Hats again!

Lots of knitting and crochet going on over the last month - just not much blogging. It is so hard to find a quiet time to update without interruptions. No work this week , so I have managed to take pictures of the latest projects and am now ready to reveal them...
The temperature has dropped considerably this week and that always make me consider the need to wear a warm, woolly hat. There can be few hats cuter than this one,
It is the "Deer With Little Antlers Hat" by Tiny Owl knits. I found it on Ravelry, where you can download it for a very reasonable price. I really feel that everyone should be wearing one of these this Winter. My husband said that it made him feel like the fawn in The Lion , The Witch and the Wardrobe - he certainly didn't look like it! Anyway, the yarn was from my stash and proved to be absolutely perfect for this project. It feels like a Lopi yarn but there were no labels on it - another bargain charity shop purchase. 6 x 100g balls cost me about £2. I can easily get one of these hats out of a single ball so plan to make more of these for Christmas presents. The antlers are knitted from some scraps of Kid Classic which felted very well and stand up in a suitably perky fashion. I love this hat.
Next up is the Blackberry Beret designed by Linda Permann and also downloaded from Ravelry. It was very quick to make and a simple but very attractive design. You can't see the flower shape on top very well in my pictures as the variegated yarn is rather distracting. It looks very nice and is quite a firm fabric and good fit. The yarn is Patons Vintage, which is an acrylic yarn with a cotton binder on it, purchased on sale from Kemps Wools.
Also made from Patons Vintage is this second version of the Sage Remedy Top. I have worn the Sirocco version quite a lot and am equally pleased with this one. It is such a nice shape and works well in so many different types of yarn. I'm sure that I will use the pattern again.
I am making a real effort to use yarn from my stash lately - I had forgotten about some of the yarn that I have packed away in boxes. A long time ago, I bought some Rowan Big Wool and started making a very plain pullover that turned out quite boring and got frogged as soon as it was finished. Rowan Big Wool is quite expensive and should not be wasted so I have been looking for a pattern to suit 6 balls. I decided on the Tess cardigan from Kim Hargreaves' Dark House collection last week . Having cast on, I couldn't put this one down as it seemed to grow so quickly. Just three days to knit and sew up - although I haven't sewn the buttons on yet!
I am fairly pleased with this cardi. I think it will be quite useful.
I have been making lots of baby shoes for a friend who is expecting a baby boy in November. These three are from Sylver design and the patterns are available through Ravelry...
These little boots were a free pattern from the Bernat website. It was a lot of fun making these baby boots.
More stash yarn. This is the pack of Cashsoft Chunky that I bought in the John Lewis sale last year. The Liesl cardigan is ideal pattern when you are not sure how far the yarn will go. It looks good at any length and with any type of sleeve from cap sleeve to full length. It is a top down knit, so you can just keep going until you run out of yarn. This will need some heavy blocking when it is finished - hopefully later today.
Also on the needles is the Autumn Colours Cardi - another fabulous stash busting design by Jane Thornley. I really admire her work. It is inspiring. I may take a while to finish this as I am also working on a few more baby projects at the moment.
...almost forgot! Two more Cloud shawls. The first is in Blur and the secondis double stranded Kidsilk Spray.

Going green

So I finally got around to finishing off this lovely mohair cardigan from Feminine Knits. It fits perfectly and is just about everything I had hoped it would be. 8 balls of Patons Misty , used double, have knitted up into a soft, fluffy , warm garment. The yarn came from Kemps Wools, so it was a real bargain too.
Also from Kemps, this Stylecraft Sirocco has knitted up beautifully. Sirocco is a cotton and linen yarn which is a bit harsh on the fingers when you are working with it but makes a lovely garment that feels pretty comfortable to wear. The colour is "pampas", a light green. The pattern was one I came across on Ravelry - the wonderful Sage Remedy Top. This top was great to knit. Just enough lace to keep it interesting and some stocking stitch to make it a quick knit. It also fits in all the right places and is slightly looser around the middle where you don't want it to cling. I like it so much that I am planning two more versions. I cast on tonight with some Patons Vintage and have another pack of Sirocco in a gorgeous purple shade for when that is finished.
I'm still enjoying making toys. I recently bought a copy of "Babes in the Wool" by Fiona McDonald, which I had seen reviewed online and liked the look of. My first effort has turned out quite well - although I haven't finished her face yet. A coat for the babe is half knitted and she really needs a skirt too. It was a reasonably enjoyable project so far but I always dislike fiddly sewing up. Not sure how long it will take me to finish her.

