ina_jean

Red Cable Knit cardigan

2024-04-04T08:31:30Z

Having done a clear out of anything that didn't fit from my wardrobe I found myself in need of a warm red winter cardigan. A dash through the knitting magazines found a pattern in an old magazine and I ordered the necessary amount of chunky red yarn.

As usual I decided to knit the fronts and back asa one to save on sewing up, so started by casting on the necessary number of stitchs to a long circular needle with spare yarn.

After 20 rows and one pattern repeat it was obvious that it was going to be too big (released from the needles it measured six feet, enough to go round me twice). So, started again with half as many stitches, enough for two cables on each front and four on the back as per the magazine illustration. I cut the cables from 13 stitches (6 for each side of the cable) to 11 (five a side) and decided on a modified moss stitch for the gaps between rather than purl fabric to give a bit of texture and contrast.

Pattern repeat is now: rows 1 and 13, purl to marker, slip five stitches on cable needle, knit five ss and one purl, then knit 5 ss from cable, purl to next marker.

Rows 2 and 14: K1,P1 to marker, P5,K1,P5, K1.P1 to next marker, continue to end.

Rows 3 and 15: P to marker, K5,P1K5, P to next marker, continue to end.

Rows 4 and 15: P1,K1 to marker, P5,K1,P5, P1,K1 to next marker, continue to end.

Have got into rhythm now.

I spit after 40cm to make the sleeves. More in next post

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Academic Archers 2003 Conference Paper: References

2023-09-19T08:38:16Z

REFERENCES

The Cookbooks

Berryman, G. (1958) Doris Archer's Farm Cookery Book. Museum Press

Archer, M (1968) Peggy Archer's Book of Recipes. BBC Books

Harris, M (as Martha Woodford) (1977) The Archers Country Cookbook. Hutchinson

Smethurst, W (as Caroline Bone) (1986) The Ambridge Book of Country Cooking.
Methuen/BBC Books

Piper, A (1994) Jennifer Aldridge's Archers Cookbook. David & Charles

Piper, A (1997) The Archers Pantry. Ebury Press

Piper, A. (2011) Jennifer Aldridge's Archers Country Kitchen. David & Charles

Davies, K. (2019) The Archers Year of Food and Farming Seven Dials (Orion Publishing Group Ltd.)

Other BBC Publications

Smethurst, William. (1997) The Archers: The History of Radio's Most Famous Programme p250-253
Toye, J. (2009) The Archers Miscellany. BBC Books (Ebury Publishing) p102 -Pickle recipe

Toye, J. & Farrington K. (2013) The Ambridge Chronicles. BBC Books (Ebury Publishing) p146-7 local food

BBC Publications, The Archers Ambridge Recipe Teatowel (Archived by Ridgeway307 at My Teatowels Blog 10 September 2015 https://myteatowels.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/the-archers-ambridge-recipes-2004/

Non-BBC and General Reference

'Happy Homemaker' The Archer's Family Cookery Supplement (c1955) (6 page magazine pull-out)
Archer, J. (1962) Jill Archer's Cook Book in Woman 22/9/62: 55-56 (15 page insert)

Janet Mitchel (June 2008) Cookbooks as a social and historical document. A Scottish case study
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-5740.2001.00002.x

Adele Wessell. Cookbooks for Making History: As Sources for Historians and as Records of the Past https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/717

Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums: A Teaspoon of History: The evolution of British cookery books Blog entry by administrator, 17 February 2017 https://blog.twmuseums.org.uk/a-teaspoon-of-history-the-evolution-of-british-cookery-books/

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Academic Archers - 2023 Conference Paper - Cookbooks 2 The Books

2023-09-17T12:40:21Z

Gwen Berryman (who played Doris) says in her introduction that the book grew out of the requests from listeners to the programme to provide the recipes that were mentioned - particularly the apple crumble of which Dan and Phil demanded extra helpings.

"Of course. in the programme, the apple crumble was the idea of the script writer, but as I had so many letters addressed to me, asking how it was made, I decided that we must add a little something to the usual recipe found in most cookery books."

The book itself is aimed at the generation of young people who grew up with rationing and at working mothers who never had the opportunity to learn basic cooking. Add to that the changes in kitchen equipment: "the disappearance of the old-fashioned kitchen range and spit [meant] the truly roasted joint also disappeared." and it is no surprise that the recipes in this book are basic and traditional.

The ingredients are very simple and local. As you would expect of a farmer's wife. There are basic bread and pastry recipes. Fruit is picked in season (the most exotic things you will find here are dates and coconut), vegetables grown locally, on the farm or the vegetable garden, and every part of the animal is used (Cow Heel Pie, Brain and egg-on-toast and Pig's fry), and of course mutton, rather than lamb, and rabbit, hare and pigeon (though not game - this is Doris Archer not Squire Lawson Hope).

The book ends with a miscellany of household tips which would have been useful for a 1950s housewife: how to boil handkerchiefs, to remove ink stains, and how to keep your hands clean when handling coal (put old paper bags over your hands).

The 1960s were a transitional period for cooking, which is reflected in the cookbooks of the time. In Ambridge Keeper's Cottage and April cottage were built to replace old farmworker's cottages. Gas and electricity were laid on, and fridges replaced the old pantrys for preserving food. Television brought not only advertising (sorry Grace) but also cookery programmes. This is the era of Marguerite Patten and Zena Skinner, and recipe books exploring international cuisine and catering for social gatherings as much as family lunches. It is also the era of Cooking in a Bedsitter, though the scope for that in Ambridge was limited. Cookbooks began to be illustrated with photographs (though the printing quality of the time rarely made the food look appetising).

Convenience foods were making a comeback, though in packets rather than tins. Ambridge had a local baker (Doughty Hood) so while Peggy and Jill would have been making their own bread and pastries the younger farming generation would not have needed to.

Given all this activity it is surprising that The Archers is represented so sparsely. Ambridge itself was less focussed on farming and MAFF information than on the sensational stories of the Mail van robbery and Jennifer's unconventional love life.

The only published book of this period is Peggy Archer's Book of Recipes, one of a series of BBC booklets which include collections of broadcast recipes from Jimmy Young's programme, and Zena Skinner's. This is the first Archer's booklet that includes village anecdotes and reminiscence alongside practical cooking. Ingredients are still limited though. The lines between fact and fiction begin to blur.

As a cookbook it has the strangest layout. Divided into chapters on Mushrooms, Apples, Ale and Eggs, while meat, fish and vegetables are lumped under 'Miscellaneous'! There are also nods to 'convenience' cooking - if you can't get a sachet of bouquet garni you can make one up.

There is a reference to some recipes being published in The Borchester Echo - copies of which were produced in reality.

