Did you have a busy weekend? Where did the time go? I'm curious what everyone else has been up to! Unfortunately I haven't been able to read all my favourite blogs because I have been away! (We went to a gig in Germany last night and drove back to Belgium following the scenic route through Germany and then Holland! I forget how many rainshowers we had in one day, quite a few!!) We only got back this evening and I need an early night!
Mystery WIP
Remember when I showed you a Mystery WIP in my last post? Here is the picture:
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| Mystery WIP |
A Fairisle Autumn Cowl
Well this is the finished project - I knitted a chunky Fairisle Cowl!
Knitted over this weekend, mostly in the car. Luckily I drew my own chart on squared paper, taped it to the dashboard and I followed that. However, in the beginning I had a few miscounts which immediately became apparent in the next row, so I knitted backwards until I got back on track!
Once the pattern was emerging, it got easier and easier! I love Fairisle! It is such a cool way of making patterns by using colour.
Have you ever tried knitting in the round and/or knitting Fairisle?
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| Fairisle Autumn Cowl in Ochre and Dark Green |
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| The wrong side of the Cowl |
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| Me modelling my new Fairisle Autumn Cowl |
I had no tape measure with me, but it worked out 28.5 cm wide as well as high when laid flat!
Light weight, yet cosy!!!
More Finnish Granny Squares
On my car journey today I crocheted some more Finnish Granny Squares which is my current WIP.
I am only using 3 colours: A Silver Grey (Crystal Quartz), Lime Yellow (Lemon Quartz) and Purple (Deep Amethyst) of Scheepjeswol Stone Washed.
So far I have made 10 squares, but I'm going to make a few more. Initially I thought about making a cushion cover, but now I'm working towards a light scarf.
I love this pattern. The middle part looks almost like a sunflower!
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| Finnish Granny Squares WIP |
Well, my plan for an early night is not working, but I wanted to share my latest makes with you. :)
From next week onwards it will also mean back to a different routine as I will return to evening classes for Dutch, starting tomorrow (Monday) night. Wish me luck!
Hope everyone is slowly getting back to their usual routine, and maybe, just maybe (I'm hoping) we will get that promised spell of a few more glorious summer days!!! And I hope it will reach you all, no matter where in the world you are living! We all deserve some rays of sunshine!
Happy crafting! And don't forget to leave me a little comment, you know I love reading them! :)
Wow! You have had a very productive time with so many projects on the go. Congratulations on finishing your cowl which looks very cosy.
ReplyDeleteI do like fair isle but I have never knitted it. One of my friends, knowing me well, suggested that it would appeal to me so it has been on my list of things to try for a long time.
I an envious of you being able to travel between Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Maybe when you go to your Dutch lessons you could share some of it on your blog with me? I would love a refresher course in Dutch! Is that the main language where you live or do you get by with French or English or perhaps Flemish (Vlaamse?). If you need someone to practice with, I am here! (waving my hands at you) :-)
In November some students from one of my local Australian schools will be visiting Belgium. I wonder whether they will be near to you at that time.
Hi! Yes, I think you should give fairisle a go, you could make some simple wristwarmers with 2 colours to start with. My advice is to have a pattern where the colours repeat every 1-3 stitches. If you have longer repeats it means that the yarn at the back has to travel further. It needs to be the right tension so that the loops (on the inside) are not too tight or too loose. There are many books on knitting (how to) that also show some easy fairisle ideas. You could get some at your library! (I borrow lots of crafty books from the libraries round here!)
DeleteWell Belgium is quite small and surrounded by these other countries, so in less than an hour we could be in the Netherlands! We are going to visit my mother in Germany this week, but that is a 4hr drive (without breaks!).
Technically we are being taught Nederlands, though we speak Flemish! ;) The pronounciation is softer! Also people around here speak Antwerps which is a dialect. I'm guessing your students might visit Brussels? (I'm living outside Antwerp). I reckon they might find it funny that we have Australian ice cream here! xx
The Nederlands in the south of Holland is also a softer dialect. I have an uncle from there. When I visited Nederland I stayed in Den Haag and also between there and Zwolle, NOP etc. I picked up some Frisian in Sneek and I think that is why I seem to pick up Danish and some Scandinavian words easily.
