Cosy Cowls....

I love to make them and I love to wear them... COWLS
In the coming months I plan to open my Etsy shop...
It will feature Cowls and Scarves such as these....

Unisex Cowl in Forest Green

Over-sized Cowl/Shawl in Plum

Merino Cowl in Emerald Green

Please tell me what you think...

More Knitting, While Not Much Blogging...

Sadly, there is never time for everything. No matter how hard we try something always has to slip.
For me, the return to my study has meant that I haven't had the time to ponder over ideas for blog posts. And then, most importantly, write them.
It's not all bad though... I've still been managing to knit. Here is the finished Emerald Green Cowl that I made for a 30th birthday present.

It's made from 100% Merino wool and feels chunky and warm. The stitch I found in my stitch bible, the name: purse stitch. 'Tis excellent for cowls and such things as it looks the same on both right and wrong sides. It's a simple pattern - multiple of 2. All rows: *M1 (wrn), p 2 tog*

Honeycomb Stitch Baby Vest

I've been knitting in the round again... Still finishing off all those loose-ends I told you about. And I think it's safe to say that everything is finally finished.

This is the second baby's vest I've designed and made in this style. (And baby loves them...)

The lower stitching is 'Honeycomb' which is as follows:

Round 1: knit
Round 2: purl 1, slip 1
Round 3: knit
Round 4: slip 1, purl 1
Repeat

The top is simply knitted in Stockinette Stitch with a little eyelet hole for a button on one side.
The wool is Morris Empire 8ply in 'Candy Twist'

Everything is now completed, which means I'm all ready for the newest moon of this new year! Time to sow the seeds of intention and set some goals. A great website that I love to visit, http://mooncircles.com/  reminds me that there is magic to be found in everyday - sometimes I forget. There is some very interesting infomation there on using moon phases to enhance our projects and everyday life in general. The following extract is about the time during a new moon and is from the website. (Thank you Dana!)

'The moon travels with the sun, rising and setting as one. At first she’s lost in the bright solar light… bathing there perhaps. It’s how the moon makes herself new. And you? It’s your chance to become new now too. Lose yourself in possibilities. Forget your history: your likes and dislikes… even those goals you say you want but never seem to achieve. Refresh instead your animal nature, senses awake, happily, simply aware of being alive.When the moon starts to gently lag behind the sun, pulling away from her bath; you’ll see a thin crescent in the west, just after sunset. Make a wish. In the days ahead, realize there are invitations all around you, arriving in ways you might mistake if you’re not open. Your task is to say yes to an invitation you’ve never said yes to before. Embark on a big or little adventure. Start something new.'

Pretty Knitted Things....

Recently I have been making a conscious effort to tidy up loose ends - in the literal sense! The many unfinished projects that I have had on the go have been making me feel a bit jumbled up. So to begin clearing some space, both mental and physical, I finally finished knitting the i-cord for a Hearts Garland...

This has been a very long time in the making, but I am so pleased with the outcome...
You can find the pattern for this here.

It's very simple to make and great for using up small amounts of yarn.

Dyeing Yarn In a Microwave

While blog surfing many moons ago, I came across a post on dyeing yarn with food colouring using a microwave. Intrigued, I vowed to one day try it.
That was about a year ago and during the interim I picked up a microwave on Freecycle, found a cake shop selling a vast array of paste and liquid food colour, did a bit of homework on the subject of dyeing and inherited a big bag of plain coloured wool.

So what was once this:

Quite quickly became this:

A vibrant mass of green. Much more interesting, don't you think?

The process was relatively simple and strangely, not too messy either.

Firstly, I wound the wool into a long skein using two chairs and then left it to soak in some cold water and white vinegar for about 24 hours (although an hour or two will do). I used about 1/4 cup of vinegar in a tub of about five litres of water. I then laid the wool out on a large piece of plastic wrap and using  'Creative' Jade in paste form, began applying the dye at intervals around the skein; wearing rubber gloves I gently worked it into the wool - being very careful not to begin felting.

Once the colour was applied I began cooking. The trick here is not to set your wool alight so a slowly-slowly approach was imperative...
I wrapped the skein tightly in the plastic wrap and placed it into the microwave with a cup of water in the middle.
I then cooked it on high for a minute, let it cool for five then cooked it for another two minutes and let it cool again. Following this pattern I cooked it for nine minutes in total. When it had cooled I rinsed it under cold water and then hung it out to dry.

I used 40grams of food colouring to about 100 grams of yarn.
This method produces a mottled, slightly uneven result and that was the effect that I was looking for.
I plan to start knitting with it sometime soon!

Knitting In The Round...

Inspired by a soft toy in a cute knitted number,

I designed and knitted in the round...

And made this:

For the very special girl in my life...

I made the dress with Moda Vera 'Bamboo Cotton' which feels soft and silky to the touch and plan to make another right away with pure wool for extra warmth over the winter months...

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