More Knitting

 A stripy balaclava for little sis to keep ears warm when mucking out.

It is a revamped WW1 pattern found on ravelry knitted in stash debblie bliss cashmerino DK.

These are some of the critters...

and the rest of the knitting....

.... on a startled looking just awoken baby. (Actually she is 13 months old but as the youngest of our collective 20 children will probably always be thought of as the baby of the family.)
The sleeves are a little long, but as it is a cotton spring/summer cardi, will probably fit her perfectly at the appropriate time.
This week has been half term here. I do love the school hols and the break from the routine, particularly not having to make half a dozen packed lunches every morning. And this week I have reflected on the joys of being part of a large family, as there has been sharing out of the children at various sleep overs and shared outings, to the cinema to see Warhorse and Puss in Boots, and the Imperial War Museum. As well as just getting together to gossip, drink tea (or hot chocolate) and eat cake.

This pair of cousins are particularly pally at the moment...

and the one on the right (mine) actually knitted the scarf she is wearing herself. It is in big wool fusion from Rowan and cost £1 per ball in a sale!

A Project a month February.

Ta dah.............

It's a balaclava from a vintage pattern that came out far too small for the intended eight year old head.

So here it is on a  nieces petite seven year old head.

Perfect for winter hacking out don't you think??

Knitaholic Child

Well, 11 year old has duly knitted and pom pommed and produced what I would describe as a smurf hat.....

and here is the side view......

It is from the "knit it stitch it"  book mentioned previously. There were a lot more stitches at the end than at the beginning (17  more to be exact) but who cares?  We think it looks pretty cool regardless.

A Monthly Make progress.

As you may have seen on my side bar, I have committed to the monthly make for 2012 project hosted by the felt fairy, well here is my progress on my second project intended for a one year old niece......

...actually, I am quite well on with this as I did start it before Christmas. I hope that still counts. And I am not sure if I finish it in January, will it count for my Feb project?? Do you think I am cheating? Either way, it is certainly giving me a shove in the direction of a greater turnout of  handmades so it's all good.

The pattern book is kids in cotton by Sirdar which I bought approx thirteen to fifteen years ago. I have certainly knitted this cardi before for both my own now eleven year old as a baby and one of my sisters too. I also knitted a couple of other things for my oldest girl now eighteen, then approx age four, including the one on the cover if you have clicked on the link. Furthermore, that particular one was handed down and has been worn by her younger sister, now fourteen, and at least two other nieces and is waiting in the wings for youngest niece(currently 12 months) phew.....how's that for thrift? It is a great booklet as the patterns are not in the least dated.
I am knitting it in some stash Wendy baby cotton purchased before I was married (that's twenty years) from an old fashioned haberdasher who was closing down. A true vintage piece, wouldn't you agree?

Hope for the Future.

Although it was the end of Christmas on Friday, the Epiphany, the catholic church in the UK (unlike the rest of the world apparently) celebrates it on the nearest Sunday, which means today. Another excuse for delaying the diet till tomorrow then!

Our priest gave a very succinct and short (for him) sermon. (As an ardent Manchester City fan he was off to see the F.A. cup tie against Man Utd.)

However, it was very uplifting. He talked about going to see a poorly parishioner during the week and it was a grim, grey, damp, dark and drizzly day. As he drove away from her house, there was a very brief break in the clouds with a glimpse of clear blue sunlit sky. He said it made him feel happy and hopeful.
He likened it to the three wise men making a long and arduous journey, not knowing what they would find at the end but hopeful. And their hope being rewarded when they gazed upon the divine child. Then they made their long and weary way back home, back to everyday life but uplifted by what they had seen.
That is how I feel today, uplifted and hopeful for the future, better able to carry on with the humdrum normality of daily life.
I am not overtly religious, indeed people who are full on about Jesus scare me a little but I do have faith and am a practising RC and not afraid to say so.
My own parish is a good community with strong links between church and school. Our church is a beautiful place,

and I have enjoyed going there over the holiday period. It has been a place of peace and sanctuary and I have been able to ponder, pray and give thanks in a perfect setting. I only wish now I had taken some photos of the interior whilst it was attired for Christmas.
I hope the priest was as uplifted as me because unfortunately Man City were beaten!

On to other things, I have completed my first  knitted project of the year.....

.. a chunky scarf in King Cole that was in a bag of yarn given to me.

Eldest daughter is very pleased with it.
So I am tentatively dipping my toe into the a make a month 2012 pledge. (see side bar.)
Wish me luck.

Here Kitty Kitty

Aforementioned 11 year old craft/art loving daughter received a book from Father Christmas entitled knit it stitch it by Jane Bull. It is a super book with loads of  simple but effective ideas that are relatively easy to achieve once the child has the hang of basic knitting and stitching.

