Fyrewitch's Knitting Adventures

Cowling around

I must apologise for my silence the last few days. I've had a sick witchlet (who must still be ill, it's nearly 7 am and she's still in bed fast asleep), and I haven't been doing too well myself. At times like this my knitting always gets me through, and I've been concentrating on a couple of little projects.

 

These are both the Pretty Thing cowl pattern from the Yarn Harlot. Above it's worked in Red Hot Chocolate from Needlefood, and to the right, Camoflage from Lorna's Laces.

I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off instead of the pattern instructions, and it worked very well.

I'm a tad taken with cowls at the moment. I'm wondering if they would be better for the homeless than scarves. They are less chunky, but still very warm, and so small they would be easy to scrunch up and stash when not in use. Hmmm, will ponder that a bit more.

In other news, I'm going to be launching another blog soon, focusing on astrology. Stay tuned!

The Week of Casting On

So finally my must do October knits are out the way. Now I can get onto my must do November knits. To my dear Pay it Forward people from all those months ago, I haven't forgotten you, and this will be your month.

This week I've cast on:

The Pretty Thing pattern from the Yarn Harlot. We had our ups and downs initially resulting in two lots of frogging and starting over. I'm well into the pattern now, and enjoying it thoroughly. And it is certainly very, very pretty. It's not for me - no use for cowls in sub-tropical Queensland. I hope the recipient will be happy. I'm doing these on my new Addi circulars. They are great, but my one complaint would be that they aren't quite pointy enough. Unlike Knit Pros, which you could use as a weapon if you really wanted.

A stole that I'm doing for Gabrielle from American Yarns in a gorgeous blue baby alpaca.

Not quite casting on, as it's crochet, but I've started a blankie for my cousin's oldest son. I think I have the perfect teen boy colours, so I hope he likes it. His mother will love it because it won't show the dirt.

I probably shouldn't mention the blanket I've started but not finished yet, or the two pairs of socks I still have on the needles. I probably should also not mention that I'm planning on casting on another pair of socks today - which will be a gift for the same lucky person who will be getting the cowl.

Have I mentioned that I would really love a clone? Or maybe the power of super speed. Hmm, the needles would probably catch on fire!

Going Loopy

After employing the use of a stopwatch and some calculations, I determined I wouldn't have time to finish Nelly's blanket and wash it, so after lunch, I pulled out my new Knit Pro Circulars to give Magic Loop a go.

For those of you who aren't sock knitters, Magic Loop is one of the methods used for sock knitting. I've always stuck with my DPNs up until now, but the ladies in one of my Ravelry groups (which you can find here) have been raving about Magic Loop, and frankly I hate to be left out of something cool.  Here is the result so far.

It's easier than I thought it would be, although it was a little more difficult to tell if I had the stitches twisted initially. It's fun, possibly quicker than the DPNs. I'll make a full assessment when I have a full sock. At this point I can't imagine how picking up stitches for the gusset will work without employing the second set of needles. I'll figure it out when I get there.

The needles themselves are a dream to work with, especially when compared to the ones I picked up at Spotlight. The join is practically  unnoticeable.

Tonight, I have a conundrum to face - to take the knitting, or not take the knitting. I'm attending a friend's hens night. I'm sure it will be action packed and loads of fun, the knitting is more required so that I don't freak out if there are a heap of people there.  I think I will err on the side of caution and shove a sock-to-be in my bag.

Stash

I'm kinda stumped for a topic today so I think I'll use this opportunity to use a journalling exercise from The Knitting Way.

Before I do though, a quick diet update. I'm very proud of myself, as I've lost 3 centimetres from my waist and bust (the only places I'm measuring). I'm not sure how this translates in kilos, as I don't own a set of scales.  If my body is up to it's usual tricks, then I probably haven't lost anything and I'm just losing girth. Either way, I'm still happy with that. I've kicked my chocolate habit, which is awesome, and I can see better health in the not so distant future.

