Freewebs http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm new Wordpress blog. 

Now that I'm on Ravelry, I can do all my organising of projects there, and Wordpress is a much easier platform for blogging than this is.

I'm leaving this blog here, as I've linked to it from various places, but I won't be updating it after this.
]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=4395261 2008-12-15T18:28:00-0100




While making these, I was a bit disturbed by the way you keep having to break the thread and join it in again to make each finger.  I started to think about whether it would be possible to make gloves with one unbroken thread. 

So I made some.  Here they are:



They are done in garter stitch, so that they stretch across the hand.  I used short rows to produce the wrist shaping. 

They are knitted on two needles, beginning with an invisible cast on at the index finger side on the back of the hand.  To make each finger, you cast on six extra stitches at the appropriate end of the row.  After as many rows as you need to get across the finger on the back of the glove, you leave the hand stitches on your needle and carry on with the finger stitches to make a narrow strip long enough to wrap round your finger. 

Then you decrease down to one stitch, reducing from the top edge of the finger, so that the last stitch is at the base.  This takes the same number of rows as the back of the finger, so you should end up back where you started, and you just pop the last stitch back on the main needle and knit it together with the first stitch of the hand.

You end up with a pretty little 'rosebud' effect.  Hopefully you can see it from this picture:



When you get past the little finger, you carry on and knit across the palm, picking up stitches at the edges of the fingers as you go, and knitting them together with the palm stitches.

The thumb is more difficult, as it is in the middle of a row, but I managed to do it by sort of turning back and knitting the narrow strip back alongside the upper part of the palm, below the index finger, then extending and wrapping round, as with the fingers.

Finally, you are back at the index finger side of the hand, and you graft together your stitches with the live stitches from the invisible cast on, to make a seamless glove, made with one continuous thread.

I am very pleased with them. 

Now experimenting with something similar for gloves with full fingers (more difficult, and may prove impossible).

I had a lovely time at Peri's Knitting Safari event yesterday, and managed to restrict my spending to only £8 for this lovely merino and bamboo sock yarn - destined to become gloves, I expect!



(Picture doesn't do it justice - it's much deeper and more purpley than it looks)
]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=4222216 2008-11-09T18:55:00-0100
I made the buttons myself, using Chinese Button Knots in braided cord (Kumihimo braiding, slightly adapted to work with six strands instead of eight).

Anyway, here's the end result:



and here's the back (better picture than the one on this page)



Here's a fairly unsatisfactory picture of a button (ooh, that's a bit scary, close up).



I'm now half way through a nice pair of fingerless gloves for myself.  I like knitting gloves, but I'm a bit put out by all the cutting of the thread that has to go on, and also those infernal holes that will keep appearing between the fingers.  I've been idly musing on different ways of constructing a glove.  Might play with that when I've finished the pair.

I did make it over to Hove Museum, but there wasn't a lot of knitting actually on show.  I did like these bits of coral reef




]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=4167010 2008-10-28T18:52:00-0100



Here are close ups of a couple of the patterns:




I really enjoyed knitting that - had to concentrate the whole time to avoid mistakes - and learned a lot about Aran patterns.

Next, I had the pure pleasure of knitting an Adult Surprise Jacket for Pearlie. 



Allie's now put in an order for one, but she wants it in black or some other boring colour, so I haven't started that yet!

I moved straight on to fingerless gloves for both children.  I can't find Leo's at the moment, but here are Pearlie's:




I made the toggles out of Fimo, and she is very pleased with the finished product (as is Leo with his, which are the finishing touch of his Barnaby Grimes costume).

I think I may become addicted to knitting gloves, if only so that I can work out how to stop holes appearing between the fingers - is that possible?

Now very busy making Chinese button knots for my Make it up as you go along cardigan.  Pictures to follow.
]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=4058660 2008-10-04T13:22:00-0100
I made a Baby Surprise Jacket for a friend's new baby.  That was very fun to knit and I was left in complete awe of Elizabeth Zimmerman's ability to visualise shapes.

Here it is:



I'm now planning to use the Adult Surprise Jacket pattern to make a rainbow cardigan for Pearlie, at her request.

Also, I finally added some sleeves to my Make it up as you go along cardigan.  Unfortunately, our camera is temporarily (or maybe permanently) mislaid, so I can't take an updated photograph at the moment.  It just needs a zip now. 

I'm currently working on another gift, inspired by this book I borrowed from the library - photos to follow once it's been safely given and received.

We made it to the crochet coral reef exhibition at the Hayward Gallery last week, just before it closes on August 17th (do go if you haven't seen it yet).

A few of my photos:








]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=3824041 2008-8-11T10:03:00-0100

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=3253452 2008-4-06T06:48:00-0100 Woolly Thoughts method of joining diagonally knitted squares.

Front:


and back:


I'm now working on another modular construction - an enormous bedspread with a celtic knot design.  I am always drawn to knitting celtic knots, but am often a bit disappointed with my efforts.  This one will be made up of 1600 5cm squares, with colour changes only happening in straight lines across individual squares (sometimes from side to side, sometimes diagonally).  I'm planning to use up a lot of my yarn stash, in a gradually colour-changing design (knot and background always in contrasting colours).  I'm working hard on this, but haven't got very far.  It will be a long term project!
]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=2955895 2008-2-15T15:00:00-0100

Here's a view of it from above


Here's a PDF of the chart I used.

I had to do some surprisingly complicated calculations to work out the size of the squares from the measurement I had taken around my head.

Anyone who wants to use or adapt this idea is very welcome to.  Feel free to contact me if you want to ask anything about it.

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=2791305 2008-1-14T11:04:00-0100
In the meantime, I got lots of lovely knitting-related things for my birthday, including Modular Knitting and Knitting without Tears.

Couldn't bear not knitting any more, so I had a go at a little modular project I've had on my mind for a couple of weeks.  I wanted to make a folded purse, like one I saw in an origami book I borrowed from the library recently. 

Here's the result:



There are a couple more pictures and some discussion of the process on the page for this finished project.

My search for knitted buttons led me to the wonderful Chinese button knot, which I think may be my answer, if I can work out how to tie it!

Also, I rattled off a pig's ears and tail as part of a theatrical costume for Leo.  I am very chuffed with these.
]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=2672965 2007-12-18T17:59:00-0100


She likes them, and I'm quite pleased with them too.  I adapted a pattern I found on the internet, to give a sloping increase from the toe, to match her sloping feet.

I added a double diagonal of lace holes just to give me some interest when I was knitting the straight bits, but it also turned out to be very helpful when counting rows on the first one so that the second one would match.

I loved turning the heels, though I did end up with a little hole at the top (despite doing what I thought the pattern recommended to stop that happening).  I can see how people get addicted to socks, but I think I'm going to have a break from them for a while. 

I'm currently pondering how to make buttons as I go along.  More on that later.
]]> http://www.freewebs.com/knittingnotes/index.htm?blogentryid=2555780 2007-11-22T05:55:00-0100