Handmakers Factory

I put my hand up to be a guest blogger on Handmakers Factory and I've just had my first post published. So exciting! You can find it here. And there will be more to come!

More Louisa Harding love

Last off my needles is Louisa Harding's Reef from Ondine. Knitted in Adorn Yarn's Cotton Cashmere DK. This is an easy knit with minimal sewing up as you knit up from the underarm on one circular needle. I did quite a lot of adjustment to the fit, to make it a bit longer and to account for my broad shoulders. I have been calling it my high-vis jumper, and it is a really hard colour to photograph, but it's nice to have something fun and bright to wear on dull days!

I started these ages ago when we went away for the weekend, rashly casting on four garments at once, and now I've finished them all. Previously I finished Breaker, also from Ondine and also knit in Adorn Yarns Cotton Cashmere DK, but I struggled to fin the right buttons. Again I lengthened the body and the sleeves as well as making it broader across the shoulders.

I've just cast on Louisa Harding's Tea Cup from Queen of Hearts, using Filatura di Crosa Golden Line Superior which is a bit of a splurge, but it was on sale at Clegs. Knit with a double strand is making it progress quickly, helping me catch up a bit with my aim of finishing 12 adult garments by the end of the year. Six down; six to go!

I've also got to cast on Michael's birthday jumper (due in 13 days...well maybe not). I'm going to make him Erika Knight's Deep V Sweater from her Classic Knits: 15 Timeless Designs to Knit and Keep Forever, making a few adaptions for the male torso. He's chosen the same Antique Red as the ribbing in my Reef, so we won't be able to wear them at the same time, that would be way too matcy-matchy.

Oh, and yes, I do own a sewing machine and I do buy material all the time (especially in remnant sales), but somehow I'm just not getting anything done...

Weekend Knitting

I went away last weekend and I might have overdone casting on new projects, without finishing anything!

Clockwise from left: Reef from Ondine, Tuesday from Blue Monday, Breaker from Ondine, and the sleeves of Mandarin from Chinoiserie, all by Louisa Harding and all in Adorn Yarns Cotton Cashmere, except Tuesday which is in Adorn Yarns Silky Merino DK. Now I just have to finish them!

Skipper!

Well, it's been a while and I have been knitting, but I've also been doing plenty of unpulling. This yarn started off as Kim Hargreaves' Patsy from Touching Elegance, and I had knitted quite a bit of it, but I just wasn't happy with knit, so I unpulled it. And then I saw the new Louisa Harding books and I fell in love again with her patterns and bought a pile from the UK. The first project is Skipper from Ondine, which took quite a bit of tweeking to get the fit right and hence more unpulling. The body to the underarms is a size 10, the fit across the front and back (the same) is a size 12 and the length of the arm hole is a size 14. I also lengthened the body and the sleeves until they felt right for me. Here's the outcome:

The three big cable up the front and back (I reversed mine to that they were on my right hand side) are very dramatic (and easy) while showing off the beautiful yarn from the Wool Baa (Adorn DK wool/silk mix). 

And for those of you that care that's what a canon 135mm f2L lens at f2 and closest focussing distance (0.9m) looks like. New favourite lens...thanks Roo!

Next project on the needles is Louisa Harding's Mandarin from Chinoiserie, another beautiful pattern and one I've been thinking about knitting for a while. As the body is knitted in one piece to the underarm, the bottom fair isle pattern is knitted in one piece, that's 217 odd stitches of fair isle per row and I'm managing one row a day! Lucky is a cotton cardigan, I should have it finished by summer! The yarn is from Wool Baa, this time DK Cotton Cashmere and taken with that new lens again...

Finding the time...

...to finish both sewing and knitting projects is difficult at present, but here are two I've managed to finish and photograph. First is my favourite summer top (just as it's long sleeved partners was my favourite winter top). The knit is from Tessuti and the pattern is from Wendy Mullins Sew U Home Stretch, called Get the Scoop, cut on the bias (not matching stripes) and without elastic in the neck and waist. I just used the twin needle to finish the neck, sleeves and bottom. Easy!

Then I finally managed to finish Kim Hargreaves' Haze from Misty, a generous boat neck jumper with big raglan sleeves and a lovely trim bottom band. Knitted in Adorn Yarns' Cotton Cashmere DK, it's a cuddly jumper for chilly autumn evenings. 

Finally...Fay!

I started knitting Kim Hargreaves' Fay (from Precious) in October last year in Jaggerspun and didn't like the lace pattern; didn't like the gauge; just wasn't happy. I started again in Leonie's yarn (Adorn Yarns Silk Cashmerino 4ply) and it's taken me an age to finish it and then to sew it up...not sure what all the hoopla was about, it's fabulous now it's finished. I left off the buttons on the lower edging as I realised I'd scratch my camera when working.

