Mittens with Moss stitch

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After the success with the recent knitting projects, I began a search for a glove pattern that would work with the James Brett Marble Chunky yarn, so that I could make a pair of gloves to match the hat n cowl. I found Surley Sheep on Etsy and purchased her pattern and these are the result.

Moss stitch mittens

To achieve a coordinated look so that the gloves would tie in with the cowl and hat, I modified the pattern so that instead of the pearl at the top n cuff, I added some rows of moss stitch. I over did it a bit at the thumbs but its ok, I’ve got quite long fingers and thumbs so it worked out ok.

The James Brett Marble chunky is a lovely yarn to knit with and its also cozy to wear. My dexterity isn’t great and my joints really feel the cold, so I wear gloves much longer than perhaps most people do. There’s another lovely colour they do that I’ve got my eye on, it has shades of blue in it. Hmmm another one for the wish list, me thinks

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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My second cowl

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Today I’d like to share a picture of the second cowl I knitted.

Cowl'd and Frosty Morning 'long version'

The pattern was from Cowl’d and Frosty Morning, I messed up a bit with counting the rows and it got a bit taller than the pattern intended. This was a happy accident though, as it is very cozy and ideal to snuggle down into

Cowl'd and Frosty Morning 'long version'

Hope you like it, the yarn is James Brett Marble Chunky in colour MC19 which is amethyst, its very difficult to get it to photograph the colour correctly.

Links

• Cowl’d and Frosty Morning Kelly without a Net’s knitting pattern
• James Brett Yarns
• James Brett Marble Chunky

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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Yarn Storage

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Just wanted to share a picture of the pretty yarn storage bag, DH bought me for Christmas.

Laura Ashley; Yarn Storage Cube

Its called a storage cube and different patterns are available on Ebay. I went for this one because I love birds. It Laura Ashley fabric and looks like a pattern called Berkley Square. I like how its compact but will hold large balls of yarn, it took my James Brett Marble Chunky with ease. Great for a project bag and for keeping your ball of yarn from skittling all over the floor. It would have been nice if it had been a more stiffened fabric so the sides stayed up, but until you get to the last of your yarn, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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My First Cowl

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Last month I mentioned that I was going to try knitting my first cowl. Today I’d like to share a picture of the finished piece.

My First Cowl

• The pattern I used (but recalculated the stitches too big ooops) was from Sixsevenone’s blog.
• The yarn I used was James Brett Chunky; in colour MC6.

The yarn was a joy to use, especially on my new Knit Pro: Basix; birch wood circulars, that I reviewed earlier this month. The yarn colours self stripe which give a pretty result and I managed to get this finished just in time for the cold snap. I had my hair cut very short this time and have found winter decidedly chilly.

My First cowl

Links

• Cowl Pattern Dolores Park Cowl by Sixoneseven.
• James Brett website, Marble Chunky yarn colours
• Knit Pro: Basix; Birch Wood

Hope you like it, try making a cowl, they are great for keeping out the drafts and less bother than a scarf in use. If you don’t have the best dexterity the good news is they don’t take too long to make either Oh dear, perhaps it will be another pattern I’ll use for making Christmas gifts, they’ll be calling me Mrs Weasly (Harry Potter) next.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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Product Review: James Brett Marble Chunky Yarn

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In today’s post I will be reviewing; James Brett Marble Chunky Yarn.

James Brett; Marble Chunky Yarn

Product Details

• Manufacturer/Brand; James C Brett. Marble Chunky
• Item number; Colour Number MC6
• RRP at time of writing: £4.50 – 6.00
• Weight – 200g Ball.
• Length – 312m/341 yards to 200g.
• Needle Size – 6mm. Tension – 14 stitches & 20 rows to a 10cm sq.

Reason For Buying

I cannot wear wool as it makes me itch, even if it is very soft or combined with other yarns. The only thing is until more recently there has been little colour options with acrylics. When I saw this yarn, I just had to buy it as it was such a lovely colour way.

Pros/Cons

Pros;

• All Acrylic, easy maintenance of finished garment
• Superb range of colours
• Feels luxurious
• Knits up beautifully
• A joy to knit with
• Cozy finished pieces, ideal for hats n gloves etc to snuggle into in the colder weather.
• 200g per ball plenty for smaller projects

Cons;

An option of a smaller ball in the same colour ways would be good. If you only need a few grams to finish a project, 200g is a big ball.

Just a niggle, not a deal breaker.

Build Quality

Excellent, a joy to knit with. Two DK weight strands are twisted together in the yarn and the colour ways are beautifully done.

Value for Money

Excellent! It may not be the cheapest, but I was very pleased with how many small projects I could make with just one ball.

Would I buy it Again?

Totally, there are so many delicious colours that I will definitely be getting more of this yarn.

Summing up

I love everything about this yarn and recommend it to everyone. From just one ball I was able to make a short cowl, a long cowl, a hat and a pair of fingerless mittens!!!! With so many colours there is bound to be one you fall in love with too. Having dexterity issues I also found the larger needle size this yarn requires, easier on the hands too.

There is a DK variant of the yarn but not all the colours match the Chunky

Links

Here is a link to the manufacturers and a couple of retailers that also stock the yarn.

• James C Brett
• RKM Yarns Check out the glorious colours in the James Brett Yarn

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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Product Review: Knit Pro; Basix. Fixed Length Circular needles

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In today’s post I will be reviewing; Knit Pro Basix Fixed length circular needles.

Knit Pro: Basix; Fixed Length Cirular knitting needles

Product Details

• Manufacturer/Brand; Knit Pro: Basix
• Item number: Birch WD Fixed Circular (80cm-6.00 mm) 35332
• RRP at time of writing: Around £5, price varies with needle size/cable length.

