Knitted Baby Hat

One morning I suddenly relised I've made so many baby hats for my friends babies but I haven't made any thing for mine!!

A great excuse to knit a new hat!

 I knew I wanted some thing I could knit up quickly so I searched the net and this is what I found.

Lele Baby Hat.

It said on the pattern it could be knitted up in only a few hours but it took me maybe double that. Could also be the size of the yarn and the needles i used. That can make a big difference. It was still quick to knit up. My needles were size US 8 circular or 5mm.

My yarn is from Lincraft, Big wool. I don't know the sex of my baby yet so I chose a colour for both sex's. There were so many other beautiful colours I wish I coud have used in the big wool range but they suggested boy or girl a bit too much for me.

I love the end result!

I can't wait to try it on my baby!!

Baby cardigan

I haven't posted for a while. But I have been busy crafting away.

This is my latest project from Knitsofact design called Demne, a vintage inspired baby cardigan. I am finding the pattern a little bit challenging, however the actual knitting is quite simple. I'm still a beginner to intermediate knitter and am experimenting with a few more challenging patterns to improve my skills. I am so inspired by the elderly ladies I grew up with who could knit really quickly. Hopefully I'll be as skilled one day.

 I'm not sure about my colour selection, I was going for a unisex colour and trying to use what I have however the wool is a really nice quality. It's Cleckheaton country 8ply. 100% wool and nice and soft and I'm guessing it will be warm!

Rabbit Baby Booties

This is a pattern from Debbie Bliss Farm Yard Knits.

I was in the mood for quick and easy baby booties. I searched every where to find the right pattern.

Then I found this one!! They are so cute!!

And these are mine!!

 

Just before I had sewn the eyes on.

  

So cute.

 My seems are not great but I still think they look nice. They took me longer than expected to knit as they are doubled over and line with another colour wool and then the layers are sewn together.

 I used a cheep acrylic wool which wasn't very soft and was difficult to knit with.

 If I made them again I would use a soft baby wool. This project was a more time consuming than I was expecting it to be.

 They are a lot nicer even with the acrylic wool than I was expecting.

And here my partner is modelling them for me on his big toe!! Lovely!

These might be another keeper. Don't think I can part with them!! I have that odd seem as a good excuse. Yay! Might have to have a baby one day.

Eyelet yoke cardigan - Finished!

At long last I finally completed my cardigan!

 I'm so happy it's finished!

I worked on it mostly during my lunch breaks at work, ignoring a few odd looks and comments but I wont let that stop me doing what I enjoy. Not everyone understands the joy of creating or the addiction of knitting!

I chose this pattern for the simple patterned yoke to improve my skills. I haven't done a patterned project for a few years. I was concerned the end result would look a bit old fashioned so I chose Lincrafts Splendour yarn to attempt to jazz it up a bit.

I am happy with the end result and I feel the star button helps to make it look more modern.

The pattern is a Lion brand Yarn Company free pattern 

I thought I didn't have much to go at this point. Ha ha. Wasn't even half way through!

I'm sure I could have done it in just over a week if I worked on it every day but life gets in the way.

The pattern starting to take shape!!

Getting exciting now!

starting to look like a cardigan!

This is when I thought it was hard.
 I had nearly 200 stitches and I'm used to having under 100!
 I struggled with the K 2 before the YO.
I couldn't get my needle through all the loops without picking up a foreign loop.
 I also had a minor issue with my yarn pulling and then having big fat pieces that didn't sit well in the patterned sections. There is a big red bit in the front of the yoke. Suppose that's what you get when you buy wool on sale!

 I ended up with a dropped stitch.
 I'm not sure which issue cause it but I was able to fix it after I had finished. It's pretty hard to find the fault now. 

This is all the knitting completed. Now to assemble it!! Yay!

No not 4 arms!!

Pretty cleaver!

And even better there were only 2 seams to sew!

All that hard work paid off!!

 

All finished!!!

 

 I'm much happier than I expected to be! Now I just need some one to model it for me!!

Not sure if I can part with this one!

Some of my past projects

I wanted to show off a few of my past projects. 

This is my mohair bear.

He's quite big and was a bit of a challenge. But I love him just the same. He sits at the end of my bed and keeps me safe a night! I got the pattern from Homespun magazine.

Felt booties. I love these and the idea of homemade shoes. I'd love to attempt this one again with cotton materials. I gave these away as a present for a friend who was having a baby. This is what happens to most of my projects. The pattern was from Homespun Magazine one of my favourite magazines. I love how they have many illustrations of each project to give you a better idea of what you are going to end up with.

This is a mobile I made for a school project while studying my Children's Services Diploma.

I love lady beetles and they go with the babies quilt I made below.

This is my first ever attempt at designing a quilt. Again with lady beetles. I love the colours but I've still got to quilt it. This is just the quilt top. I WILL finish it eventually!! 

These are the bibs I made for my niece. I got the idea from a friend and from working with young children. I found the bibs we had weren't big enough to cover the children's clothes effectively. I wanted mine to cover the babies clothes better. I also love the bibs which pull over babies head so baby can't pull it off five seconds later! I also wanted them to be more fun. I made one side out of fun materials and the other is out of an old tea towel so it is more absorbent. This way it can be reversed for different occasions. 

This hat has been fantastic. I've made two of them now for my friends who have had babies. I love wool which changes as you knit. I find it very hard to put it down. I've tried to use soft yarn so it is more comfortable for baby and I find acrylic wool is great. Not as scratchy and it doesn't come off on your clothes as you knit it.

You can get the pattern from here

This was my most recent present I made for my nieces birthday. It was so simple. Great for a beginner knitter but I would change colours of wool for pants to add more interest as I got quite bored with it. The pattern said to knit it in garter stitch but I chose stocking stitch for a neater look. The pattern is available from here.

 Í made the little jumper for him free hand.

 It' is 24 stitches for the back knitted to the length you like. Then 15 stitch for each of the front pieces. I've aloud extra as mine was a tight fit. Knit till it's the length you like and sew up the front to the back piece allowing holes for the arms to go through. I made a tie for the front by knitting 2 or 3 rows of 20 stitches then threading it through the front and tying it on. 

Eyelet Yoke Cardigan



Eyelet Yoke Cardigan

Nearly finished knitting this beautiful cardigan. I'm using Lincraft Splendour and I can't stop knitting when he colours start to change from one colour to the next. I made it mostly for the experience and I'm sure one of my friends children will be able to make good use of it but it's so pretty and soft I'm not sure I can give it up! I got the pattern from here .