The 5 Best Knitting Patterns for a Beginner

Update! I thought it might be timely to re-publish this post given the fabulous uptake of craft in this trying lockdown period.

There have of course been some other easy patterns released since I first wrote this post in 2018 but I still stand by my choices!

Please do support your Local Yarn Stores - most of them will be open for online orders - they are struggling too.

Good luck and of Cours Thank You NHS and all the healthcare workers around the globe!

Louise

7th May 2020



Hi

I have been really happy to see the series 'Make Britain' over on BBC iPlayer, I feel that making creating things with our hands is one of the best things we can do for our brains - but if you have read my blog before then you probably already know that!

This week the group of happy volunteers learned to knit and made pretty impressive bobble hats considering they were a group of beginners. Although obviously we did not really get to see the inevitable mistakes that they must have made, because thats not going to make good TV is it!!  However having said that, they all picked up the basics really well and to come away with a wearable hat rather than just a small square of knitting - which lets face it is pretty useless unless you are furnishing a dolls house!

So that got me to thinking that there are literally thousands of knitting patterns available on Ravelry, Pinterest and many many other sites and magazines, that for a newcomer to knitting that must all seem pretty daunting - so I thought I would put a list together for anyone just starting out in the wonderful world of knitting - with the aim of giving them something they can make relatively easily and then 'voila' they can immerse themselves in the the magic that knitting brings and the inevitable addiction to yarn and all things wooly!!!

Without further ado - here we go:

1. The Barley Hat by Tin Can Knits

It would be remiss of me not to start with Tin Can Knits who have just the best patterns for beginners and for the most part they are free!  I have chosen the Barley hat because I have made that myself and can attest to how well the pattern is written for a beginner.  It introduces all the elements, casting on and off, knit, purl and cast off and the range of sizes they offer is fabulous. Also check out the Flax Sweater and their Rye beginner sock pattern!

Check out the pattern HERE and my own version on Ravelry HERE

2.  Shawl - Hitchhiker

The Hitchhiker is a great beginner shawl pattern because is pretty addictive (potato chip knitting!), easy and if you want to use one skein of really gorgeous yarn its easy to do because basically you keep going until you have run out!  I used a lovely skein of sock yarn for mine which was too nice to be hidden away on my feet!  Gauge is not too important - just use the needle size suggested on the ball band if you are not sure!  Its not a free pattern but the price is very reasonable considering it comes in a number of languages!

Check out the pattern HERE and my version HERE

3.  Honey Cowl

Cowls are great for beginners and I have included two here!  Firstly the Honey Cowl which comes in two different lengths depending on how much yarn you have.  I made the shorter one from a one off hand dyed skein I got on holiday in Scotland a few years ago.  I loved the heather colouring which reminded me of the heather on the hills!  A good introduction to working in the round for a beginner and very easy to memorise the pattern.

Check out the pattern HERE and my version HERE

4.  Gaptastic Cowl

Now full disclosure I have never made this cowl - I really want to but hey I live in the desert so maybe thats not going to work for me!  However I think its fab and the shop bought version was really expensive and only in a small range of colours so this would be an opportunity to go crazy!!

Oh and did I mention its also a free pattern!  See HERE

This is the knitters own photo and obviously not mine!!

5.  The Garter Yoke Cardigan

No I have not gone crazy - beginners can absolutely make cardigans and this is not only very cute but no seaming or complicated pattern required.  I have made the baby version of this and its super cute, but I really love the original adult version. Again I have not made it yet myself see excuse re the heat above, but its something on my list for when I go home and live in the wilds of the English Countryside (sigh..... I get so homesick sometimes - 9 years in the desert can do that to a person!!). Being Aran this is going to be a quick knit!!

Anyway check out the pattern HERE  You can also see some stunning versions that others have done on the pattern page.

So I hope this helps if you are just starting out on your knitting journey or even if you are an experienced knitter just looking for something easy to sit and knit whilst doing 'Netflix and Knit' -  I would recommend Designated Survivor and Unabomber!

Pattern Review Vogue 9253

I saw this pattern a few months ago and I thought it would be perfect for the Abu Dhabi heat - though I knew the neckline might be an issue for me since my mastectomy and subsequent rebuilding has left quite a nasty red scar between my boobs - and although I a proud breast cancer survivor its often uncomfortable so don't really like anything rubbing on it.

