today's the day i'll actually share!!
the rubus patterns are what i have been testing and testing!
the patterns are written by the clever sandy holdaway of purplepurlz and features a lovely lace pattern which is dead easy to whip up, and looks superb!
i knit up two beanies, one in a chunky style forest green wool that i picked up from the bendigo woollen mills back room way back when, and another in the leftover 10 ply from bb's jumper (also from bendigo, but from their luxury range).
being that i had heaps of wool leftover from the green hat (i bought 3 and a bit balls originally i think), i cast on a cowl to match!
i did manage to run out of wool though, and made the cowl a bit skinnier than the pattern stated.
all three patterns really benefited from a really good block!
the hats i soaked and blew up a balloon inside of them to really stretch out the lace and create a beautiful drape (particularly in the 10 ply version, the chunky hat was still quite solid), while the cowl i pinned onto a couple of towels laid out on the ironing board.
the pattern is now available for purchase, the hat and the cowl and would be a fantastic challenge for an advanced beginner! the pattern features full photographic instructions of the trickier stitches that you might not have come across before, i had no idea what i was doing before i started ha ha!
i've now started on a different test knit too, you can never have too many things on the go you know?
this time i'm testing for this lady, a cabled cape!
being that i haven't done a lot of cable knitting... the results are coming out quite well. very good and thorough instructions are the key i think!
i have to make sure i'm in the right frame of mind to work on this one though, lots of intricate detail means it's very easy for me to make mistake!
i feel like i'm learning heaps of stuff about cable with this project though, and it's giving me a lot more confidence to use them.
are you a confident cable knitter? have you knitted up the rubus hat or cowl?
beanies are beautiful, but the cape! wow.
ReplyDeletetest knitting is a great way to add some new skills to your bow, isn't it? I don't love knitting cables, so I don't practice enough to be considered confident! Good on you for taking on this cape - it looks like a bit of a complex one
ReplyDeleteLovely beanies, they do seem to have been popping up around the place lately.
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing with the cables yours are looking amazing.
Wow. I'd never thought about blocking a beanie over a balloon before. Thanks loads for that pointer.
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