Winter Crafting

I have managed to keep myself out of mischief with some crafting....

A chunky knit scarf with massive pale lime pompoms....for a friend's daughter. 

Christmas decorations made from felted jumpers and my first use of a glue gun to stick on teeny pompoms...

I made a number of 100% wool felt needle cases...for sale in my friend's shop....here's a couple of them...

Bunny rabbit decorations made from pre-felt. 

And a couple of Christmas wreaths...

The pompom one made with vintage green/blue mohair I found at my parents and the Snowman one from MochiMochi Land's pattern for tiny snowmen...

A Little Christmas Knitting

Got a lot of ground to cover since my I stopped blogging regularly. This post will focus on the Christmas knitting.....

I was making hats for people, using a number of patterns that I got from Ravelry. 

Little Things designed by the talented Veera Valimaki (who also designed the lovely Gathering Stripes) made using luxury 4-ply from Shilasdair in Skye.

Then I made a few hats for my friends kids....from Maria Carlander's Little Scallop hat - oh and I had fun making pompoms!

And for myself, a Cliff Hat knitted with Jamiesons' yarn from Shetland.

My cousins were visiting from Auckland, New Zealand for Christmas, with their little boy Dan. When he was born I knitted him a Milo which (for age 18 months) which he was still wearing when he came to Scotland this time, aged about 28 months....it was getting a little neat and his mum was sad that it was getting too small, so between the 18th and 24th of December I rustled up another one - made with Rowan Tweed.

All knitted out!

More Making...

I posted about my softie making last year - Chewbacca from a pattern by So Pilgrim. At the time I had made 2, but I got somewhat carried away and ended up with a whole family of them!

Only one lives at home with me still, another is with a friend's baby, the third with a friend's brother, the fourth with a friend's little boy and the fifth now lives in Costa Rica!

I may end up making more, but for the moment I cannot get any more camel coloured cord....might need to go for the hazelnut cord. 

Sarah & Duck

No excuses for being a bad blogger....life just sometimes has a habit of getting in the way. It should mean I have lots to tell, but I am going to break myself in gently with a little post about a spot of recent crafting.

I have an enormous amount of felt that I love working with, but I haven't actually made anything with felt for over a year....seem to have lost my inspiration. That was until recently.

There is a great television programme for kids here in the UK, a very cute animation called Sarah & Duck, about Sarah and her pet duck. Sarah seems to live alone, which somewhat disturbs me, she is a child after all, but then I am gently reminded by friends that she is just a cartoon. The animation is great, the narration and the character's voices just perfect. Some of the episodes I will admit are completely bonkers but they are still fab. The premise of the programme is friendship and problem solving and I particularly love the episodes with Scarf Lady, the friendly knitter and spinner. Although my favourite episode is definitely Bouncing Ball - one of the bonkers one.

So now for the crafting....Sarah and Duck soft toys have just been launched in the UK and a friend asked me to try to get them for her before I travelled to Spain to see her. Unfortunately I was unable to find them in the shops but it did inspire me to make some of my own. Out came the felt, the scissors and the thread and here's the result.

Oh and the small brown thing is a shallot! Sarah has 4 of them growing in her garden!

Bread Making

I spent yesterday morning in a baking frenzy. I had promised to make some bread to take to a friend's house-warming picnic/party in the afternoon. On Friday night I sat down and looked through some of my baking books - a freebie from a newspaper with recipes from The Great British Bake Off's Paul Hollywood and a little book I bought somewhere called Italian Breads. 

I chose:

• Paul Hollywood's Flat breads with stilton and grape
• Deep pan focaccia with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary
• Rolled pesto and garlic bread - looks like a swiss roll but made of dough and filled with pesto instead of jam
• Little stuffed focaccia muffins - using focaccia dough and a mini-muffin tray to make little mouthfuls of goodness, filled with tomato, mozarella and pesto

After kneading all the various doughs I left them to rise and then started with the fillings. The flat breads were fun to make - rolling the dough into 12 small balls then stuffing them with stilton cheese and 4 half grapes, before rolling them flat and frying them. The rolled pesto bread was also fun, rolling out a long thing rectangle, spreading it with pesto and then rolling it swiss roll style. The mini muffins involved making small circles, placing a dod of pesto, some mozarella and a cherry tomato in the middle then bringing up the sides, pinching them shut at the top and then turning them bottom down into a mini muffin tray for cooking.

