Poolside Pattern Release

I finally released a pattern I have had in testing since about August.  Not that the test took that long, rather that I just have so much on that I just let it lapse.

The pattern is called Poolside and it's a cute little top which is great for the hot hot hot days we've been having here in Brisbane lately (41 degrees yesterday eep).  In 8ply and 10ply, sizes 1-12.

I decided to finish it off and release it as there is a KAL on Ravelry in the Budding Designers Downunder group featuring my patterns this month.  I also put all my patterns on 30% off for January if you wanted to grab any cheap.  If you aren't on Ravelry, sorry for Rav Links, but seriously, if you knit, you should be on Rav anyway!

Happy Knitting!

A dress is done

My craft room has been completed, or close enough that it's opened up the creative vibes once again.  Here is a little dress I've had on the go for a while.  I had knitted the bodice and just needed to sew the skirt on.  So, while the husbeast watched footy with the neighbours' husbeasts, I finished this off.

Excuse the crappy iPhone pictures, but here are some gratuitous shots of my new craft room.  I am pretty spoilt on this one.

At the far end of the room, I have a couch for comfy crafting and the computer desk so I get to spend my crafting time with one of the kids or the husbeast.  The treadmill is pretty much just for decoration ;-).

Blogtober Day 29: Oh, and another Ivyanna

Oh yeah, I did finish off this summery yellow Ivyanna the other day, despite the funk.  Cute little bee buttons and all.

The pattern was pretty much done I thought - then last night I decided to grade it for baby sizes.  I had a look at it and couldn't remember why I couldn't be bothered adding in 3 extra sizes, especially now that there's an aline option and not as full across the bodice in the gathered option.

Blogtober Day 25: Yet Another

And yet another FO of my new IvyAnna pattern off the needles.  This one has an a-line shaping to the skirt, which replaces the side gathers of the blue one from the other day, I just wasn't happy with that at all.

Size 4 IvyAnna A-line in Dashing Dachs Sugar Treat

This is in Dashing Dachs Stallion in Sugar Treat colourway.  Really hard to get yarn this one.  And quite a delight to knit with.  I have some other colourways coming from a co-op soon.  That will be exciting.

I also did my favourite hem option again.  Loving this so much!  Looks like crochet without having to stoop to that.

The cute little buttons are Tessa Ann buttons which were gifted to me from another very special lady I know Fi (Pandamum on Rav and other places).  She's another very gorgeous, generous soul I am fortunate enough to know.  I am yet to meet her in real life, even though I was supposed to a few times, and cannot wait until the day we finally meet.

Blogtober Day 22: And Another

whoops, missed a day.

Here is another finished project from my pattern in development, IvyAnna.

The little heart is from an embellishment chart by my very good friend Tanja from Watermellish. Tanja is yet another of those very special people I am fortunate enough to have gotten to know. Such an amazing nature and beauty of spirit. I first 'met' her on Nappycino a few years ago, but only really got more friendly with her over the past 18 months or so. I was so terribly nervous on the one occasion I have met her IRL thus far that I didn't really make the most of it, but I plan on spending more time with her at some point in the future and can be done with that nervousness next time.

And she is so very talented too. I love her art. I would get her sketches up on my walls if I could. Head over to her website and have a look at her charts, they add that little 'zing' to any knitwear I think.

Blogtober Day 21: The other yoke

From the picture of my WIP for the new pattern I'm working on IvyAnna - this is what I finished off from the too small yoke in the background.

I'm not sure if this option will make it in to the final pattern however.

This is also my current favourite hem option. I will be putting the instructions into the pattern.

Blogtober Day 20: No More Yarn

OK, I was talking to hubby about the weighty issues I am facing and he suggested (nicely) that perhaps one of the reasons things are getting way out of control is that I have chosen a hobby which pretty much renders me inactive for most of my time. Alrighty, I know that many people knit without being fat, or sloth-like, but I happen to be one of those over-obsessive types who does things to the limits of how they can possibly be done. I have a very addictive personality.

