Acquisitions and Ideas

New Wool

Last week at work I was so good!

I gave away 2 free knitting kits (that you get with knitting magazines and which I always end up throwing away) and 4 balls of wool to a colleague.

I was slowly making some room in my stash tub.

NOPE!

I instantly bought 2 balls of sock yarn to replace some of the old!

Both are technically Christmas themed sock yarns – 1 by Stylecraft and the other by West Yorkshire Spinners (the left one).

But the one by West Yorkshire Spinners looks more autumn-y to me rather than the ‘gingerbread’ it’s supposed to be.

I also bought a pair of tiny circular needles to have a go using instead of the DPNs. We’ll see if it works!

You can get the orange one here from The Knitting Network, one of my favourite places to buy wool online. I’ve shopped with them a few times before, they’re quick to dispatch and quick and all of their products come in eco-friendly packaging!

And the fabric in the picture above is a gift from a friend (thanks Lizzie!). I’m not sure what to do with it…a bag of some sort maybe? But I also like the idea of making a cushion too…

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Ideas For Future Projects

I have 1 1/2 balls of some chunky James C. Brett yarn leftover that I want out of my stash (they’re huge 200g balls so take up a lot of room!) and I was thinking of doing another chunky knitted hat in the round.

I knitted my first hat in the round earlier this year (usually I just do them flat and seam them up) and now I have all the right size circular needles for that!

Also, I’m making another baby blanket out of some scraps of aran baby wool I had leftover. I’m desperate for the room!

I sent off a load of stuff to Knit For Peace today and I still have the main box to go! I think I’ll do a few smaller things such as hats and maybe a cowl or two just to fill the box. There’s already a shawl, baby blanket, baby hats and cardigan as well as an adult hat.

I have the yarn for 2 summer vest tops and the patterns bought and ready to go.

The thing is, I have 5 tops, 2 blankets and a hat on the go already. I guess it’s never to late to start a project, but I want to knit woolly warm things now it’s autumn. And it’s getting cold so it’s definitely autumn now!

I have enough sock yarn for 6 pairs of socks!

I have DK yarn for a pink and cream jumper which I have yet to find the perfect pattern for.

I have some single balls of hand dyed yarn which need to be made up into something.

And lots of single cotton balls that I had an idea to make into lots of dishcloths.

So many ideas and not enough time, energy or money to do them all!

And then, after making a concentrated effort to get my stash down to a manageable amount…I saw the pattern below in a knitting magazine and I want to have a go at it.

Even though colour work makes me want to jump screaming out of a window…

The pattern is by Jenny Watson for West Yorkshire Spinners and was in the magazine Knit Now Issue 146, but I’ve seen it other places online. I bet if you googled WYS Festive blanket you could find it!

But seriously, look at those dark traditional colours.

I might have to quickly try and finish as many little projects as I can, so that I have a spare project bag or 2 for this!

But I really don’t need another blanket!

Ah such terrible decisions to be made, haha!

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Christmas is nearly here, and I have a lot to do to get ready for it this year.

There’s the blanket above I want to make and a pair of festive socks too.

I would love to make a Christmas jumper, but I just don’t think I’ll have the time this year.

A few years back I made a load of decorations, so at least that’s one thing done…although I might make a few more baubles as they’re pretty quick to make.

And a Santa hat, too, maybe?

I’m working on a crocheted chunky Halloween blanket right now, but I think I might keep that one for myself.

Anyhoo, that’s a lil catch up. It’s late and I’m tired and I want to go lie on the bed and read a book.

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Organising My Crafty Life

In the past month or so I’ve suddenly got my knitting mojo back after about 3 or 4 months of not really being bothered.

But I’ve come to the conclusion that I have so much stuff that it’s getting me down! Too many knitting or crochet projects I started that I don’t love anymore and aren’t likely to get finished any time soon.

So, I did a ruthless thing and did a purge!

I threw out 2 projects I started ages ago and just haven’t had the motivation to get back into them; the knitted shawl in amazing lovely autumn colours and the knitted socks which I couldn’t even finish the ribbing for!

They’ve gone!

I frogged them and saved the yarn…but no more working on them ever again!!

And, looking through my photos for the 2 above, I realised I threw out another project too. A knitted blanket in squares, which I’d only knitted the first square.

I frogged that too and made a crochet blanket last week! Wool used up…great!

