lace training II aka fingerless mittens

decided i needed to be able to read patterns for lace and actually make it. i have some merino that was intended for something small, decided to make it into lacy funny fingerless mittens. realised it is easier to make lace than i thought. at least when the pattern is simple (i chose a basic looking pattern from a book and surrounded it with elements that seemed to be able to make it stand out. very simple thing actually, and the result might be a pair of quite nice and warm gloves - will see. plan to finish it with some lacy crochet trims.)

update: finished. easier than i have thought!

training holes

as i await the arrival of an ace, lace weight hedgehog fibre yarn intended for a beautiful silk shawl, i want to be able to make it really pretty.

i have decided to maybe try some kinda classic looking knitted pattern (the "travelling woman" shawl, for example). but have not made any lacy holes for ages (25 years, precisely, and when i did, i was a child and not very patient, lol). decision made: must relearn reading the patterns and making them holes. took a softish cotton yarn and decided to practice on a fairly pretty pattern that has an easy looking description. surprise - it is not difficut really. not that the stitches look any pretty but learning. id recommend it to others to try things on a cheap yarn before having something special - looks like i will be more confident and make the real thing prettier. this will probably make some kinda gift bag, but i might frog it as well. not really pretty, is it?

Stitches on the Bridge

this little retro panel was made for the Stitches on the Bridge project - you can google the term to find what the fun is about or go straight to the website at http://www.stitchesonthebridge.co.uk/

it is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to 70s sports knits for men and those weird crocheted circles from that era. hence the mock cables, too.

working...

on several smaller items meant as gifts, better no pics or descriptions here, twitter or facebook, , they are reading:)

pouch for me

finished the little bugger on sunday:)
it was a means to try various stitches. was curious about the bosnian crochet (the parts where the stitches seem to lie flat and have a weirdly fabric thick srtucture. loved the look that mercerized cotton gives to this.
the bosnian crochet is made entirely of slip stitches and it looks like it will be great for belts etc - of course it is stiff which is good for this project also.
was happy to discover a vintage metal button to go with it.

green forest purse

i have a friend who just bought a house near woods and she walks in these a log with her dog.
made her a purse to take with ther - has pockets for ciggies + lighter and an adjustable shoulder strap made of a recycled garment belt.
wanted to make it a bit hippie retro. chose retro green colours. the result is a bit wallace and gromit style (this is not my idea, but someone saw my projects and said they reminded him of the lovely w+g, LOL).

quickie gift bag

needed a quickie gift bag for small cosmetic items for my aunt. she likes yellow colour so i chose a pale yellow cotton yarn and a retro looking stitch from the trusty betty barnden book:)