Sirdar 316 Baby Knits

These are from the Sirdar Baby Knits book No. 316 which I think is quite new here in Australia as I have not seen it anywhere else before. The book actually has lots of jumpers, jackets, blankets, hats, booties and cardigans which are all quite adorable. I think there are about 12 different patterns.
Firstly I am making this hooded jumper which I have already cast on for. I love the blue color and these are all made in Snuggly DK and 4 ply, and they have wonderful colors too. The blue matches in perfectly with Project Spectrum which starts tomorrow. It is Design H, and is very cute like many of the others in the book. I dont think it will take too long to knit up, but then again I have added a few others to make at the same time too, even though there is never enough time to knit but I am sure to rectify this because Isabelle starts Prep tomorrow, which is the first year of school here in Australia, so I should have at least 2 more hours a day to complete some knitting after doing the housework first of course. (drats!)




Next up is the hooded jacket which is Design F. I have just completed the back of it this afternoon, so it does knit up quite quickly, although being a dark chocolate brown it is easier for me to knit during the day. I love the little cables in the front, and I am assuming that the hood is just 2x2 ribbing like the top of the jacket. I'll have to wait and see when I get to it. The chocolate brown is a really nice color too, and I do not really have any little people in mind for these knits, but you never know when a relative or friend is going to have a new baby. Paul's cousin is due in February around the 12th I think, and I did not have any time to make something for her first son, so maybe this baby will receive a handknit from me.







Finally this cute little cardigan is just so sweet, and I am making mine in red so that will be started over the next few months too, to coincide with Project Spectrum. The red is a gorgeous fire engine red so I am sure it will be a girly one for sure. There are lots of other wonderful patterns in this book, so if you like baby knitting it would be a wonderful book in your pattern collection. I would also love to thank all you wonderful people who left me really nice comments about Matilda too. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! By the way, I dropped off my nephew's jacket yesterday and he loved it, although it was too hot to wear it or even try it on at their house. I think his mum was wishing it would fit her too, so maybe I will knit her a scarf to take to hospital in March. She is having a major operation then so it might help with any chills she may feel after the operation. The children are back to school tomorrow (yippee), and I cant wait, although it is a bit sad my baby girl has grown up so quickly, and my son too. I am hoping he has a much better year this year, and feels more settled in. I dont know how he will carry all those heavy books to school though, might have to enrol in some weight lifting classes just to carry them there. I hope they get their timetable tomorrow, and then he only has to take the ones that he needs for the day. So that is about it for now, but I am looking for a sock pattern tonight, even though it might take the full two months to finish them off with all the extra projects I cant help myself making. Nothing like a boredom buster with lots of projects to choose from. Happy knitting eveyone!

Matilda

I would like you all to meet Matilda. She is trying to get a bit of sunshine whilst relaxing in the garden. I hope she doesnt get too burnt out in the garden, as I think she may need some sunscreen to keep her lovely white skin from turning the same color as her dress.

I think she turned out quite cute, and me being lazy just sewed up an easy dress instead of making the same clothes as in the book. I glued on her hair, which I purchased from Spotlight, and was much easier than trying to sew wool into place for her hair. Isabelle said that she would like her to play with, but I have told her that this one is for myself. Now having said that I have to make another one for her, although she wont be the same, as in the color of her hair or clothes, but it might be some time before you see her on the blog. Lachlan made the nose for Matilda, out of the modelling clay that you bake in the oven. It is not quite round enough, but adds character I think. I hope the next one will turn out even better, but it will have to wait a while because I have quite a few things on my agenda starting Thursday. The kids start school on that day, so I will have a free morning, as Isabelle only has half a day for the month of February.

