End of month hexipuff count - December

I apologise that this post is a few days late, but I haven't had a chance to take any photos in natural light. Anyway, here are the hexis from December!

So this month I managed 8! 1 more then last month.

I may have managed 9, but my bag which I keep my hexipuff stuff in went missing for a few days over Christmas because I accidentally left it at my Aunts house.

I have to confess as well, I haven't actually woven in the edges, opps!

I love seeing the hexis all put together like this, it makes me excited for seeing the finished quilt and is definitely a motivator for when you feel like you are getting a bit fed up.

All the yarn used is from the mini skeins I got from The Knitting Goddess. The blue and red one reminds me of a football team, West Ham, not that I'm a football fan or anything, and the yellow ones remind me of Polly Pockets, although I'm not sure why?

This one has to be my favourite though:

It was bit of a surprise because in the mini skein it didn't look like much as its quite muted, but I actually love the colours and think it makes for some very pretty puffs. Reminds me of neapolitan ice cream too, yummy.

And here is where all the hexipuffs are living for the moment, in a reused Jo Malone box:

I didn't make my aim of 10 puffs, and considering I haven't managed to finish a single puff yet I think I will stick to a aim of 10 puffs for December.

Hexipuffs knitted in December: 8

Total hexipuff count: 15

New Years Resolutions

I'm not normally one for setting New Years resolutions, just because I know hardly anyone follows through with them.

I do always make the cliche lose weight get healthy one though, and this year is no exception, but that's not what this post is about.

I started knitting in July of this year and I have already learnt a few techniques such as the basics, casting on, the knit and purl stitch, increasing, decreasing, binding off, basic cabling and knitting in the round.

I'm very proud of what I have achieved but have so much more to learn, and here are a few of the skills/goals I have set myself for next year:

• Socks - I have a really weird obsession with socks. They are one of my ultimate knitting goals, and as much as I look at patterns they still baffle me slightly. I will conquer the sock though, there are just too many gorgeous sock yarns out there that want me to use them. This also fits in well with loosing weight because nothing looks cuter then dainty socks with girly shoes, although I will be starting with very basic vanilla socks!
• Colour work - I want to learn both stranded and intarsia, I'm fairly confident I would be able to do intarsia, but stranded seems a little bit more complex, but I love Fair Isle. Fightin' Words by Annie Watts looks absolutely amazing and I am going to make it my first stranded pattern, after finding myself a nice easy intarsia pattern beforehand!
• A jumper - I already have it picked out, I am going to (or rather I want to) knit the Oh My Bear by Tiny Owl Knits it seems like a good first jumper because it is chunky and baggy so I don't have to worry too much about fit, and it also includes some intarsia, 2 birds with one stone!
• Lace - I would love to learn to knit lace because it looks so gorgeous. I don't have a pattern picked out yet because lace garments aren't really my style, I just want to add this technique to my repertoire. 
• A shawl - I never thought I would want to knit a shawl, but it seems everyone in the knitting world knits shawls, and with good reason. I always get cold in work, so it would be nice to have a extra layer to snuggle up in. My boyfriend also got me some gorgeous yarn from Gynx Yarn which is 100% merino and I think it would look lovely in a shawl. I'm going for the Zilver shawl for my first attempt as it looks achievable.

So those are my 2013 aims. 

Now I have written them down I'm a bit worried that I won't have time to achieve them all, but we shall see!

I've had a great 2012 and hope 2013 is just as good. Hope you all have a lovely NYE and let me know of your resolutions too! 

Finished object - Orchids & Fairy Lights hat

I actually finished this hat a few weeks ago, but have only just got round to taking pictures of it.

It is the Orchids & Fairy Lights hat by Tiny Owl Knits.

I used Malabrigo Worsted in the colour Polar Morn.

The pattern calls for 4.5mm needles, but I went up to 5mm to get gauge.

I wish the hat was a bit slouchier, I think I could probably achieve that if I blocked it, but the thought of blocking terrifies me!

The pattern was very easy to read and was quite straightforward.

This is my first knitting project with cables and bobbles, it's also the first time I've used circular needles so I've learned a lot knitting this hat!

It took a couple of weeks to knit, and I had to concentrate a lot whilst knitting it.

 It wasn't difficult, there was just a lot going on with the cabling, that and a lot of the techniques where new to me so I had to take my time.

I love the way this hat turned out, and I would recommend it to anyone. I also love Malabrigo, its very warm and fluffy and I love the colour.

End of month hexipuff count - November

I thought it could be interesting and help me keep track if I posted how many hexipuffs I manage to knit in the month, plus I love looking at other peoples hexis as I find it quite inspiring, so hopefully people like looking at mine too!

Oh and if you don't know why I am knitting hexipuffs, it is because I am trying to knit my own Beekeeper's Quilt, in which I will need over 300 puffs!

So this month I managed to make:

Not bad considering this is my first month and I have had to learn how to make them.

All my puffs where knitted with yarn I got from The Knitting Goddess. These ones are knitted from the October multi colour mini skein set.

Each mini skein I have managed to get 3 hexipuffs out of, and in the October mini skein set you get 7 mini skeins for £10, not bad!

Of course everyone always has one hexipuff they like the best, so here is my favourite from the month:

It's just all my favourite colours in one tiny piece of knitting and it turned out a really nice shape too.

