Little Cotton Rabbits

Finished

Yay, I've finished my Peerie Flooers and am looking forward to wearing them on my next wood walk with Toby, which will definitely bring me a smile - I do love them!

 

 

No doubt there will be quite a few wood walks (weather permitting) over the next couple of weeks because here we are again at the last day of term. Toby went into school this morning laden down with homemade peppermint bark for all of the teachers (this is so easy to make and is really good, so it's now my first choice for teachers gifts).

 

Tomorrow is the start of 17 days of full-on Toby watching. Keeping him safe and entertained with the changes in routine and the added differences that Christmas brings will be a challenge but hopefully there will be some good times sprinkled in there too. I'm hoping for a quiet and calm Christmas with good food, plenty of sleep and some peaceful walks in the woods (with warm and pretty hands!)

All that remains is for me to wish you and those you love a very merry Christmas and a happy New year wherever you are xxx

 

Making Winter, December part 2

Like I said in the previous post, I think warm woolies are one of the very best things about winter and over the years I have built up quite a collection of mittens and scarves...

 

I do like to keep out draughts when I'm out and about, so chunky wool scarves are a big favourite on really cold days. My yarn of choice for a quick chunky scarf is Rowan's big wool. You only need 2 balls (160 metres) and a pair of size 8 or 9mm needles and within 2 or 3 evenings you can whip up a new scarf. Here's a simple tutorial:

Cast on 17 stitches and work the whole thing in moss stitch which is basically:

(K1, P1) 8 times, K1

repeat this for every row, joining in the second ball when you run out of the first and casting off in the same stitch pattern when you only have around 12 inches of yarn left. Weave in the cast on and cast off ends and you're all set for a windy winters day.

Of course I do have another one on the go at the moment...

 

 

This time I'm working in Misti Alpacas cloud-soft, hand-painted chunky baby alpaca yarn, this shade is called Swan Lake.

 

 

 

It's not quite as chunky as the Big Wool but works just as well and it really is super soft.

If you fancy grabbing your needles and casting on a scarf or a pair of mittens then pop over to ravelry where there are literally hundreds of wonderful free patterns to choose from.

Happy knitting xxx

 

making winter december

Part of the Making Winter series started by Silverpebble and Thriftyhousehold.

In my opinion one of the best things about winter is the woolies. I do like to be snuggly when it's cold and have a particular weakness for gloves and scarves so anytime I make anything for myself it usually ends up being either of these. Since winter is now well and truly here, it's inevitable that I'd have several such snuggly projects on the go...

The first is a pair of mittens from a beautiful fairisle pattern called Peerie Flooers by Kate Davies.

 

 

I'm knitting these flat because I find it much quicker and I really, really hate knitting in the round. I've made another few tweaks to suit what I like (all notes over on ravelry) but Kate's colour choices are so perfect so I'm working in those...

 

... Arncliffe, Bainbridge, Hubberholme, Leyburn, Muker, Nappa, Richmond in Rowan fine tweed.

I've also got 2 other pairs of fingerless mittens on the go, one that I started last year and never finished and another that I started a few weeks back. Both are worked in Madeline Tosh sock yarn. The yellow ones are from a free pattern called hedgerow by Amy Ripton and are worked in 'winter wheat'. The stripey ones are worked in 'thyme' and 'wash' and are based on my favourite ever mitten pattern Endpapers by Eunny Jang (which is also free) with lots of personal tweaks.

 

According to H, I have enough mittens to sink a battleship already but I reckon there's always room for a few more pairs (my ravelry queue is testament to this and has links to some great patterns).

And then there's my scarf collection, but we'll leave those for another day - I'll be back later in the week with a simple scarf tutorial.

just a bit excited!

These days it's not often that I feel feel full of childish excitement but today as I walked out of the newsagents I had to resist skipping back to the car, because clutched in my hand was a copy of Let's Knit magazine and it has a little bit about me and my knitting in it.

 

Thanks to Adrienne for the lovely write up and to H for taking a half decent picture of me - I truly hate having my picture taken!

Happy weekend all. I shall be trying to finish up some christmas knitting and snuggling by the fire as it's a cold one here!

one a day update

I'm still rather astonished at all of the comments that I received on the previous post for my little giveaway. When I started this blog in 2006 I didn't really know where it would take me and I certainly didn't imagine for one minute that I'd have so many people around the world who were interested in the little things that I love to make. I don't know how to  begin to thank everyone for the kind comments and for keeping me company here, I am so very grateful.

After all of the recent bunny knitting I've been enjoying dipping back into some of the other unfinished projects that are lurking in baskets and bags around here. In particular my old china blanket which was supposed to be a one a day project but has been a little neglected of late. Back in October it had 49 squares...

 

Today it has 68...

 

 

Still, it is progressing, even if the pace is a bit slow. I've decided that I'm aiming for 99 squares (9 x 11) with a wide-ish border of some sort. I had hoped to have it finished by Christmas but I'm beginning to suspect it won't be, especially now that we've entered the final run up and there are so many other demands on my time. I have also begun to suspect that it will in fact not be mine when it's finished as someone around here seems to have taken rather a fancy to it!

 

Still, that's what it's all about really, it is a lovely feeling when you've made something that someone else treasures.

Wishing you all a stress-free week, may all your Christmas shopping trips be successful!