WIP Wednesday 11.01.23

Current WIP count: 7

Harry Potter and the Whirl blanket

Wouldn’t you know it, I hit a snag almost as soon as I started. For the last three days I’ve been trying to work out how a repeat of 10 stitches is supposed to leave me with 88 total stitches for the round. The chart seemed to show the same thing so I just couldn’t figure it out.

Thankfully the pattern designer is on Ravelry and responds to comments. It turns out I was doing M2 (make 2) the wrong way, which knocked the repeat off by one stitch, and those one stitches added up through the round to give me a whole extra repeat that shouldn’t have been there. I’m going to fix it when I get home tonight and hopefully the rest of the pattern will go a bit smoother.

Jumper

I’m on to the mindless stockinette of the body so this is my new choir rehearsal project. We sing in lots of different languages so I need my brain free to focus on the words rather than counting stitches or rows. It’s fun getting to the end of a rehearsal and seeing how much I’ve done without really noticing.

Hedgehog 2

Part of the issue with hedgehog 1 was attaching the head to the body. I struggle connecting two 3D pieces together neatly and it ended up with no neck in a very not-cute way. This time I’m going to try making head and body as one piece, decreasing for the neck and increasing again for the shoulders so I don’t have to sew them at all. I’m far more confident with crochet than knitting so I’m not afraid to shoogle this pattern around and make it do what I want.

This time I’ve started with all the little fiddly bits so when I’ve finished the main part I can sew them all together before I lose momentum.

In non-crafty news, I already have an update on some of my new year goals.

Enter a powerlifting competition

There’s a competition specifically for ‘first timers’ in December this year, about 90 minutes drive from me. We’re still checking qualification weights and what equipment I’d be allowed, but my trainer thinks it would be great for me. I could be booked in by the end of this month (pending Scottish Powerlifting membership), which gives me at least 10 months to learn the proper commands and get as strong as possible. I’m already excited!

Run every week

I hit a snag last week, as my new running shoes didn’t arrive when I thought they would. But instead of giving up and writing the week off as a fail, I set up my bike on the indoor trainer and did 30 minutes of cycling instead. The real point of the goal is to work on my cardio fitness so I still count that as a win.

I’m very glad my running shoes arrived at the weekend though; it astounds me that bikes have been around for so long and nobody has figured out a way to make the seat even a little bit comfortable.

Hannah

xXx

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WIP Wednesday 04.01.23

Jumper

I got into a rhythm and forgot to try it on, so I’m just sticking with this size. If it doesn’t fit I’ll give it away, and if I run out of yarn then I’ll just have to buy more and that’s never a hardship.

Teddy ear bonnet

I have absolutely no concept of how big babies are. I made this bonnet once and the Fiancé suggested it might be a bit too small, so I frogged it and I’m now making a larger size with a larger hook. Hopefully it will end up a wearable size.

Hedgehog 2

I’m determined to get this hedgehog finished by the end of next week. I wasn’t too pleased with the first one so I’ll see what I can do to make this one look a little cuter.

Advent socks

These were not finished for Hogmanay, obviously. It’s a bit hard to tell with no heel in yet but I think they might need an extra stripe added on to fit my Hobbit feet, so I need to decide which stripe to repeat.

Rainbow socks

These still need their afterthought heels. I can’t seem to get over the fear of cutting into my knitting – it just feels so wrong!

Black + yellow socks

After a good long stint in the naughty corner, I’m ready to face these again. Not only was my tension way off on the second sock, I’d also missed a decrease round after the heel turn so there was a whole extra motif in there. I’ve frogged it right back to the heel so I can fix the mistake and hopefully by the time I get back to the colourwork I shall be nice and relaxed again.

Hannah

xXx

Not socks

Contrary to popular belief, I have been making more than just socks this year (mainly socks, yes. But not ONLY socks). One of my best friends had a baby last month so there was a lot of teeny tiny knitting and crochet going on. First up was a love heart blanket with a matching hat, in the colours of my friend’s nursery.

Right now I’m working on a matching hat and mitten set with some self-striping yarn that my mum sent me. I’m using the Barley hat pattern from Tin Can Knits, but I’m really not sure about the sizing. The smallest size, labelled “baby size”, seems way too small, so I tried the next size up and the difference between them is ridiculous. I might have to see if I can fudge the pattern to land somewhere between the two.

Mum also sent me two crochet kits to make this hedgehog.