Reason For Buying

I need 6mm circular needle for my new chunky yarn, but because of my dexterity issues metal needles make my hands lock up and I found bamboo and plastic have too much drag on the yarn. Ideally I was after a light wood but I’ve got on so well with birch the search began for birch circular needles. In the past I’ve not considered Knit Pro as their wooden needles had very busy patterns on them. After a search brought up this new Basix range which are plain coloured, I went to their website and looked for sellers.

Pros/Cons

• The Birch wood is warm to the touch, making them very comfortable in the hand, kind to sore hands with dexterity issues
• Because these are a fixed length cable the needle is longer than the interchangeable ones in the larger diameters.
• The transaction from wooden needle to cable is made of metal but it quickly warms to your hand and is not freezing like all metal needles. Very smooth and comfortable.
• The needles are easy to store, and are ideal if you want to take your knitting out and about. They take up little space and you can’t loose a needle on route, or prod your fellow passengers if you are on trains etc.
• The birch wood makes them beautifully light, which is also a great help if you struggle with your dexterity.
• Light coloured wood, makes them easy on the eye and not distracting
• Super smooth in use, no snagging or dragging on the yarn
• The cable is an excellent quality too.

Cons

I have no cons to this product, just a request to the company to extend the range to the smaller diameter needles, so I can use them with DK weight yarns too. It would also be good if they brought in a 40cm length for socks/ mittens etc.

Build Quality

Fantastic. The birch needles have a beautifully smooth finish, super slick connection between the needle and the cable which is very comfortable in the hand. Nothing to snag on the yarn, or scratch at your hands. The birch is a wonderful material to knit with and kind and gentle on sore hands. I can see why there is so many good things said about this brand. The materials they use and their finishing is fantastic.

Value for Money

Excellent. These are very well made and from quality products.

Would I buy it Again?

Yes. I’ll be collecting more sizes in these needles.

Summing up

Although the connection between the needle and cable is metal, it is far enough along that only your little finger comes in contact with it and it does warm up in use. Its NOTHING like working with a metal needle. I adore birch wood needles they are so much kinder to my hands. Yarn moves smoothly across it and even with limited dexterity I can knit for longer with it.

I adore my Brittany needles but they don’t make circulars. I was also worried that in the larger diameters, that I would struggle with the extra weight of the needles. These Knit Pro Basix are the bees knees! The main I haven’t tried Knit Pros in the past was the vivid colours on the Symfonies or very dark patterned wood on the Rose wood ones. I like the idea of interchangeable needles, for the versatility and easy storage but the fixed overall length of the cables, result in very short needles in the larger diameters and I my dexterity couldn’t cope with the very short ones.

These Basix resolve all the issues I had with other needles in their range and I highly recommend them. I did contact Knit Pro EU before writing this, and they said they had no plans to produce interchangeable needles in the Basix range at this time. At the time of writing the following sizes available in the fixed length circulars in the Basix range:

Metric Sizes:

• mm: 5.5, 6.0, 6.50, 7.00, 8.00, 9.00, 10.00, 12.00, 15.00, 20.00, 25.00
• on the following cable lengths
• cm: 60, 80, 100, 120, 150

Links

For lists of more Knit Pro suppliers, please visit the Knit Pro EU site where they list a worldwide list of retailers of their products

• Knit Pro EU
• Knit Pro Basix
• Art of Yarn more sizes on their Ebay shop
• Knit Picks USA store. I haven’t seen the Basix on this site (at time of writing) but others products in the range are on there.

For reference, the Basix range are also available in straight needles, and double-pointed needles too.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

PS. Knit Pro if you read this; Pretty please extend the range of Knit Pro Basix fixed length circulars, this is a superb product and I would collect even more of them.

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The Virtual Crafting Challenge; March 2012

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The Virtual Crafting Challenge theme for March 2012 is:

Yarns, Fibers & Textiles

Great I hear you say, but now what? Well for those of you who would like a few ideas to get you started, here are some  colours, products and techniques to help you choose, where you could go with this month’s theme. Feel free to use your own ideas for this theme too.

Colours

• Create something in your favorite colour
• Create something in a colour you have never used before
• This month’s birthstone is Aquamarine, try using this colour in your project

Products

• Try out a different yarn to the type or weight you normally favor. There are some exciting fashion yarns around for something completely different. They knit up very quickly and often have patterns on the ball bands.
• Fabrics; Had your eye on some wonderful fabric? Go get it and lets see what you create with it.

This doesn’t have to be an expensive project; lots of the manufacturers have free patterns you can download. Check out the Yarns tab at the top of the page, for links to yarn manufacturers.

Surfaces

• Create something you can wear
• Add fibers or yarn to alter an item of clothing
• Use Textiles/fibers or yarn to decorate a card project

Techniques

• Knitting, there are some superb tutorials around the web, if you have wanted to learn how, try it now
• Crochet. Check out You Tube for tutorials on how to crochet
• Sewing. You Tube is again the place to go for inspiration and tutorials for textile projects
• How about making a bag?
• Perhaps find out more about quilting.

The most important thing about this challenge is that you have fun and explore. Don’t feel pressured to have a finished item at the end of the month. Explore different styles and techniques either in person, if you have the supplies, or through research, looking online.

You learn so much more when you take away the rules and just PLAY. Adapt this challenge to a creative style that interests you. Enjoy

Links

For inspiration around the web, have a look at my Textiles and also Yarns tab at the top from here you will find some interesting sites you may not have found before.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

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