Swatching

I'm currently working on some magazine samples which I can't really blog about so I've not had a lot to say here. I am full of ideas for self-published patterns but I'm struggling to carve out time to work on them whilst balancing my day job and my magazine work (and the need to sleep from time to time). I definitely need to slow down in at least one part of my work and at the moment self-publishing new patterns is taking a back seat.

Where I have been able to find some time I have been doing the occasional swatch. I've been playing around with texture a lot at the moment and have been starting to bring colours and textures together as I learn new techniques. These swatches are in some no-name very bright wool and are adaptations of the Quilted Lattice stitch on Knitting Fool.

I have an idea in mind for a new pattern using 2 colours of heavy laceweight with at least some colour/texture work. I don't think I'll be using the lattice work above, although I do like it a lot. Instead I've been looking at smocking stitches on the Knitting Daily video tutorials. I have a strong mental image of what I want to make and have the yarn already (two shades of Brown Sheep Legacy Lace from a Magpie Yarns special order) - just need to find the time!

WIPs and the frog pond

This little collection is my current pile of WIPs and half worked ideas - not including himself's socks which have half a sock to go and have been that way for about 8 months:

A sketch and yarn for a new design, already frogged due to the joining in the round looking weird

Another version of a design that's being published. I started knitting a third mitt to check gauge before submitting the pattern and then never finished it. I did confirm the gauge though. To the frog pond and then to become a hat possibly

My endless Audrey in Unst which needs half a sleeve, button bands and finishing. And I need this for work really. To be finished

An idea in progress for fingerless gloves. The pattern works but I'm not enjoying it much and my colour dominance isn't quite right. To the frog pond and then to become a colour work shawl although I will go back to this pattern idea.

Frogging WIPs is quite cathartic, freeing yourself from failed or failing projects that look at you unhappily from your knitting box, use up your needles, and stop you knitting other things. It also has a side benefit of returning lovely yarn to your stash for use in other projects. So that's my task for this morning after so I can clear the decks before starting samples for publication since I have quite a few to do.

Autumn draws in...

I've noticed of late that I've been mainly knitting in autumnal colours - lovely rusty coloured tweeds and copper cashmere blends. There's a skein of dark brown merino dk looking at me from the 'planned projects' box and some stunning Crannog in the same colours as Lime trees as the leaves turn with the changing season just arrived.

I've never really noticed this seasonality in my knitting before. I'll quite happily knit mittens in July and floaty lacy shawls in January with a varied palette through the year but this year Autumn seems to have had quite an impact.Maybe it's the very wet and grey few weeks that we've had in Manchester that makes me want to have the wonderful Autumn colours on my needles even I can't see them on the trees through the drizzle.

Today though the sun is shining and it's one of those crisp, cold Autumn days that are perfect for walking up hills and ending up in a pub although sadly other duties call instead.

Some knitty Autumn colours for you...

On the top there is a new design in progress and one that I'm so far very pleased with. I saw a woman in the post office in a beautiful machine knit lace cardigan so when I got home I started trying to swatch it out. One thing led to another and I started to design a new pair of fingerless gloves. So far this has involved me learning how to do a no seam picot edge as show in SillyLittleLady's blog tutorial here and unventing a no lean central double decrease (I'm sure it exists properly but I worked it out without referencing anything). I don't have a name for this yet so if you have any thoughts...

Hexipuffs and Jitterbug

Here are my first few Hexipuffs for the Beekeepers Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits. My puffs are made with Colinette Jitterbug in 3.75mm needles and stuffed with polyester stuffing. This is a long term project (himself wants it to be 6' x 4'!) and will be quilt tied. I'm not doing the crochet bind off, just an ordinary three needle bind off and then threading the ends through the stuffed puffs. In the picture they are skewered on a 4 dpn - they don't actually stand on end!

I don't normally knit 'trending patterns' - I've not made a February Lady Sweater or a Clapotis. My BSJ, Fetchings and Monkey socks were done long after the trends seemed to be over - but the Beekeepers Quilt taps into a deep seated need to snuggle under sofa blankets and the days shorten and the temperatures drop. There's something comforting about snuggly blankets big enough for two

Audrey Progress

I posted about my Audrey cardigan a little while ago and haven't really mentioned it since but I did make quite a bit of progress before I got distracted by my new design. This is the top of the left front in the Unst lace pattern which I rather like and is incredibly quick to do. Yet to do: the rest of the back and right front, sleeves, button bands and collar. Quite a lot really but since the weather has warmed up nicely I'm less in need of a cardigan

There has also been progress on my new shawl design. When I showed it in my earlier post I'd only done 2 repeats of the pattern (and was making slow work of it) but I've done some more and here it is with 5 repeats completed and then washed and blocked so I could guestimate size and get this out for testing;

I'm rather pleased with it so far although the photo is not brilliant.

