Knit sew hooked

Dropping quickly by.....

2012-01-09T22:21:00.000Z

I bet you've all forgotten me, haven't you? It's been such a long time!

Sorry I haven't been around much, in the run up to Christmas I had so much making to do that I had to choose between posting about it, or actually doing it, and of course the doing it had to win ;)

And then since Christmas I haven't been very well and have spent a lot of time just getting by day to day, and all spare time (after family and work have taken up such a huge chunk) has been spent resting, sleeping and generally feeling totally lacking in any motivation whatsoever. Not a tot of knitting or crochet or any form of crafting has been tried. Trying hard now to find some motivation - and the ability to stay awake or even upright! - and maybe pick up the hooks or needles again.

So hopefully give it a few more days and I might finally have something to share.

But what motivated me to post today you might ask?

Well, I opened my stash cupboards (note the multiple?) and realised I had so many new yarns I had been so excited about just before Christmas, and so looking forward to using for actual planned and exciting makes, and so I thought I would go over and update my stash on Ravelry. And whilst over there I noticed I had 55 yarns in my stash, then doing a little adding up with the boys we worked out that I had over 200 individual skeins of yarn!!!!!! And that was without adding in the part used/unbanded/not particularly nice but might be useful yarns that haven't made it to the Stash page yet.

Hmm, a tad excessive do you think?

So if you want to see them in all their glory then pop over to my Rav page. There's some wonderful yarns there I can tell you :)

So yep, thats hopefully going to be the motivation that kicks me into gear......soon......after a good nights sleep.....and maybe another day of rest......

PS - The man was so concerned that he offered to cheer me up by driving me to my favourite yarn shop at the weekend. I turned him down. And that was BEFORE I realised the extent of the stash............. So yes, I need a good shake up......Although it's doing great for the old savings account :)

Still here....

2011-12-12T18:33:00.000Z

Although the laptop issues are back!

The laptop was replaced, and then the new-to-us one turned out to have a faulty graphics card, and then the old one was kind of fixed by a friend but he installed a new OS which doesn't seem to have loaded all the features so I can't edit photos now until I get some editing software. Still having problems with the power supply to the laptop too so seriously going to have to find a replacement soon.....

And even worse than all of that - I've lost all my bookmarks! All the lovely blogs I was following through bookmarks, all gone. I can't remember the names of them so I'm hoping that I will come across them again very soon. I follow quite a few on blogger but some I bookmarked instead, probably because I wasn't logged in when I first came across them and then never got round to clicking that button. Well that'll teach me......

In the meantime I have done a little knitting. I'm so glad I started late October as I am running out of time now and the days are filled with lots of crafting of a different kind, take a peek at the other blog if you want to know more! I finally finished this little set for the littlest girlie after a mini rant at the mittens that wouldn't turn out right:

Do you see the lovely scarf too, the one that I blogged about in the last post? Well of course you don't because I was knitting away and started to think how the girlie never keeps her scarves on properly, and that they always come sliding down out of her coat. So in a stroke of genius I decided to turn it into a simple cowl. No sliding off her neck, and I could cast off just over halfway through the length rather than carrying on for at least another 70cms! All worked in three shades of Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran, the cowl is a garter stitch loop in blocks of colour, the mittens are cobbled from a pattern found on Ravelry which I still can't decide whether I read wrongly/misunderstood, or it was written wrongly? The hat is the Pixie helmet from the Autumn 2009 issue of Living Crafts magazine, with a big fluffy bobble on top and cute fat plaits on each side. Overkill? - nah, it looked great when I sneaked it on her whilst she slept.....

Woohoo, another set done, just two more hat/gloves/scarf sets to go. And to finish big little boys scarf, the one in the DK rib..... And a pair of gloves for biggest girlie ..... And there's a little sewing to be done yet too..........

I hope you're all on target for a stress free handcrafted Christmas.

-x-

Yarn along

2011-12-07T16:00:00.000Z

I have knitted up a few things in the late nights but it's getting so close to the gifting time now that I am resorting to super quick knits. So for the littlest girlie I have gone back to the elf cap, only resized using aran weight yarn and 5mm needles. All good and now the matching scarf is on the needles. Garter stitch all the way with this one, firstly because Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran looks so good in garter stitch, and secondly because it is quick and mindless and can be done whilst nursing the girlie, reading stories, making plans...... you get the picture ;)

I really wanted this to be the picture to share, look at those amazing deep colours:

But in reality this is what it looks like:

Still gorgeous colours though don't you think?

Reading, well it's fairly obvious - the christmas books are out. Old books found in the charity shops, when children wanted things like rocking horses, dolls and jack in the boxes, not a video game or mobile phone in sight......

Looking forward to seeing what everyone is up to in Ginny's yarn along once again.

And a big thank you to all who read, I noticed I passed the 10,000 page views mark whist I was away. Not a lot by some standards, but amazing to me. Thanks to everyone for reading and following.

-x-

Short not sweet.

2011-12-05T21:01:00.000Z

My laptop is dying.

It takes forever to download the photos from the camera, editing them is near impossible, it can't cope at all with more than one page open.

So I offer my apologies.

I have things to share, knits I've made, a pattern for a cool cowl to put out there, but I can't do any of that.

I am keeping up with my family blog as I need that record for the littlies and myself to remember happy December days, but that alone is an all evening job. I start uploading photos then potter off to do dishes, come back and write a little, upload a photo to the blog, do a few lot of rows of knitting whilst waiting, upload another, make a drink, upload another, walk the dog, you get the picture (boo - pun not intended!!).

So there we are, why I'm not here.

Or anywhere else.

I try to catch up on blogs, but it takes several minutes for each to load.

And leaving comments, well, there's no chance of that.

Do you remember the days of dial-up? Well this is slower, far slower.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel - the man is negotiating prices on a replacement laptop as I type. So in the next few days, as one big guy once said - I'll be back!

Hopefully.....

-x-

Plain old lazy - but you'll love it.

2011-12-01T20:12:00.000Z

I've been at work all day, missd a train connection, shivered on a platform, saw a poor little toddler at my group bump his head so badly he had a bright blue egg within seconds, I have a toothache, and the beginnings of a cold. I think a break from the knitting pressure is due. So today I thought I'd share with you something that has just had me snorting my lemon and ginger tea all over myself:

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2011/12/01/for_the_others.html

Yes, you probably follow the blog, and yes, you probably snorted too, but just in case you don't, take a look.

See - genius. I especially love rule 1 :)

And I finished the cowl. More tomorrow, maybe?

-x-

Yarn along

2011-11-30T10:32:00.000Z

Joining in with Ginny once again.

Knitting and reading, two of the very best ways to relax and enjoy.

Still beavering away on the gift makes, so many done, yet still more to do. This is the cowl I'm working on for middle big girl, to match with the mitts and hat previously shown. I'm making it up as I go so hoping it will be ok:

Actually it's a bit risky all this top of the head creating, there's already been a few ripped back pieces. Maybe sticking to a proven pattern would help speed things up a little more......

Reading......well that hasn't happened so much the past week. Books still open include Anger and Oliver, as previously blogged, but no further into. I have gotten a few pages further into the one shown though but knitting is at the fore with only a few weeks to go!

Also on the needles are the ribbed scarf of biggest littlie, and the gloves for the man, which have both stayed the same since last mentioned. I could always give the man the one glove to keep the chain holding hand warm whilst walking Saffi. The other hand is always in his pocket anyway......

Off for a quick look at what you're all working on before it's back to the cowl again.

And thank you for your comments last week, about replying to other blog posts. I think I might have to be a bit stricter this week and make sure I only have a quick look at other posts, I have so much knitting and so little time, although I would love to be able to spend the time enjoying every ladst post.....

-x-

Did you see....?

2011-11-29T19:15:00.000Z

I have added a new page to the blog.

Did you spot it up there just below the header?

I thought I would use it as a safe little storage space for the patterns I think I will use again, because storing them in my head is just not going to work is it?

And because they are so quick(ish) and easy I thought you might like to use them too!

So, a seasonal gift to you all ;)

Right, back to the needles (one little girlie is sleeping on the sofa - wow, that hasn't happened this early in over a month, best make the most of it!!).

-x-

Many hands.......

2011-11-28T13:30:00.002Z

If only I had all the hands to fit the projects I have finished this weekend! I would fly through the gift makes I still have to start :)

The Hitchhiker is no longer middle big girls yule gift, I just couldn't face the idea of having to knit up a matching hat and gloves in the KC Riot, it is such a fine DK it would take me all of the time I have from now to Christmas! Instead I cast on these on Saturday evening:

Middle big girl wants gloves she can wear whilst driving and thinks fingerless would work better, and she loves all the chunky cable designs that are everywhere in the shops right now. These worked up really quickly on chunky/bulky weight yarn and used just under 100g for both. And best of all I used stash wool, the Patons Symphony found at a car boot sale during the early summer, so super pleased.

I also managed to finish the bubble rib scarf for biggest girl this weekend:

Worked in Stylecraft aran so that I wouldn't hear the news that she had shrunken it (last years pure wool Mirasol gift....!) this scarf has taken forever. I have picked up between other makes and tried to squeeze in at least one repeat every night, but this weekend I decided I just had to get it done as I was avoiding my knitting corner altogether to avoid this looking back at me. Very pleased with the finished result though and I hope biggest girl is too. Just a pair of gloves to complete the set.

But instead of casting on the gloves (still have the mans on the needles and one pair is enough for now!), I cast on an instant gratification knit:

Thick warm chunky soft mittens for tallest, smallest big girl. Worked in Wendy Serenity super chunky on 10mm straight needles, these were finished almost as soon as I cast them on. I used this pattern to make this an almost mindless knit, perfect for late night tiredness, waiting for littlest girlie to sleep. If you're thinking of using this pattern I have to tell you there is an error in row 10 and 11 which is easily sorted, but if you have any problems shout out.

And last, but only for now, I cast on this hat for middle big girl, to go with the fingerless mitts from the very first post:

I came up with the pattern to match the cable mitts and I'm very, very pleased with it :) I think it may even become the hat of the season, with one for grandgirlie, and maybe even littlest girlie too. Cast on, knit, and cast off all within an hour or two, just perfect for a quick gift. I may try writing up the pattern if anyones interested?

I still have a pretty long list to work through but it finally feels as I'm getting somewhere. And right now I only have three projects cast on, I wonder how long that will last?

Hope you're all enjoying your Christmas crafting and NOT putting yourselves under pressure to complete. It's fun first of all, remember ;) And I'll be the first to shout out when I've had enough!

-x-

Cable headband

2011-11-27T16:12:00.002Z

Chunky Cable headband.

Using 10mm needles and super chunky/super bulky yarn (I used Araucania Limari) cast on 4sts using cable cast on (this gives a slightly firmer edge but you can use any cast on you prefer).

Increase section

Row 1: k1, p1, k1, p1

Row 2: Inc 1 in 1^st st, k1, p1, inc 1 in last st.

Row 3: *P1, k1, rep from * to end

Row 4: Inc 1 in 1^st st, p1, k1, p1, k1, inc 1 in last st

Row 5: *k1, p1, rep from *to end

Row 6: Inc 1 in 1^st st, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1, inc 1 in last st

Row 7: *p1, k1, rep from * to end

Row 8: Inc 1 in 1^st st, *p1, k1, rep from * to last st, inc 1 in last st

Row 9: *k1, p1, rep from * to end

Row 10: Inc 1 in 1^st st, *k1, p1, rep from * to last st, inc 1 in last st

Row 11: *p1, k1, rep from * to end

Row 12: Inc 1 in 1^st st, *p1, k1, rep from * to last st, inc 1 in last st

Row 13: *k1, p1, rep from * to end

You now have 16sts

Commence cable pattern

Cable pattern row 1: p1, k1, p1, k2, p6, k2, p2, k1

Cable pattern row 2: k1, p1, holding yarn at back of work sl1 k.wise, bring yarn to front of work p2, k6, p2, holding yarn at back of work sl1 k.wise, k1, p1

Cable pattern row 3: As cable pattern row 1

Cable pattern row 4: As cable pattern row 2

Cable pattern row 5: As cable pattern row 1

Cable pattern row 6: K1, p1, holding yarn at back of work sli k.wise, bring yarn to front of work p2, C6B, p2, holding yarn at back of work sl1 k.wise, k1, p1

Cable pattern row 7: As row 1

Cable pattern row 8: As row 2

These 8 rows form cable pattern. Repeat cable pattern 7 times more then first 2 rows of cable pattern once more.

Decrease section

Decrease row 1: *p1, k1, rep from * to end

Decrease row 2: p2tog, *k1, p1, rep from * to last 2sts, k2tog

Decrease row 3: *k1, p1, rep from * to end

Decrease row 4: k2tog, *p1, k1, rep from * to last 2sts, p2tog

Decrease row 5: *p1, k1, rep from * to end

Decrease row 6: p2tog, *k1, p1, rep from * to last 2 sts, k2tog

Decrease row 7: *k1, p1, rep from * to end

Decrease row 8: k2tog, p1, k1, p1, k1, lift p.st over last k st on right needle, p1, lift k. st over last p.st on right needle, (2 st cast off), k1, p2tog

Decrease row 9: p1, k1, p1, cast on 2sts, k1, p1, k1

Decrease row 10: p2tog, k1, p1, k1, p1, k2tog

Decrease row 11: k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1,

Decrease row 12: k2tog, p1, k1, p1, k2tog

Decrease row 13: p1, k1, p1, k1

Cast off final 4 sts.

Weave in ends and attach button.

But I said I would give away one handknit, from beautiful Araucania wool didn't I? Sixteen names, multiple entries for being a follower or sharing a link, so a long list of names to turn into numbers. How? Well I assigned all comments a number, then I added you onto the list again if you were a follower, and then yet again if you had mentioned that you had linked to the giveaway. This gave me a list of 30 in total, so off to Random.Org I went. And the number that popped up?

Five

Otherwise known as......

Claire from Simply...Life!

So Claire if you email me via the address up on the top right I will get your headband into the post asap.

Thanks everyone for all your comments and I hope the pattern above is compensation for not winning :)

-x-

Never wasted..

2011-11-24T18:10:00.001Z

You know how sometimes you see something and it just brings back lovely memories? Well I spotted some lovely, yarn on Ebay and kept watching and watching, determined that I didn't want it, I just liked to look at it. And as the hours ticked down I tried hard not to bid, really I did. But right at the final seconds I gave in and tapped in my bid. With baited breath I watched the sale end, and yay, you know it, I won! A week later a package arrived. I carefully cut it open and inside was my lovely bundle of yarn.
Want a peek?

Such pretty, cutesy colours, reminders of knitting with Nan many years ago. This yarn is long, long discontinued, Marriner's Heritage 3ply pure wool, full of vintage loveliness. And included in the parcel was a beginning, started by someone else, at some time gone by, and no longer wanted. I wonder what the story is behind this unfinished project? The stitches are so delicate, the colours, so bright, the pattern so pretty, I wonder why it was never continued?

Idea's for this yarn whilst awaiting it's delivery ran through my mind, all being brushed aside now on sight of that little piece of knitting. Should I take the design and use it for a pretty cushion, or perhaps a scarf. Or maybe I should carry on that project, the size looks about right for a jumper for the girlie. And before you start wondering how I could get far with that little selection of yarn then let me show you, it wasn't just that tiny selection. Oh no, it was all of this:

13 misty blue, 5 coral rose and 4 leaf green.

