January’s off to a good start

The Yarner February 11, 2014
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I didn’t realize how busy I was until I checked my finished projects.

We started the year off in style with a knit-along of Jared Flood’s wonderful Juneberry pattern. I knit mine in the no less wonderful Madelinetosh Pashmina:

Charity knit of the month was a Tunisian crochet scarf:

Test knit another fantastic Dagmar Mora pattern – Deco Mitts:

And finally finished the prototype for a crochet design that had been confounding me for a long time. I give you ‘Zephyr’:

I still have to write up the pattern, but I’m super pleased with how it turned out.

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Rounding things off in December

The Yarner January 1, 2014
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Well, Christmas knitting, obviously. Notably Hax0r mitts and Tiger sox:

I liked the Treads pattern so much that I decided to use it for glove covers for myself (slightly amended):

The yarn was handspun for me for my birthday!!! Thank you again, Natalie. It’s utterly fabulous.

Apart from that I did mostly charity knitting:

It’s the season, but I’d like to do a little more of it all year around. I’d have a bigger pile at the end and it wouldn’t end in stress. So that’s part of my resolution for 2014: Knit one charity item each month.

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November Update

The Yarner December 2, 2013
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Ravelry talk is often the reason I get interested in a pattern or other. So it’s probably no surprise that I absolutely had to knit a Quaker Yarn Stretcher, when Julianna started chatting about it in her group. Rather than using a color-changing yarn, I decided to use up a few odds and ends I had kicking around. Here’s the result:

I also test knit a great shawl pattern for Natalie Servant that I can’t talk about yet. Suffice it to say I enjoyed it enormously and looove the result. More when it’s actually published.

Oh, and I made another Juliana. This one is for my friend Joanne, who makes the most wonderful quilts, and who’s going to quilt a table runner for me. She doesn’t crochet, and I don’t sew. Ergo: swap. Tada!

Last, not least, I’m expecting a new nieflet in December. This means baby blankie. I give you the Winter Baby Wrap:

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Busy October

The Yarner November 6, 2013
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I finished the medium and large Gradient prototypes, and the tests for all are in full swing.

Medium Gradient:

Large Gradient:

I also started a test for the text version of my Telegraph pattern,

and I’m hunting around for someone to make professional charts for me.

Things are looking really good this month.

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What happened in August?

The Yarner September 2, 2013
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I don’t have any pictures for you, because *gasp* I didn’t finish anything.

First I managed to catch the summer flu bad enough that I didn’t have the brains to knit for nearly a week! I know, right?

Then, I’ve been working on two more sizes for the Gradient pattern, and ran out of yarn on the large one. Good thing my LYS still had that dye lot; I just have to go pick it up. In the meantime, I started the medium Gradient to tide me over.

I’ve also been playing with the idea of a lacy side-to-side jacket in crochet for a while now, but for the longest time couldn’t find the right stitch for it. I think I found one. I’ve been swatching with a lovely flower pattern that I really like. I’ve picked Fleece Artist Saldanha II in a deep midnight blue/black for the jacket and recently started a sleeve. It’s not very far along though, because I’ve been working on the Gradient shawls almost every night. Hoping to start testing very soon.

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July

The Yarner August 2, 2013
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I finally finished my felted bag, liner and all, and love it to pieces. It has all those nifty little pockets inside from an old pair of jeans turned inside-out. And the colours just make me happy:

I’ve also been working on a new pattern, and finished a first prototype. Meet Gradient:

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June Projects

The Yarner July 4, 2013
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My big project in June was Jared Flood’s Rock Island. I’ve had the pattern for at least a year, but it took a knit-along at my LYS to finally get my butt in gear to make it. I picked a skein of Handmaiden Marrakesh in a lovely Amber that I’ve had in my stash for a long time. Wasn’t it just made for it?

In the crochet corner, I succumbed to my favourite sock pattern again and turned out another pair of Sideways Socks. I just can’t get enough of them:

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April Report

The Yarner May 8, 2013
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I wasn’t super craftsy in April. Worked a bit on my Swain Sweater and started a new pair of Sideways Socks.

The one thing I finished was another Shanti shawl. This time I made it symmetric. It had intrigued me since I’d made the first one. Here it is in our recent May sunshine:

Oh, and last not least (I’m actually quite excited about this) I finally started Jared Flood’s Rock Island. This one’s going to take me a while, I guess.

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Forgot to tell you what I did in March

The Yarner May 3, 2013
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Time’s been flying too fast for even monthly updates. *sigh* Sometimes, that’s how it goes.

So, March. I knit a quick little short row shawl from a recipe a friend gave me:

 

And I found the perfect crocheted socks pattern that I had to immediately try out:

They’re the fabulous Sydney’s Sideways Socks by Brenda K.B. I’ve already started another pair. They fit so well and are quite addictive.

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Didn’t finish any of the previous projects

The Yarner February 12, 2013
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but instead, decided my new phone needed protection, dragon protection. I’d bought this wonderful Dragon Paws mitten pattern a while ago, and it was perfect for a phone sock. So I knit this:

It’s double-knit, nice and squishy, with the dragon tail continuing on the backside. Very cute.

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