Friday fun and fluff-ups

Fun:

Looking beautiful in big sister's make up

Looking beautiful whilst blowing raspberries

Fluff-ups:

Do you see that KNIT stitch right in the centre of the stocking stitch column...grrr!

OK so it's only one stitch, the photo's taken pretty close up to see it, and only I know it's there - but I KNOW it's there! Hmm, can I ignore it or do I look for a 2mm crochet hook to fix it? At least it's on a stocking stitch section so it'll be easy to do ;) Easier than threading the 140sts of the baby blanket BACK onto the circular needle. Well if you leave your knitting under a magazine, at the bottom of a project bag, at the back of the sofa, then you can't blame a little person for deciding to have a root around......just before she wanders off to do her make up....... :)

And seeing as I have a cherrypicker in my yard and a gang of men on my roof right now I guess a bad stitch and some picked up stitches are the least of things that could go wrong today.......

-x-

It's going to be a long night.....

Heather has been poorly today.  Lots of time in bed with mama, nursing, or else, as now, curled up on the sofa making little mewling sounds in her sleep. Her temperature is high, 38.5C and higher, and this mama has given paracetamol despite her aversion to the stuff. The whole family worrying about our little girl, memories of her recent stay in hospital are still far too fresh in our minds. Hopefully lots of sleep and mamas milk will do the trick and she will be bouncing fit tomorrow....

Ivy is playing the "lets pretend to sleep" game, falling fast asleep at the breast and then throwing those beautiful blue eyes wide open the moment I lay her down. Luckily she's such a sociable little thing that she is happy to be with daddy or big sisters and brothers whilst mama lies with her poorly sister.

Helen is out on a first date. Only the cinema with an unknown friend, but still, mama waits for that key in the lock. No matter how old they are, mama worries over these things.

So yes, I'm definitely in fora late, late night....
Although there is a positive  - maybe I'll get chance to look through my new book:

Here

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I paid a visit to a local yarn store a couple of days ago ;) John was totally shocked - I came out with just the book and 2 pairs of knitpro tips! Not the teensiest bit  of yarn hiding itself in my bag. He checked. Twice.

-x-

Where do you keep yours?

Well I used to keep mine in the living room but it got a bit out of hand :) I had the whole big sideboard, the bureau, a couple of wicker chests and a large decorative leather type box. And of course the basket that lived by my chair. A little unfair of me to keep all that storage to myself wasn't it? So I decided to sort it all out and give up all the storage to the children. The sideboard is now home to the jigsaws, the lego, the meccano, the wooden construction sets and one drawer full of important bits and bobs (purses, phones, keys and that kind of stuff). The bureau is now the children's writing/drawing area, filled with pens, crayons, paper, pencils, stencils and so on. The wicker baskets are home to little girlies teeny toys and the leather kind of box thingy is a nappy/muslin store and sometimes seat.

So where did all my stuff go? I know you know what stuff I'm talking about. My stuff......yarns and fibres and needles and, well, stuff! I'll tell you. It all found a new home on the top landing. 

A whole day spent sorting it out, fitting it into boxes and storing it on these shelves. Aren't I a good girl? All neatly sorted out and yet still so easily accessible. The boxes all contain my yarns, except the bottom two shelves on the right which holds the fibres. If you look closely you can see Owens peg loom, a couple of small weaving frames, and even my lovely spinning wheel (which I really need to get back to now my legs are working again!). The baskets at the bottom is filled with embroidery threads and charts and Aida and all that kind of stuff It all looks a bit boring though doesn't it? I need a good think about how to brighten those boxes up. Ideas anyone?

Oh, maybe I should give you a peek at a little of what is in the boxes:

 

Well except the children of course.Not a good idea to keep them in boxes on a shelf, although sometimes............

As for actually using some of that stuff - well I only just turned the heel on sock one. Not sure I'm even going to finish the first pair  of socks on time for my personal "one pair per month" challenge. Although I do have a sneaky back up plan, shhh! I might have to reveal that in a couple of days ;)

Well they won't get finished if I don't get sleep so I'll wish you all sweet dreams.