Oooh what a lucky yarn lover was I?

And if you were watching this yarn, bidding on it even, then oops, sorry, but hey at least you know you weren't alone in appreciating it's prettiness ;)

So what would you do with this lovely, old, possibly never found again yarn?

Idea's on a postcard :)

-x-

PS - don't forget to leave your comment to be in with a chance of getting this little winterwarmer/handmade gift.

Yarn along

2011-11-23T10:36:00.000Z

Joining in with Ginny again.

Very quick today as I have a long afternoon ahead of me in work (training, so sitting on bum for a long while...)

Should have been sharing progress on the double rib scarf from the previous post but seeing as it's already ripped back after 12cms then there's no photo to show ;) I am going back to it later but have decided on bigger needles and a 4x4 rib instead for a little more flexibility.

Instead I could show progress on the bubble rib scarf for Emma, only that looks exactly as it did last time, only longer, 120cms now, woohoo, the end is in sight.

So what to share today?

How about these, my top secret, middle of the night knits - gloves for the man!

Apologies for the poor photo quality once again, this home barely gets any natural light through the shorter days.

Reading this week, well again, pretty much the same as last time, but with this book added in. Lot's of different ideas for makes by little people, planning all our Christmas crafting sessions and checking that we have in all the essentials we will need.

I love this last week of November, the anticipation of a funfilled month ahead, don't you?

Oh, a question too. When you read all these lovely yarn along posts do you feel obliged to leave a reply to every one? Or is that just me? I always feel that if you have been kind enough to open up a little part of your life to me, then I should show my appreciation. Even if it takes several days now to read through all those posts.....

Happy yarning everyone.

-x-

And on and on and on and on..........

2011-11-22T19:35:00.000Z

Scarf knitting!

Seems a good idea in theory, maybe less so in reality, huh?

Finished knitting the hat for Owen, plain and simple, all in red, just like the one he showed me:

Matching gloves, quick and easy and all in red again:

Oh dear, another awful picture. And they aren't really that twisted honest, besides, what's the point in blocking something that's going to be a snug enclosed fit anyway?

And then it's the turn of the scarf. Still wanting all red, and just like a big boys, so double rib it is.

Hmm, maybe if I'm really good Santa might bring me a decent camera?

44sts, k2, p2 repeat, 4mm needles..............not a lot else to say is there?

Fun - no.

Enjoyable - no comment.

Mindless - too right.

Ah well, perfect for knitting whilst watching Harvey.

Oh what a party girl I am :)

And for when the scarf knitting gets too much....I can flit back to the other one, 90cms done, the same left to do. Gah, winter knits....

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for the much quicker, and prettier, winter knit. Pattern being written and hopefully posted by the end of the week.

Enjoy creating everyone.

-x-

Sharing the love.....a giveaway!

2011-11-20T21:21:00.002Z

Time to move Nan down the page. It's been lovely having her smiling at me each time I logged into these pages. Only thing is I didn't want to move her by posting a new entry. But then it has to be done at some point so how better than sharing some bloggy love?

Inspired by my incredible good fortune at winning Lucy's recent lovely giveaway, I thought I would host a little giveaway of my own. So what could I come up with that you might want? Well it's turning cold here so just the time for something warm and cosy. The time for gifting is also just about here and so I thought something that would make a great stocking filler if you don't want to keep to yourself. And because I so enjoy all your lovely comments I wanted to share something special I have been holding onto for a while.

So here we are a little something crafted from a favourite part of the stash, a yarn that has waited so long for inspiration to hit:

Araucania Limari super bulky 70% merino, 20% alpaca, 10% silk

Only one 100g hank of this in the stash so very much enjoyed for it's softness, and colours, and for the ideas it brought forth.

And so today I grabbed the needles and settled to work.

Do you want to see what I came up with?

Of course you do....

What do you think?

Would you like to feel the softness and warmth of this beautiful yarn keeping your ears and head cosy and snug?

Would you like to own a very much in style but one off accessory?

Or do you know of a special person who might like to find this in her stocking on Christmas morning?

And a big button to combat that annoying habit wool has of stretching over wear.....simply move the button further along! Clever huh?

For your chance of getting your hands on this then all you need do is leave a comment after this post. Open to all who read. If you're a follower then you get a double entry, so go on click that follow button :) If you want to share this giveaway with your own blog readers then link away, and if you do and come back to let me know I'll throw your name in the hat yet again. Hmmm, when to draw? How about one week from today - Sunday 27th November?

The pattern for the headband came straight from my imagination so this is truly a one off although I will be writing the pattern up shortly if there's any interest so if you aren't lucky enough to win you could still make your own in just an hour or two. Oooh the joys of super bulky yarns......

Beginnings.

2011-11-17T19:39:00.002Z

A look back today at how I came to love yarning crafts.

My paternal Grandmother, my Nan, Marian Culshaw nee Churchill. The lady who gave me a safe haven through a harsh childhood, and with whom, as a young teen, I spent many lovely weekends in knitting companionship in front of a blazing fire. Thank you Nan for your love and for sharing a lifelong passion.

23 years ago,our oldest child being cuddled by her already devoted paternal Grandad. Wrapped in a mama knit cardigan in garter stripes of yellow and white acrylic yarn. Many hours were spent by this 16 year old mama-to-be knitting up item after item of warm cosiness for the firstborn child.

Our firstborn boy, wrapped in yet more mama knit loveliness, big fluffy hats and bobbly cardigans.

And the fourthborn child, dressed up in yet more mama made labours of love.

I won't apologise for the poor quality of the photo's, they are old, and re-photographed, I read you shouldn't scan old photo's because of the harsh light? Precious memories all entwined with a wonderful crafting journey.

-x-

Yarn along.

2011-11-16T10:52:00.000Z

Yarning along with Ginny once more.

Knitting and reading, enjoyable ways to spend those moments relaxing.

This week I finally found my copy of the last issue of "The Mother" magazine. It arrived the morning of the big Autumn clean and ended up tidied into suitcase of prefold nappies??? A nice surprise to come across it yesterday and to delve between the covers of this conscious parenting, gentle, thoughtprovoking magazine.

Also reading our favourite autumn book "The Lost Acorns" from the Percy the Parkkeeper series. Much enjoyed and read several times a week just now. Also reading another family favourite "Brave Bitsy and the Bear" a story of the changing of autumn into winter and then into spring, and the animals who live through the change.

On the needles, well, what can I say? The pink scarf is growing slowly, a few repeats each night. I have cast on the Multnomah and then stopped, to be picked up again tomorrow on my train ride between bases. The crochet mega blanket - well that is as was. I did finish the garter stitch cardigan from last time, blogged about earlier in the last post I think? And the socks - they are still hiding in their project bag.

The photo shows the latest cast on - a winter hat for Owen. He asked for red, I'm not so sure? The red is a nice deep red but I would like it to have a little more colour added. I'll have to think some more before I go much further.

So that's about it for this weeks yarn along, time to take a peek at your lovely projects and interesting reads.

-x-

Finishing again.

2011-11-14T22:07:00.002Z

Ooh, two finished projects in one week, steaming ahead!

This one isn't strictly a gifting one though, although I may well make it a part of a seasonal gift outfit, depending on how things go.......

The girlie suddenly hates to pose:


And yes, I cropped this photo! The mess on the chair is enough, I'm not showing you the mess around the rest of the room too!

Gah! These photo's are awful!

Haha, wouldn't you know, the camera just went flat so I can't upload the only decent photo!Hmm, maybe I should have finished here rather than updating Rav too?

This cardi was lovely to work on, the yarn is supersoft but the pattern very quickly became boring. A super easy pattern for a beginner knitter, just cast on, garter stitch and cast off, with some picking up of stitches to create the body. The sleeves and yoke were worked sideways with some casting on and off to form the neck opening but no other shaping at all. If you can knit a scarf you can knit this cardi!!

Technical details on my Ravelry page (ooh, can you tell I'm still loving having finally "got" Ravelry?), but for those of you who haven't joined up, or are awaiting your invite, then here you go:

Pattern - LionBrand Sideways yoke cardgan. (Have you checked out LionBrands pattern database? Lots of free knit and crochet patterns for a simple login).

Yarn - Rowan RYC Wool Tweed (aran weight) 4x50g with only 15g left over.

Needles - 6mm (yarn states 5.5mm and the pattern states 5mm with a different yarn but to get the right tension I had to use the 6mm).

Difficulty level - super easy!
Size - a generous 2 years I would guess.

Issues - The neck seems a little "gapey", maybe I'll add a collar or trim it somehow?

Would I make again? - Yes I probably will, maybe a more sunshine toned one for the spring as I think it would make a great cardi for those days when it is too warm for a coat but still nippy.

So yay, another project done and dusted, and I can get back to the gifting makes again. I still have lots of hats and scarves to get started yet.............if I can remain undistracted by pretty shawls :)

-x-

Sharing.........

2011-11-13T19:15:00.000Z

....the blogging love.

So many, lovely, crafty, inspiring blogs out there isn't there? And being a mama to a teething, two year old means I am awake into the wee small hours when the only peaceful, quiet, relaxing thing to do (with said two year old snuggled up close) is to look for ever more inspiring places. As well as hoping that my favourite bloggers are just about to hit post on their screen and share a little more of their crafting adventures with me........

So I thought I would randomly pick three of my favourite blogs of the moment and share them with you, just in case you haven't seen them before.

First up is Claire who writes Simply...Life and who has recently detailed a very exciting project where she hopes to recreate a much admired store bought dress using all her spinning and knitting skills to end up with the ultimate local, ethical, and beautiful piece of clothing.

Next is a blogger I have mentioned before, Sarah, who writes at Knits and Crosses. Sarah knits and sews beautifully but even more inspiring are her gorgeous handwoven scarfs and other creations. And incredibly, Sarah only acquired her loom this year, yet she weaves as if she has been doing it forever. Check out her lovely yarn and BINLINER clutch bags......amazing!

Third up is Lucy from Lucy in the Sky, who spins, knits, crochets, and includes lots of lovely recipes in her blog too. I would love to be close enough to pop round to Lucy's home, watch her spin, and enjoy one of her delicious cakes or cookies! And if you pop over to Lucy's this week you can join in her wonderful giveaway of a scarf pattern and enough yarn to crochet it. Lovely yarn too, in fact I just used it for my little girlie's hoodie so a little bias going on ;)

So there we are three of my very favourite blogs for you all to spend even more time following. Now wouldn't it be a great idea if you all listed your top three crafty blogs to help me the rest of us while away those sleepless late nights?

-x-

Sometimes.......

2011-11-12T19:52:00.001Z

.....I finish things too!

After sharing so many started projects, I thought I'd better show a finished one too :)

Remember the big hat I told you about? The yule gift for biggest girl?
How difficult is it to get a decent photo of a beret when it's not on a head?

First I tried a pumpkin:

And then the rest of the yarn pretended to be a head:

And I gave up on the crown and allowed it to look like a pancake:

So there we go, a finished project, and it's not cheating to show it now even though technically I could have shown nearly a fortnight ago, is it?

Right, back to the knitty business. And shhh, I'm off to check Ebay too.....

-x-

Oh dear me....

2011-11-10T21:30:00.001Z

Many months ago I spotted a lovely project on this blog. I admired it, went back for a second and third look, and knew that one day I would make the very same. And then I forgot about it. Recently I was busily working away on the laptop, ok, really, I was browsing through Ravelry, you know that, and I came across the same pattern once more. So I saved it and knew that I would knit this very beautiful thing, for myself, immediately after the festive season was over. Skip forward a few weeks and I found the lovely KnitPicks yarn on Ebay and knew it would be perfect for my lovely project. And because it would be so perfect I couldn't decide a colour so bought three different shades. As you do. So browsing through the YarnAlong posts yesterday I discovered a post featuring my lovely project, and it was knitted in one of those very shades of the lovely yarn I had so recently acquired. Well that's got to be fate right? So last night I gave in to it, picked my shade and wound the skein into a workable ball of scrummy yarn.

Hayride

Just getting prepared you see for when the festive makes were through. Yes, I would be already to go. In fact so ready that I cast on. And so here we are. No further done on the festive makes, and another project added to yesterdays list.

Well didn't someone once say "a girl can never have too many shoes"? For me it's projects on the go, obviously. But there is a redeeming feature to this latest project......it's a train knit, yippee! I haven't a little portable knit since the Hitchhiker, well socks are ok I suppose but a bit awkward to work on whilst chatting to that stranger across the seat who wants to tell you what a great knitter his/her mum was, and how they wished they'd learned, and is it cheaper to knit your own? Yeah right,you'd better stck to just wishing you knit then........

-x-

Yarn along.

2011-11-09T19:05:00.000Z

Sharing with Ginny's Yarn Along posts again.

Knitting and reading, my two best ways to know me.

So after finishing the Shalom I thought I would have to share the scarf of little progress, or the stalled Granny Stripe mega blanket. So I collected the project bags and prepared to share. The Granny stripe has, as I said, stalled completed and is exactly as last shown so I won't bore you with you a photo of that. The scarf is looking like this:

It's looking a little longer - right?

And then I opened up another bag and found this:

Green lacy socks, on the needles forever. And no, I'm not part exing my old chair for £250, it's the back of the pattern magazine, hmm, advertisement targetting?

Before opening the final bag and remembering this:

A garter stitch something for Heather.

So I did have something to share after all!

Reading, well, still The Green Buddha, and still only a few pages in. Oliver Twist is still in the kitchen being read a page or two at a time, and another booke opened is Anger, something I feel the need to return to once again just recently. This is one of those books that needs to be kept, and remembered, when the dark clouds show, wise words always needed and to be remembered.

So what are you making and reading this lovely wednesday morning?

-x-

And it is a.................

2011-11-08T20:04:00.000Z

Shalom!

So KnittingNix, Julie and Sarah, you win the Ravelry Geek award, and Dawn and Karisma, well, you had a guess..... ;)

This has been a lovely, speedy knit, despite the poor picture doing it a great injustice. I'm certain Emma will like it, a feeling backed by both her big little sisters. I still need to block it and find a button I like, but I just wanted to share with you after keeping it a very shortlived secret.

I used exactly 2.5 skeins of the Sirdar Denim Chunky so I had plenty left despite the initial worries. No idea why I thought it would use a lot more, maybe because it's a chunky and I didn't counter in that no sleeves meant a good two skein saving? The yarn suggests 6.5mm needles whereas the pattern asks for 7mm so as I knit slightly under tension much of the time I decided to go with the 7mm. Having finished I think I should have gone with the 6.5mm as the knit is fairly loose, although not loose enough to be a problem. Also I think I would have preferred it with buttons down the ribbed yoke rather than just one at the neck but then Emma will probably prefer it this way. When I was working down the main body I began to think that sleeves would be kind of nice too but I had already cast off the arm openings so I didn't want to go back and start messing about, although I guess it would have been simple enough..... Again I know Emma likes layering short sleeves over long so she should be happy with sleeveless.

So it's blocking now and waiting for it's nice big button to be stitched in place, rather than that knitpro that's currently holding it together.

Would I knit another? Definitely yes. But if for me then with the mods already mentioned.

Technical details:

Pattern - Shalom, found on Ravelry

Yarn - Sirdar Denim Chunky 2.5 skeins

Needles - one 7mm circular

Size - pattern states 34" bust I think, I would say this came out around a large 10/12.

