Friday 23 December 2011

Three-quarters-of-a-skoleppar Kindle cover





I had an idea for a bag for a skoleppar shape in rainbow stripes much earlier in the year - leaving off one of the points. Think South American shape, with the point at the bottom completed with a tassel. I abandoned it as I didn't have enough colours for the other side, but the one-sided piece looks set to be folded over into a Kindle cover, as Santa is being very kind to me this year. I can't actually sew it up to make sure it is the right size until Santa has been, but it doesn't look far off!

It's lovely when it's folded as the stripes turn two corners. I have seen lots of Kindle cover pattern on the net already, and it seems to me that if you have the opening at the top, they can all too readily slide out. I will probably sew a little piece of Velcro on for a fastening. I am really pleased not to have wasted those hours knitting!

Saturday 17 December 2011

An Angelic Christmas



Apart from my honorary twin grand-daughter appearing in her first Christmas concert as an angel, they seem to be all around me this year.

Norah's angel, a crochet one whose pattern and charming Victorian origins I learnt some years ago -- I made loads and loads of these, two hours work each in all colours of the rainbow for a couple of Craft Fairs - and not a single one sold (nor any coat hangers!) -everyone wanted sheepy handwarmers, and I actually sold out of those. So lots got given away as extra presents.

Then I came across Annemor Sundbo's angel tucked away in her book on Invisible Threads in Knitting. I'm sure it wasn't in the last time I read it! She makes a tiled square with short-row knitting, but I think I prefer my double decrease diamonds, especially as I didn't line up the silver rows very well. Ans using variegated yarn wasn't a particularly good idea. I also put an extra line of holes in the wings, just before casting off, to give a more lacy appearance. I had some Wensleydale yarn knitted up, left for a long time, then unwound which proved curly enough for craxy hair. She does have a wonderful tip in the double knitted head - to knit the stitch and slip the next one all in one. This is actually achieved when doing the last movement in a knitted stitch, catching the tip of the needle in the next one on the left hand side.