A hat, a scarf and a commission :-)

Welcome to my Fibre Arts Friday! I've got a few things to share this week, first up is a flat cap I knitted for Jelly who is playing Dickon from The Secret Garden in his school play. The rest of the costume was easy, or so we thought... as it turned out, the boy did not possess a single pair of trousers that are not jeans, trackies or combats. And he couldn't raid his brother's wardrobe because they are not the same shape. Luckily we found some in Savers, and we managed to find a nice waistcoat from another charity shop, so we are good.

Anyway, the flat cap. The pattern is Morgan from Knitty Fall 2008. It it a relatively simple pattern, you start from the centre and gradually increase out, the front of the cap is shaped via irregular increases. But once you are done with the main knitting the rest of the shaping is a bit fiddly but not difficult. The pattern called for two popper fastenings to hold down the top of the cap, but I didn't like the way it looked so I took those out and sewn the front edge to the peak instead. It's looks much better this way, I think.

The photo was taken in haste before school on the day the costumes were due in... the boy desperately needs a haircut!

I can definitely say I have caught the weaving bug! I finished my second scarf, this time using my handspun. You might remember sometime last year when I was exploring dyeing and carding, I made some hand carded batts called "I dream of Monet", I used the yarn spun from that for the weft and a commercial sock yarn for the warp.

Oh and I finished the spinning commission I took from the Gisborne market, I was quite nervous while spinning it, hoping that I wouldn't mess it up. I think it came out alright :-)

Before I sign off, Cat & Sparrow is running a promotion on Facebook for 10% off everything in our Etsy shop. Just click on the Facebook link to get the Coupon Code. For folks on the other side of the planet, the exchange rate with Aussie dollars will work in your favour at the moment ;-)

Thanks for dropping by, there is more fibre arts fun at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Indulge your creative side and join the party!

A Felted Hat

Welcome to Fibre Arts Friday :)  Today's post is short and sweet, I'm showing you a felted hat. You might have heard me say before, I don't wear hats because I look hideous in a hat. So why am I making another hat? Maybe I was thinking of our trip to England and USA later in the year, who knows! But here it is...

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry, pattern page is here. The knitting was easy and it looked like this before felting:

Then I just threw it in the washing machine and washed it with some towels, then shaped with... you guessed it - a mixing bowl! But I'm not too happy about the brim, it looks a bit flimsy, and it feels a bit flimsy. I don't know what to do about that. Also, I'd like to add some embellishment with needle felting, but I can't decide on a pattern, or possibly I'm just too chicken to make a mess.

Remember Tricky Tricsi the little cardigan I was making for my goddaughter? I frogged it because it came out a bit small due to the thinner yarn than recommended and me messing up with maths.... well I started it again and I am almost done with the sleeves shaping, so hopefully I will have something to show you soon. Stay tuned...

Thanks for dropping by, there is more fibre arts fun at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Indulge your creative side and join the party!

Hats!

Happy Fibre Arts Friday! Today's post is all about hats. First up is the Hand Dyed Rikke Hat that I started last week, it's finished and I'm really happy with it.

My tension is larger than the pattern called for, it stands at 19sts/10cm as opposed to 22st/10cm, so I only cast on 86 stitches. Which was just as well because I nearly run out of yarn!

I need to get a hat model at some stage, but for now you will have to be content with my mixing bowl ;)  This is a really simple pattern and knits up quickly, I'm not a hat person normally but I love this one. If you are looking for the pattern it can be found here.

The second hat is a baby one, another quick make. The Aviatrix Baby Hat has been in my queue for a long time and finally I got to make it.

I love it because it's made on two needles. To use an Aussie term, it is Easy As!

Please excuse the kitchen roll, I couldn't find a more suitable prop. The hat is intended for a friend's new baby boy, just hope I get to meet the little chap before he grows too big.

Oh I can happily report that the trial is finally over, yay! Now I can spend more time with my needles, hooks and spinning wheel... but wait, I've got one assignment that is overdue and another due in three weeks' time... oh bother! At least I can knit while reading ;)

In case anyone is interested in finding out what is like to be an interpreter, I just started An Interpreter's Diary here.

Thanks for dropping by, there is more fibre arts fun at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Indulge your creative side and join the party!

Hand Dyed Rikke Hat

Welcome to another Fibre Arts Friday!  I am still in the mindless projects only phase, this week I'm showing you a very simple hat that is in progress. It's the Rikke Hat by Sarah Young, pattern available for free on Ravelry.

