Knitting set in The Works.

Look ,

for £7.00 you can buy this set in The Works. Its really nice & would make a lovely gift for a new knitter , young & old alike.
It has 3 balls of yarn inside & some very nice wooden needles that are not too chunky for small hands but big enough.

There are also some simple knitting instructions in the lid of the box.

Join the Flock for Movember !

Slowly people seem to be using more natural products instead of their synthetic counterparts.This means that sheep will become more valuable instead of the rock bottom prices that we have seen in past years with  farmers virtually having to pay for their fleeces to be shorn & taken away.

A public arts project run by The Eden Arts in Cumbria is bringing together people to make an art installation of their own to increase awareness in the use of Wool .Click on the link here & it will take you to the project.
They have also their own Facebook page & have joined in with Movember as have we at my work.You can see the Join The Flock FB page if you click here & join it if you like!
My efforts for Movember have been knitting beard beanies, a hot new craze that is sweeping the younger generation & females not able to grow the required tash!There have been many great displays of manliness around our office ,the best being my friend & work partner ,Sandra.

She has been raising money for the cause & will be having a count up today as we are officially now in December....eeekk!!!! Beard beanie supplied by my needles.I will update you as soon as I know how much she has raised.There have been some generous donations.

Owl ya doin' !!

I have been a bit lax over posting this week.

I have been quite creative though.
Last Sunday I spent all day making a cake for a very special little boy who was One on Monday!I cant believe its been a whole year since I was sat on the labour ward with my friends waiting for Charlie to arrive.
It was worth the effort to make the cake I think. Apparently it tasted lovely.You see how good I was last week.Not a naughty morsel passed my lips.Didnt make a bit of difference on the scales though!






I have also been busy making Christmas presents for other people!
I made this lovely set using the Louisa Harding patterns from her new book , Fade to Grey. Millie hat & fingerless gloves.I knitted them in Manos silk mix .The gloves had a mixture of Sublime silk & merino mix yarn & some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino.





I love the way the gloves came out & the rosette was really easy to do.It is really just a scalloped elongated triangle which is curled round into a rosette.Very clever design.The pearl buttons came from my stash of many in one of my tins or jars of buttons.
I was a bit horrified when my friend who I knitted them for wanted to "give them a good pressing!" to flatten the flowers ,but I think I have convinced her they don't need it.I was really grateful for the snippets of advice from friends in the knitting world (aka ,Caroline at The Wool Bar & Louisa ,you know who!)who have said in the past they never block their work so this was passed on.


I am on a marathon knit session.I just finish one project & its on to the next.I wouldn't be surprised to see sparks coming off the end of my needles.

One of the projects is for making Christmas decorations for The Wool Bar .These are being sold in the shop & all proceeds will go to one of the Chronn's disease/Colitis Charities.If you are passing please pop in & make a donation.These charities will really struggle now with the Recession & any small bit of help will go a long way to help relieve the suffering of others.

Caroline has also got a raffle on the go.First prize is a £50 voucher with second prize being a set of Knit pro needles.What lovely prizes.The draw will be held a little closer to Christmas but get in there & get your tickets.

Monday Blues

Do you remember the clock I bought a few weeks ago?Well it kept getting stuck when it got to showing 20minutes to the hour.I took it back to The Range today & they gave me another one.Not quite so straight forward as I hadn't kept the receipt,just the box!!Anyway,got home with it,got it out of the box & dropped it on the floor.......glass shattered ,hands fell off!!!Only I could do that!!I am really ham fisted at the moment with incredibly bad dropsies! Should a child's clock have glass in it though?

At least I didn't drop the boys brunch today.I did a bit of experimentation.Mr T was very dubious but he gave it the thumbs up after tasting it.

I de-crusted some slices of bread then rolled them flat with a rolling pin.I used them ,buttered to line a muffin pan then cracked an egg in each & sprinkled in some dry fried chopped bacon pieces.The last of the tiny tomatoes were added then the tray was put in the oven for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees till the eggs were cooked.

Yummy.Top tip....prick the tomatoes as they have a tendency to explode when you cut them or bite into them.

My Millie hat is coming on nicely.I have started using the second skein.I am very pleased with it.

The yarn is definately on the gorgeous list .So buttery in your hands!!

Tea Time.

I have always loved our British idea of afternoon tea.Its something I grew up with & was made very much a family affair.

In my own family it was more of a Sunday afternoon thing.We always got together at my Nana's house for Sundays.I mean the whole family!

In my sister in laws family ,it was a daily ritual which started just before milking time.I think it really gave the men who were the ones that did the lions share of the hard manual work a chance to get inside in the warm & re-charge the batteries.All the women who were involved in laying on these spreads were great bakers & home makers.

