stephen of Fry. ETA - I've changed my account to "protected" updates, which means you have to request to "follow" them. I've left it public until now to see how it went, but decided I'd rather have a little more control over it. I'm happy to approve folks I "know" from knitblogging, Ravelry and elsewhere :-)

Flutter Sleeve Cardigan

Pattern: Flutter Sleeve Cardigan by Pam Allen, Interweave Knits Spring 2008
Yarn: Rowan Calmer shade Kiwi
Yardage: 4.72 skeins
Size made: 40

Finally completed and I'm very happy with the result! The shaping and detail on this design is excellent, and the stretch in the Calmer is quite helpful in keeping the rib section snug. In hindsight I would rethink the button placing as the top button is probably a little too high, and with the Calmer's elasticity there is some "pull". I added a couple of press-studs/poppers between the buttons.

The sleeve edgings are a single thickness of seed/moss stitch rather than turned back and doubled, and I knit 8 rows before binding off. I also omitted the small sleeve tabs. Definitely a pattern I would consider making again.

I've started Petersburg from Rowan 42 this week, and finished the back piece last night (photo was taken the previous day):



My first time knitting with Cocoon, it's incredibly soft yarn although does tend to shed some fibres. Not surprising as it's 20% angora!

Spring, while not exactly in the air, is also beckoning, and having completed Flutter Sleeve I'm keen to make something else in Calmer. I've had my eye on Hearten from the Calmer Collection for a long time so that may be my next project.

It would be great to have another dedicated collection of patterns written for Calmer too. There are a few designs in the new Rowan 45 but none of them appeal to me. Capri from R43 is a must-knit. Kim Hargreaves has several lovely patterns from her recent books though, including Still.

Speaking of Rowan 45, overall I think it is a good collection, especially the Bloom section. My crochet skills are going to need some serious improvement to tackle some of those edgings though!