Heathwitch’s Stitchcraft

Scorpio and Scarf…

I recently finished a knitted scarf and a cross-stitched Scorpio, both for a friend in the States. She’s since received (and is enjoying) them, so I thought I’d post the detail here. :-)

This is from a chart of a cute twist on the zodiac, namely Scorpio. I loved stitching this guy — only about 10 hours on 14ct aida. I later frayed the edges and mounted him onto a card:

Scorpio Card (click for larger)

To go with the card, I knitted a simple 4×4 rib scarf, in a gorgeous deep red colour. The yarn is Rowan’s Kid Classic (shade 825), which is 70% lambswool, 26% mohair, and 4% nylon. Did I ever mention how much I love knitting with mohair and mohair blends? This scarf was so great I wanted to keep it for myself in the end LOL … But no, to the States it went! :)

Scarf in Rowan Kid Classic (click for larger)

Here’s a close-up on the detail, for anyone interested. Again, you can click for larger if you like:

Scarf Detail (click for larger)

Finally, remember Hello Kitty? I made her into a sweet card for a different friend’s birthday. I recently found a back of blank, pearlescent cards in a variety of pastel shades, and whilst I don’t usually do pastel colours these cards make beautiful companions to some of my cross stitch finishes!

As to WIPs, well … Knitting wise, I’m working on some jumpers and wrist warmers, whilst in the world of cross stitch I’m participating in a mystery stitch-a-long (MSAL) via the LiveJournal Cross Stitch community… Pictures coming soon…

Tension, tension, tension!

Well, I finished the hat — and it’s too small. Now,part of me is okay with this — after all, the hat was just a quick projet to try while I got to know the yarn; I figured it would be more exciting than knitting a tension square. However, once I got into it, I really began to like its simplicity And once it was done, I found I really did like it.

And yet… It’s too small. I’ve since figured out the reason for this — ideally, the perfect tension for the yarn should be 9 stitches and 12 rows over 4″, whilst using 10mm needles. When I use this needle size, I come out too tight — and so, it would be best for me to up a needle size or two.

I ended up knitting a tension square after the hat. Blah. But it did knit up quickly and I was pleased to find that I can achieve the correct tension using 12mm needles. And so I’m now knitting a jumper — but afterwards, I may just go back and re-knit that hat. It was certainly quick enough. :) For now though, it’ll make a cute fashion accessory for one of the soft toys… Or maybe for one of the cats! LOL …

Here it be in all its glory. I really do love this colour — so frosty! You can click for larger should you wish:

I’ve not had this problem with other stuff, so it just goes to show how important knitting a tension square is before starting a project with a new yarn!

Another Finish: Helen’s Scarf

Another recent finish is this gorgeous short scarf I knitted for Andrew’s sister (and thus, my future sister-in-law), Helen. There is a story behind this, actually — back in early March, Helen and I went girlie shopping for the day, over in Buxton. Whilst shopping, I visited a yarn shop to pick up a few things and Helen liked a scarf that was knitted up and on display. Now, usually display models are usually just that — display models. They are rarely offered for sale.

Me being me, I made a mental note of the yarn and colour used, and after the shopping trip was over I hunted out some balls of Sirdar Reflection in shade number 8 (”Amber”). In the end, I found out that it had been discontinued so I could only locate three balls but that proved to be enough to knit up a short scarf for her as a surprise. :)

I presented this as a little gift to Helen and I’m happy to say that my instincts were correct — she loved it. What’s more, it looks great with her colouring and I’m pleased to have knitted this for her. Often the recipient’s reaction is enough to make it all worth it! :)

…And I’m back!

Whoo, what a time it has been! Apologies for the absence, but life has been pretty crazy of late. The last time I posted here, I was going through a rough patch with my hands due to a piece of glass that was embedded within my right wrist. Because it was proving to be so painful I ended up keeping away from a lot of cross stitch and knitting, putting the former on hold completely and, in terms of the latter, only working on thin needles (4.5mm and below) because anything thicker was really quite sore.

In any case, the piece of glass was finally removed at the end of March and it felt so good to have it out of there — but that was not the end of things. Oh no. Of course, I had to have a reaction to the general anaesthetic and spent the next few weeks in bed, unable to go very far or do very much at all. I never want to experience those rolling waves of nausea ever again…

Hey-ho, though, life goes on — and so does the crafting, once back on my feet! I finished the wrist warmers before my operation and got to wear them a lot pre- and post-op, and they were a Goddess-send. I really enjoyed making them and like to think that they turned out really nicely. And yes, they were done before the family function I mentioned. :)

These were knitted up in Twilley’s Freedom Spirit yarn, and took about twenty hours all told.

I really do love the colour of these. I have another two balls in this shade (number 515, “Destiny”) so at some stage I think I will knit up the matching legwarmers.

A very crafty post…

I celebrated not one but two knitting finishes this week! They’re from the same pattern, but using different shades of yarn — in this case, it’s Sirdar Bigga, on 15mm and 12mm needles. Nice and big and chunky, and quick to do. The first one is for me, knitted in shade numbers 693 (black) and 692 (cranberry). The second was a gift, and was knitted in shades 699 (bracken) and 697 (tundra). The only other difference between them is that mine has a shorter strap.

I even enjoyed finishing them up, too — which now makes a grand total of four knitted finishes since I re-discovered knitting in February. Given the amount of other stuff I do, I don’t think that’s half bad. Whoo! :-)

And now on to the cross stitch… I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but looking back over past LJ entries it seems I always pick this long-running WIP up again around this time — maybe because it’s so seasonal. Anyway, it was just over a year ago when I was last working on Autumn, and so here’s where I am now:

Did I mention how much I really like this piece? Makes me drool for its three companion pieces, but $deity knows where I’d find the time to stitch those even if I did splurge on them. :p