What I got from Father Knitmas....

Season's Greetings!

This year, in addition to the usual non-risky presents (mainly bottles of wine and chocolate truffels), I have also been given some no-calories treats, which reflect my rediscovered passion for all things knitting and crochet:

1. A subscription to Simply Knitting magazine

2. A book on how to crochet flowers, Crochet Bouquet by Suzann Thompson

3. A Cath Kidston flower suitcase with yarn and wooden knitting needles

At my age, the excitement could only be kept under control with a few glasses of red wine and my son's persistent nagging to help him build the Lego sets he was given, which I dutifully did, so I could think about my forthcoming yarn projects whilst building pirate islands and space ships.
Anyway, the colours of the Cath Kidston set would go very nicely with our 50s style kitchen, but what can I make for the kitchen except potholders? I'd love to get your advice. Please do leave a comment with your ideas. Thank you so much.

Wishing you all lots more festive cheer and a wonderful New Year.

Yarns Worth Raving About: Colinette Point 5

If you are looking for a quick knitting/crochet project, then a scarf is always a winner and would make a lovely timeless gift.

There's lots of adorable yarn out there, but some yarns are more adorable than others!

One of them is the Colinette Point 5 pure wool chunky yarn, which comes in a large range of the most beautiful colours.

For my Indigo Rainbow Scarf shown in the image, I needed two hanks of this yarn, colour option Kingfisher no. 33.

The yarn is spun unevenly; it's quite thick in places, and you will need size 12mm needles.

Cast on 14 stitches, 2 knit/2 purl until you've used up all the yarn. Length of the scarf: 150cm x 12cm width. 

Knitted in two days. 

Quick, easy and ideal for a beginner.


UK stockist: http://www.cucumberpatch.co.uk/point_5.htm

Fairytale Flower Bag

Here's yet another bag I made from the leftover wool of my psychedelic jumper.

This bag started off as a scarf, knitted all in one piece and then crocheted together at the seams.

The flower is the first I've ever crocheted, so I learned something new. The long handle was also added later.

It's a dreamy, whimsical bag that reminds me of fairies and fairy tale princesses, hence I call it the fairytale bag. It goes rather nicely with the Whimsical Tarot deck - the images of the cards are all based on fairy tales.

My yarn stash is growing, so more bags will follow, but before that I need to knit two beanies in time for Christmas.

Toodles!


PS: If you want to learn to knit and crochet flowers, I can recommend this book:

100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet - It's fantastic!

The Jumper that had Children

Ok, it may be a daft title, but when you read on you'll find it makes sense.

This is my first jumper I knitted after a 25 year break. When I saw the choice of colours in the store, I couldn't make up my mind, which one to choose, so I got them all.

Combining all the colours makes this jumper look a little psychedelic, but I enjoy wearing it.

For the first time I added crocheted picot edging to a knitted piece, which is now my favourite type of border (see sleeve detail above).
When you use several colours for one project, you end up with quite a lot of leftover wool, and from this I produced a couple of bags and purses ("the children" of this jumper). This is one I made earlier. I will publish some lovely pics of my latest flower bag in my next post.