Easter

These little guys have been popping up on Ravelry and they are so cute I just couldn't resist making some!

My plan was to hang them on the "tree" with the other Easter decorations I picked up recently. The "tree" is actually just some branches with lights on them.

They make a nice decoration in the room and at Christmas it occurred to me that I could hang some baubles on them and it might look good. It did! So when I found some sparkly Easter egg decorations in Spotlight I brought them home and decorated the tree for Easter.

These little guys lasted on the tree for about 5 minutes before Miss F figured out a way to get them down and spent the rest of the night running around with her chick-chicks. I think I'll let her have them for Easter. She can really do without all the chocolate.

I used WOOLganic 8ply for all of them and they were really quick to whip up. I did two in a couple of hours and one more later that night. They still need some feet, but for now they are ok and looking really cute.

Janaury

Hello Blogger my old friend...

ok, I won't inflict any Simon & Garfunkel on you, but I will give you a run-down of January. And yes, I know February is half over already.

During January there were socks...

Leyburn socks.

This is one pair.
Fun pattern and great for variegated yarn.

There's another half-pair of a different pattern (one lone sock) which is going to the frog pond soon.


There were child-sized shrugs...

Never Not Knitting's Chloe.

Not quite finished, just needs buttons and loops.
Miss F is not bothered about the lack of these and is wearing it anyway.


And Cowls...

Dew Drop Cowl

This was from a Ruby & Sage club slot, and I actually started it right after receiving the yarn.
Halfway through I discovered I'd twisted my stitches and that was the end of that for a while!
Just needs blocking now and it's done.

A Noble Cowl

This is one of those patterns that has survived many Ravelry queue culls since I joined up.
It would easily be my most favourite knit for a long while. The yarn is madelinetosh DK and it's just beautiful. Now we just need some cold weather so I can wear it!


February might not be as productive for me though.

I do have these on the needles...

Whisper Lace Socks

I've been a bit addicted to these. The lace pattern and the colourway are both so pretty and I haven't been able to put them down. Unfotunately this means sore hands, so I'm taking an enforced break from them and the other WIP I have on the go.

Both the boys are now at school also, so things have become a bit busier around here. More homework to supervise plus a new school with a longer commute. The upside is I only have one child at home with me, but without a brother around to play with her or distract her when I need it, it's actually a bit more demanding than having two at home. She even tells me to stop knitting these days if it's not a convenient time for her to have me doing that!

Hopefully I'll also have some sewing to show off next time. Fabric is all cut, I just need to find the time to sew it together.

Bye bye, 2010

I achieved my goal of finishing my two WIPs before the end of 2010! The first was my mum's Christmas socks, and then these:

Flutter-by socks (Rav link)

These were a really fun pattern to knit up. They went pretty quickly too, which is great when you have two of them to make! I had knit the first sock before I even started my mum's socks but I put them down to make hers. I had actually intended to knit one of these and then knit one of hers, and then do the same with each second sock. But Christmas crept up on me and I needed to finish mum's socks first.

Anyway, I scraped these in by finishing up the foot on our little after-Christmas camping trip, and grafting the toe on New Year's Eve! Yes, what an exciting life we lead... me knitting at home on the couch on NYE. But really, we had spent 6 hours driving home that day and life with small children means our days of partying are kind of over. I even skipped the ringing in of the new year and went to bed at 11pm!

So apart from a couple of UFOs which are really long-term WIPs, I was project free at the beginning of the year. Kind of.

Christmas Knitting

I said I wasn't going to knit any Christmas gifts this year, but then all the Christmas knitting on Ravelry got the better of me.

I decided on a pair of socks for my mum.


She's a knitter and has a few pairs of socks made by me already, so I know that she appreciates them. I don't knit for anyone that doesn't appreciate the finished item anymore. Hence why no one else in my extended family is getting any knitted gifts!

These are Shur'tugal and they were a lot of fun to knit. I love the features in the heel flap.


I did make a mistake on the second sock after picking up the gusset stitches, but you can barely tell. I'm still not sure exactly what I did wrong, but when I got to that point on the second sock the pattern didn't make any sense to me whatsoever! And I know that wasn't the case with the first sock. That will teach me to leave such a long gap between the first and second socks! Or to take notes with the first one.

Anyhoo... I have decided that I must learn to knit two socks at once to avoid this and second-sock-sydrome in the future. That will be my challenge for 2011.

I've also decided that there will be no more new projects for 2010. I currently have 2 active WIPs that I want to finish off and that will be my task for the rest of the year. One is a whole sock so that will probably take up most of my time!

