A bit of this and that....

As you may well know, things are a bit hectic around here with my two very active girls. Not only is Evie into everything, but she also wants to follow her big sister everywhere she goes and do everything she does.

So I haven't had much time to keep up with my blog or letters - the only bit of relief I have really is to pick up my needles and knit when they are in bed. I have found it a great comfort in helping me to unwind before going to bed myself. There's something about the needles moving back and forth and the fabric growing that I find really soothing.

So here are a few finished items from the last few months that you might like to take a look at.

Evie's Andalucia.....

... a little cropped cardigan for Leah....

... a wonderfully soft baby Kina for a friend's new daughter....

.... and a mini chic for Evie - although for the life of me I can't remember where I've put it!!!

Evie

Hello! Time has really gotten away with me lately, and I haven't been up to blogging much. I just wanted to share some photos of Evie modelling a test knitted cardigan I did for a lady on Ravelry. She really is growing into a cheeky little lady.

We had a lovely week in France in June, so I will let you know about that real soon - plus -LOTS of knitting updates!

Wonderful button giveaway

There is a wonderful button giveaway oover on this blog . They are truly beautiful! Unfortunately I don't speak Polish, so I'm not quite sure what the lady's name is...... I was directed by a lady called kasia who left a comment on my previous post. It is well worth a visit and good luck!

Some finished knitting

It has been a busy couple of weeks here, what with the Easter holidays and Evie beeing poorly. I haven't had much time for blogging, but have managed to finish some baby knits.

This was a spur of the moment knit and I'm still not sure who it's for. I wanted to use up some yarn and found a sport weight sock yarn just perfect for it. I edged it with some kashmir dk which gives it a lovely soft feel. The pattern is available for free here, you just have to be a member of ravelry to get it.

This little cardi is for Amelia, as long as it fits! I loved knitting the pattern and will definitely be knitting it again. If it doesn't fit her, Lily can have it. I'm sure Anna won't mind too much.

I made this cardigan for Leah and although I wasn't impressed with the yarn, the over all cardigan isn't too bad. At least she wears it, which is always a bonus. I used James C Brett marble and I wouldn't really want to use it again. That doesn't really happen to me all that often!

Finally I made another cardigan for Evie. I wanted to try and stay away from too much pink, so I decided on cream and navy. I think it turned out rather nice and she looks so cute in it. I do love Sirdar patterns, and they always come out so nice.

Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken

It's Leah's fourth birthday next week so I've been frantically knitting up these little chooks to go into her friend's party bags. I wanted to give them something a little bit different to take home and these were just the kind of thing that I wanted. The pattern said to use worsted weight yarn, so I comprimised and used 2 strands of various left over sock yarn, as I felt that would give an interesting effect when knitted in garter st. I was right - they came out pretty well.

I have sewn up 6 so far, so just have another 10 to go before next saturday. I think I will get there!

Welcome Lily Rose

I meant to share one of the first pictures of Lily Rose. Here she is, just a day old. So cute! It does make me want more, but I know that two is my limit. I am beginning to get some time back to myself and couldn't face sleepless nights again!

An itty bitty cardigan

I wanted to use up some odd balls of Sirdar Snuggly Chatterbox that I had lying about, so I found a nice little pattern on Ravelry to knit. It's another top down, knitted in the round and was very straight forward. You can find the pattern here It had to be knitted for Lily, as Evie has well outgrown any small baby sizes now. I hope my sister likes it - I did, but unfortunately my photography doesn't show up the lovely pastel colours.

The yarn is nice and soft so perfect for a little newborn baby.

Evie is still coughing away, and I had the pleasure of her being sick over me this morning, as she was coughing so much. Lucky it was only mucous! I took her to the doctor who has given her some asthma syrup which she has to take for a couple of weeks. i am keeping my fingers crossed that it will help to clear the pesky cough up!

A Cornish sea shanty

Last week I put the finishing touches to William's sweater and I am pleased to show the finished article. It was a really straightforward knit, although there were plenty of ends to sew in afterwards!

The pattern said that you only needed one ball of contrast yarn, but I knew in the back of my mind that it wouldn't be enough. Luckily I was able to get another to finish the sweater. It used 1 and a half of the contrast altogether, so the pattern was completely understating the amount. oh well, no real harm done!

I think this is just the right sort of sweater for the spring/summer as its light weight and easy to wash being cotton and acrylic. I just hope that her wears it. I quite want one myself!

On another note, my sister gave birth to a healthy baby girl on saturday 19th weighing in at 8lb 13oz. Quite a big baby! She is gorgeous and very fair. her hair looks almost like spun gold. I've had a lovely few cuddles and hope to see her wearing some of my cardigans soon!

We also had some bad news yesterday. My Nan lost her battle with cancer and passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning, at home in her bed. She was given a couple of months left to live in January, so we had her for a little longer than expected. She was the one who taught me to knit, so I thought this blog would be a nice little tribute to her. Whilst I was at home I saw my nan and grandad evey day as they lived next door to my parents, and they did until they both passed away. I was very close to my Nana and she will be missed terribly. It will be strange not having her so close by any more.

Love you Nana xxx

I love this so much....

When I saw this pattern on Ravelry this morning I knew that I had to have it. It's by a lady called Katie White who goes by the name of Frizzyknits. The pattern itself is called Mini Chic and I just couldn't resist.

I know I already have hundreds of patterns (well that's what it seems like) and I know I already have about a dozen things that I want to make Evie, but there it was calling me in all its glory.

The wonders of instant downloads meant that after paying with a click of a button I was the proud owner of of my own Mini Chic copy. So exciting! I love having it there in my hand and all I could do was to read it and think what it would be like to start knitting. I get such a rush I almost feel like a 'knitting junkie'!

