March - The Start of the Winter Knitting

Some Special Custom Fluffy Mail from Cherubs Kiss

The lovely Lesley made this wool cover up for me based on some fabric I got from the US. I will be making some summer dresses to go over this at the end of the year. It goes wonderfully under the Stormchild Dress as well.

Yummy Woolly Mail

Here are some pics of the lovely woolly mail I have recieved from JJ and The Knittery in the last few weeks

On the Needles:

Enchanted Eggplant Rainy Day Scarf

I am making this using a pattern I found on Ravelry called 'Rainy Day Scarf'. I am using my xmas gift from DH, some JJ Bertha in the Enchanted Eggplant colourway. I have altered the pattern slightly to improve the edgings but it is proving to be a really easy knit.

Purple Night Branching Out

I have been wanting to make one of these for a long time and finally had an excuse to do it. The Knittery had a sale on their Silk Merino 8ply and I thought it would be erfect for the job. It is harder going than I thought it would be. It is my first lace project and it takes alot of concentration to make sure it is correct. I have been frogging nearly as much asI have been knitting on this one LOL. I don't think I will be getting this one done quickly.

Cherry Ripe Beanie

This beanie I am making for DH as an anniversay present. It is our 7th wedding anniversary on the 14th April so I am trying to get in early and get it done ahead of time. I am knitting this beanie using the Jaques Cousteau Hat pattern I found on ravelry. I am using 3.5mm needles and the BWM 8ply I dyed in the Cherry Ripe colourway. I have done about 3 inches so far, should be finished in a couple of days.

Finished Projects for March:

Turquoise Retro Prince Shorties
These are going to be for my little nephew coming sometime in August. They are knitted on 3mm and 5mm needles using the Picky Pants pattern. I used Aran BFL 'Athena' in the Retro Prince colourway with some matching Turquoise. I will embellish these at a later date, probably with some dog paws or the like.

Galah NB Cardi

I made this using Jacki's Seamless Baby Kimono pattern for a Woolaholics KAL. I used some JJ Pear Tree Merino 8 ply in Emily Rose colourway and some Treliske I dyed to match. This was a quick, fun knit and I will definately be knittng more of them.

Flower detail

Neckline Detail

I-cord Tie detail

Stormchild Dress

I made this out of 4BF Yarn Cafe wool in the Stormchild colourway. I also used a miniskein of Treliske in purple for the bodice and the skirt trim. I think it turned out lovely and it fits DD perfectly. Looks great with a skivvy and leggings underneath.

Front

Back

Days of Dyeing

I signed up for the Easter Yarn Swap in our Ravelry group this month. Because of this I have been experimenting with various methods of handpainting/handdyeing yarn. My first couple of attempts were shocking but I learnt more as I kept trying. Luckily I didn't use any black so I could overdye anything I stuffed too :)

My first attempt: 125g of BWM Colonial 8 ply. I was trying to get this to be sea blue and dark brown. It was looking really good until I went to pick it up. One of the blue patches then immediately went brown and I was left with only one small blue patch left. Yep, you guessed right I didn't mop up any excess dye and used WAY too much. I tried to save this by overdyeing using the kettle stovetop method with red. It ended up a semi-solid browny mauve colour, not very interesting. My last attempt to save this yarn was successful, I found a mens beanie pattern that needed over 100g of yarn and decided to try and overdye in the microwave with the darkest manly colours I could. I ended up with sections of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, burgundy and cherry red. I call it Cherry Ripe.

Brown -Mauve colour

Cherry Ripe
I had been kettle dyeing a solid skein to match the original brown/blue combo a lovely blue colour. It turned out great but with nothing to be used with I figured I should overdye it in a more useful colour. I first attempted to handpaint sections of it in purple. These ran so I ended up overdying the whole lot using the kettle method with the same dark purple.

A bit depressed with my dyeing ability I then skeined my last ball of BWM into 100g lots. I used the handpaint method with the microwave, dividing the sections of colour and soaking up the excess dye as I went. These turned out much better:

Left to right: 1st attempt (Brown-mauve semisolid), 3rd and 4th attempts at handpainting, 2nd attempt (blue with overdyed sections of purple)

Left to right: Seaside (3rd attempt), Purple Berries (4th attempt),

Dark purple solid (2nd attempt overdyed)

Flushed with my success with the 3rd and 4th attempt I decided to try using my precious 200g of 4BF. I divided it up into 140g for a variegated colourway and 60g for a co-ordinating solid. I was trying for a dark purple, mid purple and deep red combo, with a dark purple solid to match. The colours turned out the depth I wanted but there are white patches throughout. Unfortunately I ran out of the mid purple dye so I have to wait until this arrives to fix it up.

Purple Night

Dark purple solid

I decided to also try my hand at kettle dyeing variegated yarn. I was trying for a semi-solid red/pink combo with this attempt. Unfortunately I did it in two batches so the first 100g are as I wanted but the second 100g is more of a solid colour. I've since worked out that it is really hard to replicate colourways using this method as they run if there is too much water in the pot. I'm going to try with another 100g to get the variegated colourway again soon.

Strawberry Semi-solid set

My last dyeing attempt was on some pale green Dashing I had. I wanted to replicate the Seaside colourway I had done previously on the BWM and do a 50g skein in a co-ordinating green to match. It worked pretty well :)

Seaside Skeined

Seaside Colourway on Dashing

This is what I ended up sending Tanya for my contribution to the Easter Yarn Swap. Along with some choccies as well of course!