Onto the knitting, and I have finished one front of the same jacket as the one I just finished for my nephew. This one is a deep orange with a light orange stripe. I just finished up the band for the right front too, so not much more to knit on that one. I also paid a visit to one of my favourite yarn stores on Saturday, Stitchery Blue in Williamstown. They have a shop in Geelong too, and sell Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Noro and other wonderful yarns that a lot of yarn shops over this side do not generally sell. I bought a pattern book which is by Sirdar to knit a baby hooded cardigan, and I have already started on this too, nearly finishing up the back. I will post a picture of the book as it has some gorgeous patterns in it. I am knitting it in a chocoloate brown color which does not fit in with the month of Feb/March for PS, but I have also been knitting on another baby hooded jacket which is in blue so I will try and finish up that one first, along with the cardigan for Isabelle. I still have not decided what socks to knit next, but I will let you know before Thursday. It seems I am going to be busy busy busy knitting and sewing, but that is how I love to spend my time. Alas the housework will have to be done too, so that is the job for the mornings along with an hour of walking too. By the way, speaking of losing weight, we have just found out that our old friend will be a contestant on the next Australian version of the Biggest Loser. Damien is his name, and my sister went to school with him. He is a fantastic singer, and I hope he goes well in losing some weight. I think he might be one of the biggest contestants, so I hope he can hang in there and manage to do well for his sake, and for his mum's as she has always been worried about his health. Well that is about it, I have babbled on long enough, so now I will give you a rest and hope to see you by Thursday with the plan for the next pair of socks, and some pictures of the Sirdar baby book too!

FO #4 King of Swing

Good morning everyone. Happy Australia Day to all you fellow aussies out there, wherever you may be. Today is a public holiday in Australia, so a nice BBQ, a few beers and sitting outside will be the order of the day today. We are off to my sister's for a BBQ lunch and the weather is going to be 26 degrees, so it should be beautiful weather too.

Onto the knitting. I have finished up my nephew's jacket for his birthday. I spent last night watching Australia Day's big music night on tv and watching fireworks outside our lounge window whilst sewing it together, and handsewing in the zipper. Isabelle stood up on the couch so she could see the fireworks properly and stood there for half an hour until they finished. Her little comment afterwards was "wow mum what a good night, fireworks and music together". Sometimes she makes me laugh so much.

So onto the knitting for today, I finished the King of Swing jacket for my nephew's birthday.

Size: 9 to 10 years, but he is going to be 11 years of age, but he is a very skinny boy.

Yarn: 8 ply wool, 7 balls of gray and 1 ball of red

Started: January 2007

Finished: 25th January 2007

I only used the amount stated in the pattern which was great. I still have about 3 balls of gray left and another ball of red, so maybe some hats or a baby jacket will use those up. I hope it is long enough for him, but it should be as he is shorter than Lachlan, and it nearly reaches Lachlan's waist. His birthday is on the 6th of February so I will keep my fingers crossed that it fits. This was a fairly easy knit too, and it came together quite well. I am also making one for my other nephew too, and I have already completed the back of it. I think today I will cast on for the left front and try and finish it today. His birthday is not until March, but I would like to finish it up before Project Spectrum starts, and then knit on the blue baby jacket for February. I made the same jacket in April of last year, but this is in the blue colorway this time. I have already knitted a tiny bit of the back on it to get me started, and Isabelle's white cardigan has one of the front's started too, so it will just be a case of getting them out and knitting away. I hope that you all have a lovely day today, and sit and relax if you can, and do lots of knitting.

Sewing In Progress

Sorry to be away for a while, but the kids have been busy on the holidays with their friends, which in turn makes it hard for me to do any crafting. I have been trying to keep up with my knitting on my nephew's jacket, so now I only have 3/4 of a sleeve to go, and a zipper to install and its done. I have also knit up the back and front of a baby jumper which I completed in 1 day. I just have to finish off the 2 sleeves and it will be completed.

