Bobble Blue - FINISHED!

Bobble Blue has been a long time coming. I first fell in love with the pattern when I lived in England in 2006. I had a subscription to Interweave Knits given to me that year, and the picture of the model sitting outside the cafe in her bright blue Bobble Blue tempted me.

On a mini-break over that summer to Pembrokeshire in Wales, I visited an Angora goat farm, Blueberry Angora, which sold yarn direct to the public, and I bought enough for a sweater in a gorgeous maroon colour (called Russet Red). It was so fun to visit the farm, I got to meet the little goats that contributed to my yarn! The yarn was a little scratchy, but fine to knit with and I would mostly wear this knit over a turtle neck or long sleeved top.

I started knitting, and loved doing the cables and bobbles, so much fun to see them pop! Then we traveled for four months and moved to Australia. Bobble Blue was put in the bottom of a box. Finally I had inspiration to finish the last few bits – picking up stitches for the collar, and seaming it together, and blocking. I even bought some buttons, which was the last thing to do. But I wasn’t sure about the buttons, so I didn’t sew them on.

Another move, across town this time, instead of across countries, and I was inspired to finally finish it off. I bought different buttons, and sewed them on. It was done!

It is now a bit too big for me, I’ve lost weight since I first started it, but I I’m still really pleased. It’s not the most flattering garment, but it is so warm and the perfect thing to wear in a Sydney Winter, when it’s not quite cold enough for a coat.

I’ve got one more sweater with a similar story (started in England, complete except for inserting a zipper). Poor Rosedale, it was actually finished, except I sewed the wrong type of zipper into it, so once I unzipped it I couldn’t zip it up again. I have finally bought a new zipper, so that is my goal for next week!

Details

Started: October 2006
Yarn: 6 skeins of Russet Red Aran, 80% Angora, 20% wool, bought August 2006
Pattern:  Bobble Blue, Interweave Knits
Completed knitting : February 2009
Sewed on buttons: May 2011







To check out other finished things, check out Tami Ami's blog!

Spring! Well, actually, Autumn

Here is my Bobble Blue, unblocked:




I bought these buttons on Saturday at Spotlight, I wasn't sure if they were too much, but I think they are absolutely gorgeous. I asked the Boy and my mum, they both thought they looked good on the Bobble Blue, so I'll sew them on, and see what it looks like. They were only $1 each. I also bought some plain grey buttons, in case I needed them ,and tried different combinations, such as using one bird button as a feature, or alternating them with plain buttons.




I made this tote bag on Saturday, it is lined with a pink fabic, it is so bright and cheery! All the American blogs and websites seem excited by Spring, so even though we are heading into Autumn, with this bag, I can pretend.

I'm actually looking forward to Autumn this year, hoping to spend more time knitting and sewing. Last year I read a lot of books, but I get to read an hour every day on the train, so I would like to spend my home time more creatively.

Nearing completion

Had a pretty busy weekend, but managed to complete all the knitting of Bobble Blue from Interweave Knits. Now all there is to do is seaming, buttons and blocking. And darning a hole from a silverfish. That's right, as I picked it up, a silverfish came scuttling out (which I immediately killed), and I soon after discovered a hole. But I don't think it's too bad, just in one place, the ribbing of the collar. I've never seen a silverfish in our apartment before, but I'm going to have a big search now!



This photo is of a waterlily, one of my favourite flowers, it was taken in Vietnam. I love looking at waterlilies, or lotuses, rising out of the water. They often have a gorgeous coloured dragonly buzzing around. And it is always after a hot day of walking around temples that I come across a cool pool of water, with the waterlily flowering.

Camera Cozy

Today I finished the camera cozy I started a couple of weeks ago. I used this tutorial from Sew Mad. Although it wasn't too difficult, there were a few bits that I didnt understand, and took a while to work out. But finally, it is finished!





I used some quilting cotton that I bought from Spotlight for the outside, and the good ol' apron fabric for the lining.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased, I think this was a step up in my sewing skills. A few things I would change for next time:

1. Use thinner batting if possible
2. Make the closing flap longer (mine isn't long enough, and you can see the velcro)



I've also been working on Bobble Blue, the sweater I'm knitting. I was happily knitting away, thinking about how I should get back to knitting more, especially as I'm now at the stage where I can usually follow the pattern without having to stop and check how to do things all the time. And then, of course, I had to do buttonholes, which I've never done before. I tried to follow the instructions in the Interweave glossary, but it looks wrong the way I'm doing it, so I might look in my other books tomorrow.