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

Sidetracked.

Well I managed to finish the hat for Sophie today. It has turned out rather nicely but I forgot to take any pictures so I will let you all have a peep at that tomorrow. I will show you the scarf for Owen too, and let you in on why it is so special ;-)
I should be cracking on with the mittens to go with Sophie's scarf but I have been a little sidetracked this evening with these:

Knitted fruit! I hope you can recognise them but just in case you can't there is a pear, an orange and an apple. They are a make for a lovely person on the green parent forum and I do so hope they are what she is after. She is an inspiring mama and I am so pleased to be able to do a little something for her. These took just under an hour to make and I have to make two more of each yet. The colours are much more realistic than in the picture but it's late and my camera isn't set right and I am too tired to fiddle with it so this is the best I can do. I do have a bit of a worry though.........we didn't agree a scale for the fruit so not sure if these are big enough?I do hope so but I better not start the others until I know for sure.
Well it's late (2:30am!!) and I'm tired, and I have a little one snoring over on the sofa so I guess it's time to get a few hours sleep. Back soon with pictures of that scarf.
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..........

New name same old blog.

So what do you think of the new look? All new and shiny in the hope that I get chance to post a little more often. So why "sat on the back of the sofa"? Well its fairly obvious really. The sofa is much more comfortable than my rocker for all the feeds we are enjoying so that I tend to do my knitting and sewing there too. This means that most of the things I'm working on just get left on the back of the sofa whilst I go off to do other things. Go on admit it, you do the same thing. You're sitting there, enjoying five minutes to yourself, maybe reading a book, sewing or knitting a little, or just watching tv. Then you hear that call. "Mummmmmmmmm". So you throw whatever you were doing or holding behind your head and onto the top of the sofa and there it stays sometimes for minutes, sometimes for hours, or if you're family is anything like this one, more likely for days.
So whats at the back of the sofa just now?
Well the title picture just about shows it all. A muslin cloth, not very crafty but necessary for dribbly baby days. A knitting bag containing lots of crochet squares being gathered to create a snuggly blanket as one of Sophies christmas gifts. Do you want a sneak peek at this? Well here you go:


So what do you think? Its beautifully soft and the squares are very quick and simple to make. I'm very pleased with it so far but I'm not sure how long it's going to take to make. Each square is roughly 10cms so I need to make lots and lots. The yarn is an acrylic called playtime which was on offer in Abakhan and should hold up to Sophies handling very well.
Also up there on the back of the sofa is a ball of multi coloured wool ready to knit a hat for Owen, another christmas gift. Then theres a hair scrunchie, essential crafting equipment as without it human hair would be an integral part of all my makes. Oh the joys of post birth, hair loss galore. Then the next thing we find is again unrelated to crafting at all but essential relaxation - a book. Current reading is James Lovelock's The revenge of Gaia, very grim. Then there are a couple of Heathers toys - a crochet sunflower rattle and a knitted snake with rattly tail. And then finally a piece of fabric left over from sewing Helen's new curtains and cushions. I think its going to make a nice little bag for Sophie don't you?
Well must dash now, I hear little squeaks from the snoozing body alongside me. More updates soon.
xx

Quick fixes.

Another long pause between posts........
Well I needed to craft but it's so difficult with two spirited boys to share my time with, and then add a newborn who I can't bear to separate myself from and there is simply no time at all. I did start knitting a pair of plain white cotton leggings from Heather but 4ply on 2.75mm needles is veery time consuming, even in a newborn size. Anyway I did manage to get them done, although it took well over two weeks. And then the first time she tried them on she pooped on them so no pictures to show!
So I went for the quick and easy option instead and made a couple of small things instead.
First was a toy for Heather, a little crocheted flower/sunshine rattle. Just two crocheted circles in yellow DK on a 3.5mm hook in DC and then 8 small DC triangles in green. I embroidered the smiling face on one circle, stitched the triangles all round, oversewed the second circle to the back thus hiding all stitching/loose ends, left a small hole to stuff with two bells and wool, and then closed up. Very pleased with it. So light and tactile for little baby hands.

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:

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.......