Sunday 12 August 2012

Mitts and Winner//Ravellenic Games, Knit Nerds

I finished the mitts (wooot). What do you think? I took mitt 1 apart because I hated the strap across the front - it didn't work with the yarn and it was a little uncomfortable. I love the mitts, they are super cute and will work really well for winter. I'm so pleased, that's 4 projects over the course of the Olympics, I'm sad to see it end but kind of glad to get myself back to my other projects - I plan to finish at least 1 of my WIP's before starting something new.
In other news........ I got my lovely wife to choose a number between 1 and 31 at random (a few people commented twice so those entries were removed) and she chose............

NUMBER  12 which is Minxy of MinxyMakes; Minxy if you could contact me on ravelry within the next week with your contact details that would be great :D and I'll pass them on to Kate. Once again thank you to all who entered, it was nice to see such a positive response.

Have a knitty closing ceremony, V xo

Saturday 11 August 2012

Modular Relay//Ravellenic Games

 You see the 5 squares on the right of the top photo? They just won me a medal in the ravellenic games - I decided to work on some more squares for my Come Josephine afghan - so now I have 20, therefore I am a 5th of the way in. It's so exciting!!!
This photo was just for fun, just to see how well the colours work together, what do you think? I'll have alot of cream squares in there too.
Have a knitty weekend,
V xo

Friday 10 August 2012

Lenny the Elephant//FO Friday

I finally finished Lenny!!!!! Isn't he a cutie? I knit him using 100% merino candy skein yarn - it's so delicious and worked really well for this:
 I'm not keeping Lenny, he's already gone to his new home with a baby named Aaron; he has been welcomed with open arms and is already so loved. I hope he goes on to become a well loved toy. Here he is with his special welcoming tag ready to go:
I would definitely knit another one of these, infact I'm thinking about knitting one for myself, I loved knitting it so much. I've got more of Rebecca Danger's gorgeous patterns in my queue, I think I'm making a dinosaur next!!!
What have you been finishing this week?
V xo

Thursday 9 August 2012

Chunky Hat//Ravellenic Games

I decided to do up a quick knit for the Ravellenic Games, I had a wee look through my queue on Ravelry and decided on a chunky hat - it's quick, it's easy and I'm into hats right now. What do you think? Isn't she lovely? I love the yarn I used for this, it's so squishy, I managed to use just 1 ball - it was quite tight but I got there. The only sad thing is this hat is supposed to be slouchy, but it's definitely not on me - maybe my head is too big? LOL. I still love the hat and I will wear it but more in autumn than winter.
V xo
PS - check back tomorrow for a little look at Lenny!!!

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Fable Mitts//WIP Wednesday

I only have one WIP to share with you today as I have 2 finished objects - yup 2!!! I'll be sharing one tomorrow as part of the Ravellenic Games but the other will wait until Friday - yup that's right, Lenny the Elephant is finished.

Anyways here is my WIP for right now:
I'm still working on my Fable fingerless mitts, they are going well - one is completely finished and just needs blocked and the 2nd one is on the way. I'm loving this yarn too, it's scrummy and soft - I almost can't wait until winter to try them out.

What are you working on right now? I'm playing along with Ginny and Tami this week, go check out what everyone else is working on.
V xo

Remember to check out the interview and giveaway by the lovely Kate Heppell (editor of Knit Now magazine), on the blog RIGHT NOW.........

Monday 6 August 2012

Kate Heppell/Knit Nerds

This week for Knit Nerds, I've managed to get the lovely Kate Heppell who is the editor of Knit Now magazine; Kate has been editing for just over a year but knitting for a good portion of her life. Here she is:



1.How long have you been knitting and who taught you?
I’ve been knitting since I was about 11. There was a project at school to knit a bear to send off to a charity somewhere, so we all had to learn. I was staying with my Nanny Sylvia (my mum’s mum) and Grandma Alice (Sylvia’s mum) at the time, and they take joint credit for the teaching. Grandma Alice should actually take most of the credit for the actual knitting too – I was very very slow so she had to finish my bear for me! After that, I dipped in and out of knitting for a few years but really got going properly when I was at uni, and I’ve not looked back since.

2.What is your favourite thing to knit?
This changes all the time. At the minute, I love stranded knits. I made Kate Davies’ Sheepheid at Christmas and that was so much fun. I’m slightly allergic to sheepy (as in, quite raw and still full of lanolin!) wool though, so that did get in the way of my enjoyment a bit.



