Mini-FO!

I made a hat for boy#3!

Actually, it was meant to be a hat for boy#1. A while ago he 'helped' me spin a leftover bit of orange fleece I had lying around and he was so proud of the resulting yarn that I decided there and then that I'd knit something for him with it. Last Friday I cast on, but it became quickly apparent that there just wasn't enough of it to make a hat for him. Boy#1 generously suggested that boy#3 could have his yarn, so I cast on again for a smaller hat. 

As it turned out there STILL wouldn't have been enough yarn, but I found a tiny leftover bit of white handspun which was very similar in thickness. It worked perfectly and I think actually makes the hat look so much more cute than a uniform orange hat would have looked!

Pattern moderations:

I roughly followed the pattern for Jason's Tweed Hat but altered it to suit my requirements.

With a 6mm cable needle, I cast on 42 stitches with the German cast-on (I love this cast-on method because it's so stretchy and gives a lovely edge). I knitted k3 p3 to about 4-5 inches from cast-on edge, and then followed the decreasing instructions from the pattern. 

This was such a quick knit - I cast on Friday afternoon, and Friday evening it was finished. Boy#3 loves his hat - he spent most of Saturday running around the house, wearing it. :) 

Ravelry page for the hat is HERE.

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A Year of Projects

You know what is one of the most gratifying things for a knitter and crafter?

To see others develop an interest in fibres, and knitting, in crocheting, in creating things. Especially when those others are your children. 

These past few weeks boy #1, aka 'oldest', has been watching me crochet my Scheepjes CAL mystery blanket. Every time I start a new square he's commented, has made colour suggestions, has asked me to tell him about it, has asked me to teach him, has asked me to let him have a go. 

And I have taught him, and I have let him have a go. Admittedly, often I unravelled what he'd done as soon as he was out of the room, but most of the time it's not (anymore) because it's totally wrong but because it always shows in the stitch consistency if someone else picks up and continues your work. Plus, he still pulls quite a bit, which makes for massive loops. ;)

He is getting the hang of it, though, and a few days ago he even came up with his own pattern. I had taught him crochet chains and doubles and trebles, and he was up in his room in the evening, experimenting with that before bedtime. In the morning he came down and presented me with a necklace.

Apparently he'd been meaning to make a wrist band but ended up crocheting into the same stitch over and over. Maybe a slightly unorthodox way of creating a pattern, but a pattern it is, because he then set out to teach me how do make what he calls a 'Donut Necklace'. They really are quite pretty, aren't they? :)

Little treats...

I still don' t have much to show for regarding the baby cardigan, although I can report progress - the back is finished and tonight I have cast on for the first of the sleeves, so there is hope. I may even take a picture tomorrow because I am quite enamoured with the scallop trim...

Last Wednesday I finished some work, so I've been taking it a bit easy - I spent some time in the garden yesterday and planted some beans and tomatoes, and today we went to the local farmer's market and took a stroll around town. As I am typing we are watching the Eurovision Song Contest, which is always good for a laugh. Life is good. :-)

I've also been meaning to show a few little things that have arrived in the post since my last blog entry. First of all, I've treated myself to a book that I'd been coveting for I don't know how long:


I am so pleased with this - so far I've only had a quick look through it and there are already at least 3 things I want to knit.

The next thing is the Diaper Bag pattern I bought from Craft Apple. I saw the bag she made a while ago in her blog and I couldn't believe my luck when I realised a few weeks ago that she has now published the pattern for it:


I've been very happy with my Amy Butler Diaper Bag, but I'd love another one - for variety and also because occasionally it can be a bit annoying that the bag doesn't close. It would be good to have one that closes so that, if I overfill the bag (as I usually do) the contents don't spill out.

And lastly, a few weeks ago I received an email from a small start-up company who produces yarn harvested from British farms. It's called Farm Yarn, and they asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing their yarn. I agreed and a few days ago they sent me a small box with some yarn samples:


The yarn is lovely. Obviously it wasn't enough to knit anything, so I can't really say much about how the different types knit up, but they feel wonderfully soft and the natural colours are beautiful. There was natural Alpaca yarn in different weights and colours and also some organic sheep yarn - Llanwenog and Jacob, which isn't quite so soft but has a nice crisp texture to it. I've added a link to their website on my sidebar, so have a look!