1920s style in ecru

And here’s what happened to the ecru yarn:

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Another experiment in faggot stitch. (I am enjoying designing my own patterns instead of just following a commercial one!) I have never seen a hat done in faggot stitch, and now I know why! Faggot stitch doesn’t work when knitted in the round. (Ah… duh!) It took me about three attempts to work out how to make this hat, but I’m quite happy with how it turned out… and I like the kind of 1920s feel that comes from the cord and flower I added. (It’s like a little removable headband.)

I must admit, I really am impressed with this yarn. He’s got taste, my boy, I’ll give him that much! (If you don’t understand this reference, click here to read how it all started. If you want to know what the yarn is, read the comments on my post about the pink scarf. It’s called “A change of heart”. And why not leave me a comment while you’re there? Don’t be shy!)

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Megan - looks great. Love your blog too. SHould let your little bull off the leash in the china shop more often.

jennytaylor - Thanks Megan. 🙂

Jane - What a lovely and blog. I love the blanket you knitted for your boy, and the ecru hat is scrumptious. Maybe that’s the right adjective for those butterfly cakes…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

A change of heart.

I have changed my  mind. I LOVE this yarn. It’s so nice to knit with, and I have even come round to liking the colours. I like it so much, I’d buy it again for sure. So soft. So warm. Scrummy!

So here’s the finished product. I had it done quite quickly, but pinning my model down long enough for a photo shoot is not easy these days! It only took about 5 minutes to shoot these, but about 5 weeks to get her to do it! And then weeks and weeks to find time to sit at the computer to write this post.

Here’s what happened with the pink.

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Scarf in fagot stitch. I’ve never tried this stitch before, but it’s a great one for a scarf as it is reversible. I used both balls of pink at once and 7 mm needles to achieve a nice soft, stretchy fabric. I liked it so much, I was disappointed my boy had only destroyed two balls of this colour. I wanted to make a scarf long enough for me!

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Here’s one that shows the stitch.

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I have also used these photos as an opportunity to play around with some different effects in photoshop. Here is one I particularly like, with soft muted colour.

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and my first attempt at colourising a black and white photo….

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Stay tuned to find out what I did with the ecru…. Guesses anyone?

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Jan - Fantastic stitch – you will have to show me – where did you find it? I am jealous! I am knitting a very ordinary baby jacket in white. Will have to do something quick and interesting next.
Liz and I knew you would like the yarn.
She likes her bamboo yarn too.

jennytaylor - Yes, bamboo yarns are so soft, aren’t they? Not to mention “green”. Have recently knitted a couple of hats in bamboo. Might blog them later.

Faggot stitch is

R1: k1, yarn fwd, k2tog. Repeat row 1.

That’s it. So you need a stitch number that is a multiple of three. For anyone who’s interested, the yarn I used was Mondial Giada 70% extra fine merino 30% silk.

All tied up

Here’s my most recent yarn purchase.

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It’s not yarn that I actually want. Nor do I particularly like it.

So why did  I buy it? Why doesn’t it have ball bands? Why does it look like I’ve already used it, undone what I made and wound it up again by hand?

Let me tell you why.

A few weeks ago I had to make a trip into the city with my nearly-two-year-old toddler in tow. “That’s not too bad,” I hear you say. “You live in Sydney. What’s wrong with a nice train ride across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, showing your dear little one the opera house, the sparkling clear blue water? What a lovely thing to do!”

Well yes. You’re right. It was a beautiful day, the harbour was looking its best, and my boy loved the train ride.

We took care of our errand and then, to make the trip worthwhile, I decided to visit a wool store in the city. It has quite a reputation, and I had never been in before, so I was really looking forward to it.

It was already quite late in the morning by the time we reached the wool store. My darling boy was showing signs of being tired, hungry and thirsty. The ground floor of the shop is tapestry supplies and the like. The knitting and crochet section is down a beautiful old curved….. and steep!…. staircase. We found somewhere on the ground floor to leave the pram, and down the stairs we went, slowly and carefully. The staircase is not that big, but by the time we reached the bottom, my nearly-two-year-old was desperate for a feed. (Yes, I’m still breastfeeding him. It works so well for us, why would we stop?)

So, we found somewhere to sit and have a feed. “This will calm him down,” I thought. “I should get a good look at the yarn and things after this. Ooh…. look at that yarn over there. That looks gorgeous. Oh, and I must have a look at that one, too. Oh, and over there. Wow! What beautiful colours! So glad we came!” This went on for about ten minutes, after which my boy climbed down off my lap.

Right. Now to the yarn.

Two minutes later, I was chasing my boy up the beautiful, curved and steep staircase. And again a minute after that. And again two minutes later. I found him somewhere to sit and each a sandwich.

Right. Now to the yarn.

I was just looking at some luxurious handspun, hand dyed yarn when I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, my child all tied up in wool…. much like a kitten.

“Looks like we’re buying that!” I said to the less-than-impressed shop assistant.

And my boy certainly has good taste! He didn’t find the $4.50 balls of wool. No. Not my boy. He had wrapped himself from head to toe in the best. Wool and silk blend.

Imported.

From Italy.

We left the shop with the four balls of wool you saw above, and $65 less in my purse!

The little dear.

It took me a whole evening to untangle it. (Should have photographed it while it was tangled up!) Now, what am I going to do with it? Anyone have a good pattern for knitted handcuffs, toddler-size?

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Jennie - Oh my goodness, that has to be one of the nightmare scenarios for parents! Thankfully, my two didn’t do anything like this, but probably only because they didn’t get the chance – we’re poorly off for yarn shops here in South Wales:-(.

Maybe a toddler-sized straitjacket would be more appropriate – would keep him warm in the winter!

jennytaylor - Not a bad idea, Jennie!

1920s style in ecru « vividity - […] taste, my boy, I’ll give him that much! (If you don’t understand this reference, click here to read how it all started. If you want to know what the yarn is, read the comments on my post […]

Rosalind - oh dear! that would have been a good photo!

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