FO – Friday – Page 2 – polka-dots & sparkles

It’s Friday!

Posted on June 13, 2013June 14, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Firstly some housekeeping.
I have recently changed my ravelry name. Instead of rainruinedclothes I am now known as bekswhoknits.
It makes my rav name the same as my twitter name plus means I don’t have to explain about rainruinedclothes (Editors lyrics from the song The Big Exit).

I’ve also recently updated my about page. I hadn’t updated my old one since I started this blog and it was out of date, and a little old.
I’ve also been mushy and sappy and given my partner in crime a new code name – HeWhoFishes.
He is such a big part of my real life and a tiny little part of my blog and I want to fix that. Giving him his own persona will hopefully help.

Secondly I have to share a recipe with you. Ian Hewittson is an Australian TV chef who is a bit of a Ron Swanson type.
Hewhofishes and I watched this just before going to bed last night and we were in hysterics.
With the focus of many TV chefs these days being healthy but tasty food, Huey has stayed true to the food he’s been cooking on TV for 20 years.
So for some unknown reason we can’t help but find it amusing when Huey adds a bit more butter, or sprays a mixture of butter, cheese, and breadcrumbs with olive oil spray for good measure.
So this breakfast just spoke to us. The final straw was when he served it with iceberg lettuce and mustard dressing, the mustard dressing including a cup of vegetable oil. And then he called it a ‘light breakfast’
And he is probably the only TV show I know that if you post a stamped self address envelope to their address, they will post you back the recipes. Its a delightful pre-internet concept.

Huey’s Light Breakfast
Brown onion and bacon. Add chopped sausages.
Top with cheese and breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
Make a indent and break eggs on top.
Add more cheese and breadcrumbs.
Spray with olive oil
Bake in a hot oven for 20minutes or until golden.

Sounds delicious.

On the knitting front, I have had a bad case of cast-on-itis. Where nothing I already have on my needles seems right so in casting on something new. This one in particular I love the yarn, love the pattern, but not the combination. But I don’t know whether to frog or continue.

While I think about that decision I started a crochet cowl.
I don’t know what I’ve done, I think I’ve unintentionally increased on the first row, to create a curve. And I’m not sure if I like it or not.

While I think about that decision I cast on a hat. This I do like.
Although it’s a pain to knit as I’m holding two strands together and haven’t compensated enough with the needle size. So I’m pushing pretty hard on the needles. Hopefully it’s quick enough to finish so it won’t annoy me.

Has anyone got a cure for cast-on-itis? How do you decide if something’s worth frogging and starting again.

How cute is this frogging poster!!! For those curious, when I talk about frogging I’m talking about ripping back my knitting and starting again. Rip it, Rip it – like a frog.

A cardigan in a weekend

Posted on May 31, 2013June 1, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Well I started it on Friday night and finished it on Monday night. That’s a pretty quick turnaround!

It helps that this is knit with super bulky yarn (I used modavera shiver) on size 10 needles.

I found out about this pattern from the electric sheep podcast and had to knit it immediately.

It was not without it’s difficulties though.
First one was when the cable became unglued from the needle.
Not a big problem. We had superglue in the house so I just glued it back together and left it to sit for a while.

It was only when it was dry and I started to use it again that I realised I had glued the needle in the wrong way.
Instead of a nice smooth needle I had a groove where a cable should fit.

I persevered. It slowed progress a bit, but was still manageable.
Then came the sleeves.
I realised I didn’t have size 10 double pointed needles. I probably could have gone out and bought some and made my life easier, but I had a size 10 hat sized circular. It wasn’t ideal but I managed to do magic loop on it. Eventually the sleeve stretched enough to be knit from the circular no magic loop required so that turned out to be an acceptable problem.

When it came time to attach the sleeves it took me two attempts to figure out the pattern. I was meant to have put 4 stitches on holders not 3 but maths saved the day and I picked up extra stitches under the armholes and changed the yoke decreases.

So I finished a cardigan! The sleeve length is a bit awkward on me, so if I make it again I would change that, but overall I’m very pleased.
I also want to make this into a jumper pattern. By increasing the number of stitches between the pattern repeats I think it could quite easily be done.

I really need to learn how to take better photos though.

