A September Yarn

Posting a little before the end of the month as David and I are going away for a couple of days.  Our first break away since the beginning of March, when things were getting ‘iffy’ before lockdown and wondering if we were going away. 

Not much sewing has taken place recently other than a couple of blocks for Siblings Together sewing bee, which has been pinwheel blocks 

One block produces extra to make a smaller block in reverse order, so two blocks for price of one!

I made a letter postcard combining Drunkards Path for the letter D.  Simple idea, but took a while in getting my thoughts turned into patchwork. My first attempt didn’t work, it looked lost in a snowstorm! 

My Youngish Quilter quilt is now finished and I’ve hung this on the rail in my room and it goes really well with the green wall.  It is proper finished with hanging sleeve and a label. Youngish Quilters 

If proof is needed, here’s the label.  I used t-shirt transfer paper onto plain green fabric.  There was too much detail I wanted to include to write on the label, so this was a bit of a cheat.

A bit more has been added to my Sew 4 the Soul, but I will leave posting about that for another time. It’s slow stitching and things are going slowly.

I have progressed my knitting, so I now have a back and two fronts on my cardigan and have started on a sleeve.  I decided that the right front would have a pocket, so I took the pocket and pocket top instructions from an old pattern (1980’s) that I had and it worked well with this addition. The pattern is Stylecraft Bellissima with a chevron pattern at sides and on the sleeves.  The yarn is Stylecraft Highland Heathers Thistle.

The evenings just don’t have the light to work on the cardigan, so I started on the Aria blanket and love how the colours are working on this.  The ends are showing on the 5th row and I should sew in end of each block, but I crochet a few blocks then sew ends in. The Aria blanket is designed by Lucy of Attic 24 and the pack and instructions from Wool Warehouse

I’m afraid to say with these two largish projects on the go, that my socks have been neglected and there’s been no further progress from my last post, but I will get to work on it soon.  The pattern is the Seedhead Socks by Vikki Bird Designs.  The yarn is by Strawberry Fields Yarns and I love the speckles in this yarn ad I didn’t want anything too patterned.

Well I have plenty to keep me busy.

All About the Yarn

 I felt the need to be making another cardigan for the autumn (will probably be the winter now) and bought some purple yarn from my local wool shop,  Not Just Wool, where there was a new Stylecraft yarn called Highland Heathers in a lovely deep purple.  I’m not far off the armhole shaping on the back. I’m using the same pattern as for my red cardigan with a diagonal stitch pattern at the sides. 

I mostly knit on circular needles, even for flat knitting as when I do travel knitting I don’t have to worry about dropped needles.  I started this cardigan a week and a half ago, but I also stated another cast on - this time another pair of socks! On Sunday I found some hand dyed wool with sprinkles of colour which would come in useful for another pair of Seedhead socks, this time with the Seedhead pattern!

So I’m left with a choice of which project to work on!  Not only that I made another yarn purchase...

Another Attic 24 blanket! I do have someone in mind for this, but the blanket pattern “spoke” to me as I have fond memories of my Nan making crochet Granny Square blankets for the “old folk” who were often younger than she was! I loved the colours and so did my granddaughter Flo, who delighted in taking the balls of yarn out of the bag and telling us what colours they were.  She already has a mini Dahlia blanket.

I think this little lot will keep me busy for a while.

September

 

This month is starting quietly.  It may be a new term and students will be going back/starting their education after a 6 months + hiatus due to the virus, but groups and other social gatherings are not ready to start this month though and some are smaller to accommodate social distancing. So times are still a bit strange.

Last week David and I managed a day out at Stourhead in Wiltshire and a nice ramble around the grounds and enjoying the scenery.  There was a one way system on th footpath to follow and we had to pre-book before going there (checking that the weather would be ok for that day!).  But it was somewhere we hadn’t been for a few years so nice to have a change of scenery

This week I have been working on my toe up socks and have now finished the second sock.  The patterning of the self striping yarn has worked out well.  The pattern is by Vikki Bird and called Seed Head socks and there is a pretty pattern panel running along the front length of the socks.  I decided to knit my socks without the pattern but just as plain toe up socks and I can say this is the most successful toe up socks I’ve made so far and fit really well.  Please excuse that I haven’t yet sewn in the ends but here’s a “sockfie”

As this was a self striping yarn the seed head pattern would not have shown up, so that’s why I kept the sock plain stocking stitch.  So I’d like to get some plain coloured sock yarn to be able to follow the seed head pattern.  

There were references to techniques like Judy’s Magic Cast On for the toe stitches and Jenny’s stretchy bind (cast) off for casting off the cuff stitches.  I also followed the instructions for the short row heels, but there also instructions for the gusset and heel flap variation too for a higher instep.  So it’s a very good detailed pattern and I’d make these again.

The yarn I’ve used is from stash and I’ve had it a few years so there was no label, but I have a feeling it may be a King Cole one . There was 80 grams of the yarn and I had 26grams left, so this has taken 54 grams to make.  I do have small feet and using the short rows instead of working gusset increased stitches probably used less yarn. 

I’ve also been working on a mini Sew 4 the Soul book.  I thought I would just get the basic bits done but ended up finishing the whole book. It consists of a strip of 12” x 4” calico as a base and folded concertina style to give 6 little pages. 

The pics below are in the wrong order (grr)

Pages 5 and 6

Pages 1 and 2

The cover

Pages 3 and 4

I’ve used some hand dyed felt for the cover but as the middle pages stick out slightly I added some lace under the front of the cover,  I will decorate that a bit more, but I am pleased with the pages. It was also a nice gentle bit of sewing of an afternoon.  I’ve yet to add the pocket on the page in the larger book to add it to.  The project is inspired by Anne Brooke of Hannemade

So that’s been my ramblings for this week.  Have a good crafty week,