I know lots of people have very romantic images from their first introduction to knitting. I can't remember being taught to knit. My mother taught me when I was five. I probably jumped into it most as a child when I was about 8 or ten, knitting clothes for my dolls. It wasn't something that was romanticised in our house, it just was. My mother is the hobby queen, she's always learning something new and crafty to do. I think she probably inherited this trait from her mother, who, at ninety has only recently learnt to make cards, and is really getting into it.

Knitting and crocheting were always the givens at our place. Other crafts would come and go, but the yarn was always there. I don't ever remember Mum having much of a stash, she would buy what she needed and use it. 

I didn't do any real crafting until after my marriage broke down. Since then, I've really taken off. I love the freedom that being single gives me. I choose my priorities, I spend my money how I like, and I don't have to answer to anyone. That being said, I tend to accumulate yarn when it's cheap. Given that a) I live in an area that borders on tropical and b) most of my crafting is for charity, I tend to go for acrylics for my projects - except for socks, but we all know that sock yarn doesn't count as stash.

A result of this is that I have a pretty awesome stash. Most of it was purchased with projects in mind, but a good portion has been picked up during sales. I'm hoping to make a bit of a dent in it as the end of the year approaches, as I'm hoping to make 3 blankies for people for Christmas. After that I would like to start making blankets for either the homeless or old peoples homes, where ever Karen, our intrepid K4BN leader, sees fit to send them. Jumpers for needy kids are also on my to do list. One day, I'll actually make something like a jumper for myself.

One of the things that makes knitting so appealing to me is the wonderful colours. Most of the yarns I buy are variegated, as I love the way the colours play together. I tend to stick to my favourites - purples, pinks and blues. The result is always lovely as well as being unique. To me, yarn equals potential. It's nice to think about just how much potential I have stored at my fingertips.

Tell me about your stash. Has it taken over more than one room in your house? What are your plans for it?

FOs

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, I have actually been  crafting my little fingers to the bone. I finished two items yesterday.

  I freestyled this little top for the Witchlet. (I love the term freestyled, it makes you sound all creative and free spirited, instead of the realisty of being too lazy to find and follow a pattern).

It's crocheted, all trebles, using Moda Vera Paul yarn that I scored cheap from Spotlight last year.

It's a little big for her, but she'll grow into it. She thinks it's great.

 

 

These are socks for my mother, to replace the previous pair I made her. She managed to shrink them. Onya Mum!

I've immediately cast on another pair of socks, as Mummy dearest's birthday is coming up. I've also got another pair on the needles, which I've christened my "Can't be Arsed" socks. I cast them on at about 11 the other night because the yarn was calling my name and I just wanted to see how it would knit up. They will probably just be house socks as the yarn is a bit too thick to wear with shoes, so I thought I may as well go all out in my laziness. I knit a row before joining, which is sinful, and frankly, a whole lot easier, and only did 5 rows of rib (which is my most hated part of the sock).  I'm wondering what other sock knitting blasphemies I can perform before this pair is over.

After the dust settles

There's still a bit of a haze in the air, but after dust storm number 2, things have finally settled down, leaving us with an icy cold breeze, reminding us of the winter we didn't quite have. Jacarandas are blooming all over the place a good month early. They've clearly been confused by the unseasonally warm weather we've had.

I think I have a cold coming on, although it's hard to tell if it's that or just the remnants of the dust in the air. It's amazing how insidious the stuff is. I hosed down the windows and screens out the back yesterday and, even though none of them face the way the stuff was coming from, there was a thick layer of red on everything. Even the huge metal power poles look more red than silver at the moment. At any rate, it's the perfect time to snuggle up with a nice cup of tea and a warm snuggly project.

I've finished making my purple swap stuff (photos to come) which means I can get onto more pressing things - my birthday and Christmas list. Also (drumroll please) I have some contracted knitting work which I will start next week when the witchlet returns to school. Half the joy of knitting for me is playing with gorgeous yarn. The projects I've been given are using baby alpaca, which is just beautiful to the tough, and Bocu by Noro, which is great eye candy. I'm going to enjoy playing with yarn I didn't have to pay for, and getting paid for doing it!