There are of course lots of versions of this dress on the net and the more I saw it the more I knew it was for me - and I wasn't wrong!

The fabric I used was from a fabric shop in Satwa, Dubai.  For anyone not familiar with Dubai, this is the place to go for cheap fabric - yes you take your chances on the quality, but for someone like me who is likely to make a few mistakes at first or if you want to make a wearable muslin its really worth a visit - be warned though you will have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince in terms of fabric!!  This cotton lawn purports to be Liberty - I'm not 100% sure of that, BUT it is lovely and light and I adore the colour and the design so hey who cares!!!  Abu Dhabi is pretty good for notions and bias binding and zips in many colours are very cheap. Thread on the other hand is 'interesting' - there is a lot of very cheap (20p per reel) cotton thread, but I have concerns about the amount of cotton which sheds into my sewing machine.  The polyester thread however is more like £5 per spool!!!

I do hate cutting out - but set an afternoon aside and to be honest it was not too much of a chore.

The pattern instructions are typically not detailed but there is enough to follow. I did make an initial booboo when I basted the front bodice pleats the wrong way around! See below..... when I tried the fronts on I wondered why they looked a bit odd - but thankfully I had noticed before I sewed the bodice to the skirt!  For my next version (and I feel there will be many...) I would sew up the bodice front to the height I need as it would be very easy to do at that stage and in fact a number of versions I have seen have a full wrap over style for the bodice.  I waited until the end on this version,  which was fine and looks perfectly ok, but a note to self for next time!

Pleats going the wrong way!! They should be facing outwards and not inwards!

I was very happy with the bias binding I bought and I think it added to the finish of the garment! Also something to note is that I 'overlocked' all of the seams!  I did this on my sewing machine as I don't have an overlocker (yet - I have made many many hints to my husband!!!!).  My previous makes have all had seams done with pinking shears but it was better to overlock. Mind you for this I changed my thread to the cotton above mentioned given the price of the polyester!!

Very happy with this!!

And then there were POCKETS!!!! 

Pockets were a revelation!!  I have made some dresses before but never put pockets in because I thought they were too hard!  Silly Silly Me!!  They were easy to do and of course fabulous!

I did put an invisible zip in and it was sort of ok....... the ties are set in with the zip and bodice and I did get them slightly off!  However the dress easily goes over my head and I don't like tight waistbands (this sits above the waist) and so next time I think I might get away with no zip and attaching the ties into the back seam - or having the ties separate - again I have seen versions done like this.

Managed to get a pretty good match on the zip colour!

Yay for pink zips

So overall I absolutely adore this make. Its a very flattering dress and every time I have seen a photo of it the wearer looks stunning!  Its easy to sew but still has shape and character and I could see it in a chambray or a linen for next time!  If you are thinking about making it then please do - you will thank yourself!

I probably need to get some better modelled photos - still not happy being the other side of the camera (ever since Moon Faced Steroid 'Gate'!!!).

Also I would like to thank the stupendous support from the Curvy Sewing Collective on Facebook - over 600 likes for my photo has left me speechless - I love you ladies!!!

Back to an old Love

If you have read my blog before you might know that I am also a keen sewer, but have been up until now very very inconsistent with my projects.

Fast forward to two or three months or so ago when I was feeling a bit uninspired with life (see last post about my job search!!) and I decided to trawl through You Tube where I found the lovely Lisa Comfort of Sew Over It and binged on a number of her videos (I lost count after a while...). That led me onto the Seamwork 'Design your Own Wardrobe' challenge and from there on in down a million sewing rabbit holes.  For the first time in a while I felt inspired to get back to my sewing and discovered a fabulous sewing community where the benefits of making at least some of your own clothes seemed to me to be such a no brainer!  How many times have I trawled the shops looking for something which will fit me, not be too short, not have arm circumferences of a drinking straw and be cool enough for the heat of an Abu Dhabi summer without looking like I have just walked off the beach (although I do like the 'just off the beach' look haha). AND found a healthy sewing community here in Abu Dhabi #AbuDhabiSews !!

