Welcome to Wool on Sundays 54. It’s a wonder to me how it always seems to be Sunday again already!
This week, I have been taking one step forwards and two steps backwards. Most of my yarn time has been taken up, one way or another, with gloves…
I can’t tell you how much I love these gloves…
I probably don’t have to tell you they’ve seen better days but I’ve worn them every Winter for well over ten years so I can’t really complain!I decided the only thing that could adequately replace them was a pair of Latvian style mittens and I immediately ran into the problem that most of the charts have a lot of stitches and my thinnest wool is 4ply, for which I don’t have suitable dpns. So I decided to settle for a Drops Karisma version (like my recent socks) but to adjust the size, as they seemed very big and clunky. Using the socks as a gauge I cleverly adapted the chart to get the perfect wrist size – but, unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hand through :(
I made another attempt and only ended up with some cross looking birds…
In the end, since we’ve been having subzero temperatures every night and it’s not much warmer in the day, I decided to frog and go for a single colour – not very interesting and still a bit too big and looking somewhat the worse for being put through a hot wash, which failed to shrink them as I’d hoped but has left them looking rather dishevelled.
My week wasn’t all doom and gloom, however. I found a very interesting and entertaining program about knitting on Radio 4 – A GRIPPING YARN, which I recommend.
And, just when I was thinking I’d had about enough of navy blue knitting and it’s a long time since I did any colourful crochet, I came upon a lovely blog called ericka eckles. Ericka has the most gorgeous collection of projects using a block which is sometimes called African Flower but which she she calls Granny’s Paperweight. You can see them here. I made these ones straight away, using an excellent tutorial by Heidi at Heidi Bears, but, really you have to see Ericka’s to get an idea of how lovely they can look.
Now I have a quandary. These are made with Drops Fabel (wool) and I’m really not in love with the colours. I was looking for a project that uses 4ply weight cotton (of which I have a shameful amount) to make a proper sized bed cover that isn’t too holey and I think it would look wonderful with this paperweight design but I also think it it might take the rest of my life…So should I just start? Or double up the cotton to aran weight? Or make more woolly ones and start with a scarf…
If you have any yarn projects this week, I’d love you to link up with WOOL ON SUNDAYS. The rules as usual are: 1). Posts must include some content – makes or musings or photos – related to knitting, crochet, felting, spinning or yarn. 2). Projects sewn from felt or wool fabric or stitchery using wool are also welcome but please don’t link posts that are exclusively about sewing, quilting and fabrics. 3). Posts don’t have to be from the past week but please put a link to WOOL ON SUNDAYS or grab the button from my sidebar and include it in or at the bottom of any posts you link up. 4). Visit anyone else who links. Wishing you a happy week :)
Janine @ Rainbow Hare
[LINKY PARTY LOST IN MOVE FROM BLOGGER]
RAINBOW HARE 
Kim
Yes, I definitely feel you need oodles of colour in your life to counteract those rather grey,, freezing days that have enveloped you. Ooooh I'm swooning over those Granny Paperweights. You don't like these colours….really. I can see in my mind's eye a bed covered with all that colourful yumminess. As for doubling up 4ply cotton give it a go and see what you think. Even if crocheting this gorgeous bed cover should take the rest of your life (which I doubt, as you seem to whip these pretties up in next to no time at all) it would have been well worth it!! Just imagine propped up in your death bed, covered with a sea of Granny Paperweights…they would certainly give oodles of colour to your deathly pallor;))) I am off to explore those links…..be warm….sit in front of that fire of yours and enjoy a li'l crocheting….that will warm the cockles of your heart….oh and give a pat to that sweet, sweet puppy of yours for me!
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Sandra :)
Sorry about your “learning experience” projects – if you learned something from the oopsies, then you're ahead of the game :) I actually think your finished mittens look quite lovely – and they're handmade – they're supposed to be unique, not assembly-line cookie cutter perfect :)
Your granny flower/square blocks are quite pretty too – I don't think that I would go much further with colours I wasn't loving though – you'll grow very annoyed with yourself and with the blocks! I would say – don't waste them – use them (adding a few more if necessary) for a smaller project, then do some trial and error stitching until you find a design and colours that excite you – THEN you'll want to start a lovely bedspread, which may take you a VERY long time, but which will be fun to work on :)
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Craftycreate
I think the mittens are lovely and those Granny Paperweights are so colourful together. I must have a look at Ericka's blog.
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erickaeckles
Woooh….I want to send you a proper trumpety fanfare for making some of the flowery hexagons….I totally understand what you mean about the colours (I made several in evening light which in daylight looked a proper fright…..but you know I probably only totally unpicked 6 hexagons out of the 400 some I made for my blanket)….
Regarding the 4 ply cotton, hmmm it's not something I've used a lot of before but have you tried mixing in some slightly lighter colours. Also when I make my flowers I change colours for the top section of the flower petal (round 3)…I find going slightly lighter like a lot of actual flowers kind of creates that pulse and movement feel. And once you join them you'd be amazed at how much better they look. Heidi joins hers on round 6 but I prefer to join mine on round 5 so there is even more of a colour saturation.
I've just shifted Bernard off the blanket and I'm surprised at the amount of lighter browns I've used almost without knowing it, those pinky fawn colours help break up big patches of colour.
One of the best inspirations I found was looking at vintage milleflore paperweights on google, studying and painting down some of those gentle blends of colours was very helpful.
I'm still sewing in tails on my scarf, it's really heavy so I'll be all prepared if we actually get snow in Norfolk.
I think you should just go for making the bedspread, especially if you use a small hook, I think it would look so gorgeous. Just make the hexagons up in clusters of seven, and join in the tails before joining clusters together so its more manageable…..and the time spent making something so beautiful isn't time wasted in the slightest.
Ohhh and your blue mittens are lovely…..also (sorry I can talk the back legs off a donkey) there is a great program on radio Scotland about Shetland knitting, the series is called Our Story which I think you will like. I put a link to it on my blog xx
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pennydog
Start it anyway, they are gorgeous colours and I love the pattern too
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Soma Acharya
Haha! I have a couple of those accessories too. I love them too much even if they are now rather worse for wear. The woe of not having the right dpns, I know that feeling all too well. Your blue mittens may not be as exotic as your socks, but they are pretty. Hopefully they will shrink a little and will be a better fit for you. You can of course get more yarn or dpns to make a pair of fancy ones :)
About the bed cover – I started hand sewing a large sized bed cover with 3/4″ hexagons as my very first quilting project. It has been a few years and I am still working on it. Even though I work on it relatively regularly, I am still only about 1/4 way done. I know I will finish it but it will be a long journey for me. Just thought I tell my own experience before you embark on such a large project.
I hope your wood stove is keeping you warm!
-Soma
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Celtic Thistle
From the weather forecast for the next few days, I'd say you have replaced those gloves just in time Janine!
If you are really not loving the colours of your crochet squares, I would say you'll struggle with a whole quilt of them but that might just be me :)
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