All posts tagged knitting

Purple Blanket Update 7

The last time I posted about this blanket was on the 20th June 2016. This is where I was up to at that time.

Then my needles broke 😦

Before starting this project I looked long and hard at all the available needles and these ones had great reviews. They’re called Symfonie by Knit Pro and they’re not cheap but I think you usually get what you pay for. The fact that they’ve snapped is no reflection on their quality in my opinion. It was the sheer weight of the knitting that caused the end bit to break free.

I got in a proper purple pickle (a phrase coined by my great friend Allison) when, on the most complicated twisty row, 30 stitches pinged off in all directions as the wire went BOING with a mind of its own! I managed to lean over and message my OH with my little finger while hanging on for dear life, not wanting any more stitches to drop off the wire or, allow any of the ones that were already enjoying their freedom, to run any further. Thank goodness for smartphones! I was holding my breathe. One wrong move and I knew I’d lose the lot. With the help of my knight in shining armour and a second pair of hands I eventually managed to get every dropped stitch safely onto a spare needle temporarily and breathe again. Phew! The task of actually sorting out the stitches in the pattern took a good couple of hours but all is well that ends well. No damage done.

I’ve saved the bits of needles and will superglue them when I need them for a lighter weight project. I’ve bought the same needles again, except in purple this time, and hope they hold together until I’m finished. I might not be so lucky next time.

By now, if you’ve waded through all the above, you’ll want to see where I’m up to. As you can see, it hasn’t just been sitting in a cupboard for 20 months. I’ve been picking it up and doing a bit here and there during the colder months but can’t bear to sit under it and knit when it’s too warm. I’ll try to get as much done as possible before May….this year.

Do you have any long term knitting WIPs? I bet I’m not the only one.

32 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on February 19, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, cable, knitting, pattern, purple, WIP

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on February 19, 2018

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/purple-blanket-update-7/

Purple blanket update 6

Hi everyone,

Almost three months have gone by since I last showed you my progress on the purple blanket here. This is where I’m up to now.

I’ve just finished the 4th 100 gram ball of yarn so thought you might like to see it again. I will eventually make my pattern available to everyone but not until I’ve finished my own purple wonder. There would usually be no way I’d be able to knit this during the summer but our temperatures have only reached a maximum of 14 degrees C here until the last couple of days. Today we have a sizzling 17 degrees! I’m not complaining. I’ve got a lovely Aran weight blanket to sit under to keep me cosy while I knit.

40 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on June 20, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged blanket, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, pattern, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on June 20, 2016

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/purple-blanket-update-6/

Purple blanket update 4

Helloooooo!

It’s so good to have been able to do some more knitting over the holidays. Here’s where I’m up to now.

Fun, fun, fun 🙂

29 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 4, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, cable, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 4, 2016

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/purple-blanket-update/

Purple blanket update 3

Hi everyone,

Just a quickie post to show you how my blanket is getting on.

I’ve almost finished the second 100g ball now and it’s already getting quite heavy and keeping me warm. There’s a long way to go.

Avis x

31 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 23, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged blanket, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 23, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/purple-blanket-update-3/

Purple blanket update 2

Hello everyone,

Just popping in to show you some progress on my purple blanket. I’m really enjoying knitting again.

I hope you are getting lots of time to craft this week 🙂

Avis x

23 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 11, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, lilac, needles, pattern, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 11, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/purple-blanket-update-2/

A new knitting project

Hello everyone,

It’s starting to get cooler and darker here up north so it’s the perfect time to start knitting a new blanket. I love sitting under the knitting as it grows, keeping me snug on the sofa. This aran weight yarn was purchased a few months ago and I’ve at last decided what to do with it. It’s going to have a moss stitch border all the way around and the centre will be a selection of Aran patterns. I love knitting Aran patterns. Here’s where I’m up to so far.

I’m using a 5mm circular needle, knitting back and forth, rather than in the round. There’s no way 252 stitches would have survived on ordinary needles. I found the blue rubber stitch stoppers in my late Aunt Edith’s craft things. They were unopened and probably bought in the 1960s. They’ve already saved my stitches a few times 🙂

Must get back to knitting now,

Avis x

16 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 7, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, cable, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, lilac, needles, pattern, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 7, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/a-new-knitting-project/

Back to crochet…

Good morning everyone,

We have wonderful blue skies and bright sunshine here today. However, yesterday was dull, wet and windy and not the kind of day to spend outdoors. In fact, it was so dark in the house, I needed something to brighten my spirits. You may remember, way back in January, that I started to use up all of the scraps I had left over from this Double Vision blanket.

The original design is by Woolly Thoughts and you can find the free pattern on Ravelry here, though I didn’t stick to it rigidly.

Anyway, there was a lot of lovely scraps left from this project and, you know me, I don’t like having scraps cluttering up my drawers. I much prefer to use them up before buying more crafting supplies. The As-We-Go Stripey Blanket from Not Your Average Crochet caught my eye. It’s the perfect scrappy project.

This is where I got up to in January…..

…..and here it is now.