I think everyone enjoyed them all. 

Chewbacca! My first sewing machine Softie.

The sewing machine has made it's second item in as many weeks after sitting in its box, untouched and unloved for 2 years. Now I am finding that it's a lot of fun, or maybe I've just been making some fun projects.

This weekend I was making a Chewbacca softie. My friend is a huge Star Wars fan and she has a baby on the way so when I saw this pattern over at Draw Pilgrim I couldn't resist. I had to get my friend Laurence to order it for me as I was in the midst of a PayPal incident and couldn't use it - thanks Laurence!

I ordered the brown needlecord from PlushAddict here in the UK, but it is Robert Kaufman cotton corduroy. I couldn't fault PlushAddict. It was the first time I had ever used them, the fabric was ordered at 2pm on Thursday and arrived on Friday morning. I think I may have to order some more camel coloured needlecord.

Here's the first incarnation of Chewie awaiting his stuffing. I used felt to make the facial features as I wanted it to be very safe for a baby. But the first incarnation had some arm issues (i.e. I had failed to sew enough of a seam) so I decided that I needed to make a second Chewie for the baby.

Here's No. 1 finished and No. 2 underway.

No. 1 on his own.

No. 2 finished with his ammunition belt in place. I made the belt using felt (the pattern suggests black ribbon with silver tape stuck on, but I didn't have any ribbon or silver tape) and stitched on small squares of grey felt.

I think it is just as well that I had enough fabric to make 2 as I think I might find it quite hard to give Chewie away.

I have found a few other Chewies online. Behind the Hedgerow made a furry one and Parrish Platz has the wookie, Princess Leia and R2D2....

Scrappy iPad Cover

I got out my sewing machine for the first time ever this weekend, inspired by the Scrappy iPad cover over on My Poppet, my pile of woolly scraps and my new mini iPad.

My mum gave me the sewing machine as a house warming present and it's sad to say that this was the first time it has seen use.

Here's the pile of squares before I started - some upcycled jumpers, some knit to felt lopi squares and some handmade felt. Next time I will not use the lopi or the handmade felt, they don't hold together so well.

The pieces laid out ready to be stitched together, using the zig-zag stitch. With the edges straightened the rows of squares were stitched together to create one piece which was folded in half and stitched together.

The finished cover with the button and closing flap attached.

The finished cover and lining. It did take me a while to work out how to insert the lining so I read a few tutorials online and finally worked out how to turn it all inside out and the right way round. 

http://mypoppet.com.au/2011/05/how-to-scrappy-felt-ipad-cover.html

Mittens Finished

I have finished the mittens by adding an i-cord so that they can't get lost and they have been delivered to their intended recipient. I have to thank Gail for knitting the i-cord for me....I think that little T liked them.

Pattern: Ravelry: Goldfish Mittens by Amy Christoffer

Goldfish Mittens

I've managed a little knitting of late.....it's been the sort of weather for curling up at home....

I have loved this pattern by Amy Christoffers via Ravelry for a while and finally got round to knitting it - Goldfish Mittens. They're made with 4 ply and 3mm needles. I had the orange in my stash but had to buy the yellow. There should hopefully be enough yarn left to knit another pair.

The cuff was a little confusing at first but easy once you understood the pattern. Of course there is no quality control in my mittens, so the second one was, as usual, slightly larger.....

A friend forgot to bring her knitting to knitting group the other week so kindly knitted up an i-cord for these mittens - in the yellow - which I still need to attach. I'll post another photo once I have.

More Woollie

This one has been a long time coming.......I started knitting this little tank in July of last year, had issues with the multi-stranded colour work and then kept using the wrong size of needles to make the arm bands....but all in all, it was a fun knit and I think the outcome isn't too bad - even if the Russian Doll is a little squiffy!! 

