knitting and crochet, nattering and sharing

Since Whiff has posted a pic of her lovely Christmas decoration, I hope nobody will mind another C-word mention.

This is a free downloadable pattern on the Jean Greenhowe website. The stockings are barely 10cm long, so brilliant for using up very small oddments.
I’ve made about ten so far, destined for bunting on the raffle stall dd will again be running at Gdcs’ school fair in late Nov/early Dec. I’ll be using mini clothes pegs and a silver cord.
They’re very quick and easy to make.

I love following Jean Greenhowe patterns Witzend, they just make sense and work out well for me.

I have been battling with dpn's to make this tiny cat. I seem to have lost the knack of circular knitting somehow and his ears are out of proportion. I'll have another go sometime.

Thanks Witzend, I’ll definitely check that out !

That lovely little cat reminds me that I have a thick file of alan dart patterns, many that are now unavailable, there was a time when I loved to make these small novelty things. I gave the nativity set away to a dd and just have a sheep with long legs and a heavy bottom, she sits on a cill in the corner and is busy with her knitting. Jean Greenhowe was a favourite and I still have her books

It has been a nice day for knitting in my cave, far too hot to be anywhere else but the wool slipped easily over the metal tipped circulars and I enjoyed it. Very very thankful to have, at long last, finished breslin, the pattern instructions were poor, too messy to follow properly. The jumper however looks lovely and fits me well so it is going into a mothproof bag and that is it, no more long sleeved jumpers in 4 ply this year or next

I have tidied up and dug out a ball of sock yarn, from hobii sale, size 2 and 2.75 9" circulars until the heel. Fab to be making vanilla socks now, means that I can concentrate on a film

Alan Dart’s patterns are brilliant, Karmalady - I’ve made a few of his, notably a pirate for Gds - his neck was soon broken, though - AD’s instructions were not robust enough for Basher Gds - , but I resuscitated him with plastic drinking straws reinforced with pipe cleaners inside.

The other major Alan Dart was a huge Advent calendar - hangs nicely on the back of dd’s kitchen door. Made it a few years ago - Gdcs love it and expect it every year now.

A massive project, though - all the backing (on a huge piece of robust card) plus 24 pockets with numerals knitted in, plus all the little inserts. I did substitute a few of Jean Greenhowe’s that I was already familiar with, so easier - elf, snowman, fairy, etc., plus another of AD’s from another pattern - a mini penguin.

The pattern wasn’t on his website - I found it via Google somewhere - an entire booklet of course.

This is the pattern book, just in case anyone else is interested - you’d probably need to start now though. Finished size is about 68 x 48 cm.

I made some of the pockets in ‘fir tree’ green instead, and didn’t knit the ribbon - that was a knit too far! - I used a tartan ribbon from John Lewis.

Here's my finished yoga blanket. DD loves it. It's made in different tunisian crochet stitches and joined with single crochet. I use American crochet terminology these days as most pattern use it.
The border is self striping yarn that was donated to our K&N group.
I made myself a jumper with the rest of it.

That blanket made by MiniMoon is lovely.

What a lovely blanket, *MiniMoon’. I often wish I could crochet, but both fairly recent efforts at having a go have ended in giving up when I couldn’t get the hang of it quickly. I’ll have to stick to the knitting.

home made blankets and throws are just so lovely, not just comforting but like a cosy hug from the person who made it

I am having a break from knitting now as I have finished all the winter socks that I will need. I use the older ones as bedsocks and they truly do make me sleep better. I made 6 pairs and the last pair was made from odds and sods of LO sock yarn, either for boots or bedsocks. Re the yarns, opal is always reliable and beautiful to knit. Regia 6 fadig yarn was nice to knit, quick, lovely and soft after soaking and drying, it needed to be a snugger fit when trying on as it expands a fair amount after the soak. The yarn that turned out best was, surprisingly, one I got at a very good price from hobii in their sale. I have made a dent in my stash but have enough left for a few more years

Time for a sewing and knitting break, I have everything that I will possibly need for winter and beyond so now it is time to take out one of my spinning wheels. I am excited as I have not used this wheel for 5 years, I shall have to re-learn its particular quirks

On their way to Australia for a dino-mad 4 year old!

ixion

On their way to Australia for a dino-mad 4 year old!

He'll love them, ixion, I'm sure ?

Request from Australia for a blanket for DGS, at least I shall have all our winter to tackle it as it's getting warmer Down Under.

Thank you!
They do make me smile!

Scary teeth ???

They do have a certain malevolence about them don't they??
I just hope he won't want the other 15 or so in the pattern book ...

Don't show him the book!

I love both knitting and crocheting.
Luckily, my youngest dgd's mum loves hand knitted things and not only likes the things I make for dgd, but even puts in requests for more.
Then there's the annual village show, and now that this year's has just taken place, I've already planned what I'm going to knit and crochet for bext year's show - I put in a big order with Wool Warehouse today.

