Category: crafts & knitting

crafts & knitting · new patterns

Fair Isle cuffs

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)59 Comments

Thanks so much for all of the good wishes for Toby. He did indeed pass the Custard Cream test and was back at school for the rest of last week with only a slight snuffle. And for those of you who asked, these are Custard Creams – a very British biscuit with a vanilla custard flavoured cream sandwiched between two shortbread halves and Toby’s number one biscuit of choice.

With Toby busy again I’ve been settling back into term time routines and have started pattern writing again in earnest. A couple of people have asked for a hint about which animal I’m working on and all I’ll say for now is ‘squeak’, but I hope to have some pictures to share on progress next week. I’m also working on a little free pattern accessory for the knitted animals which will be a part of my anniversary give-away later in the month, so more of that soon too.

The Fair Isle cuffs that I was working on in the previous post are now finished. I did smile at some of the comments and the fact that people found it funny I would say knitting Fair Isle is an easier alternative than pattern writing knitting. I think the reason for that is mostly due to the fact that I was making the cuffs for myself and so the pressure was off – if I made any mistakes it didn’t really matter. When I’m working on writing patterns I try really hard to get them error free, which takes lots of concentration on stitch and row counting and checking and it can be quite intense. But, I’ll also let you into a secret – Fair Isle knitting looks far more complicated than it really is. Each row has only 2 colours and these are repeated at rhythmically regular intervals. So if you look at the row you are on and note that you work 1 stitch of the first colour followed by 3 of the second colour then you’re free to day-dream or follow what’s on the TV. If you’d like some tips on knitting Fair Isle neatly, I’ve written a post here with how I like to work and there are loads of good video tutorials on You Tube too. Once you’ve got the basics you’re able to tackle any 2 colour knitting and Fair Isle projects are always nice to impress your friends with.

I’ve written up a chart for these which is now available. I hesitate to call it a pattern as I’ve just included a chart and this is simply a tube-type wrist-warmer with no shaping, but it’s there if you’d like to make a pair.

Right, I’m off to do some more pattern writing while it’s quiet here. I’ll be back with an update  soon x

crafts & knitting

Lurgies and Fair Isle

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)56 Comments

Just as we were starting to settle gradually back into term time routines Toby has come down with a mystery virus. He’s not in a bad way (just his usual high temperature and lethargy) but having him at home for a couple of extra days has scuppered my plans to get organised and start working on the next animal pattern. So instead of pattern knitting (which requires stitch by stitch concentration and lots of note scribbling) I have been indulging my current Fair-Isle obsession (born from working on those bunny jumpers a few weeks back).

A sampler-style pair of simple tube wrist-warmers seemed like a good idea and I’ve cast on 66 stitches with 2.5mm needles and just gone with the flow. Over the years I’ve collected loads of traditional Fair Isle border patterns and have just randomly combined some of these in layers. I’m quite pleased with how the colours are working together (though I have frogged back a couple of times when colours didn’t work out).

The ten yarns I’m using are a mix of Spindrift from Jamieson’s and 2ply jumper weight from Jamieson & Smith – both 2ply Shetland wool yarns in a wonderful selection of colours (later on I’ll try and find the ball bands and post the colours I used on Ravelry for anyone who is interested)

It seems like a good time to be working on wrist-warmers (which I wear constantly throughout winter) as the days are now feeling Autumny. There’s a cooler, later start to the mornings and with dusk creeping in a little earlier each day there’s the feeling that daylight is being nibbled away at each end. The trees don’t yet have their full autumn colour but their greens now look tired and ready to turn and I’m looking forward to lots of lovely walks in the woods as Autumn is the season when they look their most splendid.

The beginning of September holds a little anniversary for me as it’s when I first started blogging (on Sept 3rd 2006) and I’m now entering my 9th year of blogging. I usually have a little giveaway to celebrate this anniversary but I’m a little off-schedule so it will be coming up later in the month.

Right, I’m off to see if Toby has his appetite back yet, he’s currently sprawled on the sofa behind me watching Cbeebies. I think I’ll try the Custard Cream test to see if he’s feeling better – if he grabs a handful of them then I know he’ll be OK to go to school tomorrow!

crafts & knitting · summer

an at home holiday (part 1)

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)63 Comments

As you might have noticed if you visit with me often, I do rather a lot of knitting but sewing is never part of my days and in truth is something that I find slightly scary. I’ve never felt that I was much good at it – probably thanks to the disparaging comments of my teacher about the skirt that I made in needlework class (though they were not undeserved – it was an awful skirt and was never worn). I do envy those of you who can effortlessly whip up new outfits from beautiful and unusual fabrics but the intricacies of insetting a zip or hemming on the bias bring me out in a cold sweat. Sewing by hand though is something I can just about  handle (though not something I’ve done for years and years) and when I saw the achingly sweet little animal kits that Alicia (Posie gets Cozy) created a few years ago I had to buy one. It has sat on a shelf ever since waiting for the perfect moment, and that moment arrived earlier this week.

Cutting into the first piece of pristine felt made me rather nervous – the kit is so beautifully presented and I really didn’t want to mess up, but happily I got all of the pieces snipped out safely and I settled down in the intermittent sunshine with my radio and a cup of tea for some quiet and therapeutic stitching.

On the first day I sewed miss Maggie herself and yesterday I worked on her clothes. The fabrics that came with the kit are lovely but I wanted to use some from my stash and so I substituted a dotty blue for her inner ears and used a different fabric for her dress (which is probably a little too heavyweight but I am in love with the pattern). I added a scalloped crochet edging to her cape and also made a little pair of woolly socks (which were not part of the pattern) as it gets a little chilly round here in the winter and warm socks are definitely needed, though they have made her boots a bit of a snug fit.

Working quietly on this little bunny over my two recent Toby free days has been so enjoyable and I feel a bit sad to have finished her. I’ve kept the pattern pages intact though (tracing the pieces onto baking parchment paper) so I may well make another one in the future. I am really thrilled that she has turned out so well and rather surprised (given my lack of sewing skills) though I shouldn’t really be as the pattern is exactly what I would expect from Alicia, well thought out, perfectly explained and very sweet.

Having a finished bunny on my shelf instead of just a kit is making me happy and I’m rather in love with her.

That’s item number 2 ticked off my ‘holiday at home’ list and I’ve found my two Toby-free sewing days very relaxing – it’s definitely been nice to do something that I’d not normally do. As a result I’m all topped up on positive energy and ready to tackle the upcoming Toby-full days 🙂