Thursday 30 June 2011

Steal a peek at the stole!




Taddah! Finished the stole earlier this week and was hoping to have it modelled by a friend, to be pictured here but sadly events got in the way of that!

Still, here it is in all it's glory - and I'm well impressed with it! The yarn is wonderfully soft and SO light, you hardly know you're wearing it!

I love the shades of green through to yellow - so when I saw the blue colour-way I HAD to have it!





Scrummy, isn't it! It conjures up images of waves and the sea. I have a project in mind for s circular 'cobweb' shawl - just need to find the right pattern. ;-)

Other WIPs are progressing: the 'ice-cream' scarf will be continued during a long car journey over the weekend and I started a lacy jacket in navy 4ply yarn - pics will follow!

Saturday 25 June 2011

Vintage Knitting 'Treasure' ! (and WIP progress report)



Over the years I've collected a fair few knitting patterns and books - looking back at them you can see the progression of fashion, mainly throughout the 80's & 90's, plus newer items since my resurgence of interest!

However, one of my treasured possessions harks back to a much earlier decade!

This cloth-bound book, despite it's rather dilapidated condition, has been knocking about in my family since it was purchased 'new' in the 1940's and is a real insight to the fashions of the day!

This picture is supposed to be what the well-dressed 'teenager' would aspire to - but she looks a tad older than that to me!




Although designed so many years ago, this bolero beach-jacket "for those cooler days by the shore" would not look out of place over a light summer frock today!


...and who wouldn't be tempted to revert to their alter-ego and play the 'vamp' wearing this!


In other news: after another trip to the yarn shop, the 'stash' has grown again, slightly! More on that later.

Meanwhile, the WIP stole/shawl is growing in all it's magnificent 'green-ness'!
It was much admired at Knitting club, yesterday! I think it's about 2/3 'done' - will be posting pics of the finished article in due course!

That's all for now - back to the needles :-)

Friday 17 June 2011

Casting On....

Excuse the title of this blog - I really don't go around stabbing people with knitting needles or garotting them with yarn! (well, not really, anyway!)

Perhaps I'd better clarify that last remark! In another blog-life I write fiction, (usually crime/mystery/thriller) and the name 'The Knitting Assassin' was bestowed upon me by a writing-buddy because I occasionally include a knitting element to my 'yarns' - excuse the awful pun!

Anyway - this blog is dedicated to all matters of tricotage (with a side-order of other crafts!) so let's start as I mean to go on:

The current 'stash' - selectively culled recently, so not too ostentatious!


The WIPs (Works In Progress):

This is a beautiful lacy shawl knitted in Creative Yarns 'Reflections'. A 'new' yarn to me - love it so much I went back and bought more in a different colour-way for a future project.



A simple 2-row patterned scarf in four shades of Quince & Co.'s 'Chickadee' 100% wool yarn, an impulse buy on holiday in America last year. The colours remind me of a brick of Neapolitan icecream!



An idea I 'pinched' from one of my colleagues at the knitting club - using leftover sock-wool to make a tube-scarf on double point needles (...or it might become a bolster cushion....or a draught excluder..!) - this is useful 'mindless' knitting to keep my hands busy when I'm watching TV or reading!


A recently completed project;


It started life as an unravelled sweater that just didn't 'work' but found a new identity when it was 're-invented' as a blanket of squares (although I had to buy extra yarn to finish it!)


So - there we are - successfully 'cast on'! More knitting 'notions' will emerge in future posts! ;-)