She has just got stuck in and at the weekend made this little critter,

his name is Pudding. And now she is cracking on with a bobble cap. I am very impressed with her diligence.

Making Me Happy This week....

These gorgeous flowers a gift from my lovely littlest sis.

This baby boy is now four! (and still gets in with me at bedtime. I love it, we cuddle, he goes to sleep,I read for half an hour, blissful!)

And finally finished some knitting. This is Billie from Rowan Pipsqueaks. (I have nearly keeled over in shock when I've just seen how much this book is selling for on Amazon!)

It is knitted in a Bergere yarn and I've lost the ball band, it was totally the wrong tension so I knitted it 2 sizes bigger and it's OK, thank God because I am very poor at pulling things back to correct mistakes.

More to the point, he likes it. A big bonus in my book. It's for school and I am very proud to be the only mother with a child sporting a handknitted garment in our playground, even if it did take in excess of a year to complete!

And of course obligatory baking, for a senior citizens tea party at church this time....

40 scones.....

and two cakes with the last of my home made blackberry jam I'm afraid. Will have to make more this year.

Bertha, the Beach and Baby Knitting.

We took an impromptu trip today to Rhosneigr on the Isle of Anglesey. Any excuse to pack up Bertha and the knitting needles!

The new baby knitting is the same pattern as last time but a different baby to be.
Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino is really a bit out of my price range (£4.45 per ball) but gosh is it luxurious. So soft and smooth to knit. It's the tactile equivalent of creamy mashed potato, I could almost eat it.
And the baby is a bit special as it is to be my youngest sisters third child (after two consecutive miscarriages) and my Dad's 20th and most probably last grandchild. (He long ago gave up trying to remember all the birthdays!)
Anyway, she has had the 12 week scan and all is going well and the little critter is due mid December, so I thought this vibrant lime green would be just the splash of colour to get a midwinter baby noticed.

The weather was a bit dull today but it didn't dampen the childrens spirits and they were straight in the water. I had the luxury of reading almost all of the paper on the drive down, and uninterrupted knitting on the way back.

Standing on a patch of just washed pebble free sand in bare feet is akin to walking on velvet.
On the journey there I had read an article in the Times magazine by a columnist who is recovering from a  recent fall from a horse and subsequent paralysis. Her legs are totally useless at the moment and she was describing having just had a return of some sensation in her toes. It is heartbreaking stuff.

So I stood for ages on the shoreline, just moving to a fresh patch of sand after each wave broke, with my eyes closed, and relished the sensation, and thanked God for my two rather large but fully functioning feet.

Today I learned that I should celebrate the ordinary and little things, and give thanks every day. There is always somebody worse off than ourselves.

Knit and Crochet Combo

This is my lovely eldest wearing the first ever proper garment that I knitted as a teenager approx 30 years ago.

It is 100% pure acrylic purchased in Littlewoods.

I can't remember who I actually knitted it for but my Mum did wear it over jeans. She died two years ago and it was still amongst her things. She kept that tatty old sweater all those years I presume because she loved me and on this day 45 years ago I was her firstborn.

And the crochet....

These gorgeous little flowers, looped on a hair grip, which are quick and easy to do are courtesy of the fabulous Lucy over at Attic24. Check her out if you love colour and crochet. Her tutorials are the best I've seen for crochet. I keep urging her to write a book.

Footnote: She came home from school and had had so many comments about the sweater I am compelled to show you the pattern. 

 I think I chose it because the model resembles Nigel Havers who I have always fancied a bit!! 
Who would have thought acrylic would ever be vintage? 

Finally....

Finished knitting them at 10pm last night. Eyes and beaks with help this morning. Phew!

They are just awaiting their eggs. A Hunting We Will Go!

Chicks in Progress

11.30 am

 

3 pyjama'd knitters. 5 ckicks down only 15 to go!

Chick,Chick,Chick,Chick.Chicky,...Lay a Little Egg for Me

It's Holy Saturday and the excitement is running high here...

Tomorrow we are celebrating with an Easter Egg Hunt (after church) for 18 children.

We have made these lovely little egg baskets as tutored here by the lovely Lilly.

So far I have knitted 1 of these cute little chicks as tutored here by the equally talented Michelle.
Only 17 more to go! Watch this space.

Let There Be Light

Don't you just love the lighter nights? This is my bedroom window view at approx 7pm this evening.....

The children played out all day in the sunshine.

I have had a particularly good charity shop week with this bevy of beauties...

.....not one, not two, not three but TWELVE whole balls of Rowan cotton tape for the princely sum of 

99 pence! And doesn't the colour match up nicely with the pink hued blocks of my quilt?

And there's more....

...this serving spoon was languishing at the back of the bric a brac shelf and was all forlorn and tarnished. It is, I think, hallmarked solid silver and whilst a little battered has polished up rather well. It is perfect for little dainty cakes....