Why did I take a picture of this ages ago from the back again?!

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I did a big clear out and got rid of half used skeins of wool, scraps of fabric and things like that, that I’ll never use! I have so much more room in my craft drawers now.

I’ve also been trying to use up yarn that I’ve bought over the years without a project in mind. Such as these cute coloured pastel balls of yarn, but I never used because I don’t wear pastel garments!

So…I made a couple of baby hats, I’m knitting a baby cardigan with funky dark green and pink yarn and I started a shawl with the baby pastel yarn I had lying around.

And then with yarn leftover from those projects, I started a granny square cushion!

So, I’ve started a few projects lately with the aim of using up my stash.

A lot of my stash is acrylic and I want to start getting away from that. Acrylic is plastic basically, isn’t it? I want to use more natural fibres, but I don’t just want to chuck out everything I have…so I’m going to use it all up first.

I do love the colours of this yarn – the pics don’t do it justice and it is so soft and snuggly. But I only bought 1 or 2 balls of each colourway, so the projects are small that I’m doing to use it up!

It’s Baby Twinkle Prints DK by James C. Brett. You can grab it here from The Knitting Network if you want to have a look. I like The Knitting Network as they use paper not plastic packaging!

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I’ve made a little bit of room so far…although I have about 10 tote bags with my knitting and crochet projects in them lying about!

I have 4 knitted jumpers and 1 crochet top I’m working on, with the yarn for a summer cotton vest (which won’t get finished before the winter comes lol!) and a lot of sock yarn still to work on. I also have 9 balls (!) of DK yarn to use up for a jumper as it was on offer!

And then there’s a few odd aran weight balls which I thought to make a baby blanket from, some cream and pink yarn for a jumper, and some chunky yarn for a cowl.

So, even when I finish the current projects, I have enough yarn to be using up until the end of this year without buying anything new!!

I’m gong Cold Sheep for the time being!

…

Well, I’m going to try to anyway!!!

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C2C Crochet Cowl

Look at that title for some awesome alliteration!

I started this on Sunday 10 April and had it finished the day after.

It helps when you use chunky yarn and a large hook of course, though!

The yarn is Marble Chunky by James C. Brett in MC9.

It comes in 200g balls and is 100%acrylic

You can get the yarn here from The Knitting Network. It comes in so many beautiful shades, I’ve used the red/ pink and the dark purple colours before. And there used to be a really dark brown one that they stopped doing that I loved. So much yarn goodness to choose from!

I’ve always loved the Marble Chunky range, for years and years it’s been one of my favourites and it’s only in the last month or so that I bought some more of it as it was on sale in my local yarn store (£2 instead of £6…come on I just HAD to buy 3 balls of it!).

This cowl is just for me. I have one and a half balls of it leftover so I’m not sure what to do with it…maybe a matching hat? Hmmm….one to ponder!

I figured out how to make a square pattern into a rectangular one as I went along and I really love how the colours have striped up. I think you’d miss the stripes if you made a blanket or something much larger than this.

I’m really pleased to have a finished object to show (even though it wasn’t on any of my crafty to-do lists) and that I completed it the second week after surgery so it means I’m feeling better if I can craft something super quick!

Hope you all had a great weekend and managed to get lots of crafting done! 🙂

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Current Knitting WIP

I made a list of the things I wanted to make this year. Things I wanted to knit and sew and I was pretty specific with the projects I had in mind.

And then, in true me style, I threw that out the window and decided to start something else completely.

I opened one of my recent-ish knitting magazines, saw a pattern and thought ‘I’m doing that!’. I bought the wool for it a few days ago!

Here is a pic of what I have in mind…

The pattern can be found in issue 180 Feb 2022 of Let’s Knit magazine. It’s by Susie Johns and is on page 22.

I’m using a forest green DK weight yarn by Stylecraft. It’s Highland Heathers shade 7228.

You can get it here from The Knitting Network.

You knit the bottom parts of the back and the front and then you join them to knit in the round before splitting again for the the front and back yokes, which I think is really interesting. I’ve never tried a jumper in the round before so this is a good in-between project!

It looks ‘easy’ and seems to be one of those projects where you can just knit without having to look at the pattern instructions every five minutes.

I’ve got all the bits and bobs ready, I’ve marked the sizing on the pattern. I’m all ready to go!