Other 'Archers' recipes appeared in more widely circulated publications. I have to thank Helen Burrows for letting me have the illustrated pull-out of Jill's recipes from Woman magazine. The photographs are very '60s. A plate of rice and hard boiled eggs made to look like a smiley face to tempt children, and (described as something Phil would like), a beef burger on a pun, topped with a slice of tomato with three cooked button mushrooms skewered on top. Phil is a braver man than I expected!

Anyone who heard the 19 February 2023 episode of TA will remember Alice talking about Jennifer cutting recipes from magazines for her cookery books - literary recursion!

So we come to the 70s. This was the decade when The Archers stopped broadcasting MAFF information and started aiming for a 'townie' audience rather than a country one. But it was a townie audience that wanted rural escapism, and Martha's recipes provide that.

This was originally published in 1977 with a cover showing an Ambridge village scene, the reprint of 1979 has an interior kitchen scene. Again there are no photographs, but Val Biro's illustrations have the charm and period feel of books published in the 1930s - a hark-back to a post-war idyll which is appropriate for a book published during the troubled political decade of the 1970s.

The focus is still on old fashioned recipes for local produce. The reminiscences between the recipes are as important as the recipes themselves. The book does not have a recipe index but does have a 'Who's Who' of Ambridge residents (referred to as 'the cast' - sorry, Anarchists). For the first time game recipes appear, and recipes for the more expensive ingredients: asparagus, sole, pork fillet, alongside recipes for cheaper, filling food - liver and bacon, stuffed hearts, macaroni cheese. Each chapter ends with a recipe for home made wine. (Not just for the Ambridge Produce show, but a nod to the popularity of home winemaking in this period.)

I confess that this is my personal favourite book, and one that I am currently using for her austerity recipes. It is amazing how many ways you can cook potatoes.

The month-by month presentation, and the Ambridge anecdotes are also a feature of this 1980s book, though it does have both a character and recipe index. Caroline's recipes, as you would expect, are much more up-market than her predecessors. Roast guineafowl, stuffed with grapes (neither would have been encountered by Doris in her day!), crab and mushrooms, brown bread ice-cream; though it is the first outing for Philip Archer's favourite (and mine), Sussex Pond Pudding.

The recipe had been given out on the programme (by Jill) two decades before (which may be where my mother heard it, though she claimed to have overheard it in the queue at the butchers - so possibly early fans of the programme discussing an episode), but not included in previous books and sits slightly oddly here, suet puddings were not an 80s staple.

William Smethurst, who edited this book, says in his history of the programme that it was 'designer Sainsburys', aimed specifically at the urban listeners with ingredients that they could get locally at the supermarket without having to wait for the right season or availability. It is, more than any of the cookbooks, very much of its time. No austerity here.

Angela Piper, in the guise of Jennifer Aldridge published four 'Archer's' cookbooks.

I have divided them into two sets, the 1990s and 2000s because many of the recipes are the same (Jenny's Lamb, Leek and Prune Pies appear in the first three of the books) but the emphasis changes to reflect the era they were published in and the intended audience.

The 1990s books abandon the 'annual round' of previous books and return to a layout that reflects the types of recipes, last seen in Jill's booklet from the 1960s. This is the era of 'celebrity' cookbooks and themed TV cooking, with cookbooks aimed at cooking as a hobby rather than a necessity. Books were often produced for a single ingredient (fish/vegetables) or an ethnic cuisine (Indian/Chinese). The Ambridge books continued (of necessity) to cover a wide range of recipes and ingredients, but the change in format reflects this general trend.

Ambridge baking has always had an element of competition - preparation for the Flower and Produce Show, and sandwiches for the Cricket Teas, or snacks for the Shoot and in these books that is the key focus. Though we don't have a basic loaf of bread, we do get foccacia.

Also here the links to characters from The Archers have been made stronger. Who cannot read Eva's Gluhwein recipe, or Nelson's Naughty but Nice cream flan, without recalling the careers those characters had in Ambridge? If cooking became a hobby activity for many of the British middle classes, this is the point at which listening to The Archers, and discussing plotlines and, indeed, sharing makes and bakes started to become a leisure activity in itself.

The reprint of the Archer's Cookbook, and a new 'Country Cooking' book belong to the early 21st Century move to 'packaging' rather than 'publishing' books. The layout has been revised to be photographic, but not pictures of food, but of recipes cut from magazines, scrawled on shopping lists or typed on index cards. These are 'Mum's recipe books' that the Aldridges were discussing after her death.

In Ambridge, as elsewhere, residents were as likely to order a takeaway pizza, or drop into the Bull for a pie and pint, or dine at Grey Gables or Lower Locksley as they were to buy a pack of Tom Archer sausages to grill for breakfast. It was the age of Nigella, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey. With international and out of season ingredients available year round, but also a time when farmer's markets and the organic movement were making headlines.

The programme recognised this. In 2009 Pip Archer announced that she would only eat home grown food sourced from within a five mile radius of Ambridge. She had a lot of choice - venison casserole, roast lamb, vegetable soup - though I suspect that Jill and not Ruth supplied the recipes.

Set against this changing background the Archer's cookbooks continued adherence to the seasonal round and 'good home cooking' was more about nostalgia than practicality. The lone pizza recipe in the 'country cooking' book tops ciabatta with tinned tuna, anchovies and ementall cheese - Doris would have rolled in her grave.

This was published in 2019, so spans two decades rather than one. It is not primarily a cookbook, but is the last of the Archer's tie-in books to include recipes, and the first to deliberately include food featured in the drama.

And not just the village as it is today. There is a hark-back to recipes of the past, of Colonel Danby's curries, the Grundy's sloe gin, and, of course, Susan's Chilli con Carne, and Jill's flapjacks.

We also have the first mention of that 2020s staple quinoa, and the use of monkfish rather than cod for the fish pies (fish recipes are rare in Ambridge cookbooks, too far from the sea, and only fly fishing in the Lakes). There is a vegan bake, a nod to Kate's lifestyle, rather than to the austerity and rationing that prompted the vegetable recipes of Doris' day.

Conclusion

If Archer's cookbooks have a theme it is the watercolour country landscape - more nostalgia for an idyllic countryside - you won't find a picture of Berrow Pig Unit or the Home Farm polytunnels here.

Neither will you find microwave ovens, bread-makers or slow cookers - though many of these recipes can be adapted to these energy and time saving devices. I am sure that Brookfield has a microwave, but I doubt that Jill uses it.

So what about the future of food in Ambridge?

Doris's comment about the demise of the spit roast may have been premature. There have been occasions where the villagers have enjoyed a pig roasted on a spit (though not over an open fire).

And then there is Ian and Adam's pizza business, which survived lockdown.

