After more than five (!!!) years, I finally took the plunge and am moving this blog to a new home. Please join me at www.limescented.space, and, if you’re so inclined, change your blog reader settings so that they point to the new address.
(That’s the first photo I put up on this blog, I think. Endpaper Mitts in grey and yellow.)
Thank you for reading all these years, and see you soon!
I made another Annis, in worsted weight silk, as a gift. I’ve already used this lace pattern a couple of times before and, with over 7000 projects on Ravelry, it remains a favourite with knitters! The lace section itself is easy, the crescent shape is pretty to wear; it took me just over a day to knit and a few hours to block.
Blocking silk isn’t the brutal process it needs to be with woolens; I first rolled up the shawl in a very damp towel, then pinned it onto a dry surface, pressed the still damp towel on areas which felt dry, and then left it under a fan for a couple of hours.
I worked most of the pattern as written, except a few mods to the decreases, and changing to BO to prevent a rolling edge.
Details
Pattern: Annis
Yarn: Silk Petals Chunk; 2.6 skeins; “009 Caribbean”
Needles: 5.0mm for CO; 4.0mm for rest
Ravelled: here
Remember when I culled a lot of sweaters earlier this year? I identified colour and style gaps in my wardrobe, and determined what would be truly useful, reflecting my lifestyle and personal style. One of the strongest needs was for fingering weight pullovers.
So I made four this year, and each one has justified itself by being worn again and again, working with my other clothes, and serving the purposes of form and function.
Here they are, with a couple of outfits I used each sweater in. I hope, by logging outfits each time, I can do a more thorough analysis in a couple of years, but for now, I’m very happy with my knitting decisions!
Remember when I culled and categorised my handknits, and realised how pathetic my collection of socks was? That I, a knitter, was condemned to cold, cold toes when I travelled? How sorrowful was this collection, and how quickly I had to discard everything in it for being darned and patched beyond counting, felted to unwearability or mysteriously lost?
Weep no more!
And the last, unblogged Sidewinders
I see a lack of red/orange colours, so know exactly what to make next year. And I’m happy to report, I’ve been wearing these socks a lot. On flights, during travels, when the air conditioning is too cold… they have all proved themselves worthy!
I swatched some of the pretty Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed a few weeks ago. It makes such a good fabric, wonderfully light, and with that matte integrity that tweeds seem to acquire after blocking.
I’m thinking of a compound raglan pullover, bottom up, the raglan lines marked with — you guessed it — these slipped stitch cables from my last pullover.
The sweater is going to be stockinette with lace on the front and shaping on the back only. Perhaps a deep, scooped neck. We’ll see.
I found a lace pattern called “Wolf’s Claw” from an old pattern book, but the text-only instructions were mind-boggling. They were a mad jumble of wrn, fully written out left decreases, and other horrors. So I tried to figure out the lace pattern by electronically annotating over the accompanying photograph:
I’m happy to say I got only two rows wrong! Well, actually, the same row wrong twice, since the pattern alternates diagonally.
Now to figure out how to actually knit the whole thing…
Still not tired of knitting socks.
I’m planning to release these as a pattern for sale. The chevron pattern itself is dead simple and found across time and space, but the sock has some nice little features, like a reinforced heel bottom as well as reinforcing at the ball of the foot. Also, a more anatomically shaped toe than what I usually find.
Also, testing on these is open! Sign up here if you’re interested!
Details
Pattern: My own, coming soon eventually
Yarn: Madelinetosh Twist Light in “Thyme”
Needles: 2.25mm
Ravelled: here
Quick post for a quick project:
I planned this to stashbust leftovers from my Natsumi and Arabella sweaters, and I still have some leftover yarn! What to do?
I knit this exactly as written except for adding 10 extra rows (half a repeat) before beginning with decreases. I find that to get the kind of slouch I like, I need to knit the hat straight till it is the length of my palm, from base to fingertips, before the decreases.
Details
Pattern: Selbu Modern
Yarn: Madelinetosh Merino Light; Pecan Pie and Dusk
Needles: 2.5mm for ribbing; 2.75mm for colourwork
Ravelled: here
It is done! I think this is my most well travelled knitting, started in London, knitted in Bangkok, finished in Johannesburg and photographed in Nairobi. It is everything I imagined it to be, elegant and casual, warm and light. And beautiful!
I wanted a non-baggy drop shouldered pullover, with gentle side shaping and a hi-lo hem. With saddles starting at the shoulder …
…and running down the sleeves.
I’m planning to write up a pattern eventually, so watch this space if you’re interested!
Details
Yarn: Lana Grossa Chiara, 7.5 skeins
Needles: 3.0mm for ribbing; 4.0mm for the rest (held lever style for effective needle size of 3.5mm)
Ravelled: here
… has been tested. The back just grew and grew and grew.
But finally, today, I joined the fronts! Now to introduce and keep track of the pattern, angle the outer strips out, work bust short rows and increase the sides. Ok then.
Lime Scented