End of the month

So how did the month go? The plan was - one pair of socks, one gift knit, something for pleasure/wearing/instant gratification and one big knit WIP. Well, yay, I did it! What, you don't believe me? How could I possibly catch up when yesterday I said I hadn't yet cast on the second sock? You want to see? Well here you go......

The gift knit:

Multnomah shawl in KnitPicks Stroll Hayride

The big knit WIP:

One skein worth of baby blanket.

The socks:

Lacy rib socks

Hmmm, not quite got the colour right, try again:

Nice colour and fit don't you think?

The pleasure/wearing/instant gratification knit:

Tofino surfer hat.

What's that you say? I didn't mention working on a couple of those things? And those socks don't look like the ones I blogged yesterday? Well I did start late due to that awful flu illness we all had. And I did say I had a sneaky plan just in case ;)
The Multnomah shawl and the lacy rib socks were both longstanding WIP's found lingering during the stash sort out and relocation. Both cast on many months/years ago but both finally finished earlier this month.
The Tofino surfer hat was cast on at the beginning of the month as a quick make for Heather after her proper winter hat disappeared, although now it has been rehomed with the lovely granddaughter after she tried it on and "loosened" the knit.See how big it was when Heather got it back for a few moments?
The second of the actual January socks is cast on and at round 30 of 90 from the top down, so I'm going to carry on blasting along with them until they're done. Hopefully I'll be at the heel by this evening.....

So anyway, I reckon that's a pretty good first month for my year long goal, don't you?
Back tomorrow with February's hopes and plans.

-x-

Waving hello :)

Ooh, it's been a long time hasn't it?

I have posted on and off on my other blog, but here? Well there has been nothing, absolutely nothing to blog of creatively! I've had no crafting get up and go at all. Days are spent at work or with the children, evenings are spent reading with the children, watching a DVD, and going off to bed as early as possible. I've thought about making stuff. I've flicked through patterns, other blogs and Ravelry for inspiration, but I just haven't had the energy to do anything. By time the evening meal is out of the way and the dishes washed, children calmed, PJ's on, I just want to relax and then sleep. I haven't had the energy to even walk up the stairs to bed most evenings. You know, I haven't even bought a single knit/sew/crochet/crafty magazine this year! Oh no, I lie, I bought the March issue of Let's knit hoping for a hit of inspiration, but no, nothing. Even flicking through the magazines in the shop has failed to inspire me into actually buying them. I've bought no yarn, not checked out the links in the yarn shop e-mails, not even hopped around Ebay looking for beautiful yarn bargains. Creative crafting has been at an all time low.

BUT, and yes it's a big but (literally and figuratively lol), I did keep the creative flow ticking over in that quiet place in my mind. And so I worked on the mega granny stripe. An odd few trebles here, a few clusters there, whole rows taking days and weeks to conjure up. But I had to keep at it. It needed no thought, no planning, no concentration, it just came out, ticked along, and reminded me that the feel of the yarns, the hook in hand, the growing project, is all good, and not to be let go forever. So far the mega blanket is around 220cms x 100cms, almost big enough for a single bed, and I've stopped for now. The blanket is happily living across the foot of our bed, the days are slowly warming and it is providing just that little extra comfort for chilly morning toes, although it's a little too heavy to work on now the evenings are a touch warmer. I haven't edged it, I'm hoping to work some more on it when autumn returns, hopefully using up a lot more of the acrylic scraps I have lurking around:

But it's ok like this for now, it did it's job, it kept the creativeity ticking along. A few days ago I cast on the King Cole Dolman cardigan. It's very similar to the EZ baby surprise jacket I think? Anyone who has knitted the BSJ please feel free to offer your thoughts :) I wanted to try the BSJ for ages but couldn't find the pattern in the UK. A colleague at work was also trying to find the same pattern and she came across the KC dolman and kindly offered me a copy. So I took this as a sign that I needed to get the needles out and get creative once again. Casting on and starting the jacket was a bit ....hmm...strange? Apparently I was casting on the sleeve edges, shoulders and back of neck. Even looking at the front picture I couldn't work out how that was happening. But then it shows the jacket from the front, the initial knitting is the sleeves and the back I later discovered. Just like I've heard about the BSJ, this jacket doesn't reveal it's true self until you're almost through. There came a moment, about 80% through, that it suddenly clicked, and that was such a blinding moment that I was in awe. I couldn't wait to cast off and before joining I had to share the reverance with anyone who happened into the room - look, a baggy heap of knitted fabric, a quick fold up and ta-dah, a beautiful baby jacket! Stunned faces all around. Even the "not into knitting" passers through were taken back by the sudden transformation.

And so I joined the shoulders, the only joining required, and here it is:

Lovely don't you think?

