Who's got the Scissors?

All the small things....

2011-07-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

Just finished another baby cardigan.....I fancied a go at a baby snowball garment and so here it is..

I cheated and did a small one for the first go.... 0-6 months...found it quite easy to do and because you only knit inbetween the balls it works up rather quickly.

Its cast on and off using a double knit yarn of a similar colour ...not that complicated at all you just have to make sure its very loose.

Right time to get back to my new tea cosy project........

Just a quickie...

2011-07-19T14:31:00.001-07:00

Here are some recent makes for you to feast your eyes on ........

Old time tea cosy pattern...........

Mug Cosy and Egg Cosy

More warm little mugs ....

and finally...... this cute 1st size Loopy Cardigan :)

Addiction or Obsession....

2011-07-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

Old knitting patterns ...I love them....can't get enough of them infact.

I can be often found in charity shops seaching for them. Or on Ebay hoping my bid is high enough for that extra special pattern.

I have been a super lazy blogger of late and so to get myself started again I thought I would share a few favorites :)

Lovely penguin jumper.....oddly called Snow Cat Sweater though?!

I do love these two patterns ...far too lazy for 3ply ...well not so much lazy as slow.

Not sure which is more off putting ..child with gun (even a toy one) or the look in his eyes......
RED RUM RED RUM RED RUM

It has been decided that these two gents are looking very smug with themselves having just done away with their wives and hidden them in the attic (also the one holding the hammer could possibly be related to Keith Floyd)

These vests are making the models so happy the girl at the top seems to be going insane.

Don't want to give you pattern joy overload so they shall do for now :)

Cable Girl.....

2010-11-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Loved this new pattern and wool that came into the local wool shop....

I have never knit cables before but I liked the jumper so much I thought I'd have a go.....I liked it in the red and so thats what I'm doing it in......although the wool does come in other gorgeous shades.

So...here is the start of it.....not too shabby for a first cabling attempt :)

Now I best get off here and carry on ...... :D

Update

I did kinda finish this but do to a lack of brains I did it too small .....the main body fitted me at a stretch but the sleeves where way too tight around the arms. I have removed them and have been meaning to knit some up a little bigger......One day ...one day

Don't be afraid......

2010-10-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

....he is still in pumpkin school learning to be scary and so really isn't very frightening yet....it doesn't help that his middle is stuffed with fluff, making him rather cuddly :)

Never felt this way before.....

2010-05-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Embellishing machines ....who knew ....what jolly good fun. My mum and I came across them on a stall at a Creative Crafts show recently and we fell in love :)

Luckily my mum fell SO in love she bought one .....YAY!

We were both very inspired by the work of artist Arthur Ridley.

I have had a few goes now ....just experimenting at the moment really ......because as well felting together felt and wool tops it can also have an interesting effect on other fabrics.

My favorite piece so far is a flower I have made for my hair.....had a few compliments about it ....so pink one next :)

Slow and Steady

2010-04-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Having never taught anyone to crochet before....I maybe jumped ahead of myself thinking an Amigurumi Turtle would be possible for a first timer!

Turns out it was .....this wasn't helped by the fact that my student was also left handed... That made things super interesting. After much trial and error I realised just crocheting rows back and forth would probably be the best way to start. Luckily my student was a quick study and she was doing crocheted rows with ease after a while....

I gave her the links to a few You Tube left handed crochet videos...

I love these videos as they are so easy to follow........and apparently she has been finding them a great help also, as she has been coming on leaps and bounds! I can't wait to see what she has made next time I see her.

I also left her with a little gift...to spur her on lol.....

Curse of the WIP's

2010-02-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

As many an artist/crafter knows it is usually much easier to start a new project than to finish it.

One project is started then an you have an amazing idea for another and so the first gets put to one side....or you run out of something and so that project will have to wait....and of course in the meantime another one sneaks in its place....

Before you know it you have got a bad case of the WIP's ( work in progress) and boy have I ever!

I've always had a slight problem with my WIP's but it seems to have gotten worse of late...and I think I know why.

Just before Christmas last year I began helping out the odd morning at my local wool shop....its not for money ....just for fun and to help me gain a little more confidence. This however seems to be where my problems start... you see I end up having ideas while I'm in there...what with the patterns and wool and ribbons and buttons and...well you get the idea.

WIP's at the moment include 2 adult hats, 1 child hat, 1 adult skirt, 1 ds case (although to be fair I have finished one and I am just waiting to do some sizing to the second) a bag and they are just the knitted projects.

Sewing: 2 skirts, 1 tunic and 1 needle holder
Crochet: 1 bee and 1 chick
Cross stitch: 1 portrait

So as you can see they can build up.....and so I better get off here....and carry on with them or the list will only get longer!!!!

Let it snow.....