Thanks for dropping by, I love that you come and visit me here at the witch's stead.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I love September. Here in the great land of Aus, September is spring. The native plants are finishing their flowering season, there are baby birds everywhere. The days are clear and warm, and the nights are still cool enough to sleep comfortably. Perfect! September is also my birthday!

This year, my friends got together and gave me a Spotlight voucher. My best friend now understands that there is no such thing as too much yarn, and is assisting me with my habit, bless her. Here are my birthday goodies:

I picked up a loom set and some balls of yarn, all of which will be used for socks. The blue and red balls I've been eyeing off for ages, but were a bit expensive. Perfect for buying with a gift voucher!

I also picked up a couple of circular needles to try to teach myself the Magic Loop method of sock knitting. At this point I'm not terribly impressed. It seems fiddly and irritating, and no where near as efficient as my DPNs.  Still I'm asking my Magic Loop loving friends on Ravelry to defend themselves explain their love of the circular needles. I'm wondering if the needles I've bought are substandard. The join is incredibly uneven and difficult to use.

While I've been quiet, I've also been doing a heap of knitting.

Socks for the witchlet's stepmother were completed and seemed to be a hit.

They are Epic Lattice pattern by Nancy from Whitknits.com, with yarn Rosehips in Autumn from my favourite dyer, Michelle at Needlefood. I enjoyed the pattern so much I also cast on a pair for myself. My pair is in Blackforest, and I swear I've put on about 5 kilos while knitting them, as all I can think about is gateaux! They are on hold at the moment though as I have other deadlines looming.

Also, the dishcloth a day challenge is over  - and I was over it well and truly by the end. I ended up with 10 dishcloths which I duly posted off to Karen at K4BN. She is a great lady and does so much to help those in need.

My current project is a Ravlery based swap, so I won't post anything about that at this point, just in case my swappee manages to figure out I'm making stuff for her. Let's just say I'm working my little fingers to the bone. I did take a break over the last day or two and whip up these.

Aren't they cute? My own pattern in Lorna's Laces. Such pretty blues and purples.

I've also put together the list of gifts I need to make prior to the end of the year (including my Christmas knitting). Let's just say I freaked myself out a little!  All the yarn I need - well except for the blankets I have in mind - is now sorted and in labelled bags so I don't have to keep the list in my head. Now, I just need to get onto the serious business of making them all.

I don't think I've covered here the fact that I was asked not to come back to the witchlet's old school where I was still helping out (I guess that happens when you make a complaint about the principal) but it has been a bit of a blessing - it means the charity crafting I was doing for them has been dropped which gives me a heap more time for my projects till the end of the year. And then next year I can continue my charity focus with K4BN. Yay.

D is for Dishcloth

I am a fan of the letter D. I have to be, it's practically my surname. When my surname confuses people - which it does on a stupefyingly regular basis, for a word that is only 4 letters long, I tell them that there are 3 ds and an o - they can pick the order.

D has a hard sound, but still has a softness about it, unlike the letter t, which is all hardness. Dishcloths are the same - they have to be tough and durable, but still soft enough to soak up water and to not scratch delicate glasses and china.

I am currently challenging myself to make a dishcloth a day for the next 2 weeks. I do a bit of craft work (not to be confused with Kraftwerk) for a charity called Knitting for Brisbane's Needy. This is a not for profit group, run by a wonderful woman named Karen, with donations made by loads of wonderful men and women to help people in Brisbane doing it tough. The thing I really love about this group, is that most of the members are doing it tough themselves. Many are pensioners (be it old age or disability) giving back to the community. Fortunately, we get a lot of yarn donated from deceased estates and so forth so these people can continue their good work.

Some of our members are absolute machines, churning out blankets and jumpers like there is no tomorrow, and their work is always beautiful. One of our members has broken her back and can't sit down. She knits lying down - imagine that! I find her work incredibly inspiring. When we have yarn donated, she looks through for all the fiddly bits that others (like me) have no patience for. She takes them home and comes back the next month with beautiful jumpers, beanies and so forth, with the most gorgeous colourwork, all made from ends. She makes sure that nothing goes to waste.