-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-

Finishing again.

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-

As good as it gets!

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-

Bits and pieces.

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-

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

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-

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-

Rainbow spotting.

Black can be such a dull colour for a little one:

But mixed with rainbow colours:

Neon bright and beautiful:

It makes for a cardi to brighten the rainiest of days:

Yes, finally finished the rainbow bright. This was a pain of a top to work on. I wanted to use up all the jewel like colours in my scrap bag and thought a top for Heather would be a good idea. But how to work the stripes? I didn't want to stripe across and also didn't want to twist lots of colours together so I had the bright (sorry!) idea of working the top sideways in garter stitch rows. So I guessed at the underarm to hip length and began knitting, 2 rows in each colour. I reached the point where I had to cast on for the armhole to shoulder length to come in and couldn't quite get the length I needed. Three times I ripped back before I was happy! And then I was away. I worked the one side and then reversed the stripe combination for the other side. And then I realised I wasn't going to have enough bright yarn to do an allover stripey knit. The solution, after a couple of days deliberating........black! Because I wasn't working the stripes I decided to work this side in plain stocking stitch working from the bottom up to the neck. Much easier to work out the necessary measurements but very boring simple to get on with. I finished off with a black garter stitch edging to the armholes ( I wanted sleeves but was very low on the black by this time), neck and bottom edge. More picking up of stitches for all the edging but much easier than on the last knit, 140sts around the bottom but all in one straight row, no curves to work around this time thankfully.

I did write the pattern for this as I was going along but I really don't think it would be worth sharing as it would need an exact tension due to being worked in two directions. Besides I'm fairly certain I won't be trying it again so I don't think anyone else would ;-)

Technical details:

87g of black DK from the scrap bag

Roughly 15g each of cerise, blue, pink, purple, yellow and aqua DK again from the scrap bag.

Worked on 4mm straight needles.

This took about 11 hours in total over the past week.

The idea came during that hazy period before finally succumbing to sleep.

So it's onwards and emptywards with the scrap bag. I can fasten the zip now without having to push down on it, so it's gradually going down. This is it tipped over the floor earlier whilst I rummaged for a scrap of black to finish the seams on the cardi:

 

Thinking cap back on whilst I decide what next can magically appear from the bits that no-one in their right mind would want.

And tomorrow I might even have a rummage through the yarn stash proper and maybe plan a few gift knits. Or failing that at least share a glimpse of what marvels are hiding in there.......

-x-

Recycling..

I've hit a snag with the rainbow bright. I am trying to decide which of two paths I should follow to compensate for the rapid decrease in yarn to finish the project.So to take my mind of that, or to await a flash of inspiration, I decided to have a play with the sewing machine. I came across a ring sling I made a couple of years ago (an easy make - just straight lines and a couple of pleats) and decided to re-use the fabric for a new make.

I'm definitely getting the hang of this sewing lark as it only took me two hours and one footstamping episode before I came up with this:

It's even got buttonholes that match each side! Go me!

I haven't tried it on Heather yet so it may well end up going back in the cupboard and being long forgotten about. Or pressed upon some poor unsuspecting mum to a smaller girl. But it looks about right. Hopefully.

And in other news - still no gift knits! I'm rubbish at being organised. So now it's February and I should have two items tucked away and waiting to be gifted and another two should at least be in the planning stages. Well actually I'm ahead on that side of things. I have a neverending list of things at the planning stage. It's just deciding what to make next. And of course knowing that I have the stash to work through and plan to.....

So how you all doing with the gift makes? Or the scrap busting? Better than I am, I hope :-)

Off to have another long stare at the rainbow bright and hope for that flash of inspiration to strike.

-x-

PS - And now I'm looking at this post I'm wondering if maybe I should have made the dress so that the straps went under the bodice rather than over.......... although I did think I preferred it the way it is at the time.

-x-

Terrible photo's of a cutie cardi.......

Running out of titles now!

So I finished knitting with the yellow fluff yarn for now:

What do you think?

