Things have been quiet here on the ol' blog, and that's because I've been dyeing yarn!
I am opening the shop today, the 1st of February, at 8pmAEST.
Here are some pictures of what I've been dyeing:
Monday, February 1, 2016
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
A Knitter's Night Before Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas, and sat in my chair,
I was frantically knitting a scarf of mohair.
I'd planned to knit everyone's presents this year,
Despite the concerns raised by my husband dear.
As a faithful never not knitting subscriber,
I had spent many hours considering fibre,
Angora, alpaca, merino, mohair,
Cashmeres and cottons, and camel so rare.
At least this year I was making small pieces.
A hat for my nephew, some scarves for my nieces.
Last year I made a huge Christmas sweater!
This year I swore i'd just write him a letter.
Then guilt overcame me, I started to doubt:
At Christmas nobody should feel left out!
This year there won’t be a missing link!
If I'm seen to show favourites, what will people think?
Still left to do - at least one more sock,
And piles of things still yet to block.
There's rows of blocked items still soaking wet!
They won't be ready tomorrow, I bet.
The Knitmore girls say to start in May,
Or else your Christmas will end in dismay.
I began in October, all ease and no worry,
And by mid-November I started to hurry.
The husband was nestled all snug in his bed,
While I ignored hand cramps and tired eyes instead.
If I just close my eyes for a minute or two,
Then I'll feel fresh to start the next project anew...
I bound off one hat, dumped it into the sink,
And cast on another before I could blink.
My knitting was reaching a feverish pitch,
As I blazed through inches of stockinette stitch.
Cables? No problem. Lace? A delight.
The end of the colour-work hat was in sight
My eyes were glinting a devilish gleam,
And in ten seconds flat I had sewed up a seam.
I was finishing projects as fast as could be!
And they magically wrapped themselves under the tree!
But I'm not complaining, I thought to myself.
I'm just being helped by a jolly old elf.
"A jumper! A beanie! A mitten and cowl!
A shawlette! Some wristers! A hat with an owl!
Now write them a card in a hurried scrawl!
Now weave away! Block away! Wrap away all!"
The production line blurred with the speed of my knitting,
As on my chair I was comfortably sitting.
My hands were relaxing, my knitting went slack.
The scene started fading to absolute black.
I sprang from my sleep, and looked round in dismay:
Christmas was over, it was now Boxing Day!
It had all been a dream and I'd knit not a row!
The tree had no presents all wrapped up below.
Not a thing could be done, it had all been too late,
The best I could do was own up to my fate.
So then I exclaimed, and all ‘round me could hear,
"Maybe you'll get your gifts in the New Year!"
By Christina Hopgood, 2015.
I was frantically knitting a scarf of mohair.
I'd planned to knit everyone's presents this year,
Despite the concerns raised by my husband dear.
As a faithful never not knitting subscriber,
I had spent many hours considering fibre,
Angora, alpaca, merino, mohair,
Cashmeres and cottons, and camel so rare.
At least this year I was making small pieces.
A hat for my nephew, some scarves for my nieces.
Last year I made a huge Christmas sweater!
This year I swore i'd just write him a letter.
Then guilt overcame me, I started to doubt:
At Christmas nobody should feel left out!
This year there won’t be a missing link!
If I'm seen to show favourites, what will people think?
Still left to do - at least one more sock,
And piles of things still yet to block.
There's rows of blocked items still soaking wet!
They won't be ready tomorrow, I bet.
The Knitmore girls say to start in May,
Or else your Christmas will end in dismay.
I began in October, all ease and no worry,
And by mid-November I started to hurry.
The husband was nestled all snug in his bed,
While I ignored hand cramps and tired eyes instead.
If I just close my eyes for a minute or two,
Then I'll feel fresh to start the next project anew...
I bound off one hat, dumped it into the sink,
And cast on another before I could blink.
My knitting was reaching a feverish pitch,
As I blazed through inches of stockinette stitch.
Cables? No problem. Lace? A delight.
The end of the colour-work hat was in sight
My eyes were glinting a devilish gleam,
And in ten seconds flat I had sewed up a seam.
I was finishing projects as fast as could be!
And they magically wrapped themselves under the tree!
But I'm not complaining, I thought to myself.
I'm just being helped by a jolly old elf.
"A jumper! A beanie! A mitten and cowl!
A shawlette! Some wristers! A hat with an owl!
Now write them a card in a hurried scrawl!
Now weave away! Block away! Wrap away all!"
The production line blurred with the speed of my knitting,
As on my chair I was comfortably sitting.
My hands were relaxing, my knitting went slack.
The scene started fading to absolute black.
I sprang from my sleep, and looked round in dismay:
Christmas was over, it was now Boxing Day!
It had all been a dream and I'd knit not a row!
