Yarn Along

 

I will not play yarn chicken.

I will not play yarn chicken.

I will not play yarn chicken.

Who am I trying to kid, I'm so playing yarn chicken. How do you hand-spinners out there manage it? How do you determine 'how much' you need for a sweater? I really think that I'm going to be fine, (I keep saying to myself at the end of ever couple of rows) but there is a niggling feeling at the back of my mind, that I may run out - and there is no more of this particular wool in the whole entire world! And I will have to pull it all out and start again in a smaller size.  But no, I really do think I'm going to be fine!  

Prince Caspian is not disappointing in the adventure department.  Thoroughly thrilling adventure. 

Happy Knitting!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

As the craft course progresses, the projects become bigger and more involved.  Class 4 fair isle knitting followed on from the cross stitch.   I guess this this is the culmination of the knitting projects as crochet is introduced in Class 5.  Crochet is introduced in class two in European schools as it is very similar to the continental style knitting taught there).



With 16 ply wool on 6mm needles ,we had some simple rules to follow. Only two colours per row and no more than 5 stitches in any one pattern repeat(to prevent long threads at the back) Other than that it was all about experimenting.  From the experimentation you begin to see patterns popping out and eventually, through the 'doing' you begin too find a rhythm to the patterns. I think the patterns at the back are quite beautiful too.  

 Usually I would work out a pattern on paper before I began anything like this, so it was refreshing to be allowed to simply experiment and see what happened.  I imagine it must be magical for the children to see for themselves. Following a brief steam with the iron,  I sewed mine into a tea cosy, but commonly vests, bags or hot water bottle covers can be made from the finished piece.  I also made a smaller sampler on 4mm needles with 8 ply (and bent the rules slightly using 3 colours on one row!).  I sewed this up into a wee doll.

 

See what other folk have been crafting at Nicole's place today.  

Yarn Along

Making progress on Tea with Jan & Bread. Using this beautiful dark handspun alpaca.  Its fluffy and delicious and I think it will turn out to be a fluffy delicious jumper.  She wants something "comfy that makes me want to stroll through the country side with a thermos of hot chocolate." I think it will fulfill that request.  Personally I love how there are lots of little bits of twigs and gorse stuck in the wool.  Do you love knitting with handspun?

We are well into Prince Caspian now.  Its shaping up to be a great adventure and the kids are delighted that young Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter are back for this one.

 Osgar has started a third day of Kinder this term.  Its made a huge difference to my week.  The balance has tipped and the two days we now spend together are precious.  I'm adoring and grateful for the extended time I now have with my baby big 2 year old.  She is as cute as a button, a little joker, thoroughly independent and... she naps.  Two hours if I leave her.  My house is a quiet, peaceful bomb site.  Almost bliss. Its a stunningly beautiful Melbourne winters day today, not a cloud in the sky. I went to the market this morning to listen to Dear Ceder sing, have a coffee with Belinda and knit handspun alpaca in the sunshine. Beautiful.  You can't help but be happy on a sunny Winter's day can ya? Is the sun shining where you are? Is there a simle on your face too?

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Along

Socks for Little Witches. A second pair of socks using this Poems sock wool.  These are for Tadhg for her 7th birthday (which is ages away).  I'm prepared early because I've just committed to a big knitting project for a client, which involves kilos of the most beautiful handspun alpaca wool and a lovely Heidi Kirrmaier pattern.

We finished The Horse and His Boy and the fourth Narnia book starts tonight. Prince Caspian. I can't say enough how thoroughly I'm enjoying these books.  Dubhessa, who's 8 1/2 is following along pretty well, Tadhg who's nearly 7 doesn't seem to be understanding so much of the detail, but shes happy to listen and is concerned and relieved in the appropriate places!  I'm delighted to be reading well written beautiful stories that appeal to both me and them.

The pile of knitted squares from Class Two Friday knitting sessions is growing steadily.  I'll be sewing these into a blanket before the end of term I reckon.  I was prepared for a reasonable variation in sizes from square to square, but it will be a challenge to make an even shaped blanket none the less.