The Bridge Farm boxes come with recipes in season, and Adam's new forest food venture surely suggests material for a special recipe book - or at least a weekly recipe on the Bridge Farm website!

Back in the 90s the BBC had an arrangement with a commercial producer to sell 'Ambridge' preserves - another venture for Bridge Farm?

Or perhaps the new charging station could take a leaf from Tebay Services book and provide an outlet for local farm produce - and local recipes.

Whatever the future offers I expect that the residents of Ambridge will continue to share their favourite foods - even if they aren't made available to the audience.

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Academic Archers - 2023 Conference Paper - Cookbooks 1 Introduction

2023-09-17T10:07:31Z

I wrote this presentation on the Archers cookbooks for the 2023 Academic Archers conference in Birmingham. The original included powerpoint slides, though I am not up to 'embedded media' on DW.

I am dividing this into several posts.

1: Introduction

Welcome to the Jennifer Aldridge memorial bake off.

When I started doing the research for this presentation back during Lockdown I did not expect the passing of Jennifer Aldridge to put cooking into the forefront of the broadcasts from Ambridge in the last few months! From Jennifer's 'funeral baked meats', through the discussions about the disposal of her cookbooks (I think we all suspected that she had some Delia books stashed somewhere), to Brian's baking lessons I have barely been able to listen to an episode without thinking "I'll have to make a note of that!"

One thing it really has shown is that The Archers is as much about using the products of Ambridge's farms as it is about producing them. Cookery is so interwoven with The Archers that the programme provides as much a history of cooking in Britain since 1952 as it does of farming practices.

This is no accident. The Archers may have been conceived as a way of instructing farmers in best agricultural practices, but it also had a role in teaching people who were at the end of the agricultural process how to use the products that farmers were supplying to the country in the wake of WWII and rationing. Which sort of explains the ubiquitous casseroles.

As the programme progressed, the educational role receded into the background, and the drama started to explore wider social issues. As such it became a reflection of the changing society of Middle England and its concerns. And the cookbooks published in conjunction with the show provide a useful record of this progression. They also demonstrate the changes in cooking methods, appliances, and the shift from Imperial to Metric measurements from the 1950s to the present day.

There are eight 'official' cookbooks: collections of recipes published under the BBC's Archers name, together with recipes included in other publications, from BBC publications like the Borchester Echo, and Radio Times, to magazines like Woman's Own and The Lady. There is even a tea towel!

Ambridge people and anecdotes appear in all the books, to a greater or lesser extent, but there is no consistency between the books on who invented which recipe - you won't find "Peggy Archer's Teatime Toffee Tart" (Doris's book) in Peggy Archer's Book of Recipes, or 'Jennifer's Spiced Blackberry Jelly' (Caroline's book) in any of Jennifer's books.

Conveniently the books were published at about the rate of one every decade, starting in the 1950s, so I'm going to do a quick gallop through 70 years in the next ten minutes.

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New Year Quilting.

2020-01-07T11:15:53Z

I haven't been doing a lot of knitting or Crochet because 2019 was the year I got into patchwork (and technically quilting, though I have yet to actually quilt anything).

It started with me unpacking my Toyota sewing machine, which has been unopened for nearly ten years) to do some work after the house move. It held up for a few items, and then started grinding its gears, so I had it serviced, meanwhile I purchased a cheap (£100) Brother machine for general work to tide me over.

I used the Toyota to piece some blue fabrics bought on spec at a quilt event in Chigwell before we left. I made this up into a small cushion (12" square), but later unpicked it, added edging strips to make a more useful size.

At the same time I had bought some batik dyed squares and eventually started to piece a set of Maple Leaf pattern blocks to make a larger quilt (I will blog this separately).

I also used some offcuts to make letter-bags as Christmas presents for Debbie (D) and Frankie (F) (Also noted separately).

I am a bit miffed that there is no online version of Ravelry for quilters - it would be so much easier to keep track of my stash and projects.

But onward.

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Travelling Gamora Shawl

2018-04-22T11:07:40Z

I went to Eastercon thinking about picking up the special Eastercon dyed yarn from Third Vault Yarns (http://thirdvaultyarns.com/) to crochet up some seat cushion for the patio chairs. As they had sold out I browsed home a skein of Gamora from the Companion 4ply range and went looking for patterns.

The Travelling Companion Shawl seemed the perfect fit! The pattern was well illustrated, but the instructions were incredibly confusing. So after frogging an attempted start three times I went looking for another pattern and found Crystal Cascade in a Simply Knitting magazine collection. This explained and charted a lace pattern for a shawl of the same type, three triangles joined at the tips and knitted as one.

Having got terribly muddled by the lacework I wrote out the chart (as the original was too small to see each square - even with a magnifying glass) and tried just knitting a single triangle in a spare yarn just to see how it worked. Doing this sorted all my problems. But it also reminded me that knitting lace in a variegated yarn is over egging the pudding (the pattern of the lace gets lost in the colours of the yarn).

Since the first 11 rows of both patterns were the same, a pain stocking stitch with increases at the beginning and end of every row of each triangle) I went back to the Travelling Companion pattern, ignored the written 'make one left' and 'make one right' intructions, which are fiddly and mostly designed to eliminate the hole left by a yarn over increase - and who minds holes in a lace pattern? - and sat down and charted the stitches myself.

By including a knit stitch at the start of each pattern section, and ending with a yo I only needed two stitch markers intead of the six in the pattern (which were placed each side of the knit stitch and frankly life is too short to 'remove marker, knit one, slip stitch, replace marker, slip stitch back, remove marker, knit one, replace marker, knit to next marker...' every row.

Once I had figured this out it turns out that the Travelling Companion shawl is as simple at the designer intended. My only problem is that I may not have quite enough yarn, and the pattern would look better with a section knitted with a whole colour - ideally pink. Will have to contact Third Vault about a special dye lot!

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Susan's Carnival Cardi

2017-12-30T10:04:07Z

When were were in Keighley this Autumn Pamela and I did our usual round of the yarn shops and while we were in Coldspring Mills Susan picked out a colourful King Cole yarn from the discount baskets from which I offered to knit up a cardigan. The current issue of Simply Knitting had a pattern for a simple raglan cardigan which I decided to use as a base.

I alo used my 'circular needle' technique to knit the whole thing in one rather than fiddle with seams. I will not try this again with a self-striping yarn!

I ended up ordering extra contrast yarn to do the tops of the sleeves, knitted from a temporary crochet cast on so that I could complete each sleeve in the round to ensure that they ended up the same length (and with the same stripe pattern).

The most difficult thing was sourcing the buttons, which had to be the same size and style but different clours. Wool Warehouse came up trumps and I managed to match up most of the stripes with their appropriate buttons.

Note for the future that most Simply Knitting patterns seem to knit up larger than the sizing given.

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Christmas Owl Mittens

2017-12-30T09:55:23Z

I was looking for a small project to knit as a present for my sister and came across these in a back issue of Simply Knitting (June 2012 Issue 94).

Also available from The Yarn Loop as a free download:

http://www.theyarnloop.com/2012/06/20/corrected-pattern-from-simply-knitting-94-owl-fingerless-mitts-by-amanda-jones/

They are knitted flat (which is my preferred way of doing gloves, especially as it means you can put both left and right on the same pair of needles/circular) but don't have proper thumbs, just a hole in one side. Looking through Ravelry I am not the only person to think that a proper thumb would be a good idea.

The stated yarn is an aran (in a sick shade of green - who ever saw a green owl?) So I did a search for an owl coloured natural Aran yarn and came up with Drops Nepal (alpaca). It knitted up thicker than the stated yarn (often a problem with inaccurate terms like 'aran' or 'chunky', if only more yarn companies would define width by wip (wraps per inch), so I went down a needle size to 4.5. and upped the stitch count to 40 (though it would still work at 38).

Thi version does not have a proper explanation of the spcial cable abbreviations which are:

Abbreviations

T4Bpk – Twist 4 Back (moss stitch) Slip 2 stitches onto cable needle (cn) and hold at the back of the work, K2 sts, then P1, K1 from cn.

T4Fpk – Twist 4 Front. Slip 2 stitches onto cn and hold at the front of the work, P1, K1, then K2 from cn.

T3F – Twist 3 Front. Slip 2 stitches onto cn and hold at the front of the work. P1 then K2 from cn.

T3B – Twist 3 Back. Slip next stitch onto cn and hold at back of work. K2 then P stitch from cn.

C3B – Cable 3 Back. next stitch onto cn and hold at back of work. K2 then K stitch from cn.

My adapted pattern to add a thumb is as follows:

NB to make one (m1) lift the top loop of the stitch from the last row onto the needle and knit that (this avoids holes in the work at the thumb join).

Work rib. Change to pattern needles and work rows 1-6 as pattern.

For left hand work Rows 7 - 13 as follows (reverse for right hand)
NB.Odd numbers are Knit rows.

Row 7: K14, m1, K2, m1, k to marker and work pattern
Rows 8, 10 and 12 - Knit as pattern. (Purl across thumb stitches)
Row 9: K14, m1, K4, m1, k to marker and work pattern
Row 11: K14, m1, K6, m1, k to marker and work pattern
Row 13: K20, turn, p12, (work next 9 rows on these stitches only)

Thumb Row 1, cast on 2 stitches, P to end.(14 stitches on working needle)
Thumb rows 2 to 5 in ss.
Thumb rows 6 and 7 work K1,P1 rib.
Thumb Row 8: cast off in rib pattern. Do not cut yarn. Put whole ball through the loop to secure the seam, then use crochet hook in loop of yarn to join thumb with right sides facing. Crochet a spare loop into feed needle. Complete Row 13 of mitten as pattern.

Row 14:Work as pattern. When thumb is reached pick up 5 stitches along base of thumb (being careful to keep hole open), complete row in P. There should be 40 stitches on needle.

Complete as rest of pattern.

I had to raid the button box for suitable buttons for the eyes, using black thread for the pupil.

Am now contemplating making a matching hat as it is a sweet little owl pattern.

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Cosy Cream Cowl

2017-08-27T21:04:37Z

I have been buying Let's Knit magazine occasionally as it has good simple patterns for basic clothes. The September 2017 issue (122) has a pattern for a neckwarmer cowl, an accessory that I much prefer to scarves which tend to bunch up under clothes or fall off at odd moments when dealing with the dogs.

It's knited in a DK yarn, and I have a pack of four 50g balls of King Cole Merino Blend DK Superwash wool that I acquired in a sale (not sure where) for £8 (reduced from £15) which is branded as 'Anti-Tickle' – perfect for a neckwarmer.

The original pattern is knitted as an even strip, with the ends joined and a cord run through to gather up the excess round the collar and finished with two huge bobbles. This rather defeats the objective of not having a lot of mess around the neck!

I therefore decided to knit the thing in the round, reducing the row count as it gets higher and finishing with a proper ribbed rollneck. There is a basic pattern repeat of 12 six-stitch cables interspersed with 2x2 ribbing which makes doing the reductions at each pattern change fairly simple (given enough graph paper!)

Pattern:

Using a 72cm circular needle with 4mm points, cast on 240 stitches. Join ends taking care not to twist work (NB I worked two rows straight and joined when I was sure there was no twist, used a long end to sew up the 2 row ends). Place marker at join.

Rows 1-8 *k2, p2 Repeat from * (2x2 rib)

Row 9 (set pattern A) *p2, k6, p2, k2, p2, k2 p2, k2 repeat from * to end

Row 10: As row 9

Row 11 (make cable) *p2, C6F, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, k2 repeat from * to end

Rows 12-15 As row 9

Row 16 (Set pattern B) Move marker to beginning of cable. *C6F, p1, p2tog, C2F, C2B, C2F, C2B, p2tog, p1, repeat from * to marker (228 stitches on needle)

Row 17: *k6, p3,k2, p2, k2, p3, repeat from * to marker

Rows 18-20 as Row 17.

Row 21 (Set Pattern C - NB, this is where I depart from the original pattern) *C6F, p1, p2tog, C2F, C2B, C2F, p2tog, p1 repeat from * to marker (204 stitches on needle)

Row 22: *k6, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1 repeat from * to marker

Rows 25-25 as Row 21

Row 26: *C6F, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1 repeat from * to marker

Rows 27-28 as Row 21.

Row 29 (Set Pattern D) *k6, p1, k2tog, p1, k2, p1, k2tog, p. repeat from * to marker (180 stitches on needle)

Row 30 *k6, p2, C4B, p2, repeat from * to marker

Row 31 (large cable) *C6F, p2, k4, p2, repeat from * to marker

Row 34 *k6, p2, C4B, p2 repeat from * to marker

Continue pattern making cables every 6th row until work measures 27cm.

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Lacy Chennille Shrug

2017-06-21T16:55:12Z

This is more of the Coldspring yarn that was originally intended for machine knitting - and if the machine wasn't in store (and I had space to put it) I would probably have frogged this and started again by machine.

The test square knitted up well and this is a rare variegated yarn (like the one used for Mia's coat) that doesn't come out in stripes; a feature of 1980s yarn that appears to have been lost. These particular colours are evocative of a Scottish moorland blue sky, purple heather, brown earth the tawny coat of a deer and despite this being intended as a summer shrug the colours and fabric work better as an autumn evening shoulder-warmer.

