third time’s the charm

It must be getter colder, judging my the number of yarn crafts I’ve been blogging about! I first posted about my plan to make a cowl for myslef from this very pretty yarn (a gift from Kayscha at quilt camp 2011) this time last year. I was wavering on whether to frog it, or include the faults as “character”. In the end, my perfectionist side won out, and I pulled it all out. I decided a month or so ago to start again, ready for winter. I cast on my 120 stitches, complete with markers every repeat so I didn’t get my pattern wonky this time. I joined in the round, and merrily purled two rows. And then. Then I realised, it was twisted. Yup. Guess who forgot to unwind it properly before joining in the round? And apart it came again.

Third attempt. I cast on. Two rows in, ready to start the fancy bits and I realise. I’ve knitted the first two rows, instead of purled. But at this point, that was the least of my worries, so I decided to roll with it and keep going.

I still have a marker every repeat, just to keep me on track. Which came in very handy when one row added a stitch per group, and I didn’t realise, and nearly started the wrong row and would have made it all wonky again. I know it’s pretty amateur to need markers to help me count it out, but for me, it works. I’m not a hardcore knitter. I’m just me, pottering along, doing a row here or a row there when the urge strikes. So the counters are working (same as my ripple), and look, I can see the pattern emerging!

Today it’s our busy day – getting the house and admin tidied up ready for the weekend. Music lessons. Drama lessons. Preschool afternoon teas. Groceries to be bought and stories to be told from last night’s sleepover. Mothers Day presents to buy. And in amongst all that – some hardcore post-morning-sickness spring cleaning (or should that be autumn cleaning?). Friday, I love you muchly, but today, I’m gonna kick you’re butt.

the circle continues

Bear has been desperate to learn to knit for a month or so now. So with Boy2 back at preschool, and a bonus day holiday thanks to a pupil free day (bless you, new national curriculum), we hit up the craft shop, found some chunky yarn and bamboo needles, and merrily tucked ourselves up on the daybed, to get down to the serious business of knitting.

I’ve pinned a couple of tutorials on teaching kids to crochet, but for the knitting, I decided to wing it. I first learnt to knit around the same age, so I figured if 6 year old me could grasp it without the interwebs, it was almost certain this cluey young chap could get a handle on it.

He decided to start off making a scarf for himself. Daddy had requested a jumper, but he was told not to hold his breath. I did the cast on, so as not to confuse him too much – once he gets the hang of knit stitch, it’ll be easy enough to teach the cast on. I just kept going until it looked roughly wide enough, and then the lesson began. He sat beside me as we worked the first row. Through. Around, Back, Off. Every stitch we’d chant together. I worked the first two stitches of the new row, and then sat him on my lap, my hands over his, and we started reciting the steps again. Then a few stitches later I dropped one hand, and soon the other.

And now? It might be messy. There are some skipped stitches, and other stitches where the old stitch made it’s way in amongst the new stitches. The tension is kind of ordinary. But I think this might be the most adorable knitted scarf I have ever seen. I can’t wait for him to finish and see the look on his face as he wraps himself in his very own scarf for the first time.

And of course, we all know what Boy2 thinks of his big brother learning to knit, don’t we? Guess what I’m doing today? Yeah….

currently…

feeling a bit better

cuddling a sick Boy2

knitting a cowl for me

writing some L&P bridging scenes

eating far too many lollies

avoiding packing away the groceries

It’s Friday, the weekend looms with the whispered promise of fun with my favourites. Hurry up Boy2 and get well, we have adventures to chase!

sneaky sneaky

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I very nearly didn’t post today, but I just finished this little beanie, so wanted to show it off. I hear “I don’t know how you find the time” a lot. You know how? By sneaking it in. By making creating part of my everyday routine. This little beauty was finished during Boy2′s drama lesson, while Butterfly chatted beside me. I found the pattern via AJ after she made one for her little boy, it’s a super easy little chap.

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Busy busy day here, I feel like all I’ve done is put children in and out of the car. And hang washing three minutes before it rained. But it’s a fun kind of busy, trying to be all productive to make our equally crazy weekend easier. Be sure to check back for the Bloggers Boogie tomorrow, it’s a corker!

