Whispering Pines Shawl.......

Hello my friends, I hope you are all well. I'm still in Stoke with my daughter and beautiful grandson but I have been able to do some knitting, this week.

I've cast on Whispering Pines by Molly from A Homespun House, I fell in love with the design as soon as the pattern was released but wanted to finish some WIPs before I cast on another project.

The main part of the body has a subtle texture and the border has a beautiful lace panel, it's so pretty. I'm using Sparkleduck Galaxy in hot pink which has little subtle colour but it's a bigger shawl and takes more than 100g. I had the Sparkleduck which is 150g in my stash so decided to use that, the more I knit though the more I like it in this colour.

I'm still reading The Dress Thief by Natalie Meg Evans, it's a very enjoyable read and I'm 70% through it.

I'm linking to Ginny's Yarn Along and Nichole's KCCO.

Here's a photo of little Caiden, rockin' his Nana's hand knits. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

xxxxDebxxxxx

Yarn Along....Garter Ear Flap Hats.

Hello my friends, how is everyone doing, having a good week, I hope? I had said to myself I wasn't going to knit anymore baby things for a while and just finish off some projects that have been languishing in the bottom of my basket. Until I saw the Garter Ear Flap Hat, a free pattern from Purl Soho, I then knit two of them!!!!!

The first one I cast on was the baby size for my grandson to be, it is so quick and simple, I started it on Sunday afternoon and finished by the evening. Don't be put off by the short rows, as its garters stitch there are no picking up stitches, it's just wrap & turns.

This was knit in Drops Nepal, a worsted/Aran weight yarn, another reason it knits up so quick. The original pattern has a tassel rather than a pompom but I thought a pompom would look cute. The baby size only uses one 50g ball and at £2.00 a ball from Wool Warehouse, that makes it very economical and great as a baby gift.

My sister had been looking for winter hats for my nephew so I cast on the toddler size for him, whilst enjoying a nice cup of fruit tea ;-)

This size uses about 75g so you will need a couple of balls, again I used Drops Nepal. When you knit garter stitch in the round, you have to knit a row, purl a row to get the garter ridges. I had heard about knitting backwards by wrapping and turning and knitting back on the wrong side, which meant no purling. I'm afraid this wasn't for me, I didn't like the ridge it left, so I frogged it and just knit and purl. I would rather just knit in the round but I preferred the smooth join at the start of the row.

I'm going to knit a couple more, Jodie wanted one in the light green grey colour and I'll also knit my niece one. She is so tiny though she will only need the toddler size. I really enjoyed knitting these and are great for travel knitting or watching tv as you don't have to concentrate too much.

The only other thing I've been actively knitting on this week, apart from a test knit, are the Hermione's Everyday Socks. I'm only a couple of inches away from starting the toe so hopefully will be finished by the weekend.

I'm still reading The Dress Thief by Natalie Meg Evans and I'm really enjoying it, saying that I love any book set in Paris. I would like to share with you a book I picked up at The Works, the recommended price is £20 but I bought it for £4.99. I love it, it's mostly sweaters inspired by the 1930's, 40's and 50's but there are some accessories and want to knit a few of the patterns. It also gives you some history and background with some original photos. I love this era and the fashion and I highly recommend this book, everything is very wearable and all the yarn used is readily available.

I'm linking to Ginny's Yarn Along, Tami's WIP Wednesday and Nicole's Keep Calm, Craft On.

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it and all your lovely comments.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

 

Yarn Along.....Garter Stitch.

Hello my friends, how is everyone? I hope your week is going well, the theme for my knitting this week is garter stitch. The first stitch that you're taught when you learn to knit, I use to find this stitch so boring when I first started knitting but I actually quite enjoy doing garter now. After seeing that Zena has nearly finished her Leftie, it made me pick mine back up, I've now used all ten colours of the Five Moons Mini Skeins so now to start from the orange again.

I'm on the garter stitch border of my Mini Georgie Baby Blanket, just a couple more rows and I'll be binding off. I was nearly out of the off white so decided to use the three contrast colours for the border, it's turning out really well.