The tree had no presents all wrapped up below.
Not a thing could be done, it had all been too late,
The best I could do was own up to my fate.
So then I exclaimed, and all ‘round me could hear,
"Maybe you'll get your gifts in the New Year!"
By Christina Hopgood, 2015.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Anatomically correct socks!
Just a warning: I am bad at foot photography.
But I finished some more socks!
Pattern: My own, loosely based on the anatomically correct socks.
Incorporates: Fish Lips Kiss Heel
Yarn: Regia
That's right, these socks are made specially to fit my left and right feet. I have to be careful when I put my socks on!
As you can see, they are toe-up socks with increases mainly on the outer edge. I made these because I have a long big toe, whereas the normal square- or round-toe sock patterns leave some room above my little toes.
I really couldn't be happier with these. The yarn feels sturdy and is comfortable, and the fit is incredible! As with my last pair of socks, I used the Fish Lips Kiss Heel, which is $1 on Ravelry and is amazing.
See I told you I was bad at foot photography.
I'm thinking of making a pattern for these socks in three sizes, what do you think?
Monday, July 20, 2015
Vanilla toe-up socks - the beginning of my sock journey!
I did it! I made a pair of socks I like!
This is my second ever pair of socks (incidentally with the same yarn). The first pair were baggy and unfortunate. So I was determined to make these ones good! I decided to go with a very simple toe-up sock pattern so that I would be sure to not run out of yarn.
I learned a lot of new methods here - firstly a figure 8 cast on which was super fiddly the first couple of times! But now I love it for toe-up socks!
I also incorporated the Fish-Lips-Kiss heel, which everyone has been talking about recently. I'm converted! What a great heel. The pattern is extremely chatty and it's a bit hard to get to the actual pattern, but it's very straightforward, and only $1!
My only complaint is that the toe shape is a bit weird for my foot. My big toe is much longer than the rest of my toes so my foot is basically straight on the inside but sloped on the outside (does that make sense?). The trapezoidal shape of the sock makes bagging over my little toes. So I'm developing my own anatomically correct sock toes which I'll post about next time!
Apart from that I'm very happy with my socks! They're beautifully warm and just rad!
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Rose Garden Shawl pattern - now available!
I'm finally releasing my shawl pattern! I've been working on this for over a month now, knitting and editing and thinking.
For this month only, the pattern is available for $5 instead of the usual $6. If you add it to your cart on Ravelry, the discount will automatically be added.
My pattern includes charts and written-out instructions, so you can follow it any way you like. The lace is fairly simple and can be memorised in no time!
As you can see, it has little flower patterns making a little rose garden!
I love this shawl, it's just the right size to tuck into a coat.
Thank you for your support!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Christina's Craft Knitting Catchup - The reboot!
I've finally done another vlog! I talk about my knitting, some things I like, some new stuff, and a new design of my own!
Shownotes
Fallow Sweater
My Fallow Sweater
Ginny's Cardigan
My Ginny's Cardigan
Vanilla Sock pattern
Black Trillium Fibres Lilt Sock gradient yarn
Wind Song Wares on etsy (currently on holiday, coming back soon)
Rose Garden Shawl (my new design)
Addi Click Lace Interchangeable Needles
I recorded this episode at the coast, where my husband's family has a lovely little house. I love going there to recharge and relax! My new shawl design will be released really soon, I hope you enjoy it!
Shownotes
Fallow Sweater
My Fallow Sweater
Ginny's Cardigan
My Ginny's Cardigan
Vanilla Sock pattern
Black Trillium Fibres Lilt Sock gradient yarn
Wind Song Wares on etsy (currently on holiday, coming back soon)
Rose Garden Shawl (my new design)
Addi Click Lace Interchangeable Needles
I recorded this episode at the coast, where my husband's family has a lovely little house. I love going there to recharge and relax! My new shawl design will be released really soon, I hope you enjoy it!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Completed - Cardigan for my mum
Finally, another non-selfish knitting project!
Pattern: Acorn Trail, by Amy Herzog
This is kind of an old knit now, but I made my mum a cardigan for Mother's Day.
I love the cables up the fronts and the back!
It fits mum but probably could be a little bigger. But it was because I ran out of yarn! I don't know why I didn't buy enough. I ran out before I got to the button bands. So I had to do some creative shortening of the sleeves (which turned out ok because they were too long anyway), and undid my swatches, and ALSO had to cut off all my long tails and use them too! The button bands are not quite as wide as I'd like but they do the job.
That was a very stressful evening. But done phew! I ended up having to seam it with some different yarn, which was not quite the same colour. Oh well you can't tell!
I do love Amy Herzog's pattern! It was a fun interesting knit :-)
One reason why this took so long to write is that Blogger was being weird!
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