Author: Ruth

YOP – year 8 – week 17
Knitting · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 17

Ruth2 Comments

I’ve worked most of this week on the Bentley cardigan. I’ve completed the yoke increases and have split for the sleeves. Now I’m just working on the body of the cardigan. To this point, it’s been a really enjoyable knit, the pattern on the front is interesting and pretty and I like the texture it’s adding. With the plain stockinette sleeves and back, I think it will make a lovely cardigan when complete.

Bentley

I also couldn’t help myself yesterday and cast on the Cumulus sweater. I’m working away on the yoke increases on this and I’m probably going to work on this today. Perhaps I will continue to work on the Cumulus on weekends and the Bentley during the week, we shall see.

Cumulus

I made no progress on the pair of socks, so no update there. I’ve not started or finished any sewing projects this week, I’m a couple of weeks into a new course to retrain and update my skills. It is run in the mornings and I’ve found over the last few weeks that I’m not left with much extra free time, any free time I’ve filled with either reading or knitting when the mood strikes. As some modules end in a couple of weeks I think perhaps then I’ll have time to return to my sewing.

The list is now looking like this;

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started August 10th – finished 26th August
  • Sock #2 – started August 30th – finished 30th September
  • Sock #3 – started October 11th – 

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

YOP – year 8 – week 16
Knitting · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 16

Ruth9 Comments

This week has seen a flurry of activity earlier in the week. The sleeves on Lichen were finished on Wednesday night, it did take until yesterday to find time to weave in the ends but they are done now and the sweater is complete. I’ve not blocked it yet because at the start I knit the size smaller due to my gauge but with attending Slimming World this last month and a half, the sweater fits just right now. I think I’m going to just enjoy wearing it now as it is.

LichenLichen 1

On Thursday I looked through my sweater quantities of yarn in my stash. I looked at what sweaters I had wanted to make with them and considered whether they were still the garments that would work in my wardrobe but also there are things I now lean to having in my garments. For instance I prefer a body length of 14″, we already know how I feel about the necks of my cardigans and having them come up enough on my shoulders, this also applies to the necks of my sweaters. And while I know I can just make these pattern changes to any pattern I pick, I always feel bad about changing someone else’s design to have these X, Y or Z items.

So while I debated all this Thursday night I cast on a new pair of socks, Socks #3 with some Eden Cottage Yarns. I’m using the Woodland colour in the Tempo base, and I’m using my own basic sock pattern but adding in a little twisted stitch pattern to the outside edge of the foot. This same pattern will run up the edge of the front and back of the sock when I reach that point.

Sock 3

After much thought and deliberation on the garment front, I decided to remove the Sammal cardigan from my yop list, while I love it’s cable and texture look, it’s really too long and not fitted enough for the look I want and like I said I don’t want to make changes. I’ve replaced it with the Bentley cardigan by Olive Knits which has a much more delicate and feminine look. This cardigan is going to be part of my Christmas outfit. I’m using the yarn I was going to knit the Sammal with, it’s the Grass colourway on the Tempo base from Eden Cottage Yarns. It’s a very bright and vivid green but I think it will work with this charcoal grey linen which I plan to sew a Hollyburn skirt in to accompany it. I swatched yesterday for it and made a very small start on my Bentley, but it is the project I’m going to work on today, just as soon as I drop my son to get the train back to college.

BentleyIMG_5314

Lastly, while looking through the sweater quantities, I couldn’t resist caking up this Cromer Pier on the Eldwick lace base, again by Eden Cottage yarns and I’m going to cast on a Cumulus, this is the garment I’ve been wanting to begin from we started year 8. So I also swatched for this yesterday and I’m not sure when I’ll cast this on, but quite possibly this week. It looks like it’s a light grey blue but it’s got splashes of darker blue and gold through it, which should add a little interest to what is an otherwise stockinette garment. I’m really excited to cast this on!

