Debbie Bliss jackets

 I got sucked in badly with some Debbie Bliss yarn on special at Loveknitting. I have three drawers of wool and had vowed to buy no more until I am down to one drawer.  But I caved and bought enough to knit each of my daughters a jacket from the pattern book conveniently marketed alongside the yarn.

When it arrived I was determined that this would not end up in the drawers with the rest of my yarn, so set to straight away.  So anxious was I to ensure I knitted it that I did not stop to photograph the first (purple) one at all. I thought I had taken photographs as I ironed the pieces, but no evidence exists, so I must have dreamt that. Progress on knitting projects does not, I think, make for much of a narrative, but I regret failing to photograph anything at all of the purple jacket. 

It knitted up beautifully. I usually go for fully natural fibre yarn for knitting, so this is a bit of a deviation for me. It produced a completely smooth fabric. You have to look closely to discern the stitches. 

My only complaint about the pattern is that the instructions for making the buttonholes is added to the end of the instructions for the fronts - well after you have knitted the rows where the holes should go. Fortunately it was not difficult to separate the knitted yarn and buttonhole-stitch in appropriate places.

I was pleased to make use of some buttons I had collected - paua shell for the purple one and soap stone ones on the green -both from  New Zealand.

The pattern has a neat cuff turn-over designed for a contrasting colour, but I stuck with the same.

The finished product is not so easy to photograph. It has a nice swing shape.

As I had more than a ball of the purple left and two balls of the green, I made cowls, with a simple lace pattern and then fingerless gloves. 

I ran out of purple yarn before I finished the gloves so ended up undoing one and reshaping a little. They will, as my mother would have said, pass with a push (no photograph!).

 The green ones made it without manipulation.

I have enjoyed getting back into knitting I have so much wool in my stash that I could knit for years, but with more embroidery classes giving me ideas there is a bit of competition!

The Brooklyn Jacket

This post is rather late in coming. I made the jacket just before going to hospital in July, took the photos at the time, wrote it up while recovering, but didn't post. As I use this blog as a record of work completed, I'm posting for the record.                                                                     Late in June, Tessuti Fabrics had a sale - 25% off all products. I was still on a high from my Berlin Jacket success so, on impulse, ordered the pattern for the Brooklyn Jacket and enough red Italian felted wool to make it.

I was attracted to the collar of the coat and the colour of the fabric.

The pattern uses the same method of matching seams as the earlier pattern. The pockets on this one are rounded and placed on the seams. It also had back pockets - but I decided not to include those. Like the previous jacket, it took only a couple of hours to make. This Italian felted wool is magic - much like stitching any form of felt.

The jacket has proved to be flexible, cosy and practical. I love the way the collar wraps around my throat. I think this has finished my jacket binge, but the two should get good use over the next couple of years. I also have a few left over pieces that might be useful for embroidery projects - one piece contributed to my recent scissor keep efforts.