Wibbo's Words

New for February

New stitchmarker sets in my Folksy shop: Love Hearts and Hearts & Flowers in both knitting and crochet versions. All stitchmarker sets  are in stock and have free postage.

Total apathy

Here we are still in lockdown. I must admit that my Lockdown Lethargy has morphed into more or less Total Apathy and I'm not really getting anything creative under way.  One thing that's almost finished this week is this:

Cardigan with short sleeves knitted in two strands of Regia sock yarn (frogged from an unworn garment - can't remember what it was) which is blocked, yarn ends trimmed and ready for buttons.  Buttons are black btw - rather rubbish photo.

On the go is a crochet shawl in Wollmeise Lacegarn, colourway Barisa (from stash). Nice simple stitch pattern but I'm not happy with the way the colours are working. They're too patchy for my taste so I'll overdye the shawl once it's finished. Not sure yet what colour dye to use, probably some shade of blue which will turn the green into turquoise. On the other hand, I could go for a 'nice serviceable purple'...

I'm slowly adding more items to my Folksy shop when I can summon up the energy to sit at the laptop. Quick preview of this week's additions which will go live by Friday - sets of six twisted ring stitchmarkers and two progress keepers.

New things

There's not much happening at Wibbo Towers these days. I'm immensely fed up with Lockdown Three and I do miss seeing my friends. I'm also slightly bored with my own four walls, lovely though they are, so I'm planning to move furniture round in the living room, starting tomorrow. I'm not sure whether this will work visually until I've done it even though all the measurements work. So I might end up having to move everything back...

On the other hand, there are new stitchmarker sets for sale in my Folksy shop.

Clockwise from top left: Owls, Big Cats, Happy Sheep and Favourite Things. All are available in both knitting and crochet versions.

Folksy shop

I have a shiny new Folksy shop!

Christmas themed sets of stitchmarkers for both knitting and crochet are for sale in my shop, all with free postage. I have non-Christmas stitchmarker sets and some gorgeous hand-embroidered jewellery almost ready to upload, so watch this space!

Staying at home

i don't really mind staying at home (I'm over 70, so being very cautious about Covid-19). Self-isolation feels rather like working freelance from home which I did for many years but this time it's without the work! 

My studio table is tidy and today's plan is to get out the pdf sewing patterns that I've printed on paper and stick the pages together. I'm in need of new clothes and have lots of fabric washed and ready to cut out.

Apart from sewing clothes, I have plenty here to keep me occupied and happy. Music, books, audiobooks are all essential to my mood (thank goodness for Spotify, Kindle, Audible and library apps) and there's a sizeable yarn stash to keep my fingers busy.

Process or project?

I'm mainly a process knitter/crocheter. I enjoy the actual making of items rather than wanting the finished products. There are exceptions though. I knitted a Find Your Fade shawl (Ravelry link) for a friend's 50th birthday and hated the process (all those damn rows of garter stitch...) and swore never to make another one.

That is, until I tried the shawl on and realised I had to knit one for myself, this time in greens and purples.

Fast forward a couple of years and I've knitted another for myself.  Mad or what?

This one's mainly shades of light and dark blue with soft, yellowy browns. The yarn ends are all sewn in and the shawl needs blocking. But first, I have to clear the studio table. I may be some time...

Sorted

I'm much happier now I've had a rethink.

I should know better...

...than to start knitting a new design late at night when I'm tired. Looks like it's back to the drawing board today.

The yarn looks good knitted up though - it's Malabrigo Arroyo, colour 005 Aniversario.

Taking up where I left off

I thought I would take up blogging again where I left off in 2018. It's hard to believe that more than a year has gone past since my last post, in spite of lots of good intentions on my part. I'm a bit of an expert at putting-off-stuff-until-tomorrow.

So, what's been happening here? Nothing of note really - it's been one of those fallow years where I've felt as if I've been marking time rather than forging ahead. I've read a lot of books and listened to countless audiobooks while despairing about the state of this country and the government. And I feel it's only going to get worse after January 31.

