Author: toryawintersdesigns

Designer, maker, lover of colourful sparkly things.
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Guppy

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Here is the first of my new designs – Guppy, a sleeveless pullover featuring a wave and fish design, knitted using the stranded or Fair Isle method. The back opening means that it will fit easily over a baby’s head. It’s designed in warm and cosy Sirdar Snuggly DK, making it the perfect extra layer for chilly days. The pullover is sized from 0-2yrs, and knits up quickly enough to make it an ideal gift. The pattern is available to buy now on Ravelry by clicking the link in the name.

Guppy Pullover

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Wicket

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Wicket is a sleeveless pullover for babies and toddlers, designed to stretch and fit comfortably over a shirt or t-shirt as an extra layer on chilly days. I was inspired by traditional cricket sweaters when working on this design, and wanted to create the feel of a vintage garment, but with a slightly more modern look. The sweater is designed in three sizes, 0-6mths, 6-12mths and 1-2yrs.

The sample is knitted in Sirdar Snuggly DK, a lovely soft yarn which has the advantage of being machine washable. I knitted my sweater in cream and green, but you could experiment with the colour scheme to create your own effect – maybe the colours of a favourite sports team, or something radical and funky like purple and orange!

Wicket is available to buy in my Ravelry store.

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New Patterns

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I’ve just released three new patterns in my Ravelry store.

First up is the Sweetheart Hat, a design for babies and toddlers. It’s generously sized with a picot brim, and knitted in super soft yarn. Make it in the colours shown here for girly cuteness, or try more vibrant combinations for a different look.

Next, there’s a hat for grown-ups. This hat combines the softness of butterflies knitted in flecked tweed wool, with a hint of dark gothic style. It’s pleated at the top, and is finished with a small bobble and a picot edging. The butterflies can be decorated with beaded detail, or left plain as shown here.

Finally, these gauntlets were made to match the Gothic Butterfly Hat. If using the suggested yarn, the hat and mittens together can be made with two balls of Rowan Pure Wool DK and one ball of Felted Tweed. The thumbs can be knitted in the main colour, or in the contrast as shown.


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Plans for the year

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Wow! It’s been a long time since I updated this blog! I have been very busy though – there’s been quite a few acting jobs, many many hours spent on trains travelling all over the country, and a lot of knitting. Now it’s that time of the year again where I’m looking at what’s happened over the past twelve months, and starting to re-evaluate things for the next twelve.

I’m going to have a lot of changes and developments to deal with in my personal life over the coming year, especially since I now have two walking, talking bundles of fun causing havoc on a daily basis! However, on a craft front, I want to try and get as organised and goal orientated as possible.

The past year was a major FAIL for my goals. On the surface the figures look great, but I think I have more yarn than I started with in January!
In 2010 I wanted to use 100 balls, and keep track of my overall metres knitted. I used around 120 balls, though I didn’t keep an exact count, and I knitted approximately 15,234 metres, or 9.5 miles! That sounds like I should have a big dent in my stash, but unfortunately I never stuck to my first goal, which was “knit only from stash”.
So, my goals for the New Year –
1) Catalogue ALL my stash into the Ewe Stash app on my phone, since there’s only about half of it on Ravelry just now, and having it on the phone means I can have it with me to remind me what I’ve already got, if I get the urge to supplement the stash.
2) Complete all projects currently on the needles. Except perhaps the very big 4ply cardigan, which isn’t quite working out.
3) Knit all projects that I have yarn stashed away for – so that will be Sunlit, Sage, and one other Kim Hargreaves project that I have a ton of All Seasons Cotton for, but I can’t remember what it is.
4) Look at the John Lewis clearance sale and try not to be tempted, but I will allow myself one purchase of something Rowan and woolly if it’s an absolute bargain, as it’s something I will definitely use.
5) Write patterns for and knit all the designs in my notebook.
That’ll do to be going on with! Wish me luck 😀