Fabric : Fibre : Family
Obviously I couldn’t leave it alone with the woolly raspberries to Winter.
And I did have some of the green Artesano aran left.
So I made these:
These are gifts…sharing the woolly love…and you can find the patterns on Ravelry. Of course.
Oh! And that’s the last of the green. Thankfully!
PS. I’ve now made more things this year than I did last year.
And the year ain’t over yet.
And I’ve got two more things to share.
Sweet!
Hey, Winter, you can’t fool me.
I’ve lived in Lancashire most of my life.
I know these balmy days heralding the onset of Autumn won’t last. That unceasing rain and high winds will follow and that will just be the start of it.
I know that come January then you’ll jump out from behind a tree with a resounding “Boo” of snow and negative temperatures.
Well, I’ve got to tell you, Winter, this year I’m ready for you!
You may scoff at me wearing the biggest woolly hat in the world in September. Or at me wilting slightly under the all encompassing warmth of that scarf.
But I tell you now, Winter; I’ll have the last laugh. My ears shall not freeze this winter. Oh no!
And I’m going to tell anyone who’ll listen that they too can keep cosy warm. They just need to knit Urchin by Ysolda and Breathless by Linda Lunn from Knit and Wrap.
I’ll also tell them that they can get both of these out of 2 balls of Rowan Big Wool Fusion in colourway 06 Soot. And they can easily knit the two of them in a day. Or a couple of evenings. Even if they are painfully slow knitters like me.
So, Winter, we’ve got you licked this year.
PS. I call this set Lancashire Skies because more often than not that’s the colour of them.
Although today they are clear blue.
Just to prove me wrong.
Finally! Pictures of the elusive Whitfield jacket.
The Husband absolutely loves this jacket. And it’s been worn quite a bit since I finished it. Just never when I’ve had a minute to take a half decent photo.
To recap, the pattern is Whitfield Jacket by Knitspot.
The yarn is Freedom Spirit Chunky by Twilleys of Stamford. The colour is 808 Dignity.
And whilst I made a mini-me version using a different pattern:
you can now get a junior version of the Whitfield from Knitspot!
image courtesy of www.knitspot.com
Just. Too. Cute!
Our part of the world is not the epicentre of the social whirl, but we do have a great public park that we use several times a week.
The kids love it.
It’s a great space.
And it has a Deep Dark Wood.
So obviously there must be a Gruffalo, no?
Button runs faster....she's already through the gate and heading for the Deep Dark Wood
Button and Daddy bravely lead the way. Archie works hard sniffing out those pesky Gruffalos.
Where can he be hiding?
I'm not afraid of a Gruffalo!
Come on Daddy....keep up! He's got to be here somewhere!
Do Gruffalos live under bridges...or is that Trolls?
Gruffalo hunting is awful tiring!
Gratuitous shot of my handsome boys.
The G Team! I LOVE these guys!
I love autumn.
It’s hands down, no quibbling, absolutely definitely my favourite season of them all.
What’s not to love about crisp, misty mornings, starry evenings, sweaters and boots?
And blackberries.
Today we visited Black Purl to drink coffee, eat croissants, discuss aprons and measure up for wardrobes. There was also some discussion about Farrow and Ball paint colours.
Kids and dogs ran amok. Archie made friends with Nino and Roxy (after some initial barky nonsense).
It was a pretty perfect morning.
Especially as BP’s lovely neighbour, who’s garden is a little on the wild side, had invited us to come in and pick the blackberries.
So we did.
We had a ridiculous amount of fun. And ended up with two large trays of blackberries, 8 stained hands and two very proud small people.
Who the hell needs a PlayStation?
Not us.
The blackberries are currently freezing and next week some of them will find their home in an apple and blackberry crumble cake, which will form the centre of a morning of knitting with friends.
We shall, of course, send a piece to the generous neighbour who shared his bounty with us.
Whilst I had planned to use the last of the green Artesano aran to knit Fairhope, it quickly became apparent that I hadn’t nearly enough yarn left for it.
A hastily organised Plan B yielded this little lovely:
Something Lacy Shrug is designed by Vera Sanon (of SunFunLivingKnits) and is published by Cascade Yarns. You can download it for free from their website.
Despite needing to cast this on about 20 times, that was definitely user error as this is a nice simple pattern that is very easy to follow.
You just knit a rectangle, sew up the sides a little to create tiny sleeves, then pick up and knit the ribs.
A quick and satisfying project that is great for using leftover yarn.
Although I still have enough of this left for a hat and mittens (it feels like the neverending stash of green yarn).
Guess what’s on the needles at the moment?
Another skein of stash yarn has been knitted up by my long suffering very kind mother.