This will be the 3rd jumper I’ve ever knitted after my first 2 last year.

I’ve almost lost my knitting mojo recently, so this feels good to be planning and almost casting on a completely brand new project! I wrote this yesterday and as of today, I’ve just cast on the stitches for it…but it’s getting late, so I’ll have to continue with it tomorrow!

So, I make that to be a jumper (sweater? I never know whether to use UK or US terms on here…) and a pair of socks on the go. Along with a sock yarn shawl which will take literal YEARS to finish at this rate!!

3 knitting WIPS is kind of manageable I think!

Have a crafty day x

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LATEST POSTS

• Life, Knitting, Crochet and Sewing WIPS for 2023
• October Goals
• Acquisitions and Ideas
• Green Tunic Progress
• A Pastel Crochet Shawl

Crochet Baby Blanket- Finished Object

This is my first finished piece of the year. And it’s just a simple Granny Square blanket!

I was trying to use up some spare baby wool I had lying about and I used 2 colours of the same type of yarn. You can’t really tell though as it’s all variegated. It looks alright, if I do say so myself!

But everyone I know who has a baby has already received a blanket from me! So, this one is going to charity I think.

I started it and did most of it (until it got too big) at work on my break! So, I feel like I’ve done something productive in otherwise wasted hours…I know, I know, it’s not all about the productivity, but this was something to keep me sat at the table and feel like I was doing something, rather than just scrolling on my phone all the time!

Anyway…here it is draped over my desk chair!

I used a 4mm hook and maybe 5 1/2 balls of wool? I can’t remember the exact amount but it was about that and I lobe how it turned out!

Now, I just need to find a local baby donation centre to give it to, but I think I’m going to hold on to it a while and make a few other things with spare yarn too!

It’s been living in my knitting projects bag for the last few weeks (oh the irony-it’s not knitting, it’s crochet!) which incidentally you can get here in my Society 6 shop or the same design here in my RedBubble shop.

I think I might make a separate post about print on demand products I’ve designed and bought to do with crafting because there’s quite a few!

But that’s it for now, just a quick show and tell! Hope you’re all having a great weekend and getting lots of crafting done!

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2022 Knitting/ Crafting Goals

I thought I’d write my crafty goals for the year here.

To be honest, it’s mostly going to be knitting for now. Yes, there’ll be the odd crochet or sewing project too, but I have a little list of knitting projects to get out of the way first (or at the very least, started!).

Sock Yarn Shawl

This is an ongoing project with no particular urgency, but it’s the project I cast on before all of the others on this list, so it gets first place! It’s a 4ply yarn by West Yorkshire Spinners in a GORGEOUS colour way (you can get it here from The Knitting Network if you want it in your stash!).

It’s going to take a while to finish it, but there’s no rush!

Socks!

I have only ever knitted one sock. As in, ONE. Not a pair…but one!

I threw it away last year as it was all twisted and would never be worn!

Socks are my knitting nemesis. They take ages and they seem so slow to make any progress with at all. I’m a bit impatient!

So, this year, I’m going to focus on socks. I’ve cast on and knitted a couple of rows before Christmas, and then I put it aside. It’s time to pick it up again.

I just find DPNs so fiddly and no, I’m going to try any other methods like the magic loop anytime soon as I think it will be just the same amount of fiddliness!!

Fair Isle Top Down Sweater

I have the aran wool all ready for this. I have the book all ready to look at. I don’t have a pattern!

I’m going to have a go at designing one myself, which means I need to measure myself, design a Fair Isle Yoke motif (I’m thinking trees) and then write up the pattern itself for me to follow.

I’ve never designed a sweater before, I’ve only ever knitted 2 in my life in fact. Last year.

But, it’s a huge project I’m really looking forward to!

Miscellaneous Bits

I have wool for the following projects:

• A soft grey hat
• A neon cowl
• A baby blanket from scraps
• Aran wool for a tank top (sweater vest)
• About 20 random single hanks/ balls of yarn that I have NO IDEA what to do with!

And I’m currently crocheting a scraps blanket which I’ll donate somewhere that accepts baby knitted items.

Sewing

• Christmas fat quarters
• Denim fabric – maybe a skirt or a bag?
• Grey wool fabric into a draught excluder?
• Fix a pair of shorts I made last year!

