2019 Fashion on the Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

26 stitches to the inch on 4.5s?! Possibly 26 stitches to four inches...?

Laura_Elsewhere

I'm knitting myself a new slipover (sleeveless pullover, incredibly useful garment) in stripes and although the outside is nice, I'm very taken by how pretty the inside is!

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

26 stitches to the inch on 4.5s?! Possibly 26 stitches to four inches...?

D'oh! Yes, Laura, I meant 26 stitches to four inches on 3.5mm. (I was rather dopey yesterday evening. Didn't sleep well on Monday night and, of course, had the long journey down to Somerset to contend with as well. Obviously, it shows.:beer: Home tonight, thank goodness. < stomps foot > I want to knit.)

Your new slipover is beautiful. The colours just meld together - what's the yarn?

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

Happy knitting tonight! I would hate a job with lots of moving about... I work away for 2-3 days a week for about five weeks of the year, staying back at my parents' place with them and that wipes me out 'orribly! I couldn't do your job...

Thanks re the slipover - it's entirely fortuitous. It was meant to be in some other yarn, the stuff I was recently given, but I hadn't realised til I started knitting that alpaca has zero 'give' and so it's useless on its own for a fitted garment as it goes out of shape instantly and constantly. So I'll use that for something needing soft heavy drape like a lace shawl, and because I'd mentally started the new slipover, I just raided my yarn cupboard to find something - anything! - that would work... the cream is some DKish pure-wool I was given but the coloured is some ancient self-striping King Cole Zig-Zag sock yarn, held double. It knits up into serviceable but mundane socks, pleasant enough but nothing exciting. This had been sitting for years and years and years waiting to be turned into more unadventurous, dull socks, and suddenly I got the idea of trying it held double, and striped with the cream, and bingo, I have really good nougat, the sort which is warm-white studded with bits of crimson cherry and green pistachio and warm-fawn almond...!

CAFCGirl

I love that colour flow - well done you clever bean!

Despite telling myself I'd have a break from looming, the weather has said no to outdoor pursuits so I am attempting a bolero knit on the loom. Yarn is from a frogged project I attempted last year and have only just unwound - opps! So no coupon cost of it works out.
It's a James C Brett marble yarn of aquas, purples, greens and hints of pink and blye. It reminds me of my favourite crystal so here's hoping it turns out as my brain intends.

Could do with the win after my rotten week!

Laura_Elsewhere

Aw no, sorry to hear it's been a rotten week - hope your crystal-bolero helps cheer up the weekend!

I have the most startlingly generous friends imaginable - six metres of 36" green linen is on its way to me as a present from a lovely kind friend overseas (he's in the USA, he's ordered from a shop in the UK) for a new summer everyday skirt and maybe a little jacket too!

No coupons on presents, are there?

How incredibly lovely of him...

PipneyJane

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

Happy knitting tonight! I would hate a job with lots of moving about... I work away for 2-3 days a week for about five weeks of the year, staying back at my parents' place with them and that wipes me out 'orribly! I couldn't do your job...

Thanks re the slipover - it's entirely fortuitous. It was meant to be in some other yarn, the stuff I was recently given, but I hadn't realised til I started knitting that alpaca has zero 'give' and so it's useless on its own for a fitted garment as it goes out of shape instantly and constantly. So I'll use that for something needing soft heavy drape like a lace shawl, and because I'd mentally started the new slipover, I just raided my yarn cupboard to find something - anything! - that would work... the cream is some DKish pure-wool I was given but the coloured is some ancient self-striping King Cole Zig-Zag sock yarn, held double. It knits up into serviceable but mundane socks, pleasant enough but nothing exciting. This had been sitting for years and years and years waiting to be turned into more unadventurous, dull socks, and suddenly I got the idea of trying it held double, and striped with the cream, and bingo, I have really good nougat, the sort which is warm-white studded with bits of crimson cherry and green pistachio and warm-fawn almond...!

Usually, I don’t mind the travel so long as it’s predictable and you can plan your life in advance around it. A good night’s sleep beforehand helps, as well.

I’ve completely screwed up on the planning for this next week - totally forgot about the cricket tickets I bought in November, for the England match on Wednesday. It’s too late to sort out not working on Wednesday - my DH is training people and I will be in WSM. I’m angry with myself. I’m hoping one of my friends can use them.

You are clever, using up the Zig-Zag in that way. It looks beautiful. I remember using Zig-Zag to knit socks back when it was 50% wool : 50% nylon blend. The local cheap-and-cheerful shop sold it for £1.95/100g. Brilliant value but I found it rather hard on my hands, cutting/abrasive. I’ve always assumed that was due to the high nylon content. The blend has changed now to 75% wool, 25% nylon.

