Sewchet

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Tag Archives: knitting


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Sunday Sevens #114

Time for another Sunday Sevens instalment – linking up with Nat over at Threads & Bobbins.

1. Mr H-L was working abroad for a few days and needed a new suit, so we went to Clark’s Village and had breakfast at Tamburino Village afterwards. No, I didn’t manage to eat it all – it was a huge breakfast!


2. Bekki, from The Dartmoor Yarn Company, set herself a UFO challenge which spurred me on to sew up the hat I made for No.1 Son before Christmas so he could finally wear it.


3. Lovin’ using the blue lidded dish I found in a charity shop a while back. This time it contains homemade smoked salmon pâté.


4. Talking of food, I’ve found my appetite is changing and I can no longer manage three meals a day (an age thing?). Mind you, with breakfasts like these, it’s not surprising I don’t want to eat again until supper time!


5. Does anyone else subscribe to The English Home? I love this magazine and immediately sat down with a coffee to enjoy reading it when it popped through the letterbox.


6. Apologies if this makes you choke on your toast, or if you’ve already seen it on IG, but I’m dressing up as Dolly Parton for my sister’s 50th next month and tried on the wig for a laugh. The fabrics and sequins have arrived and my aim is to recreate Dolly’s Glastonbury outfit, as it is a Glastonbury Festival themed party.


7. So proud of my students’ achievements – Ellie made this adorable little outfit for a baby girl, over the course of a couple of months.


8. Blocking my Teal ‘Yoga jumper’ before sewing it up and starting on the hood. This has been my Winter project this year and I’m pleased to be near the finish line as I have plans for my next project already.


9. Three day’s worth of washing in our house which they all groan about when asked to sort it out. Bearing in mind it’s all been washed and dried for them and the fact that the sum total of my laundry amounts to the pile of knickers on the floor in front of the basket, I’m damned if I’m doing it!

10. Morrison’s café has just reopened after refurbishment, so I took The Boys in there for supper one night after they helped me with the shopping. It’s a vast improvement and, after saying as much to the staff, it seems that they love it, too.


11. I finally found the right shawl pattern for the yarn that Claire hand dyed for me as part of this year’s Stitching Santa gift. It’s the Eyelet Neck Scarf by Allyson Ryan on Ravelry – and it’s free!


12. Couldn’t resist this cute pair of ankle boots from Heavenly Feet.

13. Finally, on Saturday night we went to watch Snow White, a pantomime by the Shipham Players, in which my brother-in-law is heavily involved. It was ace and the seven ‘dwarves’ stole the show as far as I was concerned – head dwarf ‘Grouchy’ being about 6′ 4″!


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Stitching Santa Reveal #1

Everyone loves a Secret Santa, don’t they? Apparently so, because 45 lovely ladies (and a man!) signed up for #stitchingsanta 2016, a themed Secret Santa for fabric and yarn lovers who blog or Instagram. 

To read all about it and to join in next year, have a look at this post.


I participated in both the sewing swap and the knitting/crochet swap, so was treated to two parcels under my tree in time for Christmas Day – although I didn’t actually find a quiet moment to myself in which to savour their opening until the 28th December!

I had a lovely pub lunch in Wells the week before Christmas with Claire who, together with regular input from her lovely black labrador, blogs at Mollie & Claire. Claire had drawn me as the lucky recipient of her knitting/crochet parcel – and Boy, was I treated!

We have even both been to Stephen and Penelope’s in Amsterdam – highly recommended to anyone who visits this wonderful city. This project bag contained all my goodies and sat under the tree for about ten days……..


……during which time a mouse had chewed itself a little doorway……


….and helped itself to the tasty fudge within!!


There was plenty to go around though, so I didn’t mind sharing with a cheeky little mouse:)

Just look at this mountain of presents!


I must admit that I went straight for the one that looked like it might contain the hand dyed yarn that Claire had not-so-subtly hinted at previously. Dyed with her own fair hands, Claire had even caked the skein for me so it is ready for use. It’s utterly gorgeous – 400m of sock yarn in the perfect shade of pink, which may become a shawl or socks. I’ll take my time deciding what to make with it as I want to make sure it gets plenty of use.


