In the Making...

Well, this is something I just have to show you as it's just so darn cute. This is one of my latest finished objects. The pattern is Man's Bee Friend from Debbie Bliss's Woolly Woofers book and I think it's in the latest issue of the Debbie Bliss magazine too. The very lovely recipient is Milly from A Good Yarn . Milly quite likes the cosy jumper but not as thrilled with the antenna hat, which quickly came off. Then back on again.   The yarn is Rico Essential Soft Merino Aran.

This lovely shawl has just come off my needles. The yarn is a new one from Debbie Bliss – Fine Donegal. The colour is Heather 10. I am absolutely in love with this yarn – I enjoyed knitting every bit of it. Ravelry Project Page I was in too much of a rush to start the shawl to take a photograph of the balls but they are lovely and big. I want to use the word dumpling to describe them for some reason. Fine Donegal is a 4ply weight yarn and it comes in 100g “dumplings”. It’s a single ply yarn and very reminiscent of Rowan Fine Tweed ; however, it has 5% cashmere content which seems to have increased the strength of the yarn. The rest of the yarn is 95% wool. It feels soft and with nice body to it. The little flecks of tweed in the yarn are really beautiful. The shade I used was a heathery purple but with flecks of bright pink, green, blue etc. They are a similar tone to the main colour so they give the yarn a lovely depth of colour. The pattern is from the book...

I’ve just completed the most stunning little cardigan. It’s covered with cables and bobbles, with a lace edge. I’ve really enjoyed making it (it’s at A Good Yarn at the moment, as a shop sample, if anyone wants to see it in the flesh) The one word I keep of thinking of is “heirloom”. It’s one of those special pieces of knitting. The pattern is Lace Edged Cardigan by Debbie Bliss and it’s from the Celebrating Family pattern book. The original was done in Debbie Bliss Eco Baby but mine is done in Baby Cashmerino . The yarn is really lovely to work with and blocks really well. Here's my Ravelry project page I did a little experiment while making this. I made both of the sleeves and blocked just one of them.  Can you spot which one?  It really does make a huge difference to your knitting – so if you’re not a convert to blocking yet…. By the way, I did block the other before I was finished! The back is just as gorgeous as the front...

Sorry that I've been a bit quiet. I’ve not done a huge amount of knitting recently, so I’ve not had so much to talk about. I do have a finished object to show you. It’s a vanilla pair of socks. The yarn is Sirdar ’s new Heart and Sole sock yarn and the pattern is the one that’s on the inside of the ball band. The colour is Hyper Hyper 105 and I really like the yarn. It’s not a fluffy yarn, it has some body to it and from first appearances, it looks like it would wear well. The pattern was quite nice too. It has an extra long rib so it can be turned down, if desired and both the toe and the heel has slipped stitches. The long colour changes make a change from a lot of sock yarns and I think it could hold a pattern and still be seen. A lot of these fair isle effect sock yarns make any pattern very difficult to see. This shawl is a work in progress and think it will be for some time, as I’ve got lots of other knitting to do first. The pattern is Rendevous Shawl ...