At knit & natter the other night ,it could well have been classed as a tea party.Rosie brought her delicious apple cake & one of the other girls brought some gorgeous blueberry muffins.Shhhhh,don't tell anyone,I had 4 bits of cake!!!I enjoyed every mouthful....How naughty am I ?!!

I was asked to make a tea cosy for someone.It was a specific order & she had already chosen the type of yarn & design of the tea cosy.Only problem was that there was no pattern & I had to make one up!Even more so ,it was in moss stitch ,which presents a problem with the decreasing of the stitches.

I was so glad that when Debbie Bliss visited The Wool Bar recently ,I had asked her about decreasing in moss stitch.It all came back to me that it is necessary to knit 3 stitches together to get the decrease in pattern. Phew!!!

After a few design issues , frogging & 5 hours,this was the result.

Its knitted in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

I loved it so much ,I have made myself one.Wow ,it really does keep that Twinings hot!

This one was just knitted using some acrylic that was in my stash & is now all used up.They both have a ribbon trim at the top which is sewn on.

I am thinking of writing the pattern up for Ravelry.

Colour stranded mittens using Artesano Inca Cloud Alpaca.

Although I have been knitting for years ,I have generally stuck to what I thought were simple patterns as I thought I wouldn't be able to do more "intricate" ones.

My thought process seems to have changed somewhat .I have realised that if you can cast on ,knit ,purl & cast off ,you have the basic tools & knowledge to attempt any pattern.I have along the way learnt tips to help with following these patterns.

A year ago I never thought I would attempt to make these mittens but here I am chatting about it.OK my first one was by no means perfect ,but having done that mitten without any instruction from someone & by trial & error ,my second one is coming along quite nicely & I feel happy with it.

The first time I ever did colour change in knitting I learnt how to do intarsia.This is where a motif is knitted in a background colour.To do this I found I needed to twist the two yarns together I was changing colour with or a hole would form.

With this stranded mitten ,becase the colour change occurs over few stitches ,there is no need to twist the yarn together.In fact you can see on the finished mitten which was the first one I made ,if you look at the cuff it looks untidy.This is due to the bobble that formed when I twisted the yarn together.I have not done this on the second one & you can see the result is much neater.I should have photographed the inside of the fabric but what you can actually see is just very small loops of yarn where I have carried the unworked colour across the back of the worked stitches.I only carry the yarn that is not being worked for a maximum of 3 stitches at a time.any more than that & a large loop will form which will catch on fingers etc.I makes also a lovely almost double type fabric which is very warm so ideal for mittens.

This pattern is a first of many.I have knitted mittens once before but only from a pattern & not straight from a chart.I have also never done the stranded colour change knitting before or set in a thumb or done Kitchener stitch.These were all firsts for me & although my knitting is far from perfect,I am pleased with the result.

I also found following the chart a challenge.My colour choice was very subtle which has made following the chart very closely rather than looking at the pattern emerging ,necessary.I have since purchased another ,deeper colour to go with the grey for a second pair of mittens.

To get around the eye boggling of following the chart I started with marking the pattern at the side of the row or round in this case ,with a pencil mark.This did get quite frustrating for me as ;

1) I kept forgetting to mark the round

2) I kept dropping my pencil & had to crawl around on the floor after it ,much to the delight of Mrs Magweed who proceeded to try & kiss me profusely & jump on my head as she thought I was playing.My back is still really bad so I needed her input like a hole in the head!!Bless her!!!

I found using a post it note was the best answer.I can stick it under the row /round I am currently working on & then move it up a line for the next working.No pencil to rub out on my pattern either.I can see the chart more clearly like this & I think it has helped to double my speed of knitting like this.

I love this Artesano yarn.It is such a good value yarn .I think I paid £3.50 for a 50g ball.It may have been £3.99 but hey who cares about a few pence.Its alpaca & lovely.My first mitten using yarn from two colours weighs only 27g.So you should be able to just get a pair of mittens out of one ball ,maybe slightly over.I am challenging myself to making 3 sets of mittens with the 3 balls of this Artesano Inca Cloud.

I am also using Brittany Birch needles.I was using my cheaper DPN's I got from Lidl when they were on special offer.To be honest ,I now think they were a bit of a false economy .I had trouble with the yarn splitting ,my hands ached & I also kept dropping the steel ones.I got so frustrated I went out & bought the Brittany ones & will not use anything else now.All those problems now no longer exist & how I am enjoying knitting these little babies!!

The pattern is a free one I found on Ravelry here.If you are not a member ,you can join for free & that allows you access to so much on the net.

Why did I put off making something like this for so long?Well I thought I wouldnt be able to do it!!I really wish now I had just got on with it.

Top down Babies!!