This little beauty is the Holden Shawlette by Mindy Wilkes, which is available as a free download from Ravelry. It never ceases to amaze me how generous designers are with their creativity. 
The yarn is unknown sock yarn from my ever diminishing stash.
This is a lovely shawl…I adore this shape as it wraps into a cosy but not too bulky scarf which has me looking forward to crisp autumn days when I’ll have the opportunity to put all of Ma’s hard work to very good use.
Know that Peppa Pig will be making a guest appearance at your local garden centre open day.
Even if it is a crappy photo!
Don’t be fooled by the suspicious look on her face…I’ve not heard about anything else since we met Ms Pig this morning. She thinks I’m fabulous for knowing Peppa!
Needless to say The Boy wasn’t remotely interested in our celebrity porcine pal…the same couldn’t be said of the boa constrictor we met. Pity we couldn’t get a photo of that.
This is my first “school” holiday and even the housework isn’t getting done!
But today, whilst the Chaos Monsters had a little nap I decided to go into the sewing loft and see what took my fancy.
With the black trousers done and awaiting photos, I have the fabric for two Sorbetto tops, a dress and a Burda shirt washed and ready to go. But I didn’t feel in the right place for fitting and the like, so I pulled out the Gardener’s Journal quilt fabric.
I’ve just checked and I haven’t laid hands on this since the 15th June!
Shameful.
Especially as I’m off to the Festival of Quilts on Saturday.
So I set too and by the time Button had woken up and drawn several pictures, block A was finished, albeit somewhat wonkily. (Is that a real word? I suspect not!) I sewed slowly but I think straight and accurate piecing is a skill that needs practice.
That said, it was just the palate cleanser I needed.
I think I’m going to dig out the dress pattern and start tracing it off ready for fitting.
This week I received a comment from Clio where she asked:
“I’m thinking about picking up knitting this Autumn – it would be nice to have a hobby I could do on the couch! Do you have any suggestions for beginner books or DVD’s or websites that might be a good resource for a beginner who is a bit intimidated? Thanks for any suggestions!”
I couldn’t agree more with Clio. I love crisp autumn evenings spent on the sofa with a babes asleep upstairs, husband ensconced next to me, a fire, a glass of something warming and the perfect knitting project. It’s one of the most lovely ways to spend time. So I thought I’d share my favourite resources here with you all.
First up has to be Ravelry. This is always my first stop for patterns as there is an enormous selection, many of which you can download for free. And if, for example, you want to knit a ladies lace cardigan in 4 ply, then you can narrow the search parameters to find just what you’re looking for. The advance search facility has been invaluable for me in knitting up my stash as you can also search for patterns for the 700m of aran yarn you have in your stash! Brilliant.
Ravelry also has a great community and as well as patterns you can find yarn and groups of likeminded people…either locally or globally.
AND you can track your projects and stash and share them with the world.
Whilst we’re on the topic of community…for new knitters I can’t recommend enough searching out your local knitting group. You can search on Ravelry, at your local library, your local yarn shop or at Stitch ‘n’ Bitch. Knitters are fabulous people and are always happy to welcome newcomers, however inexperienced. They are also always happy to share their expertise.
So now you have a pattern and some knitting friends, obviously you need some yarn. When I started knitting about 30 years ago the selection was limited to what your local yarn shop stocked, and my local yarn shop stocked acrylic or scratchy wool.
We’ve come a long way baby!
Now you can get yarn in everything from alpaca to steel, and a myriad of fibers inbetween. It’s all down to personal taste and, of course, budget as to what you buy. My rule of thumb is to buy the best I can afford as I’m putting a lot of time, effort and love into each project.
My absolutely favourite yarn shop is Brownberry Yarns. I’ve mentioned Sarah’s shop here many times before and with good reason. She stocks lovely yarns and is just delightful. I know her from my knitting group and can’t recommend her highly enough.
I also use MCA who stock more mainstream yarns and provide a fabulous service. The Black Sheep was recommended to me by my knitting group and I’ve just placed an order with them saving 50% on the cost of the yarn. Bargain!
I must also mention a couple of ladies I know who are independent yarn producers. Krafty Koala dyed the yarn for my wedding shrugs and Laal Bear produced the alpaca/silk blend for my Gingko Shoulderette Shawl.
Now you have your yarn and pattern, should you need to find out how to cast on, or shape an armhole, or knit an icord, I invariably turn to either YouTube or Vogue Knitting:
There are, of course, so many other resources out there….Vogue Knitting Magazine, The Knitter Magazine, Twist Collective, Interweave Knits….the list goes on. But you’ve got to start somewhere, so I hope this collection of my “go-to” knitting spots will have you happily tucked up on the sofa with the rest of us.