« February 2007 | Main | April 2007 »
A finished crocheted mini cape!
March 25, 2007
This week I haven't had a chance to knit at all - I've been working a long drive away from home, and had to do study in the evenings, which is totally rubbish. But! Luckily about 2 weeks ago I finished my Cold Shoulders cape, and this evening I finally darned in the ends, and so now you can see the finished item!
Click to see more! This pattern came from the Happy Hooker book, by Debbie Stoller, and was very quick and easy. It would have been even quicker and easier but my tension was a mile out and I had to do a ton of extra rows to make it long enough. It's still pretty mini, but that's the way I like it (uh-huh uh-huh). Now I'm going to try and finish the Sublime sweater, and get those colinette scarves knitted up!
Posted by jen at 06:38 PM | Comments (14)
Photos of crafty things and cute things
March 22, 2007
More new yarn? Just who is in charge around here? Well I am OF COURSE, and anyway, it's for some friends who need yummy fluffy colinette scarves.
Colinette Fandango, one in velvet plum and one in veneziana, very quick to arrive from the internet shopping I did the other day. Let's drool over the colours:
Oh yes. I really love colinette, and it's even more beautiful in person.
Here is a little easter chick that has come to live with us, I don't know where it came from, I guess the easter bunny brought it:
Hello little chick! Really, it was 15p from a cake shop, and I think it has a very soulful expression!
Next up, here are some new knitting needles:
They are for kids, but can I have some, PLEASE?! As I said, since I'm in charge I bought some anyway! Right, time for some knitting!
Posted by jen at 07:52 PM | Comments (11)
Squirrellings!
March 18, 2007
By which I mean all the yarn I just bought, because I'm going to bury in it a hole and come back for it in winter! The hole is my box of stash yarn and winter is in a couple of weeks when I've finished the sublime sweater! I went to London yesterday with my friend Jess (who you can see here and here) for a day chatting and shopping. Also she is getting married next year and asked me to be a bridesmaid, which was so exciting I hopped about shrieking. Anyway! She has started knitting (and brought a very cute knitted teddy to show me) so we went to several yarny places. Firstly we went to John Lewis, where I bought some of the new Debbie Bliss yarn Rialto. Debbie Bliss says it's a kind of all seasons yarn, even though it is 100% merino wool. Either way it's extremely nice to touch and comes in lots of pretty colours (like all Debbie Bliss yarns, I think the lovely fibres and gorgeous subtle shades are the best thing about them). I got lots of it:
It is for another stripey sweater! I showed it to Adam and he looked horrified at the lime green and orange balls! But I think with stripes you can use colours you never normally would, and they are fine in stripes even if they would be a bit much all over - do you agree? I reminded him that Carolyn has lime green in and he likes that one, but he still looked sceptical! It makes me want to start knitting straight away and prove him wrong :) There is a pattern book for Rialto which I looked at as well - I nearly bought it just for the cabled vest on the cover, because it has some seriously good cabling.
After that we went to Islington to go to Loop. I had drooled over the website before and they have a ton of stuff, so I was surprised how tiny the shop actually is! But it was fantastic - I've never seen so much lovely yarn and knitted things in one place. I thought I was generally pretty extravagant with my yarn buying, but there are yarns there that are so luxurious (and expensive!) that I could only pet them wistfully. I'm not sure I'd even touched cashmere before, but it was incredibly soft. I'll have to make a scarf or something small from it some day! Anyway - I did get some yarn there too:
It is blue sky alpacas cotton, and is definitely the softest cotton I've ever come across. I think I read on a friend's blog recently (sorry I can't remember who's!) that it can pill really badly, and I can see how that would happen, but I think they also said it's better knitted tightly so I'll be doing that. I will make a summer tank with it, with some lacey bits I expect. The last thing I bought was some very cool turquoise swallow needles, they are in the same photo as the rialto yarn above.
Not a bad days shopping, all in all!
Posted by jen at 03:46 PM | Comments (9)
On recipes
March 11, 2007
Firstly thanks for your comments and emails on my Carolyn cardigan, I'm very glad people like it! I hope to design lots of new things in 2007.