I have permission from Katie to use her photos as I really wanted to share what a lovely pattern it is. I have the yarn in my stash already, and will be making my own little Mini Chic quicker that you can click your fingers!

Still waiting..............

Come on Anna, I want my new niece to arrive NOW!!!!! A week late and still waiting........

Six years ago today......

Six years ago we were waking up to a beautiful, crisp March morning, and by that evening we would be married!

It was a lovely day, and we wouldn't have changed a thing, well apart from the freezing cold weather. Didn't spoil a thing.

We now have two beautiful daughters who make it all so worthwhile. I am just pleased we are all safe and well, and my thoughts go out to all the people in Japan who have lost their lives, homes, family and livelihood. It really makes you thank God for having everything that we have, when some people around the world have been left with nothing.

Another little coffee bean cardigan

I finished another little coffee bean cardigan, this time for Evie. For those of you on ravelry, I would well recommend getting a copy of the download as it is such an easy and straight forward pattern, with lovely results.

I love the way the raglan shapings are done by a YO, and they set so nicely, the cardigan doesn't need too much blocking at all (none done in the photos!)

I used about 2 balls of the plum and 1 of the red (cashmerino and rialto aran respectively), and love the way it turned out. The fact there is no seaming either is even better!

I made the 12 month size on 4.5mm rather than 5mm needles and it fits Evie perfectly. She is a happy little girl.

I forgot to mention I've been 'published'!!

I forgot to tell you all that I had a letter printed in the current issue of Simply Knitting Magazine. I wrote in just after Christmas and it was published this month. it's quite an odd thing seeing yourself in print!

The photos of Evie look quite good and I'm pleased they printed a couple.

My name in print - ha ha!!!

I also have something to be published later this month, but won't reveal too much yet in case it doesn't materialise. I have my copy ordered though, and will let you know if it does appear. I will have to wait until the 24th!!

Flying off the needles

My sister is expecting her second child in just over a week, so I've been knitting frantically to get a few bits finished for her.

I made this little coffee bean cardigan in Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran, which is so soft and just right for a little baby.

This apple blossom cardigan was another free pattern (as was the one above) and I though yellow would be just right for the spring. It was supposed to be in worsted weight yarn, but I used DK which actually gave a better size, more like a real newborn size.

Finally for her I made this little cardigan, which I have made before for Evie and Leah, and I chose to use something other than pink. I think she likes it!

I also made something for leah that she actually doesn't mind wearing. The yarn is the yarn that I got from sirdar as a replacement, so the only cost to me was the pattern.

I think it turned out rather well.

What better to cook than cookies............

Leah's friend came over yesterday, so we baked some cookies together. You are supposed to use chocolate chips for the recipe, but I used mixed fruit instead.

Here is the recipe.

4oz butter or margarine

2oz caster sugar

3oz soft brown sugar

8oz plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

4oz of choc chips (white and brown) I used mixed fruit instead

set oven for 180 degrees and grease 2 baking sheets

cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

add egg a bit at a time, along with the vanilla extract.

sift the flour and baking powder together over the mixture and stir in with a metal spoon. Stir in the fruit.

using 2 spoons, place the mixture on the baking sheets, wide enough apart to allow for spreading whilst cooking. makes 15 cookies.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden, moving around in the over after 10 minutes for even cooking if necessary.

Leave on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for cooling.

Enjoy!!

Look what I made!

It's not that often that I experiment with making something completely new, but last week I did.

I made some lovely bath bombs and I was so pleased with the results. I think that Leah aand I will be making some of these later in the year for Christmas presents, especially as she will be at school and everyone seems to give their teachers a gift these days.

Happy birthday Evie May!!

Who would have thunk it? Little Evie is a whole year old today.

We had a party for her on Saturday and today she's been with her sister to a friend's birthday party and had a great time. So great she's having a little nap now.....

She's changed so much, I really don't know where my little baby has gone. Doesn't time fly!

She's still no good as modelling her clothes, so I have had to post a photo of her latest cardigan without her wearing it. Not as cute, I must admit, but at least it shows what I've made.

A really nice easy pattern, although I didn't fancy embroidering the flowers as the pattern suggests.

Sorry about my absence...............

I don't know why, but everything has been going wrong lately. For some reason the laptop stopped working and had to be sent back to the manufacturer (which is why I haven't been around of late).

To top that off we have a dishwasher that isn't washing properly, a boiler that is leaking, the shower broke (and is now replaced thankfully) and lights on the hob cover which have a life of their own. All in all not a great start to 2011.

We are also trying to get Evie to go to sleep on her own at night, and a week on it's still as hard as ever. She screams so much, I'm hoping soon it will take less time, less effort and less stress!

I have been able to do some knitting despite less time in the evenings (due to the sleep - or lack of it - training).

I've started to make up the crochet hexagon blanket I have been working on, to see how the colours work out. I am running low on the cream for the outer hexagons, so will have to continue making the inners until my LYS has some more in stock, else I will have to resort to t'internet.

I made a slip over vest/tank top for Evie, but once it was finished I've realised that the 56cm chest will fit Leah, so she has adopted it instead. I'll make Evie some other kind of vest I think.

I made this cardigan for Evie and although it was for 3ply yarn I used 4ply and it turned out ok. I was running quite short when it came to the button border, so I used some cream yarn for it and knitted the last row and cast off in the main body colour instead. I think it turned out ok and I really like the little vintage shank buttons.

Lastly I finished off this bolero that I started when Leah was just two! I'm not over keen on the yarn but as it was such a bargain I thought I would use it up anyway as this only took 2 balls. it will fit Evie in a few months time, so she may be able to wear it in the summer.

That's about all for now, I am going to try and catch up on all my favourite blogs now - I may be some time!