Hopefully I'll make a couple more posts with more FOs before 2010 comes to an end!

Christmas is coming

Earlier in the year I made the decision not to try to make any knitted Christmas gifts this year. I was doing ok until I decided to make a pair of socks for my mum. Then I saw all the Christmas stuff start popping up on blogs and Ravelry, and I started to get ideas.... I've managed to contain myself pretty well, but I did think that some little things as stocking stuffers for the kids might be nice.


Pattern is Little Rocket. Great use of left-over yarns!

Now I'm considering what else I might be able to whip up, and who I can gift them to! I must get control of myself...

Long time no blog

Wow, it's been nearly a month and a half since my last post. I haven't really had anything to say, and not much to show off either.

Things have been very busy around here lately - we're going away overseas very soon which is taking much organising. We've been searching for (and have hopefully found!) a new school for L & M which has been pretty stressful. All our weekends seem to have been full of kids activities and illness has been and gone and come back again. Not to mention the most boring job in the world completely sapping all of my energy. Busy, busy, busy.

I have finished another Milo recently though. I winged it with this one (although the larger sizes are now available with the pattern purchase I believe) - it's sized to fit my nearly 8yo, although I probably could have made it a bit roomier in the body for him. Still, it fits nicely and he seems to like it. And it's another Shop-the-Stash project off my needles (which means yarn out of my stash).


Speaking of Shop-the-Stash, I think I've been doing a bit more shopping-and-stashing, than shopping-the-stash, but it's the thought that counts right? I do look to the stash when I'm ready to start something new. I'm not buying new yarn to make projects with. I'm buying yarn to add to the stash. Then I can shop it.

Anyway, that's all from me for now. I don't expect I'll blog again before we go away, and in fact I'm not sure I'll blog again at all. I'm not really feeling the motivation for it right now. That could be due to all the craziness and illness that has been through here lately, so I'll see what kind of motivation (and energy!) the warmer weather brings with it when we return from our holiday.

MmmmmMalibgro.....!

I do love this yarn. It's so buttery soft and knits up so easily. I do find it a little grabby though, and my cast on tail always seems to felt up before I've finished knitting with it. I hope that's not an indicator of how the garment will perform!

Anyway, another FO
(I was going to wait to post a whole bunch some other time but I'm on a roll now so might as well go with it).


This is Just Enough Ruffles. And the pattern name is very apt - there certainly are just enough ruffles in this! Although I seem to have flattened a few of them with blocking. The colour is "Damask Rose" and although it looks quite pink in the photo, it's not so in real life. I'm not sure I like the colour all that much now. It's more of a dirty pink. But it's so so soft I don't think I can let the colour affect me enjoying wearing it on chilly mornings when I'm catching the bus to work. It was a really fast knit - the ruffles took the longest, and even those seemed to go pretty fast. I'd like to knit this again for sure.

And a little WIP.


The actual crocheting part of this is done. I intend to sew it to something else to use as a cushion cover. So far I don't have anything to attach it to. I keep meaning to go to the Op Shop up the road and check out their clothing section for a suitable item, but I never seem to find the time. I must do so soon though because our couch is cushion-less, and it looks a little bare.

I used the Neat Ripple Pattern from Lucy of Attic24. So easy to understand and follow for a non-crocheter like me!

Bloom

I'm a bad blogger. I mean to blog more than I do, but I just can't seem to find the time for project photos lately. Take a look at my Rav page if you know me on there... lots of photo-less projects! I'm trying to get caught up now though. One good thing about blogging infrequently is that when I do get around to it at least I'll have a few projects to show off! I have about 6 WIPs at the moment, all in varying stages of finished-ness. Hopefully I'll be able to get my act together with posting them here.

But for now I've just got one FO.

This is Bloom by Tikki. You may recall I was a test knitter before the pattern was released. That was a medium size done in 8ply.

This little bundle of pink sweetness is a small size in BWM Luxury 4ply in "Baby Blossom". It's destined for a friend's own newborn bundle of pink sweetness. I love this colour and pattern together! The style and the lace pattern is so pretty and sweet and the colour is so pretty and sweet also. A perfect match!

In other crafty news we've been playing with Sculpey. Need a bit more practice but it's lots of fun. Hopefully I'll have some of that to show off sometime soon too.

Knitting in Public

I've been doing a lot of it lately. Well, maybe not a lot by some people's standards, but a lot by mine, considering I haven't ever really KIP at all before.