Surrounded by UFOs

Posted on May 17, 2013 by bekswhoknits

All around me is unfinished objects.
Currently on the needles I have
– hitchhiker shawl #3 for me
– 10 stitch blanket
– mini mania scarf
– parcel jumper
– ripple crocheted afghan
– blue cabled hat (in no mans land)

So what did I do this week? Cast on 3 more projects.

I’d like to introduce my team bee socks

A zigzag hat

And a cabled scarf

I think I need to buckle down and maybe finish what I start.
Or I could search ravelry for more pretty patterns!!!!

FO #11 – British Morning Socks the sequel

Posted on May 10, 2013May 10, 2013 by bekswhoknits

A while ago now I made some bed socks for my most favourite girl in the world.

Since then they have been well loved. As they were so well loved I had no issues with making another pair.

Only problem was I don’t quite know where that pattern book is. Maybe under the couch somewhere, but it’s lost at the moment.
So I did a bit of research and found nothing I really liked.

I did find a really cute mitten pattern which is only in Swedish but I thought I could figure it out and make it into some socks.

Using size 7 needles and Moda Vera Jet bulky yarn I cast on 8 stitches using Judy’s magic cast on
Then increased every second row until it fit my foot.
Then I switched colours and did a few rows of purling, switched colours and did a few rows of knitting.
There was no heel so I just kept trying it on until they were long enough.

Alternating the colours whilst doing two at a time is something I like doing a) because it creates odd socks that match and b) because it means you don’t have to wind the yarn into two balls. You just start with each colour and then swap. You do end up with a lot of ends though.

I’m hoping that with use the heel will magically appear and they’ll look less like woolen condoms.

FO#10 – Summer sky half socks

Posted on May 3, 2013May 3, 2013 by bekswhoknits

It was pointed out to me once that calling these ‘socks’ was a bit misleading.

Calling them yoga socks is also misleading because I’ve never done yoga.

So I’m calling them half socks.

These half socks come in really handy with my tiled floor.
I am a clumsy girl. I usually have unexplained bruises. My bed frame in particular attacks me.
I have sustained injuries from hair ties, cereal boxes, and Nutella jars. (The Nutella jar incident required 8 staples. I still eat Nutella though. I’m such a trooper.)
So walking around my house in slippery socks is a recipe for disaster.
I also have cold feet all the time so I need socks.

These are an OK answer. They still don’t stop my toes getting cold, but it’s better than no socks at all.

I’m counting these as sock 4 in my 13 in 2013 project.

#4KCBWDAY5 – and now for something completely different

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

Day 5 4KCBWDAY5
And now for something completely different….

This was so much fun. I didn’t think it was going to be, but thank you Knitting And Crochet Blog Week (I still have difficulty saying that) for getting me out of my comfort zone and in front of a camera. This was actually quite scary, not to make, but uploading it for all of you to see (although I do take comfort that it probably won’t be found by anyone but other knitters who are mostly non-judgemental).

So say hi to me and my couch!!
My first ever vlog, where I find out just how often I say ‘pretty!’, that the train noise is actually pretty loud (I’m so used to it), and I really do have a short attention span.

FO #9 little granny squares

Posted on April 19, 2013April 19, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I think I managed to keep my foray into crochet a blogging secret! But there were a few attempts before I felt I could make a blanket.

See? Terrible.

It wasn’t until it clicked that I needed to crochet in the gaps (rather than in the stitches like knitting) that I made a bit of progress.

Having a go at crocheting a block don’t work so well either.

But really I can make block fabric with knitting. What I really wanted to do was granny squares.

So after a bit of practicing is finally clicked.

I spent a lot of the night balancing my needlecraft book on my lap, swearing and cursing.
But I cracked it.
Well I’ve cracked one pattern. The pattern for these squares is the same as my big one.

They’re so pretty. I can see more crochet in my future!
(I never thought I’d say that!)

FO 8 – Granny Square

Posted on April 12, 2013April 12, 2013 by bekswhoknits

So this ticks off number 13 in my 13 in 2013 challenge – crochet a granny square.

If I’m honest, this wasn’t exactly the outcome I expected.
Actually I’m surprised I kept this quiet for so long.

This is my granny square.

For reference, that’s our queen size bed that its resting on!

So I can add ‘can do the triple crochet stitch’ to my list of skills.

There were a few smaller granny squares that I did before starting a giant blanket sized one, I may share them at some point.
But for now I’m just going to sit back and feel impressed with myself.

Seriously I made this!
This is by far the biggest item I have made.
I feel accomplished.

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……….