Tag Archives: knitting

Dear Green Shawl⤴

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194/365 Dear Green Shawl
194/365 Dear Green Shawl flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

I’ve been meaning to knit this shawl for many years now – it’s been sitting in my Ravelry queue awaiting the right yarn. Luckily I’d downloaded the pattern, as it’s no longer available. ‘Dear Green Place’ is Glasgow’s nickname – a translation of the Scots Gaelic Glas Chu, and the pattern is a play on that, with motifs from the Glasgow coat of arms.

Glasgow Coat of Arms 1996

TilmannR, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Glasgow’s coat of arms is composed of symbols representing the life and legends of Saint Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow, and are often remembered by the following poem:

Here is the tree that never grew
Here is the bird that never flew
Here is the fish that never swam
Here is the bell that never rang

The shawl itself has these in a different order, as the designer says:

The shawl uses lace motifs representing a bird in flight, a tree, and a bell, ending with the traditional ‘Shetland’ fishtail lace pattern.

Dear Green Shawl
Dear Green Shawl flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
It was a lovely shawl to make – really quick and easy. It’s currently drying out in the garden, next I need to decide who to give it to.

 

Knitting memories⤴

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With a new great nephew due soon, I’ve been spending time knitting for him – a hap to wrap him in when he arrives

134/365 Hap
134/365 Hap flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

A stripy jacket and jester hat from the same pattern I made for his big sister

136/365 Tiny Jester
136/365 Tiny Jester flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

And then, as I was wrapping them carefully in tissue paper to post them to my niece, I remembered that I had picked up some old baby patterns last time I was down south at mum’s – I think this is from the 1960s. I knew Rosie would appreciate me knitting something with a connection to mum.

Knitting pattern
Knitting pattern flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I chose a pattern that I remembered making many years ago, looked out some pretty pale purple yarn and started knitting. When I copied the pattern (the original is very battered, and I didn’t think it would stand being carried around again), I noticed that it has some of mum’s notations.
Annotations
Annotations flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

So as I’ve been knitting I’ve felt connected to mum. I’ve been remembering how I’d  sometimes get myself into a state when my knitting went wrong, and throw it down in a temper. How mum would raise an eyebrow and tell me to leave it for another day. And how, the next day, I’d find that she’d picked it up after I’d gone to bed and unpicked the mess I’d made so I could carry on. I started knitting this because I wanted to create a memory for Rosie, and in doing this I’ve spent some happy hours revisiting my own memories.

Thanks, mum. Cardigan all finished and sewn up with ‘vintage’ buttons from my button tin.

Baby Cardigan
Baby Cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I hope Baby Bridges is not allergic to cats, as when I turned around to pack this up, this is what I found.

Cat cardigan
Cat cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

Knitting memories⤴

from

With a new great nephew due soon, I’ve been spending time knitting for him – a hap to wrap him in when he arrives

134/365 Hap
134/365 Hap flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

A stripy jacket and jester hat from the same pattern I made for his big sister

136/365 Tiny Jester
136/365 Tiny Jester flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

And then, as I was wrapping them carefully in tissue paper to post them to my niece, I remembered that I had picked up some old baby patterns last time I was down south at mum’s – I think this is from the 1960s. I knew Rosie would appreciate me knitting something with a connection to mum.

Knitting pattern
Knitting pattern flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I chose a pattern that I remembered making many years ago, looked out some pretty pale purple yarn and started knitting. When I copied the pattern (the original is very battered, and I didn’t think it would stand being carried around again), I noticed that it has some of mum’s notations.
Annotations
Annotations flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

So as I’ve been knitting I’ve felt connected to mum. I’ve been remembering how I’d  sometimes get myself into a state when my knitting went wrong, and throw it down in a temper. How mum would raise an eyebrow and tell me to leave it for another day. And how, the next day, I’d find that she’d picked it up after I’d gone to bed and unpicked the mess I’d made so I could carry on. I started knitting this because I wanted to create a memory for Rosie, and in doing this I’ve spent some happy hours revisiting my own memories.

Thanks, mum. Cardigan all finished and sewn up with ‘vintage’ buttons from my button tin.

Baby Cardigan
Baby Cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I hope Baby Bridges is not allergic to cats, as when I turned around to pack this up, this is what I found.

Cat cardigan
Cat cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

Visible darning⤴

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Lacey's new bed

Many years ago mum made me a blanket for my bed. It’s made from woollen garments left at the end of a jumble sale, all in my favourite pinks. I put it on my bed when we first got the cats, and Lacey sees it as her own. Recently I noticed that it had been eaten by moths, so I brought it downstairs and put it on my yarn chest, intending to mend it. Of course, it is now Lacey’s new bed, as you can see. So now I am stuck with darning the matching cushion (actually, this is one of Cagney’s beds, so I’d better be quick before she misses it!

Visible darning
Darning

As I was searching for ideas for mending this and celebrating the wear and tear, rather than hiding it, I came across Sashiko, which is exactly the ethos I was looking for as it’s a way of celebrating the remix.

Now if only Lacey will let me darn her new cat bed …

Making Memories⤴

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Granny Squares Blanket

A few years ago I decided to make myself a blanket – something warm and cheery for the winter months. Also, unusually for me, I decided not to rush it. So, over the last 3 years I’ve been acquiring wool as memories. There’s wool from holidays on Mull, a visit to the Shetlands, a week on Orkney, a short break to the Cairngorms. There’s squares knitted in Shetland lace patterns, patterns made by the Uni knitter in residence years ago, there’s a Dalek, a Cyberman, K9 and a Tardis. Then, of course, there are two black cats. I have loved making it, and now it’s finished – and I can’t wait for the cold nights so I can spreda it out on the bed.

Processes and products⤴

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Pi shawl

As I read Anna’s post about how she is struggling to find the patience to read, I thought about how I knit. Specifically, I thought about how often I turn my knitting projects into races – how instead of enjoying the process of knitting, I rush to get them finished and off the needles. Here’s an example: the shawl above is one that I started in order to have some easy knitting for when my mind or my hands were tired, but I have spent the last few days counting the rows and minutes until it was finished. And, of course, now it is done I am immediately thinking about starting a similar project.

I don’t make resolutions at new year, but I am making  a mental note to remember to enjoy the process of knitting, and stop thinking in terms of finished outputs.

Socks⤴

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I like knitting socks. I’ve got a whole drawer full of pairs I’ve made for myself, from plain ribbed ones to fancy designs,  and most of my family own at least one pair I’ve made for them. I’ve got masses of yarn, in a rainbow of colours, and all I need is somebody who needs socks.

So that’s where you come in. If you’d like me to knit you a pair of socks, all you need to do is design a pair and send me the design.

A few things before you start:

  • Socks are knitted in the round. Generally there will be 64 stitches per row for a woman’s sock, and 72 for a man’s.
  • Socks can, of course, be any length. My default is 100 rows for the leg, which is about 8 inches.
  • Knitted stitches are wider than they are tall – the ratio is about 4 stitches to measure the same as 5 rows (so 28 stitches knitted over 35 rows would make a 4 inch square, for example). Knitting chart paper is easy to find online. Here’s some.
  • Patterns can repeat around the sock – multiples of 8 are very common.
  • There can be different patterns on the same sock.
  • Patterns with only 1 or 2 colours per row are nicest to knit (I have 2 hands, and can hold 1 colour in each).
  • If you’d prefer plain socks, or stripy ones, that’s also fine – just tell me which colour (s) you’d like.

So – over to you. This is an open offer – I am a #4life knitter, so whenever I get a request I add it to my queue.