It's time to be selfish......

Yesterday, I added another hat to the Christmas goodie pile. It's a Pretty Puffs Slouchy Beret, made using the scrummy Freedom Spirit by Twilleys. I've had this in my stash for ages, and I can't believe I haven't used it until now - the colours are fab and it will give the lucky recipient a very warm head and ears this winter. I had two skeins, but only used a smidgen of the 2nd to finish the hat (partly because I was using a smaller size hook than recommended by the pattern, and therefore needed to do a few more increase / puff stitch rows). THe observant among you will note that I have turned it inside out - I actually think it looks nicer that way (yes, I'm a little strange like that......)



Having finished this, I started pondering what to do with the leftover almost-skein. Answer: a pair of fingerless gloves. And you know what: they are NOT going on the gift pile. You heard right: these are all for me (it's about time I made something for myself!)

Managed to finish the first glove last nigtht (minus the thumb - I'm waiting to see how much yarn I have left after I finish the main part of the 2nd glove - that way, I can always do a contrast thumb if necessary). I started the 2nd this morning.





This leads me to a rather urgent question: how come I can make an (almost) entire glove in about two hours of concentrated knitting time when I have the house to myself, but can only get 4 rows of ribbing done while supervising a toddler?



Just so you know that I'm not yet ready for maternal sainthood, I'm feeling absolutely no guilt this morning at telling her openly and honestly that she is annoying the living daylights out of me........

Keeping the chills at bay.....

The only good thing about the arrival of winter is that it provides the perfect excuse to stay indoors and play with fluffy wool...... I've been a busy little bunny in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, as most of the projects are destined for Christmas presents, I can't show you too much....but you can have some sneaky peeks:

Little Miss A has acquired a new hat - a crocheted Milla Fall Hat using a limited edition sock yarn (Eastern Promise) from The Knitting Goddess. Madame Ladybird will also be getting a new hat - once I've posted it to her. This is a "I heart Pompoms" hat, made with Bergere de France Sport in a lovely pale grey. This wool is just scrummy - soft and bouncy and knits beautifully. I really quite like this hat, and am seriously thinking I might have to make one for myself (not identical of course, even though I still have 7 balls of the Bergere left.....but I have plans for all of them!)

It hasn't been all unselfish, I promise! I have discovered a new 'personal favourite' sock yarn - Dream in Color Smooshy. Believe me, smooshy is the perfect word to describe this stuff - it's soft, squishy, bouncy and knits up like a dream. I only had one skein in my stash (it's almost impossible to get your hands on it in the UK) but I have since acquired few more in some lovely shades of burgundy, pink, blue and purple.....schlurp!

So, what did I make with my solitary skein of Smooshy? These! A pair for me and a pair of Little Miss A - she is sooo chuffed at having a matching pair, she went off to nursery wearing them and lifting her trousers up to show everyone!!

These are the snuggliest socks I have made so far.....look out for many, many more in coming months!

A Very Important Bear......

Just look who we met at Liverpool Street station yesterday! A very special (and very yellow!) bear....

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!