I struggled with this one. First of all the pattern is in UK terms, and yes I did get more than halfway through before realising this and had to frog it all. Grr. The yarn is quite stiff and hard to work with so that’s not fun. Plus I just don’t like the construction – there are gaps at the edge of the bobble stitches, I had to fudge the spacing of the bobbles on the head so they didn’t end up lopsided, and I just don’t think it looks as cute as it could.

Next up is the beginning of a jumper, using a ball of Melange that I got from Jinty & Baa, the yarn shop in Dunoon. The idea was to use the one ball to make a top for myself, but I was quite a bit smaller when I bought it so there’s a distinct possibility that it will end up as a cropped, short-sleeved jumper. I just stuck the sleeve stitches on waste yarn, so I can do a few body rounds and see how it’s fitting. I am prepared to frog the lot and start again if I can get away with a smaller size, but we’ll see what happens.

I also got a commission for some personalised robin baubles this month. Instead of taking the easy route and finding a pattern to follow, I decided to just make it up as I went along. Mistake. I also left it to the last minute, big mistake. I put everything together, sewed their little hats on…and realised that I absolutely hated them. They were nothing like the happy little robins I’d planned in my head, but I was already running 5 minutes late for choir rehearsal (where I was supposed to hand them over) so there was no chance for a re-do.

During the rehearsal I decided to give my robins a beak, as it couldn’t possibly make them look any worse. And you know what? They somehow changed everything. Suddenly I didn’t hate the robins. In fact they were pretty darn cute. It makes no sense to me, but thank goodness I took the ten minutes to add that finishing touch.

I mean they’re still not perfect; if I were to make them again I would give them smaller bodies, and do a ribbed brim to the hats rather than a rolled brim. But considering how disappointed I was with them before, I’m counting this as a solid win!

So there you go, I do still know how to make things other than socks 😀

Hannah

xXx

FO Friday 04.01.19

It’s been a while (and also Christmas) so there’s quite a few FOs to share today.

I’ll start with my tastiest gift; a Baileys baked cheesecake.

My friend is awesome and let me have a piece, and it was goooood if I do say so myself. Which is a huge relief, as I’ve never made a baked cheesecake before so there was always the possibility that it would be rubbish.

I finished up the ‘matching’ cushions for my parents. A robin for my mum

And a hedgehog for my dad.

Here’s the back before I attached it:

 

My sister got a pair of modified frostvirka mittens, this time as fingerless gloves

I used chunky yarn so not only were they quicker than the last pair, there were also fewer ends to sew in. Win!

And finally, to finish off the Sunrise Scarf I had to tag in a wee bit of my previous Twirl. It’s kind of a sudden jump in colour compared to the rest, but I think it just about works.

 

Not quite as many presents as I was hoping to make for Christmas, but considering how quickly the year ran past and the fact that I spent December facing redundancy it’s really not a bad show. How’s your new year going so far? Got any new FOs to share? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx

WIP Wednesday 19.12.18

Current WIP count: 7

Another two Christmas presents in progress; I’m making semi-matching cushion covers for two wee circular cushions I had lying around in my crafty stash. It’s a little hard to tell at the moment, but this one will be a hedgehog

And this one will be a robin.

Both woodland creatures, both making use of that dark brown yarn, that’s enough matching, right?

I’m using super chunky yarn, a big hook, and dc stitches (mainly) so these won’t take long at all. The only issue I’m anticipating is how and where to put the red chest on the robin. Some thought and probably experimentation will be required.

The big day is coming up fast and I don’t feel anywhere near prepared! Please tell me I’m not the only one?

Hannah

xXx

FO Friday 23.03.18

It’s done, it’s finally finished! At last I can cross the chevron blanket off my WIP list.

Blue and white chevron blanket

 

Yes, the ends need sewing in. Details.

I love my blankets with alternating BLO and regular stitch sections, but I think it worked better with the super chunky yarn I used for my massive chevron blanket.

Either way, it’s done and as soon as I get the ends sewn in this is going to my local cat shelter.

I also whipped up a wee birthday present for my dad, who loves hedgehogs.

It’s just shorter than the palm of my hand, really dinky and cute!

And look at the clever little bobble stitch feet.

I used this pattern for the body, modified to BLO to leave the front loops free for the spines. And this one for the spines (I don’t have any eyelash yarn) with three chains rather than four. I just can’t leave a pattern alone!

It’s so cute, I might have to make another one for myself.

A productive week all in all, so I’m happy. How’s your week been? Finished anything crafty? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx