Yarn, yarn and more yarn!!

I started by winding a hank of yarn last night into a ball for a Kaia Babydoll I'm about to start, and then while I was knitting the contrast yarn I'd chosen I decided I didn't want to use those colours, and stopped knitting. So today I grabbed one of my other hanks to use as contrast and wound that, then I realised I needed the main colour too so sent my son into my bedroom (yarn storage room) to get the other hank, but he came back with two different hanks instead. Sigh. If you want a job done properly, do it yourself!! So, I went and fetched the correct one, but thought that while I was doing those two hanks I might as well do the others! This is the result:

Bottom photo, top row, left to right: 10 ply hand dyed (unsure of brand - possibly Chuckanut Bay Yarns) 'Herb Garden', TWC 'Purple', TWC 'Gelato', TWC 'Blueberry'. Next row, left to right: TWC Mangrove, TWC Seaweed, TWC Avocado. Bottom row: TWC Watermelon.

Did I mention I LOVE my new swift??

Easy Baby Cardigan

This is my first Easy Baby Cardigan, by designer Diane Soucy, and it was a lovely knit. It's completely seamless, apart from the top seam of the hood, which makes it much more fun to knit! I love that it can be modified in several ways to make it a very individual item. It can be knitted with or without the hood, with buttons, ribbon or ties for the closure and embellishments can be added, as desired. It can be knitted in either wool to cater for the cooler weather, or cotton to be a lovely summer jacket.

Contact me at aligknits@gmail.com to order one of these versatile cardigans.

Softies for Mirabel

I've just been catching up on some friends' blogs and one caught my eye in particular tonight. Kelly (designer of many of my custom knitting items) came across 'Softies for Mirabel', which is a handcrafted softie (toy) drive hosted by meet me at mikes. Kelly has been knitting lots of gorgeous little soft toys for this drive, which is bound to put a smile on many childrens faces this Christmas.

(from Kelly's blog) "They are asking for handcrafted (ie sewn or knit) softies that they will collect and then right before Christmas, deliver them to the Mirabel Foundation for distribution to the children that Mirabel has on it's books.

Borrowed from the MF website: Mirabel assists children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use and are now in the care of extended family (kinship care). Mirabel believes that every child deserves a childhood and its mission is to break the destructive cycle of addiction and disadvantage."

I will be attempting to make at least a couple of these cute wee soft toys for this wonderful cause - items must be finished by 31 October. So many children's lives are tipped upside down by drug abuse and violence within their family - it's heartbreaking to think that so many innocent children are hurt by this vicious cycle. If I can make a child smile and feel even a little bit loved at Christmas by doing something I love and creating a toy, it will be well worth the small amount of time involved.

Ishbel

Well, I finally finished the Ishbel I was knitting as a gift to my mother. I started back in August (her birthday month), but was waylaid by other things that needed to be finished sooner. Unfortunately the yarn I used (50/50 merino/silk blend) had very little elasticity so the edges aren't nice and pointy because I just couldn't stretch it enough during blocking. However, it's lovely and soft and I'm pleased with it overall - especially as it's my first ever shawl.

Needlecase

This was made to test Jo's (CrazyCrafterNZ) new needlecase pattern. Well, it's a fabulous needlecase and an easy to follow pattern. I love it!!

Lilly Hat

I have just received permission from designer Larissa Brown to knit for sale her delightful Lilly Hat. Larissa has published a fantastic book, Knitalong, which celebrates the tradition of people coming together in groups to share their love of knitting. I have knitted three of these gorgeous hats so far and look forward to creating many more - each can be personalised with your choice of embellishment.

My beautiful new swift

I was lucky enough a couple of weeks ago to obtain a fabulous swift from my friend Julia and her talented husband. It really is wonderful! I have only managed to skein three hanks of yarn so far (one was for a swap, so isn't in the picture) - mainly because we have been staying for part of the school holidays at a friend's house and I didn't take it with me. I have several hanks of yarn waiting to be reformed into beautiful balls of yarn, which will happen over the next few days. I'll take a pic of them all when I'm done, so I can admire all the pretty yarn :)

Yarn Dyeing

For another swap I did, I was keen to create a deep red yarn. My first, using food colouring, resulted in a dark browny/black wool (I used too much black to 'deepen' the red). The second attempt, using wine red gel colours, resulted in a semi solid pink yarn, and my final attempt, using three bottles of Hansells Red food colouring, resulted in quite a bright red yarn. It wasn't as deep as I was planning, but it's vibrant and I really like it!

Needle Roll

I have been involved in a couple of swaps recently and here are some of the results. This one is a needle roll I made. I wasn't sure if the recipient had more straight needles or interchangeables, so I made a roll that had the ability to contain both, plus cables and dpns. My sewing isn't brilliant, so don't look too closely. I ended up finishing it quite hastily and my machine wasn't too keen on the plastic stuff, so I had to sew on the opposite side which made it hard to see where my lines were. Consequently they're a bit wonky in places! Ah well, it still works, LOL!

Pinny for a Dolly

This is (finally) my Pinny for a Dolly, that I actually finished about a week ago, but have been away at a lovely friend's house to 'look after it' (read have a mini break) while her family was away. I have entered this into Kelly's Pinny for a Dolly competition, although it is minus the crocheted flower that I made for it, as it has vanished into the ether and I couldn't find it in time. I will be doing an extensive search in the morning and adding it on later.  Excuse the photos again - done at night and in very uninspiring surroundings.

Update: 7 October - I have found the flower I crocheted and have added it to my Pinny, but not sure how effective it is. Hmmmm ...