Lily Allen - eat your heart out!

Lily Allen is known for wearing pretty evening dresses with sneakers - something tells me that Little Miss A has been picking up style tips from someone other than her Mummy....

Don't you just love the scruffy mini Converse teamed with brown cotton tights and a pretty blue/tan tartan skirt? Oh, and please note the neat and tidy plaits......it's worth the morning battle with the hairbrush to see her looking so cute at the end of it :-)

Getting ready....

...the days are getting shorter, the alarm clock goes off when it's still dark, and there's a definite nip in the air! Yes folks, that means crafters all over the world are starting to think about Christmas......I have a ludicrously long list of projects / gifts that, in an ideal world, would mean all my friends get showered in hand-made bounty. However, being realistic, I know I will have to prioritise as there really is a snowball's chance in hell of getting them all finished on time....

Of course, I couldn't make Little Miss A wait until Christmas - sending her off to nursery without something to keep her ears warm would have been just too cruel.....so I whipped this up using some of the leftovers from her little tank top from earlier this year. She loves it - thank goodness!

In addition to all the cowls, gloves, and hats that are in the pipeline, I have well and truly been bitten by the 'lace bug'. I can't quite explain just how soothing it is to knit a lovely, lacy design and seeing it grow exponentially on your needles. These projects can look like something the cat sicked up before you block it, and then 'pow', it just blooms and comes out looking gorgeous. Take this Ishbel for example:

Made using the Knitting Goddess's BFL sock yarn in semi-solid violet - just gorgeous! Of course, I still have no idea who it will go to - maybe I will wear it myself?

But that's not all....oh no, not by any means! I've also got these three (what is happening to me?) shawls on the go at the moment:

A Leaf Lace shawl by the amazing Evelyn Clark (she also designed the Swallowtail that I finished back in the summer), using some lovely, shimmery Rowan Damask in shades of blue - when I actually sit down and concentrate on it, it goes quite quickly....

An Ulmus shawl by Kirsten Kapur, using a limited edition colourway that the Knitting Goddess created for Wimbledon 2009 (that's the light green with cute little white flashes) combined with some yarn I hand-dyed in the summer (that's the dark green). In fact, it is so green, I have rechristined it Leaping Leprauchauns :-) This pattern is seriously addictive - I started it yesterday afternoon and I've already managed 7 of the 16 repeats - that is seriously wow for me....









This little Multnomah, using Easy Knits Merino Bamboo in Rhubarb, is not too advanced right now, but I think it's going to look really cute





And of course, I've also been doing lots of sewing. My No. 1 customer ordered all these goodies a while ago:

a tote bag in a lovely 'Apple' fabric, lined with red polka dot fabric. I cannot tell you just HOW pleased I am with how this came out - it's definitely my best sewing effort yet :-)

and a series of project bags with an autumnal / Halloween / Christmas theme - cute no?

Do Fame and Fortune beckon?

I have just finished designing my first knitting pattern! Woo-hoo! Cannot tell you how chuffed I am with myself. Without further ado, I give you my Fruit Lattice fingerless gloves:

You can add this to your Ravelry queue by clicking on the link above. The pattern itself will soon be available through the Knitting Goddess website in return for a small donation to Macmillan (the KG charity for 2009).

This is a very versatile pattern for several reasons: it can be knit in DK or sock yarn. The stitch count can be adjusted to fit the smallest (or largest) pair of hands. The cuff and finger length are also adjustable – it’s all entirely up to you :-)

The two examples shown were knit using:

- Angels & Elephants BFL sock (the purple pair) - this was knitted on 48 stitches, with a 2” ribbed cuff, 5 pattern repeats before the thumb gusset and ribbing to finish the finger section

- H&W Hammond & Co Sockenwolle (the grey pair) – this was knitted on 42 stitches, with a 1” ribbed cuff, 3 pattern repeats before the thumb gusset and a garter stitch edging for the finger section.

The gloves feature a simple, but very effective, quilted lattice stitch on the ‘upper’ side of the glove. Great for variegated yarn!

Eeeek!

So, at the beginning of the month, I was intending to do a post asking where the summer had gone, and how come it was September already. Errr......as you can see, time has got away from me somewhat! And during that particular chunk of time, I've also turned a year older - the last one of my thirties in fact! Strangely, I'm feeling pretty ok about the prospect of turning 40 - while I still don't have a job (this recession is proving a LOT tougher than I naively thought back in March), I have a wonderful husband, a gorgeous daughter, a nice house (although I do hate having to clean it!), good health for the most part, and loads of lovely creative things to keep my mind busy. Not bad really when you think about it.

Anyway, enough philosophising. As you can imagine, I've been busy in the craft room. I've managed quite a few cards (but had a blonde moment and forgot to take pictures before I sent them off!). I've also been sewing lots of project bags and little zippered pouches....the zippers are getting easier all the time (thank goodness!)

