Caron Cake Scarf

A while ago the crafting community went crazy for Caron cakes. I actually knew this was going to happen. No I'm not clairvoyant, it just so happened that a few weeks before I;d been at the CHSI stitches show and spoken to one of their representatives [whilst he fed me a Caron cake.....not actually fed me, it wasn't like a roman slave thing....he just gave me a cake to eat]  Anyway he used the words "these are going to be huge" and I was like "oh alright Hun, may I have another cake for on the train?" 

And then they launched.

And before you could say knitting needles Hobbycraft had sold out, and on line had sold out [I mean who knew the INTERNET could sell out?] I actually saw a picture of a lady walking out of Hobbycraft with 10 of them! I MEAN TEN!

Luckily for me I snapped one up a few weeks later when the drama had died down! This was during Rikki's why don't you spoil yourself and get a hobbycraft order moment...... I'm still not 100% what he's broken. 

I chose the "Funfetti" colourway which is no longer available on the hobbycraft website [insert sad emojis] I'm not sure why I picked that one, apart from I was two glasses of wine down and the title Funfetti just seemed hilarious! I already knew I wanted to knit a new winter scarf and who does want to swath themselves in Funfetti? 

I believe it comes under the title of a colour change wool, well because the colour changes but its not in  your typical fade style. Instead you get set blocks of colour, all of which I think are roughly the same length [its hard to tell when its knitted up because of gauge and stuff] Now because of these solid blocks of colour I decided to alternate my stitches so for example I started knitting in garter stitch and then when the colour changed I switched to moss stitch! I kept going like this until the end, It worked out quite nicely because it gave me a break from the moss stitch which I am really really slow at. Plus it gives the scarf a bit more texture.

I cast on 31 stitches because you need an odd number to create moss stitch and knitted the whole ball of wool. I knitted it up on 7.00mm prym ergonomic knitting needles. The clip ends on the needles came in very handy for this project as they stopped my knitting slipping off and coming undone! In fact they worked so well that this scarf survived camping without dropping a single stitch! 

Isn't moss stitch pretty? Its so underrated!

And here's my personal favourite garter stitch! Fun Fact : I can knit garter stitch without looking at it. this makes it perfect for watching films for "mindless knitting"

The ball of wool cost me £10 which I think might be the most I've ever spent on a 200g ball of wool but I used the lot! Its worth it though to have such a long scarf! Shops never make scarves long enough to wrap around twice or do a loop with. [ Although my Mother has informed me the best way to where a scarf is to cross it over your chest and across your tummy to keep the cold out.] 

It actually turned out pretty cute as my new winter scarf I like all the colours and the length is a definite bonus but the best bit is the content of the wool, Its 20% wool and 80% acrylic which means its soft enough that it won't scratch but that its hard wearing enough to go through the wash a few times! I'm not sure what it is a about winter that makes clothes so grimy but it sure does! 

In fact the only quibble I have is that the end colours of my ball of wool were a bit mottled. Ever other colour had been perfectly even but the last two were very splotchy and well messy looking. I'm not sure if mine was just a bad lot but it did irk me a bit. Especially seen as £10 for a ball of wool isn't exactly cheap. 

Its not enough to stop me buying more Caron cakes though! I'm lusting after "bumbleberry" at the moment! 

In other news!

-The boys are more than pleased with the latest Liverpool result all I can hear every now and again is shouting!

 - We have brought a new rug for the living room and its shedding like a Yeti! I'm genuinely worried wee are going to have no rug left. But Rikki assures me that its just because its new and that it should stop soon. I will have to hoover though which is gutting!!!

- We are still surviving the summer holidays but we seem to have found out groove a bit more this week. So far we've been to see the monkeys, played mini golf with dinosaurs and learnt some sewing skills! 

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

GBSB Wrap Dress

So this is the second time I've taken these blog photos, can we just appreciate how awful winter is for blog photography? Anyway the plan was to take them in the garden but then lo and behold its starts to rain! So here I am stood against my kitchen door, because apart from the bathroom this is the room with the best light. Actually the light in the bathroom is better but I didn't think you'd all appreciate pictures with my lavvy in. 

