Screen siren wardrobe

A little while ago I picked up a great second hand book called 'Hollywood Knits'.  It is a collection of knitwear patterns based on items worn by some classic Hollywood greats.  They are 'modern interpretations' of the classic items, and I use that term loosely because this book was published in the 1980s!  I haven't made any of the items and I wonder how influenced the patterns are by the 1980s - certainly the sketches have HUGE shoulders!  There are some really lovely items in here though, all illustrated with a photograph of the star wearing it.  The book has 20 patterns and includes pieces from Hollywood icons including Marilyn Monroe and Gary Cooper.

'Hollywood Knits' by Bill Gibb, $4 from my local biannual second hand book fair.

 

 Stylish jumper worn by Greta Garbo and one I would love in my wardrobe.

I asked my husband if he wanted an 'Errol' so he could replicate the 'Errol Flynn jumper tucked into trousers look' - he looked nervous, sidled away and left the room before I could start measuring him.  I guess not every Hollywood fashion is timeless!

Back on the needles

Oh, it has been so long since I knit anything.  But I enjoy knitting so I made a resolution that I just had to start again.  A very dear friend gave me a rather generous gift voucher to the Bendigo Woollen Mills, so I used some of the voucher to buy 3 balls of Moorland (67% wool, 33% alpaca) in Storm Blue.  It is a lovely variegated yarn that knits up quite firm, but soft.

It has been a while since I knit so I need a project that requires (hopefully!) minimal effort for maximum output.  So I decided to knit myself a 'Greenfield Cardigan' from the book 'New England Knits' (a book I received for Christmas a couple of years ago).  It is knit in garter stitch on circular needles (I started on straights until I bought some more circulars a couple of days ago - there is a UFO on the 4mm circulars I already have so I needed more...!).

Have you been reinvigorated by something lately?

It's not all sewing!

My knitting has fallen by the wayside a bit lately, but it hasn't completely disappeared.  I finished my husband's socks a couple of weeks ago - they are just the like the ones I made for myself recently (but bigger!).   And here is my current project...

I'm hoping it will end up as some sort of wide arm, slim waist jumper.  I'm using a diamond pattern from a stitch dictionary, but making up the shape of the garment as I go.  I'll keep you posted!

My First Socks!

I've read so much about how wonderful hand knit socks are.  But they scare me a bit - all those double pointed needles forming a tube sounds terribly confusing.  And there are always so many other projects at the top of my list that I haven't been saddened by my lack of hand knit socks.  But then two things happened.

1.  I had lots of 8 ply yarn leftover from my husband's stripey jumper; and
2.  I found instructions for socks knit on straight needles.

So we adapted the stitch count from a 10 ply pattern to fit the 8 ply yarn and I knit forth.  Unfortunately changing yarn and increasing a pattern's size at the same time involves a lot of maths.  Although we are both good with numbers, knitting is in a world of its own and halfway through the first sock we realised that we hadn't increased the sock size enough to fit my husband's Australian shoe size 13 foot (European shoe size 48).  But with a bit of late jiggling it fit me (size 6.5/37). 

The only downside of knitting socks on straight needles is the seaming.  I don't mind the side seam, but the toe seam feels a bit bulky.  But the socks are toasty warm and rather unique - since I'm using leftover yarn, one sock is all grey, while the other is half grey and half blue!

We did some more maths and I've cast on a sock for my husband now - hopefully with enough stitches!!

The socks are Erika Knight's 'Slouch Socks' (from a book I borrowed from the A.C.T. library).  Oh, and I've finally done something with my Ravelry account, so if you are on there you can find me under my user name of 'TansyMagic'.

Never again!

My husband's jumper is finished!  It took about a year from start to finish, but it is finally done.  If this project is anything to go by - I'm pretty sure that it will be the only jumper I will ever knit in 8ply for someone that tall! 

My blog shy husband in his new jumper.  He helped weave in the ends (of which there were many with all those stripes!).

Gratuitous puppy photo - taken just after I finished the jumper.

Collections

This weekend the Lifeline Bookfair was on in Canberra.  The Lifeline Bookfair brings together lots of second hand goodies - giving you a hall full of books, games, jigsaws, magazines, CDs, records, videos and everything else related.  I've really cut down on the number of books I buy as I reason that I can borrow them from the library, so now I head straight to the jigsaws and the craft magazines. 

