Gruesome Eyes

In the spirit of Halloween this week I thought I might share a quick gruesome project.

This year I’m making cat toys for Christmas gifts and I wanted something a little different to your regular toy. I searched Ravelry for cat toys and came across a few eyeball patterns. I already had a crocheted toy pattern in mind so I decided to a knitted eyeball. The pattern I chose was Gruesome Knitted Eyeballs. On Ravelry you can see projects others have made using the pattern you are looking up. Out of all the knitted eyeball patterns available I liked the finished eyeballs of this pattern the most. The pattern name is a little deceptive as really they are very plain and not as gruesome as other patterns which have bloodshot eyes but you could easily add in streaks of red to create them. I liked that they were simple looking which is what drew me to knit them.

The pattern uses 4ply yarn but I made these in 8ply as that is what I had in my stash. For my first one I used a 3mm needle but it seemed a little small so for the remaining 7 I used a 3.75mm needle. The patern also says to use double pointed needles which I haven’t learnt to use yet so I did them using magic loop which is where you use one circular needle. The pattern is easy to follow but if I could make one suggestions it needs a definition on what method to use for the make 1 increase. I did knit front and back for my increases which worked for the pupil but when I got to the iris my stitch count was off by 2 stitches each time. These are a toys so I wasn’t worried but I think it would be a little bit helpful. I did also add in an extra row of increases in the white section after the final increase row, this really just made up the extra stitches I missed on previous rows. Overall I found the pattern really good. It was a very quick project.

To fill these I used polyester stuff (hobby fill) with a bit of catnip. I have never owned a cat but reading online catnip is popular in cat toys. You can buy dried catnip online from pet shops, I thought the price was a little expensive but I found an online herb shop that sold it in Australia which had it cheaper. I wasn’t sure if 50g would be enough but it is a lot. You only use a bit in each toy and this will fill all the cat toys I’m doing this year with ample left over. I placed a bit of stuffing in each eye followed by a bit of catnip and then more stuffing on top. It was a little tricky getting it in the small diameter of the opening but I managed to fill them and not make too much of a mess.

I’m happy with how these turned out. Mr StitchNSew commented that they are small and they may get lost but I like the idea of finding random eyes around the house.

Cassiy

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Heads Up

I mentioned last month that this years edition of the Better Homes and Garden Knitting & Crochet Collection was out and whilst reading it I already had a pattern in mind that I was wanting to try as it jumped out at me straight away. Days after reading the magazine I had the project on my needles and didn’t stop at one knitting 3 of the pattern in quick succession.

In my mind I have a list of things that “real knitters do” I don’t know where this idea came from. I guess the list is like a list of knitting skills or projects. My knitting is mostly basic or adventurous beginner. I don’t do a lot of complex knitting as I don’t have the concentration skills or patience to do projects that involve a lot of counting or take forever to finish. On skill on my list was to knit cables. I have always been fascinated by cables. The geometric side of my brain loves the patterns they create and is intrigued by how they occur. You always think of knitting as a flat piece but cables create texture to a flat piece of work. Last year I brought a cable needle and thought during the Covid lockdown I’m going to learn how to knit cables. Fortunately I didn’t have the Covid lockdown a lot of people faced as I was working full time and caring for Mr StitchNSew. Any knitting time I had I focused on relaxing project as my brain needed to slow down and wasn’t up to learning anything new. When I saw the headband pattern and read the instructions I thought yep I can do this, now is the time to learn cables.

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The pattern is officially called Heads Up. I would’ve loved to have made this pattern for myself however I don’t really have the need for a headband. Instead I decided to make it to add to our Charity Bags this year. I had leftover yarn from when I knitted the scarves earlier this year so I choose one colour from each scarf and knitted a matching headband. These were incredibly quick to knit. Each one is only 50cm in length then joined up. I finished the 3 in just over a week!