Difficulty - simple. Top down, worked in one piece, some mid-row cast ons, a few simple psso decreases and make one increases, but basically stocking stitch, garter stitch and twisted rib.

Adjustments - I shortened the body by stopping at the penultimate increase row and then starting the garter stitch border. The pattern states this was designed for a 6' tall woman and Emma is only 5'2" and she likes her cardi's to be on the shorter side anyway. Having said that even if I had worked exactly to the pattern it wouldn't have been much longer, maybe only just on the hips anyway?

So there we have it - mystery knit revealed, now back to the scarf......or the socks......or maybe something using that lovely KnitPicks yarn I received last week?

-x-

Phew!

2011-11-06T23:53:00.002Z

Well the time consuming section of this knit is done at last.

Can you work out what it is yet?

It's a free pattern on Ravelry, and it's for my biggest girl. (So if you follow regularly you will know that I have already knitted her a slouchy hat and that I'm working my way along the matching scarf).

Go on, have a guess:

And double phew - I just discovered another skein of this yarn trying to pretend it was Sirdar Click. So I started with what I thought was five skeins, had you all finger crossing for me, and now I have only just joined in the second skein whic means I still have almost five skeins left! So you can all uncross your fingers now, that should be way more than enough. (Thanks all and a special thanks to Jacqui for offering surplus stash x).

Right back to it. it's a very addictive pattern you know :)

-x-

Fingers crossed.......

2011-11-05T17:24:00.001Z

...that the five skeins of Sirdar Denim chunky I acquired at a car boot sale many months ago will be enough for the project I have just cast on:

Because if it's not then I'll be doing a lot of ripping back! I got just a little bit bored with the scarf, but I will get back to it. It's a long way off till yule isn't it?

-x-

A teeny little parcel....

2011-11-03T20:09:00.000Z

filled with yarny goodness:


Knitpicks Stroll sock yarn in Hayride.

Knitpicks Stroll sock yarn in Frosting

KnitPicks Stroll sock yarn in Ponyride.

Oh Ebay, you swayed me. But then, it's gifting time and what lovely makes these yarns can become.

So maybe I should get back to the needles.....

-x-

Yarn along.

2011-11-02T10:18:00.000Z

Joining in once more with Ginny over at small things.

My favourite "me-time" activities, or rather, the me-time I can grab whilst small people are eating, sleeping, playing happily.

Awful picture quality - my camera battery is flat AGAIN and my mobile isn't great for photo's.....but it rings and calls so good for me :)

Reading this week - Oliver Twist, the study guide edition. I have never read the original version of this book, only the child-friendly, heavily adapted versions. More darkness evident from the very first page. This is my kitchen read, whilst stirring soups, eating supper whilst children sleep and such times.

On the needles is yet another gift, a scarf to go with the hat I made Emma but haven't yet revealed. This pattern is in my head and I'm hoping it goes well with the hat which is a simple rib and stocking stitch beret.

Off to browse more yarn-alongs and gather inspiration.

-x-

Well.........

2011-11-01T22:29:00.000Z

Ravelry.............Loving it!

Finally got "it" after being there for over two years, hence no time for an update today :)

Find me over there as Bexbistle, although I'm a work in progress just yet!

-x-

Monthly round-up.

2011-10-31T21:25:00.000Z

Well I knitted another hat!

But I have no photo's to share because the camera battery got all used up recording seasonal fun so a wordy post instead. If that's not your thing then jump blog now :)

I thought I might start posting an end of the month round-up of all the makes for that month.

Maybe I'll do it every month, maybe I'll never do it again.

We'll see.

So this month we have:

A knitted dolly and a patchwork cushion.

Two sew nosey mice and another patchwork cushion.

A sew stunned owl.

A pink shawl coloured cardi for Sophie.

A knit and stitched bathing gift set.

A small patchwork quilt.

A knitted hoodie for Heather.

A knitted hat, bib and mitts gift for a newborn.

A crochet nine square cushion.

A lacy rib chunky hat for Jenni.

A chunky lace scarf for Jenni and a Hitchhiker scarf for Helen.

And the hat with no blog post (which I will come back and edit when I charge the battery, take the photo's, write the post......so possibly I'll never get round to it!)

Phew, a productive month then, you can tell we're on the run up the giftgiving time of the year.........

-x-

All wrapped up.

2011-10-29T01:54:00.001+01:00

I have finally finished something else. At last!

You want to see what I've finished?

Then here you go:

Forgive the bad picture!

Very snuggly, wouldn't you agree?

A lovely warm, squidgy, winter scarf to go with the lovely warm, squidgy, winter hat I knitted a few days ago:

Another bad picture!

At last, something to put away for gifting. Just hoping now that Jen will like it. Oh, and that I can find a similar shade of DK to knit a pair of gloves to go with......

Knitted up with the other three 100g skeins of Wendy Serenity super chunky, using 10mm needles so finished in a flash. I wasn't sure about whether to add the fringe but now it's on I like it, kind of finishes off the scarf properly I think?

So what about that other bit of knitting do I hear you ask? The dashing-along-without-a-care-until-the-very-last-row bit of knitting? Well I finished it! Yes, the Hitchhiker is all done, wrapped up and put away for gifting to another grown girl. So I'll share a peek shall I?

I need a bigger room to lay it out in!

What do you think? The photo is so bright but then the colours are just as they seem. Just right for the woman who loves colour and brightness and fun:

I really enjoyed knitting up this scarf and I'm already fairly sure there may be another one appearing pretty soon. A quick reminder of the technicalities - Hitchhiker pattern is found on Ravelry. The yarn is King Cole Riot DK. The pattern originally used 150g Wollmeisse sock yarn I think but the Riot is a thin DK, edging close to a 4ply so it turned out a nice size. I used around 165g altogether to get the full 42 teeth worked. The King Cole yarn was ok to work with if a little splitty and I'm glad it was a simple garter stitch pattern as it meant the snagging didn't slow me down too much, well, until I got to that last row already blogged about! I think this scarf would look wonderful knitted up in Noro, and would be a real luxury item. In fact the guy in our LYS did briefly think it was Noro until I told otherwise. Maybe I'll knit the next one in a smoother sock yarn? We'll see. But before i think about that I have more projects in mind, and another cast on already.

Oh in case you're wondering - the Pixie hat was the size of a newborn so that's gone to the Dolly wardrobe already!

-x-

Aaaaarrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-10-28T09:39:00.000+01:00

I knitted on the train again yesterday, whilst travelling between workshops. I chatted to a lovely widower who told me all about how how wife used to knit him pure wool v-neck pullovers when they were courting, and how she would knit their children an aran (fishermans) cardigan every winter. He admired the Hitchhiker and said how lovely it was to see someone younger (me?) keeping up the old skills. He hoped I had or would teach my children and keep the skills alive. I reassured him that handcrafts were booming once again with so many people enjoying them. A lovely conversation. And the Hitchhiker thundered along, being garter stitch it only requires a quick glance now and then. The yarn is a little splitty and so I snagged now and then but nothing major. Or so I thought.

1am this morning I was on the final row before casting off. I glanced down and noticed a thin spot. I looked again and noticed that there was definitely an almost hole. And I knew immediately what had happened. Whilst chatting away I had snagged the yarn but didn't look down, just moved the needle out and then re-did the stitch. But of course I re-did it through the snagged strand, which was as fine as a hair. And that superfine strand was now the base of every knitted stitch above for at least 15 rows! 150+ stitches a row. Do the maths - scary number of stitches right? So no ripping back then. Instead I deliberately dropped the stitch at the top of that column and laddered right down to that one pesky stitch. Kind of worrying as the yarn being so splitty meant that I had to tug most of the stitches to open them up. Still, the alternative was much, much less appealing. I picked up each stitch in the ladder with the crochet hook. At 1am. After waking at 7am that morning. And a full, busy day in work. With the light low so the girlie on the sofa didn't wake. But I did it.

And so I finished knitting that last row. I semi reluctantly began the cast off, the Hitchhiker had been a lovely no stress project (well almost). But still I was there, casting off, thinking of seeing it fully opened up and sharing with you. And then 60sts off the needle, 100 to go, the girlie woke up. So it was off to bed we went.

So you want to see the finished Hitchhiker?

Well then you shall.............

When I finish that cast off at some time today!

-x-

Yarn along.

2011-10-26T19:57:00.000+01:00

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along over at Small things again.

So I could have just posted last weeks post again I suppose seeing as I'm still working on the Hitchhiker, and still only two pages into The Green Buddha. But that's not in the spirit of things is it? So here's something else I'm currently reading and knitting:

An old issue of Living Crafts magazine, full of interesting and lovely crafting articles to share with the family, and knitting - a pixie hat for little miss from the same magazine. Working with King Cole mirage DK which I'm trying to convince myself to like, as splitty as it is. till, it's only a little hat.........

Don't forget to check out more of the lovely projects shared in the yarn along, and hopefully I'll have a finished Hitchhiker to share in a day or so.. Or a pixie hat........

-x-

On the go.

2011-10-23T20:32:00.001+01:00

What do these places have in common- the Liverpool train, the church gardens, the hospital park, and my living room? Easy, they're all the places the Hitchhiker has been getting whipped out. Working on a circular means that it is compact and portable, and essential part of my work bag this weekend. See, even when I'm working I manage to fit a little knitty time in ;) Thirty repeats worked, twelve more to go, each row is over 100 stitches now. Still loving it!

Handbag - check, backpack - check, Lansinoh sachets - check, lunch - check, little WIP - check!

Unfortunately when I arrive home I'm so tired that once the family are loved, fed, entertained and settled to bed, I'm ready to be in the same place myself. So not a lot else happening here. Ooh, yes there is - the scarf to go with the hat! Same Wendy Serenity, another lacy pattern, two thirds done so one third (or one hank) to go. Yes, yes, I know, I said there would be no new projects until the old ones were finished. Well guess what - I lied! Go on, tell me you don't have a queue of half finished works......

Two days off now so lot's of time to be getting on with finishing the started. Right?
So off I'll go then!

-x-

Easy? Right!

2011-10-21T22:32:00.000+01:00

Today I knit a quick and easy hat for a yule gift. The knitting went a little like this - cast on, single rib for six rows, commence lace pattern. Work 1st row. Work 2nd row. Work 3rd row. Work 4th row. See the pattern emerging? Work 5th row. Realise a stitch is missing. Rip back 3 rows. Re-work 3rd row. Re-work 4th row. Re-work 5th row. Realise a stitch is missing. Hmm a new pattern emerging I think. Rip back 3 rows. Re-work 3rd row counting and checking every single stitch. Re-work 4th row. Re-work 5th. Continue with pattern.

Heave a sigh of relief at finally establishing the lace pattern and zoom through the rest of the knitting.

Find a beautiful girl to model the too-large hat.:

Luckily the hat is for one of the big girls, most probably the model's mum :)

See - fairly simple repeat right?

Technical specifications:

Pattern - Erie by Helen Ardley (free supplement with Let's Knit November 2011).

Yarn - Wendy Serenity super chunky

Amount - approximately 90g

Needles - Pair of 9mm

Time to knit - 90 minutes (eventually!!)

Difficulty level - Hahahahaha

Let's hope the scarf isn't as awkward!

-x-

Cuddling up.

2011-10-20T22:15:00.001+01:00

Take a (4mm) hook and start making these:

Squishy Debbie Bliss baby casmerino and James C. Brett pure merino - mmmmm.

Reverse the colour sequence (more than once!):

Run out of lemon when edging the last square and make an emergency trip to the LYS for some more, feeling extraordinarily pleased to discovered that two years apart the dye lot is the same! Use the same lemon to join the squares AND edge the whole thing:

Find some pretty co-ordinating soft cord and try to avoid too much pinning and sewing by machinestitching the backing to the inner edge of the outer round (confused??) and so making a pretty little trim:

Stuff with a pillow and place not-so-artfully on the mama made throw on the Papa revamped chair, and admire:

Yes that is a potty with an L plate - a certain little girlie is finding it a bit cold up there using the toilet ans likes a potty downstairs just in case......

Aaaahhhhh, lovely........... the cushion, not the potty!

Now back to the Hitchhiker.

-x-

Yarn along.

2011-10-19T11:18:00.001+01:00

Thank you for popping by as I join in with Ginny yet again for the Wednesday yarn along.

On the needles - the Hitchhiker scarf in King Cole Riot DK. A yule gift for Jen, who admired the pattern so much when I mentioned I was making it for Helen - sneaky mama ;)

Reading - The Green Buddha. Only just opened up this book despite having it for several months/a year plus now. Looking forward to offering an opinion on this book soon. f the knitting doesn't carry away my reading time, the Hitchhiker is very addictive you know.

Well now, that was a quick post! Mind, I've posted an awful lot lately so do have a scroll down to see much much more of what I've been up!
Thank you for visiting and hope to see you back soon :)

-x-

Little lovings.

2011-10-18T21:43:00.002+01:00

Aaargh, I ran out of lemon DB baby cashmerino with only one crochet square left to edge! Well actually I lie, I didn't run out, but I knew I would because I measured the yarnage (good word huh?) on the fourth from last square and realised I had enough to edge three and a half more squares. You want to know my mathematical way of working out if I have enough in these situations? It only works for regular patterns mind - squares, stripes etc. I wait until I have four squares left to edge and then I pull out the remaining yarn, find the centre point and tie a slipknot, find the centrepoint of that length and then slipknot again. I then continue edging the next square and if I don't reach the slipknot then I know I have enough for three more squares. If I do reach the slipknot then I'm stuffed! I do the same for my Granny Stripe. Find the centrepoint and then the quarterpoint the same way and then crochet till I get halfway along the row, (it's a two row stripe pattern you see). Ingenious eh? So anyway back to the squares. So I knew I wasn't going to have enough and needed to formulate a plan. Only I didn't like the plans that came to mind so I reluctantly decided to visit the LYS and buy another skein. Reluctant only because I knew it would be hard being surrounded by shelves and shelves of scrummy yarn goodness and NOT buying anything other than the solitary skein of DB baby cashmerino. And I did really well you know. I walked straight past the fabric shop with only a peek through the window. I went into the yarn store, I picked up the cashmerino, I walked over to the counter..........and then I spotted the cutest little hat in the window. The colours were lovely, all stripes of soft fluffy brightness. And so you know what I did, right? I paid for my one skein and left the shop? No - I bought this:

King Cole Mirage DK.

But you see how restrained I was? Only two skeins! Wasn't I good? Haha, not really, there was only two skeins in that colourway left ;)

Today I finally got round to packaging my gifts for a Mama Love swap I took part in. A little (lot!) late for a multitude of reasons but it's all done now and I hope the Mama loves it. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read here but Sal if you do then look away now.

So this is what I sent:

Little scarfette knitted in James C Brett Marble chunky with a little wooden pin.

Aviatrix in James C. Brett merino, ready for a spring baby.

Tea and biscuits - Dove farms organic gluten free lemon ginger cookies, with a cup of rose and chamomile tea, ginger sweeties for queasy days.

Bamboo/cotton facecloth and soapbag, with a bar of everything free lemongrass soap, a lavender sachet and a handrolled beeswax candle. And the lovely Aviatrix again ;)

Lot's of little lovings don't you think?

