Tuesday 4 September 2007

Crochet short sleeved cardigan in Gedifra




I finally finished the short sleeved cardigan in the bargain Coats Gedifra Linen yarn I bought. I had about three attempts at it before I found the right pattern for the yarn. The first things I started had all the appeal of dishcloths. Seems that the yarn has a mind of it's own. My yarn was riddled with knots and split when I was crocheting it. I would finish a row only to find loose strands on one of the stitches so back it came. I did an awful lot of unripping before I finished.




The pattern I ended up making was from a Hayfield pattern book 7127 called Crochet Variations an old book I have had for some time. I will probably use the same book to crochet the other colour but use a different design.




I am still pleased with the finished effect but am taking a break from Gedifra (I still have one more colour left) and am back to sock knitting and making a knitted bolero with long sleeves for my friend's birthday in October. I am making it from a DOPPS pattern and that has been another trial as it is very loosely translated and their charts are very vague to say the least! I finished up looking closely at the pattern picture with a magnifying glass and making my own version of the pattern stitch!




I collected some yarn yesterday that has been donated for the project the Knitting Noras are involved in (making outfits and blankets for the local Premature baby unit). As yet I haven't started anything but I have sorted through my patterns for suitable ones and will probably share the yarn out at our next meet. The first lot I have picked up is mostly pink which is OK for the girls and very dark colours which I have re-donated to my neighbour who crochets animal blankets for the local animal sanctuary. I have still to pick up the second lot of donated yarn but the lady I spoke to on the phone said there is some white in there so the boys will get a look in!




I have ordered a couple more balls of Opal sock yarn in the Sale from Angel Yarns but as yet they haven't arrived (nor has the ball my niece ordered for me!). I will give it a few more days before I enquire where the order is. I have started the second Jaywalker sock with the ball and needles that did arrive from Angel a couple of weeks ago but as I find I am a looser knitter on 5 needles I am waiting for the smaller set of needles to arrive before I start another pair of socks. My local yarn store only stocks a few sizes of metal needles in sets of 4 which are no good for the US patterns which use 5. I also prefer the "give" I get from bamboo and wood needles.

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