More handmade items were revealed in subsequent presents – one of Claire’s many Mandala creations is far too pretty to be used as a mat of any kind and is destined for the wall in my studio so I can enjoy it every day.


I love this slouchy beanie hat and couldn’t wait to model it, so here it is whilst I’m in my PJs!


It sparkles with silver sequins – here’s a close up.


Two little felted baubles with yet more sequins!

I rather think they’d make lovely earrings:)


What about this ceramic heart brooch? How sweet?


I can’t tell you how bloomin’ useful this stitch counter is going to be. I’ve got two of the kind that go on your needles but, as I’ve invariably got more than a few knitting/crochet projects on the go at any one time, it will save me swapping between needles.


Claire also threw in some sewing related gifts – anyone who sews will appreciate the quality of these threads.


I love the snowman ribbon!!!!


A pack of Christmas pud decorations for the tree next year.


Some pampering treats which smell divine – when are they going to invent scratch ‘n’ sniff for the internet?!


Now this really is lovely and will be used every day until it’s all gone.


Claire even included a gift for Fifi and Tess from Mollie! That’s if No.1 Son hasn’t eaten them before we get home from France, mistaking them for iced biscuits……


I even rescued all the satin ribbon, which was beautifully tied around several of the gifts, for future use.


Finally, this car decal made me smile – how true are those words?!


Thanks so much Claire – I feel thoroughly spoiled!


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Knitted Mermaid Blanket

This month’s blog post for Minerva Crafts is a brilliant pattern for a Mermaid’s Tail blanket. With instructions for babies, children and adult sizes, it is a quick knit using super chunky yarn.

Click on the link for the full blog post: Mermaid’s Tail Blanket


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Knitted Lace Baby Shawl

Way back in June I was contacted by a childhood friend whom I haven’t seen for thirty years and asked if I would consider knitting a shawl for her upcoming first grandchild. 

I don’t normally take commissions for something like this, but she asked so nicely and was so obviously a fan of my work that I decided to make an exception and agreed on the basis that this would be my evening project. You know, the kind that you pick up for a couple of hours every evening so your fingers have something to do whilst watching TV.

The baby was due in early October, which meant I would have to get cracking as three months is not very long in shawl-knitting terms, and I estimated that about 60 hours of handknitting would be required. I had no problem choosing the perfect yarn – the softness of Alpaca combined with the smooth quality of silk made this the obvious choice.

A laceweight yarn, the silk adds a subtle sheen and would make an incredibly light and delicate shawl.

I ordered 4 skeins in “Wedding White” as the gender of the baby was to remain a surprise, and off white would be ideal. Each 50g skein contains 439 yards of yarn so, although I hadn’t yet decided on a pattern, figured that 1700 yards should be plenty.

Look how fine the yarn is!

It all got off to a bit of a false start because I wasn’t happy with the first pattern I chose and had to unravel it and start again from scratch.

A bit more research resulted in the purchase of this lovely pattern by Sirdar – the circular design, rather than the square one.

And so the lengthy process began!

It soon became apparent that I had VASTLY underestimated the time and quantity of yarn that this beast would consume!

After 60 hours over 2 months, I was about two-thirds of the way through the main body of the shawl, and it took both boys to hold it up for me to take a photograph.

I just love how gossamer-fine it is and how you can see right through.

I also had to order another 2 skeins of yarn which took another 2 weeks to arrive before I could continue.

With the body of the shawl finished, I moved on to the pretty bit – the show-stopping lacy border, which was an absolute joy to knit after all those rounds of stockinette.

You can see the pattern beginning to develop here.

Despite being over a week overdue, the baby had now arrived…..but I still hadn’t finished the border. 

It was a baby girl!

Eventually, all the actual knitting was complete and ‘all’ I had to do was to join these two piles of knitting together.

It ended up being several evenings worth of work, starting with pegging the border evenly to the centre section and then sewing ithem together.

Wet blocking was the next step in the process, whereby all 120 points had to be pinned out to their final shape.

I commandeered The Boy’s bedroom and banished them for two days while it dried, pinned to a combination of three towels and the carpet!