I waited for ages to get the pattern for these little tops.They are knitted from the top down on circular needles increasing at 4 points.I made the pink one in self striping sock yarn by Rico.Its wool & nylon & washes up quite soft.

The orange & green one was knitted in Rico DK which is a microfibre yarn.This is really soft.It also proved that you can use any type of yarn but just adjusts the measurements slightly.I was really pleased with the way they came out.

The boy one is for my friends baby ,Charlie ,who will be one in November.I am going to make his first birthday cake as a present so I am thinking up ideas for it.Really not sure at the moment what I will do yet.Will keep you posted.

I made these scones yesterday using this recipe & Ruth from The Pink Whisk's idea of a sugar glaze top.I was unsure of using the bread flour & added some extra raising agent using Creme of Tartar as Ed on GBBBO thought scones were better with it.They were good but I have to say I have never tasted any scones as good as the ones my ma in law used to make.They were the best!!!Nothing will ever compare with them.

Preemie Knits

A friend of mine from K&N told us about the desperate need for bonnets & blankets in the Special Care Baby Unit at Brighton.They have been so busy of late & they get through a lot of little hats & blankets to keep the babies warm.These items usually go with the baby when it leaves the unit as it is a familiar item for the little one & also a memento of how tiny they actually were.I know this has been echoed at our more local unit in Worthing as well as I have a friend who is the Chaplain at the Hospital & sadly he often works on the unit.

There are some great patterns available for free on the net .Our local units requested some ventilator bonnets .These are the ones with a buttoned flap on top.This allows the babies heads to be scanned without the need to remove the bonnet.The holes help with positioning the little tubes that are often attached to the babies to support them.

I have knitted 2 blankets & 4 little hats this week in time to hand them to my friend at K&N to take up to the unit.They are only knitted out of cheap acrylic ,but this is ideal as its light & soft on the skin & it can be tossed in a washing machine & tumble dried. The blankets should be 35cm x45cm in size.I added the little heart as they looked so plain .The hats come in a selection of sizes from tiny teacup size to larger baby.Often a full term baby needs support in a special care unit.

If you have any spare time & some yarn that would be suitable please consider these units.Often these babies entry into the world is not planned for & there are no clothes to fit these babies.Your local unit will be just as needy as ours.It will be so appreciated.

Magweeds Sunday......

I had just had a sausage Mum & Dad brought back from Weatherspoons Sunday breakfast & was day dreaming about playing with Monkey & Darrell ,two friends my Mum has made. I like to do this lying on my back having my tummy stroked.

I had been laying there for about half an hour when there was a knock on the door.It was quite a co-incidence as we had been chatting about French stuff like Cancan yarn, but in walked Priscilla the French Poodle.

We greeted each other in our usual doggy way of kissing noses & sniffing bottoms.

For a while I was quite besotted!

It was quite a shock when Priscilla was upended & let rip!!!Thank goodness her fart smelt of flowers.Mum has never said that about mine....!!!!!!

It certainly brought me to my senses.I know Priscilla is going to live with Auntie Robin & her poodles 2 doors along but I cannot associate with a dog who smells so poofy!!

I feel so ashamed......

Although Monkey & Darrell live in Wolverhampton & I wont see them much ,if at all ,I would still rather be friends with them .I can catch up with their antics on the net with Mum when I sit on her lap.Their blog is great .They are learning to knit at the moment.They liked the strawberry basket & are making one so they can get their 5 a day!

Mum is a great fan of Its all a Fiddle Fart!A great blog which has inspired her no end.Its all about crafting with items bought from either places like Poundland or car boots.Its great .

Mum today bought herself a hole punch from Lidls along with some more sock yarn.I think she is going to make me a new collar & coat for the winter.I am not sure it will be as warm as the Debbie Bliss one she is knitting but I will look posh on the prom.I wont need silly Pom Poms to make me stand out in the crowd!!!

We had better not let on to Nanny we have been having all this chat about farts.....she wouldn't be amused.....he he he!

Sun shiny day......

I ventured out from home yesterday into town.That may not seem like much ,but for me it was quite an event as I have been unable to walk very far or drive at all due to a back injury.I got a lift halfway & then slowly strolled the rest of the way.It was so nice in the warm sunshine.

I only went as far as my favourite yarn store......and then sat & had a catch up with my lovely friends over a cup or two of coffee & did a bit of knitting. Customers popped in to make purchases & some of them showed me what they were making.Truly a place to be inspired.