Since taking up knitting I've been proud of my restraint in not establishing a yarn SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy).  But as I was making a beeline for the craft magazines I realised that instead of having a yarn obsession collection I have a pattern SABLE! 

I love patterns, especially retro and vintage ones.  As well as being full of potential garments they are a little piece of social history.  I can spend hours looking through patterns (old and new) - the giant hair and oversize jumpers from the 1980s, the men's cardies and ladies twinsets from the 1960s and the sparkly disco singlets from the 1970s - they are all there and I love them all in their own way (though I would only wear a few!).

Many of the retro patterns I have were given to me by my mum- she kept all her patterns from when she was a keen knitter - but others are ones that friends have given me or ones that I have picked up in Op Shops or at book fairs. 

The couple of pattern books I bought on Saturday.

Some books from my stash.  I'm not sure what makes me laugh more - the grumpy lady with a gun on the 'Suddenly there's Scotch Mist' book, or the faces of the man on the 'Masculine Moods' book!

And of course - now that I have taken up sewing, I have also started a sewing pattern SABLE...!

What's your SABLE?

Knit 2, Wear 1

I've been quite busy the past week - there has been a big change in my life, which I won't go into now, but I promise I will elaborate on in another post soon!

But so you don't think I've completely forgotten about you all here are a couple of completed knitting projects.

The turtleneck jumper I based on Stephanie Japel's 'Cosy V-Neck Pullover'.  This used 2.5 balls of BWM Rustic in Damson on 6.5mm needles.

My own design.  This knit up in a week and I wore it today.  This used about 1.1 balls of BWM Rustic in Radiant on 6.5mm needles.  You may have noticed a theme of BWM Rustic?!  I like that it knits up on bigger needles and I also like the feel - a warm, and yes, rustic wool. 

By the front door

We came home a few days ago and this parcel was waiting by the front door for me.

I finished the turtleneck jumper on the weekend, so I've started a new project.  The new project is something I'm knitting without a pattern, so I won't tell you what it is yet - just in case it doesn't turn into what I'm expecting!  But watch this space...

Something special

My husband had to travel interstate for work last week.  He brought me back this lovely brooch from Adelaide.

ps: He bought some crocodile jerky in Darwin for Tansy - it smells horrible, but she loves it!

What do you get if you cross a sheep and kangaroo?

A woolly jumper of course!

Fading in the heat

According to our home weather station today was our second 40oC day in less than a week.  Our lawn is starting to go pale and crunchy underfoot.  Water restrictions have eased enough to allow the watering of lawns, but it seems such a waste of perfectly good water.  In summer we often save our laundry water to put onto the lawn, but it has been too hot for me to think about carting buckets of water around the garden!

I hate the heat!  I like cool days and warm days, I'm ok with cold days (not so much those icy Canberra winter mornings when I have to walk Tansy!), but I hate hot days. 

I've been surviving by turning on the air conditioner in the afternoons (something we try to keep to a minimum, but there are days when it just has to go on) and watching the TV while knitting.  [Segue to knitting update...]

I started the second sleeve for my husband's jumper a couple of weeks ago.  I was zooming along quite happily and then realised I was increasing stitches at the wrong rate, so it has to be frogged.  I hate frogging and try to avoid it whenever possible.  Sadly it can't be avoided on the jumper sleeve.  I have to frog.  I hate to frog.  Said sleeve is now sitting in my knitting box waiting for a frog-friendly evening - it may be waiting a while...

So I started on the turtleneck jumper I wanted to knit for myself.  I'm using Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic with 6.5mm needles - I love needles bigger than 5mm so I am very happy!  Things knit up so satisfyingly quick with larger needles. 

The jumper is something I am making up based on Stephanie Japel's Cosy V Neck pattern (but adding a turtle neck).  It seems to be going quite well so far.  There are a couple of things I could go back and change (but I won't - see above rant on frogging!), but overall I am very happy.  I've nearly finished the body and then just have to do the sleeves.  And because it is a raglan knit in the round there will be no sleeve attaching or body seams necessary.  Hooray!

Surprise scarf

Here is the vine lace scarf I started knitting as a swatch to get an idea of tension, but kept on knitting.  It used up the leftover BWM luxury 8ply from the horizontal scarf I knit last month.

