NKW #2 - Knitting & Me

 

I told my husband that I was going to do an interview with myself on my blog. He said, "That's a bit self indulgent." Well, that may be so. But nonetheless - here goes...


Learning to Knit

I learned to knit when I was at Primary School, probably at about the age of 8 or so. One afternoon a week we did various arts and crafts activities that included knitting, and both girls and boys learned to knit. The first thing I made was a small, bright red scarf with fringed ends for a teddy. I don't think I particularly enjoyed knitting at that stage as I remember getting told off for talking, as well as trying to stretch my knitting to make the teacher think I had done more than I really had! (Note to non-knitters – this does not work!). After the scarf the knitting we did tended to be soft toys. I don't remember doing any knitting outside school although my Mum and Gran would knit things for me and for my dolls. 

Early knitting projects from Primary School

Once I left Primary School I didn't have an interest in knitting until some years later – about 2005. At that time I was living in a flat with a friend who started knitting. I bought her the 'Stitch and Bitch' book for a present and then began knitting again myself. After making a scarf and a hat I tackled a wrap cardigan, which turned out pretty well. My boyfriend (now husband's) mum gave me a big bag of wool and all her knitting needles, and I used the wool to make the cardigan. After that I picked projects I liked, and learned new techniques through them.

What's so good about knitting?

I knit for two reasons; because I enjoy the process and because I like the results. Both are of course inter-linked. I find that knitting can be really absorbing and compulsive – it's exciting to see your knitting develop as you knit row after row, to the point where I tell myself “I'll just knit one more row...” I like simple patterns because they don't require much attention and you can watch TV at the same time but I also like to get stuck into a more complex pattern with different colours and stitch patterns. 

 Knitting on holiday and on the train, 2010

I love that knitting can be easily portable - I relish train journeys because I can take my knitting with me, and always knit in front of the TV. I feel as if I am reclaiming that time by doing something useful. My hands feel idle if I am watching TV and not knitting!

I also love to be able to create hand knitted items. Now I can knit I feel that I can't buy any item that I could potentially make – this is really a bit of a pain! I'd much rather wear real wool, and there isn't so much of this on the high street at a reasonable price either.

Favourite things to knit

I like to knit items of all kinds, though probably jumpers, cardigans and hats are my favourite as they are the items I wear the most. I enjoy knitting cables and fairisle but sometimes you can't beat knitting a big section of stockinette for zoning out! I like knitting in the round if it means cutting down the amount I have to sew together. Things I don't like to knit are fiddly and small things which might require to be neatly sewn together – I hate doing this. I also like to knit useful items so NO knitted cakes or tiny hats for smoothie bottles (I'd rather just give the money to charity).

Fetching fingerless gloves, knitted for a friend's birthday

Knitting for others

I like knitting for others if I know they will like it and appreciate the work that has gone into the item. It's lovely to be able to make something and give it to an appreciative recipient! I am planning to make a jumper for my husband which is quite a big undertaking as I have only knit hats and mittens for him before, but we can decide on a pattern and wool together so it will be nice to know it will be something he really wants.

However more so than with other hobbies and crafts, knitting seems to be something that people think it is OK to ask you to make something for them! Perhaps this is because traditionally people do knit for family and give away knitted items. But as knitting is something I do as a hobby so I think it is perfectly acceptable to spend my free time making lovely things just for me if I so desire.

 Stitch detail from Traveling Stitch Legwarmers

Favourite knitting resources

Book-wise, Stitch and Bitch is obviously a modern classic and is great because it's completely non-scary. Another book I love is Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti, discovered via the book list in the back of Stitch and Bitch. This is one I frequently turn to with questions and I like Maggie's simple and straightforward approach – I view her as something like the Delia Smith of knitting. On the net, I love Ravelry as a great way to look for patterns and record my own knitting projects. It's such an amazing resource. For admiring beautiful knitwear I browse through Vintage Fashion Knitwear by Marnie Fogg. So much amazing knitted fashion!

Knitting triumphs and disasters 

 Bleurgh - Marilyn Jacket 

Ha! Let's start with the disasters. I made a cardigan in super bulky from the Twinkle's Big City Knits book, which was horrible. I spent over £50 buying wool and big needles and hated the resulting item. Clever photography in the book made it look nicer than it turned out, as you couldn't see the big holes caused by the yarn overs.

I also made a cabled beret that turned out incredible tiny. However rather than listening to my gut instinct whilst knitting, I finished it and blocked it, hoping that it might magically grow during the process. Guess what? It didn't! I ripped it out and made it again, adding an extra panel. Thus the project was rescued, and I still wear that hat a lot.

