Knitting

Another Month, another jumper cast-on

| Sonia Knits

We have begun the third month of the year, which means I’ve cast-on for yet another jumper! Both January and February jumpers are still incomplete, but I’m enjoying them both thoroughly.

I have reached the point in my painting bricks sweater (February), where I actually love it! I was having serious doubts about this one, up until this point. I’ve begun thinking about what I’ll wear it with, and what new additions to my wardrobe I’ll need to make this a super fun outfit.

My January sweater the Paul Klee sweater by Midori Hirose, is still needing the second sleeve, but with the long-weeknd here in Victoria, I’m hoping to find some time to finish it up. For those not in Victoria, the forecast for the next 3 days is going to be 37/38 degrees celsius. Which is terribly disappointing to me, I’m not sure how I’ll cope except to stay inside.

This is the yarn I’m using for my March cast-on, for the Pressed Flowers pullover by Amy Christophers. The Pressed Flowers series of patterns has been selected by my knitting group for our Bendigo Sheep Show sweater this year. I figured beginning it in March was probably wise, so that I didn’t leave it to the last minute and not finish it in time. The main coloured yarn is by Miss Click Clack, purchased a few years ago and it is absolutely gorgeous. The contrast gradient of colours is by My Creative Garage. I purchased the minis set at the Sheep Show last year, and I’ve added a couple extra minis from her advent 2 years ago, to ensure I have enough yardage.

I am enjoying knitting the pattern now that I’ve moved past the short rows, gosh they were a bit tricksy, I had to pay a lot of attention there. But I think it will be smooth sailing from here on in.

A Race to the Finish

| Sonia Knits

With just two days to the New Year, my Amina sweater is FINALLY finished. This would have to be the longest time it’s taken me to knit a single jumper, having cast on for it in June. So for someone who likes completing things on a regular basis, this was torture. Am I happy with it? Why yes, yes I am. Did I learn a lot? Yes, yes I did, would I knit it again? Definitely not!

Every single end has been woven in

Earlier this week, we celebrated Christmas in our usual way; both families on the one day, lots of fun with the kids and lots of food. On Christmas eve, we had a pre-Christmas celebration with some friends, and we had a Kit-Kat constructing competition (not my idea of fun!). Whilst I am a designer, I’ve never been great at constructing things, and one of the competing adult kids is studying architecture! Somehow, the train, Tim and I had built scored first place.

The yarn advents are over and I can’t wait to cast-on some new colour work projects in the new year. First of all I’ll be casting-on for the Paul Klee sweater with Kate Davies’ advent yarns. I spent a delightful morning on Boxing day arrranging and re-arranging colours for this. If all goes to plan, I’ll be casting on for another sweater in February with the My Creative Garage advent, but more on that another time.

My little/big hedgehog decoration is almost complete, I’m just waiting on a delivery of 6mm black beads for it’s eyes, then just a few facial embroidery details and it’s done. I’m pretty novice when it comes to Amigurumi, the arms and feet are different sizes, so don’t look too closely. It will have just a few days on the tree, before it all gets boxed up again for next year. Christmas is over too quickly.

Taking stock

| Sonia Knits

It’s been a busy time since we’ve gotten back from our trip to Japan. I’m really looking forward to taking pause over the Christmas and New Year break, catching up with life and reseting for the new year.

Last weekend, the Richmond Knitters had their Christmas Dinner Party. One of the highlights of the evening is the ornament exchange. I set out to make an amigurumi hedgehog, the pattern is super cute! It claims to only take 4 hours to make, but by the 6 hour mark and not being half done, I decided to cast on for my second ornament option: The Furry Fairies pattern by Alan Dart. It was fiddly, but well worth the effort. I appreciated other knitters’ comments on Ravelry about converting the pattern into knitting in the round, rather than flat, and knitting i-cord for the mouse’s limbs. It’s very sweet 🙂 Damian is still hoping I’ll finish the hedgehog for our tree.

It is the season for advents. After last year’s advent calendar extravaganza, I swore I would give this year a miss… but as time went on, I succumbed to temptation and ordered 2 yarny advent calendars. I’m so glad I did, both the My Creative Garage and Kate Davies’ calendars are just beautiful. The Kate Davies calendar features her Milarrochy Tweed with 6 exclusive colours (and patterns to arrive on Dec 24th!) I’ve earmarked this yarn to become a Paul Klee Sweater, and I’m hoping to cast on for this on January 1. Which brings me to my knitting goals for 2024…

I want to cast on for a new jumper every month in 2024… or at least until I become overwhelmed! I did this in 2020 and I completed 5 sweaters that year, and a further 3 were finished off in 2021. I really enjoyed casting on for something new each month, it gave me a clear goal for what I wanted to achieve and rather than my knitting plans languishing in my queue it was a thrill to bring each sweater to life.

For the remainder of this year, I’m focussing on getting all of my WIPs completed, including the Amina Sweater. All the pieces have been knit, now it’s just a case of sewing in all of the ends, blocking, sewing-up, and knitting the neck band. I also want to get cracking/finish my Shelley Husband, Nimue crochet blanket. That’s all achievable right?

Crafternoon

| Sonia Knits

I was able to gather up some Richmond Knitters at the last minute for a bit of a Crafternoon at my place yesterday.

The crafternoon had all the ingredients for a successful afternoon:

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There was cake. I made this, despite it’s disastrous appearance, by all accounts it was delicious. It’s the first cake I’ve made in a really long time. Damian helped me separate the eggs, I had a bit of trouble with that…

There were babies:

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There was a yarn shelf, some excellent knitters, a spinner, a destash (mine, yippee!) and some funny conversation.

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I can’t wait to do it all again.