When it was completely dry, I took it downstairs to try and photograph it as the contrast against the oak floor showed up the pattern more clearly.

There wasn’t enough spare floor space!

Here’s a close up of the edging after blocking – such lovely lacy detail.

By screwing it up in the middle, I managed to take a photo of the whole shawl – it really is massive!

It looks lovely here, draped over the arm of the sofa.

Off it went in the post and I waited a nerve-wracking few days before hearing that it had reached its destination safely – what a relief!

Very soon, some photos were sent to me of the shawl in use, and I have permission to share them with you on the blog.




Do you want to have the final stats of this mammoth project?

Here goes…….

– 2760 yards of yarn

– 137 hours of knitting

– 161,852 stitches

Would I do it again?

In a heartbeat – only next time it will have to be for MY grandchild because it was so hard to part with after all that effort!


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#Stitching Santa Progress

I’m taking part in both Stitching Santa swaps again this year and thought I’d share my progress so far and perhaps provide a little inspiration for others taking part or, indeed, anyone wishing to make some handmade gifts this Christmas.

I’ve already spent my £10 budget for the yarn swap, so am now able to concentrate on making a few small items to include in my parcel. As knitting takes far longer than sewing does, I looked for some quick makes which could be whipped up in an evening.

This first one is a mini stocking and is a free pattern by Julie Williams (aka Little Cotton Rabbits) on Ravelry. 

The charts are clear and easy to follow – a great introduction to stranded colourwork if you haven’t tried it before.


The finished stocking measures about five inches plus the hanging loop and took just a couple of hours all in.


Next up was a project from Wooly Woofers, a book by Debbie Bliss.


I bought it two years ago, more for the wonderful way the dog models were integrated into the brilliant illustrations – pure genius.


I cast on one night…..


…..and made good progress.


By the second night, and a total of about three hours knitting, the bandana was complete. Here it is after blocking.


I chose the distinctive ‘paw print’ design which was fun to watch taking shape.


Tess was a reluctant model, but I managed to get this photo of her wearing it.


There is also a ‘Scottie’ motif, if you prefer. This image is taken from the book, of a much more cooperative Yorkie. Looks like she’s being bribed with treats!


Another photo from the book showing that one size fits all dogs.


I think this one is going to be next on the list of doggy makes – perfect for Fifi.


I will share more ideas with you as I make things, so watch this space!


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Sunday Sevens 108

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series where you share some moments from outside your blog. You can find out more about how to join in at Threads & Bobbins.

1. My niece is at University so I sent her some money for her birthday (seeing as she is now a poor student!). I wanted to give her an actual present to open as well, so I knitted this bobble hat.

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2. I’ve been working on Christmas gifts this week and have started (and finished) quite a few. This will become a pointless-but-fun dog bandana. Because all dogs should have one.

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3. A couple of hours were spent on a bit of fair isle knitting in Christmassy red and white.

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4. This is the finished thing – a cute little stocking which will go into my #stitchingsanta parcel, the first thing I’ve made as yet. The pattern is a free one by Julie Williams on Ravelry and one I wanted to make last year but didn’t have time. Hopefully, I’ll have time to make some more because they are a joy to knit and quick, too.

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5. Talking of #stitchingsanta, this skein of lace weight baby merino wool is also destined for my recipient. 470 yards should be enough to knit a shawl. I was drawn in by the lovely Autumnal colours and can’t wait to see it made up.

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6. My Winter “selfish knitting” project – a Sunday jumper, for lazy days at home. (I’ve practically lived in my Stag’s head dress since I made it!)

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7. I borrowed this pattern from my sister in law and am substituting with Drops Nepal, 65% wool, 35% alpaca for softness as the recommended Debbie Bliss Cashmerino was too expensive!

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8. I waved goodbye to Mr H-L at 8am this morning, as he is off to London with a 7.5 tonne truck to clear his parent’s flat which has now sold. Sad times, but time to move on.

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9. Ending on a cheerful note – Fifi turned 14 and had a birthday haircut. She didn’t stop shivering the first day, so I nipped out and bought her a festive jumper to keep her warm. She loves it and hasn’t shivered since. And looks totally adorable, to boot!