I ended up frogging the first attempt at a very lacy pattern as it is difficult to keep track with this yarn. The simple pattern of the blue shrug seemed easier to keep track of.

The back knitted up well - I shortened it by 10cm as the original seems a bit long for a shrug. It took 86 rows to the 30cm point where I started the shoulder inset and another 20cm to the top. All in simple stocking stitch.

For the Left Front I decided to curve the edge more than shown in the pattern - this meant charting the first 20 rows. The pattern asks you to make stitches on both knit and purl rows at the start. I tried this but the yarn does not lend itself to lifting new stitches into place, especially on consecutive rows. I eventually frogged back to the hem and did the extra stitch by YO on knit rows only. And because placing a marker on YO stitches is almost impossible by the 10th row I had decided to count the pattern stitches (20) every time and do the YO just before the pattern. This seems to be working thus far. The lace pattern is rather overwhelmed by the yarn fuzz but it does have a nice shape and texture. I continue in the hope that it will all come right in the end...

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Red Mohair Top

2017-02-24T06:05:33Z

This is another result of a visit to Coldspring Mills in Keighley when we stayed with Pamela sometime in the 1990s. 600 grammes of unbranded DK mohair in varigated red, pink and grey for £6. I also purchased the pattern (now lost) and the necessary needles - a pair of 12mm mm and 4.5mm. All of this was, presumably, knitted up during our visit and left to finish off when I got home. It has been in the top of Susan's wardrobe ever since and came to light on Wednesday.

The pattern is knitted all in one as a cross shape with a hole in the centre for the head, then sewn up to make a simple top. Ths technique is usually used for baby clothes, and coping wth the huge mass of fabric produced you can see why it's not often recommended for adults.

It's knitted in plain garter stitch, using one 12mm needle and one 4.5mm needle which produces a lacey striped effect. It's surprisngly easy as the large needle makes for very large loops into which to insert the smaller needle, and the yarn remains loose to pick up with the large needle on the next row.

I had stopped 20 rows from the end, leaving 60 stitches on the large needle. I completed those, then added an extra stitch every 4 stitches to make the total of 80 which matched the hem on the other side. Did 12 rows of 1x1 hem and finished off.

Sewed up the sides and picked up 40 stitches round the sleeves to knit a 6 row 1x1 cuff in the round. Same the other side, then picked up stitches round the neck hole for another 6 row 1x1 edging.

So that's the top that has taken me 20 years to knit! There is a hank of the wool left which will go into the stash for future use.

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Susan's Self Fair-Isle Boot Socks

2017-02-13T15:24:58Z

I bought this yarn on a whim intending to see whether the 'magic' part worked (it does).

Then Susan's birthday came along and she suggested that I knit a pair of boot socks so this semed the ideal oportunity to use the yarn (as she is allergic to wool and this is wholly acrylic).

I knitted up a tension square on 3.5mm needles which came out at 20 stitches and 28 rows to a 4" square. Then set about finding a sock pattern to fit that tension. Ravelry was down so I resorted to my 'bible' – the DK 'Big Book of Knitting' (local charity shop purchase) from which I have already made a pair of boot socks and numerous gloves. I was surprised to find that the tension matches the self-striped socks designed to be knitted in a Noro silk 'sock' yarn (in my experience sock yarns do not usually come in aran weights, but that was what it said.)

In order to make sure the socks match I started the pattern where the coloured section of yarn finished.

As these were intended to be boot socks, and Susan has very thick calves I deemed it best to do some measurements first. Her calf measures 42cm which worked out at 80 stitches rather than the 40 required by the pattern. So I cast on 80 stitches (using knit double cast on rather than the long tail which I really should have used – but am too impatient to fiddle about with) to the 3.5m straight needles and knitted 9 rows of standard 2x2 ribbing.

Then reduced the number of stitches by purling together on the wrong side (so that the pattern looked the same on the right side) thus:

Row 10 (rs): K2, P2tog,*[K2, P2 three times] K2, P2tog. Repeat from * to end of row
Row 11 (ws): Follow previous row pattern
Row 12: K2, P1, K2, P2tog,*[K2, P2 twice] K2, P1, K2, P2tog. Repeat from * to end of row
Row 13: (ws): Follow previous row pattern
Row 14: *K2, P1, K2, P1, K2 P2tog, K2 P1. Repeat from * to end of row
Row 15: (ws): Follow previous row pattern
Row 16: K2, P1 to end
Row 17: P2, K1 to end (60 stitches)
Row 18: Knit all stitches from straight 3.5mm needles to DPN 4.0mm needles (or 4.0mm circular needle.) Join into circle and sew up edges.

Note: I usually start knitting in the round by doing a few rows on straight needles – it saves having to keep frogging back because you've got the work twisted. In this case it made it much easier to keep track of the stitch reductions.

Over the next few rows reduce the number of stitches on the needles by sskpo every 8 stitches on first row, every six stitches 3rd row, every 5 stitches 6th row until there are 40 stitches on the needles. Continue until work measures 23cm or so. Then divide stitches on needles and follow pattern.

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Emergency Slippers

2016-11-20T07:29:32Z

Last week we booked a holiday cottage in Lincolnshire so that I could visit my sister and do some sight-seeing with the dogs. It was a very nice cottage a converted stables. The only problem was that it had tiled floors (and a few rugs) very practical for the dogs but I hadn't been able to find my travel slippers to pack. I did have my crochet hooks and some spare yarn from the skirt project so made up one of the 'Bow Belle' slippers in grey and pink and started on a second one - but ran out of pink yarn.

No problem. I knew Louth had loads of yarn shops (indeed, I had bought the yarn for the pair of slippers I'd made for my sister to this pattern at one of them). Unfortunately no one had a pink dk pure cotton yarn in stock. Since I didn't have the ball band I wasn't sure what brand I should be looking for.

The next day we went to Horncastle, which also has a yarn shop (I suppose its the Linconshire sheep tradition that means they have far more shops per town than Essex has in the county). They did have the right yarn in blue, so at least I knew I was looking for 'Cotton On'. They also had a dumper with 'end of range' yarn at £1 a ball so I bought two balls or chenille (last year I was looking everywhere for chenille yarn and could I find any? Not even on the internets!), one in blue (with ball-band identifying it as a Wendy yarn) and one in green (larger, no ball-band).

Back home I frantically hooked up a second slipper in blue and devised a contrast 'cuff' in green. This left me with not enough blue for a matching slipper so I am making a counter-match for the other foot. Chenille is the ideal material for slippers, lovely and soft.

