Hoping that you

and a healthy and happy 2011.

'Tis the Season

What does a little boy need to hang from the mantel piece tomorrow night?
Maybe this?

This is my version of the P/Hop 'Tis the Season pattern
I had intended to follow the pattern with the addition of Thomas' name. However after charting his name I realised I would need more stitches. I cast on 96 stitches, and followed the pattern as written to the end of the first chart.
I then got a bit lazy, and just did whatever I felt like! I really love how this has turned out.
It is knit in felted tweed (green and red) and some random Sirdar Snuggly. The felted tweed has ensured it blocked beautifully and I think the green just lifts the whole thing.

I'm going to see if I can knit some co-ordinating socks for him to wear on Christmas Day!

Double Trouble

There has been a distinct lack of crafty goings on to report on recently. However, that doesn't mean my hands have been sitting idle.
I have been busy blanket making again... this time I needed not one, but two.
My lovely friends Dan & Kate had twins a couple of weeks ago. One boy and one girl, born full term and home within a couple of days. Thank goodness!
For Twin One (Daisy):

A granny blanket made from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - the odds and ends of what I have left from other blankets. 25 squares, 7 rounds each. I made the multi coloured centres first and then joined as I went in cream. I waited until I knew if twin one was a boy or a girl before adding the lilac border. Ravelled here.
For Twin Two (Robin):

Another trusty Hexagon Blanket. Again, in DB Baby Cashmerino. I ran out of the bluey/purple after completing about half the blanket. I was sure I had more, but alas no. Of course this colour was discontinued about 4 years ago, but after several failed attempts I managed to get another 4 balls from a very friendly retailer.
59 hexagons and 8 half hexes - exactly the same as my "original" Hexagon Blanket.
They are both now en-route to their new home. Fingers crossed they arrive safely and keep the little ones snuggly and warm.
Now I've got until March to think up some more blanket ideas. Two more babies due on the 15th (but to different parents!)

5 Months

Time is flying by....

Noughts and Crosses

I have spent the last few weeks thinking that Thomas needed a(nother) winter jumper.
I bought the yarn to knit an Owlet, but I've seen a few cabled jumpers in the shops that I really liked. What to do?
Firstly, there is this funnel neck jumper from Monsoon.

A Shawl collared cardigan in Mothercare

And a few similar things elsewhere.
Friends gave me some ideas of potential patterns...
The Childhood Remake sweater seemed perfect to use up some gorgeous brown handspun I got from Katie in return for a p/hop donation. I also loved this version of an old Debblie Bliss Pattern for a shawl collared aran sweater - suitably 80's retro! I found the book on ebay for 99p...
However, I decided to take a few of the elements of these and make something up.
Using the instructions for the Garter Yoke Cardigan I made for Tom earlier in the year I cast on using the handspun from Katie. I added 8 stitches to the back and used 4mm needles.


When I had finished the yoke I joined to knit in the round, adding 8 stitches to the centre front (in order to add a funnel/shawl collar later). I then copied the design from the monsoon sweater above, but made the cables into proper noughts and crosses (like the Hugs and Kisses jumper I made for Carys). This body is knit in a ball of The Yarn Yard Bonny in a colourway called Conker left over from my fair isle mittens. A lovely semi-solid brown which matches perfectly with the handspun. I'm using the yarn doubled and am worried I might run out before I get to the arms. However, I'm sure I can find something else to substitute in there if necessary!
I'm actually really enjoying the fact I can just knit and see what happens... it is liberating!
At the moment I am planning on a garter stitch band at the bottom in the handspun. I may (or may not) continue the cable pattern down the arms.
I'm not really sure if Thomas appreciates all of this hand knit love... but he'd better get used to it.
He is now wearing his Emil(ia)....

And he seems to like it!

4 months

A cheeky face

Sitting up in my bumbo

Getting bigger by the day!

Oz Vest II

What little boy does not need a brown tank top?
Especially when virtually every item of clothing he has contains at least a smidgen of brown.

Can you believe there is no brown DK wool in my stash? No, me neither, however I couldn't find any. I ended up buying this brown Patons Diploma Gold from my LYS. I asked for wool - this is as good as it gets, 55% Wool, 25% Acrylic, 20% Nylon. It has slightly too much of an acrylic squeakyness for my liking, but it is the kind of shop that once you have entered you feel like you have to buy *something*. At £2.50 a ball it probably makes sense. Plus it will go in the washing machine AND tumble drier.

I knitted the 6 month size. It fits now, but will probably still fit at Christmas. Fingers crossed.
To make up for the acrylicness - some gorgeous owl buttons, bought at the iKnit Weekender last year from Textile Garden.

This weekend we are off to Fibre Flurry in Birmingham. My first knitting event with Thomas. I MUST remember the Lizard Ridge Blanket which is being raffled off for p/hop. Let's hope we raise enough money to take us over the £20k target - which in 2 years is pretty good going :o)

Surtsey

Remember back to the end of June? No, neither can I really, it seems like a lifetime ago.
I did finish knitting Surtsey before Thomas arrived, buttons were added a couple of weeks ago when I realised that it would fit him now. I should have perhaps knit the next size up (this is 0-3 months). Great pattern, great yarn... maybe I'll have to knit another!

