Fidra :: Knitting ::

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am just going to be honest, I had totally forgotten about Fidra until I saw Sonja's one. But I needed to share this - it is an amazing pattern, the perfect beanie hat for skiing and weekends (I prefer wearing Bough when I go into London for work). 

There is not a lot to say - it knits really fast (thank you bulky yarn), but is not a boring knit. The texture and lace work are really stunning I think, and there is a pompom! All my favourite things in one pattern. I knitted it in De Rerum Natura Cyrano (of course ethical as you can read here) - as you have to block it to show the lace work, it did stretch and become just a tiny bit on the big side. So I may change needle sizes next time (I am thinking of a cream/oat version next time). 

Pattern: Fidra by Gundrun Johnston

Yarn: De Rerum Natura Cyrano in Poivre

Needles: As recommended by pattern (I will go for smaller next time - 

just because the fabric stretched after blocking)

Modifications: None

You do need a Fidra in your life - especially for you, the lucky ones who are going skiing at Easter! Also are you glad for the change of backdrop for beanie hat pictures? - no backyard for once! 

As for the winner of the skein of Fyberspates  - lucky no 13 came out of Mr Random, Rachelle. Enjoy!

Frost :: Knitting ::

* Do not forget to enter my current giveaway here for a chance to win a skein of Fyberspates *

Happy Wednesday everyone! Have you ever wondered whether it was worth buying a pattern? I do quite a bit, especially when it comes to buy a beanie hat one. I am always wondering whether I could not make it myself - after all I do knit a LOT of beanie hats. I should probably know by heart the number of stitches to cast on, I certainly know which ribbing I like best (not the one featured), and then it is just a new stitch pattern. 

I bought the Frost pattern for an easy knit on holiday (as you can see probably not so easy as I am closer to the start than the end), and I was wondering whether it would be worth the money I spent. It took a while to be sure, but a few repeats down the line, I can honestly say that I could not have knitted this on my own (still a lot to learn then!). I never guessed the pattern, but love the effect. Unfortunately I have already spotted one mistake in the pattern, so that's a bit of a shame. 

I am taking this one with me to Brussels today - some people love taking sock projects with them, I am clearly more of a beanie hat person myself. 

I am knitting Frost in Ulysse, colourway Genet. 

Linking to Yarn Along today. 

Nearly ready for the slopes :: Knitting ::

Happy Wednesday everyone! I was hoping to show you my finished Fidra - instead you will have to make do with my nearly finished Fidra. I will just have to take pictures of the finished beanie on the slopes - yes we are off skiing, and I cannot wait!

Anyway back to my Fidra - of course I am not the only knitting this beanie hat. There are so many amazing versions out there, including this one that has shown up on my Pinterest homepage many times. I have had a pattern in my library for at least a month  - and then I saw one version knitted in Cyrano - the yarn I intended to use for mine. Before that version I was not sure whether Cyrano would work. I am not sure why, because it is perfect for it. I love this yarn - De Rerum Natura is one of my favourite yarns (and of course it is ethical). The colour is poivre (the same as the one used for Baby MiH's acorn hat - we are now matching!). 

Better get back to the final rows - for one warm beanie hat for the snow. I may sneak in a new hat for Baby MiH too - he has requested a new one. 

Linking to Yarn Along today (I am currently reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - nearly finished too!)

Acorn with a pompom :: Crochet ::

Hello everyone! I was really happy to work on these pictures today - it reminded me of the good times of this weekend, and that despite everything we can have some happy times still. Sadly my Grand dad passed away last Friday, exactly a month after Little Baby MiH. It was all expected, the timing is less than ideal though - and this weekend away was much needed. 

Making hats for my cheeky monkey is also making me happy - seeing him making funny faces (or licking the fence, wtf?) is uplifting. And I love this hat on him. He loves the pompom of course - he shakes his head about to make the pompom shake. Also that crochet texture is amazing - I cannot actually believe I made this! 

 Pattern: Acorn by Kat Goldin (I already posted about it here)

Crochet hook size: 5.5 mm

Yarn: De Rerum Natura Gilliatt in poivre (I reviewed the ethics of the yarn here), the pompom is made out of Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted in pearl
Size: I made the biggest size for him (4+ rather than toddler size)

Modification: The pattern was available in LandScape. I had to add repeats of the pattern to make the beanie hat big enough - I am not sure whether it is a problem with the printing of the pattern or because of my yarn choice. Anyway I had t make 6 repeats in the end. I also make the puffs more prominent by adding yarn overs. And of course I added the pompom. 

This hat made me realise that I actually do like to crochet, and should be doing more of it. It also opened by eyes to the texture you can achieve in crochet - amazing, who knew! There is a whole world out there of crochet texture ready to be explored me thinks!