Pattern Notes:
Start with magic ring (rather than 2ch of pattern) and 6dc. Pull ring tight, join, then:
Round 2: 2dc into each stitch. (12)
Round 3: (1dc, 2dc into next stitch). Repeat to start (18)
Round 4: (2dc, 2dc into next stitch). Repeat to start (24)
Round 5: (3dc, 2dc into next stitch). Repeat to start (30)
Round 6: dc round (30)
Round 7: (4dc, 2dc into next stitch). Repeat to start (36)
Round 8 to 17: dc round.
Round 18: Mark off 5 stitches. Turn, DC to marker, turn (31 stitches)
Round 19: 1ch. dc2 tog work to last 2 stitches dc2tog, turn (29 stitches)
Round 20: 1ch, dc round turn.

Repeat round 20 until slipper reaches to ball of foot (another 17 rows approx)
Mark centre of work (14 stitches for right foot, 15 for left)

Work heel:
Row 1: 1ch, 10dc 4x dc2tog 11dc, turn. (25)
Row 2: 1ch, 10dc 2x dc2tog 11dc, turn. (23)
Row 3: 1ch, 10dc, turn.
Row 4: 1ch, 10dc, Fasten off with long tail.

Use tail to sew up back of heel.

With contrast colour work 5 stitches in gap in front (hooking to join existing sides), then 1 row round opening of slipper. At centre front turn 1ch, dc to end turn. continue until cuff is 1" high (or as desired) Fasten off at back.

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A House for John (Part 1 - Walls)

2016-10-16T14:13:06Z

After posting the pictures of Draco's Wall to Facebook I got a comment from John asking whether I could knit a house for him. Not being one to back down from a challenge (especially if it is a silly one), I had a look through my craft magazines and found two patterns for houses, a crochet one for a Halloween House designed to hold sweet treats and a knitted 'beach hut' stuffed cushion/doorstop. I decided to go with the knitted one - with adaptations.

I have the brown and yellow DK left over from Draco's antler hat, and various other balls of DK in the stash - though I will have to buy more in red for the roof - since I need red for Draco's Flaming Tyre (TM) I will pop out and buy some.

The pattern is in separate parts, 4 walls, floor and roof, all joined by sewing together and stuffing. I started knitting the side walls (40 stitches on 3.25mm circular needles) in stripes of two rows yellow and two rows brown. After the designated 67 rows I put in a row of lace holes and dropped the yellow knitting the base in brown only for 30 rows, then another row of lace holes, cast back on the yellow and continued with the second wall.

For the sides I used a crochet hook to cast on 26 stitches along one side of the base, picked up the stitches on the needles and continued in pattern until the side matched the main wall. Then knitted four rows (two of pattern, plus two extra) in yellow and decreased one stitch at each end of every right side row until left with three stitches - K2 tog twice and finish. Did the same for the other side wall.

Am now about to work out how to do the doors and windows and the roof.

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Draco's Agility Wall

2016-08-18T06:35:42Z

When I joined the Agility Knitters group on Facebook I decided to actually knit an agility fence. I used a picture of a 'brick wall rug' from a book on knitting rugs as a basis but didn't think it worth spending any more money than I had to on actually buying a book for one pattern for a silly project.

The local Pound Shop (on Manford Way) has a good selection of cheap acrylic yarns, so I bought a ball of King Cole Super Chunky each in dark red (wine) bright red, orange (Mango) and grey (for the mortar rows). I needed an extra ball of a 'brick' colour so ordered a light brown (Sahara) from Wool Warehouse - whole lot came to about £10.

I wanted a chance to try out the size 6mm 'Symphonie' straight needles Frankie gave me as a Christmas present so cast on 30 stitches of the wine and knitted in moss stitch until the work was 'brick-sized' which turned out to be 13 rows. I threaded those onto a circular needle (with a 1m cable) and knitted three more in mango and red, finishing with a half-brick (15 stitches 13 rows)in wine. That gave me five separate pieces of knitting on the circular needle.

At this point I abandoned the straight needles and used the circular for the rest of the work. *Cast on with the grey and knitted the first 30 stitches of the first brick, Then made a stitch and used a 5mm crochet hook to crochet down the side of the brick, left a 4" loop (7" of yarn) at the bottom and crocheted up the side of the next brick. Looped the yarn back over the needle, then took a darning needle and (using a spare bit of DK yarn as a holder) threaded the loose loop through both sides of the crochet stitches to pull the two together. put the final bit of the loop over the rh needle, then picked up the stitch from the lh needle and continued in knit along the top of the second brick. Repeat process until the end of the row.

(I could have cast on a short length of grey and knitted the bricks together using fair isle technique - but there were going to be enough ends to sew in already without adding more!)

Front and back of complete work before adding backing fabric.

Knit four rows of 'mortar' ending with yarn at same end as the start.

Cast on a contrast colour to the brick below and knit a second brick (or half-brick). Put the three 'mortar' stitches onto a holding thread or needle, and knit next brick in different colour. Continue to end then repeat from * above.

Make sure the crochet stitches are done on the front of the work and the grey mortar rows always begin at the same side of the work (it doesn't matter which end you start knitting the bricks from - the delights of circular needles!).

Stop when the work measures 4" shorter than the required fence height. (Five courses of bricks equal the 'small' KC height.) Complete the last line of 'mortar' then continue in garter stitch to make a 'coping' which will form the channel to put the bar of the fence through.

You could simply sew the top stitching back on itself, but I am sewing the whole thing to a backing fabric for extra strength - and to prevent too much stretching in the wash.)

Final version held on a broomstick (actually a Vileda mop handle!) on my jump wings.

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Handkerchief Cardi 3 (Left front and cuffs)

2016-07-18T15:51:58Z

Aaargh!

It turned out that while doing the YO increases before the red texture front was fine going from SS to texture, doing it the other way, from red texture to black SS either meant that the black crept diagonally into the red, or the two sections fell apart. After several attempts I gave up and did the join by slip stitching the yarn, and added the increases at the end of each row. Since the fall of the front covers the join I think it looks OK.

And I didn't have quite enough red to do both cuffs to two inches so instead of doing the cuffs separately as in the pattern (which is done like that for good reason), I sewed up the seams and put 60 stitches round the cuffs with double pointed needles, did an inch in black and finished with half of what was left of the red on each side - which worked out at about an inch of red textured cuff.

It's a lovely little bolero/cardi, which will get a lot of use in autumn. Though I am a bit disappointed that I didn't meet my objective of following a pattern exactly using the correct yarn and needles.

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Handkerchief Cardi 2 (Right Front)

2016-06-05T16:19:37Z

I finished the back over our holiday - I was right about it being easy but boring.