...now all I need is Lady Bracknell for tea. (£2.95 by the way.)

And the best for last......

...a vintage 1930's ish fireplace surround with original mirror (it's not cracked, that is my garage roof reflection.) Perfect for our 1937 built home. It needs a bit of a polish but is largely in good nick. The legs are my Dad's who kindly helped me collect it in a cattle trailer!
The great thing about this is it didn't cost me a penny. I got it from Freecycle. Check it out if you like getting stuff for free and helping the planet at the same time.

Finally a free recipe from Lancashire Living magazine. I made it today and it is very tasty, Hot Cross Buns and Butter Pudding.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients...

4 hot cross buns

50gm/2 oz butter

125gm/4 oz chopped apricots (I used raisins)

50gm/2oz soft brown sugar

3 eggs beaten

275ml/10 fl oz milk

200gm/7 oz greek yoghurt

Method.

Preheat oven 180 degrees C / gas mark 4

Slice buns into thick vertical slices and butter.

Grease ovenproof dish and overlap bun slices on bottom.

Scatter fruit.

Whisk eggs, milk, sugar and yoghurt together. 

Pour over bread and fruit.

Place dish in a large roasting tin and half fill with boiling water.

Bake for 30-40 mins till custard just set.

I would probably use less fruit next time as there is already some in the buns. It was good and a nice dish for Easter I think. It is a lighter alternative to my fave B&B Pud from the River Cottage cookbook which is sublime but not one for the cholesterol police!

Just What Every Fashionable Home Needs

An abstract cardboard creation, made by a 3 year old.

                                                                                 

Of course it's for killing monsters and aliens but you knew that already didn't you?

(This boy loves to take off his shirt as soon as he gets in the door by the way.)

     And this is the recently cast on Versatility from Knitty Fall 2008. It's knitted in sirdar click on 6.5mm needles. It is growing quickly and I am very pleased with it. It will need to be blocked to get the full effect I think.  I am looking forward to seeing it finished, my 2nd knit this year , God I'm quick!                                                            

Spring into Action

The first day of spring or thereabouts and I'm hoping to be galvanised into action.

This is my first finished knitted item of the year I think??  Shameful that it's mid-March already and I've only managed one thing so far.I have too many on the go I am afraid. It is for a new baby of a work colleague. I am pleased with it and it's nice and soft but the lovely cable on the arms is a bit hidden by the flecky nature of the yarn. It is being modelled by the very dapper Wilf.

This is my dearly beloved dressed as Mark Spitz, 7 times gold medal winner, for sport relief on Friday. He is a teacher in a high school and he wore the swimming cap all day. He didn't wear speedo's on the bottom half, just in case you were wondering!

New knitting

Have just cast on for Versatility from knitty issue fall 2008. I m knitting it in sirdar Click in marine blue. I am very excited about it. It's for my 16 yr old eldest daughter who is a bit edgy with her fashion choices. Pic to follow.

Luscious Lemon cake and Lovely knitting

Today we made this delicious lemon cake from one of Sam Stern's books.

It is lovely and moist and very moorish! (Sp?) It won't last long here.



We woke up to more snow here today. This is the view when I open my curtains....

So what else is there to do but spend some of the day knitting.

My youngest daughter is a novice but enthusiatic knitter and yesterday I cast on this scarf for her and she has diligently got on with it.


It's funny how some get the crafting bug and others don't. I have shown all three of my girls the basics of knitting but she alone has really taken to it. My own mum was a basic sewer, self taught I think. She also always baked. I am the eldest of seven and Mum was just too busy to sit down and actually teach her skills. However, me and my four sisters all bake so we must have osmotically learned so to speak.

I learned to knit from both of my Grandma's one taught me knit stitch and the other purl (incidentally she was a chronic schizophrenic who spent 33 years in a mental institution before living with us, and she never forgot how to knit. My mum said she remembered her being a beautiful knitter before she was incarcerated.)

Any how, the knit stitch grandma (Dad's mum) gave me a ball of unravelled wool approx the size of a football. I knitted my first garment, a purple scarf and it was huuuuge. It was full of holes, I must have been about 9 or 10 at the time. I loved that scarf. Once when walking home from school in the fog I wrapped it around 3 of my sibling's necks as well as my own in a line like a chain gang so I wouldn't lose anybody. So you can imagine how long it was. I wish I still had that scarf!

 So this scarf of daughters reminded me of mine all those years ago.

I hope you had a crafty day whatever you did too.

Baby knitting

This is a the back of a cardigan for the expected soon baby of a colleague at work.
It is knitted in Stylecraft Baby Life which has a pleasing 25% wool that gives it a nice handle. It also has a lovely tweedy fleck in it and it only cost £1.55 per 50gram ball which is also very pleasing. I love knitting but find the cost of many of the better quality yarns prohibitive.
The pattern is sirdar 1907.