I can now tick another project off my challenge to make something out of every edition of the Better Homes and Garden Knitting & Crochet Collection magazines

♦ 2014
♦ 2015 – Builder’s Work Wear
♦ 2016
♦ 2017 – Oui Oui Mon Cheri
♦ 2018
♦ 2019
♦ 2020
♦ 2021 – Heads Up

I was surprised that I could knit cables whilst watching tv, in my mind I thought they would be more difficult but this pattern was very easy to follow and a good pattern to learn cables on. One thing I did do was put a life line which is a length of yarn threaded through the stitches at the end of each 8 row repeat so if I made a mistake I could easily pull the headband back to the start of the pattern repeat and restart the pattern from there. The lifeline came in handy a few times when I miscounted or forgot midway which part of the cable that I was up to. Each 8 row repeat took no time at all so it wasn’t a big deal if I had to pull my yarn back and start again. After making these headbands I’m inspired to try another project which has cables in it.

Cassiy

Oui Oui Mon Cheri x 3

Better Homes and Gardens have released the 2021 edition of their annual Knitting & Crochet Collection magazine. Last year I set myself the challenge of making an item out of each years magazine after realising I buy the magazine each year but don’t do anything besides read them. If I didn’t start making items from them then I could no longer buy anymore editions and had to pass on the editions that I had. I have finished my 2nd pattern so can tick 2 editions off my list.

Oui Oui Mon Cheri is from the 2017 edition. The pattern is for a scarf and beanie. I opted only for the scarf. The pattern is a diagonally knit striped scarf using 2 colours 8 ply yarn. The pattern is all in garter stitch (knit stitch every row) so it is very easy to do, a great mindless knitting project. The pattern is created by increasing or decreasing a single stitch at the start of the row and changing colours.

Using various unopened balls of Stylecraft Special DK which is an acrylic yarn from my stash I was able to knit up 3 scarves which I will add into my charity bags this year. I did modify the pattern slightly by changing my colours every 18 rows not 12 rows so I have wider stripes. The pattern has you carry the non working yarn up the side of the scarf between each striped block. I never get a neat finish if I carry my yarn up more than a couple rows so I made the stripes wider and cut the yarn between blocks. The wider blocks meant I had less ends to weave in at the end (I’m a lazy knitter) I knit these one after each other. I won’t lie by the time I finished the last one I was very much over this pattern but it didn’t feel like a chore. I’m sure I will use this pattern again for charity or gifts as it was very easy.

♦ 2014
♦ 2015 – Builder’s Work Wear
♦ 2016
♦ 2017 – Oui Oui Mon Cheri
♦ 2018
♦ 2019
♦ 2020
♦ 2021

I now have 8 editions in my magazine collection with 6 more to make from. I haven’t set myself a deadline to finish the challenge. I have noticed since I started the challenge I am actually using my magazines more. Before I virtually only read them once at the time I got them and would occasionally flick through the odd one if I was tidying up or if I was board. Now they are all stored on my bookshelf together and I am regularly taking them all out and looking through them. I have post it notes on potential patterns. Often I am picking them up before search Ravelry for ideas. I had no hesitation buying this years copy as I know I will use it, in fact one pattern has already caught my eye.

Cassiy

Knitting To Combat Online Screen Time

In my recent post about my reflections on my Digital Declutter 12 months on I mentioned that a habit I have developed is idle online screen time when I get home or later at night. Some of that screen time is productive reading blogs, emails, quick Facebook/Instagram check but once I have done all the “essentials” I’m just mindlessly scrolling. I’m often in front of the tv at the time and not actually focusing on the tv but my phone. I can’t just sit and watch tv I need to be doing something with my hands at the same time. If I’m crafting I’m still focused on the tv but if I’m on my phone I can’t focus on both things at once. In recent months I have been doing a lot of knitting on my Apple Core blanket and although that pattern is really easy and I have memorised it I do need to focus a little bit on it in parts. If I’m tired I lose track of where I am in the pattern if I put it down for even a couple of minutes. I have pulled many cores off my needles and started again after a memory blank forgetting what row I’m up to. Last week I decided I needed some autopilot knitting. Simple knitting that I can do without having to focus on stitch count or rows. Even late at night when I’m tired I can knit away and not play with my phone.