In other news, I'm beavering away on several new knitting and crochet designs. There has been much swatching.

The models are now finished but instructions still need bashing into shape before the patterns are tech edited and tested. Why does everything take an age?

Best of 2018, part two

My best nine posts on Instagram this year are mainly knitting. No surprise there then.

From left to right, top row: Outlander shawl knitted several years ago and finally blocked, new design Colifichet, new design Wrap of Ages. Middle row: garter stitch wrap using oddments of sock yarn held double, Outlander blocking, Wrap of Ages pattern shot. Bottom row: Frankensocks, no-knead wholemeal bread straight out of the oven, new design Random Precision, large size.

I'm @wibboswords on Instagram if you want to check me out...

Washcloths

A knitted washcloth is a quick and easy-to-make gift. Wrap it in pretty paper with a lovely bar of soap. I have a couple of free washcloth patterns ready to download in my Ravelry Store.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy is an easy washcloth to knit - it's a garter stitch square knitted from corner-to-corner using simple increases and decreases to form the shape. Knit this pattern in two or more colours or use a self-striping yarn. A pure cotton or a cotton/synthetic blend yarn works best for a washcloth.

Leaf Lace Washcloth has a simple lace pattern surrounded by garter stitch borders. The lace pattern has written instructions or there's a chart if you prefer to work from one. Yarn choices as above.

Random Precision

My new design, released today, is called Random Precision and the pattern is available from my Ravelry Store. A quick preview:

Random Precision contains two patterns; a small cowl (green) knitted in sock yarn and a large cowl (purple) knitting in DK weight. As ever, both  patterns have been tech edited and test knitted. There's a £1.00 off promotion running from tomorrow, November 15, until November 21 using the Coupon Code FLOYD.

This and that, Friday style

Knitting: new design samples for mitten patterns.

Baking: no-knead wholemeal bread; recipe and method from The Quince Tree. I've been making three loaves at a time and freezing them; I haven't eaten bought bread at home for a couple of months.

Eating: 'tis the weather for making and eating homemade soup. A stewpack of veg for £1 makes a fair amount of soup.

Drinking: New York Breakfast and Ginger Spice teas from T2.

Music: mainly Daily Mixes  and my own playlists on Spotify.

In the pipeline...

I'm working on some new designs for fingerless mittens. I've swatched for this design several times already and I'm finally happy with how the stitch pattern, needle size and yarn work together.

The yarn is Drops Baby Merino; a lovely soft sport weight yarn. I'm surprised how good the stitch definition is. More soon!

Spirality

Now available as a Ravelry download here. 20% discount until midnight GMT on May 14 using coupon code SPIRAL.

Happy knitting!

Let's do it again

I took more photos of Spirality earlier today; the light was better and I simplified the background. I'm happier with these shots!

The pattern should be up for sale in my Ravelry store tomorrow.

And here's another...

A new design, that is. It's been test-knitted and the pattern has just gone off for a final whizz over by my tech editor.

The design is called Spirality, a cosy ribbed cowl long enough to go twice round your neck. Knitted in DK weight yarn, the pattern is due for release in a week or so. I have two more new designs in the pipeline; the first is finished and photographed and the second is still at the knitting stage. I'd better go and get on with it...

Swatching

Trying out new stitches and an idea for a possible new design.... 

Released today!

My latest design, Colifichet, is available to buy on Ravelry here. Get 20% off the pattern price by using the coupon code frippery from now until midnight GMT on March 20.

Almost ready to go...

Here's a sneak peek of Colifichet looking rather gorgeous...

The pattern will be for sale on Ravelry at the beginning of March.

Took all of January

to feel completely recovered from the bout of flu. The last week or so I've felt really, really tired and had no energy at all. February has marked a shift and I'm much more like myself and back to designing.

This design is Colifichet, a lacy wrap which is almost ready to launch on an unsuspecting world! I blocked it yesterday and it's almost dry and ready for photography. Once that's done, Colifichet will be for sale on Ravelry with my other designs. On the needles is another wrap design in a gorgeous shade of green: