I have just released my latest knitting pattern, Skinny Fit Mitts!

I had tried a few other mitten patterns and it always seemed they were a bit big and floppy. Not that they fit incorrectly, or were too big a size, the shape just didn’t feel right on my hands. And so the idea of Skinny Fit Mitts was born.

I’ve made the pattern available free through Ravelry, which if you are a knitter and don’t already have an account with them I’d say it is well worth your while to do so, and it’s free to sign up!

Although you can download the pattern for free and be on your way I would really love to see the finished mitts you make with this pattern. I love seeing people create things using the patterns I’ve made. Ideally, if you have the time, I’d love to see you add your project to Ravelry .

Any questions you have about the pattern, or even how to link your project through Ravelry, please feel free to contact me.

Here’s the link again: Skinny Fit Mitts

Posted: November 22nd, 2011 under Knitting, Patterns.
Comments: 2

I’m very excited, just put up my first shop item. It’s a sweet little pink floral pin cushion. The top is made from durable quilting weight cotton and the cushion is filled with polyester stuffing all pulled together into a pretty flower shape by pink embroidery floss and buttons for decoration. I will be making some more to put into the shop, as well as some aprons (both half and full aprons). I haven’t decided yet if any hand knitted items will start making their way into the shop or not…

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lacunacoiled

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lacunacoiled

Posted: February 23rd, 2011 under Sewing, Shop.
Comments: none

I’ve finished writing up the patterns for 2 new hats. They are both available free on Ravelry and I would LOVE to see pictures of your finished hats so please add your project to Ravelry or send me a picture when you’re done.

The first hat is the ‘Simple Wreath Hat‘, mine made in Malabrigo twist. You can make it in any worsted/aran weight yarn you like but Malabrigo is so soft, sqooshy and warm that I definitely recommend it for your snuggly winter hat!
Get the pattern here

The second hat is the Android hat, a geeky hat made for my boyfriend and I’ve included written directions and a chart for the Android guy.
Get the pattern here

Posted: October 4th, 2010 under Knitting, Patterns.
Comments: none

Finished my girlie version, and this one is mine! I used petrol blue cotton drill for the solid colour and a floral from Tanya Whelan’s Ava Rose collection. I was going to put some frills on the bottom of the flap it to make it extra girlie but opted out at the last minute.

Next project is a tunic from the Sew Serendipity book. I bought the book nearly immediately following the book review from Flossie Teacakes. I don’t have a lot of time in the evenings for sewing in the next couple of days but hopefully have it done by the end of the weekend.

Posted: August 31st, 2010 under Sewing.
Comments: none

I’ve been working on this for a while now, there were absolutely TONS of pieces to cut out! I was following a pattern but he wanted stripes down the front flap and extra padding. The stripes weren’t hard to add in but because the padding had to go between the lining and the exterior I had to add in some binding along the top to close up the raw edges. I also spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get the little side pocket just right… you know the pocket… that one on the side designed for mobile phones that no one ever uses? I’ve told Dan he has to use the little pocket regularly now to make it worth the aggravation of putting in on.

Here’s some pictures of it finished. Including one of the silly little pocket.

Posted: August 15th, 2010 under Sewing.
Comments: 1

I eat so much junk at work. Most mornings I will get in and have a coffee, followed by another, then it’s lunch time and I’ll have forgotten to have breakfast and pop to the co-op for a packaged chicken bacon salad and some crisps. I’ll then have 2 or 3 more cups of coffee in the afternoon, possibly intertwined with chocolate snacks and then have a nice big dinner in the evening, likely followed by something sweet.

I don’t mind healthy snacks, I would buy them now and again but I just don’t get through a bag of peanuts or sunflower seeds before I get bored of the same thing and it stays in my drawer until I find it one day spilled all over the place and scoop it all into the bin. So without making this sound like some kind of advertisement I’ll just get to the point, I saw a friend signed up to Graze. It’s a healthy eating option that DELIVERS to you 6 days of the week (just not on Sunday) and gives tons of options to pick from so you get a nice change every day. Today will be my third day having it and I’m excited! I’ve changed my eating habits to having a bowl of porridge or cereal in the morning, followed by my morning coffee. For the rest of the day I now swap between various herbal teas instead of any more coffee and snack on the Graze box throughout the afternoon.

Here’s my box for today:

And if it isn’t the 12th Aug 2010 anymore you can see my daily box here.

