Digging Sweater

Pattern: Digging Sweater by Louisa Harding (MIss Bea's Colors)
Yarn: 8 ply wool, light blue - 7 balls
Size: 3 to 4 years
I knit this sweater for my nephew Benjamin. The color seems to look gray in this picture but it is actually a nice light blue color. I wish my camera wouldnt wash it out. I really like the patterns in these books, and have plans to make some more for a few birthdays, as Isabelle is too big for them now. They will always be kept in my knitting library as I really do enjoy all of them. I also visited Highpoint today to go to Borders. I grabbed a few books for a birthday and a xmas present, and I also bought a book called Never Knit Your Man A Sweater, you know the curse thing about not knitting before you get married. I really dont believe in the curse and I have my reasons to prove it as I made Paul 2 sweaters before we were ever engaged. I bought this book for the plain simple fact that it has some really beautiful sweaters in it, plus some nice hats and scarves too. Since I need to knit some for presents I think this will be a great resource to use. I will try and post about it later on as I am a bit short on time to do so today. Happy knitting everyone!

FO No. 29

Pattern: Textured Jacket from Baby Knits by Lois Daykin

Size: 6-9 months

Yarn: Harvest yarn from Spotlight, nearly 4 balls. This yarn has a crepe look to it, but knits

up beautifully.

Started: October, finished today

I had bought some other buttons, but forgot where I had put them, so instead went through my button stash and found some to replace the ones I had misplaced. I really like the pattern in this little jacket and it was quite quick to knit up too. Lovely for a present, or even if you have your own baby it will be a great addition to their wardrobe. Now I can cast on for some other projects now that I have finished up 2 today. Happy knitting!!

Fo No. 28

Pattern: Design from Sirdar Baby Knits book 316
Yarn: 8 Ply pure new wool, about 8 balls
Started: September sometime, finished 18th October 2007
Size: 5 - 6 years
This is the second time that I have knit this cardigan, and I really love it. Considering the weather today is 19 and very cold and raining, I might be able to persuade Isabelle to wear it for a photo after school. I attached small heart buttons onto it, since the flower buttons that we bought were too big for the buttonholes. How frustrating. I really hope she likes this one as the pattern just pops in this yarn.

FO No. 27

Pattern: Ribbon Edged Cardigan from Special Knits by Debbie Bliss
Size: 6 - 9 months
Yarn: Cotone cotton from Spotlight, dark pink, 4 balls
Started: Last week
Finished: Today
I loved knitting this pattern since this is about the 4th time I have made it. I decided not to add the ribbon, but added this embroidered ribbon instead around the neckline and the cuffs of the sleeves. This will be a present for my friend whose baby girl is due in February 2008. It always knits up so quickly too, and this is the first time I have knit it in cotton too.

FO No. 26

Pattern: Ribby Cardi by Bonnie Maree Burns, size largest
Started: 10th September
Finished: 2nd October
Yarn: Cotton Ease, about 5 balls.
I really loved knitting this pattern, and it fits quite well. I really should have knit it a little bit longer, but it will be fine. It feels quite smooth knit up in the Cotton Ease too. Now I have some more time to knit up some other knits for a friend, and finish my son's sweater!

FO No. 24

Pattern: Gentleman's Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Pansy by Katt - I used 1 skein and a little tiny bit of the other skein for the casting off of the toe on the second sock.
I finished knitting these last night, and photographed them just so you could all see that I do still knit adult items. I even cast on for another pair out of some more yarn that Katt dyed for me, but I will wait until I have some progress on those. I am so glad that these are now finished!

FO No. 21 - Baby Hooded Jacket

Pattern: Patons Handknits book 961, Baby Jacket
Size: 12 months
Wool: Feathersoft 8 ply, about 5 and a half balls.
The baby jacket is finished! Hooray. I sat on the couch yesterday and seamed it together. The photo is a bit dark though as yesterday was miserable weather. I rolled up the cuffs on the sleeves too, but now realise it makes them look too short. Oh well rolling them down again will fix that problem wont it. I hope that our friends will put it on their baby as I am not really sure what they think about handknits for babies, as this is their first. I also bought some little shoes too, and I will wrap it up tonight. Hopefully we can visit them sometime soon. I also started another little girl's baby cardigan, and this one should knit up quite quickly. Paul's cousin had a little girl on Thursday, Asher, and she was a bit early so I need to hurry up and finish that one too. I only cast on last night so I might be able to finish it during the week.
Also Isabelle has lost 2 more teeth in the last week. She lost one whilst bouncing on the trampoline with her brother (and yes it was already loose), and last night she lost one whilst munching on some chocolate. She thought she had broken her big tooth, but I explained it was the little tiny one next to it. The tooth fairy seems to be a regular visitor at the moment, and of course she has to have her school photos next month, so now she will have gaps. She also has two other loose teeth, so it could be four gaps by then. She always seems to lose them a few at a time, and of course losing teeth means she has a bit of a cold too. It always happens, so now we expect her to have the snuffles. I hope that it goes by next Friday as she has her birthday party at McDonalds then. She is all excited about it, and hopefully I can get some nice photos of her with her friends. Well that is it for now as we have one of her friend's birthday parties to go to today, and then I have a little bit of running around to do for her party next week. Hopefully I can get some presents wrapped today too.
By the way thank you so much for all the lovely thoughts about the bag. I used it last night for my knitting and it fit so much into it. I am sure that I will be using it quite a bit. So I must go, and have a wonderful weekend.

