princessdeia

I nicked this from Woolly Warbler

What new knitting techniques did I learn this year?
Thanks to Tracy (she sent me a sock starter kit as part of SP5), it has to be socks and knitting with DPN’s.

Which completed project from the last 12 months are you most proud of?
I think that would have to be Lucky - she became a labour of love, or the beaded bolero I made for my sister.

What was your biggest knitting disaster of the year?
Not sure really - I guess it would have to be Florence that I started knitting realised I was never going to wear it and also I think the pattern was a bit too much for me, I am useless at intarsia.

What knit craze grabbed you this year?
Without a doubt it would have to KSH - I love it, so far all I have used it for is scarves - but I think I may have to knit a Butterfly or Cami in the New Year.

And New Year Resolutions?
At the moment none - but it is an excuse to make a list

Happy New Year!

Yarn: Paton’s Cotton DK in Cream.
Pattern: Adapted from Bolero in Vintage Knits by Sarah Dallas.
Needles: 2 ¾ mm, 3mm and 3mm circular.
Notes: I knitted the body all in one – mainly as I hate seaming.
I started out with 184 stitches, and increased the fronts as the pattern called for but only increased the sides for the back, (the extra 5 stitches for the fronts were added one at the beginning).

The beads are 5 stitches apart – every sixth row – alternating to form the diamond (first bead was on the fourth stitch and the next beaded row it was on the second stitch).

Rather than make a tie for this (or leave it as the pattern suggests), my sister brought this lovely brooch from Gap.

I love reading other peoples knitting blogs, it inspires me to be more productive. This weekend I managed to finally cast on two new projects, make some stitch markers and invest in The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques. I have loved reading about the Secret Pals 4 unveiling and wished I had taken part – I am hoping to sign up for SP5, when it starts.

Inspired by Monica over at the Lucky KAL, I decided to make the beaded bolero in one piece starting with 184 stitches realizing I needed stitch markers – instead of using safety pins, I followed Chrisknits’ simply tutorial – and even me with no jewelry making experience managed to follow.

Finally, I was thinking about a small present to make for my sister for her birthday at the end of May, and knowing how much she loves scarves, it seemed like an obvious choice, I was thinking about Branching Out, but after seeing Metro’s fabulous finished projects, I thought making a scarf out of Rowan’s Cotton Braid in Picasso (all the colours are named after painters – I love it). It pretty weird knitting with my is coming along really quickly - it’s nice to be knitting with big needles again.

With Lucky finished it is time to move on to my next project… after buying Rowan 35, I have been inspired to knit tons of projects with cotton. Hopefully, I will get on to knitting something from here soon at the moment Audrey is at the top of my list.

I also recently invested in some (more) Paton’s 100% Cotton, which is a great substitute for Rowan’s Cotton Glace. These four balls of cream are ear-marked for my sister’s beaded bolero.

I’m not really following a pattern, the basic design is the bolero from Vintage Knits, but I am making it with short sleeves, and then the two front panels will have the beaded pattern from the beaded sweater (image on the left).
I convinced my sister last night to thread the beads on the wool - I hate the tricky jobs… she used the clear nail vanish tip from SnBN which worked a treat

I have been unbelievable busy trying to get my pet project up and running, that I have been unable to update my journal…

However last weekend, Jason finally managed to take a few photos of me in Lucky Clover Lace Wrap. As I was trying it on, I realised I have sewn the neckband on wrong and the tie was on the right instead of the left – but being left handed I thought it was kinda apt that it was cack-handed – and so I left it. Well the honest truth was the sewing was all done with a wing and a pray that I doubt it would work again.

I knitted the smallest size and although, I didn’t constantly check my gauge, when I blocked the pieces they were the right size however the whole cardigan is a little larger than I was expecting, however, I think it will look great when teamed up with a dress.

The close up here shows the inside tie and yet again shows it is on the wrong side… This is also a better photo than the one I took the other day as that was on my phone camera and this is with a decent camera. I was hoping to get a darker colored ribbon, but this lilac color looks good and I guess no one will see it.

Now I need to get started on my next creating. I am hooked 4-ply cotton, it is seems silly knitting With heavy wool in the summer, so I have planned a few summer cotton projects.

First I am knitting my sister a cream borelo with gold beads – it’s a cross between two patterns in Vintage Knits the bolero and beaded sweater that both have the same gauge.

After that I am planning a little delicate sweater for myself, I was hoping to get it ready for the end of May as I have a naming day to go to and I thought I could wear one of my projects with pride – but it looks like I don’t have enough time.