Fake thrummed mittens

Before I jump into the real thing - amazingly soft and comfy thrummed mittens - I have accidentally stumbled upon a beautiful pattern by Purl Soho for Classic Mittens with a lovely turned cuff. The minute I saw some projects based on that pattern, I already knew what to do with some stray skeins of yarn I had laying around for ages. Fake thrummed mittens, here we go!

I absolutely LOVE the way they look, I just wished the vibrant purple yarn was 100% wool, not an acrylic mix, but it works nice and it doesn't feel so super plastic like some of the acrylic yarns do. The super bulky yarn is 100% wool, though so the mittens will be nice and warm, lined with a layer of wool yarn.

I like these so much that I will have to knit a pair for myself - maybe in nice charcoal grey with the same bulky yarn, as I still have plenty of it.

Hokey Pokey - Winter is Coming

Winter is coming! Time to knit some new mittens! I have decided to use some left over yarn and knit myself a pair of nice and warm mittens. I've used the Hokey Pokey Mittens pattern by Garn Studio/Drops Design.

I am done with the first mitten and I absolutely love it! Especially the Latvian braid that I have worked for the first time. It always looked super complicated to me but it's super easy.

I have also decided to go one number down on the needles to achieve nice and snug mittens.

I'm off to finish the 2nd mitten and can't wait to start wearing them. I think I will also knit a hat with the same pattern used.

Beautiful new roving for spinning

I just got these beauties today and can't wait to turn the fiber into beautiful yarn :-) I already have in mind a couple of nice projects for the finished yarn.

The roving comes from
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CatandSparrowUK

New shawls coming soon

Here are three new shawls I have finished recently - still need to soak and block them. It's sooo great to be back to knitting, I have really missed it.

Playing with my new drop down spindles

I just received my new lovely drop spindle from Kromski and I absolutely love it! 

I'm using a lovely grey BFL roving I bought recently. The spindle works like a charm, however, it's slightly too heavy to spin very thin yarn, but I will use for that my old trusty DIY spindle made of a knitting needle and 2 cd :-) Speaking of DIY spindles... here's my first Turkish ( X) spindle - I always wanted to test how it works and was fascinated by the fact you immediately get a center pull ball of yarn, perfect for plying the yarn later.

I'm using a mixed roving of BFL wool that spins beautifully. The spindle is slightly too light and it needs some weights on the bottom. Once I spin for a while, the weight of the yarn does the trick and the spindle spins nicely. I'm definitely hooked - a properly balanced Turkish spindle goes straight on my "to buy" list.

Work in progress - baby cape & brioche cowl

Been busy knitting the last few days - the weather outside was really knitting-friendly. I've finally found some time to learn myself the brioche stitch and I have to say I am in love with it. Here's the final piece I've finished few days ago - a lovely reversible cowl.

Currently, I am working on a special gift for a special girl - my cute niece. My SIL has asked me to knit a cape for her daughter, something with an elf-like hood. I wasn't able to find any patterns that were suiting my needs so I improvised - here's the wip photo. 

Rainy Sunday - a perfect day for knitting

Rainy Sunday is definitely a perfect time to stay under a warm blanket with a cup of hot tea and do some knitting! These days I am (almost) all about knitting cute baby sweaters! They are great stash busters and quick projects to finish.

This is the baby cardigan I am working on currently - super cute with garter yoke and plain body. It's been a long time since I've worked with 2.5mm needles! Thankfully, the project is super easy and I can watch movies while knitting.

This is a toddler cardigan I have finished few days ago - I forgot how much I love working with fair isle patterns :-) It's another of my stash buster projects, I almost run out of the brown yarn!

This one is one of my favorite! A simple raglan sweater with one button on the back and garter panel on the front.... What I like about raglan sweaters is that they are perfectly symmetrical and you can wear them with the back side in front :-)

One lucky girl and her new quilt

Meet the cutest girl ever - my beautiful niece Gaia. The gift was given so I can officially show you the results of several weeks of my work. Needle + thread + plenty of patience (and dozen of audiobooks later) and the patchwork is finished! 

All the work done by hand, without the use of a sewing machine.

And some WIP photos - it was plenty of work, but I have enjoyed every minute of working on this project. The quilt is made of recycled old duvet and pillow covers and assembled using the English paper piecing method.

Knitting Busy Bee

Last month I've finished two new designs - a sideways shawl and a cowl. Can't decide which one I like more :-) Now I just have to find some time to organize my notes, create the charts and write the patterns. I hope I will be done before the end of this week.

I'm so(u)cked in..

Believe me or not - but socks are one of the knitting projects I was always super scared of... right after sweaters! Me, a person who has no problems with the most complicated lace projects!

