Finally I've made something - my Miette cardigan

This post has been a long time coming... It's been nearly three months since I last blogged! 

It's not because I haven't bothered to make anything. It's because I've not been up to making much recently due to feeling unwell.

I started knitting the Miette cardigan back in October with a deadline for the New Year, but alas I had to stop working on it for two months over winter as it was taking all my strength just to go to work and back. Most nights I was fast asleep on the sofa by 7 o' clock!

Luckily I started feeling a bit better a couple of weeks ago so I finally have a finished garment to show. And I am so chuffed with it - my first, proper knitted garment!

I made a few modifications with the help of Gail from gksagenda - without her, I don't think I'd have even got past the first few rows so a big, fat THANK YOU!! And thanks also to Jo from makingitwell for the inspiration and tips!

- I moved the bust darts to the side seams (I'm very glad I did this as I think it may have looked a bit weird worn unbuttoned with the "bust cups" on show!)

- I lengthened the body and the sleeves a little (I wish I'd made the sleeves longer; even tho I tried it on as I went along and thought they were full length, they've turned out to be three quarter length)

- I did plain 2x2 rib rather than the twisted rib in the pattern

I learnt so much new stuff doing this - new stitches, how to make buttonholes, how to make changes by calculating the differences between what the pattern recommends for gauge and what I actually knit, how to use DPNs (double pointed needles), how to steam block and lots of other new techniques.

Talking of buttonholes, I made them just as told only to find that the cardi doesn't actually do up as it's a teeeeny bit tight across the bust. Oops! So I only put the top button on. To be honest, it doesn't matter a jot as I never wear cardis done up anyway.

I love this cardigan, it's great for wearing with dresses and skirts and very comfy. I think I will almost certainly be making another one in a different colour! Oh yes, the yarn is Kirkton House aran weight, funnily enough from Aldi of all places!!

Right now I'm making myself a new hot water bottle cover (my current one is a bit holey) while I wait for some yarn to arrive. Kat and I are going to do a little knitalong together next month using the awesome o w l s jumper pattern from Kate Davies. If anyone else fancies joining in, let us know!

At some point I will do some sewing too but I'm easing myself back into crafting with knitting at the mo... I have some plans which I will share over the coming months!

Itty bitty kitty booties

My friend's baby came early. By about 3 and a half weeks. I hadn't even started knitting the booties that I had planned, thinking I had loads of time, the baby was bound to be late, right?, seeing as it was her first... How wrong I was! So I had to rush. And I made mistakes and had to start again. And again.

The pattern is a freebie on Ravelry and lots of people have made it already. Everyone said theirs turned out way smaller than they thought - as in too small for a baby and only just big enough for dolls! So for my first attempt, a practice run, I tried bigger needles and Aran weight yarn. I only did a few rows and thought, "this looks great, I'll start the proper ones now". Or, as the case may be, I didn't think...

I used a lovely green tweedy yarn with flecks of pink. Gorgeous. And 5.5mm needles. No, I don't know why either - I'm a newbie, I wasn't thinking! I got two thirds of the way through knitting the first boot and realised it would end up being big enough for a two year old! I had to frog...

For the final attempt, I switched to 4mm needles and the result is so much better. The buttons are my favourite bit - tiny, little, pink kitty faces that perfectly match the pink flecks in the yarn. They were only 15p each from the rag market!

How cute are they? I'll definitely be making more, they're perfect for new baby gifts.

Now to get back to my cardi...

MIA again

This is just a very quick check in. I've not had much time to do anything much these past few weeks. But I thought I'd upload a couple of wip photos. I'm afraid I'm going to have to neglect my blog for a while longer but I am keeping a sneaky little eye on everyone else's to keep the creative juices flowing! Hope to be back soon(ish) xx

Miette cardi

Brasilia dress pattern testing

Knitter's paradise

Simple boot toppers - chunky

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of wool

I take a look at my life and realise it's so full

Cos I been sewin' and quiltin' so long

That even my hubby thinks that my mind has gone

Baby booties for my friend's newborn

But I ain't never crossed a yarn that didn't deserve it
A newbie like me, it's all about the 'crylic

I better watch how I'm slippin' and how I'm purlin'

And get myself used to those blasted DPNs

Oats cowl for me in Merino wool

I really hate to tink but I gotta, yo

As it unravels I see myself goin' with the flow, fool

It's the kind of K all the crafters wanna do, like

With my circs in my hand try-na knit in the moonlight...

Gauge swatch for Miette cardi

The hunt for Red October...

...is over!

Thanks to tabathatweedie, I discovered that I'd inadvertently joined in with a sewcialist sewalong!

I don't use twitter - it's as much as I can do to keep up with blogging, Ravelry, Facebook, Instagram and, well, real life let alone another social media platform! So I've been blissfully unaware of twitterings about red being a neutral colour.... And all the while, I've been making my own little neutral dress...

 

At our mini meetup a few weeks ago, Amy brought along her Belladone pattern for me to peek at and Helen kindly gave me some amazeballs fabric that she had spare. And although I hadn't planned it, I was so excited about the combo that I immediately set to work!

I did have a few teeny tiny problems along the way. But only because I'm stupid and got the right and wrong sides of the fabric mixed up...

Oops, wrong way round!

 

By this point, I'd already bound the seams so I spent ages ripping everything out and redoing. Annoy-ing.

Much better

 

After that though, it was pretty much plain sailing. I've never used so much bias binding in my life - 10m!! I wanted the inside to be as nice as the outside seeing as I couldn't be bothered didn't want to line it.

How cute is the back cut out detail? It really makes this dress special. But it's not indecently big or low so you can still wear a normal bra - win! What a shame it's turning colder now though, I'll be covering it up with a cardi over the winter. I can't wait to wear it by itself next summer to show the diamond off now!



There's only one thing that I'm not one hundred percent happy with - the stormtrooper shoulders make a return again...

 

I know I'm late on the Belladone bandwagon but this is an awesome dress! Eleonore has done it again with a fabulously easy-to-follow pattern that makes it a pleasure to sew. And the finished dress is brilliant!

 

Sorry about the quality of these photos - my laptop isn't working so I've had to do the whole post on my phone which makes for rubbish photo clarity.

Also, I was sorry to hear that the author of The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy, passed away yesterday, hence the inspiration for the title...