Little things...

Over the last couple of weeks I have been making smaller items. Some for gifts and some just to try out interesting looking patterns. I have been wanting to try these pretty crochet necklace patterns for a while now and found the perfect yarn in my stash when I was looking for some wool to make mittens with. This delicate one is called the Spring Flowers Neck Piece by Angela Best. It is a free pattern that I found on Ravelry.
I was very pleased with the way that this turned out so I looked around for similar patterns and came up with Flower Necklace Motifs by Elizabeth Lowe. It took an evening to make up the motifs and then another to join them together. Next time I will join as I go along to save time and effort. The yarn was another charity shop purchase, so the cost was almost nothing.
Baby hats are a real pleasure to make - maximum cuteness for minimum effort. These two were from Itty Bitty Hats, which is a lovely book by Susan B. Anderson. I used some Sirdar Snuggly dk from my stash. It is perfect for baby hats as it is very soft and is machine washable. Both hats are for Baby Benjamin who arrived one month early and is apparently very tiny.
Last Saturday I went to Mavis in Bushey, my LYS. They have some fabulous Katia yarns in stock and I just had to treat myself to 2 balls of Memory, despite vowing to use only stash yarn in the foreseeable future. The plan was to knit up some sort of cosy cowl for myself. I made up the pattern as I went along. It's just a simple stocking stitch tube with a ring of eyelets threaded with an icord drawstring. I love the soft, colourful yarn and am pleased with the cowl.
Found this free pattern for Coraline Mittens on Ravelry and just had to make them for Millie. she is a big fan of the strange , creepy, animated film "Coraline". I have finished the first mitten with the cat on it and have started the second which will feature a mouse and button key motif. They look quite cute so far and I am enjoying knitting mittens. There are several more interesting designs in my pattern file that I can't wait to try.
I recently recently crocheted a pair of Persuasion Fingerless Gloves, another pattern that I spotted on Ravelry, and gave them away before I had a chance to photograph them. I liked the design despite the pattern having a lot of errors and the fit being not very good. I have started another pair but got got distracted by other projects. The second mitten will get done sometime soon. Probably. Meanwhile, progress is slow on the Endless Knitted Cardi Wrap. I can't wait to finish this garment as I think it looks great - it is just so boring to knit. I have seen a new version of this design in broomstick crochet which looks like it would be more interesting to make. Perhaps I shall give that a go next.