3.Who is your biggest knitting inspiration?
I have a huge amount of respect for Woolly Wormhead. She’s a super-talented designer and also a fantastic human being. But when I grow up, I want to be Shannon Okey (of Knitgrrl/Co-op Press/all-round-awesomeness fame).

4.What is your favourite finished object of your own?
I’m really proud of my Batik (Kitman Figueroa), which I knit in some gorgeous Dream in Colour yarn that I picked up at iKnit London. I’m usually a bit of a slob with my knitting, but for this one I forced myself to rip back and fix any mistakes and I’m so glad that I did because it’s absolutely perfect. I loved it because it’s knit bottom-up, so you start with the long rows (when your enthusiasm is at its peak) and the rows keep getting shorter and shorter, faster and faster!
On the other hand, the FO which sees the most wear is probably my Everglade (Woolly Wormhead). It’s knit in Sirdar Escape DK which is completely indestructible, it’s worn and worn for years and is still perfect. I love the way the leaves gradually get smaller up to the crown, such a clever design – and it was part of one of Woolly’s Mystery KALs, so watching it grow without knowing how it would turn out was loads of fun.



5.What inspired you to become the Editor of Knit Now magazine?
I was in a relatively boring job in communications in the NHS when I was contacted by Practical Publishing and asked to send in my CV. I didn’t think I stood much of a chance, but I was really passionate about knitting, and writing – and pretty organised – so I gave it my best shot. Two telephone interviews and one (very long!) face-to-face interview later, and I was offered the job. That was just over a year ago now, and I’ve not looked back. I do have a lot of respect for some of the other magazines on the market, but I think there’s room for something younger and fresher.
I’ve never been much of a garment knitter myself, so the concept of Knit Now, being all about small, quick knits is perfect for me. Mostly because I’m a yarn snob and I can’t often afford a whole me-sized jumper in the yarns I want to knit with – but I can easily manage a shawl or a pair of socks. I also love that this job gives me the opportunity to promote up-and-coming designers and independent yarn producers.



6.If you could give 3 pieces of knitting advice, what would they be?
Find a knitting group that suits you. Honestly, it’ll be the best thing you’ll ever do.
Nothing is ever as difficult as you think it’s going to be. So many people are scared of lace, or cables, or colourwork and really, it’s all just a matter of taking it stitch by stitch and not rushing yourself.
Invest in good, well-written patterns. Particularly for beginners, a poorly-written pattern can be the thing that stands between you and your FO.


Kate is giving away a copy of the latest Knit Now magazine as well as some yummy yarn, to win these prizes all you have to do is leave a little comment - PLEASE PLEASE leave your ravelry name or email address so I can contact you for your details.
You can find Kate as kathleenalice on Ravelry.

V xo

Friday 3 August 2012

Pixie Hood//FO Friday

Okay so I didn't finish either of the projects I had intended on finishing - shocking huh? However I worked late into Wednesday night to finish my pixie hood. I then did a little photoshoot by myself to get the best photos of the hat:
 It's a super cute, and very comfortable hat - plus it's easy to use and the 3 needle bind-off makes it look really great:
 I would recommend this knit to anyone, although it's simple you do learn a little and it's a nice potato chip project in that it takes no time at all to complete and you don't have to be paying too much attention!!! I also used my kindle for this pattern, I simply downloaded it and away I went. This photo was just for fun:
So what do you think? I entered into various "sports" in the ravellenic games - I'm really enjoying it. My 2nd mitt is coming on well but I just want to get Lenny the Elephant finished - just one arm to go then he'll be done too.
Make sure you stop in at Tami's to see what everyone else has finished.
V xo

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Progress?//WIP Wednesday

So there are a couple of projects I'm not sharing today because I'm hoping (keep your fingers crossed) to have at least one of them finished by Friday!!!


In the meantime my Come Josephine afghan now has 15 squares, she is growing really quickly because each square takes less than half an hour. I'm so in love with knitting this, I've started to think about how I'm going to join the whole thing - any ideas?

So here is the blanket, sorry about the photo quality this week, it's raining and really dull everywhere in the house - and this was taken with lights on:
 Secondly I may *cough* have casted on a hat -  I couldn't help it. I'm taking part in the ravellenic over on Ravelry so I need to cast things on. Right now I'm working on some mittens which I shared on Monday I think and this cute little hat. I'm about 4 inches in, and the whole thing just needs to be 9 inches so I'll get it finished quite quickly - I'm trying to do quick knits for the ravellenic games so that I stand a chance at actually getting some points!!!:
Make sure you stop by Tami's and Ginny's to see what everyone else is working on.
V xo