Cabled Jacket

Triumphs – my recent cabled cardigan. It's cosy and stylish and I absolutely love it. I also love my Beautiful Sea Green Sweater. I love the colour and shape, and always wear it with a brooch that used to belong to my Gran. My first circular knitting project, fingerless gloves, were a triumph - eventually. These are a little wonky but felt like a real triumph because I had to teach myself to knit in the round. It was only when I went to begin the knitting that I realised they were made in the round, so I had to try and find a way to learn. This caused much exasperation and a close-to-tears moment as I just COULD NOT get how it worked! This now seems very silly, but at the time I could not find anything in books or online which showed how to do it clearly enough. 

Beautiful Sea Green Pullover aka Oatmeal Pullover

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started knitting?

• Gauge swatch! So important. It's not worth skimping on this, as I have learned from experience. Plus, keep checking your gauge whilst you are knitting, to make sure.
• Trust your gut instinct – if something looks like it might be too big or too small, or the pattern looks wrong, stop and re-assess. You should try to learn to 'read' your knitting and look at the fabric as it emerges
• Sometimes knitting patterns have mistakes! Don't follow blindly.
• At some point you will need to rip out, and this is OK. It's better to rip out half way through than knit the whole thing wrongly.
• Use the best wool and needles you can afford – it's worthwhile and makes the process nicer.

 

Aestlight shawl with Rosa Sweater

So, now you know all about my knitting! Be sure to check out the interviews with Kristen (Wednesday) and Tasha (Friday)


See you tomorrow!


K x

NKW#1 - Vintage Pattern Picture of the Day

Welcome to the first post of November Knit Week! Every day I will be sharing a favourite pattern picture from my collection - sit back and enjoy.....

I love this picture - this boy was made to model knitwear.

K x

November Knit Week Schedule

So, what's it all about then?

In the past few months I have been concentrating a lot of my crafting energy on sewing, with my knitting taking a back seat. I think it's very much a seasonal thing – in summer I want to make pretty summer things but as the weather gets colder I am drawn back to wool. Recently I posed a question on my blog sidebar, asking how many readers knitted or were interested in knitting. The results showed a high percentage of you both knitted and sewed, or were interested in learning to knit. So, with that in mind I decided to host a week-long celebration of knitting.

I certainly do not profess to be a knitting expert. I still make plenty of mistakes and am quite scared of some of the simple mathematical equations that are employed to help you alter projects or make them fit properly. I am trying to get over this fear to design my first pattern, so I'll keep you posted on that one! Nonetheless in my time spent knitting I have gathered some experience which I hope might be of use to someone. Plus, I love knitting, so I'm pretty sure that makes me qualified to waffle on about it!

The aim of November Knit Week is to talk about some of the pleasures and practicalities of knitting and hopefully get some of you to share your experience too.

The schedule for the week is:

Monday – An interview with me!

Tuesday - Knitting Bag Essentials

Wednesday – An interview with Kristen of kristenmakes

Thursday – Tips for successful projects

Friday – An interview with Tasha of By Gum, by Golly!

Saturday – Caring for your Supplies & Knitted Items

Sunday – GIVEAWAY involving wool and vintage patterns...all will be revealed....

Plus every day I will be posting a favourite image from my knitting pattern collection, from the baffling to the hilarious.

I'm so looking forward to sharing tips and interviews with you, and I hope you'll join in and comment too.

K x

Results! Charity Shop Hit-rate Survey

In a post a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had been keeping a note of charity shop visits and my purchases. Well, after 4 weeks of keeping a record of where I went and what I purchased, the results are in....

Total number of charity shops visited = 35
Number of shop visits in which purchases were made = 13
Hit rate =1 visit in 2.7 visits results in a purchase
Number of different towns visited = 4
Total amount spent = £36.36

What did I get for that money:

Clothing - Handmade black pencil skirt £4.99, Rose print scarf £3.99, Red Scottish wool cardigan £2, Jacqmar 1950s silk scarf £1.49

Accessories - Vinyl Holdall £3, leather belt £1.50, hand knitted mittens £2

Sewing & Knitting supplies - Lots of vintage knitting patterns £8.40, sewing patterns and needlecraft book £4.50, buttons £1.50, 1960s embroidery transfers FREE!, Fabric & 2 embroidered tablecloths £3

And since I promised a pie chart - here's one! It shows the percentage of my overall spend from each of the three areas.

Unusually for me, and with much restraint, I did not purchase any ceramics this month. I very nearly did, but was on the way to meet a friend to go for a walk and didn't want to cart it around with me. I would normally probably need to have a 'Home' section in the chart to cover such purchases.

