FO's and a Grand Day Out

Over the past week I seem to have hit a bit of a hiatus where making things is concerned. This wasn't helped by my contracting a really revolting head cold, which doesn't show any signs of going away and has turned my brain to mush. So I decided to make something straightforward and mindless, that I could knit without thinking too much.

I finished knitting a green version of Woolly Wormhead's Limpetiole beret a couple of weeks ago and wanted to make a scarf to go with it. I looked through Ravelry and my own books and magazines and could not find anything that I liked so I decided to improvise my own pattern. The scarf incorporates half a skein of Manos del Uruguay, left over from knitting the hat, with some scraps of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and some Mirasol Tupa. I am not going to pretend that this scarf is a completely original idea. There are lots of ready made scarves in the shops, and a few patterns where the scarf is made lengthwise but most of them use linen or herringbone stitch. I decided to make mine entirely in garter stitch.

If you are interested in making your own version this is what I did -

Materials
Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend - 80 grams (Shade 7325)
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino - 60 grams (Shade 340016)
Mirasol Tupa - 50 grams (Shade 817)
5mm circular needle (at least 120 cm long - 47 inches long)

Finished dimensions - 6 inches (15 cm) wide and 65 inches (165 cms) long, excluding the fringe

Making the scarf
Cast on 260 stitches using a long tailed or similar stretchy cast-on. Working in garter stitch knit the following sequence -

Cashmerino - 4 rows
Manos del Uruguay - 4 rows
Tupa - 4 rows

I repeated the above sequence 5 times and then ended with 4 rows of Cashmerino. I deliberately left 8 inch tails, rather than darning them in, when joining in and breaking off yarn which were later incorporated into the fringe. I cast off with the 5mm needles but very loosely.

To make the fringe I cut 16 inch lengths of yarn in all three colours. I put one strand of each colour together and folded them in half. Then, using a crochet hook, I pulled the loop through the edge of the scarf where two colours join and pulled the strands through the loop to make a half-hitch knot. I repeated this on both ends of the scarf. I then trimmed the ends level and it was ready to wear. I did not need to block it.

You can experiment with different colour combinations and numbers of rows, using whatever scraps of yarn you have to hand. One side of my scarf is striped and the other has a more blended effect. I really love the effect of the two next to each other when the scarf is wrapped around my neck. Of course you can also make it shorter or longer, and vary the width. Whatever yarn you choose I would recommend using a needles one or two sizes larger than normally recommended for the yarn to give it a nice drape. My finished scarf is soft and squishy and very warm. I love it!

I wore it on Saturday when we went to Salisbury. It was bitterly cold and I was glad of my new scarf and the Limpetiole hat too. We had a really good day, despite my cold and the fact that my leg was rather painful by the time we got on the bus to come home. We went to one of our favourite places in Salisbury, Fisherton Mill. They sell beautiful items created by local craftspeople and the upper level includes workshops occupied by a jeweller, a milliner and a weaver plus an art gallery. They also have a great cafe which sells wonderful home cooked food. We both had a bowl of their lovely carrot, coriander and lentil soup served with freshly baked bread. Just what we needed on such a raw day. Afterwards we paid a visit to Franklins in Fisherton Street where I bought some King Cole Baby Alpaca DK in a lovely shade of green, called Lichen, to make some gloves.

My final port of call was Bijoux Beads on the edge of the Market Square where I bought some beautiful beads and some thread - more of that in my next post.

Happy New Year

I am only too glad to be saying goodbye to 2010 and starting a new year afresh. The last twelve months has seen us sadly losing two family members and a major health challenge for me. I am not normally one to make resolutions but this year I have broken with this and resolved to face the year ahead with optimism.

Christmas turned out to be very stressful as my Mother was taken seriously ill on Christmas Eve. What was originally thought to be a heart attack turned out to be blood clots on her lungs, a complication from recent surgery. Luckily it was caught before it could become life threatening and she is receiving treatment. She was a bit annoyed at being forced to spend the Christmas period in hospital but to my delight she was discharged on New Year's Eve. The hospital staff were great, doing their best to make Christmas fun. She enjoyed lots of festive food and even went to a carol service on Christmas morning in the hospital chapel. She will need many months of treatment and careful monitoring but she is on the mend.

I had been looking forward to time off over Christmas after a long and stressful three months at work. I had a list of projects to make and things that I wanted to do. Instead I found myself on an emotional roller coaster. The result was that I didn't achieve anything. I feel as if I need another week off to recover!

It has not been all bad. I have had some quality time with my OH and time with friends. On Boxing Day we went for a walk by the sea. The pictures above don't really give a sense of how cold it was. I was well wrapped up but my face was completely numb by the time we finished walking. However, it did give my OH an opportunity to play with his new camera and it gives you a good view of my hand knitted hat. It is 'Rose Red' by Ysolda Teague, knitted in Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend yarn. It is super cosy as I can pull it down over my ears so I have been wearing it very frequently over the past few weeks.

I know it is usual to take some time to look back over my achievements during the past twelve months. I am not going to do that instead I want to draw a line under 2010 and look forward rather than dwelling on the past.

Short Break

I will be taking a short break from blogging until the New Year. Unfortunately life is a bit difficult at the moment and I need to divert my attention elsewhere for a while.

My Mother has been taken seriously ill and will be spending Christmas in hospital.

I hope to return in the New Year. Have a really Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Christmas!

