The PE Lady’s Christmas Booties

So ……. just how cute are these booties?  How could I resist?

Knitted by our beloved PE Lady, I had to have them for Iris’s first Christmas.  Sorry,  I don’t have the pattern, I just wanted to show them to you.

2015, I suspect, will be the year when I finally pick up my knitting needles again. There was once a time in my life, when Tom and Lucy,were small, that I was never without any knitting …… in fact Lucy was always known at playgroup as the little girl with the lovely jumpers!!! So, with many beautiful wools and patterns in the shops now, and knitting being an on trend sort of hobby, I think that between the Equally Lovely Granny Denise and I, Iris will be able to take on Lucy’s mantle and become the next little girl with the lovely jumpers and cardigans!!

Dishcloths Abound

Last year I lost count of the dishcloths I knitted for Christmas … but I am at it again because they were so popular people have asked if I would knit them another one, two, three or four more for this year!

I use UK size 4 knitting needles (6mm or US 10) casting on 37 stitches and working 9 inches in garter stitch (knit every row) and can usually knit one per night. The price of the dish cloth cotton varies considerably, in Wolverhampton it costs about £2.79, but the best price I have found is from B G Payne where the natural coloured yarn costs £1.39 for 100grams and £1.79 for the white.  I can usually get about three cloths from one ball. I have just received my order of ten balls, so that’s my nights sorted for quite a while, but stops me from nibbling, so it can’t be all bad!

http://www.bgpaynecrafts.co.uk/category/9774-dishcloth-cotton.aspx

New Baby Card With Knitting

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made with a hand cut blank using white linen effect card.

For me there is possibly too much going on here, but I think it will pass muster.

It’s just that I have had these knitted embellishments forever and it was about time that I tried to use just one of them, but alone, on a card, it looked a little too empty and so I started to pile on the bits of fiddle fart!!

Knitted Baby Booties

Remember the baby booties I fancied doing last week? Well I’ve done them!  They were so simple and look about half an hour each to knit and about ten minutes to sew up. 

Left plain they are quite cute, and originally I was going to put a button on the front to shush them up, but when I found the crocheted flowers amongst the bits in my button box, I just had to use them as they were perfect.

You can find the pattern here:- http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=4189&cps=21191

With my first pair successfully completed I am now thinking of variations on them, including a few pairs in various sizes in red for Christmas with suitably cute embellishments on the front. Hmmmmmm.

What’s Been On My Knitting Needles ……

It’s been ages since I have knitted anything of a garment type nature, dish clothes and scarves seem to have dominated my knitting needles of late. But with a spate of babies at work I decided to attempt something a little more complicated and found this very simple but stylish pattern free from this site http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=4147&cps=21191 and I love that you can print it off in PDF form  http://www.bernat.com/data/pattern/pdf/Bernat_KW530167_07_kn_pullover.en_US.pdf

I chose to knit it in this a soft grey because it would be suitable for either a  boy or  girl (I detest lemons and pale greens!) and it would match with almost any other colour.

The site is well worth a look. I already have my eye on knitting these adorable booties to go with the jumper,  but I might add a little button on them to zhuzh them up!

Watch this space ……

Park Your Yarn–Wolverhampton

Yesterday I went to one of the Park Your Yarn events that have been going on in Wolverhampton over the past month (and which come to an end on 5th April). I am quite shy and quiet in new company and was relieved to be able to just slip in unobtrusively under the canopy, popping the knitted strips I had already completed on the table and sit down to knit in the glorious sunshine, listening to the others as they either taught or learnt how to knit and crochet

After a while a lovely lady called Mandy sat beside me and “recognised “ me from this blog ….. it felt so weird and I was a little embarrassed, but it broke the ice. She even remembered the old pictures of me in what I used to affectionately call my shopping lifting coat and handbag!!!!!