I have been knitting wildlife rescue pouches for WIRES for years but to be honest I haven’t had any of my needles for over 12 months. Before that I had always had at least one pouch on my needles. The way I knit pouches has changed over the years. I started knitting individual sides and joining them at the end then moved on to knitting them magic loop with a 3 needle bind off but in recent years I have knit them the most mindless way using Judy’s Magic Cast On and only having one end to weave in at the top. Pouches were the mindless knitting I needed to combat idle online screen time. Saturday I set myself the task of casting on a pouch.

I’m embarrassed to say it had been so long since I last cast one on that I couldn’t remember how many stitches I used or how to do Judy’s Magic Cast On. Luckily Very Pink Knits came to my rescue with her YouTube tutorial. After watching that my brain remembered and it was just a matter of working out how many stitches and how long to leave my long tail cast on. I had the number 72 so that was a starting point for my number of stitches. The way I was taught to work out the cast on tail is to wrap the yarn around the needle for the amount of stitches you need. What I forgot the first time I cast on was that with Judy’s cast on your only taking half your stitches from the tail yarn. The tail yarn I left was way too long after my 72 stiches as I only needed enough for 36 stitches. I’m a bit frugal with my yarn so I started again. after knitting a few rows I thought 72 looked too big so I took it off and started again with only 64 stitches. After knitting for a couple of centimeters I measured the pouch and it was only 16cm wide not 18cm so I started again. To be honest I lost count at how many times I started this pouch but I did discover I can do the magic cast on at 7.30 pm in front of the tv and actually have it work. 72 is my magic number. Although it does seem big at first once you get knitting it is the correct amount. I think I was knitting this until after 9pm which was great as I wasn’t playing on my phone but enjoying the tv I was watching whilst still having something in my hands.

I wanted to get back into knitting WIRES so I’m glad I finally have a pouch on my needles again, I have missed knitting them. I like the fact I can be productive with my knitting even late at night. It is helping to combat my idle online screen time. I’m still going to continue working on my apple core but I can do that earlier in the day or at times when I can knit and focus more.

Cassiy

Scrap Busting Apple Core Blanket Begins

I love Stylecraft yarn. It is my favourite acrylic yarn to work with. It is so soft and is easy to work with. After making a few blankets and other projects with it I have a large amount of scraps. I have finally unpacked all my yarn and realised I have 2 bags full of yarn scraps. I had been keeping them aside to make a project but I hadn’t really decided on one.

I searched on Ravelry for ideas. I didn’t really want to do a crochet blanket. I love the look of scrappy crochet blankets but in my mind I wanted a knitted blanket. I came across the apple core blanket. It is a knitted version of the traditional apple core quilt block. You knit individual blocks then join them together. I saved it in my favourites as I was looking for ideas but I kept going back to look at it. When I start doing that it is an indicator that I really like something.

 

After printing the pattern I spent a couple of afternoons/evenings working on it. The pattern is really easy to follow. At the most you have 18 stitches on your needle so these knit up pretty fast. If you’re a beginner this project is perfect as you learn how to increase and decrease stitches. With 18 stitches maximum if you make a mistake it is easy to pull it off your needles and restart again. The pattern gives instructions on how to do a sewn bind off, it is like a mini kitchener stitch but you’re only taking stitches off one needle. It is really easy to do and gives the bind off a nice look. To join them I’m doing a simple whip stitch from either the bind off tail or cast on tail. The tails are in the middle of the curve so I am slipping them through the back of the along one side so that I can join from a corner of the block.

You can either make all the blocks and join them at the end or join them after making each one. Just to get a feel of it I joined them after knitting them but from now on I’ll do them in chunks. I’ll knit up heap then spend an afternoon joining them. I’m using 4mm needles which I don’t have many of. I use 4mm needles a lot as most of my yarn is 8ply weight. This is going to be an ongoing project which may take me months or even years. I didn’t really want to have a pair of my 4mm circulars out of action for that long. I tried knitting them on straight needles but because I’m not used to knitting on straights anymore they felt long and awkward. In my needle stash I found a mini 4mm circular. It is perfect for this project as I won’t be using it for anything else. The first couple of blocks I knitted felt a bit strange as the needle tips are really short. I found knitting continental style was more comfortable on the small needles.

