James Houston

Another finished object! This one’s special as it’s for me 😂

Karin at the brilliant Beautiful Knitters yarn shop in Pimlico kindly gave me her own pattern for a tie, which I’ve knitted up in Positive Ease pure merino using HiyaHiya sharp circulars.

I followed the pattern mostly, but inadvertently went a bit off-piste for the main front section of the tie, as I didn’t add end-of-row purl stitches. It turned out ok as it gave those edges a rounded finish which I think looks quite nice.

The yarn has a really great (but difficult to capture!) colour and shine to it, and has a good weight and elasticity to it when knitted, so the tie hangs nicely, as well as being soft and silky.

I haven’t blocked the tie yet as I rushed to get it finished in time to wear to an event.

A woollen sweater, nicely timed for summer 😅

Inspired by Icelandic Afmæli patterns, in blue representing Shetland, this design by Barbara Cheyne is the first piece of Fair Isle knitting I’ve done. I was drawn to this Vegar Jumper design as I think it looks elegant, especially in the cool blue and grey colours.

Pictures of the process are available in the story highlights on my profile.

If you have any suggestions for future projects, please get in touch.

Pattern: Vegar Jumper by @cheynebarbara via Shetland Wool Adventures Journal Vol. 03.

Yarn: Shetland Spindrift from Jamieson’s of Shetland

Needles: HiyaHiya sharp interchangeables

Last weekend I took a class in machine knitting with Timothy Andrews at Knit Works London and knitted this scarf. It was really enjoyable, a good pace, and I learned a lot of the basic techniques in just a few hours. Soo much quicker than knitting by hand! I’m now very tempted to pick up a second-hand machine and get some experience.

I finished my first pair of socks. The knitting pattern is #dearbjörnsocks – designed by @fibre_creative – knitted in LYC Sock yarn from @londonyarncompany.

This was my first time cabling. Each knitting project I’ve chosen has included something I haven’t done before – I’ve continued to challenge myself, hoping to learn and improve.