More Yarn on Etsy!

I have a confession, my spinning and dyeing obsession is starting to get out of hand. So, I've started putting stuff up on my Etsy shop. Just in is a beautiful green number, some supersoft worsted weight bluefaced leicester yarn. This stuff is soft. And green. I dyed it with a mix of green and teal acid dyes and it turned out just how I wanted. Take a look!

Summer Hols & Handyed Yarn

That's me just back from my Summer Holidays, camping in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Climbed some hills (see above), ate good food, spun some yarn and generally had a good time. And while I was away, some hand dyed gems were drying out in the flat...

Just up in my Etsy shop, is this beautiful skein of handdyed, handspun Dorset horn yarn. 

This is a gorgeous bright, bright blue skein of Dorset Horn yarn, handspun and handdyed by me! Dorset Horn wool is pretty similar to merino, definitely "next to skin soft", and it's from a rare breed bit so you'll be doing your part to help preserve this endangered sheep. It's dyed a beautiful shade of blue using professional quality acid dyes, varying from an almost creamy sky blue through to deepest indigo. As you can perhaps see from the pictures, it's a wee bit thick and thin, a little fluffy and somewhere between a heavy worsted and chunky weight. Delicious. 

This skein weighs around 75g and is just over 100m in length. It'd knit up beautifully on 6mm/US10 needles, and is enough for a hat or pair of mittens.

Lace and Cable Mitts

Just put up a new pdf knitting pattern on Etsy and Ravelry. A beautiful pair of lace and cable armwarmers. 

They're  a gorgeous pair of mitts in a lace and cable pattern, with fisherman's rib on the palm. These are very cosy, knitted in a supersoft cashmere blend yarn. Having said that, any aran/worsted weight yarn would do - substitute your favourite! They would make an ideal gift, or a special treat for yourself. 

Design uses 'fake cable' techniques, i.e. left twists and right twists. They are both much easier tp knitthan using a cable needle and practically indistinguishable. It also uses lace stitches k2tog, ssk and yo. Full instructions are included in pdf.  This pattern would be suitable for any knitter from an adventurous beginner upwards!

Handspun Yarn on Etsy

So, my thesis is finished now and I have a few months to relax before starting a PGDE course. So obviously the natural course of action is to spend those months playing with fibre. I've been handspinning with a drop spindle for a wee while now, but for my thesis-finishing present to myself I bought an Ashford Joy spinning wheel. I love it. I am glued to it. How I managed without a wheel for so long is beyond my comprehension.

To cut a long story short, I am going to start selling some handspun yarn in my etsy shop (at least those skeins I can bear to part with). First up is a beautiful fluffy white cloud of a skein of Falkland yarn. It's pretty similar to merino, and I'm leaving it undyed so you can dye it the way you like (or leave it plain and simple). As you can perhaps see from the pictures, it's a wee bit thick and thin, a little fluffy and somewhere between worsted and chunky weight. Delicious. 

Also, to sweeten the deal, I'm going to give you guys a 10% discount on everything in the shop this week, just enter the code MMMHANDSPUN at the checkout. 

Twisted Reversible Hat

Knitted this one up for my mum's birthday. It's a less girly version of my Pirouette Hat in that it has one too few stitches in the round, which makes the pattern spiral as you work it up. The pattern itself is incredibly simple, until you get to the decreases, you're just working knit 2 purl 2. The fact that the number of stitches in a round isn't divisible by 4 means you don't get 2x2 rib, but a lovely spiral pattern. It's reversible too, in fact, I reckon the wrong side is the nicer of the two. This yarn is really gorgeous too, the soy fibre gives it a lovely sheen and I love the gradual colour changes. Hope you enjoy the pattern!

Yarn : Rowan Tapestry, one ball (=120m)


Needles : Four 4mm/US 6 dpns

Gauge:  22 stitches =4'' with 4mm/US6 needles in stocking stitch.

Size: To fit an average 22'' head.

 

Notation: 

k = knit

p = purl

ssk = slip two stitches knitwise, then knit the together with the left-hand needle

CO = cast on

Directions

Spiral Pattern

Just keep working *k2p2* !! The number of stitches in a row isn't divisible by four, so you won't end every row with "p2", but just keep going and you'll get the lovely textured spiral pattern shown. If you have any questions about this please either leave a comment below or email me at d.j.winn "at" hotmail "dot" co "dot" uk. 

