CHEATING AT SWATCHING I'm currently debating whether to design a fade cardi instead of knitting the #lepoufcardi. It's a lovely project, but by the time I've changed all the numbers to get the right fit I might as well start from scratch. And there's a new(ish) construction I want to try, so I figure, why not?!
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Either way, this project required a swatch for the fade progression so I wanted to share a design trick. I always make big swatches - often knitting a long strip of fabric as I work through ideas. Inevitably, I'll only want to use/keep some of what I've developed. So I pick the sections I like, slip them onto DPNs, cut out the bits between and graft them back together. It's quicker than starting from scratch and invisible when done neatly. It's particularly useful for yoke swatches, which can take quite a few goes to get right, and anything with colourwork, which can always be a little unpredictable.
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Speckle yarn in particular is notoriously contrary in how it knits up, so doing this extra work will save me a lot of time potentially ripping out later! .
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#knitting #knitdesign #techeditor #techeditorsofinstagram #speckleyarn #fadeyarn #fade
SLOW FADE When I first got into knitting I had a friend who would knit one project at a time and only buy new yarn when it was finished and she had chosen her next project. I am not that knitter...
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My work means I'm also lucky enough to get sent a lot of yarn. The downside of that - yes, my diamond shoes are too tight - is that what I have bought over the years tends to sit for a long time before I get around to using it.
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But every Christmas I treat myself to a selfish knit, and this year it's going to be the Le Pouf fade cardigan by @hedgehogfibres. I've accumulated a few skeins from Beata, plus speckled singles from @labienaimee @garnstories and @houseofalamode and I'm going to smoosh them all together in this one cardi! .
Inspiration for this project came from my lovely friend @stitching_me_softly who is making her own Le Pouf. I've got a hat and half a pair of socks to finish first, and I haven't quite worked out the order for my fade, but it's great to have a project in mind for this yarn as I'm very guilty of buying stuff to design with and then getting distracted by another idea. Sometimes it is just better to knit someone else's fabulous pattern! .
#lepouf #knitting #speckleyarn #fadeyarn #knittersofinstagram #techeditor #techeditorsofinstagram #knitdesigner #knitdesign #yarnlove #yarnaddict
STOP THE BUS Weekday mornings currently begin with a tussle over school. The smalls has recently graduated to secondary, which means a very early start 🕢 followed by a lengthy bus journey. It has not gone down well. 😒
To (slightly) take the edge off the new arrangement I've made her some fingerless mitts to wear at the bus stop🚃. Neon pink was asked for but I only had a smidge in DK so I made individual fingers (ugh) per her request and used it for that.🖐️ The rest of the mitts were made using the gradient @bilumyarns I got at @woollinnyarnfest on my jaunt with @woollenwords last year - two strands from opposite ends of the cake - and the helix stripe technique @jenacknitwear showed me many years ago💈(find out how in her book Something to Learn About Helical Knitting). I combined these with basic numbers from @kateatherleyknits seminal Knit Mitts - the only tome you'll ever need to design gloves and mittens imo 🧤 and used my trusty @clovermfg short DPNs for the fiddly fingers.👍So it was very much a team effort even if I was the only one who actually knew about them!
I've left a bit of room for growth, but she's very pleased with them and, so far, the pair has not been divided.
They also match her bag, which was completely by accident, but pleasing nonetheless.
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#knitting #knittersofinstagram #mitts #handknit #knitgifts #techeditor #techeditorsofinstagram
PARTY POMPOM 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Not just the name of one of the best #adambuxton songs of all time (Google it), also a fitting description for this glorious window at @house.of.wards, where my dear friends Helen, Alice (@d_u_s_t_a) and Lou (@louisespencer00) will all be selling their crafty sh*t this weekend, because it's time for the Totterdown arts trail!
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Christmas comes early in Totters as this is basically the best weekend of the whole flipping year. If you're in Bristol, come on over! If you're not, then make a date for 2020. Maybe I'll see you around? I'll be the one with the big grin on my face 😁
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#bristol #totterdown #artstrail #craft #knittersofinstagram
