my sweet peasy

here is the latest finished knitting project, a sweet peasy for my little O, although she is rather too little for this knit, i'd followed the 5-6 years instructions, thinking it may only be a little big, but it's actually quite a lot big - still at least she'll grow into it so not all is lost, it might make a nice school cardigan {for next year!} the pictures where taken pre blocking, i just had to grab the opportunity to take some when we had a little light, she's getting the hang of this modelling lark & is happy to goof about infront of the camera when needed, i knit this up in some cotton rope i'd brought from kemps {at a super cheap price} the yarn is lovely & soft, i just hope it stays the same after a few washes, it was also not too bad to knit with, i used this pattern, whilst i didn't think it was the easiest pattern to read it was an easy knit once i'd got the hang of it, so not bad value for money as it has quite a wide size range, the buttons are vintage ones i found from having a rummage in my button tin, i think they work with the grey, my project details can be found here

hoot hoot

i stopped my subscription to mollie makes a few months back, not because i didn't like the magazine, mostly because i was just amassing a huge collection & not getting round to ever making anything from them {i also wanted to give 'the simple things' a go & cost wise just couldn't justify having a subscription to the two} but when doing the weekly shop the christmas edition of mollie makes {21} found it's way into my trolley,  mostly due to the really cute pattern for the owl wrist warmers on the cover, i wasted no time in knitting up a pair of these, as i was knitting i was worried the pattern was running a little small {& i had gone up half a needle size} but once finished they fit just fine, these will make great christmas presents, i've already ordered some bargain yarn from kemps to knit up another pair!

these were knit up in some twilleys freedom purity chunky, shade :chalk, ravely details over here

52 weeks of happy

{7/52}

friday sure did come round fast again, the weeks are slipping by too fast, still i've got a lovely three day weekend thanks to a school inset day on monday - hurrah

1. i'll get the boring bit out the way first, a new washing machine, rather strange, but this is making me soooo happy, our old inherited one had been on the way out for quite a while, as always things go wrong when you could do with the money to spend on other things, but ho hum, i really can't live without one of these & its rather lovely to have properly clean clothes again

2. i couldn't resist these at the supermarket - the young girl on the checkout politely remarked that i had started my christmas shopping, i couldn't keep in a little chuckle as i replied i didn't expect them to last that long!

3. a little baking with the kids {we of course had to split the dough three ways, i got a little carried away with mine}

4. getting together the bits for my next project - i love new yarn & this lot was another bargain from kemps 

baktus

whilst snuggling up in front of the wood burner last night i finished off my new scarf {& i've been wearing it since} it is just so warm & snug - really much warmer than the other scarfs & shawls i've knitted, i think this is down to a combination of the soft chunky yarn & the garter stitch, which makes it's extra thick, it was a treat to knit, as i love the mindless ease of garter stitch, this was a super easy pattern - which can be found here {if you're interested} i knitted it up in the noro kochoran {which if you follow this blog you'll know had been knitted up three times previously!} i'm happy with this knit though, so it can stay

settling in

well we are all settling into our new routine, the littlest has surprised us all & is doing so very well, the oldest is struggling most, having moved into year three he's found that it's all about hard work from here on in - poor chap, barney & i have found comfort in each others company & he's especially loving his longer week day walks {when i'm not at work that is} i've been able to finish off little O's new cardi, which was such a pleasure to knit, despite having to rip it back to start over in a bigger size! it's knit up in some debbie bliss 'fez' {which i'd got off ebay at a great price} such lovely yarn to work with, it's a shame i think it's been discontinued & i love the colour so much, luckily she's rather fond of it too & was most obliging when i asked to take some photos of it on her, i used rather a muddle of clear vintage buttons as i didn't have enough of one type! thankfully i think they work rather well on the cardigan, the pattern details are over here