So without going too much into the literally HUGE amount of detail I could drone on about for hours, these are a few of the things that I have made since my love of sewing took over my life again.  Of course I still adore my knitting and crochet but I would love to bring them together now with curated handmade outfits.......but baby steps first!

Hemlock Tee

This is a free pattern from Grainline Studio (you just have to sign up to their newsletter) and it really for stretch fabric.  I happily adapted the sleeves for my lovely woven cotton, but forgot to give some more ease to the bottom (face:palm) - so it has ended up being a little 'snug' over the hips!  Also in a moment of complete DUH I did not line the material up correctly when I cut out the front on the fold line - so the pattern is off!!  I guess you can't tell too much especially when I wear it with my 2Birds Dubai fabby huge tassel necklace!!! So make number one is wearable but there were certainly some lessons learned!

Light not so good on this one but see what I mean about the necklace!!

Ruby Top

My next project was the Ruby Top by Tessuti Fabrics. Such a lovely easy little pattern with a really nice detail on the back fastening.  This was in lovely drapey cotton which I got locally and a really easy sew.  I was particularly pleased with my neat stitching on the back!  I have not worn this yet as I am working on a cotton cardigan to go with it - never comfortable about letting my arms out in public!

So those were my first little tops which I am very very pleased with.  However I have two exciting dresses to share with you - next time.........

Lots of Updates

Hi

So its been a very long time since I updated the blog!  Things have been happening (or to be completely honest not happening) at a rate which meant I have been a bit discombobulated!! I have been looking for a full time job for 18 months now due to the fact that in order to be able to come home at some point we need to do a lot (and I mean a lot) of refurbishment to our house before we sell it - and repairs don't come cheap!! Despite having a ton of experience in HR I don't seem to be able to land something which is anything like the level I want to be - or I interview, it goes really well and then companies just don't bother to get back to me and disappear into thin air!  I think to be honest this is definitely a UAE thing - I'm fairly sure its not the same in the UK!  Anyway I am doing a little bit of consulting work which is good but so precarious since lots of things get cancelled at the very last minute and when you think you have 8 days work in a month it suddenly shrinks to half a day - or approximately 2 metres of 4x2 to fix one of the many windows!!

However of course there is always a silver lining in every cloud and that means that my creating is in full swing!  I have days when I get really frustrated and you know the best thing for that......pick up the needles or the hook!!

So without further ado or discombobulation..... this is what I have been up to.......

Firstly I decided to make a really bright and cheerful baby blanket!  This is the Blackberry Baby Blanket which is a free pattern on Ravelry which I made in very bright cotton yarn which I bought locally! As you probably know we had very little choice of yarn locally when I first arrived in the UAE (9 years ago - can you believe!) but now we have a pretty decent selection (although I guess thats all relative - nothing at all like a LYS in UK or US ha ha!).  The pattern was deceptively simple and I am so pleased with the result.  Shame that I don't yet have a recipient!!!!

Then I decided it was time for more socks!  I made a really funky pair out of some gifted yarn with an afterthought heel (not even sure of what the name of the yarn was as the ball label was missing!) and these were for Flo because lets face it the weather in Bath is pretty cold compared to here!

Then a pair from 2 skeins of Drops Designs sock yarn which was a lovely present from an Instagram friend in the UK.  I designed these myself in more a a traditional construction and I absolutely love them - although yes of course I need to keep them until a winter trip to the UK!

Fast forward onto February and the Ravellenic Games!  I decided to enter a sweater - now not just any sweater but a fine fingering sweater - what was I thinking!!  I went for the Tegna Sweater by Boyland Knitworks which I had been wanting to knit for a long time - in fact I started it twice before and can you believe both times I twisted it in the round......face:palm!!

I wanted to do it in the Mabel and Ivy Coast yarn from stash and I had an Ombre set in Ocean blues.  I knew I did not have enough to do the whole sweater in the main yarn so I did the first lace section in the ombre colours and I am so pleased I did, because I am really happy with how that turned out.

Finished the evening before the games closed and I was awarded my 'Sweater Skeleton' badge - Yay!!

What can I say about the Tegna - its a lovely pattern, really well written and although yes its a LOT of stocking stitch the construction is easy and I liked picking up the stitches for the sleeves because that meant I could make the sleeves in a larger size to the body - I have hideous 'washer woman' arms where they are definitely disproportionally big to the rest of my body and I really struggle to get sleeves to fit or not be too tight! But these I was able to make longer and wider and I was really happy with how they turned out!  The yarn is perfect for the UAE weather and I have already worn it quite a bit! Definite winner!