February - Knitting on a deadline

I have been frantically knitting away trying to meet the deadline of my bestfriend's impending birthing. She is due in early April and she is having a little boy, they are calling Byron. I bought a heap of yarn when I found out so I would have heaps to choose from. There are 2 other babies expected this year, my sister's first and my friend's second. Not sure of sexes for these two yet but I've started knitting anyway. I have made half of a small pair of boys shorties using the JJ Retro Prince colourway and a boys Newborn Set with longies, a beanie and a pair of socks... all using 100g of the YC Rocky Creek Single Ply worsted yarn and a miniskein of Blue Steel Treliske. I LOVE making newborn stuff!!!

This is what I have managed to make Byron so far: Tom Vest in light blue Dashing, Small Longies in JJ Athena in the Retro Prince colourway, A newborn Curly Purly soaker also in the Retro Prince colourway, a small Snapdragon Soaker in JJ Splish Splash colourway on single ply 100purewool. I did a couple of t-shirts to match the woolies as well so it ended up being a nice little baby shower package. I am still planning to make him a Newborn Set as listed above in the YC Walker colourway, witha green contrast. This will be his pressie for when we visit in hospital.

I have also been knitting some winter clothes for Cady. I finished the Waterlillies Amelie Dress in a size 1 and am now working on a dress using TiKKi's rainbow dress pattern in a size 0. I've still got quite a few projects in the works for winter clothes for her... a couple of cardigans, a few more dresses and a couple of pairs of longies.

On the Needles:

Small Turquoise Retro Prince Shorties
These are in waiting for one of the expectant babes due this year. They aren't sure of sexes yet so it can remain in storage until it has a little person to be given to. I am using JJ Athena in Retro Prince and Retro Prince Turquoise and the Picky Pants pattern. I used 3mm needles for the waisband and 5mm for the body. I did the waistband longer and will do the same for the body and legs also.

Stormchild TiKKi dress
This is a great little pattern and all knitted in the round! I am making this out of some 4BF Yarn Cafe wool I had frogged from another project. I also used a miniskein of Treliske in purple for the bodice and the skirt trim. I'm using 4mm needles and am trying my new knitpicks set out on this one. I have about 2" to go and it is fitting really well based on today's fitting.

Thuja Socks for DH
These were supposed to be a valentine's day present for Dh but I didn't get them done in time. Ooops! So far one of these is completed and 1/4 of the other one done. I will get it done eventually but he doesn't really seem in a rush so neither am I LOL. Here are some pics of the one I have finished.

French Market Bag:

No real progress on this so far. I have to use DPN's and that is always bad for my motivation :) here's a progress piccie of what I have completed of the base. I'm not totally happy with the way I have done the increases though so I may frog and start again.

Finished Projects for February:

Waterlillies Amelie Dress:

I finally got around to knitting all the flowers for this one. There were heaps!!! I sewed them on, washed and blocked it. Now it is all ready to be worn come winter time with a pair of tights and a skivvy.

Dress Front

Dress Back

Hem detail & Shoulder detail

Newborn Curly Purly Soaker

This is one of the woollies I've knit for Byron. They were knit using JJ Athena in the Retro Prince Colourway with the cuffs and waistband in the matching Retro brown. I use the Curly Purly pattern and size 3mm, 4mm and 5mm needles. I am very happy with the way it turned out...Very cute!!!

Small Retro Prince Longies

This is another of the woollies I've knit for Byron. They were knit using JJ Athena in the Retro Prince Colourway with the cuffs and waistband in the matching Retro Brown. I used thePicky Pants pattern and size 3mm and 5mm needles. It took a bit of fiddling to get the legs to pool in a similar fashion but I'm happy with the end result. I found a little beige long sleeved t-shirt with a monkey on it that goes perfectly with these. I can't wait to see them on him :)

Rocky Creek Baby Socks

These are the last component of the newborn set I've made one of the unborn babes due this year. They are a little big though, Cady fits them with her 11cm feet. Not sure when they would fit a baby boy, probably sooner though. I use the remaining amount of both the Blue steel treliske and the Rocky Creek single ply worsted yarn. I had to knit them at the same time to make sure that I didn't run out of yarn LOL. They are a bit shorter than the pattern suggested due to this reason.

I have also found a little blue t-shirt that matches this set perfectly and have used a iron-on transfer of a horse to help it match the colourway even more. I'll take a piccie of the whole set before it is given as a gift.

Mud Princess Shorties
I knit these in curiosity to see what a new free pattern on Ravelry, Itchyfingers Pants was like to use. I used YC 3ply worsted weight yarn in the Mud Princess colourway. I did them without a drawstring and with extra width so they are a little big atm. They are probably more a size 1 in width and rise.

I tried to follow the pattern exactly to get a true gauge as to whether I like the techniques used. I really like the concept of grafting the crotch before knitting either leg but I did it using yarn from the end of the ball rather than breaking yarn to do it.

Fuschia Newborn Longies
I knit these for a knitting friend who has just had a baby girl. I haven't got a post embellishment photo yet though, I forgot to take one before I sent the package (Ooops!). I'll post a final piccie when my friend has taken one. I use the Picky Pants Pattern and the remaining SSS wool that Sue gave me. I made a matching headband using the same crochet sts as for the cuff. I embellished each with knitted flowers in a dark purple colour.