Pattern: Dolly Mixtures from Ravelry. Size 2. 4 ply yarn - Dale of Norway, Baby Ull. 

The back is lots of stripes which was fun to knit but sewing in the ends was a little mind-numbing.

The rib was fun to knit - it is called mistake rib. Knit 2, purl 2 in the first row then in the second row Knit 1, *Purl 2, Knit 2, repeating from * to the last 3 stitches when you knit 2, purl 1. It makes for an interesting, twisted looking rib.

Of course having taken so long to knit the tank it doesn't fit it's intended recipient any more so I'll have to wait for the next little girl to grow into it.

Gathering Stripes

A little more woollie was created over the holidays. 

I had started knitting this little jumper in the autumn, using the pattern Gathering Stripes by Veera Valimaki that I purchased from Ravelry. It is a great pattern for someone like me, someone who regularly creates UFOs just because they can't be bothered sewing up.

This is knitted top down in one piece and therefore means when the knitting is finished, apart from sewing up the cuffs and adding the buttons, there is nothing left to do.

As it is called "gathering" stripes, I broke from the pattern just a little to make the stripes get closer together as I got closer to the bottom of the jumper, the stripes gathering together......

The yarn that I used was perhaps not the most practical for a small child (I knitted size 2 and I think it is more like an 18 month size) but it was lovely to knit with. 

When I was in Skye in August I visited the "knitting shop at the end of the world" - Shilasdair and purchased a cone of their hand-dyed luxury 4-ply in this lovely shade of blue. To this I added stripes in navy using Rowan 4-ply. So, a hand-wash only jumper for a toddler, as I said not the most practical, but definitely one of the softest hand-knits......I've decided that I really like knitting in 4-ply - makes for a lovely soft drape. 

Buttons to be added - need to find the perfect buttons.....

Woollie

I managed some knitting over the Christmas holidays - the weather was so poor over the period (mostly raining) that outdoor activities were minimal, so indoor activities such as knitting took precedence.

I made my first pair of colour-stranded mittens, using a free pattern from Ravelry called Squirrelly Swedish Mittens. It was an easy pattern to follow and make and using the 2 handed stranded knitting technique meant that the yarns didn't get tangled.

I used Rowan Fine Tweed in Askrigg and Buckden. I needed almost 2 fulls balls of Buckden (my background colour) and just over one ball of Askrigg (the pattern colour). It was lovely yarn to knit with and once washed the mittens are very soft and cosy.

There were a few technical hiccups along the way and having mastered the stranded knitting, I obviously relaxed my technique and the second mitten ended up slightly larger than the first, so after some vigorous washing in hot soapy water, I finally had what you could call a "pair" of mittens. Warm, woollie mittens. 

Woollie

I am enjoying knitting my Gathering Stripes jumper - it's a great pattern. Who wouldn't be a fan of a jumper that doesn't require to be sewn together (sewing together being my nemesis). The Shilasdair yarn is beautiful to knit with - spun by Gardiners of Selkirk and hand-dyed in the Isle of Skye. 

As it is called Gathering Stripes I decided to make a slight modification to the pattern and instead of having the stripes spaced equally apart I am making them closer together as I move down the jumper  - the stripes are gathering together....

We shall see how long it takes me to finish, considering I bought the yarn to knit 2 pairs of mittens last week as well. 

Knitting

I realise that there hasn't been much in the way of crafting on this blog of late....well I am knitting....slowly....and way too many projects on the go at the one time......but I have finished my first piece of Christmas knitting. I have made a lovely dark green scarf using the Rick Rack Scarf pattern from The Purl Bee - it was great to knit - an interesting stitch and making a lovely rib. I made the scarf with one ball of Lambs Pride Worsted and size 8mm needles. When the sun shines again next I will take a photo.

I am also in the midst of a Gathering Stripes sweater for a 2 year old. This is a lovely top down pattern (means no sewing up - thank goodness) by Veera Valimaki and available from Ravelry.  I am knitting it with a cone of 4-ply yarn that I bought in the "Knitting Shop at the End of the World" - Shilasdair and some dark blue Rowan 4-ply. I think it will be lovely. The yarn is hand-dyed and has a lovely tone to it and is soft and scrumptious.

