Cable hats, because Summer is late

I think it's supposed to be Summer but someone has forgotten to tell the weather.  So it's May and I've knitted two hats and a cowl, yes...

My Cousin asked if I'd knit him up a hat and I was quite happy to give it a go.  I won't knit for just anyone, but I find if someone has asked (who I like!) they're probably going to appreciate it more ;-)  We agreed on grey, cables but no pom pom.  I forgot in the end to loosely attach one as a joke.

My Cousin has a large head & lots of hair so I made it two pattern repeats larger & it fitted perfectly.  I think he really really liked it too which was awesome ♥

The pattern, Winter Femme by Diana Gates is free and available on Ravelry.  I used Stylecraft Special DK - Grey (1099).

I liked the hat as well so I made myself one with a turn up.  I stuck to the original pattern which fits my normal sized head, but made a bit of a mistake with the cables...  I'd written the pattern out so I could knit on the go without my laptop, but instead of writing that the cable was a repeating pattern of 8 rows I managed to make it 5 rows so they're a lot tighter.  Luckily it worked out that doing another cable pattern of 5 rows at the end got me back to the correct size.  So you could say I made my own but it was a complete accident!

This one is in Stylecraft Special DK - Teal (1062)

Thanks to everyone who explained what Raglan sleeves are, you're a wonderful bunch ♥

x x x x

Cables & hearts

Brrrrrrrrrrr it's cold!!!  We made it to November without putting the heating on but we've had to admit defeat and it's in now.  I don't know if it just feels colder because we've been away for the weekend but I think it's safe to say that Winter has arrived...

We spent the last couple of days over in Sheffield with my family, which I always love.  My uncle lives in a big, old victorian house.  It isn't perfect and you have to be careful which floorboards you walk on because some of them are loose but I love it!  J and I procured a very nice mirror from an antique shop (I doubt the mirror really is antique) but we even haggled and got a fiver off so I'm dead pleased!   It's wrapped up at the moment so I can't show you it, but it will have it's reveal in our new home...!

♥

I've not been upto much knitting or crocheting recently because I've got the finger and hand aches again, only this time my arms hurt a bit too.  It happened earlier in the year after trying to get a few projects finished for people so I'm hoping it's just a bit of RSI and nothing serious.  I'm really itching to get my needles out and finish my owl and start making presents but I need to accept that this just isn't happening.

I've been making a list of projects that I've started, finished and haven't written about and this is one of them.  I made a cushion for my mums birthday so I couldn't share until she'd received it.  It was knitted up on size 6 needles, probably a lot smaller than I could have gone for but being Cygnet Seriously Chunky it was quite fast to work up.

I wanted to find an alternating cable pattern but I couldn't find anything (or didn't know how to search!) so after a bit of trial and error I made it up.

Cast on multiple of 5 + 1 (I did 31)

Row 1  ~ *k1, p4* repeat to end k1 (ws)

Row 2 ~ *p1, k4* repeat to end p1 (rs)

Row 3 ~ *k1, p4* repeat to end k1 (ws)

Row 4 ~ *p1, k4, p1, cb4* repeat to end p1 (rs)

Row 5 ~ *k1, p4* repeat to end k1 (ws)

Row 6 ~ *p1, k4* repeat to end p1 (rs)

Row 7 ~ *k1, p4* repeat to end k1 (ws)

Row 8 ~ *p1,cf4, p1, k4* repeat to end p1 (rs)

k = knit

p = purl

cf = cable front

cb = cable back

I didn't take very good photos while we were down at my mum and dads so these will have to do I'm afraid!

Look how well it matches!  I wish in hindsight that I'd sewn it up with a flap and maybe knitted a few extra rows...  The wooden buttons look nice though.  The inner is a small square Ikea cushion, I have bought far too many of these in the past, three live in our house, two with a friend and I think I've given my mum at least three.  I need to stop making her (anyone) cushions really.

I had completely forgotten all about this project too!  I don't think I even mentioned it once, probably again because it was a mother's day present so I didn't want my mum seeing it here!!  I remember enjoying this a lot and it's full on my own home grown lavender.  The heart and smell has survived, sadly the lavender plant has not!  It lives on my mums bedside now, along with a variety of other random things I've made / gifted her.

Does it really have to be Monday Morning again tomorrow?  I could definitely do with another day off, or two!  Chow for now 

x x x x

Projects on my needles

Just a quick post today.  I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit hungover today, the result of a lovely wedding yesterday :)  Remind me to go easy on the wine next time...

The sun in shining today though and a chinese takeaway is on the way.  Life is good!