2010-01-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

..........actually I wish it would stop. The snow is all well and good, looks pretty n' stuff but the hard icy slippery glaze it leaves after is horrid :(

Luckily when I have had to go out my new favorite scarf has kept my neck super warm :)

If you haven't seen it yet Sirdar are making a fabulous wool .......SNOWBALL it is lovely....very snuggily!The idea is its a scarf in a ball... all instructions are on the inside of the label. I have chopped and changed these about a little ....the scarf I made for myself I have done using more stitches but the scarves I made for extra Christmas gifts I made with less as that way I could get two scarves out of one ball.......the recipients loved them too so good times all round!

Finally finished another scarf I was working on too......it should have taken way less time to complete but I kept getting part way through it and then would change my mind about the size or stitches or needle size. I probably would have been able to make 5 scarves in the same amount of time it took me .....lol but its done now...I just hope the person I have made it for is happy with it.

Fingers crossed :)

Ouch!

2009-10-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

Quite new to this cross stitch lark....done a little bit here and a little bit....over there....but this is my first big piece and OUCH! it hurts....to excited by it to stop though....so I shall have to make do with a very sore wrist.......

Square eyes and Mr.Crabbapple

2009-09-18T04:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I thought doing a huge cross stitch was such a jolly good idea...but once I'd had it,it was set in stone and the cross stitch A2 size chart making began..hence the square eyes... I'm attempting to cross stitch a photo I took of a friend some time ago. ..sounds a bit dull but its not your usual portrait so hopefully it will be rather interesting if and when its completed. The actual piece wont be A2 (I'm not that crazy!) it will be between an A4 and A3 size....Eeeek!

As for Mr.Crabbapple he came in to being last weekend whilst sat having some quiet time with my dad in his garden....my brain had switched off and so my hands just got on with their own thing resulting in Mr.Crabbapple. Here he is enjoying the garden.....

Its not for you...

2009-09-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

but this one is.

I had decided to have a go of crocheting a mouse for my kitten. I used a pattern from
www.kristieskids.weebly.com

Its really simple and fun to do.

Anyway my kitten loved his...and so I made another one for the cats at my mums house...stuffed with plenty of catnip, I thought they would love it...and they did for five minutes.

After that the mouse was left to one side. Until my sister brought my nephew home and he spotted it...it was love at first sight.He is sixteen months old and I think he mostly loves the size of it...just right for little hands.

So today I knitted a new one for him..catnip free...and he loved this one too...he likes to throw it about and managed a great trick. After one particular throw neither of us could see the mouse...it was only when he turned around I noticed it had landed neatly in his hood! :)

Got my cake...

2009-09-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

but I don't fancy eating it.

Great for putting my pins in though....made the pattern up on the fly.I may tweak it as the base looks more pie like in shape than cupcake...then again I might not..I've always liked the fuller figured cake.

I haven't dyed I've just been ill...

2009-08-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

So yeah...not much happening on the making front of late...
Firstly due to a week away in Wales...where apart from finding the cutest wee wool shop, not much went on in the world of crafting...too busy going on walks...having staring competitions with sheep and having a go of fishing for the first time.

The wool shop was fabulous stuffed to the brim with wool...The lady was lovely and said she'd been there for years and couldn't imagine shutting anytime soon. I loved the fact it was one of about only four shops in the tiny village we where staying in....you may not have been able to get a huge selection of groceries at the local shop....but who needs food when you can get your yarn fix!

Then other reasons for the lack of crafting has been illness...I was ill (some kind of flu thing) the last day we were in Wales and that lasted a week ...wiped me out completely! Then after being well for about five days I was struck down again with a heavy cold...and so have not felt up to doing much other than sleeping.
Anyway its been a few days now and I am on the mend so fingers crossed I will be raring to go next week.....so many ideas....so few arms!

Will it become a butterfly....

2009-07-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well here's my latest creation.....Caterpillar...made for my nephew.

He's made from crocheted balls and each section is held together by snap fasteners...this way he can be pulled apart and put back together again...My nephew is too young to do this himself at the moment but hopefully he will find it fun to do when he gets a bit older.

Now I'd rather people didn't sit on it....

2009-06-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

Finished my sofa revamp.....well nearly just a bit of embellishment to go on my two red/blue scatter cushions and that's it. I'm still not entirely sure what the embellishments are going to be yet...but I can feel something formulating in my mind....a trip to the local haberdashery will probably solve it :)

The revamp basically consisted of me removing the large cover and seat cushions from my cream sofa and dying them. The back cushions though I re-covered in a fabric from a local fabric store.Then new scatter cushions made from fabric I had in my stash... I'm very pleased with how it has turned out. The colour ideas all kind of came about by accident but I think I may have subconsciously lifted the scheme from the painting that sits behind.

