Homespun Hat

When we got home a couple of weeks ago I had nothing on my needles and was on the hunt for a project. I had two criteria for a new knit - it had to be the compete antidote to thin and lacy, and it had to be simple enough to do while tired from travel. Actually tired doesn't really cover it - for some reason this final leg has really knocked me for six. Essentially this project had to cope with me falling asleep on the sofa halfway through a row without causing complete confusion!

The yarn was an easy choice. Last christmas Joe spun up some bulky yarn that I've had my eye on for a while. It looked about enough for a hat, and Jake's Cabled Beanie was the answer to the pattern. A simple hat with a few cables for interest; bonus points for wintery-ness.

Despite the general sleepiness it only took a few evenings to complete and proved as easy as it looked. The only question left is should I add a pompom?

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Vernal Equinox Shawl

Its time to reveal the results of my Travel Knitting plan. My Vernal Equinox shawl has been finished, for the most part, for about a month now - but only this week did I get a chance to block it and boy does that make a difference!

I loved making this shawl - it was always interesting to work on, and just when you think you've memorised one of the pattern blocks a new one would come along to spice things up a bit. Only when tired at the end of a days WWOOFing did this fail to hit the "something to relax with" spot - and that just meant more time to read!

A large quantity of laceweight wool did prove to be the ideal travelling companion. The 300g we took with us made not only this shawl but Joe's loopy scarf, and a simple feather and fan cowl that occupied me once the shawl was done - and we brought some of the wool home again untouched.

I've not knitted with such thin wool before, or attempted lace on such a scale and I've thoroughly enjoyed the challenge - but it has left me with a craving for some knitting that's neither thin nor lacy. One chunky hat coming up...

p.s. I have no idea how best to wear this thing... any tips?

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Mini Knitting

I love how quickly knitting for babies comes together. By the time I'd thought about telling you I'd cast on a new project, this had happened:

One newborn size hat! Next up, some mini socks.

We have a few friends with babies due in 2014 and I'm quite excited about all the knitting opportunities that this produces. I'm spending lots of time browsing Ravelry for interesting looking patterns and playing with small double pointed needles.

Since battling with dpn's for the sleeves of my cardigan I've found myself using them more and more, I've still not quite got the hang of a smooth transfer from one needle to the next, but relaxing rather than trying to force the tension to be correct seems to be helping. I now seem to knit in the round more often than I do flat.

What are you knitting/making at the moment?

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December's unseen crafts

While we were absent we tried not to be idle. Christmas for us was a wonderful mix of busy family moments, and quiet corners in which to sit and craft. Joe found time to get his spinning wheel out for the first time in several months.

This wool was bought at Christmas last year as pre-dyed tops. Joe has been slowly blending and spinning it in occasional free moments all year. He doesn't yet know what project this is destined for, but is pleased with how is has turned out. 

Meanwhile I've finally made a hat out of the alpaca wool I excitedly brought back from Scotland earlier in the year.

I decided to follow this simple pattern, which gives a good texture to the hat, while being quick (and not too dull) to knit.

 Finally, last month I was keeping quiet about the Christmas present I was making for my sister. This is Hoot, from Jane Hissey's Old Bear stories. The yarn was incredibly soft so when it came to it this one was rather hard to give away!

What did you get upto over Christmas?

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