It is quite pretty, but very simple (so right at my skill level!).  Now I just have to decide what colour yarn to order so I can start on the cardigan I want to knit.

2011 - A year in knits

Healthwise 2010 was a pretty rough year for me and I found I wasn't able to knit as much as I would have liked.  I am hoping 2011 will be a different story. 

In preparation for a super knitting year I have tidied up my downstairs stash.  Most of my knitting 'stuff' used to be upstairs neatly stored in a cupboard, but then, somehow, it started migrating downstairs.  Each time I started a new project different sized needles would end up downstairs in the living room.  Then new yarn would arrive and it would stay downstairs as well.  Homemade markers and lengths of yarn for stitch holders started multiplying and really it was becoming quite an unmanageable mess!  So now an old magazine holder has (some) of my patterns and books and a plastic box has all needles and 'current, and soon to be, projects' yarn in it.  I also put my markers and stitch holders into a little ziplock bag so I can find them when I need them and can stop making more!  The tidying was a relief (though I wonder how long that box will hold everything I need it to...!).  I also bought a notebook so I could write down pattern notes and stitch tension and other useful knitting things in one place.  No longer will I rely on the backs of old envelopes or other odd bits of paper that were close to hand at the time I needed them (and that of course would always disappear right when I needed to go back them!).

So with the tidying done I could start on new projects.  A couple of days ago I started knitting a tension square in vine lace for a cardigan I'm hoping to make.  I was using the remains of the BWM 8ply luxury yarn from the horizontal scarf to see if I needed 8ply or 10ply.  Anyway, I thought the pattern was so lovely I just kept knitting and now I have almost finished a scarf!  I am still going to make the cardigan, I just have to decide which colour yarn to order from BWM.

So, in addition to that surprise scarf, I promise that 2011 will see me finish my husbands stripey jumper, knit myself the vine lace cardigan and a turtleneck jumper, and a gift for a friend.  They are the only definites this year and I wonder what else the knitting year will bring (2010 had several baby jumpers).

Knitted gifts

My two knitted gifts have been received by their new owners - so here they are for you to see.

The Checkerboard Scarf, made using 70% merino wool 30% silk blend bought from the Old Bus Depot Markets.  Knit over (what seemed like) millions of hours, but admired and appreciated by the recipient.  It is a lovely soft yarn that drapes beautifully.  It can be worn as a scarf, but is also wide enough to be worn as a wrap.

 The Horizontal Rib Scarf (from One More Skein by Leigh Radford - borrowed from the A.C.T library), made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8 ply 100% wool.  To fit the almost 400 stitches, I knit this on circular needles.  The casting on and off seemed never-ending, but only 25 rows were needed so really it knit up very quickly. 

Success!

Finally I knit something for myself (aside from a scarf) that I am happy to wear in public.  Hopefully this means I am leaving the days of 'The Yeti Cardigan' and 'The Teddy Bear Jumper' behind.

 My finished short sleeved jumper, I wore it to work yesterday.  Knit in the round it was fabulously easy and the only seams were on the sleeves.

And an update on my checkerboard scarf - more success!  I sat down on Sunday night and sorted out all the dropped stitches, so it is zooming along again.

(Some of) My Current Projects

I'm a knitter who likes starting new projects, but don't always quite get around to finishing them.  Or I finish them, but it takes a while.  That is the main reason I have started this blog - I'm hoping that having an audience (no matter how small) will encourage me to finish each project in a reasonable time.  I'm not a big blog reader myself.  I only regularly read three blogs, and one of those lives and works in Canberra like me, but she somehow finds the time to knit so many wonderful items.  She has inspired me to want to be a knitter who finishes projects (and lots of them!)

So here are my current projects (well most of them...!)

Part of a jumper I am knitting for my husband (using 4mm needles for a jumper for a very tall man takes patience and definitely lots of love for the man in question!).  I encountered problems with the sleeves, so have put this to the side for a while...

A short sleeved jumper I am knitting for myself.  I've started using this yarn a couple of times, so it is getting a bit worn, this jumper is definitely going to get finished.  This is from a Stephanie Japel design, but I've made a couple of slight changes.

A lovely checkerboard scarf, I'm knitting this one as a present, so it has to get finished!