Cumulus

My list has been updated and now looks like this;

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started August 10th – finished 26th August
  • Sock #2 – started August 30th – finished 30th September
  • Sock #3 – started October 11th – 

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

YOP – year 8 – week 15
Knitting · Sewing · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 15

Ruth18 Comments

Since I last posted, two weeks ago, I’ve finished the body of my Lichen sweater and started on a sleeve. The sleeve is fairly mindless knitting, and I’m just enjoying the slow rhythm of this project now. My mind is starting to turn to what my next garment may be though.

Lichen

I have also completed the Sock #2 on my needles and now that they are complete I like them a lot more than I did. I again made these ankle length to fit inside my ankle boots when I wear them with skirts and the weather is turning chilly enough now that I need them. I haven’t cast on another pair of socks just yet, I can’t say why, I guess I’m just not feeling the need to. Perhaps this week.

Sock 2

I haven’t touched my sewing from my last class. I did learn how to put button holes in and sewing with Viscose is definitely different to any of the materials I’ve used so far, but I have enjoyed learning these new skills. Once my mornings free up a little more in a couple of weeks I’m hoping to return to sewing with a bang.

I’d really like to have a handmade outfit for Christmas, made of both sewing and knitting, and now as I’m nearing the end of the Lichen sweater, it’s the perfect time to begin the knitted item part of this outfit. Is this something that might interest you? Maybe we can make a Christmas outfit together, in a casual make-a-long kind of way.

My YOP list looks like this,

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started August 10th – finished 26th August
  • Sock #2 – started August 30th – finished 30th September

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

YOP – year 8 – week 13
Knitting · Sewing · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 13

Ruth15 Comments

It’s been a couple of weeks from I updated and that was down to purely having very little to post about. Instead of working steadily and constantly on projects, I was instead reading and in the missing two weeks read my way through the All Souls Trilogy, along with finishing a book from a separate trilogy I’d started, and I’ve now begun the next book that is in my reading stack. While I’m still reading constantly I am squeezing in more knitting time and the knitting and year of projects work is what you are here to read about, so lets get to that.

On my Lichen jumper, I’m now nearing the end of the body, approx another inch, so that should be finished shortly. Then all that remains are the sleeves and if I took my head out of my books long enough this jumper would be finished in no time at all really.

Lichen 1

I’ve worked a small amount more on my #2 socks. I’m as far as the gusset increases on these. I can’t say I’m overly excited about the yarns in this sock set, so I may gift these to my daughter. We shall see if I prefer them any more when they are complete.

Socks 1

I haven’t made any further progress with the red top, what I have done is start another local sewing workshop, in which we are making a short sleeve, button down the back top. I’m using this Viscose material, which is the first time I’ve used this material and I’ll be putting in some buttonholes so another new skill to learn.

Top

 

That is all the YOP projects that I’ve been happily working on and the progress to date. So although the updates are not overly exciting, I’m still enjoying working monogamously on projects at a slow and steady pace, enjoying the process as much as the product.

My YOP list looks like this;

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started August 10th – finished 26th August
  • Sock #2 – started August 30th

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

YOP – year 8 – week 10
Knitting · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 10

Ruth12 Comments

This week has gone by in a blur of activity. From school starting and new earlier routines and time tables, to sending off our oldest to college, it’s just been a whirlwind.

I made progress on my Lichen sweater and the more it grows the more I love the look of it. I’m looking forward to being able to wear this garment already!

Lichen

The weather has turned a little cooler and with more showers of rain, I’m starting to take out my knitted garments to wear. This it would seem was the spur on I needed to return to my Fintry cardigan. I unpicked the bind off edge and worked another short row and textured rows section. I had estimated it would add 2 inches to the front and I was right and it added a further 2.5 inches to the back of the neck. I am now so much more happy with this cardigan and now want to actively wear it. That in itself is a success. I picked up some buttons in town yesterday and sewed them on straight away. I’ve marked down my notes on the project page and these were extensive. In all my years designing and making things up as I go, I’ve never made that much notes on a project, but I figure it may be of help to someone.

Fintry

Sock #1 were completed last Sunday and I’m looking forward to wearing them in my ankle boots.

Sock 1

Sock #2 were cast on towards the end of this week. I had a 50g skein of yarn from Fine Fish Yarns with a 20g contrasting mini set. I caked it up and cast on another pair of ankle socks. This is the size of sock I’m short in my sock drawer, so now seems like a good time to add those in.

