Silver Top Down

This is what is on my needles at the moment, it's the result of a friend of mine wanting to make an all in one, top down sweater. She wasn't sure how so we decided to make one together. It's coming together beautifully and I'm liking the effect of the shades of white to black with grey.

I'm also liking the fact that I should be able to make this with three balls of yarn and at £5.50 a ball, that's not bad. Project notes are here

I've Been a Bad Blogger!

I let Christmas and family and shopping and cooking and eating get in the way!! So here I am again, a new year and a new start. I began the year by finishing this. The Climbing Vines Cardigan it was a bit of a bugger to knit but the yarn was lovely and I like the end product, the colour is just perfect and if I loose a pound or two it will look great.

All change for me again as the new year brings a change in my life, I am no longer looking after my aged mother so am able to work more hours and as a result have a term contract teaching a year four class. I'm looking forward to getting stability and routine back into my life and also a bit more money as I have taken a financial hit by being a full time carer. This will mean less time for knitting and sewing for the time being and I was hoping to do some designing as I have ideas for tapestry cushions. But hey ho, there will be time for that later.

I found being a full time carer very hard, I clearly don't have the emotional strength needed to do it without becoming very low myself, I don't intend to use my blog as a forum for moans and whines but the effect of looking after someone with dementia and parkinson's has been significant and the impact on my life and my marriage has been considerable. I am glad it has come to an end. So new year, new start, work, social life, crafty life, here I come.

Knitted Socks for the Tree

Little socks for the Christmas tree made at the workshop on Saturday at Moonstone Yarns. A lovely day sitting knitting and chatting and eating cake. What's not to like. Keep an eye on Moonstone's website for future workshops and comment if there is anything in particular you would like to learn how to do. We can probably make it happen.

Square Dance

Inspired by this I went shopping in Hobbycraft with a photo of my hearth rug for colours. I chose fourteen skeins of tapestry wools and bought an 18" by 18" piece of 10 hpi canvas. It has been years since I did any tapestry and that was all printed canvas in quite intricate designs. Doing this is so liberating as I'm obviously keeping to the 4 x 4 blocks but am choosing colours and deciding as I go along how big to make it. I think I will deviate from Jane's design by putting a border on it of several 2 row lines of the different colours. We'll see when I get there. It is going fairly quickly but as with all these projects and my rather disorganised way of working I have other projects half done which need finishing, I'm torn. I need to spend an hour on each one in turn so that things get finished.

The Climbing Vines Cardigan is the most important of these UFO's because I really want to wear it. It's going to go with so many of my clothes and I love the cabling and the colour, this photo doesn't do it justice as its a lovely shade of mustard. But, it's on fairly small needles and there is at least one use of the cable needle in every row! The cable repeat is twelve rows long and there are about eight different cable configurations. I have done the back, the fronts and am onto the sleeves so the end is nigh. I have a couple of hours this morning before I go and teach a year 4 class in Luton, so I shall knuckle down, deep joy!

Pretty Interchangeable Knitting Needle Cosy

Storing interchangeable knitting needles can be a problem, the plastic pouch I bought my set in was ugly and started splitting almost as soon as I started using it. A solution needed to be found. So I made one of these for myself a few months ago and have found it solved the problem. This is the second one I have made with modifications on the first and for a friend at Moonstone Yarns Knit Group. 

This fabric is much prettier than the one I made for myself as I was trying out and didn't want to waste lovely material if I messed up or it didn't work.

There are thin pockets for the needles, large pockets for the cables and small ones for the needle stopper and the little metal things to help attach needles to cables. The small square pockets have velcro to keep things from falling out. I'm still not happy though and want to find another method of keeping the small pockets closed. There are more than enough pockets for additional items. I keep small scissors, small tape measure, little flat box of sewing up needles, needle size gauge and row markers in the pockets and there is plenty of room in mine. Hope you like it Mandy.

Two Drawstring Bags for Two Little Girls

This tried and tested pattern has come up trumps again for these two bags for two little girls. Its a simple, versatile and sensible pattern that takes little time to make and does what it says on the tin. I hope Gracie May and Ivy May like them. I made them almost identical, just individualising them with different linings and ties to match. Just incase you haven't seen or tried this pattern, here is the link.

Sock Knitting Workshop

I love this stack of knitted socks, you too can knit some like this by joining in with the latest sock knitting workshop at Moonstone Yarns. If you can knit and purl then you can join the sock knitting community by coming along and joining in the fun.