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 :-)