Little things

Another busy week here but not much of it was crafty. I've been experimenting with combining crochet and knit for this hat which I managed to get finished a few days ago.

Have just reviewed my list for the Year of Projects and I've decided to abandon the baby's blanket that should have been finished by the end of August. Main reason is that its still only about half done and I'm 'over it'. There are a few reasons (a) I've made this same pattern before; (b) I used 8ply wool which I think is too heavy for a baby; (c) my calculations were wrong and it was not big enough - could have compensated by putting a wider border on it but I still wasn't happy; and finally (d) I think the baby is due soon. SO .... I bought a new pattern from Heather of JustCrochet which I should be able to have finished in time. Its her latest pattern and is for a little boy's vest, pants, hat and booties.

So I don't fail completely with the YoP, I whipped up this little soap sack last night (just need to do the washer to go with it)

.. and last thing I have to show you today is this little doiley (7" diameter) which I made as a gift for a dear friend of mine. Hope she likes it...

Hope you all have a good week. xox

While Shepherds watch their flock by Night .... they knit

Did you know ..

One of the earliest examples of true knitting is an intricately patterned cushion found in northern Spain in the tomb of Fernando de la Cerda, who died in 1275. The cushion is covered with heraldic symbols. Arabic letters worked into the pattern suggest that the knitter might have been Muslim, albeit working for a Christian prince.

The first known knitting circles were capknitters’ guilds, established throughout Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. These knitters were considered master craftsmen and making and selling caps required a license. At that time the purl stitch was not yet known.

In the mid 16th century, knitting quickly shifted from a master craft to the incessant drudgery of the poor. Everyone knitted, all the time – while walking, when riding in oxcarts, or by firelight in the evening. Special schools were established to teach knitting to boys and girls as young as five. Even at that age, poor children were expected to contribute to the household income by knitting.

In colonial America early in the 17th century, knitting fit well into the Puritan idea that idleness was an unforgivable sin. Any opportunity to sit down and rest was an opportunity to take up one’s knitting – even shepherds were expected to knit while watching their sheep.

(The above are excerpts from “Knit it Together” by Suzyn Jackson, Voyageur Press 2009)

This book also contains patterns and inspiration for knitting circles and is a very interesting read. Other sections include a chapter on Elizabeth Zimmermann/Meg Swansen’s Knitting Camp; a story about a knitted river – around 100,000 squares were sewn together to create a river almost a mile long. This was in London in May 2007 and formed the centre of a peaceful demonstration to bring awareness to water poverty around the world; charity knitters will enjoy the article by Greta Cunningham “The Power of Sheila’s Shawls”; and my favourite, the Pretty Kitty Knitty Committee: Knitting for the Love of Cats.

I don’t have much for my Sunday Year of Project report this week. I did finish the last pair of black Victorian Lace fingerless gloves to complete that order and now only have one more Triana scarf to do for another lady. After that I want to get back to my list. The placemat I showed you last week is still the same – hopefully I can show you the finished item soon.

The Sunday Report

Not much achieved this week in my Year of Projects as life seemed to get in the way and other things needed to be done. I was holding off on making the final pair of black fingerless gloves till I got my new glasses which I now have but I don't think they're quite right. However, I did start the gloves yesterday and will have them done soon.

I do have a couple of little things to show you that I've made this week. While browsing through some very old crochet magazines I came across this dear little baby's bib and just had to make one ..

There is a pattern for a little boy's bib too - its more square with a little bow at the neck. Very cute.

If I'm not careful I'll become known as the mad hatter as I seem to make so many!! This one is part of a baby shower gift for my daughter's work colleague - the pattern was in a Debbie Bliss book I borrowed from our local library.

Finally, because I didn't want to work with the black wool last night, I started this quick project which will become a placemat. I love the bright, cheery colours in this Lily Sugar'n'Cream. The solid aqua you can see in the background will be the edging.

Thanks for visiting and have a good week. xoxox

Year of Projects Update

Sundays seem to be coming around very quickly these days and so its time for my weekly update on the Year of Projects blog-along.

I think the only item from my list that I completed this week was another pair of black fingerless gloves for one of my daughter's work colleagues. Just have one more pair of black ones to do and those orders will be finished. Two more scarves are ready for delivery which leaves only one more of those to do also. This first pic is the Katia Triana Lux scarf ..

Next is the Rizos which knits up nicely but let me warn you - if you ever decide to make one of these scarves, DO NOT wind the 'yarn' into a ball as I did with the first one I made. I probably spent more time untwisting that so-and-so stuff than actually knitting it. It comes in a hank so remove the cat from the room and just put the yarn on the floor and work it from there. It only takes a couple of hours to make the scarf.

Here's what the Rizos looks like - you just knit into every second hole at the top.

Being thoroughly 'pussed off' Madison was forced to find something else to do while I knitted - life's hard at times isn't it?

The only other things I made this week were a few baby hats for charity.

Next week? That other pair of fingerless gloves and hopefully some significant progress on a baby blanket that I must have finished soon.

Till next time, enjoy what you do and please leave a note to let me know you dropped by to visit.

Ondas Scarf

As promised in yesterday's post, here are a couple of pics of the Katia Ondas scarf I finished on the weekend.

It was hard to get the exact colour under artificial light but this is fairly close to what it looks like. The yarn is very soft and silky to feel. I have another three scarves to make for this lady - one more in Rizos and two in Triana, then I think I'll have a little break before making the other 5 scarves from the 6 balls of different Katia yarns that my daughter gave me for my birthday. So far I've only made one for myself.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the week.