Tag: mittens

Look what My Children Bought Me

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It was my birthday last week and to be honest I don’t handle them particularly well.  I’m not really sure why, I’d just sooner do the whole present thing without the pressure????

My children were on time as far as ordering me a gift (a couple of days before the unmentionable event), however the said gift only arrived today.  For me this is better, it means I have something to look forward to although my husband believes this is unacceptable (?????).

023So today I happily ripped the packaging off my gift to discover a beautiful hank of Malabrigo Sock Yarn in Ravelry Red and a beautiful book called Handmade in the UK with designs from Emily Wessel.

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Usually, I’m pretty up to date on newly published books but I had yet to see this one so it was a complete suprise.  There are 10 designs in the book all with an element of lace in the knitting and if I were to be completely honest I think I’d like to make all but one of them.

I thought you might like a little look at my favourites.

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Rosewater

Rosewater is this beautiful little, double knit hat.  Made in the round, the pattern includes 5 sizes from baby to large adult.

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Windswept Adult
Windswept child
Windswept child

Windswept is a double knit, v neck jumper with a lace panel running down the centre.  Again the pattern includes an incredible range of sizes, this time from baby to 4XL (16 sizes).  I love the use of garter stitch to make the knit look contemporary.  It’s used on the deep cuffs, the bottom bands and runs up in between the middle of the lace panel and splits to form the neck shaping.

 

Estuary
Estuary

Estuary is a gently shaped 4ply shawl/scarf with 2 lace patterns and is very like something I’ve been designing recently.

Vivid
Vivid

The last pattern in the book is Vivid and there’s no denying it’s beauty.  The instructions include yarn amounts for 1 square knitted in either 4ply, dk or aran weight meaning you can use your favourite yarn.  All day I’ve been jumping from this to my final pattern and back.  Obviously, though I shall have to begin with Winding Way as I have the perfect yarn already, don’t I?

Winding Way
Winding Way

Happy knitting!

 

Look What We All Did?

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I’ve spent the last few days trying to gather up everything we’ve collected in for the The Kyl Assylum in Belarus.  As you can imagine my office tends to resemble a very untidy wool shop at the best of times but there are times when the whole thing just gets out of hand.  Lately the problem has worsened as the sample balls of wool fight with my stash, the paperwork and the ever increasing number of carrier bags containing donations.  As if that wasn’t enough, my son shares the office so I can keep a watchful eye on his computer use and ‘spend some time’ with him whilst he battles aliens on his XBox 360.

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It was lovely to go through everything again, some of the items are so beautiful.  In total there were 30 Scarves and 24 hats to send to Kyl  via the Bureen Chernobyl Project.  In addition to the hats and scarves we also received a couple of boxes of toilitries to pass on and we had a good rummage and found a good few jumpers too.

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Some of the donations that came in have been more suitable for children so I have separated these out and will be forwarding them on to The Children’s Chernobyl Trust for them to pass on to needy boys and girls.  In addition to the 31 hats and 13 pairs of gloves we’ve had 13 baby and toddler cardigans donated too to pass on.

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Thoroughly, embracing the tidying up bug I also managed to go through the XBox king’s old clothes and sorted out everything that he’s grown out of to send off with The Children’s Chernobyl Trust items.

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Happily there’s now space to house all the knitted squares were hoping for.

Happy Knitting!

The Latest Project is Underway

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I’ve been dying to get to work knitting a garment in the Wendy Supreme Luxury Cotton Chunky Yarn since it arrived into the shop last month and finally my endless list of ongoing project has reduced (slightly).

The top above is constructed by knitting the back and fronts up to where the lace pattern ends and then joining them with your part knitted sleeves to knit the yoke as one piece.  The lace pattern itself is very simple, 4 rows, only one of which forms the lace with yarn overs and working 2 stitches together.

The back lace section
The back lace section

The yarn is lovely to work with, it’s a chunky so hopefully this will be a fairly quick knit.  There are a good few patterns available and I was spoilt for choice with the amount of shades as we’re stocking 12 of the 13 available.