Last month I decided to make a knitted/crocheted Xmas gift for every member of my family this year (surprise, surprise....) and one of the projects I chose to knit was... a pair of knee-high socks - a perfect gift for my baby sister! So I watched dozens of videos on YouTube about Turkish cast-on, working socks using the Magic Loop method and working 2 socks at the same time, got myself a great book about knitting socks - Socks from the Toe Up by WendyKnits. I'm completely so(u)cked in from the minute I read this book!  The instructions are super easy and the patterns beautiful!

I have already successfully finished the Xmas socks for my sister (photos after Xmas, since it's a surprise) and I am knitting a 2nd pair of socks for myself!

I'm using Wendy's On-Hold Socks pattern for nice & simple lacy socks. I really like how they look, but next time I will use a solid color yarn.

I had the blue yarn for ages in my stash - I think I got it 2 years ago from a second-hand shop. I like it a lot but hate the fact it's cut every 1-2m. Lots of knots on the wrong side....

FREE KNITTING PATTERN: Cyrcus Lace Shawl

CYRCUS LACE SHAWL

FREE KNITTING PATTERN

A beautiful and delicate lace shawl with decorative edging. This shawl is perfect for a wedding or simply for everyday use. It is based on traditional Estonial designs of Haapsalu shawls. Estonian traditional shawls can be rectangular, square or triangular. They are known for their airy designs and beautiful decorative edgings.

New Pattern: Kyreneia Semi-circular Shawl

I've received many requests for a knitting pattern for this shawl of mine which I designed few months ago. Guess what - I finally found my notes and here it is - a brand new, easy-to-follow knitting pattern for Kyreneia Semi-circular Lace Shawl! You can knit it in 2 different colors, plain or use shaded yarn as the one I've used for the Rainbow Shawl.


Kyreneia Semi-circular Lace Shawl

New tutorial available - Kanzashi-style bobby pins

After over 3 days of hard work, I'm happy to present you with my brand new photo tutorial for Kanzashi-style bobby pins. The tutorial takes you through the process step-by-step with clear photos and text description.

WIP: Granny triangle shawl No. 2

I really enjoy crocheting the Granny Triangle Shawl - it's fun & quick, definitely an easy pattern to follow while watching your favorite series (my series of choice for this week is Bones, love it!)

The yarn I'm using is very interesting and colourful, I like the texture it creates. Still have to decide how to finish the shawl - with a wide scalloped edging or just with long nice fringe, as the one I've posted earlier.  

Just got new yarn

... and I love it! It's a bit thicker than my usual choice but I totally love the texture of this one. I still haven't decided what to knit with it, probably a nice cowl or maybe a thick shawl.

I've decided to knit a sample to see how it will look like and with what needles size should I go. This one looks very nice, me thinks :-)

I bought 4 small skeins of the yarn, I hope it will be enough for a shawl/cowl.

WIP: The attack of white shawls

It's time for a short break from knitting, let's crochet something! I've started working simultaneously on 2 new projects and can't decide which one I like more :-)  Sometimes I really would love to be an octopus and be able to work on more than 2 projects at the same time! 

Unfortunately, I'm no octopus so just have to move from one project to another... I really should focus on one project only and start the next one after finishing the first. But the ever-growing pile of yarn is so tempting!

Here's the 2nd white shawl, this time a triangular one. I'm about to finish it with a wide border.

WIP: Blue ruffled shawl

A new shawl I'm working on currently, I have to say I absolutely LOVE the blue shade of this yarn! The shawl will look great. 

The yarn is 50/50 mohair/acrylic, very nice and soft. I'm working with 2 strands of the yarn, as it is a lace weight one and I want the shawl to be a bit thicker & warm.

I really enjoy working with this pattern, I will post is as soon as I have time to write it down and when I finish this one, to show the final results.

Work in progress: green modular crochet shawl

Work in progress - yes, another green shawl. I can't help it, I simply love green color, especially now during the winter. This time I decided to play with modular crocheting. As you may see on the photos, each of the rows is made of 2 full motifs and one half motif. Oh my... they give me a huge headache when attaching one to another! I had to unravel the connections many times before I made them correctly :-) I think watching a good mystery series doesn't help......

 I'm almost done with the shawl, just need additional 4 full circles and 2 semi ones to complete. Then a simple single crochet border around and tassels on two sides. I think it's going to look really nice.

Busy knitting bee

I had a couple of very busy knitting weeks recently but no good weather to take any photos. My goal this weekend is to finally photograph every single shawl/scarf/hat/mittens from this huge pile! Keep your fingers crossed for a nice sunny day tomorrow!

 Not all of the finished items are on the photo - 2 scarves are still blocked and I'm almost done with another shawl. 

Christmas Sale - 30% off on all shawls & scarves

I think it says it all - let's the Christmas crazy time begin! For all my customers I have a special Xmas gift - a huuuge discount on all items from my Etsy shop - 30%!