Apples & Pears!

I received my pear and apple fabric last week, and thought what a great idea for a bag. I made up my own pattern, and whipped it up about half an hour ago, cut it out and stitched it together on the machine. The pear fabric is actually pockets on both sides, and I really do love it. I bought mine from Sarah who always sells such beautiful fabrics and vintage chenille too. This will be great for toting along my knitting projects and the pattern book too, just the perfect size.

I also finished up my other dishcloth, and I really love the colors in this one, as they are totally different to the other two colorways. The bright orange dishcloth was tested out in the shower by Isabelle who loved using it to wash her face. I will have to keep the green one for me I think, and knit up a few more. I also finished Lachlan's beanie as you see above, and it is a perfect fit. The pattern was actually from a Lincraft pamphlet that my mum had so it came in very handy. Lachlan and I also finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was a great book, although I am sad that there will be no more adventures to read. Well that is about all for now as I am off to sew up the baby pink jacket. I finished knitting the hood last night, and it took so long because I got bored with it, but picked it back up last night and finished it off. Now to sew in the zipper and hopefully tomorrow I can post it for you all to see. Happy knitting!

FO No 20

Pattern: Jacket from Sirdar Baby Knits Book 316
Size: 6-12 months
Yarn: Snuggly DK, 3 balls
I finally finished knitting the jacket that I started months ago. I put it aside to knit on other things as I normally do (must stop doing that), and then during the week thought that I would finish knitting it. I had already completed the back, so the rest was finished during the week. The Snuggly DK is so soft and I think it shows the pattern up well. It is actually a chocolate brown color and I think it will be so nice for a little boy. Speaking of little boys, we have another little boy named Sam who decided to arrive last night, so congratulations to Paul's cousin. He was a big baby, 9' 11 and was about 2 weeks late. He must have been scared to come out into the cold weather we have been having and decided it was much nicer where he was.
Also my yarn arrived this morning from Katt, who just makes the most beautiful colored yarn. From left to right we have Patter, Pansy and Boyson. I absolutely adore all of these colors Katt, and will be knitting a new knit today with the green ones, although I dont think the other 2 colors will be sitting there for long either. I will have to make some nice socks out of those! I must look through the Interweave Favourite Socks book I think for some inspiration. Well that is it for now as the kids will be on school holidays as of 2:30 this afternoon, so a few chores need doing beforehand. I also will still be delivering catalogues although in a new area further from home on a permanent basis, and on a larger scale too, so blogging may be a bit quiet for the next 2 weeks. Happy holidays!

FO No. 18

Pattern: Sirdar Baby Knits book 316 - Design K Textured Jacket

Size: 6 - 12 months

Yarn: 8 ply wool, about 4 or 5 balls

Started: 5th June and finished 8th June 2007

I loved knitting this little jacket, so easy to remember the simple pattern, and it does go by quickly. I probably could have knit this easily in 3 days, if I hadnt been naughty and knit other things too. I already had the yarn and buttons in my stash, so it is slowly reducing bit by bit. I need to stock up on the buttons again though, as I am starting to run out of ones that match my knits. Speaking of knitting, have you seen the new Knitty patterns, I like so many of them. Laura has designed a cute girl's top too, and I couldnt help myself but to print it out straight away. I am sure this will be a good top for summer, and it will be perfect for Isabelle to wear. Isabelle loved the chevron patterned skirt too, so that was also printed out. There are quite a few sock patterns too, which reminds me I need to start another pair. Tomorrow shall be the start of the WIP's pile, so one a day for the rest of the week should get me through them. Happy knitting and have a wonderful day!

Scrappy Quilt!

