Peggy Sue in Bamboo

I love this pattern, Peggy Sue by Linda Wilgus (free download on ravelry).



I've made it in Sirdar Baby Bamboo (80% bamboo, 20% wool DK) for my daughter, in the size XS with a few judicious additions and operator errors alternate design decisions. It took only 5 balls, with mere centimetres of yarn left over, so I am feeling very thrifty about it all.



Most of my changes were at the back. This cardigan is knitted from the top down, and as written has a very straight neckline. In order for the neckline to sit higher at the back than at the front, I added 10 short rows, tapering at the sleeve increases at the back.



I also found the cardigan to be a little tight for my daughter across the back (the advantage of knitting from the top down is trying-on opportunities), so added a few stitches here also.

In the pattern, the waist cabling starts at the bottom of the ribs. I was knitting away merrily in stocking stitch on automatic pilot and failed to refer adequately to my pattern at a crucial moment. This means that I had knit nearly 9 inches of stocking stitch instead of about 9 cm, so my waist cabling is a little shallow, due to a dislike of frogging perfectly good knitting.

This does not bother me particularly, as I still think the cardigan looks great - with jeans, shorts or even with office clothes.

 

The Slightly Slouchy Beanie

I made this hat as a thank you gift for a friend who loves the outdoors. She hikes, and cycles all the time , does a lot of travelling, and does not wear anything fluffy or frilly – or, as far as I can tell, patterned .I wanted a hat that fit her practical needs, including being light and small to pack, but did not look like something only a bloke would wear.

 Fortunately for me, she not only said all the right things when I gave it to her, but a few weeks later told me how much she had been wearing it, so either I have been successful with my pattern, or she is very kind and has extremely good manners – or both. Even better, it was relatively quick to knit, and was a good use for some of my large stash of sock yarn. 
I used Heirloom Jigsaw sock yarn and Patonyle sock yarn for the contrast brim. The self patterning Jigsaw yarn  makes a nice non repeating variegated yarn as a beanie.

I am planning on putting this pattern up for free on Ravelry  - once I have some test knitting done. 

The Green Vest

This vest started out as a version of the DK vest from Jo Sharp Knit, issue 10, but unfortunately, I was only a few rows into the garter stitch rib, when I succumbed to the pleas of a customer and sold her my shop copy, after a rush on the magazine caught us all sold out.

 I quite fancy the garter stitch rib, which is simple to knit, looks pretty, but lacks the recovery of a more standard 2x2 rib.
 At this point, the vest construction started to deviate from my memory of the pattern The vest was looking rather big and boxy, so I added some more of the garter stitch ribbing to the sides in an attempt to add some shaping.
 
In retrospect, I should have added some more ribbing, or used regular 2x2 ribbing, as the vest is still a bit boxy.

By the time I came to the neck, I had decided on a v neck, rather than the round neck in the pattern, thinking I would like to wear it over a blouse with a stand and collar. I was quite happy with how this turned out.
Unfortunately, finishing the vest caused a little problem. I asked my daughter to model it for the blog, and now she won't give it back.
 Classic Double Knit Wool in shade 002, Pistachio. At least this will give me a chance to do some fitting tweaks on the next one.

The Anita Cable Wrap

It has been so cold and frosty here lately. I have been wearing this snuggly wrap nearly every morning, and remembered today that I had somehow forgotten to write a post about it. This wrap is an updated version of my Anita Wrap pattern. I have added a simple cable to the wide rib panels, and used the more budget friendly, but still luscious, Aslan Trends Guanaco, with a little Japanese variegated mohair to enliven the tassels. As Guanaco is 12ply, this knits up relatively quickly. I might need another one in a different colour.

Sock Class starting Monday 25th June

Here are some of the samples I have been knitting for the next class series, Sock Knitting 1 There are a few classes running at Stitch Bliss at the moment, and I have been asked by some people who have missed out to put forthcoming classes on the blog, rather than just advertising them in the shop for locals. This next class is a 3 session series, starting on Monday 25th June 3.30pm-5.00pm, running fortnightly (there is a bit of homework between each class). There is one space remaining in this class. The class is intended for knitters who can cast on, knit and purl confidently. Topics covered will generally cover: knitting in the round, the effect of stitch count on self patterning yarns, managing pooling with stitch patterns, reinforced stitching, heel flap construction, heel turning, picking up stitches, gusset shaping, and kitchener stitch for finishing - topics may vary according to the interests of participants. The class is not suitable for complete beginner knitters.

At the show

Our local quilt and craft show, put on by Rotary for the benefit of local charities (warm fuzzy) was in the first weekend of June, and despite having no ability at all at quilting, StitchBliss was there having a terrific time. (I greatly admire the quilts made by other people).
I have finally caught up enough in the shop to tell you about the show.
First let me display our stall.

This was taken on day 2, when we were a little tired and possibly disarranged, but you can see the idea - lots of easy quick projects to appeal to the knitter in every quilter ;). There were also a few luxurious temptations for the more involved lover of textiles.
It was terrific to see so many local crafters.
We did a bit of craft ourselves.

These dyed silk scarves were made at a workshop by Genesis Creations. I am giving these ladies a plug here, as my daughter and I very much enjoyed the workshop (we took turns minding the stall), and we truly meant to go back and buy some of the dye kits, but ran out of time. That is the problem with having to actually work at one of these shows! Now we will have to pay postage, sigh....

I also came across some rather peculiar ideas at the show.
I am familiar with the "I don't knit" idea. Strange, yes, ;)  but not everyone likes the same things. It did strike me that these non knitters seemed to particularly enjoy patting all the luscious yarns - clearly they are missing out on tactile experiences....
However the most peculiar idea I came across at the show was in an early morning conversation with a fellow stallholder. This very organised fellow came over to our stall whilst we were setting up and said to me "My wife used to knit"
I made some sort of  non-commital response.
"She used to knit all the time, until I said -'no more knitting'"
I must have looked quite taken aback, as he was quick to qualify this statement
"She wasn't getting anything else done, and we had enough knitting"
Now what can the owner of a yarn shop say to that?
The man went on to comment. "I saw you knitting yesterday, you are very slow"
Hmmmm
I agreed. I do knit  more slowly than some people, but this doesn't bother me . To me knitting is just as much about enjoying the process as it is about enjoying the product. I felt very sorry for this man's wife. It would be difficult to be married to someone who felt that your creative outlet was a waste of time. (This fellow was selling his own creative outlet, which made his lack of appreciation of knitting seem even more peculiar)
What do you think?
I admit, it would have been nice to knit faster when I was trying to get all the samples ready for the show.

Scarf Series 6: Cocoon Stitch Scarf in Invernal

This stitch pattern is called "repeated ovals" in the Harmony Guide to Cable and Aran Stitches but I much prefer the Cocoon name that I have heard since the stitch was used in Contemporary Irish Knits under that name. I have changed the decreasing slightly from the Harmony version, to make my needle wielding easier when knitting in the flat!



This scarf uses one and 1/3 skiens of Invernal (angora rabbit and merino wool w ith some polyamide) and 4mm needles. It is a very soft yarn, but I think it shows the stitch pattern quite well.