Also, they give you a ‘feed your friends’ discount code which gives your friends their first box free (with no commitment for further boxes) and the next one half price.
And if you use my code ( XDF3D1V3 ) then they give me a £1 off my next box which is a nice little treat for me

Posted: August 12th, 2010 under Food.
Comments: none

Hmm, ok so my even monthly updates don’t seem to have happened… where has the year gone? I have completed 2 of the sweaters over these past months but wasn’t able to keep up the pace I was hoping to. One sweater is actually near enough completed but I lost a bit of love for it over time and haven’t convinced myself to do the final touches and sew it together. Another sweater I started knitting for Mr.Lacuna was put on hold when summer fully kicked in as summer projects took over.
Here are the two I did finish:

In April:

In May:

And the two that I have not finished yet:

I’ve also recently re-discovered the world of sewing and have stolen what would have been knitting time to make up a couple skirts, a maxi dress, and am now mid-way through my first quilt. We have just moved so everything is packed in boxes at the moment but will be catching up on everything over the weekend and fingers crossed will have some photos of the quilt to show.

Posted: August 4th, 2010 under Knitting.
Comments: 1

I’ve taken on a fairly daunting challenge… knit 12 sweaters in 12 months! But I’m not on my own, there is a group on Ravelry set out to do the same thing. If you aren’t signed up on Ravelry and want to see the other’s projects, they are being updated regularily on the Sweatshop Of Love website.

So here is my January sweater, at least I made it to 1/12
I should mention this wasn’t started in January but I picked it up again in the new year and made sure I finished it at last!

I followed the pattern pretty much to the word except I didn’t switch to horseshoe cables halfway down the arms and did a few extra inc/dec throughout. All of my notes are available on my Ravelry project page.

Posted: February 2nd, 2010 under Knitting.
Comments: 1

So it’s done! We had a beautifully sunny day on Saturday so it was the perfect opportunity to do the dyeing as I didn’t want to completely destroy my kitchen by doing it inside. I set up a dyeing area outside in our garden, laying a bin bag over the table and then covering that with cling film. Here’s the steps I took:

• Laid the yarn carefully on top of a sink full of tepid water which had a couple drops of washing up liquid in it.
• Left the yarn to sink to the bottom by itself (about 30 minutes)
• While the yarn was soaking I prepared the dye by mixing 1 packet of kool-aid per 8oz
• Once the yarn was soaked through I carefully pressed down on it to get rid of any final bubbles that were trapped within the yarn.
• Lifted the yarn out of the sink, carefully and gently squeezing the yarn to get rid of some of the water
• Laid the yarn in a circle on the table
• Created a very basic guide to help me space the colours properly
• Took the first colour and poured it wedge-style onto the chosen sections of the circle.
• Gently rub the mixture through the yarn, lifting and making sure the underneath is coated as well
• To finish each colour I took the spray gun section of a normal squirty bottle and had it’s end in the measuring jug holding the juice, this way I could carefully and accurately get the remaining spots of white with the colour
• Work through the rest of the colours in the same way
• Wrap the yarn in the cling film, folding it over itself so the yarn is separated in layers from the other sections of the yarn (so colour doesn’t mix)
• Put the whole thing in a microwavable bowl and in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, then rest for 2 minutes and then put it on high for another 2 minutes. You should find the water in the bowl is clear at this point, if not then after a 2 minute rest pop it on high for another 2 minutes.
• Leave it to cool COMPLETELY. I found this bit very hard to do, I really wanted to unwrap my yarn and see it but if you do there is a chance you’ll felt your yarn and then it will be ruining, so leave it til it’s cooled
• Fill the sink with water that is the same temperature as your cooled yarn and carefully push your yarn around in it a bit
• Pull the yarn out, gently sqeezing it and then hang it up to dry

And ta-da… the finished product…



The full process has been put on my flickr here

And on Ravelry you’ll find me as Lacuna

Posted: September 14th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
Comments: none

So I’ve done it, I’ve just bought some undyed yarn and some kool aid online and both packages should be at my door before the end of next week! I saw so many peoples drool-worthy yarn made with kool aid that I couldn’t hold out any longer. It looks pretty straightforward and there are good tutorials out there for it, not to mention Ravelry and the dye-based groups on there.

So I should have started out simple, but no, I saw a yarn with such beautiful colours (pink, purple, light brown, a bit of grey and a bit of bluey-green) and so loaded up with 7 packages of kool aid and some lovely looking merino sock yarn.

Picture courtesy of Violet Green

I bought the Socrates Merino Sock Yarn from Violet Green and the Kool Aid from KoolaidWorld. I ordered 2 of grape, ice blue raspberry, pink lemonade, and 1 of orange. I am a bit worried as (and it figures even after all the research I did) I just found another article that says to get a vibrant purple (which I want) it is better to use a red + blue instead of just grape… well it’s too late now, I’ve made my order so we’ll see what happens with the grape!

Now I just sit and wait for my deliveries!

Posted: September 10th, 2009 under Dyeing Yarn, Knitting.
Comments: none