Originally I was going to use a mix of DK and Aran scraps as I have both in the Stylecraft brand. Aran is a 10ply and the blocks weren’t the same size when I attempted one. When it came to joining them to the other blocks it would be hard to fit them in. I don’t have a lot of Aran scraps so I will use them in another project at some point. I have no idea what size this blanket will eventually be. At this point I’m kind of starting from the corner out. This is my long term relaxing knit project. I’ll work on it when I want some mindless knitting. I might not pick it up for weeks or months but that’s ok. I don’t know if you would call it funny or how best to explain it but sometimes my yarn or fabric stash stresses me out a bit but once I decide what I am going to do with it I become a bit more relaxed. Crafting is meant to be my relaxing time but I can get overwhelmed by all the tools or stashes that comes along with it. It is fun going to into your stash and finding a project it from it but I also like having a plan a for it too.

Cassiy

Garter Eyes Cowl

As I was nearing the end of my Lucky Dip shawl I started going through my boxes of yarn trying to find my next project. As my yarn is still packed I don’t have any list of projects. I know what some of the yarn I have is but to be honest I really don’t remember what I still have.

I came across 2 50g balls of Papyrus by Fibra Natura. From vague memory I think I possibly brought it to make a gift for someone but to be honest I can’t remember. One ball had the tag removed so it looked like I had started something but I don’t have a clue what. The yarn is a cotton/silk blend and felt so soft and squishy. I decided I wanted to make something for myself as I knew it would be ok so close to my skin. I have yarn sensitivity so sadly a lot of yarns I can’t have directly on my skin.

I searched Ravelry and found the Garter Eyes Cowl I really like the look of the pattern and it used the yarn weight I had which is a light weight 3ply. The pattern only calls for 1 ball but I decided to use the 2 and just make it longer. It is knit as a flat piece on the bias from one corner until you reach a certain amount of stiches, once you reach the length you want you then decrease to form the other corner. Lastly you join the 2 ends together. It doesn’t actually tell you the method to join the 2 ends so I did just double crochet. I used 3mm needles and tried to keep my stitches loose so it would drape nice at the end. The pattern isn’t hard but in all honesty it took me 4 attempts before I got it right. The first 2 times I messed up my stitch count along the first corner section. Finally the pattern clicked in my head but on my 3rd attempt I missed the last lot of eyelet stitches as you start to work the main body of the piece. Had I not messed up some many times I would’ve easily finished this in a week.

I can loop it twice around my neck and it sits comfortably. I don’t feel like it is choking me at all. Depending on how it sits you can see the join section but I’m not bothered at all. I love the colour. It will go with a lot of my wardrobe (not that I really colour coordinate things) It is so light weight that I know I will get a lot of wear out of it, if I do get too hot and need to take it off it isn’t heavy or bulky to carry.

I used my good yarn on me decluttering some from my stash. I have a wearable piece for me which I know will get worn a lot. I call that a winning project all round.

Cassiy

 

Lucky Dip

I need to knit
Nervousness, anxiousness
I need to keep busy
Distraction, something
I don’t like my yarn
Why can’t I find something I like
I hate this
I need to knit

Normally I don’t discuss the health issues that Mr StitchNSew has. Last month we got the call saying a surgery he had been waiting for was going to take place in just 2 weeks time. He was due to have it early this year but due to Covid it was cancelled and we had no idea when it would actually occur. The call came out of the blue taking us both by surprise. The way my brain processes and deals with situations was one of the first things I thought was ‘what am I going to knit’ I can’t sit idle doing nothing. During the operation and recovery in hospital afterwards there is a lot of idle waiting time. Earlier this year I had planned on making Purl Crush shawl but time had passed and that had well and truly finished.