Socks

I didn’t as expected get anywhere near cutting out my top, although I should have some free mornings this week to begin that.

The list has been updated and now looks like this;

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started August 10th – finished 26th August
  • Sock #2 – started August 30th

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

YOP – year 8 – week 9
Knitting · Sewing · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 9

Ruth10 Comments

I have been enjoying knitting on my Lichen sweater a lot this week. The mindful stockinette mixed with the interest of the cables has made this such a pleasing project to date. I’m at the point of working the slight A-Line shape that happens to the body, so it’s relatively straight forward.

Lichen

Last Sunday I finished the leg of #1 sock while at the lake with the children. I cast on the second sock immediately after and I’m on the leg of it now, later today I’ll finish that off. Then I’ll decide what sock to cast on next, I will have lots of this Mondim left over for a second pair of the slightly shorter socks, so who knows.

Sock

 

I’ve unpicked the bind off of my Fintry cardigan ready for me to rework the math this week to add another section to it. The weather has turned a lot cooler here so the need to take the knitwear out is growing. I guess this is the spur to get it finally finished.

On my top I got as far as taking the fabric out and reading through the instructions. There are a couple of things I’m a little unsure of but hopefully once I begin I’ll be able to work them out. I’m hoping to make a version of the bottom pic (pink one). I’m hoping I’ll be able to cut out the pieces this week but with back to school kicking in, who knows.

IMG_5347

College offers came out last Monday morning and James got his first choice, English Studies. It’s been a manic week getting things set up and sorted for him and could be why time wasn’t found for cutting out my top, but it’s exciting for him so who minds! We will be dropping him to his accommodation this Friday morning, after the younger children head off back to school too, where he has a weekend of activities getting to know his room mates and all about his campus accommodation. Then he begins freshers week on the 3rd. The other older children head back on Wednesday so it looks like it’s going to be another busy week!

The list is looking like this;

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started Aug 10th

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

YOP – year 8 – week 8
Knitting · Sewing · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 8

Ruth14 Comments

Lichen

This past week any bulk of free time I’ve had, I’ve spent it working on my Lichen sweater. This was a photo I took during the week but I am further on even than this, having split for the sleeves and I’m now working on the body (the weather is dull and rainy and not so conducive to taking pictures). This is a project I’m really enjoying. The cables are easy to get into a rhythm of, and add enough interest in between sections of stockinette that means I can work on this while catching up on some films with the children. Because I’ve been enjoying working on this so much I’ve not touched the math on the finished Fintry, reluctant to put down something so enjoyable for something that at the moment is a bit bleh to me.

Sock 2

For those shorter moments of free time that have presented themselves this week, I’ve picked up my sock. Again I’m further on than this, having turned the heel and am several rows into the leg. This will just be a plain vanilla sock as I think any patterning will be lost on the yarn and I’m loving just picking these up and knitting round and round when I’ve some free time, no need to mess with something that is just working and is enjoyable.

It’s amazing how different I feel this week about both projects on the needles compared to last week, when the Fintry finished not as expected and the previous socks were just wrong. It’s just confirms even more, that thought and consideration in each project to what you want and need from it at the start, is a large contributing factor into the enjoyment of making the piece, and the use and enjoyment of it at the end.

I haven’t started any sewing projects this week because I was thinking about what I needed in my wardrobe and what I wanted to make next. I had two options that I was weighing up, the Hollyburn skirt and the New Look pattern K6513, which is a top. When I thought about the Hollyburn, I realised I didn’t want to start this as I have some really gorgeous dark grey linen that I purchased for it and this past week I signed up for Slimming World. Did I want to make a skirt out of some fabric that I really loved that in a couple of months may not fit me? I also wasn’t fully confident in my skills to alter it in a few months to fit, so I think I’m going to see how my slimming journey goes and then reward myself in a few months with the skirt. That leaves the top, this is something I need in my wardrobe and I have some red linen, left over from a summer skirt I made. This week I’ll set about cutting it out anyway.