So I have a couple more items on the needles which I will share with you soon - but I really wanted to tell you about the Rags to Riches initiative in the UAE.  This is a lovely idea where knitted and sewed garments are donated to needy children in places such as Syria, Uganda, Bangladesh etc  They make many garments out of donated materials such as fleece blankets etc - check them out - Rags to Riches. Anyway they are currently running a Knit a Thon to try and get enough squares to make blankets to auction off or donate to the kids - however that has sort of morphed into a challenge to break the world record for a blanket made of knitted squares!  I have of course made a start as you can see!!!!

If you would like to know more or want to get involved then do get in touch with me or check out their Facebook page here  Knitted squares 15cmx15cm are needed for the world record attempt but for other blankets crochet squares of the same size are also in demand!

Anyway thats it for knitting news...........in other news I HAVE BEEN SEWING!!!!  Up next I will tell you all about it!

The Bosphorus - A Yarn Review

As you will probably know the Bosphorus is the 32 km North-South strait which joins the sea of Marmara with the Black Sea in Istanbul (well at least that is what Wikipedia is telling me!) - but no, I'm not talking about this stretch of very blue water - I am talking about yarn...... of course!

I've not been quiet over the years about the difficulty in getting good yarn in the UAE - we have a small amount of hand dyed which we can get from the lovely Dubai Knits, or Craftland in Dubai but in terms of more affordable yarn for charity items or purely because our purses are pretty tiny this month.....there has not been much to choose from.

However I am pleased to report that this is slowly changing, with a few of the local craft shops cottoning on (see what I did there!) to the fact that more and more people are either re-discovering the textile arts or learning in droves.

There has been a bit of a concerted effort in my Crochet group to source good, affordable supplies and these are coming from places such as South Africa and Turkey.  Due to its nature I think crochet lends itself to cotton yarns and this is evident in cute crochet toys, facecloths, table runners etc, which look fantastic in bright cotton colours and also have some good durability.  For baby blankets etc something washable and soft is the requirement!

So fast forward to a couple of weeks ago where I volunteered to try out one new yarn to see how it fared. This is from a Turkish company called Mirafil (you can check out the website, although it's not wonderful...) I don't think they are trading in the UK but I believe they do in the US.

The yarn I used is Bosphorus which is 67% Tencel and 33%PA (not that I know what PA is - any ideas?) the 100g ball contained 250m.  The cost here in the UAE was AED 56 for 5 balls - which is approx AED11 per ball (£2.46 in UK money and $2.99 for comparison purposes ...... sorry UK the £ is pretty poor to the $ today!!) - so thats good value for money - especially should you want to make a blanket!

The Tencel makes the yarn gorgeous to work with (and its an environmentally friendly fabric too!).  On a 5.5mm (I) crochet hook it worked up really quickly.

Originally I was going to make an evening bag, but the softness of the yarn meant that I don't think it would have kept its shape.... and....... the cat took it out of my WIP basket and took it to her bed because it was so soft, and in doing so unravelled most of it.....so maybe she had other ideas!!

Because of the gorgeous dark grey, with flecks of silver, colour (I would say it looks like Welsh roof slates in the rain!) and because I wear a lot of dark colours, I thought I would make a flower scarf with it. The pattern I used is a mish mash of something I saw on Pinterest and then I made some spirals to go on the ends.  Whether by luck or judgement I managed to use up pretty much all of the ball and this little nugget was all I had left!

According to the ball band this is machine washable at 30 degrees - so that makes it another winner for a baby blanket, not that I would make one in the Wet Slate colour (no idea of the colour its just called 08!) for a baby - the parents might think me a little odd!!!

Overall I loved it - not in any way the normal yarn I would go for, so perhaps my Yarn Snobbery has made me overlook some of the more affordable options in the past - I'd definitely use this in the future!

Welcome 2017 and a Challenge

Hello everyone and a bleated welcome to 2017.......yes, yes I know its February already!

I have had a busy couple of months over Christmas and the New Year (i.e. all of January!!).

Firstly we went home for Christmas and I spent three blissful weeks in the crisp and cold of the UK seeing friends and family and I can honestly say I loved every minute of it.  Now those of you who know me, also know that I would move back home to the UK at the click of a finger - but at the moment thats just not possible, so I have to dream and plan for the moment.

However one thing is that we are all pretty sure that we would like to settle in the South West!  We stayed in Bath for a week to see our daughter who is at Uni there, and my love for the city increased even more.  At one point I worked in Bath (many moons ago now!) and I just adore the place and the people, not to mention to vibe of the arts and food - I also absolutely adore the amount of independent shops and businesses there are there in the creative sphere, from artisan bread makers to the fabulous yarn shops Wool Bath and A Yarn Story.  Sadly I did not bring any yarn home this time, mostly due to lack of suitcase space (we travelled VERY light this time!) and also because I am now on the preparation offensive - i.e. at the moment I probably need a WHOLE shipping container for my yarn and thats going to be costly!  So 2017 is all about #activestashappreciation (more of that later).  Now I really don't think I am going to be able to afford some grand townhouse in the Royal Crescent (which is close to the apartment we stayed in) but a nice house with a garden a couple of miles away would suit me just fine!

We stayed in the third house from the right with the bay trees by the door - magical!

Since we have been back from the UK the weather has really cooled down here in the UAE and so much so that I have actually had to wear cardigans and sweaters (hurrah!).  I love this time of year, but sadly it does not last long and then we get the odd day where we have a Shamal and a sandstorm - we necessitates another two days cleaning the house and getting sand from places that you never expected.  This morning we had a lovely sunrise and red sky - I was up early for the school run as usual and it is really beautiful in a different way to the hoar frost in Bath......sigh........

So bearing in mind the container issue above - I think for the first half of 2017 at the very least I am looking to work from my Stash.  I love my stash so this is really no hardship! Jo from the Shinybees podcast has been talking about how to reinvent your stash with new uses and new stories as a challenge (well in the loosest sense of the word!) and I have taken some Patons Wool Blend DK which I had bought about 4 years ago for a Union Jack Cushion cover.  Two things happened - firstly I made a mistake in the cushion which caused me to throw it back to the recess of the cupboard and secondly I had somehow managed to order double the amount I needed - Duh!!

So as I had no Crochet project on the go I decided to prowl Pinterest - and how many rabbit holes have I fallen down as a result of that in the past - and found some lovely neutral blankets.  The stash I had was all in muted neutral tones of grey with two skeins of what I could term 'natural'.  So then I found a large openwork granny square which I really liked and Hey Presto - a new WIP was born! My lounge is predominently grey and as we only have air con and no heating, this time of year can get a bit chilly in the evenings so this will be perfect!  Slight flaw in this plan is that perhaps it will be hot again by the time I finish it!

Anyway I will keep you posted.

Don't forget to come and find me on my other social media platforms you can use the link at the top to see me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Please do come and join the Facebook page, would love to see you and I am taking part in the #yarnlovechallenge over on Instagram which I am loving! Just shows what a great community of knitters we have xxxx

A Fresh Start

Hello everyone!

I am delighted to introduce to you my new pattern - the Fresh Start Hat - just in time for the colder months.  A very quick knit which takes around 150 - 200 yards.


A Fresh Start Hat is a simple unisex design offered in two sizes - Small, to fit child or small adult and Large which will fit a medium to large adult.

Sample shown here is in Small.

S - To fit child or small adult: 22 inches/56cm

L - To fit med/large adult: 24 inches/61cm

Gauge:

22 stitches & 28 rows over 4"/10cm square using US7/4.5mm needles

Material

Worsted Weight yarn (sample knitted in Plucky Knitter Worsted)

150 yards/140 metres for small version

210 yards/195 metres for large version

Double Pointed Needles:

1 set US6/4mm

1 set US 7/4.5mm

OR for Magic Loop:

1 US 6/4 mm 40"/100cm circular needle

1 US 7/4.5mm 40"/100cm circular needle

Find it HERE on Ravelry and don't forget to show me your finished hats - would love to see them!

Who does not love a Pom Pom!

Its that time of year again - yay for SOCKTOBER!!

