2017 in knitting

It is time to look back over last year and see what I got up to with my knitting. You can read about 2015 here and 2016 here. I feel like I haven't knitted all of the things that I wanted to knit this year. There are just so many great patterns! I am very pleased with what I have made and I enjoyed making them so I have to remember that. These are more or less in the order that they were made. Things do get moved up and down the list when deadlines or other occasions mean a change in project is needed.

This 1960's cravat and tam makes a super set but the pattern required a bit of tinkering. The cravat works very well and I made it and the tam in a lovely mustard Sirdar Baby Bamboo. It is 80% bamboo and 20% wool. I love everything about wool but it does not love me back. It itches me beyond belief, even a fine merino or when blended with silk. That is why I always wear a scarf and long sleeved tops with my cardigans. I thought I would get away with this one but not round my neck, so my mum now has the cravat. The tam is lovely but has no rib and no hatband (as per the pattern) so it just does not stay on my head. I have threaded elastic through it and that kind of works now. I can cope with wool in a hat as I have a big fringe so it never touches my skin!

I wanted to crack the pattern so I had another go in this lovely red Wendy Merino. I added some rows of rib and this one does fit and stay on. I don't normally wear red so this one was going to be for sale but I was surprisingly pleased with how it looked on so I kept it! I knitted the matching cravat too but I don't seem to have a photo of it.

I knitted this Aran pattern hat for my niece in Sublime Merino. She loves yellow and I love knitting cables so it was a good match. It was great fun to knit. There was a small moment of difficulty when she found that the pompom wasn't quite the colour green that she had picked out in the shop, (well remembered by her, age 3), but we have got over that now!

Next up was the completion of this lovely 1950's lace panel cardigan which I knitted in Millamia. I knitted the back, sleeves and one front in 2015!! It then sat in the naughty corner for a good long while as I got a bit confused working out the instructions for the other front. As is the way of vintage patterns, it just said to reverse what you did on the other side and I could not make it work. Helpful with lots of yarn overs and lace. Eventually, I sat down with my mum and she read out all the possibilities that a row could be whilst I knitted them to see what looked right. That way we got the pattern and I could finish my cardigan! It is a beautiful teal, the colour isn't exactly right in any of these photos.

This Marriner's tank top was one that I put on my 2017 knitting wish list and is in fact one of two projects from that list that got started in 2017. I started it on the train on the way to Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I have knitted the front and back, in Fyberspates Scrumptious and have stalled on the armbands. It is currently languishing in the Knitting Bag of Doom from which it deserves to be rescued rather soon. I would like to wear it.

This 1940's cardigan from a Canadian pattern has such a lovely texture, nice and squishy, and has great forties shoulders. It was knitted in Drops Merino and the colour is more like the second photo then the top one. It was a great pattern to knit. This one hasn't featured on the blog before as it was a commission knit.

I knitted this baby helmet from a 1950's pattern for a lovely friend's baby. I like the look of these traditional helmets and they must keep a baby's head nice and cosy. The decoration on the top is a button that you knit a little cover for and then sew to the centre of the helmet. I first knitted one of these helmets for my niece as a Christmas present when she was four months old. It has a bit of a family tale behind it. You can read the story of here.

This was another one from my knitting wish list. The model is holding an egg timer as the pattern states that this jumper can be knitted in eight hours. If you follow me on Instagram you will already know the sad story of this jumper. In brief, no, you can't knit it in eight hours and nor can you knit it with the yarn that I used (a Sublime silk/cotton mix) without it looking like a dish cloth. An expensive dish cloth at that. So it had to be pulled back and the yarn is back in my stash waiting for a more suitable project.

This is another unfinished project, it had to be put aside for more pressing matters but I do intend to go back to it. I really like 1940's tank tops/pullovers and have a great collection of men's patterns. This one gets bonus marks as it also fits into my Men Smoking collection. I have knitted the back and done the rib of the front. It might be for sale, it might be for me, we shall see!

I was on a beret mission in the latter half of 2017 as I wanted more of these most useful hats and had plenty of patterns to try out. This 1960's one is knitted in Debbie Bliss Aran in a fabulous duck egg colour. It was lovely to knit and I like the pattern. No photos of it on yet but I plan to remedy that soon.

I recently wrote a post about this beret pattern which you can read here so I won't repeat the details.

I also made a black one as a commission:

Squeezing in as the last knit of the year on the 29th December was a cream version, in alpaca and silk, for me.

In November I started another garment for myself. It is a 1960's sleeveless jumper with a big collar for pining brooches on. It is not finished yet but I can share the beginnings of it. I have knitted most of the front and have about an inch more to go on the collar. So about halfway there.

2017 appears to have been a year of hats and unfinished things. I'm aiming for more garments and more completed projects in 2018. What about you?

A 1960's knitted beret

What an outfit! What a colour!