Gilliatt and Acorn :: Crochet ::

Happy Wednesday everyone! I have a new (hopefully quick) project to share with you today - a new hat for Baby MiH. He asked for one - with a pompom, the boy clearly has taste - and I was of course happy to oblige. I wanted to make Acorn by Kat Goldin as soon as I found the pattern in the latest issue of LandScape (it is a bit like Taproot but can be found in the UK!). 

So first I finished my double moss cardigan - it is currently blocking and waiting for side seams (ok, so not finished, but nearly there). I am actually really impressed I finished one project before starting another one - a totally new concept for me... I have not crochet for a while, and I have never really done texture work with a crochet hook - so yes, I ended up starting 3 or 4 times. But I am on a roll now, so I am hoping to finish really soon. It is getting cold, and to be honest Baby MiH does need a hat. 

It was also an opportunity to go into my stash of one skein and use some leftover of Gilliatt by De Rerum Natura (you can read my 'Yarn with Attitude' review here). I thought it may make the beanie hat a bit more boy-ish, and I love the tweed effect of the yarn. 

Hopefully Baby MiH will be happy with his new hat, enough to have his picture taken, here is a challenge and a half!

Worth trying again :: Knitting ::

Believe it people - these are socks, hand-knitted socks, my hand-knitted socks, in fact my first pair of hand-knitted socks. It was one of my knitting goals for 2015 - to knit hand-knitted socks. And here we are, beginning of April 2015, and we are discussing my first pair of hand-knitted socks. This is not bad going. 

To be fair, I put ALL the odds in my favour - 

     1. I chose a simple and clear pattern that plays on its colour scheme and not on a fancy design (ie stockinette); 
     2. I chose the same yarn as indicated on the pattern - in fact I only switch the colour scheme - crazy move, I know; 
     3. and I made one MAJOR modification - by adding a 1 inch to the leg section, whoohoo, crazy mods right there!

Pattern: Camping by Cabinfour

Yarn: De Rerum Natura Ulysse in sel and poivre (you can read my review of the yarn here)

Needles: 3.25 mm

Modifications: Minimal. I used Jeny's stretchy cast on and added that inch to the leg section

I am writing this post whist wearing my socks. They are so comfortable. These are not your regular socks - they fit perfectly, they are warm, cozy - everything that I believe hand-knitting should be about. OK, maybe I am seeing more in the work I put into it than I should - it is late and I am a bit tired too. 

I am planning to knit more socks, there is no stopping me now - I can do it (well that's if they are knitted top down, and I may be that  crazy and that I will give the toe up method a go!)

And it is one 2015 aim ticked, and onto the next... Fair isle anyone? 

Yarn with Attitude :: De Rerum Natura ::

At the end of last year I came across this video (I have not been able to watch it to the end by the way) and it made me seriously consider the ethics of my yarn stash. And it did not look good, I never really questioned my stash before, and I seemed to have little information about it. It did not mean that all my yarn was unethical, but there was nothing telling me it was either. And it was nagging me a bit. 

I am lucky though, the yarn industry has jumped wholeheartedly into a kind of back-to-nature movement; an understandable leap, since knitting and crocheting are all about making your own products, after all. And there are yarn options out there that are kind to nature and knit beautifully - and are not too hard to find, whilst still being reasonably priced. And one option is to get my yarn from Solenn at De Rerum Natura. 

My current project knitted in Ulysse

My current project knitted in Gilliatt

The philosophy behind De Rerum Natura is simple - to offer a yarn of high quality that is respectful to the sheep welfare. The philosophy is based on the close relationship between De Rerum Natura and the sheep farmers. 

So how does it knit? I found that Gilliatt knitted a bit like BT Shelter - I reviewed Shelter here - without the stuff stuck to it. It is rustic but still soft (softer than Shelter in fact), and will show cable work beautifully. So that leaves you with a lot of pattern options! I have a real penchant for neutral colours, so poivre et sel is really up my street. But there are also vibrant colours on offer - and I love how Solenn's patterns usually use both. 

Le bonnet Korrigan

De Rerum Natura may be more easily accessible to European knitters - I am mostly thinking of customs tax here, but it may be worse in the UK than elsewhere (oh! those little red notices). 

From a practical point of view, I bought my yarn directly from the De Rerum Natura site. I had it sent directly to Britain (instead of asking my Mum to bring it back with her for once), without any problem.

De Rerum Natura colour kit

I would like to think that my whole stash will be totally be ethical ... and the more options I find, the more chances I have to make this happen at some point in the future. To a certain extent, it depends on the price tag attached to the yarn (especially for big projects). And it is possible that my neutral stash might be filled with De Rerum Natura soon.  

I am really keen to find other ethical yarn out there, so please share any that you might have come across in the comment box - and I will try to review others soon!