And a final update - Personal Remarks and my Waterhouse Mitts are with a tech editor which for these will be the final stage before being released. No progress on my Tortile Beaded Hat but I promise there will be over the summer.

The next sister

It's nearly my sister M's birthday so in honour of the momentous occasion I have been meaning to make her something but have inevitably started too late to be finished on time. M is particularly knitworthy and it was her pregnancy that got me started in knitting about 4 years ago (I think that's right). She has been the recipient of lots of knitted things for her and Small over the past few years and if you lined them all up they would probably make quite an interesting timeline of my learning journey. Some of Small's items have also been passed on to the next smallest in the family so they are being used.

So here is M's shawl in progress - yet to be named as she will be doing the honours. This is a side to side lace shawl with a stocking stitch centre and a double lace border shaped with short rows. The yarn is Yarn Yard Crannog which is a lovely high twist merino in a supersaturated blue-purple. It's particularly fitting to be using Yarn Yard yarns as this shawl will be heading back up to Scotland when finished.

So this will be Shawl 2 in my developing Sisters collection. Personal Comments is being renamed to Personal Remarks (apparently more accurate) and is in testing at the moment.

New Pattern: Pie Crust, Progress and Milestones

So Pie Crust is finally out for download on Ravelry. When I have time to wrestle Blogger to the ground I will update the side bar with the download links and so on but it's in at least two sizes - using different weights of yarn and fewer or more repeats of the lace border and the ruffled edge.

Whilst Pie Crust has been being tested and edited I have been busy doing other things like practising my stranded colourwork by knitting Endpaper Mitts (Eunny Jang)

And contemplating my next project...

As it stands I have 99 projects loaded onto Ravelry, including my two WIPs, so I'm wondering what I should do for my 100th project as it feels like it should be a milestone.

• Should it be challenging or easily achieved?
• Should it involve new techniques or old comfortable favourites?
• Should it be my own design (I have a couple of shawls, a ruffly scarf, some more colourwork mitts and a colourwork hat lurking in my design book) or should  I use someone else's pattern?

Answers on a postcard please...

Through the woods again

I started knitting a Through the Woods hood for my smallest niece but due to underestimating the size of a toddler's head I have had to reknit it completely with my yarn held double and have now run out of yarn. Still here it is in progress:

It still need a deep ribbed border at the front and the bottom and some button band. I added the bobble as I suspect she's a bobble type of person. This is quite a quick knit - I managed this much in about 4 hours of committed knitting and it's Wendy Mode DK held double for a chunky weight (and yes I know I could have just bought Wendy Mode Chunky but I was subbing for what I thought was a toddler size, turns out toddlers have quite large heads especially when they are covered with curls)

I do have some Wendy Mode Chunky in Imperial Purple to make the same hood for smallest niece's mother, possibly without the bobble though

In other news, today is my birthday which is so far full of crafty things (new button box with starter buttons, Mobair yarn, quilting book...). Happy me day!

Friday FO: Lap Quilt for Mum

I actually finished this a few days ago but it's been a very busy week so I haven't got round to writing about it. This is my very first quilt using about half of a Moda Layer Cake from the Little Fabric Store in the Fandango fabric range. It's backed with a plain ivory calico and lightly hand quilted horizontally and diagonally, and then finally with buttons. The binding is a shop bought reel of satin biad binding from Habbyworld all handstitched (because I'm insane)

Here's a close up:

It needs to be washed before being wrapped up for Christmas but first I need to stop being terrified about it disintegrating.

In other news:

• No progress on the second Lymond sock as yet
• 75% of the way through a Through the Woods hood using dk rather than chunky in the hopes of it fitting my smallest niece
• Two testers have finished Whipple successfully so that's going well
• I have commissioned some custom pie inspired yarn for a new pattern
• I've just bought some lovely Wild Fire Fibres Hercules yarn for a further new pattern that's brewing in my head. This yarn came from Purl City Yarns which is a new yarn shop in the Northern Quarter. More on this place next time...