And talking of loving, this is a blog I am really loving right now. I can't believe Sarah only has eleven followers, maybe you all have her bookmarked instead? If not then why not? Sarah's weaving is beautiful and mastered so quickly, and every single post brings a smile. Go on, go over and take a peek, you'll be glad you did :)

So what's happening tonight? Well a little madam is actually asleep for once so I'm going to open up that new skein of cashmerino and get on with finishing the crochet squares project, ready to share with you tomorrow..........I hope!

Happy crafting everyone.

-x-

Well now.........

2011-10-17T21:38:00.001+01:00

What to blog today?

I could show you where I'm up to on the Granny Stripe.........except it's exactly the same as last time I showed you!

Or maybe the squares I was working on yesterday? Except they are also just the same as I showed you, just with a few more added.

Or maybe I could show you the "gift for Helen" progress? Maybe not....that hasn't even been looked at today!

So what can I show you today? How about the last little bit of the stash? The bit that I forgot about the other day?

The box of "other" yarns that were stuffed behind the Granny stripes:

Lot's of white cotton, some maroon and some flecked cotton, some pastel bamboo, and some muti cotton left over from this dress.

And the fine yarns:

Sock yarn - for socks :)

Lot's of Paton's 4ply cotton in different colours for dolly clothes and face/dish cloths, any other ideas? And 2 skeins of lilac charity shop 4ply!

3ply, because I have a lovely collection of vintage patterns and they all seem to love 3ply! And crochet cotton - because I will make the matching doily one day! The cone was from the car boot sale and is shimmery stuff that might look nice mixed with another yarn.......or might not.

Regia are now doing laceweight - pretty colourway isn't it? And my favourite yarn in my whole stash Araucania 3x100g. No plans for this other than to love and savour!!!

So what shall I make with those?

Open to your wonderful ideas :)

-x-

Indecisive - moi?

2011-10-16T23:55:00.003+01:00

So last post I said I was going to get back to projects already started, right? Wrong! The Granny stripe stayed in it's bag, and the pair of socks is still only a sock and a rib.

But remember I said the merino was going to become my crochet cushion? Until I used some for the baby set? Well the cushion in my mind was a big, squishy, round huggable circle of softness. Instead the yarn is slowly becoming these:

See the sunshine glow across that project box? It's been such a beautiful day here so between long walks, cooking the meals, cleaning the home and feeding the little girl, I have also had time to sit in the front window, feeling the sunshine and hooking away. Wonderful.

Being the indecisive type I also cast on for part of Helen's yule gift:

Not the pattern I thought I would use, but I just know she will love this quirky little knit when she sees it :)

And staying on the theme of indecisiveness I definitely think I'm going to turn some of the King Cole Riot into one of these! I have loved this little scarf since I first saw it blogged here and I knew I was going to make it for someone. Then I forgot all about it! Until I noticed it popping up in blogland just lately and so I went and downloaded the pattern. I think it's going to look great in that riot of colour, don't you?

So there we are, after posting all those plans for all that yarn, I've already changed my mind on three things!

Oh well there's plenty of time to get back to the others one day.........

-x-

Quick knit clickety click.........

2011-10-15T12:01:00.002+01:00

So the overdue neighbour WAS seen climbing into an ambulance. Twenty four hours later and she's back home with a beautiful little boy. The beloved man has already passed on his congratulations and given baby a cuddle. He arrived back home all gooey faced and telling of how sweet the new baby is. Really, I have never known a man so broody as mine..........

So dilemma - do I cast on the jumper with the baby sized amount of aran mentioned previously? Or do I go for a guaranteed quick result and opt for hat/scarf/mitts/bootees type combo's? Well the winner is:

Now Lucy here, (don't you love that essential work kit includes a baby sized dolly - Have I mentioned how much I love my job?) tried modelling them for size and they seem to be a little bit on the larger side, and the new baby in question is rather dinky, but hey, everyone buys newborn for gifts don't they? And the weather is only going to get colder after all!

So do you see which yarn I used? Yes my squishy soft cuddly crochet cushion merino stash. I only used about half of a 50g skein in each shade so there should still be plenty for the cushion that is living in my head right now. And of course, merino is such a lovely wool for a new baby, super soft and gentle for that delicate skin.

So now it's back to the projects already started, I wonder which to pick up today?

And here's a funny thing - did you see I have exactly double the number of followers over on my family blog than I do on this one? Does that mean you all prefer a peek at other family's lives before sharing crafty times? I must admit I'm torn - I follow lots of crafty blogs, but then I love to catch up with mama friends and their families who I would hardly get the chance to meet in real life. And of course both sides of life are so intertwined, being creative keeps me sane and gives me the opportunity to express myself in way's I couldn't otherwise. No better way to work off a bad day than to hook mindlessly away on yards and yarns of Granny goodness...........

Thanks for popping by, follower or not ;)

-x-

Warning - Stash alert!

2011-10-13T21:36:00.001+01:00

Inspired by Kath I decided to have a stash sort out this evening.

Be warned, this may get a little boring.........

12 skeins of 50g Sirdar Click aran which will soon become this cardigan for Emma:

The acrylic DK yarns for the Granny Stripe. About 1600g still to hook up, hoping that's enough!

20 Skeins of 50g Rowan purelife DK which is going to be a throw for the living room once I settle on the blocks I will use. Oh and add a few more skeins too ;)

5 X 100G Sirdar Denim Chunky which will probably become this sweater for Cain unless......

...this becomes it instead! 13x50g of Sirdar Click Chunky.

5 x 100g King Cole Riot DK destined to become a poncho for Heather, and possibly another for Sophie too.

The latest acquisition - 10 x 50g Mirasol Qina DK/Aran weight, soon to be hat, scarf and gloves for the beloved man.

Assorted DK Mirasol skeins because I just love Mirasol!


Assorted Merino DK's in 50g skeins - a lovely squishy crochet cushion don't you think?

Randomly - 3x 100g Patons wool blend aran (itchy!), 4x 50g Robin pure wool (very old and itchy!!) 7x50g Grousemoor chunky (very old, very un-chunky but not at all itchy!!!) and 4x50g Sirdar Escape DK (not very old, or itchy, or even DK, more of an aran!!!!).

Debbie Bliss Rialto aran leftovers, soon to be a stripey hat for Owen (or maybe me)

More Debbie Bliss Rialto aran also soon to be a hat but this time for Heather.

10x50g of lovely soft, not as sludgy as it looks Rowan classic DK/aran weight. Hmmm? A cabled cardi for Jen?

Leftover anonymous aran from Cain's winter 2010 aran - enough for a welcome baby sweater for the overdue neighbour? (Hmm just been informed she was seen getting into an ambulance a couple of hours ago? Have to knit fast.)

Patons fairytale color 4 me - pumpkin hats:) And the Paton's diploma gold - still working through the pack of 10x50g I originally planned a hoodie for Helen with. Didn't happen - 2 toddler cardi's ended that idea!

Hmm running out of ideas now!

Aaargh - scary stuff!! Couldn't even give it away last time I showed it....

Aahhhh, that's better - super soft and squishy Twilleys Freedom extra chunky - scarf for the middle man. He says I never make him anything - he's 15, do 15 year olds actually want mama knits??


Nice, nice, nice - but open to suggestionsThe araucania has been in the stash forever but it just feels sooo.......... nice?

Wendy Serenity 4x100g - eek I've lost one, sure I had five? Again no idea!

Paton's Symphony 5x100g. Lovely Heathery colours, maybe a winter woolly for Heather? Or a big squishy bag?

2x400g aranweight. Brought home by the beloved man from a trip into town. Picked because I like those kind of colours and it was soft............? Good enough criteria then ;)

So you stuck with me then?

And I forgot to take photo's of the 2 other boxes, all filled up with the skinny yarns. Maybe tomorrow?

Now how about you show yours....

-x-

Yarn along

2011-10-12T10:18:00.000+01:00

Joining in the Yarn along once again with Ginny at Small things.

Lot's of finished projects lately and new idea's in mind so I thought I'd share progress on the ongoing hookie thing:

That's right, it's the Granny Stripe.

It seems as if it never grows but stretching it out on our kingsize bed this morning reveals it's true size. A long way to go yet:

Reading this week - The Food our Children eat by Joanna Blythman. So-so reading, mostly what I know already, with a few wincing moments thrown in. Not sure I'll keep with it to the very end. In fact, if anyone wants it then let me know. (If more than one of you do then I'll have to pull from a hat....)

-x-

As good as it gets!

2011-10-11T23:46:00.001+01:00

The knitty thing is done and blocked.

The little girlie tried it on and loved it.

I whipped out my camera for a shot.

And she didn't want to play!

So this is as good as it gets for a modelled peek at the new cardi:

And to continue a them I couldn't get a decent shot of it off the girlie either:

So yes, it's snuggly and cosy, and bright and cheerful, and fits well and has a cute little hoodie, but you're just going to have to take my word for it!

The pattern is loosely adapted from the cardi I made Sophie just the other day. This time it's for a 2 year old teensy girl so a lot more snuggly. And smaller too.

This time with an added hood.

And buttons to the very bottom to keep my little miss extra warm.

Technical details:

Yarn - Sirdar Click aran

Shade - 0110

Amount - just over 3x 50g skeins

Cost - £1.39 per skein, so £5.56 in total with about 25g left over.

Needle size - 4mm and 5mm

Pattern - sizing taken from the pattern for the previous cardi, Sirdar 2275, but with the left and right fronts and the hood made up as I went along. I made a few notes so I guess I could write it up at some point.........

So that's about it with the bargain Sirdar Click. Well apart from the 11 skeins I have left to knit up a cardi for Emma....... Hmm, maybe later, I think the Granny Stripe is feeling a little neglected. And besides, I have an idea for a new blanket I want to start on.........

-x-

Creative spaces.

2011-10-10T23:56:00.003+01:00

Oh there are so many lovely creative spaces around blogland, sheds and craft rooms and attics and all sorts of hidden little nooks where all kinds of creativity whirrs on. So today, in complete contrast to all those wonderful spaces, I thought I would show you one of my creative spaces.

Most of my knitting and hooking happens in the living room on the sofa but sewing is different. Sewing needs it's own special place. All those sharp scissors and needles, and cutters......yes, they definitely need storing away in a safe place with all these interested little ones around. So where is this sewing space? Well it's here:

In the bedroom! Or part of the bedroom. My beloved one found this bureau in a recycling shop a while ago and thought it would be perfect for my sewing machine rather than the wobbly old side table I had complained about for so long. So he happily parted with his £10 note (he's got a great eye for a bargain you know), and loaded the bureau into the car. Back home he sanded down all the dark wood stain and then painted it a fresh bright white. He hoiked it up to the bedroom, placed my sewing machine on it and toted away the rickety side table. What a lovely surprise that was.

And then a few weeks later he did it again, finding this cool mirror in the car boot sale for only £2, although it was again finished in a dark 80's mahogany stain. So he sanded again, whipped out his trusty paintbrush and turned the mirror into the beautiful thing it now is. Isn't it shocking how so much stuff is unloved and unwanted when all it needs is to be seen through a new pair of eyes?

So that's my sewing space, my little area of creativity. Not an attic, or a room, or a shed, but a cosy little space just for me. All my scissors, needles, pins and cutters hidden away in the top section, along with jars of buttons (aren't washed out spice jars just so handy for button storage by the way?), patchwork templates, hole punches and various keep-away-from-small-people things. The drawers are just the right size for my stash of ribbons and trims, and the little cupboard section at the bottom holds my stack of felt and a big bag of washed fleece for toy stuffing. And best of all the pull down front means a fab surface to work at the sewing machine:

Unfortunately the bureau isn't big enough to store my sewing machine in but I'm quite happy for that to stand there looking pretty in it's very own cover on top of that big wicker chest where, if you peek inside, you will find all my favourite fabrics hiding. And whilst I'm telling you about my little bargains I have to let you know that the chest there was another fabulous car boot sale find for only £8. I snapped it up and when I opened the lid I found another 2 chests hidden inside! How wonderfully happy was I? The two baby chests now live downstairs and hide away some of my yarns along with just about every other piece of furniture in that room...........

Oh just one more little thing to share. Do you see that little vintage sewing box standing next to the chest:

That was yet another of our lovely car boot sale finds. I am so envious when so many bloggers show off their latest bargain vintage fabric finds as I never find any, but I think I have been oh so lucky in the furniture finding, don't you? My lovely sewing box was only £2.50 although I would gladly have paid a lot more! It's looking a little out of sorts though don't you think? Hmmm maybe that's next on the list for a makeover......

So what kind of creative space do you have? A super big and bright area all of your own? Or a tiny but cosy little snatched piece of your home? I do so hope you're happily crafting away in a space that inspires you.

Oh and in case you thought I'd forgotten - the knitty thing is done! But it definitely needs blocking before Ican show you looking as good as I am hoping it will look. So tomorrow then?

-x-

Settling for a bit of this.........

2011-10-09T21:09:00.000+01:00

and a bit of that:

Going one step further than the patchwork cushions:

And dipping my toe in the world of quilting:

Even the beloved man got to join in this little patch (boo!!) of creativity by tidying up this sad little thing:

Loving it's transformation:

And for the grand price of........

wait for it...........

£9!!!!!

Wicker chair from the car boot sale, the seller swore blind it was a genuine Lloyd Loom but I don't think anyone believed him as he couldn't raise his £10 asking price. The beloved one bargain him down to six whole pounds. Wandering around we found another stallholder selling cans of spray paint for £1 so bought three to transform the chair from it's sickly lilac to a lovely antique white.

The fabrics are leftovers from assorted makes - the obviously Ikea birdie print and the deeper green was left over from the bathroom blind, the light green used to be Owen's bunk bed curtains, the tiny scarp in the centre was one of Heather's slings, the granny floral was left from making the caravan curtains and the pinky satin trim was the lining of another sling. The reverse fabric is Craig's old duvet cover, he's far too grown up for a mama made wild floral bedroom don't you know? As for the crochet flowers, well surely you recognise that yarn? Yes, it's the half skein left over from the cardi I just made Sophie.

So there we go - super happy with my bargain recycled piece of loveliness, and doubly happy with my first little foray into quilting. Not a patch ( I know - again!) on some of the beautiful quilts I covet daily on fabulous blogs, I wouldn't want you thinking that! The stitching is a bit on the wavy wandering side, and the placement is a bit skewiff in places creating a few little ruffles when the ends were reached, not to mention that a little of the lining is held in place more by luck and repeated hemming than by any level of skill, but hey it's my first attempt and it certainly won't be my last. And now I know why those books are so detailed......and to follow them too!!

Another project finished, no more to be started until I finish the ones in progress. Back tomorrow with another completed...........I hope!

-x-

Decisions, decisions.........

2011-10-08T18:58:00.000+01:00

Which shall it be?

Getting on with this:

Or this:

Perhaps I might get another row or two done on this:

Because there's a house full of people who can do the dishes right?

-x-

Bathing beauties.....or a gift idea!

2011-10-07T16:54:00.001+01:00

Many, many weeks ago I posted a giveaway on my other blog to celebrate: my 40th birthday, my 3 year blogiversary, and my 400th post. Well this week I finally sent out the mystery gift. How lax am I? I can't excuse why it took so long. It wasn't a difficult make. I didn't need to specifically buy anything. I didn't need to think up an idea. I guess I was just too forgetful, the bane of my life. My memory isn't so great any way but I'm sure turning 40 has made it even worse ;) Funny how I can remember where I acquired virtually every scrap of yarn in my stash, but I can't remember something as simple as carrying a parcel to the post office!