I knitted it using some of my lovely, luxury stash, one skein of Fyberspates hand dyed Sheila's Sock yarn, and I used such a tiny amount, just about 60g, it's such a soft, squishily smooth yarn that I'm happy to have left overs. I cast on straight away with another favourite pattern - the Aviatrix. A super speedy knit, a couple of hours later I was done:

Ok so the buttons aren't added yet, but I wanted to share and let you know I was back, hopefully, the creative juices flowing once more :)

Both together, beautiful for a newborn don't you think:

And the hat itself took only 20g so I'm hoping there's enough for a little something to complete the set.....

Can I just say, if anyone has actually stuck by me through the drought, that I am so happy to be back, I've still been following so many blogs, but circumstances have just made it impossible for me to stay regular, stay in touch, and let you know I'm around. Thanks for the awards received whilst I've been away, accepted gracefully in mind if not in type. And thank you for coming back again, to share the haphazard creativity. Happy crafting days for all of us.

-x-

Still here....

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-

Many hands.......

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-

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

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-

Sometimes.......

.....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-

Easy? Right!

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-

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

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-

On a roll!

Two posts in one day, who'd of thunk it?

I should have saved this one for tomorrow really because there will be no crafting tomorrow as I'm in work all day and Heather likes lots of mummy cuddles in the evening if we've been apart all day. But I was far too excited at finally getting a long thought of project started and finished all in one day that I'm here and sharing with you. Remember the last post I mentioned I really wanted to knit up the Aviatrix hat for Heather? Well I cast on this afternoon whilst the children were playing together and it worked up so quickly and easily that it is already cast off and finished!

What do you think?

I first came across the pattern here, and the model looked so pretty in it I knew I would have to make one for Heather. 

Technical details:

Yarn - James C. Brett 100% merino DK shade PM1

Amount - 43g

Size - 18 months

Needles - 3.25 and 4mm straights.

Pattern - Aviatrix, available on Ravelry, or this blog. (Thank you to Justine for sharing her hard work).

Now all I need is for Heather to wake up so I can get her to model it for me.

(Oh and the yarn was from the stash proper so I still have one 50g ball and around 25g of another ball left to make something to go with the hat.  I think I originally bought 4 balls of this wool as it was so lovely and soft and knitted some of it up into these pants (don't look at the date!) before storing away to await a fitting project.)

So nearly seven weeks into the year and still not a single scrap of yarn bought. Actually better not let dear husband read this, he will feel justified in his comments that I have far too much!

-x-

Stashbusting - part two.

So I made the hat to match the sweater:


Sorry for the poor photo quality but I just thought this was the most beautiful picture of our little girl, I just had to share.
Again this was hashed up as I went along so no pattern. The leading edge is 8 rows of garter stitch and the rest is plain old stocking stitch, again chosen to show off the colour changes. The decrease was worked with the SL1, K1, PSSO spiral and dropped 6sts on each row I think. I love that little spiral effect on the crown and it looks great on little peoples hats don't you think?
There's about half of one ball left now and a few oddments so I have an idea for them already in mind. Hopefully there will be just enough wool to follow it through. We should all know by tomorrow ;-)

Loving crochet.

I can't believe I hid from crochet for so long, it's so portable and easy to pick up and put down, it's easy to add a few extra rows if necessary and equally easy to rip back. Unlike knitting where a mistake means unpicking stitch by stitch very slowly. And the best thing about crochet.............no casting off! Mind you I don't crochet properly I don't think. All the expert crocheters I see/watch manage to fly along just catching the wool and drawing it through the loops with the hook whereas I crochet like a knitter, by wrapping the wool around the hook and then drawing it through the loops. I'm guessing this probably makes it a considerably slower way to work but the other way is just beyond me so I will carry on plodding along in my own way.
So here's my latest crochet make - a new hat for Heather. The pattern said that this was a quick make but in reality it took me about five hours over two sleepless nights. I used Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and a 4mm hook and worked the whole hat in half treble stitch. See I'm even learning to read patterns and use the technical terms ;-). I am really pleased with and think it looks great although I suspect that's more down to the wearer than the hat.

And a hat for John.

This was supposed to have been his valentine's gift from me, but given as I didn't actually start it until Valentine's night then there was no chance really. This was one of those knits that starts off really slowly and then becomes unputdownable. In the sense that I wanted it over and done with quickly so that I could get back to other things. Its worked in double rib using a thinner pure merino DK by Stylecraft and with a cast on off 170sts, so you can see why it seemed to grow so slowly. Started sunday night, picked up every time I sat down throughout monday, again on tuesday and then finished off at 6am this morning after both Heather and Cain decided 4am was a great time to start the day!



Excuse the poor photo but John was doing one of his "pull a face for the camera" poses and this was the only decent shot I could get. The rest made him look more like a thug or psychopath!
So now I'm back to the cabled chunky socks that I started whilst pregnant which hopefully shouldn't take too long. Well not so long as they have so far!
Actually finding it quite cleansing to work my way through unfinished projects and promised makes in this way, although I still have a fairly long list to get on with. But the more I make a dent in my stash the more I look forward to replenishing at the Aintree stitch and craft fair in April.

A hat for me.

Knitted quickly in the very early hours and modelled by Cain the following day (Did you really think I was going to be model it after having six successive nights of little or no sleep?):


The wool is Twilley's Freedom and was knitted on 10mm needles. It is in single rib and very much made up as I went along, more as a diversionary tactic on the most worrying of nights rather than for the pleasure of wearing. I have tried it on though and it is amazingly soft and warm, just not sure it is me...........

Choo Choo Thomas.....

The hat is done. And I love it! Warm and thick and just like a proper woolly childs hat. What do you think?


Knitted in the same DK oddments as the mitts, the hat itself is simple and very quick to knit up. The only time consuming part was the intarsia for the lettering. I hope it's clear enough what it says, the "K" isn't the best.


Owen hasn't seen it yet as it is now hidden away until christmas. Cain is the model and size tester instead as they are both virtually the same size for hats and gloves.


On the needles now is the scarf to complete the set but I think this might take a few days. Also on the go is the crochet blanket for John but not sure I will have this done for christmas. I keep it upstairs and do a row or two each time I go up there. I'm sure the family think I have some sort of bowel complaint, I'm going up to the bathroom such a lot the past few days ;-) But I don't want John to see it so I'll just have to keep it this way.
Well off to prepare lunch for waking poorly little ones, and back in a day or two with the latest makings.
Oh, do you know it's only four weeks to christmas?
There'll be late nighting crafting going on in all your homes I'm thinking!
Take care.
xx

More hats!

A hat for a GP little one:


Debbie Bliss Rialto in baby pink with a cotton flower and button trim.

And a hat for Emma:


Cream cotton DK with matching fower and bead trim.

Cardigan is almost finished but I ran out of wool. Blast!! Not sure I'm safe to search for an extra ball as I can't afford to fall to the temptation of gorgeous yarns. Might have to ask Helen to find it online for me to help me resist the urge to browse. Although she seems to be falling under the spell of the lovely merino wool she is using to knit a hat for Heather. She is definitely noticing the difference in texture and the pleasure in working it after using acrylic yarns for her first step in knitting.......

And another hat.

This cardigan is taking sooo long. But at last the end is in sight. Only half a sleeve and then the edgings and trims to go. Should be finished by the end of the week. Well I hope so as it is so cold round here right now.
Poorly children mean I have been sat up the past few nights so knitting has been a great pastime. Lat week I spotted some lovely wool in the yarn shop. I just bought one ball as it was a patterned wool and I wanted to see how it would knit up before committing to a full project and also before spending money. I have way too big a stash to justify adding to it at the moment but this wool was lovely. 100% merino by Adriafil in cute shades of blue, pink and white.


I decided to knit yet another hat for Heather. Knitted on a set of 4mm DPN's it took only two hours in total. The flower took another 30 minutes.

Only problem is, in my sleep deprived state, I didn't check the sizing and just launched straight in. So I can't show you a picture of Heather wearing it as it is just slightly too large. Oh well, at least I have one ready for christmas. But I might just make a slightly smaller one for wearing now....
Oh well, thats about all for now. Hopefully when I next post I will have the cardigan finished. Or at least I can hope so.
xx

Quick Knit.

So I decided to take a break from the christmas crafting. I know, so soon. What can I say, I'm easily bored ;-) I decided to knit the cardigan I have been promising myself from the moment I got the wool (scroll down a post for a reminder of what I'm talking about). So I've done the back and the two front pieces. Only the sleeves and the edging to go. I've hit a lull now though and I'm finding it a little repetitve, same wool, same colour, same stitch, and so I thought I would have a little break last night. So I made this:


No, not the baby (well technically........) but the little pumpkin hat. Isn't it so sweet? Not sure if Heather thinks so but I like it. It's in an orange DK, can't remember what exactly, possibly with acrylic content, and knitted on 4mm needles. The curl is stocking stitch and then the main hat is an alternating wide and narrow rib to create the grooved pumpkin effect. At the final row I switched to green DK and created a stocking stitch stalk. Fun to make and finished in just over two hours. Not like the cardigan that is now into it's second week!
Oh well I'm suitably appeased and ready to return to my big project. Oh and a hat for a GPLets make. Next time I'll have some pictures of the cardigan so far. Now I'm off to maybe get a row or two in whilst the boys make apple crumble.
Take care.
xx

That scarf! And those fruit!