Chunky cables using Cygnet Seriously Chunky in Fawn, knitted on 10mm needles

 A project I've been working on for a while from Knitted Toy Tales; the Owl and the Pussy Cat.  This is the owl obviously!

x x x x

Cables!

I've been waiting patiently for it to snow but so far not a flake. It's freezing & I think we should have some!

Now that Christmas is over I can finally share the project I'd been knitting for J :)


I've always wanted to knit something for him, being as he puts up with my obsession more than anyone else, so when I found this aran yarn in my stash I knew it would be perfect for a snood, and for some reason I decided on cables. Oh and all this was less than 2 weeks before Christmas...


I spent every lunch break knitting and used every spare minute when I was home and J wasn't to try and finish it on time, pretending I was working on some other hat / scarf / monster thing!

The funniest thing is most of the time it sat in almost plain view, proof that J really *does* try to ignore my knitting :D


Then I ran out of yarn and it was way too small for a snood or a scarf! The worst part was it was exactly as week before Christmas and the shop I bought it from is down in London... Thank god for the magic of ebay!


I still had the yarn label so managed to order another ball and it arrived on the very last day possible! Saturday while J was working (and I was meant to be packing so we could go to my family on Sunday). I spent ALL day knitting until my hands ached - I physically couldn't do anymore, but it was ok, the snood was finally the perfect length. Hurrah!


The pattern is super basic, but I will share because we knitters love the details don't we?

You'll need:

Yarn - Cygnet kiddies Couture aran in grass green

4mm needles
A cable needle
A yarn needle for weaving in

Pattern:

Thumb cast on 39 stitches

Row 1: *P3, K6* P3
Row 2: K3 *P6, K6*
Row 3: *P3, K6* P3
Row 4: K3 *P6, K6*
Row 5: *P3, CB6* P3
Row 6: K3 *P6, K6*
Row 7: *P3, K6* P3
Row 8: K3 *P6, K6*

Repeat the above 8 rows until your scarf or snood is long enough and cast off.

I've taken lots more pictures to share but my brain's too frazzled to write anymore so I'm going to have to love and leave you till I can properly function!

x x x x

Hello Twenty Thirteen

Happy New Year my lovelies :D It's good to be back but I can't tell you how much I wish it were still the holidays, even though I know it wouldn't be as special if it lasted forever. We spent a very long week down at my folks in London, although a week didn't seem long enough in the end!

Christmas Day was very chilled out and merry. I was up early to see my brother before he had to work (!!) which meant opening presents, followed by more presents when J got up (fair-isle slippers!), followed by party food for lunch, mulled wine, dinner making, a nap, plying my parents with alcohol while they were being busy, my brother coming home still in good spirits, more presents, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Crackers, Trivial Pursuit (my Dad lost) Christmas Pudding and then bed.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, or if that's not your thing a peaceful end to the year :)

I can't quite believe where the year has gone but looking back at my projects for the year sort of puts things into an order I can make sense of! I really enjoyed making little mosaics at the beginning of last year so I've done the same now, only this time I've discovered Pic Monkey which is a brilliant website for making collages, mosaics and editing photos - a huge time saver.

There are four projects from last year that I've finished which was one of my 2012 resolutions, but I've also started this year with more unfinished WIPs. Oh well!

1. Hexagon blanket - completed :)
2. A stockinette stitch cushion cover. I've cast on too many stitches for the cushion inner I have so I may start this again...
3. Spring Garden Granny Squares. These haven't worked out so well when joined, I'm wondering whether to make more squares in different colours and make a small lap blanket...!

4. Nanny throw. I don't think this is a project I've blogged about yet so more about this later!
5. Bubble Gum Ripple Blanket
6. Pomegrante snood.

7. Little Woolie Inspired Cushion. I should finish this soon, I've only got a few more rows to do!
8. Ribbed Phone Cover
9. Stripy Snood


1. Crochet hook handle, made from Fimo
2. Moss Stitch Scarf
3. Crochet owl

4. Crochet Father Christmas
5. Knitted bunting
6. Knitted cable hat

7. Bunting
8. Knitted cat mouse hat
9. Polka dot skirt


1. First pomegranate snood
2. Turquoise cable hat
3. Lingonberry biscuits :)

4. Winter striped scarf
5. Snowflake Christmas card
6. Chunky mustard snood

7. Pink fluffy scarf
8. Grass cable snood
9. Giveaway cactus

I've got loadssss of other things to show you that I started over the holidays too, lets cross our fingers for some good weather this weekend and I'll try to get some half decent photos to share :)

x x x x

One hundred lovelies

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

That's the noise you make when you realise you've got 100 followers :-)

I honestly don't know how or why - especially as lately I've been a pretty bad blogger - but I'm thrilled all the same and even more motivated to do my part and erm, write stuff!

