Archive for Knitting

New Socks

August 25, 2011 / Molly / No comments

I’ve had these socks in my ‘must finish’ pile for about a year. I finished the first one and then the project got put down and not picked up once I got to the heel of the second. I am still a novice sock knitter, you should see the wad of paper instructions I have with pictures printed off the net! Anyway, these socks are actually not exactly the same. You see I combined two patterns because the one I have with all the visual instructions for each step are just plain and I wanted something a bit more patterned. I used the lengthy and thorough (and excellent) instructions from silver’s sock class combined with this Harris Tweed pattern on Ravelry. Why didn’t I just use the Harris Tweet pattern on its own you ask? Basically because I’m such a novice (this is only my third set of socks) that I needed those visuals to explain everything.

There are big differences between the socks as I seem to have forgotten where I was up to. Its more noticable when they are laying on the ground and not on your feet but thats ok, They don’t feel too different on, one is a tiny bit looser with less shape around the base of the foot. Doesn’t matter anyway, they are for me and they are finished! I would share with you where I got the yarn from but I can’t find the shop at the moment.

Next I’m going to try some mens socks and this time go toe up. Not sure if I’m brave enough to use circular needles just yet though. I did use them for some of the other knitting projects lately but for socks, not sure, I’ve only just gotten used to double pointed needles!

Category: All Sorts of Things, Knitting / Tags: ,

Knitting and Searching

August 7, 2011 / Molly / One comment

Its been quite a few days between posts (again) but I have an excuse…..I’ve been helping my Mum and Aunty with some family ancestry research. Its quite addictive, once you start you just want to know what happened to such and such etc… Hours and hours of digging later and I have a nice pile of information about relatives we never knew existed! I even found out that we are related to the first Mayor of the city of Stirling here in Western Australia!

On to the knitting. My usual plan each summer and winter is to make one thing at least for each of the girls. In summer I tend to sew more and make more but in winter I knit them something. Being a slower knitter and the fact that I usually have several things on the go at once that are not just knitting (paintings, ideas, cooking stuff) means that I commit to making only one knitted thing for them each year.

This year for Miss K it was a jumper, a basic one but it still had some stitches I’d not done before so I learnt something new. This is it, its 100% wool (8 ply moda vera) in a pretty purple:

It took me around 4 weeks to knit this doing a bit every night.

For Little L I decided to try to do a beanie. I have done a scarf using a similar slip stitch pattern before, in fact I think I’ve knitted about four of them but not as a beanie. I used this pattern from Ravelry. I had this gorgeous colourful wool that a friend gave me so measured Little L’s head and got started a few days after finishing the jumper. This took me a lot longer (around 6 weeks!! For a beanie!!), in-between I painted the 23 metres of jungle, went on holiday, helped run the kids club and lots of other stuff. I got there eventually only to find that it was too small for Little L’s head. Thankfully I have some facebook friends who are much more experienced knitters and they told me how to stretch the beanie. I did that and it turned out fine, its a teeny bit small but I got it on her head!


This is before I wove in the ends and added the braided ties but its the best shot of the top of the beanie.

I love the effect of the slip stitch pattern, here’s a post waaayyyyy back in 2006 where I made my second one (ignore the fact that the first photo is not showing up, not sure why), and here’s the one I made for Miss K last year (which I can’t seem to find!).

Category: All Sorts of Things, Family, Knitting / Tags: , , , ,

Photo of the Day – Oct 13

October 13, 2010 / Molly / No comments

Last night I was knitting away when this happened. Not sure how but obviously I hold my needles funny and over time a crack appeared. It took a bit but I managed to rescue the work without dropping a stitch. I hate dropping stitches, I can get them back but its really difficult. This particular piece has around 200 stitches!

Category: All Sorts of Things, Knitting, Photo a day / Tags: , ,

Photo of the Day – August 11

August 11, 2010 / Molly / One comment

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the Dora cushions I made and that I’d made a skirt for Little L at the same time. I forgot to put pics of my efforts on here. I’ve never made a skirt like that before without a pattern so I was fairly pleased with how it came out. The bottom of the tulle was trimmed a bit straighter before she wore it out.