Shopping the Stash

| Sonia Knits

You know it was inevitable. I don’t think any of you would be surprised. But it is the start of the year, where silly things like diets and such begin.

If you’ve looked at my stash over on Ravelry, you will know that this is not any great sacrifice. Yarn diet sounds a little too harsh and not quite as apt as ‘Shopping the Stash’. I think my problems issues with yarn stem from the high I get from whenever I buy the stuff and I can’t knit it fast enough. That is the only way I can explain it.

Of course, there will be provisions for the Bendigo Show, and if I don’t happen to have yarn that I need to buy for a project for nephew or a niece, well then I’m going to do it.

And I also joined Stranded in Oz’s yarn club this year (I’m so excited!), with 6 installments…

So you see, it really isn’t a yarn diet at all…

I’m going to stay away from online yarn updates and visit yarn stores without absolute requirement (I might need needles you know). I’m not giving myself a timeframe, I’m just starting now. But I’m expecting late Christmas yarn to be sitting on my desk when I get back to work.

Starting now!

Bad Cat

| Sonia Knits

I get really bored talking about Still Light, so I figure you must be bored hearing about it. All I’ll say is, it has been placed on hold yet again (with just 2 sleeves to go). My niece’s first birthday is coming up in less than 3 weeks and I wanted to make her something and I didn’t want to chance not getting it done in time if I. didn’t. stop. knitting. Still. Light.

Fast forward to this morning. Damian left for work hours before me. I wake to find this on my living room floor. 

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Oh crap I thought. She’s got a taste for it. She’s somehow managed to find the left-over Cleckheaton Country Wide I made the Latte Baby Hoody with. Oh she must have got into my basket. Never mind I thought. No harm done. I’m beginning to sound like ‘those’ cat people that blame themselves for their cats destroying their knitting. Sadly, I’m beginning to see it from their perspective. 

So off to work I go, with the yarn safely shoved into the kitchen bin. At some point I unconsciously consider, ‘gee that was a lot of left-over yarn she got a hold of’. Way more than I thought I had… after all, I didn’t have enough to even make a ‘baby’ pocket on the jacket as I’d hoped. I pushed the thought out of my head.

Tonight I arrive home. I begin peeling the potatoes in prep for the delicious meal my husband is going to cook. I casually gaze at my yarn shelf and for no reason at all I see this:

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This is where I freak out.

Ok. This ball of yarn is from my new ‘niece’ project. It has been placed up high on this shelf by Damian. Ok… so if that’s up there, then where is the rest of my yarn and project bag? It’s missing. I search high and low. I finally find my bag still relatively tied up in Purl’s TUNNEL @#$%%^&*

I carefully untie my project bag and then I hold my breath for the safe return of my knitting project. (At this point I think Purl walks sideways out of the room). Thankfully the project is intact. I go to the bin and yank out the red yarn. It is not the Cleckheaton Country Wide wool, I’d originally thought. It is the Jo Sharp DK wool, which is the monsters mouth in my niece’s project. Woe. Oh. Oh well. At least I’ve already done the mouth, nevermind I wanted to use it for stripes as well. There I go again sounding like one of those cat people.

The project is Das Monster. Toddler monster pants! I love them and have wanted to knit them forever. If there’s time, I’ll make my niece a cardigan too.

Lessons learned:

Purl cannot be trusted. Ever.

She has a taste for yarn with some grit. The Rowan yarn sits unharmed in baskets totally at her reach.

Purl loves yarn, just like me.

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The Latte Baby Hoody

| Sonia Knits

 

 

This week I’ve worked solidly on this baby hoody for a co-worker. It’s missing some buttons, but I hope to rectify that in the next couple of days. So far, I’m thrilled with the result! The pattern was well-written and clever, not a seam in sight. The knitting began at the very top of the hood section using Judy’s Magic cast-on… clever huh?

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… and do you recognise the yarn?

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The yarn was left-over from making my Silvi Coat, Cleckheaton Country Wide. I managed to locate a little over 5 balls. I was rapt to have put them to good use, but I wish I had just one more ball. I had to skimp on 2 rows in the woven band and I had to forego a pocket. Boo hoo. But alas I don’t think it’s a major tragedy.

Now back to Still-light… still going. It’s times like these I wish I had a magic wand.

I was bored

| Sonia Knits

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I’ve cast on another project.

I needed to.

Reasons why:
Plain and Simple top: stocking stitch
Vesper socks: stocking stitch
Still Light tunic: stocking stitch

I know you’ll understand.

Whilst I was pondering that other sock club yesterday, I came across a sock designer I hadn’t seen before, and was immediately attracted to a couple of her patterns. The designer’s name is Star Athena (I’m sure she’s an astrologist?!) and the socks that said ‘knit me, I’m yours’ was Anna Jarvis socks. Cute huh?

Sunday arvo, I wound up some sock yarn Ursula dyed for me. I was her first real order, and I’m claiming it when she’s rich and famous. Hurry up and open an etsy store already!

Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of mindless knitting, but it seems I have piles of it and needed a break. I feel happy and content that I’ve liberated my knitting. Spontaneous cast on is fun, I’ll face the consequences later…

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Oh what fun!

| Sonia Knits

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I’ve knit my very first Vesper Sock Club sock, singular. I really had fun knitting this and now I get to do it all again when I cast on my second sock, which is right now.

I’m really pleased about how the solid cuff, heel and looks so much so I’m considering doing this with the other stripy sock yarns I have.

Speaking of sock clubs, I almost had a moment of insanity this morning. The Blue Moon Fiber Arts sock club memberships went on sale today. After much pondering, I decided I couldn’t possibly join another club this year, no matter how much I love sock yarn. There are limits you know!

The Still Light along has indeed begun… I wonder where Louisa is up to?

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