This quilt is from a kit that I bought about 2 years ago now, or it could have been longer than that. I bought it from a wonderful little shop off Pakington Street in Geelong, called A Little Different. About 3 weeks ago now, I decided that I needed to start it so I pulled it out, washed the fabrics and cut out the squares. Stitching them whilst I was sick took quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but now that I am fully recovered I have been able to do lots of sewing and knitting too. I love all the muted autumn colors of this quilt, and I only used a thick fleece on the back of it, no wadding in between. Blue Willow Cottage made a similar one in an issue of Handmade, so that is where the idea came from, and I thought it would be much easier than sewing 3 layers together. This quilt will be used on our bed for those extra chilly nights, which we have been having lately, along with some wonderful rain too which is always good for the garden.

Isabelle is going to be performing in her first school play today. She is in a little play called The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There are 2 preppies, and 2 Grade 5 students doing it together. She has been practising for weeks now. I wish that I could see her do it, but unfortunately I am not allowed to. Her role is as a fruit in the play. They go and visit the children at the kindergartens and do the play for them. I was told that they take photos too, so hopefully I will get some and be able to show you all. I am so proud of her since she is very shy in public, although not at home. She has been feeling unwell for a while now, and a checkup at the doctors didnt reveal anything, although this morning she had a horrible cough and did not want to stay home. She is such a little trouper, nothing keeps her away from school. I hope she will feel better soon. There have been so many kids with different bugs lately in her class, that I am surprised she hasnt caught one, but fingers crossed her throat gets better. Lachlan has also started going to the gym which is just around the corner from our house doing a general exercise program through his school which is run by the local police. They do it to raise kids' self esteem, and also to encourage them to work out their frustrations another way. He is enjoying it which is great. He has been going twice a week, so hopefully in a few months his attitude will change and he will feel better about himself and not get so frustrated and angry all the time. Well that is it for now, I am off to take some photos of all my new knitting projects, which seem to be a lot at the moment, and finally sew some buttons on another finished knit too. See you all tomorrow!

FO NO. 17

Hello, a bit of an absence from me due to my sickness, but after all the good wishes from you all I am on my way to feeling a lot better, so thank you so much for all your kind thoughts. Now since I have been sick I have not been knitting as much as I would like, but I did manage to finish something today. Isabelle's long ribbed cardigan from Special Family Knits by Debbie Bliss. I knit this in the size 7 to 8 years and it is quite long on her (down to her knees actually), but it is a good length and will keep her really warm. We only took this picture a few minutes ago so now she is snuggling up on the couch watching Harry and the Bucket Full of Dinosaurs whilst keeping nice and warm. I knit this using GGH Samoa in a nice bright green, and it seems my last two projects have been that color. I am thankful to have finished knitting this, as it did a great workout on my arms and neck for knitting on it for so long. I did enjoy making it though, although I did not knit the ties at the back as I did not think they needed it and I really wanted to knit something else too. At least Isabelle likes it. I have started something else for Isabelle since it seems most of her other handknits she has grown out of. I will take some pictures and post them throughout the week. Oh, and some happy news my cousin's wife had another little girl on Friday night, Killanda (I am not sure of the spelling), and she is very healthy and doing well. Only downside is that now its another girl they dont need anymore handknits as they will be using Jindalee's ones so I might just knit her a little toy. I do have that toy book calling out to me lately. I am also going to knit my very good friend a baby knit too as she informed me on Saturday that she is having her second baby sometime at the end of the year, so I will have fun making lots for her new baby. So only 4 more baby gifts to make before the year ends, funny how May went by so quickly. I will have to knit something in an adult size soon as I am sure you will think I only make baby clothes, although I do love knitting them I do knit other things too. Happy knitting and I shall see you soon!

FO NO. 17

Baby Jacket with Ribbed Sleeves
Size: 6 to 9 months
Yarn: Cara cotton, 3 balls
I finally finished the gorgeous baby jacket from Special Family Knits today. I just finished sewing in the zipper, which is always a pain to stitch at the ends because of the plastic parts on it. It took me about 2 weeks to knit, but I was also knitting other things in between too, so it might have been done a lot more quickly if I had of only stuck to one project. I think it is very cute, although it is a lot brighter than the photo shows.

I also received my wonderful prize from Laura today. A beautiful skein of yarn which I think is just gorgeous and oh so soft too. Isabelle said that she loved how so soft it was and kept rubbing it against her cheek. It does feel wonderfully soft, and I will have to make something wonderful out of it too. Any suggestions? Thank you so much Laura, and it arrived so quickly in just a week too. Oh by the way Paul is much better about the car incident yesterday, as he went and made me some lunch for being nasty to me. Tomorrow he is back to work, so it should be nice and quiet here for me to finish up some things. I am going to be doing some sewing tomorrow for Isabelle, so I should hopefully have some things to show you all next week. Happy knitting and thank you for all the wonderful comments that you leave for me too!!

