feeling woolly

I hope you all had a nice Christmas, I certainly did.

But I also like this quiet time after. 

With the hustle and bustle of Christmas behind me, I just like to relax and think about possible new projects for the coming year.

But there is one very, very old project which I have returned to this week.

I stared knitting a wool jacket 6 years (!!!) ago. 

I always knew it was going to be a long term project, although I never thought it would take me this long.

It is a jacket from the book "Poetry in Stitches" by Norwegian designer Solveig Hisdal. 

It is knitted using Norwegian technique - knitted the whole body in one piece on a circular needle and then cutting into it for openings. 

I bought the wool (dyed specially for the projects in this book) directly from the factory in Norway .

This week I finished the main body at last, and started knitting the sleeves. 

I really hope that 2018 will be the year I will wear the jacket at last!

I have been wanting to play with some wool applique for some time, and today at last I got around to starting a small picture.

I am using some wool felt, rather then wool fabric, simply because it is cheaper and easier to get hold of. 

Also, instead of using a wool background, I am using this black fabric, just because I like fabric and I want to see how it will work together. I stabilised the fabric with Iron On Vilene, which should support the felt better. 

I hope you'll also get some time to yourselves this week for some little crafting at least.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2017

My Mystery Afghan Knit-a-Long

designed by Martin Storey for Rowan 

knitted in Pure Wool Worsted

approx size 120cm x 160cm

colours as per the original design

It has been fun, but I am glad to see it finished.

You would think that it is rather the wrong time of year for a warm blanket, 

but with the weather turning cold again, it could still come very handy.

Knitted in soft 100% wool, it is jolly warm!

Go and have a look at Jaana's blog , 

she is knitting baby blankets for Ghana, also using squares, but in same colour. It looks very nice.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2015

home alone and more of Yoko

Do you remember my 48 knitted squares?

These were designed by Martin Storey as a BOM for Rowan wools.

They are all finished and need to be put together to form a blanket.

I decided to follow the original layout, as per Martin's instruction, but of course, one needs a space to lay them all out.

The living room is the only space with enough floor area for this task, but it is also a route from one end of the house to the rest.

I took an advantage of a day when DH was away, when I was home alone and I could spread out all the squares.

Now I have to stitch them together and finish knitting the trim.

The weather has been little too warm for that job last few days, I am just doing little in the evenings.

And now some more for Yoko Saito's fans. In one of my recent posts I talked about a book she published following her visit to Sweden - Scandinavian Quilts.

It seems that Yoko really fell in love with Dalarna, a region in Sweden, because she dedicated a second book to her visit there. As far as I can see, this book has been published only in French so far, but I could not resist.....

No, I don't speak French, but any text I need to translate I give to Google Translate to do, and as I found out yesterday, Google even stores translated pages for you.
Again, "Quilted Memories of Yoko Saito" is full of lovely projects and beautiful photographs of the area.
It seems that even the colours she chooses have been influenced by her trip, as some of the projects are in  somewhat brighter colours than Yoko's usual choices.





She visited Green Hotel in Tällberg, overlooking the lake Siljan, just a few miles down the road from where DH and I rented a holiday cottage in 2010 (you can read more about our trip in "Sweden 2010" under "my labels" on the left hand side of this blog).
We also visited Tällberg; just up the road from the hotel is a large shop, full of beautiful items crafted locally.

It looks like Yoko's love affair with Sweden continues.....

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2015

mystery afghan knit-a-long/week 8

At last - the last 6 squares are done, hurrah!

 I must admit that this project was beginning to haunt me. 

Week 9 is "Cable Trim" and week 10 is "Making up Afghan".

This will be time consuming, so it will take some time.

This is a Knit-a-Long, designed by Martin Storey for Rowan Wools, not the new one by Kaffe Fassett, which Rowan Wools started a couple of weeks ago.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014

mystery afghan knit-a-long/week 7

Another week and 6 squares for knit-a long, designed by Martin Storey for Rowan, completed.


