Wednesday WIPs – Stuff and stuff

October 14, 2015October 13, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I took my knitting on a mini break over the weekend.

It wasn’t far, but the change of scenery and no house chores, made it an excellent escape.

I took three WIPs but as per usual, I only worked on one.

As well as that, it’s been a pretty amazing mail week for me.

I got a skein of Fab Funky Fibres, and a couple of mini skeins. (My excuse for buying yarn this time around, was that it was a tiny bonus from work, so it was FREE money).

I also received my second last Cookie A sock club, someone at knit night described it as Latté. I’m not sure I love the colour, but the skein itself feels amazing.

And Kate Davies Seven Skeins club arrived! It is tremendously exciting, I’m not sure whether to cake up my yarn yet, or wait for the release of the first pattern on Friday. I think I’ll just look at it for now. The race is definitely on to keep up with Sharon.

My UIOLI Shingle project is finished! It needs a good bath before wearing it. I’m pretty contented with it. The only downside is that about half the yarn still remains…

My bingo game is a lot harder than it first seemed. For instance, I’ve totally screwed up with the square that say’s ‘NO NEW YARN’. I might need to revise my Bingo card next month…

Bingo/Binge Knitting

October 4, 2015 | Sonia Knits

As an avid listener to the Stash and Burn podcast. I thought it was about time I participated in another one of their initiatives, if not ‘cold sheeping’ (ahahahahaha) then why not some Bingo?!

I’m having fun already!

It has been a long weekend here in Melbourne, which has given me the opportunity to take stock of where all my projects are at. At the start of this week I had 7 WIPs. And I kind of wanted to change that or at least for the WIPs to be evolving/finishing/new wips.

Laying them all out in full view helped form a strategy, (not pictured is the hexagon crochet blanket or Cookie A’s June socks), or at least helped form my Bingo card. I included aspects of these 7 WIPs in my Bingo card for the month, and then I included other things, fun things and things not yet started. The idea is that if I cross off a row of goals, there’s a reward for getting Bingo. But just achieving a row of these things for me is a reward in itself… besides I have yarn, fibre and more yarn flying towards me this month, so really…

My Cookie A socks for June are finished, and I love them. I loved knitting them. My favourite kind of Cookie A socks, cuff down, charted, no cables.

When I got these done, my other WIPs were staring me in the face.

Particularly this one. The Louisa Harding ‘Shingle’ project. It’s been on my Use It Or Lose It list for well over a year. It was time to find out what it was going to be.

I decided on the Safire cardigan by Hilary Smith Callis. It was either going to be this or nothing, was my decision. A little cropped cardigan, that I can wear over little summer dresses.

Then I Binged Knit it…

And now I’m up to the ribbing of the body…

It looks like it might be a keeper, I’m going to have to keep knitting to find out.

Meanwhile, I’m terrified about the other plans that are forming in my head. I think I’m going to be left with at least 3 balls when this is over. I’m afraid I might be considering making a matching ‘niece’ ballerina cardigan. The never-ending yarn! But how cute would niece M look in that?

Wednesday WIPs – Niece cuddles

September 30, 2015September 29, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I’ve met my newest, latest, freshest niece!

And I’m already pretty in love with her.

I’m sure she’s going to love me too…

One day, but maybe not today.

I’m playing catch-up with my Cookie A sock club socks, if I can just get these ones finished tonight…

Then I’ll just have these to do before my next parcel arrives in about 2 weeks…
That’s do-able right?

I’ve been listening to How to Kill a Mocking Bird read by Sissy Spacek. I’m enjoying it very much, no spoilers please, I don’t know how it ends… I hope it’s happy.

Wednesday WIPS and a Baby FO

September 23, 2015 | Sonia Knits

Today I was going to talk to you about the six pairs of socks I darned last weekend…

It took quite some time…

And I began to realise why I’m a knitter and not a sewer.

Because knitting is so much funner. (Can you see the knitting-in nylon holding it together?!)

But then after a day and a half of darning… it was like I made 6 pairs of hand knit socks, I guess that was time well spent.

But more excitingly I have to tell you my niece arrived today. I got to the point where I thought she was never going to arrive!

Just in time to sew on 2 teeny tiny buttons on to the Joey cardigan, then a wee visit and a cuddle with my 9th niece / nephew.

I’m pretty excited about that, and I didn’t even have to do anything!

Wednesday WIPs – Gap-tastic

August 19, 2015August 18, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I whipped up a GAP-tastic cowl for mum, finishing it at the weekend. Intentionally, it was meant for her birthday in September… but it’s still cold now and I thought it would make more sense to give it to her right away.

This is some of the White Gum Wool Boucle, which I purchased from the Bendigo Sheep Show with the exact purpose of making something for my mum. I’ve never knit with something so quickly from Bendigo, I still have yarn from the first year of my very first Bendigo Show!