Have just started on the right front which is much more interesting! I'm using 2 colours - black for the plain knitting and red for the pattern. I did wonder how the join was going to work, since the increases are done in the middle of the front by yarn over loops. In the event it turned out that using two colours makes it easier to keep track of the pattern. Make the YO with the black yarn on the RS, then knit it in with the red yarn on the WS. This means that all the k1/p1 texture stitches are made in red yarn - you don't have to remember to add an extra knit stitch on every second row. I am, nevertheless, counting obsessively and making notes.

In other knitting news, I stumbled across a charity shop while on holiday that had a huge collection of second-hand needles - some of which would have been useful, but I didn't have my note of what I've got. I did buy a second stitch counter though.

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Handkerchief Cardi (Forest Fern 1)

2016-05-21T10:59:33Z

I have put the Tahiti cardi on hold as it's not something I can safely knit while doing anything else. I do need a lightweight cardi though, and liked the pattern for 'Forest Fern' in the 100 knitting patterns 'free' book that came with last month's edition of 'Lets Knit' (100 patterns and a magazine for £6 - bargain!).

I happen to have both yarn alternatives given in the pattern in my stash - the black and red 'Moods' bought to make the 'riot' skirt but too bulky for the job, and some Sirdar 'Country Style' in a shade of yellow-green almost as vile as the colour used in the pattern illustration. I decided to make the pattern using the red (1 ball) for the detail work on hem cuffs and collar and the black to the back and sleeves. This will mean a bit of fiddling on the fronts, but hopefully not as much as the Tahiti! Meanwhile knitting up the back is quite straightforward, and rather restful.

I think this is the first thing I've knitted (or attempted to knit) that I've not had to make some change to needles,yarn or pattern!

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Tahiti Cardigan (2. Starting out)

2016-05-19T14:18:04Z

I decided to knit the body in one piece on a circular needle (I keep calling then 'cable needles', because they are long cables - forgetting that a cable needle is something quite other - forgive me.)

The pattern's largest size gives 90 stitches for the back and 42 for each front - a total of 172, which was what I started with, but worked up a bit short for my 40" waist - so I am now working with 198 - and will be plying the tape measure as I go!

Cast on with the pink yarn and knit 15 rows (2.5") of 1x1 ribbing on 3.50mm needles.

Change to white yarn and 4.5mm needles (I love Knitpro needles, you just unscrew the smaller needles and screw on the larger ones). Mark off 21 stitches in first section, then 20 stitch groups to end - this is essential in keeping track of the pattern which is a four-stitch repeat - so you know within 4 repeats if you've gone wrong.

I ended up frogging the first three rows four times before getting the hang of the pattern - in future I'll knit up the tension square in pattern to get the rhythm right. In fact it's quite simple. K1 at start of row, then K2, Yarn over needle, slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over. Repeat to end then K1 to finish, turn. P1, P2, Yarn over needle, p two together. Repeat to end, p1. After the first two rows the second stitch of each 4-stitch repeat will be made into the yarn over loop - if not you've gone wrong!

After a few inches the work started to slope alarmingly to the left. I assumed this was my error in the early rows, and frogged back to the ribbing to start again,, but it seems that the slope is a result of psso on the knit rows but knitting two together on the purl ones (slipping a stitch slopes the work left - K2tog doesn't compensate with a right hand slope. So I am experimenting with slipping on both the knit and purl rows - do not want to frog back again.

If not I shall call it my 'Raspberry Twist cardi and treat it as a feature.

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Raspberry Ripple (Tahiti) Cardigan (1 - Yarn and Pattern)

2016-05-19T13:56:43Z

Back to the old yarn in the back of the wardrobe! I have three balls of yarn, one predominantly pink, the other two mainly white, with a random dark pink twist that knits up into a sort of 'Raspberry/Strawberry Ripple Icecream' effect. They were sold as 200g balls with a band giving a pattern for a very 80s sleeveless top.

(Don't you love the hairstyle?)

I used the first ball to make up a crochet shawl when I started yarn-working again a few years back.

When I was in Louth I bought an old Lister pattern for a summer cardigan in a mohair-type yarn called 'Tahiti' which appears to knit up to the same tension as the Ripple (11wpi)- so decided to make it my next project (I need a lightweight cardi).

Lister Lee Pattern no. K1804: Lady's Cardigan in Lister-Lee Five Star Tahiti or Giselle or Tropicana

This is going to be as big a project as the cable cardi - so I am splitting it into separate posts.

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Best Laid Plans...

2016-05-12T13:56:04Z

When I was making Draco's green coat (in Drops Big Fabel Aran weight) I re-ordered some extra yarn in the same colour but made a mistake and got Drops Fabel instead - which is a very fine fingering designed for socks. I've also impulse bought some very fine yarn called 'Riot' in a shade of mixed red and brown called 'Volcano' which I'd sort of earmarked for a throat-warmer.

The circular short-row skirt I made up in some found laceweight yarn is actually designed for Drops Fabel. As it was so successful I decided to make up a version in the fine 'Riot' and looked for a plain black and a red in the same weight and mix (70%acrylic 30%wool) Despite being so fine Riot is listed as 'dk' but there is no plain colourway so I ordered some King Cole Moods in those colours to complement it.

I also ordered some plain green to go with the Fabel to make up into a top.

It all arrived yesterday and the black and red are much heavier than the 'riot' so I shall have to re-think that. On the other hand the Fabel is the right yarn for a skirt - and the Moods is the right yarn for the top I was going to use the Fabel for - so I have decided to swap them. Sill have no idea what to do with the Riot though :(

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Bren's Tennis Ball Holder

2016-05-05T14:36:25Z

Ever since I saw the animal-themed 'Break Time Apple Cosies' in Crochet Gifts #3 I thought it would make a great way of keeping a tennis ball handy when out walking the dogs.

I got a set of yarn intended for making cute farmyard animals from the latest issue of Lets Knit (bought for the 100 patterns free book) which gave me the colours I needed. Any washable acrylic DK yarn would do.

Using a 3.5mm hook and brown yarn, make 2ch and join to make ring.

1. 6dc into ring (6)
2. 2dc into each dc round (12)
3. 1dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (18)
4. 2dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (24)
5. 3dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (30)
6. 4 dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (36)
7 to 11. 36 dc round (NB If tube is not wide enough to take ball, dc 2 into every 6th stitch on Row 8 (40))
12. Change to white yarn. 1ch, dc round. Turn.
13. 1ch, dc round (NB,, if you made an increase at Row 8 now do decrease (ch2tog) at same point) (36)
14. 1ch, *4dc, 1dc2tog, rept from * to end, turn (30)
15 to 17 1ch, 30 dc turn.
18. 1ch, 30dc, 20ch, ss into first ch of fastening then dc all round opening. Fasten off and break yarn. Sew in end.

