Nearly-FO Friday 14.01.22

I can’t believe we’re at the 14th already, nearly halfway through January. Clearly this year is going to blink past like the last two.

Last month I was hoping to rattle through some of my ‘make nine’ list, but then covid (and possibly a cold on top of it) hit me and I didn’t really feel like doing much at all. Plus I ran out of yarn for my super chunky jumper and had to order more, and a sprinkling of snow on the ground meant that Royal Mail didn’t deliver it when they were supposed to. But hey, I did make a colourwork mitten so that’s that crossed off the list at least.

The jumper currently looks like this:

Either my gauge or my measuring tape went wrong somewhere because it’s more like a jumper-dress. Which I don’t entirely mind; I had something similar in alpaca yarn before it accidentally went through a hot wash and came out child-sized and felted to heck.

Now I just need to work out how on earth the sleeves fit onto the top. I’ve tried googling it but that throws up a hundred different ways to do mattress stitch, which I’m already okay with. Maybe it’s my lack of spatial awareness but I really can’t see how the shape of the sleeves is supposed to fit into the shape of the arm holes, and I’m afraid to just have a go and find out because this yarn is like velcro and I could get in an awful mess trying to undo it if I go wrong (speaking from experience here). Any suggestions?

I’m not sure I like making my jumpers in pieces. Although I might be willing to give it another go with a slightly less awkward yarn. We’ll see how this one turns out before I give up on the idea completely.

Hannah

xXx

Advertisement

Free time

I’ve been let go from my job. Again. Don’t worry, I’ve already gone through the pit of despair and (mostly) out the other side, and I even have a new job lined up so I’m okay. 

The good news is that my old job has put me on garden leave so I’ll be paid not to work until the end of December, and the new job doesn’t start until January 11th, so I have a whole month to do whatever the heck I want.  

It’s like magic; as soon as I realised I would get to re-live my furlough dream, I stumbled across the Make Nine list I created almost two years ago.

1. Learn brioche knitting
2. Knit a pair of socks
3. Make a jumper/cardigan using super chunky yarn 
4. Learn double knitting
5. Make something using colourwork
6. Knit something from the Knitting Ganseys book 
7. Make a Belladonna dress
8. Make a Strange Signs blanket 
9. Knit some selbu mittens

Having only completed one goal (make socks) in two years I know I’m never going to manage them all in one month, but with serious time to focus I reckon I can cross off two or three of them by the middle of January. Starting with the super chunky jumper. I’ve already hand-wound the skeins into cakes and picked out a pattern, and now I just need to dig out some needles big enough to knit this stuff with. Wish me luck!

Hannah

xXx

February review 2020

Stash used this month: 9.5 skeins

Total stash used this year: 11.5 skeins

Stash remaining: 344

The numbers look really good, don’t they? But I didn’t actually use up all those skeins myself.

After 7 months I finally convinced the boyfriend to try his hand at knitting, and he has already used the phrase “just one more row” several times – he’s officially A Knitter now! Four skeins have gone into his first ever project; a super chunky infinity scarf.

I got my hooks and needles out every time I has a spare few minutes, and I was ill for 4 days with no energy to do anything but knit, so there are a few things to show for the shortest month of the year.

Charity makes

Super chunky hat

Fingerless gloves

Blue spiral hat (no decent photo yet)

Makes for myself

A few more Roses for Grandma squares have been added to the pile.

Makes for others

Fingerless gloves for the bf, which he has worn every day since I finished them. I’m so pleased!

I do love a goal, and with the bf’s help I’ll get through my stash even quicker (until he starts buying his own yarn), so I’ve decided to aim for less than 300 skeins left in my stash by the end of 2020. That will be just under 4.5 skeins per month – totally doable!

Hannah

xXx

Chonkster

I do love super chunky yarn. Look at this gorgeous hunk of squish.

It only took a few hours to make, and a lot of that was trying to get the pompom to believe it’s meant to be a sphere rather than some weird egg shape.

It’s a bit too big for me or the bf so it’s gone into my Knit for Peace box. Hopefully someone with a large head will be happy to find a hat that actually fits.

There’s still a whole lot of super chunky yarn left in my stash, so I can definitely see some more of these chonksters in my crafting future.