The left front so far
The left front so far

My initial choice was the dark cornflower/royal blue but I’ve seen another jumper in this months copy of The Knitter that I rather fancy in that shade.

What was I saying about reducing my ongoing projects?

Happy Knitting!

Yesterday’s Goodies

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Here’s a quick snap of the lovely new sock yarn that arrived in yesterday.  It’s the Sweet & Spicy range from Opal and there are 8 gorgeous shades all 4ply of course so they can be used as a substitute yarn for other 4ply garments.

Tempted?

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These are the adapted Alice Mitts I made yesterday to show the girls at the Children’s Knitting Group this morning as there are a few of them that have asked to make them next.

Happy Knitting!

 

I used the Colourbrushed Chunky from Tivoli, which is very reasonably priced (€3.95 for 100g), soft and comes in very child friendly colourways.  Even better than that I probably have about half the ball left, so it’s 2 pairs for the price of one.

Countdown Beginning……………..

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Are you ready?
Are you ready?

For those of you that have been before you’ll know what it’s all about, the rest of you would probably best to read this previous post here http://knitmidleton.com/2012/07/23/everybody-keeps-asking-me/

Basically, we cover up all the shelves and lay out as many tables as we can fit into the shop; on top of these we put all the yarn we’re discontinuing.  There could be whole ranges of yarn, shades of yarn and some you might not have seen before.  There will be odd balls, several balls and packs of balls, no matter what, all balls are €3 each.

There are things to consider: you have to book your slot, you only have 20 minutes (you’re timed), you have to prepare, dig out the patterns, check your favourites on Ravelry, make sure you know how much double knit/aran/chunky you need.  Have a look at the post linked above if you’re not sure and make sure you book your place quickly before they all go.

This is what you should be expecting.

Stash for the Dash
Stash for the Dash
Laceweight, 4Ply & more Dk
Laceweight, 4Ply & more Dk
Super Chunky & Novelty
Super Chunky & Novelty

Let the mayhem begin!

A Few Secret Santa Ideas

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At this time of year you can’t fail to notice the impending visit of the jolly white-haired geezer in the bright red suit.  The infection spreads like wildfire and before you know it you’re walking around singing carols and driving everyone mad (just me then?).

Anyway, across our three knitting groups we try to encourage everyone to join us for our annual Christmas get together and take part in our Secret Santa present swap.

Every year we stick to the same theme – A Christmas Decoration. The only rule is that the decoration must be handmade, preferably knitted or crocheted.  I have been posting up links to various patterns which could be used for these gifts but thought it might be an idea to put them all in one place for everyone to see.

Christmas Tree Decoration – Jill Koerner

This little tree decoration by Jill Koerner is free and is available via Ravelry on Jill’s blog. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-tree-decoration

O Christmas Tree – Jenna Krupar

Jenna Krupar has an ebook of 4 knitted patterns available on Ravelry for $6 which include this very lovely little tree decoration – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/o-christmas-tree

Knitted Sanat Christmas Hat Decoration – Linda Dawkins

This lovely little Santa hat by Linda Dawkins is free via Ravelry on Linda’s blog. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-santa-hat-christmas-ornament

Mitten Ornaments WR2082

These lovely little mittens are free on the Red Heart website http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mitten-ornaments-wr2082

Yarn Basket Ornament – Scarlet Taylor

I was given one of these little bags of yarn last year by Caroline and I love it. I know she won’t mind me saying it’s a lovely, easy, little knit. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/yarn-basket-ornament

Christmas Knitties – Linda Regel

I’m rather fond of these 4 decorations from Linda Regel for £2.50 and downloaded them much earlier in the year. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-knitties

If you’re still stuck for ideas there are literally 1000s of them out there – there’s even my decoration that I posted last week.  Another idea if you’re not too confident is to make a felted heart or knit a little scarf and wrap it around a shop-bought snowman/reindeer or Santa ornament.  Or you can wind yarn around a polystyrene ball to make it look just like a ball of wool.

