Sunday 30 March 2014

French Girl Inspiration

I bought French Girl Knits a couple of years ago and found the styling and aesthetic of the knits captivating.  Pretty and 'vintage' without looking 'old'.  Many techniques are explained allow the knitter to increase or decrease with different needle sizes, and a thorough explanation of different seamless techniques is provided throughout.  A few I've knit:
Wrenna - link to my Ravelry page
 
Veronique - link to my Ravelry project

Satine - my Ravelry projectSatine has been given away, as it no longer fits (I will eventually knit again).  Veronique was a gift for my mom, and Wrenna will be redone soon in a different colour (not sure the pink is for me, but yarn was inexpensive and I wasn't as concerned about yarn as I am now).

I'm pouring over pages and looking through stash to see what will be next!
 

Sunday 16 March 2014

scarf - start-itis FO

The scarf and cap made for my 'secret friend' at work is complete.  I'm happy with how it turned out, although it won't press like the pattern requires due to the acrylic content of the yarn.  The hat best shows the deep red colour - not quite as 'tomato' red as the scarf photo suggests.  I'm sure Jon (my colleague) will enjoy the scarf to match his hat! 

Friday 7 March 2014

yarn challenge entry

Here's my hat in the front winter of my LYS, Soper Creek Yarn.  Photo is from the Soper Creek Yarn page on Facebook.  I didn't win (haven't won in 6 years of entries!) but didn't think I would.  Not creative or unusual enough of a project to capture votes.  It's from the pattern Snoflinga by Jenny Gordy.  The yarn is quite sturdy so it doesn't have the same drape as the original, but I like the product.  Not blocked as I wasn't sure if the red would bleed into the white - I'm assured it won't but we'll see.  I may own a pink and red hat soon:)

Saturday 1 March 2014

start-itis

I'm mid-project on several things.  My regular knitting has been hi-jacked by two annual events.  My school staff has a 'secret friend' gift swap each year.  Every year I exchange gifts and knit a little something for my 'friend'.  This year, for the first time, my recipient is a man.  So off to the yarn store to get a manly pattern and yarn.  Red was the favourite colour.  I settled on
 
The contrast colour (ends of scarf, brim of hat) are red, the main colour is a charcoal gray.  Photos to come! 
 
The other distraction was my LYS annual yarn challenge.  Knitting contest:  buy a kit that includes small amounts of the designated yarns and a short time limit.  This year's yarn was a hardy wool from Briggs and Little (a Canadian company based in New Brunswick) in red and white, to commemorate the winter Olympics.  My hat is currently in the store window, but photos will come when I get my project back.  The yarn is rough, and very wooly-scratchy, knits up dense for a worsted weight.  Hard to settle on a project so it was a race to the finish this year!
 
Once these are done, it'll be back to my other projects while the weather still screams WINTER WOOL KNITS!