But hey, it's done, and should certainly be in it's new home now. So you want to see what it was that took so long:

It involved my default craft - knitting:

And a little cross stitch:

A bit of sewing too:

A handknitted bamboo/cotton facecloth, an all-nasties-free handmade (not by me!) lemongrass soap in it's own little knitted bag, a hand rolled beeswax candle, a little cross stitch trimmed lavender sachet:

All packed away in a pretty little cross stitch trimmed drawstring bag:

I hope it's well liked, especially as I have a few more in mind for yuletide gifting! Always on the lookout for more inspiration though, so what do you have planned?

-x-

The shawl collar cardigan!

2011-10-06T14:50:00.002+01:00

Well what can I say about this?

I picked up some bargain yarn at this shop just recently, and picked a simple pattern to make a little cardigan to put away for Sophie for a yuletide gift. So aran yarn, wool content, stocking stitch cardi - easy don't you think? Poorly mama wanted as easy as can be for those late nights spent upright and aching. Cast on the back, follow the pattern - fine. Same for the right front. Do a quick tally of the yarn left........oh dear! One and one third skeins used for the back, around two thirds for the front. Taking a guess that each sleeve will use one skein and a further two thirds for the left front, leaving just under half a skein for the shawl collar. Hmmm, maybe my tension is out a little? Nope, all fine there. Did I mis-read the yarn requirments? No again, five stated and five bought. Oh well, maybe the collar won't use as much as I'm thinking. But just in case I cast on a sleeve next. Just as I thought it used exactly one skein, with only just enough left to stitch it up. So I set aside one skein for the other sleeve, and enough yarn for the left front, stitched the shoulders of the right front and back, and picked up the stitches for the shawl collar. I hoped that I would get this half of the collar completed with half of the remaining yarn. It soon became clear I wouldn't!

But then an even bigger problem became apparent. Following the pattern exactly was not going to give me the collar shown on the picture. I doublechecked the pattern, squinted at the picture to ascertain the number and formation of the stitches. No way was the pattern going to result in that collar. The shawl collar on the picture ended in a button closure at the chest, the shawl collar in the pattern vee'd all the way down to the bottom edge of the cardi. So after ~~banging down my knitting and snapping a lovely wooden needle~~ taking a deep breath, I pulled back to where I thought the pattern was going wrong and started on the alternative top-of-my-head shawl collar. This turned out better than the original pattern but I still wasn't 100% happy with it. And I used over half of the collar yarn too! Although I have to say considerably less than I would have used following the pattern. So after acquiring an extra skein of yarn I put the cardi away and went on a little R'n'R break.

After a couple of days away and some non-taxing and therapeutic hooking of the Granny Stripe Kingsize Throw (capitalizing for such a mega project is essential I think?) I decided to face the cardi again and so knitted up the left front and second sleeve. When it came to the collar I decided to follow the pattern once again, and then showed ~~anyone I could bribe into caring~~ interested housedwellers the mutant-looks- finished-but-why-does-it-have-2-different-collars? cardi and see which they preferred. And the overwhelming opinion of all three ~~bored~~ interested people (I tried to get an opinion off the 15 year old boy on his way to the fridge but strangely he didn't appear to be that interested) was that the revised collar was the winner. So I ripped back the original, pattern followed, odd collar and tried to remember my own. A bit more moaning and groaning later and the collar was finished. Still not how this knitter imagined but the general opinion is that Sophie will like it, or more importantly, that her mum will!

And if you read my yarn along post on the other blog yesterday you will already know that I have casted on for the same cardi again in Heather's size and an even lovelier colourway. But this time I know what I'm doing with the collar. And it definitely isn't the one on the pattern......or the one I ended up with above!!

So just in case anyone else wants to buy a pattern that shouldn't be followed, or knit a very oddly shaped shawl collared cardi, or maybe even show me exactly how I could have gone so wrong, here are the technical details :)

Pattern used (kind of): Sirdar 2275

Yarn: Sirdar Click aran shade 0148

Amount: 5.5 skeins (although pattern states 5 and would have used at least 6!)

Size: age 6-7 (although this fits cain who is actually a small 5 year old, luckily the same size as Sophie)

Needles: pair of 4mm (plus one extra for snapping!!) and pair of 5mm

Cost: 6x£1.39 - £8.34 from this sale (no idea why the price states £1.49, it was only £1.39 instore).

Yarn left: approximately 35g including short lengths.

I would love to hear if any of you have knitted this cardi, or will knit it, and how it has turned out for you.

And yes, I have yet another finished item to share with you all, so don't forget to come back soon.

-x-

Mice? Owl sort it!

2011-10-05T16:38:00.001+01:00

The natural way to solve the mice problem - call in an expert mousecatcher:

No fee necessary, just a good meal will do.

Hang on a minute - they're not what I expected:

Aaargh I'm off, sort your own rodent problems.

Ok so I promised a knitty post, but I'm not happy with the knitty thing just yet. If it improves with blocking I'll share later ;-)

-x-

Having a mice day!

2011-10-04T16:08:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, we appear to have mice.

Today we spotted two huge ones up in the bedroom.

Twitchy noses, long tails and huge ears, pretty things they are.

Owen is very taken with them and wants to keep them to himself.

Their names are Pinky Whitenose and Whitey Pinknose. Can you tell which is which?

And something that won't be snaffled away by one boy or the other - another in the set of pretty patchwork cushions.

The mice are inspired by an old issue of Sew Hip magazine, adapted slightly as I can't find my tin with toy eyes and noses, so I made stuffed noses and used buttons for eyes instead.

Hopefully a little knitty finished thing to share too later.

See you soon.

-x-

Catching up.

2011-10-03T11:42:00.002+01:00

Ooh, it's been a long time hasn't it? Shall I give a multitude of reasons, or shall I just get straight on with showing some of the things that have been keeping me busy? Well aside from family, work, and general life that is!

Plannig lot's of projects using vintage fabric and bargain yarns:

Rowan Purelife organically grown 100% wool natural plant dyed only £1.50 per skein here but very limited now

Ebay bargain - over 2m of pretty barkcloth fabric

Sirdar Click aran £1.39 per skein from the same place - love this shop, and it's not too far away for a personal visit either.

Crafting gifts for lovely mama's:

Knitted bamboo facecloth, soapbag, cross stitch trimmed scented sachet, and a trim for the carryall.

Starting on the christmas gifting:

Knitted dolly for Heather with removable clothes, just a couple more outfits to make.

Knitted cardi for Sophie with yet more of the bargain Sirdar Click

Sewing pretty cushions:

Enjoying patchwork and getting to grips with zips too.

Preparing for winter:

Granny stripe blanket 200cms wide, 110 treble clusters, 50cms high, another 130cms to go. And the edging.

Oh yes, I've been a busy crafting mama lately, with lot's more makes all jostling to show themselves off.

Sorry it's only a flying visit but maybe the changing weather will mean more time snuggling inside with the hooks and needles, and lot's more idea's to share.

-x-

Sew long.

2011-08-21T22:55:00.000+01:00

It's been so long since I last posted, well over a week. And I really don't have much to share. A few rounds of a sock - hmm, you don't really want to see that do you? I have just been so busy and tired lately, hardly any time to craft. Although there has been one special thing I have been working on, a craft I don't pick up too often but one I really enjoy. The past week or so I have been using needle and thread to stitch away on a a little gift for a new baby away across the ocean. A very time consuming gift and something that seemed to take forever to grow. But grow it has and it's almost ready to send away to it's new home. Well it would be..........except that when it was being admired by a certain person who shall remain nameless, it managed to acquire an extra bit of colouring that really has become a nuisance to remove. I won't bother to point out where the mark is, it's very, VERY, noticeable, but if anyone has any idea how to remove a chocolate fingerprint form Aida then please share as soon as you can!

So what do you think? Aside from the huge grotty blemish of course? Eeyore is just such a cute character, so much more huggable than the rest of Pooh's friends don't you think? I hope the parents of the new little one think so too.

I have a few more projects to share but as one is a gift for a mama swap, and the other is not strictly my crafting, I'll save them for another time. You know, I think I'll start to think about Christmas gifts, it's not so long now. The last of the little ones birthdays was today (Cain is now no longer the youngest, now that he is five and the same age once again as his niece Sophie and their shared friends), and with only a couple of big peoples birthdays to go before Christmas I might actually get ahead of myself for a change. Are you ready to start Christmas crafting yet?

Happy crafting everyone.

-x-

Great Granny's.

2011-08-09T20:32:00.000+01:00

So I said I was working on a little something for Owen? A little something using an old stash of granny squares and lovely yarn? Well I finally finished weaving in the last few ends and decided on the nicest way to join them altogether.

In fact the hardest part of this whole make was deciding how the squares would fit together and I ended up removing two reds and adding two blues instead. It's a little harder to settle for the right design when limited by using only stash of a particular yarn. For this make I was using only Mirasol T'ika cotton DK and as it is no longer available I only had what was in the stash - 7 skeins of red, 6 of fuchsia, 3 of royal blue and 1 of green.

I wasn't sure that the one green would be enough to complete a border row so I decided to use it to join the squares together instead. When the squares were all joined I needed to think of a way to edge it, and as this is a make for a boy boy I decided on a simple treble crochet border all the way round in alternating stripes of red, blue and fuchsia. I repeated the red and blue once more and was going to add another fuchsia but decided that the blue final row gave just the right contrast and set off the limited blue squares perfectly.

Ideally I would have liked to have another skein of the lime to work the first border row but I didn't and so that was that. I could have done with blocking the squares a little better too but it's quite a heavy blanket anyway so it will drop into it's own shape soon enough, and Owen was too impatient to wait fr me to do much more with it.

So here we go in all it's glory:

And now back to that in between stage of deciding whether to work my way through the W.I.P.'S, or to work on a little easy finished quick fix, or to start on the next big project......although I haven't decided what that will be yet!

Old projects.

2011-08-04T22:28:00.001+01:00

Otherwise known as "the post where I tried to save on photo's"!

The camera battery is down to two dot's now so don't think it has much life left and with no trip planned to the caravan, and therefore getting the charger, for a few more weeks yet I'm trying to save camera usage as much as possible. Just wanted to give a sneak look at what I'm up to right now though :)

Remember this? And this? Or even this? Well after coming across a lovely find at the car boot sale last week I thought I would get creative and make it even lovelier. This is very much a gift for Owen so his favourite colours in use, which just happened to be the very colours I had stashed away and already started with.

I know a few of you fell for this Mirasol yarn in a big way and started your own little projects after clearing it from the sales and I know that someone zoomed through the Granny squares (Shell?) but I don't remember a finished project? :)

So not quite ready for a reveal yet but the squares for this make are all done and I've even woven in all the ends so far. Just the joining up now (the part I like the least!) and then deciding on how to finish it off. Here's a peek of the colours in use, including the extra three skeins of blue I bought recently in the end of line at Blacksheepwools:

Really enjoying making this and half wondering why it has been stashed away for so long, whilst half pleased it was as I am really liking working with the yarn again. Funny seeing how my crochet has come on too - when I started it I wasn't sure what I was doing and it looks like I worked the treble clusters into the chain on the previous round rather than into the chain space! Phew, glad I understand crochet a little better now, it looks much nicer done the proper way! But I'll be using the older squares anyway as they are a reminder to myself of all I have learnt. And I'm fairly certain Owen won't mind or even notice the "wrong" squares.

Right, enough putting it off, back to joining the squares.....

-x-

For myself.

2011-07-31T13:59:00.001+01:00

The reason I wanted to learn this art - those crochet doilies so loved by an almost lost generation.

So feeling confident enough to give it a go I armed myself with a teensy 1.25mm hook, a ball of barely there cotton thread and a 1977 copy of Stitchcraft magazine.

It started well enough, round and round with basic double crochet stitches and a round of picots:

And then it got to the lacy design, still manageable but needing lot's of quiet and concentration:

And then the lacy pattern got, well, lacier! Twice I pulled back a whole round destroying almost an hour of work each time, but determined to get it just right. And finally, I finished.

An error still there but hardly noticeable (ok, I know you will spot it) and overall I am completely enamoured with my first ever handmade lace doily. Maybe a little more blocking is needed as the petals to the left are a little skewhiff, but I just couldn't wait to see it in it's long dreamed of place on the cupboard at the bedside. Ignoring that dearest one held up two at the car boot sale today for the princely sum of 20p each (not handmade from the quick glance I gave fortunately, imagine having all that time and effort priced at 20 pence!!) and preparing to start all over again on it's partner for my bedside cupboard.

A wonderfully enjoyable make, despite the many hours (22 rounds and each round from number 10 onwards taking up to an hour), the mistakes and ripping back, the blister on my middle finger, and the poor half knitted socks looking longingly towards me everytime I chose my crochet bag instead. At last, I did it, the one thing I knew crochet held the crown over knitting for - the humble lace doily!

And yes, I know I could have knitted just as pretty of a doily in far less time, I have done in the past. But this was a test of commitment and dreams, and I did it.

Next up - an easy finish. I finally cast on the second sock of this pair.

Now to go see what you've all been up to, and to see if Blogger will let me comment at last!

-x-

Ring a rosie.

2011-07-18T10:49:00.004+01:00

A change of crafting this weekend. I don't want to get frustrated over the spinning, slow but steady is the key there I think. John spent the whole of Saturday evening, around four hours, dismantling, waxing, and rebuilding my Peggy and it now has it's own little corner in the living room. He also helped me to work out the problem with the Saxony wheel, the flyer and whorl kept locking up. Between us we found that the maidens weren't lined up properly and after a little repair work they now spin independently and it appears to be doing what it should. It still needs a new tension knob but I already have details of someone who can do that for me.

So the crafting? Still with wool but needlefelting this time:

Sorry about the photo quality :( The camera is in limited use right now and the I had to choose between overbright flowers or overdark leaves!

And how about this for a way of using up scraps of fabric? Initially spotted and admired here, and with the addition of a scrap fabric patchwork lavender filled heart, it makes a lovely wall hanging don't you think?

Did you spot the row of crochet flowers just above the wreath?

I made them a while ago using lot's of scraps of yarn but wasn't sure what to do with them. In the end I glued them all around the edge of the bedroom mirror just to see what it looks like. Not sure I like it and I'll properly take them off again but I like the "idea" so might try again with some different colours. And paint the mirror first!

So that's about it for this post. It's a rainy day here so the children are already getting stir crazy, Owen is telling Cain that they aren't brothers any longer so I think it's time for mama to suggest a few ideas. Hope you're enjoying your day whatever the weather.

-x-

All the gear and no idea!

2011-07-14T19:38:00.000+01:00

So I have the wheels, the fibres, the books.........and I'm rubbish!

My first proper attempt at spinning yarn:

Plying on the wheel is ok but I am struggling with drafting so I thought I would have a go with the drop spindle instead just to get some practise.

Actually I know what most of the problem is - patience.......or lack of! I start off with all good intentions and then try a little too quickly, get frustrated and then end up with lumps and bumps everywhere. When I force myself to slow down it goes much better, but then I get carried away again.

Oh well, it can definitely only get better!

And at last, a change from the bag posts ;-)

Guess what?

