Tea cosy non-pattern

Since you asked, Donna Lee, the striped tea cosy is done in a slip stitch pattern I improvised, worked over a multiple of 4 plus 3 stitches (keeping in mind this is worked flat, not in the round):

(after a few set-up rows)
1. P
2. Change colour: (K3, sl1) repeat to last 3 sts, K3
3. P
4. P

The wool was 8 ply, the needles 4.5mm - though I think I would have preferred 4mm.

The base curls up, and if I did it again I would start with some ribbing to avoid that, which would also draw it in around the bottom of the teapot a bit.

I tapered the pieces at the top, and put in a row of eyelets before casting off. It's made as two flat pieces which are sewn together just at the top and bottom, leaving space for the handle and spout.

What was that craftster motto again?

 The first tea cosy sparked a request for another one in the same colours and design. For various reasons, I was happy to do it for this person, but I was stubbornly determined not to repeat myself exactly so I made some little modifications. Just double seed stitch instead of seed/irish moss, and the flower colours reversed. Now I'm looking at these pictures, I wonder if maybe it could have used an extra flower on one side.


The stripey one I made earlier in the winter. It took a lot longer to complete, for such a little project, and I think I'd use self-striping next time! I usually don't mind ends at all, even lots of ends, but somehow it didn't seem worth it for a tea cosy. This, I suppose, could be considered a prototype - if I ever get around to trying again with a few tweaks. It was maybe going to be a gift, but I wasn't totally thrilled with it. But at least now my teapot  has its own cosy and my tea stays warm a bit longer. (We usually drink all the tea in one go anyway so I've never seen an urgent need for one).

Teal leaves

This is the Falling leaves scarf I made for my sister, but it's written for bulky yarn and I used a worsted weight - Misti Alpaca Tonos again - (same colour, even). When I showed the pattern picture to my sister I tried to warn her that it would come out a bit smaller and more delicate.... but in hindsight, I didn't really get the message across and she was surprised when she saw it, having expected the leaves to be much bigger.



Given the smaller gauge, I thought I'd need some extra repeats to get the right length. I actually did a quick block while it was on the needles, before knitting the tapered end, to check how it would look. And in spite of this caution, it still ended up too long. The photo above is how it is designed to be worn, pulled once through the loop. A bit droopy and not much good for keeping the neck/throat warm.

 

She found a couple of ways to loop up the extra length though (above and below). And isn't that green jumper gorgeous? She wins at op shopping!



I think it looks pretty good and I think she is happy with it. But it's such a nice and quick pattern, if I come across a likely bulkier yarn, I'll do it again for her at some point.

Never knew no good from bad

So, a few weeks ago, we were still in the dead of winter. My bigger knitting project (a cardigan) wasn't progressing, other creative ideas/execution not really flowing...work was voraciously eating up most of my capacity*, and I wasn't happy about it. And I had a cold head!

*I know, this is a bit modern jargon-y, but it's the best description - not necessarily lack of time (though that too) but just having nothing much left when I get home.

It didn't take long to find a use for the Dream in Colour 'Smooshy' wool that turned out to be the wrong colours for Mum. And it's lovely stuff.

This is the 'Skinny Skid' hat (slouchy version) from West Knits. It's not perfect, but this is the first hat I've made that I'm happy to wear out and about. I realised long ago that beanies are pretty unflattering on me. Plus, a beret or something with a little slouch causes less extreme hat hair. As long as I only have it on for a little while (mainly on the way to work), my unsophisticated hair style isn't much affected.

The pattern is a really interesting construction, starting with a double-knit band, one edge of which is cast off to become a sort of pocket. This was my first time double-knitting. It's not hard, but pretty slooooooow (this may have been related to my 'capacity' problems of recent weeks), made worse by having to do it all twice.

I started out knitting this as the designer intended, with two different colours. The band has one colour on the inside and one outside, then the body of the hat has single-row stripes throughout. I knit the whole band and a few rows of the rest when I decided that my two yarns (the other one was a dark purple) were too different in thickness - particularly obvious in the double-knitted part where my gauge was looser anyway. Also, although I had cast on for the largest size, the band felt very tight around my head, so when I started again I cast on a few extra stitches. In the meantime I had looked carefully at others' finished hats and concluded that I wasn't keen on the striping, so I decided to just work with the one colourway. The pictures published with the pattern show a striped hat, but the two colourways are quite close and it's a subtle effect.

Bells took these photos. Thanks!

I blocked it on a dinner plate, the common method for berets and tams, and then used the iron to steam the top of the hat thoroughly, trying to reduce that 'pouchy' effect. It's still not as smooth as I'd prefer. But I love having a warm hat to wear on icy mornings.

Now of course, it is spring, and there are a few icy mornings to come but the days are beautiful. My capacity problem has mostly dissipated, and I'm onto the sleeves of my cardigan - it's this one, with a couple of modifications. I'm also whipping up another tea cosy for someone who asked very nicely. Things are looking up and I feel more like myself again.