 CO 87 stitches. Work in k2 p1 rib for 1 1/2 inches (or around 10 rows). Now work spiral pattern until your hat measures around 7 1/2 inches, ending with a row that ends "k2 p2". Now work decreases as follows:

After knitting a row that ends "k2 p2":

Row 1: *ssk p2 k2 p2* to last 7 stitches, ssk p2 k2 p1.

Row 2: *k2 p2 k2 p1* to last 6 stitches, k2 p2 k2.

Row 3: *ssk k1 p2 k2* to last 6 stitches, ssk k1 p2 k1.

Row 4:  k3 *p2 k4* to last  2 stitches, p2.

Row 5: *ssk k2 p2* to last 5 stitches, ssk k2 p1.

Row 6: *k1 p1 k2 p1* to last 4 stitches, k1 p1 k2.

Row 7: *ssk p1 k2* to last 4 stitches, ssk p1 k1.

Row 8:  k1 *p2 k2* to last 2 stitches, p2.

Row 9: *ssk p2* to last 3 stitches, ssk p1.

Row 10:  *k2 p1* to last 2 stitches, k2.

Row 11: *ssk k1* to last 2 stitches, ssk.

Row 12:  *ssk* to last stitch, k1.

Cut the yarn leaving a 10'' tail. Thread this through the remaining stitches and pull tight. Sew over the hole a couple of times (keeping it neat on both sides since this is a reversible hat), and weave in the loose end (on right or wrong side, but keep it hidden!). I wove the end of the yarn in and out of the stitches in the line of  ssks, this kept things pretty neat. 

Pea Soup Cushion

This one was commissioned by my parents for their new uberflat in Glasgow. My Mum loves this retro kind of green, and wanted something simple but not just stocking stitch. They seemed pretty pleased with it, and I hope you'll like the pattern too! 

     

I'm sure this stitch pattern must have a name, it seems so simple. (I actually copied it from a pair of my boyfriend's mum's handknitted ovengloves!) I'm going to refer to it as pea soup stitch: it's pretty smooth with the odd lump, and the colour's about right. If you know the real name please let me know! 

Yarn : Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 8 balls = 728m, held double throughout.

Needles :  8 mm/US 11

Gauge:  Held singly, gauge is 18sts/ 4'' in stocking stitch with 5mm/US 8 needles.

            Held double, gauge is 11 sts/ 4'' in stocking stitch with 8mm / US 11 needles.

Size: To fit a 45cm x 45cm cushion pad.

Extras: You might want a couple of buttons and a crochet hook to crochet some button loops.

Notation: 

k = knit

p = purl

CO = cast on

Directions:

Pea Soup Stitch: 

Row 1: k2 *p1 k1* to last stitch, k1.

Row 2: purl.

Row 3 k1 *p1 k1* to end.

Row 4: purl.

With yarn held double, CO 45 stitches. Work in pea soup stitch until cushion cover measures 100cm, then bind off loosely. Fold up the the bottom leaving 12cm at the top as shown below (i.e. fold up the bottom 44cm). 

Pin in place and sew up the sides using mattress stitch. 

Fold the top 12cm over and sew in place down the sides.

You might want to sew a couple of buttons on as shown below, I crocheted two button loops for them by working 10 chain stitches from the "bind off" edge with a 5mm crochet hook (yarn held singly). 

Weave in loose ends and you're done!

New design on Etsy and Ravelry!

Great news! Another lovely pattern is up for sale on Ravelry and in my Etsy shop.

The Avena cowl is a beautiful lace cowl in a lovely fuzzy yarn. An understated lace design which could be dressed up or down, it would go equally well with jeans and a t-shirt as with evening dress. The pattern is simple and elegant, pretty but not too fussy.

 The lace pattern is easy to memorize, each repeat has only four rows, two of which are just knit! This cowl would make a gorgeous gift, and it's quick to knit with aran yarn on large 6mm/US 8 needles, and it only uses one skein!