Hexagon blanket

I don't have a finished object for you this week. But I do have a knitty work-in-progress: I have been plugging away on the Araucania/Patagonia hexagon blanket.

Pattern: Bobby's Garden Hexagon Blanket
(You can purchase the pattern online, or simply follow the tutorial)

Yarn: The original pattern uses Noro (which gives a fantastic effect). I have used Araucania and Patagonia cotton which has a nice nubby texture and weighty feel to it. Plus I had some left over from another project and was gifted a bunch from my knitty pals (thanks girls :) Oh, and of course I purchased a few skeins.

Needles: Since I'm using a bigger yarn, I'm using bigger needles - US 10.

Modifications: I only cast on 10 stitches for each side -- the hexagons go pretty quickly :)

Tips:

• When starting each hexagon, you need to figure out how many sides you will be connecting to adjacent hexagons and how many will be free-standing.
• Cast on for the free-standing sides first, and then pick up the required stitches on the edges of the adjacent hexagons.
• I use 3 needles for holding the stitches: 2 sides of the hexagon on each needle.  On each needle I seperate the 2 sides of stitches with a stitch marker.  On the first needle I use a different stitch marker than on needles 2 and 3 - this helps remind me when I've come the the beginning of another round.
• After casting on I knit in the loose tail end on the second round of stitches (saves weaving it in later).
• Once I get to the end of each hexagon I weave in the end (so that I'm not left with a bunch of ends to weave in once the knitting is done.

And that's it - it really is a great pattern. I now have 100 hexagons and feel like it is well over 50% there. Unlike the sock yarn version I've been making that could be on the needles for many decades :o)))



Hope you are having a good week
Happy hump day,
Sam xxx

Big Birdie Skirt

A couple of years ago my Sis bought me this fabulous Big Birdie Skirt kit from http://www.clothkits.co.uk/ I'm wishing I'd finished it sooner, because it is lovely and fits perfectly.



The first year I had a good excuse - it was the year I was pregnant with Naomi.  And then the following year I was convinced I was going to lose all the baby weight and would wait until I was all slimline.  Ahem, er, yes, that hasn't really happened yet.  So rather than delay further, and given that the weather had started to turn warmer again, I pulled out the kit a couple of weeks ago and began working on it.



I was a little nervous to begin with - it was too pretty to mess up.  However that wasn't an issue at all because the instructions were extremely clear and easy for a beginner to follow.  I have nothing but great things to say about the kit.  The skirt fabric is this wonderfully soft baby cordruoy.  And I really like that it is fully lined.  I thought the attention to detail on the top band of the lining was a nice touch too.



The directions for where to cut each of the pieces is printed straight onto the fabric, and I'm kicking myself  for not tracing this onto paper after I'd cut out all the pieces -- I am super happy with the fit of the skirt and would like to make another one using some of the fabric in my stash.  I might take a stab by tracing round the completed skirt and adding the necessary seam and hem allowances.  Then again, I could always order this beauty (love, love, love this skirt), and make sure that I do the tracing the next time around :)

Hope you had a great weekend,
Sam

Fabricate in Boulder

This last week was my birthday.  I love birthdays.  Even better, I love that my hubby likes to make a big deal out of my birthday :)  This year we took the day off work to have a date day in Boulder.  Knowing thats where we were heading I did a quick web search to see if there were any cute fabric or yarn shops near the Pearl Street Mall area.  And there is:  A new store called Fabricate. 



Fabricate is a fun little store that is stocked with modern fabrics and embroidery patterns.  They also sell some of the prettiest patterned ribbons I have ever seen.  If you happen to be out and about in Boulder it is definately worth a peek.  The store has a welcoming homely feel.  The staff were wonderful too - you know when you feel perfectly comfortable and are encouraged to browse to your heart's content, knowing that if you needed anything they'd be happy to help.  Love that.

In one of the rooms they have this great cutting table with the adjustable height.  I've had my eye on the very same table from Ikea.  (I have been dreaming of creating a dedicated craft space at home).



Ooh and look at this lamp shade... I should have asked where they got this from (or how they made it/what fabric)... sooo cute!



Naturally I picked up a couple of yards of fabric.  Some fun children's prints to make clothes for Naomi.  I recently picked up this book, and want to make everything in there... watch this space :)  I also received some fabulous crafty gifts from my family including a Yarn Bowl from my Brother and Sister-In-Law, and an inspirational Orla Kiely book from my Sis and her family.

Wishing you a great weekend.
Sam xxx