Public transport is my new method of getting to and from work, and despite a few hiccups with times and getting on wrong buses which involved having to beg a driver to let me off at an intersection and running back two stops when I was already late, things have been going ok. And with the trip being approximately 30 minutes each way it's at least an hour of knitting time per day! It seems to keep the other people on the bus from wanting to sit next to me too, so plenty of room for me! Maybe they are afraid of the pointy sticks?

I've seen some people looking at me strangely, and I caught someone watching me the other day. Mostly though, I'm in my own little world. And I was going great guns on my "bus knitting" until I discovered that I'd twisted my stitches back at the start, so now I have to start again :(

But I do have another FO. Olearia - the latest from Tikki.


I snapped this one up as soon as it was released. So far just the shrug version, but I'm itching to get a cardigan version on the needles soon. Very quick knit and nice and easy. I used Woolganics 8ply and didn't swatch. I'd say that I need to go up a needle size next time. I'm a pretty tight knitter though. Miss F seems very happy with it. She especially likes the buttons. So much so that I suspect she swallowed one of them before I got them all on the shrug! One is missing and can't be found. She had some in her mouth. I'm keeping a lookout!

Foliage Shawl

Sometime ago - before Christmas I think - I participated in a pattern- swap-Kris Kringle-kind-of-thing over on Ravelry. Everyone was assigned another person and the idea was to buy a pattern for that person from their wish list. I love this kind of swap! So easy, no stress, don't have to spend time making anything - just look at their list and buy something that you know they want. Easy! And patterns are relatively inexpensive too.

I was lucky enough to get the Foliage Shawl pattern from my swapper - Kris from Monsterknits.

I had the perfect yarn for it too. And here it is:


It's done in The Knittery Merino/Cashmere Sock yarn in "Passionfruit". Sadly The Knittery is no more. Thankfully I have a small stash of this yarn undyed though!

It was a pretty quick knit, although the border took most of the time and I will confess to putting it down for a while for a break before finally finishing it off. But it's done now and I love it. I've even worn it to work already and it is super warm on the chilly mornings we've been having here lately.

Photo isn't that great since it's not really easy to photograph a shawl alone, and the only helpers I have around right now are either sleeping or likely to run off with it and use it to scoop up dirt.

It's probably appropriate that the Foliage Shawl be photographed on a plant anyway.

Here's some I prepared earlier

While the hex's seem to have taken over my life, I do have some other stuff to show off that are actually a few months old now.

I made these shorts for the boys for Christmas.

I "made" the pattern myself, by following some instructions on how to do this using an existing pair of shorts and tracing around them. Unfortunately I cannot find the link to the instructions right now, so I shall describe what I did.

• Fold the existing pair of shorts in half - so that the "fly" part is folded in the centre (hope that makes sense?!)
• Neaten and flatten them out, place them on some paper and trace around them
• Add a bit for seam allowances to the tracing
• Cut out the pattern piece and cut the fabric

I've probably missed something there, but it was really as simple as tracing around a pair of shorts that already fit, cutting and sewing. Don't forget to allow extra at the top and bottom for the waistband casing and a hem.

These actually turned out a little bigger than I would have liked, but I did learn a few things and I will have a better idea of what I want and how to get it if I try this again. Either way, the boys love them and wear them so all is good!

I also knit this little skirt for Miss F early in the new year.

The pattern is loosely based on the Pinwheel Sunhat. Next time I would make it slightly bigger, but as is it fits ok. If she didn't wear cloth nappies it would fit better! Must work on toilet training her!

The start of something new...

This loveliness arrived here earlier this week.

Cascade 220 in a rainbow of colours.

And see this? It's a crochet hook.

I'm a knitter, I don't crochet. It confuses me. I have crocheted a very little in the past, but nothing too fancy and I promise not to frighten you all by showing the hideous blanket I made from crocheted squares a looooong time ago.

But I've fallen in love with these. And I'm joining in the Blanket KAL/CAL at Tangled Yarns during Feb, March & April. It should be fun. I don't expect to finish my blanket by the end of April. In fact I had planned the hexagons to be a lunch-time project for myself when I return to work in May. I'm rethinking that now and I can see that they will become a little addictive, and I'm really keen to sit down and make some more ASAP!

The one above is a little wonky and I can see a mistake I've made already. I think I'll leave it as is though. I'm sure I'll get better as I make more.

And see the purple in that circle up there? I'm a bit in love with that. There's also a lovely fuschia which I haven't used yet. I'm in love with that one too. I think my stash definitely needs more of those colours...

