Month: September 2014

Yarn Along – Slow progress

| Sonia Knits

Welcome to another week of Yarn Along, you can see what everyone else is making and reading by heading over to Ginny’s blog here.

This week I wish my progress wasn’t so slow. Why am I not surprised?! That’s what happens when you’re working on more than one thing at a time.

I’m loving the Polka Dot rug that I’m making for my sister’s baby E.T.A. 7-10 weeks away, but probably just 7 weeks away. So far I’ve made a patch of each of the 13 coloured centres.

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I think if I aim for 35 squares in total (5 x 7 grid) that would be sensible. There’s so much to do and so little time.

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I’ve also been spinning, I have to keep up and perhaps try to get ahead of my fibre stash before my next Southern Cross Fibre club instalment arrives on my doorstep…

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Ooops too late.

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Well perhaps I can make some more spinning time this week… some how. I have to say David’s fibre is every bit delicious that his reputation suggests. I have not been disappointed with his colour choices for me.

I also popped along to Woolarium’s birthday celebration this weekend and picked up some Malabrigo for a future project. How could I resist?

I’m very passionate about the yarn stores we have in Melbourne, and I like to support them when I can. After all they run by people who are passionate about yarn and have taken the huge leap of faith that lovely knitters will patronise them. I love buying yarn, so I do what I can…

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Don’t be fooled by the one skein pictured, I have way more for a jumper.

I’m still listening to Outlander and avoiding watching the shows; I am loving it!

Hopefully I’ll have an FO next week, somehow.

 

Yarn Along – False starts and decisions

| Sonia Knits

 

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This week has been a bit rough, with so many new projects and each of them requiring consideration, I’ve cast-on and ripped 3 of the projects a number of times until it was right.

The Polka Dot baby blanket caused me the most concern. Before I even completed the first patch, I was ready to throw in the towel. I wasn’t reading the pattern properly, rounds 4 and 5 were a doozy. But I got there after 3 days, and then the second patch went so much faster. But that wasn’t before I attempted a granny square as an alternative to the polka dot patches. I asked Twitter ‘What should I do?’ The suggestion that I shouldn’t make something ‘too good’ to give away, spurred me on. I only want to give away things that I love, because if I don’t love it, then it’s not good enough.

I decided I loved the Polka Dot design most, unfortunately or fortunately it also meant I needed a few more colours to make it a success. A quick little lunchtime trip down to Yarn & Co. sorted this out for me. I have 13 centre colours now, I’ll make 3 of each and 4 of one colour to make 40 patches and a blanket similar in size to Willam’s after finishing it off with a large border. So much for using yarn stash yarn! I anticipate I’ll have enough left-over for another baby blanket, ha ha ha.

I’m still listening to Outlander (the first book) and enjoying that very much, as well as dipping in and out of Rachel Herron’s A life in Stitches.

To see what everyone else is crafting and reading this week, visit Ginny’s blog here. See you next week.

Yarn along – Cast-on-a-plooza

| Sonia Knits

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Here’s to another week of Yarn Along with Ginny and Friends. You can see Ginny’s blog here to catch-up on what everyone is knitting and reading this week.

It’s been an interesting week, with lots of new starts! I’m always pining to knit new things and this week I just didn’t say no. My projects page is about to explode with many new WIPs.

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Ysolda Teague has launched a new knit along called ‘Knitworthy’, each fortnight releasing a new pattern to total 8. I gave in to peer pressure within 24 hours of finding out about it. The first pattern ‘Bronntanas’ which is a slouchy hat with an interesting honey-comb pattern looked pretty awesome to me, so how could I turn a blind eye? I’ve cast-on using my last instalment of Stranded in Oz yarn, to make this hat for myself; if the remaining patterns are half as good as the first, I think it will be $20 well spent. This is it below, the colour is not right, but you get the gist.

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And I’ve cast-on some plain toe-up socks from the Stranded in Oz clubs latest instalment. It’s very pretty. It uses 2 strands of lace weight Alpacamer : 60% baby alpaca, 25% merino, 15% nylon. You can see the toe pictured.

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And I’ve begun my sisters next baby blanket (not pictured). After ‘workshopping’ my baby blanket predicament, Deb was the-voice-of-reason and a good idea. Why not used the 4ply Patons wool I have and make the polka dot crochet blanket from that, requiring only to purchase the frame colour? In hindsight, an 8 ply cotton blanket is going to be heavier than a 4 ply wool one so what ever was I thinking? I’m pretty excited about this new incarnation of the baby blanket, I’m able to use what I have, and I’m doing a different pattern (with less ends!).

I’ve also been working on my Istanbul socks by Cookie A, which I’m totally loving (with so many projects on the needles it’s been hard to focus the admiration).

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And this week I’ve downloaded and have begun listening to a new audiobook, drum roll please…

I’m listening to Outlander by Diana Gabaldon! I do feel that I’m the last person on earth to read this series. Now with the TV show beginning on Foxtel, I thought it was time to give it a go. I do intend to ‘listen’ to the book/s before watching the series. I think I’m ruined on Game of Thrones, but I’m still persisting with the audio books for now. I am enjoying the narration of Outlander and because I don’t know what’s going to happen (unlike GoT), there is a reason to listen to 32 hours for the first book alone.

Yarn Along – Hexagons and In the mail

| Sonia Knits

Welcome to another week of Yarn Along with Ginny and Friends. Go and check out the blog here to see what everyone is knitting and reading this week.

This week I did a bit of work on my crochet blanket project. Many of you wouldn’t know it as a project, as I had only made 6 hexagons in the first year… Oh but don’t worry, this won’t be like my patchwork hexagon quilt or my hexipuffs (what hexipuffs), this time will be different.

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I’m making it out of Noro Taiyo, which is a chunky yarn. After a little design consultation from Deb, I’m planning on adding a ‘natural’ or neutral colour to the final round of the hexagons. There are some amazing looking projects on Ravelry that do this, and it gives the ‘full on’ colour of the Noro a bit of a break. My next problem is finding the perfect yarn for it. Can I use stash? Can I spin for it? Decisions, decisions…

It’s also been a good mail week this week. Due to the enabling of one Susan B Anderson, these arrived at my desk on Friday…

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Although the blame can’t lay solely on Susan’s shoulders. I was sufficiently enabled by The Knitmore Girls, and Simply Socks Yarn co. #operationsockdrawer

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Happiness is a self-striping sock yarn x 5.

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With fixed flat-rate shipping, I needed to make it worth my while… I have a self-striping sock yarn fetish, didn’t you know?

Up next I’m reading Rachel Herron’s ‘A life in Stitches’. It’s a sure thing, knitting, short-stories about knitting, I know I’m going to enjoy it. Then after that, maybe something serious?