I also bought 3 metres of some striped fabric, with the intention of making either a dress or top. I’m thinking a t-shirt, which isn’t my first choice of garment for sewing…but it’s something I’ve never done before and will give me good practice with pattern matching. I could make it into a mix of t-shirt and dress by doing a long tunic type top.

We’ll see!

And finally, I’m going to finish a leather handbag I started last year…it’s all dyed red and green, it just needs to be sewn up. I’ll have to refresh saddle stitch, but it should be no problem once I get into it!

That just needs a big chunk of time to focus on it!

Well, that’s it. All my crafty projects for the year.

There is not a lot on here really, I feel like I finished a lot of the bigger projects last year so I’m almost starting with a clean slate this year. And that feels pretty good. 🙂

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Knitted Baby Cardigan Done

I just finished knitting the button bands for a test pattern. I wanted to have a go at knitting a raglan cardigan for a friend who is having a baby in December.

It’s taken a while as I was finishing a jumper for myself, but now that huge project is over and down with, I can concentrate on other smaller projects.

This pattern was by James C. Brett and it’s pattern number JB012. I did the bottom cardigan in the picture, in the same yarn as the pattern but in a different colour way to what was suggested.

I mostly decided to do a test as I’ve only ever tried a raglan once and it didn’t work out well for me. I knitted a chunky jumper years ago which looked OK, but I hadn’t quite mastered mattress stitch back then. Also I messed up the pattern anyway…so I thought I’d see what the actual process of raglan knitting was like, but on a smaller scale.

In a previous post I wrote how I had some trouble with the back of this one as the raglan edges looked really wonky. Remember this pic below?

Well, I’m pleased to announce it was all an optical illusion! And even if it really is a bit wonky, at least you can’t tell when it’s all stitched together!

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I think I’ve sewn the seams together quite well on this, I’m definitely improving on my mattress stitch.

This is the back of it:

And a close up of the front:

Obviously I have still got to add the buttons.

Here’s my thoughts about the pattern.

In general it was really easy. I had to adjust the second front side as I think the pattern didn’t take into account the mirror image part of the raglan decreases at the top, but I managed (I could have knitted it wrong, but I don’t think so).

Overall it was a simple pattern. The pattern is raised on the front but it’s smooth on the inside, which I like.

I’m not so sure about the arms in stocking stitch though. If you look at the jumper option in the first picture (the middle one) you’ll see that the main pattern is continued on the sleeves which I think looks better.

The neckline was simple to do.

What I have issues with is the button band. The white coloured button band was picked up and knitted perfectly. The other one, with the button holes looks a right mess. It’s because you had to decrease and increase in a rib pattern to make the button holes which I found so frustrating and difficult. It could have explained that part in a tiny bit more detail. So, I had to just make up part of it – some of the rib bits have only 1 stitch!

Also, when doing the neckline and the button bands, you picked up and knitted the stitches and then did a row of knitting before starting the rib which to me gives a bit of a raised and bulky line running between where you picked up stitches and the main pieces. Does that make sense? I don’t know, maybe only I can see it because I know it’s there!

But overall, it wasn’t too difficult to do and looks OK.

As it was a test knit, I only used what yarn I had. I don’t think it works well in a variegated yarn. I think if I did this pattern again I would use one colour all the way through.

But honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll do this pattern again. I have another leaflet with another cardigan in and I think I might try that instead. I could still donate this one or give it to a friend for her child’s dolls!

I believe I got the pattern from Deramores online shop if you wanted to try it yourself.

Christmas Crochet Blanket Done!

Christmas Crochet Blanket

A finished object – woo hoo!

It is done. Finished. Completed. All the ends woven in and everything!

I started this at the end of last year with the last scraps of 2020’s Christmas knits.

Typically, there wasn’t quite enough to finish it in one go, so I waited until now to buy a couple more balls of yarn to finish it off.

It’s not the biggest blanket I’ve ever made, but it’s certainly one of the prettier ones! And so festive!

It’s a simple Granny Square pattern. The old ones are the best!

I really like the colours of this one. But, as I have loads of homemade blankets already, I think I’m going to donate this one to charity somewhere. I’ve already donated to Knit For Peace in the past, so this time I think I’ll have a look at Woolly Hugs.

They send blankets to UK hospitals, both to maternity wards and for older children and teenagers too.

Here is what it looks like as a finished object.

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It’s difficult to get an idea of the true size, but I’d say it was just over a metre squared.

