Kylie brought an uninvited guest home from her hols so it’s been a wee while since we caught up. That just means we have heaps of crafty projects to talk about 😀 And a wee bonus of a visit to a really cute yarn shop.
WIPs
Kylie cast on a plain vanilla sock out of some super soft Mrs Peacock Yarns (colourway “Peace on Earth”). There will be a fleegle heel, which i’m using the pattern Your New Favorite Toe-Up Sock.
Gill is also knitting some self-striping socks with yarn from Narrative Yarns. She released some Anzac Day stitch-markers so Gill is using that too 😀 The pattern of these socks is Charade.
Kylie’s also made lots of progress on her DRK Everyday Socks which she is knitting out of handspun from StitchPunk, spun into a Crepe construction. There’s an article in knitty about this construction.
Gill is super close to finishing her Jeck socks – she just needs to do the second afterthought heel! The main yarn is from Nana-Cindy (Colourway “Lithium”) with the contrast heel/toe/cuff out of a Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball.
Gill has cast on a gorgeous new cardigan called Retro by Kirsten of Skein Australia. The main colour is Prosper Yarn and the striped yarns are Fibre2go and some yarn from Lochanside purchased from Wool on Wheels.
Kylie’s done a wee bit of work on her Yeah Yeah Sweater, but it’s gone into devil’s corner for a bit.
Finished!
Gnome Pun Intended was knit by Kylie out of her handspun that she is using for her DRK socks, as well as a free mini from Dreamfire Yarns.
We both made mitts!! Gill made some gorgeous patterned mitts using some Nana-Cindy yarn (Colourway “Lithium”). She was super clever and used the Socks on a Plane cable for the pattern. Kylie’s mitts were made using some worsted BFL from Yeah Yeah Yarn and a free pattern called the Cozy Cuffed Mitts.
Gillian has finished a gorgeous Reis sweater – all out of her handspun yarn!!! The braids for her handspun came from lots of kiwi dyers including Fibre2go and Heavenly Wools and some from Dye Candy (purchased from Nana-Cindy).
Kylie finally finished a big shawl she’s been working on for about 6 months – the Brioband shawl. Most of the yarn is from Stephen and Penelope in Amsterdam. Dyers include Undercover Otter, GarnStories, Skein (Australia) and Yarn Therapy (NZ).
Kylie’s Cross-Stitch’s are from Spruce Craft Co. They have been fun little projects.
Gill has finished some gorgeous spinning using fibre from fibre2go and (i think?!!!) Weather Wools. She also made some skeins of mock-tweed yarn using a tutorial from the Passioknit Spinner (on her Patreon). This is recreating the Hedgehog Fibres Tweed which is stunning, but quite pricey!! Kylie is planning on doing a similar spin at some point.
Shawl Musings
We had a discussion on if you can ever have too many shawls. Gill gives hers away or frogs her shawls when she’s fallen out with them, or doesn’t wear them anymore. Kylie has filled up her shawl box so there’s no room for anymore shawls!! Do you think you can have too many shawls? What do you do with shawls (or knits in general) that you don’t use anymore, or have fallen out with?
Aquisitions
Kylie got a gorgeous “Crafts & Wine” pin from a bookshop in Mudgee (rural NSW). The pin was made by Jubly-Umph.
Gill did a spot of shopping with Loopine to get some needles and some very pretty and practical Cascade sock yarn as well as a Pom Pom Magazine.
Kylie did some shopping with Dreamfire Yarn to get some yarn for contrasting heels and toes for DK socks (she does an amazing wool/nylon DK yarn base for heavier socks!). She does some great stitchmarkers with both a lobster clasp and a loop!
Gillian also got some lovely Ashford Handcarders to get more creative with her handspinning preparation!
In the Blue Mountains (inland from Sydney) Kylie was able to visit a couple of yarn shops. At The House of Wool she purchased some Malibrigo fibre, a pom pom and some gorgeous soft as silk Fine Merino/Nylon sock yarn hand dyed by the lovely owner of the shop. At The Granny Square Katoomba she purchased some Regia Cotton sock yarn and a gorgeous skein of Manos Del Uruguay.
Coming Up…
At the end of May we have Woolfest – the biggest yarn event in the NZ calendar year, with over 70 traders! It’s 28th May 10am-4pm at Kumeu showgrounds, so please come and join us! Don’t forget to say hello if you see us – we love to meet our viewers!
Cup of Tea and a Yarn 