Tag Archives: turtle dove

Jan19

Sweater surgery

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Remember the swoncho? I finished it a couple of weeks ago but I wasn’t 100% happy with the collar.

I didn’t incorporate the optional short rows when knitting the pattern. The collar was a little too tight for optimum comfort and a little too long. Because of the funnel neck style, the sweater didn’t lie smoothly at the upper chest.

So I did surgery today.

I took a cable from my interchangeables and some skinny tips and picked up one leg of each stitch around, four rows below the ribbing. Then I snipped the yarn in the round above (I had to unravel upwards as it was top-down construction.) There was much faffing to get all the stitches from one round neatly onto the cable and in the process I ended up losing a couple more rounds.

I knitted a round or two to make sure it was all ok, then tried it on. The front neckline was still a teeny bit higher than I wanted, but the circumference was wider and I decided to go ahead and add the new ribbing. My first attempt at short rows at the back neck was too drastic and it would have looked odd, so I unknitted (tinked) that effort and redid it. By the time I was happy with it, the collar was 12 rows deep at the back and 6 at the front. Then I bound off and called it done. Really done, this time!

This is going to be so much more wearable now and I’m really glad I faffed about with it, because I don’t know if I’d have worn it otherwise.

It’s been a pleasant ‘at home’ day today. Did the vacuuming, plant watering, bathroom and kitchen cleaning, and enjoyed a bit of Outlander on Netflix while I was dealing with my sweater. Then I baked chocolate chip muffins and a dish that’s kind of like lasagna but I stuff the tofu mixture into giant pasta shells, smother it all in tomato sauce, and sprinkle a little vegan cheese (Violife) on top and throw it in the oven for 30 minutes. Add a big green salad and dinner is done.

Tomorrow is all about the errands across the lake.

Jan5

FO: Turtle Dove

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It is done! (Link to Ravelry project page.) First FO of 2021.

I haven’t washed this yet, so the stitches are still somewhat uneven in places. It took just over six weeks to complete though if I had been a little more focused it could have taken way less.

I did try it on and I have to say I’m not 100% happy with it. It fits ok but I was anticipating it being more roomy. Guess I should have made the larger size. Could have been a little longer too, and the neck doesn’t sit smoothly probably because it’s a funnel-type neck with no neckline shaping. If I made it again, I would make it bigger and wider, add length below the armholes, work the ribbing without changing to smaller needles and do the short rows at the back neck. Hmmm, that’s a lot of changes!

Ah well, live and learn!!

Jan1

Oops, I missed some yarn

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I was feeling pretty accomplished after last night’s stash organisation and today I was reading a thread on Ravelry which someone started called Flash Your Stash 2021. There is a thread like that every year and while I didn’t post my photos in there I did have a realisation that I hadn’t included my WIPs in yesterday’s blog post.

Works in Progress are kinda sorta part of the stash. After all, they aren’t FOs, and there may well be some yarn left over when they are finished that will end up in the stash. So tonight I pulled my two WIPs (yes, only two) out of their bags in the living room next to my end of the sofa and laid them out.

The Turtle Dove sweater is almost done. I bought 10 balls of the Cygnet Chunky from Wool Warehouse especially for this project and I will have over 4 balls left when I’m done.

This colour doesn’t photograph well in artificial light. I have a little bit of ribbing to finish on one cuff and then a second sleeve to knit.

The other WIP is one that has been hibernating for a really long time. Thanks to my Ravelry project page, I can see that I cast on this blanket on October 14th 2019. Yes, you read that right. It’s been hanging around for 15 months. I have a strong suspicion I should unravel it and maybe start a crochet one instead. I’m not loving the colour combination so far.

All of these worsted weight acrylics were intended to go into the blanket but I became less inspired by them as the blanket grew! Maybe one evening I will enjoy some mindless frogging and plan something new.

Dec22

Window on the weather – Day 2

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As you can see, the snow really built up over the course of the last 24 hours. I think we have a couple more casualties of the heavy weight on the tree branches out there – a branch on one of our hawthorn trees looks to have cracked, and the lilac is bent down to the ground.

There is some blue sky today, and the temperature is hovering around freezing, so most of the snow will probably hang around, except on the roads.

Progress has been made on the Turtle Dove swoncho.