CAFCGirl wrote: »

I love that colour flow - well done you clever bean!

Despite telling myself I'd have a break from looming, the weather has said no to outdoor pursuits so I am attempting a bolero knit on the loom. Yarn is from a frogged project I attempted last year and have only just unwound - opps! So no coupon cost of it works out.
It's a James C Brett marble yarn of aquas, purples, greens and hints of pink and blye. It reminds me of my favourite crystal so here's hoping it turns out as my brain intends.

Could do with the win after my rotten week!

CAFCgirl, I’m sorry you’re week has been terrible. Hope your weekend is better. There’s tea/coffee/wine/beer/cider/gin/whisky and sympathy here if you ever need to vent.

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

Aw no, sorry to hear it's been a rotten week - hope your crystal-bolero helps cheer up the weekend!

I have the most startlingly generous friends imaginable - six metres of 36" green linen is on its way to me as a present from a lovely kind friend overseas (he's in the USA, he's ordered from a shop in the UK) for a new summer everyday skirt and maybe a little jacket too!

No coupons on presents, are there?

How incredibly lovely of him...

That is such a sweet present! Well thought out by someone who knows you and your hobbies. You have lovely friends. Presents do not cost coupons.

- Pip

PipneyJane

Forgive me Board, for I have slipped....

We went to the Sweeps Festival in Rochester on Saturday. I forgot to bring a scarf with me and the wind was freezing. After an hour of icy wind whistling down the back of my neck, I had a brain wave. There’s a craft shop (Frances Iles) on the High Street that sells yarn. (I’ve shopped there before.). How about I buy a ball of yarn and a crochet hook and crochet a ripple scarf? Surely it wouldn’t take long?

I was thinking: a ball of kidsilk haze and a large hook would do it. They didn’t have anything like it. Wandered around and had a look at what was in stock...

Ahem.....

A packet of assorted crochet hooks, two balls of Rico sock yarn and a ball of Rico Design Creative Reflection in black, and I wandered out... 5 coupons spent.

I started crocheting in the beer garden of the Gordon House Hotel. Six ours of crochet - with gaps in between - I finished the fourth row. It’d probably do with a fifth, but the problem with ripple scarves is that the stitch count grows by a third, every single row. The fourth row took over two hours on its own and my arms were already aching. (I will do the fifth row, probably, but not this week.)



My pattern is on my Ravelry page, but I’ll repeat it here:-

Using a 5mm hook and DK-ish yarn, make a chain 150-ish stitches long.

Row 1: Skip 3 chain and then (UK) treble crochet into each chain, to the end of the row.
Row 2: Chain 3, then *work 1 treble into the gap between the first two trebles of the row below, followed by 2 trebles into the gap between the next two stitches. Repeat from * to the end of the row, finishing with a single treble.
Rows 3 to 5, repeat row 2. If it’s not wide enough, make a 6th row.

- Pip (and then there were 6 coupons.)



ETA: it only used the Creative Reflection, which is a black yarn with a tinsel-like thread through it. The sock yarn, I’ve saved for later.

Laura_Elsewhere

Heh heh heh, Pip, m'dear! We've all been caught out like that...

By ripple scarf do you mean the things that end up being ruffles? I made a huge one in pale pink cheap Hobbycraft-alpaca for a niece for Xmas, and a smaller one in cheap Hobbycraft purple-acrylic-with-glitter for a friend's little girl last winter...

I couldn't find any way to model the earmuffs and ruffledy scarf, so I put them on my broom



And there was enough purple-sparkly to make little crocheted fingerless mitts too. I wasn't sure if I'd got the right sort of thing for a nearly-7-year-old but her mum reported finding her wearing the mitts in bed when she went in to tuck her up that night, so...



There are many reasons I'm glad I can make things, but being able to make surprise presents for people HAS to be up there near the very top of the list!

CAFCGirl

You were right next door to me Pipney!
Admittedly I don't do Sweeps because anxiety sucks but a 8 minutes drive to the hospital direction and that's me! LOL

Thank You all for the sympathy too. Not sure I mentioned investigations for a health complaint I have. Well turns out from my appointment last week, I still have that complaint but also add in a brain issue which is not being investigated for severity and significance - sigh.... So feeling all sorry for myself.
The bolero didn't quite turn out BUT I can see what would need changing so a win in that respect.
Decided next up is going to be an origami knit bag. Now just to decide on yarn from the stash.