It is after all the thought that counts.

Wrapped polystyrene ball

Happy Knitting!

Our Latest Charity Collection Is………..

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OK, so I know we’ve already been busy knitting and crocheting for this charity however, the charity is involved with so many different projects (all as needy as the rest), that I feel sure I’m not asking too much of you all again.

This time we’re hoping to help the 500 residents that live on 5 floors of the Kyl asylum.  Many of the children that the charity work with in the orphanages out in Belarus end up going to Kyl asylum when they turn 18.  Conditions are hard with the total allowance for clothes and shoes per patient being €3 annually.  The Chernobyl Children’s trust have been working with another group The Bureen Chernobyl Project and have recently managed to collect in approximately 1000 pairs of secondhand shoes as the residents had been using cardboard on their feet whilst working out in the fields.

We’ve been asked for hats, scarves and mitts again and in addition maybe some socks and legwarmers, anything to help to try and keep out the cold.

Bureen Chernobyl Project

A lot of the links I put up for our previous collection will still be valid as are

Easy hat pattern

http://knitmidleton.com/2012/07/06/quick-chunky-hat-great-for-charity-knits/

Easy scarf pattern

http://knitmidleton.com/2012/06/02/easy-rib-scarf-for-chernobyl/

Previous blog post with links to more patterns

http://knitmidleton.com/2012/06/01/knitting-for-chernobyl-childrens-trust/
Our collection will run until the end of March when the next containers will be traveling to the area, so you’ve plenty of time to get cracking.  Items will be accepted in all colours of the rainbow, so break out the stash and use up your leftovers.  The residents are both male and female and all are over 18 although they will be slight for their ages.
We’ve also been asked to collect any unwanted needles and wool in for the residents some of whom love knitting.  If you can’t knit or crochet maybe you could be persuaded to drop off some personal hygiene products like soap, shampoo, etc. which we will also be collecting in (all new and unopened please, with as long a ‘use by’ date on)

A big thanks in advance for all of your help AGAIN.

Happy Knitting!

Time for a Little Feedback

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Having just sent off two rather large boxes full of knitted and crocheted garments for preemies it’s great to be able to come back to you all with a little feedback from one of our previous collections.

Our collection for the Chernobyl Children’s Trust earlier in the year for knitted hats, scarves and gloves was extremely successful thanks to the fine brigade of people that gave up their yarn, time and skills to ensure that we were able to hand over several black sacks full of winter woolies.

Deena at the charity has very kindly got back to me with a couple of photos of the children wearing some of the items.  The photos were taken earlier in the summer at the holiday camp the charity arrange for disabled children and their families to attend.

Vika modelling one of the knitted hats.

This is one of the little girls Vika modelling one of the knitted hats on a balmy summer’s day; however I’m sure she’ll be grateful of it now it’s much colder in Belarus.

Sveta and her mum Galina

Sveta and her mother Galina are in the picture above sporting their scarves, with a little help from Deena on the left.

I hope, like myself, you enjoy knowing the items crafted by all of us are actually going where they’re supposed to and that the right people are benefiting from our work.  The charity itself is wonderful and everyone involved are so generous of spirit, time and resources that I find them totally inspirational.  I know they are presently looking for more people to become host families, and if any of you are interested, or know someone who would be, please get in touch.

Our next collection (details to come) will be for another project The Chernobyl Children’s Trust is involved in too, so I hope we can rely on your continuing support.

Happy Knitting!

They’re Off!

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After months of knitting and crochet it’s now time to send off our teeny, tiny creations to the Irish Premature Babies Charity.

Didn’t we do well?

Our Preemie Collection

In addition to all of the items pictured there are still some to collect and add at the shop but for now our totals are as follows –

Hats & Bonnets = 228

Cardigans = 180

Blankets & Sleep Sacks = 140

Booties & Socks = 13 pairs

There is also a little Paxton sitting on the side here knitted by Dina, awaiting sleeves which will be completed by the end of the day (yes I’ll be doing it).