FO No. 16

The Hooded Guernsey is complete! Yay for me. I am glad this done as I was actually getting sick of knitting the hood and it seemed to take me ages to finish it off. The sleeves were quick though, so that was a nice finish.

Pattern: Hooded Guernsey from Special Family Knits by Debbie Bliss

Size - 2 years which is a 71cm chest size so it should fit quite easily.

Yarn: I substituted cotton for 8 ply wool, (8 balls) but the cotton would probably have been better in the way it sits at the bottom. The 8 ply makes the bottom edging curl up a bit. I would still knit it again but probably in cotton next time.

Tomorrow I should have some new projects to show you. Sadly today I did not make it to Sunspun as we ran out of time. Paul's job took a bit longer than we thought, so maybe next time I will make it there. Thank you too for all your wonderful comments too, and sorry I havent had time to get back to you, but my email plays up sometimes, so I dont know whether the ones I reply to actually make it to their destination or not. Wait and see I suppose. Happy knitting!

FO NO. 15

Pattern: Playtime Stripe Sweater from Miss Bea's Playtime book.

Yarn: 8 ply wool, orange/red/brown

Started: Last week, finished today

Size: 1 to 2 years

I have to say that the Miss Bea series always have fantastic patterns in them, and I have knit quite a few for Isabelle, and nieces and nephews. This one was originally knit in cotton, but I substituted it for wool. This one is for my cousin's grandson who is nearly 1 yrs old, so it should have a bit of growing room. He lives in Stawell, and I am sure it gets quite cold there. My cousin passed away 9 yrs ago from a brain aneurism and sadly had two teenage children left behind. She was only 40 years of age, and it saddened me greatly. Her husband who is a fantastic person, has raised them into 2 wonderful adults, and now her daughter has 2 wonderful sons, and so by keeping in touch with them, I decided to knit them some jumpers for winter. I have yet to cast on for the next sweater for the older one, who by the way is a real cutie, so maybe the same sweater in a different colorway will be a good idea, or perhaps a guernsey. I am hoping to cast on for it today, since Isabelle got to leave school early. She had her school fete after lunch, so after a quick round of showbags, lollies, hair painting, and playdough buying, we decided to head home. I think we may get some more rain, as this morning it was absolutely pouring. It is quite dark outside now, so hopefully it will hold off until Lachlan makes it home. By the way all the head lice was gone by Monday, so she went back to school on Tuesday and I helped out yesterday which was lots of fun. Two more children went home yesterday with head lice, and the whole school was checked. At least that way parents are notified, and have to clean their child's hair so it doesnt spread to anyone else. I have a few things to do before Lachlan gets home as I need to go and buy him some new school shoes as his feet seem to have outgrown the old ones, and this time they will be waterproof boots instead of runners. I just dont think that runners are very good to wear all the time in wet weather, not that we have had many days of rain, but at least I know his feet will be kept dry. I am sure that there will be a protest at the shoe shop, but I am prepared for it. So thats it for now, happy knitting!!!

Backpack, Backpack!!

Does anybody know Dora the Explorer. I am sure that many of you with kids would know who she is. Well when I gave Isabelle the finished backpack, she said "Now I am like Dora". I dont know how many adventures she is going to go on with her backpack, but at least she can pretend when she watches the dvd's. Dora and her monkey friend Boots always seem to have fun, and the backpack is filled with wonderful things too. Isabelle has already filled hers with her knitting, and yes she does know how to knit, but cant sit still enough for more than 2 rows at a time. I have told her when she finishes her first scarf I will show it here for you all to see. Now dont go thinking that I have cranked out another FO for you all to see. No, my mum knit this and I had decided to do the sewing part of it (yes, I put my hand up for it as mum just whip stitches everything and the stitches always show up on the good side). I must teach her another method of sewing items up so that they look nice after she has done all that wonderful knitting.

Pattern: Backpack from Panda Learn to Knit book, No. 800

Yarn: Magnum 8 ply acrylic.

Time took to knit: Oh about 3 days, but she did do other things in between knitting all those squares.

