Icelandic Pullover

At last my husband has got his Christmas present, this Icelandic pullover. He has been very patient, and for once I think it is actually something he will wear. 

The pattern I found on ravelry, and it is called the Anniversary Sweater and designed by Védís Jónsdóttir. The pattern was free, and comes in lots of sizes, but I knitted in XL, I also ordered the recommended wool, Lopi Lettlopi, which came from Iceland. It was not cheap, but is really beautiful wool, and I wanted to try and make as authentic an Icelandic pullover as I could. He picked the colours, and although I was a bit worried it was all too brown, and think it looks really good.

Knitted on circular needles, for me this was unusual, as I tend to like to knit flat and seamed. But I found it okay, and enjoyed making the patterned sections.

My husband was a slightly reluctant model. The first picture was at the beach at Widemouth Bay, but then we went for a few action shots by the wood pile. 

We had to have several ash trees cut down near the road. It makes me sad when I see ash trees dying, and for us this was expensive, as the road had to have traffic control while the tree surgeons were working. But on the plus side we now have a lot of wood for the wood burners, with which we can keep the heating bills down for quite a few years. I would also really like to do something creative with the wood, and would welcome any ideas.

Union Jack Mini Cooper

So much for all my New Year resolutions to post more often. I have just finished this mini cooper with a Union Jack roof, for a customer on Etsy. I always like making this version of my car pattern, and it is off to be gifted to Harry in New Hampshire. His name is on the numberplates, which you can't really see in these photo.

I have been knitting, but have been working on a jersey for my husband. His Christmas present, which may be ready just for when the weather warms up, and he doesn't need it.
 

 

Christmas Robin Pattern for Next Year!

I mentioned before Christmas that I was selling at a few local craft fairs. Getting ready for these fairs I decided to make a few little hanging Christmas Robins, and am publishing the pattern I made up for these robins in all the usual places as a free pattern. Here it is on ravelry.

They are very little, so take just a few scraps of wool, but are great fun to make. When I first started writing knitting patterns, it was because I was really uncertain if it was alright to sell products made from other's pattern. For all my patterns I am quite happy for buyers to sell what they make in small quantities at local craft fairs, but not online or in a large volume.

It was hard to decide whether to wait until next Christmas, but as this is a very little pattern, I decided to bring it out now. I started off making red and brown, but then looking at the robins in my back garden, I also tried for some slightly more realistic orange and light brown colours.

So lots of time to make a few little birds for next Christmas, and I will republish this post next autumn as a reminder, so you can make plenty more. And I have time to try and get the perfect robin photo - but for that perhaps I need a sprinkling of snow.

Daisy Flower Video

 

A Neighbourly Mini Cooper

I've been busy making another mini cooper, this time for my neighbour at my new home in Cornwall. Being a neighbour here in the country is a different thing, than in London. There you could easily hear neighbour's conversations, as they were a matter of feet away, but here even a close neighbour is a bit of long stride across a field. 

We seem to have a lot in common, as we met at the local craft fair. And both owners of a mini cooper, a lovable black dog, and a black and white cat. 

For this mini cooper I slightly altered my pattern - adding details to the wheels, and adding a spoiler to the back. Rather a sporty model.

Black Mini Cooper

Another Christmas knit, which I could not show until it was given to the recipient, my sister-in-law. Her previous red mini cooper had a little knitted version on the dashboard, but when we saw her in the autumn we heard how that car had come to a sad end in some flood water. But she was in a new black mini cooper, which I have made a version of. Had to sneak out and take a few photos, just so I could get all the details correct.

Knitted from my own pattern, which you can find here. I have made a lot of these little cars over the years, and I am currently working on another one for my mini cooper owning neighbours.

November Balaclava by Petite Knit

Another Christmas knit, which I couldn't post about until now, although this time the main reason was that I hadn't finished it. My daughter very much wanted a balaclava, which I read are in style at the moment. Lots of patterns for these, but she found this one by PetiteKnit, called November Balaclava.

For me the knitting was a bit tricky, because it involved using circular needles. I would always rather use doublepoints, but I decided to try and follow the instruction, and perhaps it was not as scary as I thought, and I may give the circular needles another go in the future. 

 

The main part of the hood is knitted with a fisherman's rib, a stitch which I haven't used before. I also bought the wool recommended, which was Peruvian Highland Wool by Filcolana. Perhaps I didn't really think through the colour, and I have rather made her look like the head of a match. But she is happy with it, and I am working on another one in a more neutral shade. I slightly altered the ribbing around the face, as she wanted it a bit lower on her hairline.

So hopefully we may have a bit of colder weather. So far this year it has been very mild in Britain.