I'm trying to improve my fairisle at the moment.
Google is great, and having watched a few videos, I'm now practicing knitting with the two different colours held in a different hand, and catching in the floats as I go.

I often knit on circular needles, but I just can't master knitting with a set of double-pointed needles. No matter what I try, I can't get that stitch tight enough as I swap from one needle to the next. ?

Those are brilliant, ixion - he’s going to love them!

We are away at the mo, staying with my sister in the US - I brought some knitting since I have a lot to finish before the end of November (Gdcs’ school fair). So I’m really cross with myself that I brought all the right yarn for the Nativity donkey - but the wrong pattern book! Still, I’ve made Mary and the baby, much of the rest done already - bar all the stuffing and sewing up.

I still have a worry-eating Teddy to finish at home - newsletter from Knit for Nowt the other day says that need is still tremendous, she’s expecting a tsunami of requests once the waiting list is open again. So I will have no shortage of projects for the long dark evenings ahead.?

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ixion, oh yes, lovely they did make me smile

Pure wool is coming into its own, for me, this winter, very warm and cosy and I have already worn my new jumper often. A quick airing and as fresh as a daisy the next day. It is a bit too short, so I am layering it and will be recording its measurements as they are not quite right ie the length could be 2" longer and the sleeves an inch longer. I am not frogging it, was far too much work to knit.

I am doing my best to stash but a bit, socks on the go again

I knit for most days of the week as it helps a lot with depression, anxiety etc which I suffer from. My black dog days would carry me off to bed but I try and fight against them. I am a fast knitter and can crochet as well. Also like to do watercolour painting. Lately I have been knitting presents for friends for christmas as well as over 100 blankets for Battersea cats/dogs home. Knitting is my rock which I cling to like a limpet.

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I have been hunting out patterns and have discovered my favourite designers are cheaper in places other than ravelry. Some experienced designers always make patterns that look and fit really well, not boxy fits. I have wool yarn stash, some beautiful wools that I got cheaper via someone else de-stashing and they need matching with beautiful patterns

If you have a favourite designer then look to see if they appear in paperback pattern books, mine does and I found 4 second hand books via abe books and one via amazon. Each book of 20+ patterns cost less than one or two rav patterns

I have some beautiful patterns on the way, some vintage and others with texture and shaping

I am a glutton for punishment and frogged breslin, a female guernsey by julie hoover. My fault, I made too small a size and missed out some pattern rows. It was gloriously warm to wear and I was never going to waste expensive wool. I never did the intial wash after knitting, that I always do. Which actually helped with the re-knit

I made the next size up also with a size bigger needles and took my time over the pattern, result was a bigger, holier knit. I did knit intensively as I want to wear this jumper this winter. Finished this morning and have soaked for 15 minutes with eucalan in tepid water and the excess dye and aything else came out and also the wool bloomed beautifully. All the gaps are filled

I just gently squeezed and gave a rinse in a large amount of water at the same temperature, normally eucalan does not need a rinse. Gentle squeezed withabsolutely no washing motion or the wool would felt. Rolled flat in a big towel which took up a lot of water and now the jumper is laying flat on a pop up jumper dryer on top of a flat top airer

Tomorrow I could use overhead steam with gentle patting but probably I will be wearing the jumper, which will help the final shape. Playing it by ear at that stage

I am almost tidied up and am eyeing up my bag of spun yarns, ready for the sheep heid hat. I must crack on with yarn de-stashing, as I very much want to get back into spinning, which I love to do outdoors in spring weather too.

I cannot justify adding new spun yarn to yarn stash, not while I have more than 3 jumper weights of dks in my cupboard, all rav de-stashes from other people and all very good yarns like rowan felted tweeds and john arbon. Sometimes I wish I had 4 arms

oops, I did a double check on my yarn stash today and have enough packs for 6 jumpers. Well, I can justify it now as the yarn was much cheaper when I bought it . It is really nice pure wool, all of it and in moth proof bags

So now it is afternoon and I have had my fill of spinning today, yes fibre stash again. I have now pulled out a pack of frogged 4 ply yarn. two colours, the style I had made did not suit me at all

I have looked through my bought patterns and have decided to make another breslin, as I love wearing it and I can adapt it to take the two colours. There is a pattern on the top 1/3 of both sleeves and body, so I can put the second colour in there with just diddy stripes of the 1st colour, which I will also use for the neck. I will also put a few rows of colour 2 above the rib

This time I will take my time, I rushed the last one and fortunately made very good notes as I shortened the sleeves and wanted to keep the increases. It will not be for this winter but will be something to do as it is rainy and windy here, day after soggy day

I do love knitting and spinning and sewing