Ears (make 2)

On UK size 11 needles (I think this is 3.5 again bus can't be arsed to check) cast on 10 stitches in brown yarn. Knit 6 rows ss ending on p row. Make pointed shape as follows:
7. s1, k1, psso, k6, k2tog
8. p8
9. s1, k1, psso, k4, k2tog
10. p6
11. s1, k1, psso, k2, k2tog
12. p4
13. k2tog x2
14 p2
15 K2tog, cast off and secure thread.

Nose.

With scrap black yarn (I knew there was some somewhere), work first three rows of main body to make a circle. Leave long tail to sew into place.

Making up,

Button (see note on black yarn - a white one would be good. Or a brown one): Sew onto opposite side of the loop, positioning so ball will be held safely inside.

Sew ears on either side at point where brown yarn meets white. Check that ear tips hang forward.

Sew nose between inside edges of ears and slightly below. Use longtail to make mouth. Try not to make it look like a teddy bear (the pointy ears help)

Sew eyes on the same row of crochet above nose and below eyes.

Push small carabiner or keyring fastening through base of the opening to hang.

Take photo and post to Ravelry.

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Crochet Slippers

2016-05-03T06:27:39Z

The first 'garment' I made after re-discovering crochet was a pair of slippers from the magazine 'Crochet Gifts #3' which gave helpfull step by step instructions in picture form. The result was the 'Bow Belle' yellow and brown slippers. The pattern was for a wool/cotton dk mix yarn but I used a thinner pure cotton, made them longer to fit my feet, and also added a strap to stop them falling off.

My sister saw me wearing them on a visit (they are my usual travelling slipped as small enough to fit into a case) and asked for a pair. She picked out a similar cotton yarn and I worked up the pattern with c=variations to ensure they fitted better without the strap (easier as her feet are shorter than mine).

Starting with white yarn and 2 joined dc to make a starting ring.
1. 6dc into ring (6)
2. 2dc into each dc round (12)
3. 1dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (18)
4. 2dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (24)
5. 3dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (30)
6. dc round (30)
7. 4 dc, 2dc into next stitch x6 (36)
8 to 10. dc round
11. If tube begins to 'flare' dc two together on opposite sides of work (34)
12 - 14. Continue dc until toe measures 2.5"
15. Change to blue yarn. Continue to dc round for further 14 rows (34)

Work body.
1. Mark off five stitches in the centre of the work opposite the place where the two colours join (this will then be hidden on the sole). Work dc to first marker. Turn. 1ch, dc back to second marker. (this leaves three stitches unworked)(31)
2. 1ch, dc into next stitch (not the base of the ch), dc 30
3. as 2 above. (29)
4. as 2 above (28)
5 - 7. Continue working these 28 stitches in dc for 3 rows.
8. 1ch. 2dc in first dc, 28dc (29)
9. 1ch. 2dc in first dc, 29dc (30)
10 - 11. 1 ch, 30dc, turn (30)
12. 1ch. 2dc in first dc, 30dc (31)
13. 1ch. 2dc in first dc, 31dc (32)
14 - 21. Continue working dc on these 32 stitches until work is 2 rows short of foot length required.

Shape heel
22. 1ch, 11dc, dc2tog 5 times 11dc (27)
23. 1ch, 10dc, dc2tog 3 times, 10dc (23)

Fasten off, break yarn leaving long tail and use to sew up back seam.

1. Join white to top of back seam and work round edge in dc.
2. 1dc 1ch, miss one, 1dc in next stitch to end of 'body'. dc round front of foot then continue 1ch, miss one, 1dc in next stitch to back seam. fasten off, weave in ends.

Rose Decoration. (Simply Crochet Issue 27)

Using white yarn ch 30.
1. 1dc into second ch from hook. ch2. skip 1 ch *1dc into next ch, ch2, skip 1ch. Rpt from * to end. Turn

2. Ch 1 (dc, htr, 2tr, htr, dc) into each ch2 space. ss into first dc of prev row.

Fasten off leaving a long tail. Roll strip into a flower shape and sew together using long tail. Sew to front of d=slipper on contrast section.

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Dance With Me Skirt

2016-03-05T09:31:51Z

Sometime in the late 1990s I bought a knitting machine and stocked up on a lot of lightweight yarn, mostly purchased at Coldspring Mills in (then) Keighley, to use with it. I ran up a lightweight top for Susan, and then we moved house and the machine went into store (I am not at all sure I still have all the parts and should probably send it to the tip). The remaining yarn went into the top of my wardrobe.

A couple of years ago I took two big packs of yarn down to the boot sale and assumed that was the end of it.

When I started on this hand knitting thing I found a Coldspring bag at the back of my wardrobe with a half-finished skirt (two panels) in it and some odd unlabelled laceweight slub yarn. I considered using the already knitted bits to make a new top, but hand-knitting doesn't work the same as machine, so I frogged the pieces and looked for a skirt pattern to use the same yarn and found 'Dance With Me', A lovely gored skirt in two colours (actually a dress, but I don't have to make the bodice).

The unnamed yarn (I suspect from Lister but long discontinued) knitted up to the correct tension so I have started on the pattern

It says to cast on over two needles - and then withdraw one to make a looser cast on. Since I have never used a hand-cast (tried it once and it really was too tight) I just used a large straight needle to cast on to the circular one. I have roughly the same amount of brown yarn and pink-and-white yarn so rather than follow the pattern colours I am using the pink for the plain knitting and the brown for the short-row gores. I am also working all the pattern from the waist so that I can knit both yarns together at the top and avoid having to break where the colours change (this means working one row of brown from top to bottom to work the first half of the gore.

After the fiddling of the cable cardi it's a relief to have to do nothing nut plain knitting (though I am making occasional gloves to break the monotony).

Test piece.

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Double Cable Cardigan 4 (Sleeve Dilemma)

2016-01-30T11:22:31Z

I finished the back and sewed the body pieces together. Then thought about the sleeves.

There is a way of working sleeves directly into the armholes, but I couldn't find any reliable advice on t'internets. Had a go at starting the cuffs 'in the round' but the increases defeated me. So went back to working from the cuffs up in the traditional way (incidentally why are sleeves worked from the bottom? It means you can't adjust the length if (like me) you're running out of wool.

I misread the increases at the start and had to frog back to the ribbing. I am now at the two-thirds stage and only have one ball of wool left. My supplier seems to have run out of this colour (though they do have a matching colour that would do for the trimmings - which I must order!)

Current plan is to finish the sleeve I'm working on and check that it fits. Then I need to unravel from the cuff up to have enough original yarn to finish the other sleeve. Will then buy three balls of the contrast yarn to finish the new cuffs and trim.

I hope it's worth it.

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