A shawl, a scarf, and some stripes

June 22, 2015

Would you like a peek at what I've been working on recently? As usual I have a few knitting projects on the needles, as well as assorted swatches for trying out new ideas.

I have a bit of an obsession with speckled yarn at the moment. This shawl is a new design, in speckle-dyed BFL Sock yarn from Skein - the colour is called 'Neon + Grey'. I've finished the knitting, but haven't blocked it yet as I'm quite enjoying the unblocked texture:

These ribs will turn into lace when blocked

The edging, with alternating texture 'stripes'

The wrong side looks pretty mad. :)

This silvery scarf is another design in progress, in Outlaw Yarn's Bohemia Worsted - it's a pleasure to knit with something so soft! I'm about halfway through this one...

Texture and softness

And this is the beginning of a cardie I'm making for myself, in various 8ply yarns including Morris Norway 8ply in natural shades and Vintage Purls Max in shades of gold and burgundy. The pattern is Stephen West's Royally Striped. It should be super cosy! Hopefully I can finish it before spring.

Short rows and stripes

What are you working on at the moment?

Exquisite Threads (Part II)

June 9, 2015

(Continued from Part I)

The samplers were one of the most interesting parts of the NGV's historical embroidery exhibition. They were displayed in a table-height cabinet with seats so people can take their time examining them. They're very much a display of skill and invention, as well as part of an embroiderer's education - the fine detail in them was seriously impressive, especially as some were made by children! Just mind-boggling.

I've included some close-ups as well as photos of the whole samplers.
Click to enlarge...

The lacy background is made of teeny-tiny patterns of holes!

Exquisite Threads (Part I)

June 9, 2015

Mum and Oma, this one's for you! :)

Last Thursday I treated myself to a trip to the NGV, to see the Exquisite Threads: English Embroidery 1600s-1900s exhibition. For a fibre-arts nerd who has dabbled in embroidery and cross-stitch, it was totally amazing!
I spent over an hour peering closely at the stitches, taking photos, and eavesdropping on a group of women who were explaining the techniques to each other.

Some things I found surprising were the raised or 3D style of embroidery on some of the 17th and 18thC items - this isn't always apparent in photos, so a real-life look was eye-opening. The shading and range of colours was also a surprise, and got me wondering about the dyeing industry for embroidery threads. And the fineness of the work was a shock in some cases - again, it can be hard to imagine the correct scale unless you're actually there.

Click to enlarge the photos for a closer look...

The embroidery on this is very 3D!

White-on-white

A 'stomacher'

The black background is only partially filled-in

Some serious 3D work!

A dear little deer

A detail from a gigantic 19thC piece

See Part II for the samplers (they deserve their own post)!

New pattern: Fretboard

May 27, 2015

This one's been a while in the making! Fretboard is a cabled and textured scarf which I designed last winter, as a present for Willie's brother Julian. He's an amazing bass guitar player, so I decided to knit him a scarf which looks like the fretboard of a bass. It has cabled 'strings', garter stitch 'frets', and a simple ribbed background. The frets start out widely spaced, and shift closer together as the scarf grows.

Features:

simple cables and a knit-and-purl texture
fully reversible - identical on both sides
two versions: for DK-weight and fingering-weight yarn
adjustable length, to suit the wearer's height
optional tubular cast-on and bind-off for beautifully-finished ends
both charted and written instructions, so you can follow your preferred type.

The pattern includes two versions of the scarf: one in DK-weight yarn with four cables/strings (for bass guitar and ukulele lovers), and one in fingering-weight yarn with six cables/strings (for guitar and viola da gamba lovers).

Julian's scarf is the DK-weight version, knit in WOOLganic 8ply, a certified organic Australian merino (6 balls of the colour 'Charbon'). My scarf is the fingering-weight version, in Malabrigo Sock (2 skeins of 'Botticelli Red'):

A line-up of fretted string instruments (no prizes for guessing my favourite!)

Julian and Chloe's band Booty Pageant released an EP (mini album) last week. If you're interested in checking them out, you can listen and download here.

New pattern: Ascent

May 5, 2015

I have a new hat pattern available on Ravelry - a unisex, textured beanie called Ascent. It looks great with stripes, gradients, or colourblocking, so it's a fun knit and a great project for using up leftover yarn.

Features:

a simple knit-and-purl texture
ideal for random stripes and colourblocking
crown decreases add a gentle swirl to the texture
one size fits most adults, with simple instructions for re-sizing if desired
a one-skein project: you will need 160 yards of DK-weight yarn
full charted and written instructions, so you can follow your preferred type.

This design started with the yarn - a 'Tiny Twists Kit' from Madelinetosh, which I was enchanted with and wanted to make the most of.
The little 50-yard skeins are so cute!

After using the lightest 4 colours for Willie's hat, I had some scraps left over. I combined them with half a skein of blue-green Vintage Purls Max (also leftovers from another project), and knit a striped hat for myself. I knit the ribbing using the darkest Madelinetosh skein, and striped the rest of the hat randomly, using up every bit of the scraps.