I really love it and it’s not immediately obvious that I used two different kinds of red yarn!

You can get the yarn from The Knitting Network here:

https://tidd.ly/2Wsp5Ls

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Some of my latest posts on Medium this week:

https://woollyorbit.medium.com/does-it-matter-when-you-post-an-article-8703739844d2

https://woollyorbit.medium.com/redbubble-vs-society-6-f164509c276a

https://woollyorbit.medium.com/what-youtube-has-taught-me-about-homesteading-in-the-usa-f821d0e2c728

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Knitting Books On My Shelf

I have a whole shelf full of knitting, crochet, sewing, soap making, baking and other craft books. Everything from jewellery to macrame!

I like flicking through them occasionally and being inspired by the pretty pictures and amazing designs. There is not enough time in the world (or in the rest of my life!) to knit everything that I see and want to knit.

So, you really have to be strategic with your knitting project choices!

Here’s a few of my knitting books that I can recommend.

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The Knitter’s Handy Book Of Top Down Sweaters by Ann Budd

I’ve only tried bottom up sweaters do far, but I’d love to have a go at the top down ones. Lots of people have said they’re easier than bottom up ones, as well as the fact that there are fewer seams to sew up at the end!

This book has a LOT of charts and tables to help you design your own sweaters. Sizing charts and the like, which I actually love. I don’t normally like charts and maths! But this book is telling you how to make your own patterns as well as giving you some ready made patterns to try first.

It’s split into sections such as making Raglan sweaters, Saddle-Shoulder sweaters etc.

Although I haven’t used this yet as I’m still knitting my way through my second ever sweater, I’m going to seriously look at this book for inspiration for my next one after that!

You can find it from Waterstones here:

https://tidd.ly/3ADd58e

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The Ultimate Knit Stitch Bible by Collins and Brown

This book is an amazing reference book for when you need to know how to do a stitch or pattern, or if you’re designing your own knits, this is a really good source of inspiration and ideas as to things like lace and cable patterns, as well as variations of knit and purl stitches.

I flick through this book when I’m doing simple projects like scarves and dishcloths, that kind of thing. But if I ever decided to design a sweater from scratch, I would definitely look here for pattern ideas.

I never swatch projects (shock horror!) so this is like looking at pre-made swatches! 🙂

You can find it from Waterstones here:

https://tidd.ly/3CTN6Ly

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100 Little Knitted Projects by Sarah Keen

The previous 2 books are regarding to big projects, this one to tiny ones!

Tiny toys and makes such as a strawberry, a fried egg, a plane, a helicopter, a rainbow, a whale, a sunflower etc.

Little makes that would be perfect for using up your leftover scraps of yarn. I don’t think many of the makes would take more than an hour if you know what you’re doing. An absolute beginner maybe a little bit longer!

You can use them as tiny presents, put them on your keyring, make a stretch of bunting from them, use them as decoration for gift tags on presents…lots of ways to use these little makes.

You can find it from Waterstones here:

https://tidd.ly/3k0paxn

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The first 2 books were either Birthday or Christmas presents and I honestly can’t remember about the third. I have a feeling I bought it when I was looking for knitted leaves and autumn things like pumpkins and acorns for an autumn wreath I once did…but I can’t remember!

To be honest, as a knitter, you’d be happy getting any of those 3 books as a present, right?!

[This post contains affiliate links which means if you click the link and make a purchase, I get a small commission of that purchase at no extra cost to you!]

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Latest Posts:

• Life, Knitting, Crochet and Sewing WIPS for 2023
• October Goals
• Acquisitions and Ideas
• Green Tunic Progress
• A Pastel Crochet Shawl

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I Found Cheap Yarn!

The Knitting Network

I was looking for a few balls of Christmas yarn to finish off a Christmas crochet Granny Square blanket that I started at the end of last year.

I was just using up scraps of what I already in my stash, but I didn’t have enough to finish the blanket in one go.

So, I left it and was on the lookout for more of the same yarn as my local yarn shop, where I got the original few balls, didn’t stock it anymore.

King Cole Glitz DK

It’s usually around £3.49/ £3.59 in other places. I found it for £2.99 at The Knitting Network (it did say it was on sale from £4.29 though). I don’t know how long it’s on sale for…but if you want some really nice Christmas yarn then I would have a look here to see what’s in the sale.