I also found a cute doll pattern calling my name to make her. I traced out the pattern some time ago, but only today found the time to sew her up on the sewing machine. It is so hard sometimes trying to stitch around the curves of arms and feet but I think I did a lot better than I usually do. I am using a linen fabric which Paul's grandmother gave to me after Christmas. She was having a big cleanout of fabric so I grabbed what I liked, and gave the rest to my mum to go through, otherwise it would have ended up in the Salvo bin. The red spotty fabric is going to be her dress, which I bought a few weeks ago from In Stitches, which is located in Melbourne Road, Williamstown. The shop owner really does have some lovely patchwork fabrics and patterrns, and I am glad I no longer have a credit card or otherwise I would spend it all on fabric and patterns in that shop. I am off to paint her shoes on and stitch some little black beads for her eyes, and then I have to decide what to do about her hair. I hopefully will be motivated to finish her up by the end of the week so that will be another 3 projects finished up. I have also decided to get ready for Project Spectrum too, in which I plan to finish a cardigan for Isabelle that I started before Christmas. It is in a white color so it fits in perfectly. I am also going to knit a pair of socks finally, and finish them this time, in the blue colorway that Katt dyed up for me. I have not decided what pattern yet but I will have fun deciding. So back to the sewing I go, and knitting too, and I hope you all have a lovely weekend. We have a long weekend this weekend with Friday being Australia Day, and my cousin's birthday too. Have a good one!

The Rain Has Returned

Thank you all so very much for the birthday wishes for Lachlan. They were all very much appreciated. We had a great day on his birthday, apart from the 38 degree weather that we had. Yuck! Thankfully we went to the movies, which was lovely and cool, and saw A Night In The Museum, which was very funny. We all really liked it, and Isabelle sat there through the entire movie, not wriggling one little bit.
Onto the knitting content, and I am now on the sleeves on my nephew's jacket. Hopefully I will have photos later in the week.
It has also been raining most of the night, and still is right now. Very much needed, and I hope it falls in the reservoirs and over the bushfire areas. The smoke smells awful enough here, and we are 3 hours away from it, so I hate to think how horrible it is over the east side of Victoria.
Also, I would just like to mention that Gillian's husband passed away on the 11th of January from a brain aneurism. I am attending the funeral today to give my support to her. Please pop over and send her hugs, she will need them. I will try and post over the weekend, so have a safe and wonderful day.

Happy Birthday Lachlan

My how fast time flies by. Today, 13 years ago, I had my son Lachlan, at 12:17pm to be precise. I was 25 years of age, and when I saw his big blue eyes staring up at me I fell instantly in love. He was born 7 pounds 9 ounces, and he was such a good baby. He would eat, sleep, and was never really a crying baby. He had a head full of curls when his hair decided to grow (I will have to scan a picture to show you just how gorgeous it was), and now he is a teenager. I am a mum to a teenager. How did that happen so fast. He is a boy that loves to sit on the computer like his mother, read books, play Game Boy games, and go to the movies. He loves swimming (he would end up a prune if I let him). He likes to cook too, and he loves camping. Here is Lachlan at Mallacoota in February 2005, with the fish that he caught. He did catch a lot of other fish too, but there is no pictures of those. Lachlan caught his first fish when he was 5 years old when we camped at Rocklands with Paul's mum and dad and aunt and uncle. I remember he kept that fish in a bucket for hours, thinking that he could take it home like that. Paul's uncle then informed him that the fish needed to be cut up and filleted for dinner. Lachlan was not impressed after that, and was quite upset about it. Thankfully the experience did not scar him in any way. At Mallacoota Lachlan watched as his fish were filleted and he ate them for dinner without hesitation. I really do hope that Lachlan learns a lot through his teenage years, and grows into a wonderful adult. Happy Birthday Lachlan and I hope you have a wonderful day today. We are taking him out to dinner and then to the movies, so it should be a lovely afternoon!

Sock Yarn Galore

Look at all the lovely sock yarn that I bought from Katt. Isnt it all beautiful, and I am sure I will be able to knit it all into lots of lovely pairs of socks. I have been using my ball winder that Paul bought me for Christmas, and Isabelle is quite handy at winding the handle and holding the tension for me. I just get to hold the skein and make sure that it all winds up nicely.