Whenever I make something for one girl I always feel the need to equal it with the same for the other. This time however I made something totally different for each of them. I knitted a scarf for Miss K as she is always ‘borrowing’ my similar one. Unbeknown to me she took it to Kindy for news the morning she found it sitting waiting for her at the breakfast table. She loves anything pink and purple so she loved it!

Category: All Sorts of Things, Darling Daughters, Family, Knitting, Photo a day, Sewing / Tags: , , , , ,

Weekly What List – June 8-14

June 7, 2010 / Molly / No comments

This last week has been full of some very difficult situations. Some of them belonging to my immediate family and some belonging to a close friend. I always find that my creativity is totally stifled when I have other things taking up my thoughts. I’ve been applying the verses in Philippians about anxiety and trust a lot more but have also had my focus more on those things that have been hard. I did get out my gocco printer and make some new cards.

Review of the Weekly What List for the week of June 1-7

Physical
- Visit local gym to check it out – no didn’t make it but found out they have Zumba across the road so going to go with my neighbour this week.

Spiritual
- read through Philippians again, write down stand out verses – read bits
- continue reading book – no
- pray pray pray – yes

Creative
- Try making clay stamp – no
- Freezer paper transfers – do third one – no
- List magnets on Polyclarific (photograph them first) – no
- Finish dressing gown – yes!

On-line shops
- Continue with rephotographing items and adjusting listings – no
- blog at least twice – yes
- look into advertising - no
- list new items – no
- organise bus cards for KeLu and Polyclarific – yes some

Family
- Sort out K’s drawers – no
- Birthdays continued – yes

Friends
- June birthdays – no
- Send engagement card – no

Weekly What List for the week of June 8-14

Physical
- Go to Zumba

Spiritual
- read through Philippians again, write down stand out verses
- pray pray pray

Creative
- Try making clay stamp
- Freezer paper transfers – do third one
- Work on sock
- investigate gocco options
- get out the clay

On-line shops
- Continue with adjusting listings
- blog at least twice
- list new items
- make a plan for the Made On The Left market in July

Family
- Sort out K’s drawers
- Dolls house furniture with K
- Post parcel

Friends
- June birthdays
- Send engagement card

Category: All Sorts of Things, Art, Family, Knitting, Weekly What List / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Photo of the day – June 4

June 4, 2010 / Molly / No comments

Yesterday morning this is what was waiting for Miss K at the breakfast table. I don’t set up the table every night before bed although I try to do it before Kindy days to make things easier. Usually I draw a little picture for the girls but this time it was this little knitted jacket/dressing gown waiting. I have been meaning to make some doll’s clothes for Miss K’s Amy doll for a while and finally made her this one. Slippers are next and then I’ll think about a few other things.

I’m so glad it fits because it was a pattern for the American Girl Doll which is about 2 inches shorter than the Australian Girl Doll. This is why what was meant to be a dressing gown really looks like a jacket. Next time I’ll add on those two extra inches I think. I used this pattern via Ravelry. I did change a few things, I added belt loops and a crocheted belt as well as pockets. I also left off the fur trim. I like the outcome and its nice to knit something for her doll, nice and quick!

Category: All Sorts of Things, Darling Daughters, Knitting, Photo a day / Tags: , , , ,

Pretty Blue Vest

June 1, 2010 / Molly / No comments

I have finally finished the two vests for the girls and I’m quite happy with them. Little L’s probably could have been a bit bigger but it will do. As you can see from the photos the bottom rolls up like the other vest but I’m trying to fix that with wetting it and weighing it down as that worked for Miss K’s vest.

I chose this colour because it suits her eyes, they are a gorgeous denim blue. I used this Lion Brand Yarn pattern and Panda 8ply Crepe Machine Wash Wool (I don’t use acrylic or polyester any more). It takes me a long time to make things for the girls so I think my aim each winter and summer will be to make them one thing each for that season which can change as they get older. Last Winter I made these matching red dresses which are now suitable as tops with leggings or jeans so we’ll get one more winter’s wear out of them.