Only 6 squares more, followed by a trim, and then making up.

The end is in sight!

Rowan are starting a new mystery knit-a-long, this time designed by Kaffe Fassett, just in case you are tempted.
As for me - I will be happy if I'll finish this one :-)

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014

mystery afghan knit-a-long/week 6

         

   
Mystery Afghan Knit-A-Long, organized by Rowan, designed by Martin Storey.

  At last - another week of knitting completed, another 6 squares done.

That makes 36 squares so far.

Two more weeks/12 more squares to go - I am beginning to see the end!

Enjoy your weekend!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014

mystery afghan knit-a-long/weeks 4 & 5

Believe me, knitting is the last thing to do at the moment, with the night time temperatures hitting nearly 20°C,

so it is quite surprising that I have managed to finish another 2 weeks of the Mystery Knit-A-Long.

There are 6 blocks to knit each week, in two different colours. 

Although not a mystery any longer, as the instructions for the last week have been already published. But it will have to wait until the weather changes.

week 4

week 5

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014

mystery afghan knit-a-long/ weeks 2 & 3

We are having a bit of a blip in the weather, with some heavy showers in the last few days and drop in temperatures. So it is a case of being more in than out, and I managed to knit up two weeks, that is 12 squares.

               

                   Week 2 - Nordic Star

                           

Week 3 - Heirloom Lace

My camera is not picking up the correct colours, I am using the same colours as in the pictures.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014

mystery afghan knit-a-long - week 1 - garter stitch waves

The week 4 of this Knit-a -long will be published tomorrow, and I have just finished week 1, called  Garter Stitch Waves.

There are 6 squares in the same design to be knitted every week, in two different colours (three in each colour). 

By the time I get to the second square, I get the hang of it, by the fourth square I am little bored. But that is OK,  the following week there will be a new design and seems to me that as the weeks go, the pattern is getting little bit more complicated. I don't know if this is the way it will continue, it is after all, a mystery....

mystery afghan knit-a-long

Like most of you out there, I am addicted to fabrics, mainly those made out of natural fibres; I love looking at them, touching them and yes, spending money on them, and that is why we often talk about "the stash", don't we? In my case the same applies to knitting wool; the real thing, good quality wool. 

I love the feel of it, the way it just glides on the needles. But unfortunately the day has only so many hours in it and to juggle all I would like to make is not always easy.

My long term knitting project is just that - long term! It is a slow progress, as I have arrived to the part where only two shades of the same colour are used - impossible to see in an artificial light, hence the slow progress. Unusually, although being wool, this is "summer knitting", when we have lots of daylight.

But then the hands can get too hot, there is just no "win" situation!

But for some time now my fingers have been itching for a knitting project, which would not be too complicated. My wish has been answered, when I had received Rowan April Newsletter, which included news about a new Knit-a-along, designed for Rowan by Martin Storey - a mystery Afghan, with a free pattern published over a period of 10 week, consisting of 8 square designs. 

Weeks 1 & 2 have now been published, with week 3 due out tomorrow.

The choice of colours is up to you; you can follow Martin Storey's design or choose your own colours. There are also other colour combinations suggested by Rowan in their "Shopping List".

The designs seem to be very easy, the type of knitting project you can pop into your bag and take anywhere.

You can also see it on Ravelry or watch on youtube.

My first square completed, but yet to be pressed. 

I have decided to follow Martin Storey's colour combination - I like the idea of it being "mystery" and also simply - I am too busy right now to work out my own.

This is a great project for me, because I haven't got much patience for working out the right tension; this is not so important in a blanket design, as long as the squares are "square".

    Have fun!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2014

It is a very long time since I bought this lovely lace yarn from Nimu Yarns, a mixture of alpaca, silk and cashmere, and started knitting a scarf.

 

 

I finished the scarf some time ago, but only now I got around to stretching it. It is only when I see it

like this, stretched out over an old sheet and pinned to the carpet,

 I can see all the mistakes!

