One Day Wonder Scarf

For my friend George's birthday I knit a Moss stitch scarf using two strands of Rowan Big Wool and size 20 needles. It only took a day to knit (but about two weeks to arrive in the post!) and George was really pleased with it. He's promised me a photo of him in it, so watch this space!

Baby Boat Neck Jumper

My first ever garment!! I knitted this jumper in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. It is for my colleague Karen's baby, which is due at the end of September. It knitted up a little bigger than 0-3 months so it should be just right for this winter. It only took me 5 days to knit up, but sewing it together at the end proved quite tricky. I had never made a piece of clothing before so I decided to block it properly and take a whole evening to put it together. I certainly needed it!! The blocking went really well, I decided to use a wet pillowcase and steam block it with the iron as I didn't have a lot of time. I had never used Mattress stitch before and wasn't totally sure what I was doing so I started with the neck, which went great. I then began tackling the sleeves, which were so fiddley because of the increases at the end of each row. I've sinced been advised by my boyfriends mum that you can increase on the 2nd or 3rd stitch in the row to maintain a straight edge, which is so much easier to stitch together! Anyway, after much ado I managed to stitch the sleeves up; they weren't perfect but they weren't terrible. The jumper was really well recieved by Karen, so hopefully I will have a picture of the new arrival wearing his/her jumper in a few months time.

Ainsworth's Hat

Here is Ainsworth (friend's baby) in the hat I knitted for him. I knitted it using Baby Cashmerino, using Addi Turbos. Ainsworth came early, so it was a bit of a rush to get his gifts finished in time! Yes, I did say gifts. I also knitted Ainsworth a pair of booties, however they did not come out as anticipated - they were far too big and would only have been suitable for a baby with very odd feet! Anyway, the hat knitted up really well and it even helped him fit into his car seat better!

Podcasts and Ravelry

I've been really getting into all the podcasts which are available on i-tunes at the moment. Ones I have listened to are:

BritKnitCast
Cast On
Lime and Violet
Knit Cast
Sticks and String
Knit Picks
Lexie Knits it
Stash n Burn

I have found that I have two major favorites: BritKnitCast and Sticks and Strings. Britknitcast is made by Carrie Anne Denison in Bishop Auckland in the north of England. It mainly consists of Carrie Anne talking about her current projects and also interviewing at knitting workshops, shows and yarn shops around the country. www.britknitcast.libsyn.com

I have only just found Sticks and String but immediately I found that it was one of my favourites. David Reidy is a male knitter from Australia, which adds a different dimension to his podcasts. He does many interviews with all sorts of people from spinners to other male knitters which are always very interesting. The music is also lovely, some classical, some funny. His essay section is always really inspiring. www.sticksandstring.com.au


I have also just found out about a new online knitting community called ravelry. I found out about it through my local knitting group and also in the latest edition of sticks and string. Its going to be brilliant, with functions that include being able to document whats in your stash and then export to an excel spreadsheet. You can also view other knitters' attempts at your WIPs so you can see what colours other knitters have used. I can't wait to get my invite to the site, and is partly why I am getting on with this blog, as you can link your blog to the website, so theres more chance of other people viewing my blog. www.ravel

Little Fishes

Here are my completed crochet Roxycraft Fishes. I made the large blue fish from cheap acrylic yarn and the fins were made using Patons Moonglow. The smaller fish is made from white Bamboo yarn and another tape yarn called 'Surfer' both of which I got from the upstairs market in the Arndale Centre in Luton.

I had loads of fun making them and it was really quick, I think I did the small white fish in one day!

Mobius Scarf

This is a scarf that I have knitted for my friend's birthday. I made a knitted flower pin with the left over yarn. It is knitted with Rowan Summer Tweed from a pattern in Simply Knitting magazine. The style of the scarf is a mobius strip. The Möbius strip or Möbius band is a surface with only one side and only one boundary component. For more info see Wikipedia. The Mobius strip has a special cast on method, which took me three attempts to master!

Mr Octopus!

This is my first attempt at crochet toys, using patterns from Roxycraft. I used cheap acrylic yarn from the local market, which apparently is the best thing to use as it is hard wearing and easy to keep clean. Thankyou to Charlie at the Ktog knitting group in Baldock for re-introducing me to crochet - I'm getting addicted to it!

Hat for a Three Year Old

This is one of the first things I knitted using Addi Turbos.