Saturday 25 March 2017

W.I.P round-up

It's been a month since I started writing this blog and I'm starting to get into a rhythm of preparing my blog post each Friday and posting on a Saturday morning. In my first blog post I introduced my current W.I.Ps or works in progress and I thought today I would update you with what's on my hook or on my needles...


Luna Top, design by Dora Orenhenstein
Photograph of crochet top worked from the neck down with the body almost complete, but arms not added yet

I have managed a little work on this beautiful top but each row takes me a good while and I'm finding the stitches - linked double trebles (US) - are just slightly causing my right wrist to ache so I'm taking this project slowly, enjoying the beautiful colours and aiming for a summer completion.

More photographs and details of my yarn choice are on my Ravelry project page

Easy Cable socks, design by Winwick Mum
Bird project bag and sock being knitted

One of my making goals for 2017 is to enhance my knitting skills and tackle more challenging projects, so when Christine (Winwick Mum) recently published her free easy cable sock pattern I knew that I had to give them a go. I've never tackled cables before but I have a number of makes requiring cables in my project queue and Christine's socks seemed like a good place to start. I have finished one sock, turned the heel on the other and have a crazy notion that I might be able to finish them by the end of next weekend - my sock projects come everywhere with me so it's possible! As a complete newcomer to cables I have found the pattern and cabling straightforward and it has created really pretty finished result.

Westbourne, design by Isabell Kraemer

Following on nicely from my cable challenge, I've also set myself the challenge of knitting a jumper! After A LOT of deliberation, I have picked a design by Isabell Kraemer which is knit top down using a 4 ply fingering weight yarn. Earlier this week I worked up the swatch and got gauge so I'm hoping for some quiet time this weekend to cast on and tackle some German short-row shaping. In terms of yarn I have chosen the recommended yarn - Cascade 220 4ply fingering and I am going to use my Knit Pro Symfonie intechangeable needles which seem to suit the yarn perfectly and are just 'slippy' enough.

Memory blanket
If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen this week that I have started another project too - a scrap-yarn memory corner to corner blanket. I think this project might deserve a whole post to itself but in the meantime, I'll share my progress with you;
Corner to corner crochet blanket using scraps of yarn


This project will take years but I'm loving the idea of using a little leftover yarn in a blanket as a reminder of special projects. I used the Spring into Summer pattern by Felted Button to remind myself of the corner to corner construction method.

We've had a week full of making at home as our little boy has combined his love of American Football and crafting with these beautiful Perler bead creations. He's asked to start his own blog - he's five! - so I thought I'd let him share a little bit of this post and he can show you his creations;
Perler bead designs
He's particularly pleased with the Green Bay Packers coaster which he designed himself!


I hope you have a lovely week full of health, happiness and making. Do leave me a comment to let me know what you're working on, if you've got any questions or suggestions for future posts.

Thanks for reading! x

4 comments:

  1. Hi Helen, thanks for sharing your WIPs! I really love the look of the linked double trebles in that top - take it easy on those wrists though! I also really like your scrappy c2c, a brilliant way to use up leftovers. Keep blogging!
    Marta xx

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    1. Thanks so much Marta! It really is a lovely stitch but definitely being kind to my wrist and taking it slowly... xx

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  2. It's great to read about your WIPs Helen. I'm not surprised to hear that you found knitted cables straightforward. They are compared to crochet cables! I like the idea of the memory corner to corner blanket. I must tackle my leftover stash!

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    1. Thanks so much Tamara! I think you might be right - I found it much easier to learn knitted cables than crochet ones! And I can definitely recommend c2c memory blanket - it's a lot of fun! xx

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