Featherweight

P1010834, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

It's coming along nicely now that I've finally finished Decouverte. What a lovely yarn to work with. But we all know my love for Wollmeise! The colours look lovely together.

Manolo

Manolo, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

I haven't had much to say lately. My Découverte has been keeping me busy with miles and miles of stockinette. I've just ran out of yarn 7.5" from the end. Don't you hate that?

So while I wait for another skein to arrive, I thought I'd pick up my Manolo Socks. I'm using Wollmeise in Ruby Thursday. A gorgeous cool bright red. It's a nice easy knit...so far. Not that I need another pair of handmade socks. Considering we're moving into spring now :)

Will Work For Yarn Ravelry Group

Check me out in my new Melody's Shawl that I had made for me by Vonraveller. I love it so much that I whipped this on without looking. And it looks fabulous. I think it might be my new favourite. I might have to get another made from Malabrigo Yarn Sock again!

Mini Wollmeise sorted and ready to ship

Mini Wollmeise sorted and ready to ship, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

Finally...done!! It's taken a lot of time and effort to finalise this swap, but I enjoyed every minute of it. These are the final 3 groups. I hope everyone enjoys their mini skeins. I look forward to seeing all the new colourwork projects as they upload onto Ravelry.

Carnaby Skirt

Carnaby Skirt, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

This is what's on the sticks at the moment. Carnaby Skirt. It's a super easy pattern to memorise. Great for mindless knitting. I wasn't sure how the Cascade 220 Tweed would knit up, but I love it! It's not pilly at all and it's softer than I was expecting, but firm enough, I think, to hold it's shape. It's coming along very quickly.

Wollmeise rainbow in the making

Just a photo :)

Baktus

Baktus, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

Another 'Will Work For Yarn' FO. Thanks Vonraveller for knitting this up for me. I love it. So beautiful and soft. And a great shape/style to completely cover up the neck in these freezing Melbourne days/nights. Made using Eki Riva Supreme/Superbaby alpaca using up 2 full balls - one of each colour.

Cabled newsboy cap

A friend of mine has a cap just like this one. She mentioned hers was wearing a bit thin after much usage. She hunted around for another one but they were all cheap quality. So after a bit of research, I decided to make a Cabled Newsboy Cap for her. I also bought an extra lot of yarn for one for me (as a test). I've never used Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes before but I DEFINITELY will again. It's gorgeous and soft yet heavy to keep out the chills. As you can see from hat #1, I stuffed up the first twist of the cable. I thought I was going to hide it well by putting those cables to the back and have the brim centred on the 3 correct cables, but I stuffed that up. Oops. Never mind. I can tell you the hat still covered my ears and kept out the chilly Melbourne weather this morning when I had to head out. I didn't put a plastic bit in the brim because it stands up well enough on its own and it's better to squish in your bag. All in all, a success! I hope Kerry likes hers.

Neat Ripple Blanket

I fell in love with this blanket and had to make one of my one for my unborn baby. I hadn't crocheted anything in a long while. I used Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply cotton. I got about 70% of it done when it found it's way onto the WIP pile and lay there languishing for 6 months. So I put the call out to the Will Work For Yarn group on Ravelry. Joeyn kindly put her hand up to help out. What a fabulous job she did. She perfectly matched my tension and even sewed in all those ends! It is a lovely lightweight blanket in fresh sherbert colours. Perfect for those warmer days/nights.

Country Road pillow

So I saw this pillow at Country Road a while ago. I decided I wanted one but didn't want to pay them for it :) So I researched the stitch - it's called Shaker Rib Stitch. I bought the fattest wool I could find (Rowan Big Wool) at Sunspun in Canterbury and started knitting away. I'm almost done and I think it's going to be lovely!

Slable slouchy

Finally another post after our long girly weekend away. This is the Slable beanie which I made as slouchy as possible by adding a full 18row repeat. I used the gorgeous Wollmeise (of course) in Im Jahr der Ratte. I blocked it using a bowl but it left a weird ridge near the ribbing. So I wet it again and am blocking it flat like this. Can't wait till it's dry, it was 4 friggin degrees here this morning!