Ravelled here

Labour Socks

These socks are a modified version of Prism. Knit in two colours of The Yarn Yard Clan, these are only my second pair of Clan socks (despite being in the sock club for a year).
These were started the day my waters broke - Sunday 4th July 2010 - hence the name.
I knit some of the first leg whilst waiting at home for things to begin on the Monday (nothing happened). I knit the rest of the second leg whilst hooked up to drips and monitors in hospital on the Tuesday (still nothing happening). I had Thomas on the Wednesday afternoon. I spent a week in hospital wondering if I would ever have time to pick up my needles again.

However they are now finished. The perfect simple knit when you have no brain capacity for anything else. I changed the pattern to have 4 stitches between the slipped stitches. I altered the rib to be a twisted rib which flowed into the slipped stitches.

Love them! Especially the colours. Clan is a little splitty to knit with, but the twisted and slipped stitches show up beautifully. I wore them out in my walking boots yesterday (perhaps a little foolish as I have managed to rub the toes a little) but they were really really comfy socks.

3 Months

and getting chubbier by the day!

The best dressed baby in town.

Thomas is a very lucky boy and has received lots of handmade presents, here is a selection

Owl Dungarees from Roobeedoo


Stripy socks from Mary



Cardigan from Kerry


A big thank you to everyone who has sent presents... they have all been amazing!

Lizard Ridge for p/hop

p/hop (although it sounds like a rapper’s name) means pennies per hour of pleasure. It is a fundraiser for the international medical aid organisation Medecins Sans Fontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
Lovely designers from all over the place have pledged to donate patterns to MSF, which you can download in return for a donation! Once you have your newly knitted/crocheted scarf/socks/sweater in hand, you donate an amount that corresponds to the amount of pleasure you got from making it…

As well as the patterns, a group of us have extended the p/hop ethos by donating knitted items to auction off at the various knitting festivals that p/hop attends.

Following on from the success of the Barnraising Blanket we made last year, a group of us in the p/hop group on Ravelry decided to make a Lizard Ridge blanket.

Over the last few months I have been receiving lots of cheery squares in the post and in between feeding Thomas I have managed to assemble them into a blanket.

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning the blanket, come and see the p/hop stall at Fibre Flurry in Birmingham on the 30th October

12 in 12- Pair 3

Tom's Golden socks

In the Alchemy Juniper left over from my Rumpled Knit Love Club socks.
Twisted 1x1 rib, then 3x1 rib over 32 stitches with an eye of the partridge heel over 15 stitches.

2 Months

How time flies.
Thomas is 2 months old today

We are settling into a bit of a routine, and starting to enjoy life a little more!
Note to self: add knitting project to changing bag- I spent an hour and 20 minutes waiting in the baby clinic yesterday with NOTHING to do - Tom was asleep. Think how much of a sock I could have made!

12 in 12 Pair Two

I missed out on finishing a pair of socks in July - I was otherwise occupied!
However I have managed my August pair... for a very small boy with ridiculously large feet (for his size at least)

Knit in left over Socks that Rock Mediumweight in the nodding violet colourway.
A 2x2 rib, over 3o stitches on 2.5mm needles . I thought I'd cast on 32 but then couldn't be bothered to change it so made a "feature" of the 4 knit stitches together at the back of the leg!

You can see in the photo above how long his feet are - 9cm - newborn socks are already too small, as are the feet in most of the sleepsuits we have.
A perfect excuse to knit more!

Plus you can take comedy WIP photos. Oh the joys of having a model who cannot do anything about it.

Blankets and Socks

Squares for the Lizard Ridge blanket we are making to raffle for p/hop / MSF have been rolling in. I've made a start at seaming it together (second column is seamed). As you can see, we still need a couple more squares.

Meanwhile I have also managed to do a bit of knitting on my latest socks - a modified version of Prism in Yarn Yard Clan. The cuff and leg of these were knit whilst in hospital waiting for labour to start. The heel was the first bit of knitting I did since Tom was born. The foot is in progress - this picture was taken whilst sitting on the patio after returning from the shops the other day. Tom was asleep in his car seat so I took the opportunity to get the needles (and camera) out.

Where has July gone?

In a blur of hospitals, labour, feeding, sleeping, crying, laughing and happiness.
I still have no knitting to show you. Actually, I have half a sock- which was mostly knit during the "waiting for labour" days at the start of the month. I turned the heel a day or so ago in a spare 5 minutes. It felt good to have the needles in my hands again. However, to show you I would have to find the camera, so instead you'll have to make do with Thomas in his Garter Yoke Cardigan

and some fabulous cakes his Auntie Rachel made.

The latest FO - Thomas Anthony

All knitting has stopped.
Thomas Anthony was born at 15.45 on 7th July 2010 and weighed 6lb 14oz.
After a bit of a traumatic birth and a very long week in hospital we are both home and finding our feet as a family of three.
My gorgeous boy:

More baby knits

Just what a July baby needs - a woolly hat. Knit on the hottest day of the year so far, what was I thinking?