 

All finished at last! It is beautifully soft and I know I will love wearing it. I don't think many people will notice or will care that it is not perfect!

 

 

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2013

                                                    Fingerless gloves finished.

They are on my DD's hands and they went home with her. 

Oh well, I just have make another pair....

then there was another

I am referring to a new quilt just completed by Kaaren from The Painted Quilt blog, a beautiful Christmas redwork quilt. Please go and have a look, just click on the name of her blog above.

By a coincidence the latest issue of Quiltmania  magazine arrived today, which I have been eagerly waiting for, to find out how to assemble all the Yoko Saito's Mystery Quilt blocks. I'll get to that in a minute, but there is also an article about Sharon Duffy's home, under the heading Quilts & Enchanting Homes.

And there is another wonderful Christmas redwork quilt hanging up.

And here is my dilemma. This happens every time. Just when I begin to think that I should have a break from quilts and go back to "serious" embroidery, of knitting, of crochet or...., I see a beautiful quilt and the fever starts again. And of course there is another reason - I have not made a redwork quilt, yet.

I can feel a project for next year's Christmas coming on....

But back to my current one. As I have said, I now have the instructions for the assembly of the Mystery quilt, but not only that, also the instructions for block number 6! I didn't know about block 6 (or I did not read something properly?). I my mind I was going to finish the quilt by this Christmas, which now I know will not happen. Block 5 is still very much "work in progress".

So, it is going to take a little longer. Never mind, it will be worth it. I really like the way Yoko finished her quilt, it is original and different, and it doesn't matter that no 2 blocks are the same size. Those of you, who read Quiltmania, know what I am talking about.

I can see myself spending a lot of time stitching after Christmas (you know, that quiet few days between the  Christmas rush ending and the new year starting), when at last you can relax and get some time to yourself. And I also know now what fabric to look for for the background.

There is just another small project in the making right now. The first frost reminded me how my hands feel when it gets really cold. Of course I have a selection of gloves in my draw, but usually I end up not wearing them, because I can't hold things well wearing gloves. Finger-less is the answer, and at last this year I will have a pair! I am using beautifuly soft and warm mix of alpaca and silk from Devon, from Ruth and Belinda, bough last year at one of the shows.

apples and hearts

Stourhead,

you have been here with me before.

This weekend we came here not only for a walk on a beautiful autumn day, but also to visit the Apple Day at the Stourhead farm shop, a regular annual event.

It gives us an opportunity to taste and buy a large selection of locally grown apples.

I love some of the wonderful names given to apples, for instance "Slack-ma-girdle"!

This area is also known for its apple cider and there are many producers here, old and new.

A relatively new company is  Fosseway Somerset Cider, which had a stand here today and we had a chance to sample their cider which is very nice.

 Needless to say that we came home with some of the "tastings".

I think I should explain a little the name "Fosseway".

Fosse Way was a road build by the Romans, which connected Exeter in the Southwest of England with Lincoln in Northeast.

It is possible that it was originally a defensive ditch to mark the western frontier of the Roman rule in Britain, and later filled in. Many parts of the original road still form parts of the roads today.

Fosseway runs through our county of Somerset, hence the name is used quite often here.

You can read more about Fosseway here.

Of course I could not help myself and I had to make an apple pie when back home, to keep to the spirit of the day.

--------------------------

My stitching week has been taken up mainly with the small blocks for the Scandinavian Christmas border. I am now glad that I have decided to finish the quilt as per the original pattern, it will give it a nice finish.

I have found this sign in the National Trust shop at Stourhead.

I think it will go so well with the quilt.

I have also made some progress on the Norwegian design jacket.

During the week I received my order of this beautiful lace yarn, from Nimu Yarns,

a mixture of alpaca, silk and cashmere. I first saw this yarn on rubysasha's blog, thank you rubysasha for "discovering" it!

I plan to make a large scarf rather then a shawl, when I decide on a pattern.

I have a couple of lovely patterns in mind. I like both of them very much, I just need to make up my mind.

I wish you all a very good week!