I'm back!

Did you miss me?!

I didn't plan to not blog for so long, but life seemed to take over for a while there. My hands were quite bad for some time and no knitting at all was getting done. Illness hit me, teething hit Miss F and another round of HOT weather left me feeling unmotivated to do anything much at all.

And after all this time I really don't have that much to show off.

I did manage to finish another Shop The Stash project yesterday.


Another Milo, for M this time. This one is in Woolganics Worsted in "Leura". It took just under 4 balls. I made the 3 year size even though M is 4 to allow for the heavier weight yarn. It worked out perfectly, and he put it on right away even though yesterday was warm-ish. I have another one to make for L, but I need to dye some yarn first so I can have a contrasting bodice and trim.

And during all that time when I wasn't knitting, I also didn't drag out the sewing machine once. We seem to have had busy weekends lately and that's really the only time I get to use the machine without disturbing the kids when they are asleep. Oh how I'd love a craft room!

Cedar Leaf Shawlette

My quest to "shop-the-stash" this year is going well so far. Here's another FO for the tally!



The Cedar Leaf Shawlette (rav link). This was a pretty easy pattern to knit, if you're familiar with short rows. The leaf edging was slightly addictive! I really love knitted leaves. I've used Malabrigo Silky Merino, which I got from Tangled Yarns last year. I think I have to say that this yarn is now one of my favourites. I'd really like to knit another one of these, it was a lot of fun! But sadly I have no more of this yarn or anything else suitable in the stash, which would mean buying more. I hoped to get a little further than not-quite-the-end-of-January before I succumbed to unneccessary yarn purchases! Might put it on the list for gift knitting this year.

Pinwheel Sunhat

My first FO for 2010!

This is the Pinwheel Sunhat. I bought this pattern ages ago and just never got around to making it.


It was a lot of fun watching the pinwheel develop. And a pretty quick knit too. Only took me 3 days.

This one is in Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Cotton, which I just love. Miss F loves it too, and appeared in the kitchen this morning with it on after finding it where I left it last night after finishing. No action shots sorry. Miss F is a bit too fast for the camera these days.

The boys both want one now also. Not with the frilly brim of course! I'll be making the beanie version for each of them.

Off and running for 2010!

December FO Month Wrap Up

Remember this post?

Well I didn't quite get there with the 4 WIPs that I had planned to finish. I only finished one. I'm blaming the last minute Christmas-gift-knitting-frenzy. Oh, and my lack of motivation to finish the other three.

So here's the WIP I did finish....
This one had been hanging around soooooo long. The stripes seemed like a good idea at the time, and they really were until I had to split at the front. Then they just became the thing of nightmares. Anyway, I buckled down and it's done. The good news is that it still fits! Even though I started it at the beginning of 2009, with Winter 2009 in mind for wearing, I do think that it will still fit for Winter 2010.

I modified it a little from the pattern. The neck on the last one I made to the pattern wouldn't fit over M's head, so this time instead of modifying the V-neck, I just didn't join up one shoulder to the back, and I put in a buttonhole so we can still get it on. Hopefully should work. Still need to get a button to confirm this though.

So what is the fate of the other 3 WIPs? Well I have to confess that I can't remember what one of them was, since I didn't actually detail them in the previous post! But either way it's gone. I think I may have frogged it. Or maybe I finished it and forgot? It must have been insignificant regardless.

One of them is definitely being frogged. Travelling Woman will soon be no more. I just lost the love for this one, and found something else I'd rather make with the yarn, so it's off to the frog-pond as soon as I can be bothered.

The last one is a cushion cover in Noro. I need to buy two more balls of it to finish it off and I just haven't been able to get to the LYS to do so. It's going to survive though and I will finish it soon I hope.

One of the socks mentioned in that post is off to the frog-pond also. Wanida by Cookie. A. I really love the pattern and I was kind of enjoying the knit, but for me it was some intense chart-following and I kept losing my place, and then I had to rip back the heel because I couldn't get it on, and now it's been so long I really can't remember where I was at with it. I can't be bothered trying to work it out either. So it's coming off the needles as soon as I get the time to do that too.

I was pretty happy to move into 2010 with those decisions made and WIPs finished. A fairly clean slate for the new year! And my first FO for 2010 already completed.

I do plan to try to stay in control of WIPs this year.

PS: Sorry about all the Rav links for any non-Rav readers. There aren't any other options for all those patterns I'm afraid.