 

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Along

I went wool shopping yesterday. I went here -they have all types of lush stuff.  I wandered around for ages, I'm so indecisive in places like that. Places where I just want to buy everything.  I once spent an hour and a half in a wool shop in Dublin. Is that normal? They we're nearly ready to offer me a cup of tea, in fact if I ever own a wool shop I think cups of tea for customers like me will be mandatory.  I'll have a kettle on the boil and a couple of nice comfy chairs and access to Ravelry all over the place.

Anway, I wanted some special wool for a scarf for my mums birthday. She's into pinks.  I wanted a little silky something, but all the Noro there was so dark.  In the end they had a sample lacy scarf beside the Zauberball stand and it looked pretty nice, so I went with that. I cast on three different scarves before I settled on this one. Its an easy repeat I can pick it up and put it down.  I'm still obsessing about Petra. I may just have to order some wool for it right now!

I'm reading my Frankie mag.  My beautiful sister got me another years subscription.  Its the best.

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Along

Geez, shingles, I don't recommend it. The pain is gone, but I'm still on my hands and knees searching for my energy under the mountain of dirty laundry. I haven't felt like this since I had a newborn, a 2 year old, a 3 year old and a 5 year old - all preschoolers - all at home.

Its school holidays, which means a break in the rushing around drop offs & pick ups, but it also means four kids at home. I came prepared this time with a couple of volumes of Alphabet Glue and I have to say, its helping. (On a side note, I've just noticed how often I tell people/blog about having FOUR kids! We love them all but we never meant to have four, it seems like a lot to me, the last little scallywag being a shock surprise.  I am clearly still overwhelmed coming to terms with the fact that I am the mother of a large family. I hope I don't seem to harp on about it)

 I finished Multnomah, Tiny Tea Leaves, and a couple of hats in the last few weeks    There is a positive to everything I guess (!) And I've cast on this Milo for Sadhbh.  I'm mad to knit a Petra sometime soon and I've got a few hundred yards of Bendigo (scratchy) Classic in charcoal which I need to make into something soon.   I had nearly settled on the Sage Remedy top, but then I thought maybe the neck looked to loose and big for me (I'm tiny) Have you made one? Do you love it?

We are enjoying The Horse and his Boy - CSLewis - Its a great adventure.

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Along

Knitting in the car at night by the light of the glovebox. Dark, out of focus, and a bit fuzzy. Just like I'm feeling. I've got the shingles. I'm sure I didn't feel that stressed, but when I sat down and looked at all I was trying to fit in my days, clearly, I was stressed. I am the person who puts their hand up, every time. I need to remember that I have four young kids, who came along In a relatively short space of time and being their mother is enough for now.

So I'm on enforced relaxation. My lovely doctor recommended a week minimum of complete rest. Her philosophy is, for a family to be healthy the mother must be healthy. "If this were 50 years ago, you would be sent of on convalescence". When did that go out of fashion I wonder. This seems out of the question to me. We have four kids! If I don't help that means he has to do it all. And there is nothing more stressful than watching your beloved do all the domestic and child related duties, while you lie on the couch and knit. Which is what I've been doing. Knitting is allowed, surely! I will be finishing this Tiny Tea Leaves tonight. I will be wrangling with Multnomah for several days after that. Last night we finished The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. What a great book. I've just ordered the next three in the series .

Today, somewhere between putting a load of laundry on and scraping some of the kids dinner from last night of my sock, I realised rest at home was actually an impossible feat for me. So we're off to stay with grandparents. Who will hopefully mollycoddle me(us) back to a healthy state before next week. Oh and shingles, well, it sort of feels like your skin is being pricked with razors and the codeine makes you constipated. Not pleasant! Happy knitting. X

Yarn Along

I'm in a very happy knitting place right now with three projects on the pins all at the stage of pick up and knit any time.  This is my absolute favourite place to be, maybe because I'm at home with small kids and anything (other than them!) that requires my full attention usually results tears.  Sometimes theirs, sometimes mine!

