Yarn: Louisa Harding Kashmir Aran purple 10.
Pattern: Basketweave Stitch.
Needles: 6 mm.
Notes: The pattern is really simple so there is not a lot to say.
The yarn is amazing, it is a flat woven ribbon yarn (like Rowan’s Cotton Tape or Sirdar’s Duet), but instead of being cotton or nylon it is made up of merino wool, microfibre and cashmere, the result is an soft chunky yarn.

I think it will be lovely used with another yarn, I am thinking of using it instead of the chenille on the Cotton Jacket with Chenille edging, from Vintage Knits (yes I am planning on making yet another project from this book).

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Maya 13.
Pattern: Circular Shrug.
Needles: 6 mm.
Notes: No one is at home at the moment – and I can never take a decent photo in the mirror, so you will have to imagine what this looks like on me.

I loved this project when I started it – I couldn’t wait to wear it. Unfortunately it got pushed aside in the long hot summer – now that autumn is here, it is the perfect item for to throw over a summer tee.

The pattern is really straight forward – apart from the assembling part – the instructions don’t really explain it too well – once I realised it was meant to be a circle it all made sense.

Yarn: Wendy Mohair – I think it is  discounted as I brought the yarn from eBay.
Pattern: Adaption of Spunmag’s Cleo Clutch.
Needles: 5mm and a cable needle.
Notes: On 94 stitches to create a wider bag. I doubled the Cable Pattern from the original pattern – omitting the final six stitches and creating a double cable in the centre. I repeated the pattern 8 times to form the front.

I then increased 10 stitches on each end to form the sides (and eventually the strap), the back is reserve stocking stitch for 116 rows (for the base and back). Placing, 10 stitches from each end on a scrap of yarn, I then worked the Cable Pattern 5 more times for the flap. The strap is created using the 10 stitches and working them until the desired length.

Cleo Clutch

Yarn: Wendy Mohair.
Pattern: Spunmag’s Cleo Clutch.
Needles: 5mm and a cable needle.
Notes: This is a really good project to practice cables – I have only done basic cables a few times before, and this project asked for more techniques. I found I needed to follow the pattern for every row.

Yarn: Karabella Aurora 4 color 8170 (Navy) and Texere’s King Cole Merino Wool Blend 4ply in Cherry (29)
Pattern: Made up.
Needles: 3.25 mm circulars and straights.
Notes: A basic top down cape – like the Anthropologie-inspired Capelet, use a basic increase instead of the yarn-over.

Rather than, stopping the decreasing when the sleeve stitches meet at the underarm, I continued to increase for half an inch more. The arms were worked straight to create the floaty sleeves, ending with an inch of seed stitch in the red yarn.

Yarn: Texere’s Good Fortune Cotton in Wine (6)
Pattern: Twin Set from Vintage Knits by Sarah Dallas.
Needles: 3 mm, 3.25mm and 3.25mm circular.
Notes: Those of you, who read my blog regularly, will remember my Mum asked me way back last May to knit her the twin set from Vintage Knits. I brought the yarn in July and made the sweater by September.

However, she has been waiting a long time for the cardigan. Back in February, I decided that cardigan would look to plain in stocking stitch so made it in diamond stitch pattern.

All the cardigan needed was the button band and add the buttons. Finally, over a year later the twin set is complete.

Yarn: Texere’s Good Fortune Cotton in Wine (6) and Rowan’s Cotton Glace in Mystic (808).
Pattern: Made up.
Needles: 3.25 mm circulars and straights.
Notes: I started with 2.5 inches of 1×1 rib, then decreased stitches at each end and increased stitches to form an hour glass shape. I bound off the base of the neckline just after shaping the armholes, to create a deep round neck. The arms are simple cap sleeves with raglan decreases.

Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8 color 1547.
Pattern: The Clutch You’ll Never Give Up from One Skein and various flowers from iVillage.
Needles: 5mm circular.
Notes: I had this yarn in my stash and although it wasn’t the right gauge, I adapted the pattern. Casting on double the stitches and knitting twice as many lines on smaller needles.

The flowers where made with odd wool from my stash, the cream is a Morning Star made with Cascade 220, the Navy is Pinwheel, made in Rowanspun DK. The other flower was part of the wrapping from my One Skein Secret Pal parcel from June.

Yarn: Opal Prisma in 1192 (Green).
Pattern: Sock it to ‘em pattern with decreases for the calf.
Needles: 2 mm DPN’s (5 needles).
Notes: As I have mentioned, my sister has awful taste in trainers so for her birthday, I had to introduce her to the wonderful world of Converse, but you can’t just have a pair of Converse you also need a matching pair of socks, and so for the last month I have been busy knitting some green socks - the perfect project for May’s Project Spectrum.

I wanted to make knee-high socks, so I started with 80 stitches and decrease a stitch at the beginning and end of each 10th round, to 60 stitches, then followed the basic sock pattern.

I also used Alison’s method for solid coloured heels, but I don’t think it works extremely well with this yarn as the stripes are too short, it looks better on the fatter stripes.

Yarn: Sirdar Town and Country 4ply Sock Yarn in Classic Grey and Cygnet Wool Rich 4ply in Rose Pink.
Pattern: Sock it to ‘em pattern with short row heel.
Needles: 2 mm DPN’s (5 needles).
Notes: I had about 75 grams of the grey yarn in my stash, and this pink wool I brought for some reason (I have no idea what I was thinking when I brought it), but I decided to make a striped pair of socks – originally as part of March’s Project Spectrum, as I had a limited amount of the pink yarn I added an extra stripe on the foot.

This project was also the perfect time to experiment with short-row heels, as I figured the grey heel would look more symmetrical, I think the socks fits more snuggly this way, but I have to get use to short-rows, I am still not use to this techinique.

Yarn: Sirdar Town and Country 4ply Sock Yarn in Classic Grey.
Pattern: Spun’s Summer Socks, Geisha Sock.
Needles: 2 mm DPN’s (5 needles).
Notes: I use to think knitting socks would be extremely hard – but this was my second pair and a little more adventurous, I also use to think knitting gloves would be impossible, but, this is really just a mitten pattern adapted for feet, and it really wasn’t that complicated.

I did have a little problem after I picked up the stitches to complete the round for the toes, I ended up with a tiny hole, however, this was easily fixed by darning the hole after the sock was complete.

* These socks were made for my sister to wear with her Nike Air Rift and not with Flip Flops