So we thought putting down the needles for a month - except when watching tele at night - might make a difference. But my immediate brain response to that was to think of all the pretty yarns I want to knit up because they are sitting there looking at me, expecting to be knit.

Which leads to the absolute yarn ban. I've said it before, I know. I really really have to do it this time. For my psychological wellbeing. And my health it turns out.

Of course I get to this point and wonder if perhaps I should sell the yarn babies off. But geez, that would be physically painful I think.

I wonder if I could free myself of the knitting obsession? I wonder if I should or not. I have said before that I don't think I have anything else to turn to. But maybe that's the point? Give knitting a rest so that I can cultivate other interests which don't make me so inner focused.

Maybe I could become a gym junkie. (yes I giggled out loud as I typed that)

I certainly could make a stack of money if I sold off the yarn babies. But what would I buy with it if I weren't buying yarn????

Blogtober Day 18: Acacia

I have this week finished a couple of test knits for Tikki for her new pattern Acacia. I had last year had my hands on a very early version of the pattern and did a fully gathered top for Jessalyn.

So this week I finished a different version for Jessalyn.

And I did another for Kassidy. This one was supposed to be a size 5, but I got 3/4 of the way through before realising I was knitting the size 3, then when I started on the real size 5 I realised the yarn I knitted the size 3 in was actually 4ply. In my defence, I bought it in destash thinking it was 8ply, it was unlabelled and I've not knitted with Bendy cotton before so thought it was just really really thin. The final result is beautiful for summer anyway.

Gorgeous pattern. Easy knit. Everyone needs to knit this for the little girls in their lives!

Blogtober Day 16: Yoking Around

I cracked the circular yoke. I really like the top which I ended up with. A few tweaks needed with bodice shaping and fullness, but I'm pretty certain this one will go ahead into a full pattern.

The grumpy child was not co-operating for photos this morning, hopefully a trip to the park and library with Daddy will fix that one and I can get a better shot.

Blogtober Day 14: Knitting with Cotton

There's something quite lovely about knitting with cotton. Don't get me wrong, I am a wool-o-phile to the core, I love winter knits in wool and actually am looking to the day I can up and move my family to Canada just to get more winter. Or at least back to Melbourne.

But cotton has its own joys. It's soft and light and cool to the touch, although can be a bit rougher on hands, dries them out and can create rub marks. It has different properties to wool, doesn't have the same memory for ribbing, tends to stretch and stay stretched. However, it also is more tolerant to the rough treatment me and my family give to our knits.

I am a shocking homemaker and tend to machine wash and tumble dry almost everything. This has more than once or twice been the cause of tears when I find a teeny tiny felted item from some delicate wool. I have even managed to make many a superwash wool more than slightly felty.

Cotton is much hardier however, I find it actually benefits from a good tumble dry, it pulls the fibres back into shape much better than blocking can. I am NOT recommending anyone else treat their handknits this way - it's just playing with fire - but it makes my life easier.

I knitted this Eden's Eve (by tikki) dress for Kassidy last week:

But, being the first cotton knit of the season, I forgot Shannon's Laundry Rule #1 - always allow for shrinking in the dryer - so I now have to rip back the hem and knit on another couple of inches as it looks a little like a mid-thigh minidress now. At least cotton only really shrinks in length not width.

I don't mind, and it was a good reminder for the coming months.

Blogtober Day 13: Designing

I usually love designing. But of late I've had lots and lots of ideas which incorporate different or unusual techniques, either ones which I've never used much personally, or ones which are kinda new in general. As a result all my designs are in the naughty corner after many froggings.

So I've been in a bit of a funk.

Today I picked back up one of those naughty designs to have another go at it. The problem is that it's a circular yoke design which I am not fluent in - I've only knitted I think one or two patterns which featured a circular yoke, and I didn't actually pay attention to them, I was just knitting the pattern as written. Also, I left most of my knitting reference books back in Brisbane when we moved over so can't do much reading on the matter.