However, for the purpose of this post all we are interested in is the beret. I have been after a knitted beret for a good while, and am going through a phase of finding all the beret patterns that I have and knitting them up one by one to find my favourite. Berets are so versatile in their look and in their period correctness and I have a gap in my hat wardrobe.

I have knitted the Sunday Pictorial Beret from A Stitch in Time by Susan Crawford but I can't get it to look right on me, though I have seen it look fabulous on others. It has a separately knitted and stitched on bow and I think it might be the placement of that which is causing me problems. I need to remove the bow so the weight doesn't pull the beret down and then I can position it on my head more to my liking. So whilst that is on the 'to fix' pile I am trying other patterns out.

I bought this fabulously soft, beautifully coloured yarn from Temporary Measure when I saw them at Yarndale in September. It is 100% baby alpaca DK and it knits up beautifully with a lovely drape and good stitch definition. It is most lovely and warm too.

The colour is a bit lighter than this really but I can't get a good photo of it in this winter gloom! I love the radiating decreases.

This is quite a big beret; I would say it is larger than the pattern suggests. I rarely check my tension if I'm knitting an accessory for myself and the yarn is pretty drapey. I rather like the extra slouch; I can wear this like a tam which is a style I am comfy wearing. I'm going to go down a needle size for the next one for myself for comparison. The headband is just garter stitch so I probably would like that on a smaller needle for a closer fit.

This is it hot off the needles and straight on to my head, hence the bad lighting and the sofa selfie. I liked wearing it straight away.

It has continued to get lots of wear. This is me early in the morning on a freezing station platform waiting for yet another late train to work! It keeps my ears nice and cosy. This is a better idea of the colour too.

I have knitted another one as a commission knit. Here it is:

This one is knitted in black Drops Merino DK and it feels lovely.

Finishing touches - woven labels and vintage thread.

I have a beret from another pattern knitted up which just needs seaming so that should be getting tested out in a few days.

Do you have a favourite beret pattern?

Works in progress (AKA knitting bag of doom)

Something about the new start/new year/season change feeling of September made me have a dig around in my knitting bag(s). I thought it might be wise to look at my unfinished projects and get some sort of plan together for reducing their number. I never intend to leave a project unfinished, it seems to happen for a variety of reasons such as: put aside to start a commission knit, put aside to knit a gift, put aside as babies keep being born, put aside as I need an easier project for knitting group, put aside as the sewing up needs doing, put aside as the lure of casting on something new was too strong, put aside as I need a new holiday project, put aside as I'm at a tricky bit and need to think it through, put aside as we have fallen out and it is in the naughty corner, put aside as the season changed and it isn't needed straight away, etc. Added to that my neck/shoulder problems sometimes mean I can't do as much knitting as I would like to and I have to ease off for a bit. Those reasons/excuses aside, this is where I am at.

Let's start with the most shameful.

It looks finished doesn't it? Like I should have been wearing it for ages on regular rotation in my wardrobe? Well yes and yet, no. It is so nearly finished that it is just ridiculous. It just needs a couple of rows of crochet to finish off the neckline. Tiny crochet true enough but just crochet. I can crochet. I can crochet that neckline. Why have I not? Why is my lovely 1940's jumper carefully folded in a bag? Will I hurry up and do it? Lets hope so.

It got put aside to begin with as I needed a think about whether I wanted the original neck fastening that you can see in the pattern photo. I don't normally like to deviate from the original pattern as I like my vintage knits to be as authentic as possible. In the end I decided that whilst I liked that fastening I wouldn't like it on me and so to get maximum wear out of the jumper I would just finish the neckline off in crochet. And that was TWO years ago!

I have been intrigued by these 1950's Alice band hats for a while. I like the look very much but wondered how comfy and easy to wear they would be. I had a couple of different patterns so I thought that I would experiment with both and see what I thought. They were very enjoyable to knit, interesting stitch patterns and construction. They have even been washed and blocked. I even have the hairbands, elastic and ribbon. But do they look like hats? Indeed they do not. Why is that? I think a year after they have been knitted it must be time for their completion.

It is a sad state of affairs for Pepi at the moment. So near and yet so very far. All his pieces are knitted and some are even stuffed and yet he is still not a poodle. I do know why this is at least. I knitted him for a craft competition earlier this year and then realised that with the best will in the world I would not get him finished in time as I had left it all too late. So then the impetus to finish him had gone, plus I was cross with myself for not getting my timing right so I blamed poor Pepi, obviously, plus, toys are a right fiddle to stuff and sew up and why do that when you could be knitting? But, he is cute and it isn't really his fault so I will finish him.

This 1950's bolero from a Vogue Knitting magazine always was an in between things project so I feel slightly less guilty about this than some of the others. I started it in August last year and then it got put away when the seasons changed and I hoped to finish it for this summer but now it is September and here we are. It doesn't look like much there but when I have draped it on me like the model it is going to look right when it is finished. Realistically though it is going back to the back of the queue as I won't need it for another whole year. Let's hope I am wearing it in August 2018!

