Cupcake

I recently joined UK based craft group Openminders, and someone had a great idea to do a gift exchange with a difference. A theme of cupcakes! As there aren’t that many knitters on there I thought I’d have a go at the popular knitted cupcakes I’ve seen around. I picked out some bright colours from my collection of acrylic DK and cast on.

Several hours later, I was ready for pulling my hair out, because my cake wouldn’t work out. I had a look over at Raverly and other people had commented that the pattern was a bit dodgy in places. So I switched to amigurumi for the cake part, crocheting it together in minutes. I returned to knitting for the icing/frosting and added some long beads I got from a cross-stitch magazine a few months ago to add some extra dazzle and colour. I completed the cake with a cake case in bright pink!

I think I am definitely becoming more confident in reading and following patterns, but more so I am becoming braver at attempting to adapt patterns in the hope that one day I will maybe write my own. I scribble too much though. I had planned to upload a scan of my “Knitted/Crocheted” character from Harry Hill’s TV Burp but the instructions make no sense to me a week after finishing the item!

I know some people have mentioned adding in a favourite recipe or something, so I’ll have to have a think about that. Cupcakes are not my baking speciality.
Now all I have to do is work out the best way to post this item when it’s time to do so, and hope that the item is appreciated by its’ receiver. I haven’t taken part in an exchange before, so I guess I get to wait in anticipation to receive my gift!

Yarn Knowledge

When I first started out knitting, I only knew wool exist in one form. That wool was cheap ass acrylic Double Knitting (DK) yarn. Of course, it has it’s benefits in that a)it is cheap b)it is affordable (200g for less than £2 generally) c)it comes in a wide array of colours d)it is generally widely available. Of those four points, d) was the main attraction for me. I have an LYS (if you can call it that, it’s a stall at an indoor market not much bigger than a public toilet) that sells cheap DK and Aran weight wool by the bucket load, so that did for all my early projects. It’s great to start with, as if you split the wool, or get tangled or knotted, you can cut the wool and start again with little expense spared.

As time has gone by, I have explored other weights, thicknesses and types of yarn. It hasn’t always been pretty! I freely admit that I have had ‘fun fur’ in my yarn stash at one point! I’ve bought sock yarn, then struggled to make the socks. I’ve bought chunky yarn to make that chunky scarf, only to realise I haven’t bought anywhere near enough chunky yarn. Truth is, I don’t know enough about the variety of yarns to really think about what I should be using for each product. Time to learn!

Merino is a type of sheep raised for their fine, soft wool, which makes merino 100% quality wool. No man made fibres here! Merino is good for thermoregulation too, and has anti-bacterial qualities (you see, the coat of wool protects the sheepies from all sorts). The yarn is generally stretchy. This type of yarn can also be washed without shrinkage and reshapes easily (apparently, the proof is always in the pudding so they say!).

So in preparation for 2010, I have bought some lovely merino to investigate! I bought three balls, all made by different companies, in great spring colours.
1 – Patons Merino Deluxe DK 50g – In a shade of orange. This yarn is a product of Australia

2 – Debbie Bliss Rialto 4 ply 100g – In green. 100% Italian Merino

3 – Rowan Pure Wool 4ply 50g – In a shade of lemony yellow. Product of Romania. OK, this strictly isn’t merino, it is however 100% wool from some other kinda sheep, and the colour worked well with the others!

The prices were quite varied for the merinos. Is one ball more expensive than the other because it’s a better quality? Are you paying for the name of the company that produced it? I dunno, but I will keep an eye on it over the next few months and blog about my findings!

Now I know a bit about merino, and I know what it looks like. More importantly I know how it feels – and it feels good! I really need to look more at the terms of weight used in knitting. And this is where it goes a little mad! Europe uses different terms than those used in America for some. As said above, I am used to knitting with DK weight, which is also known light worsted, and sometimes referred to as 8 ply. Pfft . I know this yarn as being of ‘average’ thickness, it keeps kids warm and makes good toys.

I have bought the merino in 4ply or ‘fingering’ yarn. What does this mean? Well, my understanding is that once the sheep has been shaved, and the wool has been washed and brushed and spinned to look more like wool as we know it, they (the spinners – I don’t personally know any spinners yet) then twist 4 ‘strands’ of the spun wool together to make the yarn thicker and stronger.

What do I plan to make? I plan to make a lace scarf fit for spring, and won’t be starting the project until the New Year is here. For once I am going to pick the pattern based on the yarn and ensure I use the correct size of needles.