This is our last full week of Summer holidays so any remaining jobs that need doing before the children head back to school need to be done. We also need to squeeze in any last adventures that we want to have in that time! First round college offers come out tomorrow morning for James, his results from his state exams came out last week and it’s based on those and the points earned from those that determines what offers he’ll be given and whether he gets his first choice. It’s been a nerve wracking few weeks, let me tell you.

The list, this week has no changes and remains looking like this,

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started Aug 10th

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

YOP – year 8 – week 7
Knitting · Sewing · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 7

Ruth15 Comments

This week I have a mixture of finishes, swatches, new starts as well as a few changes.

Firstly let’s look at the finishes.

Fintry 1

My Fintry cardigan is finished. Well it’s bound off and blocked but the neckline is far too wide for my liking and with some yarn left over I’m heavily leaning towards doing some math and adding two inches more to the neckline…yes 2 inches! This cardigan was already heavily modified to my gauge and it fits like a dream, everywhere else to the exact measurements of my size in the pattern. This is something I was really pleased with, and I did at the start, brush over the fact the neckline seemed a little low, thinking perhaps it would be ok, but it’s just not. Even for the few moments I was wearing it to see the fit after blocking, it constantly felt like it was going to fall off my shoulders, and this just won’t do in a garment I’m hoping to wear throughout most of the Winter. This garment is turning into far more work that what I’d originally wanted in just picking a garment and knitting, I may as well have designed and knit my own. The buttons for this have been dispatched and should arrive this week, I now just need to summon the desire to work the math out and make the changes I need to turn this into a more useable garment.

PJs 1PJs 3

Second and third finish for the week are my daughters and mine Margot pyjamas. These turned out wonderfully well and I’m really pleased with them, as is Caoimhe. I will be writing up a Project Focus post this week to speak in more detail about them, so stay tuned for that.

swatch

With the Fintry cardigan cast off, I finally got the opportunity to swatch for my next garment. After much thought I opted for the Lichen by NCL knits for a couple of reasons. One, while this yarn is speckled, I don’t think it will detract from the cabling details down the raglan increases and sides. What’s more likely to affect how those look is my gauge. Two, after finishing the Fintry, I really just wanted to knit a garment, and I wanted a garment that I knew was going to be a good fit and with good instructions. Having knit the Herbarium by NCL I knew that the Lichen over the No Frills Sweater was probably the best option. Just like with the Herbarium, my gauge is off, and I went up two needle sizes, but I was still off with my gauge and not wanting to go up another needle size I’ve worked a little math and if I knit the size down from my size with my gauge I should end up with the size and garment I want. I will see as I’m working the garment how the cables look at this gauge and needle size and then make the final decision. I started this last night but don’t have enough to warrant showing you a picture yet.

Socks 1

The pair of socks I had cast on were frogged and the yarn put away, you can read about why that happened HERE. I then cast on this sock on Friday night and what a difference! The colour of these just soothes, and with no patterning for the moment decided, they are a relaxing knit. I’m using the ball of Mondim yarn I got from Retrosaria. It’s 100% Portuguese Wool, so these will be my first pair of natural wool socks with no nylon, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they hold up. I may make these shorter in the leg than usual so I can wear them inside my ankle boots. In fact I need a few more pairs that size for that purpose so the next few pairs may just be that size. As for patterning, I have not decided and may not decide until the heel flap and gusset has been worked.

I have not made up my mind what my next sewing project will be. The weather is getting a little cooler, and I’m aware that while we might still get some warm sunny days, we are heading in towards Autumn and Winter, and my wardrobe needs some garments for the coming season. I have a couple of fabrics washed, and pressed so can pick something from those, so we shall see what happens there.

yarn stash 1

I got some yarn delivered this week for the Cumulus Blouse that I really want to knit. I have even debated casting on a second garment, but I’ve decided I still just want to work on one garment at a time, and with a pair of socks also on the needles, that is enough projects for me right now. But I’m pretty sure this will be my next cast on!

I’ve tweaked my list a little this week. I’ve removed the Braid Hills cardigan by Kate Davies. Having knit the Fintry and looked very closely at the neckline of the Braid Hills, I fear it may be similar to the Fintry, so for that reason, I have removed it and added in the Cumulus Blouse, which you all know I really want to knit. Other than that I’ve just done some admin work in crossing off completed items, which is very satisfying, and updated with dates. The list now looks like this.

