Sophisticated Baby

The Sophisticated Baby Jacket Pattern is now available! It's just £4 to buy and comes written for Aran or DK yarn, sizes 0-24 months

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Work is pretty weird at the moment. There have been some significant changes in the department that have made things interesting to say the least. This has meant that my crafting has been a real respite for me, and also the games consoles!

So, I’ve been doing plenty of crafting of one sort or another which I need to catch you up on. Hubby has taken on the making of the rug, which is fun. He’s doing a really good job and he’s only made one mistake which was easily fixed!

Anyway, on with my crafting…

I finished spinning the other single for this yarn, and then plied them. It’s lovely and soft, though I don’t know what it might be.



And then I spun and chain-plied this one, it’s about 220yds, so not a lot of yarn, but possibly enough for a hat or neck-warmer, or striped with something plainer it could be something else.



I also finished the baby jacket I designed. I need to take a better photo, but this one will do for now. It needs blocking, as you can see.



And I made another Sweet Norwegian Baby Cap. I love it, they’re so cute. They’ve become my go-to item for leftover sock yarn. (I’m making some baby socks to match this one, but they’re not much fun to knit so they keep getting left alone while I do other fun things!



We’re going away this weekend to visit hubby’s family in Cambridgeshire and have some family photos taken as well. I’m thinking about asking for a couple of individual shots and certainly some of hubby and me together. We got some lovely ones last time, so all being well we can repeat that experience.

I’m also looking forward to seeing one of my oldest friends again. We’re going out for dinner and drinks, which should be lovely.

And, when I’m not out for dinner or having my photo taken, I will be working on this shawl.



I want to finish it by the 28th April, which will be the end of this round of Nerd Wars. If I am successful then I will have completed the dissertation challenge for the first time. Whether crocheting a simple shawl in three months is really that impressive is another question, but I will be proud of it in any case.

Kitchen!

I mentioned a while ago that I wanted to change the cupboards in the kitchen, and I showed you the paint samples I'd been trying out. Well, the painting of the cupboards is finished!

I'm really pleased with how it's come out. The pink works really well with the oak tops, and the Belfast sink really pops now! We still need to do some more in the kitchen, the walls need painting and the mirror needs painting and putting up, but this feels like such a victory! I love making a small change which makes a big difference, don't you?

New Look!

I thought it was about time I updated the look of the blog, so here's the new look!

I'm also working on a new section on the blog, a page with all of my knitting patterns on. I'm doing that because I have a new pattern coming out soon, it's just waiting to be photographed! It's called Dangerous Socks for Girls and is going to be available initially as part of the Dangerous Socks Workbook. It will also be available as an individual pattern sometime soon after the initial release.

In the meantime, I'm working on a cute sweater from the sublime book I bought at the British Wool Weekend.

I'm using the actual wool called for in the pattern, and it's knitting up really nicely. I decided that I didn't want as much ease as the pattern suggests, so I'm knitting the smallest size. It looks like it will be a nice fit for me at this size, as I prefer my sweaters to be on the fitted side.

it's going to be finished pretty quickly, I hope, as it's knitted in chunky yarn. I have heard that there is more of this yarn available on sale, but since I'm meant to be using up my stash then I'm trying to refrain from buying any more. It's lovely yarn though. Soft and lofty, the coloured tweed bits are well spaced and not intrusive.

So, watch this space for the updates on the pattern page, the new patterns, my jumper, and in about 10 days Star Trek London!!

Music Note Bookmark

I have a new design to share with you!

As part of Nerd Wars I wanted to make something to represent Willow Rosenburg's crush on Giles (from Buffy). I couldn't find a pattern which looked the way I wanted, so I designed one:



Pattern: Music Note Bookmark by Tsuki (download now)
Sizes Available: 4cm tall
Yarn: Handspun, approx sport weight - less than 20 yards.
Hook: 4mm / size G
Other: You’ll need a darning needle for weaving in the ends.

You can make a larger or smaller bookmark by substituting a lighter or heavier yarn and using a suitable hook.

Lampshade Upcycle!

I also upcycled a lampshade!

From this basic lampshade

with the help of my glue gun

I made this

I followed a tutorial from Pinterest, there are lots!

Upcycled Pinboard

I'm in the middle of re-decorating my kitchen.
We had an old pin-board, which I wanted to use in the kitchen but which really wasn't going to work in the new room.

See, it's just a basic pinboard. Dull, and a bit manky looking in places.
So what did I do?
I re-painted, quilted and covered it, and ended up with this:

It looks even more fab than this in person!
Here's what I did:

1. Sand down the wood frame and mask it
2. Undercoat the wood frame
3. Paint the wood frame (2 coats)
4. Make a cardboard frame to fit just inside the wood frame
5. Cut out quilt batting to fit inside the wood frame, and a piece of fabric about half an inch wider all around than the cardboard frame
6. Place the fabric face down on the desk
7. Place the quilt batting on top
8. And the cardboard frame on top of that
9. Using a hot glue gun, fold the fabric around the edges of the cardboard frame - you'll end up with a padded square of fabric
10. Place the padded fabric square into the frame and attach using a staple gun

Simple, huh?

Crafty Update

It’s time for a quick crafty update, I think!

The 5th Nerd Wars tournament is now finished, and I just scraped through 6 projects, though the yarn isn’t completed so was only half points.






The shawl is really nice; I’m very pleased with that one, the baby hat is already with its recipient, and the flower will probably be attached to the headband.

I’m working on the kitchen cabinets, I’ve painted two doors (the little ones for under the sink) and I’m on the drawers now. Once they’re done I’ll do the big doors, then the shelf, the plate rack and finally the cupboard carcasses themselves. It’s going really well and the colour is fab.

I’ve also been working on the pin-board. I’ve re-painted the frame and now I want to cover it with my fabric. I’m considering padding it with a layer of quilt batting before I attach it, but I’m undecided as yet.
At the weekend we went to the British Wool Weekend in Harrogate. It was great again, better than last year I think! We also spent a bit of time in the next door show, which was a quilting show. We went in there mainly because the Black Sheep were in that show, and their Yarn Mountain is not to be missed! I got a couple of bargains from the yarn mountain, and some lovely things from the BWW too.




These were all from the BWW show. The coloured chunky yarn is Wendy Thor (great name, right?) and it’s going to be a cowl. I bought a button to go with it, which I haven’t photographed (bad blogger). The plain chunky yarn is a massive cone of undyed yarn, which with the aid of some MASSIVE needles I plan to turn into a rug. First though, I need to dye some sections of it.



These two, and two books, were my goodies from the Black Sheep. I’m planning on making a sweater out of the lighter pink, which is Sublime Chunky Tweed. I don’t know what I’m going to make out of the DK yet, which is alpaca/merino/silk. Lush.

But first things first, I need to finish up my dissertation socks and get the pattern written up. Once that’s done then I can sort out the new e-book I’m planning.

The new e-book, entitled Dangerous Socks, will be a small sock workbook including the Dangerous Socks for Boys, Dangerous Socks for Girls, some heel and toe alternatives for both patterns, guidance for re-sizing the socks for wider/narrower feet, and (hopefully) conversion of sock patterns to mittens! I'll keep you posted on that as it takes shape.

Bitten by the Home Decoration bug!

I’ve been feeling a bit down lately.
It’s the house.
I love our house, it’s spacious and has big windows. It has a good sized outdoor space and a garage with room for more than just a couple of bikes.
It’s really a good house.
It’s just the stuff inside, specifically the décor, that’s getting me down.

So, I’ve decided that something needs to be done.

In an effort to kick-start the whole process (which requires funding for some things) I’ve been identifying what I want to do in each room, and then I’m approaching them in order of how much difference the changes will make in correlation with how little they will cost.
So, a free thing which will make a big impact – that’s top of my list. An expensive thing which will only make a small or medium impact – that’s at the bottom.

So, with that in mind, at the weekend we went shopping. We actually went out to look at sofas (big cost, smaller impact) but the last thing we did before we came home was to pick up some new accessories for the bathroom.
The bathroom itself is done. It’s tiled in nice tiles, has a decent suite and floor, and a really posh radiator.
But I like colours, I like bold patterns and rooms which make you feel something when you walk in.
The bathroom didn’t do it for me.



(left to right, top to bottom) Cluttered windowsills, I already took down the shower curtain (nice, but not me) general mess and no pizazz!

But, changing the shower curtain, the soap dish and cups, new bath-mat and loo-mat, and moving some clutter into the cupboards (or bin) made a massive difference to how I feel about the room. In addition, these were things we needed anyway!



(left to right, top to bottom) Shower Curtain from Dunelm Mill, Marble Effect Soap Dish from Wilkinsons, Marble Effect Tumblers from Wilkinsons, and a Bath Mat and Pedestal set from Dunelm Mill

It wasn’t a “free” change, we did have to pay for the mats and such, but they weren’t very expensive and now we have two sets (our other set are white) which we can swap out when one needs washing.
Great stuff!