Well I finally managed to get a photo of that scarf knitted for Owen. It's a yummy scarf, knitted with love and care. Do you want to see? Here goes............

So what do you think? It's great isn't it? And do you know why it's so special? Because Helen knitted it for her little brothers christmas gift! She only learned to knit in the summer and her first project was a rough scarf from super chunky wool for herself. This is her second project and I think she has done a fantastic job. Knitted in simple garter stitch, all work her own, from a 100g ball of Robin DK, all used. So she has started her next project which is a scarf for Sophie, this time in stocking stitch which she is just coming to grips with. Not quite what a woman who is about to turn 18 on Saturday is expected to be doing with her evenings in this day and age..........

As for the fruit, well that's finished too. Knitted, packed and in the hands of the Royal Mail as of today. A little picture of the finished work:

You know I'm sure my camera doesn't like green! The pears are a lovely shade of green but they look so washed out on this picture. All knitted from scraps of DK. The orange is acrylic, the apple is something silky from an unremembered source and the pear is merino.

And finally a picture of the hat for Sophie:

Again a simple stocking stitch hat knitted in about 50g or less of a Robin acrylic DK, just like Owen's. Very quick and easy to make, perfect for beginners. In fact Helen is going to make one for Heather after she finishes the scarf. I think I might supply her with some nicer yarn though, maybe a lovely, soft merino......

Well that's the christmas list moving along nicely. Although today the postman brought me a pattern for a jacket which I want to knit for myself with the wool John found in a car boot sale a while ago. I really want to start on that but not sure if I can spare the time with so much left on the christmas list. Although I don't want to see the christmas list as a chore preventing me from getting on with other things. Maybe I'll start the jacket and a christmas project too and see what happens ;-)
Well time to start the evening meal before the family return and Heather wakes. See you soon. xx

Getting started.

Did you notice I've marked a couple of things done on my christmas to do list? I've decided to set an hour aside each night, no matter how late, and just do a little bit of whatever takes my fancy. So the past few nights I've been knitting. I've managed to make Owen's hat and gloves and should technically mark the scarf as done but I can't just yet. Also there's a little secret to reveal about his scarf but not just yet ;-)
So anyway, want to see the hat and gloves? Well here you go:

What do you think? Colourful enough to warm up cold winter days? Wild enough for a four year old? I hope so. They are knitted from a Robin DK from our local fabric shop. They're 100% acrylic but still soft to touch. I don't really like to use acrylic yarns as you know but I think it is the best option for little childrens winter gloves and hats, if you think about all that wet snow and rain, and mud and dirt. I had to tweak the pattern a little for the gloves as they were sized for a 3-6 year old and Owen has wide hands but stubby fingers. I still have some yarn left from a 100g ball so that has been added to the scarf yarn.
I have also made a start on Sophie's hat which is the same pattern as above but a different colour yarn. Hopefully that will be finished tonight. Or perhaps I will finish off the knitted fruit I am making for a friend on the GP forum. Or maybe both..........

Hello.........

Well as you all know I have been otherwise occupied just lately with my beautiful little girl and so not much chance for crafting. Not to say I haven't thought about it though ;-)
So first a few bargains:

Sale here (fab bargains - check them out, fast delivery too!)and I couldn't resist this lot.......and all for under £25. You know I can't say no to Mirasol, especially if it's on offer! And the bamboo I thought might make a nice top for me when I return to a more normal size. I have plenty of time to get to that size though as I don't think I'll be knitting much for the near future. Although sleepless nights and slings are a way round that......... As for the sock wool......well it's sock wool and it was on sale, what more can I say, especially as i was very restrained and bought only two balls!

And then there was dearest husbands visit to the car boot sale last Saturday. The phone rang and it was himself to tell me that there was a woman there who had lots of wool for sale. After getting him to read the various labels to me and find out prices I decided that the Paton's Shadow Tweed sounded reasonable, especially for £5 for the full 600g. Do I have the maddest husband around then? Oh the Robins Rhythm are 50g balls of pure wool and only 25p a ball at the local charity shop. I really wanted to buy the lot but for one thing had decided to definitely buy no more yarn until I get time to use it, and for another thing, I have no idea what to make with it! There was lots more assorted wools there too so had to drag myself away.

And onto makes. Well there hasn't been many since my last post. A little more work on the latch hook rug before Heather arrived and nothing since. Well until last night. All the hats I made Heather were a little big (remember I usually have much bigger babies....) and she really needs a sunhat so with her happily wrapped and sleeping against me I managed to crochet this little hat:

I used this 4 ply cotton (near the bottom) and a pattern from this book and it took a couple of hours and is very lightweight and an almost perfect fit. And of course one last picture because I can't resist, Heather Rose modelling her new hat: