adventures in knitting

Hitchhiker

Posted on April 5, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I may be the last knitter around to cast on Hitchhiker going by the project page on ravelry. But last year I told my mum I would knit her a pattern of her choosing and that’s what she chose.
She has been grateful for some truly awful knitted gifts from when I first started, and I’m trying to even the score.

So I cast on Hitchhiker with a bamboo viscose yarn, which is really nice to knit with.

So far I’ve ripped it back 3 times. Only a knitter knows just how difficult counting to 6 can be.

Ps. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway

Summer Sky Mitts – FO 7

Posted on April 4, 2013April 4, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I finished off the mitts for my grandma in law. And I’m pleased with the way the turned out.
I’m always a little nervous adapting a sock pattern to mittens, but it worked.

After some trial and error the magic number to cast on was 50.
The summer sky pattern is over 21 stitches so I added a border of 4 knit stitches.

I kept trying them on, and when they were about ready for the thumb hole I worked back and forth slipping the first stitch. Then when I could close them up around my thumb I starting working in the round again.

Two at a time, magic loop makes sure the they’re exactly the same. One of the reasons I use it for almost everything that comes in pairs.

I almost wish they weren’t a gift.

The bluest blue

Posted on March 29, 2013April 4, 2013 by bekswhoknits

This was meant to be a post about how it’s 2 days till doctor who and I made a lovely hat in tardis blue. But then my
circular needle came loose.
And I realised I can’t keep track of a pattern.

So instead it’s a not so finished object. And now I have to buy another 6mm hat circular.
But when it’s finished……….

Giveaway Time!!!! with Piccadilly Lilly!!!!

Posted on March 26, 2013April 23, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I’d like to introduce you to Piccadilly Lilly.

Lilly has a knack for finding cute fabrics and making them into pretty bows, hearts, and all sorts of lovely creations which you just want to adopt.
And somehow she found the most perfect fabric to suit my hair from the opposite side of the world!

So to celebrate the grand opening of my etsy shop, I’ve paired up with Picadilly Lily to bring you a bow-themed giveaway!

If you’re the lucky winner you will receive
– 2 ravioli bows (from Lilly)
– 1 bow cup cozy (from Me)
+ 1 felt ring (made by Lilly for good luck)

(No wine was harmed in the photoshoot for this post.)

So here’s how you enter.
Please leave a comment for each entry.

Go to my brand spanking new etsy shop Sparkles Knits and favourite me.

Go to Piccadilly Lilly’s lovely shop and favourite her.

Plus you can also
Follow me on facebook
Follow me on twitter

Please comment if you’re already following me. I don’t want to penalise anyone just because you’re trend setters and ahead of the curve.

A random number generator will pick the winner from the comments!
Please make sure when you comment that you leave me a way to contact you.
And it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, I will ship internationally.
This giveaway will close on April 7th, and then I’ll draw the winner!

I want to knit all the things!

Posted on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I have so many different projects on my needles at the moment.

I have a meerkat which is all ready to sew together, but I just don’t want to. Sewing up is my least favourite part of knitting.

I have a pair of fingerless gloves for my grandma in law. She lives down south where it’s colder, and reads on her kindle at night. So she needs something to keep her hands warm, but allows her to read. She is also one of the most amazingly creative souls I know. She is an sculptor, a sewer, a painter and makes some wonderful multi-textured artworks which I really ought to show you some time.
So she will really appreciate the work put into handmade gloves.
I don’t mind knitting for people who love my gifts.

I’m still plodding away at Parcel. This week hasn’t been conducive to cables.
At some point it will all click again and I’ll spend a whole week knitting it, but this week was not that week.

I also have my 10 stitch blanket and mini-mania on the go. Plus some other top-secret non-knitting projects (stay tuned!!)
All of this wants me to cast on something new!
But I’m resisting the temptation.

(This is typically the time when CaityRosey does one of her amazing posts showcasing all the pretty patterns she’s found this week – but I will resist. Just looking at all the pretty knitted dresses is testing my resolve)

Happy Knitting!!!

Which one of you bitches wants to dance?

Posted on March 19, 2013March 19, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I’m ticking off 2 items in my 13 in 2013 checklist. I spent the weekend making cushions.