So this has been knitted and frogged so many times, even the cotton is getting frayed and yucky. Good thing it wasn't in organic merino or something lol.

But I think I've cracked it today. Not too sure if it's 'right' as far as knitting rules go, but it's working how I want it to, and rules don't generally bother me as long as the end result is right lol.

I have the shape correct, just gotta get my sizing right now. The one I did for Kassidy is too small (that's it in the background on waste yarn), so I had to rethink the sizing.

Blogtober Day 3 (catchup): store ponderings

I have been back and forth with having a WAHMummy store.  I get very turned about with whether or not to keep on doing it.  Which is why I start it up, then stop, start again and stop again......the show goes on and on.

I have recently decided to go in with a friend, but now I have some things for sale, and of course they aren't selling so I get disheartened a wee bit.  I wonder why I keep mixing things up in my head all the time?  I do get mixed messages all the time as I get told outwardly to go for it, my stuff is great, but it never sells.  Like never.

So then I flip-flop on whether to continue.  I am an awfully unstable type - which has been to my detriment a number of times in friendships and ventures.  Probably will be again I suppose.

Don't know whether to keep going or stop again......

Anyway, ponderings ponderings.........

Blogtober Day 2 (catchup)

I haven't yet shared my latest two pattern releases on this blog I don't think.  A while back I released Versa [Rav link] - which is a 10ply and 12ply pattern which comes in vest, babydoll, dress and tunic versions.  I'm loving it so far, but it's now come into summer weather so I won't be knitting many more of them any time soon.

 

And just this past week I released breezy which is a lightweight singlet top.

Oops I did it again!

Once again I have left my FO wrap up to be a long one.

This is some of the things I have completed since we moved to Perth now......

I've done a bit of testing for others:

A few things for Elena (Anadiomena on Ravelry)

That 70's Dress

First Mate Pants

A couple of things for Anne (MrsLoops on Ravelry)

Felted Laptop Bag

Mermaid Dreamz (working name)

Also a couple of things for Sheryl (Shortly on Ravelry)

Benji hat

Epicene Socks

One test for Lindsay (Camellia on Ravelry)

Every Season Sweater

And last but definitely not least a test for Tikki

Cassia

I've also done a few tests of my own patterns, but I will share them in a separate post.

wow it's been a while

Ah, slack again with the blogging.  Since MARCH!!!  


Big things have happened.  We moved house from Brisbane to Perth.  Absolutely LOVE IT here!  Best place I've lived I think.  We drove over here - 4500km, 6 days, 4 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a packed trailer.  All went well though, no hiccups at all.


Now we are all settled.  Back into the swing of things.


I've been dyeing and knitting of course.  I haven't been taking photos of all my dyeing though, so I can't really share much of that sorry, and what I do have will be in the next post.


But here's for a knit wrapup:


I had done some testing on Tikki's Eden patterns:

The embellishment on the dress is the genius work of Tanja from Watermellish. She designs the most amazing embellishment charts, which the best tutorials.  Love her work to bits.

I designed my own dress pattern - The Flapper Dress:

And the skirt version of The Flapper Dress:

A couple of milo for a customer:

An Arwen ruffly skirt for Kassidy:

A vest and beanie combo for Kassidy in one of my favourite colourways - McKenzie's Rainbow by Sugarbubbie:

A pair of longies for a customer - yarn dyed by me:

Another testknit for Tikki - The Olearia Cardigan:

A Paula's Scarfette by Tikki for a Ravelry Swap in my fave yarn WOOLganics Worsted:

A couple of longies and milo sets for a customer - yarns dyed by me, star embellishment chart by Tanja of Watermellish again:

An in three's cardigan for Jessalyn in Family Roots Willow Merino Marilyn colourway:

Three wee little sets for a customer:

That is all for now ;-)