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Sunday Sevens #102

Time for another Sunday Sevens as organised by Nat at Threads & Bobbins . Not that we’ve heard much from Nat lately – where are you Nat, we miss you?

  1.  Working on the lacy border for the Baby shawl commission that I’ve been slogging away at for a few months. Baby was due yesterday and I’ve run out of time! Trouble is, I get a numb bum if I sit for more than two hours at a time, so I can’t knit it any faster.

2. Whilst I’m still in my Summer linens and flip flops, I’m looking ahead to more typical Autumn weather and thinking about what to wear on the chillier days to come. I’m making the main view in orange and brown Ponte Roma – very seasonal colours. It’s actually a dress which looks like a skirt and top and I reckon it’ll get a lot of wear as it’s as comfortable as a tracksuit but MUCH smarter for everyday use. In fact, I’ve already got plans for a second one in different colours.

3. I finally got around to buying some spray starch for all those crocheted daisies that I made back in July. What a difference it makes. These are going to be a garland for my upcycled oak dresser.

4. As you probably know, I cook a LOT, so should be pretty good by now. However, cakes are not my forté – they always taste great….but look rubbish. Not this time! I used this Carrot Cake  recipe and followed it to the letter and it actually rose!

5. I doubled up on the icing so that I could put some in the middle, too, and topped it off with the grated zest of an orange.

6. Here’s what’s left of it on the far right after a friend hosted a very successful charity MacMillan Coffee Morning during which over £200 was raised!

7. My iPhone 5s is currently residing in a bag of rice. Why? Dear husband left it in his trouser pocket and it went through a wash cycle. I think it’s too far gone to dry out in a bag of rice. I’ve got 18 months left on the contract and no phone so you can imagine how cross I was. Anyone got a spare one…..?!

8. No.1 Son took a snap of the harvest lunch (as I no longer have a camera phone…). It was taken at the end when people had started to leave  so you’ll have to believe me when I say the hall was full and it was a lovely atmosphere.

9. And finally……#stitchingsanta 2016 has started! Click on this link to sign up and take part this year.

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Knitted Lace Cardigan

Just after Christmas, after months of making things for other people, I had the urge to knit something for myself.

I love Artesano (and was gutted to find out recently that they have gone into receivership – another independant yarn shop gone) and I found this lace cardigan pattern on their website, for free, no less. Here’s the link – download it while you can as I assume the website will be offline soon: – free lace cardigan pattern

Cardigan

The suggested yarn was their Alpaca Silk Lace, so I went ahead and treated myself to four skeins of ‘French Rose’.

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The lace pattern is a simple repeating pattern and, although I lost concentration and made a few mistakes, the pattern is quite loose so they don’t show at all.

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Fast forward to May and the goal was to take it to Spain as a light cover up in the evenings. Well, the knitting was finished in time….but not stitched together, so I took all four panels with me with the intention of finishing it on the first day or two of our holiday.

I blocked it.

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I even sewed it together.

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Then it came back to England with me and I forgot all about it until the other day.

Re-discovered underneath several WIPs in my lovely sewing cabinet, I dragged it out and sat down, determined to make the flowers there and then.

Look, matching nails and dress, too:)

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Half an hour later, the flowers were completed and all that was left to do was the chain cord that would act as a buttonhole, joining the two flowers.making-cord-chainknitted-chain-cord

Finally…….Tadah!

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It’s quite special as cardigans go, so I thought I’d glam it up with a pair of designer mules for the photos.

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I love the scalloped edge at the bottom.

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It’s so easy to wear and not at all restrictive.

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The pattern calls for twelve knitted roses dotted about on various seams, but I left it at two, on the front opening edge.

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I slapped on a matching lippy and met hubby for a drink at lunchtime and he loved it. Or was it the heels…….?

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Sunday Sevens #98

We’re down to one car at the moment – the Mercedes is in the garage and may be on it’s way to the scrapyard in the sky as it may not be economical to fix.  Mr H-L has been using my car for work as I don’t need it in the holidays, but this means we don’t get out at all as there is very limited public transport.