And, of course, I have been knitting - don't tell me you're surprised? I'm taking part in three KALs (knit-a-longs) this month:

- this month's sock from Cookie A's Sock Innovation book is Devon. I'm using the yarn that I dyed with food colouring a few months. I'm still far too in love with the colour :-)

I can't say I have enjoyed knitting these - in fact, I will be VERY glad when they are finished. However, I like the final effect - the eagle-eyed amongst you will note that I am doing a plain foot (because I thought the lace would be rather uncomfortable when worn with shoes - which is the whole point really, isn't it?). These will either go to my friend Emma (who has asked for red socks for Christmas) - she's coming over on Saturday for a fitting, but I have a feeling they will too big for her. If that's the case, then they'll be mine!

Next, I am working on two different pairs for the SKA (Sock Knitters Anonymous) September challenge. The first is a mystery pattern designed by Nancy Bush:

The rules were that these had to be knitted in YELLOW. Now, this is not my usual colour by any means, so I decided I might as well for for a really bright shade - have you got your sunglasses on? I'm really enjoying doing these - but they are coming out really, really small (I'm following the pattern to the letter). I will definitely use the lace pattern again - but on bigger needles and more stitches next time!

These are going to a certain duck-loving friend of mine - can you guess who it is??

Finally, the 2nd SKA challenge pair is using a Wendy Johnson pattern - in this case, I'm using the lovely On-Hold pattern. I do adore Wendy's patterns - they're amazingly well written, easy to follow and I just seem to get less bored / frustrated with toe-up socks

I'm using some lovely Regia Kaffe Fassett in autumnal colours. I love the short colour repeats on this yarn - the knitted result is coming out very funky. These are going into the Christmas pile for my very good friend Alex - I think the colours are just perfect for her (in fact, I'm having serious problems with the idea of giving them away, coz I like them so much!)

Oh, and last but not least, I whipped up this little neck-warmer / cowl the other night, using some amazingly soft Alpaca / Silk mix that I picked up from EasyKnits during the recent IKnit Weekend (boy, was that a blast - expect to see more of the purchased goodies soon!). I cannot find the words to describe just how luscious this is - so soft and snuggly. And the colours? Mmmm hmmmm! Lilac, pewter and silver - just perfect!

A big hit...

as promised, here are some pictures of the lacy shawl I knitted for my friend's 50th bithday. It went down a storm, with several people asking whether I had really made it, and how much I would charge for a similar one...:-)

A little bit of what you fancy.....

It's been a topsy-turvy world in our little part of north London recently. First off, little Miss A managed to scare her Mummy silly by getting a really high fever and going all pale & floppy (thank goodness our local A&E has a special paediatric section - it was tonsilitis by the way). Four days later, Mr A came down with swine flu, which meant isolating him in the spare room and trying failing to keep the little one away from him (cue one little madam screaming for her Daddy). All's well that ends well thank goodness - although I'm a little knackered to say the least!

Let's see: what else is new? Nope, still nothing on the job front....I've been applying for PA / Admin jobs, but because I haven't actually done this for seven plus years, recruitment agencies are not interested. Well, I have decided to take control and have registered to do a Legal Secretary Diploma. Not only will this refresh my Office skills, but will also get me an official certificate saying I'm competent (ha! try to tell me that you can 'forget' how to be a good PA - I'll show you!) but I will also add to my skills set by gaining the legal knowledge. It is a certain chunk of money, but I figure it's an investment - and hopefully it wil pay off...

On the creative front, I'm slowly mastering the art of sewing zips (it would help if they actually made a zipper foot for my particular machine, but practice will make perfect, I'm sure!).

I've finished two pairs of socks since I last posted:

First up, we have a very snuggly pair of Eunice socks (by the amazing Cookie A) in Ranco Araucania Multi. These will be heading up to Scotland shortly for my bestest friend's birthday

Then we have the completed Diagonal Lace socks by Wendy Johnson in the smooshiest cashmere mix - these are a total joy to wear

I'm also slowly getting ready for chillier temperatures - I'm determined to have a funky collection of hats and berets to cheer me up this winter

I've also completed my first lacey shawl for a friend's 50th birthday - I'll be delivering it at her party this coming Saturday, so will come back later with (hopefully decent) pictures showing her wearing it....I can however show you her card

Oh yes - I've rediscovered the joy of card-making. Each time I sit down to make a specific card (or two!), I'm trying to be good and make two or more from the same papers - there is a credit crunch on after all!

One of the staff at Little Miss A's nursery recently had a baby girl - she already has a son, so I thought this would be perfect....

this was made for a knitting friend of mine who's not been feeling very well lately

My sister is going to a very posh wedding in New Delhi in late September - this was made to go with the happy couple's (totally gorgeous) wedding invitation

Pink - me?

Well yes, actually! Anyone who knows me knows that I will always pick a pink jumper or cardigan to cheer myself up - it's definitely the most popular colour in my wardrobe!

Your rainbow is shaded pink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a grateful person. You appreciate everyone around you. You are a good listener and your friends are glad to have you around in difficult times.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.