Next up is a Garter Stitch Jacket set from the book 10 Simple Projects For Cosy Babies by Sarah Hatton, can you see the theme here!!!! I'm using yarn from my stash and had some balls of Drops Extra Fine Merino in Navy and some Jenny Watson Merino DK in grey and really liked them together. Again it's a very simple knit but I'm really enjoying this 'potato chip' knitting.

I'm also kniting the matching Garter Stitch Hat, I had completed it but it's knit flat and I didn't like the seam so I frogged it and started again, all in one on DPN's. Do you like my DPN holder? I love it and have ordered a matching project bag from Little Bobbins Etsy Store, it's very well made and she has great customer service with quick delivery.

As you can see on the above photo, I've been putting together the jacket as I go along and just have one little sleeve left. This week I'm reading Elephant Moon by John Sweeney, set in the Second World War where 53 elephants and an English school teacher who rescues a group of orphans from Burma and takes them to India to safety. It is a wonderful, awe inspiring story of a young woman's determination.

I'm linking to Ginny's Yarn Along, Tami's WIP Wednesday and Nicole's KCCO.

I've very nearly finished the beautiful Menehune Shawlette, I knit this along side With Mel podcast, where she gave instructions for us to knit along with her, such a good idea.

So that's what I've been working on this week, all very simple knits but sometimes simple is good.

Have a good week and I should be back on Friday with some FO's.

xxxxDebxxxxx

Yarn Along.........a wedding but not much knitting

Hello my friends, I hope you had a good weekend and if you're in the UK a good Bank Holiday. I went to a beautiful wedding on Sunday, it was my first outdoor wedding and it was perfect, the weather kept nice for them and the bride looked stunning. I will share some photos with you soon but my daughter has took my gadget to load the photos onto my iPad, on holiday with her!!!!! It was the wedding I made the invitations for, you can see them here and they gave me this beautiful bouquet of flowers at the reception.

Here I am all ready to go, my lovely friends trekked the shops of Chester with me, trying to find a little gold jacket but couldn't find what I was looking for but they'll be happy to know I found one at the local shopping centre!!!!

I've had a busy weekend so I didn't get much knitting done and what I did do I can't share just yet as it's a test knit but this is the yarn I'm using. If you want a little clue of what I'm knitting check out this Ravelry Group thread.

I've knit a few rows on my Mini Cable Jumper and now on the front. What I'm reading this week, I've just finished Fresh Doubt by Eva Hudson and haven't decided what to read next, what I have been flicking through is this little book Keep Calm and Cast on. It's a fab little book full of helpful tips and knitting quotes. I'm linking to Yarn Along, WIP Wednesday and Keep Calm, Craft On.

I have been buying yarn this week, I bought some Jamieson & Smith 2ply a 100% Shetland wool, to join in with Melody, who is running a Shwook hat KAL on her Ravelry Group. It is part of Shetland Wool Week that runs from the 4th October-12th October, you can find the free pattern on the website. I had trouble choosing these colours as there were so many gorgeous shades to chose from!!!!

Have a great week.

xxxxDebxxxx

Yarn Along........Two Hats and Two Shawls.

Hello, how is your week going? This week I've been working on two hats and two shawls, the first hat is a test knit for Melody of Manderine's blog. Check out her blog you won't be sorry, it's full of pretty photos of the Latvian countryside, nature, knitting and recipes, her photos are so tranquil and after reading her posts I always feel very peaceful.

I received the pattern on Thursday evening, cast on Friday and had it finished and blocked by the Sunday. It is a quick knit using worsted weight yarn, a fair amount of garter stitch and a beautiful textured panel at the front. If you follow me on Instagram you will have already seen the FO, modeled by my daughter but I'll share the photos on my blog, Friday.

Jodie kept the hat and took it home with her so I immediately cast on another one for me using a variegated yarn, I should also have this finished by Friday and will give you full details of the yarn on Friday.