Anyway this is the wrap dress from the second great british sewing book. Now because it comes in a pattern pack you do have to trace it so lets all just take a minute to feel thoroughly sorry for poor Frankie having to trace the pieces. That said tracing aside its actually a bit of a whizz to put together.

Its a basic wrap style dress that's made in a knit with medium stretch I got mine from Abakhans and I think its a stretch spandex? Its got a really awesome print on it though which did take a bit of concentration for pattern matching, the skirt and the bodice are individually pattern matched so I'm pretty pleased with that effort. Its pretty tough with this sort of dress because if you do get the wrong print you can end up looking like you've stepped out of your house wearing a dressing gown. Mainly when shopping for this fabric I knew I wanted something that was "DVF" inspired! 

I also had to be careful cutting out so that I didn't stretch the fabric, FYI if your cutting a knit fabric make sure the whole fabric piece is flat [like on the floor] If you cut with it hanging off a table your likely the over stretch the fabric and make your pattern pieces too short. And I just cut it out using my regular scissors, I could have gone for the rotary cutter option but my blades a bit dull and the idea of having to faff about with the matt made me want to cry.

I used my over locker for the majority of the construction and used the instructions as more of a guide than the gospel. For example I set my sleeves in flat just because its far easier to do it like that on an over locker. I used my regular machine with a twin needle for all the top stitching. I'm actually a bit gutted that the black stripe across the back doesn't follow on into the sleeves. But I don't think its super noticeable. 

The pattern also calls for 2.5m of stretch binding, Which naturally I ignored because OMG who has the time for 2.5m of stretch binding? Instead I just finished all the edges on my overlocker, folded them over and top stitched. It looks okay So I'm not sure why the pattern calls for binding? I did wonder if its to minimise stretch but I've had it on all day and so far there's no gaping.

So all in all I'm calling it a grand success, its a pretty quick make and the pattern is kind of spot on [it always really surprises me when the GBSB patterns come up good]. Its really comfy and I love that its an outfit that doesn't require too much effort. That said it is a bit busty as in I think its kind of low cut and you do have to have a seamless bra on underneath because it clings. 

In fact I like it so much I'm already planning another one in a stretch velvet! Because OMGOSH how lush would that be? 

So yeah In other new Its very nearly Christmas!!! I'm super excited I just hope we manage to get everything done in time! We've already had to write up a schedule for the next few days because lots of people want to see lil man and without the schedule all hell breaks loose!

Merry Christmas!!!

Frankie 

xxx

Pom Bomb Hat

a pom bomb by the way is what lil man calls a pom pom. I'm not sure why? But he alo calls mittens "Knittens" you know "cos they knittin mummy" Kids got a point.....

Anyway so i made anither hat!

This ones pretty blown out but you can see the details of the hat which is nice, I used the same method as for my last hat. But this time instead of the garter stitch I used stocking stitch. 

I used two strands of wool, one plain black ball and one made up of scraps of blues, greys, beige and white. Together they made a cool looking marl effect and they knitted up pretty quickly.

I sized down the Pom Pom too, and I made it on my Pom Pom maker again, In fact I'd say that the Pom Pom maker might be my new favourite sewing tool! They actually save so much time!!!!

I really love this hat!!!! Iv'e worn it every day to nursery and I feel very stylish and it keeps my ears warm as an added bonus! 

And these colours work better with my wardrobe than my previous hat as well!

And I even managed to get some okay pictures of it on my camera too! Which means that YAY winter is nearly ending! Yay for being able to take better blog pictures!!!! 

Much Love

Frankie

xxx 

The obnoxious hat,

I made a hat, it's an obnoxious shade of blue with an obnoxious large Pom Pom. 

Can't get better than that! 

I didn't use a pattern instead I cast in 60 stitches into size 6mm needles with chunky wool. Knit a few rows rib. Knit a few rows garter stitch then when I was happy with the length I decreased. I did knit two , knit two together for a row and then knit a row. Simples! 

Thinking about it , it could be a lil longer! Sorry for the crappy picture quality , I should get my proper camera out but I can't be bothered! 

Plus my brownies are baking and o don't want to miss the beeps! Yeah I'm making brownies part of my New Years resolution to bake once a week. 

I think it's pretty cute, I might make one in black!!! 

Much love

Frankie 

Xxx