2011-07-13T22:08:00.000+01:00

Yes, you guessed - another bag but this time a knitted one:

A dinky one this time, just about big enough for a mobile phone, a coin purse, keys, hankie, the bare essentials. Pretty handy for the car boot sale maybe? Oh dear, I remember when I used to buy bags to match every outfit and for every night out. Now I'm making them to wear to a car boot sale!

The yarn is Paton's Trentino in the Mexico colourway (shade no. 00080). It comes in a 200g weight but this little bag only took 40g in total so lot's left for future projects. The yarn is 90% acrylic/10% wool and is lovely and soft to work with. The tweedy effect is produced by 3 separated threads of variegated yarn being plied together so creating an everchanging colour blend. This makes it very pleasant to work with and to see the colours coming through and it is easy to forgive it being a mainly acrylic yarn. I think I would buy it again although it goes completely against the usual yarn snobbery!

The lining is made from fabric from a ring sling I made a couple of years ago and is one of my favourite fabrics, although I have no idea what else to make with it right now:

The strap is an 8 stitch i-cord which took forever, or so it felt although really the entire bag only took a couple of hours. Yet again Helen and Jen have both asked for it but I might just keep this one for myself and make more for the girls in different colours.

So thank you for visiting again only to find yet another bag. I promise I will find something different to share soon.......

-x-

And another one!

2011-07-12T14:30:00.003+01:00

Yes, I made another bag:

Sewn up from the kit that came free in one of my birthday gifts, this book. Adapted slightly as I added a lining and stitched the straps down rather than fiddling with buttonholes.

Another project to show later as I am just finishing it off and then maybe I will get back to the half done pile!

Thanks for all the lovely comments on the last bag post, although blogger seems to have eaten some of them as I have email notification of them but they aren't appearing here?

I have read them though and am so pleased that you choose to follow and comment.

Thank you.

-x-

Prettying for pretty's sake.

2011-07-11T10:48:00.001+01:00

I don't know what's happening to me lately? I have always been a straight to the point, functional, no frills person but lately that seems to be changing. Maybe it's the little girl's effect on me. I never imagined I would have little girl who would wear pink and sparkles and frills, none of my big girls did. But this one loves all things pretty. And now it seems this mama does too. And if proof is needed then here we go.The only thing I picked up at the car boot sale yesterday - 50p for a woven bag which I thought would be ok for storing the latest project in:

But arriving home I realised that my wools would get snagged and so a liner would be needed. And if I was going to line it then why not hide that wording too? And so lot's of hand stitching later and this is what I have:

See, functional before, but now as pretty as pretty can be!

Care to share any prettying up's with me?

-x-

Slowly does it.

2011-07-07T22:08:00.001+01:00

At a guess I'm around one sixth of the way through the blanket:

I think a trip to the LYS is needed as I was clearly way, WAY out on my estimations of how much acrylic DK I had in my stash ;-)

And talking of yarn shops, if you're ever around mid Wales then there's a wonderful little shop in Machynlleth that has such lovely scrummy goodies for the crafty types. I can't remember the name of the shop but it has a lovely selection of Colinette yarns, Brittany needles, peg looms, and felt creations. I could have spent soooo much money in there but I didn't. I have fleece to spin and carders to buy before I can buy anything else remotely yarny. Well apart from the acrylic DK of course!

Off now to see what crafty things you've been up to whilst I've been away.

A tale of two loves.

2011-06-29T19:59:00.001+01:00

I think Mr. Knitty and I are going through a bit of a difficult phase of late. I just seem to have grown bored with him, you see. 34 years we've been together and I have been enticed away by a newcomer - Mr. Crochet. Ah, Mr C. - so new, so exciting, so versatile, and so easygoing, just a hook and some yarn and we're off. And Mr. C comes in all shapes and sizes, from Granny striped blanket to teensy delicate doilies. And both at the same time too.

So I've already given you a peek at the granny blanket and to be honest it's progress has slowed a little so I think an update wouldn't be that interesting right now. But the doily - ah yes, I'm sure you'd like a peek at this?

Well let me tell you, I know it's infatuation with Mr. C as I have even decided that reading a chart isn't that bad, something I avoid at all costs with longterm companion Mr. K.

This is the chart I am following:

And this is the hook and threads I am using:

1.25mm hooks and crochet cotton thread, so delicate.

And this is how the work is coming along:

Kind of sweet don't you think?

The original pattern is found in a copy of StitchCraft and is worked in all white but I wanted it to be a bit more cheerful and fit in with my bedroom decor so I'm using the pastel colours instead. I'm amazing myself at how I am doing with this, I never ever thought I would be able to crochet something this intricate.

Sorry Mr. K, I know you've been here for such a long time, and now I haven't even thought of you in weeks. I know you'll stay waiting patiently for me though and we'll get back together soon enough. But for now this woman is enjoying the charms of Mr. C and all the tricks he has waiting to show me.

How about you? Ar you sticking with a familiar craft? Or do you enjoy having your head turned by new pastimes?

Hope you're enjoying whatever you're up to.

-x-

Buying.........

2011-06-28T01:14:00.001+01:00

So I told you I'd be back with the car boot sale bargains. And this is them - six 100g balls of Sirdar Denim chunky for £5 and five 100g balls of Paton's Symphony for £3:

Pretty good, don't you think??

But even better was these:

The lady had a whole stack of StitchCraft magazines from the late 70's to early 80's! These are lovely booklets and I already have a few in my collection. They cover a range of different needlecrafts - crochet, knitting, embroidery, cross-stitch, rugmaking, all wonderful crafts:

. The illustrations are just lovely and although some of the patterns are a bit too "of the times" there are some great ones that need no adjusting if you love the vintage look, or that can be brought right up to date with just a few tweaks. Getting hold of the yarns used would probably be impossible now, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to use some of them anyway ;-). So how much for these five I hear you ask? £2.00! Isn't that a bargain? The seller had a pile of them, maybe 30 or more, and she was asking 50p each one. John asked her what kind of deals she was open to but she was very non-committal and had the maybe I appeared over keen as she just said she would let me select what I wanted before she gave a price. Despite saying again that I would love them all she wouldn't commit to a price so I eventually selected these five. I do wish I had haggled a price with her over the whole collection........

Another lovely find was these candlestick holders:

Ok they're not that great but they only cost £1 for the pair, and then further on I came across a can of enamel spray for £1 too which I snapped up and now my candle holders look like this:

Lovely don't you think?

So there we go, the yarnbuying ban is officially over. And ready to start again for another six months! Why, do you ask? Because I have also been treated to some lovely yarns from my lovely man. Yesterday I also acquired a skein of laceweight, some sock yarn, some more cotton 4ply, and a couple of skeins of Mirasol T'ika. So the dent I had created in the stash has now been smoothed over and filled in. Now to find the inspiration to start working through it all over again. That's if I can tear myself away from the strangely addictive Granny stripe hookiness.........

So what crafty bargains have you come across lately? And please - links to yarn sales are not allowed here! Well maybe if you really want to.........

-x-

Complete bed in a day!

2011-06-26T22:42:00.000+01:00

Four years ago we found this in a car boot sale for Sophie:

Well a week or two ago Sophie and Emma brought it round in a real sorry state. The frill was pulled partly off, the pillow had a paint splash and the canopy was torn. Sophie wanted to know if I could make it nice again. So today I set to work and within an hour or two we had this:

So there you go - a complete new bed set in a day. Not bad huh? Now come on, you didn't really think I meant a real bed when you read the title did you?

Other news - no Woolfest visit. If you read the other blog you will know already but unfortunately my plans were scuppered by the beginnings of a virus, which coupled with my hayfever and the sudden change to very humid weather meant that I felt awful yesterday morning and couldn't even get out of bed, never mind do the 100+ mile trip to Cumbria. Oh well, there's always next year. And I did feel a little better this morning so managed a potter round the car boot sale where I found some lovely bargains which I'll share with you all tomorrow.

How about you? Did you manage any crafting this weekend?

See you all tomorrow.

-x-

Let the light shine.

2011-06-22T21:16:00.000+01:00

After many, many years putting up with the same dusty old dull lampshade it was time for a change. I stripped off the silky purple fabric from the frame and chose a piece of white gauzy fabric leftover from trimming Helens curtains:

Still dull and boring so I added a few lengths of ribbon and ricrac from the scraps box and this is what we have now:

Brighter, cleaner and more in keeping with the newly refurbished on a shoestring room. And I managed not to bleed on it after several stabbings of my finger whilst handsewing the trim!

-x-

Bits and pieces.

2011-06-19T22:29:00.001+01:00

A little spinning practise:

A lot more needed!

Sewing new trousers for Heather:

Why are all little people's trousers made with such a long bottom, large waist and short legs? Ok I know why - nappies of course. Not great if the little person is small and slender and only just fitting into 12-18 month clothes though and doesn't wear a nappy! Guess Heather is going to have to put up with mama made trousers for a long while yet.....

Pretty hair bobble for Sophie:

Just some scraps stitched to an old hair bobble, but pink and sparkly is Sophie's thing.

Jumping on the Granny stripe bandwagon:

Hoping I can keep up the momentum and actually finish this BIG blanket!

No yarn buying still but that is sooo going to change next week., six more sleeps till Woolfest and the yarn drought is over.......... So who else is going to be there?

-x-

Presents.

2011-06-13T16:38:00.002+01:00

I never did show the Christmas gift my dearest John got for me did I?

So how about I show you now:

Yes, he was listening all those times I rambled on about how I would love to learn to spin my own yarn. And just before Christmas he was passing a secondhand shop when he spotted this wheel on top of a sideboard in the street outside. He had no idea what he was looking at but bought it simply because "everything moved" on it! So anyway I put it in my craft corner and had a go at treadling now and then. No idea what I was doing and when I found that there was a snapped part, (the windy part on the horizontal tension knob that kind of goes into the table??) I just decided it wouldn't work and so left it there thinking that one day I would get round to doing something with it.

So in 2 weeks it will be my 40th birthday and knowing how much I wanted a real working wheel John has been browsing Ebay on the lookout for one. Last week we saw a Wee Peggy for sale and after seeking advice online (thanks Dawn) we kept an eye on it. I decided it was too far away but unbeknown to me John had other ideas and so he bid on it and won it. Last Friday he went to collect it but as I was working all weekend I didn't have to chance to look at it properly.

So today I'm home, Heather napped and the boy's played together for a while. The perfect opportunity to examine my new plaything. I treadled awhile to get the feel of it and then wondered what to do next. I remember reading online that it's a good idea to get the feel of the wheel by plying some already spun yarn so I grabbed a couple of acrylics from my stash and used the wheel to wind them onto bobbins. And then I plied them together. Well I tried anyway. But you know nothing happened! I had a handful of twisted yarn in my hand but it wouldn't go onto the bobbin. So I had another look online and discovered a new phrase "scotch tension". Well that explained the random piece of string with the spring attached. So I threaded the string over the bobbin and attached the spring and had another try. No idea if it was right or not but hey, if you don't give it a go.... So I began spinning again and this time the yarns twisted together and began to take up onto the bobbin. Hurrah!!

And so this is where we're at now:

See my two separate yarns? And the much nicer yellow/orange yarn below? I'm so very pleased with it, you just wouldn't believe :) So now to find a nice introduction to spinning book (I'm not so much of a visual learner as a literal one) and some fleece and away I go.

Thanks to my lovely husband and extra thanks to the lovely Dawn for her advice and guidance, although I know I ended up with something other than Dawn recommended but you can blame the husband for that!

Oh just one thing - please ignore the dust over both of them! The first one has been standing in the corner for quite a while and the second carries the previous owners dust, eurghhh, what can I say!!

-x-

More sewing.

2011-06-11T20:15:00.000+01:00

See, told you I was catching the sewing bug! A special treat for my sewing machine to keep it happy......it's very own cosy cover.

From this:

To this:

In half a day. Still loving it, and I think that leaving one end shorter than the rest of the sides to allow the leads to tuck through was a stroke of genius, don't you? So what if it wasn't actually in the initial plan? It's only a mistake if it can't be fixed right?

Well that's my thinking anyway ;-)

Must remember to be a little more careful with the tape measure in future!

-x-

Can I just.........

2011-06-08T21:46:00.002+01:00

bask in my own admiration for a moment?

I've blogged about my (lack of) sewing skills before. Self taught and impatience do not go well together when sewing anything at all. But that is changing. I finally have the sewing love. So it hasn't hit as hard as the crochet love did when I finally got "it", but it has hit none the less. And what caused this change? This urge to pull out the machine before the hooks or yarns?

Why, this little cushion:

See, straight lines. Right angles. Neat edges. Amazing. Not like my usual sewing technique at all. Usually it's just dash the pieces together and keep sewing and trimming, sewing and trimming, until the thing is at best functional if not the neatest or prettiest of things. But this lovely cushion has changed all that. I made the cushion and then was inspired to cover my whole lovely old rocking chair, blogged about here after I found it in a car boot sale for £2.91!

From this:

To this:

With a few scraps from the remnants box in the local fabric store and a Rosali Cath Kidston at Ikea duvet set. The greatest compliment was when each and every person who has seen it so far has asked where I bought it and how much I paid! See, I sewed something that doesn't look like I sewed it. A true reflection of how well I did. And no loose ends, or mis-shaped seams. Now let's just hope I can remember that patience is a virtue when it comes to sewing. And I won't tell how I unpicked the first line of squares when the right angles went astray......

More to show on this theme but for now I hear my Suzie (sewing machine) calling. Oh and I have a hooky WIP to share soon too........ And I've not forgotten that I was going to show you the other crafty thing I have been learning......

Busy, busy, busy, oh why do I have to work all weekend?

See you soon.

-x-

The knitty thing.

2011-05-30T20:13:00.000+01:00

I finally finished off the cabled knitty thing.

A peek:

I got round to using some of the 26 x 50g of Sirdar Click chunky I rashly bought in a sale many, many months ago, and now have a lovely cosy cardigan for Spring evenings, or daily use if the weather continues as it is just now!

The cardigan kniited up quite quickly on 7mm needles even with all the cables, but I think it needs blocking a bit more than the hurried attempt I gave. In total I used 13 balls of the yarn so I have another 13 left in the stash, although Cain has asked if I will make him a "lovely, cuddly" jumper with some of it. I have a sock waiting for a partner so might cast that on next though. Funny feeling, having no real works on the go, apart from the sock that is. I have quite a few ideas whirling around in my mind but not sure which to start on next. I do have a couple of baby gifts to whip up though so maybe I should get cracking with them........

Having said that John has been working on a gift for me which I am hoping to put into use soon so might have a new craft to share with you all.

Happy making everyone.

-x-

And Sunday sewing too!

2011-05-30T01:15:00.000+01:00

Heather had a bag, so Cain wanted a bag!

That spotty stuff he said, pointing at one of the fabric crates. That fabric's a bit thin I thought, knowing what things he might like to carry around with him. So I suggested we add a different fabric for inside. And so he chose orange. This boy has a good eye for colour I'll tell you.

This is what we ended up with:

He has had it slung over his shoulder all day, and it is now hanging at the side of his bed.

Mama is quite taken with it too, as is a big person. There may be another two or three of these appearing here very soon ;-)

-x-

Saturday sewing.

2011-05-28T14:47:00.000+01:00

Today I sewed trousers and a bag.

The trousers are ok for under a dress I guess, I like way this hides the fact that they are a little bit over-fitted across the bum ;-) I'm still not reminding myself that you can never go too big when guessing at the excess needed for seam allowances!

The bag was far more of a success. But then I did imagine it might be a little bigger...............

Oh well, keep on trying.

I do have something else to share that I'm far happier with but first I need a button and to do some blocking.

Maybe later.

Happy saturday.

-x-

Smartphone case.

2011-05-26T00:45:00.000+01:00

So I mentined the kit for the smartphone cover in the Mollie Makes magazine didn't I?

This morning I thought I would open it up and see what was there. The pattern was inside the magazine and the little envelope contained the felt and a little button. All I needed to make the case shown in the pictures was a needle and thread apparently.

I copied the pattern pieces, not wanting to cut into my magazine and cut out the felt shapes. And hit a snag. There wasn't enough cream felt to cut out both the bird and the little top edge trim as shown in the instructions. And as I had cut the rectangle trim out first it meant I had to find another piece to cut out the bird from. So I used the yellow felt that was supposed to be for the petal pattern instead. I decided to forego the petals and instead added a wing cut out from the cream felt that was supposed to be for the bird. The actual pattern shows a cut away wing but I thought an added one would add a bit more colour as I was losing it from the petals. Ok I could have just nipped upstairs and found a scrap of felt but I wanted to see what could be done with a freebie kit. I oversewed all the pieces on rather than using a running stitch as I thought the running stitch would leave a lip around the pieces which would catch when pulling the phone out of a pocket. I added a little eye too from the brown felt.

I gave it to John for his phone and he thought it was lovely although he would have preferred something a little more masculine I think. I now have to make another for one of the girls and also one for Cain who has been happily walking around listening to his very own MP3 player lately. Well actually it's Daddy's but if you put something down in this house.............

So thanks "Mollie Makes" for a cute little kit, a happy hour spent sewing, and a grateful husband too. The shortage in felt wasn't really a big deal and I'm very pleased with the free gift. Next issue has a felt flower kit if anyone is interested.......

-x-

New crafty magazine.

2011-05-25T11:32:00.000+01:00

I picked up a copy of the new crafty magazine "Mollie Makes" last week. It is oh so pretty!

Beautiful feel in the hands, lot's of pretty vintage designs and room stylings, links to some beautiful blogs, and a couple of cute makes too. Not so much a "what can I make" magazine but a "oooh I'm inspired" read instead.

It includes a kit for making a smartphone cover, instructions for pretty Peter Pan collars, patterns for fabric eggs, how to make a cute fabric on card garland and a crochet pattern for apple jackets! Ok so I first thought "what the ......!" apple jackets?? But Cain was snuggling up whilst I was flicking through and declared "oh wow, NAPPIES for an apple, cool!" and then asked me to make him one. So maybe they are a good idea after all.

Well later on the boy slept and mama took out her bag of scraps. Pink was his declared choice, with yellow as a back up in case I didn't have enough pink. As if!! So I crocheted away and within a short time I had this:

Just a scrap of pink merino with a trim of yellow boucle. Cain was hugely impressed the following morning which means I was happy too. Owen was less pleased as he wanted one, right now, but in yellow all over please, or maybe red.......

So apple nappies, eh? Who'd have thought of that as the next big thing in our home!

-x-

A lull.

2011-05-17T20:54:00.000+01:00

Well it's been a while hasn't it?

Whilst some crafting has definitely been happening, it's not enough to blog about. There's a few more crochet dishcloths using scraps of leftover sock yarn but all put to use before photo's were taken. I find that they work best if I work them in alternating rows of dc and tc and then a dc,tc,dc edging right round to tidy them up. I love washing the dishes with them, they just make me smile to know that I made them myself from scraps, and of course they remind me of the socks they almost were, if we all had bigger feet of course!

My big make at the moment is a cardi for myself as a cover up for cool evening walks:

So far I have the back, fronts and one sleeve, but have hit the wall. Have to get over it and carry on or else this project will end up thrown in the cupboard for months or even years...............

To give myself a short break from knitting chunky cables I have been doing a little crochet:

Not sure what I'm going to do with them or how many I will end up with but they are simple, mindless and cute so I'll carry on at least until I use the yarn here...............maybe. The yarn itself is acrylic stuff given as free gifts in Let's Knit magazine collected over the past year or two. There were suggested patterns for it in the magazine but none that took my fancy. Cute little crochet flowers though, how could they not appeal?

One last thing, five months into the year and still no yarn bought! Yes I'm shocked too, though not as much as my dearest John. But it's not long until Woolfest now and it coincides with the week of my fortieth birthday so I think the self imposed ban may be lifted in style........

Happy crafting everyone.

-x-

A ta-dah moment if I may?

2011-04-27T11:43:00.001+01:00

The very colourful thing is complete. And time is short so here we go, a reveal in one:

(The shoulders are even really, this is just a bad photo!)

This was a work and a half, I can tell you! The bodice was great, worked up really quickly in dc. The skirt.......well, what can I say? The original pattern called for much greater gathering than I did here. But then it was a pattern for a ruffled baby dress, and Heather is not really in the category of cutesie frilly baby. So I followed the pattern for a few rounds, realised it was far too ruffly for my liking and ripped back. Then I worked out how I could make it less ruffly, that took some thinking, crochet and knitting are far different in that I can tell you. And so I continued, group after group of little v-shaped clusters. 490 clusters in total, not that I was counting them down.......

But the end result - well what can I say? I love it. The big girls love it. Dad loves it. Well worth the time, and the effort, and the headache.

So that's it, crochet and me are definitely an item now. Poor old needles, pushed out by a little tiny hook. But don't fret, there's knitting on them needles in a bag somewhere here.......

Technical details:

Hook size - 4mm

Yarn - Anchor Magicline 100% cotton DK thickness 7x50g. (in a sale at Abakhan 2 years ago!)

Pattern - here.

Inspiration - here.

Size - the largest size from the pattern 9-12m but using a larger hook and thicker yarn so fits a dainty 2 year old.

So what next? Knitting I think......... Or maybe another quick dishcloth.

-x-

Ooops.

2011-04-25T09:44:00.000+01:00

I have been crafting - Honest.

Still working on the multi coloured "thing" I gave you a glimpse of recently. Hopefully I will be able to show you what that is within a few more days ;-)

The knitting has been laid to one side as it is just so warm here and the yarn is making my hands so clammy.

And I do have finished makes too - a couple of crochet dishcloths which I showed over on my other blog. I'm thinking about combining the two blogs actually, it's a bit time consuming posting to both of them. I do like the idea of having a separate blog just to record all my crafting but it's such a part of our everyday life that I can't always decide where to post. Like the dishcloths. OK so I created them which means they belong here, but then there a bit boring to justify a whole post of their own aren't they? And they are an essential part of where our family is at, with the whole downscaling, make your own, reduced waste philosophy so they equally belong over there.

I don't know, I guess I'll ponder a while longer.

So there you go - a bit of a non-post really ;-)

Oh still have the eyelash yarn. Thanks for the tips Laura but TBH I just don't like to handle it! The bag is in the process of being re-homed ( Daisie). And yes I found out about the scabies through my blog stats Dawn! It's a funny old world isn't it? Never thought I'd be sharing knitting tips with a mama 1000's of miles away, or seeing knitting getting re-used by a never met friend, or being a source of info for scabies!

Hurray for the worldwide web.

-x-

Excuse me?

2011-04-20T22:06:00.000+01:00

OK, own up - who came across my blog after googling the term "scabies in my crochet yarn"?

As for the last post - doesn't anyone like eyelash yarn? Even when it's free? The dark green and the grey merino hat's are both rehomed, the knitted bag, cabled hat and the knitting booklets still sitting here. Keeping the fuzzy yarn company.......

-x-

The stash revealed. And stuff to give away.

2011-04-18T00:55:00.001+01:00

This is my chunky box:

As you can see it contains that bargain priced Sirdar Click I mentioned in the previous post, all 20 balls of it. The other 6 balls are in the pink bag either knitted up into the cable cardi or waiting their turn. There is also 4x100g skeins of Wendy Serenity super chunky which is soft and cosy for which I am still awaiting the perfect snuggle up use. And then there is the 3x50g skeins of Mirasol Sulka which I bought because they were again supersoft and the last three on the shelf! And the last thing is that super, SUPER soft 100g skein of Araucania chunky which is absolutely gorgeous and loved in it's own right as the perfect skein of wool. I don't think I will ever actually use it, just enjoy it's softness now and then lol.

The chunky box lives right next to the sideboard which has one teeny drawer for pens/keys/new mail/notelets and that kind of non-essential bits and the rest of it is home to THE STASH. In the sideboard there are lots of boxes of now properly arranged yarns:

First, the thin yarns:

The 2 skeins of white Paton's cotton 4plywere found in the car boot sale. There were 4 skeins altogether along with a learn to crochet booklet, all contained in a cotton shopping bag for 50p. Oh was I a happy bargain hunter that day! Then there are 3 and a bit skeins of navy blue Paton's cotton 4ply which I spotted in the charity shop for 20p a skein and which I thought might create something stripey alongside the white. The 2 skeins of lilac are "Sirdar country style 4ply equivalent" apparently and are a wool/nylon/acrylic mix which I again found in the local charity shop for 20p for both, and there is around 85g in total. I bought it because I had also picked up 4 childrens books for 20p each and the shop assistant had no change for the £1 I offered but insisted I had to take something to cover the last 20p rather than accepting my offer to keep the change. Then there are the sock yarns, 1x100g Rico Superba Mexico, 2x50g Regia crazy colour, and the remains of a couple of Regia yarns (the purple and the blue) leftover from sock knitting previously. They are probably just big enough for Heather sized socks as long as I get to it fairly soon ;-) The three balls of crochet cotton in pink and white were from the car boot sale and were 20p for all three. No idea why I bought them, or whether I will ever use them. Matbe I'll knit something pretty and lacy one day? Finally in this box are 3x100g skeins of Araucania Lonco Multi. The colours of this 100% cotton are amazing, earthy and so my favourite. I bought it from a mama on the GP forum probably 18 months ago or more and I keep on putting off using it as I am awaiting the perfect project. I know when I use this I will want it to be for something I can show and enjoy all the time. Oh and nearly forgot - the yellow is a 3ply which also came from the charity shop. I have a collection of 1960's and 70's patterns and booklets and there was a lovely pattern in one which asked for 3ply. Have you tried to find 3ply in a nice bright colour? Hmmm, if you do then let me know but fortunately lemon is quite a pretty colour so I thought I would give it a go with this. Now if I could just find the pattern again..... (Adding here that there is also about 25g of green Paton's 4ply cotton which I discovered trying to pretend it was Twilleys's Freedom).

Next we have the "I don't think I'll use it but you never know" boxes:

On the left are the 100% acrylic, cheap and cheerful yarns, no idea where from or why I bought them, probably lurking in the random bags of knitty/crafty stuff I tend to accumulate in car boot sales, or rather, that DH tends to buy as a "surprise" for me. Yes, I know, it's the thought that counts. Well then the same obviously applies when I knit that XXL acrylic multi coloured jumper for christmas ;-) On the right is another collection of chunky wools, not as special as the ones in the big box but still useful for something or other. The hairy brown stuff on the left hand side is 100g of Sirdar Nova Super chunky and was part of a yarn bundle that came free with my Let's Knit subscription. The whites were all from the same source as the acrylics in the other box, as was the dark green tweedy yarn in the top right of the box. Actually that is quite a nice yarn and will probably become a pair of super warm gloves as it feels like wool. The multi coloured yarn is James C. Brett Marble chunky left over from this bag, which I just remembered still hasn't been lined. If anyone wants it then shout up, I HATE lining bags lol. The 4 dark green skeins on the left are Robin Rhythm 50g super chunky pure new wool and are the proper old fashioned "scratch yourself so badly people think you have scabies" wool. And I actually still bought it! It was in the charity shop though, the whole lot for 20p and I did think it might felt up into something or other. Maybe I was a bit rash........lol. And finally there are a couple of bits of leftover chunky, some Debbie Bliss and some Sirdar Click, both left over from other things but probably still enough for a couple of headbands. Oops almost forgot, the little bag in front of the boxes contains 5x50g of Twilley's Freedom wool which are now rehoused in with the special chunkys to avoid pesky 4ply squatters trying to imitate them. And they are rather lovely after all. Not so sure of the colour now but I think the dearest one might like a hat or scarf from them and he has rather a boring colour tolerance.

The last box in that side of the sideboard is the aran box:

There are 10x50g balls of Rowan Classic wool tweed which I picked up from BlackSheepwools when the lovely husband decided to treat me to a day out just before christmas. A confession now - I had no idea I had that mustard colour Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran. However I do remember buying it from the LYS, I just put it away and simply forgot about it. The pink is also Debbie Bliss Rialto as is the brown. The brown is left over from knitting a hat, I bought two and went just into the second as you can see. The pink I bought for the same reason but I didn't use any of the second ball so the first must have been longer than it's brown counterpart. The blue yarn is Sirdar something or other aran and is left over from knitting this jumper for Owen. Cain still has the jumper now and wears it often.

This is my box of Merino wools:

I don't have as much as I thought actually and this is one of my favourite wools to knit with. Which is probably the reason I don't have much! There are 4x50g of wine and 1x50g of grey Stylecraft from the LYS. The grey is left from knitting gloves and a hat for John, the wine was to knit something for the baby when I was carrying Heather. Problem was she was born in the heat of summer and I already had a stck of clothes knitted up for her so never got round to using this.The 2x50g of lilac and 3x50g of green are James C. Brett merino and I used those colours to make a few things for Heather ready for her birth. I think I made soakers, shoes, a dress, and a hat IIRC. I must have got bored of the colourway and stashed it the rest away. The lemon, pale blue, aqua and steel grey are Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and were bought to spur me on to learn crochet after seeing a pattern for a beautiful stripey dress when Heather was just born. As you can tell crochet challenged me for that bit longer and the dress never got made. In fact reading through the pattern recently I still have no idea what have of it means!

Are you getting browned off with this post yet? Eeek that was bad, but here you go - the brown box:

The yarn at the top is Hayfields Grousemoor . Apparently it "knits as chunky and produces a unique tweed fabric you'll love to wear". No idea if that's true as I haven't attempted to use it despite it being in the stash for over two years. It was another bargain buy from the charity shop at only £1 for all 7x50g balls. The three big balls of yarn are 100g each of Paton's wool blend aran. I bought this to make John a hat and scarf for christmas but if I had actually finished the scarf and he wore it he would have suspected I was trying to do him in, the knitted up fabric was just so scratchy. I only managed around 20cms of the scarf before I gave up put the yarn in the box. Actually I did persevere with the hat thinking that the itchiness wouldn't be noticeable on the head but it turned out a little bit big for John. I knew it was going to be big when I got halfway through but being stubborn I refused to believe it. So again, if anyone wants a large knitted cable hat and isn't overly sensitive skinned then let me know. On the right is some fluffy soft boucle stuff, Snowflake I think, which I bought from the car boot sale for about £2. There was a bag stuffed with it. When I looked through it properly I found the back and two front pieces for a baby jacket and a sleeve half finished and still on the needles, along with the pattern the knitter had been using. There was also a little hat all knitted but not sewed up. I wondered at the reason the work was never finished so decided to complete it myself. I never did like it though so gave it to the charity shop with a load of other stuff. The rest of the boucle yarn I knitted up into blanket/throw/shawl thing for Jen, who likes to wrap herself up when on her PC. This last bit I'm holding onto as it also knits up into cute cuddly teddy bears, which I made two of to gift to a neighbour who had a baby a while ago.Under that yarn in the picture is 4x50g of Sirdar Escape. I started off knitting John a pair of chunky walking socks with it but I was using a 2-needle pattern from Simply knitting magazine and even though I had scaled down my tension to fit Johns size eight feet the socks were still coming out Yeti sized so I ripped back and put the yarn away. I think this will come out in the Autumn to knit a hat and/or scarf for one of the many males in the family. The last yarn in the picture is Nature's way Chunky, one 50g ball and a couple of scraps, probably just enough to knit a hat. In fact this yarn is left over from John and Cain's winter hats in 2009. The dusky pinky/browny yarn is another from the Let's Knit subscription gift I mentioned earlier.