I got 2 balls of the Christmas colour way and 1 just plain red.

I ordered them on Tuesday evening and they arrived on Friday morning, so the shipping was pretty quick. And I got a tracking number for Royal Mail, even though I used the cheapest shipping option.

And I love the fact they came in a PAPER BAG! NO PLASTIC AT ALL!

Well done Knitting Network!

I’m glad I found a new place to buy wool! I usually go to Deramores or Wool Warehouse, but they can be out of stock in what I want a lot of the time.

If you want Christmas yarns start looking now before everyone else does too!

Here is the link to the yarn I bought if you want to have a look yourself:

https://tidd.ly/3CKUVTN

[This post contains affiliate links which means if you click the link and make a purchase, I get a small commission of that purchase at no extra cost to you!]

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One of my recent posts from Medium if you’re interested in seeing how my writing style changes from platform to platform!

Having A Writing Schedule Is Important…And It’s Not!

https://woollyorbit.medium.com/having-a-writing-schedule-is-important-and-its-not-eb5a29107df8

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My Pinterest feed if you want to see what I’ve been looking at and saving over there:

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And here are some of my latest posts here on WordPress:

• Life, Knitting, Crochet and Sewing WIPS for 2023
• October Goals
• Acquisitions and Ideas
• Green Tunic Progress
• A Pastel Crochet Shawl

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Here’s an affiliate link to Deramores which is an online shop that also sells the Christmas yarn if The knitting Network is out of stock…but it’s not on sale though!! 🙂

King Cole Glitz DK Acrylic Yarn

Knitted Coffee Pot Cosy

If the people that you knit for are sick and tired of you knitting them scarves then this is a really quick and easy idea for a knitted Christmas Present!

I made this last December and I think it only took me a couple of evenings to knit.

It’s in an Aran weight yarn with 5mm needles so it does knit up quite quickly and the pattern was a simple diamond one using just knit and purl stitches.

I found the pattern in my Knitting Pattern Folder. Yes, that holy binder of pages ripped from knitting and crochet magazines merits capital letters!

I pulled it out of a magazine a while ago and liked the look of it. It’s one of the few patterns in there I’ve actually done! Usually I just flick through the pages and try to find some inspiration.

I just double checked and it’s by Sian Brown and from Let’s Knit Magazine but I have no idea what issue number!

It’s a bit loose and fluffy because it’s been in use for nearly 8 months!

I’m sure if you were to do a quick Google search you could find a good pattern for a coffee pot/ cafetière!

I did find one on Ravelry for a really cool Dalek one by Coryna Blasko…

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/caffeinate-press-style-coffee-maker-cozy

Or, if Dr Who isn’t your thing, how about this cabled one by Ruth Churchman? (also on Ravelry)

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cabled-cafetiere–tea-cosy

Or…just freestyle your own. Make a rectangle and add buttons! 🙂

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You can find my most recent post on Medium below.

7 Non-Fiction Book To Help You Live A Better Life!

https://woollyorbit.medium.com/7-non-fiction-books-to-help-you-live-a-better-life-89e146c3fad6

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Granny Square Day 2021

Have you heard of this day?

I think I heard about it last year or the year before, but forgot all about it and missed it on the actual day!

What is it?

You can find more information about it through the link below:

https://www.gathered.how/knitting-and-crochet/crochet/granny-square-day/

It’s on Instagram.

It’s on 15th August.

Post a picture of a finished crocheted granny square and make sure it fills the whole picture so that the whole Instagram feed for the hashtag looks like a finished crocheted blanket with lots of individual squares.

Any proceeds raised from this year’s Granny Square Day will go to Woolly Hugs. They are based in the UK and send knitted and crocheted blankets and more to children’s hospitals and wards across the UK.

https://www.woollyhugs.org

You can use the hashtag #grannysquareday2021 to post your finished makes.

I made these granny squares for my pumpkin patch blanket a couple of years ago.

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My latest post on Medium

The Funniest Thing Anyone Has Ever Said To Me In An Elevator!

https://woollyorbit.medium.com/the-funniest-thing-anyone-ever-said-to-me-in-an-elevator-9e0a719b38ac

Next in my Knitting Queue

I’ve talked about my orange jumper a lot that I’m currently knitting and I also have a knitted baby cardigan and a sock yarn shawl on the go and am about to cast on an entrelac heirloom baby blanket.

