Glam Clam Quilt

At the beginning of 2017 I made a very definite plan to complete the Glam Clam Quilt within the year. It is designed by Latifah Saafir. At the time I downloaded the pattern it was free, but now it is a paid for pattern, with the addition of plastic rulers to help cut out all those pieces! The fabric is by Anna Maria Horner and the collection of prints is called Pretty Potent, all plants that have healing or medicinal properties.

However, I didn't buy the rulers, I did it the old-fashioned way, individually cutting out each piece by hand with scissors, one at a time.  I used and reused and reused freezer paper.  By tracing the shapes onto freezer paper I was able to cut the paper out, place it on the fat quarters, press with an iron to temporarily stick the paper to the fabric, cut out the shapes, then peel of the paper ready to be used again and again and again.

Then the pattern came with cut out labels so that you could lay them out in the order you want them and then stack them into bundles - each row from left to right.

Sewing them together was tricky but I soon got into the swing of it. This video tutorial helped to begin with.

I then had it professionally quilted by Trudi Wood.

Birkin sweater

When I saw a picture of this sweater (which I shall call a jumper from now on) in the 2nd edition of Laine magazine, I knew I had to buy the magazine and make this jumper!  Those flowers!  Firstly I scrolled through the hashtag and the ravelry projects to get ideas from the colours and yarns chosen by other knitters.

Violets are my favourite flower, and as soon as I saw someone's Birkin jumper with purple flowers in the middle row I knew immediately that I had made a start on my colour choices!

I used the Knit Picks yarn called "Palette" with the main colour called "Oregon Coast Heather." I bought 3 shades of each of the other colours so that I could swatch and decide.  I ended up knitting all the way into the purple flower when I decided it was too yellow and so had to unravel it back and added in an orange flower instead of two rows of yellow flowers.  I also added another purple to give the big flowers a bit of extra depth. 

This is the only other alteration I made.  I added a row of the green leaves to each sleeve, as well as kept knitting the arm decreases until I got to a full length sleeve.

LOVE this jumper! I really enjoyed knitting it and am very happy with the end result! I wore it to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and had a few kind ladies compliment me on it.  My first ever yoked, top down jumper and I am already planning another yoked top down !

Hap for Harriet

I finished my green shawl back in August but haven't written about it until now.  Mostly because it took soooooooooo long and was so boring to knit. (also because my photos are a bit awful) This is probably the most boring thing I have ever knit.
It is beautiful in its simplicity though, and the colour is my absolute favourite colour.  Emerald green.  So I shouldn't complain too much.  Perhaps I have just become so used to ever-changing patterns of cables, lace or colourwork to be completely satisfied with a more simple design feature.
But here it is, the simply classic design "Hap for Harriet".