• Seashells - This is the yellow colorway, and I absolutley love it. Isabelle said it is for her, but I dont think so. Maybe I will buy her some more next time.
• Rosebud - I think this is the name for this one. I have misplaced the label for it, so if I am wrong please check out Katt's website for more details. I do have another colorway too, which is watermelon and is pinks, reds and greens all together.
• The blue colorway is Stormy Seas and I love this colorway too, just beautiful.
• Lastly, but not least is Waterlillies. This is a lovely purple and green colorway, and this is for my mum's birthday present which is on Sunday. She loves purple, so this should be just gorgeous for a pair of socks for her. I taught her how to knit socks last year, and she did quite well at it.

They are all 100 gm balls, which is just perfect. Now all I need to do is find a pattern that suits each colorway, and I will be able to knit up some socks. I think I will try and mix them in with the colorways for each month of Project Spectrum too. Lachlan's birthday is tomorrow so I will be busy, taking him to see a movie, and then out for dinner. We are having a family BBQ on Saturday for Lachlan, and mum too (joint party) so it should be a nice relaxed afternoon.

#No. 3 FO

Meet Otto the Owl.
Pattern: And So To Bed by Lucinda Guy
Yarn: Cotone Cotton from Spotlight, about 2 balls of dark brown, and one of orange.
Started: October 2006 and finished 13th January 2007

#No. 2 FO

Strawberry Hat

Size: 6 mths

Yarn: Country Cleckheaton 8 ply, 1 ball of each color

Started: 12th January Finished: 13th January

This was a nice quick knit, although the sewing up of the stem part was a bit of a nuisance. I rather like it though, so cute. I bought this as a kit from Wondoflex who are in Malvern, when mum and I went to the Craft Expo last July. Now it is one more project knit from the stash which is always a good thing. Now just to decide who the recipient shall be!

Project Spectrum 2.0

is about to start in February. I have decided to knit up a lot of my stash this year, (really as much as I can) so this project is going to help me out somewhat. I was going to join in with Knit From Your Stash too, but I had already purchased some yarn this year, so I thought I would just incorporate the two projects together unofficially. I have signed up for Project Spectrum and there are already over 600 participants.

• February/March is blue, gray and white.
• April/May is green, yellow and pink.
• June/July is red, black and metallics.
• August/September is brown, orange and purple.

I am thinking that the best way to approach this is to type up a number of projects to reduce the stash color of the 2 month period, and decide what to make. I will post my upcoming projects for February/March soon, and since I have all those colors in the stash this should be an easy process. Now just deciding what to knit will be the biggest part and trying to complete them in 2 months, so maybe the Tweed Aran Cardi will not be put through the Feb/March section. I will keep that aside as an all year project I think since then I will not have any pressure to finish it up in a certain time frame and stress out from it. I am going to try and finish up both of my nephew's jackets in January, and since they are both the same pattern, just different sizes it should not take too long. I have already finished the back of the orange one, andI have nearly finished the back of the gray one too. I am hoping that they turn out nicely too, and that I do not run out of yarn, or otherwise there will be another trip to the yarn shop that I really do not need to make. This should be a fun period of knitting for the next 8 months, so happy knitting everybody.

New Knits

2007 is a new year as we all know, so I decided to start some new knitting. Firstly I started the Tweedy Aran Cardigan which is designed by Norah Gaughan. I am using Rowan Aran Tweed in the Hero colorway which I purchased from Janette's Rare Yarns on ebay last year. It has thin and thick parts in this yarn, and has already snapped in one part. I will have to be more careful. I am only on the bottom part of the border so far, so do not expect major progress on this at any time soon, it may be a sweater that I do a part of a month. Next up is the King Swing jacket, which I am really liking. This is for my nephew Hayden who is turning 10 in February. I am using a woolblend crepe for this, which is machine washable. I am sure his mum will appreciate that. He is an outdoors boy, so I am sure it will get a lot of wear (I hope). I have not knit anything for Hayden since he was a baby so it is time I made another jacket for him. I am planning on making another one too in a different colorway for my other nephew Thomas who turns 5 in March. His will be in a burnt orange colorway, I assume that is what the color is. Well that is all for now, happy knitting!

