Fork Handles!

The last few weeks have been spent beavering away on module 5 of my knitting course. Last week my tutor advised that the C&G board are not letting people re-register on the crafts courses and they need to be completed within the 3 year timeframe, so I now have until May 2017 to complete the course. It sounds like loads of time but the fact is it took me over 5 months to complete module 4 and there are 12 modules in total so I need to start setting some deadlines!

The good new is I am making great progress with module 5. So far I have made my pocket and neckline samples, but there are still samples to complete for buttonholes, decorative techniques and knitting with vegetable fibres. The final part of the module is designing a fashion accessory and I am aiming to get the module finished by mid-April.

I did take a little break from knitting a few weekends ago to try another craft – candle making! Mr. A bought me this kit for Christmas.

The kit came with wax pellets, candle dyes, wicks and wick rods, a fragrance and pipette, mould sealer, 4 large candle moulds and 2 floating candle moulds.

The instructions were easy to follow and it didn’t take us long to get the moulds filled, we had a go at grading some of the colours too.

 

We left the candles overnight and here are the results….The floating candles didn’t work out so well, we used to big a skewer to make the hold for the wick and they kept filling up with water but I did manage to get this shot before it fizzled out!

But the bigger candles came out a treat….

My favourite is the red and yellow one at the front – our attempt at grading kind of paid off!

As the blog title suggests I couldn’t help but think of the Two Ronnies Four Candles sketch as I took this photo. In case you haven’t seen it it’s a classic British comedy sketch, and it always makes me giggle!

Happy knitting! x

Sunday Stitches – Moorish Lattice and Ridge Feather Stitch

The samples I have been working on this week are the mock cable effect Moorish Lattice stitch taken from the Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker and the Ridge Feather Stitch from the Stitch Library by Claire Crompton.

Moorish Lattice Stitch

Worked over a multiple of 6 sts + 5.

The sample shown is worked over 35 sts.

Rows 1 – 4: Knit
Row 5: K4 [p3, k3] 5 times, k1 (35 sts)
Row 6: K1 [p3, k3] 5 times, p3, k1 (35 sts)
Row 7: Repeat row 5
Row 8: K1 [p3, sl2-k1-psso] 5 times, p3, k1 (25 sts)
Row 9: K4 [p1, k3] 5 times, k1 (25 sts)
Row 10: K1 [p3, (k1, yo, k1) in next st] 5 times, p3, k1 (35 sts)
Row 11: Repeat row 5
Row 12: Repeat row 6
Row 13: Repeat row 5
Row 14: K2, p2tog [k1, (k1, yo, k1) in next st, k1, p3tog] 4 times, k1, (k1, yo, k1) in next st, k1, p2tog, k2 (35 sts)
Row 15:  Repeat row 6
Row 16: Repeat row 5
Row 17: Repeat row 6
Row 18: K1 [sl2-k1-psso, p3] 5 times, sl2-k1-psso, k1 (23 sts)
Row 19: K1 [p1, k3] 5 times, p1, k1 (23 sts)
Row 20: K1 [(k1, yo, k1) in next st, p3] 5 times, (k1, yo, k1) in next st, k1 (35 sts)
Row 21: Repeat row 5
Row 22: Repeat row 6
Row 23: Repeat row 5
Row 24: K2, knit into the front and back of next st [k1, p3tog, k1, (k1, yo, k1) in next st] 4 times, k1, p3tog, k1, knit into the front and back of the next st, k2 (35 sts)

Repeat rows 5 – 24

Ridge Feather Stitch

Worked over a multiple of 11 sts

The sample shown is worked over 33 sts.

Rows 1 – 4: Knit
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: [P2tog twice, (yo, k1) 3 times, yo, p2tog twice] 3 times
Row 8: Purl

Repeat rows 5 – 8

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Stitch Abbrevaitions

k– Knit
p – Purl
yo – Wrap the working yarn over the right needle, from front to back (counter-clockwise)
Sl2-k1-psso – Slip 2 sts together, k1, pass slipped stitches over (2 sts decreased)
p2tog – Purl 2 stitches together

Happy knitting! x

Sunday Stitches – Lace Background Stitch

This weeks samples are the Lace Background Stitch taken from the Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker.

I made 2 samples using a DK yarn, one on 7mm needles and one on 4mm needles – they are the same pattern but it just goes to show what a difference the needle size can make!

Lace Background Stitch – 7mm needles

Worked over an odd number of stitches.

The sample shown is worked over 29 stitches.

Row 1 (RS): K1 [yo, sl1, k1, yo, psso knit st and yo] 14 times
Row 2: [P2, drop the yo from preceding row] 14 times, p1
Row 3: K2 [yo, sl1, k1, yo, psso knit st and yo] 13 times, k1
Row 4: P3 [P2, drop the yo from preceding row] 12 times, p2

Repeat rows 1 – 4

Lace Background Stitch – 4mm needles

Worked as above.

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Stitch Abbrevaitions

k– Knit
p – Purl
yo – Wrap the working yarn over the right needle, from front to back (counter-clockwise)
sl1 – Slip 1 stitch
psso – pass slipped stitch over

Happy knitting! x

New Pattern! The Beekeeper Shawl

I’m really pleased to say that my new design The Beekeeper Shawl is now up on Ravelry 🙂

The design started last year when I feel in love with the beautiful honeybee stitch. It’s so much fun to work and it looks so pretty! You can find a full tutorial on this stitch here.

The wings of the shawl are worked in a simple ‘alternating leaf’ lace pattern.

