Prettier in Pink

It's that time. Summer sweater knit-along time. Remember way back in April I held a vote to decide which sweater I would knit for the Luvinthemommyhood KAL? Remember you chose Lanata? Well, today I'm casting on, despite having a few other things on the needles... four other things in fact. Lanata will make five. Will I cope? I'm not sure. Three seems a good number for me. Four was dipping my toe into crazy waters, and five? Well, I'm divin' right in!

I'm pretty excited. My other projects will just have to move over and make room because I've swatched, blocked and am itching to go. I can't wait to wear this lovely cardy. Thanks for choosing it!

Oh my, I've dithered over yarn. This is the third yarn I've swatched. The first (squooshy grey) wasn't right. It was too dense and the stitch pattern didn't show up well. The second was a glorious Rowan recycled cotton/silk/viscose yarn, all slubby and delicious but I just knew I'd be washing that baby every single time I wore it. The yarn lacked any serious memory and my swatch stretched every which way. I have enough washing to do without fussy, hand-wash-only cardigans that can only be worn once, no matter how beautiful they might turn out to be, so the Rowan had to be a no-go.

But, the Rowan yarn was a dusky pink colour and it would have worked with lots of my clothes because, actually, I wear pink. More than I care to admit. It became glaringly obvious a month or so ago after I bought a new pair of canvas slip on shoes. At the time I had the choice between duck egg blue and a light raspberry colour. I immediately reached for the pinky ones because that's what I do. And then, I thought about it. I've had a pair of pink canvas shoes for the last couple of years, it must be time for a change... so, the pink ones went back and I bought the blue. BIG MISTAKE. They don't match half my clothes. I don't know what to wear, and my feet look too pale down there. 

So, with that fiasco in mind, I'm casting on in Ianthe, a beautiful dusky, watermelon pink merino/cotton 50/50 mix by Louise Harding. Now, I just need those pink shoes...

Storm in a teacup

We've had a funny old few days here at Truly Myrtle... it started right after I finished my last post, just minutes after actually. It's funny that something so small and innocuous as a cup of tea can cause so much trouble. Well, let me tell you, it can. Especially when it's tipped over a computer. Yip, you read right. I ignored that most sacred of rules - do not consume beverages near the computer - particularly when wrestling with toddlers at the same time. After my little accident, I'd go as far to say that toddlers, tea and computers should not occupy the same room at the same time. Well, my toddler and my tea collided (I'm not blaming her, really, it was totally my fault...) and the computer was drenched. Mr Myrtle was less than impressed. Voices were raised and I may have seen smoke waft from his ears. 

As a result, we were unplugged for a few days while the poor computer dried out. I could still get onto the internet on other devices, but couldn't get to my emails, nor check the regular stream of blogs delivered to my inbox. And, man, do you guys write a lot! I had soooooooo many emails to catch up on ..... So, yip, the computer dried and rather miraculously survived, and I am banned from drinking tea within a six foot radius of the poor machine.

You'll be pleased to hear that I made good use of my time. Just look at that basket of lusciousness! I raided my stash, pulling out skeins and balls that just NEED to be knitted into lovely things and then I searched Ravelry to see what other people had made with these yarns. Oh my, what an awesome feature. I found some fantastic patterns, popped them in my queue and now have the exciting prospect of knitting them! 

I am truly suffering from "want to knit all the things" syndrome, aka startitis. I'm still plugging away with my Everyday Cardy. It's mostly knitted up and I've been procrastinating over sewing the sleeves in, such is my aversion to sewing up. When I read that the Yarn Harlot always blocks her pieces it was all the ammunition I needed to delay further. If she does it, then clearly, so must I. And there, behind my little tea-tipper doing what she loves best, is my Everyday Cardigan, washed and blocking. 

I've resurrected my Wispi and that's coming along little by little. Remember it's lace? It's slow... 

Not to be put off by a little lace knitting, I've cast on another little something with stash yarn (I've been warning you there's a lot...). This pretty pink is a ball of Romney I picked up in New Zealand years ago from the lovely lady just out of Cambridge.  I'm not sure that she's still spinning and dyeing? I'm making Unleaving by Lee Juvan. It's a free pattern from Knitty and I'm knitting it shorter because I have a little less yarn than is called for. Okay, so it's a little ragged right now, but I am super pleased with it because the lace is ever so slightly complicated and I am managing it in spite of kids interrupting. The secret has been my pencil and my religious marking off of rows on the pattern. I don't breathe much while I'm knitting it, so it's being done in small bursts.

The last piece of knitting on my needles is this sock. The first of a pair for Mr Myrtle. I'm knitting plain socks, cast on 64, knit two, purl two rib for a bit and then stockinette until the heel. Perfect knitting for school sports day, which is where it started. Great for chucking in the top of my bag as we head out the door and great for sitting under the tree in the sun in the school playground after school while chatting to other mothers. And, before you ask, I'm the only one there knitting. The yarn is from my stash, I bought it in France last summer from a tiny wool shop, at a rock bottom price. 

Details of all my projects can be found on my Ravelry page.

And finally, I have been quite staggered by the number of nominations for the Sunshine Award that I've been given this last couple of weeks. I'm so delighted at how many people have been enjoying my ramblings and pictures here at Truly Myrtle, I'm sure having fun :) 

THANK YOU!!!!