I bought the yarn today to make a pair of mittens. I think I am going to make the Squirrely Swedish Mittens - but I am not sure I have enough yarn...damn....it is the lovely Rowan Tweed - but I only bought 3 balls and should have bought 4.....

Story Clouds

I haven't made a baby blankie in a long time......I just didn't feel like it. Perhaps I was lacking inspiration, perhaps I was distracted by other past-times. 

But just recently Heidi sent me the sweetest message about the baby blankies that I made for her 2 children Sam and Sophie (thank you Heidi). They were themed - one Little Red Riding Hood and the other The 3 Little Pigs.

Heidi said that she had given them to the children to play with recently and that they had loved to tell the stories on the blankies......or clouds as they called them. I hope that Heidi doesn't mind, but I love the idea of creating story clouds.......so if anyone can suggest a story for me to tell I will make a new "cloud"!

The Three Little Pigs

Red Riding Hood 1

Rapunzel

Little Red Riding Hood (in progress)

Latest Woollie

I was in Pittenweem for the weekend with my family. My parents had my cousin's house for a week so I joined them for 3 nights. It meant I got to visit the new knitting shop in Pittenweem, called The Woolly Brew - a cute little space with a nice selection of yarn. It has a good choice of price ranges - from Rico (beautifully soft polyamide/acrylic for babies - DK and aran); Jamieson of Shetland's beautiful 100% wool offerings, some Noro, great sock yarns (my mum and I both bought the same Lang sock wool)....here's my purchases!

And on a relaxing weekend there was plenty time to knit - here's my latest project - sock number 1 - perhaps there will be sock number 2 sometime shortly after sock number 1. The yarn is beautiful, pity I can't remember what it is or where I bought it.

So along with the pink house on the harbour, the Cocoa Tree chocolate shop/cafe and the Pittenweem Arts Festival, there is another reason to pay a visit to Pittenweem.

Off the Needles

I finished the cowl I was knitting whilst on the train to London last weekend.......which is just as well as it was for one of the friends that I was going to visit. I did however have to find some buttons for it and of course, where better than London to do a little button shopping.

I went to Cloth House on Berwick Street in Soho where I found the perfect buttons....a great colour to match the green of the cowl, the right size to fit through the holes in the lace knitting and with little curved edges to give them a little "je ne sais quoi".

Hopefully it will be nice and cosy for Karen's up and coming dog-sledding trip in Finland.

On the needles

Friends were home in the US for a trip over Christmas and I was gifted a lovely ball of Madeline Tosh Merino Light on their return. It's a shade called Terra Verte. I spent a while on Ravelry looking for some inspiration and finally came up with the Tilting Tetris Cowl - I am of course not knitting it because it look's like Doctor Who's Tardis - simply because I liked the pattern.

I am happily knitting away on my new needles - my first pair of Knit Pro straight needles. I ordered a pair of 4mm, 25cm long needles for knitting hats and scarves and I must admit I am enjoying the lightness of the needles and the smoothness of the wood.

Little Pip Acorn Cap

A spot more knitting has been done! That's 2 finished projects already this month.

This was a lovely pattern to knit - it's Little Pip's Acorn Cap from Kyrie Mead over on Ravelry. I bought the pattern last year some time but this was the first time I knit it up. I used Artesano yarn - 50% wool, 50% alpaca in a lovely dark orange colour. It's size 18 months to 6 years and made for the same little girl that I made the owlet sweater for. 

Annual Craft Fair

It's that time of year again....the once a year that I have a stall at a craft fair....well, I have a stall at a craft fair with 3 friends....so at least I don't have to make too much. Which is just as well as production has been at an all time low this year. I have managed some cards, some knitted Santas (3), some appliqued bags (12), some fabric necklaces, some tree mobiles (2) and some Christmas decorations....I had plans for so much more....but neither the time or the motivation.

Oh and it's that time of year when the sunrises are amazing again....