I actually finished making the shawl whilst on holiday in Greece last year, it felt strange working on a shawl in 30+ degree heat but I wish I could have that view whilst working on every project!

The trouble was that when I got home I didn’t write up the pattern straight away so it took me an age to decipher my notes and get it into some form of legible pattern. On that note I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Amanda at Dissemiknit for doing such a brilliant job tech editing it for me!

I made my shawl using Jillybean ‘Knot another Granny‘ sport weight yarn, but it also works really well in a plainer coloured yarn. The shawl below was made by Linda (BreezyHDK on Ravelry), one of the ladies that volunteered to test knit the pattern for me. Don’t you just love the colour she chose?

© BreezyHDK (Photo used with kind permission)

This design process has been a massive learning curve for me, but I loved every second of it and I can’t wait to get on and do some more now!

Happy knitting x

Sunday Stitches – The Dainty and the Daintier Chevron

This week’s samples are the Dainty Chevron and the Daintier Chevron stitches, taken from A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker.

I made one sample for these 2 stitch patterns, starting with the dainty chevron at the top and then the daintier one at the bottom.

Dainty Chevron

Worked over multiple of 8 stitches + 1.

The sample shown is worked over 33 stitches.

Row 1 (WS) and all other WS rows: P33
Row 2: K1 [ssk [k1, yo] twice, k1, k2tog, k1] 4 times
Row 4: As row 2
Row 6: K1 [yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1] 4 times
Row 8: K2 [yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k3] 3 times, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k2
Row 10: K3 [yo, sl2tog-k1-psso, yo, k5] 3 times, yo, sl2tog-k1-psso, yo, k3

Repeat rows 1 – 10

Daintier Chevron

Worked over multiple of 8 stitches + 1.

The sample shown is worked over 33 stitches.

Row 1 (RS): K1 [ssk [k1, yo] twice, k1, k2tog, k1] 4 times
Row 2: P1 [p2tog [p1, yo] twice, p1, p2tog-tbl, p1] 4 times
Row 3: K1 [yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, k1] 4 times
Row 4: P2 [yo, p2tog, p1, p2tog-tbl, yo, p3] 3 times, yo, p2tog, p1, p2tog-tbl, yo, p2
Row 5: K3 [yo, sl2tog-k1-psso, yo, k5] 3 times, yo, sl2tog-k1-psso, yo, k3
Row 6: Repeat row 2
Row 7: Repeat row 1
Row 8: P1 [yo, p2tog, p3, p2tog-tbl, yo, p1] 4 times
Row 9: K2 [yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k3] 3 times, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k2
Row 10: P3 [yo, sl2tog-k1-psso, yo, p5] 3 times, yo, sl2tog-k1-psso, yo, p3

Repeat rows 1 – 10

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Stitch Abbrevaitions

k– Knit.
p – Purl.
yo – Wrap the working yarn over the right needle, from front to back (counter-clockwise)
ssk – Slip 2 stitches knitwise, then knit slipped stitches together
k2tog – Knit 2 stitches together
sl2tog-k1-psso – Slip 2 sts together, k1, pass slipped stitches over (2 sts decreased)
p2tog – Purl 2 stitches together
p2tog-tbl – Purl 2 stitches together through the back loops

Happy knitting! x

The Honeybee Stitch

I have a new design coming soon! It’s called the Beekeeper Shawl, and here’s why…

This pretty stitch is called the Honeybee Stitch. It is worked over 6 rows and 12 stitches, although the stitch count varies on each row. I will post some more pictures soon but in the meantime here is a tutorial for the lovely little Honeybee.

The Honeybee Stitch

Cast on 12 sts

Row 1: K4, k2tog, yo, ssk, k4 (11 sts)

Row 2:  p3, p2tog-tbl, Drop YO, yo twice, p2tog, p3 (10 sts)

Row 3: k2, k2tog, Drop YO twice, yo 3 times, ssk, k2 (9 sts)

Row 4: P1, p2tog-tbl, Drop YO 3 times, yo 4 times, p2tog, p1 (8 sts)

Row 5 – STEP 1 – K2tog, drop YO 4 times…

Row 5 – STEP 2 – Turn work and cast on 4 sts…

Row 5 – STEP 3 – Turn work back to RS facing and insert RH needle under the 4 loose strands…

Row 5 – STEP 4 – wrap the yarn around the RH needle and pull a loop through the strands…

Row 5 – STEP 5 – bring the yarn in front of the RH needle and insert the needle back under the loose strands…

Row 5 – STEP 6 – wrap the yarn around the RH needle and pull a loop through the strands once more…

Row 5 – STEP 7 – Turn work and cast on 4 sts…

Row 5 – STEP 8 – Turn work back to RS facing and ssk the remaining 2 sts (13 sts)

Row 6 – P5, p2tog (1 st and the yo from the previous row), p6 (12 sts)

And voila! Here is the little honeybee!

An alternative way to work Row 5 of the stitch is to use the Backwards Loop Cast on method. This means that you don’t have to keep turning your work, however you do need to ensure that the cast on stitches are kept as tight as possible to avoid them sagging, and this may make working row 6 a bit tricky when trying to insert the needle back through the stitches.

Abbreviations

K – knit
P – purl
Yo – yarn over
K2tog – knit 2 sts together
Ssk – slip 2 sts to RH needle, knit them together (1 st decreased)
P2tog – purl 2 together
P2tog-tbl – purl 2 stitches together through the back loops
CO4 – cast on 4 sts

Happy Knitting! x