buon compleanno a me

getting ready for a little trip {bet can you guess where?} i shall be leaving my knitting needles at home this time & taking books instead {as i got given lots this morning} hoping i'll find some time to sneak off for a little quiet time, i have however knitted some really sweet little hats this week, one for my new little nephew & one for my not so little O, a very quick & easy hat pattern, worked up in the most beautiful noro kochoran, which i was lucky enough to pick up from ebay at a great sale price, 

finished just in time for the weather to warm up, my ravelry notes can be found here & here

a moochi moch

i have sneaked in a little time here & there to knit myself a little summer cardi, i'd started it over the easter holidays & am rather pleased to have finished it in time for the may bank holiday weekend, this was a bargain-tastic project, aside from the cost of the pattern, i eeked it out of 6 balls of twilleys' freedom gorgeous dk'   in catkin, which was only £1.29 a ball at kemps, i'm pretty keen to buy some more at that price & knit myself another one! i used the moch cardi pattern by the shetland trader, i did make a few tweeks, which you can see over on my ravelry page, i had intended to block it but put in on to take some photos {another grey day!} but then couldn't take it off all day - it's just too cosy!

feeling neighbourly

well the snow came & went, then came back again for a little & we kept snug in front of the wood burner {whilst i knitted} the sublime chunky merino tweed became a 'neighborly' for little O, i loved knitting with this wool, it was so warm & soft, the colours are lovely too, 

i've been a little quiet on the blogging front, mostly because i've just been enjoying & making the most of half term, their holiday is my holiday too & love it! we've been kept busy this week & when i have found five minutes to sit at the sewing machine i've been making mattresses & pillows for the little sylvanian folks that little O {& i} have become rather fond of

waiting

i'm ready & waiting for the snow to arrive, i've done a super market run, as i normally do the shopping on a weekend when the hubs is around {so the kids don't have to come too!} despite planning our meals weekly, i've never been organised enough to do the internet shopping thing regularly but i really should, as it would save a lot of time, i've also be rather naughty & stocked up on a little woolly goodness, all brought at sale prices, so rather a bargain really & i know what it will all get used for {i can get organised when there is yarn involved!}

some beautifully soft & cosy sublime chunky merino tweed in the bramble & whistler colour way, brought from kemps , & then some of the equally soft sublime extra fine merino dk from get knitted, {it would have been a better deal to get it all from get knitted, as their prices are slightly cheaper in these yarns & with free postage, but they didn't have the colours i wanted in the chunky, & as i didn't need too much, kemps still worked out a good deal}

so once i've prepared this evenings meal & got the wood burner going, i'm hoping to settle down in front of a film {the small folk have voted for Aladdin}, maybe even with a hot chocolate & definitely some knitting

let it snow

autumn boneyard

i'm just about to embark on a big knitting project as a christmas present for the man in my life, i'm finding this thought quite daunting, so i needed a quick little something i could get done for myself before the colder weather sets in {after having been spoilt with the recent heatwave} the yarn is from kemps {where else do i buy my wool from these days} it's rowan pure life 100% organic wool, in the 'alder buckthorn' colour-way, i knitted it up into my second boneyard shawl, this wool is a real joy to knit with, so soft & warm, i'm sure it will get lots of use once the weather does turn!

ravelry details over here

got there in the end

one of my friends had a little baby girl on the 31st august & i've been trying to knit her a little something ever since, three attempts later i finally have something to give to her - i'm just hoping the little one hasn't grown too much!

i used some patons eco cotton i got from kemps, it was lovely to knit with & i just love this colour, very girly without being too pink, i'm not quite sure what went wrong, i tried two different patterns before settling on this one, it was from an old 'patons' baby booklet called 'fairytales', this was pattern number 17, i raided my mums pattern stash when we were visiting over the summer {she used to own a wool shop 20ish years ago} so i know it's now out of print, it did highlight my love of 'top down - knit in one piece patterns' as i hated having to sew this one up at the end!