First up my handspun Milo which I'll be binding off tonight. This was an adventure and I'm not sure about how it looks right now.  I chose to do a cable, but the handspun doesn't really lend itself to cables too well.  It will keep her warm anyway and thats the main thing - right?

Second in line is a Tiny Tea Leaves, for Tadhg, for school in blue. I've knit this pattern so many times now, its knitting itself. Last but not least I wrangled my way through the heel turns of both my socks.  I attempted this toe up two at a time, but I had to resort to separating them out for the turn, it just didn't work for this pattern (which is not meant to be two at a time I think). Sock knitters out there - how does this work? And have can you recommend a good toe up two at a time pattern for kids? They are both back on the same needle again and I'm off on the cuffs.


We're nearly finished  The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  I've also been finishing off How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran - and I bought I Quit Sugar yesterday.  I need to get in on this IQS bandwagon everyone's raving about!

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Along

Did I say adventure!?! I think I cast my handpun Milo on 5 times in total.  Not knowing the gauge of my wool or really the correct needles to use and of course guessing at both had something to do with it.  I managed to knit the whole bodice at one point only to realise that it would have fit me.  I finally decided to go with the NB size and 5mm needles.  Its going great, but I have run out of wool . . . .

Its a good excuse to practice some more spinning. I just hope I don't miraculously manage to nail it and get a beautifully even yarn this time!  

Tadhg brought her school cardi (Sweet Peasy in Malabrigo Sock) home in a state of disrepair on Friday.  Its been sitting like this ever since.  I don't know where or how to start mending.  I think I'll just cast on a tea leaves for her instead.  Dubhessa wore this cardi for 18 months and never so much as pulled a thread.  Tadhg in 3 months has trashed it. She lives hard and plays hard that girl!  Beautiful sisters so very different.  Reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  My girls don't know what Turkish Delight is! We are thinking of trying to make some. Anyone out there ever tried or got a favourite recipe?

Happy Knitting!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

My class two/ three temperament gnome finished this week.  Yes, he has a blue face.  Real life face colours were not allowed here. Yes, that was a challenge for me!  By class three the child's most dominant temperament will be noticeable and shows itself most between the ages of 7 and 14.  More reading here if you are interested. This knitted doll should represent in a way the temperament of the child who makes it mainly through the choice of colours.  By the time you reach adulthood your dominant temperament has mellowed,  although I've chosen blues and purples, melancholic I 'aint!  

                                            

You may (or may not) have noticed that in all the craft I've done for my course so far there's been no sight of the colour green. Well, its coming! The 9 year old crossing is a significant transition in every child's life after which the colour green is introduced to craft and drawing.  This is followed strictly in some schools and not so in others.  When Dubhessa was at Kinder she consistently came home with drawings of beach scenes.  I assumed it was because she loved our beach holidays so much.  She told me later on that she had to draw beach scenes because there was no green crayon to draw grass! Shes in class two now and has since learned how to use her yellow and blue crayons to make a beautiful green if she needs to. 

See what other folk have been crafting at Nicole's place today. 

Making Knitting Needles

I made knitting needles with class two today.  I was so impressed with the kids work and how lovely they all are. I'd love to do this with the other class groups at some stage.  I spent yesterday morning sawing dowel into 20cm lengths and gathering gumnuts from under the tree up the street.

List of supplies:
Dowl -  12 lengths of 1.2m x 8mm clear pine from Bunnings cut to length (20ish cm)
Pencil sharpener - with a large opening - metal ones are the best
Sand paper - 2 grits p120 p240 garnet (red)
Gumnuts or beads - to fit the top 8mm
Elastic Bands to keep them needles in pairs
Name tags to label them
PVA glue
Olive oil or light oil and some rags

The kids get 2 pieces of dowel each and sharpen one end of each piece using the pencil sharpener. First using p240, then the p120 the needle is sanded in long motions from the middle down to the tip, rounding the tip so its not too pointy.  They need to be super smooth so that wool doesn't catch on them when knitting. The needles are then lightly oiled and rubbed down with the rag to remove any excess. Glue a gumnut or bead on top using the pva. Pair and label.