ETA: This is the Chunky Pebbles Hat, which is a free pattern on Ravelry.

Hannah

xXx

FO Friday 01.03.19

White rabbits!

It wasn’t on my list of things to make, but I was having so much fun with the super chunky yarn that I ended up making a quick neck warmer with some scraps.

I suppose it could also be an ear warmer if you were that way inclined.

This is how tight I prefer things that are meant to keep my neck warm. Most cowl patterns are too loose for my liking, with big gaps that let the cold air straight to my skin. Which kinda defies the point if you ask me. So I made this the perfect amount of stretchy to get over my head while still being snug against my neck when it’s on.

Added bonus: it took less than an hour to make.

There’s still quite a bit of blue and some green and purple scraps left so I might have to make myself a matching hat.

Now, back to the baby blanket!

Hannah

xXx

WIP Wednesday 27.02.19

Current WIP count: 7

Wasn’t yesterday just the most beautiful day? Properly warm after what feels like 300 days of winter. And I was off work too – perfect!

I feel the WIP pressure is off now I’ve finished one of my baby blankets. I’m using the same pattern for the second blanket, but with DK yarn rather than super chunky, and it’s amazing how different that looks.

This is about 2/3 done and it grows pretty quickly so it should be ready for Saturday.

I’ve been unable to completely ignore my Flax so now I’m just a few rounds from putting the sleeve stitches onto waste yarn and casting on some more for the body. I’ve never done that before so we’ll see how it goes!

What’s everyone else working on? Enjoying the unusually sunny weather? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx

Yarn review: Hayfield bonus super chunky

I bought my first skein of this yarn online, so I didn’t know just how thick it was until it arrived.

I was a bit wary (it’s so big!) until I realised how quickly you can make something when each sc stitch is a 2cm tall. It’s like magic.

Each skein is 100g of 100% acrylic, but being so chunky that only gets you 82m of yarn to play with.

It’s unbelievably soft and so squishable (technical term); every time I work with it I just have to give it a wee squeeze before I do anything else. If I’m never able to have a cat I can just make do with a skein of this for my fix of fuzzy things to cuddle.

The recommended hook size is 10mm, although I haven’t used that size for either of my makes with this yarn. I used a 6mm hook to make a pair of fingerless gloves for a charity raffle and it made nice, close stitches with no gaps to let the cold air sneak through. Then some muppet put them on bottles of wine and stretched them out of shape, but that’s another story.

I did try a 10mm for my supersized baby blanket, but it came out a bit too solid and not drapey enough for my liking so I switched to 12mm. As always, hook size really depends on what you want to make.

There are pretty limited colour options available, but the colours they do have are so rich and vibrant. Perfect for people like me who want their colour visible half a mile away! There are also a couple of pastel shades for those who prefer a more subtle effect.

I’m pretty much in love with this stuff, it’s gorgeous and soft and quick to make things with – everything I want from a yarn!

Stats

• 100% Acrylic
• Super chunky weight
• 82m
• 100g
• Suggested hook size 10mm

Has anyone else had a go with super chunky yarn? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx

FO Friday 22.02.19

Man I love chunky yarn. This baby blanket was started, finished, and on the blocking mats in about 5 hours, and it would’ve been even quicker if I had a less sticky 12mm hook!

I used the Irish Wave pattern by Elizabeth Mareno, which is free on lovecrochet.com and includes instructions for both a baby blanket and a scarf. It’s designed for a much thinner yarn so I fiddled with the starting chain numbers to make it work.

This was very nearly a continuation of my purple-and-cream phase, but then I remembered I had some of the same yarn in green. And my mum said the person she has in mind for the blanket wouldn’t be put off by non-traditional colour combos so I went with it. Personally I love it; the more colour the better.

Plus this stuff is ultra soft and squidgy so I think it’s perfect for baby things.

The blanket used 3 skeins of super chunky yarn, which cleared quite a big space in my stash so now I can rearrange the yarn drawers and it won’t be so crammed. Double win.

The other blanket is nowhere near finished so I’d better crack on. I’ve got a week left and I’m determined to finish on time.

Hannah

xXx