Hi everyone, so its the 1st October today and you know what that means don't you! SOCKTOBER is upon us!

Last year I did a post on socks you could knit for Socktober (you can find it HERE ) and I really enjoyed putting that post together so I thought I would make it an annual thing and so today I bring you my top 5 (well with full disclosure, actually there are more than 5.....) socks that I am loving for this Socktober!

1. Of course firstly I have to include the fantastic designs by Clare Devine.  Although not part of Socktober because I finished them in September...... you will know if you follow me on Instagram and Facebook that I have knitted the London Skies socks.  These are great socks and I really loved the twisted cable detail which makes the socks INCREDIBLY comfortable.  Knitted in Townhouse Yarns Grafton 4 ply in the colourway Cherry Cola they are my current faves!  London Skies is part of a collection called the Travel Trio which Clare put together on her mammoth move from the UK to Australia and her designs are based the start of her journey to the end. I loved knitting them and I am sure you will too!

Further details are on my project page on Ravelry : Louiseluvsyarn's Red Sky at Night Socks

The e book for three patterns is £7.00 and can be found here on Ravelry

My Red Sky at Night socks

2.  Next is another set of sock patterns from my fellow expat Mina Philipp from the Knitting Expat Podcast.  Believe it or not I first met Mina when she was a newbie knitter and she has gone from strength to strength in an incredibly short time!  Mina is quite famous for the amount of socks she can churn out - I believe she has made about 75 pairs already this year - yes I did get that right!

Anyway Mina has a real talent for taking the plain and simple and making it, well less plain and simple and more wow!

Recently she has published two e books called Beyond Vanilla - and they are exactly that, the next step on from vanilla socks!  Perfect for those people who are new to sock knitting and want to take the next step.  My personal favourites are Riverbend - but there are lots to chose from!

You can purchase individual patterns for $3.00 and the e books are $9.00 for 4 patterns which I think is great value.

Find Mina's Beyond Vanilla 2 collection here on Ravelry

These are Mina's own Riverbends!

3.  Next, if you are looking for something to challenge you a little more, you can find the perfect pair of fancy socks over at Louise Tilbrook Designs.  I featured Louise last year and since then she has published some more fabulous pairs to get your grey matter working - but not working so much that you are driven crazy!

My faves for Socktober are the Malala socks.  I love the pattern obviously but also my son's house system at school recently changed and his house name is Malala.  What an inspiring young lady she is.... Be sure to check out the story of the name on Louise's pattern page

These socks have just the right amount of detail and I adore the little cables.

You can find the Malala socks here on Ravelry and the pattern is £3.30

Louise's Malala Socks

4.  Ok so next is a pattern which is very very new and a fab take on colourwork - this is from the talented Dieuwke van Mulligan.

I love this take on colourwork  - something different - and I currently adore anything which is Ombre!  Reminds me of when I was dancing years ago and we used to make costumes by dip dying leotards and tights with Dylon - it was a long process and the colour pallet was pretty limited but it was great fun!

Hurry over and get the pattern today though because there is 80% off until tomorrow! AND there is a KAL going throughout October so this makes the Dip Dye the PERFECT Socktober sock!

Available in English and Danish, the pattern is $5.00 before the discount and can be found here

Fabulous Dip Dye!

5.  Finally I have something new for me.....Crochet socks!  Now I have never made crochet socks but when I saw these I thought.....hmmmm why not?  Especially with the description saying that these socks were made for 'Cosy nights in with a good book' - well yes please.......aircon is quite chilly now!!

These socks are from a great new collection called Raw, which has been put together by the Crochet Project - which is Joanne Scrace (of Contour Shawl fame) and Kat Goldin.  There are 6 patterns in the collection - all crochet - all really really wearable!

The socks are called Mamble and remind me of the New Year we spent in Yorkshire a couple of years ago when we rented a tiny little cottage where I could snuggle up around a little wood burning stove - bliss!!

Anyway do check them out here on Ravelry - the Raw collection is £10.00 and can be found here

Yummy Mamble!

I hope you found something to inspire your sock knitting this October - now for me to choose........

Finish Line!

Hi everyone and hope you are all ok and safe - our world is becoming a more and more scary place with the events this week in France and Turkey......my heart goes out to anyone who has been affected by these horrors.

