Splitstone

Posted on April 6, 2013 by CelticCastOn

Pattern: Splitstone by Alicia Plummer

Yarn: Cascade 220 in colourway 9456

I finished my test knit for Alicia and I couldn’t be happier with this.

I’ve been hoarding this colour of Cascade for something special. It’s such a beautiful blue with a bit of a purple undertone. I assumed it would eventually become something for T but when I saw Alicia’s vest I just knew it would have to be a Splitstone for me.

One thing I enjoy so much about Alicia’s patterns is that I never have to lengthen ANYTHING. She has the long torso down to a science!

We took these pictures during a snowmobiling trip through the woods. We had a little bonfire on the trail and toasted marshmallows before I striped off the snow pants to get a couple of quick shots.

Splitstone has already been getting lots of wear but I’m HOPING I will be able to put it away for a few months to enjoy some warmer weather….

The snowfall this morning doesn’t leave me with much hope though.

Making Winter 2013 – Playdough style

Posted on February 14, 2013 by CelticCastOn

I’m joining Claire today in Making Winter 2013.

The idea being that we post once a week things that we are doing for fun to get through the winter.

On the weekend we had a Nor Easter blow through. We didn’t end up with much snow because of the blizzard like conditions and lots of drifting.

Since we couldn’t go outside to play in the snow, we set up in the kitchen to make some new play dough.

We tried salt dough, but while we were in the process I realized I didn’t have the cream of tartar called for in the recipe.

We forged ahead to see if it would work without.

We used food colouring which worked very well but made our hands turn a rainbow of colours.

The dough did turn out in the end until I put it in an air tight container to store away….. the next day we opened it up to find it had completely gone to mush.

After our flop with the salt dough, we went back to a recipe that was quick, easy and that we knew would work.

Kool-Aid Playdough
Ingredients:
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1 pkg unsweetened Kool-aid (we use two)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Directions:
1.  In a bowl, mix flour, salt and
     kool-aid.
2.  Stir in water and oil
3.  Knead with hands for about 5 minutes.

Perfect every time!!

How are you getting through this weird winter?

Join us with your own Making Winter post!

Surefire

Posted on December 31, 2012 by CelticCastOn

I better get this one in before we’re into 2013.

The other gift I knit this year was Surefire Hat by Susan B Anderson.

This was for a friend that is finding it rather chilly when walking her dog *a shepherd I must add* ( totally off topic T can pick a shepherd out anywhere and I often hear “Mummy did you see that shepherd, that was a shepherd mummy!” from the back seat)

I did some secret squirreling to get the style and possible colours right on this one. I found out she was receiving a new winter jacket this christmas with a bright purple zipper so I went with the purple and the other colours just fell into place.

I knit this with 4 different colours of Cascade 220. I didn’t end up using the striped sequence that was on the pattern and there was definitely ripping and re knitting to get the sequence the way I wanted it but I think it turned out well in the end.

My Rav project page

I originally did the crocheted edging but didn’t like the look on this particular hat in the end so I did an i cord bind off. I always do an i cord bind off with the ws facing, I think it looks nicer that way. I also lined it with black fleece for warmth and because the recipient finds wool itchy.

You should note that this hat is knit on 5mm needles and as a result is quite airy. It definitely needs the lining but if I were to knit this one again I think I’d knit it with the yarn held doubled throughout to hug the head a bit.

I think it was well received. It hopefully will go with her new jacket and keep her warm when she’s out in all the snow we have received this week.

Vintage Snowmobiles

Posted on April 17, 2012 by CelticCastOn

Pattern: My own

Yarn: Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool

Paton’s Classic Wool scraps

I love the vintagey colour combo’s on our antique snowmobile and really wanted to knit a pair of thick, warm socks to wear while we were out on it.

Something simple and *just for fun* had that same vintage feel.

I’m pretty pleased with how these turned out but next time I think I’ll add a few more sts to the leg.

They could have a little more wiggle room up there.

I would also do a jogless stripe next time as well. I think I got caught up in the fact that I was trying to knit them two at a time and forgot about getting rid of the jog.