Yes I know, the photo's are awful, but have you seen the time? Maybe I'll get an outdoor shot of it being modelled tomorrow and you can see the true colour then. This started out as a simple make, I thought it would take no time at all. And it didn't. The body took only a couple of hours spaced over the last two days. And then I came to the edging tonight! Aaarrgh is the only word I can think of to describe how I felt about that edging. Fine fluffy wool, 2.5mm straight needles, 275st pick up around curved edges.........Ok you get it. My fingertips are paying the price right now.

Still I'm happy with how it's turned out. Much prettier than the photo's suggest, although as I already mentioned it's not what I usually tend to choose for Heather to wear. But I think it will go well over sundresses or vests in the summer. As long as it fits!

I guess I'd better start on the gift makes about now. Did I say two per month? Better get the skates on then!

-x-

No work and all play......

Can you tell it's the end of the working year soon? And so all annual leave has to be used or lost? How else would I manage to get so much crafting done :-)

A new project on the needles, because back to the needles it is.

What can you make with just short of 100g of lemon, fluffy, 4ply?

Well socks were the obvious choice - isn't that the best use for 4ply if you don't have a tiny baby to knit for? Or if you don't want to cast on hundreds of stitches to compensate for the delicacy of the yarn? 

But no, socks are not the work in progress here. Again it's something for the littlest person in the family, something that will hopefully see her through the summer months. Mind you I'm not certain on the sizing just yet, it might be coming up a little small.....eek!

See how fluffy the yarn is? That's why I haven't bothered to rip back and re-size. The fibres are so fluffy that they are knitting together and making it impossible to undo even a couple of stitches without damaging the yarn. It's looking kind of cute in a pastel, traditional girlie sort of way. Not my usual choice of colours (it's actually a very pale lemon although you can't tell!) or yarn but I said I was going to use all the scraps so this has got to be used. I have no idea how I ended up with this yarn, I certainly didn't buy it with a plan in mind. Must have been a charity shop/car boot sale find. In fact it isn't even a scrap really is it? It's pretty much a full 100g as I said. 

So back to the needles and getting this finished. And making the most of the next few days off before I am back in work and only squeezing in the odd few rows here and there.

See you all soon with what should be the latest reveal.

Happy crafting everyone.

-x-

And there's more.....

More scrap yarnbusting!

As I already mentioned there's been a switch in methods, this time the crochet hook has come out of hiding. Lots of stripes of DC meant a faster growing piece than knitting usually allows:

I'm not a big fan of pastels but I think the fuchsia really lifts these colours and makes them far less boring:

 

I didn't have a pattern or even a plan when I started on this, I just let the colours carry me on and decided as I went along. I was thinking of a fully striped top so I worked the two pieces for front and back consecutively to make sure I wasn't going to run out of yarn. I soon realised that sleeves were not an option and settled for a good old tank top. (You can tell I'm a child of the 70's - I never hear the phrase "tank top" any more!). Rather than just make a standard vest shape I thought it might be a bit more interesting to add fasten-up shoulders instead.

The buttons aren't the final ones, I just stitched them on to assess for size. I really need to replenish my button stock as I have nothing that fits this top.

And finally a little photo of the girlie herself modelling her new top:

Technical details:

Approximately 30g each of lemon, mint, baby blue and fuchsia DK from the scrap yarn bag.

Worked on 4mm crochet hook.

I wouldn't dream of suggesting the  pattern as I know I'm not great at crochet. I'm sure you could improve on it and of course all hints and tips are appreciated so as I can bear them in mind for future projects. Oh and a question - I'm thinking that the side I'm showing is the wrong side of the work? Only because the stripes on the reverse are much more defined and so I thought more likely to be the side that should usually be on show? Having said that I liked this view much better and used it as the right side, just because I kind of like how the stripes have that little spikey effect. Only wondering for future reference really as i'm making up this crochet stuff as I go along!

So that's what I've been up to whilst the laptop has been in the shop getting repaired. Off to have a scramble through the scrap bag and think about the next project later. Oh and I might even cast on for one of the two christmas gifts I have promised myself I will make each month of this year. Or I might even combine the two and create a gift from the scrap bag - how thrifty would that make me ;-)

Happy crafting everyone.

