Cap… Still Flat!

Forgot to take a photo before starting the next round.  There is just one more similar round of rings and chains after the one that I'm currently working on… I don't know if everything will get pulled in with the 8th round but so far, it's completely flat.  Whereas on the photo in the book, it definitely seem to gently curve from much higher up… Perhaps it was just blocked that way?  Hmmm….

Best wishes,

Frivole

Cap - Round Two

Round of split rings completed:

So far, so good.

:-)

Best wishes,

Frivole

Tat-Along with Fox and Life's Little Pleasures

When I last visited Fox's blog, she had just received a ball of thread with which to make a Jan Stawasz cap for a baby in her family.  I was inspired.  I've always been curious to see what it would be like and I'd heard others having problems with the cap not curving enough so I thought it would be an interesting challenge to tackle.  I suggested I tat-along with her.

Here is the start of mine.  Tatted in size 10 DMC Babylo, a slightly soft and fuzzy thread but I thought it might be ok for this particular purpose.  Funnily enough, as I stated tatting, I realised that the crown of the cap is nearly the same as the motifs I am currently tatting on my other Jan Stawasz piece (shown in previous post).

The next round is a row of split rings which I have now started.

And life's little pleasures?  Yesterday, I found some fresh apricots at a good price at the greengrocer's.  I decided to make a small batch of apricot jam.  I get such pleasure in seeing the jam jars with their new labels, ready to be put away in a dark cupboard in the garage.  Some of it will be eaten now of course but it's so nice to get a jar out in winter and get a bit of summer sunshine in a jar.  Makes me happy.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Le Temps du Lilas...

It's pouring with rain this morning… but I am still cheered up by the sight of our flowering lilac.  Yesterday my daughter cut up a bunch for the house and one for her Grannie.  I can smell their lovely fragrance every time I walk past… wonderful!

I made a bit more progress on my Jan Stawasz piece in the last few days.

I really need to make a decision on its final shape.

It won't be as big as the one in the book, that's for sure.

Funnily enough I just noticed, a coincidence, that one of the shuttles

I'm using has lilac on it…

I've also finished both button bands on my Fair Isle jacket

and am making my way down the first sleeve.

So is it spring rain or spring sun for you today?  And what are you busy working on with your shuttles (or needles, or crochet, or bobbins…) at the moment?

Best wishes,
Frivole

On a (Knitting) Roll!

This beautiful Fair Isle jacket has been a WIP for a while now (I don't dare admit how long!) and I know you've seen it on a couple of occasions but every time I get it out again, I still appreciate the lovely mix of colours and how much pleasure I get from knitting this wonderful pattern (Flora Jacket by Alice Starmore).

So, after finishing my son's green jumper, I thought I'd make a bit of progress on my cardigan and finished knitting the body (I was about 2/3 of the way there).  I like the three-needle bind-off I used on the shoulders, makes for a very tidy finish.

I started by cutting open the front and back neck steeks and

knitting the collar (in progress on photo below)

You can also see the front and one sleeve steek yet to be cut.

Here's the collar completed.

And now I'm currently working on the left front band

You can see the reverse side on photo above.

The colour changes are all made within the front steek

so that when you cut your work open, all the loose yarn ends

can be cut away and there are no ends to sew in.

And just one last photo because I like the mix of colours so much.

Makes me happy just looking at it!

It would be nice if I could keep going on this and make it a WIP no longer!  I'm looking forward to wearing it.

Best wishes,

Frivole

The Green Green Grass of Home

This colour really is like fresh green grass.  It's a wet and windy day today but out of my window, this is just the colour I'm looking at in the fresh spring leaves and growing grass.

I finished it!  This is my son's sweater, all washed and dried and ready for giving (in a couple of weeks).  It's soft and smells lovely!

I enjoyed making it very much.  Working in the round for the body, then knit the sleeves up to the armholes and then joining it all together to finish the whole sweater in one piece, finishing with the neck ribbing.  No picking up of stitches and just two tiny seams under the arms.

The raglan was written up to make decreases two stitches from the edge but I don't completely like the wide band this produces so next time, I will probably try a different treatment for the raglan.  Apart from that, I'm happy and I also like the decorative stitch which is described as a "leaf panel".  There is a tiny bit of pulling where the tip of the leaf is right against the single knit stitch line and if I was making this decorative panel again, I would add one more purl stitch between the leaf and its edge to avoid this effect.

I also finished my husband's stripy green socks and am happy with the toe-up method of making socks.  

Sadly, no new tatting to show you this time.

Best wishes,

Frivole