Pincushion tutorial

Remember I made this colourful, flowery pincushion for a swap? Well, I thought some of you might fancy a flower wreath pincushion too ... so, here's a tutorial with lots of pretty pictures showing you how to make one for yourself. Have fun!

To get started you'll need; fabric (I used heavy linen for the wreath and Liberty prints for the flowers. You only need a tiny amount of fabric for the flowers - so save those scraps!), cardboard, a ruler, a pen, a sewing machine (although, you could sew everything by hand if you fancied), scissors, thread, stuffing (I used wool roving, but any stuffing material would be fine) and fabric glue (not essential, you could hand sew instead). And, don't forget: ironing makes your sewing look even better!

We'll start by making a template for the wreath base.

Measure and mark a curve 1/2" (1.5cm) from the corner of your cardboard (make sure your corner is a right angle!)

Measure and mark another curve, this time beginning at the first curve you drew and extending 3 1/2" (9cm). Cut along the two curves.

Fold and iron the fabric for your wreath base into quarters (in half, and in half again). Lay the template along the folded corner of your fabric and cut. Your cut piece should open out to be a circle with a circular hole in the middle. Iron flat and repeat, so that you have two circular pieces.

With right sides together, sew the two circles together around the outside (with a seam allowance of about 1/2" (1.5cm), leaving a gap of about two inches (5 cm). Mark a circle 1/2" (1.5cm) in from the centre hole. Next, snip almost to the seam around the entire circumference and, almost to the circle around the centre hole.

Turn the wreath right side out (this may take some thinking - it did me!), carefully fold the central clipped edge inwards and iron. With as small stitches as you can manage, hand sew the centre closed. 

Stuff the wreath through the opening on the outside edge. Just make sure that you stuff it nice and tight! Hand sew the outside opening closed and do your best to shape the wreath into a doughnut.

That's your wreath done! Now, to decorate it...

Cut a cardboard circle with a 2" (5cm) diameter. This will be the template for your flower petals. Cut five fabric circles for each flower.

Iron the circles and then iron in half, and half again.

Knot the end of your thread and sew a running stitch along the long, raw edge on your petal. Pull the thread tight and continue along the next petal. Don't cut your thread! Keep going until you've stitched all five petals. Pull the flower tight and secure the last petal to the first petal, knot and cut your thread. Isn't it pretty? 

There are several options for the middle of the flower. You might like to use a button. A covered button might be nice. I've made little "puffs", and here's how...

Cut a cardboard circle with a 1 1/2" (4cm) diameter. This will be the template for your centre "puffs". Cut a fabric circle for each flower. Knot your thread and sew a running stitch around the circumference of the fabric circle. Pull slightly with the right side of the fabric facing out.

Pop a small ball of stuffing into the middle. It helps to press it down with a pen while you pull the stitching tight. Stitch the edges closed and secure. Turn it over - there's your puff!

I decided to glue the puffs to the middle of the flower with super-strong fabric glue, because I wanted them evenly squashed in the middle. You could hand stitch it on if you don't have glue, or don't want to use it. Repeat for all your flowers.

Next, we'll make the leaves...

Cut a cardboard circle with a 3 3/4" (9.5cm) diameter. This will be the template for your leaves. Cut a fabric circle for each leaf. I made two sets of two leaves. As before, iron flat, iron in half and then in half again.

And, as before, knot your thread and sew a running stitch along the long, raw edge of the leaf. Pull tight and carry on to the second leaf. This time, pull the thread tight and secure at the end of the second leaf.

Now, you should have a wee pile of pretty flowers and leaves. Arrange them on your wreath to see how you like them. This took me FOREVER! Pins are useful to hold things in place while you make up your mind...

Glue, or sew, your leaves and flowers in place. You're done! Now all you need are pins...

If you have any questions, just let me know!

As always, I'd love to see photos of anything you make using a Truly Myrtle pattern or tutorial - feel free to show off your lovely things in the Truly Myrtle Flickr group!

Pincushion Swap

I've just taken part in my first swap - a pincushion swap, organised by Rachel at House of Pinheiro.

The idea was to create a pincushion from bits and bobs in your stash and send it to your allocated swap partner. My partner was Kate from the lovely blog Trestle and Bunting. Kate is crafty, green fingered, a foodie and makes the most fantastic sock creatures, she is clearly a talented lady - take a peek.

Here's what I made for Kate...

It's a scrap fabric, flower wreath pincushion! I raided my shockingly large stash of Liberty prints and combined them with some bone-coloured heavy French linen. I had no idea I had collected so much Liberty over the years! Time some of it was put to good use. My pincushion is pretty bold eh?! I love the bright colours and had fun making it. To be honest though, the whole thing was slightly nerve-racking. I wanted to make something a bit different and also wanted my partner to like it. Oh, the pressure! Totally self-imposed of course...

I came up with this crazy colourful wreath idea and crossed my fingers that it would be up Kate's street. I think it was - she said it was very tactile and she loved the flowers. Phew!

If you'd like to have a go at one for yourself, I'm making a tutorial to show you how, step by step. The flowers are especially fun. Pop back! It'll be ready later this week.

And, here is the lovely pincushion that Kate made, and sent to me...

Cute!!! I just love the beads and pretty tassels! And, her card is so lovely. I've tidied up my sewing table today and pinned it to the wall behind my sewing machine so I can enjoy it while I sew. My new pincushion is right there too, full of shiny new pins :)

Thanks Kate!