Elsewhere in my crafty life I am still crocheting balls...I do have a reason for this...working on a toy project for my nephew. If it carries on after that though I may seek some kind of help....or I may end up with a house full :)

Small snag...

2009-06-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

Not in my fabric thankfully....but in that I have run out of thread whilst sewing up my sofa cushion covers. Not to worry though....I can pick some up in town later...its just a nuisance having to stop mid flow.

Carrying on with cutting out at the moment...as well as recovering some of my sofa cushions, I'm making some new ones.

Was getting a helping paw from my new kitten earlier... I seem to be going a lot quicker though...since he's been asleep under my chair :)

Its been a slow week...

2009-06-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

Actually that's not entirely true ....its been quite a quick week but one very light on the craft side. Unfortunately I've been really ill so any kind of crafting has taken a back seat. In moments of feeling a bit better I have still been crocheting balls though...much to the delight of my new kitten...Max.

Anyway hopefully I'll be back on form soon and I can get the cushions I had started making for my sofa's finished.

Balls to that!.......

2009-06-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

At least that's what I was saying for the last week. For what reason you may ask?!

Well I have been trying to crochet a ball...not as easy as I thought it would be...find a video I thought....and just follow it. As it turned out I found it hard to follow even my favorite crochet video makers instructions....

Then...hurrah! I found a video this morning that I could follow easily and I now have made my first Amigurumi ball! Now I know how its only a matter of imagination...wonder what I'll make?!

You can be mother......

2009-05-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

I'm jolly lucky........... I have two lovely parents who always love what I make and like to tell me so quite often. I'm of course not soft and realise some of this is can be quite biased because well I'm there daughter...but every so often I know they mean it because they want one of their own of whatever it is I have made...and this latest cosy is an example.

After much complaining by my mother, that I seemed to be far more concerned with keeping friends tea hot ....I started on making her a tea cosy....she isn't really one for plain things so I came up with the idea of making it kind of look like a grassy hill covered in poppies

and this is how it turned out....
Thankfully my mum was rather happy with it and put it straight to good use :)

Fabulous Darling...

2009-05-14T17:34:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to make a little note about how much I have enjoyed watching Kirstie Allsops Homade Home on Channel Four.

It was so refreshing to see somebody making over a home without it looking like every other house on the street. Let's face it ....I think we are all a little fed up of 'feature walls'. Instead Kirstie has made a home look like a home should or at least how I would like a home to look. I have always loved a house to have things in it.

I have never been a fan of the minimal look....it always looks too....well minimal!

Obviously as someone who loves to make things it was also wonderful to see her meeting different crafts people and having a go herself.Crafting is so often dismissed as it is seen as a lesser art form than say fine art painting...but as anyone watching the programme could see a crafters talent and skill can be almost endless if they have the imagination.

I am certainly looking forward to another series....Fabulous!

Happy Smilie EMO?!

2009-05-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

The cause?........Finally finished my daughters jumper...
Its not that it actually took me a long time to do,its just that I did a million things in between.
(bad mum!)

I'm really quite happy with how it has turned out...its actually my first proper piece of knitted clothing (other than hats)
It was quite a simple jumper ( Sirdar Click Chunky 8940) and I just put in my own pattern for the skull on it.
The only downside has been that because my daughter was so happy with it.....she now wants a stripy one!
A knitters work is never done :)

Just like Granny used to make....

2009-05-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Well I say just like Granny used to make.....but I have know idea if either of mine ever did.
I do love knitting but to be honest I think any type of wool manipulating is jolly good fun. Lately I've been doing a spot of crochet.....
If your new to crocheting, Granny squares are a great way to start.....I love choosing colours that make your eyes do a bit of work.......so far I am half way through a throw for my new flat and a handbag ( at least I plan to make a handbag).

Ta da.....

It's not that I'm lazy...

2009-02-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a slow week (knitting wise) is has been a busy week (otherwise) though. I am however a sleeve further with the jumper, my daughter will get it at some point...
Went back to the discount store where I found my black teapot today.Only to find a rather fabulous tea set. White teapot, with matching cream and sugar £3.99 .... how could I resist? So I didn't try :)

Came up with a wonderful cosy idea as well today with the help of my sister....but I'm not telling you yet as it is a secret...

Keeping warm....

2009-02-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

On the needles : A Skull and Crossbones Jumper

......also I have bought a hot water bottle and I'm not afraid to work out how to knit a jumper for it!

Bonus buy of the day goes to the matt black teapot £2.49 from the local discount shop!

Still cosy crazy...

2009-02-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

I am loving these little beauties...Just a nice length to make....really enjoying designing them too...

Arrrrrggggghhhh! Jim lad.....

and I don't even use a tea-pot....

2009-01-29T16:12:00.000-08:00