So many design ideas, so little time!

At the moment I have so many design ideas and not enough time to work through them all! I am fanalising the sizing details on a jumper, I have a cowl that's half way made and written up, almost a complete baby/toddler jumper all plotted out in my head and the beginnings of another sock design mulling over. However, I will slow down for a moment and share what I have been up to so far this year with you all. 

slow down and draw a daffodil!

I was pleased to release my Daffodil Shawl just in time for the daffoldils popping up! This is a pattern that I designed in Spring 2018 but then struggled with the chart and abondoned realising I had missed the daffodil season. This January I picked it up again, ironed out the chart issues, did the photo shoot and added the finalised pattern to my Ravelry store. Please share your photos on social media if you follow this pattern, I absolutely love seeing what you get up to!

Daffodil Shawl

In February I began designing my second adult size garment - a polo neck. The pattern is top down, beginning with the super cosy fold down neck before working down the body. I chose Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Wave for this project because I fell in love with the Unicorn colourway and just had to design something in it! You can see the full colour range here and with the recent addition of even more colourways it's even more exciting!

Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Wave - Unicorn

The Isla Cosy Polo

I stuggled with a name for this jumper so I opened it up to suggestions as an Instagram competion. I combined two differnt ideas "Isla" (Melissa's favourite scottish name) and "cosy polo" (Jane described it very well!) to make The Isla Cosy Polo which is a name I am really happy with. At the moment I have just finished adding XS, S, L and XL sizes to the range and I am testing out the XS size, just to double check everything is ok. The pattern will then be tested and tech edited before being released in the early autumn.

working on the XS jumper with my dog Jazz for company

My portable crochet project at the moment is a pair of socks (yes, still addicted!). I am following Vicki Brown's Fallen Leaves pattern but adding a twist that my fellow sock addict friend Tamara tried - swapping the half treble stitches (uk) for extended double crochet stitches. Like Tamara, I found that it makes a wonderfully stretchy stitch and I love the texture!

stitch detail

Working on this stitch combination in the socks has given me an idea for crocheting a baby/toddler jumper - it will be nice and stretchy for ease of dressing, allow plenty of movement when it's being worn and be lovely and cosy! I have had a waistband idea for a jumper in my head for ages so I will combine the two and see where it takes me.

The other pattern that is kind of on the back burner right now is a cowl I am designing in Di Gilpin Lalland. It's a 4 colour design and it's all going well I just need to go back and finish it/ write it up. As an artist I find it hard to settle on one project at a time and do tend to flit between them! My plan is to finish the socks (nearly there), pick up the cowl again, complete the XS jumper and THEN start the baby/ toddler jumper whilst firming up another sock design that's in my head. That's the plan anyway ... 

cowl design in progress

Until next time, happy hooking,

Marta xx

Help! I'm a sock addict!

Help! I seem to have become a sock addict! I am currently on my 8th pair since starting in September last year! I am going to share my sock making journey here, mainly through photographs because as you know I take lots of photos as I am going along, mostly to post on Instagram.

current pair!

I began by making a pair of socks for myself simply as a way of using up all the scraps of 4ply yarn I had kicking about. I followed a pattern by Joanne Scrace called Evesham Socks and I quickly fell in love with the sock making technique!

1st pair - for me!

I realised that socks would make a lovely Christmas present for my sister's fiance, Mat, so I made him a pair of Everyone (Needs) Socks by Kat Goldin. He loved them but my sister, Aimee, loved them more so I made her a pair of self coloured ones.

2nd pair - for Mat

finished!

3rd pair - for Aimée

After Christmas I found myself in need of inspiration for a project so I asked my youngest son, Alex, if there was anything he would like me to make for him - he replied "socks please!". His pair use up lots of scraps like mine - he chose the order he wanted them in. The pattern is another of Joanne Scrace's called Mamble Socks.

4th pair - for Alex

a good fit!

Time for another pair for myself! I asked my husband to pick out a ball of West Yorkshire Spinners sock wool from our local yarn shop, Fluph, and he picked me a lovely soft pink colour - I love it! This pattern is Hop Socks by Vicki Brown.

5th pair - for me!

cosy!

Onto another family member - my eldest son this time. His feet are on the large size - UK size14 - so this was definitely a labour of love! I chose another Vicki Brown pattern - Fallen Leaves.

6th pair - for Niall

long socks!!

Pair no.7 were soon underway! I stumbled across 4 balls of vintage sock wool in our local charity shop and decided to use them to try another Vicki Brown pattern Winter Wonder. Of all the designs I have tried, this one is definitely the fastest! It's worked in tramline stitch which was a new stitch for me and I absolutely love the results. I made them with no real recipient in mind but then found out it was my friend Moira's birthday and I knew she would appreciate them.

7th pair - for Moira

curled up

Of all the sock patterns I have tried so far, I felt that Fallen Leaves had the best squishy texture so I decided to make a pair for myself. We are heading into much warmer weather now, so will need to wait a while to wear them but I am looking forward to autumn already!

8th pair - for me!

What about you? Do you have a favourite sock pattern? Please share them with me in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!

Marta xx

Yarn Review: Cascade 220 Solids and Heathers

It's been a while since I dedicated a whole blog post to a yarn review so today thought I would share my thoughts on Cascade 220 Solids and Heathers. I have been crocheting a cowl this week using Cascade 220 Heathers and I am loving the feel of this wool!

Cascade Yarns is a family run business based in Seattle, Canada. Established in the 1980s, the company is passionate about producing high quality yarn at affordable prices. I received 2 hanks of Cascade 220 Heathers as part of an Instagram swap package with the theme of #imnotgoingtoeyfswap - for all those who felt they were missing out on the Edinburgh Yarn Festival (EYF) this year. I was partnered with Emma -  @eldenwood_craft - and was delighted to unwrap a completely new yarn that I hadn't come across before! At the time I had way too many WIPs on the go, so I popped the hanks on my wool shelf where I could clearly see them and have a think about what to make. 

Earlier this week I began crocheting a new cowl, following my own design idea, that required two colours and since Emma had sent me Fog Hatt and Mystic Purple I decided to go with these colours. My first task was to wind the hanks into balls and since I don't own a wool winder I set to it using the backs of two chairs. The 100% Peruvian wool felt lovely as it passed through my fingers and wound really easily without any knots or tangles and I knew then it was going to be a delight to work with!

My design idea transferred from my head to the hook exactly as I hoped it would (hooray!). The stitch definition of the Cascade 220 Heathers is perfect for this stitch pattern and would work equally well in any combination of Solids or Heathers - there is an absolutely stunning range of colours to choose from - have a look here. 

I have been using a 4.5mm crochet hook for this project, but my tension is extremely relaxed so I have written the pattern suggesting a 6mm hook to give the cowl some drape and flow. The yarn thickness is aran or 10ply which make it work up quickly. The 220 in the name refers to the length of the hank, 220 yards (200m). The Cascade Yarns website has many free, downloadable patterns specifically for this yarn and I am sure it would substitute in most cases where an aran thickness pure wool is required. 

So, I would thoroughly recommend giving this lovely wool a go, whether you knit, crochet, weave or use yarn in other ways. Have you used this yarn before? Or any of the others in the range? If you have, leave me a comment, I would love to read your views too.

Happy hooking,

Marta xx