I had a wander back through some of my posts and realised that actually I have not shared any finished objects on the blog for a while.  I do tend to post them on Instagram, but its not always easy to give as much information over there (although I do love Instagram a lot!!!)

So firstly I have socks - and really I would not have described myself as a sock knitter, but recently I seem to have finished 4 pairs!!  Earlier I did post a photo on the blog about knitting two at a time socks - well in the spirit of honesty I have to tell you that I did not get on with the two at a time method and I ended up doing them one at a time!

So these first socks of the year are afterthought heels - Let's Get Stripy - and they are knitted in Knit Picks Felice.  I loved the colour way of the yarn, but I think if I use it again I might go down a needle size - I used 2.75mm which is my sock yarn needle of choice, but I would've preferred a tighter fabric so I think going down to a 2.5mm may have helped. Nevertheless these are for me and I am happy with them.  Afterthought heel was done with spare yarn and works ok, although I still manage to have to sew up little holes.....

Let's Get Stripy

Next I actually made a pair of socks to my own design from the fabulous Wollelfe gradient yarn which handily comes ready skeined in two cakes!  I wanted them to be contra matching (well thats what I call it anyway!!!) and originally I wanted to make the pattern face in different directions on each sock - but I think life is a bit too short and I really really wanted these knitted up quickly! Wore them a few times in our 'winter' cuddled up on the sofa with yet more knitting.... The yarn is absolutely fantastic to knit with and I was very pleased with the resulting Which Way Up? socks.  Again I used an afterthought heel with waste yarn.  I have notes I used to knit them, so will write up the pattern when I get a moment.

Which Way Up?

Of course the next pair had to be for Flo - who does love a hand knitted sock - and these are my Candy Cane Socks!  For this I went back to trusty Straycat socks and chose the Candy Cane colour way (hence the name above!) ......so pretty and 'very' Flo!  With a self striping yarn I only use an afterthought heel, if I am not doing contrasting heels and toes, and this time I decided to try and use the steeking method - yes readers I actually CUT my knitting!  This is the first time I have done this in my 30 something years of knitting.....queue the shakes and a large glass of Gin to hand.

Heart stopping moment....

I have to tell you though it was great - much neater and this is now my afterthought heel of choice!

Obligatory cat and yarn photo!

Candy Cane Socks

Finally for the sock marathon I made some more self striping socks and these have to be my current favourite!  These are my Never Forget socks which are knitted in the fabulous West Yorkshire Spinners Signature Cocktail collection and the colour way is Rum Paradise.  I have always wanted to have some rainbow stripe socks and these fit the bill perfectly.  Again I did the afterthought heel with scissors and a slightly smaller glass of Gin!

During the knitting of these, the terrible events of the Orlando shooting happened and these are my small gesture to the LBGT community wherever they are in the world that I am thinking of them.

Now of course I have the entire Cocktail collection in my stash so there will be more socks to come - although I am also wondering if a stripy shawl would be possible.........

Never Forget Socks

So what else apart from Socks???  

I finished my Hitchhiker In Space and Time Shawl - - which I love.  This is such a simple pattern but so effective and its ideal for a hand dyed beauty like the Quere yarns skein I used in colour way Vincent and the Doctor - yes of course I was drawn in by the name...... (and when oh when is the next series of Doctor Who airing?????)  I see many more of these shawls in my life - perfect for stash busting and really potato chip knitting.

Hitchhiker In Space and Time

Finally for the moment I would like to share my Singapore Sling linen t-shirt.  This is made in Shibui Linen - which is a new yarn for me.  Its not terribly soft to knit with but makes a lovely fabric.  The pattern in the Silken Straw Summer Sweater by the Purl Bee.

I got the yarn by mail from A Yarn Story in Bath - my adopted LYS! I only ordered 3 skeins and if I had stuck to the pattern I would definitely not have had enough yarn!  So instead I made a number of amendments and I am so very pleased with the outcome.  This is going to be a wardrobe staple on our upcoming trip to Singapore and Malaysia (only 2 weeks away now....eeek!)  The yarn is perfect for our climate here in the UAE and there are some lovely new colour ways so I think it would be certainly be something I am going to use more in the future.