Lace and Cake

The long sleeved shrug is now officially finished and it is even better than I had hoped it would be. The basic shape is really just a long tube with lace edgings but it looks far more complicated. I am pleased with the Rowan 4 ply Cotton which seems just about perfect for this project. It had been in my stash for ages and I had never really found a use for it - one of those yarns that you buy because it is on sale and then wonder what to do with it. I have quite a few packs of yarn in the stash that were bought on impulse and it is nice to see something put to good use. I think is will be quite wearable. I am thinking of making it again in wool as I think that could also work well. I particularly like the lace edging as it is so delicate and pretty.
Last week a lovely lady at worked asked if I would knit her a cake. She loves to have tea parties and had recently purchased a beautiful new cakestand. I knitted up one from a pattern I found on Ravelry and it was so much fun that I carried on...
The result was this fun box of cakes. I made up the Battenburg slice and am quite pleased with it. When I gave these to my friend she was absolutely thrilled with them. I love it when that happens. Knitting brings me so much pleasure and it is just wonderful to share some of that joy.
The lace front cardigan from Feminine Knits has been mostly finished for a few weeks now - as usual I dilly dally with the sewing up. There was only a little sewing to do on this one - just the sleeve seams. Last night I got my needle out and sewed up those seams and wove in the ends. The result is a very pretty cardigan. In all, this used up 8 balls of Patons Misty used double. The Misty was a real bargain from Kemps Wools. Doubled up it makes an acceptable substitute for Kidsilk Aura. Obviously not quite as soft and luxurious but much, much cheaper. I have still have ten balls of Misty in a dark green colourway in stash. This cardigan was a very easy knit and turned out well .
I am on a mission to use up my stash at the moment. Two days ago I dug out the pack of Stylecraft Sirocco, also a bargain from Kemps Wools, that I bought recently. I have decided to try the Sage Remedy Top by Sarah Shepherd. There are lots of lovely examples of this on Ravelry. Sirocco is a boucle cotton linen mix and I was worried that the lace wouldn't show up enough. Having finished the front I feel fairly happy that it will work ok. I am looking forward to wearing this top so it is full speed ahead...

Still shrugging!

I have been wearing my green short sleeve shrug quite a lot over the last month and love it. So I thought I'd give another of Bernadette Ambergen's lovely patterns a go. I had 10 balls of Rowan 4 ply Cotton in my stash that I bought years ago in a sale. I used just over 2 balls on the small short sleeved shrug that I gave to Millie and thought the rest would be perfect for Bernadette's beautiful pattern for a Red Crochet Shrug. Mine will be a pale pink crochet shrug but every bit as lovely. I now have just a little lace edging on the second sleeve and around the front opening to finish. So far it is looking gorgeous and promises to fit perfectly. I have learnt a lot from these shrugs and feel I could design one of my own using the basic shape and my choice of stitch pattern then fitting on a lace edging. That's something I would love to try soon.
I recently bought the charming book Knitted Odd-bod Bunch by Donna Wilson from Amazon. I had seen some of the quirky little toys made up on Ravelry and thought they were adorable. It is also full of great projects for using up those odd balls that seem to accumulate in ones stash. My first knit from this book was the fabulous little character Rita Raccoon. She was easy to make and is a big hit with Millie. I used Rowan Designer dk 100% wool, one ball of cream and about one and a quarter balls of black. I loved embroidering the features and bringing her to life - we had a photo shoot in the back garden.
I so loved making Rita that I let Millie choose another toy from the Odd-bod Bunch and cast on immediately. She chose Peggy Long Legs. I just happened to have 2 balls of the exact same yarn in same colour as that used in the book and so have ended up with an almost identical Peggy. The body was knitted in an evening but the legs were a very long and boring knit that stretched out over a week. I love these unusual toys and will be making lots more - in fact, the Stick Snail is almost half way knitted.

Another pattern that I love is the Eden Scarf. I have made quite a few of these over the last couple of years. This latest is one of my favourite versions. I had 2 balls of Sirdar Escape left over from my Wavey Edged Cardigan and they have turned out to be perfect for this design. The colours are just right. For this one, I used garter stitch for the leaves and they don't curl up so much as the stocking stitch versions. I gave the finished scarf to Nicky, my lovely knitting club friend..

