Wave crest pattern Cardie

This is not finished yet, and therefore my first blog on a work in progress, or WIP.

I was going to only blog about completed projects but could not resist it - I am really happy with the pattern (from a German knitting magazine called 'Verena', the Winter 2009 edition, model 10), the wave pattern is lovely! I am managing to get a fairly smooth fabric too, I must be putting the right amount of tension on the thread when I carry it at the back.

I must say though that I am heavily adapting the cardigan. I am using six colours: three greys and two pinks with aubergine as the third colour. The magazine uses four, one of them a very bright turquoise. I do like this colour combination but I was looking for a pattern to use for my six colours, the yarn came first!  I am really pleased with this:

My adaptation involves four plain knitted rows between each of the three colour work patterns rows instead of two as per the pattern. Much easier to knit (and quicker) and it makes the finished article look less busy, not as fussy! I prefer that.

I started following the pattern instruction, casting on the back piece. Then I started changing things by using a hollow hem as for the black Fern tank top - it is very useful if you might need an elastic and you can use one even if you don't strictly need it, just to weigh the hem down. I like how these hems look: the purl row at the hem is very nice and neat. I love the simpleness of it. And it doesn't curl up as much as plain stocking stitch does (the hem still stubbornly turns up though, I need to block this soon, it's driving me crazy. I already hang it up by the hem and hope that the increasing weight will straighten this out but that hasn't happened just yet).

Then I started the colour work. The first row, a right side knitted row, was absolutely fine: three stitches in mid grey, three stitches in aubergine. Easy. Then I turned the work to do the purl row: one grey, one aubergine, two grey, two aubergine and so on... Oh-oh! Hang on, where was I? I only got terribly mixed up about what, when, where... You just can't see what you are doing on a wrong side, those threads you carry at the back tend to block the view!

I didn't even finish the row because I got seriously fed up and decided that I'd lose the will to live before I ever finished the project. So I knitted back, cast on one of the front pieces on the same circular needle (a very loud cheer for circ needles!), knitted that to the same point in the pattern (I had to re-feed it to the correct place on the needle in the process), cast on the second front piece (managing to get the placement right, wahey!), knitted that up to the same row and then with all three pieces (in the correct orientation) still on the circular needle, I just carried on knitting round as if it was all one piece - going round and round.  So much easier, what a huge relief!

What I also did once I finished the hemming part of each front, was to cast on six stitches each (twelve stitches at centre front). I want to use the steek technique to make this cardigan: I will use a sewing machine to put a double seam each down the middle and then cut through the fabric between those stitch lines. Scary stuff! Each of the six stitches will then turn into an inner facing.

That's the plan anyway, wish me luck.

I'm looking forward to finding out how I'll do, I've never used steeks before.

Fringed bead bracelet

One of my craft likes is bead weaving. This bracelet is actually black 'in real life', but I couldn't take a photo that showed enough details without flash - so this photo makes it look rather silver, which unfortunately it is not. Black beads are nice too, and the colour is suited to the fringe effect of the bead strings:

This is a woven bracelet out of six seed beads across - then the second and fifth row only have the fringe strings added to them.  The technique for weaving the basic band may be called Ndebele, I am not too sure about that: it involves going through two beads in the previous row, then picking up two new beads and going through the next two beads of the previous row - the thread goes along in a snake like wave and not a spiral. This means that the most recent row will have little gaps before and after every two beads. These get closed in each subsequent row, and the top row is sewn shut by putting the thread through once more, but transposed by one bead.

Each bead pair leans a little towards each other, this can be even used to good effect. It doesn't make any difference here because the fringes hide the basic band.

I have the pattern and idea from a bracelet on the Internet, I am sorry to say that I can't find it again so I can't credit the designer. If you have more info let me know and I will add it. The designer called this her 'caterpillar' bracelet and the same site also had a Ndebele bracelet with half circles in two colours, very pretty too!  I made that two tone bracelet as well and will blog about it soon.

Hexagon Fern tank top in black

This is the first top I made using just the stitch pattern: Hexagonal Fern from Barbara G. Walker's book: "Charted Knitting Designs", otherwise also known as her Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns. I must look up what the exact title is!

Growing up in a country where most knitting instructions come with a handy chart, those charts have a cosy and familiar feel to them. I like knitting charts because you can see how the pattern stacks up vertically and it makes it much easier to "read" your actual piece of knitting - either to establish where you are in the pattern, or where you went wrong!  I have not following instructions that are written out line by line very much. I tend to get lost and do the wrong bits, or the right ones too often! It usually works out as a heck of a mess before I 'understand' the pattern and can try to knit it from memory.

I saw this stitch pattern and really liked its structure, and how it looks as well of course! I decided to make something like a tank top in this but I didn't have an actual tank top pattern to follow. Being on holiday also meant that I didn't have access to proper pattern making paper so I used Mum's greaseproof. Rather interestingly I found that you can't stick greaseproof paper together with sellotape: the tape just literally slides off! I also tried to Prit Stick with slightly more initial success but this glue was not doing a much better job either. I didn't have any paper adhesive like Uhu around either so  I ended up basting the two strips of greaseproof together with big cross stitches, and that definitely holds it!

I took my measurements and drew them up for the back piece, drawing in arm holes and neckline free-handedly. It worked well enough. I knitted the front to the same measurements, except for neckline. And the finished article fits pretty darn good, even if I say so myself! I'm actually pretty chuffed with this.  Best thing: I'll be able to use the same paper pattern (sewn together as it is) again for another project, wahey! I think that I might want to design patterns (really basic ones of course) in future?! We'll see...