I'm such a sucker for pastel colours!

My aim for next month is to knit 10 hexipuffs, I don't think that's too ambitious. I would love to do more, but this is my commuter knitting, not my main project.

Hexipuffs knitted in November: 7

Total hexipuff count: 7

My to-knit list

1.Mr Fox Stole My Heart 2. Oh my bear 3. GAP - Tastic Cowl

4. Orchids & Fairy Lights 5. Woodsy Association 6. Vanilla Socks

7. Meow Mitts 8. Sophie 9. Sweet Robin Wristees

Yarn Haul

At the weekend I went to iKnit in London with Rachel (allthingsrach) and Estée (essiebutton).

I wasn't really meant to pick up any yarn, because I was waiting on the Malabrigo to come, but out of the corner of my eye I saw this gorgeous ice cream coloured yarn that I just had to have.

It is a fingering weight yarn by Araucania and is 100% sugar cane, I didn't even know you could make yarn out of sugar cane!

It is incredibly soft and I think it cost £9.99. 

If I can't think of another project for it I will be using it on my Beekeepers Quilt.

The Malabrigo I ordered as I already had projects I wanted to make with them.

I ordered them from Fabstract, which I was a bit dubious about ordering from because I couldn't find anyone who had purchased from them, but I went ahead anyway and I'm glad I did because I actually received the package the next day! I was super impressed with the service.

I got the Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn to make the Orchids and Fairy Lights hat, which is the current knit along on the Tiny Owl Knits group.

I'm very excited about this project, but quite nervous as well because not only is it my first project on circular needles, it's also my first cable project.

I thought it was out of my skill range, but as some one said to me, if you know how to knit and purl you can do anything, just take your time, so I'm very excited about this challenge and will be casting on tonight!

I also got the Malabrigo Chunky in Polar Morn to make the GAP - Tastic Cowl to keep me warm now that its getting to freezing point in the UK.

The chunky weight on Fabstract is buy two get the third free at the moment so a great excuse to buy and very helpful for me because although the pattern says you only need two balls, a lot of people commented that to get the right thickness they would've had to use three.

The Malabrigo itself is gorgeous. It is 100% Merino wool so it is very soft and buttery, and I can imagine it is going to be lovely and warm to wear.

One thing to note about it though is there is a lot of colour variation, the chunky in Polar Morn looks a lot different to the worsted in Polar Morn, although they are both gorgeous colours.

I can't wait to get stuck in to these new projects!

Malabrigo chunky in Polar Morn

Malabrigo worsted in Polar Morn

Araucania 

Knitted Friendship Rings

I knitted these friendship rings! How cute.

They are for myself and my lovely friend Rachel.

These are the first things I have knitted on double pointed needles and I would recommend this as a starter project for using double pointed needles because it is quick, small and produces something cute. They are felted as well which lets you get away with a lot because the felting masks any mistakes you may have made.

A giant duplicate stitch is used to make the hearts, duplicate stitch is also something new to me so I learnt two techniques in the space of 30 minutes.

I got to use my lovely new knit pro double pointed needles and the Jamiesons yarn I got from the knitting and sewing show at Alexandra Palace.

I used the free Heartfelt Rings pattern from the lovely Tiny Owl Knits, and decided to make them into friendship rings by inverting the colours on the second ring.

I'm quite proud of these, they are not perfect, but then again most friendships aren't. 

They are cute and chunky and are keeping my finger warm in this horrible British weather. 

Featured designer - Tiny Owl Knits

I just had to share with you my favourite knitwear designer, because I'm pretty sure my friend Rachel is getting fed up of me constantly these designs to her, it is the lovely Stephanie Dosen from Tiny Owl Knits.

Being a 20 something knitter, I sometimes struggle finding patterns that I like and that I can actually wear, as despite the rise in young knitters, the majority are still a fair bit older then I am, so a lot of what is out there is what I shall call 'classic' (read old), not me at all.

Stephanie's patterns on the other hand are gorgeous. They are cute, kitsch, charming and whimsical, all things I love. Stephanie also has some vlogs on her site which are a joy to watch because Stephanie is as lovely as her designs, I wish she would make them more often though!

Anyway just look at these great pieces of knitwear! 

Deer With Little Antlers Hat

Meow Mitts

The Beekeeper's Quilt

Mr Fox Stole My Heart

I could go on all day, but I won't.

Her patterns are all available to buy on her ravelry page and are $5.50, around £3 each, definitely a bargain.

I have made the gnome home (blog post coming soon) and I can say her patterns are very easy to follow, the instructions are clear and there are plenty of pictures so you can see what your work should be looking like, and if you still struggle there is even a Tiny Owl Knits group on ravelry where there are loads of friendly, knowledgable people who are there to offer help and advice on anything you struggle on.

If you hadn't guessed by my recent purchase of sock yarns, I am going to give the beekeepers quilt a go, which is very daunting because it took Stephanie a year to make, so it will probably take me about 3, but I think it is something that I will be able to pass down to my children (when I have them).

I just want to end this post by saying I asked Stephanie via a ravelry message for permission to use her pictures. I didn't really expect a response back because I can imagine that she is very busy and must get a lot of messages everyday, but she responded very quickly and was so nice it made me fall a little bit in love with her, I am total girl crushing, it's hard not to when she creates such fabulous designs!