The colour is more blue/green than blue. The colour name is Fairy Wren. I used 2 full balls.Altogether, it was a pretty mindless pattern, and sometimes that can be thoroughly enjoyable.

My mum loved it! I’m now on a mission to finish some of my long-standing WIPs that have been languishing on my Projects page on Ravelry. Next up, our (my) hexagon crochet blanket…

Wednesday WIPs – New beginnings

August 12, 2015August 9, 2015 | Sonia Knits

This week, I taught a friend how to spin!

I was so inspired and excited by how well she took to it, I had to go home and jump on my wheel right after.

I’m currently spinning up some Thylacine BFL mixed with camel. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered I had 2 similar colour ways of 200 grams each; so I thought perhaps I could ply the 2 colour ways together, in something of a 4 or 5 ply and have enough to knit myself a vest of some description. Stay tuned for that.

The baby blanket was completed and blocked last week. It is a relief to get it done before the baby arrives. I’m pretty pleased with the result too! The yarn was stash yarn, mainly made up of Jo Sharp classic DK wool, with a bit of this and that thrown in. The pattern: Honeycomb Stroller Blanket is free and is pretty nifty if you ask me. The slip stitch pattern forms the hexagons therefore there are no patches to sew together (just lots of ends). If I were to make it again, (and that’s a possibility if more babies arrive in my family), I would do a provisional cast on at the start, to make the border easier to pick up and knit. The other alt that I made was to make the border a garter stitch one, and rather than picking up all the way around, I did each side individually, increasing at the edges each right side row to make the mitred corners. There will be some better ‘glamour’ photos taken when the cute baby arrives.

I’ve cast on a new project, this is Cookie A’s June sock club. I’m making the Apollonia socks. I’m enjoying knitting from the sock lace chart, and knit a fair bit of the leg in one evening. I find knitting from lace charts so soothing and fun.I’m also itching to begin a garment for me, but I thought I should look at one of my Use It Or Lose It projects first.

I picked up my Safire cardigan, which had only been literally cast on. In theory I’m liking how this is working, but I am wondering whether this yarn is more appropriate for niece M, due to it’s ‘blingy’ nature. Only time will tell.

I’m still listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, I can’t recommend it enough. I only have 10 hours left to go!

Wednesday WIPs

July 29, 2015July 26, 2015 | Sonia Knits

Hi there! I was visited by this cheeky monkey on the weekend…

She was wearing the dress I made for her. The pattern warns to make the dress from wool, but I went ahead and made it in cotton anyway, it was the right colour from my stash!So I wasn’t super surprised to see that there were problems with the bodice. But I was surprised by just how much it was stretching, and how easy it was for her to ‘get out of her dress’ from the top down.

Easily fixed I pronounced, if I could just borrow the dress back. Niece M went home in her stockings!

Two goes at the attached i-cord to the neckline (the first attempt made the head hole too small to get over her head). And hopefully this has now solved the issue. Niece M only likes wearing dresses, I know where she’s coming from. I’m thinking maybe a rainbow dress for Christmas perhaps?

I’ve also been working on the next baby blanket…

There’s still a long way to go.

And I’ve got the wheel out and I’ve been doing some overdue plying of some Southern Cross Fibre club fibre.

And this little bit are the odds and sods to empty the little bits off my bobbins…

Because I have so much to get through. How about you?

Wednesday WIPs – Belated Cowl

July 22, 2015 | Sonia Knits

For the careful observers, I didn’t get my hand-spun Honey Cowl finished in time or over the Bendigo Show weekend. But it’s finished now!

Damian’s image of Richmond station in the background was the perfect backdrop for this photo. It’s so cosy.

I’m really happy with how the gradient stripes have worked, and it’s my handspun!

I’m still listening to the brilliantly narrated ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt, I think I still have hours upon hours to go, but I’m loving it all the same.

See you next week.

Wednesday WIPs (and a FO)

July 1, 2015June 28, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I finally have an FO!

These are my Xeriscape socks (Cookie A’s April Club). I really enjoyed knitting these. They were simple to knit and, the easy-to-memorise patterning, was enough not to get too boring. I would make these again as my ‘go-to mindless socks’.

And my June club yarn has arrived and it’s gorgeous! I’m hoping to make the next deadline for the competition, but as per usual there are a few other things I need to get done and cast on first.

This stunning fibre also arrived for the Southern Cross Fibre club, I got the colour way ‘Peacock’. It was a lovely mail week.

I’ve been working on my Grace cardigan and with any luck, there will be some modelled photos next week.

I’m listening to The Goldfinch as mentioned last week, and I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying it. I’m only about six hours into listening for a total of 32 hours, I still have a ways to go.

Sonia Knits

The adventures of a Melbourne Knitter

Finished Object