At last!

I have a finished thing!

But first I just want to say a huge thank you for the offers of help in response to my last post. We have had some very kind offers of help across the web and Jen is so grateful. She really didn't imagine that virtual strangers friends would help so greatly.I haven't posted in over a week as I wanted to keep that message up as long as possible but we have had so many lovely offers that i think I can safely allow to glide down the page. I will keep you updated with how things go :)

So back to the finished thing.

It started off like this many weeks ago:

The one on the left! ArwenMakes hand dyed sock

And then it became this:

The one at the top.

Two different sized needles started it growing:

The increase section moving along nicely

And then several weeks of a row here and there turned it into this:

Just one more icord edging to go

Before finally, last night, it became this:

Sallah cowl by Bristol Ivy

The whole thing is knit by using one 3.75mm needle and one 6mm needle alternating the rows. It is a lovely twisted rib pattern knit on a bias so there is an increase and decrease on every other row. The twisted knit is created by knitting into the back of every knit stitch so needs a fair amount of looking and feeling to make sure the stitch is taken up properly. The yarn itself is wonderful to work with. A splitty yarn would have had me tearing at my hair but this yarn is so smooth and quite soft. The twist is gentle so it runs through the fingers nicely and the colour....well, what can I say? The colour is amazing. A deep pinky red with lighter pinky orange tones running through, and a lovely silver sparkle throughout. You have to see it to appreciate what a great job Sarah has made of dyeing it. I am trying so hard to stay away from her Etsy store and splurging on gorgeous yarn that I really can't afford right now...or even have time to use!! In fact the only issue I have with the whole cowl is that it is not as drapey as the pattern shots imply, knit to gauge it is quite a snug fit with only a little drape, far less than it seems on the pattern page. Also it states after shaping to knit the main body until the left side measures 17 inches. Well my left side was almost that before I even started the main body! I did think of keeping on knitting until the piece seemed a reasonable length before starting the decreases but wonderful Ravelry came up with a Sallah cowl KAL group where it was suggested that working 64 rows (16 pattern repeats) made more sense as that would give a total of 156 rows, the same number as the amount of stitches to be picked up for the icord edging. This worked out just perfectly. The icord edging was a doddle to work and really sets off the finish on the cowl, it's definitely one I would use again.

Thanks Owen, for doing what your Dad didn't ;)

So that's another one for the gifting box then, time to knit up a couple of cardi's for the soon to be here baby bump, and some bits and bobs for Jen's stall. Oh and another Sallah cowl for the lovely man only in a darker shade and far less sparkle ;) Yep, he tried it on and loved it.He wouldn't model though so you'll just have to imagine a 40+ year old guy gruffly stating how great that would be for on the motorbike, whilst wearing a cherry red sparkly cowl......:) Apparently it's a nice snug fit so it will pull nicely up over his lips under the helmet.

I'll try to make it back soon, so taaraa for now.

-x-

PS - did I tell you I have a new addiction? Twitter and Instagram - who'd of thunk it?

I'm mamabex9 on Instagram and Bexmama on Twitter so please come and say hi. Because I want a real reason to be hanging around there, not just to randomly browse strangers posts and pics......

-x-

Juggling.....

quite literally!

Owen has been teaching himself to juggle the past couple of days. He quickly got fed up of eating bruised apples so moved onto these:

Oranges! Hmm, weird photo......

Fortunately for us, unfortunately for him, we go through many oranges a day for our breakfast juice so he needed to find an alternative. The soft balls were too big, the outdoor balls, well, they were out of doors, in the rain and snow, and the pool table balls, hmmm, have you landed one of those on your toes? So mama had a plan. We whipped out the sewing machine, cut out 12 equilateral triangles (maths lesson see?) and stitched them into 2 pyramids filled with lentils:

See charity shop-found Swiper? Heather is obsessed with Dora. Haha, did that distract you from my shabby sewing....

 

Only 2 pyramids from 12 triangles, is that what you're thinking? Haha, mama had to make a boobie stop halfway through and forgot what she was doing - sewing 2 triangles fully together doesn't make a decent juggling ball!!

Two is hard enough to start with ;)

Sew So there we are, maths, drawing, problem solving, PE,patience, and craft all covered in one day. We love homelearning :) And mama got to give the sewing machine a dusting over too.....

-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-

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-

Next up........

A new pair of socks for Owen in colours chosen by the boy himself - Ogre socks apparently.

Knitted from what was approximately 80g of black and 80g of aqua DK, probably an acrylic mix, found in the scrap stash. I still have around 40g of each left so might make another pair for Cain...........or I might not. Half the fun of scrap stashbusting is thinking of new uses for previously unwanted yarn.

The pattern for the socks came from the book mentioned in the previous post, a broken garter stitch rib for which the pattern suggests a variegated yarn but I think the stripes look much more fun for little feet.

Next project from the scrap bag is a different craft - crochet. Taking a step outside my comfort zone now and no idea whether the yarn I'm using is going to be sufficient for the work in progress. I do know that crochet seems to gobble up the yarn much quicker than knitting but on the plus side it's far easier to work several pieces at once to ensure that I can blend in a new colour if necessary to complete the work.

Well I don't know about seeing spots, but stripes are definitely becoming a bit of a theme around here just lately!

Back soon with another catch-up.

Don't forget to let me know what scrap yarn busting ideas you have been working on lately.

-x-

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

Mitts and bits for christmas.

So I'm cracking on with the christmas list now. Finally got around to knitting the mittens to go with Sophie's hat and scarf:


Knitted on two needles so very quick and easy, the pair completed in one evening. I'm thinking of maybe appliqueing a little something on them just to pretty them up a little more. Emma likes very girly things for Sophie! The scarf is knitted in stocking stitch and so the sides curl inwards. To combat this it is going to be lined in some lovely pink cotton fabric and I might use the leftovers for the appliqueing. But no definite decision yet as sewing really is not my strongpoint.

And another pair of mittens, only not quite so easy and definitely more time consuming:


I've knitted these for Owen and his love of all things Thomas. The intarsia wasn't too bad, nor was the extra embroidering of features. The worst and most time consuming part was the sewing in of loose threads. Or more to the point, sewing them in neatly with such a limited working surface! All these threads (and more) to sew into one little mitten:


I have another handmade beautiful thing to show you today. This lovely little dolly made especially for Heather for me to pop in the christmas stocking:


Oh how I would love to be able to sew as well as this. But I can't. And so special thanks go to Pippa for creating this little doll just for us. Heather has already had a sneak peek and just didn't want to let go so I'm sure dolly will be much loved. Thank you Pippa.

Now I think I should go and finish sewing up that second mitten before little one opens her eyes. And maybe even start on the hat to match.
Happy crafting all.
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