I'm using a skein of unknown yarn from my stash that I dyed sometime ago with KoolAid. I wasn't too sure about it when it came out the dye pot so it's been sitting in my stash...

When I was looking for the perfect yarn for the Rikke Hat this skein screamed at me and practically jumped into my hands, so here it is...

It's a bit hard to get the true colour which is somewhere between the two photos. The pattern itself is very easy although some might say that knitting garter stitch in the round is a bit tiresome, but it is a mindless project regardless which is what I need right now (No, the trial is still not finished but the end is in sight, really!). I also learnt to do the German twisted cast on as recommended by the pattern for a more stretchy edge. There are many videos showing how to do this on YouTube, I followed the instructions by TheKnitWitch.

Now show us what you've been doing in the wonderful fibre arts world :)

Thanks for dropping by, there is more fibre arts fun at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Indulge your creative side and join the party!

I'm a lucky winner, and some FOs :)

I received an email during the week from the wonderful Denise of Voie de Vie that I was one of the lucky winners to receive her new eBook: Accessories: Autumn 2012. This was such a lovely surprise I was over the moon! All the designs in this collection are gorgeous but I'm particularly taken with the Piaf Scarf and the Enveloped Cowl. I can't think of any yarn in my stash that I want to use for these projects (naturally!), but hey, I can spin now! So I'm going to spin some yarn, maybe home dye too, off to the drawing board to make plans... will report back later :)

On the knitting front I managed to finish couple of projects, a sideways jacket for my aunt and a hat for my goddaughter.

Sideways Jacket:

Hat for Ericka using my rainbow dyed yarn :)

That's it from me this week! Thanks for dropping by, there is more fibre arts fun at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Indulge your creative side and join the party!

Millgrove Sideways Gloves and Hat

When JJ brought back the list of items he needed for his camp to Millgrove a week before he was due to leave, I nearly had a heart attack - on the list there were specific requests for a woollen jumper, woollen gloves and a woollen hat. Whilst I have been a knitting addict for the last 3/4 years I have never made any pure woollen items for my own children, partially there doesn't seem to be the need for these in Melbourne... Okey it does get cold here but the boys are happy with their fleeces which can be easily washed and dried... Anyway, the note says ALL items on the list are MUST, and woollen clothing was especially chosen for its ability to keep warm when wet and the note says they WILL get wet. OK, fair enough, but how on earth am I going to finish a woollen jumper, a pair of gloves and a hat all in a week? Luckily the old man had a flash of brilliance (he does that occasionally) - the Savers! Indeed it saved us,  luckily we were able to find a 100% woollen jumper that not only fit him but also got his nod of approval, which was a huge relief for me as I was psyching myself up for a week long super knitting marathon. We weren't so lucky at finding the gloves and hat, but I was confident that these were more manageable.

I remembered seeing gloves made sideways on Ravelry and thought they would be a better choice as I didn't fancy fiddling with making fingers when under time pressure, so I chose this sideways gloves pattern and cast on using some sock yarn from my stash. The glove pieces took 5 days to knit and 1 day to sew up, I really enjoyed making them as the instructions are clear and simple and the construction ingenious. In fact I think I will be making more of these for my charity knitting this year. The hat only took one day to crochet, I didn't use a pattern but mildly based the design on this sideways hat.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the results and JJ was nonchalant as usual, oh well, what can you expect from teenage boys!

The finished items:

Millgrove Sideways Gloves

Millgrove Sideways Hat

 

Race for Life Chemo Cap + 1 more

Christmas is an occasion for rejoice and celebration, and being so far away from our family and friends we especially looking forward to the Christmas cards coming from different parts of the world. Among the cards however we received some not so happy news, my DH's cousin Bridget was made redundant earlier this year, then to add to the blow she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She said in her letter that she's already been through one lot of chemo and has lost her hair, and she's due to have a second round in February. My heart went out to her and her young family, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she will pull through this. Being seven thousand miles away from Bridget there is little we could do to help, but I am a knitter/crocheter and I think that's how I could show my support so I made these:

Race for Life Chemo Cap

Crochet Chemo Hat

The top one is knitted in a wool/cashmere blend and the bottom one is crocheted in a merino blend, both are very soft to the touch, I'm very pleased with how they come out (the photos really don't do their justice, but I am terrible at photography). The caps are now being posted to England and I hope they would fit, but most of all, I hope Bridget will win her battle.