Update: Hats

I've been very remiss in blogging about crafting lately, not because I haven't done any but mostly because I've been using Ravelry instead. But here I am with an update on hats. I've knitted two spiral hats which was really fun with cheap but nice Warehouse single ply variegated wool. Here's the first one (with my cat & without).

For some weird reason the pattern didn't result in the spiral working evenly but I fixed that in the second hat which was blue & grey. Amazingly my second one was a commission! I was paid $20 for it with yarn coming to about $6 and labour of about five hours it certainly wasn't living wage but I really enjoyed making it and gives me confidence with hats that I didn't have before.

I've almost made two hats hisotrically with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. I completely mal-sized the first one for a baby so frogged it, it was also ugly because I didn't know how to knit in the round (left). I then reknit the yarn as a ribbed beanie once I learnt how to knit in the round and I gave it to my dad (right).

Needlefood review: First impressions

With much kindness Michelle of Needlefood sent me a skein of her lovely yarn to review, I requested an Oddball called 'Martinborough Vines'.

I really love the packing of the yarn, the cellophane seems like that used to wrap flowers, so its like a yarn bouquet. The cellophane is tied with a ribbon which also carriers a seller label for needlefood as well as five split ring stitch markers and a seller label for the markers.

The yarn itself is in skein form and is surrounded by a yarn band which notes composition, weight in grams and 'type'-fingering, needle size and washing instructions. The yarn is 80% merino and 20% nylon, 100g, ≈353m, fingering weight for 2-2.75 needles and machine washable. In other words the yarn is perfect for socks. The yarn feels slightly thicker than Vintage Purls however I'll have to see whether that is reflected in the gauge when I knit it up. The yarn smells slightly of vinegar, testament to its hand dyed nature and which I must admit I quite like.

A note on the colour, what I had imagined was a deep blue purple but as you can see from my picture above and that in the middle here, it is in fact a maroon. If you compare the website picture on the left from one I took on the left with a flash you'll see they are very similar. I don't mind hugely and maroon is far more grapish than blue-purple however its something to note that colours do not exactly match photos.

In terms of the labels, I have a few comments. I really like the label with yarn on it, gives a great idea of the other colors and is in a sturdy card. The yarn band and stitch markers label are however just on paper, I think they would be better on a light card. When I opened up the skein to look at the colour changes and made it into a skein again, it was impossible to put the ball band back on. A ball band that is slightly looser and stiffer would allow for reusability of the band.

It's lovely that Michelle includes a single use amount of delicate wool wash called Soak and five stitch markers from Memarcierenee. Overall a wonderful first impression, I can't wait to start knitting myself a lovely pair of socks.

Needlefood

I've been watching yarns by Michelle on TradeMe but today she has announced her online shop opening called Needlefood and I love it! In the pic I've got, clockwise from top left,  Martinborough Vines, Rosehips in Autumn, Lavendar Infusion and Plumberry Ambrosia. These are all NZD $26, pretty good price compared to USD $20 from international competitors.

I also really love the Scotty Sunflower which has a beautiful-tragic back story.

I also like the free shipping for orders over $75 and the free sock yarn draw. I hope that Michelle and Mike do well in their business and I hope to order from them soon.

Judy's Magic Cast On

The only toe-up cast on I can do is Judy's Magic Cast On. The best description with pictures I have found is on Persistent Illusion however Cat Bordhi's Knitty article and videos are also useful.

Family + Knitting = Happiness and a sock

Often muggles (non-knitters) think that knitting is something that old ladies do while waiting for their grandkids to come round. [For a great explanation of the phenomena see Episode 96 of Sticks & String 'I'm busy'] My in-laws joke about this, claiming that Ravelry is one of the few places where people would pretend to be older than they are. They do however happily let me knit while I talk to them. To keep a flow of conversation going I'm still needing to just do stockinette socks, and more than appropriate seeing I am doing a gorgeous pair of man socks for their son in marine yarn. You can easily have a lovely time with your family while knitting and then you end up with an item as well as a lovely time.

Equally I spent a great afternoon with my father knitting my first pair of socks in a friendly cafe which let us spend hours over our coffee post lunch so much that we ordered another pair of coffees. It's wonderful to wear knitted items you remember making with while talking to your loved one. I'd love to get a headset and use Skype to talk to my mum so I can knit while talking to her.

Sock club love!

I'm part of the Vintage Purls Summer Sock Club 2009 and I'm loving it! I received the second package yesterday and the first last month. The first come with a wonderful bag, pattern and yarn, the second with a gift you knit for yourself, pattern and yarn. They both came with some yummy lollies which is such fun. The cost was $95 so with each skein of yarn being usually $23 for Limited Edition and patterns usually being about $5 and the with gifts I think its very good value. Its also the fun of our own ravelry group and the joy of having unique yarn and patterns. I also love communicating with the purveyor Morag who taught me to Magic Loop. She is also the only online yarn shop in New Zealand to stock Knit Pro so I love being able to order more neeldes that Morag pops in my sock club packages for free shipping.

Here's Vintage Purl's picture of the first yarn and pattern called Bluesky Baby which I haven't started - I'm scared of lace but I hope to do it one day, or failing that I'll make lots of blue booties.

Knitting marine man socks

Wow, stockinette socks are still really really fun but going so much faster. I'm speeding along with a lovely hand dyed 100% wool sock yarn that was a gift from maude & me's miss tracee.

This photo was taken two days ago and I'm already 4" into the leg. Still got heaps of yarn to go, these will be quite long. I'm glad I put in the negative ease as its created an almost ribbed look around the instep which looks really cool without all the tedious work of rib knitting. I really love the slight scratchiness of the yarn, feels really appropriate for man socks. I might have to do some calf shaping to fit as they could be quite long from what yarn I have left. I really love the no wrap short row heel, still a few holes as it joins the instep but none along the heel.