Loopy

~ MidKnit Owl ~ 1 Comment

As I mentioned yesterday, I popped into Loop in Islington, London for a browse and a little shop. And when I say little, I actually mean little for once – I only purchased two skeins of wool, a feat that, given Loop’s amazing range of yarns and tempting patterns – demonstrated extensive restraint!

Onto the wool in a moment, but first – I did buy something in addition to the yarn (shh!). I saw these Loop-branded acorn needle gauges sitting on the till table, and thought one would be very useful to keep in my larger project bag, so into my basket it went!

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The wool I bought was some Brooklyn Tweed ‘Loft’, in firstly ‘Almanac’ (the dark blue) and then ‘Sweatshirt’ (the mid grey).

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The colours look fantastic together, and I really like the slightly tweed appearance of the wool. The texture is interesting; ‘Loft’ is a pure wool 2-ply with a very delicate twist, which makes it feel almost like fine felt, and  – as I’ve learned to my detriment – means that it requires a light touch to knit with, otherwise it breaks. Thankfully, when I accidentally broke mine, I was only on the casting-on row so didn’t have to rip back any knitting to recover a major break further on; I’ve learned my lesson now and am treating it with a bit more respect!

I’ve already cast on a project with the ‘Loft’ wool. I decided to begin the Altair hat from Jared Flood, that I’ve been wanting to get started on for a couple of weeks. I just couldn’t find a yarn that I really thought would suit the pattern, which is – coincidentally – made from Brooklyn Tweed‘s ‘Loft’ in the pattern. Lo and behold, when I took a look at the wool on my trip to Loop, I knew the texture and tones of ‘Loft’ would be just right. So far, that is definitely the case. Despite having to take it carefully with this wool, it knits up into a thick and durable fabric that will wear incredibly well as a cold-weather hat. The shades that I’m using, ‘Almanac’ for the colourwork and ribbing band, and ‘Sweatshirt’ for the background to the crown, look fantastic together and have the exact balance of tweed and bright colour that I was looking for.

Thumbs up all round – all I need now is time this week to get this hat knit!

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London Loot

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I have returned from London with loot! I’ll do a full recap and details of my lovely yarn enhancement expedition tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is my ‘stash pile’!

Slow Going

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Progress is really slow on my latest pair of Rose City Rollers – this is the second sock, but I’ve barely started the heel flap and I started this one last week! I blame this slow going on lovely weather and the inevitable preparation for work that precedes the start of a school year – but I’m going to have to get my skates on if I want to finish these by the end of the holidays!

Bobicus

~ MidKnit Owl ~ 4 Comments

MEDAL-SHAWL

I got my first Ravellenic Games medal today – and I love both the colours and the presence of Bobicus the dog on the badge! Thank you Bobicus (and everyone else at Ravelry) for sending this through; I’m already planning for PyeongChang 2018…

Next Up

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Following the end of the Ravellenic Games, I’ve been thinking about what to knit next. I fancied a shorter, smaller project after the neverending final few rows of the Daybreak shawl – and wanted something a little different from my usual go-to sock options.

Vague ideas of knitting a hat in hand, I took to Ravelry and searched for something I liked. It didn’t take me long to spot this gorgeous hat from Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed:

Photo credit: https://www.brooklyntweed.com/shop/altair/

I really like Altair‘s combination of a modern shape and high ribbed band, with the more traditional-style patterning. I haven’t done a huge amount of colourwork before, so this will pose a bit of a challenge without (hopefully!) being too difficult – and as it’s a small project, I should be able to get it finished before work starts again in a couple of weeks!

I’m excited to start – now all I need to do is pick out some yarn!

Sprint Finish

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I have finished in the nick of time! My entry for the 2016 Ravellenic Games is complete!

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It’s all finished and the ends are sewn in. It’s just finishing blocking, and it should be all done by tomorrow evening in time for the deadline as the Rio Olympics comes to an end.

I have absolutely loved knitting this pattern, Daybreak by Stephen West. It had just enough interest to keep me focused, but other than increases it was predominantly stockinette stitch so I could knit away during car journeys and evenings in with a movie. The colours look really stunning; the ‘Party of Five’ mini skein set from SweetGeorgia Yarns in the ‘wildfire’ colourway is so bright, and really stands out against the dark grey. All of the yarns are SweetGeorgia Yarns ‘Tough Love Sock’ base; it’s very soft but also feels as though it will last a long time. I will definitely be using some of this yarn to knit myself some socks before long!

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I will upload more photos when the shawl has finished blocking, but in the meantime I’m going to go and celebrate completing the Ravellenic Games with a little glass of wine!