Friday 22 January 2010

Jumpers and Jumping.



Ahh, Friday. I do so love it. The anticipation of snuggling under our new goosefeather quilt while drinking coffee on Saturday morning is almost too much. Of course, it may not be as fluffy as I hoped thanks to Miss Isabella who had a manic jumping session all over it despite my yelling at her to get off. In the end I decided to give in and try to capture some images instead.



Easier said than done as her constant need to move means they are all a little blurred.



But indulge this doting mamma please.



Ok, enough Pip!



My 20 minutes a day of crafting has gone by the wayside for the last two nights as the fireside has sent me to sleep. Wonderful company for the rest of the family as I loll on the sofa, no doubt mouth open, dribbling and snoring to boot, but I am determined to make up for it tonight with a long and happy session of knitting my new project. It is, as I said before, a jumper in a charcoal wool called Nomad of which the colour range was very limited, but I felt I needed a few items in tones that would go with anything, particularly as my dresses tend to be on the colourful side.



The images make the wool look very coarse, but it is a strange mix of fluffy and bobbly, soft to the touch once knitted without the awful hairiness of mohair (which I can't bear as it sheds so appallingly). A fine, light knit that I can already tell will be so snuggly and warm to wear making it perfect to throw on over lighter weight clothes in the coming months.



Now for the down side: it is a b**g***r to knit with. All is well if you keep track of what row you are on, but the texture means it is almost impossible to see whether the row is knit or purl. I am using a row counter to help with this and that seems fine, but I would think if you are prone to dropping stitches you would lose the will to live. Fortunately this is not one of my problems - I'm so going to regret saying that! There are tiny loops that create the wonderful texture, but again this could be a problem if you knitted into them by mistake. I can generally tell by the tension if I am trying to get the needle into the wrong bit.



On the plus side, it is relatively quick as it is knitted on 5.5 needles, straight sided and very basic in terms of patterning, worked in a stocking stitch. We'll see how it goes BUT if you are after an easy knit, quick and wonderful, this is the one for you: as requested, here is the pattern for my tank top/vest top/pullove...whatever you want to call it. Sirdar knitted in only 3 balls of Crofter yarn and it even says 'easy' on the pattern front. Please note, I chose to knit the round neck as shown in the top left hand corner by the headless model. Knew I got the idea somewhere!



That's me for now.



Have a wonderful weekend x

15 comments:

  1. Rather you than me on the knitting front- that does look quite difficult - I'm sure you'll be proud of it when it is finished though! One day I'll learn to knit though and perhaps I shall tackle something like this...one day... lovely light on those outdoor photos...beautiful! Hope you have a wicked weekend! xxx

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  2. Hey Pipany, I know exactly what you mean about knitting with loopy yarns. Yes, they are pretty and result in a great soft and airy garment, but do require attention. Think that your sweater will be lovely.

    Little Isabella is precious. It must be very difficult to ever say no to that little face!

    Thanks for your comment. The Crofter yarn seems to require 22 stitches/2" to have the auto pattern emerge. On my socks-in-progress, this gauge seems sort of loose, think I would like 6 stitches/inch better, but would lose the pattern. Ah well, it's all an experiment.

    Happy knitting, sewing ... and napping to you. xo

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  3. Gosh, don't nod off whilst you are knitting!!
    Isabella looks gorgeous, butter wouldn't melt, hmmm???

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  4. What pretty pictures of your gorgeous little girl. Just beautiful.

    The jumper looks like it will be lovely to wear once finished. But oh no to that wool. I can only do the basic knit and pearl stitches and although I have got better over the years for stitch dropping I can still get terribly lost with what stitch I am doing next. Plus I struggle with pattern following!

    The wool looks lovely but only to be used in professional hands I think! lol.

    Hope you have a lovely weekend and a lovely cozy Saturday morning under the new quilt!


    MBBx

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  5. What a lovely little girl you have there! That yarn looks great and on the plus side if you DO make a mistake it won't show anyway will it?! Looking forward to seeing the finished result.

    Love those pink phots they would make stunning cards.

    Jane

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  6. I think Crofter is great - not sure I would be so good with the loopy stuff, because I do drop stitches (I always knit with a crochet hook handy - please don't laugh)! But I tend to knit and read or talk, so that maybe why. I have a very basic camera but it has a special setting for children jumping about and for camera shake - these are quite handy for children and animals because they are never still enough for my slow reflexes!

    Pomona x

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  7. I,m glad i am not the only one that dribbles when nodding off on the sofa,its very flattering pipany?!!
    Have a creative cosey evening. xx

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  8. Miss Isabella is so endearing. I have tank top envy from your last post and wish I could follow a knitting pattern to make one myself! The pink pictures with the branch are so beautiful. x

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  9. Wonderful from start to finish.

    I love the pink colours in first and last photo. Would you recommend the goose quilt? Have you got goosedown pillows, would you recommend those?
    Isabella is so beautiful, those eyes!
    Charcoal grey is one of my favourite colours and the thought of it mixed with bright colours sounds perfect. Good luck with it.

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  10. Oh no! I was delighted to think that it was you that was the headless model (and that our heads might be rolling around elsewhere discussing quilt wadding...I hope that the insanity of that image delights you as much as it does me). Please do take at least one headless shot of yourself once the jerkin is finished to make up for this disappointment!

    The goosey quilt looks gorgeous (as does the little bean bouncing on it).

    Anyway...that wool does indeed look absolutely hidesous to knit with - you clever thing.

    Wishing you all a lovely weekend. x

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  11. Your little Isabella is delightfully charming with her cute little impish face. Have a lovely snuggly weekend.

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  12. I am speechless! Can only gawp in amazement that anyone could do anything with such a tangle. Isn't that why you comb and card wool? Mind you I collected the combings from my Newfie and persuaded someone to spin them for me and then MIL to knit the wool into a coat. Sadly there wasn't enough wool to finish it. So maybe I should learn to knit after all just to finish the thing. Beautifully soft wool, though.

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  13. What lovely photos of your daughter. Look forward to seeing the top finished x Have a great weekend x

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  14. Hi Pipany - I've just had a lovely little read of your last few posts - where does the time go? Thanks for posting the photo and the pattern cover for the vest you made from the Crofter. I'm still looking for Crofter, and may have to search in Seattle when I go down in March. I'm quite determined to try it!

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  15. I know exactly what you mean about falling asleep infront of the fire. I purposley haven't lit it tonight. teehee.
    Well done with that yarn, there is noooo way I would even attempt it.

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