{NOTE ON COMMENTS :: Due to excessive spam on this one post, I’ve closed comments. Thanks for your understanding.}

ribbet, ribbet

At quilt camp, the lovely Kayscha gave us all a very pretty ball of pink yarn. It was soft and fluffy and I may or may not have patted it in a slightly disturbing way, singing “Soft Kitty”. And ever since, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect project, it’s just too nice to use on any old thing! So I found a nice cowl pattern on Ravelry, and in went the needles and yarn for the holiday craft basket. Except I packed the wrong needles. A rainy day meant a trip to the shops, and soon I held the right circular needle in my hands, and we were off.

 

I’m now 35 rows in, and to be honest, I think it needs frogging. I seem to have occasionally ended up with too many stitches, or not enough, and the pattern is kind of wonky. A quick count in my last knitting round and I have ended up with 9 groups of 15 instead of 8. I’m undecided whether to press ahead, be more focused and call the beginning rows “character”, or ditch it and get it right completely.

 

Today’s been a funny old day, but some swinging in the sun with my two smallest little people, and some painting (finger for them, new oils for me) has soothed me and I feel back on even keel. Almost. My studio is clean, and the ideas are flowing freely. I’m waiting on the paint to dry, so might make the most of nap time to finish the quilting and piece the binding on my ANZAC Day quilt, and sew up a couple more foundations on a mug rug. Or maybe some beading. Or a book on the day bed. Or a movie with that knitting. Housework? What housework? It’ll be there tomorrow. Sadly. Time to have some lunch, make a choice, and rock this afternoon. Let’s do this!

Catching up…

It’s been a busy couple of weeks at our house, so haven’t had a chance to blog much.

 

First up is the finished baby cocoon:

 

I love the knobbly texture, it make it look so yummy & cozy, and the colour is even nicer than I thought it would be. Now I just need a baby to put in it! *taps foot impatiently*.

 

I also found some time to do some quick craft with Bear, and we made a truck for Pooh Bear:

Only problem is the door doesn’t close properly, so I’m constantly being asked to “fix, mummy, pease?”. Will have to try & work something out!

Something old, something new…

Tutorials borrowed and wool that’s blue!

 

We went to visit some friends over the weekend, and whilst there, I managed to fit in a trip to Spotlight, where, somehow, unbeknownst to me, a set of knitting looms managed to find their way into my hands, along with two balls of yarn & a crochet hook. Imagined how surprised I was when I got to the register, and found these items in my hand! Unfortunately, I couldn’t be bothered waddling my 8 months pregnant self back to where such items may belong, and I was tragically forced to hand over the credit card, and adopt these poor desperate items.

 

The knitting loom is just like the little finger knitting dolls I used to play with as a kid, but on a larger scale. This will become (hopefully) a baby cocoon:

 

I think I’ve used the wrong-sized loom, and I’m pretty sure the two balls of yarn I purchased will yield me a cocoon that is too small, but that’s just a good excuse to make another! I also plan on using these as photography props.

 

Something blue, is wool that I already had, and which found itself attached to a crochet hook this afternoon. My first attempts at crochet are nothing brilliant, but it’s always fun to try something new!

 

And a sneak peek of my something old, which should be revealed in the next couple of days!

 

I’ve also been tagged again, so will be back tomorrow to post that!

Aprons, knitting and Mother In Laws

I am a bit behind in blogging, as we went to visit my mother in law over the weekend. I finished the apron as DH packed the car, so the photo is a bit dodgy:

 

I was reasonably happy with how it turned out. It was my first go at making my own pattern, and there are a few flaws in it that I am assured only I notice.

 

While there, MIL also dug out for me an old knitting book:

Full of different ways to jazz up knitting, lots of challenges, now to just find a project to try some of them out!

 

Speaking of knitting, I finished Pooh Bear’s blanket. He is very grateful, and assures me it is very warm.

 

I’ve also been tagged, but that will have to wait for another post with more time!