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th – FROGGED
  • Sock #1 – started Aug 10th

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.

Where has all the colour gone?
General

Where has all the colour gone?

Ruth5 Comments

The changes in my attitude towards colour has been an interesting development. One that when I stopped and thought about it, didn’t really surprise me.

I’ve loved looking at colours and matching them, finding what goes with them, what compliments them and I really loved finding the unusual colour pairings that just seemed to work. Using colour as an expression of a design was something I loved most of all. I loved bright, muted, neutral, each had their place and in being a designer, it was rather helpful having a love of colour.

Now, all those same colours, that months ago brought so much joy, are screaming at me. They are too loud, and garish, and they feel like they are attacking my senses.

But my attitude towards colour was from a designer point of view, and even though as a designer I leaned towards romantic colours, that is not who I am or what truly expresses me anymore.

IMG_5310

This sock, a recent cast on, just seems to sum it all up. I’ve used two colours I loved. I had them picked out to work together, and went to them when I wanted to cast on a pair of socks. All past tense. The one thing I didn’t account for was my changed attitude to colour. I now can’t stand these colours, either singly or combined. I’ve tried to like them, after all I liked them before, surely I should still like them?

But no matter how much I try they just scream at me.

So if I now accept that I just don’t like these colours, and most other colours, what do I do now?

The easy option for these socks is to rip out the pattern, and not knit them with these colours. Easy, decision made, now this is no longer an issue.

But that left me with the question, “Where has all the colour gone?”

If colour is an expression of how we are feeling, and for me right now, my whole world has lost it’s colour, and I don’t feel my world is monochrome either, where on the colour spectrum am I now?

Neutral is where. Colours that while some may say are boring, to me, they are just quietly being themselves. I now crave colours that soothe MY soul, and whisper to MY spirit. I now no longer have to allow designs their expression. Now, I can have colours that allow my introverted self just get on with being my true me.

Only sometimes now, I wonder, if that means colour is gone?

But it’s not really gone, colour has just morphed itself, and is expressing ME as I always have been.

Ruth.

 

YOP – year 8 – week 6
Knitting · Sewing · Year of Projects

YOP – year 8 – week 6

Ruth15 Comments

Progress on YOP projects this week has been at a much slower pace. The week started out on Monday with a sewing day in which I finished both the Simple Summer Dress and the A-Line skirt.

I had a Project Focus post then during the week where I took a look at the Summer Dress in more detail, you can read that HERE.

Simple Summer Dress 1

A Project Focus post will happen this week for the A-Line skirt.

A-Line Skirt 1

I’ve only been working on and off on Fintry this week because a) I was painting the hallway after the new floor had been laid, and b) I was reading, and reading quite a lot. I am half way through working through the yoke decreases, then it is just a matter of working the neckline edge and I’m ready to bind off and sew in ends.

Fintry

I had a little stash enhancement this week with some Retrosaria yarn from Portugal, it’s the Mondim, 100% 4ply sock wool, and it feels a lot softer than I thought it would. The top two balls are definitely going to be socks, but those bottom three colours I can’t help thinking would be perfect for garments, and I may purchase some extra balls for that purpose.

Yarn Stash

This weekend is a long weekend with us so we have a few family things planned and my eldest turns 18 on Wednesday! I’m getting it quite hard to believe that from the talkative, curious boy, he’s now grown into a fine young man in what seems like only the blink of an eye. My Mum was ever so proud of James, and he had and has a lot of life changing events happen this year, and it seems wrong in so many ways that he doesn’t get to share those with her. But I’m sure she’s watching over him and is as proud of his as ever, just as we are. (now how did I get to having an 18 year old!!!)

James and Mammy

The list, this week, looks like this;

Year of Projects 2018-2019 List

Knitted Garments

Sewn Garments

Socks

6 pairs

  • My Dearest Loveliest Elizabeth – started July 16th

You can follow along with my knitted YOP 8 projects HERE

You can find the YOP group and weekly posts HERE

Ruth.