DeleteI love the colours you are using for your Granny squares. The finished cowl looks great. I sometimes knit fairisle too. And I love knitting in the round - I use this method to avoid having seams especially when making tea cosies and hot water bottle covers.
ReplyDeleteThanks! :) Tea cosies and hot water bottle covers - you are giving me more new ideas!!!
DeleteI learnt a little bit of Dutch years ago when I was going on a holiday in Holland.
ReplyDeleteGillian, you are truly a woman of many talents!!! :)
DeleteYou have been busy the cowl is beautiful and the granny squares are a real delight, the colour combinations are stunning. Good luck with the Dutch lessons.
ReplyDeleteHello! Thank you so much! :)
DeleteAll the best with all your many wedding preparations, I think your To Do List must be really long!!! xx
I love fairisle.
ReplyDeleteAnd your cowl is so well done..
It is a pleasure to read your post.
Miss
Aww, you are so kind! Glad you enjoyed reading it!
DeleteHave a good start into September!! xx
I love your squares, such a beautiful colour palette and they'll make a lovely scarf. Your cowl is lovely too, I tried fair-isle knitting a long time ago, and really enjoyed it but I wasn't too good at it ;-) But I'd love to try again!
ReplyDeleteHello Bec! Thank you! ;) I think the key is to start simple with Fairisle, practise makes perfect, as they say. It is not much different from normal knitting, you just carry an extra thread. On that note, I never tried to do the same with crochet, have you? (Jacquard or Intarsia crochet) xx
DeleteI have done that colourwork in crochet. It is very easy because the carried thread gets enclosed by the working thread. Very tidy both sides.
DeleteThe cowl looks very warm and lovely! Here in Dortmund everyone would be sooo excited to see a cowl with these colours - the local soccor clubs colours are yellow and black :p
ReplyDeleteI think I might need to learn to knit... The Fairisle things look sooo great!
Take care
Anne
http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de
Yes, it is very warm. Hehe, I know what you mean, but in fact this is ochre and a very dark green, just the photos make it appear almost black (I took the picture late in the evening).
DeleteHave you not done any knitting before then? It is fun, just like crochet, only you need to watch your stitches as you have a whole lot of them on your needles! Give it a go!!! xx
What a fab cowl! And I am crazy over your Finnish grannies :)
ReplyDeleteHehe, I know what you mean, but that sounded quite funny, I had to chuckle! :) I'm quite thrilled with them, and now I made a few more I'm definitely getting the hang of them! xx
DeleteHi Ingrid, love your granny squares in silver, lime and purple-quite lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh my days my knitting skills have quite a way to go yet before I try something as challenging as colour changes-however I am determined to keep trying.
Good luck in language school, hope they are a good bunch and share a laugh or two.
Helen
Hiya Helen! Thanks! The 'Finnish Grannies' have been transformed into a scarf which is currently being blocked! :) I'm hoping to show it tomorrow! I wouldn't say I'm a born and bred knitter, but I feel that I keep learning new skills with practise, so I definitely agree with you about keep trying! :) The first class on Monday evening went fine and tonight I got another (different) one! Lots of new faces! :)
DeleteHaihai! Mooie col heb je gebreid zeg! En zo leuk dat je het patroon zelf verzonnen hebt. Ik kan niet breien dus hou het maar bij haken.
ReplyDeleteJe vierkantjes zijn ook leuk zeg! Ben benieuwd naar de sjaal die je ervan gemaakt hebt. Veel succes met je cursus Nederlands. Nu kun je vast oefenen met lezen, hihi. Groetjes!
Hi Lizette, dankje! Ik denk dat ik erg veel heb geleerd met lezen van al die blogs! Mijn Finnish Granny Square Sjaal is af, lees maar mijn nieuwe bericht! Ik denk dat je kan breien leren, het is niet zo moelijk! Zeker zijn er veel instructies ook op youtube enzo.
DeleteGroetjes! xx
Hoorah! Ik kun alles van deze opmerkingen verstaan!
DeleteBlogging is goed om een taal te leren. Dank U wel! :-)