January...

around here it's all about relaxing with a good book, walking along at the beach (sometimes even in the water) and keeping the needles busy. This year it was the knitting needles.

I finished The Father's Christmas socks, a pair of socks for BD's birthday, a pair of mitts and matching hat (they really are the same colour despite what the photo's show).

4 January OPAM finishes

Now to deal with all these loose ends so I can call these finished and gift them this weekend.

Oh and for the last day of January the weather turned on a perfectly cool day with just a little too much water! I sure hope some of that rain fell on all the fires around the state (and country).

Have a wonderful February.

Matching

'cause you never can tell when the temperature may drop!

Mitts knitted from the hat leftovers (and more), with the same cable and lace pattern to match.

She just wanted to help.

And for the other hand.

See two.

(Just the minor issue of a few loose threads)
Now they're ready for gifting just as soon as the weather changes to cold.

Time to get back to the second pink sock.

Happy Creating.

A little stitching...

with some lovely thread generously shared by Lyndel.

Lots of vintage threads - there were plenty more to choose from.

 Who knew that embroidery threads were made in Britain?

 

Pretty sunflowers - perfect considering the Sun keeps on shining on us.

Hope the sun is shining in your creative space.

Dinara

There are a number of dolls living here with me and my bear collection, how to choose who should play along in Clare's playing with dolls?

You won't have to look too closely to see that this young lady is dressed, very warmly considering the current season, in head to toe knits. She came as a kit from AK traditions- a beautiful ready made felt doll, including a felt skirt and boots, with the materials and patterns to knit her clothes. 
She has been a much adored part of my collection since 2007 and is currently overseeing all my creative activity from her perch above the fat quarter stash.

Are there any dolls at your place who would like to play along with Clare's?

Happy Sunday wishes for this long weekend.

How does your garden grow?

FNSI stitching was all about the flowers on my current project.

Now they are all in place, I just need to sort out how I will finish January's angel block.

All the flower stitches were completed before Friday evening was over so I picked up the Beady Eyes pink sock and made good progress on the foot, I finished it today.

I have completed this sock since I took the picture as in sewed up and ends woven too. I will be casting on the second one shortly, but first I need to make a start on weaving all the ends in on the last pair. I may not complete this in one sitting.

Now I'm off to see what my fellow stitchers worked on last night. Thanks to Heidi and Bobbi for hosting.

Hope your weekend includes lots of time in your creative space.

Happy Australia Day to all the Aussies who come this way.

The hat...

turned out to be a very fast project.

Finished this morning.

Not a particularly good stash buster project as I have leftovers from a 50g ball of yarn!

The design is just a little different to a regular hat pattern which added to the experience along with the pretty decoration achieved by the cable and lace - I really like the way the crown is shaped and pattern this creates.

 

Pattern - Hermione Hearts Ron by Christy Aylesworth

Yarn - Bella Baby Sugar 4ply wool

As tonight is the first Friday Night Sew In for 2012 hosted by Heidi and Bobbi I am going to put the knitting needles down for the evening and put some stitches in fabric for a change. Hope to see you there.

Happy Creating

Taking a detour

from socks that is.

This week I cast another blue - not sure why there are some many blues in the stash?

This pretty blue is set to brighten someone's winter in the form of a hat.

(Sure this was knit at the beach)

Simple cable and lace pattern to make going round interesting.

If you're a Harry Potter movie fan you may recognise the design 'Hermione Hearts Ron' - you can find the pattern here.

The reading this week is a light one, 'The way we Were' by Marcia Willett, which alternates between the 1970's and early 2000's in the telling. So far there are a lot of characters to keep track of while the story revolves around a family and their interactions then and now.

The Beady Eyes sock from last week has not progressed much and the blue striped socks are waiting patiently for threads to be woven in, need to make a start on them.

Linking with other yarn lovers here.

Not Much...

of these left,

after knitting up these socks.

(Pattern used is Estonian Kapotad Socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting Socks from around the World with modifications to accommodate the yarn available.)

Those threads there are the total of the green and blue yarn at completion of knitting - less than 50cm of each, the brown was too close there was only about 10cm of that one left.

How cute is that star under the heel - it is part of the pattern and in Estonia the design used here has special significance for the wearer.

Sure these socks turned out very scrappy but they are a pair. I'll get a photo of them both when I am done weaving in all the tails, I'm hoping that step will neaten the mess you see there on the bottom of the foot.

Perfect first project for Stash Busting, three less colours to consider for the next project.

Happy Creating.

Swans and casting on..

Just  a clue as to how many swans are calling our little piece of the bay home this summer.

(for Maria)

I have had a little cast on fest happening here this week - making a start on the Stash Busting challenge.

Trying the Owlie sock pattern with big beady eyes!

This pattern is a feebie over on Ravelry, the designer suggests much smaller beads for the eyes, but I have these one handy and I'm happy with how they look.

These leftovers from past socks really wanted a part of the action too -

so more casting on... One is still in the cuff stage and the other has the leg part completed.

Oh, sure I added more colours because three just wasn't enough for the pattern I chose.