Speaking of knitting club friends, Tina and I have been working on Alan Dart's Chimps Tea Party for some weeks now. We decided to make it together to increase the likelihood of it all getting finished. Thanks mainly to Tina's superb efforts we finished this week. I intend to take a posed picture of the entire picnic later but I just had to share this photo of Millie when she first got her hands on them...

I think she likes them!
Another item that I finished a while ago is this simple and feather and fan scarf/stole that I whipped up from a single ball of Drops Vivaldi. It is a nice yarn, very soft and fluffy and quite reasonably priced. I love that I can wear this as a stole or scrunch it up and wear it as a warm scarf
Lastly, I purchased this cute kit for a crochet baby blanket in the John lewis sale a couple of days ago. What a bargain, it is reduced from £20 to £5. The colours are just lovely and it will be the perfect gift for a friend at work who is having a little boy in November. The squares are quite fiddly on a small hook and the yarn is a little splitty but I think it will be a beautiful little blanket. I need to keep myself motivated with project.

Girly Shrugs

Two shrugs finished! I am not the best at finishing things, which is probably why I love things like shrugs that have minimal sewing up. I had almost finished this shrug in Rowan 4ply Cotton when I realised it was going to be far too small for me. Luckily it turned out to be just about perfect size for Miss Millie - and she actually likes it! The shrug took just over 2 balls of yarn and was crocheted with a 3.5mm hook.
I still really wanted one for myself so I got straight on the case with a 4.5mm hook and some green boucle acrylic that I was given recently. Despite being acrylic, it is quite a nice yarn and I love the delicate green colour. I didn't want to use any expensive yarn until I had sorted out the sizing issues with this pattern. The finished result is very pleasing. So simple but so pretty ! I spotted the pattern on Ravelry and fell in love with it - it is Bernadette Ambergen's "Pretty Short Sleeved Crochet Shrug" Fairly easy to follow and easy to adapt the size once you know what you are doing. We have both worn our shrugs several times already.
This gorgeous mohair cardi from "Feminine Knits" is almost complete but has "resting" over the last week as I got excited by some other small projects. I shouldn't take longer than 2 evenings to finish so hopefully there will be another completed project in my next post. The doubled up patons Misty seems to knit up like Kidsilk Aura, although not quite as soft of course.There are lots of wonderful patterns in Feminine Knits that I plan to make.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been working on a cute toy project - Alan Dart's chimps tea party. It is going well and has filled me with enthusiasm for toy knitting. Expect lots of toys soon...

Fluffy shawls

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Lots of finished knits over the last month - and a number of UFO's too, of course. I have been falling in love with mohair yarns lately. There is something special about this wonderful soft, fluffy fibre. Rowan Kidsilk would have to be one of my favourite ever yarns and I would probably knit with nothing else if only it wasn't so expensive. Four balls of Kidsilk Aura in Bronze that I got last year in the John Lewis sale have been waiting for a pattern like this to come along...It's Cloud by Kim Hargreaves. The shawl/scarf took just 2 evenings to crochet and I absolutely love it. It's a very simple mesh triangle with a picot edging. The edging seems to make the design a bit more special. The shawl is quite big and looks great either draped over the shoulders or wound around the neck scarf style as in my picture. I have seen a few of these made up on Ravelry and they are all wonderful. I liked the finished shawl so much that I rummaged around in my immense stash until I found some Chat Botte Kid Mohair that I purchased for next to nothing in a charity shop a few years ago. The yarn is a little thinner and not quite as soft as Kidsilk Aura. However, it worked up into a beautiful scarf which I gave to Bear when she visited last week.The Bear also went home with these...
This is the fourth pair of Lisa Van Klaveren's Rose Garden Ballet Flats that I have crocheted. I would really recommend this pattern. It is simple, well written and easy to follow - and you end up with the cutest pair of house shoes. I have made this in both cotton and wool and have been thrilled with both versions. This pair is crocheted in Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim Aran. It is a nice yarn that isn't too stiff but seems as if it will wear well.
This pretty shawl used up 2 of the balls of Regia Kaffe Fassett sock yarn that I bought from Kemps Wools at a bargain price. It was just £1.20 a ball. The pattern is called Tropical Breeze - I found it on Ravelry.I have almost finished this simple feather and fan stole that I am making from a single ball of Drops Vivaldi. This yarn is amazing! Soft, fluffy, great yardage and incredibly inexpensive.I have been wanting to try out this lovely mohair yarn for ages. It is every bit as good as I imagined and I can't wait to get hold of enough to make a cardigan with.
I have lots of knitting plans for the coming month, one of which is to use up some of the yarn purchased at last Summer's John Lewis sale before I go mad at the next one!

The Shrug

Finished this morning! Veronique from French Girl Knits. This was a quick easy knit using some mohair that I bought in a charity shop. It is a lovely pattern which hangs nicely. the mohair I used is much thicker than the Kidsilk Haze recommended but I think it has worked really well. I intend to make another of these in a thinner yarn for evening wear.
My second attempt at Inga's bag has turned out very well. I used the 6 balls of Patons Vintage that I had in my stash and am well pleased with the result. I used a 4mm hook and the yarn worked up into a nice sturdy fabric. Should be a useful little bag. Again, this is a pattern I can see myself returning to many times.I picked up a couple of balls of cotton Sifa Silver yarn from the Stitch and Craft Show at Olympia in March. It looked quite interesting and I wanted to give it a try. I have used it to make a hat from my favourite knitted peaked cap pattern (Sirdar 8582). This is the first time I have done the cabled version. I just need to make the peak and sew it up.I recently ordered some Patons Misty from Kemps at a real bargain price - just 59p a ball . It is not as soft as kidsilk but the colours are lovely and it looks great knitted up. I've cast on the Soft Kid Bubble from Boutique Knits with the blue Misty - hopefully 6 balls will be enough.This one might take a while...

I'm Back !!!!

It has been a mighty long time since I last blogged - mainly due to a very time consuming obsession with Ravelry. However, I have been knitting like crazy over the last year and thought I would update the old blog. I can't possibly mention everything that I have made since my last post so I'll just have to list a few recent items.
One of the items I love most of recent knits is the Opal Wrap by Kim Hargreaves. I had 4 balls of Aura that I purchased in the John Lewis sale in January in this gorgeous orange colour. It is a very simple pattern with a minimal amount of shaping and a lovely picot edge. The wrap is really snuggly and warm - it wraps around the neck in a very pleasing way.I liked my first version of this a lot and so had to cast on for another immediately. I used 2 balls of an interesting novelty yarn that I purchased from the bargain bin at Mavis, my local yarn store. I think it was called Avalon by Tootal. It is a sort of ribbon stranded with mohair. Not at all like Aura but it worked amazingly well. The finished scarf was given to Clare Bear on a recent visit.
Over Christmas I knitted up several pairs of arm warmers with a view to giving them as presents. Of course, I never got around to sewing them up. Last week I settled down to a sewing up and finishing off session. This pair is made from RYC Baby Alpaca dk, which is an incredibly soft yarn. The pattern was from a book of accessories by Sublime yarns.I love handmade slippers! I found the pattern for these ones on Ravelry ...This is Millie's pair. I think the yarn was Rowan Handknit Cotton. I have made three pairs from this pattern now and they are all just beautiful. I will definitely be making more of these. They work well in both cotton and wool and can be made to fit just about any size. The flower trim is the cutest finishing touch. Speaking of flowers...

My friend and I made this bouquet as a wedding gift for someone from one of our knitting groups. Most of the flowers are from Lesley Stanfield's 101 Flowers To Knit and Crochet. I would thoroughly recommend the book for it's inspiring patterns.
I love knitted flowers and have wanted to make the little posy brooch from Lucinda Guy's "Designs for Kids" for a while now. I picked up the book at the library last week and have already made 4 broochs. They take only a tiny amount of yarn, knit up in minutes and are just so darn cute. I have been using up some scraps left over from other projects for these.
I haven't done any colour work for ages so thought I would start with something small. The Totoro Mittens were a free pattern found on Ravelry which appealed greatly to me. I used Rowan Wool dk to knit up a pair for Millie -she loves them. I enjoyed following a chart and watching the picture form.

This top was from one of the Rowan Studio books and used 9 balls of Rowan Bamboo Tape and some scraps of Kidsilk Haze for the corsage. I had been told that Bamboo Tape stretches like mad and so opted for the smallest size which fits me perfectly - and I am not small! I like the yarn apart from it's tendency to stretch and have purchased some more in a lighter shade to make another summer top.
There are lots of versions of Inga's Bag pictured on Ravelry which I like very much and I managed to find some of the discontinued Anchor Magicline Cotton at a very low price to make it myself. It took 2 evenings to whip up this lovely bag. I am working on another in Patons Vintage.I hope to have some garments finished for my next post. There is a cardigan just waiting to be sewn up.