Today was not a good day in some ways. I woke up in pain and the bitterly cold weather has moved in again. We managed to go out and do some food shopping on Saturday but the journey back from the shops was stressful. We faced a 10 minute walk on sheets of ice and compacted snow to get home. My OH was great as usual and carried most of the shopping bags. He went out again in the snow today to get a couple of things that we had forgotten to buy. On his way back home he fell heavily on the ice. Luckily he only suffered some bruises and did not break any bones.

This weekend has had its good points too though. My OH made a lovely lemon drizzle cake to cheer us both up. Also he spotted some yarn for sale in a local charity shop. On investigation I discovered a bag of very good quality chunky yarn, enough to make a sweater, and a skein of hand dyed double knitting wool. I bought both for just a few pounds.

This afternoon I sat down to write the last of my Christmas cards. However, I discovered that I was a bit low on cards so decided to make some of my own. During my various City & Guilds courses over the past 5 years I have collected quite a range of paper, card, ribbons, beads and sequins. Now seemed like a good time to delve in that stash and do something useful with it. So I sat at the dining table in my living room and made some cards. It was quite strange sitting there creating Christmas greetings with the snow falling steadily outside, but strangely comforting at the same time. The resulting cards would not win any prizes but I am quite pleased with the way they turned out. I only hope that they get to their respective recipients in time for Christmas.

Knitted hats and other cosy things...

Following a suggestion by Crafty Cripple I have attempted to recharge my creative batteries over the last few days. I have been browsing through Ravelry and also through my yarn stash. It is small by most knitter's standards but big enough for my very small flat. It was great to sit and look through my collection. Many of the skeins have been purchased on special days out with my OH and dear friends so it was soothing to think back to where and when I bought each one.

I came across two skeins of Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend in a lovely mix of blues and greens and some Malabrigo Worsted in a glorious purple colour called Velvet Grapes. With the bad weather approaching again I am now knitting a hat with the Silk Blend. It is a Woolly Wormhead pattern called Limpetiole. I hopefully should have enough left over to make a scarf.



Limpetiole by the lovely Woolly Wormhead

As for the Malabrigo it will probably become a shawl/wrap. I have had Hawthorne by Susanna IC in my Ravelry Library for a while now and the Malbrigo would be perfect. The only worry is whether I have enough of it. Oh dear, another excuse to buy more yarn!

Hawthorne by Susanna IC at Twist Collective

On the beading front I have just received the latest copy of Interweave Beadwork. So I plan to settle down tomorrow evening with a mug of hot chocolate and have a browse. So watch this space!

What shall I bead next?

For some reason this past week has been a bit of a struggle. I have found the cold weather particularly hard to cope with. Probably as a result of this I have found myself completely demotivated when it comes to my beadwork. I am finishing a couple of things but cannot really get inspiration for anything new. Hopefully this is just a temporary state of affairs. I am going to spend the next few days looking at my beading books and magazines to see if that sparks any ideas.

I normally have some knitting in my bag and try to knit a few rows in spare moments such as during my lunch break. I usually have a sock, hat or pair of gloves on my needles. However I also seem to have run out of steam where my knitting is concerned.

Maybe a break for a few days will re-energise me!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

We have been very lucky in my part of Southern England recently and missed out on the snow, that is until Thursday. We woke up to find everything covered in a white blanket. It looked just like a Christmas card and was a complete surprise. It continued to snow quite heavily during the day. We apparently have our own micro-climate in Bournemouth, due to the proximity of the Isle of Wight. It is very rare for us to get snow here, at least snow that settles on the ground.

I was unable to get to work as I rely on public transport a lot of the time and lifts to work from a kind friend. She was unable to get her car out of her drive and I did not think that I could cope with the long walk. It would normally take me nearly an hour to walk to work in normal weather conditions so I dread to think how long it would take me in deep snow. Two of my friends who live nearby put me to shame by making the effort to walk. I know it sounds really feeble but I have problems with my left leg at the moment so like many others I worked from home. I am glad that I did as a bit later in the day the decision was made to close the University. I am fairly new to the wonders of broadband Internet access but it was great to be able to read my emails, work on a presentation and also help by staffing our online Chat service, all from the warmth of my living room. All due to the wonders of technology.

This is the scene that greeted us when we woke up.

After several hours of steady snow fall this was the view from my kitchen window.

The poem 'London Snow' by Robert Bridges sums it up completely -

'When men were all asleep the snow came flying,
In large white flakes falling on the city brown,
Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying,
Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town;
Deadening, muffling, stifling its murmurs failing;
Lazily and incessantly floating down and down:
Silently sifting and veiling road, roof and railing;
Hiding difference, making unevenness even,
Into angles and crevices softly drifting and sailing.
All night it fell, and when full inches seven
It lay in the depth of its uncompacted lightness,
The clouds blew off from a high and frosty heaven;
And all woke earlier for the unaccustomed brightness
Of the winter dawning, the strange unheavenly glare:
The eye marvelled - marvelled at the dazzling whiteness;
The ear hearkened to the stillness of the solemn air;
No sound of wheel rumbling nor of foot falling,
And the busy morning cries came thin and spare...'

I first read this at school and growing up in the far South West of England, kept warm by the Gulf Stream, I had never experienced heavy snow, and it was very hard to imagine. Looking out at the scene on Thursday morning I was reminded of his vivid description. When I went out to take these pictures the normally busy road was eerily silent

And finally a picture of a gorgeous cake that my OH made for my Birthday (the strange round things on the top are Maltezers). Another reason to cheer up and forget about the winter weather. As one of my friends says 'There is never a bad time to eat cake!'