On September 12, the group has been given the opportunity to participate in a school fete in the Glasshouse Mountains in order to make some money  for yarn and basic expenses to help keep our members going. I've already made a number of beaded bracelets for the occasion. At our last meeting, we received some cotton from a deceased estate. I nabbed it and want to make dishcloths with it for the stall.

I don't know f I'm a particularly fast knitter, but I can churn out a dishcloth in about 3 hours. So, a dishcloth a day seems like a feasible challenge. (I have a heap of other knitting happening at the same time - September is full of birthdays! - or I would make it two) .

So far I've done three - today is time for number 4. The donation was a heap of 8 ply white cotton and a few balls of 5 ply red and blue, so there may be some interesting colour mixes in the future of this challenge. Any other colours are ones I have lying around (gotta love stash).

So break out the pom poms to cheer for Fyrewitch's Dishcloth challenge. Is anyone game enough to join me for a challenge of their own???

Blog This - Gifts Glorious Gifts

Do people think you're hard to buy for or are you constantly dropping hints?  What's on your ultimate gift list?  If you were to write a list of 5 things that would be on the list of perfect presents for your next birthday what would they be? Would it be a particular thing or anything from a particular store/shop? An

experience or something with pretty bows? Practical or whimsical?

They don't need to be physical or even attainable gifts - tell us (and those who read your blog) what you want!!

This is actually a very appropriate challenge as my birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks!

I think I'm the easiest person on the planet to find gifts for, as there is one major category of "stuff" that will make me happy every time.

Yarn.

I love yarn. Merino, alpaca, soy, bamboo, corn fibre , sugar cane or plain old acrylic, I'll take it as it comes. All colours, the more vibrant the better. I love to touch it, feel it, sniff it. I have the occasional fantasy of dumping my whole stash on the floor and just jumping into it.

According to some people, it can get too hot to knit. I can't say I've noticed. I love knitting and crocheting. I have a piece on my lap as I type this. Yarn craft keeps me sane.  I take it with me where ever I go - you never know when you might get some down time.

Socks are my big thing at the moment. They  are small and are very portable, fitting easily into a handbag. The basic sock pattern is easy to memorise once you've done it a couple of times, so you don't need to cart that with you either.

Most of my knitting is for other people. I belong to two charities - Knitting for Brisbane's Needy and Knit 4 Charity - and knit items for them in order to help people less fortunate than myself. A lot of my crafting this year has gone to Strathpine West State School for their upcoming fete. There's only so much knitting you can do for yourself in the Brisbane climate. Knitting items for people who you know will appreciate them is so much better than churning stuff out for relatives who look at you sideways when you present them with a gift. You can almost here them thinking "Bloody hell, not more knitting."

The other thing I love about yarn is that it has a purpose. Each ball or skein is full of potential. It could be a scarf, cap, jumper, tank top, blanket. It might keep someone's feet warm, or be wrapped around a street sign for decoration. When you give someone yarn, you give them a hundred grams of opportunity for them to seize and fulfill. I ask you, what could possibly be a better gift?

Socks Ahoy!

I haven't written anything yet about the fact that I entered the 52 Pair Plunge back in June. This challenge is to produce 52 pairs of socks in 52 weeks. Insane, I hear you say. Impossible, you chortle. Where are the nice men in the white suits? I hear you ask. You're probably right, but what is life without challenges?
At this point I'm about 8 pairs of socks behind, but I'm determined to catch up. I currently have 4 pairs of socks on needles at various stages of completion. Most recently added to the list of completed socks are these.
Made using Tofutsie yarn, which I've decided I adore. It's wonderful and light, and very comfy, perfect for summer socks. This is actually the first proper sock yarn that I purchased. I'm glad I waited this long to use it. It's much lighter than other sock yarn, and these socks felt like they took forever to knit. But I'm sooooo happy with the finished product, it was worth the wait.

The next pair of socks on my to-do list is a pair for my father for Father's day. I'm planning on having them finished before the weekend is over, so watch this space!