It was an interesting experience to record the outcome of my frequent chazza visits. I definitely spent more during the month than I thought - it was a little shocking to see it all totted up. All of the £2 and £3 purchases here and there certainly add up. I think being more aware of how much you are spending does help to stop those unnecessary purchases which later get returned back to the charity shop again. That being said, I think I did well for the amount I spent as I got some lovely items.

 I'm in love with the orange mittens, which remind me of pumpkins.

The silk scarf was a real score, hiding among other boring scarves in a normally so-so charity shop. £1.49 was an absolute bargain - I've spent over twice as much on polyester scarves.

I wouldn't normally go for the dusky pink as I'm a bold colour girl, but I clocked the hand rolled hem (always a sign of quality) and took it to the cash desk before anyone else picked it up. It was made to mark the Coronation of the Queen in 1953 and is quite large, with a gorgeous, typically 50s illustration. I am going to pack it away for Spring, as it will look perfect with my trench coat.

I think I was lucky to find so many good sewing and knitting patterns this month (48% of my total purchases to be exact!) - they're often pretty scarce. My collection has been well boosted, plus I have even more for a giveaway in the future (tantalising, eh?!). My purchases were made in 4 different towns. I had a great trip to Helensburgh where I bought a bundle, following a tip that the shops there were good - thanks Frances! I used the very handy charity shop map on the Charity Retail Association website (cheers Vix!) to check out where the shops were before I visited too.


Do you keep a track of your charity shop visits? How much do you think you spend per month in charity shops?

I think the above results are difficult to interpret without anything to compare them to. So with that in mind - Would you be interested in keeping a note of your visits and posting here about them? I think it would be really interesting if a couple of people kept a note of their visits in a similar way to the above, and then shared them here. Let me know if you would be interested in doing this - I'm so nosy, I love to see what everyone else is buying! I could even produce some kind of blog button or picture - I'm right into the old Picnik these days.

Hope you've had a nice weekend

K x

Announcing: November Knit Week!

I am very excited to announce November Knit Week - a week-long celebration of knitting, to be held on this very blog. Beginning on Monday 31st October (well, most of the week is in November!) I will be posting daily about knitting, including tips for planning successful projects and buying and storing knitting supplies. Also included will be interviews with two of my favourite knitting bloggers and the week will end with a giveaway.

I hope there will be something of interest to all knitters, from beginners upwards. The aim of the week is to explore the fabulous craft of knitting and encourage knitters to share tips and advice. I will post a schedule of the week's posts in the next week or two, so look out for more information coming soon.

Be there or be a Knit wit!

K x

Sunday in Pictures

 Picnic

Walk

Cup of Tea

Cat on knee

Knitting

What are your sewing "Ooooooh!" moments?

Let me explain what I mean by that. You know those moments when you try a new technique, or look at something you've sewn and gasp out loud when you realise how good it looks?

I had one of these moments recently when inserting the invisible zip on my Rooibos dress. I haven't tackled an invisible zip since my sewing class in the beginning of 2010 and have been slightly apprehensive about zips ever since. Now, I'm not sure why. I used this tutorial from Colette Patterns - it was SO EASY and looks great. I don't even have an invisible zip foot for my machine, just a one sided/normal zip foot. It might have been ironing the zip that made the difference, but the finished result is so neat and professional looking.

Leopard print Crepe dress with piped neckline

I was just as excited the first time I used piping, on the neckline of my Crepe dress. Tackling a sweetheart neckline was not the easiest task for first time piping, but the overall result finished the dress so well that I couldn't help but be delighted.

It really is these moments that keep sewing, and learning about sewing, exciting. Sometimes when you've been sweating over a difficult patch, and can't quite see how it's all going to come together, these moments just make the project - I hope to experience many more as my skills develop.

What moments have made you squeal with sewing excitement?

K x

Knitting Blues

This week I have been finishing off a couple of baby items for a friend from work, as well as soldiering on with my vintage Bestway jumper. For Baby Oran I made the Little Coffee Bean Cardigan, which is available for free on Ravelry. The pattern is for a striped cardigan but as I had colour graduating wool (if that's the right word for it) I knit it plain. I wanted to use buttons from my stash but as I couldn't find 5 of the same in the right size, I went with an assortment. I think this looks ok, and since my work pal is a creative lady I hope she'll appreciate the offbeat look!