The next project I've been knitting on this week is my Leftie by Martina Behm, as I'd said last week, Zena, Rachel and myself are all knitting this pattern with yarn we'd bought from Unwind. Zena and I don't live too far away from each other so we arranged to meet at The Library of Birmingham for a coffee and to knit on our Leftie's. We had a great morning, chatting and knitting away and hope to meet up again soon.

If you are in Birmingham, I highly recommend paying a visit to the library, there are activities going on, thousands of books to peruse, two coffee bars, lounge areas to sit and relax but my favourite part was The Secret Garden.

It's on the seventh floor and is a balcony wrapped around the building with an urban garden and places to sit, this was the view of Birmingham from the balcony. Unfortunately, it was a little bit too chilly to sit and knit up there on Saturday, I'm hoping for an Indian Summer so can go back and sit up there and take in the views.

Shawl two is the Menehune Shawlette by Mel, Episode Three of With Mel is now up with the third part of the pattern which is the middle section of the border.

This is a simple garter stitch section which didn't take long to complete, so I now only have the last part to finish which will be in next weeks episode. This has been such a fun knit, I really enjoyed this week's episode, she took us on a boat trip with her family and of course it's great to sit and "knit with Mel" !!!!!

 

I'm into my thrillers at the moment and have just started reading Fresh Doubt by Eva Hudson, I've not read any of her books before and so far, so good, I'm enjoying this book, the first in a series of books featuring Ingrid Skyberg, FBI Agent.

I'm linking to Yarn Along, WIP Wednsday and Keep Calm, Craft On, I've decided to post it a day early this week as one I've written it in advance and two, Nicole from Frontier Dreams, posts her KCCO on a Tuesday.

 

There is just one last thing I would like to say, Mel has just wrote a heartfelt post and would like some help raising some money for a bereaved family, if you could please pop over and read it, she would really appreciate it. She has just released a shawl pattern called Hapa and to help this family from 19th-26th August, Mel will give all profits from the pattern to this family who's life has tragically been ripped apart. I've bought mine, every little helps.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your week.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

Yarn Along....Georgie Baby Blanket and Giveaway.

Hello my friends, I'm back today to share with you, the test knit that I was working on last week, all I showed you was the yarn I was using!!!

TaDa!!!! It's the Georgie Baby Blanket by Helen Stewart, a beautiful modern deign. I love the simple graphic lines of this blanket. The main section is knit in one piece and then the border is picked up and knit in the round.

It's a very relaxing knit using slip sitiches to create the eye catching stripes so you are only ever using one colour at a time. The pattern is written for sport weight but works with any yarn weight, I used Drops Merino Exra Fine DK. The contrast colours only used about 24g each colour so great for using up those half used skeins.
If you are using a heavier yarn, check the yardage, you will probably need slightly more than the 5 that Helen used. I used 6 balls of the main colour as Drops don't tend to have as much yardage as other manufacturers. I used every little bit of it and was playing yarn chicken until the end, the problem was half way through every new ball of yarn had been joined with a knot so I had to keep cutting them out and joining back to my blanket. I would have had plenty if this hadn't happened, I know Drops is an economical brand but surely that shouldn't have happened with 6 out of 6 balls!!! Never mind, I was probably just unlucky, apart from the knots the yarn is beautiful to work with and very soft, perfect for babies.

Jodie has seen the blanket and loves it, it's all wrapped and tied with a ribbon, ready for the little man to arrive.
Now if like me and you love Helen's designs and would like to win one, she has kindly offered three single patterns for me to give away to my readers!!! Leave me a comment letting me know you want to enter and I will pick three winners who will be able to choose a pattern each, take a look here at all of Helen's beautiful designs. I would love to know you're favourite and if you've knit any of Helen's designs.

This is what I'm currently reading, The Zookeepers Wife by Diane Ackerman, it's part of the summer read over at Camp Aloha Friends, I'm linking this to Ginny's Yarn Along.