My previous cushions I made are looking a little worse for wear. One got lost in the great cheese fight of Superbowl 2013, the other has been used as a pillow one too many times and as the closure wasn’t exactly stable it now looks like the cushion is escaping from the cover.
I’m hoping an invisible seam will fix the design flaw in my first two. (I used the tutorial on fern and freckle which was invaluable)
Once again I used quilting flats fabric. Not only are they already roughly the right size for a cushion, but they come in so many pretty designs and you don’t need to finding someone to assist you with cutting from a roll. They are really moreish aswell.

I have a notebook that’s getting quite full of sayings/quotes/lyrics that I want to embroider , but choosing which one is still the most difficult part.
This time I chose a quote from Black Books, and a lyric from Neutral Milk Hotel.

FO#6 leftover wurm cowl

Posted on March 15, 2013March 15, 2013 by bekswhoknits

This was a stash buster. I had some terrible acrylic which I made socks out of but still had stacks left. All acrylics aren’t made equal. This one was squeaky and my skin crawl.

So you may be wondering why I wanted to make a cowl rather than burn it in effigy. Well I don’t know, but I wanted to try and use up some mohair at the same time.

So I cast on I don’t know how many stitches on a 80cm needle and started knitting.
Every few rounds I’d purl.
And then knit again. Kind of replicating the oh-so-popular wurm hat but with reckless abandon.

When I ran out of pink, I changed to grey using up all of this particular yarn so I never have to buy it again. The mohair was gifted and I don’t know what else to do with it, but it combines with other yarns quite nicely.
It softens the acrylic and makes it bearable.

Now I need to decide whether or not I want to block it.

Arm knitting (or keeping yourself out of trouble for an hour)

Posted on March 12, 2013March 12, 2013 by bekswhoknits

And now for something completely different. (But not really. More like a variation on a well blogged theme.)

I was surfing through tumblr the other day (follow me if you like endless reblogs of things I like) and I found the video below of arm knitting.

The concept intrigued me so I decided to try it for myself.

The results were pretty satisfactory.

First I tried using 3 different 8 ply yarns. That looked terrible. Absolutely hideous.
So I finished that off and filed it under ‘big mistake’.

So I found some super bulky 12 ply from my stash and started again.
This time it was a success.

The process is really quite strange for someone used knitting with needles. It was a lot of fun though.
I’d definitely recommend trying it at least once.

It does require an uninterrupted block of time. At least one of your arms will be covered in yarn at any one time!
Even if you’ve never knitted before the instructions are very simple and gratifying.

FO #5 Instant Gratification Hat

Posted on March 11, 2013March 12, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Without being all TMI, I haven’t been feeling that great for the last couple of weeks.
There were even two days last week when I didn’t even pick up my needles (cue shock horror!!!)

But I thought a cure would be something I could knock out quickly, something not too taxing on the brain, but totally cute.

So I found some yarn in my stash ( Icelandic Wool from Vera Yarn who is currently on etsy holiday but there is her shop anyway) , and a pattern called Ribbed for Her Pleasure.

I still managed to screw up what is a very easy pattern. My counting was a little wonky, but I managed to figure it out and no one except for me (and now all of you kind folk) will ever know.

But I know that you won’t tell.

ravelry project page

Favorite things.

Posted on February 26, 2013March 12, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I’ve been making some progress on my Mini Mania scarf which I started just before Christmas.

This is the reason that I blog. I always forget how much progress I make, particularly on these long projects.

This scarf is taking ages. Mostly because I keep looking at how pretty it is rather than knitting it. That and getting into a rhythm of knit one slip one takes a bit of doing.

But this week I’ve needed something distracting but simple whilst I’m at home with uterus trouble.

Here are some of the other things keeping me sane this week.

There’s no milk in the house, so fruit tea is brilliant. This is one of my favourites. (Plus polkadot cup!!!)

Tim Tam mini packs are fab. My sweet tooth comes and goes depending on the time of the month. It’s also a great way to try out new flavours. Turkish delight is my favourite chocolate. Can’t wait to try them.
Plus a heat pack is essential.