Halloween update!

Today we had so much fun carving our pumpkins into Halloween lanterns. Ever since she saw a picture of one on the internet, Millie has wanted to make a puking pumpkin. I don't know why but it captured her imagination in a big way. This afternoon she carefully carved the beautiful pumpkin that we purchased in the week from Willows Farm and staged it dramatically on our doorstep. Good job, I think! It was such a laugh taking pictures of our handiwork and we even managed to get derek to pose as a scary pumpkin headed man. Millie had a go too, but she looked kind of cute.
This blog is supposed to be about my knitting and crochet adventures, so here is a picture of a work in progress. I recently picked up my Crochet By Numbers pattern again after a long break. It seems to be working up a bit more quickly now that I have got the hang of tying on the new colours as I go along. I am not going to reveal the subject of my picture until it is finished.

Getting Colder

The weather has got much colder recently, but surely that is just a very good recent to dig out your fabulous woolly hats and scarves. And perhaps knit some more...
Millie and I are modelling some really furry, warm scarves that I whipped up from the Jaeger Fur frogged from my terrible fur coat effort of last Winter. The pattern was free on the Red Heart website - very simple garter stitch with a slit to pull the end through. I made the first scarf on Thursday night at knitting club and then another at work today - they are seriously quick. On 8mm needles with just 13 stitches to a row, it is possible to finish one in less than 2 hours. I haven't decided yet whether to go for a matching hat. There is plenty of yarn left to play with.
Keeping Millie's toes warm are these great little slipper boots. The pattern is the "Hexagon Boot Slippers" by Priscilla Hewitt - another great design that I got from Ravelry. I made a pair last year and they turned out brilliantly. For some reason these ones have turned out a bit smaller so Millie gets them. I plan to make another pair using a 5mm rather than a 4mm hook in an attempt to cover my own toes stylishly.
This rather hilarious fish hat is not really intended to be worn for warmth - it is more of a fashion statement! I plan to give this as a Christmas gift and am sure that it will get a good reception. Meanwhile, my Hubby kindly modelled it for me. It's a pattern by Christine Grant called the "Something Fishy Fish Beanie" If I made it again I would use a stiffer yarn as the acrylic crepe dk that I chose for this version is rather floppy. I don't like to buy very expensive yarn for hats that probably won't get a lot of wear.

I have been thinking of starting up my Etsy shop again and have been experimenting with some Irish Crochet motifs. The plan is to make some crochet jewelry. So far I am quite pleased with my efforts - this little flower brooch will probably be my first listing.Hope to have more of these to show in my next post.

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.

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.