In the Making...

Last year, I showed you all the Christmas Tree decorations . This year, it's the turn of the fabric decorations. There is quite a bit of Christmas bunting around the house but found it difficult to get a good photograph, so you'll have to imagine how pretty it looks! I did make some shelf bunting for the mantlepiece in the lounge.  The tree is in a different position this year, which gives us a bit more room but big downside is I can't easily get to the knitting books in the case behind it! I made a Christmas quilt that comes out a lot earlier than the rest of the decorations (at the start of Advent). It was hand pieced from lots of Christmas fabric scraps and machine quilted with a radiating star. The most recent addition to the tree is a wee cheesy Christmas jumper - decorated with beads, sparkly thread and embroidery. The mini coat hanger was a struggle to make but it had to be done. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Y...

A while ago, I made a photo tutorial for the Estonian Cast On . The Double Estonian Cast On is a simple variation of this. The edge is thicker and more decorative. It is ideal for 1 x 1 and 2 x 2 ribbing, as it wraps the base of the ribbing columns. It is firm, but stretchy - this makes it a great cast on for socks. My Little Duck socks that I blogged about last week used the Double Estonian Cast On. The actual cast on is the same for both the single and double Estonian Cast on. It's just the starting bit that's a little different. As for any long tail cast on, measure out a long tail. I tend to use 1 inch per stitch for thicker yarn and 1/2 inch per stitch for DK weight and thinner; plus another 6 inches for luck!  Instead of making a slip knot, fold the yarn again to the same length that you've measured. You should have 3 lengths folded instead of 2 for a long tailed cast on. Leave a bit extra at the tail end for sewing in the end. ...

I showed you a work in progress photo of my Little Duck Socks recently. Blogged here They are now finished with plenty of time for Christmas. The duck stitch pattern is from Mary Jane Mucklestone 's 150 Scandinavian Knitting Designs. I did her workshop a few months ago. This is the first of lots of project ideas from the book. The rest of the sock is my design. I reversed the ducks for each sock (just for added cuteness!). Mainly the socks were worked on 2.5mm needles - my new Nova Cubics DPNs, which I really enjoying working with. The stranded sections were done on a 3.00mm, so they didn't pinch in at that point. The change in gauge is obvious to me, especially on the toe but it does make them fit better ( I suppose I could have increased stitches instead - maybe next time). I used a Double Estonian Cast On for the ribbing. I've been using the single Estonian Cast On for most ribbing at the moment, it makes a firm but stretchy cast on ...