What else have I been saving lately?

I’ve been looking at shrugs and boleros, something light to put over a top as the weather gets a little bit warmer and I came across this bad boy on Ravelry.

173-40 Grey Whisper pattern by Drops Design.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/173-40-grey-whisper

I even looked at other people’s projects of this design and they look really pretty, especially in a deep purples and wine colours. Although the light and dark grey look good too.

The pattern says to use a lace weight yarn and a 4 ply yarn held together, which to my count makes a 6 ply yarn.

I was thinking of using a DK weight yarn, which is 8 ply and see how that goes.

If I followed the pattern I might go for a XL size, if I’m using thicker yarn then I think just a large? I’m not sure about yarn substitutions and sizing, but I love the look of this pattern so much, I’m willing to have a mess around with it.

The pattern says to use a 5mm needle and a 4.5mm for the rib so I’m sure DK would OK with that size…if not I’ll change needle size.

And since it’s only a shrug, it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit too loose or doesn’t have an amazing fit!

I’m not keen that you have to follow a chart, and I think the pattern could definitely be laid out a lot better to follow it. I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out where to put the chart in my head in the pattern before seeing a tiny A1 slipped into the pattern paragraph. That being said, I’ve queued this on Ravelry, which is a feature I don’t use on there very much.

I think I’ll have a go at this pattern in the winter sometime once my current WIP’s are WIP’s no more!

I have some DK yarn going spare, so I think I’m going to earmark that for this project.

Please excuse the shoddy pics, but what I have going spare is a couple of balls of the Hayfield Bonus DK or a ball each of Stylecraft Special DK. I like the Hayfield one for this project.

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Incidentally, if you want to say hello, my username on Ravelry is @chronicleofellen (my old blog name which I closed down ages ago). I admit I’m not on Ravelry an awful lot, but I am trying to find autumn and winter potential makes at the moment, so I’m on it a bit more than usual!

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Here’s my latest Medium article on Affiliate Links.

It’s a whopper at 2799 words!

Fun to write though…and my writing has definitely improved compared to the first article on there!

https://woollyorbit.medium.com/affiliate-links-and-some-practical-ways-to-use-them-2f72cbd45789

• Pinterest

3 Favourite Yarn Shops

I love to look at yarn. And squish it if possible!

Since there are a lot of creative people following this blog (and I know a lot of you either knit, crochet or sew) I thought I’d share a few yarn shops that I like and maybe you will too!

I love seeing what independent small businesses can come up with, with their hand-dyed yarn colour combinations. I wish I had the space to create my own hand-dyed yarn…alas I do not!

I don’t think the shops I’ve followed for a while hand spin their yarns (please correct me if I’m wrong!) but they do hand dye them.

1. The Camels Yarn (Find them on Etsy and Instagram @thecamelsyarn)

This shop makes the most amazing seaside inspired yarn combinations. Sand and sea colours, natural colours and inspiration, gradients, speckles. I love their dark green hank, I think it’s called Evergreen.

https://tidd.ly/3BAJCwU

2. Woolly Mama Yarns (Find them on Etsy and Instagram @woollymamayarns)

NEON! Need I say more?! The brightest and most vibrant hand-dyed yarns I’ve seen. They remind me of 80’s inspired colour combinations. Carnival, Disco Inferno and Samba colour ways are ones to look out for! I would love to make some neon, bright cowls or wrist warmers with these hanks…or just put them on my wall and gaze longingly at the NEON!

https://tidd.ly/3iNcREf

3. The Lonely Knitter (Find them on Instagram @thelonelyknitter or Ravelry @TheLonelyKnitter2 or their website Crafter’s Balm)

I followed this Instagram account for the self striping sock yarn club, but if you look on the website there are other hand-dyed yarns too. It’s difficult to describe the colours of the yarns from this account, but I’d say lots of self striping yarns named after TV shows and Books – The Fellowship of the Ring/ The Walking Dead inspired colour ways. Brights, pastels, natural colours. I love the purple colours and greens.

https://craftersbalm.co.uk

When I win the lottery, I will empty these yarn shops!

Also, I’ll have a room just for yarn which you’ll enter through a secret bookcase via my craft room. It’ll be like the library from Beauty and the Beast except instead of ceiling to floor books, there will be ceiling to floor WOOL on every wall, with a ladder to reach the top! But that’s a story for another day..

