Knitting with a MAGIC LOOP tutorial

What are you knitting Jo? You showed us your yarn stash but what are you actually doing with it? Well since you are asking....

My 2015 man knit is back underway. Smaller in width but just as mindless but I like that sometimes. I found out two things this weekend: 1. I can knit in the dark by feel alone and 2. You can get 87 minutes unexpected knitting time if you watch Shaun the Sheep at the cinema and can hone this knitting-in-the-dark skill!

My black cardigan has gone into hibernation because I don't need it until the winter and what can you blog about a black cardigan, I mean where is the narrative?

A chunky baggy sleeveless pullover thingy I felt I needed during Me Made May. Quick to knit but a terrible distraction to these other projects.

Finally a top down cardigan in King Cole fashion Aran which has some promise...I took it on holiday so there was lots of progress.

It is a great top down pattern from ravelry here and I highly recommend it if you have not tried one before. However you need to know how to knit the tube arms using a magic loop if you are not able to use DPN's, (Double pointed needles) which I have yet to master. My talented friend Michelle taught me this technique and this is what you do:

Your stitches are on the extendable needles but you can't get the needle points to the stitches to knit them...useless

Pull the wire into a loop between some stitches leaving about 6 to 8 on the right hand needle...

Now pull another 'magic' loop leaving lots of stitches ready to knit but not stretching them too much at the wire end of the left needle... see how it has distributed the stitches into a sort of loose triangle shape just like if you were using DPN's

Now you can knit all the stitches on the left hand needle until they are on the right one. There is one more to go on the next photo.

Now pull the magic loops through again and repeat.

It is a bit slow going until you get the fluency nonetheless you get a seamless sleeve by only doing knit stitch but it looks like stocking stitch - that is how magic it is. Michelle explained it too me but I glazed over, something about a spiral, I didn't care it was working.

The other seriously good thing about it is that you can try it on as you go along by pulling the needles back to the useless position you started with in the first place. I now need to pop on a stitch marker so that I can count rows for the decreases.

I mean arms that are the right length, who doesn't want to achieve that? I am at the elbow which is where I need to be to start some decreases towards my forearm and wrist. 

I hope that is useful for somebody or a little inspiration to start a top down garment. Ask me any questions if you need help and I will.... ask my friend Michelle!!

What are you knitting?

Jo xxx

Monday moments

We had a little potter in the garden over the weekend with the children. This morning I carried on with the weeding after sowing lettuce and flowers with the girls yesterday. I also made up some pot plants for the garden to fill in the gaps.

Then I came in to do some cooking which I always try to do on a Monday in preparation for the busy week ahead. 

Oh dear! these hands do so much for me, I really should look after them more....

Five little minutes distraction before my nails get covered in pastry!

Happy Monday everyone. Love Jo xxxx

Taking stock or stocktaking?

I had been thinking over our family holiday that I have not got as much time as I used to have when I did snippets of work and mostly stayed at home with afternoon-napping-children. I have made the transition to working four days (some of them longer than others) and I have come to terms with what I can and can't do in the hours of the day. It takes time to work this sort of stuff out. So I had a stock take on Monday after I had taken stock, as it were. It was so liberating.

My next door neighbour is having a new kitchen and I commandeered one of her old kitchen cabinets before it went in the skip. I said to myself 'if it can't fit in this cabinet then I can't have it.' because there is not enough time to let craft stuff just fester around the house that I can't use but keep having to tidy away. It is not good for my mind, it gives me heavy thoughts.

The joy this cupboard gave me on Monday can not be explained in bloggy words. It is perfect and I thank my marvellous man for screwing it to the wall knowing it would be happily filled the next day.

So this is it folks, this is the limit of what my head can deal with - a sort of peek inside my brain if you like.

On top: one CD box size of crochet thread and the same is teeny patchwork fabric pieces, a sort of memory collection I've made over time. Next to it, my vintage pattern collection. 

Middle shelf: Hugely pared down dress fabrics that I would actually wear, Kilner jars with the usual buttons, zips, elastic, threads and jeans gubbings.

Bottom shelf: Patterns sorted into crochet, sewing, knitting and machine manuals alongside my craft book collection (which was bigger than I thought when it was all in one place)

From top to bottom, right to left:

Top shelf: A sewing box, Silk dupion fabric bagged up with a cocktail dress pattern ready for a party invitation - not received one yet! Lining fabric, then craft fabric. (fabric for bags, felt and hessian, that type of thing) 

Middle shelf: My very pared down knitting yarn including donated boodles, donated Sirdar snuggly 4ply, Navy DK cotton, Brown Rico cotton, sponsored King Cole aran, Sirdar man yarn and chunky merino. Four of those sets are already WIPS.

On the bottom all boxed: interfacing, yarny equipment, embroidery threads, parred down patchwork box, donated tapestry wool, felt bits for toys eyes.

I rifled through my scrapbook paper. Don't judge me, papercraft all lives in the office and found these:

Great for labelling up the boxes, files and jars.

I am really happy with what I have chosen to keep. There is now room on shelves in the office, there is room on our bookshelves downstairs, the living room is devoid of crafty piled up corners. All the little boxes, pots and baskets from all over the house have been divvied up into the jars - I am totally thrilled and secretly everyone else in this house is very happy too.

My first project in the spare room wall of magic is drumroll please... a summer dress with huge pockets and currently a bust that is in a different place to mine!

Thanks for indulging in my stash with me, I realise I am a very lucky person. Jo xx

Sewing, Sweeping and Sitting

I mean really, who is living like this? Just me? I have had to shut my eyes for the last four weeks as I go in through the back door. 

The table is full of the last time the girls emptied their pockets of shells from Easter beach combing. Next week, they emptied lots of pots of 'treasure' from digging the allotment - namely clay pipes and historical ceramic pieces. They sort them, clean them with brushes and play museums; it's very wholesome play I will have you know. 

Then before we went on holiday I had a 'You've been framed!' moment and shot through a chair whilst sat among the flotsam and jetsam of objects. I covered and painted the chairs last year but we don't have a garage so they have been out all winter.

So today I spent one hour after work and school, cutting, sewing, sweeping and homemaking.

Oooh! that's better I can have a sit down if I wear a jumper, it's so cold here.

The fabric is from Christina at My Colourful life. She was having a sort out and kindly sent it to me in the post. How kind is that? Thanks Christina. I made the seat covers in double fabric to make them stronger.

Now, where is the rest of that brown paint to touch up the corners?

We also picked our first little crop. Exciting times to come...

Hope the sun has been shining on you a little bit today, physically or metaphorically. Jo xxx

Me Made May #4

Hellooo! We are back from our holidays and I have some feel good holiday snaps mixed in with my last Me Made May post.It is a bit more chaotic this time with some days missed but clothes made and worn by me nonetheless.

Worn to - Home day today packing for holidays

Made - Mathilde Blouse in Liberty Florence fabric.Jersey necker made up out of fabric that was too thin for a T-shirt

With - New jeans with stars!!! bought in M&S for £14 on a sale rail.

Thoughts - I like this blouse but I do struggle with what to wear it with so it has occasional outings when the temperatures are Spring like.

Make again? - Probably not. I took quite a bit of fabric out of the sleeves when I made it. It doesn't earn it's keep in my wardrobe really. Sorry.

Journey stop off at Hardwick Hall

Worn to - Travel on holidays

Made - Jeans from burda

With - A second hand sweatshirt

Thoughts - They really are a home made staple, as you will see!

Make again? - yep, maybe in fine cord or cotton drill

Worn to - The beach

Made - Cord skirt, t-shirt and neck wrap

With - navy leggings

Make again? - Yes

Worn to - Exploring Whitby

Made - T-shirt

With - New Gap city slicker trousers (thanks Bloke, I love them)denim jacket later when it got windy

Worn to - Meal out with my dad and his wife who joined us on holiday and the children too

Made - Shift dress

With - Leggings and a denim jacket. Along with my cherry brooch from Amy at Love made my home.

Thoughts - Staple summer dress.

Make again? - Definitely. I altered the pattern specially for me.

Little M joined in with her going out dress too with a similar-ish pose! I made it in early March and it is getting small already.My mum knit the cardigan.

Worn to - Play crazy golf!

Made - Vintage top

With - Gap trousers

Worn to - Lunch and more walking

Made - Dress and necker

With - Leggings and navy jumper

Worn to - Fossil hunting at Robin Hoods Bay on the beach

Made - Jeans from burda

With - A bought t-shirt

So I wore variations of these clothes for a week and never got tired of them. What have I learnt from doing Me Made May?

1. I must stop making things because 'they-go-with-jeans' because I am at work four days a week when I can't even wear jeans!
2. I need to make a summer jacket because I only have a denim one and that is either too casual or I am wearing denim jeans so it looks silly.
3. I need to make some plain knits and solid colour items so that I can wear my floral/patterned makes easily.
4. I actually like wearing the clothes I make.

I hope you have enjoyed this little journey of sewing, I know it is a bit of a marathon. I have loved seeing other peoples clothes which I have been following on Pinterest and it has given me a lot of inspiration. I'm off to catch up on some of your some blogs because we didn't have the internet for a whole week on holiday!!!

Love Jo xxx

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Sewing the brief

I seem to have so little time... Where is it all going? ...you too? it is frustrating isn't it? I had some bloggy deadlines to meet, some more important than others, so I needed a project that would fit a wide criteria, namely:

1. I would love it, wear it and it would also go with something I already had. (My new years resolution)
2. It was from a vintage pattern for my Vintage pledge 2015 with stitching odyssey.
3. It needed to be from Simplicity to enter their sewing competition, I had already received the free pattern and really wanted to enter.
4. I could wear it on holiday in Me Made May 2015.
5. It would replace the catastrophe I made of my Minerva fabric this month which is due for post today (one way stretch towelling long story, let's not go there!)

What an earth would I do to meet all this criteria with 

time ticking away before our holiday next week?

I made this in fabric I bought last Summer! It's a vintage pattern, from the Simplicity competition entry requirement, made from Minerva fabric with the lacy zip and I LOVE it.

I will be making more of these I can tell you. I have some blue chambray under the bed that would make a good one, maybe with some applique on the side.

This is what happens when you get the camera too close on self timer!

You can't see them on here but you can on the pattern, these deep side darts really suit me and I shall be looking out for more of them in future patterns.

I even managed to pattern match the roses on the back seam.

I used the three quarter sleeve pattern piece and made them shorter, made the zip shorter at the back and added the modern twist of having it out the outside. So I have entered the competition and used up the last of this pretty ribbon edged fabric from Minerva. 

Thanks Vicki for letting me off this months fabric disaster! 

Enjoy the links. I'm off to pack. What an earth do you pack for a UK holiday in May in Whitby? Jo x