I wanted an easy project that was fairly mindless but not too boring. Nearly all of my yarn is still in boxes. The day we got the call I went through boxes pulling out yarn but I just wasn’t happy with anything. I didn’t have the time to plan out a proper project or projects. I just wanted something I could grab and do. I needed something. In the end I decided on some mindless face washers which I could easily stop and put down and I came across the yarn for my Adventurous Wrap. Last year after coincidently a trip to the ED with Mr StitchNSew I balled up all the mini skeins for this project and decided the order I would use them in placing each one in a numbered bag. That was nearly 12 months ago and I couldn’t remember the order I had the done the colours. Most people who make this fade the colours from one section to the next. I don’t like fades, I like bold and contrasting. I put my colour combination together so it would be contrasting, some areas I didn’t really get it right but for the most part each row is a different tone. I started calling this my Lucky Dip wrap as it was like a lucky dip diving into my project bag finding the next numbered bag each time I changed colour. It made this project even more fun which again helped my stress levels.

Back in 2017 when I first read this pattern I just couldn’t get my head around it. It isn’t complicated but at the time I hadn’t had a lot of experience changing yarn colours and reading patterns so I got a bit overwhelmed with it. If you do knit this pattern I highly recommend printing out the colouring changing file that comes with it as a bonus. It steps out colour to use in each section and has a stitch count you should have after each row. It made the pattern more easier to understand. Even though I was going through a really stressful time the pattern just clicked in my head and I understood it.

I started this before the surgery date for one reason only. We didn’t know what the outcome of the surgery was going to be. Although it was standard spinal surgery Mr StitchNSew has a history of troublesome anaesthestics and I knew if I started it on the day of operation and things went wrong I would never pick it up again as it would always have memories of that date. A lot to think about but I wanted to be a realist. I did work on it the day of the operation and thankfully things didn’t go wrong. He was in hospital for around 10 days so after work I did a lot of bedside knitting when I would go visit him but I was also coming home and working on it as I couldn’t put it down.

Construction wise it is knitted in 2 triangles that that you join together to form the parallelogram shape. You bind off half the stitches of each triangle then at the end do a 3 needle bind off to join the 2 sections. Last year I spoke to someone at my knitters group who was making this pattern. She said she used Jenny’s Stretchy bind off on each triangle and did a stretchy 3 needle bind off to finish it. I’ve done Jenny’s bind off before but as I had never done it as a 3 needle bind off. It is exactly the same except your taking your taking 2 stitches off your left hand needle instead of 1. It really does give the join a stretchy feel. I was referring back to the stitch counts per row for maybe the first half dozen colours. I got kinda got lazy after that and didn’t bother. When it came to completing the shawl I did get nervous as I hadn’t even bothered to check I had the same amount of stitches on each needle before starting the bind off. I was just going to fudge it if I had leftover stitches on one needle but luckily I had the same amount. I didn’t block this as I don’t have the space at the moment. Our place is still a shambles in terms of space for crafting. I’m not worried I completed it that is all that matters.

The original idea is that you generally make this pattern using 25 colours. Often this pattern come as part of Christmas advent calendar with 24 or 25 mini skeins which was the case when I got this. My pack came with 24 minis and larger skein as the 25th colour. Frugal in me decided instead of wasting part of a 100g skein of yarn I would just repeat one of the 24 colours. When I started it I had no idea which colour I would pick. From memory when we got this pack it was suggested that you repeat the last colour of your first triangle so you get that band across when it was joined. It would mean that somewhere you would not use one of your minis. I decided to repeat my last colour from triangle 1 and played yarn chicken. It is true you do start to knit faster when you think you are running out of yarn to try and beat it. For my standards it was a pretty close call as I only had a couple of meters left.