I'm now working on the Twinkle Twinkle Blanket, I'm hoping I can get some of my WIPs finished before I start something new, mmmmm I wonder if I can do it!!!! I'm linking this to Tami's WIP Wednesday and Nicole's KCCO.
Have a great week and don't forget to leave a comment if you want to enter the giveaway, I'll leave it open until next Tuesday and will announce the winner on Wednesday, good luck!
xxxxDebxxxx

Yarn Along......a quick update.

Hello, I'm back with a quick post as I don't have too much knitting to share, this week. I finished my On the Pier shawl, that I'll show you on Friday.

I bought this beautiful gradient yarn from Eaden Yarns, isn't it a beautiful colour? The delivery was super quick, I saw that she was having a shop update on Sunday so I stalked her shop and bought it on Sunday evening and I received it yesterday!!!

I'm test knitting the Pebble Beach Shawlette by Helen Stewart of Curious Handmade which was the winning design of the Unwind Brighton Design Competition. It's a beautiful crescent shape lace shawl, very elegant for those evening walks along the beach. It will be printed in the Unwind programme for attendees at the event and then will be released on Ravelry on Monday 14th July, there's going to be a Knit Along so keep your eyes out for that.

I've done a few more rows on my Garter Stitch Baby Blanket, I would say that I'm a third of the way through it, this is good car knitting, so tend to knit on it if we are traveling.

I'm on the third clue of the Pavillion Socks, which is the last clue. I've never taken part in a mystery KAL and with each clue, I tried to second guess what was coming next. It turned out totally different to what I had in my mind especially the last clue, the foot. I've really enjoyed knitting them and love the pattern.

I've started reading Paris by Edward Rutherfurd and throughly enjoying it, I don't usually read pre-1900's historical novels but as it's about Paris my favourite city, I couldn't resist. I've really got into the characters and all the history that goes with this sweeping saga which goes back as far as the 1300's. If you enjoy history and Paris, I highly recommend this book. I'm linking to Ginny's Yarn Along and Tami's WIP Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your week.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Yarn Along......Vintage Knitting Patterns.

 

How are you all doing? I hope you all had a good weekend. I haven't got much to show you today, I've done a few more rows on my Garter Stitch Stripy Baby Blanket. I'm using Rico Essential Cotton DK, which I really like, sometimes cotton yarn can be quite splity but this is fine, you can find the colours I've used on my Ravelry page, just click on the link.

I'm looking through my collection of vintage baby knitting patterns for a unisex matinee jacket. I'm always on the lookout for old patterns in charity shops and vintage stores, most of the patterns I have are from the 50's and 60's. Don't you love the old style matinee jackets, they are so cute on newborn babies and most with matching bootees. Hopefully I will have cast one on by next week to share with you.

I've started a new project, it's the Radiance Shawl by Helen Stewart, it's a beautiful, large lace shawl using a lace weight yarn. It's been a while since I've knit with 2ply, I'm using a Skein Queen Laceweight yarn but unfortunately when I bought it, it didn't have a ballband so I haven't got a clue what base it is or the colourway. The main colour is a gorgeous midnight blue with Stellina, it reminds me of twinkling stars in the night sky. If anybody has recognizes this yarn, please could you let me know.

I saw this great idea on the Pom Pom Quarterly blog, instead of using an highlighter pen to mark off where you are on the pattern, you use Washi Tape instead. I've got the pattern in a plastic Poly Pocket, to protect it and I use the tape directly on the pocket and move it down after every row, it's low tack, removable and each small piece lasts for ages. I've moved it 47 times and it's still as sticky as when I first used it.

This week I'm reading The Butterfly Box by Santa Montefiore, I love her books, I have only just started it but so far it's looking good. I have read another book since last week, it took me three evenings to finish, I couldn't put it down. It was called Tideline by Penny Hancock, it was a very dark and disturbing read and I really didn't expect the ending, a great read if you like this genre.

Check out this weeks Yarn Along and WIP Wednesday, for more Work in Progress, this week.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your week.

xxxxDebxxxx