Love Lace . . .

. . .  not so much . . .  well not so much after my latest commission anyway . . . this commission was to purely knit the garment from the pattern provided.

Don't get me wrong lace knitting looks fantastic and in small amounts I enjoy knitting it but this was a scarf . . . a loooong scarf! 

So what is lace knitting - it is basically a combination of knitted stitches that create holes with in the work to create a pattern, these holes are made by doing a combination of stitches such as k2tog and YO; The YO creates the hole by creating the extra stitch so the k2tog is done to ensure the stitch count stays the same.

The great thing about lace knitting is the most simplest stitch pattern can look so complex, the worst thing about lace knitting is you must concentrate, the last thing you want to have to do is undo a row - picking up stitches when the row is made up of k2togs, YO's, ssk's is not fun at all! So that's why when it came to this pattern I only did it when I knew I have time to sit down get stuck and not get distracted, after a while because the pattern was repetitive I was able to remember the stitches and speed up, it took me 10 separate sessions to complete it in the end and if you follow me on Twitter you would have seen the progress . . . here is a couple of snap shots :)

But honestly don't let my moan put you off, lace knitting is always set to impress and there are some lovely patterns out there from edging on a hat or is your feeling adventurous why not knit a whole wedding dress (I cant say that thought ever crossed my mind).

Making Spot - Tivoli Pure Aran Hat, Scarf and Mittens Set

And here it is my first making spot blog. . . My review on a pattern and yarn!

 

And  it is a review on a gorgeous hat, scarf and mittens set knitted in a Tivoli pure Aran yarn. I think the picture on this set really shows of the scarf but the hat and mittens seem a little forgotten so I hope through the images you can see how fantastic all the items are, the hat actually I think is my favourite so that’s where I started!

 

The pattern needs to sizes of needles, 4mm and 5mm the 4mm needles are used for the rib edging on the hat and mittens and then everything else is done in 5mm.

 

Once the Rib is done the hat it jumps straight in to the cable pattern, which if you have never done before can look a bit daunting but it is actually really simple and you can get some fantastic effects with it.

It is basically just a process of moving stitches out of the way knitting others on the needle and then knitting the stitches you moved out of the way . . . the picture below may explain it a little better . . .

Stitches are held at the front or back and then knitted.

a couple of cable rows completed.

 



The decreasing in that hat is done in the purl stitches in between the cable sections to keep the cable the same throughout and because the cable pattern is kept the same it was basically a repeat of 5 rows so once I had done a few and I got the hang of the order of the stitches it was actually a quick knit.

 

 

And the scarf pattern was the same concept; 16 rows that were repeated throughout so after a few repeats I was away only checking the pattern occasionally J

 

 

The pattern advises 2 balls are needed for the scarf and one each for the hat and mittens, but from the hat and mittens I had some yarn left so I decided to use it to extend the length of the scarf. The scarf was perfectly fine without the extra but I love long scarfs and why let the left over yarn go to waste J

The edge of the scarf was completed with 5 K stitches every time, this edging stops the scarf from curling round.

 

 

The mittens didn’t have any cable pattern in them which I thought was a shame as that would have tied it in with the scarf and hat nicely but then when I made one I realised that actually that wasn’t needed and as a set had it had cabling in it it would have actually become quite fussy so the simplistic look I think really works!

 

The mittens were knitted in one and the thumb and side seam then sewn up . . . . .

 

 

Out of all the items the hat has to be my favourite, maybe because I don’t think the image on the pattern really shows it off so I was really pleased when I saw the cable pattern coming together and I think more that the softness of the wool and perfect fit my favourite thing about it has to be the way the cable sections come together to make a snowflake! It adds a lovely festive touch J

 

 

My initial plan was to give this set as a knitted Christmas gift but I just love it too much J but there is always next year and with the fantastic colours available I think I could make quite a collection!! If you want to have a go at this the pattern both the yarn and pattern are available from City Knits!

 

Knitting Natter

I have been pretty quiet recently on the blogging front so here is a quick natter on what I have been up to :) I have been kept busy with my latest commission 3 tea cosies and 8, yes 8 hats! my knitting machine and completing my cross stitch ready to be hung on 1st December!

And here it is finished, a day early!!

And in place, framed above the fire place

The progress on my knitting machine has been slow, it is a Toyota KS901 if that means anything to anyone :) for days I couldn't figure out why I was getting loops at each edge and then finally it clicked, it was my tension, I had not threaded my wool through enough of the wool holders so it was too loose! since figuring that I have been fine! I don't yet have a rib cartridge so I have learnt mock rib too! now to try an actual pattern . . . .

I have also been doing lots of Christmas shopping online, keeping the Royal Mail busy :) but I also received my latest project in the post from City Knits!! I can’t wait to get stuck in . . .  it’s a hat scarf and mittens set and I plan on taking photos of my progress and creating a blog entry all about it, my review of the yarn, the pattern etc. so watch this space.
And I must say if you haven’t checked them out yet City Knits is a fab site they have some great patterns, yarn and knitting ideas, I just love the colour option at the top of their site; select the colour you want and it will filter on everything they have!

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