Progress

Progress on the tam is good, but steady and it will be soon finished.  I have decided to start on another project. Blanche from the Luzia pattern book by Louisa Harding.  I am using hairy yarn, which I got from Tiger.

Update

With the polka dot cardigan, I am on my second skein of yarn.  Still I have some way to go. It felt very strange knitting with 100% cotton, but I love the colours.

I finished the beret or hat pattern on Saturday 28th November, now I am working on the neck warmer and I will finish that very soon, looking forward to giving it to Ayodele.  She thinks it's for me. 

Works in progress

My works in progress.
For my daughter's Christmas present, I am crocheting a beret and neck warmer.  The pattern is called 'Winter Flower' from Drops Design from www.garnstudio.com, most of all the patterns are free and the yarn which is available from www.woolwarehouse.co.uk, excellent quality.  The yarn that I am using is Drops Lima, made up of wool and alpaca, the colour is purple.  I bought 6 skeins of yarn, which cost me £11.94 ( postage included).

One of the ladies at my knitting group, gave me some Jaegar matchmaker merino double knit, in blue, cream and beige.  I went to Liberty and bought 1 skein of Rowan super fine merino double knit in claret, cost £5.75+, so I decided to knit a tam from Juniper Moon Farm patterns.  The patterns are available from www.yarn.com, or if you google Juniper Moon Farm patterns, you will come with other online suppliers.  The pattern comes with matching mittens. I may knit them, I am not sure at the moment.

My polka dot cardigan, I have been knitting in the round or on circular needles, the colour is electric blue and it is a vibrant blue, the yarn is 100% cotton, by Scheepjes, the polka dots will be done in white, pink and lilac. It felt very strange knitting in cotton, your fingers do get use to it. 

Received my order

I received my yarn from Wool warehouse today, the colours are very vivid.  The yarn is Scheepjes Catona,  It is 100% mercerized cotton and it is  4 ply.

The way, I plan to knit this cardigan, knit using circular needles. Put a stitch marker between the right front and the end of the right front, stitch marker for the section which will be knitted as a steek, a stitch marker for the left front to the end of the left front and stitch markers for the back. Also put stitch marker for the different sections of the pattern, so that the polka dots will be balanced throughout the cardigan.

New Project Polka Dot Cardigan from Simply Knitting issue September 2012

The pattern is from Simply Knitting, is the Polka Dot cardigan.  I ordered yarn from Wool Warehouse online.   I am going to make some modifications, such as make the sleeves longer and the cardigan, slightly longer.  Total amount of yarn is 14 skeins of yarn.  Yarn used is Scheejpes Catona, which is 100% cotton, the main colour is Electric Blue, which I ordered 11 skeins, the polka dots, I didn't want them to be all white, so I ordered three different colours, white, pink and lilac.  The total cost of yarn is £25.06.  I ordered it today Friday 30th October 2015.

Gretchen's Easy Tam by Lion Brand.

I used a pattern from Lion Brand, Gretchen's Easy Tam.  It is a free pattern on the Lion Brand website.  On I knits you tube channel, she knits the tam, which is very helpful.  I found the pattern very easy to follow, it was a little challenging for me, as it is the first time I have knitted using double pointed needles (DPNs) and circular needle.  Inside of using the Lion Brand yarn Heartland.  I used Rowan's Pure Wool Worsted.  The two colours, it cost me £16.50.   I started it on Thursday 15th October, I didn't knit every day, but I finished it on Monday 26th October.  I was able to wear it, even though I should block the tam, which I will do.

The tam was loose, which is a good thing as I have thick hair and it covers my ears.  I will definitely buy the Heartland brand.  I enjoyed knitting the tam.

The Christmas Mittens

Showing the Fair Isle pattern, with the circles, trees and girls holding hands.

What have you been doing?

The top picture are the Christmas Mittens designed Marie Wallin, which I knitted for my daughter. I went to Wool Week 2014, which was from 5th - 12th October.  I went on Tuesday 7th October at Southwark Cathedral, which I meet Marie Wallin.  Her website is http://www.mariewallin.com. I learned to do Fair Isle knitting, where you knit with more that one colour to make pattern.  Although I I have done it before, which can be see in my earlier post, however I learnt to knit the English way, one colour in the right hand and the Continental way, the other colour in the left hand and it is a lot quicker, than using one hand to knit two or more colours.

 I had such great fun and I started the project on Wednesday 8th February, then I had to start again on 19th October and finished the right hand mitten on 25th October, and started the left hand mitten on 26th October and finished on 15th November 2015, mostly did my knitting at the weekends, so I was very pleased.  Ayodele was able to get them before Christmas.   

The cream hat knitted on Saturday 21 and finished on Sunday 22nd February 2015, the pattern was from Knit Today, issue 106 January edition from the little booklet 'Quick and Easy Knits,' the red hat was crocheted, using a pattern from Inside Crochet, started on 29th January, using Roma wool from Debbie Bliss, cost £8.95, the patten was not too difficult, until it came to the crown and it took me some days to sort it out, I think the pattern was written wrong there, anyway I finished it and posted the picture on Inside Crochet facebook page by the 1st January 2015.  The hat and scarf was started on 12th January and finished on 7th February 2015.

Very pleased that I am starting and finishing my knitting or crochet projects.