I am really happy with how this turned out. Now that I have made it once and can see how the colours work in each section at some point I will sit down and work my colour combination so I can make it my cotton version using the yarn I purchased on my 2019 holiday to Melbourne. Instead of doing thin stripes I’m doing blocks of colours. There is a version in the pattern which has something similar so in the end I will make the 2 versions of this pattern. Combined with the leftovers from this project and other 4ply projects I’ve made I now have a stash of them. I will need to figure out an ongoing project I can make with them all.

Mr StitchNSew is home doing well. It is a slow recovery process but we’ll get there.

Cassiy

Baby Vest

I mentioned my personal challenge of making my way through my collection of Better Homes and Gardens Knitting and Crochet Collection magazines. I have knitted my first item, well 2 items but I will explain. The pattern is from the 2015 edition and is “Builder’s Work Wear” Previously the only clothing or accessories I have knitted were shawls, scarves, cowls, headband, socks and beanies. I had never knitted a vest or a jumper. I have this mental checklist in my head of things “real” knitters make, jumper/vests are on that list. Baby items are also on the list. I had never done any of that so this project was a real first for me.

I mentioned I’ve knitted 2 items. When I made the first version I liked that I had completed one of the items from the magazine and that I had knitted a baby item but I wasn’t 100% happy with it. It didn’t looked the magazine, it was like when you try something you’ve seen on pinterest and fail miserably at it. The neckline looked really wrong. I had enough yarn left and my OCD wouldn’t let it go so I had to start a 2nd one. It was only when I reading the pattern again I discovered I had misread the pattern. Instead of decreasing every 4 rows on the neckline I did every row hence why the neckline looks so tiny.

Version 2 I did knit a little different to the instructions. The pattern has you knit the back as one piece and bind off. For the front you knit up to the neckline then work on one half and bind off later going back to finish the other side again bind off. You seam the vest at the shoulders and side seams. So I thought I would test my knitting skills and work out how to knit the front and back in one piece so I would only have to join the side seams as my mattress stitch isn’t the best. I managed to work it out all on my own! I started from the bottom front as per the pattern at the neckline I joined a second ball of yarn and was knitting both sides of the neckline at once. I was decreasing every 4 rows like the pattern said but my decreases on one half of it fell at the end of that row instead of the start of it like the pattern says. I decreased the shoulders until I had 23 stitches on each side. To start the back section I picked up 23 stitches on one side when I had reached the middle section then knitted into the 23 stiches from the other side of the neckline to join it completely with just one ball of yarn. As I was knitting the back section from top down I reverse the pattern instructions so I knitted the amount of rows it said for the arm holes then decreased 3 stitches each end to come in for the body section instead of increasing as you did from bottom up. As this was a simple pattern it wasn’t too hard to work this all out. I have up knitting confidence on this vest.

I made the largest size. It will be way to big for baby for this winter but maybe next year or even the year after she will get some wear out of it. I am very proud of this now. This is ticking lots of things on my list. It’s a baby item, an item from one of the BH&G magazines and I feel like a “real” knitter as I have made an item of clothing.

♦ 2014
♦ 2015 – Builder’s Work Wear
♦ 2016
♦ 2017
♦ 2018
♦ 2019
♦ 2020

I kept going back to this pattern in the magazine so I had to make it. It was a really relaxing and quick knit. Seeing the 2 side by side I’m glad I went back and tried again. This vest will go with the baby blanket I knitted. It uses the same yarn as I pinched some from the blanket to make it. After I had joined the second one together I took apart the first one and used some of the yarn to finish off the blanket. I’m not about to take up baby knitting regularly but this one was fun to try and who knows I may knit it again.

Cassiy

Slip Stitch Blanket

This was the first time I have knitted a blanket to a pattern. Actually it is only the 2nd blanket I have actually knitted, I have only ever really ever done crocheted blankets as they are quick to do. This didn’t take me that long to do. I started it in March and had I not made a mistake and restarted it I would have finished it a couple of weeks earlier. I also took a break from it for a couple of weeks to knit something else.