What I’m trying to say, is that there are no pub photos in this week’s Sunday Sevens, and no Exmoor landscapes – just us at home, doing stuff.

  1. Progress is slow but steady on the baby shawl I’m knitting. At this point I was one third of the way through and the statistics were; 35 hours, 560 rows and 40,324 stitches.

2. I held two full day workshops this week. Just look at the concentration on her face!

3. The students love choosing their own combination of fabrics to make their creations unique. It started with piles of neatly folded fabric but, within seconds of excited rummaging, descended into this chaotic heap!

4. I found time to design and make a school bag for No.2 Son. He declared that he was too old to use the standard school “babyish” book bags so chose the fabrics for a more grown up version.

I’ll write up a quick ‘how to’ when I get time.

5. Talking of school, we made a rare trip to town to buy new school shoes and The Boys spent the whole time going up and down the escalators. They’re not used to such exciting entertainment in the country!

6. WHY are school shoes so expensive? £100 for two pairs of shoes and a pair of daps – criminal.

7. While we were in Yeovil, we popped into the outdoor pursuits shop and managed to snap up another gas burner, gas cannisters and a new lamp, all at half price, ready for camping next week.

8. I treated myself to six tin plates, all copies of original royal china. Who said you can’t dine in style just because you’re camping?

9. Being at home all week meant more baking than usual was done. The Boys wore their self-made butcher’s aprons and had great fun making chocolate cornflake crunchies.

10. Licking the spoons is always the best bit, isn’t it?

11. Finally – HOW can sleeping like this be comfortable?!

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series showing glimpses of your life outside of the blog. To find out how you can join in, too, visit Nat at Threads & Bobbins.


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Sunday Sevens #86

Welcome to another SSSS (South Somerset Sunday Sevens) – no. 86 or 87, I’ve lost track after this many weeks. Nat over at Threads & Bobbins came up with this idea to help you keep blogging in those less productive times. Pop over to her blog to see how you can join in, too.

As ever, I have failed to whittle it down to just seven photos (clue is in the title!) but HAVE found a way to make it less obvious that I can’t count – make a montage!

  1. Although we went away to London last weekend for our wedding anniversary, the actual date was mid week so, of course, we had to celebrate again on the day itself. We went to one of our favourite places for lunch, Holbrook House, which is the same hotel that we spent our wedding night in.

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2. These giant 25mm knitting needles arrived in the post from Wool Warehouse along with some super chunky wool. I’ve been knitting with laceweight yarn on 3mm needles for three months solid and was desperate to do a quick knit.

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3. We spent a couple of days in the garden at the beginning of the week as soon as the spell of good weather started. Pool was filled, gazebo drapes were put back up and the daybed was dressed for the Summer.

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4. I cast on with the giant needles whilst keeping an eye on The Boys in the pool.

We had snow this time last week!

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5. Knitting continued apace the following morning in bed. I love how quickly this has knitted up. In fact, the entire jumper is finished already – I just have to sew it up!

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6. Talking of knitting, No.3 Son asked if I would teach him how to knit. This is the progress of his ‘scarf’. Well, a scarf is the first thing everyone knits, isn’t it?

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7. Mr H-L’s red shorts are nearly finished. Waistband is going on – this is the inside and should make him smile every time he puts them on.

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8. No.2 Son declared that he needed some new shorts for Spain in a few weeks so, being the mother that I am, told him to go and make some.

An hour and a half later – voilà!

Like his father, his taste is not exactly conservative:)

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9. Two more happy Stitch Academy students with their finished projects.

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10. Our first barbeque of the year!

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11. Lunch with the girls made a nice change as we don’t get to do it as often as we used to.

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12. Second barbeque in as many days! Last year we didn’t have a single one, so we’re making the most of the good weather while it lasts.

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13. In fact, we lit the woodburner (every garden should have one) and stayed outside until nearly ten o’clock with family who were visiting for the weekend.

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Finally, a big “thank you” to all your kind messages about the hens. They are all missed, but the new ones are getting used to us now, coming closer as they get braver and become more inquisitive. It won’t be very long before we find them wandering into the kitchen, I suspect.