Just in time

Tags

beanie, Beanies, cables, Hats, Johannesburg, knitting cables, knitting hats, Pompoms, winter

Just a quick update.  🙂

I finished the cabled beanie for myself on the weekend.  And just in time.

I woke this morning to a very wet and chilly Johannesburg.

Cabled Beanie 1

Cabled Beanie 1

Cabled Beanie 1

Happy crafting to all, and those down south, winter is here, keep warm.  🙂

A lovely weekend.

Tags

bath salts, cables, cape town, celtic cable, fall sweater, grey sweater, konoha no shawlette, on my needles, project bags, rain africa, rock mint, seitz museum, Shawl, shawlette, sweater, sweater knitting, travelling cables, V & A Waterfront, zeitz

 

It has been a chilly cool weekend in Johannesburg, in the midst of our very hot Spring.  I did not mind the cooler weather much, as I put it to good use to work on my grey lambswool sweater.  It is starting to look like something.  The front is done, the back needs a few more rows and the sleeves needs final shaping.  I opted to not try and knit them all as one piece, as I have not knitted a sweater like that before, and the wool does not like being tinked or frogged.  So I stuck to what I know.  🙂

Grey Sweater progress

Grey sweater progress

And finally the Konoha no Shawlette got cast on.  I’ve knitted this pattern a few years back, and gifted the shawlette to a swap buddy at the time.  I have been wanting to knit it again.  It is a lovely pattern that is easy to knit and follow.

Konoha no Shawlette

My daughter and son in law were in Cape Town during the chilly weekend, and enjoyed lovely sunny weather.  They got around to visiting the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa and the V & A Waterfront amongst others.  I got this absolutely delightful bag from the museum, just the right size to fit my shawlette project.  And it is even big enough to hold a pair of straight needles.  How amazing.

Zeith Musuem of Contemporary Art Africa

And of course, no visit is complete without a trip to Rain Africa on the V & A Waterfront.  This store is one of my favourites, specially when it comes to spoiling oneself.  They have a superb range of products, and I love the bath salts they have.  The fragrances and combinations are truly amazing.  I got a great selection from my daughter and son in law, and have already put the lovely pink one to good use.  It has an amazing fragrance.

 

 

The Joy of Winter :)

Tags

Bee Eater, box project bag, box project bags, cables, celtic cable, cheerful, grey, handknit, handmade, Johannesburg, johannesburg mornings, johannesburg weather, Kingfisher, knit, Knitting, linda's treehouse, project bag, project bags, sheep, south african yarn, stash, Sunshine Grows, sweater, travel, wool, yarn, yarns, Yarnstash

I find winter in Johannesburg very pleasant and a joy.  It is not extremely cold, and the sun is pleasant and comforting.  I would not mind very much if we had our fair share of snow, since I do love snow.

But in Johannesburg we make the most of the pleasant winters days.  Like spending a glorious sunny cozy morning, having a cup of coffee and enjoying the stunning view of the country clubs’ lawns.  I bit dry in patches, which is to be expected in mid winter.

Winter Mornings in Johannesburg

I have been patiently knitting away at my grey sweater.  I have already reached the under the arm length, and have now cast on for the sleeves.  The progress is steady, and I am loving the way the cable insert is turning out.  I have no pattern for this, so I will need to look at the top construction as soon as the sleeves are long enough.

Grey Sweater Progress

Grey Sweater Progress

Grey Sweater Progress

Grey Sweater Progress

And I spoiled myself with a little bit of happy mail.  Stunning bright, cheerful yarns from Linda’s Treehouse, in Kingfisher.  I chose Bee Eater and Sunshine Grows.  I think these would be great summer wear items.  🙂  Or winter, as they are so cheerful.

New Stash Yarn

My latest find in project  bags are these Box Project bags.  They are square and deep with a zipper.  If you open them all the way, you can fold the top back and they double as a portable fabric yarn bowl.  The cute sheepies print on these were just irresistible.  I got two sizes, one for sock size projects and one for shawl size projects.

Box Project Bags

Box Project Bags

Box Project Bags

Greetings :)

Tags

bear, bear fur, bears, cables, celtic cable, hand knitted, handknit, handknitted, handknitting, handmade, handmade bear, Handmade Bears, knit, knits, Knitting, miniature bear, sweater

Becky Bear is saying Hello to everyone.

She is finally all stitched and put together, and is even wearing a white glittery tutu and a pretty butterfly brooch.

The fur was a gift from my sister, and I absolutely love the way it worked for this bear. I used a bit of leather for the paw pads, and kept her as simple as possible.

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Currently on my needles is a rather big and brave project. 🙂  I decided to cast on a sweater for myself.  I have had this lovely and soft grey lambs wool in my stash for a bit, and have been wanting to knit a sweater for myself for some time now.  So finally it happened and I got started.  It is a plain sweater with not to much detail, but I am putting in a panel of Celtic cables, as I love the way they look.

Grey Sweater

Grey Sweater

Grey Sweater

New on my Needles

Tags

autumn, buddy, cables, Knitting, on my needles, scarf, socks

It is time for the next socks on my needles.  I have started a pair of really dark deep purple socks for a swap.  These are a bit very dark, and I must admit I mostly knit them during daylight.

And to make up for when I cannot work on the socks, I have started a scarf in these stunning Autumn Colours, either to wear when its a bit cool and rainy here, or ready for wear next year in the colder winter months.

Looking forward to seeing how this yarn is going to knit up.  I am loving the colours it is producing already.

Some finished projects, and of course, must have socks!

Tags

basket, beanie, cables, crochet, hat, inside out, make-over, pimpelliese, pixel stitch, Shawl, socks, travelling cables, yarn floats

After a rather slow start, and a restart, as I found a little error on my Pimpeliese shawl, I finished it .  It is a super great pattern, and knitted very quickly once I got the hang of it.  The weather was not to warm, and I had to wait for a bit of sunnier days before I could block it and make sure it dried.  But it is done!  And turned out pretty neat.

I also finished the Travelling Cable Hat beanie I was working on.  Super pattern, specially since I really love knitting cables.

I had given this old basket of mine a make-over some time ago, but could not find the right handles I was looking for.  But being persistent, I found these handles, and they seem pretty okay on the basket.  Now I can use it again, and carry my WIP’s around in it.

And of course, what is knitting without having a pair of socks on the needles.  This is my first “big” colourwork knit, and I am enjoying it tremendously.  I am knitting the socks inside out, which is pretty funny, but it is the only way I could figure out how to ensure the floats are even and not to tight.  They are for my daughter and she has tried them on a few times now to ensure the fit is still good.