Hey, nearly done now. This is my box of "other" yarns:

There are 10x50g balls of Paton's Holiday cotton DK which I accidentally won on eBay. I thought it was 100% cotton and as it was only going for £3 I bidded on thinking that I would dye it a nice bright colour. Only it wasn't 100% cotton, it was 50% cotton, 50% acrylic. But never mind, I might just turn it into a cool crochet sun top, when I find a simple enough pattern. The Next to that is 2x50g of Wendy Supreme 100% cotton DK and 1 partly used wine coloured of the same yarn. I bought this to make a suit for Heather last summer but they knit up quite heavy so I made a dress instead and put the rest of the yarn away. I think I might use this to make her a floppy sunhat for this year if I ever get around to it. The pink and blue is Sirdar Just bamboo and I bought it to make a shrug for Sophie but she changed her mind about liking pink after all. The blue was for the edging but I used it to practise crochet instead because someone told me tape yarns were easier to crochet with. They lied. The last 4 yarns are all Sirdar Baby Bamboo. I started a stripey top I was copying from a picture but there was so many loosed ends to weave in that I knew I would never finish it. I used the completed back piece as a washcloth and put the rest of the yarn away.

Then we have the wicker box:

The huge yarn on the left is Paton's Trentino 200g. I remember buying this on the visit to Blacksheepwools I mentioned earlier. No idea why though, I'm not even sure I like it any more. Helen likes the colour though so I might make something for her. The 4X50g and a bit are Paton's Diploma Gold DK and are what's left from a pack of 500g that I bought to knit a hoodie for Helen from a pattern she saw in one of my knitting magazines. I never did knit it though. Instead I used some of the yarn for a cardigan and a bolero thingy for Heather. The pinky yarns are Paton's Fairytale colour 4 me DK pure wool and are left from a patchwork blanket I knitted for Heather for keeping her warm in the car. The white is a boucle snowflake type yarn and again was with part of the free gift from the magazine subscription.

This little bag lives in the wicker box too:

This is my lovely Mirasol. 6X50g of red, 4x50g of cerise and 1x50g of lime T'ika Pima cotton. I started crocheting granny squares with this yarn and got the little pile in the photo before getting fed up of them. I really need to get back to them and finish off the little project I had in mind. The multi coloured yarn is Hacho, 100% merino wool. I bought this just because I love the colour changes in Hacho and have no idea what to do with it now. There are 5x50g skeins in total so looking for ideas on this one.

And finally we have this little lot:

Yes, I know, icky, scary, hairy, fluffy stuff. The pink is left over from a cardigan and hat a neighbour asked me to make. The blue is from one of those knit a scarf kits that a child bought me for christmas one year. The multi coloured stuff is from a knit your own slippers kit a different child bought me. Thoughtful of them to understand mums love of knitting wasn't it? They now know the kind of yarns mum really likes! If on the other hand you actually like to use this stuff then just let me know and I will gladly share. Actually I just realised there was something else hidden under that lot, 5x50g of Playtime microfibre yarn, left over from the original pack of ten that I bought.. That's not icky yarn. It's very, very soft to knit with and I crocheted Heather a top from it last summer. I'm just not that keen on the colour. Maybe Sophie might want something with it?.

Oh I fibbed. The and finally wasn't due. This is the real "and finally":

9X50g of Sirdar Fizz. The colour is lovely. The yarn is so soft and fluffy. The idea was cushion covers for the caravan, fun and cuddly for the littlies. The reality - I hate knitting it! It's just so boring and time consuming. So again, if you want it......

So that's that, the stash as it stands today. All neatly organised with lot's of new projects in mind. And now I don't have to search through boxes, I can just come back and read this post instead to remind myself of what I have.

Well that was a long one wasn't it? If you're still here then thank you. And don't forget, any of the things I said I didn't want - I don't want. So if you can make use of them just let me know. Including any of this lot:

The cable hat mentioned before, a merino pull on beanie for an average to large man, and a Twilleys Freedom wool chunky rib hat in a medium ladies size.

Or any of this lot too:

Happy crafting everyone.

-x-

W.I.P's

2011-04-16T21:08:00.000+01:00

Isn't the most amazing colourway:

I bought this one ball of Regia sock yarn last year in Wales. We were having a stroll around Aberystwyth and of course I found a yarn shop, a very nice one with a lovely chatty ?owner/assistant. I liked this colour combination so much I had to buy it despite knowing it was going to have to travel back home with us. Once home it was tucked away with the stash until last weekend when I decided it was finally time to use it. I did like working with the yarn and the sock grew quickly as the lacy pattern gave interest whilst I worked. Well until I came to cast on the second sock.......Oh well I'll get back to it soon enough.

Also on the needles is this:

This will hopefully become a cabled cardi if I can stick to it. I'm working with Sirdar Click chunky which is also from the stash. I came across it in a sale early last year and rather rashly bought 26 balls, all that was available. I was thinking of a larger version of this blanket but when I started it I was reminded too much of the old scratchy swamp coloured blankets my father used to pile on our beds in the winter. Not that the yarn is scratchy mind, just that it was a bit, well, green!

And this is a hooky W.I.P:

Actually this one is dominating at the moment as I am enjoying working out how to do the lacy pattern. I actually pulled back the lacy part twice before deciding I actually had it right at last so now I just want to see the end result. Again it's stash wool, discovered lurking under the Sirdar Click.

So a quick update and promise I'll be back soon with some finished projects. And maybe I'll share a photo of the rapidly diminishing stash too.

-x-

Back again.

2011-04-04T20:31:00.000+01:00

After tidying the sewing corner I decided to sort out little Miss's drawers. A few vest were a big raggy and went into the scrap fabric recycling bag. A few more things set aside for handing on to friends. And one little white t-shirt with a red stain in the middle. It was only worn once too. So what to do?

Well something I haven't properly tried before. I cut some shapes from the fabric I used for the skirt and came up with this:

Actually the butterfly is straighter in real life than in the photo but I can't get another photo as it's in the bedroom with a sleeping person right now. And that extra blue bit on the left upper wing is part of the fabric's pattern, honest, even though it looks as if I have gone way off with the stitching! Not the best example of appliqueing but I'm fairly happy with it. Heather is very pleased with it and would have worn it instantly but it's far too cold here today for skirts and t-shirts, it's blowing a gale and the house is full of draughts.

So there you go - two posts in one day, and no yarn in sight!

Off to try and get two small people to settle for an hour now and then on to some knitting I think.

Happy crafting.

-x-

From a picnic hamper to.......

2011-04-04T12:15:00.001+01:00

You'll never guess!

So John brought a picnic hamper back from Emma's the other day. One of those romantic wicker ones with a couple of place settings, storage for wine, a cooler section and pretty napkins. Emma was given it by a friend and knew she would never use it so she asked John to find a use for it. Well of course you can never have too many plates, glasses or cutlery so out they came for the kitchen. The salt and pepper pots are now needle pots. The hamper itself is standing in the corner of the living room whilst I think of a use - hmmm, more wool storage?

And the chequered napkins? Well at first I thought of a quick and easy make - sew two together into a drawstring bag. Four napkins so a bag for each boy. But then I saw a pretty little skirt somewhere on the internet and came up with this:

What do you think?

I used two of the napkins for the top and bottom tiers and some fabric from the stash for the middle tier.Nice and summery and of course she'll blend well with the caravan if she wears it there - I just remembered the floral print is the one I used for the caravan curtains! Aaah well.......

So a skirt for little miss at no cost at all. Well apart from one snapped sewing machine needle, I really need to remember to change the needle more often, Doh!

As for the yarn crafts, well I'm still knitting away. I blogged about the most recent makes over on the other blog as the post seemed more appropriate there but I am currently working on a project from the stash again.

Still no yarn bought in 2011 - wonder how much longer I can last? Although I have barely dented the stash so I should be fine for several months yet.

So how you all doing on the stashbusting?

Hope you're doing well and avoiding temptation. And if not......then enjoy your yarn love.

See you soon.

-x-

So....the squares.....

2011-03-19T08:01:00.000Z

How many so far?

Well still the 35 I showed a few days ago actually. I was going to make lots more, honest, but they looked so nice in that little layout that I thought that to add more colours would be to break up their loveliness. (OK,OK,I'll admit it - I had enough for a project so I stopped as usual!).

I edged every square in white DC, and that took some time I'll tell you.

But not as long as joining them all together with a simple slip stitch:

Then I needed an edging. The family consensus was that the colours as they were looked very girlie so I needed some gender balance. Now I personally wouldn't mind what the colours were as long as they blended nicely but not everyone feels the same do they. So I found some blue and some fawn and worked in TC all the way around the edge of the work:

Then to finish off I thought a nice little picot edging, . Only by now each round was 500 stitches so this last round was a very long one. Roughly 1500 stitches! Yes I know, I know, lots of you make full size throws with hundreds and hundreds of stitches in each row, but I've tried that once before and only got as far as the first row lol, so this was a major piece of hooking for me:

And so the project was finally finished.

The scrap yarn baby blanket:

What started with a way of using up scraps of yarn too small to do much with, became a many hours long work of cosiness:

(The little cushion was made for me one christmas by Craig for his Y7 something or other class)

Oh yes, it needs a little more blocking I think, but I was so impatient to show you all. I am rather loving the world of hooking now, shame on me for hiding from it for so long. And all I need then is a baby to go with it, or a friend with a baby. Or just someone who wants a small blanket....... I really need to think things through before starting on them, so many finished items with no-one to use them!

No technical details for this project lol. Just scraps of yarn hooked into 35 squares of different colours, all finished of with a pretty border. I couldn't tell you how much yarn was used in each shade as I didn't bother to check but I know that it hasn't made the slightest difference to the scrap yarn bag! For some reason it seems to be getting fatter the more I delve into it?

So now I'm in the lull. The space between finishing one project and starting another. I really don't like this bit at all, having to think about what to start next, looking through the stash for the next yarn to enjoy, choosing the method of crafting, browsing through patterns for inspiration......I think sometimes I prefer when I have a request for a make, at least the decision is made for me then ;-)

Oh well a weekend of work now whilst I think about what to start on next. See you all soon.

-x-

Dilemma........

2011-03-16T21:26:00.000Z

Should I deal with this:

Or continue with this:

Guess ;-)

-x-

The last little bit....

2011-03-15T09:14:00.000Z

Of the red chunky from the previous posts that is.

Owen was playing with the yarn in my projects-on-the-go bag and kept snuggling the leftover Marble chunky against his cheek to feel it's softness. Now I know I didn't have enough for a scarf but I thought what the heck, let's see how far we get. I even thought I might be about to break the no yarn buying rule to get a decent length scarf. But as it happens I ended up with a scarf that is about 85cms long. Not long enough to knot or wrap around but just long enough for Owen to wear it the way he always wears scarves - hooked round the back of his neck and then crossed over in the front so that it lies flat down his chest. It isn't bulky under his coat either so just about perfect really.

Technical details:

Yarn: James C. Brett Marble chunky - the final 80g.

Needles: 6mm straights.

Pattern: No pattern followed, it's a scarf!

Cast on 29sts, and then garter stitch with a slip stitch rib pattern on each side.

Another one for the gift box. Good job really as the red bag has come out and been claimed by Jen already!

Now back to the squares........

-x-

Low boredom threshold!

2011-03-14T16:01:00.000Z

Remember the other day when I posted about the blanket I was making Sophie which became a shoulder bag when I got bored with crocheting squares? Well deja vu time! I have been crocheting some squares with scrap yarn, thinking I would make a cosy throw for the caravan........only I got bored again! So with 35 made in differing colours I decide to lay them out to see how they were looking together:

Rather nice don't you think?

I like the way these squares actually start from a circle before gradually evolving into a square.

So what to do next? More squares? Or perhaps keep with what I have and maybe turn them into a couple of cushion covers?

I don't know yet but I'll be sure to let you know.

-x-

And there's more........

2011-03-09T22:40:00.000Z

So I said how much I enjoyed working with the Marble Chunky right?

And how I liked the rippled effect for the bag?

And how quickly it knitted up?

So I just had to do some more. But not a bag this time:

Instead I came up with the idea of a big slouchy jumper to keep Heather warm through the spring and into the summer evenings:

Technical details:

Yarn: James C. Brett Marble chunky shade MC14 approximately 200g.

Needles: 6mm straights.

Pattern: as I went along!

I worked a moss stitch hemline for this jumper before changing to the ripple effect pattern as described in the previous post. I then switched to a garter stitch bodice. I worked a slight decrease for the armholes and again for the neckline. The sleeves are fully garter stitch worked from the top down with the final 5 rows being stocking stitch to create a rolled hem. Unfortunately they were a little long and so I have to decide whether to shorten them to give them a better fit now, or leave them long but roll them up to extend the wearing life of the jumper. The neckline was created by picking up stitches and then working 5 rows st. st. to give a rollneck.

See, who needs to pick up loads of stitches and start ribbing away?

So another make from stash and still a little of the marble chunky left, around 120g. Not sure what to do with this last bit so you've any ideas before it goes back into the cupboard to be forgotten about for several more years.........

-x-

And another one.

2011-03-08T07:53:00.001Z

Helen showed me a feature on knitted accessories in one of her magazines and I spotted a really cute slouchy bag which I knew I had seen a pattern for somewhere. So again I flicked through my stack of knitting magazines and found a pattern in a supplement from one of them. So I set to work with yarn I had in my cupboard and in only a couple of hours I had this:

The ripple effect is created over a 4 row repeat and is very simple. It is just one row knit, next row knit again but wrapping the yarn around the needle twice on each stitch rather than once. The third row is knit again but you let the extra loop just drop from the needle and then the fourth row is purl. I remember working a very simple technique way back in the mid 80's when I was a teen and made myself a ripple effect batwing jumper, only I think I used three wrap overs and had a very loose, open pattern. I wonder what happened to that top as I really loved it at the time?

Technical details:

Yarn: James C. Brett Marble chunky shade MC14.

Amount: approximately 80g from a 200g ball.

Needle size: 6mm.

Buckle: free gift from a knitting magazine.

Lining: 40cm x 40cm black cotton from fabric stash.

I bought two balls of this yarn about 18 months ago just because I liked the colourway and had lots of ideas of makes but none that I liked enough to go with.....until now. In fact I have liked working with it so much that I have just completed another project with it which I will reveal later if I get a decent photo. And it's not even a bag this time!

Thank you for the lovely comments on my crochet bag. They really made a cautious crocheter feel good about her abilities and all the kind comments I have received through this blog have really inspired me to keep developing this new skill.

-x-