Dangling birdie

I made this birdie to replace a dangling knitted heart hanging in our back room. The heart was put up in February 2010 when we had our Valentine's pancake party. The kiddies have loved pulling and swinging it over the months. It was looking a little tatty and with a potential house sale looming it was time for something new.

The pattern is from the wonderful Attic 24 website. There are loads of great patterns on the website and it has really helped me get to grips with crochet.

The bird...

Spring garland

Whilst poking around on ravelry I found a lovely crochet tutorial for a flowery spring garland. It is perfect for my crochet requirements (basic!) plus I have been planning to make something to celebrate the coming of spring.


I was very pleased how quickly this came together. It only took a few days although I probably worked on it more than I should have. There isn't a great deal of crafting going on at the moment but I desperately wanted to actually get something finished. Far too many "in progress" items hanging around!

Piggy

I made this pig as a birthday present for my friend who likes pigs. It was good fun to make. In fact I made two. The other pig is now sitting in the kitchen to remind me to stick to my latest attempt to lose weight.

The pattern is from Alan Dart's 25 Christmas ornaments. Working on the other 24 should keep me busy for a while. Knit early for Christmas!

Cloud Bolero

I made this last summer but I have only just got around to posting a photo on ravelry. It took about a week to make. Most of the time was spent getting my head around the pattern. It's a free pattern and is very good but I am not great at the maths of knitting. In fact I am not very good at maths in general.I got very confused about the stitch count between markers but once I had cracked that issue it was all very easy to finish.

I have worn it quite a bit since finishing and it's one of the few things I have knitted that I have been really happy with.

Poppy cardigan

It's the school holidays so I need quick, easy knits that can be worked on whilst sitting with the children. I am lucky that the kiddies don't often need me to be active in their play but they like me to be in the room. Works out fine for me as I get lots of craft time.

Baby Annabell has made it up from her usual home - the cellar - for a little playtime. She was wearing just a cream sleep suit which was getting a little grubby. So I made her this little cardigan. It's a Poppy cardigan designed by Georgie Hallam. It's seamless on the body but I did take the seamed sleeve option.

I have made a few other seamless knits recently. I do enjoy them but I am a little bewildered by their structure. Making such a small item has given me more of an insight into this way of knitting and maybe even the confidence to work out a similar pattern of my own.

cake

A cake made for my friend's daughter's birthday.

New mittens

I picked a teary Harriet up from school yesterday. She had lost one of her mittens. They were ones I made over a year ago so they had served the girl well. I immediately offered to make her some more (it's a win win as it fulfills both my duties as a mother and knitter). We had pre-arranged an after school trip to the craft shop which was very convenient as I could also pick up fresh supplies of yarn. Yes, I should be knitting them from my stash but Harriet requested rainbow mittens and I really couldn't face sewing in all those ends.

I went for Sirdar Click Aran in Verve. I used 4mm needles and 3.75mm for the cuffs. I am very pleased with how they turned out and Harriet was very pleased to find them waiting in her bedroom when she woke up this morning.

whoops

I banned myself from buying any more yarn this year. Six weeks into 2011 and I have failed already.

£5 for 10 balls though. What was I supposed to do?????

Already I am making plans to knit it up into something. Maybe a cardigan for Harriet. Current front runners are...

http://tikkifabricaddict.blogspot.com/p/pattern-store.html

or

http://www.madelinetosh.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=tinytealeavescardi

Return of the hook

I tried crochet a few years ago. Unfortunately I gave it up after suffering a little RSI. I think it was the way I was holding the yarn. After a few false starts I am giving it another go.

Here is my first attempt at a granny square. It has already been unravelled but I thought I would keep photographic evidence.....


Meanwhile, also in crochet corner, I have started blocking the squares I made before the RSI hit.