The twisted rib hem has been finished on the front and I have a couple of inches to go on the back. Then I’ll need to add the sleeves, which will be pretty short because of the style of this garment. I think I only need to do 6 inches of stockinette and a couple of inches of ribbing.

Mr Fixit was commenting last night that his fingerless mitts were getting worn out. I have darned them a little in the past. We couldn’t remember how long he’d had them – our guesses were way off – turns out I knitted them in January 2010! The beauty of Ravelry is that I was able to look at the project page and find out that they are 11 years old. No wonder they are wearing out, but I’m impressed that they’ve lasted this long. He uses them every winter around the house. Not sure I feel like knitting him some new ones, but maybe I should just do it anyway!

Dec4

Happy Friday

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Happy Friday

Hi all

It was a beautiful sunny day today, but cold. Last night we had freezing rain and when I was driving to the dentist to get my tooth prepared for a crown I was sliding a little on the road, despite my new winter tires.

The dentist spent a long time reshaping my tooth and getting a 3D scan of my mouth for the new crown to be made. It wasn’t painful and I wasn’t stressed out but I was glad when she was done. Afterwards I had a walk around the neighbourhood, cosied up in my new winter coat and a crocheted grey beanie with a neon yellow pompom! First hat day of the winter.

Once I’d had my exercise, off I went to my sewing room. I finished the Christmas journal, which I think will probably be the Secret Santa gift for work this year. Below are a few photos of some of the pages.

I called that one done, and started adding pages to the flowery cover I showed you last time. It’s not quite full enough yet so you’ll have to wait to see that one.

I’ve finished two balls of the Cygnet Chunky on my Turtle Dove swoncho now. The yoke is growing bigger and bigger – by the time I split for the sleeves and body I should have about 300 stitches.

It’s definitely good Netflix knitting – or I should I say “Knitflix” (I know, not an original joke)!

What do you like to watch on Netflix? Recently, I burned through five seasons of Lucifer, then watched The Queen’s Gambit, and now I’m on Dark. When you’re knitting, the fact that the voices are dubbed isn’t a big deal because you’re not always looking at the screen anyway. Better than subtitles anyway – you have to watch for those!

Dark is a German series. It has quite a convoluted plot, and without trying to be too spoilery I find that watching people walking/crawling through caves makes me feel very claustrophobic and tense. I shall have to choose something lighter when this show is done.

Whew, feeling tired and it’s not even 9pm. I went to bed really late last night, forgetting I had to be up early for the dentist appointment. And tomorrow and Sunday I have work so need to be well-rested, so I’m going to say ta ta for now. Have a great weekend!

Nov29

Fun finishes

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I had a fun evening last night making some Christmas-themed masks to wear at work.

We are all thoroughly fed up with covid and mask-wearing and all of that shit but I am cheering myself up with my fun masks. One of the fabrics looks like knit stitches, so you know that appeals to me. The others are just pretty Christmassy ones in non-traditional colours, which again is definitely my thing.

And this morning I experimented with a bit of buffalo plaid flannelette, some faux fur and felt, and made this GNOME mask. The lining is quilting cotton.

I haven’t put it on my own face yet, but it looks good on Sally!

I sent a photo to my sewing friends and they loved it – I’m sure it’ll give my co-workers a good laugh too.

I’ve also finished another journal cover. I spotted a quilt block that someone had made yesterday and they said it was from a video by Darlene Michaud. It’s called Wonky Selvage Christmas Tree and of course I just HAD to make one.

I really like this idea and can see myself making more.

I don’t think I showed you these two journal covers yet, either. I need to tea dye a bunch more paper so I can finish them.

Also, exciting news! My yarn arrived from Wool Warehouse and it looks like this…

Cygnet Chunky in Blackberry

So my swoncho is well underway – the pattern is Turtle Dove and I found it on Ravelry (link to my project page). I have already knitted up one whole ball and started the second.

I swatched with a 10.5US/6.5mm needle because I didn’t have a 7mm in my Knit Picks set, and I liked the fabric I was getting. My gauge is 15 stitches to 4 inches rather than 14, so I am following the instructions for the Large to get a Medium. There is a LOT of ease written into this pattern which makes it less fraught!

I hope that life is going well for all of you. Happy crafting! After all, our creativity and crafting is often our sanity-saver, right?