To be honest once I reached the foot I started knitting them separately… I may try two at a time again sometime but I think I enjoy knitting them tandem through each part of the sock.

There’s one question still nagging me though…..

Should I have added stripes before the toe as well or would that have been too much??

Ice Caves

Posted on March 6, 2012 by CelticCastOn

Last weekend we loaded up the old snowmobile and headed out in search of some Ice Caves.

Not far from where we live there are some snowmobile trails that we knew would take us to this spot.

Moose and T went down first so I could get some shots from above.

There were ropes tied from tree to tree that were a great help getting down…and up. Otherwise you’d have to be a billy goat to go about it…. and even a billy goat would be in trouble with all that ice.

The meltdown happened when Moose put T up on the ledge so he could pull himself in. It was crazy slippery and almost impossible to get inside. She freaked and started yelling ” I don’t like it, I don’t want to go in!” and that was the end of T and the cave lol

So T romped around and ate our picnic outside while Moose and I took turns inside.

It was incredibly slippery. Someone had tied a rop around the middle column but it just swung around in circles when you tried to use it so it was pretty useless. I slide back down that hill sooo many times before Mr. Jimmy Rig decided he was going to make me stairs to get in.

He used some twine that was lying around and a some branches to make them and I was able to just walk up the rungs and get in….. why didn’t someone else think of that?

There wasn’t much inside the cave but it was still kind of cool to see how the water had frozen.

and peak out the hole!

Finally just before we left T decided that she wanted to sit with me at the mouth of the cave to get a picture…. that was after she saw a squirrel when she was running around and started screaming I DON’T LIKE IT and crying lol

She talks about that squirrel often and how she didn’t like it but we also left him a snack so there are good memories of the squirrel too.

On the snowmobile trails there are warming shacks every so often that house a wood stove and some seating. We didn’t both going into this one on the way home. We weren’t that far from the truck and it was pelting down ice pellets so we just carried on.

It was a good run but I think T will enjoy it more when she’s a bit older and will actually enjoy exploring the cave.

That being said she does love going on the snowmobile so it wasn’t all a loss!

I Heart Aran

Posted on February 23, 2012 by CelticCastOn

Pattern : I Heart Aran by Tanis Lavallee

Yarn : Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool in natural

Mods: Added two inches to the length of the body. In retrospect I should have added 4.

Lengthened sleeves to 20 inches from cast on edge to under arm.

Rav link to my project

Well it sure did take me long enough to complete this one. I had 70% of it done in September of last year before I gave my head a shake, realized my gauge was OFF and it was going to be too tight. I’m amazed at how much knowledge I have gained since then with my sweater knitting.

I love that this pattern combines the simple stockinette and a big cabled section. It makes for an enjoyable knit! Just enough cables and the right amount of stockinette.

I’m a bit disappointed with the Fisherman’s Wool this time. Now I’m not sure if it was just a crumby lot or if the natural yarn just differs from the nature’s brown I used but the natural wasn’t an even spin. There are think and thin bits throughout and it makes the sweater seem like it has imperfections through out. It seems to be a lot thinner than the brown too. My Classic Raglan and I Heart Aran are both knit with the same size needles and gauge but I Heart Aran is definitely more airy and lighter in weight overall.

The collar is the perfect touch that makes this sweater so cosy.I did omit the button, it just wasn’t my style. Every time I see it I think of sitting in a ski lodge by a roaring fire with a warm cup of tea.

A great little sweater that might just be the ticket for Ireland next month. It’s kind of hard to pack at this time of year. Today Belfast is 14 C , 10 degrees warmer than us right now but I have a feeling with the rain and damp I’ll be needing a sweater as well.

I’ll be able to decide more next week when I can see the long range forecast I suppose.

Men’s Sailing Sweater

Posted on January 29, 2012 by CelticCastOn

It’s finished and doesn’t it look fabulous on my friend Dan!

Pattern : Men’s Sailing Sweater from the Zealana Adventurous Booklet.

Yarn: Zealana Aspire Huron in Cloud Blue

Things to note: The pattern has an errata available here. It’s not the easiest process to receive the pattern so if you are having troubles you can message the designer on Ravelry under the username Lanamania. NOTE There is a mistake in the errata that has yet to be corrected. Row 13 in the errata should be dismissed altogether. There are also several stitches missing from the key that you might need to look up.

The process of knitting this sweater was kind of a weird one for me. I swatched the stitch pattern flat but the sweater is knit in the round so my swatch ended up being pretty useless. The body is knit from the bottom up in one piece. This caused the stitch pattern to really tighten in a lot. When I finished the body I ended up having to block it before moving on because it was looking more like a women’s medium instead of a men’s medium/large. It did block out to measurements beautifully but once I started blocking as I went I had to continue the process so that all my pieces matched up.

I then knit the upper back, blocked then knit the upper front and blocked. It was a long process but the only way that I could make sure it was perfect. To add to all that I ran out of yarn with over half a sleeve and seaming left to complete. *I ended up using 1.37 more balls than what was called for in the pattern so if you are planning to knit this make sure you have extra yardage* The yarn is a merino/possum blend. While it was nice and soft to knit with I’m not so sure I could wear a garment out of it. When I knit with it the possum hairs seemed to shed from the yarn attacking my eyes. I obviously can’t say what it was like to wear and it might not shed as much once blocked but I don’t think I’ll be knitting myself anything out of possum in the future.

Christina sent me more yarn and it didn’t take long to finish it after that. I gave it one final block * I swear I have never blocked one piece of knitting more while knitting than this* and it was ready to go.

I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to get modelled shots before I sent it away. It fit Moose in the shoulders but hung off him from the chest down as well as the arms being too big. It may have been a more flattering pattern on Moose in his size but this one just didn’t do a thing for him. I had the exact same problem when I tried it on my dad.

My next step was to ask Dan if he would model if it did indeed fit.

Thankfully it was a perfect fit for him and I love how these pictures came out. Doesn’t the colour of the sweater makes his eyes pop?

Hopefully Yarn Mountain will be happy when they receive their sample!

Sliding

Posted on January 28, 2012 by CelticCastOn

We were supposed to get a big storm yesterday… everything was cancelled…. but our 10-15 cms of snow only amounted to a few inches in the end with lots of freezing rain. I was excited at the prospect of actually HAVING some snow this winter that didn’t end up getting washed away by rain the very next day but again luck wasn’t going to go my way.

Freezing rain however is better than rain… at least for sliding!

As you can see the dogs love to get in on the action too.

Poor Molly couldn’t get the brakes on fast enough, the ice was playing havoc with her back legs.

Then of course there is the chase!

I can remember growing up we had farmers fields behind our house with an access road that ran into them from our driveway, now this is teen years I’m talking so it was when we lived here in Canada. When everything was iced over and hard we used to zing down that road on crazy carpets with not a fear in the world. We would be out there for hours at a time surfing, going down head first and of course making jumps. It’s a wonder I still have all my bones in tack not to mention my teeth.

T of course picked up on the love for sliding right away. Sliding down and then gun hoe to get right back up that hill and slide again.

5 or so more inches of snow wouldn’t go a miss and would help out our efforts when trying to avoid running into tree’s and large rocks!

It’s also a little hard to get stopped right now digging your heels into the ice.

Nevertheless it was a great way to spend the morning with my two favourite people!

Our driveway is a complete sheet of ice right now, we could easily skate on it.

We have before!

Classic Raglan

Posted on January 21, 2012 by CelticCastOn

This sweater is the epitome of comfy!

Pattern: Classic Raglan Sweater by Jane Richmond

Yarn: Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool in Nature’s Brown

Mods: I did have to lengthen everything to fit my long torso but other than that the numbers worked out great for me.

The Fisherman’s Wool was great to work with, I love a good, warm workhorse yarn and this one fit the bill perfectly. The colourway, Nature’s Brown is such a beautiful heathery shade that makes it stand out from other solid shades.

My only wish is that they had more of a colour choice. There are only so many garments you can make out of the same 3-4 colours that fisherman’s wool comes in before it gets a bit boring. I do however have plans for another one using a coloured yarn from my stash, maybe a third too!