Winter Work



As most know, winter is a time to get cosy and right into all your woolly yarn.  During winter I feel really driven just by wanting to be warm.  While we ourselves rush inside to turn the heater on, it’s unbearable to imagine how people in need must be feeling.  What a good way to get motivated!

Mending
First, I had to do some urgent darning before all that winter wool and leather wore our holes even bigger. 



 
I learnt that it’s better to match the thread ply to the fabric.  I had fun with colours but this darn turned out a bit too heavy.



I also fixed a hole in a padded silk jacket in boro / kantha style, hand-sewing running stitch over the patch.  It worked well over this type of tear, which had gone beyond the seam, was fraying the fabric and exposing the innards. 



I only learned this from lovingly examining some pieces from India and my pinterest collecting.


Squares
For my charity work, there was a call for blanket squares and winter wear for men.  My first charity square was over year ago, and had taken months of slow beginner knitting, re-teaching my fingers what they had to do.



When I had finished that one, I had planned to make my next square a diagonal.  But somehow, other techniques had led me to distraction and I didn’t quite get to doing it till now.  So it was good to finally take this on and understand increase and decrease, and see how something so beautifully simple can create a whole new pattern. 


 
I finished it off with some crochet edging which made a pleasing result; decorative but keeping within the men’s blanket brief.



Hats
I made two beanies for my charity, one crochet and one knit.  Both were patterns I’d never done before.

It was nice to return to the lovely yarn I’d used on my first solid square.  This beanie is worked in the round, not unlike the beret, but with tighter decreases.  When I started off, I didn’t really believe how it would form the right shape when finished.





The knit beanie was with two strands of yarn together, which was handy for making fast work.  



It was fun seeing how the unpredictable colours would turn out, and I blended in a bright and dark blue with the black to add some variation, without exactly creating stripes.



 It is a rectangle with decreases to shape the crown, and a sewn seam.


It was interesting threading through the top stitches and pulling it tight to create the top closing.




New skills all the time
One of the reasons this hobby is so enjoyable is because you get to learn so many different things.  I wonder if one day I’ll be able to churn out ten beanies in a day (I kid you not, I am sure many people in my charity thrive on this kind of production rate!)  So I knocked out my first pair of knitted fingerless gloves, which were very satisfying, in that they didn’t take too long, they are practical and compact.  (I will have to save scarves for when I graduate to the next level – notice I have not made one since the first time).


The experience of making the vest has got me curious and confident enough to advance into new territory.  I am trying out knitting a child’s jumper in the round.

  
This will be for Wool-Aid, who are based overseas, which means that I can delight in using a 10-12 ply yarn during our winter while they slow down for their summer.  And the fact that they always use pure wool increases the pleasure for both maker and receiver.  I do feel a little nervous about doing the neckline and arms, we will see how they turn out in the next post (or 2…. or 3…)

What a blessing to have found charity making.  There can only be winners all round.