The next room I want to tackle is the kitchen.
This will be a low-cost high-impact change too.
At the moment we have a lovely kitchen, but the cupboards are painted duck-egg-blue. I’m not really a fan of that colour – certainly not as a “main” colour in a kitchen. Kitchens should be dynamic rooms, and they should feel dynamic in their colour schemes.

The kitchen is an L shape, with access into the kitchen at both ends of the L.
Kind of like this:

 

The plan is to re-paint all the cupboards a nice bold pink colour (the exact colour is yet to be agreed by hubby and myself) and having seen a great example of a bold kitchen while we were in France (hubby’s second cousins have great taste!) I also want to paint at least one wall lime green.
The current plan is for that wall to be the one at the same end as the doors into the garden, the one with no doors on – just a radiator.
Once I’ve done this I plan to fix up a mirror we have. It’s currently got a black surround which is a little chipped, and I think that with a coat of primer and a coat (or two) of the same pink as the cupboards, it could look amazing on that green feature wall!
Then, there’s the other wall. I’ve been thinking about this too, and also the lack of pin-boards in the kitchen. So at the other end of the L, the wall with the pantry door in it, I think that wall could also be green (might brighten up that end of the kitchen!) and on that wall I could put the big pin-board that hubby has.
However, I don’t want to put it up as-is! I want to paint the frame (pink again, of course) and then supplement the cork bit with some nice fabric, something which will still take pins, but that will look pretty.
Perhaps something like this:



I think that would be much nicer than a regular pin-board, and would work really well with a green wall and pink frame.

The final thing I want to do is to add a little more storage. We have loads of storage in the kitchen, but I’d like to add some kind of space for the ironing board. This could be as simple as some brackets on the wall to rest it behind, or could be a funky cupboard/unit thing.

Watch this space!

Holiday Recap – Knitting Update

Wow, I have a lot to share today! So I’m going to split it between two posts. One will be about the most recent round of Nerd Wars, and will cover all the things I’ve knitted and crocheted last month. The other will be about my recent holiday to France, and that will come in a little while. So, Nerd Wars. I’m pleased to report that I melted the cube again this month (though I haven’t yet been awarded my badge for doing so, that usually happens around the 5th)

Giving Geeks	Scientific	Intellectual
Geek Pride	Technical	Nerd Culture

So that’s six for six. Though the cup cosy was the smallest of the projects, it actually took a while! The bookmark was designed by me (my first ever crochet design) and needs to be made into a PDF before I can put it online. It’s tested though!

As well as all those challenge submissions, I also completed the first of two pairs of socks which I am knitting for the dissertation. The second pair, this month, is going to be a challenge.
I have to finish my Ravellenics shawl and some spinning before the end of the Olympics and I’m not sure that I’ll be casting on the socks until I’ve done the shawl at least.
Perhaps I need to revisit my plan…
But here they are: Illyria socks


While I was away I started the Versailles scarf, though I confess I haven’t got very far. This is partly because I got a few repeats into the pattern and decided that I needed to change it, so I frogged it. I might try to finish it for the WIP challenge in round three of Nerd Wars (which just began)
Once the Olympics started I was also able to start my shawl. I’m knitting it in handspun and it’s coming out really well so far! I think I’m probably about a third of the way through now, so I should be on track for completing it while the Olympics is still happening!

Klingon Sweater

Last post I said

“I’ve been continuing with my re-knit of the “Klingon Sweater”. I’m expecting the weather to turn on the day that I cast it off; we’ll have record temperatures and a heat wave.”

Well, the forecast for the rest of the week is glorious sunshine and much warmer! Typical; as I have just finished weaving in the ends for my Klingon Sweater.

 

Pattern: Uffington by Jeni Hewlett, from the Fyberspates Scrumptious Collection volume 1.
Yarn: Rowan RYC Cashsoft Chunky
Needle: 5mm and 6mm
Modifications: Where to start?

1. I knitted it in the round rather than flat; chunky wool doesn’t need chunky seams.
2. I knitted double the length of ribbing specified
3. I decreased for the hip, but then did not re-increase, thus extending the waist section and allowing negative ease to replace the bust shaping.
4. Instead of casting off at the shoulders I worked them as short rows, which I then grafted closed
5. Instead of always k3tog on the corners of the neckband, I did paired matching decreases for a neater corner
6. Because of not increasing for the bust I have much narrower shoulder straps, allowing me to extend the length of the rib for the arms.