I should point out that everything typed above may not be 100% accurate so I welcome your comments/corrections

Inheritance and The Future

I wanted to post a little about my knitting collection. I picked up a set of needles and some cheap ass DK yarn for less than £5 around six years ago, and taught myself using www.knittinghelp.com and www.youtube.com, and thought I was soon to become an expert knitter. You cast on, knit, purl, cast off! Simple! But then along came the more intriguing patterns requiring stitch holders, different size needles, circular needles, and the collection can quickly mount. And I suppose it could be quite expensive.

I was lucky enough to inherit my gran’s collection when she passed away. She had been a knitter for many years, but as her eyes and joints started to deteriorate, she gave it up. Her collection came to me in two bags. One contained all her needles, a huge amount in a variety of sizes and styles. Some of them:

The other bag contained some odd bits and pieces of yarn used for baby gifts. The bag also contained some buttons, some old patterns (including one for a Dandy jumper, very cool…!) and plastic pattern bags, that she’d use to keep her yarn separated and dust free. I was very appreciative to have inherited all this, and it allowed me to experiment a bit more with the craft.

A few years later I was to inherit some more needles. My lovely fiancee’s gran, who also suffers from joint pain passed her collection of needles on to me. They came in an organised collection – very neat and tidy! I’ve collected needles from magazines too.

In 2010, I plan on buying myself some new needles. A complete set of circular needles, as the ones I inherited from gran are of weird sizes! I haven’t researched this entirely, and may have to buy two sets so I have a complete collection for Magic Loop knitting, hmm!

I’ve collected a lot of yarn in the past few years too. Mostly cheap DK that I used for hats, scarves, blankets and Amigurumi. But as I become a more ‘skilled’ (I use the term loosely, there is so much I don’t know about the craft!) knitter, I appreciate better quality yarns, and like to experiment with types and textures. So 2010 will also bring different yarn experiences for me too. I am determined not to buy yarn based on the fact that it’s cheap. If I want a project to look right, to feel right and to last, I have to think about the type of yarn being used! So I will have to use the ‘Net to educate me more!

Wow, I really should type up a list of these resolutions for 2010.

WELCOME!

Wow, my first post!

Welcome to my knitting/crafting blog and thanks for taking the time to have a look around. I plan on updating regularly in the New Year.

I've been knitting on and off for around six years, having taught myself through the Internet. I take my knitting more seriously having joined Ravelry last year (I'm VJW on there) but I am in no way an expert!

I'll get started - there's no time like the present!

On the needles at the moment I have 'Branching Out' lace scarf from the Knitty.com website. It's my first go at following a lace pattern, and after around seven attempts at getting through the pattern once with the right stitch count, I paid a bit more attention to the needles rather than the TV and now I'm getting on a bit better. About half way there now!

I had started out on some lovely red plastic 5mm needles I got free with a knitting magazine I picked up last month. The tip on one of the needles gave up on me though, snapping right off. So back onto some aluminium needles, better points, especially for the "K3tog"s.

I've been thinking about my crafting lately. An early New Years Resolution for 2010 is to only craft for those who will appreciate it, or at request. With that in mind, I had thought of where this lovely scarf would be going once complete. My mum passed a comment and said she liked it, so maybe for her. It's my sisters birthday next month but I don't think she'd appreciate it. It's also the MIL2B (Mother In Law to Be) birthday in January and she might like it, hmm, decisions decisions.

I've uploaded a picture to my Flickr to show the work in progress. The brown yarn I am using is listed as Aran on the packaging, so really it's too think for the lacework, but it's pretty. It's a wool/acrylic/something else mix. Only cost me £1.50 from Sew and So in Motherwell, Lanarkshire. So the picture doesn't do the lace pattern justice. I'll have to get this finished and block it out for a real effect:

I'm enjoying the attention to detail that the lace pattern requires and I am encouraged to try out more lace. Patterns have been added to my queue!

My next project is going to be a cupcake. I haven't decided whether this will be knitted or crocheted. It's for a Round Robin / Exchange on the recently created UK Based craft forum 'Openminders'. The idea is to create something cupcake related and post it on. Most users are cross stitchers, but hopefully my yarn work will be appreciated!

In other crafting news - I am currently cross stitching Robert Pattinson. The pattern was included in CrossStitcher magazine last month and I've never tried the Stitch A Star. I was planning on gifting this on to Twilight obsessed Charlotte in a nice photo frame, but I have no idea how long it'll take me to complete the thing. Around 5% completed maybe. It's not the easiest to follow because it uses shades of brown, requiring good lighting, which I lack in my bedroom! Good excuse for buying a decent craft light, maybe? We shall see what the New Year brings!