Kai Mei socks

Look what I received in the mail! The 'Will Work For Yarn' forum is brilliant. Send out 2 balls of yarn, You receive one of those knit up as a pair of socks and the knitter keeps the other as payment. To top it off, this job came back with an added bonus of a block of chocolate! Yay 27gab. Loving it all.

Eternity Scarf

I finished this lovely cowl in only a few days. It was a very quick knit using a aran weight yarn. I have mixed feelings about this yarn. As I started knitting with it, I was happy with the lovely soft handle of it. Then as I went along, I noticed that the CO edge of the project was starting to pill. I then researched further and found that a lot of people had the same problem. I wish I'd known this before I bought 5 balls of it. Thankfully it came from Webs in the US so it was much cheaper had I bought it here.

Either way, it is still lovely soft and warm and I'm wearing it now as it storms outside :)

Mum's socks

Mum's socks, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

I finished these Pillars Socks just in the nick of time. Mother's Day. But not until 10:45pm so unfortunately she didn't receive them on time. But she is coming over today (3 days later) and will receive them. They were a frustrating knit with me continually stuffing up the lace pattern. Let's hope she doesn't look too closely.

Colinette Jitterbug is lovely to knit with. It is a thicker fingering weight yarn so it seems to go quicker. But the only drawback seems the bleeding. I had the same problem when i used it in my Selbu Modern hat. The red bled badly into the cream.

Hopeully they fit and hopefully she will like them :) Love you mum x

Just some Tuesday Wollmeise yarn porn

WD Mond Im 7. Haus Twin

WD Am Kalten Polar 100%

Im Jahr Der Ratte 100% and Maus Alt Twin

Sublime Cowl

Sublime, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

I finally got this gorgeous yarn in the mail from Webs. Geez they have some good pricing even after shipping. It was bought specifically to make the Eternity Scarf. Of course I couldn't help but cast on straight away. It actually makes a nice change to knit with aran weight yarn instead of sock! I've only done 4 rounds and it's coming along nicely. But I'd better put it down if I plan on getting my mum's socks finished by Mother's Day! Crikey, my first Mother's Day as a mother of 2.

On a side note, I had to mention that I took my first Zumba class last night with my bestie. We were shaking it like we were 21 again. Why is it that my body doesn't quite move the same anymore?? Oh, and someone forgot to mention to me that I might have some trouble with any movements with my legs open i.e. star jumps? After pushing a 10.2lb baby through my pelvic floor, I'm having trouble retaining my, ahem, dignity! Hopefully that will repair sooner rather than later. Apparently I need to ramp things up with my clinical pilates.

Lace Ribbon Scarf

Lace Ribbon Scarf, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

Another one is finally here! This one is the Lace Ribbon Scarf in Malabrigo Yarn Worsted Polar Morn.

In exchange for Vonraveller's knitting services, I provided her with Malabrigo Yarn Sock in Impressionist Sky. Again, another fantastic swap. I've also sent her another job to knit me a Baktus with Eki Riva Supreme Superbaby in Grey and Black. Payment is 2 skeins of the grey.

Noro Scarf

Noro Scarf, originally uploaded by stitch-by-stitch.

It's finally here! There is a group on Ravelry called 'Will Work For Yarn'. It's for all those knitting lovers who are unable to afford the good stuff, so they offer their knitting service in exchange for yarn. I bought this yarn after scouring the internet for days for the exact colours as in the original 'pattern'. It's not a pattern as much as a recipe.

In exchange for 27gab's knitting services, I provided her with 2 skeins of Noro Sock. I think it was a fantastic swap. And I love the end result. I've just sent her another job to knit me a pair of Kai-Mei socks in exchange for one skein of Malabrigo Sock and a Cookie A sock pattern called Zanzibar. What a great way to destash my overflowing stash and get that knitting queue down!

Burberry Cowl and Felicity Hat

Here is the completed Burberry Cowl and Felicity Hat set. I made them on request of my friend Alanna. Shame I don't get to keep these ones, they are so comfy and warm!! And I love the olive colour. I used Malabrigo Worsted in Olive.

Ravelry page: Burberry Cowl and Felicity Hat

Im Jahr De Ratte

A new acquisition in the mail today. Im Jahr De Ratte Wollmeise Lace-Garn. Thanks Karen!!