Hopefully, that brightened your day 😉

How big is it, I hear you ask. So far, it’s a huge shawl size. I’ve completed about 50 of the 131 rows on the pattern. If my scraps run out, I’ll stop. If they don’t, I can feel a jazzy border coming on (as if it needs one LOL). To give you a better idea of the size, here it is in all of it’s dazzling brightness, much better than giving the measurements 🙂

I’m so pleased I’ve picked this one up to finish. It was all spurred on by a moment of retail therapy (madness) last week. I love looking at yarn and I’ve been missing my knitting. A friend recently told me that she is knitting loads of 6 inch squares with a group of other ladies. They will all be joined together to make a huge scarf which will be wrapped around a local hall as part of a fundraising event. It made me want to knit so I’ve bought 14 balls of this wool from Deramores in the watercolours shade and it’s on its way to me now. At the moment, I have a plan of what I want to make with it but I’ll keep it close to my chest as the plan could well change by the time I get around to it. The crochet blanket has to be finished before I start any other woolly project. Now, there’s an incentive to finish if ever there was one 🙂

I hope you all have a wonderful day today. It’s a Bank Holiday Monday here so I can play all day if I want to!

Avis x

24 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on May 4, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Crochet, Stripey blanket

Tagged As We Go Stripey Blanket, blanket, craft, crochet, Double Vision, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, pattern, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on May 4, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/back-to-crochet/

Happy New Year!

Good morning everyone and Happy New Year to you all!

Now that 2014 is behind us I thought it would be a good time to celebrate another year of crafting. It’s been a busy year for me and I have had several periods of sheer exhaustion this year. However, when I looked back over the crafty projects that I’d finished in 2014 I was quite surprised I’d managed to complete so many. Some are bigger and more challenging than others but they were all equally enjoyable to do. Some were done in tandem with my special blogging friend Claire who has motivated me to continue making and doing throughout the year.

2014 Marked the “hatching” of the Chicken Run on my other blog and the beginning of a larger SAL group. Many more personal goals have also been achieved. It’s been a bumper, busy year in so many respects for me but the crafting has kept me going. Sewing has forced me take a break, however small, from life’s challenges that can catch us off guard.

Thanks to all of you who have liked, commented, emailed and read my posts last year. It’s been so wonderful to have you on board!

Here are some photos of completed projects from 2014. If you want to read the original posts click here and then click on the photo of the project you want to read about.

Here’s to an amazingly crafty New Year for all of us!

Avis x

10 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 1, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in 2014, Yearly Round Ups

Tagged aida, blanket, Cirque des Cercles, craft, crochet, cross stitch, Cross-stitch, DMC, embroidery, evenweave, fabric, floss, handmade, Ink Circles, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, motif, Needlework, New Year, Pentecost, purple, ripple, Sewing, socks, thread, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 1, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/happy-new-year-2/

Will this be the final finish for 2014?

Good evening everybody,

Today I have a finished project to share with you. Some of you may remember this gorgeous parcel of woolly goodness that arrived here for my birthday last February.

CIMG3163

I chose ten of the brightest colours I could find and also added some black. Then it was time to find a pattern. I chose this one called Double Vision by Woolly Thoughts because it reminded me of stained glass.

I knitted up the 100 squares really quickly. In fact, for a time I thought I was addicted to knitting these little gems. I decided not to knit the pattern as instructed (nothing new there then) and to make all of my squares on the diagonal.

After finishing I tried edging with black crochet but wasn’t happy with the irregular finish, particularly as the squares had turned out so perfect.

So, it was back to the drawing board which usually means “Stuff it into a cupboard and think for a few months”. Anyway, with the weather turning really cold here over recent weeks I had decided that when I had time I would drag the bag from the cupboard and go for a finish. That was last week. I knew I would soon have a few days without work so I looked for a good way to sew the squares together in preparation for the sewing together marathon. I completely abandoned the idea of each square having a black outline. I found a video for the invisible stitching together of garter stitch knitting here. I think it worked really well. Here is a close up. Can you see the stitches?

Work in progress…

Finally, I crocheted a double border around the edge, again with two strands of yarn, and it finished it all off a treat.

It’s so heavy that it’s all stretching as it hangs LOL.

The finished size is 50 inches square and it’s really chunky and warm, perfect for those winter evenings on the sofa.

I really enjoyed making this blanket and I’m very happy with the finish. If I was to make it again, I’d definitely sew the squares together as I knitted them. The pattern suggests a method of picking up stiches and joining as you go but I didn’t want a ridge on the back of the blanket. Mine is fully reversible and that’s what I’d hoped to achieve.

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and hope to see you again in the New Year Smile .

Avis x

30 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on December 22, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Double Vision, Knitting

Tagged blanket, craft, crochet, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, pattern, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on December 22, 2014

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/will-this-be-the-final-finish-for-2014/

My Second Pair of Socks

Hello everyone,

It’s about time I showed you what I’ve been up to recently. I’ve just finished my second pair of knitted socks. I knitted the first of this pair ages ago and then got side-tracked on knitted squares for a blanket. I wish I had more spare time to knit socks. I love knitting on four needles because there is minimal stitching up to do at the end.

I used this wool that my sister bought me as a gift. She bought two balls and there’s still a lot left. Three balls would easily make two pairs like the ones I made. I altered a pattern called Jeck which is free on Ravelry.com by missing out the pattern stitches and knitting in rib and stocking stich only. I did start to knit the pattern but it was totally lost in all the colour changes of the wool so I pulled it out and knitted plain.