The cuff design is Stand Tall from 'Socks a La Carte' and the leg pattern is Estonian Kapotad Socks from 'Knitting Socks from around the world'

So far all's good but as I have no accurate way of measuring the quantity of each yarn these will be completed to accommodate any shortfalls (read the stripes on the foot may not match the original design).

For this weeks reading I have chosen a biography as the two novels that I read this week ended very unsatisfactorily - it felt like they finished in the middle of  a thought, may as well have been halfway through a sentence!

'An Angel in the Court' by Anne Henderson about Major Joyce Harmer and her life as a Court Chaplain.

I've made a start on this book and while it begins at the end of her career, it quickly reverts to her background and family upbringing. There is quite a bit of detail but it is quite readable and in places  entertaining.

Joining all the clever yarn crafters yarning along this week.

His Socks...

 are finished.

You'd be guessing right if you thought I'd just been knitting for the past week, not much else happening lately.

 It is really difficult to model socks which are about two sizes too big for your own big feet. The complete toe part of the sock is beyond my toes so it is best to just show this part so you get the idea of what these will look like on. Maybe BD will model them for me when I gift them later this week.

Pattern - His and hers socks by Ann Budd from the book Knitted gifts. 

Yarn - Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4ply, colour Denim.

I am joining other yarn crafters in some Stash Busting this year. 

I figure as I already intended to use yarn on hand for my projects this year I may as well have company.

This bucket is first up for my focus, that is only the top layer you can see, there is more underneath that.

These are all yarns suitable for sock making, among other things and as I have some sock requests to fulfil this is a perfect place to start.

I'm off to make a start on another sock.

Hope your weekend had time for stitches.

Old Favourites...

All my recent tidying uncovered some old favourites - the kind that you know are there but haven't actually  seen for a while! Or is that just me that keeps things which appear to have no particular use?

In keeping with my current knitting fixation this post is about past projects most of which were made and gifted.

This shawl is my interpretation of a pattern which I made for a colleague somewhere in the mid 1980's. I was recently reminded of it, but after a fruitless search, including all the Mother's knitting patterns I gave up and believed there would never be another one.

So when I uncovered a couple of binders with old patterns from magazines, most of which are of the knitting variety, I just had to have a flick through and a giggle too.

These patterns are from the English Women's Weekly dated mid 1980's. I made the one in the middle for another colleague in the early 1990's and the green one on the right which you can't see the detail on I made for my charge when I worked as a nanny in London! These two were made in similar colours to the pattern pictures quite unusually for me.

These next two children's knitting booklets have patterns for some fun outfits - the one on the left is dated 1950 - obviously I inherited that one from the Mother or my Gran, the other one is straight out of the 70's.

Yes, I made things out of both of these books for children of family friends.

This pretty lace cardigan is from the 1980's and SJ made her own version of this in a soft pink mohair blend  yarn, making it both warm and light.

In amongst all those pages - I found the pattern for the Duckling shawl - Yay! 

It is going on my future makes list, it is a very clever design with the centre piece knitted whole round the radius using a short row technique and the pretty edging is knit separately then attached.

 So my favourite today is uncovering old favourites and the happy memories they evoke.

Joining with MrsP's Favourite things Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool.

Knitting Along -

A little focus this week and the first sock is almost done -

this simple but effective design knit up quickly.

Just the toe shaping to complete.

(his & hers socks from Knitted gifts in Bendigo 4ply Luxury Denim)

The book I finished today - 'Till We Meet Again' by Lesley Pearse, kept my interest to the last page and ended in an appropriate way. While in some places it was a little repetitive as one of the characters was reliving past events in the telling, there were plenty of interesting interactions to keep the pages turning. 

I am enjoying the slow pace of this time of year and balancing the needles and the pages, plenty of both along with paddling at the beach.

Joining with all the needled types knitting along.

Happy Needling.

More blues..

and it's a sock!

The next sock is coming along nicely, fortunately for me as BD made the biggest fuss about my lack of handmade gifts at Christmas and he just happens to be celebrating a milestone real soon.

The pattern is His & Her Socks by Ann Budd from the book 'Knitted Gifts', the yarn Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4 ply in the denim colour, a little more grey than the picture appears.

 My angel got her pants on and one wing, some progress happening there too.

There has been plenty of blue skies and sunshine, though much cooler here than other parts of the country - perfect for morning walks and paddling at the beach.

Hope you're staying cool.

FNWF - the blue edition

There was some stitching - 

and some knitting, just as planned.

I finished knitting the sock - just need to weave in some ends and they will be ready to deliver to the Father.

While I was tempted to cast on another sock, I resisted and did some stitching on the Angel.

She is coming along nicely, I even put some more stitches in it today, that'll be why the second picture has legs and shoes,

Today is much cooler than yesterday so I took the opportunity for a leisurely walk at the beach this morning.

Now to choose the next sock design. leaning towards a design from my new book, then I'll cast on again, there's plenty of yarn in the stash ready to go.

Hope your weekend is just perfect.

Summertime blues

Lots of blue skies at all times of the day and pretty flowers too.

The second of the blue socks - now almost done.

My intention this year is to make some angels - finish the half done ones I have and make more.

So I started stitching a new one to remind me of my intention!

I'll be working on these two tonight at
FNWF, if I haven't melted that is!

Hope you've found a cool place for some stitching.