Swirl Hat, 0-3 months size, in the left over Koigu KPPM from the Garter Yoke baby cardigan. It is quite stretchy, so I am hoping it will fit Baby H when they actually require a hat later in the year. If not, then I have a ready made baby present! The pattern is rather like Odessa without the beads.
Next up, I seem to have an obsession with light blue and red at the moment. In fact, it has been brewing for some time, ever since we went to Norfolk for the Lucy Neatby workshop in November 2008. We stayed in Barsham Barns, where there was lots of light blue and red furnishings.
I recently found this playmat in Mothercare - the combination of elephants, red, light blue and polka dots was a winner with me. I must have been looking at this when I chose the colours for Surtsey.

Knit in my favourite Baby Cashmerino, it is soft and snuggly. I like the ribbed raglan - hopefully this means it should fit well for a few months.
The fair isle section was a good reminder that I can knit with two colours.

I even remembered how to catch the strands about half way through. Plus I found a video showing me how to purl portuguese style which meant the purl rows were not a complete nightmare! My fair isle is remarkably even, and it hasn't even been blocked yet. Yipee.

Now I think I may be ready to tackle Ella Funt or maybe Bellyphant or even be brave enough to steek and knit Pod of Cetaceans Cardigan.

Knit Love Club Part III

I am managing to keep up with my Knit Love Club Knitting.
The beads for the third installment of the club were threaded onto the yarn using a beading needle on 31st May 2010.

And the socks were finished and blocked on 25th June.
The pattern is called Caretta Caretta by Alice Yu. It is an interesting mix of beads, yarn overs and rib.

I only beaded the leg of the sock, as I thought the beads might be a bit uncomfortable in shoes. They add a wonderful sparkle.

Knit on 2.5mm needles in Sunna, a Spirit Trail Fiberworks yarn - 75% Merino, 15% Cashmere, 10% Silk.
The yarn is a heavy fingering weight, a little thicker than what I usually use for socks, but has knit up beautifully. It is deliciously soft and the subtle semi-solidness of the yarn is just perfect.
Another success, thanks Alice!

A Blanket for p/hop

After the success of the Barn Raising blankets raffled for p/hop last year we have decided to branch out. As well as another Barn Raising blanket, various Ravelry members are helping to make a Lizard Ridge

I have been collecting squares, here is the assortment so far, along with a few skeins of Kureyon that have been donated.

If you have a skein of Noro Kureyon, or similar, lying around and you'd like to join in and knit a square more details can be found in this thread in the p/hop ravelry group.
If you haven't got any Noro Kureyon and you'd like to knit a square for the blanket, drop me a line on Ravelry or alternatively leave me a comment here and I can pop one in the post to you.

Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan

Otherwise known as "Possibly the easiest baby cardigan in the world"
Knit in one piece (a standard raglan construction) from the top down. The pattern is available here.
Started on 31st May and finished today, 10th June.

I was a bit worried about the yarn pooling on the stocking stitch section, so I did a round of K1, S1 4 rounds past the yoke. This seemed to break up the pooling on the front, so I didn't do it again.

Knit in the gorgeous Koigu KPPM I bought at All the fun of the Fair a couple of weeks ago.
It took approx 65g and it measures 8.5" across the front.

I decided against adding the button bands down the front, as they would have made the cardigan too wide; I want the bump to be able to wear it soon!

Instead I had my first go at an applied i-cord. Starting at the bottom right front I applied i-cord up the front, leaving buttonholes, around the neck and down the left front. I am now worried I will want to apply i-cord to everything!
Now, what to knit next?

12 in 12

Over in the Yard Yard group in Ravelry we have been challenged to knit 12 pairs of socks in 12 months, starting on the 1st June 2010. The rules are very simple:

"Knit 12 pairs of socks in 12 months, or 24 odd socks if you have lots of WIP socks you want to make into pairs.

This challenge starts on June 1st. You could have seven pairs by Christmas.

We might have prizes too!

Some of the socks to be knit in theyarnyard yarn"

Seeing as my maternity leave starts today and lasts for upto a year, I figured that having a goal of a pair of socks a month might be something just about do-able (even with the distractions of a small baby!)
I spent the long weekend thinking about what I wanted to knit this month - knowing that June is probably going to be the most productive month of the whole year for me (no work and no baby - fingers crossed). I decided to wind my favourite ball of Clan - the purple and green one on the left and found that it seems to go well with the January 2010 club yarn (right). Perfect for a slip stitch pattern like Prism

I also threaded the beads onto my Knit Love Club yarn, I'm eager to finish these too before the baby arrives.

However, instead of casting on any socks, I wound the Koigu I bought at All the fun of the Fair when I was in London and cast on for a Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan!

Then, on Monday evening we got a text from our friends in Paris to say their baby had arrived, a little girl. So I spent Tuesday and Wednesday knitting them the promised pair of baby socks - in some left over Yarn Yard Bonny to a completely made up 2x1 rib pattern. So my first pair of socks for 12 in 12 is complete!

The socks are made even better when you can find matching dungarees in M&S.

Off to pop them in the post!