Month: May 2023

Finished!

Gillian has finished her gorgeous Cherry sweater from Midori Hirosi (ravelry link. Also available on her website) using Purple Sprouting Yarn, holding Deluxe Sock and Suri Alpaca together. The ‘cherry’s’ are handspun from Fibre2Go.

Both Kylie and Gill have finished items which they couldn’t show as they were gifted. Kylie finished a Milo Vest (ravelry link, also available on the Tikki Knits Website) for a friend who just had a baby using Otaki Dye House (now Moonrise Yarn Co). It’s pictured below. Gillian finished a pair of socks for her mum for mothers day using a tube she knit on Kylie’s circular sock machine. The yarn was the yarn she purchased at a cute shop in Ngatea (A-Z Books & Crafts, facebook link) – Nako Boho yarn.

Gillian finished on her Around the Bend shawl by Nim Teasdale (ravelry link) using the 2022 advent mini’s from Purple Sprouting. She made two fades from the advent and striped them for a very cool effect!

WIPs

Kylie has a new cast on – a pair of Tinsel Mitts by Andrea Mowry (ravelry link. Also available the Andrea Mowry Website) in some gorgeous sparkly DK yarn from Knot n Tie.

Gillian’s got a new handbag knitting cast on too – a broken rib sock in Katia Tokyo self striping. No pattern, she’s just applied a broken rib pattern to a standard sock.

Another project Gillian is working on is a Child’s Flax Light. She’s striping a zauberball with some broadway yarn and it gives a handspun effect!

Gillian has also been working on a Gingham cowl using a pattern from pinterest. The yarns are from Strawberry Patches and Knot n Tie and it’s coming along so great!

Kylie has made great progress on her Comfort Fade Cardi by Andrea Mowry (ravelry link, also available on her shop). The yarn from top (purple) to bottom (pink) is Strawberry Patches, Purple Sprouting, Qing and Squiggle Yarn.

Spinning

Kylie has 3 handspun skeins spun this week, all spun on her Majacraft Rose Wheel. The first skein was two plies. One ply was a batt from Skein Yarn in Coffs Harbour, Australia and the other ply was some lovely soft alpaca from the alpaca pictured below! The other skein was a gradient batt which was chain plied to keep the gradient.

Gillian finished a gorgeous spin she started at the Morrinsville spin in. Two different colours & blends from Terry Berry – superfine Merino and Merino-Silk.

Gillian also started a tweed spin using tweed fibre from Anna Gratton (facebook link – you need to message her to order, she doesn’t have a traditional online shop).

Aquisitions

Gill stopped in at Yarn On in Hamilton and got some Tootsies and Katia sock yarn in gorgeous colours! She also got a sweater lot of Bio Shetland organic wool to make the Trouville sweater by Sophio Ochera (ravelry link, also available on Love Crafts).

Finished!

We’ve finished quite a bit this fortnight!!

Gillian finished her crocheted ‘Granny Top Socks‘ (ravelry link to her project page) in Lang Yarn Twin Sock.

Kylie finished a pair of machine knit socks in Opal sock yarn which are for her! They just need to have the second toe kitchener finished.

Gill also finished her Warp Vest by Sara Ottosson (Ravelry links) using Holst Garn. The woven effect is achieved by holding colours together and it looks awesome!

Kylie finished the handspun baby blanket (above) she has been working on, (pattern is inspired by this dishcloth recipe (ravelry link)), as well as her Tolkein inspired blanket! Yarn is from Giddy Yarns in Scotland, and there are 5 x 10g minis for each month of the yar in 2022, Q1 inspired by The Hobbit and Q2-4 inspired by each Lord of the Rings book.

Kylie has also finished her Sockhead Slouch Hat (ravelry link, also available on her blog but it doesn’t include all the sizes), The yarn is from Knot n Tie (a lovely local Auckland dyer) on her Twistie Toes base – a fun zebra type yarn and it’s giving a lovely pooling effect.

The last thing Kylie has finished is the first of the Stephen West Pup Sweaters – the Striped Pup Sweater (ravelry link). Yarn is by Squiggle Yarn Co in South Australia and Otaki Dye House (now Moonrise Yarn Co).

WIPs

Since Kylie had 65g of the Otaki Dye House (now Moonrise Yarn Co) yarn leftover from Sammie’s sweater, she cast on a Milo (ravelry link, also available on the Tikki Knits Website) vest for a friend who just had a baby. It’s been a lovely little knit, and great handbag knitting.

Gill’s handbag knitting is the Way Out West Bandana Cowl by Tiffany Morse using (ravelry link) Yeah Yeah Yarn in the Moscow Mule colourway.

Kylies picked up her Comfort Fade Cardi by Andrea Mowry (ravelry link, also available on her shop). The yarn from top (purple) to bottom (pink) is Strawberry Patches, Purple Sprouting, Qing and Squiggle Yarn.

Gillian has cast on a Cherry sweater from Midori Hirosi (ravelry link. Also available on her website) using Purple Sprouting Yarn, holding Deluxe Sock and Suri Alpaca together. The ‘cherry’s’ are handspun.

Purchases

Strawberry Patches put up some new dyed yarns and Gill managed to grab a lovely skein of “She’s on Fire”. She also stopped at a cute shop in Ngatea to grab a skein of Nako Boho yarn on her way up to Auckland. The shop was called A-Z Books & Crafts (facebook link).

Kylie recieved a preorder of Laine books from Holland Raod Company which included:

• 52 weeks of socks Vol 2
• Neon’s and Neutrals
• Mouche & Friends

Gillian got a couple of books in the mail too. Yarn-i-tec-ture is a fabulous spinning resource book which Gill was borrowing again and again from the library. She also got a weaving book “The Weaving Explorer”. She also got a second hand Kaffe Fassett book at the shop in Ngatea!

Cross-Stitch

Kylie’s been doing some small cross-stitches which make great gifts! They are from Spruce Craft Co in Victoria, and part of her monthly subscription boxes. At the moment they are only available in Australia at the moment, but she’s doing a digital kit as well if you want to join in!

#KiwiSummerWIP

Thankyou for all the entries we had for our #KiwiSummerWIP competition, where we finished some of our WIP’s started before 2023! The prize is a skein donated from Purple Sprouting. Thanks Paula!! The winner was Michelle McDee on Instagram! Congrats – we hope you enjoy your prize!