Many came in to say how much they liked the strawberry basket & some wanted one too!!! I have to say I have been overwhelmed at the comments this little group activity has generated.I have had so many emails from people ,sharing their thoughts & thanking me for giving them a little something.I have to actually say that it is I who should be thanking you all for taking the time to contact me .To be part of the blog world has certainly helped me whilst I have been trying to recover with my back.Some days have been better than others & on those which have not been quite so good ,it is my family (especially my LSH, that's long suffering husband!)friends ,crafting buddies & the blogworld which have seen me through and taken my mind off the pain.Thankyou guys xxxx

My day was made yesterday when on the bus home ,(which was turning out to be a very long 5 minute journey) the man in the seat behind me tapped me on the shoulder & said ,"My dear ,what are you stitching?" pointing to my half finished sock I was working on.I told him it was a sock .He then said "Really?" .I whipped out the already finished partner from my bag & in true Blue Peter style said "Yes , here is one I made earlier". The gentleman exclaimed "Oh, how very British!!" I chuckled all the way from the bus stop to my house.

Rico Cancan

I have always loved Paris.When Moulin Rouge came out in the cinema ,I couldn't wait to go & see it.I have never visited the Moulin Rouge ,but have a poster we bought in Paris depicting the show & the dancers.I really need to get it framed & hung on our dining room wall.

Rico have just brought out a new yarn,Cancan.

I was given a ball of it to try out by my dear friend Caroline who owns The Wool Bar.I thought I would give you a little insight into what it is like.

Rico Cancan comes in 200g balls.It is like a ribbon ,similar in type to fishnet stockings!It is 100% acrylic & feels similar to cotton.Its very soft to the touch .It knits up to make lovely ruffles which are ideal for a scarf. It replicates to me the frills on the dancers skirts.

Washing instruction are clearly written on the ball band & you can put it in the machine at 30degrees.It is not recommended that you tumble dry ,iron or use bleach on it.

The colourways are lovely.

The ball band comes with directions on how to use it ,recommended needle size which is 7-8mm.

The instructions on the ball band are quite small ,but then there is a lot of detail & some pictures.I have taken some of my own to show you how to use it.Please forgive the bad quality ,I took them quickly .

Rico recommend you finish the yarn by sewing the ends.I started by tying a knot in the end so it wasn't tempted to fray.I have to say it didn't appear to want to fray at all whilst I was knitting my scarf.

The yarn has a right & wrong side.It is important you work out which side is which as this helps the yarn to roll ,creating its curls.The wrong side is the one which rolls in on itself.

The right side is your cast on on side.This will face you as you cast on by picking up a few

threads at the top of the ribbon yarn.Do this at the recommended 4 cm space.To get the distance I measured & cut a gauge in the ball band.You don't have to be as anal as this but my judgement is not that good!

For a scarf that will be about 20cm wide ,pick up 7 stitches.

You then insert needle into the stitch & proceed to knit as for garter stitch .



Instead of wrapping the whole of the yarn around the working needle, catch a few threads at the top of the "ribbon"


The wrong side of the yarn will now face you as you work your garter stitch.


This is how it will look after one row...
Two rows & you can see the ruffle take shape. Repeat until you have reached the length required.Rico state that the yarn stretches with wear & gravity.

The yarn is very strong if you tug it lengthwise, but obviously it will rip if you catch it & it gets pulled across the width.It will take a certain amount of tugging that way & I think is good for its open delicate structure. During the knitting I used half a ball of the yarn.You will be able to get 2 scarves out of this & for approx £10 retail value ,is a bargain!

During the knitting I came across only one join .This was joined by being neatly sewn on the bias & became hidden in the ruffle.I was happy with that.

I cant wait to wear this.I bet it will be really warm & keep out the seaside wind.

I reckon this is going to be the big winter hit in knitting terms.You can get the yarn at Rico stockists.Mine obviously came from The Wool Bar who have a website(its my local yarn store & has great coffee & the most lovely staff!).If its not online yet ,you will be able to give Caroline a call & order it over the phone.She has most of the colours in stock at the moment ,but I warn you ,its going fast.I will be getting some more very soon.

I forgot to show you my new knitting basket...

Isn't it great.I got it from Matalan for a fiver!

It has no sharp bits on it to catch my yarn on & will hold a large project & yarn to stop it getting on the floor.I can let the yarn unravel in the basket avoiding the work picking up any fluff the hoover may have missed .

Verity by Ysolda Teague

I started knitting this last night & its on my head tonight

This beret was a dream to knit .The pattern was purchased from Ysolda Teague on Ravelry.

I thought this was going to be difficult to knit but I was proved very wrong.

The pattern had clear instructions both in written format & chart.I was pleased with the sizing & knowing I wear a size 58 cm at work I plumped for the medium.I used Debbie Bliss Fez in a shocking pink that was a Christmas present along with the handmade ceramic button that came from The Wool Bar in Worthing.I used slightly larger needles as I only had a 5mm cicular needle& the pattern stated to use a 4.5 mm.I must be a tight knitter.

The pictures show the beret just a few minutes after sewing it up so it isn't blocked yet.It may look better if I block it.