Another impromptu 2009 FO

Some time ago my husband asked me to make some mitts for his mum (mom). She lives where it is probably snowing right now, so he thought some toasty mitts might help to keep her hands warm while she's out in the garden in that kind of weather! These started out as something else, but then I decided I didn't like them and they were reborn as the Cupcake Mittlets.
These were super-quick - the first one was made in an afternoon/evening so probably about 2-3 hours. The second one took a little longer, but I blame the children for distracting me on that one! I knit these with an extra pattern repeat to make them a little longer on the wrist, as per the pattern suggestion.

These are supposed to be a Christmas gift, but Christmas has been and gone of course, so they will be a little late. I didn't start them until after Christmas was over last year! But since I started their first incarnation close to a year ago, better late then never, right?!

Wow, that was fast

Christmas and New Year have been and gone already. I had planned to post just before Christmas, and was hoping to get another one in just before New Years, but things got crazy around here. All the kids home, sick bub for the week leading up to Christmas Day, Christmas lunch at our house this year and a last minute decision to knit some gifts meant that me and the computer haven't really come together too much in the last 3 weeks! Probably a good thing though.

I need to do a follow up on my FO month in December. I didn't quite get there, but more on that another day.

But here are some FOs that weren't part of that plan.


French Press Felted Slippers. This is where reading blogs can get me into trouble. I first came across these on the Yarn Harlot's blog (as did many others!) and decided immediately that they'd be great gifts for my mother and SIL. First pair turned into a "practice pair", but I managed to knit two more pairs (including those pictured above) in time for Christmas Day gift giving. I was sewing the straps and buttons on Christmas Eve! I forgot to take a picture of the other pair, but they were a pink colour. Both done in Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12ply. The felting was a bit hit and miss, but they did felt enough. Interestingly the pink pair felted much better than the natural colour. Anyway, I'm happy with them, and I want a pair for myself now!

This next FO you've seen before. But I finally fixed the dropped stitch and blocked it enough to get some pics of it on.
I LOVE it and I'll be wearing it to death I'm sure. Only I do think that it will be an autumn/winter/spring garmet, as I felt a bit warm in it while take pictures this evening. And it's not all that hot here right now. I modified the neckline on this one to make it lower, but I think I could have gone a bit lower even. It seemed really open and low before adding the ribbing to the neckline, but it really pulled it in after it was added. Anyway, I'll probably knit another one eventually.

I have a few other non-knitting items to show off that I completed before Christmas, as gifts for the kids. I'll get around to photographing those this week hopefully.

I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Years!

Progress

I've been monogamous with my WIPs lately. And I'm making good progress with the one I've chosen to be with me day and night at the moment.
Maybe I'll even get to wear it during the season it was meant for, and within the same year it was made!

I do feel a spring clean coming on though. And maybe a UFO week coming up. I feel it's time to be realistic about a few things that have been sitting at the bottom of the UFO pile. A few breakups are going to happen. My mind is made up. I just need to break it to the UFOs gently.

Knitting vs Housework

I was pondering these two things this morning. Mostly because the piles of folding and washing seem to be multiplying faster than I can take care of them. And because my children seem to have in-built crumb-spreaders, and I'm forever sweeping or vacuuming up crumbs. And that's not even the half of it.

In some ways they are both alike. Housework is repetitive and boring. Knitting can be that way too. I can see why some people might think that knitting is about as interesting as folding the clothes, or doing endless loads of washing. So why would you bother?

Well my pondering led me to the conclusion that yes, while knitting can be repetitive and boring and sometimes a project can feel endless (especially when my mind is already thinking about the next thing I want to start making!), that at least there is an end to it. Sure, you might knit something that isn't terribly interesting to make - something mindless for tv watching perhaps - but at the end of it you'll have something. Even if it is the most mundane thing you can think of. A bit like this....
Not-very-intersting garter stitch (to me at least, I'm not a fan of knitting garter stitch). But as I was making it I could see it growing and changing and become something. Something that would be useful. It's this pattern here. A not-terribly-interesting cushion cover. And it's only one half of the entire pattern, so I still have more garter stitch to go. But it's going to be something I can use. And there is going to be an end to it. This project isn't going to continue to haunt me - I can never make another one if I like! And when it is finished I'll have made something.

The housework never ends. I never feel like I've achieved anything with it, because as soon as something gets "finished" I turn around and find more there waiting for me.... more washing to do, more clothes to fold, more dishes to clean, more tidying to do. The list goes on. It's not satisfying to me.

So in my world, in a Knitting vs Housework match-up.... Knitting wins everytime :)

I suspect it's the same in your world too?