#No 1 FO

This is the vest Cool that my sister wanted me to knit for her from the Rowan Classic Style Book 16.

Started: Late last year, probably around October.

Finished: 6th January 2007

Yarn: TLC Cara Mia, dark charcoal, about 2 balls.

(100 gm size)

Size: 12

The cables are just on the front of the vest, the back is just k2, p2 all the way through. This is a nice simple pattern which is easy to memorise, so it makes the knitting go much quicker. I made a chart of rows for the neckline so I could follow it exactly for the opposite side, therefore no guessing how many rows to do. I will be giving it to my sister today, depending on how sore she feels from her fun run yesterday. Yes, she is the fit and active one, I think she got all the genes for that one. Maybe I will have to borrow some from her since one goal this year is to lose some kilos and start my walking again. When Isabelle heads off to school in Feb I will be trying to put in an hour's walk each morning which will certainly help me. We did not get any rain last night either, after strong winds indicated that we might get some. I did trim my roses though since most of the petals had been blown away by the strong winds, so now they look much nicer. Paul and I went over to my neighbour's house too, and cut off some lower branches of her tree. It looks so much better now, and she is 69 years of age, so it is a bit much for her to do since her husband passed away last year. She is a lovely neighbour, and a very talented crafter too. I think I should get her to teach me some of her clever crafts that she does. I also started a new knit last night, but I will wait until I have some progress of it before I show it. Happy knitting everyone and have a nice and relaxing weekend.

Simple Socks

This is the first sock finished, which I completed last night. I have cast on for the second sock so as to not be put off by it. The heel is done last in this pattern, but I much prefer my other pattern where you knit the heel then continue on towards the toe. I guess I can claim to have knitted a different type of heel now, so it is a new skill for 2007. These are not for me though, as my sister is turning 33 on Monday so they will be for her present, and hopefully I will have the other one finished up by then. I am also finishing a vest for her which I cast on for last year but got bored with it, and of course set it aside. I am doing the decreases for the neck on the front and it seems to be knitting up quickly, so hopefully by Sunday it should be finished up and I will remember to take a photo before I give it to her. The pattern for this sock was taken from Issue 4 of the Yarn magazine, which has some good patterns in it sometimes. I guess it is like other magazines though, some good some not so good. I also brought Creative Knitting during the week, and upon opening it up thought I had already purchased it. As mentioned on another blog, they had copied patterns from the English Simply Knitting magazine. Now I really like Simply Knitting and their free goodies and patterns, but I dont appreciate buying another magazine with a different name on the front. I feel as though I wasted my money on the Australian mag now, so next time I will be more careful. I have also been looking at Project Spectrum on Lolly's blog, and it looks great again, although this time you get to choose from three different colors every two months. I could easily do that, but maybe I will join in just on my blog here. I already have a project in mind for the first one. Details of that later on. I also emptied out my stash yesterday and gave mum 3 giant garbage bags of yarn, mostly acrylic and cottons which have probably sat in there for about 12 years or so. Now my stash looks a bit more reasonable, although I have enough sock yarn to knit about 20 pairs of socks, so maybe I will need to knit a pair of socks a month from now on as a small stash buster.

By the way I finally got a picture of Isabelle in her little cardigan that Karyn made for her for Christmas. Isabelle is quite taken with the button too, it seems to have little flower patterns inside it. I think she looks quite pretty in it. I have to admit I laughed when she asked me where the rest of the sleeves were as she has never had short sleeved cardigans before, and now she just loves it. Well off to the couch to knit some more on the vest and the other sock. Happy knitting everyone!

Welcome 2007!

Happy New Year to everybody. Thank you all so much for visiting here and being the wonderful friends that you have become to me. I have loved getting to know all of you and your families, and the lovely stories that you write. I continue to look forward to blogging throughout 2007 and seeing all of your wonderful blogs too. I have updated to the new blogger and changed my template for the new year, and I hope that my resolutions for a happier and healthier year come true. Enjoy your holidays!