-x-

Shades ready?

I finished the tank top. Oh yes, a scrap yarn extravaganza! About 50g of blue DK, and less of yellow, pink and white. All left over from other projects, mine or other peoples. The blue left over from knitting a scarf and mitts for one of Jen's friends, the pink from Jen's scarf and mitts, the yellow from some long ago Easter knitting and the white from a bag of white oddments found at a car boot sale.

SO the tank top went well, knitting up pretty quickly on 4mm DPN's, a nice ridged pattern forming around the staggered stripes where the colours changed. Well to be honest the ridges weren't intentional and I was going to block them out but I kind of like them now. I did get fed up with stopping to untangle the yarns every few rows so when I opened up the round to form the front and back I decided to use blocks of colour to continue. Not enough yarn in the contrast colours to knit the back and front the same so I chose to use pink for the back and yellow for the front. 

Heather definitely likes it:

The colours are much brighter in true light:

An exercise in brightness and thrift, what do you think?

So continuing with the scrap yarn busting, what next? This lovely blog is inspiring me to go for an all out scrap yarn colourfest crochet blanket but not sure I have the patience for such a big crochet project. Any other colourful WIP's you'd care to share?

-x-

Sewing machine love at last!

OK knitting is obvious, I've been doing it for 30 years on and off.

Crochet - fairly new skill but if there's a pattern to follow it's kind of like knitting I suppose.

But sewing...........right!

Great for curtains, pillowcases, slings etc, anything that needs a hemmed rectangle. But actually making stuff from fabric that is wearable, now there's another thing altogether. But after the breakthrough with the leggings the other day I was itching to find time to get back and have another go. This time I cut the fabric carefully, followed the instructions to pin the dress together.........and then got all confused when adding the yoke and kind of bluffed my way through! Still turned out pretty well and fits just right. Now as long as she doesn't have a major growth spurt before the summer as this dress looked pretty neat over leggings but will be perfect for summer days.

I know - it's not a great photo, but I just wanted to share my first "proper" wearable make, with a pattern and interfacing and buttonholes and everything!

Right, back to the yarnbusting, and back tomorrow with the finished tank top. Bring your sunglasses with you, you're going to need them!

-x-

Scrap yarn projects.

I don't generally do resolutions - too much like setting yourself up to fail. But when it comes to crafting I spend each new year sorting out my wool stash and resolving not to buy any more yarn until I have seriously dented the amount I already own. And so with this in mind I turned first to the scrap bag. You know the one, you all have one - right? The bag where you throw all the half used balls of yarn, sample balls, and ripped back tangles.

So I weighed the bag (yes, I'm sad, I know) and I have a total of approx 2000g of yarns of varying textures, ply's (or is it plies?), colours and lengths. So what to do with it all?

Well first up is this:

It will eventually be a tank top thingy for Heather. Worked in the round on 4mm DPN's, I really need to get a 40cm wire for my Knitpro's, it will hopefully be finished this evening. As long as I don't run out of the bright pink I am going to use for the bodice. The problem, and of course the fun too, with using yarn scraps, is that you never know if you will have enough to finish the project, and always having to have a back up plan in mind. And then there's all that untangling of yarn as you go along.......

Phew, who knew knitting could be so exciting?

So anyone else joining in the challenge? Share your links to your yarn scrap projects. 

I need the inspiration!

-x-

Stuff!

Needing to occupy my mind this evening I thought I would ignore the housework and do a little crafting instead.

It's turned so cold the past few days that I decided to treat myself to a nice pair of gloves:

I've had this wool in my stash for many many months but I love Mirasol wool so much that I always set it aside for a special project and then never get round to using it. These gloves only took just over one of the two 50g skeins I had so I still have enough left to knit a pair of mittens for Heather too. The wool is Mirasol Chirapa 100% merino and is just so soft and warm. The colours are pretty warming too for on the coldest of days.

