Crafty: Marlene's Mittens

So I've been pretty busy the last two weeks which is why I haven't had the chance to post anything - sorry! Last Monday was my GRADUATION! It was a really lovely day but very tiring and I was more than ready for a good nights sleep. This weekend we celebrated my little brothers birthday and so a trip home was needed. Harry and I made him a baked cheesecake from one of my favourite cookbooks - Tea With Bea. 

Last week I finished these mittens, ready for the autumn. I found the pattern on raverly as a free download - Marlene's Mittens. The pattern was easy to follow and I now have such a comfy and warm pair of mittens. It involves working a broken rib - one row rib followed by one row knit. They were so quick to knit particularly as 5mm dpns as used. 

I purchased the yarn from Wool in Bath a few months ago (it is such a lovely shop with an amazing selection) and is Debbie Bliss Riva in Woodland (027). The yarn produces a lovely heathery colour and texture which was the reason I fell in love with it first and just had to buy it!

I have now moved onto three knitting projects at the same time, alternating between them when I crash in front of the TV after work. Stay tuned for these still to come!

Lxx

Crafty: Paulie cardigan

So this post has been long overdue - I actually finished this in September... embarrassing! So this is the first "large" knitting project I have ever finished and I have to say I was surprised by how long it took me. When I started I was full of optimism and was thinking "I'll have this finished in a week no problem" and "It can't take that long" - but I was wrong. It took far longer than I thought, this was probably due to a mix of expectations not reaching reality and as this was the first thing bigger than a scarf I have knitted.

I found the pattern on Raverly (you can follow me here!). It's called the Paulie by Isabell Kraemer The pattern is available for free as a PDF download. The pattern was easy to follow and I think if this hadn't been my first "large" project it would have been pretty fast too. I did have a little bit of trouble fitting the shoulders and finishing off the collar but I feel that this may have been down to frustration of not having finished it yet!

I used an alpaca wool from Wool, Bath, which is a great shop. With floor to ceiling of every kind of wool and yarn you can think of, it's pretty easy to get inspired - not to mention dangerous to visit without a purpose. The alpaca is so soft and warm.

Overall this was definitely an enlightening project but has inspired me and given me to confidence to knit more - I'm thinking of a comfy colour block jumper as my next large project.

L xx