Tuesday 30 October 2007

I feel important!

Just a little bit... but the lovely yarn that friends bought me for my birthday wasn't in the Ravelry database (I can't find any reference on the web to it, but then the Paton's website is crap). So I added it... and then the mod (or whoever it was) asked if they could use MY photo for the official photo for the listing! Rock!

So if you search for Paton's Art I took the photo.

Totally unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but it made me smile.

A finished object


Bam13
Originally uploaded by cob_web

Welcome to the jumper from hell.

When I bought SnB Nation (it was in the flat, so over a year ago now) Matt saw the Bam13 jumper and expressed his liking of it. So I decided to knit it for him. I know, dangerous!

I managed to track down a job lot of Sirdar snowflake (which appears to have been discontinued) and shelled out for the Collinette Tagliatelli. Matt didnt want such big holes, so I bought 15mm needles instead of 20. Off I went.

It wasn't great fun to knit but I persevered. I had to make up the neckline as my guage was so different from the pattern. Matt also wanted a smaller neck than in the pattern.

I knit everything to the lengths in the pattern, but they were fractionally too short, so lengethened everything. Then it was fianlly finished (after MUCH faffing with lengths etc, plus I HATE sewing up).

Then came the doom bit... I "blocked" it. I use quotes becuase it was a disaster. Took ages to dry even in the airing cupboard, b ut he wanted to show it off at one of my family gatherings, so we took it with us even though it was slightly damp. Because it wasn't dry we still hadn't realised... until he put it on.

It came to his knees!! My first real knitting disaster unveiling infront of the entire female section of my family. Mum, aunt and Gran have all knitted in thier lives. Utter embarrasment!!

I was very aprehensive about shortening it, cos it was knit bottom up.

So it sat in a heap for a few weeks.

Finally I plucked up the courage and got the scissors out. Undid the seam and cut off a whole chunk of the bottom. Unravelled a few rows, picked up the stitches and knitted downwards. It was a bit nightmarish at first but in the end it was fine. The sleeves weren't as bad.

So it finally got done.

Oh, I had to make the neck openeing shorter, so I picked up stitches all round it and added a few extra rows in the round. I can see where I did this but most people say they can't.

In the end it didn't turn out too badly, but its a good job its supposed to look a bit rought and ready!!

Monday 29 October 2007

Yet another Scarf... (and a cast on)


Hayley_3
Originally uploaded by cob_web

Well to get me out of the eylash doldrums I have cast on yet another scarf. This one is for Hayley, who gave me the yarn (Collinette Graffiti, some of it cat-damamged!) since she can no longer knit.

Since the colours aren't really me I thought it woul dbe nice to make her something with it.

Its just garter stitch with random drop stitch rows. I'm going to have a go at tassles too.

Tried to get to grips with the long tail cast on with the help of Knittinghelp.com but still failed miserably. I suck at cast ons.

Scarf of Doom


DSC00276
Originally uploaded by cob_web

Urgh! I'm really starting to understand people's hatred of eyelash yarn now!

I'm not a yarn snob. I'll knit with anything that I like the look of, and have often been taken aback by people's attitudes in that direction. I got lots of this yarn VERY cheap and though it would make quick and easy scarves for christmas, especially since we have a £5 limit this year.

I have already knit 2 scarves in similar yarn and one in slightly different stuff and I am GOING MAD. I HATE IT. It makes life so difficult! In this scarf (imaginitively titled "Xmas Scarf 4") I've tried a few new stitch techniques - wrapping the yarn and then dropping it on the next row, and some basic lace techniques - but you can't see any of it obviously. *sigh*.

I tried using my mini Loopa for a break but taht was just as annoying. I will persevere, cos otherwise I'll be left with piles of the stuff and no christmas presents, but excuse me if I need to let of a bit of steam now and then!

I won't be doing eyelash again in a hurry.

Testing, testing... 1,2,3

Blimey, that Ravelry is a bit addictive isn't it? Not only am I spending a stupid amount of time there, and thinking about it when I'm NOT there, I've been compelled to set up this knit-blog. I'm not the fastest knitter in the world so I can't imagine its going to be a fast-moving thing, but it should be interesting.

So... anyone know if I can transfer knitting-related posts from LJ?