So I would like to say "thanks very much!" indeed to all you followers, and all you readers who might not be followers - I love you too! I will be posting a giveaway as soon as I make something and thanks to Teresa Kasner I have just the idea!

Well part of the reason I've not been blogging much is I've been finishing off things and I think there's only so many photos I can show you of this scarf:

But there it is! Half a ball of yarn to go - I think it's going to be long!

I made another baby hat too for my friend - now very proud father - at work who had a little boy two weeks ago.

My only reservation was the colour because he asked for "United Red" - I could barely bring myself to do it!!

Moving on.

Since my granddad died my family have been on "Nan watch" which essentially means making sure she's got lots of visitors and things to do. I should take this moment to say that my Nan is super strong and copes with most things remarkably and has taken everything so well - she is no quivering mess - so last weekend we took her out to Dunelm Mill to buy cushions. As you do. She'd not really been able to leave the house without someone to look after my graddad so this new found freedom is all a bit, well new!

While we were there I found this amazing mug for £2.99! "NO MORE MUGS!" said J. Haha said I - this one is coming home with me and you'll just have to put up with it and ALL the other mugs we have. So here we are :-)



Even better is my Dad paid so technically I didn't even buy the mug we didn't need. WIN! The last time my Mum & Dad did this they paid for wool I was after as a Christmas present. We've never seen it since.

x x x x

Baby hat ta-dah!

I was all ready to give you an update on the baby hat I've been making but I realised I never even showed you the progress! I don't even think I mentioned it :o

So there will be no referring back to previous posts, just a good old ta-dah :-)



I've dabbled in cables ones before and they're very easy to do. The lovely Joanna Donaldson who I met on Ravelry sent me some hat patterns and the cable one stuck out the most. I-have-to-make-this!

Luckily two of my friends and Js sister are all having babies in the next two months so there's lots of opportunities for hat making!


This is number two already half finished :D

x x x x

October

Hello!!! I thought it was about time I posted on a day that isn't Tuesday although truth betold I've got a lot of WIPs and not a lot of FOs to show you but we'll see how we get on :-)

Two weeks ago we were mostly having torrential rain and hurricane type winds but this week has been pretty lovely, the weather could even be described as beautiful!



The light is just stunning (but not very good for taking photos of crocheting!)


I've had a big garden tidy, the sweetpeas are gone along with a few other plants that haven't survived the battering. It looks much neater now, it wouldn't surprise me if we had snow again soon!




Enough of the weather now, how British! I'm really excited to share this with you... A few months ago I posted on Ravelry asking if anyone knew where I could buy coloured knitted needles from as mine are all grey. I've seen lovely hooks on eBay but no needles.




My absolute new best friend EVER Donna in Canada replied saying she did and before I knew it had been to her local Michael's Store (a brilliant craftshop in North America / Canada) and bought me some needles! Needless to say I was flipping over the moon!

Due to a bit of a postal strike (!!) and possibly a boat trip (?) the needles spent 52 days travelling but they are finally here! If I thought I was excited a few months ago this was nothing compared to how I felt this morning when the postman came! I had sort of given up hope of seeing them and thought they were missing across the Atlantic but they are here!!!





Aren't they wonderful!!

The most amazing thing about all of this is Donna paid for everything and just said I could pass on the good karma by doing another person a good deed :-o Well I certainly will be, I have one massive big deed to owe (or lots of little ones!!)




Donna even sent me two balls of Vannas Choice yarn which is much talked about across the pond. The red will make some lovely Christmas decorations I think and the black will be so good for amigurumi because I always need darker colours for that :-)





You might notice some other needles at the bottom too!




A couple of weeks ago when I went down to London to visit my family we visited to a town called Rochester and look what I scavenged from a charity shop!




More knitting needles that aren't grey!! I'm having a bit of a needle overdose aren't I!

After the DPN fiasco I decided I needed to learn cables instead, well let me tell you this was a MUCH more pleasant experience. I love cables! They are so easy, you don't even really need a cable needle (a DPN will do, horray a use for them!) so I made a fab little coffee mug cosie for a friend at work:




The pattern is on a blog called His Glory Hand Knits and it was very simple to follow.




Here it is doing it's job on a coffee plunger. Apparantly it's actually very useful which is of course a bonus!




Time to do some housework / laundry now I think. Booo! See you soon

x x x x