I also finished off the cardigan I have been working on over the past week for Heather:

Yet another purple one, she looks so lovely in all things purple. This was knitted up on Paton's Diploma gold DK and used 3 50g balls. It's in a simple garter stitch with a crochet edging rather than the usual rib. I really like the added interest a crochet edging gives. And it's so much quicker too ;-) Actually this looks so much better on Heather than it looks in the photo. Will have to try get her to model....

Felting too has been taken it's turn, although this was an accidental make. Remember this? Well it somehow ended up in the washing machine on a towels wash and when I realised it had already shrunk to newborn size. It was too stiffly felted to be of any use to a teeny baby so I decided to turn it into something else rather than throw it away:

I used the back section of the cardigan to make this purse/zippered bag and added needle felted flowers and edging to add a bit of colour. Not sure what I'm going to do with it now I've made it but I think it's very cute and almost worth felting a piece of clothing for. And I still have the rest of the felted cardigan and the buttons looking to be used on a new project. Now I just need to think what to do with the extra large mum and baby covering cardigan that also got felted in the same wash.........

I found my mojo!

Well my crafting mojo anyway :-)

I posted a picture of Heather's new dress over on the other blog but thought I would show a bit more detail here as this is supposed to be a place to record and share my creative journey. So here's a little more about the dress, which I think is rather lovely and would love a big version for over summer trousers.
The pattern itself was pretty easy to come up with. For the back I just cast on a random number of stitches as I wanted a full skirt but as I wanted to incorporate a lace pattern the number of stitches had to be divisible by eight. I then worked a picot hem before beginning the diamond lace pattern.


I worked straight until the skirt was the desired length and then worked a decrease row of k1, k2tog repeating across the whole row. This pulled in the skirt to create a tighter yoke. I then changed to the lovely purple yarn and worked in stocking stitch until the piece reached where I would need to decrease the armholes. The armhole shaping was a classic shape created by casting off 4sts at the beginning of the following 2 rows and then decreasing 1st at each end of the next and 3 following alternate rows so 16sts cast off altogether. I then worked until the yoke was the length I wanted. All that was left then was to shape the neck and create straps which was done simply by working 6sts, casting off the following sts until 5 sts were left on the left needle and then knitting across these 5sts so that I had 6sts altogether. I then worked across these 6 sts in stocking stitch until the straps were the right length and then cast off. The yarn was rejoined to the remaining 6sts and these were worked in the same way as the first strap.


The front was worked in the same way until the yoke was 4 rows shorter than the back yoke where I then created the buttonhole row. This was done by working 3sts, casting off the following 2sts, continuing until 5sts remained, casting off the following 2sts and working to the end of the row. On the next row I worked 3sts, cast on 2sts, worked until 3sts remained, cast on 2sts and then worked to the end. I worked a further 2 rows and then cast off. All that was left to do was sew the sides together and add the buttons. I'm not sure I like the buttons and will probably change then for some wooden ones in the next day or two. I thought the dress would be pretty enough so could carry the plain black buttons but I think maybe they are a bit too bland?


The yarn is Wendy Supreme 100% cotton DK. Worked on 4mm needles throughout.

Next project on the go is a pair of socks for John. Well actually there's lots on the go, some in my head, some eager to get going and some already started but these socks are the ones I've decided to finish next. I started over a year ago and then got bored halfway down the first sock, never even getting to the heel turning, how fickle was that? But I came across it lingering sadly at the back of the drawer a couple of days ago and finding a renewed love for the colours I carried on where I left it. Only two days later and the first sock is complete and the second is begun:


This time I will get to the end ;-)

Stashbusting - part 3.

So if you read the other blog you'll know that I have been otherwise occupied the past couple of weeks. But I did manage to finish the stashbusting exercise and use those final scraps of Adriafil merino left over from the jumper and hat. And this is what I came up with:


The pattern is from this book. I've used the pattern before but that time for a friend so I remembered it was really quick and simple and used very little yarn so thought I would give it a go and hope the wool would be enough. Fortunately it was but with only inches to spare!
Anyway they should keep little feet warm when playing outside. And as they're so easy to make I think a couple more pairs might be useful as I imagine they might dirty pretty quickly as Heather loves to explore.