Misty Mountain

Ta-dah number 3

Probably the favourite thing I have made all year...

The pattern is Jewel by Doris Chan from her book "Everyday Crochet" and I absolutely love it.  The yarn is Splendour by Easyknits and the colourway (which I couldn't resist) is Tutti Frutti.  It really works and both the pattern and the yarn are a joy to work with.

If anyone ever wants to learn to crochet garments then Doris Chan is the way to go.  Her top down style of design means that you can try on as you work and results in clothing that fits... And she goes up to splendidly big sizes for those of us not built on the petite and skinny side.

I made a slight pattern adjustment and added a different neck band from one of the other patterns in the same book.

I wore the top for my visit to Yarndale in September and as you can see from the pictures it's been worn a fair few times since!

Ta-dah number two - Shawls

I absolutely love Lily-Go patterns!  Most of her clothes are always in sizes way to small for me but her shawls are utterly sublime and always immensely practical.  I have a number of odd single skeins that I have bought either at Wonderwool or other yarny-type events, either because I liked the colour, or the yarn or because that was the only skein they had.  the problem with doing this is that you end up with loads of odd single skeins that have seriously limited usage.  This is where the wonderful Lily-Go comes in, she makes so many of her patterns in small mediium or large sizes where the small size can be made from a single skein of yarn.  A couple of years ago I made Blue Lagoon and it turned out very successfuly.  But I wanted a shawl that was more like a scarf than a deep triangle shawl so that was when I found Piquant and fell in love.  It is the perfect pattern for something that is more than just a scarf but that can be made from a single skein of yarn.  So this year I made 3...

A pink one

A rust coloured one

And a red a blue multi coloured one...

Definitely one of the best shawl/scarf patterns out there and one day I will actually make the larger version!

Pink Dotty Cardigan

A little "ta-dah" for a cardigan I made earlier in the year.

The pattern is Doris Chan's Cinnabar and the yarn is Sublime Cashmere/Merino.Silk blend.  I actually had tension problems with this one as the yarn is very stretchy, it took a couple of false starts before I was certain I had the right size hook and was making the right size cardigan.  And this one is much more of a cardigan and less of a jacket.  Very cuddly to wear and featuring some splendid polka dot buttons!

I love it!