details over on ravelry

a camping granny

i'd been thinking about a crochet blanket plan for a while, at first i was sure i'd make a granny stripe & had been mulling over what colours i'd like to use, i'd seen this yarn on kemps website recently - i'm always checking their clearance yarns, i'd planned on making the blanket in an acrylic yarn, as i'd wanted it to be something we could take camping & that the kids could use in the garden in a den, or take to the park, so i didn't want it to be something i was too precious about, i dithered a little, not sure if  i'd like the colours or the yarn, but in the end temptation won over {& also at £1.09 for a 100g ball it wasn't going to break the bank} i ordered six colours & waited patiently for the postman,

{apple green, cerise, orange, grey, turquoise & jade}

by this time i''d made up my mind that i wanted to make a giant granny square, using two rounds of each colour, now this didn't really need a pattern but this would be a good starting point if you needed one, i couldn't wait to get started, now this isn't a particularly nice yarn to work with, but it feels okay once it's been worked up, i'm really happy with how the colours work together, i'm not really planning on getting this finished till next years first camping trip but i'm enjoying the short rounds at the start of the blanket, i'm sure i'll slow down when it takes me an hour to do one round!

& at least i'll have something to do whilst hiding in the tent from the rain on our final camping trip this year!

it's friday - let's have a give-away!

okay let's get to the good stuff

one winner will get their hands on this Amy Butler 'field bag & tote' pattern, along with a metre of some fabric from her 'love collection'

don't worry if you're not a sewer, there is something for the knitters too! another winner will get two balls of  freedom sincere 'organic cotton dk' in a lovely muted shade of purple & a small collection of vintage knitting needles 

having had a sort out of my knitting needles i also have a few 'odds', so if anyone is interested in these vintage needles for a collection or think they might have a partner they could reunite them with, please let me know & i'll do a separate 'lucky dip' for  them

the give-away is open to all {although not sure if there are any rules on sending knitting needles overseas?} all you have to do is let me know which you are, a sewer or a knitter {or a bit of both - therefore not really minding which goodies you get your mitts on!} then also please let me know if you're interested in the odd knitting needles too, i'll leave the give-away open over the weekend, then pick a winner on monday {or maybe tuesday if i forget what day it is}

pointing the finger

of blame! this is the reason why i am so behind on making things to sell at the school summer fair!

it's finished now so i have a whole week in which to flick the switch onto crazy sewing lady, it's going better than i had thought & i;ve got quite bit made in the last couple of days {but will be taking the rest of today off as it's our wedding anniversary}oh & tomorrow i'm throwing a whole heap of trouble into the mix, but you'll have to wait to find out what it is {can't believe i've kept this one quite though!!!!}


back to the knitting

i'm so very happy with how this turned out, i love the pattern & the yarn worked out great {as did the price as the yarn was on sale from kemps}

it's the twenty ten pattern from Veera Välimäki, i made a few changes, the most obvious being i made it long sleeved, mostly because i'd got enough yarn left to do so, i would love to make a short sleeved version too, i also shorted then neck by a couple of inches,

i used sidar tweedie yarn, it's labelled as a chunky but i really don't think it knits as one, more of an aran weight really, it's a colour i will wear a lot, just hoping it will wash well!

more details over on ravelry

KCWC day seven - part two

the cardigan got finished last night & i managed to sew the last of the ends in this morning {as well as baking 24 cup cakes for the fete!} little O even helped me pick out the buttons she liked, shame there weren't more button holes as she picked out a whole heap of good ones, 

i used the lilla koftan pattern again, a few changes but not many, i used up some of the left over yarn from my granny blanket {which is all finished, it just doesn't have the ends sewn in, so no 'tada' yet}it's a real shame this yarn is discontinued, as it's lovely to work with & is so very soft & makes a cute little summer cardigan, my ravelry notes can be found here

it's been a busy week for me, think i'll be off to bed now & hopefully be back next week with a little more to say