Adventures in Knitting and Crochet

  There was no real inspiration behind this blanket. I love sunsets and saw the yarn at https://www.enfys.me.uk/ . It seemed too good an opportunity to miss. It is one of the easiest blankets to do as the crochet is absolute basic and the design comes from the colour blending. I hope you like it! Felicity   Pattern The pattern uses English crochet terminology throughout The pattern uses double stranded yarn and a 7 mm crochet hook.   Using two strands of Cygnet pure wool superwash DK in navy Chain 77 stitches Row 1: DC into third chain from the hook and every following chain Row 2-29: Chain 2 then DC into each stitch along the row Change yarn to double stranded (1 strand Cygnet pure wool superwash DK in navy and 1 strand Cygnet pure wool superwash DK in damson) Row 30-44: Chain 2 then DC into each stitch along the row Change yarn to two strands of Cygnet pure wool superwash DK in Damson Row 45-76: Chain 2 then DC into each stitch along the row ...

  This scarf was inspired by reader Ellen who commented on my secret message scarf post. After reading her comments it occurred to me that very few people who are blind will be able to read Morse code. Therefore, the obvious decision was to design a scarf with a happy birthday message in braille! In real life I spend a lot of my time in a lab trying to develop new treatments to prevent blindness and making things accessible to blind people is a cause very close to my heart. It has been a fun experiment mixing work and knitting. I have used DK weight yarn for this project and doubled it so that you get very strong stitch definition so the braille pattern can be easily made out through touch alone. The scarf would work with a chunky yarn but I have found that the braille doesn’t stand up as much as doubled DK. I hope you enjoy it!  Felicity     Pattern: Yarn: Sirdar snuggly cashmere merino double knitting (use two strands simultaneously). Needles: 7mm ...

So I managed to escape from work for a week and have a holiday up in the North East of England. I thought I would get a lot of knitting done with all the driving. However, the roads in Durham and Northumberland are not conducive to knitting!! I still managed to get this blanket finished. It knits up really quickly. It took me two evenings to make but if you aren’t exhausted from all day hiking it would probably only take you one. I hope you like it! Felicity Pattern: Yarn: DMC Cocoon from https://www.enfys.me.uk/ Needles: 12mm zings Abbreviations: dec1 – slip one stitch, knit one stitch and pass the slipped stich over. Yo – yarn over Cast on 3 stitches Row 1: K3 Row 2-7: K1, yo knit to end Row 8: K1, yo, K2, P2, K4, Row 9: K1, yo knit to end Row 10: K1, yo, K2, P4, K4, Row 11: K1, yo knit to end Row 12: K1, yo, K2, p6, K4, Row 13: K1, yo knit to end Row 14: K1, yo, K2, P8, K4 Row 15: K1, yo knit to end Row 16: K1, yo, K2, P4, K2, P4, K4 Row 17: K1,...

  I have had the idea for this project for a while but it has taken me a long time to work out the logistics of the pattern. There have been several failed attempts which have been consigned to the garbage heap. I think this time I have nailed it though. The scarf uses morse code to spell out the lyrics to the happy birthday song. The pattern reads: Happy Birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday happy birthday Happy birthday to you   All worked in the raised stitches in morse code. I love the idea that the scarf has a secret message that only me and the owner know about. I have left the pattern below, alongside a couple of notes to learn from my pain…. Felicity 1)     1. This really does need to be worked flat on circular needles. I'm not a massive fan of circular needles but if all the stitches are forced onto straight needles even really long ones no amount of blocking will get the pattern to show well afterwards. 2)    ...

  One of my friends is currently going through IVF and is trying so hard to get pregnant. I designed this blanket for her. She has just had a miscarriage and lost her baby. Unlike most of the items I make which are donated to charities such as blankets without borders, warm baby project etc. I am going to keep this one safe for her in the hope that she will be able to carry a healthy child. I have provided this pattern for free, like all my patterns. If you use it though, please consider giving a donation to the Miscarriage Association here: https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/get-involved/donating/ Thanks, Felicity   Primrose Blanket Pattern   Main blanket piece (make 4): Use white yarn and 6.5 mm needles. Cast on 3 stitches Row 1: K3 Row 2: K1, m1, K2, Row 3: K1, m1, knit to end. Repeat row 3 until there are 90 stitches on the needles. Cast off loosely.   Sew all 4 triangles to make a square as per schematic below. ...

 Its been a quiet few weeks on the knitting front. This has been mainly down to crazy work schedule, childcare, ninja testing and life in general. Also I decided to redo my geometric L blanket. This time I did it in plain yarn and the design is much better. It no longer looks like it was knitted in the dark by a crazy person, I mean to some extent that's true... but still.  I also decided to make it bigger. For some reason as the temperature hit nearly 30 degrees I thought that making a double bed size blanket in chunky yarn was the ideal thing to do. The pattern below is pictured on a king size bed so is considerably larger than the original pattern. I think this yarn suits the design a lot more as as you can see the pattern much easier. Next project is going to be small and portable. No more big blankets until the autumn.  Pattern: The blanket is knitted in several pieces for all except the largest piece you will need to make two to ensure you have the correct layout. Y...

  I went into the office for the first time in about a year last week. While it was nice to see some of my team in person, I realised there is so little of working at work that I actually like. This predominately starts with my commute. However, while rifling through my desk drawers trying to find a document I know that I left there back in early 2020 I stumbled across an unidentified knitting project. It was clearly one I had been working on in my lengthy commute that was the norm pre-covid but it has no identifying marks. The yarn is a beautiful soft raspberry colour and its knit on 4mm needles which would suggest it is double knitting in weight. It has also been balled by me, which suggests that it was originally a skein which had balled prior to knitting. It has no other identifiers. The ball band I assume I lost somewhere on the long cross country train trip. It also had a lace pattern which I was going to need to deconstruct if I was going to finish it. Given my current spir...