Excuse the blurry photo, no idea what I did there.

I started this jumper last year and posted about it here. I know that this one got put aside commission knitting which I am completely fine with, that is just how it is. This is the completed back that you can see and I am probably about one colour repeat into the front so progress is being made. I would like to get this one ready to wear during autumn or winter so I think it will be what I start on with soon.

The colours aren't so good here as they are a really vibrant yellow gold and grey in real life. This is a 1940's tank top that I started in March this year. I know that as it was my train knitting and holiday project on the way to Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I have finished the front and back and have sewn them up but now have stalled slightly on the neck and armbands. They are just not that interesting to knit. That is the reason they haven't been knitted. Other knitting is more exciting! But I want to wear this lots so dull fiddly knitting will recommence soon.

I'm hoping that now all this is in the forefront of my mind rather than out of sight in a knitting bag and now that I have publicly shamed myself, the knitting bag of doom will soon yield up some completed items! Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Five go to Edinburgh Yarn Festival

It started just after visiting Yarndale last September. Five of us got together and hatched a plan to go to Edinburgh Yarn Festival the following March. We had heard great things about it and felt that we should find out for ourselves. Savings tins were started, a group chat was set up on social media, accommodation was found and agreed upon and as soon as they became available train tickets and show tickets were booked. Excitement levels were building, growing as the list of exhibitors was released. It was time for five to go to Edinburgh Yarn Festival.

So, a couple of weekends ago, very early on a cold Friday morning, we met at the train station and set off on our much anticipated jaunt. The train journey passed by quickly as we were occupied by our knitting and crochet projects and by a discussion of our tactics for the next day. Some had a plan of attack and a hit list not to be deviated from, some wanted just to wander and ponder.

1950's Bohus jumper

The big day dawned and we were up bright and early, wearing our carefully chosen woolly garments and our comfiest shoes. Our bags were packed with food, drink, project lists and knitting and we set off. Handily the stop for the bus out to the Corn Exchange was opposite our apartment. Twenty minutes later we were off the bus and following all the other excited faces and fabulous knitwear to the festival.

The marketplace was a joy to behold, a feast of colour, texture and pattern just waiting to be explored. The exhibitors are all hand picked and it shows, every stall was full of the highest quality items. The stall holders were a mixture of designers, dyers, yarn suppliers, small shops and makers. As you might expect there were many Scottish brands exhibiting, such as Iona Wool, Ardalanish and Uist Wool, all with fascinating products and stories. 

1950's Bohus hat and gloves

The Knitting and Crochet Guild had an attention grabbing stand with several examples of Bohus style knitwear, including a stunning cardigan and jumper which I though were amazing pieces of work. Bohus style originated in Sweden in the 1930's in the Bohuslan area. The area was badly affected by the Depression and women there requested help setting up a home industry which they could make a living from. Knitting was the answer and the Bohus style was at the height of it's production in the 1950's, which is when the Guild's garments are from. The patterns and colour work are just beautiful, it was lovely to see them close up.

1950's Bohus scarf

There was much to take in and savour as well as much yarn stroking and squishing to do. Our eyes were drawn not only to the stalls but also to everyone else’s beautiful knitwear. Stephen West patterns were definitely having a bit of a moment. Everyone was very friendly, united in their excitement over all the woolly goodness, chatting about their projects and their purchases. We met people from all over the country and from much further afield with plenty of knitters from Europe and Scandinavia.

1950's Bohus cardigan

The Festival runs from Friday to Sunday with taught classes on all three days and with the marketplace open on the Friday and Saturday. Buying advanced tickets for the day you wish to visit the marketplace lessens the time spent queueing in the Edinburgh drizzle. The taught classes sounded fascinating but sold out almost immediately so booking the minute the class tickets go on sale is key. Half an hour later was literally too late for some classes.

One of the KCG display boards showing Ingrid Bergman wearing a Bohus jumper

Some highlights of the festival for me were meeting and chatting to The Icelandic Knitter, the walls of colour at John Arbon Textiles and Jamieson's of Shetland, the sample garments from the Inspired by Islay book on Kate Davies stand, the Tin Can Knits, the beetle and penguin buttons and beautiful leather goods at Beyond Measure and all the sweater spotting. I really wish I had taken more photographs. Very bad blogger! I actually bought very little, despite my long accumulated savings, but only because I was determined not to add to my stash unless I had a definite project in mind.

It was also exciting to see the Shetland Wool Week stall as the Patron for 2017, Gurdrun Johnston had just been announced and her free pattern for wool week, the Bousta Beanie was available to pick up. Visiting Shetland is on our wish list so watch this space for the sequel to these adventures, Five Go to Shetland Wool Week.

Just one of our group's hauls