Surprise!

Surprise is certainly what DH expressed when he opened his birthday present this year!  It was this jumper (and a few other goodies as well) which I had begun knitting in 2014.

Pattern:  Sirdar Click Chunky #9390
Yarn:  Morris & Sons Estate 14ply - Mouse

14ply - brilliant, I thought, should knit up nice and quick in this lovely rib pattern.  not so, the more I knitted, the harder and bulkier it was to handle.  Perfect for winter knitting because I could drape it on my lap when the nights were cold.

My sons were with me when I purchased the wool and so they chose the colour, knowing that it was going to be for their Dad.  

A thoroughly satisfying finished project, if I do say so myself.  And... the bonus is that he loves it!! 

Buttons and Loose Ends

Sewing in loose ends and adding buttons has been on my radar this past week.

While looking for some hand-work to take along to sewing groups, I decided to dig into my knitting basket.  I found several items which simply needed ends sewn in and buttons and embellishments added.  They were actually sewn up, just not totally finished.

Here is what I worked on (and completed 100%!!!) these past 10 days while sitting, chatting and drinking coffee with friends...

Blue Green Vest

Knitted with Morris & Sons Quartet 8ply. 70%wool/30% soybean silk

Pattern:  Sirdar Escape DK #9263

Lovely soft yarn and super warm.  Perfect knitting on the very cold nights.  I am lucky there is still cold weather left to come so I can get some benefit wearing it this year.

Little Cardigan and Hat (to fit 6 months)

Knitted with Creative Fibres hand-dyed 100% New Zealand wool 8ply

Patterns:  Cardigan - Sirdar Snuggly Kisses DK pattern #1835

          Hat - from Big Baby Book 5 by Sue Batley-Kyle

Delightful, fun patterns to knit.  The flower just adds a touch of whimsy to a pretty cardigan for a little one.

Triangle Scarf

Knitted with Bendigo Woollen Mills - Bloom 100%wool

Pattern:  Bendigo Woollen Mills #8338 Murano

Once, I got 'into the groove' of the knitting, because you knit partial rows to make the triangles, it became very easy to knit.  Thoroughly enjoyed this one, even though I had a couple of goes at it while trying to understand how to start the pattern.

Hat

Knitted with Patons Jet and Patons Souffle

Pattern:  Wondoflex Yarns Ladies Wool and Mohair Garter Stitch Hat

A super fast knit with an extremely easy pattern.  Incredibly warm too with 12ply and 8ply yarns knitted together.  The mohair gives a lovely softness.

Textured Baby Jacket

Knitted with Heirloom Jigsaw 4ply  75%wool/25%nylon

Pattern:  Sirdar Snuggly 4 ply #1989

Simply delightful knitting.  The Heirloom yarn is so nice to touch and have in your fingers.  The pattern was lovely too with the changing textures in the knitting and the variegated yarn just added to the overall look and feel.

It has been very nice to find some space in my knitting basket and to get these few things completely finished.  Most of these will go into my gifting basket, except for the blue green vest, which is for me.

And... the long quilting list in my last post?  I am slowly working my way through it.  I have completed one item and worked on the others, but I think I may have been a tad over ambitious when I made that list.  However, it has given me good focus and for that I am grateful.  Slow but steady wins the race - or so they say! :)

Little Travelling Jacket

Such a delight to knit - a cabled winter jacket for a little one.  Due to be born very soon, I have given this jacket to her expectant Mum, (who loves anything crafted by hand), in Mum's last week of work.

Given that I have sons and there are many nephews, it is very rare that I get to work such a pretty feminine design.  With just the right mix of cables and stocking stitch in 8ply wool, I knitted this jacket in a few short weeks.

Back of Jacket

Lovely and long, the jacket will keep her warm and snug as she moves around.  I wish I had a jacket like this one!

Front of Jacket

Pattern:  Little Vintage Sunday Coat from "Baby Book 5" by Sue Batley-Kyle.   pub. King Cole 2012

Knitted in:  Patons Totem 8ply.

Size:  To fit 12-18 months.

Warm and Woolly

Love, love, love knitting with really fat wool.  14ply on 7mm needles - I knitted each of these jumpers for my sons in 2 weeks apiece!

Patons Inca Wool (Sheep and Alpaca) and a Patons Inca Pattern Leaflet.  I knitted one straight after the other, but because of the differences in colour and size, I didn't get bored.

The kids chose their own colours...

The first jumper is nice and classy in classic black with flecked grey.

The second jumper has been nick-named:  "Chocolate and Choc Bits" (I think he may have been hungry when he chose the colours!)

Fun Cardie

Sometimes I think it would be fun to be a little girl again - the clothes are so pretty...  ahhh... sigh...

I had a lot of fun knitting this particular little number.  Using a Sirdar pattern and Patons London 8ply variegated yarn with some fun changes in pattern along the way made this project irresistable to put down.  Although next time, I would knit the bands around the bottom in rib rather than garter stitch as it didn't want to sit flat.

Knitted at size 3-4yrs, it's perfect for an adorable little miss!

Front of Cardigan

Detail

More Detail



Back of Cardigan

This particular pattern is a definite knit again project.  Watch this space for one day when I find the perfect wool.

Snuggly Jumper

When you use pure wool, you can't help but get a really snuggly jumper that was a joy to knit.  Using TeAwa Wool (from New Zealand) - colour Barrier Reef, I knitted up this basic child jumper, size 5, with Patons Classic Kids pattern.

The Jumper!

I gave this particular jumper to a friend for her son.  I had the wool for so long that my children grew too much for me to knit anything for them with the quantity that I had!  oops! 

Off to look at what else I have to knit now.......