Singapore Sling Tee

 Wow so thats quite a few FO's for me - all in all since the beginning of the year I have made 12 items and that whilst working on my blanket is quite impressive for me.  A few of these I have not shared since they are designs I am working on.  I think its good sometimes to reflect on your making and realise just how creative you are even if you think you are not!

Enjoy the week!

xx

PS even more detail on each project with a link to patterns is available on my Ravelry projects pages which I have linked to each FO :)

Top Tips for Newbie Lace Shawl Knitters

1. Don’t panic! If you can conquer a knit and a purl stitch then you already know how to do lace!
   
   
2. Lace does not necessarily need to be done on tiny needles with fine laceweight yarn - for a beginner it’s a good idea to think about using 4ply or even sport or DK. Whilst Laceweight can look beautiful and drape like clouds, a bright 4ply sock yarn with 4mm needles can look just as stunning. You do need circular needles though - don’t try and knit a shawl on straight needles - trust me! Ideally you want at least a 100cm cord (which should come with an interchangeable set or if you prefer fixed circulars, make sure you have some 4mm in your collection - they are really useful)
   
   
3. For a first lace pattern, my recommendation would be to chose something which has its lace pattern on one side only eg lace pattern on one side and a purl row on the second. Are you more comfortable with a chart? For a beginner I would suggest a pattern which has charts and corresponding written instructions as I have done on the Lantern Shawl - you may find you prefer a chart or you may prefer to stick to written instructions - there is no right or wrong here!
   
   
4. Chose your shape - for a beginner I would suggest a triangular or half moon shape with a simple border.
   
   
5. Think carefully about your yarn - some yarn is better suited to lace than others and certainly I would not suggest you use a fine kidsilk mohair for your first lace project - it can look beautiful, but for a first timer may cause you some problems.  HOWEVER I recommend finding a skein of yarn that you absolutely love. Something a little luxe, which you are going to adore on every stitch. Find your favorite colour or a something which is really going to complement your wardrobe.
   
   
6. Swatch……. You can practice your lace stitches over a swatch - just make it big enough for 3 or 4 repeats of the lace pattern plus a couple of edging stitches - for instance the Diamond Lace pattern on my Lantern Shawl is worked over 10 stitches and a 10 row repeat - so cast on 44 stitches and knit two stitches at each end, and 4 repeats of the pattern and knit for 20 rows.  This will give you an idea of the fabric you will create.  You might be happy with the drape, or you might wish to wash and block it - but whichever way it’s a great way to practice.
   
   
7. Stitch markers - if you feel comfortable with stitch markers these can be a great way of identifying pattern repeats and centre stitches.  My first lace shawl was Ishbel by Ysolda Teague and I can tell you I had so many stitch markers my knitting positively jangled!  I tend not to use them so much now, but they can be a lifesaver for beginners or at least in the first few rows until you get comfortable with the pattern.
   
   
8. Speaking of lifesavers…...Lifelines!  Yes these are a good idea - too many times I have had to tink back 4 rows of over 200 stitches and kicked myself hard for not having a lifeline!  The idea is to get to a point to which you can rip back to confidently and re-start from there, so at the beginning of a section for instance. There are a number of ways to put in a lifeline, but my favorite is to use the little holes where my interchangeable needles are fixed and slip through some dental floss and just knit along and the lifeline will go in behind you .  You can use cotton or other yarn, but I find the floss is easier to work with and also smells nice!  If you don’t have interchangeable needles with a hole then you can easily wait until the end of a row and thread through with a darning needle.
   
   
   

   

   
   

   
   
9. To block is to bloom…… there have been a few occasions where I have finished knitting a laceweight shawl and to be frank it’s looked like an old rag!  Soak your shawl, roll in a towel to get out the excess water and pin out very carefully, making sure to pin out points if you have or like them.  I have recently bought some blocking wires and they have been great for getting a really even edge.  Blocking is not a quick job - get a cup of tea - your favorite playlist on Spotify and then take your time - it really is worth it in the end!
   
   
   

   

   My Swallowtail shawl looked pretty awful in the knitting!

   
   

   

   But look how it bloomed!

   
   
   
10. Show Off!  There is nothing better to show off to your non knitting friends and family than a lace shawl - they cannot help but be impressed! Then cast on the next one, because my friend you are now a shawl knitter and it’s addictive!