Verdict: I’m really pleased with it now. It looks great on and fits me well.



This now means that I’m working on the baby pattern I designed and had tested. I just need to finish the ribbing on the neck and that will be ready for photographing and then I can make the pattern available!

I’ve already started churning some ideas for the next round of Nerd Wars, which starts in 12 days (not that I’m counting!) and teams will be announced on Friday, I believe. I’m planning on having another stab at a dissertation, though at the moment all the projects I want to make are big-ish, and I need to try to remember that I’m on holiday quite a lot over the next few months!

My fun-task for the weekend was to sort out the rest of my clothes. I already got rid of some trousers and shoes, but I wanted to go through all the holiday clothes and work clothes. I now only have clothes that fit me hanging in my wardrobe, and I also know that I have a good selection of clothes to choose from for my holiday. Woo!

New Sweater

So, After almost 3 years of having the yarn, I’ve finally finished my green sweater! It was originally going to be but I didn’t like the finished item – I think it was the wrong yarn choice, as well as pilot error (PEBNAY – Problem Exists Between Needle and Yarn).

So I decided on a simple raglan cardigan, trying on as I went. And here’s the result:




Before weaving in the ends!


Pattern: My Own Design (I might publish it as I’ve kept notes, but it needs test-knitting first!)
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha (40% Silk, 30% Wool, 20% Cashmere, 10% Nylon) in Emerald (105)
Needles: 4.5mm circs & dpns
Modifications: N/A
Verdict: The yarn is lush, lovely to knit with. It’s a bit slubby but that adds to the charm I think. The cables pop really nicely in this yarn and colour. I’m quite pleased with it. It’s very warm so I haven’t had chance to wear it.

Lacey Fingerless Mittens

I’m having some bizarre issues with my Macbook, so I’ve been unable to post. Normally I wouldn’t worry, but I’ve been waiting to tell you all about my latest pattern!

Pattern:Lacey Fingerless Mitts by Tsuki (download now)
Sizes Available: S, M and L (though from feedback the small runs more like XS, the other sizes are about right)
Yarn:Violet Green, Sappho (70% merino 30% silk, colour pink ruby); yardage just over 150yds (140m) for the medium size.
Needles:2.25mm circs long enough to do magic loop, or 2.25mm dpns.
Other:you’ll need two pairs and one odd stitch marker, and a darning needle for weaving in the ends.
I enjoyed knitting these, and I hope you will too. Do let me know if you knit them – and if you like to knit for friends for Christmas these would make a lovely gift. Just click here to download the pattern and you’re away!
Thank you for reading!

Any feedback about the pattern (including errata) is very welcome, please leave a comment, or come find me on Ravelry – I’m Tsuki.

Stuff

Well, the house is on the market. We were scheduled to have two viewings this weekend, but both were cancelled at the last minute. Boo. One of them will be rescheduled; the other was cancelled outright as they had bought a different house.

Oh well.

We’re going back to see one of the houses we’ve seen. I’ve also made a (short) list of other houses we could see. I haven’t done anything about it though! It’s hard to be positive about looking at houses when we haven’t even had a viewing yet. I know, it’s early days, but it’s so slow!

I’ve ordered some lovely yarn from Stash of Chester over the weekend. I have ordered some Noro Silk Garden Sock at silly prices, and some (more) Noro Kureyon. I wouldn’t have to do this if I had access to my stash. Honest. And it was 15% off sale prices – the SGS was half price effectively! What can you do?

I’m due to have my first personal training session on Friday morning. It was rescheduled from last Friday, which is a re-plan from the class I was going to do that there wasn’t enough interest for. I hope it’s motivational! In the mean time, I guess I need to sort out my diet. It should be a simple as cooking dinner most evenings rather than eating pizza, Chinese, curry etc!

Here’s a sneak peak of the mittens I’ve designed. The pattern is due to be available at the end of the month.

Transformed!

We’ve been sorting out the house for sale.
It’s ready.
Woo!
So, we turned this:

Into this:

This:

Turned into this:

And lastly this:

Turned into this:

I’m really pleased with the result. We’ve worked really hard to get it to this point, and I hope we can sell it! Now we have to find somewhere to move to!

(Also, I bought some shoes for the wedding. They’re turquoise. That’s all I’m telling you!)