Better photos for once

So with the New Year my creative juices have started flowing for some reason. I have a few patterns at the sketching stage: two pairs of fingerless gloves, a couple of shawls...and this hat:

Photo courtesy of my husband who can a)take photos b)has a decent camera and c)likes tweaking things on Photoshop. It was also a lovely if very cold day so the light was excellent.

This sample is in Wendy Mode DK in Chili and is a very usable hat

Carrying on the theme of having decent photos my older sister has been having a photo shoot in the Through the Woods hoods that I sent up to the frozen North (Edinburgh) for her and her daughter. You can find her take on elfish mischief here on her professional photography blog. She has also kindly offered to take photos for my patterns in the future so hopefully the photography will improve substantially.

End of the year and some FOs

So it's the end of the year, and I'm not sure where this year went. A fair amount of it went on hospital visiting and looking after ill people one way or another - hopefully less of that next year, I don't think there could actually be more thinking about it. As a consequence of the hospital visiting I've been kept busy by social workers and care agencies. I have nothing but respect for the work social workers do. They work in a difficult and deeply bureaucratic system which makes it incredibly difficult for them to put in place creative, flexible and individual solutions to problems which is a great shame as creativity and flexibility would often make a huge difference to the person they are trying to help.

Another large amount went on volunteering work that got a little out of hand, especially in the last few months. It's a very worthwhile and rewarding thing volunteering especially when you're supporting something you feel strongly about but it can eat your life. I have learnt more than I ever thought I'd need to about the legal issues around playing fields, about mergers, about conducting managing the Press, and about the interesting world of local politics.

Some of it went on pattern designing and this year saw Summer Fool, Garden Pond, Mizzle, Pergola and Whipple released via Ravelry download. This was one of my goals the year - to release one pattern - so I'm very pleased to have exceeded that target.

Some of it went on getting married. That was nice! Himself and I had been together 10 years when we tied the knot in front of all our family and friends in April. It marked the end of quite a difficult period of ill health for Himself and was a celebration of coming through challenging times.

And a small part of it went on learning to sew a little and quilt a little. My mum liked her quilt apparently so I must have done a decent job. One of her friends wrote to me to say how pretty it was which was much appreciated.

So all in all a busy and demanding year (note I haven't mentioned work at all!) and to round off the year here are some FOs:

Through the Woods (Big Girl size - not toddler I am informed)

Please note the addition of a bobble and my absolutely favourite buttons which a metal smiling whales

Through the Woods (Adult size)

A December hat (the pattern is the Cashmere Ribbed Hat although this is in wool)

And a WIP:

This is the blind for our spare room - patchwork strips separated by Stockton lining. It still needs lining and I need to get a blind mechanism. It's pretty big at 100" by 51"

And the detail:

I particularly like the Amy Butler paisley fabric.

So I finish the year with one sewing WIP and one knitting WIP which is a simple pair of socks for Himself. I don't count the sock yarn blanket.

And so to next year, what does that have in store? Hopefully some more patterns being published. Hopefully a new job for Himself. I don't really do resolutions but I will have a think about goals

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!

It's cold outside

Grace Lace Beret

So it really is cold outside, and despite not being a 'hat person' I decided it was time I had a hat. I had this stunning yarn (Hercules DK from Wild Fire Fibres bought at Purl City Yarns) which wanted to be something for me and I found the Grace Lace Beret from Loop Knits (free online). A ridiculously short time later (4-5 hours) I had a hat which I blocked over a dinner plate and wore this morning whilst waiting 25 minutes for my late train - the previous train had frozen to the tracks!

I had a second skein of this yarn so have also knit a matching cowl which I've made very warm so I can fold and pin it at the front. It's 5 vertical repeats of the Grace lace chart and the picture shows it folded in half
 

Grace Inspired Cowl

 

 

 

And some photos (finally)

They aren't very good photos though...

This is Dad's scarf for Christmas. I'm not sure why I keep knitting cables. I don't enjoy the knitting all that much even if the end result is lovely. The colour isn't great in this picture - it's actually a proper bottle green

These are button cuff slipper socks in Jitterbug for a January birthday. They haven't been blocked in this picture but you get the idea. A rare venture into toe up with a short rowed heel

OTN - a hat for me in a lovely wool/silk blend

Again no photos

As you might have noticed it's winter - with a vengeance. It's not made it above 0C for about 3 weeks here although we've only had minimal snow. We're also edging ever closer to the shortest day of the year (shortly followed by my birthday) which means I'm rarely at home in daylight to photograph FOs. That doesn't mean I'm not knitting and finishing things though. I've actually been quite productive. So with photos to follow here are my updates:

Knitting Updates:
Lymond Socks - FINISHED! And washed, blocked and worn once.
Through the Woods (toddler size) - Frogged and waiting to be reknit in a larger size for a toddler with a 52.5 cm head and lots of curly hair
Through the Woods (adult size) - not even cast on. Some very purple Wendy Mode Chunky keeps looking at me with sad eyes as it gets neglected
A cabled scarf for Dad's Christmas present - finished and blocked. This is 5 feet of simple cables in Forsell Touch of Silk Aran in Bottle Green
Slipper Socks - these are finished and for a January birthday. They are an improvised pattern in bright red Jitterbug, knitted toe up with a knitted on moss stich buttoned cuff
Plain socks - these are for a February birthday and are plain toe-up socks in Skacel Trampoline in a variegated blue and purple colourway

Pattern Updates:
Whipple - out for download on Ravelry and there should be a link in the side bar
Pie Crust - waiting for yarn
Unnamed pleated and cabled scarf - yarn bought, yarn would rather be a cowl and a matching hat so this might be a while

Purl City

Manchester has a new yarn shop!

Since Kendals stopped selling yarn a few years ago the only yarn shop in Manchester has been Abakhan which, whilst great in many ways, is mostly a fabric shop. Now we have a new yarn shop on the block - the lovely Purl City Yarns. Based on the Piccadilly station edge of the Northern Quarter in a recently renovated row of shops off Newton St, this gorgeous shop is providing a home to some very nice yarns including a range of yarn from local independent yarn dyers like Six Skeins, Green Eyed Monsters and Wild Fire Fibres. The shop is spacious with lots of natural light, a sofa, and quite a lot of samples showcasing the lovely yarn on offer. Upstairs there's a gallery space which I didn't investigate but I'm sure is as nice as the rest of the shop.

I was going to take a picture of the yarn I bought (Wild Fire Fibres Hercules wool/silk DK) but me, the yarn, and natural light haven't coincided for a few days so I don't have a decent picture.

Well worth a visit and handy for Piccadilly Station

Knitting Updates:
Lymond Socks - on the ankle gusset of sock 2, definite progress being made
Through the Woods (toddler size) - waiting on head measurements but otherwise on the ribbed hood border. I'm convinced it's too small so I don't want to do anything more until I get measurements

Pattern Updates:
Whipple - testing nearly finished, should be available soon
Pie Crust - waiting for yarn
Unnamed pleated and cabled scarf - yarn bought, must finish other things soon

Quilting update:
It's been washed and pressed and it SURVIVED