[This post contains affiliate links which means if you click the link and make a purchase, I get a small commission of that purchase at no extra cost to you!]

Bread and Knitting

I’ve made a lot of bread the past 2 years, but since December 2020 I’ve hardly made any. Until today.

It’s a cottage loaf recipe (using butter instead of oils) and I added a mix of seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, linseed etc to the white flour.

I had to use up the flour by next month so it was good to get back into it again, even if I was a little slow getting all the bowls and ingredients out!

Did you know it was Lammas/ Lughnasadh this weekend just gone?

I’m not a Pagan at all, but the Wheel of the Year (all the Pagan celebrations like Spring and Autumn Equinox, Samhain (Halloween), Yule, Imbolg…) does make a certain sort of sense to me.

Lammas is a time to celebrate the harvest coming in, people make corn/wheat dollies, bake bread, have feasts, preserve food, have bonfires…

So, here is my Lammas (short for Loaf Mass) bread complete with plait and everything!

I like the feel of late summer when the fields start to turn from green to gold. I’ve heard the farmers in the nearby fields getting the harvest in for the last couple of weeks or so.

And really, I just wanted to make a loaf of bread!

I had some seeds leftover, so instead of finding them a plastic bag or somewhere to put them and forgetting to use them, I just threw them to the birds and filled up the bird bath with water, so the birds can have a mini Lammas feast too!

I saw about 15 House Sparrows in the garden after I did that. They’re very sweet birds -some even nested in our roof this year. They’ve stopped cheeping now, so I think they’ve all left the nest!

Here’s a pic of the finished loaf.

I’ve struggled with making crispy loaves and I think I know the secret now…put a bowl of hot water under it when it’s cooking so the oven gets all steamy.

The smell of fresh bread has gone through the whole house now…Yum!

(Can you believe the plait looked perfect before it was baked…now it looks wonky!).

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As well as getting a few jobs done today like shredding papers, tidying up etc. I also did a spot of knitting. This is where I am on my orange jumper:

I’ve done just over the first pattern repeat. You can’t see it properly I don’t think, but there are 2 bits of stocking stitch on each end, 2 cable and lace panels and then a section of stocking stitch in the middle.

It’s a beginner friendly pattern and it was in one of those knitting magazine books where it’s just patterns and they take patterns you’ve seen in other magazines a few times before, but bring it into one place. Does that make sense?!!

Like a more expensive and thicker version of a knitting magazine, by the same editors and publishers, just no articles and very few ads.

I know what I mean! It’s from a few years ago, and I did the back last year, about this time actually, so it feels a bit like deja vu!

I’m on the front now and then sew it together, do some short sleeves and neckline once it’s sewn up and then it’s done. Hopefully I can finish it this year…I started the rib of the back piece in 2018 I believe, then put it away for ages before picking it up again last year.

I love it still, but I’m sick of seeing it on my needles. I want to wear it!

The yarn was really cheap, less than £2 I think, it’s King Cole Big Value Double Knitting in Shade 3029 Rust.

The pattern was by Pat Menchini, I can’t see a name for it. There is an optional cowl to go with it, but I’m just doing the jumper!

Yes, the rib at the bottom is HUGE!

Sometimes I can have a real go at it and get a whole pattern repeat done in one go (that’s 24 rows) and other times I lucky if I manage 2 rows!

But I love the pattern on the cable panels on each side.

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And look what came in the post today from Deramores…my Christmas sock yarn!

I only got one ball…I’ve only ever made 1 sock in my life (that’s not 1 pair…I mean 1 sock!) and I guess I had half a ball left for the other one. Hopefully I have enough to make a pair out of one ball…although I have some orange sock yarn to use for the heels or toes if not.

If you want to have a look for yourself, I’ll pop an affiliate link here (for The Knitting Network). There are other lovely Christmas colour ways in this range too. I really like the Fairy Lights colour too…

Now all I need is an easy beginner sock pattern…and the patience of a Saint since it took me 3 weeks to make my first ever sock a few years ago (no wonder I only made one!!). Hahaha!

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Also, on a completely unrelated topic…look at that sunset last night – it’s on my iPhone which just doesn’t do the sky justice at all!

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[This post contains affiliate links which means if you click the link and make a purchase, I get a small commission of that purchase at no extra cost to you!]