I have been doing some knitting - on the sublime sweater. I knitted a second sleeve:
So now it's just the front to go! I got motivated to finish it, because this week I was at college, and lots of people were wearing very cool knitwear. It made me get 2 new ideas for designs, and I am going to get some more yarn for them, but first I decided I MUST finish this sublime sweater, so off I speeded on the sleeve!
But also, I have had lots of emails asking for the recipe for the Boston cream pie. I should have said, but it's in Nigella Lawson's book How to be a Domestic Goddess. I can't write it out here, because it's copyrighted, and unfortunately it's not one of the ones which is free on her website either! But I can tell you it's just a regular cake, sandwiched with a kind of custard, and iced with a chocolate and cream icing. I'm sure also if you google Boston cream pie lots of recipes will come up.
But! I would definitely recommend that book to anyone! I have made several things from it, and all have been scrumptious and quite straight forward. Here are two more!
I made a passionfruit cheesecake:
Check it out from above:
It was wonderful!
And also my friend Ed came to visit, so I made him a fruit cake - it has in it dried pears, cherries and sultanas, all soaked in rum, and chunks of marzipan which went all melty and sticky!
Obviously he only had one piece, Adam is very pleased that he gets to eat the rest!
To make up for all these cakes and no recipes, next time I will give you a recipe for a very yummy soup that I made up and therefore can post here - I just need to take a photo to tempt you all to make it!
Posted by jen at 07:23 PM | Comments (10)
Hurrrraaaaahhhh! Carolyn!
March 07, 2007
Hooray! My second knitty pattern is published, and it's one of my favourite knits yet - not very fancy, but a nice shape, stripey, and very wearable!
Clickety click on the photo to see more, or of course click here to see the pattern.
I'll leave it at that, thank you so much to Carolyn (you know who!) for the yarn in the first place!
Posted by jen at 09:52 PM | Comments (31)
Alexander McQueen Kimono Jacket!
March 04, 2007
Here as promised as some photos of the kimono jacket! It was a blast to make, now I want to try sewing tricky, individual clothes ALL THE TIME! Mine isn't exactly the same as the model one, because firstly the instructions were very handy but not 100% comprehensive (I think a certain amount of sewing knowledge is assumed, which I probably fell a touch short on), and also because If I had folded mine as tight as the model one, it wouldn't have fitted! But that aside I'm super pleased with it. On the jacket's own page I have put lots more info in case anyone wants to make it themselves and could do with some tips.
Here's the front:
And here's the back, in all it's pleated and complicated glory:
And if you click here, you can see more bigger photos, and read more info!
Posted by jen at 05:36 PM | Comments (15)
Kimonos, capes, cake and kits!
March 01, 2007
Well! I wasn't going to leave it so long before blogging, but a crafting emergency got in the way of regular activity! Some friends are having a murder mystery party, and I found out last weekend that my costume had to have a kimono in it. I don't have a kimono! But I remembered this free downloadable pattern that I have been pretty fascinated with for ages, and decided now was the time to make it. It's a kimono style jacket by Alexander McQueen, and is available here. Seriously, click and have a look, it's a pretty gorgeous jacket! I decided to make it on Monday, and spent the evening rushing to the shops for fabric, and then cutting out and sticking together 50 A4 sheets of paper to make the pattern - effort! And that's what I've spent the last 3 evenings feverishly making. It's now done, looks pretty much like what it's supposed to, and I'll show it off next week after I've taken photos at the weekend!
In the meantime....I have almost finished the Cold Shoulders capelet. I went to a fun Stitch and Bitch at a very cool vegan cafe in Bristol, and did a lot of crocheting there. So I'll have that to show off soon too!
Also, I had some friends round for dinner, and for dessert I made a Boston Cream Pie, my god it's awesome and I'm definitely making it again:
And ALSO, have you seen Kim Hargreaves new collection? I'm in love with the whole lot, I love the neutral shades and the shapes, especially the large sleeves on several of the jumpers. My very favourites are Pure, and Still. Also Pure is knitted in RYC bamboo soft, which I stroked last time I was at the shops, and it feels heavenly. Well, I like them better than anything in the new Rowan, and want to make both! I need to work out some rules about what I need to finish before I get a new kit!
Posted by jen at 06:26 PM | Comments (14)