Skull Jumper

Skull patterns on kids clothes are quite popular for some strange reason, and my son thinks they are "sick" (the latest word for "cool"). So taking into account my current knitting frenzy, I decided to knit him this one.

If you like the pattern, then you can download it as a PDF document here:

Skull Pattern

The Passionate Scarf

When I looked at the photos of my latest creation, I thought that there's a lot of red, pink and purple happening on this blog! But don't fret, if you're starting to find this boring; soon I'll be posting pics of some green and black creations moving towards a more gothic feel.

In the meantime, I did some crocheting for a change and learned the V-stitch pattern and a new type of flower.

The yarn is Sublime Kid Mohair in Rouge (shade 68), the softest Mohair I've felt for ages. One of my bargain buys at just £1.99 each 25g ball (I needed three balls to make this scarf) from The Black Sheep. I wanted to create a romantic piece, that brightens up dull winter days and perk the wearer up a little. In fact, I made it for a friend, who needs a bit of cheering up and will hopefully like it.

Current Yarn Stash

On Friday I went wild in Hobbycraft. As indicated by the red "clearance" labels on the left pic, there was a sale on, and I just needed to get those bargains.

There's one particular yarn, I would like to recommend: the Sirdar Balmoral. This soft yarn only contains natural fibres - wool, alpaca and silk - and can be washed in the washing machine (on the handwash cycle). I have already used this yarn for my psychedelic jumper, and when I saw other colours in the sale, I couldn't resist. What will they turn into? Not sure yet, but watch this space.

Pink Heaven Cosy Swirly Jumper

At last I managed to take photos of my latest creation in its true colour. On previous attempts my current favourite piece looked strangely purple, but this is a luscious raspberry pink, Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweet Colour No. 17.

I knitted this jumper free-style, without instructions except for the lace pattern in the centre of the front and sleeves. You can download a copy of this very easy pattern below.

The jumper has a gentle A-line shape and a belt feature at the back. I've already worn it loads of times.

The yarn is lovely sofy, and although the label recommends handwash, I've washed it in the machine on the wool cycle without problems. Another yarn I'd recommend!

Pattern Sheet: Lace Ajour PDF

My Fab New Knitting Bag

I've been searching high and low for a pretty and practical knitting bag and found one right under my nose, i.e. in my own shop!

I toiled with a Cath Kidston design, but I felt I wanted a bag that doesn't look like a knitting bag and can be used for other purposes like shopping, too.

When I saw the one, I knew it was right; not only is it made from my favourite fabric - velvet - but it also has the most beautiful embroidery and plenty of little pockets for all the essentials.

I also got the matching make-up bag, which nicely holds all my crochet needles, tape measure, scissors, double-pointed and cable needles.



The large bag has two side pockets, in which I keep my long and circular knitting needles. Inside there's another small zipped pocket and a mobile phone pocket. What else do you need? And if I don't use this bag to carry all my knitting on-the-go, then at least I can also use it for a shopping trip into town.

I love it!

If you want to find out more about these bags, please check out the following links:

Large Velvet Ribbon Embroidery Bag

Make-up / Pencil / Craft Utensil Case