Quit my job and knit all day

I really should marry rich. My current boyfriend agrees with me as well. He wishes he could marry rich. Shame we've fallen for each other. He dreams of opening a coffee cafe, with sandwiches and soups and coffee late while pubs are open to give an option for those who want to socialise somewhere a bit different.

I want to run a knitting shop, offering lessons and such a variety of yarns it would make your mind boggle. Or just stay home and knit all day while a maid cleans the house and I laze about watching movies (I dont really like daytime tv) and knitting, knitting, knitting.

Back to reality I have done some selfish and some non-selfish knittings and finished many'o'projects. It is funny that the two for me are the same colour. I had started the fingerless (as previous blog) and then got the yarn for the full mittens for Christmas.

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Bella's Mittens - Pattern free on Ravelry. The yarn used is Rowan Cocoon in Seascape. Its a wonderful colour and does make you think of the deep dark sea. The pattern is quite fitted on the hand so I used a slightly bigger needle. If you want more info you can find me on ravelry under Sheenaknitsuk. :) 

Autumnal Mittens for the boss - Pattern also free on Ravelry. She received a pair for Christmas, and now has asked for this colour and a dark brown, but I haven't been able to find a nice dark brown at this time of year in a yarn that I like... I'll keep looking. She might get them next year instead!

Autumnal Mittens in Alpaca, for me. These mittens in this yarn is irresistible. Get any baby alpaca yarn, DK, in the colour of your choice and go on Ravelry, get this pattern and knit away. Seriously. If you do anything in 2012 knitting related it should be this. Easy, fast and soooooo scrummy. These were meant to go into my Etsy shop and I love them too much to bear to part with them. That's how wonderful they are. 

I got this yarn for 5 pounds and it's the King Cole Alpaca one. If you're in the UK you can buy this yarn from Modern Knitting online. I use them a lot as they seem to be cheaper than other online shops and have a good selection.

2012, the year of the selfish knits

Since I have started knitting - only a year a half ago - I have actively knit for others. I have done some things for myself, like the Owl Sweater and some random projects but I still wear store bought mittens, a hat, scarves, I tend to use my own projects as learning curves and keep them more out of necessity that no one else would want them than them really being for me. 


My hot water bottle cover was the first thing for me. Since then I have knit a few things for my Etsy shop and considered making things for specific other people. I like making things for people and seeing them enjoy the gift... but maybe this year I should make things for me? I could learn some socks, do some sweaters, finally use that white and grey cashmere merino wool I bought last year for a shawl or something useless and lovely. 


Enter the teal alpaca mittens. I made a pink pair of these for my co-worker and loved them while I knit, so when I started the teal I could already picture them on my own hands. Currently they lie in my Finished Box, without thumbs. 

Why the finished box? So that I don't finish them and have to sell them. I want to keep them. But I don't need another pair, I already have a fingerless mitten that I actually made (first time knitting in the round, first time doing colour work, first time ribbing, I learned a lot on those mittens and to be honest they still aren't cast off properly!). 


Tomorrow I will finish my item for my Etsy shop (HWB cover, what else) and then finish these teal mittens... but tell me, do I have to sell them??? 


Alpaca is amazing. Knit with pure alpaca as soon as you can. Go buy some now. Make these mittens. Really.... Really... YOU MUST!

Turning over a new leaf....

I started myself a project as its now after Christmas and I feel like I deserve some of my own knitting. I also finished the project today which is very unlike me... normally when it's for me it sits on my needles for AGES and I feel guilty about working on it, but not this one! (I'm also doing this as a test knit to create a pattern to share, so I was also sort of working for others at the same time, so maybe that is why it is guiltless.)


It is also something I've been dreaming up since I first learned to knit. I bought some hot water bottles and if you have seen my Ravelry line up you might notice a small and very rustic one with a heart that I designed and knit last year. This year my skills are much improved and I still had a big bottle to cover, so in Sept when I was at Romni wools in Toronto and bought many balls of amazing wools I dreamed up this design and have finally realised the dream. (Bit dramatic sounding but not sure how else to say it!). 


I want to change some things in the pattern before I share it, like the squareness at the bottom, and some placements of colour changes but otherwise here is the gist of what I will be doing in the next little while!


My FO from today!

One, Two, Three, Four....

I HAVE SOLD SOMETHING! Its amazing!

These mittens have been a hit (and they're a lot easier than the ones I was doing before) and I've managed to sell two already and then had some people enquire about a few more!

Here are the green ones. You can see the thumbs have changed and I'm not overjoyed about that but I think it looks better than having a second colour added on!

The first pair I sold were these amazing Alpaca ones in a hot pink that I'm in love with. I bought the wool at Romni in Toronto and that store is a cave labyrinth of amazing-ness. These were from the Dungeon of Sales in the basement! I removed one repeat of the pattern at the bottom to ensure I had enough left for the thumbs and I did! (Just!)

The pink ones were sold to a friend from work and we are a team of 3, so naturally my other colleague wanted a pair too. This purple is from English wool company Wendy and its' their Bliss line and its really soft (and cheap, woot woot!). I think its my new favourite standard yarn. Just hope they come out with even more colours. You can kinda see the flecks of pinky purple with bluey purple in this colourway.