Then, Mandy offered to show me how to crochet, something I have never attempted before.  All I can say is she is a VERY patient teacher ….. I admit that I am a very slow learner and just couldn’t get my head (or fingers) around holding the yarn, ….. so we didn’t progress further than making a chain BUT something did sink in because when I got home I was still able to add some more links to my chain!!!!! So I will keep on practising chains as Mandy advised  and then when I am confident I will get my daughter Lucy to show me the next step., so perhaps in a little while I will  be able to make a square.

Mandy also knew all about the Monkeys, so even more ice was broken as we both took lots of pictures of them getting stuck into the crocheting too, although they hardly took their eyes off the custard creams!!

I bought home a couple more balls of wool.  I was sort of tempted to use some of my own, but thank goodness I didn’t because the installation is only going to be in pinks/white and creams, so my efforts would have been wasted.  I can’t wait until it is completed to see where my strips will end up!

Mandy has a blog http://6ichthusfish.typepad.com/ 

and is also a designer for http://itsacreativeworld.typepad.com/
xxx THANK YOU MANDY for making my afternoon so enjoyable xxx

http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/wolves/whats_on/004851.html

Park Your Yarn–Wolverhampton

My daughter Lucy came home the other day with a carrier bag containing some wool, a pair of size 4mm knitting needles, a crochet hook and a leaflet containing  knitting instructions and details about the “Park Your Yarn” events organised Wolverhampton Art Gallery in  March and April.

In April St. Peter’s Gardens, which is in the centre Wolverhampton, is going to be turned into a “Woolly Wonderland”, with knitting and crochet created by lots of  local people.

Well it would be rude of me not to take part wouldn’t it?  So I am planning on going to one of the free knitting/crochet events on 24th March at the Art Gallery and St. Peter’s Gardens. 

I am not going to do anything fancy, I’m just following their bench pattern which involves casting on 25 stitches and knitting until it measures 30cm, which, when joined up with lots of others will be used to cover one of fifteen park benches ……. how exciting!!   I plan to take lots of photos of my afternoon plus more when the whole project is completed if you’re in the area why not join me knitting needles akimbo!

http://stitchesandhos.wordpress.com/

http://parkyouryarn.tumblr.com/
http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/wolves/whats_on/004851.html

Tivoli Whirl – Ruffled Scarf

My apologies as my pictures just do not pick up the bright vibrant rainbow colours of this yarn.

 

I’ve been knitting again!  The shop I go to in Wolverhampton always has such interesting bits of knitting by the till, it must be a cunning selling ploy, because curiosity always gets the better of me …. I ask what it is and how it knits up… and before I know it another ball of wool has found it’s way into my bag!

Anyway, this scarf is made using one ball of Tivoli Whirl, it cost me just under £5 and it is enough to make one scarf.  The shade I have used is called Bright Rainbow Shade 962 and took me about 3 hours to knit on 8mm needles and 9 stitches. You knit it in the same way as Rico Loopy yarn and demos can be found on YouTube.

Rico Creative Can Can Scarves

Last summer I raved about Rico Can Can wool after seeing it knitted in to scarves but didn’t have a clue how to use it or know anyone who could show me …. until yesterday, when I went into a wool shop in town and noticed the start of a scarf on the counter … so I asked the lady if she would show me “how it worked” …. two minutes later a ball of the yarn wool had myserriously dropped into my bag.

All the way home on the bus I went over and over in my mind what I had learnt and once I sat down and started knitting I was so excited I didn’t have my tea ‘till late. I was totally hooked, so much so I had both (150cm) scarves completed before bedtime!

I was a little unsure of casting off so went on YouTube and found this really simple demo on how to cast on, knit and cast off ….. brilliant! 
http://www.blacksheepwools.com/acatalog/Rico_Can_Can.html

Knitted Liquorice Allsorts

How cute are these?  But I can’t take the honours, my mum knit them for my sisters birthday, they must have driven her crackers!  She has far more patience than me!

They had seen something very similar in Covent Garden on a recent trip and my mum went straight out and found the knitting pattern to have a go. She said they were a devil to sew up and stuff!