I think my knitting is improving and getting faster, in-between everything else I’ve been doing this vest took me about two weeks. I know other people can knit something this simple much faster but I wasn’t knitting non stop, it was more like a few hours every few nights.

Category: All Sorts of Things, Darling Daughters, Knitting / Tags: , , , ,

Weekly What List – May 25 – 31

May 24, 2010 / Molly / No comments

This past week was a quiet one. The girls were back to good health and we all got a tiny bit more sleep. Now to the list:

Revision of the Weekly What List for the week of May 18 – 24

Physical
- Giving myself a week off – well sort of

Spiritual
- read through the rest of Philippians – yes
- continue reading book. – no
- pray pray pray. – yes

Creative
- Try making clay stamp – no
- Freezer paper transfers – yes
- List magnets on Polyclarific - no
- Finish knitting L’s vest – no but I did complete one side and am a third of the way through side 2

- Continue with sock before starting anything new – oh dear, started knitting a dolls dressing gown for K!

Family
- Come up with a plan to transfer L to K’s room – we started thinking about it
- Birthdays – yes to one

Friends
- June birthdays – thinking, thinking, thinking
- Send engagement card – no, got to check the address

Weekly What List for the week of May 25 – 31

Physical
- Visit local gym to check it out

Spiritual
- read through Philippians again, write down stand out verses
- continue reading book
- pray pray pray

Creative
- Try making clay stamp
- Freezer paper transfers – do third one
- List magnets on Polyclarific (photograph them first)
- Finish knitting L’s vest
- Continue with sock and dressing gown

(new section)
On-line shops
- Continue with rephotographing items and adjusting listings
- blog at least twice
- look into advertising
- list new items
- organise bus cards for KeLu and Polyclarific

Family
- Start looking at furniture for girls room
- Birthdays continued

Friends
- June birthdays
- Send engagement card

Category: All Sorts of Things, Art, Darling Daughters, Etsy, Family, Knitting, Weekly What List / Tags: , , , , , ,

Completed Vest

May 5, 2010 / Molly / 3 comments

Two weeks ago (wow longer than I thought) I wrote about a child’s vest I was knitting Miss K. Last night I finished it. I always knit a bit too tightly and so the bottom of it curls up after a while but I really like the finished vest. I have some beautiful blue wool to make one for Miss L next which of course will be quicker being smaller. This was such an easy pattern, stocking stitch on the bottom half and garter stitch on the top. If I had knit this every night it would have been done in a week (for me thats fast) but I’m a bit too distracted with everything else!

So here it is. Miss K wouldn’t take it off once I tried it on her. Being pure wool its so warm and great for cooler days.

This last shot is not so much about the vest but about what she’s holding up. She got 10 stickers on her chart at Kindy and was allowed to choose a prize from the box. She’d had her eye on this little medal (plastic) the whole time so I’m glad she got to have it. She’s so chuffed with herself she won’t take it off (I’ve had to pry it off her at bedtime and convinced her to take it off for her bath). Well done Miss K, so proud of you.

Category: All Sorts of Things, Darling Daughters, Family, Knitting / Tags: , , , ,

Autumn Vests

April 21, 2010 / Molly / No comments

Instead of getting on with the things on my Weekly What List I seem to have become distracted by knitting this vest for Miss K. This is side one complete. The bottom where the needle is actually is finished, its just curled up due to my tight tension. What an easy vest this is to do, pretty much all straight stocking stitch with a bit of garter at the top which makes it very fast. I’m using a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn which is found here (its actually called a child’s beach top not a vest but considering she is unlikely to wear it to the beach, lets stick with vest).

This side hasn’t taken long at all, a few nights in front of the TV and side one is done, now on to side two (which is excatly the same as side 1). After that I’ll be doing one for Miss L is a gorgeous mid blue. I have been converted to using all natural fibres so these are a wool/alpaca mix.

Category: All Sorts of Things, Darling Daughters, Knitting / Tags: , ,
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