Family fun times this weekend

Mountain climbing

Canberra put on some pretty lovely weather for a photography/walking expedition with Bertie Mabootoo and E today. I must admit we drove all the way to the top of the mountain. But we did walk a good chunk of the steep track down and back up again.

Bertie and I have teamed up for something super-mega. I don't know what will happen next. (I need to figure it out though!)

Wool for warmth

This was finished about a month ago, but I kept thinking I might take the time to get a better photo. I had to mess around with the colour a bit, and my photoshop skills and not up to much. But doesn't Mum look beautiful? She's been wearing this scarf a lot - it works even better with her classy work clothes than it does with the weekend exercise gear here - and getting lots of compliments. Which makes me very happy.

Very very happy, because for a while there I wondered if I would ever find the right yarn combination. It all started when Mum tried on mine and liked the style, but even more importantly, found the soft merino and merino-cashmere yarns perfectly acceptable around her neck. My rule of thumb had been that she couldn't tolerate any wool in a scarf. (No allergy, she's just one of those people who are pretty sensitive to the 'prickle' of wool). I'd made her  a couple of bamboo scarves, but they're really not warm enough for winter, and this winter has been pretty cold.

I knew there were a number of soft merino 4plys, like Zarina or baby wools, that would suit, but I wanted one of the two yarns to have subtle variegation, like a hand-paint. I had a look in all of the local wool shops, and searched online. We wanted something in deep reds, orange or brick colours. And it had to be very soft. I didn't find many promising candidates. I did order some Dream in Colour Smooshy in a colour which looked promising on screen, but it  turned out to have small pink and purple elements, which just aren't Mum at all. I finally went back to my local wool shop for another look, and came across this Ella Rae Lace Merino in subtly variegated orange. The colour was perfect, but because of the name, its 'skinny' look, and the placement in the shop, I thought the Ella Rae stuff was a laceweight. However, I was so happy with the colour and so keen to find something, I thought I could try it doubled. It was quick work to pick something to contrast with it (Katia Merino Baby in a sort of brownish maroon).

Doubling the wool, however, didn't work. It was obviously too thick. Turns out it is considered 'fingering'/4ply weight. In the end the two yarns actually went together just fine - there is a bit of a difference, but it doesn't seem to matter. It was a similar situation with my original Chadwick shawl, the Knittery merino cashmere was a bit thicker than the Patonyle.

I do really love this pattern, fun and simple to knit and really nice to wear.

Melbourne weekend

I went to Melbourne last weekend, and on the flight down I happened to look out of the window as we travelled over the Snowy Mountains. Then on the way home, I looked out of the window just as the flight crew was announcing we were starting the descent into Sydney - and we were flying right past Canberra! I had booked my ticket a bit late and didn't get a direct flight. But I did not expect to look down and be able to wave at my neighbourhood on the way past. Strange and cool.

 I was serious when I said I wanted to eat this again. We went back to Borscht, Vodka and Tears with our cousin, who has also been to Poland. We all ate *well*. Yum.

Cabled cowl

This was one of those sweet projects that went really smoothly. My sis wanted an easy-to-wear neckwarmer, nothing that needs to be tied, pinned or arranged. She still wears a short scarf I made for her a few years ago (a replacement version of this one which went missing) and it's looking pretty worn. We talked about options including another short scarf with buttons, or a keyhole scarf. When I suggested a short cowl, she liked that idea the best.
I chose larger needles to make it nice and drapey (5mm; the wool is Cleckheaton Country Naturals). Tried out a cable pattern I had seen (I like the flatter look you get with those knit stitches next to the cables, instead of going straight to purls). Then I draped a tape measure around my neck to guesstimate the ideal circumference. Not sure what I ended up with, but what I wrote down was 55-60cm. I didn't know how deep to make it, so I had her try it on when I thought it might be finished (I cast off but didn't weave in the ends), and she decided how much more there should be. A couple more cable repeats and it was done. I can see why cowls are so popular to knit, so simple to make and easy to wear.

The after shot(s)

And here is that big pod after felting.
I dropped off a batch of both pears and bowls at Craft ACT today.
I do always struggle a bit with pricing. After spending the hours knitting, felting and finishing, plus rejecting a couple of pieces that aren't good enough, I was trying to psyche myself up to charge a bit more than last time. Because there is work here (even if I enjoy most of it), and that time could be spent doing lots of other things. I don't really make standard sizes, I just have a list of the price points I've used before and I pick what seems right at the time. I pretty sure that I haven't been too vigilant and have been inclined to err on the side of the cheaper price points over time. Somehow at the last minute I look at the pieces and see them as ordinary, just those things I make...

 
So it was very gratifying to have Jenny suggest that the prices go up a bit with this batch. She'd observed that people seem to find them cheaper than they expect.
I forgot to get good pictures of the pears this time. They were ready a couple of weeks ago and have been sitting on my cabinet at work, attracting a mixture of compliments and bemused questions. It's taken years but I now have a good, simple answer to the perennial 'what are they *for*?'. They're sculptures.