Stitches Galore

I was recently given 8 balls of 'Kinair' by Filatura de Crosa, in white. It reminds me of Kid Silk Haze - it has similar yardage but is a little softer to handle and not quite as 'fuzzy'. What to knit? Since it came from a friend in the Shetland Isles, I thought that a lace shawl could be an idea. having been inspired completing 'Birch' this spring, I was ready to tackle another project. As you can probably tell from the ball price in the picture above, this has been stashed for a while, so I am looking forward to knitting it up. I have looked at the Gathering of Lace book by Meg Swansen to see if any patterns there would suit the amount I have. One possible option is the circular Shetland Tea Shawl, which seems appropriate enough. However, I am attracted by the Traditional Lace Shawl book by Martha Waterman, although I do not have a copy. Has anyone used patterns from this book and could you recommend it?

Don't you think this hydragea is a lovely bright colour? We have acid soil and it wreaks havoc with pink hydrangeas, turning them a murky, dirty lilac colour. Last year we transplanted them into pots, adding some lime to the compost - and it seems to have done the trick nicely - I can't believe that I haven't posted anything for such a long time! I have had a bit more time to myself over the last few weeks and have used it to get several jobs completed that have been outstanding for a long time. Although this hasn't involved any knitting, it has involved tiny needles and acres (?) of fabric: Firstly, I decided to make two pairs of curtains for our home - one pair for the dining room (with a matching runner from the offcuts of length): Secondly, curtains for our living room and cushions to co-ordinate: Needless to say this has curtailed my knitting time, but I do now have two full strips of my 'Fish' throw completed, now I just have to get started on the third

The results of my machine embroidery workshop are as follows: All the machine sewing and the bonded applique were done during the workshop. However, most of the hand-embroidered blanket and stem stitch had to be done as 'homework'. Although I did do some patchwork at school, it never was one of my favourite crafts. The workshop was taken by a lady who had, at one time, owned a fabric and craft store, and she had brought lots of samples of her work. She has developed her skills towards painting and embroidering fabrics and creating lovely works of art. It was an inspirational day and I now have to add some sewing someday into my creative stitches. 'Fish' is making slow progress. I managed to complete the first 9-square strip at the weekend and so have 6 more strips to get through. I think Christmas is a realistic deadline for finishing it, as 'real' work is seriously limiting my personal leisure time at the moment - maybe it might be time to look for another proj

Last week I had a chance to take my new Birch shawl to dinner. It was quite an affair, hosted by the Royal College of Nursing, to bestow the 'Nurse of the Year' awards for Northern Ireland. One of our student nurses was awarded joint 'Student Nurse of the Year' so we were really proud of her. And for the full effect: I have had a love/hate relationship with Kidsilk Haze. It often takes me several attempts at casting on to start knitting an item and I am left struggling with a twisted, fluffy one or two row strip that has to be consigned to the bin. This may explain why I tend to run short of yarn with my KSH projects! Once I get going however, things seem to settle. The main project I have knitted with KSH has been 'Dew' by Kim Hargreaves. Her kits are so beautifully presented it really is like receiving a gift you have sent to yourself! The colour is 'Dewberry' - familiar to many of you, I am sure, so apologies in advance for decimating the actual shade

I've made some progress on the squares for my 'Fish' throw. Cotton Glace is a real treat to knit with, I love it! Each square is knitted and then cast off as normal. Stitches for the next square are then picked up and knitting continues with the new pattern. This cuts down on the amount of sewing required to finish at the end. There will be seven strips, nine squares long - so there is a bit to go yet. These are some of my favourites so far: This square is supposed to represent seaweed floating in the water. This is called 'Ripple' and requires the threading on to yarn of 140 beads in a particular colour sequence. It takes ages, but once you get going the knitting is quick enough. This is one I love - once 153 sequins are threaded on. The pattern calls for turquoise opague plastic sequins, but mine are mettalic - if makes them look more like fish scales, which is the desired effect. This is called 'Sun, surf and sea'. Debbie has done a super job of writi

After my Dad passed away quite suddenly in 2000, my Mum began a diary as a way to keep a track of time and she also began to knit again. She knitted simple garter stitch squares with some wool she had stashed. It upset me at times to see how hard she concentrated on these simple squares after her skilled hands had produced lovely fair isle and lace knitting. But she explained that this was one way that she could produce something constructive to show for the time she spent thinking and grieving. She worked them in the square and diagonally, and invented her own take on modular knitting before we even knew the term existed. She exercised her imagination and gradually, I could see a small part of her coming alive again. Looking back I was doing the same with cross-stitching. I have samplers on the walls of our home, and when I study them hanging there, I can remember exactly what part I was sewing on when Dad was called back into hospital, when we sat at his bedside and during the sad ti

This wasn't a good time of year to start blogging, I think. I have a growing pile of assignments to mark and lots of preparation for summer teaching to get underway (no long break for us nursing lecturers, unfortunately!). Yet I still want to knit and talk about knitting in preference to working. I need some discipline. I have just finished knitting Birch from Rowan 34. It started when I needed to buy an extra ball of Kidsilk Night to cast off about 100 stitches of the Froth scarf that was the free gift pattern from Rowan a few months ago. I was knitting it a second time for a gift. I was left with almost a full ball and thought it would be a good idea to buy 2 more and cast on for Birch (which I had always fancied knitting). After getting one third of the way through the shawl I had only one ball left: So off I went to buy another ball of yarn to complete the last few pattern repeats. Now I have about 3/4 of a ball left. Am I the only one who would find that frustrating? After all

Following my knitting revival came a succession of plans and lists of items that were to be produced - some sooner than others. One of the first Rowan patterns I completed was 'Lisette' by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan 36. Boy, was I a proud girl when this was finished! It was my first experience of knitting with a Rowan yarn, and nothing has yet shifted 4-ply Soft from the top of my list of the best yarns for drape and finish. It has virtually no 'bloom', washes brilliantly and wears as new. The colour is aptly called 'Beetroot' and is a bit darker than the picture below. The pattern was straightforward to knit, and as a result I think I will forever be partial to a Kim Hargreaves pattern. The edging was knitted separately and sewn on, which was a challenge for me as I am not too confident of my hand sewing skills when it comes to knitted fabric! I have learnt many things since I knitted this a couple of years ago. One of them is never to carry 'live' stitc

Having spent considerable amounts of time reading other knitter's blogs over the past couple of years, I have finally plucked up enough courage to have one of my own. I think Polly's blog was the first one I read and as a result I was introduced to many other fascinating knitters. Courage is maybe not the right word to use as I am not sure that I will have such interesting crafty exploits as many of my favourite bloggers. Based on the idea that I have to start somewhere - here goes! Since fifty percent of my DNA comes from the Shetland Isles in the form of a wonderful mother who can produce super fair isle knitting, it shouldn't surprise me that I was taught to knit around the time I learnt to read. However, we are very different knitters. Mum works best without a pattern - as long as she can visualise (either literally or in her mind's eye) the finished object. On the other hand, I need a pattern - really need a pattern. There are many times that I wish I could be c