Snug as a bug.

Why no post for over a week?
Well apart from reaching the final stage of growing a baby, which is taking up most of my time and energy, I have been finishing projects. It's amazing how much you can get done if you ignore the lure of the web, stay away from forums, pretend ebay doesn't exist and most important of all.......do not look at online wool shops!!
So I finished the first pair of socks, and the next, but no pictures, my dearest one has them in the Isle of Man as we speak and has reported back that he has lovely warm feet if nothing else. Apparently it is very cold and wet there and camping would not be his first choice right now ;-) Did not finish the third and final pair so they are now a Fathers day project instead. Or maybe a September birthday........or maybe a Christmas gift....
But I have finished something else. Remember the last post about the Sirdar snuggly for £3. And not knowing what to do with it all. Well this is what it has become:


Now Cain is doing a great job of modelling it but it was Jeni that actually bagsied it and wears it slung around her shoulders through the night and whilst watching TV, sat at the PC etc. I was going to add non slip matting to the bottom and use it as a baby rug for the floor but it just grew and grew and then I couldn't say no to Jen as she was so enchanted with the snuggly softness of it.
The details - well very, very simple. Using 3 balls of taupe yarn together and 9mm needles cast on 40sts and work in garter stitch until 9 balls are almost used up then cast off. Then do the same with the cream, then the same with the rest of the taupe. Then stitch all three pieces together. How easy is that? Total yarn used - 18 taupe and 9 cream. Finished size - approximately 200cms x 100cms. I was originally planning something more square in dimensions but once I realised how snuggly it was I realised one of the family would like it as a wraparound/shawl type creation and so went for length rather than added width.
Right, not a great time to be up and awake but seeing as sleep seems to be limited to only 3 or 4 hours a night at the moment I think I will see what else I can finish off.......

I love........

Very old knitting patterns!
I found this selection today at the car boot sale. Look at the prices on them! I know most of the wool for the patterns no longer exists, and also sounds downright awful - 4 ply bri-nylon, or super crimp nylon DK, mmm, not my first choice of yarns, but with the right yarn and a little tampering there are some lovely clothes to be made from these patterns. The woolworths booklet is especially fab and contains lots of knit and crochet patterns from which I have chosen only a few to share. There was one really nice pattern inside for envelope neck vests which I might try soon but I couldn't bring myself to share the pictures as the baby models were only wearing the vests and nothing else. Truly an age of more innocence - no-one would allow that now.

Another find was a big bag containing balls of snuggly wool, 10 each of brown and white. The bag also contained a knitting pattern, needles and the ready knitted pieces made up from the pattern. All it needed was finishing together. Dear husband actually found this bundle and paid £3 for it. Not sure really whether I actually wanted it but hey, I'm not going to refuse it once he's bought it. I finished off the cardigan and hat from the pieces and discovered the reason the knitter had given up - she had followed the pattern wrongly and followed the same hem shaping for both the left and front pieces which you might spot if you look closely. I don't really like the finished cardigan anyway so it will probably end up in the charity bag. I decided to make a snuggly soft little blanket instead and so have used three balls together with a pair of 9mm needles and garter stitch and will just keep going until the yarn runs out. With needles that size and yarn that thick I don't think it will take too long ;-)