Very Easy Fingerless Mitts

I am really enjoying discovering knitting again, but at the moment I only want to tackle projects that can be completed in a couple of nights and these fingerless mitts just fit the bill!

When I was given the pattern it just said use a “50g ball of wool” – so I thought chunky would be best, but as I didn’t have any, I have used two balls of double knitting together (I hope that makes sense)  It’s hard to see the colours, but the wool is a mix of purples, greens and cream.

You will need a pair of 4mm or 4.5mm needles.

Pattern

Cast on 32 sts.

Work in K1, P1 rib until work measures 3.5 inches.

Stocking st. 5 rows (P1 row, K1 row)

Increase 1st at each end of next knit row (34sts)

Stocking st. for next 3 rows

Increase 1st. at each end of next knit row (36sts)

Stocking st. for next 3 rows

Increase 1st. at each end of next knit row (38sts)

Work 10 rows stocking stitch

Work 4 rows K1, P1 rib

Cast off loosely.

Finishing:-  Sew ends in, Sew cuff and side, leaving a gap for the thumb, and then knit another one to make a pair!

I wanted my mitts to be a bit longer so added  another 4 rows of stocking stitch before the ribbing at the end.

Knitted Tic Tac Mint Cosies

And……  the prize for the “Most Unnecessary, Too Much Time On Your Hands Craft Award” goes to ……….. Moi!

My husband is seriously addicted to Tic Tac mints, so I decided to make him a set of cosies to fit the large and regular size boxes for his “New Years Tut”  They made me laugh so much that I thought they deserved a post of their very own!

 

Now…….  just in case anyone would like the pattern !!!!!!

I used size 4 1/2 mm needles and some double knitting wool.  For the large size - cast on 27 stitches and knit 25 rows of knit one row, purl one row and then 3 knit rows for the top, before casting off.  Sew up.

For the smaller size cast on 16 stitches, knit 16 rows of knit one row, purl one row and then 3 rows of knit  before casting off. Sew Up.

That should keep his mints warm!!!

Hug Mug Pattern - Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge 2010

 
I've entered this is the Most Wanted Christmas DIY Challenge http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/

Materials

1 ball of double knitting yarn, 7 buttons, 1 plain button,  1 pr. 4 mm (UK 8) knitting needles.

Measurements: 23 x 8cm (9 x 3 1/4 ins)

Cast on 7sts

Knit 2 rows

Continue in garter stitch

Inc 1st at each end of next and every alt row until 19 sts on needle.

Proceed in garter stitch and block pattern as follows;

Row 1: knit

Row 2: K3, P6, K to end

Rows 3 – 8: rep rows 1 and 2 three times

Rows 9 – 11: knit

Row 12: knit to last 9 sts, P6, K3

Row 13 – 18: rep rows 11 and 12, 3 times

Rows 19 – 20: knit

Rep rows 1 – 20 twice, then rep rows 1 – 10 once

Continue in GS and shape button hole end:

Dec 1st at each end of next and every alt row until 11sts on needle.

Next row: to make button hole, K2tog, K3, yrn, K2tog, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog

Next row: knit, knitting into yrn of previous row

Continue to dec as before until 7 sts remain

Knit 2 rows

Cast off.

To make up:   Work in all ends neatly.  Sew the buttons into the squares, Sew plain button on to the end of the mug hug to correspond with the button hole at the other end.

Knitted Mug Hug

I just love it when someone introduces me to an idea I have never come across before ….. I was so inspired last night that I sat knitting while watching The Apprentice, which as you know is sacrosanct!  It’s a Mug Hug!

…….. A little wrap around cosy for my mug (a definite too much time on my hands project!). It’s from this book – Knitted Mug Hugs!

I’ve used a red cotton type double knitting wool and size 8 needles for my hug and then embellished it with a large mother of pearl button to fasten it and small pearl heart shaped buttons on the main body.

I couldn’t believe it when I Googled the idea … I got so many wonderful results.

There is so many fun ideas out there,  that I don’t know about  ….. agggghhhh, if only I didn’t have to go to work!