The stitch definition is great with this yarn.

Embrace

Which is exactly what this lovely cardigan by Kim Hargreaves from Misty does when you put it on. Knitted in Adorn Yarns Silky Merino DK in Ash, I've been wearing it all week. Underneath I'm wearing one of Wendy Mullins' Sew U Home Stretch tops, the boat neck...my new favourite! The fabric is the same striped jersey knit Nikkishell used for her drape dress from Tessuti.

The short row shaping creates a beautiful curve across the back and down to the fronts that was really easy to knit. 

Catching up

I have been working away on my knitting and sewing, but just not finding the time to photograph what I've been doing (which is especially poor of me as a photographer). Oh, well...

It's been a freezing wet winter in Melbourne and so I had to divert some of my energies to making a warm jumper I could wear immediately. Enter Kim Hargreaves' Briar (sweater length) from Winter Blooms. I LOVE this jumper, hence the already worn look. Knitted in Adorn Yarns Silky Cashmerino 4ply in Aquamarine held double. I dropped my needles to 4mm and 4.5mm to get the gauge made no other changes. While it might have been sensible to add to the wide neckline, it is fabulous just the way it is!

Also finished is my second Ripple from Kim Hargreaves' Nectar. This is knitted in Adorn Yarns Cotton Cashmere DK in Malt. I've worn this quite a bit and washed it twice now and it's becoming softer and softer and warmer and warmer.

Buttons from Buttonmania of course!

I'm still plugging away at my purple Fay, but at least I've finished the front and the back now! Also just about finished is Kim Hargreaves' Embrace from Misty, which is an easy knit with some really interesting short row shaping on the hem. This time I'm using Adorn Yarns Silky Merino DK in Ash.

I love...

two women I've never met! Wendy Mullin and Kim Hargreaves.

(and the borrowed Canon 17mm TSE lens, but that's another story...)

First Kim Hargreaves. Although it has taken me FOREVER to finish 'Lilac' (in coral) from Breeze, finally I have. And I love it. 

The yarn is Rowan 4ply cotton from Wool Baa, the buttons are from Buttonmania in the Hamilton Building. And despite ripping it back several times to get the tension right, I'm glad I didn't give up.

My Lilac teams beautifully with the second dress I have made from Wendy Mullin's Built by Wendy Dresses (not counting the three muslins - one for each basic dress style - I whipped up first). It's a variation of the 'Valentine Dress' in Etro cotton from Tessuti. I added inseam pockets.

The first dress I made was a variation of 'Overall Improvement' in an Armani cotton.

Neither dress is anywhere near perfect (although I do love them)as I'd already cut the material to make other things before I bought the book...but I've managed to muddle through and learnt a lot in the process. 

The button is from my grandmother's button jar.

I'm I huge Wendy fan, this is the third book I've bought and used. Although she doesn't give you lots of information on how to make her patterns fit you, she does show you how to turn her basic patterns into something that's just for you. Here I am in a Wendy shirt and my new summer jeans...

Again the material is from Tessuti for both the shirt and jeans. (The shoes are from Preston Zly.)

Nearly every seam is topstitched, either in contrast of matching thread which I find makes the seams on this stretch denim hold together better. I'm really happy with them all. Thanks Wendy and Kim!


Finally, I've been buying up more of my favourite yarn...Jaggerspun Zephyr...more Kim on the way!

Happy Birthday Roxanne!

I've always wanted to be a Jo Sharp fan, and I've knitted a number of her patterns and used a number of her yarns, but always been just a little bit disappointed. Not anymore. I just love the new design aesthetic in Jo Sharp Knit Issue 7, although I knew none of them would really suit me. For Roxanne, however, they are perfect and while looking for yarn to knit a fabulous tunic from Louisa Harding's Queen of Hearts – another fabulous book full of patterns which don't suit me but do suit her – Roxanne saw the store garment in Wool Baa and just loved it. I was thrilled to have a go at putting it together.

It looks hard, but it's not. There is really only a day or so (or a week of evenings if you don't have the Australian Open Finals to watch on TV) in the knitting and the pieces are woven together with the icords and not stitched. The hard part was getting the colour scheme right. So I knitted the back ribbing four times in different colour combinations and tried many different colours together in Wool Baa to get the palette right. It needs to be subtle, I think, softly toned and dark colours would not show up the different textures as well. That being said, I really don't think you need to buy 10 different balls of yarn, especially as you only use a few meters of some. In the end I settled on six yarns and used most of nearly all of them. The effect is fabulous and Roxanne just loved it. Happy Birthday!