The back side is stripes of all those colors you see in the picture. I think it looks nice and bright, and of course Isabelle chose the pink bag. You see at Spotlight they sell packs of Magnum yarn, which has about 5 different colors in it, and when mum decided to make one she let Isabelle pick the color. I knew it would be pink, or otherwise it would have been purple. After she bought it though, she thought it had the pattern in it too, so of course it was not in there, you have to buy the book separately so we went to Big W and grabbed one from there. I am glad that it will get some use, and thank you mum, although you dont read the blog or have a computer to do so. Maybe one day she will get one and be able to browse the blog! P.S. Thank you for all the wonderful compliments on the embroidered cardigan. I had great fun knitting it, and now am halfway through two other baby knits for people. I will update later on in the week as I have been busy combing Isabelle's hair for nasty head lice. Finally this morning there were no more little nasties, but in case she caught it from school I did not want her to get any more. Hopefully tonight I wont find any more of them either, and she can return tomorrow. She has her school fete on Thursday and I am helping in her classroom on Wednesday, so it should be lots of fun. Speak to you all later!

FO No. 14

Pattern: Jill from Classic Babies (Rowan)

Size: 6 to 12 months

Yarn: 8 ply wool, about 3 balls of burnt orange

Started: 23rd April Finished: 27th April

This is such a cute little cardigan, although my embroidery of flowers leaves a lot to be desired. There are red flowers in the baskets too, but it is hard to see them in the photo. The buttons are actually quite nice, with bits of pink and yellow sparkles through them, and it does look quite cute with all the colors. I wish my camera was working a bit better, but alas I did sort of drop it on the desk this morning and it went all funny. I thought it was broken but then it came back on, so I hope there is no permanent damage. I am off now to start a new project, but I will tell you what it is when I have at least one piece finished. Oh and some good news today, Isabelle's little friend now has a new baby brother, so I must go through the knitted goodies and see what I can give to baby Jack for a present. I am sure he is gorgeous and Isabelle will be quite excited to wrap up the pressie and post it off too!

FO No. 13

Pattern: Sport from Rowan Pipsqueaks

Size: 6 to 7 years, although it is still a bit short

Yarn: GGH, 8 balls of dark purple

Started: Last year and finished 25th April 2007

I made the buttonholes 10 rows apart so it does not have gaps showing through on the front band when it is buttoned up. I used 8 heart buttons which look oh so cute, but of course do not show up in the picture. It all looks so dark so you cannot see the rib pattern very well either. I had to coerce Isabelle to try it on and now she is wearing it outside and wont take it off. I thought knitting the larger size would make it long enough, but it should really be another 12 rows longer for her since she is so tall for her age. I loved knitting this again, as I made one for her 2 years ago too, and she loved wearing that one as well. The yarn was really nice to work with, although I have lost the band to it so I dont know exactly what type of GGH yarn it is. I have also been knitting on the Jill cardigan too, and now only have the sleeves and embroidery to finish off. Yay for quick knits for wee ones. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your week!

FO No 12

Jenny Hat from the Jo Sharp Gathering Book.

Yarn Jo Sharp DK wool. Color - Green/Blue

Started: Tuesday 10th April

Finished: Wednesday 11th April

This is much bluer than in real life. I think the color is closest to the writing of this post. I knit this for Paul's grandmother who is going to be 87 years old this month. She is a very active person, going to outdoor bowls, drives her own car, goes swimming and still looks after her double block of land with lots of roses and vegies too. She makes nice slices too, and does wonderful crochet too. A few years ago she crocheted me some drawer runners and I still use them now. I thought this hat might be nice for her to wear whilst out in the garden when it gets a bit cold, so I hope she will like it. I must go and find something else nice for her birthday too.

FO No. 11

Thank you for all the wonderful comments on my blogiversary! You are all such wonderful friends to me, and I loved reading each and every one of them. It actually means a lot to me to have such wonderful blog friends like you. Tonight I will be drawing 2 names out and I will be posting the winners, so if you have not left a comment on the last post with your name do so now so I can include your name too.

Now onto the knitting!

Pattern: Basketcase socks

Started: Friday 6th March

Finished: Tuesday 10th March

Yarn: I think about 100 gms, 8 ply wool from The Knittery. I have not looked on the site to see what color it was that I ordered, and they did not have a label with them when I bought it so I will recheck the site and let you know what colorway it was if you would like to know. It is actually a mix of all different purples, which you cant really tell from the photo, and it was sunny in the room but the picture came out much darker than intended. I really enjoyed knitting these socks, but now have a small cut on my finger from pressing on the needle so much whilst knitting them, but I think these are going to be one of my favourites from now on when the weather cools down. So much for the Autumn weather, we are now back up to 27 degrees again, both yesterday and today so it does feel like Summer is still with us. I am sure from reading other blogs that you are having the same thing with snowy weather too. Now onto the next knitting project which will include some yellow yarn!