I’m so very proud of how many items we’ve managed to collect and want to extend a huge message of thanks to all of you that gave your time, your creativity and your yarn to make the delicate, little creations.  It’s great to see how much the collection has inspired so many of you and I know there have been a good few ‘retired’ knitters that have been persuaded to pick up their needles once again and knit for this charity.

I’d also like to say a big Thank You to the East Cork Journal for promoting our collection in their newspaper, the article really helped to highlight the charity.

I understand the charity are sending all of the donations to one warehouse, where they plan to sort through them and divide them up into hampers.  These will then be sent to the hospitals around the country.  The charity intend on having the parcels to the hospitals for World Premature Baby Day on November 17th.

A big thanks once again to all of you that helped with this collection and if you couldn’t do something this time, maybe we could persuade you to pick up you hook or needles for our next collection?  (more info to come very soon)

Happy Knitting!

You Forget How Small Babies Are.

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I’m really lucky I have 3 beautiful children, that make every day special and I don’t mean that in the hearts and flowers sense, more in the ‘count my lucky stars’ way.  It’s been a good number of years since I had super small babies of my own and to be honest my womb very rarely nudges pangs of broodiness my way anymore.  However, there are exceptions and the new book ‘What to Knit When You’re Expecting’ by Nikki Van De Car is one of those times.

The cover photo hints at what’s to come and expect a rush of ‘ahhhs and oooooooo’s’ to overcome you, whilst your brain tricks you into forgetting all about the sleepless nights, stinky nappies and desperation to talk to any adult as long as they speak ‘grown up’.

There are 28 patterns for simple mittens, baby blankets, hats and sweaters inside according to the cover which in no way explains the delights inside.  The designs do include the afore mentioned articles in addition there is a skirt, dress, legwarmers, sleepsack (above) and bloomers.  The book is set out under the three trimesters with the patterns (where appropriate), in 3 sizes 0-3months, 3-6 months and 6-12 months.

My favourite patterns in the first trimester section of the book are:-

Summer Sky Blanket

The Summer Sky Blanket is knitted in Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Cotton which is absolutely gorgeous but an American yarn and therefore difficult to find.  The blanket is made using 5mm’s so any standard weight aran yarn should work as a replacement.  I quite like the cotton look and would probably use Rico’s Creative Cotton Aran as my substitute.

It goes without saying that the Baby Cosy pictured on the front of the book is particularly divine and is knitted in a chunky weight yarn

In the second trimester section of the book it would be more a case of what I want to knit first.

Autumn Leaves Cardigan

The Autumn Leaves Cardigan is so beautiful and something I’d love in my size.  It’s made in a double knit yarn and is super sweet.

Striped Boatneck Sweater

The Striped Boatneck sweater demonstrates how a simple little pattern can have stunning results.  The use of double moss stitch on the bands adds great detail and the design lends itself to both girls and boys.  Again it’s knitted in a double knit yarn.

Cuffed Trousers

The Cuffed Trousers in double knit are a fabulous addition to every babies wardrobe and the addition of the little tabs makes them super practical for chubby little legs.

(oh god I so need grandchildren – be just my luck they’re allergic to wool?)

Time Flies Booties

The delicate little Time Flies Booties in the third trimester of the book, are so pretty that I’d quite like to display several pairs of them in vintage, candy colours on a shelf.  The shelf would be in my imaginary house that is always clean, tidy and organised too.

Maddox Hat

I’m also fond of the little Maddox Hat which is a great design for keeping the chill off babas ears.

Hannah Jacket

My absolute favourite garment in the whole book though has to be the Hannah Jacket.  Maybe it’s because I love duffle coats, or it could be the use of an applied I-cord edge or the clean, simple lines of the design.  Whatever the reason I think it’s a fabulous little design and would work well for either sex.  It would be a great pattern to have in larger sizes as all kids look great in a duffle coat (some adults too).

What To Knit When You’re Expecting is a great buy for those of you that like to knit for babies, or in my case long to.

Happy Knitting!