I have well and truly caught the knitting bug. My previous knitting projects have consisted of rotating the same few patterns over and over but I’m feeling much more confident and having fun branching out into new projects now.
This 3-Colour Cashmere Cowl is a very popular pattern and a few of my friends have knitted it so I knew it would be a winner. I ordered 3 x 50g balls of Lush sock yarn from Little Plum Yarn (an awesome Aussie dyer who is no longer in business – boo!) and they were the perfect length to knit this cowl without any left-overs. The colours I chose were Gunmetal, Silver & Belle.
If you are unfamiliar with the 3-Colour Cashmere Cowl pattern, it is basically a long, narrow tube, knit in the round on circular needles and consists of blocks of different colour, design and stitches (um…there is probably a more accurate way to describe it but my technical knitting terminology is not up there yet!) Anyway, I loved this knit! It was fun, fairly quick and switching between colours and stitches kept it interesting.
I love wearing this cowl, the pops of colour brighten up a neutral outfit and, best of all, it is super warm!
I recently finished knitting myself another cowl. After the Honey Cowl marathon of the last few years I thought I should branch out and try a new pattern! I am not the most confident knitter but really want to try and improve my knitting abilities so have started a little yarn stash (I promise it will not take over the house…) and am challenging myself with new patterns and yarns.
The pattern I decided to tackle next was the Big Herringbone Cowl pattern from The Purl Bee. The herringbone stitch was fun to do and easy to pick up and this cowl ended up being nice and squishy and bulky. It did take me a few sittings to get used to using the chunky 12mm needles but once I was in a groove the cowl was a really fast knit.
The yarn I used was Milla Mia Naturally Soft Aran in Ochre colourway. I purchased it on a whim when I was stocking up on needles one day because I had a 20% discount voucher to use and wanted to make the most of it. I have used Milla Mia yarn before and knew that the quality would be great – soft and not scratchy. I really love it though, the finished cowl is super snug and keeps me so warm on a cold day.
This cowl is definitely not free of mistakes, there are a few spots that have messy stitches or little holes that I strategically place underneath folds when I wear it. I was *this close* to unpicking the whole thing and starting again after I had blocked it because the mistakes were annoying me so much but decided I would keep it as is and knit another one sometime without any mistakes! I found the herringbone stitch really difficult to rectify mistakes as I went, but I’m sure one day it will click and I’ll be able to fix up my mistakes as I go along. That’s the great thing about a cowl though, you can easily wrap and tuck to hide any messy spots before wearing!
My next knitting project is a 3-Colour Cashmere Cowl…I was about 1/3 of the way through and then the little boys landed on my knitting bag when they were jumping off the couch and snapped one of my needles so I am impatiently waiting for a replacement to arrive in the mail!
Hey, hey! I knitted something! It only took me a year and it’s not a Honey Cowl (there have been 10 of those)! This pattern is the Zigvest from TiKKi. It’s a beautifully written pattern, but boy did I experience some grief with it! All problems caused by my own inexperience and foggy mindedness, but I got there in the end!! I used some Luxury 8 ply yarn in Koala from Bendigo. This is a good, economical yarn…personally I wouldn’t wear it directly on my skin, it’s a bit too itchy for me, but I’m pretty picky about how fibers feel on my skin. Great for a vest that will be worn over other clothing though.
This vest is definitley the most advanced pattern I have knit. It was all good until I had to split for the neckline and then for some reason I just couldn’t get the zigzag pattern to continue properly all the way up to the shoulders. I tried at least 10 times to get the pattern to continue, with no luck. I even had help from my clever knitty friend and my Mum and I just couldn’t pull it together! I think that the main problem is that I left the vest unfinished at this point for many months because I had hit a roadblock, then every time I picked it up to try and finish it I became more and more confused because it had just been so long since I had worked on it!
I was determined to just finish the thing and my Mum suggested that I stop the zigzag pattern at the neckline and just knit some plain rows up to the shoulder seams in place of the pattern. I was a little apprehensive to start with as I thought it would end up looking tacky but the back of the vest is all plain and I don’t mind the look that I ended up at all. And….I FINISHED IT!
Tommy is so skinny that his chest measurement came in at the size for a 3 year old. I didn’t think to add length to the vest (duh!) and there was a growth spurt somewhere there in the 12 months that it took for me to finish it, so I don’t think we will get more than one Winter’s wear out of it. At least I have Harvey to hand it on to in a few years time!
As painful as it was to finish the vest off, the bulk of the knitting was smooth sailing – I was so proud of myself for getting the zigzag pattern to look as good as it does…not a bad effort for my first attempt! I did learn a lot, it is very wearable and Tommy loves it so that’s all that matters, right?!
So, now that I have finished this vest, I’m trying to decide what to cast on next…I have a strict “one knitting project at a time” rule which is great incentive to finish something off! I’m leaning strongly towards a shawl – maybe this one or this one. But I did just look through TiKKi’s patterns as I was linking to the Zigvest and am feeling tempted by her new Posy cardigan, or perhaps the Ferris Wheel or even something for me – maybe a Summer Festival or Lizzie cardi? Decisions, decisions…
Some knitting projects to share with you today… This Milo vest has been sitting waiting for two little ends to be woven in for 8 months! Ha! I did eventually finish it and luckily it was a little big for Lil back then because it fits her well now. Besides, it was too hot for her to wear it over the last 8 months anyway!
Such a great, quick and easy knit (super beginner-friendly if you are wanting to get into knitting) and I love working on circular needles. I used yarn from Bendigo – this one is Luxury 8 ply in Aquarium.
I don’t believe I’ve ever shared this Tea Party Skirt (pattern avaliable as a Creative Card) on my blog either. I think it’s about 2 years old and still going strong – skirts fit girls forever!
And I’ve got to show you Lil’s full outfit from last Sunday – we’re always a bit mismatched over here, and I love it that way! I’m sure that in a few years she’ll start deciding that colours and patterns have to “go together” so I’m making the most of her pulling together random clothing selections while she can get away with it!
Including heart-printed tights with her Saltwaters!
And this little Milo was knitted for the bambino (because he really lacks clothing!)
But I have seen some teeny baby boys wearing Milo vests and they are sooo cute that I had to make him one!
This yarn is also from Bendigo and is Alpaca Rich 8 ply in Rich Ocean. It is so small (I think I made the smallest size) that it was finished really quickly and used hardly any yarn…a great project to work on and add to the present box for other babies I think!
Lately I’ve been trying to decide on some new knitting projects to get ready for the colder weather and being stuck on the couch once the baby is born…so much great inspiration out there to choose from. I think I’ve narrowed my choices down to a couple of projects but wanted to share some of the beauties that have caught my eye. I’m sure many of them are way out of my skill level, but I’ll get there eventually!
I’d love to hear about your favourite knitting patterns/yarns…hit me with them!
I have well and truly caught the knitting bug. My previous knitting projects have consisted of rotating the same few patterns over and over but I’m feeling much more confident and having fun branching out into new projects now. 
