Red Alert - Freestyle Knitting

Strange things happen when I do freestyle knitting; first, I buy yarn I fall in love with, in this case it's Rico Creative Melange Chunky in red code 002.

I bought three balls and wondered what to turn it into, so I went to find inspiration from pattern books.

I eventually found a cable lace pattern and decided to knit a shrug. When I was about to cast on, I decided to use my 7mm/80cm long needle as I prefer the flexibility of circular needles.

Whilst casting on, I changed my mind about the shrug and decided to knit in rounds to create a cropped tank top instead.

Needless to say I ran out of yarn, but only needed little more to add sleeve borders.

And because I needed to buy more yarn anyway, I decided to add 3/4 length sleeves rather than keeping the top sleeveless, so I bought two more balls.

Well, I haven't yet mentioned the fact that the jumper is red; very red.

I don't want to go near a bull with it, not that this is the kind of thing I usually do.

Normally I don't wear red, but the mix of red hues in this yarn won me over when I saw it in the shop. The yarn itself is beautifully soft and warm. I love wearing this top, which just evolved as I went along.

Hooked on Crochet Lace Scarves

My obsession with crochet hasn't waned yet; the recent edition of Let's Knit! (May 2010) came with an additional crochet booklet, in which I discovered this very easy crochet scarf pattern. Click on the image below to get a better view of the instruction, if you want to try this yourself.

For a supersoft velvety summer scarf I recommend King Cole Bamboo Cotton DK, which comes in a variety of strong, bright colours (slim summer scarf on the left is in purple, shade 524 - and I only needed one skein!). If you prefer something more snuggly warm, then any wool DK yarn will do, and you can see an example here.

Overall I find this pattern so versatile; you can make the scarf any width you like, from long and slim to wide and wrappy. And of course in your favourite colour! It would also make a lovely gift!

Knit Happens at Cosmic HQ

When friends recently phoned and asked after me, hubby replied: "She's knitting a house. Front's nearly finished." That should give you a clue, how much yarn I process each day; hardly time to blog about it, that's for sure!

But I do have time for a quick update; the red Louisa Harding yarn pictured in my previous post, has been turned into a crochet lace scarf.

The purple/pink/cream Louisa Harding yarn has been turned into a cushion for the lounge. No more granny squares for the time being...

New wool is on the way to knit a retro tie for hubby (yes, and I'll make him wear it...) and a shrug for myself.

I'm also using Bamboo yarn for the very first time to crochet some light and wonderful lace summer scarves. More on that later.

And then I have this destructive thought of unravelling a work-in-progress and turn it into a more exciting medieval-style corset belt - decisions, decisions...

Louisa Harding Yarn Details

Scarf: Kashmir Aran Shade 9, Red

Cushion: Kashmir Arran Shade 21 (Mauve), 22 (Grape), 37 (Chamois)

The yarn is a mix of merino wool, microfibre and cashmere - very soft and cosy; hook size 5mm.

Well, as you can see no doubt I'll be able to show you more of my creations very soon. Until then...

Happy Hooking and Nifty Knitting!

Current Yarn Stash

On Friday I went wild in Hobbycraft. As indicated by the red "clearance" labels on the left pic, there was a sale on, and I just needed to get those bargains.

There's one particular yarn, I would like to recommend: the Sirdar Balmoral. This soft yarn only contains natural fibres - wool, alpaca and silk - and can be washed in the washing machine (on the handwash cycle). I have already used this yarn for my psychedelic jumper, and when I saw other colours in the sale, I couldn't resist. What will they turn into? Not sure yet, but watch this space.

Pink Heaven Cosy Swirly Jumper

At last I managed to take photos of my latest creation in its true colour. On previous attempts my current favourite piece looked strangely purple, but this is a luscious raspberry pink, Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweet Colour No. 17.

I knitted this jumper free-style, without instructions except for the lace pattern in the centre of the front and sleeves. You can download a copy of this very easy pattern below.

The jumper has a gentle A-line shape and a belt feature at the back. I've already worn it loads of times.

The yarn is lovely sofy, and although the label recommends handwash, I've washed it in the machine on the wool cycle without problems. Another yarn I'd recommend!

Pattern Sheet: Lace Ajour PDF

Yarns Worth Raving About: Colinette Point 5

If you are looking for a quick knitting/crochet project, then a scarf is always a winner and would make a lovely timeless gift.

There's lots of adorable yarn out there, but some yarns are more adorable than others!

One of them is the Colinette Point 5 pure wool chunky yarn, which comes in a large range of the most beautiful colours.

For my Indigo Rainbow Scarf shown in the image, I needed two hanks of this yarn, colour option Kingfisher no. 33.

The yarn is spun unevenly; it's quite thick in places, and you will need size 12mm needles.

Cast on 14 stitches, 2 knit/2 purl until you've used up all the yarn. Length of the scarf: 150cm x 12cm width. 

Knitted in two days. 

Quick, easy and ideal for a beginner.


UK stockist: http://www.cucumberpatch.co.uk/point_5.htm