The pattern is Slip Stitch Blanket by Bendigo Woollen Mills. The yarn I used is their 8ply classic yarn in the colour of magnolia. This is a baby blanket. I like using 8ply classic for baby or gift blankets as it is machine washable. I don’t want to give someone a blanket that is high maintenance, I was it nice and easy. I want people to use the blankets I make and not be afraid to as they don’t think they can clean it. In total I used 5 and a bit balls of yarn. I could have used more of 6th ball but I wanted it finished so I had time to wash it before I give it plus I wasn’t sure of how much yarn I had left if I could stretch out a full pattern repeat and do the border.

One of the last memories I have at the old place is sitting on a recliner in loungeroom in the sun knitting thinking why didn’t I find this spot earlier! Unfortunately in the new place I put the blanket down for a few days and dropped stitches which I couldn’t salvage so I ripped it all back and started again. Due to the pattern I couldn’t easily fix it (I’ve only just learnt how to do it on garter stitch) From memory I was over 2 balls in when the disaster occurred. Originally I had used 3.75mm needles but I switched to 4mm when I restarted it. It just looked better in that slightly bigger needle. This was a really easy and relaxing knit. I had my stitch markers every 8 stitches so I didn’t really have to think and could tink back if I need too (Tink =knit backwards and is reverse knitting to fix errors) To help motivate me after restarting it I put place markers to see how much I was doing each day and each week and was surprised at home much I was getting done. Even on a slow day I was knitting 6 – 12 rows.

My OCD likes this pattern. I like the flow of the lines and pattern repeats of the slip stitch columns. It doesn’t look too busy on the eyes. I would easily make this pattern again. The pattern comes in different weight yarns so you could easily use any yarn you have.

To recap the details are

Pattern – Slip Stitch by Bendigo Woollen Mills
Yarn – Classic 8ply shade Magnolia
Needles – 4mm
Size – 30″x58″
Pattern Modifications – Placed stitch markers every 8 stitches and either side of the garter stitch edging

Cassiy

Purl Crush

Last year I knitted my first ever Westknits pattern Purlbreak. I loved it so much I decided to knit myself a second one.

This time I used 8ply cottons from my stash. These were actually the first limited edition cotton crush colours Bendigo Woollen released early 2017. I’ve used them a few times now in various projects. Playing around I decided I really liked these 4 colours together. The official colours are sambuca, orange, sherbet and grape. I wasn’t sure how cottons would go in this pattern but they were fantastic.

This was such a relaxing knit. I started it at the end of January just after I did all my Meld shawls. Last year when I made this I had my row counter by my side clicking the rows during all the colour sections and I had my pattern by my side. This year once I started on colour stripes I didn’t bother using my row counter to count the rows I just remembered the pattern and I could see what I needed to do differently each row. It was only when I was doing the colour blocks at the end that I used the row counter again to ensure I did the same amount each section.

I love big shawls and this is a huge one. Once again I didn’t bother blocking this.
1. I don’t normally block cotton shawls
2. I finished it just as I was getting to the final weeks of packing to move so I didn’t have the ability to block things as all my blocking tools were packed.

Knitting confessions… I have a bad habit of putting my knitting down mid row on the lounge and leaving it to do other things. I try and push it back on the needles so the live stitches don’t fall off. Things happen, needles get bumped and on more than one occasion I have lost stitches resulting in me having to rip back my project and start again as I couldn’t rescue it. In last years version I dropped a stitch, tried to fix it and was somewhat successful but it looked messy as it wasn’t the correct way. This year when the same thing happened I decided to learn how to fix it. Once it was stretched out a little you couldn’t even see the 2 places I lost stitches so I am pretty proud of that.

I finished this at the start of April, almost 12 months to the date of finishing my first one coincidently. I am yet to wear it as it is only just starting to get to knitwear weather but I can’t wait to wear it. I adore the colour combination even though I’m not a pink person. The colours are bright and funky. Despite some of the facial expressions of looking like a deer in the headlights (I struggle to look straight at a camera thanks to dodgy eyes) I love this shawl.

I have a few Westknits patterns in my stash. Some are a little more complicated and I want to start trying those…. Or I may end up knitting another one of these!

Cassiy