Next Friday we are all going to cast on for 20 stitch square. When the class have finished their squares I'm going to sew them into a blanket, which will be kept in the classroom as a comfort
blanket until class six.


 

Yarn Along

Three kids at school and kinder and the littlest napping.  The sun shining in the window on top of me, a cuppa spearmint tea and a medjool date roll beside me. Bliss.

I'm knitting socks, toe up, two at a time on a big long circular.  I knit my last pair of sock using the Spice Man pattern and it was really good.  These socks are for the kids, so I got the Spice Kid pattern.  It doesn't detail how to do two at a time, but I saw a friend doing it a while back at knitting club so I'm giving it a go. I've got myself into one tangle so far! But since that I've been super careful to turn the ball so the separate strands don't get muddled.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do when it asks to redistribute stitches yet.  Any advice?

I got this ball of Poems sock yarn at the Kyneton wool shop a few weeks ago.  Its such a reasonably priced sock wool, and comes in a great range of colours, but its not fun to pull back.  The twist is quite loose and its almost felting itself together as you knit. Here's hoping I don't have to do much of that!

We're nearing the end of The Magician's Nephew.  Its been a great read. I'm loving this older children's fiction phase that we've entered.  I seem to have missed out on a lot of great books when I was younger. Looking forward to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe next.

Happy Knitting!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

 

These are the first knitting projects that the kids undertake in Class One.  Some kids can already knit by this stage, but for the majority this is their first time with knitting needles.  At some schools the kids will actually make their own needles from some lengths of 8mm dowl sharpened at one end, sanded, oiled and finished with a bead, or gumnut on the end.   Kids of this age will use 16ply wool on their 8mm's in class we used 6mms and 4 ply.

The very first thing they will knit will be a square in one colour.  This square can then become a cat, a sheep, a bird or any little creature you can imagine with a little loose stuffing and sewing.   I guess to an adult we really have to use our imagination here, but to a child of 7, it really does look like a cat or a sheep.  Thats my sheep up there - looks more like a cat to me!  I struggled with the looseness of this little sheep, as my instinct was to sew it all up,  stuff it to the max and make it actually look like a sheep.  But I resisted.

The next knitting project, which will most likely happen a little later in the year is the shepherd or doll.   This is also essentially a knitted square, using more colours this time. A little finishing and stuffing, some knotted on hair and there you have it.   Below is the doll that my daughter knit in Class One last year.  She was so very proud of it and it is much loved.  You can see for comparison the size difference between the 8ply and 16ply wool.  Knitting is continued all the way through to the later grades in a Steiner school - I'm looking forward to the Fair Isle later this year.

 See what other folk have been crafting at Nicole's place today.

Yarn Along

 I'm feeling a little calmer with my knitting load this week even though it seems to have increased. How did that happen? Last night I knit a wee jumper for Osgars doll, which is a gift for his birthday on Friday. Needs to be sewn up, but I'll be done in time. Yea.  I couldn't find a pattern for a good doll jumper  anywhere so I made this one up.  Lots of doll cardigans out there though.  If it looks ok when its finished I'll share the pattern.

The wool I've been waiting on for Troys hat finally arrived this week.  Its Malabrigo Chunky and its lush.  The depth of colour these guys achieve  really is amazing.  I got Cypress, which looked black when I ordered it, but its the darkest of greens, beautiful. Its the first time Troy's ever let me knit him something.  His childhood memories of hand-knits are not good,  so,  it has to be the best, most comfortable, sexiest hat ever.  I'm desperate for approval!

I finished my market bag - yea!  I'm still reading Second Chance Mother and we've also joined in with Annies Read Aloud Along.   We started Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH last night.

What about you.  Does your other half let you knit for them? Are you reading The Rats of NIMH?

Happy Knitting!