To go with the cardigan I made another Aviatrix hat in matching yarn:

And for myself, progress has been made with my Bestway sweater. Now, this is the 4th time I have started this project. The first time I got as far as the start of the pattern and decided it would be easier to knit fairisle in the round. The second time I got to the same place and realised it was far too big. The third time I knit about a centimetre of rib and realised that I had managed to twist it when I had joined the stitches together at the beginning. I have never done this before despite having been doing circular knitting for several years. It is one of those thing you get warned about when you join the stitches but I've managed to get away without making this mistake thus far.

I can't tell you how glad I am to be finished knitting all that rib. Especially when I've had to do it so many times. It's exciting to see the colour pattern develop, but I'm finding knitting with three colours really challenging - and slow. I can handle two colours fine, with one type of yarn in each hand, but I'm a little baffled as to how best to cope with three yarns at once without getting into too much of a tangle.

I know I will be working on this sweater for many a week, but have some other smaller knitting projects to fit it alongside it too.

One thing I will be following closely in the future is the Vintage Knitting College, hosted by Tasha of By Gum by Golly! I am very much looking forward to reading Tasha's posts as she shares her vintage knitting experience.

K x

Recent Finds

A selection of recent charity shop finds....

Yellow metal and fur 1950s brooch (£2) - I'd always thought these kind of fur accessories were a bit yuck, but really liked this when I saw it.

1970s/80s bag (£3) - this will be a great weekend bag for some upcoming trips as my current one is a bit knackered. I never normally find nice thrifted bags so was delighted to find this.

Homemade 1960s dress (£9.99) - I couldn't resist this when I found it in local charity shop that has a section of (typically over-priced) vintage as I loved the autumnal colours. This is currently far too big for me but I plan to take it in so look out for it reappearing here in the next week or two!

Large floral silky scarf (£3.99) - Another find from the same vintage charity shop. A bit more than I'd normally pay for a scarf but it's quite large and I loved the pattern.

I've also been keeping a note of my charity shop visits and their success and plan to do so for a month. As some people have commented that they find it difficult to find anything good in charity shops I thought it would be interesting to record how many I visit and what I buy. So, in a few weeks expect some pseudo-scientific stats about hit rates. I wonder if I can make some pie charts?

Have you made any good charity shop finds recently?

K x

Making a Garment from an Existing Item

This project was something of a first for me for two reasons - sewing something requested by a friend, and making a pattern using an existing garment. One of my friends from work had asked if I could make another version of a favourite smock top she wears while working in the studio (she's a printmaker), as her current version was looking tired and worn. The top was fairly simple in construction, with a wide neckline with collar and without fastenings.

Existing top - it used to be black!

My first step was to find the appropriate fabric to use. I brought my friend to the fabric shop with me as I felt it was important that she could see what the choice of fabric was as I wasn't sure how closely we would be able to match it. She enjoyed the experience of seeing and feeling the fabrics, and in the end we selected some black poplin which was about the right weight for the project.

The next stage was to sit down and think about what pieces I would need to cut out, and how I would put them together. I looked at the instructions of a pattern I'd previously made for some inspiration.

 

Although I could have traced directly from the top onto the fabric, I decided to make a pattern using tracing paper. Of course I made sure I had some supervision on the project...

Once the pieces were cut out, I sewed together the front and back then sewed on the neck and sleeves. At this point I got my friend to try it on and check she was happy with the fit. I had decided to leave out the drawstring part at the bottom but the side slits were kept in, to make sure it was still easy to get on and off.

 The finished article!

From the inside - I used French seams for the shoulder and side seams. plus pinking at the armholes and at the inside edge.

Now all I need to do is sew in a 'Handmade by Kerry' label and it's finished! A few key things I learned during this make are:

• Really examine the item and think about how you are going to put it together - list pieces to cut out, look at instructions from other patterns, write a step-by-step instructions list or draw a diagram, whatever helps.
• When selecting fabric bring the item with you to the fabric shop as it will be helpful to compare fabric weight, stretch or check how sheer it is
• When cutting, make sure you leave extra for seam allowances
• Try on the item during the process if you can

I have to admit that I did find the project a little stressful in case my friend was expecting a perfect article that looked exactly the same as the original smock. I think she was happy in the end though, and I was pleased with my efforts. The only problem is that I don't want to get too many requests to make things - how on earth will I get time to make things for myself?! Seriously though, I think people don't realise how tricky and time-consuming some projects can be. That being said, this was a good opportunity to try making something using an existing garment, since I hadn't done it before. Today another friend asked me to make cover for a footstool, which should be a quick and easy project. And I've been promised a bottle of wine, which is a nice incentive!

How do you feel about making items for other people at their request?

K x